Acadia was an old greying white city. It was a Franco-Dutch colonial platform, an artificial self-renewing city that can be programmed to grow livable structures of any era. The pioneers of Acadia chose New Orleans as their based model. Everything will resemble the city except for the underlying technology which had remain in the stagnant years of the late twenty-second century. A web of arches that grow from the top to touch the bottom. From there rested the foundation of every building. We were in the middle of Canal Street at a payphone. An electric tram rattled past us packed with commuters.
I was trying to connect using an operator. The broadcast provider had been shut down due to penalties imposed. Relay towers orange-taped with the words "Under Embargo" are still visible on the skyline. I acquired the address of Malcolm's factory and updated Cordy of our next itinerary to which she asked.
"Why can't you dial him telepathically?"
"With due respect princess, I only do thought reading by eye. I can't mind talk. It's just a myth."
"My grandpa used to say that you can signal one another from mountains and ridges and always appear at the right place at the right time. Can you do that?"
"I can. By eye, lots of hardwork, some climbing gear, radio and my loudhailer. When we do it fast enough, it does look like magic."
"So where are your friends?"
"They're gone. We went our seperate ways far away from one another. Times are bad and the last thing we want to do is turn on each other."
"Why?"
"Because I know I can."
"You're not all that bad. Why did you lie about the bag of money?"
"If you haven't notice, the colour of the moon was blue a couple of hours ago. It won't be blue again for sometime to come."
"Thanks for saving me."
"I was just trying. Now stop being sentimental or I will charge you for it."
"Guess I will have to wait for the next moon."
"You can bet on it. Now follow me." I hailed the tram and we climbed onboard. "We are heading to Malcolm's. He's my mentor and he can help us with the machines we need to rebuild your city."
We found seats and sat down. Cordy peered out window at other passing trams and improvised Model Ts. Bicycles and pedestrians stopped to make way for our passage. The thing was that all vehicles were electrically powered, another legacy of the sustainability revolution of the late 22nd Century. The occupants of the Roaring 20s would have been astounded by the nano-tech that had gone into every part of this city. But times were serious and this city had ceased to stand on its feet for the past hundred years.
"Does he have a big factory in this city?" She peered out the window.
"He used to. And he has the tools I need to build them for you. I will have to get them from him."
"What did he do for you?" She turned and faced me.
"He found me in the streets of Sevastopol out cold in the middle of a mob. He picked me up and fixed me. I got apprenticeship until I was ready start again. He's one heck of an exception. Last seer on this planet I will ever trust."
"Is he a real wizard?" She ventured again. My indignation rose, but for sake of the money. I responded professionally.
"No, your majesty. I don't think I have ever seen a real wizard before. I believe you should think of him as only a master craftsman. Allow me to illustrate."
Here it comes, basic customer education uploading in progress. I formed up my stylus and drew a solid line across the her lap in thin air. A miniature tram folded out along the line and chugged forward.
"Let's say if our tram broke down."
I touched it on the roof and one of it wheels came off and the tiny tram skidded off the track and the drive-train detached from the car.
"My stylus can help you fix this tram within 30 minutes."
A small wave of hatched light field swept over the tiny smoking wreck and the parts bounced up from the ground as if having a life of it's own. The drive train and the wheel glued themselves back onto the carriage and it's trolley pole straighten. A small burst of sparks from the antennaes signaled all is well with the tiny tram and it rushed towards the end of the line where it extinguished back into micro cinders of carbon particles. Cordy tried to catch it but it was gone.
"However." I wiped the line away with my other hand.
"In this same time, he is able to put up 8 city blocks, with power, running water and transportation."
For this, I used both my hands for the demo. I threw open my left hand and spread out a net of pipes and girders each one named and numbered. I closed my right hand pulled it in the other direction and from it appear of series of strings which shot from the foundation towards my right hand followed it. A piece of ground rolled over the pipes. The girders stood up and 8 buildings were raised from the ground like a pop-up book. More tiny trams plied the streets on the model ringing their bells to clear the crowds. It was a self-contained midget metropolis.
"This is really very cute!"
"Bingo!" I thought.
She caught herself, "I mean - this must be an impressive work of a master craftsman."
"That's right, your majesty. That's who we'll be seeing."
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