With a deep breath, she walked into the shop and started to scan the racks of clothing.
She found herself drawn to some of the catsuits that were on display here. She’d seen lots of them out there in the street as well. She always preferred fitting clothing over loose items, so this would help her fit in and feel comfortable to her.
However, try as she might, she couldn’t see a tag or price on them, and there only seemed to be one size for adults. As she looked around, she noticed that other people were coming in, picking stuff up off the racks and walking out with it, which seemed odd. Amanda looked over to the back of the shop, where she’d seen a worker sitting and looking into the middle distance. She wasn’t paying the slightest bit of attention to the people just taking things from the shop.
She didn’t feel confident enough to just take things without asking, though, so she picked up a few of the catsuits she liked and wandered over to the shopkeeper.
‘Ahem,’ she said, attempting to get the girl’s attention after a half a minute of being ignored. The girl blinked and looked up at her, noticing that Amanda was standing next to her.
‘Oh, hi, what can I help you with?’ she asked.
‘I was wondering how much these were?’ Amanda asked.
‘I’m sorry, what?’
‘How much are these items?’ Amanda asked again, holding the clothing up and wiggling it to emphasise her point.
The girl looked a little confused for a moment. ‘They’re free,’ she said slowly, as if she thought Amanda might be playing a trick on her.
‘Free? Oh, okay. And what about the sizes?’
The girl narrowed her eyes. ‘They’re one size,’ she answered, talking as if she were addressing someone who was a little slow on the uptake. ‘They adjust to fit you, so, shouldn’t be an issue. We have changing rooms over there if you want to see what they look like on, though.’
Amanda looked over in the direction of the changing rooms, and then back at the girl. ‘Great, thank you,’ she said.
‘No problem,’ the girl answered, rolling her eyes as she sat back in her seat again. Amanda also noticed some suitable boots as she walked to the changing rooms, which she picked up as she passed them. Free, she thought, everything was free? Was everything free out here? she wondered. It sounded like some kind of post-scarcity society, where most things, or certainly everything that was needed for a comfortable life, was freely available. She’d heard of the term and concept, but maybe that’s what the Magi had achieved out here?
Getting into one of the cubicles, she tried on the various catsuits, finding that once they were on and closed up, they quickly shrank to hug her body perfectly, like a second skin. She loved them immediately and quickly chose to wear a white one for the time being that she felt very happy with. She pulled on a pair of white heeled boots to go with it and looked in the mirror at herself. She smoothed the garment down, adjusting it slightly before she looked at her hair. She decided to keep her long, straight deep-red hair loose and falling over her shoulders. The catsuit really was figure-hugging, moulding to her shape almost perfectly. It was incredibly comfortable, and in many ways, felt like she wasn’t wearing anything at all. She smiled to herself as she turned back and forth, feeling very happy with how she looked.
Looking down at the clothing on the bench beside her once more, she decided she didn’t want to carry it around, and, as it was free, saw no need to tell the shopkeeper what she was doing. So, she pulled on the veil of Essentia once more and Ported her new and old clothing that sat in a pile on the bench beside her back to her ship.
As she did so, she figured she could probably connect to the ship's core from here. So, she reached out with her mind, making the local Essentia that she could see with her Magical vision flare and whip around her.
With the Link active, she hunted through the Nexus Net the ship was connected to and looked up the topic of trade and money here as she walked out of the shop. The girl at the counter ignored her, and before long she was out on the street once more.
A quick scan of the data on the net confirmed her suspicions. This and many of the other areas controlled by the Magi in the Nexus Arcadia were, for all intents and purposes, post-scarcity. The essentials were all provided for. Everyone got free basic housing — they looked like small apartments to her — free basic food and clothing, and if you didn’t want to work, that was fine. Everyone could live quite happily. But she also noticed that there was a system of currency here as well, called Mana credits. Everyone got a basic allowance in addition to their other essentials, but if you wanted more, you could work, set up a business or trade, and that money could be used to buy premium items like a fancy house, expensive meals, and other premium goods.
Most money and trade was virtual, like back on Earth, but there was a physical version of the currency, too. They were created from Mana, the physical manifestation of Essentia that was only available at Poolings where two Leylines crossed. Where these rivers of Essentia intersected, the Essentia bled through to the material realm as Mana, and it was one of the few things that a Magus could not conjure from nothing.
Clever, Amanda thought to herself. A system of currency that was difficult to forge, even for the Magi. Everyone had the basics, but for those willing to work for it, more was available.
She also guessed there were scams and criminals around who were more than happy to work the system as well. Where there was money, there would always be those who were eagre to extort it.
Walking through the streets, enjoying the sights of this fascinating and otherworldly city, she suddenly noticed a massive structure with lots of people moving into and out of it. Walking over, she saw a holo sign marking it as an entrance to one of the space elevators that connected the Red City to the planet below. She paused to watch and saw people moving into the building, while others, probably those who had just arrived, were walking out, some of them looking very much like tourists and looking around them, their eyes were wide.
Amanda smiled. She guessed that this is what she probably looked like, only worse.
