The British Airways spaceplane flies in over EuroCity. As it slows down and adjusts it’s flight path slightly a large part of EuroCity comes into view. The average building height is now 500 metres, the old ground now long forgotten under super strong plasteel buildings. The great glass dome that covers the old town at the Copenhagen museum is visible in the far distance, small craft hovering around the dome like flies around a rotting corpse.

The aerodrome appears in the distance, now only 2 kilometres away, one of the largest open areas in the whole of EuroCity’s 120 000 km² several hundred spaceplanes can be seen either taking off or making their vertical landing. The view has been described as the eighth wonder of the world by many of the people who have seen it. Unfortunately for Daniel travelling in second class he is still in suspended animation along with the other 2000 passengers. The few passengers who can afford first class are either too drunk or too ill to enjoy the view. The horizon glows a magnificent red, tinged with yellow. If you look a little higher one can just make out the blinking lights of Ring Station One, now an independent nation barely managing to stay operative under world-wide sanctions after the declaration of independence (they survive solely through the subversive aid that EuroCity provides, being a major shareholder).

Finally the spaceplane levels out and starts the slow decent into the spaceport. The spaceport exists at many levels. The passenger hall exists at the lowest level of the complex, barely 100 metres above the ground (under 50 metres has now been declared a no-go zone by the city administration). The plane come to a perfect hover and touches down, 2 hours 45 minutes after having left the New York super city, 45 minutes was a perfectly acceptable delay for the airline.

Daniel became aware of his surroundings exactly 1 minute 38 seconds before the pre-programmed re-animation sequence predicted. The computers however noticed nothing as his neural-nanonics ensured that his vital signs conformed to the average re-animation sequences so as not to cause undue attention. Daniel reviewed his current status, everything seemed to be OK, his subversive link into the spaceplanes computer reported no unusual activities had taken place during the flight. Nobody seemed to be alerted to his presence. His nanonics reported that the valuable information stored in his memory was 100% intact.

The door to his suite opened and he walked out. A nanonic program was activated and his body went through all the appropriate actions for a recently re-animated passenger, grogginess, uncertain steps. He let the nanonic packages control his body, directing it almost as though playing the latest submersion video game. He filed out in line with the rest of the passengers, walked straight though to customs and out into the huge hall that made up the EuroCity Aerodrome. He activated his internal net connection and ordered a taxi home. It was there when he arrived as the taxi rank.

"Please transmit your destination? If you are unable to transmit your destination Lucky Cabs would like to remind you that a surcharge of 100 credits for non-standard payment is obligatory and that the minimum charge is 500 credits, thank you for your attention.", the taxi intoned in it’s bland culturally acceptable voice.

2543 Conrad Street, Wollnick, IIB Sector, Daniel datavised to the taxis system.

"Welcome Mr. Walters, your credit rating is suitable. Please sit back and have a pleasant journey."

Daniel walked into his apartment.

There was a slight pause and a buzzing feeling in the back of his head.

On the surface the room looked like an one of the thousands of rooms in Anglo-sector. Far removed from the old England that the majority of people living in Anglo-sector originated the feeling was still one of a late 20^th century household in England. After the Sizewell disaster of 2010 when the majority of Europe was laid to waste by radiation Denmark seemed a natural choice for the millions of refugees that fled the spreading cloud of radiation. The Danes had generously offered vast tracts of land as temporary camps until a more permanent solution could be found but in the end where the camps were initially constructed was where the refugees stayed. The number of people was overwhelming for the Danish government and from the chaos that ensued, like a phoenix from the fire EuroCity was born. Anglo-sector is situated on the west coast of what was Denmark. Daniel walked over to the far side of the room. He pressed one of the buttons on the rooms control panel and his bed swung out of it’s access panel in the wall. With a huge sigh he slumped into the bed. His last conscious thought was to switch his nanonic packages into standby mode as he fell into a heavy troubled sleep.

Daniel starts rolling in the bed almost as if in anticipation of the coming events.

Sweat starts to pour from Daniel’s body. Confused nanonic packages try in vain to control the now wild, erratic movements of his body.

His body arches with the dreamt of pain, only his head and feet touch the bed now. His face is a mask of pain.

His body relaxes, he’ll sleep until early morning now waiting for the next night.

Night falls over EuroCity. Daniel lives in the Anglo sector. One of the largest sectors in EuroCity there are now 46 million people living in an area a third the size of what was known as Denmark. Most of the people living there can claim some British blood but not many will admit to it, not after the Sizewell disaster which had caused the irradiation of most of central and southern Europe (thus forcing the formation of EuroCity). Daniel had been brought up in one of the many orphanages scattered throughout EuroCity. A high death rate in early years before the creation of nanonic medical packages had meant a large number of young children being raised without parents. Daniel in some ways could count himself lucky that his parents had died in the terrorist attack, that way at least he didn’t have to suffer the long drawn out death that radiation causes.

