Flat 905: your new home

There’s no visible lock on the door, instead it is set so that only you and Mary can open it, based on the same implanted tech that drives your wrist-screen. Phil told you that you can use your wrist-screen to configure who can use the door; you can also unlock the door for everybody if and when you want to, or even schedule times when it automatically locks and unlocks.

You and Mary enter flat 905 and explore your new home. The first thing you notice is not the apartment itself but the view you can see beyond it; it turns out your building is just a few blocks away from the beach and the buildings in between are no more than two or three storeys high, so you have a perfect vista of the coast. It’s a beautiful sunny day, the sea reflects the hue of the cloudless blue sky as its waves splash onto a wide stretch of crowded golden sands.

With your back to the front door, your flat has three doors on the right-hand wall, which runs the entire length of the apartment until it meets the vast window with the sea view. The first two doors are fairly close to each other, and to you; the third is at the far end next to the window.

On your left side there is another door in a wall which runs about a third of the way along before it gives way to what looks like a kitchen counter. The counter also takes up about a third of the space, the final third being open. You spot a breakfast bar parallel to the window just beyond a gap in the counter, and a dining table and chairs next to the window. Closer to you is a comfortable-looking sitting area - two large corner-sofas, facing each other, with a coffee table between them, and a flat screen mounted on the wall. The screen displays the words “Welcome to your new home” on it, together with what you recognise as the Fairbourne city council logo. There’s no remote control for the screen; you’ll control it using your wrist-screen, of course.

As you and Mary take in your new surroundings, which part of your new home do you want to explore first?