The green and yellow taxi dropped them off at the top end of The Bund, Shanghai』s two kilometers of European brownstone buildings that harked back to the city』s ial past. Zhongshan Lu, the road that was sandwiched between the neoclassical fa?ade of The Bund, the Huangpu River and the stantly giropolis of Pudong, was a maelstrom of neon, vehicle lights, myriad flyovers and the buzz of a city alive. The view was so breathtaking that Caldwell just stood on the pavement in front of one of the European-style buildings and stared at the Pudong skylihey』d decided to e here first to test run Kenzo Yamamoto』s sole before dealing with the problem of the AI. Mei Lin had also reasohat following the PLA all the way to the hospital was too dangerous. It was much better to sneak in and catch them by surprise.
Gleaming towers of steel and crete disappeared into a smog-filled sky, their neons screaming to be noticed. Giant robotic es moved slowly between the buildings giving the impression that they were going to crash through the shiny edifices. The logos of tless ese, Japanese and global glomerates pulsated in the night, the horns of shiny cars blared and an ultra-modern version of humanity weaved its way among the buildings. Caldwell reed that if you pointed an augmented reality unit in any dire it would be overwhelmed with data. As he took in the views, the time capsule of The Bund, the crazy pedestrian and vehicular traffic of Zhongshan Lu, the nautical traffi the Huangpu river, the fiery neon and light-refrag steel and glass of Pudong, and the numerous helicopters and other aircraft traversing the sky, he found it difficult not to be overwhelmed. And all the while haunted by that unmistakable feeling of déjà vu.
「I have been here before,」 Caldwell said finally.
「Hardly surprising Cad.」
「But I have no memory of it at all, just this overwhelming feeling that I have been here before.」
「Let』s cross over to the banks of the Huangpu. There』s a nice elevated riverside promenade.」
「Yes, let』s see whether this Wang Lin character was just boasting idly or there really is something else out there.」
They crossed Zhongshan Lu via an underground tunnel and emerged oher side. There was a small crowd of people admiring the night view of Pudong and from this side of the road, with the undulating black expanse of the river in full view, the vista really was breathtaking. They found a park ben a more secluded spot close to the river tour ferry piers and Caldwell removed the sole from his knapsad placed it on the bench. Mei Lin looked on as he dohe goggles and switched the sole on.
「What you see?」 Mei Lin asked with mountiement. Caldwell』s heart was beating fast too. This could be the most exg thing he』d ever set his eyes on.
「Em, nothing, just the and line and the view of The Bund outside.」 He turned his head towards Pudong. Nothing. The sole was not pig up aworks.
「Maybe you are supposed to issue a and or something,」 Mei Lin suggested. The night was a bit chilly and she had her arms folded across her chest and her head hunched into her shoulders.
「Maybe. Augmented Reality Mode,」 Caldwell said into the microphone embedded in the goggles.
「What?」
「Nothing. Just issuing a and to the sole. OK, we have an AR overlay.」
The goggles』 display ig up some sophisticated augmented reality data. The buildings in Pudong had ged color and bee transparent, showing the various floors and interna