It’s another clear sky over EuroCity. The use of fusion power has almost eliminated pollutants being exhausted into the air. Looking across from the accommodation levels there are almost no cars flying above the living levels automatic systems moving any remaining traffic down below into the industrial levels. Not until dawn will they be allowed back up to roam the skies wherever they want. Outshining the stars the huge microwave relays glitter in the night sky from the continual transmission of microwave energy for export to the other mega cities dotted throughout the world. The citizens of the city sleep, the automated waste disposal trucks make there way silently from housing block to housing block, nothing is wasted in this city.

Daniel is awoken by the sunshine coming through his one and only window, he’d forgotten to polarise the window before sleeping.

Dr. Christopher Graham looks out at the new rays of sunshine from his penthouse suite. The sight both empowers him with a sense of joy and hatred at the same time. Joy at the beauty of the sun rising over the vast towers of the Scandinavia-sector and hatred at the thought of what he thought of as the human pestilence living in the very same buildings.

A picture of a sunset comes unbidden into his mind. The view is from the construction site of the very same building he is standing in now. Then he was 10 years old, his face is covered in mud and grime and he nurses his stomach after the beating he has just received from the school bullies. This is his hide-away, he doesn’t know what the building is to be used for he simply feels drawn to it, to the beauty of the ocean in the distance. It is 40 years after the Sizewell disaster poisoned most of Europe and EuroCity was founded. The city is still overcrowded and growing upwards at a frightening rate. Christopher hates people, hates the fact that the view of the ocean is becoming less and less every month, hates the bumping and shoving when he rides the flyways to school and most of all he hates the people. Boring, mindless, dreary people. This is how he sees the world. It is also why he runs to this building site, an escape, the quiet, no people.

He shakes his head, bringing his mind back to the here and now. He walks over the Pursian carpet to his desk on the far side of the room. He sites down behind the desk and activates the holographic display. Never having trusted the nanonic implants he helped invented he has to talk directly to the computer.

"Activate file Solution. Codephrase: Green grass."

"Summary and status please."

"Well Mr. Soto now you've seen the status with the project I would be overjoyed to hear why you've been attracting so much attention to yourself."

Mr. Soto move uncomfortably in his chair. He'd been made to sit there in silence as Christopher had paced around the room. He definitely wasn't looking forward to telling him about Helena.

"In brief Dr. Graham we were concerned with the activities of Helena Carlsberg. She'd been under surveillance for several months now and with her appearance on the island we made a field decision to remove her from the equation sir. Her identity was removed from all databases that we have access to. This resulted in a 98% eradication of her identity."

"I'm well aware of all this. As you know Mr. Soto I want you to explain to me how she has appeared back here in EuroCity!"

"Ah, well we..."

"Look, Mr. Soto", Christopher leaned over the desk. Although not gifted with an imposing body, the simple self-confidence that he was in all ways superior to you he posed an imposing figure. "Let me be perfectly frank with you. Your head is on the line here. So far you've performed adequately", almost a compliment coming from him, "this latest episode is putting you in danger of a trip down to the dark levels."

Mr. Soto shivered with the memory of his last trip down to the dark levels, that time with the full support of his employer. The dark levels had developed as a result of the rapid growth of EuroCity. As the buildings became higher and higher the ground levels were forever being cut of from the light. Forgotten by the authorities it had become the natural hiding place for all of the criminals and unwanted in EuroCity, a no-go zone full of hidden dangers.

"Yes sir. We have worked non-stop since we heard that she had appeared in the city. There is very little to go on but we believe that she has had help from outside sources. It’s all very suspicious. We had an active tracker on her from the inception of the plan, everything was being executed as planned but then the track was lost. We only found her again through very costly information databank searches found a match from a surveillance camera at one of the aerodromes. Since then no amount of searching has presented any results. One of our technicians has reported some signs of active search masking, blocking any search we make about her. We have a team working on it now." He glances down at his hands and tries to concentrate on stopping them from clasping and unclasping nervously.

Christopher looks at Mr. Soto, simply staring at him. Mr. Soto looks up at his employer and sees the cold stare. The stare alone is enough to send shivers down his back.

Christopher looks down to the embedded holo-display in his desk, specially built so that only he can see it from his viewing angle. After a few cryptic hand movements in front of the display he looks up.

"You have exactly five days to find and eliminate her. If you do not complete the assignment during this period then your contract will be terminated. You may leave."

As he leaves he misses the smile of satisfaction that follows him until the door clicks shut behind him.