The Quantum Backpack

Miles McHaley was in a bit of a pickle.

Now, if you had known Miles for any amount of time, you wouldn't be too surprised by this. In fact, you probably would have simply rolled your eyes and jotted down another tally for the score you've been keeping. He kind of had a habit of getting himself into precarious situations. People who knew him knew that. Which is why they instead decided to question why that was. And it was an intriguing question indeed. Why was it that the 20-year-old kept finding himself in position after position after position where the end result was less than stellar for his well-being, intentional or not?

Well, it was simple. He didn't care.

To keep it a buck, Miles doesn't really have much care for anything. Schoolwork, jobs, the world, really. You could chalk it down to selfishness, but even that wasn't true - he had little regard for his health and his future, too. Which sucks, because he was a good kid. He got great grades, was athletic, and got along with people. However, as the years went by, his care began to wane smaller and smaller until he began to run purely on unadulterated complacency. He had become content with floating in a sea of mediocrity, positioning himself in a perpetual state of limbo he never wanted to leave. And quite frankly, his parents were sick and tired of it all. At first, many passed him off as unsuitable for the ever-changing curriculum of higher academics, but as it continued, it was becoming clear that that wasn't the issue. It was that he never wanted to change his ways.

So when they made the decision to transfer him to Hexicon City, he was a little unsure how to feel.

In the coming weeks leading up to his departure, Miles was subject to quite a bit of lectures from his folks on how he had to take responsibility and hold life by the reins on his own this time. They were all a blur to him, though. Most of it was the same sermon he had been told a thousand times before. However he was pretty sure he had caught something about "finding his own house" and "getting a job" or something along those lines. It was all pretty standard stuff. He'd cross those bridges when he came to them, he said to justify himself. But at the same time, he also appreciated the fact that his parents wanted to give him a bit of a warning before being shipped over to Hexicon. After all, Hexicon City wasn't just any city.

Located in northern California, Hexicon City had long been a utopia of knowledge ever since its inception in the years following World War II, playing a great role in the economic and cultural boom the country underwent following the conflict. It was a gigantic melting pot of scientific research and advancement, a cavalcade of ideas and a wealth of opportunity, an assortment of brilliant minds from all across the globe. In fact it was said to be years ahead of said globe. It was a premier destination for those seeking the next level of learning. 

But Miles' mind was focused on something else: how would someone like him fit in? He was smart, but not a billion-IQ, cancer-curing, once-in-a-lifetime child prodigy smart. He wasn't some techno-wizard or a medical god. He was just a guy who happened to be a big nerd for things that interested him. And he was sure Hexicon City wasn't exactly jumping at the idea of having someone who could rant and rave for hours on how you should never, EVER put rifling on a cannon in a lab full of people looking to stop cell aging or study quantum theory. Of course he could always be wrong, but while he wasn't billion-IQ, cancer-curing, once-in-a-lifetime child prodigy smart, he was still smart! He wasn't always wrong!

However, sitting on a train, all of his things crammed into 2 suitcases above him in a baggage compartment, getting ready for an hour-long ride from LA to Hexicon, was exactly what he was. Although it wasn't that bad, actually. The train was a sanctioned maglev "Hypertrain" as they called it, developed in-house by Hexicon engineers, which was why the usual 8 hour drive went down significantly, though MIles was unsure how long it would actually take. Plus, it was pretty freaking nice. Miles marveled at the reclinable and heated seats, tray tables, footrests, free wi-fi, and reading lights, which made the train feel more like a plane instead.

As he sat at his window seat and peered into the outside world, a somber feeling couldn't help but wash across his body. Sure, he didn't have much in what was soon to be his old life, but the little he had, he wasn't really super ready to let go of. He was unsure of whether or not he cared for them or just got used to their presence, but in either scenario, he was still reluctant to leave it all behind.

He leaned his face against the cold window, watching the outside slowly start to move.

"Damn it…"

"Feeling homesick already?" said a feminine voice in close proximity to Miles, causing him to whip his head around quickly to locate the source of the sudden sound. "We haven't even left the station yet!"

Miles' eyes widened at the sight that beheld him. It was a girl with long, shiny, black hair and striking brown eyes. She had a comforting aura to her that was slowly enveloping him. And she had a really adorable face, topped off with a slight grin. From the looks of it, she had just loaded her luggage into the compartment next to his, meaning that she was definitely planning on sitting next to him. Something Miles had absolutely no problem with.

