Holograms and Trams

“So, how are you feeling about tomorrow?” The woman’s gentle voice brought Lena’s mind back to reality.

The squirrely brunette squeezed her hands between her knees, leaning forward on the lime green armchair.

“Yeah, no, I’m good…” She managed to force out the words after a brief silence. “I’m excited, I mean.”

The woman opposite her gave her a smile even softer than her voice. “That’s good to hear. A lot of people from the Fringes can struggle to keep up at first, but the Purpose Finding Program will help you get acclimated to life here, I promise.”

Lena nodded at her words, though many doubts fluttered their way through her head and settled in the pit of her stomach. It had been nearly a month since Lena decided to join New Sol, and she was still frightened of the taps. Especially the hot ones; what stopped everyone from burning their hands off every time they went for a glass of water?

It wasn’t as though she believed every word thrown at her in her upbringing – she certainly didn’t think of technology as the gateway to hell – but it was hard to feel safe in a place where nothing had an explanation. How did those metal boxes manage to move so many people around? How could there be writing and pictures floating in the middle of the air? And why exactly did so many people have vibrant hair and clothes?

Lena had asked all these questions when she arrived but Vera, her Integration Officer and the woman sat opposite her that very moment, had simply said ‘that’s just the way things are’. So now Lena kept all these doubts and questions to herself and gulped them back down with a sip of her water. Water that somehow tasted different to the water she’d spent most of her life drinking.

“Do you have any questions about the PFP you’d like to ask me before tomorrow?" Vera asked her own question freely.

Lena shook her head. She’d heard the explanation many times before, each time somehow making less sense than the last, and had resolved the matter in her head by thinking of it as a strange type of school where no subject ever repeated.

“Alright then.” Vera pushed herself up and out of her own lime green chair with great swiftness. “I’ll come back tomorrow morning at 9am. Take care of yourself, alright?”

“Alright.”

Suddenly, Lena was left alone again. Alone in the unfamiliar building that was now her home, and surrounded by a level of luxury she didn’t have the creativity to imagine.

---

The city was practically a maze of interwoven paths and stairways, all engulfed by various flora and fauna. Thankfully, Lena didn’t have to navigate it alone. Vera was there to guide her through the streets, keeping an eye on the holographic map that projected up from her wrist and making sure they were on track.

Lena kept her eyes fixated on her shoes. It was a trick she had figured out quite quickly after arriving in New Sol, a way to stop herself from being overwhelmed. Everything was different to before, but her shoes were the same.

Eventually, Lena had to lift her eyes up from the floor. They had reached a tram, one of those metal and glass boxes that glided across the floor and through the skies, all while holding people inside.

“Would you like to hold my hand again?” Vera asked, referring to their previous excursions where Lena had clutched onto her like a baby monkey.

Lena shook her head and murmured a small no. The PFP was her introduction to real society, and people in real society didn’t feel like crying every time they stepped onto one of these ‘trams’. She could do this. With a deep breath, Lena took a step into the next available metal box, and off they went.

---

“You’ll be alright.” Vera rubbed small circles into Lena’s back as she hunched over and vomited for a second time.

Lena steadied herself on the wall of the nearby building and managed to stand fully upright. “Yeah, of course, I’m totally fine.”

With her weak voice and pallid skin, Lena wasn’t very convincing.

“Really, I’m okay,” She repeated, sensing Vera’s apprehension, “I want to keep going.”

That was very much the truth. She wanted to leave and hopefully erase this memory from her mind. Lena wondered if such technology existed, and if she could use it on Vera too, so she wouldn’t remember this embarrassing sight.

Vera slowly nodded and agreed with Lena’s desperate plea to move on.

Thankfully, the PFP’s entrance was quite literally around the corner – Lena had thrown up against one of the buildings walls. The stained glass doors slid open, reflecting small moving fragments of coloured light over every surface. Lena managed to get step inside without any more vomit and internally cheered at the achievement.

In her joy, Lena forgot to look at her shoes. The domed roof matched the doors, filtering the sun into a variety of earthy colours that made a repeating pattern on the dark wooden flooring. It was beautiful, but she felt out of place. Just by standing there she was distorting this perfect piece of art.

Lena didn’t realise Vera had left the room, until all of a sudden she was reappearing out of an arched hallway, with another person in tow. The unknown tall woman crossed the room with graceful long strides and quickly closed the distance between them.

“You must be Lena.” The stranger said with a voice as sharp and precise as her movement.

“Uh, yes. Hello.” Lena spared a glance to Vera, who held the same gentle expression as usual.

“Brilliant. I’m Mizlin, and I’ll be your PFP Mentor. Vera’s told me about your situation, and I ensure you I will do my best to make you feel comfortable here.”

The confidence which Mizlin spoke with immediately enamoured Lena. She would do whatever this woman asked; she seemed to know what she was doing. So, when Mizlin told Lena to follow her, she did so and said a brief goodbye to Vera who promised to come and collect her later.

Lena kept her eyes fixed on her shoes again, almost not noticing when they walked through an opened door and into a smaller room. She heard the movement of people ahead and shuffled awkwardly to use Mizlin as a form of cover.

“Everyone,” Mizlin said with enough authority to still the three people already inside the room. “As I previously mentioned, today we have a new arrival to our group: Lena.”

Mizlin looked over her shoulder and stepped to the side, meaning Lena wasn’t quite so hidden. She wanted to melt into a puddle of slime and slither out of the room, but that wasn’t physically possible. Instead, Lena offered a small wave to the trio of strangers.

Mizlin continued, “Lena has recently joined us from the Fringes, so please make sure to assist her with any difficulties she may have.”

A girl with hair like strands of gold let out a quiet ‘woah’, though Lena wasn’t quite sure what evoked that reaction. The two other strangers seemed totally unbothered by Lena’s arrival, which calmed her anxiety the smallest bit. When people paid her attention it just gave her yet another thing to worry about.

“As for our trip today,” Mizlin’s voice cut through the air, “I’ve chosen something that will hopefully be well suited to our new addition: Gardening.”

Finally, Lena thought, a word she recognised!