warmth
was often mistaken as an invitation for friendship, and in reality he knew his
wife didn’t particularly want any new friends. She was fiercely loyal and
committed only to her family and her husband. Valerie was in her mid forties
but could easily pass for late twenties. Underneath her warm friendly demeanour,
she had a pragmatically colder personality which had helped her rise to a
senior middle management position in human resources for a community authority.
However she always said that her crowning achievement was managing to keep her
rank and position when she reduced her hours to part time. Many of her
characteristics had passed on to their daughter; Audrina who was equally the
flirt but sometimes quite cold and abrupt. Both women in this house had
dominant personalities which the Major and his son Anton had to suffer, or else
be browbeaten.
River did feel welcome
in Valerie’s home. She had made a lunch and shown him around the apartment. She
had made up the guest room for him and helped him put away his new clothes. The
three of them had eaten lunch out on the veranda which was very pleasant as it
was a warm sunny day. They sat at a bench seat garden table with an amazing
view over the metropolis and a wide expansive view of the sky. The veranda was
effectively a small rooftop garden which was landscaped with herb and flower
beds and small coloured stone mosaic pathways bordering small areas of
artificial grass turf. River felt comfortable enough to go and walk the bounds
of the landscaped garden which was about 70’ by 50’. To reach the edge, you had
to scramble over a perimeter of a contiguous bordering rockery. As he climbed
it he could he could get a much clearer view of the metropolis and skyline. He
could see that they were very high up. Despite this being a fifth floor
apartment, the actual building and street level were not actually situated at
ground level. Looking down it was obvious that there was no consistent ground
level. In fact you couldn’t see the actual ground, but different sectors had
different raised ground levels as if the metropolis had been terra formed and
terraced. There was plenty of greenery in view, and parks which seemed
artificial and landscaped. The bulk of the green was made up a plethora of
rooftop garden space and what appeared to be vast green houses and biospheres
that appeared to be possible urban farms. The use of the rooftop space seemed
to be well managed. Even though this garden space was on somebody else’s roof,
that other apartment also had its own garden space on someone else’s roof. The
apartment rooftops were staggered in height and each garden was landscaped in
such a way to establish the living space away from the edges and thus unable to
overview lower rooftop gardens. In a similar mindset, no building overshadowed
the next one. Most of the high-rise construction of the metropolis seemed to
observe this rule. The highest buildings were concentrated in close proximity
to each other usually close to the citadel’s walls. You could just make out the
high citadel walls which were an engineering masterpiece. Beyond that it was
difficult to see much but River gazed in the direction he gauged his home was,
and he wondered if his family were worried about him.
When River went back to
seek out Nathan and Valerie, he found only Valerie sitting at the veranda
table. -“I must apologize on behalf of my husband, River,” announced Valerie. “He
received a call from his work which seemed important enough to him to warrant
going off and leaving us. I hope you don’t mind just my company.”
“I am glad to be in
your company,” River replied.
“Well it won’t be for
long because Anton is on his way over here and Audrina will be home after 6pm.”
River acknowledged this as good news but inside he felt a little trepidation.
He had not met anyone his own age since arriving in the Metropolis. -“This is
standard behaviour from Nathan,” Valerie continued.
was often mistaken as an invitation for friendship, and in reality he knew his
wife didn’t particularly want any new friends. She was fiercely loyal and
committed only to her family and her husband. Valerie was in her mid forties
but could easily pass for late twenties. Underneath her warm friendly demeanour,
she had a pragmatically colder personality which had helped her rise to a
senior middle management position in human resources for a community authority.
However she always said that her crowning achievement was managing to keep her
rank and position when she reduced her hours to part time. Many of her
characteristics had passed on to their daughter; Audrina who was equally the
flirt but sometimes quite cold and abrupt. Both women in this house had
dominant personalities which the Major and his son Anton had to suffer, or else
be browbeaten.
River did feel welcome
in Valerie’s home. She had made a lunch and shown him around the apartment. She
had made up the guest room for him and helped him put away his new clothes. The
three of them had eaten lunch out on the veranda which was very pleasant as it
was a warm sunny day. They sat at a bench seat garden table with an amazing
view over the metropolis and a wide expansive view of the sky. The veranda was
effectively a small rooftop garden which was landscaped with herb and flower
beds and small coloured stone mosaic pathways bordering small areas of
artificial grass turf. River felt comfortable enough to go and walk the bounds
of the landscaped garden which was about 70’ by 50’. To reach the edge, you had
to scramble over a perimeter of a contiguous bordering rockery. As he climbed
it he could he could get a much clearer view of the metropolis and skyline. He
could see that they were very high up. Despite this being a fifth floor
apartment, the actual building and street level were not actually situated at
ground level. Looking down it was obvious that there was no consistent ground
level. In fact you couldn’t see the actual ground, but different sectors had
different raised ground levels as if the metropolis had been terra formed and
terraced. There was plenty of greenery in view, and parks which seemed
artificial and landscaped. The bulk of the green was made up a plethora of
rooftop garden space and what appeared to be vast green houses and biospheres
that appeared to be possible urban farms. The use of the rooftop space seemed
to be well managed. Even though this garden space was on somebody else’s roof,
that other apartment also had its own garden space on someone else’s roof. The
apartment rooftops were staggered in height and each garden was landscaped in
such a way to establish the living space away from the edges and thus unable to
overview lower rooftop gardens. In a similar mindset, no building overshadowed
the next one. Most of the high-rise construction of the metropolis seemed to
observe this rule. The highest buildings were concentrated in close proximity
to each other usually close to the citadel’s walls. You could just make out the
high citadel walls which were an engineering masterpiece. Beyond that it was
difficult to see much but River gazed in the direction he gauged his home was,
and he wondered if his family were worried about him.
When River went back to
seek out Nathan and Valerie, he found only Valerie sitting at the veranda
table. -“I must apologize on behalf of my husband, River,” announced Valerie. “He
received a call from his work which seemed important enough to him to warrant
going off and leaving us. I hope you don’t mind just my company.”
“I am glad to be in
your company,” River replied.
“Well it won’t be for
long because Anton is on his way over here and Audrina will be home after 6pm.”
River acknowledged this as good news but inside he felt a little trepidation.
He had not met anyone his own age since arriving in the Metropolis. -“This is
standard behaviour from Nathan,” Valerie continued.
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