"Oh hey, do you mind if I sit here? It's really close to the door I need to leave from. Is that alright with you?" She asked, parting her hair a little. Miles noticed that, instead of sitting first and asking if he minded afterwards like most people do, she was waiting for his answer before doing anything. All the more reason for him to say-

"YES! I mean…no, I don't mind. You can sit here." The girl jumped a little at his sudden loudness, but gave a tiny laugh and eventually settled into her seat. Miles was confused. Why was it that all of a sudden he was getting all jumpy and stumbling over his words? Sure, she was cute, but he had spoken to cute girls easily before and had never reacted like this! There had to be something wrong here, but he didn't really have the willpower to think about it, so he chalked it up to his nervousness about leaving behind LA to start a new life in Hexicon spreading itself to his interactions with others. He wasn't sure if she was in a similar boat to his, but he supposed it wouldn't hurt to ask…later. 

"Hey, are you ok? You look a little sad and you're spacing out…" she said, with a look of concern on her face that Miles had not seen in years. Usually when he was met with looks of concern they were looks of disappointed concern, but not hers. She genuinely looked worried about him, something that gave him the motivation to answer her.

"No, I'm fine, it's just…a little crazy is all." he muttered. "I mean, I'm about to leave for the smartest city on Earth. I would hope it'd be a little normal to feel on edge about something like that."

The girl nodded in sympathy. "Yeah, I get that. It can be hard to leave somewhere you've been your whole life to pursue a dream. When I said I wanted to leave Korea and go abroad to Hexicon, my parents were horrified. They couldn't fathom being away from me for so long. And I shared that sentiment. But…this is what I want. This is what I've been working for."

Miles' eyes widened a little. So that answers what kind of Asian she was. "Really? That far away?" She nodded.

"Damn…so what are you going to Hexicon for? Are you studying something?"

She nodded again, this time looking upwards, her eyes fixating themselves onto the underside of the luggage compartment. "Horology."

"Horology?"

"The study of time! Time in physics, measurement, all that jazz."

Miles' back straightened up a little. "Damn. Aren't you an ambitious cookie."

That was a fancy way of saying smartass. She giggled. "Yeah, I dunno, time always interested me. Like it seems to exist in two different realms at once. It's something we can scientifically analyze, things like speed and relativity and quantum mechanics..but also something we never seem to be able to truly wrap our brains around. Like, we come up with so many words and ways to try and measure it, but then we turn right around and describe it as something purely ontological. It's fascinating and weird…but it appeals to me, you know?"

Miles lifted his cheek off the window and turned to face her. "I guess I never really thought about it like that…time never concerned me too much anyways."

The girl nodded. "So what are you going for? I'm curious now!"

"Ah, I-" Miles stopped in his tracks before answering. He didn't really wanna look bad and tell her that he was essentially being ordered to be sent here, but at the same time he just couldn't bring himself to lie to her. He was a good liar, almost a perfect one even, but he hated it. And she looked so eager to know, there was no way he could give her a fake answer. He sighed.

"I, uh…I don't know."

The girl looked surprised. "You don't know?"

"Well…" Miles' cheek and the window once again met, and his eyes dashed across the rapid, speeding image of the city below. "I'm only here because my parents made me go. I guess you could say I haven't really accomplished much with my life in a while, and they probably were just done with it all. Now here I am, leaving my life behind for a foray into the unknown, where everyone is in a whole different league than me. So yeah…you were kinda right about me already being homesick."

The last thing Miles wanted to do was pour a few ounces of his heart out to a complete stranger, but for some reason the more he would talk to her, the less nervous he felt. And even barring that, he did kinda like having someone to talk to. His slight worry quickly became devoured by reassurance when he felt her hand on his shoulder. He turned to see her with a commiserating smile.

"Hey, you'll be okay. You don't always need to know what you want to do in life instantly. It's never that easy to see. If I knew what I wanted to do the instant I could, I wouldn't be the person I am now. It's a journey, you know?"

Miles sat up a little more and nodded responsively.

"Besides…if there's anywhere you can find a purpose, it's easily Hexicon City!" She said, smiling at him again. He smiled back, but before he could respond, a catchy, light-hearted jingle began playing over the loudspeaker, followed by a feminine voice echoing through the hollow cabin of the train.

