Book II
Chapter 1: The Morning After the Rally
It was already seven in the morning. She had to get up, as she still needed to reply to clients today.
Nika got out of bed and went into the bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror, looking at her tired face. There had been a rally yesterday and she’d got home very late, which was why it was so hard to get up.
Thankfully, it’s the year 2087. Technology has advanced to the point where she can get herself back into shape very quickly, and then get on with her business.
Back in 2047, people switched to a completely different economic model. Nowadays, everyone is self-employed. Everyone has to build their own brand, develop their own expertise, and sell it to large corporations or other people.
Nika is an automation engineer. She automates all processes for businesses.
She and her friends have set up an agency. There are four of them there. Nika handles automation, Igor develops the mechanical components, Dima is a programmer, and Stas is in charge of the exact sciences.This model was introduced to boost progress. There’s now much less idle chatter and much more action. When a decision depends on just one person, the process moves faster.
Today, Nika would need to reply to a couple of clients, have a phone call with her business partners and find an expert to help promote their agency. She needed to get a move on. She yawned widely and set about her morning routine.
Nika pressed the blue button on the mirror. In the top left-hand corner of the mirror, a woman’s face appeared and began to analyse the condition of her face.
‘You look very tired today,’ said the face on the mirror. ‘I suggest you wash your face with foam and then apply toner whilst our multispectral camera analyses your skin’s condition. Once the analysis is complete, I’ll recommend a cream and sunscreen.’
A couple of lights came on in the box mounted beneath the mirror. Nika slipped her hand under one of these lights and some foam squeezed out onto her hand. She applied it to her face and began to massage it in. The face in the mirror spoke again. It now filled the entire mirror and demonstrated how to massage her face.
After washing her face and applying toner, the face reappeared in the top left-hand corner and said:
‘You need to apply a hyaluronic acid serum and a moisturising cream. As it’s going to be a cloudy day today, I’d advise you to apply 3 grams of sunscreen number three.’
The lights on the cabinet beneath the mirror came on again. Nika held her hands under the lights one at a time and applied the products to her face. The face in the mirror also demonstrated the hand movements for applying the products correctly and for massaging.
‘Now we’ll apply a protective layer to your teeth,’ continued the face in the mirror after all the facial treatments had been completed.
The light on the drawer beneath the mirror came on again, and a white paste trickled down onto Nika’s hand, which she simply rubbed onto her teeth. When she’d finished, she smiled broadly at her reflection. The mirror showed 93 per cent coverage.
‘Well done,’ said the face in the mirror.
‘There’s just one last step in the routine. Now we’re going to say a couple of affirmations. Repeat after me: I can do anything, God is always with me, I’m enjoying the passage of time.’
Nika began to repeat:
‘I can do anything, God is always with me, I enjoy the passing of time.’
‘Everything is working out in my favour, everything is possible for me, everyone says yes to me,’ the robotic voice recited the recorded words.
‘Everything is working out in my favour, everything is possible for me, everyone says “yes” to me,’ said Nika, smiling at the mirror.
‘You’re ready for today. I wish you a lovely day. Based on your skin analysis, I’ve put together a breakfast menu. It’s 87 per cent ready. ‘Shall I put some music on whilst you wait for breakfast?’ the face in the mirror concluded the morning routine.
‘Yes, please put on the band “Perelet-Trava” and the song “Luck”,’ Nika asked as she glided out of the bathroom.
Modern flats were mainly built to a single design. It all depends on the number of people in the family. If a person lives alone, they are allocated a flat with a small entrance hall, a bathroom, a large wardrobe and a room combining a kitchen and a bedroom. So, upon entering such a flat, one finds oneself in a small hall with two doors: one on the left and one on the right. To the left is the bathroom, and to the right is a large wardrobe. Moving straight ahead leads into a large room where the kitchen is combined with a large bed. If there were two people in the family, they were allocated a two-room flat. If there were three, they were given a three-room flat, and so on.
It should be noted, however, that having children had to be planned in advance. By the time you got married, you were already expected to have decided on the number of children you intended to have. All this is entered into the system based on the country’s demographic statistics, and residential complexes are built for citizens across the country based on this data. If you have registered that you will have three children, whom you will give birth to over the next seven years, the system itself determines when to allocate the appropriate accommodation to you; ultimately, this family will be given a five-room flat. If, however, you have been allocated a five-room flat but only have two children so far, you are given three years to have a third child. Otherwise, after three years, you will have to move back into a four-room flat. In this case, it will also be more difficult to secure a larger flat when a third child arrives. You will need to re-register with an updated plan for conceiving the child.
