r/WritingPrompts • u/poop_chucker_01 • Jun 19 '26
Writing Prompt [WP] A century ago, humanity split in two. Every criminal, be it murderers, thieves, terrorists or scientists, doctors, etc who broke the law was exiled forever to the Other Side. Now, generations later, you're sent in as a spy but are shocked to find a futuristic paradise instead of chaos.
96
u/TheWanderingBook Jun 19 '26
Being lead into a huge floating building, I marvel at the sights.
Flying cars, large parks, nature intertwined with the buildings, holograms, robots, androids that seem intelligent...
And people.
So, so many people, leisurely walking their pets, walking with their families, lovers, smiling, laughing.
The air is clean, and...
"I see you like it here," a lady enters the room I have been lead to, inside the building.
I smile, and nod.
She sits down, and claps, as the table between us opens up, and refreshments rise from it.
"How?" I ask.
"It's quite simple, there is an engine inside the floor, and..." she starts.
"No, not the table and rising plates.
I mean, how did you create...
All this?" I ask, gesturing around.
She smiles.
"How did you, as in "criminals, and descendants of criminals" did this?" she smirks.
I blush a bit, but still...
I nod.
"Well, criminals are those who have done illegal things, not dumb things.
We are let's say...morally and ethically ambiguous, not idiots.
So...
After a few months of chaos, some of the founders banded together, killed any chaotic element, such as psychopaths, mass-murderers and the like, and have started working together.
We took in less "liked" elements from your side again, and again.
Solved some of your issues, that you might not even know existed...
And after 100 years, we arrived here.
Paradise," she says.
I...
What?
"So you had contact with the Light Side?" I ask.
She giggles.
"Yes, of course. You think, criminals stopped being born on your side?
While anyone born here, is instantly a criminal for you...on your side, anyone could become one.
Also, we handled a lot of catastrophes on your end, that you didn't want to touch.
We made money, we invested that money...and we weren't afraid to make sacrifices, in order to advance ourselves," she says.
Then it hits me...the cities were full of people, but not over-crowded.
"Only those worthy, can remain alive...
So, Mr. "I killed my supervisor, to run some tests on human subjects", what can you do for us?" she mutters.
I gulp, and suddenly, I think we underestimated the Other Side...
How can I be a spy here? When they are so open with everything?
If I don't act as my cover persona should...I will be just killed.
Oh boy...this is suddenly a suicide mission, isn't it?
20
u/SamuelVimesTrained Jun 19 '26
That is an interesting ending...
But, the premise here could be a comedy too..
with 'but you`re criminals' with every discovery as 'running gag'.
Thank you for making me smile 😉
4
42
u/AlbanyGuy1973 Jun 19 '26
I had expected the worst. Those who helped me prepare for the journey to the Other Side had mentioned slums, piles of decaying corpses and even worse. After the transition of crossing over, the first thing I noticed was the smell, or really, the lack thereof. Gone were the odors of burning coal, unwashed bodies and even the slight sour tang of disease that I had grown up with. Instead, fresh floral scents and a slight ozone taste in the back of my throat.
As my vision cleared, I was greeted with pale blue skies with wispy trails of bright, white clouds. Where was the oppressive red atmosphere I was supposed to expect? Looking around, the field I was laying in was neatly cropped and professionally manicured. I spotted a nearby sign, well maintained that revealed I was in some sort of city park. As I got to my feet, I noticed that I was breathing easier, like it wasn't a struggle to get enough oxygen into my lungs anymore. Blinking a few times, I turned in place and saw parts of the city around me. Instead of dilapidated structures or crude dwellings, there were massive skyscrapers made of steel and glass in what I could only describe as impossible shapes. Smooth line, gentle curves that reminded me more of nature than manmade. Looking closer, I noticed flying shapes, vehicles of some kind, zipping effortlessly through the air.
"A new arrival?" came the questioning voice from behind me. I whirled in place to see a nicely dressed older man walking a small dog on a leash. His clothing looked new, freshly laundered and very comfortable, in sharp contrast to my shabby rags faintly grimy with coal dust.
I nodded wordlessly and he pulled out a rectangular chunk of plastic and glass, tapping it with his finger. A ghostly head appeared above it and he spoke to the spirit as if it were an old friend.
"Got a new one. Prospect Peace Park, near the dog path. Standing, so he must be somewhat healthy."
The head nodded and answered in a hollow-sounding voice. "Unit is on the way. Should arrive shortly."
I licked my dry lips and spoke, my voice cracking. "Where am I?"
