“Oh shit! For real?”
“Yep, I was in the office dealing with a maintenance issue and overheard the office workers talking about it. They’re setting up a contract now.”
“Damn it, I just moved in. I don’t want to have to leave already!”
“What do you mean? This is good: we’ll have top-level protection without having to pay for the extra security. “
“But who’ll protect us from the Samurai? I heard about that tower in Cincinnati and that apartment complex in Pittsburgh. There’s no way to tell what kinds of stuff this one will be into. You don’t want to wake up one morning and find your floor melting due to an acid leak.”
“You’re overreacting. Those are the rare exceptions. Statistics have shown that when a Samurai moves in, crime levels drop and property values skyrocket. But if you aren’t going to stay, let me know; I might be able to buy it off you.”
--Community forum for a high-rise housing complex.
***
“The website called it neon-Victorian decor. I thought that was a typo.” Ginny said. “Imagine if you hadn’t toured the place; you’d be stuck with this.”
“I guess I owe you an apology,” I replied. “This is going to need more than paint.” The elaborate, baroque trim would be painfully distracting no matter what I did to it. Even if I covered it in paint, the molding and wainscot would show through.
For the far wall, five meters of glass made an impressive view through the balcony to another wall of plants cutting off the open atrium. Apparently no one had been caring for them; many drooped in their pots, and some had lost all their leaves. To the left it opened into a kitchen, and corridors to the right led deeper in.
“The firm I hired for a security consult will be here soon. They’ll know what we can change. At the minimum, we can paint.”
“For how much this place rents out, you can do just about anything that won’t bring the building down.” A squat woman in a green business suit and perfectly severe blonde bun came down the hallway and joined the conversation.
She extended a hand towards me. “Caroline Matson, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Xenovir. And I frankly wouldn’t blame you for taking a flamethrower to all this.” Our handshake cut short as she gestured to the walls around us. “However, the place is actually pretty nice, once you scrape off the bad taste of the previous tenants.
“Its one downside is the distance to the Shelter entrance. Despite sharing a wall, you have half a kilometer of corridor to the nearest entrance.” She dragged us into a tour of the apartment, showing the six large bedrooms, 4 offices, and oodles of bathrooms.
The tour ended on the balcony, outside of the combined kitchen and living room. “One of the biggest advantages of the Atrium design is that the balcony doubles as a climate-controlled outdoor living space. A little creative gardening provides ambiance as well as privacy if you want, which lets you expand outward and make the most of the small interior space.”
I had to hold back a scoff at this latest comment. Each of the bedrooms was larger than my current apartment, kitchen and bathroom included. What she’d called the master bedroom seemed more like a small palace to me.
As far as I was concerned, my bedroom needed enough space for a bed, clothing storage, and maybe a bathroom. Anything more was wasted space. I certainly didn’t need enough indoor and outdoor space to hold an extended family reunion complete with a dance floor.
Kaitlyn’s voice called down the entry hall, saving me from having to reply to Caroline. “I’m here! This place is not easy to find, you know, and..." Her voice cut off as she entered the front room. “Oh, my, no! What have they done?” Ginny and I came through the window wall and found Kaitlyn staring about her in horror.
“I didn’t think you could make it.” Ginny asked.
“I finished the quiz early, and there wasn’t a lecture, so I have some free time.” She blinked at the decor, her eyes still wide with shock. “You’re not keeping this decoration, are you? I might have to unfriend you if you did.”
“No. We’re still debating the best way to remove it. I’m in favor of flamethrowers, but Tara’s still holding out for blunt instruments.” Ginny dragged her friend off for the tour as I retreated to the balcony.
I found Tara climbing the railing while trying to look around the end barrier. “What are you looking at?” I asked quietly, trying not to startle her. I moved closer, trying not to be too obvious about it as I eyed the eight-story drop.
“I wanted to see how the balcony is used by the Shelter. If it’s not being used, you can make a door and expand into it.”
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“Not that wall,” a new, strange voice caused Tara to jump down and turn to face him. A small man in worn clothes and carrying a clipboard had come out onto the balcony. “It’s load-bearing, and Portera won’t let you alter that. I’m John with Kaolin Security. Ginny requested we come and provide a security consult. Are you the new owner?”
“That’d be me. I’m Marcus. Uh, Xenovir is my Samurai name. Is my being one going to be a problem?” After all the surprised looks and odd reactions yesterday, I figured it would be easier to get that out there early.
“We’ve done work for Samurai before, though never on their primary residence. I will say that the decor alone would make a good defense. One look and they’d realize there’s nothing worth having and leave.”
“That’s not going to last,” I said with a shudder. “I think you’re going to have your work cut out for you, though. Anyone could attack or listen in from any of those apartments, and we’d never know it.” I gestured out over the atrium.
