And here we are at the Georgia World Congress Center, home to this year’s Atlanta Annual Tech Expo. The sun’s shining high in the sky, masses of people are walking through the front doors in a messy would-be line, and cosplayers are posing under the shade of the trees lining the sidewalk (do they know this isn’t an anime convention?).

And by golly are there a lot of people outside. You’d think a Falcons game was about to start with the size of the crowd right now... and we aren’t even in the building yet.

“I’m off!” Karina shouts as soon as we hit the entrance, scurrying towards the employee entryway that, unlike the general attendance one, doesn’t have a line stretching back for ages.

“Oh, see you!” I shout back, but she’s already too far gone to hear it.

That leaves me alone, in this desolate wasteland of hundreds of thousands of people.

Every year, people from all over the world, whether that be industry types, techies, hobbyist consumers, video game fans, collectors, or (ew) journalists, descend upon Atlanta. The whole city spends five days soaking up all the newest technology and uncovering the latest finds. I’ve always considered the grandiose extravaganza somewhat silly because of how stagnant technology has been, but the past few years have actually started to pick up the pace, I’ve heard. And with this expo being the first since the Social Media Killer’s attacks... things ought to be interesting.

Interesting may not be the right word for it. Unsettling may be more accurate.

My goal today, as given to me by R8PR himself, is to search out clues behind what might be going on with the Ascendants. The “Ascendants,” of course, being the term that Jones uncovered during her famous social media assassinations, and a term that seems to be connected, somehow, with several major politicians, businesspeople, and entire corporations in ways that we have not yet discovered.

Along with some rumblings of the anti-tech terror gang Earth Group stirring up trouble, there’s a whole lot to look for, and not very much direction on my part.

I guess I’ll go inside and take a look. The giant blob of people waiting to get in has started to thin already, so it shouldn’t be too long a trip. Though... it is really hot outside. I don’t know how much longer I can take wearing this suit if I don’t get in the air conditioned building as soon as possible. I refuse to break a sweat. I will will myself into staying dry.

...Nope, there it goes, I feel the bead of sweat rolling down my side. Now I sigh.

After about ten minutes of waiting, I reach the ticket check, where I flash my “press pass” (Larkins has his uses, I’ll give him that) and enter the convention center.

...

Wow...

Ahhh...

It's so cool...

I stand there and bask in the nice chilly air for a moment. Next to me, an elderly couple, two women also wearing fancy suits, are doing the same. I almost turn to them and remark about the wonders of modern central cooling, but I don’t need to. It is implicitly accepted by all Atlanteans that we are living in a golden age of air conditioning.