All the blocks always consist of multi-room flats on the ground floor. Next come smaller flats, and at the very top are studio flats. This is so that families with many children do not have to climb to the upper floors. Nika lives on the fifteenth floor; there are eighteen floors in this block in total.
So Nika walked into the large room and made her way to a large metal table. It was a food-preparation machine; it looked like an ordinary large metal table. Although this table looked more like a fridge laid on its side. There was a screen at the top edge. Large numbers were glowing on this screen. The figure displayed was ninety-three per cent.
Nika leaned over the screen, resting her elbows on the table, and gazed thoughtfully at the numbers. A plan was taking shape in her mind of what she needed to get done today.
She thought:
I’m off to the recovery centre now; I’ll get back to our clients from there. Afterwards, I might pop into ‘So vkusom i tochka’. I’ll have a coffee there and give my partners a ring – we need to decide how many clients we’ll take on this month. And I need to give Igor a nudge so he finally finishes the mount for the detector’s cooling chamber. Then I’ll head to the application centre and try to find an expert to help us promote the business; I might also look at or submit a couple of applications for new clients. Whilst I’m on my way there, I’ll be able to ring Sveta and arrange to meet up this evening to discuss the rallies we want to attend this month. So I’ll need to book a table for two at a restaurant whilst I’m out and about.
At that moment, a sound rang out and the face of the same woman who had been in the bathroom mirror appeared on the screen. The woman said:
‘Your breakfast is ready. It consists of 32 grams of protein, 15 grams of fat and 100 grams of carbohydrates. The meal contains a total of 415 calories.
A square opening appeared in the table and a dish rose to the surface—it looked like a greenish-brown porridge with flecks of something white. Nika picked up a spoon and the dish and walked over to a small table by the window. She began to examine the contents of the plate with interest, gently pushing the substance aside with her spoon. Then, with a smile, she said:
‘So today I’m having tuna with avocado and an egg,’ she said, turning towards the metal table, her face added. ‘Could I have some more apple juice diluted with water, please?’
The numbers lit up on the screen again and quickly reached 100 per cent. A glass filled with apple juice mixed with water slid out onto the table. Ni began her breakfast.
After breakfast, she went to get changed to get ready to go out. The familiar face of the digital woman appeared once more on the mirror in the wardrobe.
‘I can advise you on what to wear depending on the weather. When are you planning to be back today?’ the face began.
‘No, thank you. Today I want to dress as I please.’
Nika pulled on a T-shirt, jeans and a jumper. With a pensive look on her face, she stood by the shoe rack.
‘What do you think – should I wear white trainers with my beige jumper, or would beige loafers be better?’
‘It might be rainy today. So my advice is to wear white trainers,’ said a voice from the speaker, as the screen displayed the weather forecast for every two hours.
‘All right, then. Trainers it is.’ Nika said with a sigh, sounding a bit disappointed. She found the choice rather dull.
‘Is there anything else I can do for you?’ the voice continued.
‘Yes, see if you can sort out transport to the wellness centre. And order some pink trainers. These white ones are really boring,’ said Nika, standing in front of the mirror and examining her outfit.
‘I’ll do that straight away. Do you want the pink trainers you looked at three weeks ago in the “Top Brands” app?’ asked the face.
‘Oh yes,’ Nika exclaimed enthusiastically. ‘I really liked them. I’d completely forgotten I’d seen them.’
‘I’ll order them. And another thing: in five minutes, a monorail tram will arrive, which is on its way to the wellness centre. I’ve booked that for you too.’ ‘You’ll need to be out in two minutes to make it in time,’ said the face in the mirror.
‘Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you,’ mumbled Nika, and she ran out of the changing room to grab her bag and a small device with a screen. The flat door slammed shut. Niki headed for the lift.
It was already hot outside first thing in the morning. It was 18 July. Nika ran out onto the street and pulled a disgruntled face:
‘It’s definitely going to be very hot today; I can hardly breathe even this early in the morning. Why on earth did I put this jumper on?’
Nika had to walk through the courtyards to get to the main street, where she could catch the monorail. The courtyards between the high-rises resembled a park with lots of trees, a lawn and flowers. There were plenty of benches. And, like a spider’s web, a narrow path branched out across the whole courtyard. It led to all the building entrances, and there were also three exits from the courtyard, to which the path also led.