A two hundred meter hole pierced the building through all twelve floors, surrounded by balconies and crisscrossed by bridges. A few of the bridges merged into small hanging parks, filled with lush greenery through which a stream fell in stages before dropping all the way to a decorative pool filled with koi at the bottom.
Hanging plants and small trees hid most balconies, through which a rare glint of glass showed the doors to the apartments. The leaves fluttered on a warm, humid breeze coming from hidden artificial heaters and silent fans. Above it all, a transparent roof blocked the constant rain and occasional cold weather snap.
“Yes and no,” John answered. “Portera’s pretty good about its screening and security, so your neighbors are more reliable than in other M-coms. But bribery and coercion do exist. The plant life and fountains will do a lot to help, actually. The randomness of the water masks your voice, while the plants both conceal and muffle what’s beyond them. The glass is already bulletproof, and depending on how much you want to spend, there are some Samurai techs that can fortify the balcony opening.”
--There’s several types of energy walls that could be used here, though you would need a catalog for that. I’d say either one dedicated to energy shields or a fortification or construction catalog. The latter might be better if you want to beef up this place entirely.
--There is a Light Communications Drone in the general catalog for 5 points that would do. And that way, you can leave it here throughout the construction.
“Hello? John, are you here?” As Corie introduced herself, another man’s voice rang out from the entryway. He came closer, working his way down the hallway. “I’m sorry I’m late; traffic was a bear, and they wouldn’t let me in the rooftop parking access. I mean, it was fine last time, but… Oh dear gods, what did they do?”
A young man finally entered through the open door and froze in place. Several emotions flashed over his face, starting with disgust, speeding through horror, and finally landing on guilt for some reason.
“Tom. Glad you could make it. Is this the place you thought it was?” John stepped up to meet the newcomer.
“Yes, but it’s not my fault that it looks this way; that was all the customer.” Tom looked around wild-eyed at the strange decor. “I was a junior at the time, learning the ropes and helping a senior engineer. We were contracted to move a few walls and make sure the plumbing worked. They were going to handle decor themselves.”
John looked at his friend with narrowed eyes. “Let me guess, the owners were arguing over the style, and you blurted something out?”
“I just wanted them to shut up so we could get the wall placement figured out.” He lifted his shoulders in a slow shrug. “I suggested the most outlandish aesthetic I could find... and it worked. At least now I know why.”
John shook his head before turning to the rest of us. “This is Tom with Kwoldanske Construction. I’ve worked with him as the general contractor on a bunch of jobs. And he’s familiar with the place from previous work. I’m slightly overstepping my bounds by inviting him. He’ll know the limits of what we can and can’t do, what the safety considerations are, and so forth. That said, he’s here on my dime, unless you decide to have them do the construction work.”
Corie, John, and Tom broke down into a semi-technical conversation as they toured and re-toured the apartment. I only vaguely followed the conversation while the jargon flew fast and heavy. There was much talk about materials and stresses, sight lines, and comfort. They took measurements, drew up sketches, and poked into every hidden cabinet and cranny.
I drifted off to the side, slightly bemused. To call the place huge was vastly understating the situation. It could swallow three of the largest apartments we’d had while growing up and still have room to rattle. I had no idea how to use that much space. I ended up being driven to the balcony by the decor. Kaitlyn had scrounged up a pitcher from somewhere and was pouring some water into the planters.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Watering them. They’re starting to wilt.”
“Oh, I’ve never had plants before.”
“Really? Not even a houseplant?”
“We had some small stuff, but no one in the family wanted to take care of them, and they usually ended up dying.”
“Weird. We always had plants. Dad even installed grow lamps since we didn’t have windows. He said it made the place smell better. These are not the hardiest options, but they do provide good cover. That’s important to keep back the paparazzi. It’s easy to tell which are the places that care about their privacy.”
She pointed across the atrium and upwards. Most of the balconies on the top floors had heavy plant life, including dangling vines, bushes, and small trees. “The ones that are more open either aren’t thinking about it or want people to see them in their ritz.”
“Great, more complications. I’ll have to see if Corie has a bot for that or hire someone.”
“You don’t like the plants?” she asked.
“No, it’s…” I let out a deep breath while trying to understand my frustration. “I’m overwhelmed, I guess. I don’t know what I’m ever going to do with all this space; it’s huge.”
“It might take time, but you’ll fill it up,” she said confidently while moving on to another planter.
“There’s one idea that would help fill it, but that would take some help.”
“Oh?”
I glanced around and saw Tara in the great room, listening intently to the construction team’s conversation. “I was thinking of getting some roommates.” Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow at me, but I didn’t see, lost in a memory from this morning.