Reconfigure by Epredator, Ian Hughes Page A

FMM v1.0 a full on test in a densely packed area. She also needed WiFi, and coffee. Costa it was then! She braved the ever changing array of speciality coffees, teas and cakes. The sort of decision making for an order meant she needed the coffee to recover. “Just a large latte please. Oh! Go on then, with a vanilla shot in it.” She said to the barista. The coffee shop was bustling as per usual at most times of the day. She managed to find a table, but outside. She preferred being inside the glass, but needs must. It was not raining, it wasn’t sunny either. It seldom was. She slung her bag over the back of the chair. She left the lid on the coffee cup so that just a small wisp of steam spiralled out of the drinking hole in the complex shaped white lid. She tried not to look suspicious. Roisin knew a bit of pop psychology, trying not to look suspicious is the most suspicious looking thing you can do. She told her brain she was just checking her social media, just like everyone else sat around her staring at their small glowing oblongs. The WiFi was happily connected. She came here a lot. She tapped FMM, after a small delay as it dealt with the vast amount of extra data on the stream, her screen filled with thousands of cubes and labels all competing for her attention. Humans, Tables, Cups, Liquid, Jackets, Hats, Birds, Sachets. It was quite surprising just how many things the World is made of. Roisin was glad she had used the standard virtual camera control widget, it let her move and zoom her view of the World on her little screen.
    Zooming around and orientating based on her sphere she managed to determine the relative position of the next table. The lady, probably on her way to her shift at a local shop judging by her uniform, had just stood up to leave. Roisin refreshed her screen and sure enough it left just Table, Cup and Lid cubes where the Human, Table, Cup and Lid had previously been. She clicked the cup cube, and using Translate dragged it one unit on the x axis. She received no warnings back as she hit Apply. A cardboard cup and plastic lid dropped to the floor, leaving a clean table next to her. The small percussive note of cardboard on concrete was released and amplified by the separating plastic lid. Roisin smirked and furtively looked around. Just with her eyes, not moving her head. To a passer by she was staring at her screen playing some sort of weird blocks game. A cup on the floor? Just a gust of wind after a lazy customer didn’t bother popping their rubbish in the recycle bin.
    She was so pleased with herself, her test had worked. She was out in the World and able to clean coffee tables with a flick. Being hunched a little forward she did not notice her cartoon handbag doing a little levitation of its own. She did sense something and too late realised the lad in the long coat who had a bag identical to hers was heading off whilst trying to put the bag inside his jacket. She did a double take, it was her bag! Still clutching her iPhone she jumped to her feet shouting “HEY! MY BAG!” The chair didn’t slide back enough as she pushed it and stood. It caught in the gap between the paving slabs. Roisin went forwards as the chair pushed back at her. She swirled around the edge of the table and sent it clattering to the floor. Her coffee cup performing a more dramatic stunt delivering its vanilla enhanced steaming water infusion across the slabs. No-one else seemed bothered, just a few looks and tuts.
    The lad with the cartoon bag knew he had not got away with it. He didn’t even look over his shoulder, just tipped his baseball capped head down a little, and started running. Roisin hoped shouting and screaming at the yob would cause someone to help. He took a turn to the right, past Greggs. Roisin had not been down this alley before, why would she? The bins at the back of Greggs were not a great place to visit. Something she realised even more, as she found herself facing a grinning idiot with a