The inside of the hyper-express bullet train smells like Ganymede. Leah has never been to Ganymede, but according to the perfume stand that she passed by in Titan Square, this scent permeating through the train air is what Ganymede smells like. She pulls her white shopping bag slightly closer to her.

Ads rotate on holo-screens above the railing that Leah is holding onto. The newest model of mobiles and their competitors. Exquisite watches. Cosmetics. A sale for the store Leah had just gone to. Some passengers engage in idle conversation, while others are looking down at their devices. Outside, the skyscrapers of the Upper City whoosh by.

Leah pulls out her own mobile—slightly dated, but still perfectly functional. A beaded strap dangles from it. She checks the weather forecast for the evening. Clear skies with a bit of smog in the lowlands, it says. Not quite at the levels for the masks to come out, which is good, as Leah had left hers at home today. Afterwards, she passes her time messaging friends from school.

Several stops later, the train arrives at her destination, a bus transfer station in Middle City. Unlike the Upper City terminals, there are long snaking lines that seem to never end. She is pushed around by the sheer density of the crowd, but she lifts the bag above her head, carefully protecting its fragile contents. Arms tired, she finally boards the bus, only to find that she must stand while holding the bag up once more.

By the time her bus arrives in Lower City, it is nearly dusk. Most passengers have alighted by now, allowing her to sit down for a good part of the way. The path home from here, fortunately, is quite straightforward—Leah can navigate it with her eyes closed. But instead, she takes a detour into the local market and buys Earth carrots and turnips. The sign says they’re fresh, but she knows better. They wouldn’t be any cheaper if they weren’t, so she buys them anyways.

With her shopping done for the day, Leah walks the rest of the way home as the neon signs above her begin to light up, one by one.

[hr]

Leah takes the elevator up to her apartment on the sixth floor. Inside, her mother is watching a drama on their old LCD screen. A bullet train passing overhead drowns it out for a bit, and her mother raises the volume in response. “Home, Leah?” she shouts, and sniffs the air. “Oh? What’s that smell? It’s nice.”

“I’m told it’s supposed to smell like Ganymede,” replies Leah. She sets her bags next to the door. “Sorry—the lines at the bus station ran a little longer than usual today.”

Her mother gets out of her chair and takes the grocery bags. She notices the white bag behind it. “It’s good to get out and explore—I know how much you like that. Have fun in the Upper City?”

Leah beams. “Yeah, I got you this!” She holds up the white bag and pulls out a porcelain teapot, adorned with small blue whales.

Her mother takes it into her hands and examines it. “Oh-ho, goodness! Thank you, Leah. It’s wonderful.”

“Saved up for weeks for this. It’s a good one, too! After the old one broke, I thought I’d get you a new one, and you kept talking about how Nana’s home planet was mostly ocean, so I heard about this sale, and...”

A growing roar cuts her off, and Leah rushes to poke her head out the window. High above, a carrier-class passenger ship flies over the city and into the distance. “Whoa,” she whispers.

Her mother chuckles. “A bit old to be getting this excited about the rockets, aren’t you?”

“I’m going to get on one of those rockets someday,” says Leah, closing the window. “See other worlds. See the system. Go exploring, more than just wandering around the Upper City, you know?”

Her mother steps towards the kitchen with the groceries. “Maybe one day, but for now, let’s get supper started.”

Leah follows. “Yeah, one day. Say, do you think this one’s going to Ganymede?”