{"id":7987,"date":"2020-06-10T18:24:44","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T18:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/?post_type=portfolio_page&p=7987"},"modified":"2020-06-10T18:24:44","modified_gmt":"2020-06-10T18:24:44","slug":"a-voice-from-the-future","status":"publish","type":"portfolio_page","link":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/portfolio_page\/a-voice-from-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"A Voice From the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, the loneliness doesn\u2019t bother me.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sometimes, it does.<\/em><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t one of those nights, though. The sky is clear, and I\u2019m away from the city lights. I can see the stars, feel the breeze untouched by pollution \u2013 it\u2019s nice. For once, I think I might sleep through the night. At least, I will after I watch the stars awhile longer. <\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s really nice out here. I need to go into the city tomorrow, but if I can find enough supplies and the weather holds out, I\u2019ll skip on a hostel room. I\u2019ll just come back out here. It\u2019ll save some creds, at least. <\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll do what I can to make a little money while I\u2019m there. I\u2019m sure there will be plenty of rubes to hustle.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The club district was hopping as usual. He weaved his way through the crowd, picking a pocket here, scanning an account chip there (and emptying the unlucky victim\u2019s account in seconds) until he knew he\u2019d made enough to at least get a drink or six. A game or two of old-fashioned poker, and he\u2019d have enough to get a room for a few nights before he moved on.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He paid the bouncer at the first club that didn\u2019t have a long line to get in and went inside. Weird place; all black inside and out save for the multi-colored flashing lights on the dance floor. What were obviously drug deals were going on in the corner booths; he avoided those tables. It wasn\u2019t that he disapproved; he\u2019d done his share growing up, but one swindler didn\u2019t intrude on the territory of another. It was an unspoken law, but one he never broke.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And he never, ever, hustled a dealer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He worked his way to the bar and ordered a beer. The bartender, dressed in a black robe with the hood covering his face, slid a bottle to him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cStart a tab, traveler?\u201d the bartender asked, his voice barely audible over the thumping pile of noise that passed for music.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d He slid the bartender a few extra credit chips. If the drunks playing darts in the corner were the betting type, he\u2019d make his money back and then some before he left.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, the loneliness doesn\u2019t bother me. Sometimes, it does. This isn\u2019t one of those nights, though. The sky is clear, and I\u2019m away from the city lights. I can see the stars, feel the breeze untouched by pollution \u2013 it\u2019s nice. For once, I think…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","portfolio_category":[39],"portfolio_tag":[88],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_page\/7987"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_page"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio_page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"portfolio_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_category?post=7987"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_tag?post=7987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}