Nearby, she spotted a balcony that looked down to the planet below. Wondering if she might be able to see the elevator beneath the platform, she walked over and leant out, looking down. Sure enough, she could see the enormous pillar that extended from under the Red City and went straight down to the planet below, cutting through the clouds that swept over the continent-sized cities.
Looking back up at the elevator, she felt curious to pay a visit to the surface. She wondered if it might be free to make the trip, given that she didn’t actually have any money on her.
Using the link to her ship, she checked the Net, and sure enough, the trip itself down to the surface was indeed free. She noticed one of the elevator cars close up inside the building and suddenly it dropped out of sight. Turning, Amanda looked back over the edge of the railing, and after a moment, saw the elevator car descend into view and start making the trip down towards the surface. It picked up speed quickly and was soon out of sight entirely.
If nothing else, it looked like fun.
‘Don’t lean too far over,’ said a male voice from beside her.
Amanda rose up to stand up straight and looked over at the young man standing beside her, smiling.
‘I wouldn’t want you to fall all the way down there,’ he said.
Amanda smiled. ‘Heh, thanks, but I’ll be alright,’ she said.
‘You heading down?’ he asked, pointing his thumb in the direction of the elevator building.
‘I thought I might make the trip. It looks grand, so it does,’ she said, her Irish accent colouring her words.
‘It’s breath-taking; the views, I mean. If you’ve never done it, it’s an experience not to be missed.’
‘Thanks,’ she said, smiling. He seemed nice. He wore a dark two-piece fitted outfit with a loose cape over one shoulder. He was slim with a toned physique and a handsome face. She also wasn’t picking up anything Magical from him at a
ll with her Aetheric sight, which made her feel a lot more comfortable around him, as he wasn’t really a threat to her. She saw that he wasn’t without enhancement himself, though, with some implants strengthening his skeleton and muscles.
‘Want me to show you? I’m heading back down myself anyway,’ he said, finishing a drink he was holding and placing it in the trash receptacle.
‘Oh, go on, then; lead the way,’ she said, seeing no harm in having a guide. She stepped over to him and offered her hand. ‘I’m Amanda.’
‘I’m Harp,’ he said, taking her hand in his and giving it a firm shake as he picked up what she guessed was some kind of briefcase.
‘Are you a businessman?’
Harp looked over at her and then glanced down at the case in his hand. He laughed. ‘That obvious is it?’
‘What do you do?’
‘I broker trade deals between parties up in in the Red City with suppliers and other clients down on the surface, so I’m up and down these elevators all the time.’
‘Doesn’t that get tedious?’
Harp shrugged. ‘Get’s me out of the office,’ he said. ‘What about you?’
Amanda looked over at him and wondered if she should be honest or not. She still wasn’t sure what the standing of an average Magus was yet and figured she’d keep that part of her story to herself; for now. But she’d need a story that fitted her situation. Well, she guessed that as the only other place she really knew about, but as yet had not visited, was Sol Prime. She chose to keep it simple.
‘Well, you probably guessed that I’m not from here,’ she said, stalling for time to get her thoughts aligned in her mind before she answered his question.
He smirked. ‘That was kind of obvious, yes.’
‘I’m from Sol Prime, and I’m just visiting with some friends,’ she lied. Adding in the friends part was deliberate, just in case he thought she was some vulnerable woman travelling on her own, not because he might be a threat, but because she really didn’t want things going that way. She was having such a nice time, she didn’t want it spoilt.
‘I take it this is your first time here?’
‘It is, yes,’ she said, not wanting to elaborate on the fiction she was creating for him too much. Luckily she was saved from having to explain further as they were guided towards a waiting lift by one of the attendants that Amanda noticed was some kind of robot or android. She couldn’t help doing a bit of a double take and staring at it for a moment before she was able to tear her eyes away and hoped that her new friend had not noticed. She still wasn’t sure who this guy was, really.
He was a good-looking man, and she couldn’t deny there was an element of attraction there. She might be old enough to be his grandmother several times over, but it was always nice to have someone take an interest in you at whatever age. She considered using her Magic and having a quick scan through his mind, but she knew that was her paranoia seeping through, and she wanted to give the man the benefit of the doubt, for now, at least.
The elevator car was set over several levels with seats in rows on each level, looking out of the huge windows on the outer edge of the car. The elevators weren’t too busy, and Amanda was able to get herself a good front row seat quite easily. She settled herself down, and Harp followed. She looked up as he approached.
Waving towards the chair beside her he seemed to want to ask a question.
‘Are you sure you don’t mind me sitting with you? I don’t mind moving elsewhere if you’d prefer to be alone,’ he said.
‘Aah, get on with yeh, sit yeh arse down,’ she said, her accent coming through loud and clear. ‘Of course, I’m happy to have you with me. You can point out the sights to me.’
‘Okay, happy to,’ he said and lowered himself into the seat beside her.
She strapped herself in, and after a moment or two more, the car gently lowered itself through the floor of the building they were in. There was a couple of seconds of darkness as they moved through the base of the Red City platform until, with a flash of light, they were out the bottom and already dropping at quite an incredible rate.