"You have arrived at: Hexicon City Sector 17; Wesley K. Winters Train Station. If your destination is that of: Hexicon City Sector 17; Wesley K. Winters Train Station, please exit through the doors on the left. If your destination is that of: Hexicon City Sector 19; Hyperlink Transit Station, please remain in your seat." said the voice. Miles quickly unraveled his crumpled ticket from his pocket and saw his stop was indeed Sector 19, meaning he was gonna have to stay here a little longer. He was a little put off by just how robotic and emotionless the voice sounded, but then again that's how most train announcements usually sound and he's not on trains very often. The girl, on the other hand, had already taken her luggage out from the compartment and was raising the handles upward on both suitcases.

"I take it this is where you're getting off?" Miles asked the girl as she began heading out. In her haste, both she and Miles failed to notice that something dropped from her pocket as she was walking.

"Yeah! This is my stop. I hope I can see you around! Bye!" She said happily, smiling at him as she quickly exited through the doors. Miles realized just as quickly that he had never gotten her name, but before he could jump out of his seat to ask, she was already gone.

"Damn it all…" He muttered, as he sank back into his chair. She was so nice to him and for what reason? He didn't even know her name and yet he still felt comfortable enough to share with her a bit of his troubles purely because of how sweet she was to him. She made him feel safe. And now she was gone. Dashed out the door like it was nobody's business. He wouldn't even be surprised if there was an afterimage of her lingering in front of the spot where the doors opened to allow passengers to exit. Yet another fumble on the play for number 20, Miles McHaley.

His eyes began to slowly drift towards the mysterious new brown patch on the train floor. Was that always there? He could swear these floors were clean as clean could be a few minutes ago. In a fit of rapidly expanding curiosity, he picked up the patch, only to freeze in shock at the realization that it was actually the girl's wallet. It was unlike any wallet he'd ever seen - it didn't fold or have multiple slots or anything. It was just a small brown square with two tiny pockets. The first thing he saw, however, was an employee card for a place called Sink Appliances. And on it was her name.

Pyon Soo-Jin

Well, he couldn't complain about not knowing her name anymore. He examined the card closer and it contained a nice little forward facing picture of her, as well as her name and the logo of Sink Appliances. He flipped it over to find that there was an address on the back. He was a little perplexed as to why there was no phone number - he could have easily just called the place and sorted out the problem. But since there wasn't one, he simply didn't have a choice but to keep it until he saw her again…unless…

Before Miles could really think things through, he was already bolting his way towards the doors. Ignoring the robotic voice over the PA announcing the train was about to move on to its next station, he pried open the closing doors and just managed to squeeze through them. He was quickly met with a sea of hustle and bustle, as his eyes darted around seeing nothing but people hurrying on their way to get on and off the train. Wesley K. Winters was certainly a busy place, especially at this time of day. Miles quickly ran towards and then bounded down the escalator.

"Sorry! Excuse me! Coming through! Gotta do something! Sorry! My bad!" he kept saying as he ran down the escalator, despite the fact he wasn't actually bumping into anyone in his hurry. While running, he realized that he had left all of his things, sans his phone and a few other small stuff he had stored in the pockets of his vest, on the train, but brushed the thought out of his mind. His full name was written on the tags of all his underwear, he'd be fine. As he ceased his running and stepped out into the city outside the station, he had to stop and collect himself. Looking up and soaking in the surroundings, something began to slowly sink into his brain.

He was in Hexicon City.

The air crackled with a vibrant energy, coupled with the low hums of vehicles zooming nearby. He watched as fully automated machines directed people across the street and towards their desired destination. The looming buildings of gleaming silver and white ironically cast a shadow that completely engulfed him within its embrace. The higher areas of the skyscrapers were adorned with glowing billboards advertising new devices, upcoming movies and shows, events in the area, and education and research centers. Still others contained updates on the news and upcoming weather forecasts. As he looked behind him, he was greeted with a holographic display of two sleekly dressed people welcoming newcomers to the train station. And it wasn't as if it was completely machine - some buildings were dressed with foliage and nature all around, the striking green color contrasting greatly with the shiny gray of the towers they were decorating. It was almost as if the place was one giant automaton, with each cog and gear turning cohesively in a manner that made it almost feel alive, with its heartbeat pulsating continuously with the blood of innovation.

To many, it would be a sight to behold, but for Miles, it was none more than a slick reminder that he was a living, breathing, textbook example of the word juxtaposition. However, it wasn't until that reminder graced his mind again that he remembered that the objective he was 10% through completing was still lacking that 90% needed. He decided that his best bet was to ask one of the security robots for directions, especially since he was about as familiar with the area as a camel was to the Mariana Trench. He walked up to one of them that looked like they had nothing to do. It was somewhat of an imposing figure, as its head moved with precision, scanning Miles with a low whirr. His eyes lowered to meet the screen module on its chest, which displayed the two words of Hexicorp Security. Miles could only assume Hexicorp was the biggest company in the city, what with it being almost identically named to the thing. The navy blue iron shoulders bore 1 yellow mark, something Miles inferred as some form of insignia of its rank and purpose as your friendly neighborhood local security bot. 

