"Let's just get the uniform quickly."

"Okay, let's not dally." her mother said. "We'll just get the uniform and get out of here. Now, where is this store...?"

Both women gave a jump of surprise as a beam of white light suddenly appeared before them. It disappeared as suddenly as it had arrived, leaving Monica to blink away the after image.

"Ah, what the hell was that?" Monica demanded, rubbing at her eyes.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry." a female, yet slightly synthetic, voice replied. "Are your light reduction implants malfunctioning?"

"Light reduction whats?" Monica's mother asked.

As Monica's eyes slowly began to re-adjust, she saw a woman standing before them. She was faintly transparent. Monica could see the stores and the naked people walking by through the woman somehow, and the woman herself was rather unusual. Although she was not wearing any clothing either, her skin was white and completely featureless; no nipples, no vagina, no nothing.

"Ah, my apologies." the thing said. "I see from your antiquated clothing that you are Namish. My sincerest apologies. I had assumed you had retinal implants."

"Yes, well, we don't." Monica's mother replied tetchily. "So why the hell did you jump out on us like that?"

"I am a Guider, designed and built to aid the shoppers of this mall. When you said 'where is this store', I assumed you needed guidance and thought to assist you. My apologies if this is not the case."

"A... guider, huh?" Monica's mother muttered. "So you can tell us where things are? Like a map?"

"Affirmative, although I do ask that you refrain from using the 'm' word. We Guiders find it very offensive. Our interfaces are so much more than mere maps."

Monica and her mother exchanged a mutual expression of confusion. "Uh, yeah. Sorry about that." her mother said. She reached into her handbag and pulled out the pamphlet for Higher New York High School, the one with the holographic nude teens on it. "We're trying to find this store so that we can buy a PE uniform?"

The Guider leaned over inquisitively to look at the offered paper. "Ah yes. If you will please follow me."

As Monica and her mother followed the Guider through the mall, Monica could not help but stare at the strange world that she had entered. Everybody was just so unguarded about their nudity. Over at the mall's fountain, a teenage girl about Monica's age was sitting on the edge of the wall, her legs crossed but her hands resting behind her so that her chest was thrust outwards. She was smiling and chatting to a boy her own age, who stood beside her with his arms crossed and his manhood just hanging out barely a few inches away from the girl's face. They both appeared to be maintaining eye contact as if it were the most natural thing in the world, as if the most private areas of their body were not fully exposed for the other to see.

The Guider led them to an electronics store. Monica's mother had a brief argument with the thing that they were looking for a clothes store, to which the Guider replied that this was indeed the clothes store. The thing vanished into the air, leaving the two Namish women standing flustered and alone.

"Bloody thing must be malfunctioning." Monica's mother muttered. "We'll go inside, ask a human for directions."

The two headed into the store. There appeared to be no clothing inside whatsoever, although the place was lined with shelves and countertops covered neatly and tidily with strange wrist bands of every colour. Behind a chest-high shelf they saw the head of a young man with blonde hair.

"Excuse me?" Monica's mother said. "Do you work here?"

The man looked up. "Why yes, of course." he replied with a smile.

He stepped from behind the shelf and approached the two women. They both let out a gasp of shock. Apart from a tie and a pair of smart shoes, the man was not wearing anything. Monica found her gaze being drawn to his six-pack abs, and... well, something just beneath his abs, shall we say?

"Um, um, ah..." Monica's mother stammered. "We, uh, we were looking for the clothing store?"

"That's us." the man said, spreading his arms wide to indicate the store. "We're the number one store for holo clothing in the region. Was there something specifically you were looking for?"

"Oh! Holo clothing. Yes, of course. Now it makes sense." her mother said. She positioned herself protectively between her daughter and this naked man. "Yes, well, I think we'd rather like to see..."