Tom's leg bounced up and down as he sat impatiently waiting for the pod to reach the restaurant. His cuff read "18:25". He looked at the simple gold ring on his left hand as he wrung his hands together. A message flashed on his cuff and he turned to read it.

"Kena: I got a seat. S87."

He flicked his fingers above the cuff and the message dutifully spelled out: "Almost there."

He sent it off with a curt motion and went back to wringing his hands. He had to get ...