"What can I do for you today?" it said, the audiovisual line on its face morphing into waves as it spoke. Miles wasted no time and handed it Soo-Jin's ID. The robot's chest quickly shifted into a map that showed directions to Sink Appliances. Miles was about to run off, but it occurred to him that he might forget his way if he only took one look at it.

"Shit…uh, is there any way for you to come with me so I can see the map?" he asked in desperation. The robot shook its head mechanically. However, he simply pointed towards Miles' phone in his hand. Miles' eyes followed the robot's finger, wondering what he meant.

"If you would like, hold your device to the screen. It will automatically sync directions to any directions app you may possess on your device." the robot ordered, almost as if he were reading the lines from a cue card in the background. Miles quickly did as the robot instructed, and a slight ding sound and the Maps app opening automatically once he unlocked his phone served as clear indicators that what the robot told him to do did the trick. He dashed off and yelled a quick thank you to the robot, attracting some attention from passersby.

The place wasn't very far from the station. It was only around a 20 minute walk, something Miles could easily do. It helped that he was already running of course. Soon enough, he had found himself the place. It was a big building, yet somehow felt quaint to Miles. As he walked in, the cool air of the place's AC began flowing all across his body. He had to admit, he was taking a liking to the place. In a city where towering spires of technology touched the sky and minds beyond the majority of the species were toiling away, discovering more and more things about the world they all shared, a rickety appliance store was the dose of normalcy Miles had been subconsciously craving. As weird as it sounded, he couldn't help but develop a sense of camaraderie with the building; it was just a store in this crazy city, and he was just a guy in this crazy world.

As he searched the store for the woman he was looking for, his eyes fell on the appliances they sold. He had seen pictures of the apartment his parents rented out for him - well, renting was somewhat of an overstatement. They had only rented out the apartment for him for the first 3 months of his stay in Hexicon. Miles decided it was good to think ahead and spice up the place with some better working things. He wouldn't be mad if he had to take the train here every so often. Plus, it gave him an excuse to see Soo-Jin.

He was suddenly snapped out of his musings by his peripheral vision, which had caught a glimpse of long, slick, black, hair. She was wearing what he assumed was the standard SINK employee uniform. It was sleek and stylish, embellished with dark gray and dark blue. He had to hand it to the place. They had some nice ass uniforms, especially for a normal old appliance store. Though they were kind of a sign that the store might not be as normal as he thought initially. But that was ok; neither was he. He quickly ran up to her and got her attention.

"Hey, Soo-Jin! Hey, you dropped this on the tra-" Miles was stopped in his tracks by the sudden turnaround of the girl. He began to grow embarrassed when he realized that this wasn't Soo-Jin at all. While the girl was Asian, and if Miles had to be honest, as cute as Soo-Jin was, she lacked the warm and bubbly aura that the Korean girl had in spades. In stark contrast, Miles detected an air of calculated austerity, someone who did everything by the book with unyielding efficiency. Her gaze was sharp and methodical, seemingly meant for taking apart the world around her and revealing all of its flaws and weaknesses.

He had a feeling that he had just met one of the geniuses that Hexicon City was so voraciously known for.

She took the ID from Miles' hands and analyzed it carefully. "Yup, this is it, all right. Hey, Hunter, check this out."

Before Miles could ask, a large African-American man walked up to the girl, who handed the ID to him. He was a large man with an imposing presence and broad shoulders. Miles didn't quite get the genius vibes from him, but he looked caring. Not in the same way Soo-Jin was, but different in a good way. He also noticed his uniform was dark green rather than blue. Individuality was valued at Sink Appliances, he supposed.

The girl's eyes widened. "Oh, and by the way. I'm Japanese. Not Korean." she stated coldly. Miles blanched apologetically at her sudden declaration. 

"My bad. I've always been kinda terrible at telling them apart." he sheepishly admitted. She turned her head directly towards him.

"We have longer faces and bigger eyes. Koreans have more distinguished but smaller features." She quickly grabbed the ID back from Hunter and showed Miles the difference between her ambiguous face and the picture of Soo-Jin's pronounced cheekbones. 

