outside onto a sidewalk made of a strange material that looked almost like liquid mercury, though not as shiny. The moment our feet touched down, the material surged beneath us. I yelped in surprise, much to the amusement of a group of geeks just behind us. The pathway carried us into a large tunnel. A white glow suffused the corridor, gleaming off the polished chrome-like material on the walls. Beams of red light scanned us as we went through and, at the end, a hulking robot with giant cylindrical guns on the arms strode our way on legs bent backwards like those of a kangaroo.
"Identify," it said in a cybernetic voice.
"Oh, for crying out loud," Shelton said. "Doesn't this joke ever get old?"
The gun barrels whirred to life, rotating so fast they were a blur, and a single red eye in the center of its chrome body blazed to life. "Identify."
"Ignore it," Shelton said and headed toward another moving pathway.
Staring at the spinning guns, I sidled up to Shelton, placing him squarely between me and the robot, even though I noticed the other passengers from the rocket were ignoring the contraption as well. The man with the red bowler paused at the end of the branching path, his eyes locking onto mine. He tipped his bowler at me, winked and smiled, then took the opposite path away from us.
Before I had a chance to wonder about the odd man, Shelton drew my attention back to the lethal-looking robot, dismissing it with a wave of his hand. "If the scans don't recognize someone, that thing comes out to make you crap your drawers."
"Well, it works," I said.
He sniffed the air. "Whew, guess it did."
I poked him with an elbow. "Ha, ha. Laugh it up, buddy."
He did.
The moving pathway took us past a long building, all curves and organic grace, with a silvery sheen visible by the white ambient light glowing from an unseen source around it. The same liquid glass I'd seen in use at the MagicSoft and Orange stores in the Grotto seemed to be in use here, judging from the gentle undulations of the windows. I gawked at the beauty and cutting-edge aesthetics with unabashed admiration.
Shelton held a hand to the left as we came to a fork in the moving pathway, and the surface shifted us left toward a three-story building that looked as though it might belong to an outpost on Mars. "Those are the dorms. My friend left me with a passkey."
Something overhead flashed by so fast, I wondered if I had imagined it. Two more streaks blurred toward the building, followed by a slower-moving flying saucer which stopped to hover for a moment, casting a blinding dome of light on the two of us. I almost expected to be abducted by aliens before the rotating ship resumed course and whirred onward to the building.
"Where can I get one of those?" I asked, certain I was already drooling.
Shelton laughed and pressed his thumb against a biometric reader on the building door. It slid open with a whoosh , and we stepped inside. The interior of the dorm looked normal, almost like a hotel, but with no carpeting or front desk. Our room was a small affair with a bunk bed against one wall and two empty desks against the other.
"I call top," I said, grabbing some folded sheets off the bare mattress and spreading them out.
"I don't think so," Shelton replied.
I looked at him over my shoulder. "Want to arm wrestle for it?"
He blew out a breath. "Fine. Keep the stupid top. I didn't really want it anyway." He paced around the room impatiently, stopping at the window, after a minute, and looking at the lights outside. "Man, I'm starving. Let's head to the food court."
My stomach rumbled in agreement. "What do they have to eat here?"
Shelton ran through a list as we made our way back outside. About halfway between the dorms and another group of buildings he identified as the food court, the moving pathway abruptly stopped. I staggered forward a couple feet before regaining my balance.
"What the hell?" Shelton rubbed his boot against the liquid-looking metal. He
"Identify," it said in a cybernetic voice.
"Oh, for crying out loud," Shelton said. "Doesn't this joke ever get old?"
The gun barrels whirred to life, rotating so fast they were a blur, and a single red eye in the center of its chrome body blazed to life. "Identify."
"Ignore it," Shelton said and headed toward another moving pathway.
Staring at the spinning guns, I sidled up to Shelton, placing him squarely between me and the robot, even though I noticed the other passengers from the rocket were ignoring the contraption as well. The man with the red bowler paused at the end of the branching path, his eyes locking onto mine. He tipped his bowler at me, winked and smiled, then took the opposite path away from us.
Before I had a chance to wonder about the odd man, Shelton drew my attention back to the lethal-looking robot, dismissing it with a wave of his hand. "If the scans don't recognize someone, that thing comes out to make you crap your drawers."
"Well, it works," I said.
He sniffed the air. "Whew, guess it did."
I poked him with an elbow. "Ha, ha. Laugh it up, buddy."
He did.
The moving pathway took us past a long building, all curves and organic grace, with a silvery sheen visible by the white ambient light glowing from an unseen source around it. The same liquid glass I'd seen in use at the MagicSoft and Orange stores in the Grotto seemed to be in use here, judging from the gentle undulations of the windows. I gawked at the beauty and cutting-edge aesthetics with unabashed admiration.
Shelton held a hand to the left as we came to a fork in the moving pathway, and the surface shifted us left toward a three-story building that looked as though it might belong to an outpost on Mars. "Those are the dorms. My friend left me with a passkey."
Something overhead flashed by so fast, I wondered if I had imagined it. Two more streaks blurred toward the building, followed by a slower-moving flying saucer which stopped to hover for a moment, casting a blinding dome of light on the two of us. I almost expected to be abducted by aliens before the rotating ship resumed course and whirred onward to the building.
"Where can I get one of those?" I asked, certain I was already drooling.
Shelton laughed and pressed his thumb against a biometric reader on the building door. It slid open with a whoosh , and we stepped inside. The interior of the dorm looked normal, almost like a hotel, but with no carpeting or front desk. Our room was a small affair with a bunk bed against one wall and two empty desks against the other.
"I call top," I said, grabbing some folded sheets off the bare mattress and spreading them out.
"I don't think so," Shelton replied.
I looked at him over my shoulder. "Want to arm wrestle for it?"
He blew out a breath. "Fine. Keep the stupid top. I didn't really want it anyway." He paced around the room impatiently, stopping at the window, after a minute, and looking at the lights outside. "Man, I'm starving. Let's head to the food court."
My stomach rumbled in agreement. "What do they have to eat here?"
Shelton ran through a list as we made our way back outside. About halfway between the dorms and another group of buildings he identified as the food court, the moving pathway abruptly stopped. I staggered forward a couple feet before regaining my balance.
"What the hell?" Shelton rubbed his boot against the liquid-looking metal. He
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