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reparation by the company, and the CEO took to traveling in her mag tunnels very publicly with her family to alleviate fear of another crash. That was Tunnel Cake CEO Athena Driver, and happened 23 years ago this December. Since then, only six accidents have occurred in the entire New England system, leading to fewer than a dozen casualties, making the New England Style Economy magnet tunnel pod system the fastest and safest way to travel, in the history of the world.
    "The Crystal Carrier that you are traveling in – " Barry pressed a button on the armrest that switched the telescreen to a crackling fire. He let out a relaxed sigh as he sat back on the extra plush seat cushion and closed his eyes, whizzing off towards Hillside in the magnet tunnel.
     
     
    Trix kept walking. He planned on taking the conveyor 17 blocks up town, but he needed the dollar Barry gave him in order to get an entire gram. Trix was a young adult, a bit too skinny with slightly sunken cheeks and set-back eyes with shadows underneath, and a tendency to slouch. His skin was paler than natural, and blue veins showed through in a few noticeable spots on his face. His natural hair color was black, though he had bleached it a month back. The roots were showing dark now, and his hair which grew straight up was leaning over due to its length, starting to cover his ears. His clothes were casual, too baggy, but not ragged, left over from when he filled them out, before the drugs had changed his look.
    Many roads in the most populated areas had been restricted to walking, biking, and conveyors by the owners of the roads. Moving conveyor belts were built into some streets, set up in parallel rows of 3-6, each about one meter wide and traveling at a slightly higher speed than the adjacent belt. Pedestrians would access them through a gate with subscription or single payment options. Then they would step onto the first conveyor which traveled at a speed of about 5 kilometers per hour, with each parallel conveyor increasing by about 5 kph. In a 4 conveyor system, the furthest conveyor would travel at about 20 kilometers per hour, and a pedestrian would walk across the three slower moving belts in order to get to top speed.
    Connecting belts traveled at the slowest speed when riders needed to take a turn or divert in order to get to their destination. Most systems were made up of several miles of conveyors in the most densely populated areas of cities, or sometimes only a one or two mile loop placed downtown. This particular area had a vast conveyor system which would reach most parts of the city. In New England no official cities existed in terms of government, but people still referred to where they lived by town, city, or region, which designated no more than a geographic area.
    Trix had managed to scrape together $10 (in various currencies) that morning from begging, and found another $2 on the ground. He earned $3 picking up coffees for some businessmen who were working outside of their building. If he covered Jim's store for half an hour while Jim took a break he would get another $4, and that would get him a gram. Jim owned a small drug distribution store in the worst section of town – which was only four blocks.
    The same vacuum tube system that shuttled people all over the world hosted smaller magnet tunnels to ship goods. Most shopping was done from home, and many items were shipped on the spot and arrived just seconds after ordering. Jim sold drugs from his distribution center, packaging them as the orders came in online, and shipping through the small mag pod port that hosted pods the size of basketballs. But next to that port was a tube that hosted larger pods: spheres with a diameter of about 1.5 meters.
    There were multiple size shipping tubes, and not everyone had them built into their homes. It was relatively inexpensive to have a small tube installed, but many centers existed that hosted larger tubes, and charged a fee for anyone who wished to