Dyscountopia Read Online Free PDF Page B

offering the very best quality in shuttle service, including more upgrade options and more routes that any other shuttle service.   No matter what your specific needs are, Green-Line shuttles can get you there on time.   For more information, visit our website at www.greenlineshuttle.com , and be sure to check out Green-Line’s new yearly pass plan, saving you money to serve you better. ”
    “Yeah, yeah – whatever,” said Albert impatiently.   “Get on with it.”
    “ Please choose from the following list of options.   For Chinese, say ‘Chinese’.   For ‘Russian’, say…. ”
    “Chinese!” barked Albert.   In Chinese, of course.
    “ Great,” said the voice.   “Now let me get you to the right department.   If you want to schedule a shuttle to pick you up at your door, just say ‘pick-up’.   If you are calling about available upgrades, just say ‘upgrades’.   If you want to add miles to your Green-Line travel account, just say ‘add miles’.   If you want more information on Green-Line routes available at your location, just say ‘routes’.   If you want to know how you can become a preferred Green-Line VIP Club member, just say ‘VIP’.   If you want to find out more about redeemable Green-Line cyber coupons, just say ‘coupons’. ”
    Silence.
    “But I don’t want any of those things,” Albert whined.   “I want to talk to someone about…”
    “ I’m sorry –response not recognized.   Please choose from the following list of commands.   If you want to schedule a shuttle to pick you up at your door, just say ‘pick-up’.   If you are calling about available upgrades…. ”
    “End call!”   Albert closed his fingers around the phone, gripping it angrily, and briefly considered tossing it into the shuttle lane.   Instead, he placed it carefully back into his vest pocket.   Silently cursing his dismal luck, he followed the purple stripe home.  
    The purple stripe was one of Omega-Mart’s many subtle wonders.   It zig-zagged its way through the entire Omega-Mart complex along the otherwise spotless white walls, all the way to the other side of the planet and back, cutting back and forth across itself like a maze without any end or a beginning.   Albert would often run his fingers along that stripe and marvel over it, how he was touching the same purple stripe that someone was touching half a world away, and he would wonder what that person’s part of the world looked like and what was happening there.   And then it would occur to him that it was probably just like his own part of the world – bright lights and lots of purple.   There was something comforting in that and yet, sometimes, Albert found himself trying to imagine what things would look like on a different world altogether.   More and more, he felt as if something else lay out there, beyond Omega-Mart’s rooftop, trying to send him a message.   But he was like a broken radio receiver.   Lost in static.  
    The stripe began to stutter in intervals as Albert’s fingers brushed against one purple door, then another.   One, two, three, four – all the doors looked identical, but Albert instinctively stopped at number five.   He’d been coming to that same door every day after work for twenty years.   It was a flimsy aluminum door set in a windowless cinder block wall.   It wasn’t much good for security, but no one ever broke into homes in Omega-Mart – not for decades.   Everything was very orderly and safe, perhaps due to the diligence of the Guardians of Merchandise, or maybe just because everyone already had everything they needed.   The only real criminals in Omega-Mart were Lifters, and they didn’t stay around for long – at least not beneath the roof.
    As he fumbled for his key, Albert sensed someone approaching the door next to his.   He hazarded a glance at the young woman beside him, and thought for a moment that he felt her eyes flicker toward him.   She was young, had