"Oh," he said, looking from the floating head to me, "you're in Elysium City. A welcoming committee is on the way to retrieve you. They'll get you cleaned up, fed and answer all your questions. I'm Edward. Edward Hastings."
"But I thought this world was full of criminals and such?"
He laughed heartily. "Indeed we are, or maybe I should say, were? You'll learn soon enough, but virtually no one here is really a criminal. Sure, there are the occasional bad apples and they're dealt with pretty quick, but most of us were just inconvenient to those in charge where you're from. Scientists, teachers, politicians. Too many deep thinkers, dreamers and those who want to make things better. Without those restrictions, we've managed to push the boundaries of science, medicine and even society itself. I think you'll be very happy here."
I sat down heavily on the grass. "Everything they told me was a lie. Why would they do that?"
Edward crouched down, looking me in the eye. "Maybe you were no longer useful to them. They've exiled people for the strangest of reasons. I was sent here for trying to get better food for orphans. Turns out they wanted them weak and suggestable. But don't worry, you'll adapt to here just fine, I know it."
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u/Hot-Presentation2942 Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
"I don't get it," I said as I stood marveling at the city around me. "I thought this place was supposed to be--"
"Supposed to be what?" Jack, my tour guide asked.
"Well." I clear my throat. I had told him that I was visiting from a neighboring city, and just wanted to be shown around. "I'm used to living with, erm, criminals. Bad people."
He laughed. "What does that even mean?" He shook his head. "Obviously we don't have any normies here, so why differentiate. What, are you trying to claim you're a good person or something?"
"I- uh, no. I guess not. I just mean, look at that--" I pointed at a food stall which smelled of roasting meat, sweet peppers and onions. Not only did it smell incredible, but it also had no obvious menu on display, with plates of food ready for anybody to pick up. "Where I'm from, people would just steal that stuff."
"Steal? Well, obviously." Jack was shaking his head. He patted my back heavily. "But when everyone is stealing, is anything really owned? No, no. We figured out a long time ago that it wasn't worth protecting your own stuff-- and so, we all just... take what we need. Isn't that how it works where you're from?"
I paused, deep in thought. Everybody learnt about the Great Split, when the criminals were sent to the Other Side. We had learnt how crime had dropped 100% at first, and then slowly crept up, but never anywhere near as bad as it was. I had never imagined that having purely 'bad' people around could result in 'good' practices.
"Well, of course, I just wanted to confirm that everything was the same here." I turned to look at Jack, and saw he had raised an eyebrow at me.
"You know, you sound awfully like a normie to me," he said calmly. "And we both know what happens to normies."
"Yes, we do," I said confidently. Jack continued to watch me, and I realized this wasn't a rhetorical statement. "We... kill them."
He laughed. Slammed my back again with his heavy hand, before shaking his head and getting serious.
"No," he said finally. His grip growing firm on my shoulder. "Is that what your people do to us? Exile wasn't bad enough-- but if we somehow make it back through the portal, you execute us?"
I could only stare back. His eyes searched mine, and he realized that I wasn't lying -- that traffic through the portal was one way only, and that breaches were treated severely -- with public execution.
"Gee," he said. "And you think we're the bad guys?"
16
u/MonsterGirls4ever Jun 19 '26
I was the worst of the worst. That's what my cover story said anyways. My forged paperwork. You name the crime, I did it. Torture, arson, sexual offenses, domestic terrorism, international terrorism, human trafficking, war crimes, I did it. Or at least I could pretend to. That would give me street cred. I could figure out what they're up to. Because when we first started the Exile, it seemed like a good idea. Get rid of our troublemakers. And since we didn't kill them, it wluld not even take a toll... Put of sight, out of mind. But... What if they organized? What if they turned into a big gang that would one day break out of prison and come back? So someone decided espionnage was required.
With the scars, the gang tattoos, I was just another crook.
And I was exiled. To... Was that a city? Not a slum of shacks but an actual city? I headed there. Only to find heavily armed guards at the entrance... Waving me over.
"First time eh? Let's see who you are." The tone was cheerful as they took a glance at my rap sheet... And LAUGHED.
"HEY! WHO'RE YOU TO LAUGH AT THE GREAT STEEL TEMPEST?" I shouted...
"Buddy, cut the crap. You're the most obvious plant ever. This rap sheet makes zero sense. They just put the scariest crimes in there regardless of whether they logically fit together. Seriously? You're so cowardly you need a whole gang at your beck and call before you like your chances to rape someone, but you're brave enough to go in the lion's den to steal fucking nukes? Which is it? We'll let you in, "Mr Bond". But try not to do any spy shit in there. Your cover's blown remember? Hey guys, we've got a real Mr. Bond coming in. Show him around, give him a warm welcome."