The view from here was just as breath-taking as Harp had promised.
The planet curved away from them, its wispy white clouds hugging close to the surface below. In the distance she saw the massive, incredibly tall spires she’d seen from orbit, reaching up through the clouds into low orbit where they spread out like spikey metal mushrooms. Ships were docked at many of them or moving between them. Looking up, Amanda could see the edge of the Red City platform, while off in the distance, closer to the horizon, the gigantic arch of the closest ring wrapped around the planet.
Amanda stared at the vista before her for a good ten minutes before she realised she’d been sitting there slack-jawed, her mouth open, transfixed in apparent wonder at what she was looking at.
She closed her mouth and sat back in her seat, feeling self-conscious and looked over at Harp.
‘That good, huh?’ he commented.
‘It’s impressive, yes,’ she said as the car shot down ever closer to the atmosphere.
‘So, you’re from Sol Prime?’ he asked.
‘Yeah, a few of us wanted to visit Axia, so we sorted it out and booked passage on one of the ships,’ she lied.
‘And your friends?’
‘Um,’ she said, wondering if he was suspecting something. Why would she be wandering the Red City alone and taking a trip on the space elevator? ‘We split up as we all wanted to do different things and we only have limited time here, so...’
‘And this was one of the things you wanted to do?’
Amanda nodded, hoping the lie wasn’t too blatant.
For another ten minutes, Harp happily pointed out various landmarks and answered her questions about them. He seemed quite knowledgeable about what was out there.
Eventually, the car dropped through the upper layers of clouds and continued to fall. The ground was approaching fast now, and as the lower structures came into view, Amanda could see a vast city below her, stretching off into the distance in every direction where it faded into the haze as flying vehicles glided through the air on their antigravity systems.
With her Magical sight, Amanda could see the engines of the vehicles manipulating the gravity around them, making them fly and move through the air with graceful sweeping movements. As the daggers of building rose up around them, the elevator slowed to a stop and some people started to get off.
‘Is this it?’ she asked.
‘It’s one of the stops. There’s a few before the lift goes back up. I’m getting out a little further along, but you can get out here, if you like,’ he said, shifting his position to let her through.
‘No, you’re okay, I’ll keep going,’ she smiled at him, curious to see where the elevator went. The car was soon moving again, and after the next stop, she felt sure they were actually underground now, well below street level when the elevator came to another halt.
‘Final stop,’ the voice announced over the speaker system.
‘My stop,’ Harp said, standing up and offering her his hand. ‘Lovely to meet you,’ he said. ‘Have a nice trip back up.’
Amanda stood as she shook his hand. ‘Thank you for being my guide,’ she said.
‘Maybe I can show you around down here on the surface sometime if you visit again?’ he said. He was calm, but she could detect a slight bump in his heart rate. She felt sure she knew what he was hoping she’d say, and it made her smile.
So, he was interested in me, she thought to herself.
‘Well,’ she said, shrugging to herself, ‘I have some time right now. I don’t need to be back up there for a while,’ she said.
‘Oh, well, I wasn’t trying to insinuate…’
Amanda raised her hands. ‘Shush, I know, I’m doing this because I want to. Okay?’
The man smiled and led her from the elevator car, which was practically deserted by now, she noted, and they walked out into the elevator terminal, through
some armed security that didn’t check them for anything and just let them through.
Outside, Amanda found herself in some kind of subterranean complex, and they were currently standing on a metal walkway, surrounded by railings with yellow and black warning stripes on them. It was a little dark and dingy down here, and the people that were walking about were a mix of people like Harp, just going about their business, trying to get by and other less friendly looking people. Amanda eyed some youths standing a short distance away, looking shifty and not unlike the kinds of people she’d known once upon a time on the streets of New York, back before she’d become a Magus.
Harp led her around the elevator building and a little way along one of the main walkways to one of the railings that looked out over a drop of maybe forty or fifty levels, with the occasional catwalk that bridged the gap from one side to the other.
It didn’t have the pristine beauty of the Red City or the sheer impressiveness of the view from the elevator, but it was still a marvel to see in its own unique way.
‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘it’s not quite as picturesque down here, but it’s home.’
‘Honestly, you don’t need to apologise, I’ve lived in places not too dissimilar to this,’ she said. That’s the first part of my story that actually wasn’t a lie, she thought as she remembered her time on the streets of New York.
‘Also, I’m sorry for this, too,’ he said, and she was aware that he was backing up away from her.
She turned to see him offering her a thin smile as he stepped away while a group of five men and women moved closer, carrying guns and blades.
Amanda got a read on the situation right away and actually laughed a little, which caused the group that was approaching her to pause in their advance. She looked back to Harp.
‘Well, I have to say, I’m impressed. You actually had me fooled. Well done. It’s been a long time since someone, especially a Riven, has managed that,’ she said as she leant back on the railing, using her elbows for support.
‘Are you trying to scare us?’ Harp said. ‘You’re a long way from your friends, now.’
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