Transition

Chapter 11 - A Mistake?

Hunter waited in the autocab until Diane came out of her building and he opened the door letting her settle into the opposite passenger seat.

"You are looking very tooty, Dr. Sommers."

"And you shaved again, Mr. Lewis."

They shared teasing smiles and Hunter ordered the cab to go. "I hope you're hungry, I found a place just outside Bathtown that serves all the old decadent foods freshly cooked."

"Bathtown! I wouldn't have imagined."

"Me either but it's there and it comes recommended."

"By the owner no doubt."

"Actually a friend of the owner, another decommissioned pilot at DOQ."

They relaxed and watched the lights coming on across the city and the sky begin to streak red.

"You must have found a solution to Alice, I haven't heard you mention her lately."

"I doubt there is a solution to Alice, at least not a nice one but we did find a way to better use her powers." Diane went on to explain all the technical attributes of Alice's character and how Dr. Frost and she had developed a mirror device that could make Alice portable.

"Portable?"

"Yes! We can set the mirror up anywhere and have Alice perform - as long as we have a good connection to the original source."

"You mean if you set it up in your unit and I visited, she would know if I wanted a beer?"

"We could set it up anywhere and believe we were wherever we wanted. She is a cognitive combination AI/AR/VR. Of course we would still need access to the actual place but we could control certain features remotely."

The cab pulled to a stop in front of the restaurant and they climbed out, leaving a reservation time as they paid. Glitzy neon flashed on the front of the building and those around. A dunning base thudded sending reverberations through their chests as they hurried inside.

Inside the noise was muted along with the colours and Diane relaxed as they were led to a quiet table by a voluptuous droid.

"Easy to see why you'd like coming here." She grinned as she watched him watching the droid.

"Beats an autovend that's for sure." They sat and accepted the menu pads. "Seriously, Diane I brought you here for the food and listen a second to the music."

She cocked her head and a surprised smile spread across her face. "That's really retro! And how much nicer than that cacophony outside."

"Isn't it. I think our progress gave up a lot more than we gained in spite of all the conveniences."

The droid returned with a large pitcher of pink liquid and poured some in each of their glasses, departing without a word.

"What's this?"

"Dunno, you want to try first?" He laughed and picked up his glass.

She wrinkled her nose at him and sipped. "It's cold and faintly medicinal."

"It says right here on the pad. The house offers the palate freshener so the true flavours of their offerings can be savoured unsullied."

"That's a new approach," Diane murmured.

They each studied the menu pads, punched in their choices and sat back relaxing and enjoying the music. The droid appeared and collected the pads and left just as quickly. The meals arrived almost immediately and were better than advertised. After a couple of drinks, Hunter paid and they left, picking up the reservation for their autocab.