The year was 2057, and twenty-four-year-old German physicist Heidi Langford never would have thought she would go from working as a barista to defying the laws of gravity. But she did. As she stood satisfied on her porch, leaning forward against the railing, she looked down at her creation of a city that soared miles above the rest of the world.
Over time, the city came to be known as Delware. The population increased as people who decided to take a more reserved approach to life began relocating up there. Developments were made, and Heidi Langford ensured that the mechanisms of the city remained intact and kept it from collapsing. Proud that she had finally achieved her one dream of leading people, she persistently denied all offers of giving ownership of the city to other rulers.
But pride turned into arrogance, and arrogance into greed. Like most other leaders in the world, Langford began to care more about ruling and expanding the city than the people's safety. The residents stayed oblivious, too immersed in their unique lifestyle in Delware to notice the ongoing corruption.
Hence, the technical faults went unnoticed until the floating mechanisms failed. Panicking, the residents believed the city would crash downwards, but it didn't. As Langford felt the height of Delware increase instead, she scrambled towards the escape routes, but found that all aircrafts had left without her. Blood rushing to her head, she gazed downwards, only to realize that the city was already halfway to space.