"Huh. Well, I'll keep that in mind." he said, glad he at least learned something new on his first day of being in a city that was supposedly overflowing with knowledge.

"Thanks, man. Soo-Jin was beating herself up all day about losing it." said Hunter, giving Miles a pat on the back. Miles, slightly surprised from his choice of words, nervously scratched the back of his neck.

"Well…Soo-Jin helped me out quite a bit earlier. So when she dropped that thing on the train, I had to give it back to her, even though it wasn't my designated location. In fact, I'm pretty sure all my crap is still there in the luggage compartments…heh.."

"Thanks again on her behalf. Sorry she ain't here to see you, but I'm sure she'll appreciate what a good guy you decided to be." Hunter said reassuringly. The girl gave a small scoff at this, which Miles felt a little miffed at, but he decided to bite his tongue and see what she was gonna say next.

"Nice to see we have another good guy. We don't get very many of those here." she said in a callous manner. Miles' face assumed a shifty grin. 

"In…Hexicon City?" he inquired.

"The world." she replied bluntly as she stalked away to the back of the room. Miles sighed in relief at avoiding a scolding from someone he had just met. Hunter chuckled at the whole exchange.

"Don't worry about her, she's been through some stuff. Here, I'll walk you out. Come back any time, man. I'm sure Soo-Jin will want to thank you in person once she finds out about this."

The two men walked towards the sliding doors of Sink Appliances, but only one man left. The other stayed at the door and waved him off. As Miles walked away, he felt glad that, at the very least, he was meeting all the right people since coming to Hexicon City. Sure, that other girl was a little iffy, but she did say he was a good man in a world where there are very few of them. And that's not a compliment you just take lightly! He thought about it like someone handing him a trophy…by a killer robot far beyond him in terms of intelligence. And considering the fact that Hexicon was now his new home, he wouldn't be super surprised if something along those lines ends up happening during his time here.

Now what to do? He checked the time and saw it was only about 1 pm. He still had to get all of his crap back from the Hypertrain. Hopefully no one had stolen it by now. But even so, he wasn't super concerned. This was Hexicon City after all, a place that looked like a byproduct of a time traveler jumping 20 years into the future and accidentally causing a rupture that fused present and future timelines together. He was sure there was some kind of super thief prevention program in place somehow. As he strolled leisurely down the city block, his eyes spotted something he never thought he'd see - a vending machine. He quickly checked his wallet.

Yeah, I have a few coins to spare. I am feeling a little peckish. All of my snacks were in my luggage. I really need to get that back soon.

He walked up to it and looked at the selection it had to offer. 

"Milk tea…iced chocolate…kombucha!? I've never seen any of these in a vending machine before, who stocks these things?" Miles exclaimed to himself in surprise. And he was indeed right - the machine was full of those drinks and plenty more. He had expected soda, water, and the occasional energy drink, but nothing like this before. Hexicon City truly was on another level.

He inserted a few coins into it and pushed for the iced choco. The machine bumped and whirred…and nothing came out. 

"Huh. Didn't know vendos here took this much time." he said. He was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, however - it is his first time here. Who knows? Maybe there was some techno-gadget in there that was analyzing his drink to make it more delicious or something?

Maybe not. And he was growing more impatient by the minute.

Not that this was a surprise, of course. Him being impatient was like death and taxes. It wasn't optional - it was a fact of life. And impatience only made his energy levels grow higher. It may frustrate some, but Miles saw that as merely an unwanted side effect to using the abnormal amounts of energy he always found himself having.

Since when did a vending machine take this FUCKING long?

It shouldn't be very hard to just dispense some iced choco and get on with it, right? He knew that these things didn't run on super speed, but it wouldn't shut them down to just work a little faster. As much as he didn't like it, he had a long day. He was thirsty. And now, he was angry.

"Damn it, you stupid piece of garbage! Don't you know what kind of city you're in? Hurry the FUCK UP!" he roared, and without even thinking he winded up a punch and landed it straight through the vending machine, only for his face to contort into horrific realization. He had broken through the glass. The vending machine suddenly started going off, and many citizens began looking in his direction.