Nika glanced at her small screen and, with purpose, headed for exit number two. Many people had given up on phones with large screens many years ago. There were plenty of reasons for this. Such phones weren’t considered energy-efficient. A screen packed with apps consumed a lot of electricity. It had to be constantly recharged. Another drawback was the easy access to videos and images from all over the world; this had such an effect on people that they spent a great deal of time staring at the screen. It was proven that excessive use of such phones led to a deterioration in people’s health. Over time, people realised this and began to phase such phones out of their lives. This is how a completely different device came about. It was called a pocket assistant. We’ve already been introduced to the artificial intelligence that helped Nika with all sorts of matters at home. But instead of the usual so-called ‘scrolling’, you could take this assistant with you; you could simply chat to your digital assistant, who would carry out all your requests. Now, all you have to do is press a button and ask, place an order, check something, or make a digital note in your notebook. And all of this is done using your voice.
A timer was displayed on the screen, counting down the final seconds. Nika looked to her right and saw the monorail approaching. It was a small carriage designed for twelve people. It had eight seats and space for four people to stand. The carriage was operated remotely; there was no driver’s cab.
The carriage pulled up alongside Nika and opened its door – the only one on the whole carriage, located at the very front. Nika began to climb the steps; there were three of them. As all the controls and electronics were located underneath the carriage, the floor was much higher than the ground. Nika climbed aboard and looked around the carriage; the five seats on the left-hand side were already taken. On the right-hand side, there was only a boy sitting there, and two seats were still free. Nika gave the boy a stern look and sat down behind him. The boy was wearing headphones and looking out of the window; he didn’t even notice Nika’s stern gaze. The carriage closed its doors and set off again.
‘Next stop: “Fountains of Happiness”,’ came the announcement over the carriage’s PA system.
Nika held her little device with the screen up to her lips and whispered:
‘Please find a restaurant where I can try something new.’
A green light flashed on the device, indicating that the search had begun. Various restaurant options began to appear on the screen, each marked with a small icon indicating new dishes. Nika stared at the screen and began to choose. On the screen, she could tap ‘select’ or ‘cancel’. Nika settled on the fourth option, which listed the following under ‘new items’: coffee and sweets with Armenian date cream. Everyone was making sweets with this cream at the moment – it was the most popular treat right now. As Nika had wanted to try this cream for ages, she decided to choose this particular restaurant where she could sample it. Nika raised the small device to her lips again and whispered:
‘Please book this restaurant for two and send invitations to Sveta with the note: “Let’s discuss the rallies for the coming month”.’
Nika lowered the device and stared out of the window.
The carriage came to a halt again; three more people got on. Nika looked the new arrivals up and down. They were two young lads and a girl. They were dressed in grey uniforms. Each of them had a small badge pinned to their jacket. Nika thought: ‘But they’re high school pupils.’ She furrowed her brow and fell into thought. After all, it was the middle of summer and all schoolchildren were on holiday. She wondered why these three were wearing school uniforms at this time of year. But just then, the woman sitting on the left-hand side of the van addressed the young people:
'Why are you all in uniform?'
The lads turned to the woman and one of them said with a smile:
'We’re off to the park to film some footage on the theme of school. It’ll come in handy for the first few days of term.'
'Well then, have a lovely time. You all look lovely, ' said the woman with a smile, before turning back to look out of the window.
The lads also turned back and resumed their conversation.
Everything was clear to Nika now. They were going to the park to capture a few moments. ‘Capturing moments’ refers to a small cloud of data recorded by a special camera. Later, the children can open it in the digital room and relive that moment in 3D. In the digital room, such moments seem real. It’s as if you’re returning to that moment all over again. You see your friends and family just as they were at that moment. You can talk to them again, stroll down your favourite street together, or play ball in the park. These days, many people plan these moments so carefully that if you play them back in a few years’ time, they’ll unfold in a very interesting way. A moment might start with you walking into one room where one thing is happening, then you walk into another room where the same people are there, but doing something completely different. Nika has seen moments where, if you approach from one side of a tree, one event takes place, but if you choose to approach from the other side of the tree, a completely different scene unfolds there.
She began to try and follow the script the lads were discussing.
‘Mark has to bring a kite. We could start the scene with the camera rising into the air with the kite, and that way we’ll end up in a clearing in the park.’
‘But we won’t be able to repeat that; it’ll be a fresh start every time. We need something more consistent,’ the girl objected.
‘I can sort that out,’ said one of the boys, putting his arm round her waist and reassuring her in a confident voice.
‘See?’ said another lad.
