1.
Only the brave-crazy young would jetpack over the river at night, lit up only by the sleek glowpaint of their packs and the blue tails of flame that plumed out behind them. AfterU was young and crazy-brave and had a good helmet and plenty of blue. AfterU would skim along the surface of the Mississippi, under the Stan and over the MLK and under the Pop and up into the night sky. The Spivey thrumming glorious, still and always the tallest building in Southern Illinois. The Spivey said yesyoucan, the Spivey said hereIam. AfterU had heard once that the Spivey had almost been torn down but that was before the Change and hard to imagine. Every floor of the Spivey now was lit and pulsing always, good work and good escapes on every other floor. Every night it seemed a dozen and then two dozen and then a hundred jetpack kids drifted through the night and landed on the roof like fireflies. AfterU hit the Spivey every night and took the ele-tube down to Floor Organize or Floor Movement until the night AfterU punched a new button, 13, and thereafter was no longer seen. Not for a very long time.

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2.
While flying by the MLK bridge, Chance wondered about unity and disunity between the two cities. Arriving at the Spivey, Chance recalled stories of how vivacious the city had once been, before it became forgotten and unused. But Chance was among the brave-crazy young and understood that the Change meant something new was emerging. But first, it was time to look for AfterU on the 13th Floor.

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3.
I, too, was one of the young crazy-brave who flew over to the Spivey. What would we be without these jetpacks? On my flight in, I tried to look in the window of the 13th Floor hoping I might catch a glimpse of AfterU. Was the disappearance related to the Change or something else? Once I land and get inside, I’ll figure things out.

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4.
The 13th floor was brightly lit, more than all other floors on Spivey. Although the brave-crazy young said it was the so-called “Change” that made them all jetpack over to the Spivey, there was really something else that led AfterU, Gee, T-Lex, and the others there. Really, it was all about the 13th Floor and the view, and how the Mississippi glistened and how the view of the MLK was so serene. All of them said it was the so-called “Change.” No, it was the Perspective.

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5.
Dear Megatron, T-Lex, or any other of the brave-crazy young,

If you’re reading this message, it means you probably stopped here at our occasional chill-spot after jetpacking by the MLK and before heading on to the Spivey. I just wanted to leave a note saying what’s up. As I paused here for a moment, I thought about the Change, the 13th Floor, and even that alternative idea, the so-called Perspective. I can’t say I came to any new revelations. But then, I’m not here that long, gotta find AfterU. Once I’m done with this short note, I’m off to the Spivey.

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6.
Ben Frankel was the mastermind behind the Spivey. He plotted the architecture of the building, the height, the look, and maybe just maybe even the 13th Floor. Do you think he would have ever imagined the young brave-crazy? What would he have thought of AfterU and Star and V? Or of T-Lex, of Gee? Would he have imagined me and what I do, what all of us do with our jetpacks as we cross the MLK?

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7.
Months before the disappearance, on a cold night, that brave-crazy young AfterU, who was always full of crazy ideas, jetpacked across the MLK bridge. AfterU, who had spotted the Spivey building and was curious about what was inside, got Picachu to tag alone. Picachu was from East St. Louis and knew things about the city that AfterU didn’t. That night, AfterU showed up at Picachu’s place, and Picachu came to the door in pajamas and carrying a teddy bear. “What? You sleeping? Get up! I have an adventure for us,” said AfterU. “What now? What crazy adventure this time?” asked Picachu. “The Spivey. The 13th Floor. The Change. Let’s go,” AferU said.