The year is 2149 and Carla, dressed in white, is getting ready for her graduation to the position of Elite in the post-apocalyptic New Sydney City. No different to any other 19 year old learning to navigate their way in the new workplace, Carla has to work out who she should or shouldn't sleep with, understand the Machiavellian politics of those around her, and watch her back as she navigates life in this futuristic, underground society.

This short story from speculative and steampunk writer J-L Heylen is a prequel to the novel Wisdom Beyond Her Years which takes place 60 years after Carla's graduation.