A Living Map of Leiden

The Randstad job agency has communicated that they will start to accept submissions of people's home-made inventions. They will pitch them to companies, and when a company accepts an idea it will hire the inventor and help him or her to commercialize the invention. I have invented a Living Map. My prototype is a large piece of cardboard that shows, in miniature and in real-time, everything that is happening in my city, Leiden.

Because it is raining I wrap my investion in plastic, and get on my bike to go to the Randstad office. However, it has been raining so heavily that the bicycle tunnel on my route is flooded. I have to get off my bike and wade through 30 centimeters of water to reach the other side.

Just when I'm getting off my bike a rook lands on the front fender and punctures the front tire with its long, sharp beak. Now I'm in trouble. Not only will I miss my appointment because I have to walk to the job agency, I won't even be able to find my destination because it is my bike that knows where to go, not me.

When I get out of the tunnel I am no longer in Leiden, but in a future version of Rotterdam. It's night, even though it was morning when I entered the tunnel. The rain is getting so bad I fear for the well-being of my invention, so I enter a nearby cafe to be out of the rain. It is designed in a modern style and brightly lit; it has a curved bar and standing room only.

From the conversations around me I understand that everyone in the cafe got stuck on their way to Randstad. Prototypes of inventions are all over the place, and heated discussions are going on about whether these inventions will have practical applications. I am greeted by two student girls I don't recognize, but from their remarks I understand I am, or was, their music teacher. I also pick up a rumor that a Randstad representative is in the room, incognito.

Then I notice R. He was one my musician friends when I was younger, but is now a businessman. He shows me his invention: an interactive business card that shows movies when it's not used, and replies in spoken word when you ask it a question. R. says that he's just as lost as I am. Escaping the rain and enjoying a beer is his short-time solution to the problem. He hopes the real solution will come to him after a few beers.

While walking around, and pondering what to do next, I discover that the cafe is much bigger than it seems. The wall at the back of the room is an optical illusion of sorts; the nearer I get, the more transparent it becomes. Behind the transparency is darkness, but not silence. I hear the sounds of ongoing construction work, and I decide to investigate.

(The alarm clock rings, and I wake up).

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