A Bright Future (short story)
A Bright Future was the ninth story in The Boulevard: Volume Two.
Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]
Kiria watches the crowd gather, Ariadne attempting to wrangle in a few others. But Kiria can see the possibilities that stretch out in front of the old lady that Ariadne is talking to, her ghostly future selves. She's never going to come listen. So Kiria waves Ariadne away and begins her story, determined to put the world right, to introduce back into her city the choices that have slowly been slipping away. As she sees cracks in reality around her, listening to them speak to her, shaping her story from their influence, Ariadne calls her warning. The Bright Agency is here.
The crowd flees, and Kiria flees, retreating to her safe house with Ariadne. Safe, the pair think about their situation, the Bright Agency getting more efficient. Kiria is frustrated, she feels she just needs the right idea.
Growing up, Kiria enjoyed the company of the ghostly futures, though it took her some time to realise that not everyone saw them. As time went on, she avoided interfering with people's choices, only stepping in when she saw immediate disaster. And then the Bright came. They weren't as obvious as they might have been, but over time, choices became fewer and fewer, people gave control over to them. And then, one day, she found the cracks. Bright, glowing cracks, full of possibilities. Entirely new worlds. And they gave her hope, and she used them to tell stories. And that lasted for a while. Until the hope gave out.
And then, one day, she found the Boulevard. A crack led to not just one world, but many, all stitched together. She returns to the safe house, to Ariadne, to explain her new plan, to use the Boulevard and it's creative, destructive power, against the Bright Agency. But she's worried. She wants to go inside but, well, the Boulevard feels like a vice, a trap. She'll need a way out. Ariadne insists on it being her, their memories together, symbolically linking themselves together with a piece of jewelry, a silver leaf. They pair plan for Kiria to get caught, sent to the Boulevard, together.
Kiria finds herself in situation after situation, constantly changing, never settling in, never at ease with her surroundings. Be it a series of branching paths, a room, a mountain top, the world constantly changes, leaving only leaves as a constant. People talk amongst themselves, dismayed at the fact that they can't hold her, that the simulations won't stabilise. And, at last, Kiria breaks out.
Kiria awakes, back in her house, with Ariadne. The two celebrate their reunion, the Bright Agency in tatters.
Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]
References[[edit] | [edit source]]
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Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
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Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]
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