People walked everywhere now. Even long distances across the complex. There were taxis for people that had difficulties walking. But most were encouraged to walk. The Ems had made it easier to walk by managing the traffic in real-time and favoring pedestrians. And because more people walked, fewer drove or were driven, the overall health of the complex's residents had improved, just as the Ems had planned.
After putting away the book Davide left the apartment and was walking in the direction that would allow him to watch the sunrise at the complex's edge wall. It was still dark when he arrived. The safety wall was in front of him. Beyond was the open space but no one went beyond the safety wall. He was tired but there was nowhere to sit so he sat with his back against the cement wall. He tilted his head back and saw, through the haze of the artificial lighting, a few bright stars. He watched the sky as the first tinge of sunrise shown red above the wall’s top. The red tinge brightened faster than he expected until it had overpowered the street and building lights. The streetlights began to shut off. The dark blue of the sky appeared to soften into azure.
The day had begun though it was still relatively quiet here at the edge of the complex. Very few people had business out this way. Many worked at home. Virtual games kept many others occupied. Most people would send a robot out when they needed something or have it delivered by drone. Another behavior modification the Ems had planned to help prevent the spread of disease.
Davide watched the sky brighten and felt his mood lift. He yawned, then got up to go home and sleep.
He awoke in the afternoon. Eating a bite while facing the balcony window, he remembered the sunshine in the pictures of his book. For some reason, those simple photos were more realistic than any of the images he saw on his Annie. He wondered if there were other books with similar pictures.
It wasn’t easy searching the net for paper books since everything was published electronically now. His Annie finally found a site that offered some old paper books. He found a gardening book that looked promising and ordered it. It was surprisingly inexpensive for such an object.
He looked at the balcony; it was getting late. He needed to go out. He dressed and told Sigmund he would be back in a couple of hours; he quickly glanced at the book on the shelf as he was leaving. The pleasing thought came to him that soon it would have a companion. He bought some fruit at the grocer downstairs and headed for the complex's edge.
He mostly passed robots on the street running errands or doing work for the Ems or the government. The streetlights had still not come on by the time he arrived at the wall. Again, there wasn't anyone nearby or rather there was someone a couple of streets over. The slight curve of the wall almost hid them but there was definitely someone there.
Davide didn't let the discovery bother him. He sat down as he had done that morning with his back to the wall and his head turned upward. Between peeks at the sky, he took some of his fruit out to eat. The apple wasn't entirely ripe although the red peel made it look so. Like everything else he bought in the stores that was inexpensive, there was something not quite right about the merchandise. Still, it was good enough.
The sky above him was becoming golden as he watched. He didn't even notice the girl approach.
“Hi,” she said. “I haven't seen you here before.”
“Oh hello,” said Davide. “I’m new here.” The girl was thin and tall, probably his age thought Davide. Her eyes were large with a touch of mischief.
“My name is Sofia.”
“I am Davide.”
“I come here quite often. It gets me out of the small apartment I share with my grandmother; it also gets me out of bad moods.”
“I know what you mean. I have some fruit here if you would like.” Sofia thanked him and took an apple from the bag.
“I should bring a snack like this when I come here.” Sofia continued talking while Davide listened. He was a little concerned about revealing too much to a stranger.
They sat silently the last few minutes watching the sky become a deep yellow-orange and then the streetlights came on. “Well,” said Sofia. “That's it for today, maybe I'll see you here again?”
“Sure,” said Davide. He watched her round the tower corner before he got up to go home.
No comments:
Post a Comment