Metal Frame, Metal Mind

On an evening like any other, a young man weaves through a steadily thinning crowd of people on streets that slowly empty as the sun sets. Looking over with his head down, curly hair concealing his face, he gazes at a dirty handheld device with a screen shining with light, quietly reading through a series of texts seeming to be a part of some complicated instruction manual. Despite seeming oblivious of his surroundings, he moves ethereal and untouched by the people around him. He seems to shift back and forth like a dancer of great renown- however his scruffy, blue, matching and unadorned hoodie and sweatpants do little to encourage a second glance.

The hustle and bustle of a busy metropolis can be seen anywhere you look, here in the capital city of Dynamo- aptly named for being considered the "generator" for the current state of civilization. Massive towers stood everywhere as far as the eye could see, made of some indiscernible shiny yet terrifyingly sturdy silver-esque metal, ascending far into the orange evening sky, lit by the relatively near by star that pierces the planet's protective layer and gives this place warmth. Various bright colors line the streets and storefronts, with the buzz of conversation anywhere one's ear could turn. This is unmistakably a hub brimming with the unique flavor of humanity -a veritable mixing pot of tastes and scents, skin colors, languages, accents, and languages. The high level of technological prowess did little to hinder the expression and creativity of human beings- it seems to be a utopia... to the untrained eye, that is.

In the center of the Capital city of Dynamo is a massive university, surrounded by schools related to lower age levels. Yes indeed- this is a university city. Dynamo is known as Humankind's Generator for a reason- for being "The City of Education." With a colossal campus enough to dwarf that of an entire central kingdom of days long past, it has several incredibly fast methods of transportation around the campus, which is also used along the rails in the city as public transportation, discouraging the use of roads so much that they are completely nonexistent throughout the city in lieu of an elaborate, incredibly high speed rail system. For the campus of the central university, it has a massive square center with four large rectangles protruding outward to conjure a plus shaped structure of titanic proportion- so massive that it is clearly visible from space above on clear days. The rest of the planet is a massive ball of blue- almost entirely ocean other than the terraformed circular landmass that the city of Dynamo rests on. The university, while having room for far more, only accepts a sizable hundred million students... out of the around thirty two billion that inhabit the galaxy. It is the number one choice for any and all descendants of those in power and of powerful bloodlines, due to it's unmatched reputation throughout the galaxy as well as the sheer results it can bring with it's variety of incredible professors and tools for the purpose of enrichment of it's young attendees.

In theory completely impartial to the various powers that make up the galaxy, it is a place that is very much encouraged to attend, considering the prestige associated with a degree from there. Considered a place to attend for the elite among elites, social standing is disregarded, while ability alone is what is depended on to attend- at least in theory. In reality, things aren't that simple.

People of higher social standing are more likely to succeed by virtue of higher backing to begin with, while those within a lower social class are sure to face far more difficulties, and on occasion the derision of their "betters." Even if civilians manage to attend Dynamo University after the previous preliminary schooling, they likely will not be able to keep up with the rigors of high level education, and instead will have to settle for another standard university- provided it isn't too late to turn back. The amount of civilians that actually had the capabilities to enter Dynamo University numbered less than twenty, while the amount that actually succeeded could be counted on one hand... out of the over five hundred years of constant accepting of new students, year after year. Getting the true depths education possible in this place is no easy task.

In this case, education isn't limited to just general subject matters or vocational work- it is practically a military academy. In addition to various classes such as history and the arts, classes devoted to hand-to-hand combat and the training of mental acuity (both in terms of creative thought and actual channeling of mental energy) exist; and even more importantly is a class for the highest tier of reckless thrill seekers or steel minded individuals-

Exosuit piloting.

A body covering frame for the purpose of general enhancement, it is a technological marvel for increasing the ability of individually fragile and weak human beings. Provided one's mental energies, the exosuit's capabilities, and general prowess of the wielder is high enough, an exosuit wielder could theoretically warp space itself with proper application of mental energy. Exosuits have become the face of warfare, and an ideal for those seeking to explore the depths of the galaxy and peruse it's deepest secrets. Exosuits vary immensely in terms of capabilities and maximum potential, with the one's that have the highest potential being closely guarded secrets of those in the peaks of power- whether they be a nation's government secret, in a rich man's storage, or a possession of a solitary hermit. Lower tier exosuits, while still expensive and plenty powerful, can not hold a candle to the higher tier ones in terms of ability to cause mass destruction- however, this gap is narrowed immensely in single combat between exosuit pilots. After all, the goal there isn't to bring ruin to civilization, but instead to eliminate an opposing individual from existence... provided it is a no holds barred fight. While the gap between quality in exosuits isn't insurmountable one on one, it is still far from easy to punch above one's weight class.

Those with the necessary talent to simply align their body with an exosuit are actually quite common- what isn't common is proper utilization of an exosuit's energy manipulation ability. Without talent in energy manipulation, it is simply a relatively sturdy suit of armor that provides a basic set of enhancements, and would be nothing more than a novelty item.

There are many more things to gaze at in wonder from an uneducated point of view here in Dynamo and elsewhere in the galaxy-

But that is irrelevant to the common citizens who live in this reality.

With a group of governments throughout the galaxy overseeing it with a tenuous peace, one merely needs to go day by day, surviving and working. For the average citizen, life at its core has not changed much over the thousands of years since humanity left its origin planet to explore and populate the various planets, and rest closer to the other billions of stars within the galaxy.

Yet, this young man getting closer to his destination- his place of residence over his years of memory within the city of Dynamo- is not exactly the average citizen he seems to think.

He walks further into the depths of the city, before reaching the outer ring- the residence sector. Even when he arrives, rather than stepping into the sky high neat apartment buildings, he walks further past them.

And further.

And further.

Before finally he arrives in a place covered in boxy, plain buildings in a grid array- the community living sector, as it is called in a similarly plain manner. A place for those who possess basically no funds, it isn't quite a cruel or terrible place to live, but it certainly isn't the easiest, and is far from comfortable. In order to maintain one's residence here, a person is obligated by law to continue working, as proof that they deserve to live here for free and are provided the basic necessities of a shelter... though food expenses and the like are still up to the individual.

Having found himself in front of a muddy brown three story building like many others in the area, he puts the outdated handheld device in his hand to sleep before shuffling it into his roomy sweatpants pocket. Reaching his fingers up to hook back his hood, he sighs while removing it from his head and staring at the plain grey metal door in front of him, before stepping forward and pushing on the unlocked and handle-less door, resulting in the uncomfortable screech of metal on metal as it opens. A voice greets him upon his entrance.

"Yo Mason, how was work?"

The voice came from a man with dirty blond hair, laying down on a public sofa that was surprisingly not foul, picking his nails with a bored look on his face that was only slightly abated at the entrance of the young, tan man in hoodie and sweatpants- Mason. The man was surprisingly good looking for how slovenly he acted, and for him being seemingly just another poor man on the edge of the residential district.

An eyebrow raised quizzically in response to the man's question, the average looking young man replies.

"Damn Zack, weren't you sitting there this morning too? Did you not go to work?"

"Nope." The man named Zack answered in a tone that that spoke leagues of his disinterest. Mason just shakes his head in resigned amazement.

"Yeah, I guessed as much. That's gonna bite you back someday for sure. As for me, well... it was just another day."