It was to be the last time she would see her mother. Her work would take her to the Bliss Pod and she had to leave early, so she'd come hoping for one last song in person.

The most recent time that her mother came to her for a song, she told her that she had to leave. It is the one time in each week where she has her mother's undivided attention. She can sing like an angel, and every Sunday she meets her mother in the Opera Hall to sing for her. A genetically engineered child (as all are in the Pods) Aria was given the voice of a Falcon Soprano. Called 'fracturing', this method of being in two places at one time is how they cope.Aria lives in this world, and while her actual contact to human beings is limited, she lives an active virtual life. It attaches itself over one eye, acting as both a regular eye, and an eye into the Realm of their choice. These Realms are accessed by way of a 'Smarteye' which is part bionics and part electronics. By creating 'Realms' that span the course of history, the future, and any destination that can be imagined, those who dwell within the Pods manage to stimulate themselves with a rich and diverse environment. In the Pods, the populations use technology to escape their confined environment. As a result, a large portion of the population chose to live in self contained city sized Pods. It is a story in which world is plagued with air that is seething with electrically charged storms charring any place where they meet land. 'Under the Never Sky' by Veronica Rossi is a futuristic look at a world in which the population is divided between those who live in Pods, and those who survive under the sky.

The never sky