Post by account_disabled on Jan 6, 2024 6:49:36 GMT
elow him, as he sped along the freeway at 400 mph, looking without interest at the holographic scenes on the billboards, the polyasphalt flowed in a thin, undefined stripe. Elia Ferri came home from the office after yet another routine day, but he wasn't thrilled with his return. The conversations with his wife had become increasingly banal, as if the two had lost all interest in communicating. At night they fell asleep holed up in their own space, without even touching each other. “When was the last time?”, the man wondered, decelerating the vehicle up to 300 kilometers per hour, as if to unconsciously delay his return home. She didn't even remember him anymore. Two years ago he had reached out to her, but he had been rejected. Ten days later he had found an outlet by going out with one of the last colleagues hired by the company where he worked.
She was ten years younger than him, she spoke little and didn't ask questions. The perfect woman, she had declared Elia within herself. He hadn't had the courage to face Marta and confess his betrayal to her. Ultimately, she thought, there was no love between him and that girl. In truth, the man realised, there wasn't any more between him and his wife either. The city was approaching, the skyscrapers were already emerging from the mass of synthetic trees in the urban parks and soon Elia would find himself Special Data channeled into the residents' preferential lanes, dragged together with all the other vehicles, along pre-set routes, up to his apartment. There were a few kilometers left before entering the city when a holographic writing caught his attention. DO YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER? The advertising scene showed a man and a woman between thirty and forty years old, smiling. They wore a sort of suit of an indefinable color, with a coat of arms sewn on the chest, identical to the logo that stood out at the top of the billboard: Hologen.
Elijah knew that name. Hologen dealt with genetic engineering and for over a century had improved the quality of human life by altering and recombining the structure of DNA. Elia wondered what that advertisement meant. Had they succeeded in extending the average lifespan of the human species? The billboard showed nothing except a number to call. While the vehicle was hooked by the magnetic sockets of the traffic lane, the man concentrated on the road and his thoughts went to Marta, to a new, boring evening, to an insipid dinner and to the crazy TV programs that would be waiting for him at home like a prodigal son . *** He took a beer from the fridge, opened it and brought it to the table, then sat down and poured himself a drink, looking at the plate of stew steaming in front of him. He tried to guess the origin of the meat, even though he knew that even from the taste he couldn't do it. The garnished onions, however, seemed more appetizing.
She was ten years younger than him, she spoke little and didn't ask questions. The perfect woman, she had declared Elia within herself. He hadn't had the courage to face Marta and confess his betrayal to her. Ultimately, she thought, there was no love between him and that girl. In truth, the man realised, there wasn't any more between him and his wife either. The city was approaching, the skyscrapers were already emerging from the mass of synthetic trees in the urban parks and soon Elia would find himself Special Data channeled into the residents' preferential lanes, dragged together with all the other vehicles, along pre-set routes, up to his apartment. There were a few kilometers left before entering the city when a holographic writing caught his attention. DO YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER? The advertising scene showed a man and a woman between thirty and forty years old, smiling. They wore a sort of suit of an indefinable color, with a coat of arms sewn on the chest, identical to the logo that stood out at the top of the billboard: Hologen.
Elijah knew that name. Hologen dealt with genetic engineering and for over a century had improved the quality of human life by altering and recombining the structure of DNA. Elia wondered what that advertisement meant. Had they succeeded in extending the average lifespan of the human species? The billboard showed nothing except a number to call. While the vehicle was hooked by the magnetic sockets of the traffic lane, the man concentrated on the road and his thoughts went to Marta, to a new, boring evening, to an insipid dinner and to the crazy TV programs that would be waiting for him at home like a prodigal son . *** He took a beer from the fridge, opened it and brought it to the table, then sat down and poured himself a drink, looking at the plate of stew steaming in front of him. He tried to guess the origin of the meat, even though he knew that even from the taste he couldn't do it. The garnished onions, however, seemed more appetizing.