around the clear
imitation-glass walls. I set the walls to fully transparent and
linked up with the pod that Stripes was using. She gave me a
thumbs-up and I pressed the map view.
Setting the
destination for the nearest shopping centre, I smiled back at
Stripes. It can also be a teensy bit claustrophobic inside,
especially if the walls are set to dark. The pods were the
invention of some CERN scientist back in the day when they realised
that they needed something to run on cheap energy. The pods run on
hydrogen. Originally, they just tried to put hydrogen engines in
old-fashioned cars but it resulted in some nasty explosions so they
developed the pods. I hadn’t even been born then but I’d seen the
pictures. We even had a couple of old cars out back. Marie’s
parents or grandparents had brought them. I couldn’t remember
exactly. It was a long time ago anyway.
The journey to
the shopping centre takes about ten minutes and since our pods were
linked we spent the entire time talking. One wall of my pod
displayed an image of Stripes and one wall of hers an image of me.
It looked and sounded like we were sitting next to each other which
meant that the pods had been upgraded since I’d last used them. I
didn’t remember it being that long ago. I resolved to get out more;
it was all too easy to get so wrapped up in life at the House that
I forgot the rest of the world existed.
The pods
dropped us off at the front of the shopping centre and
automatically parked themselves. I don’t know how people ever got
around without them; Marie tells me the most awful stories of car
parks. I suppose it’s just what you’re used to.
The glass
doors swung open automatically when I swiped my ID card. Stripes
swiped hers on the other door and was admitted without any hassle.
It occasionally worried me that we would be tracked as we shopped
but it wasn’t a big concern. We made sure that anything that could
come even close to giving away our secret went unobserved. We still
sometimes looked around to make sure nobody was watching us, but we
weren’t paranoid. Not yet anyway. It was just too ingrained in us
to be cautious to relax in public.
The entrance
corridor was completely pointless except for advertisement. Both
sides were covered in modern holographic technology which displayed
adverts for anything and everything that you could ever want or
never need. My more sensitive eyes sometimes struggled with the
holograms. They never looked quite like they were supposed to and
it gave me a headache.
Entering the
store itself is a complete change from the outside. The air is
pleasantly cool, but not cold, and gently scented. With our
extra-sensitive noses it can sometimes be too much. I can never
tell what an area is supposed to smell like, none of it is real,
and I don’t think the scientists have quite got the formula right
for all of them. Or maybe if your nose is normal human you can’t
smell the alcohol or other medium underneath everything else. That
was why we never wore perfume; we could just about cope with
unscented antiperspirants.
We headed for
the women’s wear section and started browsing through the jeans. In
my opinion, you can never own too many pairs of jeans or too many
pairs of shoes. Unfortunately, my bank balance has a tendency to
disagree. I could afford a few purchases, and I needed to get a
present for an old school friend, but I couldn’t splash out on
anything. With inflation starting to level out, at least it was
becoming possible to buy basics without too much trouble. Although
everything was still ridiculously expensive.
“You looking
for anything special?” I asked. Stripes isn’t a natural shopper and
never goes out without at least a basic idea of what she wants. I
was just the opposite, often window-shopping. Stripes had the right
idea. Window-shopping is often depressing, just going to look at
things you can’t have. Stupid idea - not that the stupidity of it
ever stopped me.
“I, um …
imitation-glass walls. I set the walls to fully transparent and
linked up with the pod that Stripes was using. She gave me a
thumbs-up and I pressed the map view.
Setting the
destination for the nearest shopping centre, I smiled back at
Stripes. It can also be a teensy bit claustrophobic inside,
especially if the walls are set to dark. The pods were the
invention of some CERN scientist back in the day when they realised
that they needed something to run on cheap energy. The pods run on
hydrogen. Originally, they just tried to put hydrogen engines in
old-fashioned cars but it resulted in some nasty explosions so they
developed the pods. I hadn’t even been born then but I’d seen the
pictures. We even had a couple of old cars out back. Marie’s
parents or grandparents had brought them. I couldn’t remember
exactly. It was a long time ago anyway.
The journey to
the shopping centre takes about ten minutes and since our pods were
linked we spent the entire time talking. One wall of my pod
displayed an image of Stripes and one wall of hers an image of me.
It looked and sounded like we were sitting next to each other which
meant that the pods had been upgraded since I’d last used them. I
didn’t remember it being that long ago. I resolved to get out more;
it was all too easy to get so wrapped up in life at the House that
I forgot the rest of the world existed.
The pods
dropped us off at the front of the shopping centre and
automatically parked themselves. I don’t know how people ever got
around without them; Marie tells me the most awful stories of car
parks. I suppose it’s just what you’re used to.
The glass
doors swung open automatically when I swiped my ID card. Stripes
swiped hers on the other door and was admitted without any hassle.
It occasionally worried me that we would be tracked as we shopped
but it wasn’t a big concern. We made sure that anything that could
come even close to giving away our secret went unobserved. We still
sometimes looked around to make sure nobody was watching us, but we
weren’t paranoid. Not yet anyway. It was just too ingrained in us
to be cautious to relax in public.
The entrance
corridor was completely pointless except for advertisement. Both
sides were covered in modern holographic technology which displayed
adverts for anything and everything that you could ever want or
never need. My more sensitive eyes sometimes struggled with the
holograms. They never looked quite like they were supposed to and
it gave me a headache.
Entering the
store itself is a complete change from the outside. The air is
pleasantly cool, but not cold, and gently scented. With our
extra-sensitive noses it can sometimes be too much. I can never
tell what an area is supposed to smell like, none of it is real,
and I don’t think the scientists have quite got the formula right
for all of them. Or maybe if your nose is normal human you can’t
smell the alcohol or other medium underneath everything else. That
was why we never wore perfume; we could just about cope with
unscented antiperspirants.
We headed for
the women’s wear section and started browsing through the jeans. In
my opinion, you can never own too many pairs of jeans or too many
pairs of shoes. Unfortunately, my bank balance has a tendency to
disagree. I could afford a few purchases, and I needed to get a
present for an old school friend, but I couldn’t splash out on
anything. With inflation starting to level out, at least it was
becoming possible to buy basics without too much trouble. Although
everything was still ridiculously expensive.
“You looking
for anything special?” I asked. Stripes isn’t a natural shopper and
never goes out without at least a basic idea of what she wants. I
was just the opposite, often window-shopping. Stripes had the right
idea. Window-shopping is often depressing, just going to look at
things you can’t have. Stupid idea - not that the stupidity of it
ever stopped me.
“I, um …
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