She checked the time. She was ahead of schedule, so she stopped at a coffee shop. After getting a coffee from the automated checkout, she sat a table on the sidewalk.
“How’s it going?” Kat asked through the earpiece.
“My appointment isn’t for another thirty minutes.”
“Good. You know, I haven’t been in that part of town in so long, I forgot how they live. It’s a whole other world over there.”
Sandy agreed. She looked at the ordered and pristine area around her. The Corporate Zone made The Galleria look like chaos. Everything is so clean here, she thought. Of course, it would be. All corporations used nano-cleaners to scour every inch of their zones, the small robots spending their hours breaking down the trash, the bird droppings, the stray human hair that fell, and even the smog residue off the glass of the buildings.
“It doesn’t look lived in,” she said.
“Yeah, it’s not for me. I think you can be clean without being sterile.”
“How’s Jacob doing?” Sandy asked.
“He’s on a bus right now. Let me patch you through,” Kat said.
“How’s the bus ride?” Sandy asked.
“You know my luck with buses. I just had someone try to convince me that the Cloud is controlled by a sentient being from another dimension. Other than that, I’m loving it,” Jacob said.
“Are you still on schedule?”
“I am.”
“Then I’ll see you soon,” Sandy said.
She finished her coffee and left the empty cup on the table. By the time she pushed her chair in, the nano-cleaners were working on the cup, giving it the appearance of slowly dissolving from the top down. They would reassemble it back inside the shop, its materials stuck in an endless loop of use and reuse. Watching the cup made her think about how it must be to live a life of never having to clean up after yourself, to live life in a bubble. Every major corporation had bubbles like this, city-states that were practically autonomous from the world around them. She could see the appeal. Life in a bubble and the freedom from outside cares and uncertainties had its advantages. But to her, when she was on the verge of entering that world a few years ago, life in a bubble seemed more like living in a cage and the freedoms it offered came with a different form of shackles. She would take the struggles and uncertainties of living on the outside over the contracts and social rigidity of living in a bubble.
“Okay,” Kat said, “Jacob is getting off the bus now. After you get in and get settled, I’ll let you know when he is close enough for you to make your move.”
“Got it,” Sandy said.
Clouds reflected in the glass facade of the DNA shaped building and she got in the long line of people waiting to be cleared to enter. The line moved slowly, giving her time to generate doubts in her mind. She ran her finger along the edge of her ID card, hoping it would fool the superior scanning system of the building.
Finally, she reached the scanning station, and the security guard held out his gloved hand. “Card, please. State your business for entering the building.”
She gave him her ID card, her image on the card reflecting in his protective mask, overlapping with her actual reflection.
“I’m here to apply for the peace mission program,” she said.
Despite the protective mask, she could see the guard was surprised by her answer.
“I know,” she said, “I’m a bit old. Just trying to turn my life around.”
The guard nodded and put the card in the scanner. “Remove your glasses and look into the facial recognition camera, please.”
She looked into the camera.
The scanner ejected the card. “Card unreadable,” it said in a pleasant female voice.
“Shit,” Kat said softly.
Sandy fought back a moment of panic. “That’s weird,” she said.
“Oh, the system’s been acting up today,” the guard said. “Nothing to worry about. Just look into the camera again, please.” He rescanned the card.
“Baylor Clarke, identity confirmed,” the pleasant female voice said.
“Here you go,” the guard said, handing the card back to her. “You’re going to want to go to the fifth floor. The receptionist just outside the elevators will direct you from there.”
“Thank you.”
“And good luck. It’s never too late to get on the right path to a better life,” the guard said, echoing the company’s slogan.
“I hope so,” she said and went through the revolving door leading to the main lobby.
Chapter 50
The waiting room made Sandy feel old. Or rather, the other people in the waiting room made her feel old. She wasn’t. She wasn’t even thirty yet, but a sea of faces in their late teens and early twenties was enough to foster the feeling, and it made her glad she wasn’t actually applying for the program. Spending two years with these people would be rough.
“All right,” Kat said through the earpiece, “Jacob is two blocks away. You should go to the bathroom now.”
She went to the receptionist. “Excuse me, could you tell me where the restroom is? Too much coffee this morning.”
The receptionist gave her a look that said she didn’t need to know why. “What’s your name?” she asked.
“Baylor Clarke, but I just need the restroom.”
“I wouldn’t want you to miss your interview. I’ll move you down the list.” She swiped her display a few times. “There. You have plenty of time now. The restroom is on your left at the end of the hall.”
“Thank you very much,” Sandy said and hurried out of the room.
She made her way down the hall, making a point of asking an employee for directions. Reaching the end of the hall, she took a left. After a few steps, she stopped. A red sign above the door of the restroom flashed “Out of Order.”
“Shit. Do you see that?”
“Yes,” Kat said.
“How close are you, Jacob?”
“I’m about to get in line,” Jacob’s voice came through the earpiece.
“Not yet. I have to find
