APAIMANEE 2086

        Early 2063

        Suwan put onhis simulation headset and turned it on. A waiting screen appeared before him.It was another fifteen minutes until the beginning of the virtual concert. Heread the live chat overlay as people filed into the stream.

        The screenswitched the waiting screen to a live stream of the concert hall. Therewere about five hundred people, the concert enthusiasts.

        Suwan was not afan of the band that would be playing, so he opted for the online virtualexperience instead of going through the trouble of being there in person. Theonly reason he was in at all was that his brother was attending in reallife.

        His olderbrother’s name was Apaimanee. His brother discovered band while they wereperforming on the streets in Siam, and Apaimanee fell in love with their sound,so much so that he wanted to attend in person. However, he had to keep it asecret the family.

        Suwan promisedhis brother that he would keep the family in the dark, and so he stayed homeand kept the adults happy.

        He located anempty seat next to his brother and appeared as a hologram.

        “Hey.” Hewhispered.

        “Hey. How arethings at home?”

        “Nothing toworry about. Just enjoy the concert and leave entertaining the adults to me. Ithink one of them will phone me very soon.”

        “Grandpa?”

        “Yeah, he getslonely all the time. You know how he is.”

        “Yeah. HisAlzheimer’s is not improving either. Mother is considering the option ofeuthanizing him.” Apaimanee leaned over as the hologram projection of hisbrother dimmed. All the other hologram people were also dimmed to not disturbthe audience present physically. “Thanks for being here. I hope you can stay.”

        “Hey, if I miss, I can always listen to the archived vid.”

        “True. Butnothing beats listening live.”

        A messagedpopped up on Suwan’s screen.

        “Whoops, gottago. Mommy wants me.”

        “Alright. Comeback in when she releases you.”

        “Will do, bigbro.”

        Apaimanee waved,and his brother left the room. He shifted his attention back to the stage. Theperformers were already there, saying their greetings. The music began soonafter that.

        It was hisfirst time attending a concert in person, and he could feel the passionoverflowing the performers on stage. It was a surge of something raw henever felt virtual performers or AI-composed music. That power shook himto the very core.

        And it was atthe end of the concert that Apaimanee came to a resolution that he wanted to bea musician, just like them.

        He learned howto use a music-composing program along with a synthesizer, and even had anassistance AI. However, it was not what he wanted. He wanted was to be amusician that played the instruments himself, just like the band he admired.

        Apaimanee wentand browsed a list of instruments, then settled for the guitar, just because itseemed like an obvious choice.

        He had his ownmusic channel and social media and everything set up, then he started by performingcovers of other artist’s songs. After he gained a fanbase, he started composinghis own music.

        If his familyknew how much time and money had gone to making music, he would probably get introuble for not being serious about inheriting the family business.

        No matter.Suwan wanted the business, not him.

        While hisbrother aimed to be a professional musician one day, Suwan wanted to become aninvestigator.

        He started ahobby in swordplay. It was an old, dying arts. In the old times, there used tobe a form of demonstration duel before the throne, where two people perform achoreographed fights for entertainment and ceremonial purposes. Suwan’s masterinherited the arts, one of the last remaining styles.

        Suwan was neverconcerned about inheriting or preserving old arts or whatnot; he just wanted toreenact cool fights he saw in anime and use the experience for his futurecareer.

        Surprisingly,his family approved of the hobby, probably because they had noble bloodline and kind of swordplay seemed traditional enough for their lineage.

        One day, hisbrother came to watch him practice. Suwan was fourteen at the time, and justgetting started on the tonfa. After the usual practice, Suwan went to grab hisstuff before heading to the shower.

        When he cameback, Apaimanee was there, holding a cup of cookie and cream smoothies heprobably got a vending machine out front.

        “Thanks.” Suwanaccepted the drink and took a slurp. “Oh, bro, what would I do without you?”

        “I need to tellyou something.”

        “Is it that important?”

        “To me, it is.I’m going to Neo-Tokyo.”

        “That isdefinitely important.”

        “There’s amusic festival there. I’ve been invited. Thing is, the family will start tosuspect it if I carry my guitar there and stuff.”

        “Ship theguitar, then. You have the money. If you don’t, you can have some of mine. Icharge interests, though.” Suwan rubbed his thumb and index finger togetherwhile wiggling his brows.

        “Aww, what’sthe rate? A hundred percent?”

        “A hundred andfifty.”

        “You’re ashark. No, a megalodon.”

        They had a goodlaugh, but in all seriousness, Apaimanee was really going to Neo-Tokyo to takehis first step in a professional career.

        He was sixteenat the time, old enough to travel alone, but it was still hard to imagine thathe could go through the event without the family knowing anything.

        “They’re goingto post updates and shit. What if they ask us for an interview?” Suwan slurpedthe last of the smoothie.

        “At least I’llbe in Neo-Tokyo by then. Worst case scenario, I’ll leave the family.”

        “Whoa, bro. You’vebeen mentally prepared to say that sentence, huh?”

        “If the familydoesn’t want me, doesn’t matter. It’s suffocating in that house. All they evercare about is the family business. They’re strangers to me.”

        Suwan gulped,thinking about what to say.

        “Sorry for bringing up so suddenly, but I know you’re more than capable of handling the familyand the business in case things go sour.” Apaimanee patted his brother’sshoulder.

        “But I want youthere. I want our parents to understand that you’re serious about becoming amusician… Heck, nothing beats having you around in person! Whose leftover eggyolks am I going to eat when you stop ing me for dinner?!”

        “If our parentsdon’t find out, then I’d just be going on a Neo-Tokyo trip, nothing more.” Hegave his brother a few more pats. “Are you ready to leave? Let’s get you home.”

        “I’m not readyto go home. Can we stop somewhere on the way? Icon, maybe?” Suwan thought ofthat large shopping mall with imported goods Neo-Tokyo.

        “Yeah, sure. Ineed to grab a few things anyway.”

        The designateddeparture date arrived. The family’s driver went to drop Apaimanee off at theairport for the 22:15 flight. Some important minister would be boarding thesame flight, to avoid public outrage at wasting state money on private jets.

        However, thenext thing Suwan knew was that there was an attack on the airport, and severalpeople went missing. One of them was his brother.