Maximilian Stoll.

11.45 am 14 April 2541.

"They sicken of the calm

Who know everything."

- Dorothy Parker, "Sunset Gun; Poems."

"Suit yourselves." Stoll said.

The astronauts were in a large, flower-filled alley with lots of different realms and places that could make you marvel at the sight. You see, in Europe or basically every other continent except Antarctica (the Arctic had gone underwater a long time ago), many species of grass, plants, and trees had gone extinct or were in very little supply, so people had to create special dimensions, virtual realities to see, hear, feel, touch, smell and taste nature. Even the different emotions and energies could be transmitted to the subconscious.

It was a useful thing, making all five senses do everything requested, but the simple experience of going out and seeing nature was all lost. The presumed sixth sense was embedded in the conscious; a source of memory, information, and the mind itself. Although scientists and doctors could erase memory for medical and sometimes political causes, they couldn't erase it and then restore it within a limited amount of time. The memories could either return fast, in a few seconds or not-so-fast, in a few years. Telling couldn't work as well; the neurons in the brain containing the memories were temporarily unwired, so experiencing nature and other sorts of pleasure without earlier noted down memory was impossible. Thus, some people were still saddened by the metallic riverless world the astronauts lived in.

But this landscape was quite beautiful and relaxing. Transparent lively drops of dew sparkled on the shamrock grass blades, making it seem as if the Universe itself circumscribed in a few, which certainly might have been possible. A faint inter-reality mist starting within fifteen meters from the astronauts hung around the place; those were the reality limits of a 10-meter room. Glares of light from the Artisun (that's they called reality lighting) reflected in specks off the leaves, the wavy water in the teal elegant ponds, and the bars of the vast glass balconies from the neat two-story houses in the distance. A bunch of blushing pink flowers was scattered in front of the blonde cobblestone arch, followed by a layer of red, black, and white, exquisitely arranged in planterettes. The sight of houses, the sound of water, the taste of honey on the tongue, the smell of roses, and, most importantly, the feel of wind softly blowing against the skin made it all unbelievingly real, but otherworldly at the same time. It was too good to be true.

"Skylar?" The spaceman felt a light touch on his wrist and turned around. Talissa looked at him. He realized that he'd been gazing for too long.

"It's beautiful. Quite impressive. How did you make this?" Skylar asked, eyes still skimming between the virgin trees and flowers.

"It was given to me with the Jazzwell Prize 200 when I was young," Stoll said. "Military Technology, the old game," Stoll said. A look of reminiscence shone in his eyes, but quickly disappeared when he turned away. The astronauts still observed the otherworldly alley when Skylar noticed a new room start to appear behind their backs. Five chairs and a white table were now strapped to the new ceiling. An emotion-relaying monitor with light blue threads of data flowing out each second glowed softly in the dark. Stoll stepped away, arms behind his back.

Suddenly, a thick grey door slid, closing off the alley, houses, and balconies. Everyone was in a medium-sized room. The force of gravity disappeared quickly. It almost felt as if you floated. Stoll's office was very unusual and all-timed; objects and devices from different eras, going back to the 1300's machine tools and up to the late 2540's new inventions – AI Mindphones and flavor-changing tablets (at a moment's notice, like from bacon to space) – were mixed up in an arranged mess, stacked in cupboards and boxes, self-enlarging pockets – in anything you could find. A white heptagon-shaped button was in the middle of the grey door. The famous Mendson symbol, this time with a black cursive "M" in front, was printed on top of the button. It seemed as if the button connected two walls due to the thick zigzag crack coming out.

Everyone slowly lifted off the ground, gravity nowhere to be found. Skylar reached for the white button to regain his balance, but he only grabbed air. Somewhat embarrassed, he tumbled over.

"I like it this way," Stoll said, steadying himself by one of the shelf planks. "Easier to concentrate."

"Why did you show us the alley?" Ender asked.

"To make sure you know what to expect in the future." The director delicately raised an eyebrow, indicating that it was not a matter to inquire about.

