| Taxi Driver | |
January 18, 2016
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| He hailed down a taxi that was famous for its special services. It was very lucky that he could get this taxi. The taxi opened the rear automatic door. (The rear automatic door was rare in this country but he knew that this taxi was special.) He got in. The taxi driver asked him where he wanted to go. He told him his destination. It was a normal conversation between the customer and the taxi driver until the taxi driver asked him, "Which era would you like to go?" The customer replied, "I have no idea because I never thought about getting this lucky. Anyways, which era is the most popular? Or, which do you recommend?" The taxi driver looked at him in the rear view mirror and said, "If you don't mind, I really recommend 'War time.' Because of the amount of documents, this is the most realistic, I think." The guy thought a little bit and said, "Why not? It sounds cool." The driver nodded and pushed some buttons on the dashboard and started the
The sight was of the old city. People in monotone costumes were walking around. There were few cars but some tanks. Soldiers in line marched. He felt afraid. Checking the reaction of the guy on the customer in his rear view mirror, the driver was driving in the city. He liked his city. The city had its history as a cathedral city in the medieval period and now had a lot of tourists. Many old buildings remained. Thanks to tourists and its middle sized city economy, his business was not bad until recently. But recently many immigrants came from other countries and became taxi drivers and his life became difficult. One day when he was watching TV, the program showed a new type of taxi in Japan. The taxi provided animation. The driver said in the interview, "I set an 8K screen and good speakers, and my sales went up dramatically." He started to customize his taxi. He used to be an engineer at an electric appliance company. He asked his former coworkers about the new high tech windows. He made the system's software. He went to the library and gathered many pictures and maps of the city. As the first program, he made 'Dinosaur era.' In the dinosaur era, the taxi ran through the roads among various types of dinosaurs like in the movie 'Jurassic Park'. He collected many pictures of dinosaurs from the library and the Internet. Using a 3D motion capture, he moved them. He made the landscape fitting on the real courses using GPS and the maps. The atmosphere inside was like a movie theater, but taxis move. When the taxi turned, the sight on the window-screens changed accordingly and it gave the sight more realism. The customers enjoyed the Jurassic Park tour while riding in the taxi. It became a big hit, and he could escape from being in the red. He made four versions, Dinosaur era (most popular), Medieval era (gorgeous aristocrats' costume, old town and a cathedral, second most popular), Modern times (steam engine and young lady workers), and War time. The war time was less popular and it was a pity because it took the most time to make. Now, the man was amazed to see the city during the war. It looked sad: People's faces were gloomy. Their clothes were dark. Women didn't socialize. Young men and women didn't hold hands. Once, a mother hold her daughter whose face was devoid of any emotion passed by the taxi on the sidewalk. When the taxi tuned right at the corner of the tall building, he gasped in astonishment. The ruins of the city appeared in front of him. A lot of buildings were destroyed. He saw fire here and there. He saw broken tanks and dead soldiers' bodies. He was speechless. Suddenly, the taxi driver's voice sounded, "Sorry for this interruption, but your destination is approaching. Maybe you need some time to calm down. May I stop the system?" He nodded. Soon the scene of the old city and its sounds faded out, and the normal view outside appeared from the windows. He could see the sights of the cheerful town. The shield went down and he could see the taxi driver. He said, "It was amazing but too depressing." The taxi driver looked at him in the mirror and said, "Yeah. But it was real old time." "Yeah," the guy said, "And now there are still lots of wars in the world." He sighed. The taxi arrived at the destination and stopped. The driver showed the fee meter which read the normal price as usual taxis. The guy said, "Keep the change for your efforts. Now I feel more sympathy for people who live in war zones. I have a feeling to do something good for them, and to protect this city's peace." The driver smiled and said, "It's my pleasure to hear that." The taxi left, and the guy stood there silently looking around for a while. |
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*hail :to call or wave to someone to get their attention (C)
*opaque :If an object or substance is opaque, you cannot see through it. (C)
*aristocrat :a member of the highest social class (C)
*be devoid of :to be completely lacking in something (L)