Ryan would describe his world with one word; dull.

The cold, grey,

concrete ground was dull, the dark clouds blanketing the sky were
dull, and the blank, expressionless, faces of the people around
him were dull.
But it was home.
Hey! You, 42! Stop slacking!
Ryan snapped back to reality upon hearing his number,
apparently he wasnt working fast enough. He looked down at the
assembly line below him and sighed, his work was monotonous,
but it was work, and he had rent to pay. He watched as the rigid
steel bars passed in front of him, searching each piece for any
imperfections.
Yeah, because it would be such a disaster to have one beam that
was half a degree off, makes sense he thought dryly. The shiftchange alarm bell rang. Freedom at long last. Ryan punched his
card to let the people in charge know the precise moment he had
left, because that was vital information.
The walk back to Ryans cramped, one-bedroom apartment was
unusually tiring. The steel-clad walls of the perfectly squared,
spaced buildings seemed to drain him more than they normally
would, until Ryan noticed something, something different,
something warm.
He cast his curious gaze over to the eastern wall that surrounded
Ryans city, his work was on the border of town, and the wall was
easily visible.
Something had changed, Ryan walked towards the wall,
approaching quickly, but cautiously, and then it struck him.
There was a hole in the wall, a big hole, a recent hole, well, it
must have been, it hadnt been patched up yet, and no one was
around who could have made it.
Ryan pondered the hole, it was large enough for someone to have
crawled in, or out, but that seemed impossible to him, all he had
known for the 26 years of his life was the grey steel buildings
around him, and the drone of 22nd century life.

He looked through the hole, and was immediately blinded by what

was out there.
Far, far on the horizon, Ryan could see somewhere where the sky
changed, where there should be a blanket of dark smog, instead
there was an endless clear blue space, and a bright yellow spot in
the centre of it.
Ryans curiosity got the better of him, he climbed up into the hole,
and clambered through. It was more incredible than anything he
could ever have imagined, there was green blades of some kind
of plant life on rolling hills in the distance, trees dotted the
horizon, and he could even see what might be a lake in a deep
valley in the distance.
Ryan ran towards the impossible beauty of the things he saw,
drinking in the warm, yellow light, feeling the comforting crush of
grass under his blank, black boots.
Ryan ran for what seemed like forever, but it didnt matter,
everything around him was perfect, the ground, the sky, the water
of a running river, and the sounds of birds in the trees. Everything
seemed to be praising its utter brilliance at the top of its voice.
Ryan spent several hours outside the wall, looking at everything
the outside world had to offer, he spied what looked like other
people off in the distance, and was drawn to them.
But, Ryan had always been soft at heart, and he felt he should
share his amazing discovery with his friends, (if he could call them
that), and his family.
Ryan found the wall he had originally clambered to freedom from,
and found his entranceway blocked by fresh metal plating, luckily,
he spied a mounted ladder on the exterior of the wall, he climbed
the ladder and gently dropped down the other side, being careful
not to injure his legs, as they were tired from all the running he
had done.
It didnt take long for him to find Mitch, the man who stood next
to him on the assembly line, after all, accommodation was

organised by occupation.
Mitch! Ive seen it! Ive seen the world beyond the wall! You have
to come with me, its incredible!
Mitch stared at him blankly. Beyond the wall? Did you hit your
head Ryan? There is no world beyond the wall, what are you
talking about?
Just behind the wall Mitch! Its right there man!
Dude, you need some rest, lay down, have a nap, youre not
making sense.