The secluded electronics store occupied a small corner on the bottom floor of a larger, five story building. Its entrance was in the alleyway, facing the neighboring building. The outside was clean and well-kept like the rest of the city streets, but the inside showed its true age, despite the displays of top-of-the-line technology. A low ceiling fan squeaked as it spun from between exposed rafters, the walls were brown with dust, a dark water stain on the wall above the cashier counter, and the tiled floor was scuffed from shelf rearrangements and years of foot traffic.

I followed Akira into the store. The inside of the door was lined with wire mesh. The whole store was a Faraday cage. Akira walked gracefully through the displays of AR glasses, flexible paper thin smart...

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