His whole world was contained within a few blocks, and for the most part, that’s how he liked it. There were strong rivalries between various areas in the mega city, and each part kept to itself as much as possible. Jonathan remembered how a year ago, there had been six different city organized New Years events to cater to the different regions.

Checking his mirror at the entrance to his apartment, Jonathan gave himself a once-over before heading out. He didn’t consider himself vain, but he had mistakenly went to work one day with a tissue paper stuck to his face. It has most likely would have been there for a full day, if he hadn’t seen his reflection on a steel counter at work. Even in the bathroom, Jonathan would barely give himself more than a second or two to glance at how he looked before heading out, and so as a final precaution, and a strong reminder to give himself a once-over with his appearance, he put a large mirror by the door, and hung his keys beneath it.

Taking his keys from the chain, would remind him to check to make sure he not only had everything he’d need for the day, but also that he wasn’t making any mistakes in his appearance, not that he was the most fashionable tech in his office. Unlike most of his co-workers, Jonathan hadn’t conformed to wearing the company uniform. It was a point of huge contention for him as he didn’t want to be branded during work hours like so many others. The idea of walking to work, and back home in the dark blue branded smock that Revolutionary Data Devices gave each and every one of their employees sent shivers up his spine. His khaki’s and t-shirts were his own small rebellion against the corporate environment he never wanted to work in.

Heading to the main elevators, Jonathan checked the weather on his six-inch ICD, or Internet Connected Device, a small tablet computer that could easily be worn like an over sized gauntlet on the wearers forearm. It was a gift from his mother two years ago, but was already long since out of date. Considering himself a major technology geek, Jonathan found it frustrating to use, and a constant reminder of the high costs of living in South Keys, and the low pay he received from RDD.

Getting off the elevator, Jonathan grabbed one of the umbrellas at the door. It was plastered with advertisements for Adidas, but with the heavy downpour outside, it was the only recourse available to him. Walking the thirty feet to a crossing area, Jonathan looked at the entrance to the building that contained RDD’s offices. Its exterior was finished with brick on the first three floors, and then glass and steel above that. It was a beautiful tower that tried to mix old architecture styles with the modern skyscraper.

It was frustrating to him that he had to walk to a cross walk, taking around five minutes to get to work, when the building was only just across the public transportation lines, a mere minute away. But with certain trains and personal pods reaching speeds of up to one hundred kilometers an hour, it wasn’t a risk worth taking and like thousands of others, he walked over the bridge, taking him out of harms way, and making sure to not delay the continued movement of the masses.

People continued to complain about congestion and the inconvenience of travel in Ottawa, but unlike many other cities that still allowed the use of vehicles within city limits, Ottawa was clean, organized, and had been able to accommodate a larger number of population with a lower pollution level, thus avoiding the high mortality rate of cities like Los Angeles, California.