The stagnant air inside the plane sat uncomfortably in Adrian's mouth. Sitting at 10,000 meters (32,000 ft) for the duration of his flight there was little he could do to remove that uncomfortable feeling. For the third time this flight, Adrian once again called the flight attendant using the remote on his seat in an attempt to get rid of the yuckiness.
I can only ask for so many cups of water.
As soon as he finished his water, an announcement rang out over the intercom inside the plane as if to taunt him.
"Thank you for your patience everyone, this is your Captain speaking. The fasten seatbelt sign is now on, as we're now making our descent towards Geneva airport. The day is starting toasty with the temperature on the ground at..."
Adrian excitedly perked up at the announcement, and instantly fastened his seatbelt, ready to finally get off the plane. He was ecstatic, looking forward to the biggest scientific convention of the year: the Global Innovation Summit.
Every five years, the Global Innovation Summit, or GIS, was hosted in Geneva. The event gathered only the brightest of minds in any scientific field, to unveil the latest groundbreaking technology. While Adrian had no discovery, he had an interest in being a participant of a revolutionary discovery.
As an astro-physicist, there were various spatial discoveries worthy of discussion. The most noteworthy was direct imagery of exoplanets, coupled with research on habitability and other important areas. The amount of data and research was staggering, so to report on this at the GIS it would have to be severely redacted for a wider audience.
Adrian was not fussed; he had already done his research and knew about this topic, so he had no intention to attend any astrophysics-related topics. What he did find interesting was the unveiling of Grimble, a quantum physics-related concept aiming to transform the way that energy is harnessed. Researchers speculate that the success of this product would convert humanity into a Type II civilisation!
As Adrian's thoughts ran adrift, he deplaned and begun making his way through the terminal. Eventually, Adrian was directed to a machine for the next few steps. He had to scan his passport and verify his identity.
The machine hummed to life as he was next up, and stepped onto the markings.
Please provide your passport, sir.
The machine whispered into Adrian's ear as he inserted his passport into the machine. Adrian had always been sensitive to machines, and could feel it internally making calls to respective services. From first checking for empty or invalid fields, to validating the first and surname, date of birth, and cross checking against criminal profiles in a criminal database. Adrian felt that he could understand each minor step the machine was making.
Technology had always been fascinating to Adrian, which is why he both became an astrophysicist and sought to explore the cosmic unknown. It felt like everything connected in his mind when the technology performed the way it did, and it happened in his daily work analysing data models and theories with spacecraft.
A small tap on Adrian's back informed him that his passport had already been processed, and a girl was waiting behind him to proceed into the machine. He thanked her before taking his passport and moving into the next area.
Walking down into a line, Adrian awaited to go through customs. After some time it was his turn to approach the counter, and spoke with a staff member there.
"Name and date of birth?"
"Adrian Mercer, October 30th 20XX."
"What is the purpose of your trip?"
"I'll be attending the GIS in Geneva over the next three days."
"Right, right. Do you have any family members travelling with you?"
"No, this is strictly work-related."
The conversation went on for a few minutes, with the customs officer asking various questions, primarily around Adrian's familial status. This caused some unwanted memories to bubble, but eventually he was permitted through without issue.
Adrian's father had passed away when he was still young. He had no memories of his father, and his mother didn't like to dwell on the past so as a result Adrian had little to no information about his dad.
His younger brother did not share the same enthusiasm about knowing their father, and spent most of his days binge drinking at home. This lead to the deterioration of his mum's health, and thus Adrian was the sole income provider for their family of three. Luckily as a physicist, he was paid handsomely.
--
A few minutes passed, and Adrian finally got through customs and collected his luggage. Leaving the airport, the doors opened into the city of Geneva. Mountains cluttered the landscape in his view, a peer into the Alps and how they blend seamlessly into a natural background. The city was atypical of many modern day cities; skyscrapers streched the city limits with a few historical landmarks around from the early 21st century.
As a mid-Europe country, there were various mixes of cultures around, however as a major hub of innovation in the world there was a strong international presense. Locals exiting local transport to tourists taking photos of the background, Geneva provided a diverse environment for everyone.
What piqued Adrian's interest were the banners and advertisements of the Global Innovation Summit. Various images flashed and videos played of previously covered topics, highlighting the city gearing up for a significant event. The hum of traffic nearby, and the multilingual conversations could not distract Adrian as he thought about the most anticipated concepts at the upcoming Summit.
This summit is going to be one of the best, I can just tell!
Adrian stood on the sidewalk, super giddy, before making his way towards the hotel. He jumped on local transportation, sat next to a local, and the bus travelled into the city.
Various different billboards lit up with information about the governmental election coming up, and different advertisements about the latest snacks and carbonated beverages. Various business executives lined the streets in full body suits, and tourists played with their HoloTouch.
One of the greatest innovations of the world was upgrading from touch devices to holographic devices. Activated by a small device that sits on one's keyring, a holographic display comes up in front of the user that allows them to conduct what previous actions were done by the personal phone.
Adrian turned on his HoloTouch to see a live update. It was from Maya, one of the keynote speakers. Adrian watched the message attached. Maya's facial sprite popped up, stylised in a chibi style. The sprite looked angry, and begun speaking.
"Oi there. You've a ticket to the GIS, right? My talk is today, you better be there!" A popup next to the sprite showed the time and location as the little head began pouting. Many advertisements these days were sent to everyone's HoloTouch. His spoke to him as he gathered his belongings.
You always let your Holo ring out! When will you ever pick up? What if it was your mum? Might be time to invest in some hearing aids!
Adrian sighed and went inside the hotel. Technology always seemed to speak to him in mysterious ways. After checking in to the hotel and entering his room, it was only 10:30am in the morning. Adrian had two important speakers to attend today. One of them was in fact Maya.
The conference started at 9:00am, however due to many international participants and flight issues, many of the talks and panels did not start until 11:30am. Adrian used this time to shower, and put on his work attire.
Adrian stood there in front of the mirror with a slight slouch. His medium-length brown hair was combed; a stark contrast to his unusual casual style falling just over his forehead and ears. Adrian refused to shave his stubble, giving him a type of disheveled look.
Adrian didn't even bother ironing his white dress shirt. It added to his shabby look, though he did save a bit of grace with a black tie. Over his shirt he wore his worn lab coat with pockets filled to the brim with knick knacks: pens, notepad, and whatever else could fit in there. With dark slacks and comfortable shoes, Adrian was ready to tackle the conference.
Oh wait, I'm missing some stuff. He grabbed a case from one of the side tables that contained his rectangular, thin-framed glasses and put on a vintage wristwatch; one that apparently was worn by his father. It was the only memento his mother had of his dad, and one that he would always keep on his person.
With his spectacles and wristwatch on, Adrian brought up the schedule for the day. Maya's talk was one of the first just before the scheduled lunch period, and the demonstration of Grimble was in the afternoon preceding it.
The GIS was about to begin, and he had no intention of being late.