Imprisonment

"Shit," she muttered and walked down the street, heading for home.

It always hit her bad, coming out. There was no beauty out here, everything was so used. She put her card into the lock and pushed open the heavy doors to her apartment block. As she pushed past the bored kids on the stairs she wished she could spend more time inside, maybe all her time.

Her dad grumbled at her as she walked in, telling her she spent too long in that place. Why couldn't she be satisfied with what she had? That made her laugh, as she slumped onto the battered sofa, closing her eyes against the cloud of dust that rose up from it.

She lit a cigarette, breathed in deeply staring at the wall.

Her dad watched her, slumped in his armchair. She ignored him, knowing he was going to ask for a cigarette.

"Sara, love..." he started.

"No. Get your bloody own!" she shouted.

"Please pet..."

"Why can't you face reality?" he shouted as she walked out.

Mike stalked the corridors, a damned soul unable to leave his haunting ground. From the bright, colourful ceiling above hung a million signs inviting him to take part in a thousand different forums, to play hundreds of different games, to link into tens of other networks. He moved on, robbed of enthusiasm by his singular nightmare.

Lost deep in melancholy he walked at random into a forum, not really caring where he was.

"And these figures show a clear increase during the late 20th century of multinational companies and a corresponding decrease..." The man standing in the sharp corner of a diamond shaped room spoke to a crowd of listeners.

While the speaker droned on Mike watched the walls of the room move discreetly outwards as more people came in. "...and with the empowerment of aggressive PR departments, the world saw more and more exploitation of third-world labour and..." It reminded him of a council meeting in his home village he had once attended. Everyone seemed so respectful to the person speaking, even when they had disagreed with what was said there was no jeering or interruption. It had annoyed him at the time, he remembered.

"Sociologists had predicted as early as the end of the 20th century that virtual reality would have a profound effect on society but at that time few saw the link with commercial activity. The delocalisation process that followed was perfectly suited..." People don't care, Mike thought to himself. If they thought this was so bad they wouldn't be here. He drifted into sleep, lulled by the voice.

He woke with a start, and realised that it was a different person speaking. He lifted his head and saw a man in the audience standing up.

"Would the speaker say then that the world would be better off without the inside?"

Hell, yes, thought Mike angrily. Look at the cities, they're falling to pieces.

The lecturer chuckled. "No sir, he would not. The problems we see at the moment are merely society adjusting itself to the new order of scattered hi-tech villages. We're just not used to it. Humanity will be a much more civilised, restrained creature when the changes are complete." There was a spattering of applause.

Mike left in disgust.