As the two walked the smooth stone path, it became clear to AD7 how much the citizens trusted and respected Pure in Sanity members. The message wasn’t posted on propaganda posters or giant statues of Tirzah, the ultimate leader of the clan. Not one street or park was named after a person or a team in the clan. The message was on the faces of the guards and common folks they passed. AD7 smiled at being recognized with a member of such a respected clan.
She and Keyanna continued briskly along the path. About a decimeter above street level, people on hovering vehicles sped around on their own business. AD7 continued to be more and more impressed with the city. Its unique structures were all well-kept, only a few stories tall, and easily climbable. ‘Climbable?’
AD7 had to look closer at the buildings to make sure she was seeing things correctly. She was not mistaken. Every building had small hand and foot grips built into their walls. A few buildings had several places along a wall that a person could climb. Obviously they wanted to ensure any building could be climbed at any time. AD7 turned to Keyanna and had to ask, “Footholds? Why?”
Keyanna following her gaze to the concrete walls and simply answered, “Parking.”
Parking? That made a little sense. Having been a Builder and had planned out an entire city, she understood that unorthodox provisions were often used to prevent a reoccurring problem. Simple but effective, these provisions would often seem bizarre to a newcomer.
The climbable architecture took nothing away from the city. With more time to look, AD7 saw what had to be the distant boundaries of the city. A large wall of thick hedges occasionally came into view when the zooming lamp droids flew near enough to it.
AD7 gazed into the cloud of lamps that lit the city. As she wondered just how many of those little there were, four of them separated themselves from the cloud. In an instant the droids stopped directly in front of her blocking her path.
They were no larger than her hand. However, their lights were too bright for her to see what they looked like. A half second later, two more appeared behind her warming her with their light. After circling around her a few times, they flew back into the cloud of light carrying droids.
AD7 looked at Keyanna and had to ask, “What just happened?”
“Oh,” Keyanna gasped just now remembering. Apparently this was something she had meant to say but had forgotten, “When the light droids spot something unusual, say a new person in the city, they alert the guards and try to identify it.”
“Do those droids do that a lot?”
“Only for new people and odd situations. The light droids continuously send messages to the guards; very helpful if you get hurt or stuck somewhere in the city.”
AD7 looked back up at the cloud of lights as she walked along the streets with her guardian. The two ladies turned a few corners but AD7 couldn’t stop thinking about the droids, “Shouldn’t they have recognized me. I was on the posters all over town.”
“Well, yeah. But a photo isn’t the same as a full body portrait.”
AD7 nodded and thought it best to change the subject, “What kind of training am I going to get?”
“The absolute best. We’ll start with your Talents,” Keyanna said pointing at the entrance to the Talent square they had just now reached, “What Talent Sets do you remember using?”
“I was a Builder,” AD7 said with pride. She had built an entire city and also a wall to defend it from a continuously attacking force. She liked the Building Talents. There was little she could think to do other than that.
“Hmm,” Keyanna grunted and thought, “Building isn’t a thing anymore. Think we could try something else?”