A long silence elapsed.

"The reason I invited you here is to explain what you are advised to do in the next couple of weeks," Stoll said, bringing back everyone's attention, "in light of the most recent events. Our plan ruined." He cleared his throat, straightened his posture, and ran a hand through his hair as if trying to comb it.

"Mr. Stoll, I'm ready to listen," Avin said.

"Very good. Then I'll go ahead." Stoll said. "The news is... we have a suspect."

"And we're going to be questioning him."

***

Talissa was in her favourite "coffee shop" within the confines of the MO, with exquisitely fresh air. She liked the place because it had many different aesthetics, the term used for the philosophical study of beauty and taste, as well as for many aesthetic images and ambiences to feel "at home". There were many aesthetic sections in the coffee shop, including dark and light academia aesthetics, cottagecore, normcore, and some other "girl" aesthetics. Talissa usually went to the "cottagecore" aesthetic: she didn't perceive it as childish, but as a cool place to "chill out" and relax, taking into account that there wasn't any nature around, and her aesthetic included a lot of nature.

The coffee shop was crowded with cool Leviathans and scientists: it was Sunday, three days after the space launch, and most people liked to go to the coffee shop from three to eight o'clock in the evening. Although the place was named "The Coffee Shop; 'Round the Corner", the coffee there was too expensive, about sixty dollars, and in addition to that, it wasn't natural but completely artificial, so people didn't have it often. Food tablets of different flavours were separated into many sections such as "ice-cream; any flavour you'd like!", "apple strudel", "chocolate; milk, dark, white and with nuts", "Tiramisu", "cupcakes", "Trilece"; the list went on and on. Sometimes Talissa fancied a tablet from the section "Trilece", a sweet old Turkish dessert soaked with "tres leches" – condensed milk, baked milk, and cream. But of course, it all was in food tablets, so Talissa didn't order it often to not damage her health.

Also, there were a few types of scents, temperatures, and music based on the aesthetics a customer chose. For the "dark academia" aesthetic, for example, there were scents containing musk and patchouli, the normal temperature was cold, about 10 degrees Celsius, and the music mostly consisted of classical piano pieces. In the "cottagecore" aesthetic, the section smelled of roses, vanilla, and cookies fresh out of the oven. The temperature was about 25 degrees Celsius, and the music was punk rock hardcore.

So basically, the coffee shop "'Round the Corner" wasn't your usual coffee shop. It had many youth-like elements to it that made it a unique place to visit. As Talissa rested in the cottagecore aesthetic section, she realized that she didn't want to think about anything. She wanted to set aside all the problems and the details that she needed to think over. It was a long time since she forgot herself in her favourite music, her favourite food, and the little things in life that we all cherish. She sighed in contempt, breathing in the soft rose, the chocolate chip cookies that she even brought a perfume sample of. This was the moment of careless bliss, invaluable fresh air that she didn't enjoy for a long time. All of her worries melted away, even if only for a second. Such was the effect of the shop "'Round the Corner."

"But who are these people?" Talissa asked, mainly to herself. She saw some random figures which were drawing closer, and it was strange that they managed to silence the salesman when he ordered them to reveal their identities. They wore shapeless cloaks, so she wasn't sure if they were men or women, thin or stout. Yet one of the three was a few inches shorter than the rest, and for some reason, she got a sense they were the leader of the group.

Meanwhile, the figures crossed the dark academia section, entered the light one and stopped, as if searching for someone. After that, warily looking around like they were alone, they walked straight, or, to say it better, "glided" through the coffee shop, their feet invisible to all.

But then, quite abruptly, they stopped at the cottagecore aesthetic section. Talissa had a passing thought that they were searching for her, but, most definitely, they weren't looking for a poor 24-year-old Belwoman. Yet she guessed wrong. Entering the cottagecore, they went up straight to Talissa and halted. The woman felt unpleasant under their invisible gaze.

"Good day, Miss Talissa." the tallest figure brightly said, removing her hood. "I am Keighley Jottane."