"The fuck!? Since when do vending machines have alarms?!" he said in disbelief. He was then met with the startling sight of two Hexicorp Security bots turning their heads so fast it was a miracle they were unable to get whiplash. Miles' fight-or-flight kicked into overdrive, and since he ended up choosing the latter, he zoomed off, as "I DIDN'T MEAN TO…" echoed through the city blocks. He quickly turned left and found a dark alley to hide in. He heard the loud sounds of guns being shot, meaning that they were definitely on his tail and shooting after him, so he quickly ran in a zigzag formation. As he zipped and zoomed across the alleyway, he took a quick look back to see if the robots were behind him, which proved to be a mistake, as tripped over a backpack and fell to the floor with a resounding thud. 

"Ugh…that hurt like a bitch…" he muttered while feebly stirring on the ground. As he reached out his arms to prepare to pick himself back up, his eyes quickly lowered themselves to find the backpack he had ended up tripping on. 

However, what he saw was something he never, ever thought he would see, something that could only happen in his wildest dreams.

His leg was inside the backpack.

Not his toes, not his foot, but his whole leg. Shocked, he pulled his leg out and saw that the interior of the backpack was emitting a faint blue glow. For a moment, Miles hesitated, his rational mind wrestling with the allure of the mysterious relic that was sitting before him and had most likely been collecting dust for weeks. In the end, curiosity won over caution. He stuck his hand into the backpack. 

And then his arm.

And then his head.

And then his entire body.

Only to find himself floating in a blue limbo, an entire dimension housed within the tiny confines of the backpack, a spatial anomaly that violated every single law of conventional physics. He felt like he was dreaming, or in some sort of simulation. After a bit of experimenting, he found it acted somewhat like water that he was able to breathe in. However, he then began to realize that he wasn't totally alone in the world he had found himself in. Floating aimlessly in his vicinity were some of the gnarliest, coolest, and most complex looking guns he had ever seen in his entire life. Excitement sweeping over his better judgment, he quickly air swum and grabbed the first one he could find. It was a rifle, with a sleek frame forged from lightweight, highly durable alloys, colored with a combination of matte black and brushed gray metal. An otherworldly purple line streaked across it, pulsating with pure compressed energy. It was like something out of a video game. 

His mind quickly raced with what to do with it. On one hand, this was a backpack containing something so implausible it might as well have been conjured by a wizard. It was chock full of extremely dangerous weaponry. But on the other hand…it was chock full of extremely badass weaponry. Not only that, but he would never, ever have to pay for extra luggage expenses again. This was literally all he needed, especially now that he was in the city. It would also make moving exponentially easier.

As he climbed out of the backpack, Miles made his decision. In the 2-out-of-3-falls match that was raging between curiosity and caution, curiosity had once again gotten the pinfall for a clean 2-0 sweep. He slung the backpack over his shoulder and rushed away, confident he lost the police robots.

After some time, he had managed to take the next train to Hyperlink Transit Station and recover his lost things, slipping them into the backpack. He had thought about a name for it, but simply decided on calling it the Quantum Backpack. Simple, rolls off the tongue, and describes its purpose all in one. It was perfect.

As he made his way up to his apartment, he couldn't help but reflect on the day he just had. He had met a few really nice people, punched a vending machine, got in trouble with authorities, and found an anomaly of science in a dirty ass back alley, all in the span of a few hours. And he still had quite a bit of the day left. It was time to get settled into his new home, rest a bit, and then go out and explore the rest of Hexicon City. Maybe get himself a job (the appliance store was probably at the top of his list), enroll in a school, and start enjoying his new life. After all he'd been through, he deserved some R&R.

As the elevator dinged and he walked onto the balcony hall, he turned his head and took a look at the view of the city. He couldn't help but be captivated by the fusion of futuristic aesthetic and functionality. The streets were lined with people engaged in their day-to-day lives, in animated conversations, and just having fun. After everything, Miles' mind was changed. He was going to enjoy it quite a bit here. 

However, before he could reach his door, he spotted a familiar face leaning against the guardrails across from his room door. She had long, slick, black hair and a cute face. Miles started to get excited, but after seeing the lack of a smile on the aforementioned cute face, he knew exactly who this was.

"Hey! It's you, from the appliance store! Um…" Miles' eyebrows scrunched in thought as he snapped his fingers, trying his hardest to recall the girls' name.

"Oh, that's right. I never did introduce myself back at the store, did I? The name's Yakuzawa. Satori Yakuzawa."

To Miles' surprise, she stuck her hand out, and not for a handshake.

"And I'm gonna be needing that backpack."

Fuck, I really am at a bit of a crossroads here, aren't I? Why does Satori want the backpack? And why does she look so serious about it?

Next time: Pointshift. Weird, crazy, abnormal...just another day at S.I.N.K.