The minibus came to a halt again. The loudspeaker announced: ‘Health and Wellness Centre stop’. Nika flinched. She realised this was her stop. She jumped to her feet, glanced around the carriage and made her way towards the door. Stepping out of the carriage, she found herself next to a tall building. The ground floor of this building was three storeys higher than all the others. The entrance consisted of a modern portico with columns. The building’s grandeur was striking. Nika looked around the building and smiled; she’d always been very fond of grand architecture. She lifted her chin, straightened her shoulders and walked towards the main entrance with a very confident stride. At that moment, she imagined herself to be a very important person. She walked up to the entrance with great dignity. The doors opened automatically before her. She found herself in the foyer. In the foyer there was a reception desk, a couple of small sofas, a staircase and doors leading to the lifts. But what Nika loved most about this building was the ceiling installation. It reminded her of a large whale floating beneath the ceiling. This installation had been created by a contemporary designer, who’d used gilded pipes suspended from the ceiling to form a figure. It was enormous and weighed about a tonne.
Nika walked over to the reception desk. It was a large table with lots of screens. Nika approached one of the screens and pressed ‘Start’.
‘Hello. I have an appointment for nine o’clock today for a recovery session,’ she began.
'Hello. Please enter your surname,' came the voice from the speaker next to the screen, and a text input field appeared on the screen.
Nika typed her surname using the numeric keypad. She typed “IVANOVA” in capital letters and pressed “Next”.
‘Please enter your date of birth,’ came the voice from the speaker again.
Nika entered the date and pressed ‘Confirm’. Information about her appointment for the procedure appeared on the screen. A few seconds later, a slip of paper came out with the number of the treatment room. The paper also contained details of the appointment time—from nine to ten o’clock—and the floor on which the treatment room was located.
'Right. Let’s go to the fourth floor and look for booth number 314,' Nika said aloud, talking to herself.
Nika headed towards the lifts, called one and waited for it to arrive. She tries to visit the wellness centre twice a week. Here, you can book various treatments: cleansing, diagnostic tests, massages, recovery capsules and medical tests. The wellness centre allows you to have your whole body checked and, if necessary, begin treatment. These days, everything can be treated. Any damage is identified on an individual basis, and treatment is tailored to each person, taking into account the specific characteristics of their body.
A couple of seconds later, she was already standing in the lift. The doors closed and the lift automatically recognised that this was Nika and that she needed to be taken to the fourth floor. The number four appeared on the display and the lift began to rise. If several people enter the lift, the floors are allocated in the order in which they boarded.
The lift reached the fourth floor and the doors opened. Nika entered a large hall where reclining cubicles were lined up one after the other.
‘Right. Let’s see where ours is,’ said Nika.
She looked at the cubicles on the left-hand side, as those were numbered with even numbers. She found her cubicle quite quickly. The number 314 was displayed on the screen next to the pod. She tapped the screen and her digital face appeared. She tapped the ‘Next’ button and her other parameters were displayed on the screen. These parameters had been sent by her artificial assistant to the wellness centre that morning.
Nika double-checked the parameters and tapped the ‘Add’ button . She wanted vitamin D to be added to her core programme. A message appeared on the screen: ‘Verifying’. Whenever a person wants to amend or add something to their core programme, the artificial intelligence double-checks their requests, as it has access to their entire patient history, to ensure that no excess or unnecessary equipment is added. This serves to protect the individual, as well as to prevent the excessive use of medication. A message appeared on the screen: ‘Check complete’. The cabin door opened and a blue light came on. Nika took off her outer clothing, folded it neatly and put it all away in the locker next to the cabin; she also placed the small device with the screen in there. She climbed into the cabin, lay down on the inner surface and pressed the green button at the edge. The door closed and a red light came on inside. Nika lowered her hand into a special reservoir, palm facing upwards. An automatic catheter was inserted into her arm. Nika winced and a shiver ran down her spine. It wasn’t the most pleasant sensation. Various substances necessary for the body were administered through the catheter. In this way, they entered the bloodstream immediately and were carried to where they were needed. Gas was released into the pod and Nika fell asleep.
She was woken by three rings. She opened her eyes; the red light had gone out and the pod opened. This was the signal that the session had ended. It was already 10 o’clock. Nika did indeed feel much better. She sat up and examined her arm where the catheter had been. There was a small red mark from the injection. She took a purple plaster lying in the cubicle and stuck it on her arm.
‘Now I can get on with some work,’ she nodded with an approving grimace.