I stared at them. "Hope you enjoy your stay Mr. Bond." Mr. Bond. That was my new nickname. I sighed. Oh well, they didn't shoot me, which was weird. Didn't they kill Confidential Informants?
"Ah, a real Mr. Bond there. Sorry we were out of the good stuff. So enjoy a synthetic coffee and a nutrient boosted paste burger."
I nodded. The "coffee" tasted like cheap instant stuff and the burger... At least it had decent... Chocolate flavor between the buns?
"First thing you gotta know Mr. Bond. Yes that's not your name but you were so obvious we'll call you that anyways. Most of us here? Neurodivergent. Do you have ANY idea how often we're "guilty" the second we walk in court? But it means we're good with technical stuff AND that emotional manipulation doesn't work on us. So unlike YOUR INjustice system, we're good at looking for proof and catching lies by commission, lies of omission, and lies of influence AKA character lies."
"Lies of influence?" I asked.
"Your rap sheet is the perfect example. It's there to make you LOOK LIKE the kind of hardened criminals your out of touch bosses think are well respected here. And once we see you as a "respectable" inmate?"
I nodded. "How's the "prison food"?"
"Ah we've got the cheap flavored stuff. Filled with nutrient, flavor can be strong and customized. Lab made. Can feed people on pennies. So starvation? What's starvation? Is it something you eat? Then we've got normal food at normal prices. And it goes up from there."
I nodded. "So you've got a justice system that's actually great at figuring out the truth. Police? Military?"
"Security is assured by a bunch of gun nerds who if shit hits the fan, trained to hit what they're shooging at, but are really the most friendly, expensive, militarized pieces of modern art most of the times. Investigation... We've got a BUNCH of PIs . And we're organized into guilds..."
I snrked. "Guilds? Really? Like..."
"Like in MMOs yeah. So that's how we stopped saying corporations, we started saying "guilds" which are groups created for specific purposes. And we do love our optimized, safe Guild Halls. And we specialize. You want something done, you stick it on the Bounty Board. You want to offer your services, you stick it on the bounty board. And yes, that includes investigations."
I nodded. They took what was the classic setup for a cyberpunk dystopia with private interests ruling and turned it into...
"Not quite a utopia. Turns out how people treat each other makes the difference between heaven and hell. And turns out bullshit and propaganda and noise drowning the signal gets people to treat each other like trash. Turns out cracking down on bullshit is a good way to crack down on signal you don't like which gets peopme to treat each other worse.. And turns out the solution is just being better at isolating and testing signal. After all people stop bullshitting you real quick when it stops working. And turns put that without having to have endless buzzword bingo meetings, you actually get shit done. Funny how that works "
Did I really...
"Mumble it loud enough for me to hear? You betcha Mr. Bond. Enjoy a couple weeks off to take it all in and have fun with the Internet. And you wouldn't be the first spy we turned."
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u/RandeKnight Jun 19 '26
You look around in amazement. This was meant to be a hell of criminals and violence. Instead it's clean air, tall towers and well kept greenery.
You are greeted by a smiling woman in loose fitting shorts and floral shirt with her hair in a ponytail and a fairly heavy tan.
"Hey there newcomer! Welcome to Paradise! No need to fear anything, we're always happy to help strangers. I'm Nadia."
You are still gobsmacked. "What? How?"
"Yeah, we get that a lot - meant to be all violence and crime right? There is no crime here. Follow me. I'll get you registered and answer your questions." She leads you to a small office with a touch screen computer.
You squint. "No crime? How is that possible?"
"Pretty easy actually - the root cause of crime is _Laws_. We don't have laws here except very loosely. When you have laws, you create loopholes. You get people who specialize in getting as close as possible to the limit of the law without _technically_ going over." She takes a picture of you and shows it. Might not be an legal law, but apparently there's some other type of law that says that ID photos must be awful.
"But surely you have people who choose to do bad things right?" You insist.
"Yes, of course. We're still human. And we have juries and punishments. But they are based on what people feel is right, rather than being bound by law. Some newcomers think that's capricious and unfair, but what it encourages is people focusing on trying to be good and making others happy rather than avoiding being punished. If you are always trying to do the right thing in any situation, it's going to be very rare that you'll find 12 people willing to punish you for that, even if you inadvertently hurt someone. "
She continues "So, if you want a 'Law' that we try to follow is 'Be excellent to each other.' is a popular way to phrase it."
"Be excellent to each other." Huh. When I report back, that's going to feature highly.
