It was a very hot day – one of the hottest that summer. Garinda caught the bus a block from their building, and sat in the sweaty, humid air, with dozens of other sweating bodies, as the bus slowly lurched from stop to stop. She got off at the flea market, and walked through the doors of the flea market, which was set up on the inside of an large, crumbling, seemingly abandoned building. There was a huge central area, where the main vendors were set up, with rows and rows of tables, selling e...

San Francisco, California, Earth, April 20, 2011 Marianne almost tripped as she walked into the bar. She could be a bit clumsy sometimes, especially when she was distracted, as she was tonight. But the familiar scent of the place was strong enough to break through her fog. She wrinkled her nose at the scent of stale beer, and someone's too-liberal application of men's cologne. At least it was better than the thick cloud of cigarette smoke which had filled the bar in the old days, before it wa...