[ WP ] The richest 1 % possess 99 % of the world 's wealth , they live separately in a grand city . Unheard of , an orphaned youth is invited to a meeting of wealthy leaders ...

“ So, Mr. Dominick. ” The lady took her glasses off, gave me what I guessed she meant to be a friendly smile, and leaned a little closer to me across her desk. I leaned back a little. “ You're about to be the luckiest little boy in the whole wide world! Are n't you excited? ” She inhaled a bunch of air through her nose – I could hear it, like a tiny vacuum cleaner – and gave me the smile again. “ We just need to ask a couple of questions to make sure everything's right, okay? Okay. ” More air in her nose, and then she turned around, messing with something in a cabinet behind her. 
 
 I was scared. There was a picture on the wall of big smooth looking skyscrapers with fancy lights in hundreds of colors, pretty clouds back-dropped by some floating ships, the sun shining and the sky as blue as the berry, and I guessed that was where I was supposed to be going, but the office I was in did n't look like a utopia. The lady reminded me of our school janitor, always talking to herself under her breath and kind of scary without even doing anything. There was a really ugly dirty brown rug with a bunch of dark spots on it, like somebody had spilled food on it and forgotten to clean it, and the paint was starting to come off the walls. I guessed I was n't as important as this lady was saying. 
 
 “ Okay, Mr. Dominick, ” that smile again, “ you're an orphan, correct? ” I nodded. “ Raised in Donnie Heisman's Church For the Lost? ” Another nod. “ And you're very smart, are n't you? ” A shrug. She smiled, but this time it looked like she was pulling her lips back. “ Yes, very cute. You wrote a paper on... Climate change? Wow! ” If she did n't stop I was going to walk out. “ It was very good, I hear. Your mayor spoke about it in a public address. Takes a lot to get a mayor to talk about you, huh? Very smart indeed! ” She laughed. 
 
 “ Well, after we refine some small little details, we'll get you squared up and presentable for B Town. You just worry about answering me honestly, and then we'll get some food for you, anything you like. ” The questions started. Where did I grow up? How long had I been interested in science? Who inspired me? She was sure I did n't come up with the idea by myself, who did I talk to? Were there any books I liked to read? As they went on, they got a little more personal. Who were my friends? Was I popular in the orphanage? 
 
 Maybe half an hour later, she leaned back, nodding at her papers. “ Okay, Dominick. You did a good job, kid. Now, go down the hall to the room with the little green square on the front. There'll be a man in there, tell him Maude sent you and he's to get you whatever you'd like to eat. ” I did what she asked, and there was a guy in there; a big, ugly guy with a scar on the side of his nose. I asked him for some macaroni and cheese, and he left me alone for a while; when he came back, I could smell the plate ten feet away, and eating was like heaven. The guy stood by the door, watching me eat the food like a hungry dog, and he shook his head. “ What a shame, kid. You remind me of me at your age. ” He stepped out the door, looked at me one more time, then shut me in. I heard the lock click. “ A shame? ” I licked some cheese sauce off of my fingers. “ No, it was really good. ” 
 
 My chest seized. A hundred needles stabbed into my heart, once, twice, three times. I could n't breathe. I did n't breathe. Oh, I got it. A shame.
