The corridor in Buffalo Projects Tower #11N was exactly the same as all the others in the entire housing cluster: nondescript, beige, with low lighting recessed into overhanging trim along either side of the narrow ceiling. The carpet was dark gray with white flecks in it, every meter or so banded with a black bar. The color scheme was designed to minimize the appearance of dirt and litter, Adam supposed. He was startled to realize that the colors were similar to the wild pigeon he’d saved, but the hallway décor was missing the bird’s iridescent living beauty.
Adam stopped in front of what appeared to be a plain wall, but he could see on his Lucid that a hidden elevator panel would open here, even if he hadn’t taken it hundreds of times before. He blinked to activate a call icon, and the elevator responded to his summons, dropping from floor 598 down to his own floor, 325.
The elevator panel slid open with a hiss of hydraulics, and Adam stepped into the empty lift. He barely felt the motion of the elevator as it slowly accelerated to cushion his vertigo, descending to street level in a softened rush. His Lucid responded to the elevator environment with an even sleepier selection of hushed melodies. The door slid open again, revealing a vacant lobby.
