Zane woke to the soft hum of the room coming alive around him.
He stretched beneath the thin blanket, arms over his head, bones cracking slightly as his eyes adjusted to the pale blue glow floating in front of his face.
9:00 AM
The numbers flickered once, steady and precise. Right on schedule.
Before he could sigh, a series of gentle alarms chimed through the apartment. The lights brightened just a little. The air shifted as the climate system adjusted itself to his waking temperature.
Then she appeared.
Light bent at the center of the room, gathering into a smooth, feminine shape. A young woman stepped out of the glow as if walking through water, wearing a neat white apron over a simple dress. In both hands, she carried a plate stacked with warm pancakes and golden waffles, thin steam curling lazily into the air. A few sliced strawberries rested on top, glossy with syrup.
Her face was gentle. Too perfect. Too calm.
A smile curved her lips as she walked toward the bed.
"Good morning, Zane," she said in a clear, pleasant voice. "I've prepared pancakes and waffles with a little strawberry on it, just as you like."
Zane pushed himself upright, hair messily falling into his eyes. He gave a lazy nod and accepted the plate from her hands without ceremony.
"Clean."
Alice's eyes glowed faintly.
She leaned forward, close enough that he could smell the artificial sweetness of her simulated skin. Her fingers lifted and lightly tapped together. A thin blue pulse formed at her fingertip, then released as a narrow beam of light that slipped into his open mouth.
It didn't hurt.
A brief, cool sensation washed over his tongue and teeth. A faint vibration crawled through his jaw, down his throat, and vanished.
Alice straightened again.
"Oral cavity: 100 percent disinfected."
Zane didn't bother answering. He was already digging into the food, stuffing a forkful of waffle into his mouth followed quickly by a piece of pancake soaked in syrup.
His eyes half-closed.
Warm. Soft. Slightly crisp at the edges. The pancakes melted against his tongue while the waffles gave a gentle crunch. The sweetness of syrup mixed with the faint sharpness of strawberry, cutting through the heaviness of the batter.
He let out a low, satisfied sound through a mouthful of food.
"This… is stupidly good," he said, chewing. "I swear, I knew buying you was the right thing to do."
Alice smiled without pride or embarrassment. Just the same steady expression she always wore.
"I'm glad you're satisfied," she replied. "I will begin preparing your work equipment."
She stepped back and dissolved into streams of light that flowed into the nearest wall terminal.
Zane continued eating in silence for a moment, leaning back against the headboard. The apartment was small, barely enough space for comfort, but it was clean. Efficient. Every surface smooth and metallic. Nothing flashy. Nothing expensive.
Alice was the only luxury he owned.
He had burned through his entire life savings to buy her.
And he didn't regret it for a second.
Since she arrived, he barely touched a sponge. Clothes were always clean. Food always ready. His schedule organized down to the second. Even his sleep cycle had improved. With everything else handled for him, all he had to think about now was work.
And promotion.
Zane was nineteen years old, and he wanted out of this life.
He finished the last bite and stood, carrying the empty plate to the sink where it vanished into a cleaning slot without sound. Then he walked to the window and rested his hands against the glass.
Outside, the city stretched endlessly.
Steel towers carved into the sky. Neon rail lines cutting through the air. Drones drifting between buildings like lazy insects. Far above the traffic lanes, streams of flying cars glided effortlessly along invisible highways, their energy cores leaving faint streaks of light behind them.
And sometimes…
Sometimes, a person would fly past instead.
No vehicle. No equipment.
Just a human body suspended in the air, moving freely across the skyline.
Zane watched one of them now, a dark figure gliding between two towers before vanishing behind a row of apartments.
Special people.
That was what they were called.
People born with abilities beyond the ordinary. One in a thousand. Rare enough that the government tracked every single one of them from childhood. If you were born with talent, real talent, your life changed overnight.
It didn't matter who your parents were.
It didn't matter where you were born.
It didn't matter how poor you started.
Once your ability awakened, the world opened its doors.
Training programs. Elite education. Military contracts. Corporate guilds. Some were recruited as living weapons. Others became high-paid security, enforcers, or heroes for show. The lucky ones ended up as celebrities.
The unlucky ones disappeared.
Zane tightened his fingers against the glass.
Flying cars filled the sky, but he couldn't afford even the cheapest model. As for flying on his own…
That was never going to happen.
He had been tested three times growing up.
No abnormal energy reaction.
No genetic mutation.
No latent resonance.
Just another low-class civilian with a pretty face and nothing else.
Down on the streets far below, people moved in steady lines between platforms and transport gates, all heading somewhere important. Somewhere he had never been.
Behind him, Alice reappeared in a soft flicker of light.
"Your equipment will be ready in eight minutes," she said. "If you leave on schedule, you won't be late."
Zane didn't turn around.
He just kept watching the sky, where gifted people ruled the air and machines ruled everything else.
A normal boy.
Inside a world that worshipped the extraordinary.
And that was where his life stood.
For now.