A/N: A secondary project I took on once a friend of mine told me I needed to take a break from Gothix (O_O!). I'll try to balance the two equally, since I'm rather proud of both universes, but especially this one because I've never written anything of them this sort. This is the teaser/prologue. ^_^

.[inter].(mittance).

The sky was bright with light, reflecting off the microchips embedded in the city's infrastructure. It was pleasantly warm, and the people who still ventured out of their respective interface orbitals' strolled the streets, holographs in hand and storage units charged to the zenith. The static binary chatter filled the light breeze, mixing with various tongues and voices, creating melodies that were soft to some, but a harsh reminder of the state of things to others.

Fai clicked his feet against the edge of the building, wiggling his fingers rapidly. Files flashed before his eyes, and he gave a slight hum. All at once, his screen faded to black, windows filing down to the left in quick succession with a soft 'pop'. He rose, careful of his balance atop the sixty-story communications tower. He pulled off his lens-screen, tucking the frames into a pocket in his jumpsuit.

The scene was different now.

It was cold and dreary, wind howling insensitively against the risers. The tower shook under his feet, and Fai was grateful for the gravity program he'd constructed for the simple task of climbing these things. He cast his uncovered eyes about the city. No one roamed. There weren't even lights on to ward against the stormy day. The streets were cracked and littered, the exotic park's shrubbery was dead and brittle, trash whirled in vortexes against empty alleys and the buildings— which were once so preciously maintained—were shabby and dilapidated from the planet's harsh seasons.

Such was the state of his world, Planet 53241.

And as such, the Interplanetary Councils had deemed the planet's usage of holographic mirages legal and necessary to all. Every hour of the day, every day of the year (which was still, surprisingly enough, measured in the time span of The World) were they to be broadcast and received through the citizens' transmitters. The Council refused to admit that Planet 53241 was yet another to fall into despair as The World crumbled, spreading its cancer through the interfaces of Infinium.

Fai checked the time telepathically through his internal microchip. Once checked, however, he manually turned it off, muttering a string of binary under his breath.

Off.

He stood straight, holding his hand in front of him. He flexed his fingers, the wires, laced between his muscles and veins, sparked with a sudden surge of electricity. He pushed against the wave, sending it to the tips of his fingers, then he reached.

His fingers probed against the thick air, finding nothing for a millisecond; then, however, he found purchase.

Thousands of super-charged atoms gathered at his fingers, and he moved them, creating a portal straight into the mainframe of Infinium.

Then he jumped from the tower, diving directly to the ground.

For a horrifying second—one that never seemed to lose its thrill—he was in freefall. Then he was swallowed whole by the most wondrous and terrifying thing in the universe: the Central Mainframe.

What if anything you wanted came true;

What if you could have a world without pain?

A world where only the good things,

The things you wanted came to be?

And if it went wrong—

Which, it never did, unless you wanted it too—

You could disconnect…

And try again?

Would you do it?

Would you control it?

Could you control it?

Or would you let it control you?

2036 A.E.

A time of Infinium.

A time where the technology of our time

Is no longer dreamt of,

But a reality.

A time of peace.

Seemingly.