On voting day, the sun rose with a bright, insistent heat. Zev was among the first in the household to wake, dressing in comfortable clothes before stepping into the kitchen. Elina was already there, her movements brisk as she prepared breakfast. She placed a steaming mug of milk tea before him, along with two slices of toasted brown bread and a serving of scrambled eggs.
She paused in her work, turning to watch as Zev sipped his tea and eyed the fresh vegetables she had lined up for lunch. “Yes, Zev?” she asked quietly, noticing the thoughtful expression on his face.
“Are you really against me taking that apprenticeship at Santi Corp?” he asked, careful to keep his tone even.
Elina dried her hands on a worn kitchen cloth. Setting it aside, she pulled out the chair beside him and sat. “I have my reservations about a company so big it’s become a fixture in every home in Afrotheria,” she said, resting a gentle hand on Zev’s shoulder. “They provide so many jobs, but it’s hard not to worry about the influence they wield. Still, I know how gifted you are with technology. I believe the apprenticeship could help you grow your talents.”
She offered a small, wavering smile. “All I ask is that you keep some of your energy for yourself. Don’t pour every waking moment into Santi. You already have your Pink Piggy venture in the Luna VR world, maybe someday you’ll create your own real-life tech company. One that helps ordinary people afford what they need.”
Zev nodded. “You’re right. Maybe once I graduate, I can develop Pink Piggy into a real store.” His lips curved into a shy grin. “Although I’m not sure you’d enjoy shopping at a place called ‘Pink Piggy1.’”
Elina laughed softly. “I’d go if you owned it, but do consider changing the name,” she teased. “Meanwhile, I’ll trust you to make the best decision for yourself.”
Her gaze shifted to the hallway, where the faint sounds of his siblings stirring could be heard.
“As for Grey… we’ll just have to hope he changes his mind about wanting to be a Guardian. You know how children are, they see the armor and the weapons, and it seems exciting.”
“It’s definitely not an easy life,” Zev said, finishing the last of his toast. “But you never know, maybe he’ll find something else to love.”
Elina brushed her hand over Zev’s short hair. “When you were his age, you wanted to work in the village greenhouses,” she reminded him. “Look at you now, leaning toward a future in code. People change as they grow, and priorities shift with time. One thing that will never change, though,” her smile deepened, “is how proud I am of you, Zev.”
He returned her smile.
As she leaned in for a warm hug, he caught a faint hint of lavender from the soap she used to wash the vegetables.
“Eat up,” Elina said, rising from the table. “Malachi from the Village Center called earlier to confirm your schedule. Voting starts at eight, but he wants all volunteers on-site by seven. You have half an hour to get there.”
Zev drained the rest of his tea and hurried to his room to grab his backpack. After a quick goodbye, he jogged out of the house and out of their compound.
The Village Center lay about fifteen minutes to the east, a route he could cover in ten if he pushed his pace. The academy he attended with Amare was ten minutes from his house to the west of the main road.
As Zev emerged from his home street and joined the main road heading east to the Village Center, he hoped his apprenticeship at Santi Corp would be as exciting as he imagined.
Dalia gazed at the glowing voting console in front of her, scrolling through the list of candidates vying for Elderon. She frowned at her father’s name, Izra Taj, paired with his running mate, Kakura Jafar.
For a fleeting, rebellious instant, she considered selecting the opposition. She was certain that if Izra won, her life at KISTech, and everywhere else, would never be the same. Already, people looked at her differently, and she dreaded the added scrutiny that would come once “Elderon Taj” became reality.
Yet her parents’ voices echoed in her mind. Family comes first, her father always said. When one member of the family wins, we all win, her mother echoed.
Dalia exhaled, tapped the tick box next to her father’s name, and signed her name with a digital stylus. The console verified her signature, and she could practically feel the cameras clicking from behind.
Slipping out of the booth, she forced a quick smile when a photographer captured her exit. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, but she resisted the urge to check it just yet. The city center hall was bustling with voters, each queued according to last name at fifty identical booths. She spotted her best friend in line at the “D” section, and he waved cheerfully. She tried to wave back, but a voice behind her broke through the noise.
“Dalia,” her mother, Sophina, called out.
Turning, Dalia found her parents waiting for her by the exit. Her father was careful not to greet or smile at anyone in the hall. He watched Dalia with expectation, his arm tucked around Sophina’s waist. He refused to engage with passersby, no doubt wary of what anything he said or did might imply on such a pivotal day.
“All set?” Sophina asked as Dalia approached.
“I am,” Dalia confirmed, ready to head home.
“Then let’s leave,” Sophina said gently.
Izra started to mention monitoring the voting progress on the overhead screens (an open feed that tracked the tallies in real time), but Sophina cut him off. “No, love. You’ve done all you can. Today is for family. We’ll head back to the hotel, have a good meal, maybe watch something mindless or take a swim. But no more talk of politics.”
Dalia couldn’t help smiling when Izra took a moment to process the command, then nodded in agreement, rubbing his stomach with a rueful grin. “I am starving,” he admitted.
Sophina’s lips curved with triumph. “I’m always right,” she said, reaching for Dalia’s hand to guide her swiftly through the exit.
They navigated the crowd, ignoring the curious stares and whispered conversations that inevitably trailed them.
Outside, a black armored vehicle waited: a government-issued ride for Elderon candidates. Afrotheria was generally peaceful, but zealots existed in all nations, and Izra had received a disturbing number of threats in the past week.
Once inside the cool, tinted interior, Dalia finally checked her phone. As expected, there was a new notification showing a photograph of her stepping out of the voting booth. The caption noted her simple, “utilitarian” style: her white trouser suit and low-heeled shoes. She was dressed in a white trouser suit, her braids in a tight ponytail. She had tried to look conservative, even worn flat shoes.
“Taj’s only daughter at the polls looking utilitarian. She’s one to watch even as we wait for voting results.”
Her stomach twisted at the thought. She missed the days of anonymity, when she could bury herself in research, code, and the potential support from the Pink Piggy’s program. Now every move, every outfit, seemed subject to public scrutiny.
She turned off her screen and shoved the phone into her bag, leaning back against the seat. If her father lost, she could slip into obscurity again, free to focus on the next stage of her project at KISTech. If he won… She pulled in a steadying breath. If he won, there would be no escaping the spotlight, no simple return to the quiet life she loved.
Her mind drifted to the Pink Piggy. Had he cast his vote yet? Would he choose Izra Taj for Elderon, or would he scoff at the idea, the same way he seemed to mock everything else? She almost laughed at the thought of that mysterious coder standing in line at a polling station.
The hum of the armored vehicle rumbled beneath her feet, but her thoughts were filled with the Pink Piggy’s tarp stall and a logo of a grinning pink pig. With a sigh, she reminded herself that she needed his decision on that code, no matter how the election turned out.
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- The Pink Piggy is the online venture and avatar of Zev Mablevi within the Luna VR world. Zev’s avatar for this venture is known as the “Pink Piggy”. He wears a signature pink pig’s head mask and a uniform of black slacks, a plain white T-shirt under a black vest, and combat boots. His virtual shop in the Luna VR marketplace is distinctive, built with black tarp and marked only by a pink pig’s head above its entrance. ↩︎
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