/authors/varlance/Recent content in Varlance on Gromet's Plaza ArchiveHugoen-usThu, 02 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000/stories/2020/04/02/the-last-free-man-on-earth/Thu, 02 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000/stories/2020/04/02/the-last-free-man-on-earth/<h4 id="liberty-island-4th-july-2051">Liberty Island, 4th July, 2051</h4> <p>Richard groaned as a brilliant white light roused him from his artificially-induced sleep. He opened his eyes, and immediately realised the seriousness of his predicament. He was completely naked, his wrists secured behind his back by solid metal shackles. Through the glass windows all around him, he could see the ruins of New York City, the crumbling skyscrapers now repurposed as the Pleasure Centres of the System. Each tower block on Manhattan island probably held several thousand humans, now slaves to the System.</p>