‘Level B4, column C, fifth row…’
She mouthed it silently under her breath as she ducked and weaved between the hordes of weekend shoppers.
‘Level B4, column C, fifth row…’
She had to find an elevator, fast.
For a brief moment, she thought she saw a PeeVee drone stop along its patrol route and turn in her direction. Maybe it was paranoia, though that wouldn’t be unjustified.
In the split second she glanced at it, she made a mental note of the variations in the cooling vents. ‘Jesus, that’s not a one-one’ she thought, referring to the model number. ‘They’ve upgraded already!’
About the size of a football and frustratingly quiet at all but the closest range, the Perpetual Vigilance™ series of drones could hang in the air relatively unnoticed, analysing the movements and body heat of each person within view for potentially suspicious activity.
She swallowed past the lump in her throat and attempted to look nonchalant, lightly hopping between shoppers, smiling and apologising in as friendly a manner as she could muster as she bumped a lady with her elbow here or nudged a security droid there.
She noticed a second drone ahead as she neared the elevator platform. They tended to stay no more than 100 metres apart, but any closer and you could guarantee that they were watching somebody.
She did her best to ignore it and pressed her identification card against the sensor. It chimed cheerfully and a disembodied voice stated that the elevator would arrive momentarily.
‘Level B4, column C, fifth row…’