"Now, Sofia, I'll send in the basics of a housekeeper's outfit. But this isn't a tailor that specializes in masks, so they'll take a bit longer to arrive. OK?" After 10 or so minutes of waiting, Cynthia drops a pair of leggings, a set of gloves, and the shirt into Sofia's room, through the hatch. The leggings are very dark gray, bordering on black, and they contrast nicely against the nearly-white shirt. The gloves are bright yellow and feel a bit rubbery, but mostly like very fine cloth. They're designed to fit tightly around the wrist, so that they almost work like a pair of gloves built into the sleeves themselves.

"Then I think get only one of the transparent dress," for wearing when you're around " and a bit more of the modest ones. I definitely want the ability to walk around your city without advertising my profession."

"These fit perfectly, thank you!" She opens the door, to allow the other two to see her fit.

"Does it look good on me?"

"Won't getting just one transparent dress be annoying in terms of laundry? Or do you not particularly mind?"

Cynthia looks over Sofia. "I think they fit amazingly, and you look really great. I think you're fitting in as a housekeeper so fantastically well."

Cynthia walks around with Sana, picking out a dark blue simple dress for Sana, together with a modest black dress that has a long skirt, sheer sleeves and small cutouts, rather than anything more risque. Then she runs off to the tailor across the street, coming back with a mask carefully designed to fit Sofia's face. It's a mask that fits very, very closely over Sofia's mouth and nose, although still not quite touching either, with a filter on the right side and a large exhalation valve on the left that makes it extremely easy to breathe in.

"I also think you look great with those... you said they're called leggings?"

"Ok, then maybe more than one. I'm still not used to clothes being... cheap."

"2 is enough, 3 is plenty; and it's not like you're not gonna buy a third eventually, once they wear out. So go with 3 of any outfit, except those that you can be sure get worn rarely."

"I don't think I need anything else."

"Me neither."

Cynthia takes her phone out from a perfectly-sized pocket in her leggings, placing it against a white mat with a spiral placed on the counter. Then she awkwardly runs off to the tailor where she got the mask for Sofia, paying him as well, and returns to the women. "There! Now you've got some work clothes. Next, Sofia, Sana, how about we find a place that's roomy enough so you don't have to find a way to squeeze yourselves into my place?"

"We definitely shouldn't prevent you from sleeping in your bed any more than necessary. Let's go!"

Cynthia is excited; she's actually wanted to switch to a waterfront apartment for a while, but she hasn't really had an excuse to move until now. It IS a longer commute, but really, the subways are stupidly amazing, so it probably just means a bit more time by herself to think before going to work. She takes Sofia and Sana towards the subway entrance designed to look like the entrance into an apartment block; it helps save more space on the streets, and makes for a more seamless design. She enters, walking down into the subway platform with its beautiful murals of scientists reading under trees in beautiful gardens, one of them with an apple precariously dangling over his head.

"Who are all those people? Past rulers of this country?"

"No, just some of the people whose life's work make it possible for me and everyone else to live this well. Heroes, the lot of them."

"What did they do?"

"Well, they found out the method for turning the energy of matter itself into heat. So everyone can essentially get an infinite supply of coal all to themselves, without breathing in a single wisp of smoke."

"Is that how you prepared the tea this morning?"

"Yes, that's how I got the energy to prepare the tea. But I used a different method for actually heating it." As she's saying this, the subway train appears, totally quiet. The interior consists of wide, soft seats, made of a breathable mesh. The passengers make use of the extra space, sitting comfortably sprawled out. Cynthia walks inside, finding a seat and motioning for Sana and Sofia to sit next to her.

They take a sit, Sana sitting next to her, and Sofia next to Sana.

"Tell me more!"

"Well, do you know how it's hotter to be out in the sun in dark clothes, than doing it in lighter clothes? That's because the sun creates, essentially, a wave of energy. But white fabrics, similar to a mirror, send that wave back, with black ones picking it up. I sent the same kinds of waves into the water, to heat that water up, instead."

"That's so cool!"

"Why do you have the carriages run underground? Didn't it take a lot of work to create all this caves and tunnels?"

"Yes, it's a lot of work to make these tunnels. But imagine if we had things running overground: we'd have to be careful about where we walked, to avoid carriages like the one we're in. And there'd be less space for people to live, because that space would go to making a space that this vehicle could follow."

Cynthia stands up, making her way off the station. She can see the ocean, and tendrils of sand stretching into it, a short walk from the new apartment building she's had her eyes on for a while now. She walks inside the lobby, shaking hands with the woman who's offering to sell it to her. But of course, she'd want to check with Sofia and Sana first.

"Does the house have a window to the sea? Because if yes, I'm already sold."