She goes with

He leads her into a building and up the stairs. The threat of a social drop into the sixties is more than enough motivation. She keeps her head low, afraid of what he might do. Her entire worldview has been shaken. She thought she was on top of the world, prime to live happily. Now she knows it was all fake, the elite life. Nobody told her she could rise, it was thought that you could only drop.

Sure there were rumours between the low-SRs but the privileged knew better. At least, she thought she did. If you can rise, how high can it go? Is there a whole world she doesn’t know about? At the end of it all, she wants to be on top. She follows him to the roof, a helicopter waiting for him. “Sir, I’m sorry. I promise I didn’t know. I mean, it’s my right to control those below me. I only thought-“

“Quiet.” He snapped. “You thought you were an idol, right? A model citizen, someone to aspire to? SR100 is average. Or, it’s supposed to be. But you, and everyone like you skew it so far down. Eventually the president decided it was best to split society in two, those below one hundred and those above.”

She’s below average? The thought hurt. “I… I did everything right. I followed the rules.”

“Exactly. You accepted society the way it is. Hence the average SR.” The helicopter lifted them both high in the air. “A true member of society seeks its betterment. The president saw that, he implemented a system that eliminated crime altogether. It brought down the hierarchy and gave everyone an equal chance to succeed.”

“But if you don’t tell us, how are we supposed to know?”

“You aren’t. It has to come from inside you, the desire to do good. Not to climax on someone’s face.” He pulls out a pocket cloth and wipes the fluid. “I’m a field agent. Sent to find those deserving of a higher SR. If you walked by and left some credits for me instead, you probably would have earned enough to join us in Elysium… it’s what we call it.”

She looks out the window, gazing upon the dawnlit fields. Each home stands as a mansion, growing larger the further they fly in. “How did you come here?”

“Me? I came from nothing. My parents were SR60s, put upon by the world, one day they were **** and killed, the both of them. Despite this, I worked hard, but I only got an SR of 76. I was still at the whim of society.” He balls his fist. “But I didn’t accept it. I began to advocate for the disadvantaged. The people loved me for it.”

“Wait… Fred Terra? The Fred Terra?” She gasps. “But you, you…”

“People like you. The ‘elite.’ They didn’t like what I was saying. My SR began to drop, rapidly. I didn’t give up. Eventually I hit rock bottom, zero.”

“And nobody heard from you after.” She finishes. “You didn’t die? I just assumed…”

“Everyone did. No, the president took notice. He liked what I was saying. He raised my SR over a hundred points.” He turns to face her. “The system still isn’t perfect, there’s work to be done. But as long as people like you are around, change won’t occur.”

“A-Are you going to kill me?”

“No.’’ He says bluntly. “Whenever someone’s SR hits zero, we don’t kill them. The fear is useful, but so are the people. They’re brought here to slowly erase their debt to society. One year worked is two points of SR. They can choose to leave at any time, but most prefer to stay and work. Of course, everyone who works here is in deep debt. You’re a special case.”

“So… I’ll work here for a year and a half and then I get to join you?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” He shrugs, scratching his stubble. “The president will want to see you. You and I will work together. Implement the change a fought for in my life before. He’s happy to let you SR90s rule Tartarus, another nickname, and ignore the happenings there. I need to prove that your like are… how do I put this, a problem. And to prove a problem exists, you have to see a working example.”

“You’re just gonna fix me?” She rolled her eyes. “And how do you plan on that, then?”

“I’ll keep you as a… pet? Train you to be a good member of society.”

“Fat fucking chance, creep. Oh man, wait until the people hear about the great Fred Terra and how much of a pervert he is!” She crosses her arms. “You said we can choose to leave whenever. I choose to leave now. Let me go.”

“Okay, sweetheart. But understand, if you go now, that thirty point decrease will go into effect. You’ll be at SR67, and I don’t think that will last for long.” He flips his other hand. “Or, you be a good pet, train well, and set a good example. Then I’ll raise your SR into Elysium. You’ll be set for life.”

Two years of indentured servitude as his pet? She is definitely not into that. But the lifetime of being truly elite… now that is appealing. Of course, choosing to leave leaves her a third rate citizen, and what people would do to a bombshell like herself made her shudder.