The New Humans

Chapter 14

The next morning, Ash got out of bed at nine, but he felt as dull and depleted of energy as if it was three in the morning. The kitchen and living room formed a huge open space, and thanks to the large windows in their apartment, they enjoyed a full view of New Hayes. Sitting at the table having breakfast, Rachel and Mom looked as if they were no more awake than Ash.

"I slept an hour last night," he said with a voice from the grave. "There was a drone flying out the window all night advertising an anti-hemorrhoid cream on the loudspeaker."

"We had one advertising a sleeping pill," said Mom. "Of all things."

"They should be illegal," said Rachel.

"People have been complaining about too much advertising for two hundred years and nothing has changed," Mom said.

Ash took a sip of coffee.

"So, you're going to Adam's today to take a look at Luther's stuff?" Mom asked.

"Yes," said Rachel.

Ash would have preferred to go alone, but when he'd asked Adam if he could come over, Rachel had invited herself.

"Why don't you ask Kovacic's son to go with you? You can make friends with him, you don't know anybody here."

Before Ash could think of a reply, Rachel said, "Yes, I already thought of asking him. We can call him after breakfast."

"Excellent," said Mom.

When she got up from the table, Ash poked Rachel in the side and said, "Why did you say we'd go with Herbert?"

"Why not? He's really nice. Yesterday, while you were in the bathroom, he told me a very funny story about when he almost set fire to the house."

She's out of her mind.

After breakfast, he went upstairs to dress while Rachel called Herbert and got his address. They walked over together, buzzed the intercom at the entrance, and were invited to come in. Judging by the marble floors and red carpet in the lobby, the Kovacics were not hard up; the lobby was bigger than the Macks' entire house in Finnis.

Ash and Rachel took the elevator up to the apartment. From the door, Ash could hear voices inside. "You have to tidy up," said Herbert's mother. "I don't feel like it," replied someone else—probably Herbert. Ash had a strong urge to flee.

Rachel rang the bell. Herbert opened the door a moment later, ready to go.

A woman's voice in the distance called, "I don't want you leaving until your room is tidy," but Herbert shut the door behind him.

Ash raised his eyebrows, but all Herbert said was, "Never mind. My mother has a fixation about order, she'd like me to tidy up my room at least once a month."

They left the apartment building, and Herbert led them through a pedestrian area. Drones flew across the sky, filling the air with advertisements. Ash wondered if he would ever get used to that continuous background noise. Other than the noise, however, it was a pleasure to walk in the city. Despite being a metropolis of ten million people, New Hayes smelled like the inside of a hotel.

"There's no pollution here," said Ash.

"Yes, New Hayes is the first city in the world with zero environmental impact," said Herbert. "The little carbon dioxide that is produced is absorbed by genetically restructured trees so they absorb more CO2 than normal during photosynthesis. Almost everything is recycled in New Hayes. There are no landfills, incinerators, or rubbish bins. Trash is transported from the houses to recycling facilities through a system of built-in pipelines. The few wastes that cannot be recycled are sent to the Island of rats, two miles offshore."