Chapter Fourteen

It was three in the afternoon and there was a lot of activity. People were driving around on their electric trikes and bubble cars, and there were even people walking in the covered street below. It hadn’t ever struck him before, but now he had spoken to Aimee about the subject, it did strike him strange that there were no signs of what it was like outside the City’s walls. The interors were covered with video screens showing images of products, of stocks and shares values, and of information about resolutions passed by the City Council. From time to time, these would fade into artificial scenes of natural landscapes that were computer generated. Based on memories of a reality now lost, they showed the same green hills and blue skies, birds, and other animals that Jay could find on his HCS system. Was it true that all this was now lost to humankind? Jay didn’t doubt it, but he did find it strange, as Aimee had said, that neither of them, along with the great majority of the City’s population, had no inkling of what actually lay outside.

He stared at the walls, and wondered if there were actually any outside viewpoints available in the city now. When he had asked Aimee about these, she had said that they had all been closed, but surely there were some, even if access to them was restricted. Somebody needed to keep an eye on what was happening to the atmosphere outside the City surely. If only to monitor the weather conditions for the flights that undoubtedly still took place between cities, although Aimee was of the opinion that few people actually travelled between cities nowadays, and most of those who did felt it was safer to travel in the high speed underground trains that linked the cities. Certainly, it was true that there was little promotion of travel between cities on TV, and no suggestion of air travel between cities. No advertisements. No programmes. No mention of it. For all Jay knew, they might be at war with one of the other cities. Although there was never any mention of conflict. Conflict seemed to have disappeared from view. Surely it still existed?

After another five minutes of staring outside, Jay decided it was time to venture further away from his apartment. He couldn’t limit himself to the corridoor, or he would never make sufficient progress to be able to meet up with Aimee. He would continue with his original plan. To make sure he hadn’t tried to subconsciously sabotage his trip, he checked the contents of his shoulder bag. Towel, goggles, shorts, and rubber soled slippers. To give himself a reason for leaving, Jay had decided to go for a swim.

There was a swimming pool in the basement of Jay’s building. It was part of the gymnasium and small shopping complex that was provided for residents only. This was the second layer of protection that lay between Jay and the outside world. Thinking about this now, as he slowly made his way down the corridoor, past the doors of his facelesss, unknown neighbours, he compared the design of his environment to that of an onion. The first layer was his flat, then the floor his apartment was on. Access to and from each of these required a signal from his smart chip, an instruction issued by his voice. Next came the building he lived in. Then, the next layer would be Ribtown. Each area of the City was separated from the other and required the passing of a controlled gate. If Aimee wanted to come and visit him, she would have to pass through three of these controls. What about the outside? How did anyone get outside the City? Was it even possible nowadays? And from where would there be access? He told himself to remember to ask Aimee, to see if she knew anything. Meanwhile, he had things to do. He was going swimming. His heart was pounding as he waited for the lift to ascend to his floor. He laughed to himself at the absurdity of his feelings. A trip to the basement floor was now causing him so much disturbance anyone might have thought he was planning a trip to Mars.

713 words this chapter
9962 words in total