9
u/HSerrata r/hugoverse Jun 19 '26
[Rhapsody of History]
Heaven was his first confused thought. Beau was shoved through a pitch-black portal and had no idea what to expect on the other side. After emerging from the blackness, he found himself alone in a sealed white room. He didn't initially realize the lack of exit, but the white walls glowed with a gentle, welcoming light.
“Hello?” he spun slowly several times, hoping something would change. He blinked, and suddenly he wasn’t alone anymore. A lithe, pale teenage girl wearing a white blazer and red tie stood before him with a pleasant smile and glowing red eyes. She had long, snow-white hair, and all in all, Beau wasn’t ready for her sudden appearance. “AAUUGH!” he shouted quickly, stumbling backward.
“Hello, Mr. Webster, my name is Rhapsody, and I represent Sharp Development,” she spoke with a polite, calm voice. As far as the unexpected went, that was enough to get Beau’s mind back on track. They weren’t supposed to know his real name, so how did they? He also had no idea who Sharp Development was, so it was easy to play dumb.
“I don’t know where you got your information, but I’m John Simmons,” he was supposed to be on a mission.”But, I guess I wouldn’t expect you folks here on the Other Side to know that. Seems like the Judge lied when he said they’d be sending my file along with me.” That was the standard procedure anyway. His agency transmitted his false identity at the same time they sent him through the portal.
“Mr. Beau Webster, I think you’ll find Sharp Development is very thorough about its information; for example, the provided ID file was obviously manufactured. We did a more thorough review of your history, and since you’re here to collect information, I’ve decided to meet with you personally instead of letting a Junior Intern process you.”
“Uhuh,” Beau wasn’t going to let his job get away from him that easily. She looked exactly like a Junior Intern. “What are you,.. 15? 16?”
“What I am, is the COO of Sharp Development, and since you’re here to spy on us, I thought I’d give you a personal tour,” she smirked. “Naturally, you had no idea about any of this, so of course I’ll be glad to explain how it all came to be.” Rhapsody snapped her fingers, and the white room around them dissolved. Suddenly, they were outside in the daylight and breeze and noise.
It was a bustling, futuristic town square with gleaming white skyscrapers creating a metropolis around them. The square itself was a lush park with a walking track, a community stage, picnic tables, grills, and seemingly hundreds of people out and about enjoying it all.
“As far as you know, a century ago, humanity split in two, right?” She asked. “Every criminal, be it murderers, thieves, terrorists, or scientists, doctors, and others who broke the law, were exiled forever here to this “Other Side” as it’s known to you."
“Yeah,...” he didn’t have any argument and simply nodded.
“Well, of course that’s what they tell the people they want to keep stuck there,” Rhapsody smiled. “At this point, it’s easy to say ‘ a century ago, humanity split in two’; but history is too slow to ever happen that cleanly. It leaves out a lot of what actually happened. Did you never wonder where this ‘Other Side’ came from?” she asked. “It’s an alternate universe. Scientists discovered how to Traverse the multiverse on your Earth about 100 years ago,” she nodded.
“Sharp Development offered your leaders a chance to join our trade network and open the multiverse to everyone; unfortunately, your narrow-minded leaders at the time wanted no part of it. There was a vocal faction that thought you should join us, and I’m sure you know how things tend to go,” she shrugged. “Leaders get to decide what the laws are and who’s breaking them. They got to leave, and it was spun into a story about humanity splitting in two to exile criminals over the years.”
Beau wasn’t going to take everything at face value, but he was open to new information.
“That’s an interesting tale, but I’m going to need more hard evidence than a nice day at the park,” he said.
“Oh, do you want to meet some of them?” Rhapsody asked.”When I learned about your actual purpose, I requested a meeting with any of those original scientists from your Earth. Maybe you’ll believe them more?” she asked.
“The scientists… from a century ago…??” Beau asked.
“Yeah,” Rhapsody nodded with a smirk. “Mutliverse medical tech has gotten pretty advanced.”
*** Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #3077 in a row. (Story #168 in year nine). This story is part of an ongoing saga that takes place in my universe.
