The final school bell rang, signaling the end of the day for most.
Dante stepped out with the rest of the students, hiding in their group as he saw Miss Katari searching for him.
Outside, the main school gate stood ahead—a black alloy metal laced with gold lines creating a beautiful image, the afternoon sun reflecting on its polished surface. Holographic birds occasionally fluttered along the metallic frame.
Just above it, an elegant arch bore the school motto in a digital hologram image.
The gate was open as students streamed out in pairs and small groups. Chatting or checking their messages, some playing handheld gaming systems.
Dante adjusted the strap of his bag and walked toward the exit while putting on his sunglasses.
Just beyond the gate, Emma sat on some stone steps, her fiery red hair catching the light as she absently scrolled through something on her holographic display. She tucked a strand behind her ear and looked up, a bright smile forming when she spotted him.
She waved once she saw him.
Dante smirked, picking up his pace.
“Hey there, good looking,” Emma said with a flirtatious smile.
“Hey right back,” he responded with a smile of his own.
“Oh, you thought I was talking to you? I’m so sorry, I was talking to my reflected image that’s bouncing off your glasses!” Emma giggled.
“Wow, I see how it is.” Dante gave a fake, injured look.
“Haha, alright, alright, I’m sorry. You look pretty ok yourself too.” Emma said as she hugged Dante’s arm, dragging him along to walk.
“Geez, thanks Emma. I’m overwhelmed with self-confidence now.”
“You’re welcome, Dante. That’s what I’m here for.” Emma stuck out her tongue playfully.
Soft
…
…
This girl is way too unguarded around me. I’m a man, damn it!
Don’t just press your breasts on me!
Dante kept glancing at Emma, who clung closely.
“Hey, have you heard about the new Daedalus model? The Cataclysmic Reanimation?" Emma asked as she looked up at Dante.
Daedalus, a company of all smart products, is primarily known for smart glasses that can do anything a computer can, from video games to random internet stuff. The glasses I have on right now as a matter of fact are the current up to date model the Valor model.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
It’s also a company owned by my father, Alexander Mercier.
Daedalus: Cataclysmic Reanimation, the last of the Daedalus models, is a special piece of tech that functions on its own private satellite. It can work anywhere, so foolproof that even if a zombie apocalypse began, it would still work—or so goes one of the selling points.
Highly durable, gaming, mapping, cold reading, and even danger warnings based on mathematical equations and satellite cameras. It has it all.
I know that dear old dad even used his military company to combine both civilian and military technology to make it. I’ve seen its specs, and they are, without a doubt, crazy. Honestly, there is no way profit will be made in the short term. This thing is a decade ahead of its time. A bit overkill if you ask me, but no one asked.
“No, I haven’t. What’s its specs?” Dante lied as he stared into Emma’s eyes.
“Ok, so it’s like this, Dante. The integrated AI assistant can be set up on activation. You can tell it what you want, how you want it, and after that it just learns. If you have a novel you like and are just chilling at the time, the AI might notice that your doing nothing and just bring it up for you. Not only that, it will track how long it normally takes you to read words, so if you take 10 minutes to read 1000 words, then after 10 minutes the Ai will turn the page. And get this—”
Emma started as she swung Dante’s arm back and forth, nudgingly.
She’s cute when she geeks out like this.
“—let’s say you’re interrupted because someone is talking to you. If you don’t have a delay time set up, the AI will just pause. It won’t move the page unless you say otherwise. The new Daedalus also has predictive mapping that’s accurate up to 98.7%.”
“But how’s its battery life?” Dante asked with a grin.
“Long! A week of continuous use! Here, I’ll show you.” Emma turned on her watch and began moving through holographic search engines.
Actually, it has a micro photovoltaic film to absorb sunlight and charge up. While it can’t fully replenish energy during heavy use, as long as it’s in moderate sunlight with standard usage, it should be able to extend battery life significantly. The marketing will claim it can last practically forever in ideal conditions, though realistically, it might end up being two weeks of continuous use, then it will need supplementation from an electrical charge.
Dante and Emma stopped as they looked up at the street ahead, waiting for the lights to change. Smooth vehicles moved across - some older models with windows and others with pure smooth surfaces showing no indication of windows or doors of any kind. Some resembled sleek rectangular boxes with elegant angles, driving by with no visible way to enter or exit.
Small pods, only large enough to hold one or two passengers, hovered over each other as well in designated roads for the small vehicles, their glowing lines tracing soft arcs as they glided smoothly through the air, hovering over the road or each other. One of the pods tried hovering over another pod, which would have made it three hovering pods on top of each other, then a siren went off.
And there are the officers. This is a well-known area for police watchers. Why would someone break the law and make a column of 3? What’s the point?
“Dante, look! It’s a Fenris Model, looks custom made.”
Dante turned his head, brows lifting as he caught sight of it.
A large mechanical wolf, hopping between vehicles. Its' metal a fresh soft blue mixed with white. With a middle-aged man on its back holding onto a curved handlebar, riding through the traffic. It prowled across as if the streets belonged to it. Four limbs moving smoothly and naturally, making it difficult to tell it apart from a normal wolf’s movements.
“I heard your family has business with that company too?” Emma asked.
No idea really. If there is, then that useless brother is involved since he is crazy about any Fenris model.
Dante stared at Emma for a moment before giving an honest shrug.
“No idea really.”
“You should find out for me. Ok, let’s go the lights changed.”
Dante and Emma continued walking to Emmy’s gym.
