Captain Noah Dayton stood at the helm of his flagship The Ark, a colossal feat of engineering and physics. This metal and glass wonder was 1200 square miles, roughly the size of Rhode Island. From where he stood on his command deck, he oversaw a vast landscape of forests, mountains, lakes, valleys, and everything in between. Several cities and towns were spread out below. There were even more beyond what he could see. Above the landscape, artificial clouds hovered and sunlight was broadcast through a focal point at the top. The entire scene was encased in a gigantic bubble where beyond you could see the faintest hints of stars.

He needed everything to go right today. The fate of humanity was resting on his shoulders.

RiVo, his robotic assistant, came up and produced a small microphone from his silver hands. “Here you are sir. They are ready for your commencement.”

Noah took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

“HELLO CITIZENS OF THE ARK,” Noah’s voice boomed across the land. “WELCOME AND CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING THIS VOYAGE WITH ME. AS IT STANDS, THERE ARE TWENTY THOUSAND OF YOU ON BOARD RIGHT NOW. WE WILL BE DEPARTING THE EARTH IN ONE HOUR. ONCE WE ARE OUT OF ORBIT, WE ARE NEVER TO RETURN. NOT THAT ANY OF YOU WOULD WANT TO..”

“YOU HAVE BEEN POSITIONED WITHIN THREE DISTRICTS OF THE ARK. WE WILL NOW BE FULLY ACTIVATING EACH DISTRICT BEORE DEPARTURE. PLEASE MAKE YOURSELVES COMFORTABLE AS WE PROCEED WITH THIS.”

Noah took the microphone away and looked towards RiVo. “All right, let’s fire them up.”

**

Mary Vompas, of the famed Vompas family, sat on the balcony of her luxury apartment in the city of New Boston. She gazed out over the cityscape, pristine and colorfully metallic buildings in every direction. Hovercars abound, the finest luxury models, and although this was a lively city there was no traffic or chaos. This was a city made perfectly for the families who had gotten their District I passes.

Mary sipped on her martini and snapped her fingers to the burly robot in the corner who came over and started massaging her shoulders. She could hear her boorish husband in the other room screaming at someone from the front desk about why he hadn’t been notified about a delivery, something trivial and stupid as always.

Mary rolled her eyes and tried to enjoy herself. Come on now, she thought. This is who he was on Earth, why did you think it would be any different here?

Just then she caught something out of the corner of her eye. One of the hovercars had just crashed below. As medics rushed to the scene, Mary felt a sense of unease. Maybe New Boston was actually going to be a LOT like Earth.

**

Jason Hackett, MVP Quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl winner for the San Antonio Vipers, was relaxing in his hot spring when he heard the booming voice of Capt. Noah Dayton. His villa was tucked into a mountain on the far side of the Ark. Jason was surprised that the sound could carry this far over but he’d be damned if it didn’t sound like the voice of God himself.

It was a shame that only a couple of his teammates were able to obtain passes onto the Ark. The other Hall of Fame inductees. Even at that, and much to Jason’s surprise, he had to settle for District II passes. Not that he was complaining, his mountain villa was like nothing beyond his wildest dreams. With an array of robotic staff ready to tend to every need of his family’s, and a garage filled with a fleet of luxury hovercars, it really was perfect.

Still Jason couldn’t help but feel a little emasculated at being denied entry to District I. It made his mind race, wondering what sorts of things could be going on up in New Boston or Kennedy.

Just then, he felt the ground shake below him. He then heard a huge CRASH and looked below him as a jet black hovercar blasted out of his garage and took off across the desert below. His wife came running out, asking Jason if he had just seen what happened.

“Oh hell no,” he cried. “Was that the limited edition Vortex?!”

**

Trevor Bast was a young man with a bad gambling addiction and nasty drug habit. Somehow he had wandered into acquiring a District III pass from a late night bet in a Vegas casino, and the rest is history baby. Frankly Trevor had no idea how they even let him on the Ark pass or not, he saw the other people here and he was clearly not of the same pedigree. All the same, they situated him nicely with a ranch-style house nestled in a forest along a nice riverbed.

It was tranquil and relaxing. Like something out of a Hemingway novel. Trevor hated it and left immediately.

He marched for an entire day and a half, looking for some sort of action. He came through a small town called Armstrong and stopping at their pharmacy, was dismayed to hear they didn’t have any Zodone.

“The fuck you mean that’s only in District I? Are you crazy?”

“Sorry sir but I am not programmed to know why Zodone is not available here. The closest available resource is located in New Boston at-“

Trevor was already out the door. He walked for several more hours, crossed a border sign that said District II, and eventually came upon a sprawling villa tucked away up in a mountain. He then heard a booming voice, the voice of Captain Noah Dayton announcing they were departing, and his sensitive hearing brought him to his knees. Oh man, he was really going through the withdrawals now.

He hadn’t had his fix for almost three days now and he felt himself becoming more and more a slave to his impulses. His animal brain was now taking full control.

“I bet these rich fucks got a garage,” he said to himself. “Let’s have some fun”.

***

Captain Noah Dayton sat with his head in his hands, having been informed of a hovercar crash in New Boston that left five people dead, including the driver.

“RiVo, how did someone from District III not trigger the alarms when they crossed over?”

“The borders were still in the process of being activated sir.”

Noah sighed. He glanced out a small window, looking at his creation. “We couldn’t even leave Earth without already finding a way to kill ourselves. Maybe we really are damned as a species…”

RiVo paused. His robotic mind had no idea what to say in response to that.

“Shall we carry on with the departure sir?”