Fiction: Group 3
The two took a LightBus and arrived at an MTR station. As usual, there were many people there.
Everything in the station seemed new, and Kevin couldn’t help but stare at the shiny ticket machine screens
and clean, white walls. He paid the ride fee for both Ben and himself with his OctopusNerve, went down
the vacuum elevator, and boarded the train heading towards Shenzhen. While Kevin was dozing off in his
seat, Ben counted the minutes with his internal stopwatch.
“We are now arriving at Shenzhen. Please exit from the right door,” a voice said through the
speakers in the train. Ben woke Kevin up and they exited the MTR station together.
Location: Shenzhen area, Pearl River Delta.
Time: 11:31 AM. Saturday. October 1, 2075
“Woah, I forgot how cool the buildings looked,” Kevin said, staring up in awe at the skyscrapers
that loomed over them. Several clouds were drifting across the pastel blue sky, sometimes obstructing the
hazy sunlight that shone through the gaps between buildings. The roads were busy and brightly colored cars
- many of them were Google cars - were racing past them, creating small gusts of wind. There were
several newly developed air cars floating above their heads as well. It was a good thing the BlueBots were
there to manage the traffic, since the roads and airpaths seemed rather chaotic. Tall palm trees were lined up
at the edge of the sidewalk, looking as if they were waiting in line for something. The gigantic maze of
buildings were filled with people: workers, shoppers, tourists, students, they were all there.
“Did I ever tell you how much I love this place?”
“Yes. Yes you did, Kevin.”
“I just can’t get over how
shiny
everything is! I mean, it’s not like Hong Kong doesn’t have shiny
buildings, but…It just seems shinier here!”
Ben laughed monotonously. He instantly remembered that he only had a fake, inhuman laugh, and
felt a robotic sadness at the same time.
“Do you want to go see anything here?” The robot asked, trying to divert his attention away from
his ‘emotions’. “Oh yeah, I think we should check out the park over there, and then… a shopping street, I
guess.” Ben nodded and said, “Sure.”
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