Chapter 2
Webb awoke Wednesday morning sweaty and dyspepsic. Accustomed to the familiar aftereffects, he grabbed the bottle of Coatx from the bedside table and swallowed half of what remained, lying flat and pillowless as the silver liquid dribbled down his cheek. It was early, and he felt like shit—no different than usual. The news was still on, and public schools were literally crumbling. In one fluid motion, Webb stood and stretched. The windows, sensing his movement, untinted to let the light in. He mumbled, “Coffee,” and walked into the bathroom, lights illuminating and newscast snapping on as he entered. Shower, shit, and shave had a nice flow, but Webb always swapped the first two and preferred a little scruff. Once through with his morning meditation, he made his way to the shower, removing his underwear absentmindedly only after the water had already made contact. He finished his morning routine on autopilot, not contemplating his, or anyone else’s past or future.
As he finished the knot on his Anderson and Sheppard tie, Webb picked up his phone and walked to the kitchen to fetch the coffee waiting in the brewer. A sizable portion of the interactive glass on the refrigerator displayed the news feed from his phone, as well as a hefty list of missing items inside, but he paid no attention. After a few eye drops and a pill, he turned back down the hallway toward his bedroom, passing it on his way to the garage.
Like the rest of his life, the garage was automated and impersonal. There were two grated, metallic car docks within a charcoal gray tiled floor surrounded by pristine white walls. The walls were decorated with photographs of other aerodynamic, sleek automobiles with continuous front-to-back, retractable glass windshields. Opposite the residence entrance was a panoramic garage door, which his auburn Aston Martin faced. Webb purchased the car when his ego was atmospheric, the romance of its symbolism and history irresistible. The overhead floodlights auto-illuminated as he entered, spotlighting the car and the pictures. Webb opened the door to the Aston Martin, placed his phone in the center console and his coffee in its holder, and climbed in. With a tap on his phone the car disengaged from its lock, the grate cranks began to turn, and the garage door opened. The grate under his car rose slightly and then carefully moved the Aston Martin through the garage exit, into the glass lined car lift built on to the southern facade of the Alexin. After the garage door closed, Webb’s car descended thirty-five floors through the glass lift casing with the aid of an anti-gravitational device positioned just below the ground floor. At the fifteenth floor, the lift opened onto a short drive that lead out to the Eighty-second and Park Upper El, the skyroad of the elite.
“Forty Wall Street,” said Webb as he browsed stocks on the car’s holograph. The car sprung to life, coursing over the on-ramp as Webb gripped the armrest in a futile attempt to suppress the nausea. The enhanced, unencumbered sunlight 250 feet above ground level did not help.
The roadways of the greater New York City area, along with most of the streets and highways throughout the world, had been converted to an automated transportation system eight-five years prior. The ATS was integrated with all modes of powered transport and controlled the speed and navigation system of every vehicle located within the system confines. It also operated an enormous fleet of continuously circulating public vehicles. At any moment, a customer could hail a driverless car and be picked up immediately. Despite the convenience of public transportation, however, private vehicles were far from obsolete. Any previous attempt at banning personal ownership had failed in the face of individual rights. As a compromise, all private vehicles were required to be equipped with ATS controls and could only be independently operated at a high tax.
The DOT traffic control program operated via satellite connections to the operating system in each car. The driver simply voiced their destination and the car was directed there according to the safest and fastest route determined by the sy
