Excavation II: Lost in New York
Deciding that it might be interesting to see how the NYC taxi system works 70 years in the future, Lois walked to the nearest corner and stuck out her arm in an attempt to hail a cab.
"Excuse me, Miss. Are you trying to get a taxi?" a taut businessman asked from behind her.
"Yes, actually I am. Why do you ask?" she responded.
"I ask because in this day and age, one doesn't catch a cab that way anymore. I don't think the "arm in the air" method has been in existence for half a century now."
"Oh really?" she said in disbelief, "what do you recommend I do then?"
"Well, don't you have a taxi gauge?" the man asked.
"No, I don't. What's a taxi gauge?"
"It's a little receptor that one carries around that you press when you need a cab. It's equipped with a GPS monitor so the nearest taxi knows your exact location. It's quite primitive, really."
"Uh-huh," Lois muttered.
"Don't worry. You're obviously not from around here. I'll get you a cab."
And with that said, the man pressed a glowing button on his taxi gauge and a small, yellow vehicle pulled up within seconds. Unlike the taxis Lois was used to, this futuristic cab looked like a small portal with room enough for two, maybe three, people at the most. The only vehicle she could compare it to was a Smart Car, but it was clear this mode of transportation was much more intelligent than the models she'd seen in 2010.
Hesitantly, she hopped in the cab, expecting to see a foreign driver whose native language was some Arabic dialect. Instead, she sat in what she thought was the backseat of the car, but was really the front , and was prompted to type in her destination on a touch screen in front of her. After doing so, the taxi whipped into motion and, within minutes, arrived at her destination; on the trip she was unable to distinguish any other differences in this future metropolis, as the car drove upwards of 100 mph and any freestanding object seemed little more than a blur.
Upon arriving at her destination, Lois got out of the vehicle and took a gander at her surroundings. The street sign said 5th Avenue. "This isn't where I'm supposed to be," she thought to herself.
"Excuse me, Miss. Are you trying to get a taxi?" a taut businessman asked from behind her.
"Yes, actually I am. Why do you ask?" she responded.
"I ask because in this day and age, one doesn't catch a cab that way anymore. I don't think the "arm in the air" method has been in existence for half a century now."
"Oh really?" she said in disbelief, "what do you recommend I do then?"
"Well, don't you have a taxi gauge?" the man asked.
"No, I don't. What's a taxi gauge?"
"It's a little receptor that one carries around that you press when you need a cab. It's equipped with a GPS monitor so the nearest taxi knows your exact location. It's quite primitive, really."
"Uh-huh," Lois muttered.
"Don't worry. You're obviously not from around here. I'll get you a cab."
And with that said, the man pressed a glowing button on his taxi gauge and a small, yellow vehicle pulled up within seconds. Unlike the taxis Lois was used to, this futuristic cab looked like a small portal with room enough for two, maybe three, people at the most. The only vehicle she could compare it to was a Smart Car, but it was clear this mode of transportation was much more intelligent than the models she'd seen in 2010.
Hesitantly, she hopped in the cab, expecting to see a foreign driver whose native language was some Arabic dialect. Instead, she sat in what she thought was the backseat of the car, but was really the front , and was prompted to type in her destination on a touch screen in front of her. After doing so, the taxi whipped into motion and, within minutes, arrived at her destination; on the trip she was unable to distinguish any other differences in this future metropolis, as the car drove upwards of 100 mph and any freestanding object seemed little more than a blur.
Upon arriving at her destination, Lois got out of the vehicle and took a gander at her surroundings. The street sign said 5th Avenue. "This isn't where I'm supposed to be," she thought to herself.
