out of the Terrafoam system with her. We walked
about a quarter mile to a waiting bus.
When
we got on, the bus was nearly full. It was easy to tell who was who.
Every terrafoam resident was wearing a brown coverall like me, while
all the escorts were dressed like rainbows. Everyone was looking
through the catalogs and talking.
Linda
and I sat down on one side. Burt and Cynthia sat down on the other,
and the bus pulled away. Like everyone else I was looking through the
catalog, reading and asking Linda questions during the whole drive.
We were on the bus for about three hours, but it seemed to go by in
10 minutes.
This
had all seemed something like a dream, but it started to become very
real when we arrived at our destination. It was an immense airport,
with dozens of jets waiting at the gates. There were dozens of buses
dropping off passengers, and hundreds of people moving through the
facility. Every jet was painted bright green and marked with a blue
4GC logo on the tail, and all of the buildings were painted the same
way.
We
got off the bus and it really hit me as we walked into the first part
of the building. "This is our first stop," said Linda.
"We've got to get you out of those dreadful coveralls." She
and Cynthia guided Burt and me into a room on our right, which opened
up into an immense store. It was filled with racks and racks of every
conceivable kind of clothing."
"Once
you get to Australia, the way you order clothing will be nothing like
this. But this is what you are used to right now, so it is easier.
Let's pick you out some decent clothes."
Linda
and Cynthia picked out clothes for Burt and me. The robot sized us,
and we went to the dressing room and changed. Just that one thing --
putting on real clothing for the first time in a year -- made such an
impact on me.
It
was when we walked out of the store and got on the plane, however,
that I knew for sure we were not in Kansas any more...
Chapter
6
Linda
and Cynthia seemed to know exactly where we were going. We simply
walked through the airport, then through a wide door with a large
group of other people. It was as though we were heading into an
auditorium, but instead we were on the plane.
This
airplane was immense. It had to be able to hold a thousand people at
least, and the entire cabin was appointed with the most opulent first
class features I had ever encountered. Every seat was a recliner that
was also able to fold out into a bed. They were arranged in pairs, 14
across at the point where we entered, and there were at least 5 other
doors that I could see with people streaming in. Linda took us to a
pair of seats and said, "This pair is for us. You take the far
seat." Cynthia and Burt sat in the next pair over.
There
was something odd going on, so I asked Linda, "How did we get
here?" Thinking back, I had realized something. There was not a
single sign anywhere in the building. There were no announcements
over any sort of PA system. Linda had never talked to anyone besides
Cynthia, Burt and me. The seats did not even have numbers on them.
Yet she had walked straight through the building, onto the plane,
straight to our seats and we sat down. So did everyone else.
"That
is one of the many things that you will learn during the
orientation." She said. "Now make yourself comfortable.
It's a bit of a flight."
"Can
I put my seat back?" I asked. I had seen that several other
people had already turned their seats into beds.
"Sure."
She said. She did not touch anything, but the seat unfolded
automatically and I had myself a very comfortable single-size bed.
She opened a drawer and handed me a blanket.
I
lay down, and I fell asleep immediately. It had been an incredibly
long day...
I
felt someone squeezing my hand as I came back to consciousness. I
opened my mind, and then my eyes, and it took several seconds for
things in my head to snap back into place so that I could realize
what was going on.
We
were still on the plane. Linda was still beside
about a quarter mile to a waiting bus.
When
we got on, the bus was nearly full. It was easy to tell who was who.
Every terrafoam resident was wearing a brown coverall like me, while
all the escorts were dressed like rainbows. Everyone was looking
through the catalogs and talking.
Linda
and I sat down on one side. Burt and Cynthia sat down on the other,
and the bus pulled away. Like everyone else I was looking through the
catalog, reading and asking Linda questions during the whole drive.
We were on the bus for about three hours, but it seemed to go by in
10 minutes.
This
had all seemed something like a dream, but it started to become very
real when we arrived at our destination. It was an immense airport,
with dozens of jets waiting at the gates. There were dozens of buses
dropping off passengers, and hundreds of people moving through the
facility. Every jet was painted bright green and marked with a blue
4GC logo on the tail, and all of the buildings were painted the same
way.
We
got off the bus and it really hit me as we walked into the first part
of the building. "This is our first stop," said Linda.
"We've got to get you out of those dreadful coveralls." She
and Cynthia guided Burt and me into a room on our right, which opened
up into an immense store. It was filled with racks and racks of every
conceivable kind of clothing."
"Once
you get to Australia, the way you order clothing will be nothing like
this. But this is what you are used to right now, so it is easier.
Let's pick you out some decent clothes."
Linda
and Cynthia picked out clothes for Burt and me. The robot sized us,
and we went to the dressing room and changed. Just that one thing --
putting on real clothing for the first time in a year -- made such an
impact on me.
It
was when we walked out of the store and got on the plane, however,
that I knew for sure we were not in Kansas any more...
Chapter
6
Linda
and Cynthia seemed to know exactly where we were going. We simply
walked through the airport, then through a wide door with a large
group of other people. It was as though we were heading into an
auditorium, but instead we were on the plane.
This
airplane was immense. It had to be able to hold a thousand people at
least, and the entire cabin was appointed with the most opulent first
class features I had ever encountered. Every seat was a recliner that
was also able to fold out into a bed. They were arranged in pairs, 14
across at the point where we entered, and there were at least 5 other
doors that I could see with people streaming in. Linda took us to a
pair of seats and said, "This pair is for us. You take the far
seat." Cynthia and Burt sat in the next pair over.
There
was something odd going on, so I asked Linda, "How did we get
here?" Thinking back, I had realized something. There was not a
single sign anywhere in the building. There were no announcements
over any sort of PA system. Linda had never talked to anyone besides
Cynthia, Burt and me. The seats did not even have numbers on them.
Yet she had walked straight through the building, onto the plane,
straight to our seats and we sat down. So did everyone else.
"That
is one of the many things that you will learn during the
orientation." She said. "Now make yourself comfortable.
It's a bit of a flight."
"Can
I put my seat back?" I asked. I had seen that several other
people had already turned their seats into beds.
"Sure."
She said. She did not touch anything, but the seat unfolded
automatically and I had myself a very comfortable single-size bed.
She opened a drawer and handed me a blanket.
I
lay down, and I fell asleep immediately. It had been an incredibly
long day...
I
felt someone squeezing my hand as I came back to consciousness. I
opened my mind, and then my eyes, and it took several seconds for
things in my head to snap back into place so that I could realize
what was going on.
We
were still on the plane. Linda was still beside
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