CCTV - Stills

When the RavenView (tm) closed circuit security cameras had been installed all about the Abyss Tower thirty some odd years ago, they were state-of-the-art technology, with clarity and color unmatched by any competitors in the market.  Now, of course they seemed hopelessly outdated.

The once touted pixelated images seemed too pixelated, particularly in close-up, where, at best, you felt like you were given only an impression of the person, and not the essence of that individual in the least.  All sharp edges, not a smooth line in sight.

It annoyed Barbara.  Her dissatisfaction with her job had become unflagging.  Staring at the bank of screens ten hours everyday.  Watching for - for what?  The Abyss Towers were impenetrable.  You could only get in through a single secured underground entrance.  The one time someone tried to gain entrance there without proper clearance and identification, the lobby was flooded with near freezing cold water.  The armed guards watched the action from the mezzanine, shooting the man as he bobbed about in the gushing froth.

In a nutshell, the only time Barbara ever saw another human being pass across her screens was when there was a jumper.  And, there were plenty enough of those.  Sad, dejected types, driven mad, or perhaps born mad.  Usually they they climbed the ladder to the uppermost wall and jumped immediately.  But every once in awhile, she got one who lingered.

Why?  To get up their nerve?  A lingering doubt about taking the plunge?  Barbara wondered if the day would come when she would be up there, some other brown uniformed toady watching her, waiting for her to...Leave the frame