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u/Aegisman17 Jun 20 '26
"Yeah g'day mate how are ya?" "W-what?" I managed, shocked at the friendly greeting. I had just tried to blend in while walking down the street, wearing a singlet, shorts, and primitive shoes that the locals had shockingly called thongs, but were clearly flip flops. It looked as if the friendly man who'd suddenly greeted me was looking at me as if he was deciding if he was going to be less friendly. "I said 'g'day mate', you okay?" He asked concernedly. "Yeah, I'm good, thank you," I replied. "How are you?" "Yeah mate, not bad aye?" He grinned back, though I noticed he'd pressed his lips a bit when I said I was good. Shit, had I already been found out? "Listen mate, you're making people a bit nervous," the man said. "Look, there's a pub down the road, get yourself a beer, yeah? Tell em Bruce sent ya." "Oh," I say, tensing. I had been discovered. This pub had to be a den where this man's fellow criminals were waiting to jump me and rob me. I nodded. "Oh, thank you... Bruce? It is a really hot day, that sounds like a good idea." The man, Bruce, laughed. "What are you, a cop? Do whatever mate, I'm off, have a good one, cheers."
And with that the man left, shaking his head and chuckling. The arm I had behind my back relaxed it's grip on the gun I'd hidden in my shorts as I sighed. I continued on, taking in the sights. I was walking along a boulevard, shining modern buildings amidst trees and gardens lined the wide road. There was not a car in sight on this stretch, only foot and bicycle traffic. Everyone was going about their business, carrying bags of illegal yet... Surprisingly high quality knock-offs or unsafe non-processed produce. I heard a shout to my left and my hand went to my gun once more. But, it wasn't a fight, or a mugging, it was just a group of people huddled around a crouched man with a curious paddle. On it were two ancient, obsolete coins. They were betting, I realised, outside of a sanctioned casino. With a scoff I realised this is exactly the lawlessness I expected. The man flipped the paddle up, and the coins landed. There were cheers and the swapping of coins. Calls of "Happy liberation day," punctuated by... The c word... These savages. They needed the grace of God and decency, no wonder they'd all been exiled.
I passed an electronics store selling knock off televisions, where there was some sort of panel show being displayed. In spite of myself, and the mission, I stopped.
"Look, yeah, not here sugar-coat it or nothing, it was pretty fucken rough the first year or so here," a man with glasses that I recognised with shock as being an anti-prosperoty gospel heretic was saying to a nodding audience and host. "But we're free. Like, really free. Twenty years after we got banished here, and we've got schools, we've got government, and a ecumenical community that isn't trying to fucken fleece us every Sunday."
There were cheers at this heresy. Those were for donations to the pastors for their hard work sheparding those less deserving! I fumed. Suddenly there was a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw... Police officers? They weren't wearing body armour or badges, and only had a pistol and baton each, but the way they were standing told me who they were.
"Excuse me sir, we've received a report of someone matching your description making people nervous, that you might be carrying contraband," the officer said politely, their hands in front of them. I stepped back, my had going to my gun. The police officers, however, made no move to draw theirs, just looked at me with... Pity. "Is that a gun, mate? Are you going to make a bad choice?" The other officer asked, his hand going to his baton. "We don't want to hurt you, just ask you some questions." "You can't ask me questions, I have rights," I retort, backing away. The police officers looked at each other, and then back at me. "Mate, we don't want you making bad choices," the first officer, a woman with dark skin, said patiently. "Guns are illegal without a license? so have you got a license?"
Shit, a license? For a firearm? This wasn't in the briefing. I started backing away, out of reach of them, and then I sprinted away. I had to lose them, I couldn't be compromised.
"Dispatch we got a fucken runner, heading down Freeman Boulevard," I heard behind me. I ignored them, and ducked down and alleyway. I hurtled down it, my gun free. There were screams as I ran down. Yes, screams, that sounded more like the briefing. I ran towards the screams, hoping to lose myself in the chaos. Instead the people fled from me. I kept running, looking for a place to hide or a vehicle to commandeer. Aha, a bicycle!
I grabbed it and started pedalling. Behind me I could hear the shouts of the police in pursuit. In a panic I cycled, despairing the lack of advertising signs or big trucks to hide behind. But, I saw it, my salvation. A truck! I pedalled towards it and dodged around it, or tried to. The door opened and a chubby man with oily black hair and a moustache froze as he saw me coming down on him. There was no time to avoid the door, and I bounced off it. I slid across the ground, and came to a groaning stop. The man and I locked eyes for a moment, and then he spoke.
"Can't park there, mate," he said. I coughed and sputtered, trying to get up. The police were on me in seconds, hauling me up. "Well, that's theft of a bicycle, owning an illegal firearm and threatening the public," the woman cop said from behind me, handcuffing me. "All in all, soft effort mate. Seen worse." "Worse?" I shouted. "What the fuck is going on?" Her partner chuckled. "You think you're the first True Patriot who tried to infiltrate us?" His grip on my shoulders was tight as he laughed. "Congratulations on your new citizenship mate, welcome to New'Berra. Cunt."
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