Johnny sat next to his mother, Barbara, in the transportation pod.


    "Nearest drive-through dispensary."


    The pod sped-up—"Affirmative, Barbara. Two minutes to destination."


    Barbara placed her order. "Learn anything interesting in V-Class, John?"


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    "Yep! Mass transit. Moving the people."


    "Oh, I remember that." Barbara shuddered. "Thankfully, they shut it down."


    "Why, Momma?"


    "Crowd density ..."


    "That''s bad?"


    "Yes, very bad. So much sickness." She muttered, "And death."


    Johnny looked at the cityscape blurring as the pod zipped through the loop.


    "... Death?"


    "Oh, worse than that." Barbara shook her head. "Unimaginably barbaric."


    The pod slowed—"Arriving. Opening hatch for retrieval."