Outside my building I activated my integrated GPS to try and determine the best route for my destination by foot. Normally I would create set of directions for the highway, but that route was for powered transport only. Maneuvering over the city by foot would require a little ingenuity. Luckily for me the city was drastically behind on the revamping of the highways. Many 21st century roadways were intact, and still being used on a daily basis. Turning the netlink on my pinky clockwise activated a holopad, which hovered at the correct height for manual manipulation. Quickly I input my destination and queried the GPSI to guide me. The holopad stretched upward, creating a vertical rectangle approximately 1 by 2 feet. A satellite view of my current location hovered before me, using the silicon crystal on the ring to adjust the zoom of the visual, a feasible route outlined itself in the air. Ok that looks safe enough, I thought as I twitched my pinky to minimize the display to the palm of my hand.
With a glance at the traffic whizzing by, I started on my way to the jeweler's store. Turning to a path scarce of powered traffic, I found myself in a 3rd tier commercial district. Store fronted buildings lined the avenue, and the walkways were peppered with people. High over head, trans-lifts and pod hoppers speed off in orderly lines, with the wind whistling down from their passage, buffeting me in a chill breeze. Trash and leaves swirl across the sidewalk and into the empty street. Pixel Ads dance along the walls, trying vainly to draw the attention of passersby. I came to a stop in front of an ad-wall. My eyes swept across OLED covered surface, slowing to look at a tall, well trimmed woman. Her hair tumbled down her back in long red curls which stood in stark contrast to her pearly white skin. She reached a slim fingered hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear. The entire outer-rim of the lobe was encased in silver. Several small jewels of various colors were embedded along the edge of the silver. The woman pressed a dark lavender jewel and turned her head to the left, offering an unobstructed view of her mane. Her long tresses flattened out and darkened to a deep, silky mauve. Cybernetics, I thought, restraining a shudder.
I shrugged the shoulders of my warm jacket closer to my neck and check my map again. The route detours slightly to avoid a trans-hub. Dodging multiple lifts and rushing people would be too time consuming, not to mention the possible mishap of encountering a lift physically. Without nannites, the chance a paramedic would have time to administer a temporary nannite shot was nonexistent.
Passing through the shop way I am reminded of how much of the rest of the city I'd been isolated from. While transporting via powered pod, you're in a small envelope of metal, electronics, and plexi. As soon as my destination has been selected I connect to the server and start loading tickets. My net links were set to automatically start pulling data feeds in the morning, highlighting anything critical. In essence, I start working while I was almost 100 KM away from my work place. With so much data needing to be looked at, I never saw everything else. Except for those few times, those rare moments, in that barricaded building, with the others.
The vid! What could it be about! It was so long, so highly encrypted, it zapped up my bandwidth, and clogged my data storage. I'll have to see it soon! Wonder if I get any breaks, oh! Sonja sent me data too!
Flexing my fingers like a piano payer, the main menu of my net links popped up. Only two items appeared, the vid, and the info from Sonja's data dump. Opening up the later, a jumble of lines, letters, numbers, and pictures crowded the holopad, glittering faintly; hinting at some kind of meaning that I couldn’t quite grasp.
'throttle back the info' whispered at the edge of my mind. "There's no encryption! It's just jumbled together!" I exclaimed.
With a sharp intake of breath, I brought up my right hand, index, middle, and ring finger lined up together. Slowly, so the gyros in the rings on my fingers could read the movement correctly, I splayed my fingers wide/apart. The screen of sparkling lights before me intensified, then separated into four different documents.
Scanning the titles quickly, I notice that two are sensitive documents. Quickly selecting the delicate items with a tap of the index finger, my hand closes into a fist, then moves into the right front pocket of my jeans. A quiet beep emits from my ocular receiver, signals the completion of secure data storage. Luckily for me, everyone around me during the morning rush is wrapped up in their own electric cloud. I scan the walkers. Teenagers and children headed off to school. Most watching personal HD vid screens with just enough transparency to keep from stumbling. Some with no screens, but eyes that don't quite see, either listening to inner ear receivers, or possibly watching on screens implanted directly on the eye. More cybernetics.
Sighing, I file Sonja's SOA were it can be retrieved quickly, and focus on the last file hovering before me in mid air.
Hmm, looks like the order for my new netlink device. I do get a separate set for work! Nifters! Continuing on my route I think to myself, I need to hurry, my current netlink can't encrypt data, those delicate documents are safe for now, but I can't rely on the self-centeredness of others.
Turning the corner, I found myself in a deserted roadway. The buildings to either side were lifeless shells, no animals, no people, not even lights flickering behind shades. No lights!
There was a black out on the street, possibly most of the neighborhood. But why?
