Transients

Transients

D'ris stood mesmerized, forgetting for the moment how uncomfortable she felt wearing a skirt and shoes! Made from dead animal skins! How barbaric.

The implant buzzed to life and she heard M'str Chen's voice. "What you are looking at," he paused, "or rather, experiencing," he emphasized, "is a twenty-first century social gathering place."

"Before you move on, note the darker shades of the 'roadway'. Be careful! There are motorized vehicles that traverse these areas and, from what we have seen in fragments of video, they serve to keep the population at manageable levels by culling the weak and slow."

D'ris heard a sharp intake of breath and turned her head to see H'nry staring. A person, male she thought, had just pulled up on a two-wheeled vehicle.

"Did you see that?" whispered H'nry. "He was propelling himself using only his muscles!"

D'ris noticed the young man looking at her. "That's a beautiful butterfly," she said, the words feeling strange in her mouth.

"Wha? You on sumpin?" he grinned. "Been doin' the mirror sniff?"

D'ris felt her heart racing. She had no idea what he had said.

What do I do now? She had been studying this time period for years and quickly went through her mental catalogue of possibilities.

It came to her in a flash. With a big smile, she stuck up her middle finger. It was a symbol that was widely used during this period as a universal sign for unity.

"Any time, luv," he said and with a wave of his hand, he pushed off and began rolling down the street.

Whew ... all those years of study paid off. D'ris smiled and waved back.

"Time to return," M'str Chen's voice announced. D'ris followed H'nry back toward where the tachyon portal would appear, grinning, with a sense of accomplishment.


Notes

An entry for "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge"  [13+]
Word Count: 298

Thank you for taking time to read my words. I would appreciate it if you took a moment and left a comment. Your reaction, impressions, criticisms, - yes, even praise are all equally welcome.

Ken