– Hey, hotties! How about a ride? I promise it won’t be boring!
Dash, unexpectedly to her friends, shouted menacingly, her voice suddenly hard and commanding:
– «Go-get out of here before I call the police drones!
Nova raised her eyebrows in surprise, her eyes widening in surprise:
– Why are you like this? They seem like normal guys. Maybe this is your chance to break out of the routine you were just complaining about?
– Regular guys,» Dash snorted, her lips curling contemptuously. – You think I want to ride a motorbike? It’s not a big deal. We need serious men, not boys with fancy toys.
Anna couldn’t stand it and laughed, her laughter sounding louder than she expected, making several passers-by turn round:
– What do you want? Marry the king of cyber city? You don’t like that man, the one on the motorbike doesn’t fit, the one with the red socks… You’re the queen! Maybe you should order a personal android to fulfil all your requirements?
The girls laughed together, their resounding laughter dissolving into the multivoiced hum of the evening city, full of neon lights.
On a warm summer evening, the city was transformed, enveloped in a shimmering neon glow. The majestic building of the Cosmos cinema glittered with thousands of multi-coloured lights like a giant kaleidoscope. A multifaceted crowd, resembling a living sea of people, swarmed around it.
To the front entrance, decorated with exquisite ribbons, snaked a bright red path, like a river of molten ruby. On it, as if on a magic bridge between reality and the world of dreams, the stars of inter-corporate cinema were moving smoothly. The air was ringing with enthusiastic shouts and deafening applause, creating a unique symphony of celebration.
Anna and her inseparable friend Dash stood in the very epicentre of this human maelstrom, breathless with excitement and anticipation. Their eyes, wide open with amazement, shone brighter than any neon signs, reflecting the glitter and splendour of the posters. All around them, a vast sea of hands – animate, cybernetic – swarmed around them, applauding the passing celebrities with such fervour as if the fate of the universe depended on that applause.
– Anna! Anna!» Dash suddenly exclaimed, her voice trembling with emotion. She tugged her friend sharply by the sleeve of her dress, shimmering in time with her heartbeat. – Look! It’s him! Konyukhov himself!
Anna, holding her breath, followed her friend’s gaze. On a wide marble staircase, surrounded by an impressive retinue of assistants and bodyguards in strict suits, Konyukhov – the idol of millions, the unrivalled star of holo-vision, whose face adorned half the skyscrapers of Cyber-City – was majestically ascending.
– Ah!» Dash exhaled, clasping her hands to her chest as if she were trying to keep her heart from jumping out. – I adore him so much! He’s unbelievable!
Men in elegant business suits woven from smart nanofibres floated past them as if they had stepped off the covers of fashion magazines. These marvels of techno-fashion changed their colour and texture depending on the mood of the wearer, creating a unique visual effect. Women shone in evening dresses made of liquid metal, which flowed around their figures like a living, sensual second skin, reflecting the light of neon lights and creating the illusion that the stars themselves had descended to earth. On the shoulders of many of them were luxurious fur capes – true masterpieces of bioengineering, capable of changing colour at the slightest wish of the mistress, creating unique patterns and shades.
Dash, unable to contain her emotions, hugged Anna tightly by the shoulders and, trying to outshout the multivoiced rumble of the crowd, whispered in her ear, her voice trembling with excitement:
– This is the life, Anh! Look at this! This is the way to live! What splendour, what glamour!
Anna clapped her hands enthusiastically in response, her eyes shining like two bright stars:
– Look! Look! – she exclaimed, pointing with a graceful gesture. – Yumatov himself is coming!
Yumatov, who was passing by, surrounded by a flock of enthusiastic admirers in sparkling outfits, suddenly stopped, his gaze instantly picked out a familiar face from the crowd. He saw a young man standing next to Anna and Dash, who clearly felt out of place among this splendour.
– Why are you standing there, mate? – asked Yumatov easily overlapped the noise of the crowd. – Couldn’t you get through?
The young man, visibly embarrassed under the stares of others, nervously ran his hand through his hair and answered, trying to speak confidently:
– A friend of mine was supposed to bring the pass, but she’s been delayed. I don’t know why. Maybe there’s a problem with the security system?
Yumatov shook his head, his face expressing a mixture of surprise and slight displeasure:
«– So you should have called me, you weirdo! – he exclaimed, clapping the young man on the shoulder. – I would have sorted it out in no time, let everyone in. Well, don’t worry, I’ll make arrangements with the guards.
With these words Yumatov, flashing a white-toothed smile in the direction of admiring fans, moved further down the red carpet, leaving behind him a trail of enthusiastic sighs and whispers.
Dash, excited by her proximity to the stars and eager to make new acquaintances, immediately turned to the remaining young man. Her eyes burned with curiosity and her voice trembled with barely restrained excitement:
«– And you’re an artiste too, aren’t you? – She asked, playing with her eyebrows coquettishly and tilting her head slightly to get a better look at the stranger.
– Yes, a beginner,» he replied with a slight smile, a mixture of pride and embarrassment.
Dash, unable to contain her enthusiasm, jumped up to him, almost knocking down the people standing nearby. Her movements were sharp and choppy, like a child seeing her favourite toy:
– Congratulations! Congratulations! – she ranted, the words flying out of her mouth at the speed of a machine-gun burst. – That’s just terrific! What’s your last name? What projects have you worked on so far? Oh, and of course, how can you be found on social media? Do you have a page on NeuroSphere?
The young man, obviously unaccustomed to such a barrage of attention, rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. His face reflected a whole range of emotions – from surprise to slight confusion:
– I’m-I’m just starting out in this world,» he said, trying to find the right words. – My last name probably doesn’t tell you anything. I haven’t been involved in any big projects yet.
But Dash wasn’t going to back down. She playfully swayed her hips, covered with a shimmering dress, trying to arouse the young man’s sympathy and get him to talk more frankly:
– Come on, don’t be modest! – she said with a charming smile. – Tell me, please! What is your name? I promise that I will remember and will definitely follow your career!
The young man, realising that from the persistent girl so easily not get rid of, took a deep breath and reluctantly replied:
– Smoktunovsky,» he said, and there was a note of pride in his voice. – But this name is still not known to many people. I am only at the beginning of my journey.
Anna and Dash, hearing the surname, froze for a moment, and then discreetly glanced behind the young man’s back. Their faces expressed a mixture of bewilderment and slight disappointment – the surname really didn’t mean anything to them.
Suddenly, the