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| Photo by Ed Yourdon |
Derek sipped his morning coffee as he climbed the stairs from the
subway to street level. The cold winter air made the people climbing the steps
in front of Derek shiver and he silently wondered about weather conditions.
Derek's eyes blurred for an instant as a tiny processor implanted in Derek's
cranium accessed the City of Toronto's intranet and retrieved the local weather
forecast.
Within seconds the
current temperature and weekly forecast were projected onto the digital contact
lens in Derek's eyes and for an instant filled his vision with translucent numbers and a picture of a cloud being pushed by wispy lines. Looks like it will be a windy day Derek thought and he felt the heating units in his jacket, shoes and
gloves activate to compensate. Derek smiled to himself
as the words, "Please button-up your jacket" flashed in his vision and looked for a place to settle his coffee mug and briefcase so
he could do just that.
The weather
forecast disappeared and a street view satellite image of the Yonge and
Dundas intersection appeared highlighting pockets of low-density foot traffic
where Derek could button-up his jacket with ease. However, the flood of bodies
rushing out of the subway along with Derek made it all but impossible to
navigate the busiest intersection in Canada. Despite his best efforts Derek
found himself being pushed and shoved until he found himself hugging a wall
near the Eaton Centre.
After a few
minutes the tidal wave of people subsided. Breathing a sigh of relief, Derek
noticed a blue directional arrow floating in the air in front of his face,
pointing left. He looked at the arrow in disbelief before realizing that it was
the result of an update to the navigation system in his cranial processing
unit. Turning his head to the left, he saw the arrow slide to the ground and
elongate to indicate the path he should take so that he could settle his coffee
mug down and button up his coat. A satellite image appeared and showed the path
that Derek would be taking to arrive at his stop-over destination, a Starbucks
coffee shop, and then his office building which was nearby.
As Derek started
walking several notifications appeared in his field of vision providing updates
from the many social networks to which he belonged. He found himself grinning
at a video of his niece taking her first steps and made a note in his calendar
to call his brother after work and congratulate him.
"Excuse me
sir."
"Huh?"
Derek snapped out of his reverie and quickly looked around.
"Do you have
some spare cash?" Derek stepped back on reflex as a man moved an upturned
palm, blackened by dirt, towards him.
"Uh, look.
I," Derek patted his coat pockets pretending to look for his wallet. The
words Call the Police flashed
in red in his field of vision.
"Don't have
your wallet with you eh?" the man smiled revealing crooked and chipped
teeth.
"Sorry,"
the elongated arrow curved sharply away from the man, crossed the road and
continued up the sidewalk on the other side of the street.
"Hey, you're
letting all the heat out," the man stepped toward Derek, his eyes as wild
as the tangled mess of hair on top of his head, and grabbed Derek's open coat.
"Let me button this up for you."
"No," it came out as a unintelligible whisper instead of an authoritative shout as Derek had intended. Call the Police continued
to flash in his field of vision but his smartphone was sadly stored away in his
briefcase.
"There,"
the man stepped back and Derek realized that he was unharmed. In fact, the
stranger had only buttoned up his open coat, "now you won't have to charge
your coat's batteries all morning," the man said and flashed his crooked
teeth again.
"Thanks,"
Derek whispered again, unable to find his voice.
The man nodded and
turned to walk away.
Derek stood
stunned in the middle of the street as his mind tried to process what just
happened. News reports of muggings and stabbings appeared in his vision but he
dismissed them. This man wasn't violent, despite his appearance. Next his
recent bank statement appeared followed by a list of expenses. The cranial
processor performed a calculation of disposable income available and presented
it alongside statistics of alcoholism and drug addiction in Toronto's homeless
population. Giving money may not be the best way to repay the man for his
kindness. A slew of close encounter stories appeared in Derek's vision next,
and showcased Torontonians personal experiences with homeless persons.
Derek almost
finished posting his own close encounter story to an extranet social board when
his cranial processor simulated the small bones in his ears to create an alarm
chime that only he could hear. Derek gasped as he noticed the chronometer
flashing in the corner of his vision. He was going to be late for work!
The stranger, who
had walked only a few steps away, watched Derek break into a sprint towards Bay
Street and chuckled softly at the young man's misfortune. There are worst
things than being poor he concluded and smiled, crooked teeth and all, at the
sky.
