The Streets - Home [ 1 ] (sci-fi series)

He ran his eyes across the room. Light flooded in through the large frosted glass panel wall. The clean white surfaces almost glowed, the minimalist styling, sharp edges, softly curved corners. Designed for both form and function, an amalgamation of thousands of hours of usability testing and obsessive compulsive prototyping to ensure each piece fit perfectly and performed flawlessly.

For some, they may have found the interior cold and unwelcoming but to him, it was homely. He had chosen this design, tweaked it and suggested his own elements to the fitters. Not too many reflective surfaces, matte, easy to clean, maintain and replace if needs be. Every wall was sound proofed, insulated, the temperature modulated, the ambient noise adjustable.

He had one thing in mind in his vision, sensory deprivation. A place where his mind could relax into without requiring a focal point. It was then that he could truly focus, really push the boundaries of himself and his thought patterns.

His eyes fell on the far wall where images ran in the background. Images he had taken throughout his early life. They were more complex yet simpler times simultaneously. So much opportunity from which to choose, so few choices made. He had made his though, and they had been lucrative and costly.

An image of a sunset faded as one of a teenager melted into view. Bright blue eyes, flowing hair and an infectious smile. He stared at her and smiled until the seconds passed and the image faded into one of ice crystals. His smile dropped away. He swept his hand across the sky, and the image disappeared and the screen transformed back into a wall surface. White.

He moved over to the door and reached for his customised mask hanging by a mirror. He placed it on top of his head but before pulling it down, he looked at the reflected face that greeted him. The skin was tanned and smooth except for an angry scar that split his face from top to bottom, straight through the right eye socket. The rule of thirds, perfect, he thought.

The milky, unseeing eye that broke the scar gave him a sideshow appeal that would frighten a child who caught a glimpse. Not that it mattered anymore. He pulled the mask down until it reached his neck and ran his finger behind his ear and breathed outwards. The bio-sensors initiated and the mask sucked hard in to seal him inside. The glass strip for viewing, personally moulded for comfort and maximum peripheral vision pulled tight on his temples. The HUD softly filtered into view.

Personal vitals, a rear view, proximity alert threat indicator... but not what he required at this moment. The movement of his pupil flipped the page to linkups and an icon of an eye. 3, 2, 1, Bzz. The link was made and stereo vision returned. The clarity and detail was better than nature had provided, but nowhere near as satisfying. Safer than not having it though.

He flipped the interface to My playlist.

6 Underground - Sneaker Pimps

 

He flipped it again. Proximity alert active

Time to head out into the streets.

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]

To: Two Birds [ 2 ]