By mid-afternoon I’ve eaten and, having popped back to the shops, there are a couple of plants to give the apartment a little life.

“Nexima, Call Dad.”

<Call connecting now, Aidan.>

“Good afternoon, Son. How are things?”

“Everything is fine. I just wanted to let you know that I’m here and settled in.”

“That’s good to hear. Have you been to work yet?”

“Very briefly. I start properly at nine tomorrow. Jane and her husband were here when I arrived and helped me to get everything into the apartment.”

“That’s good, Son. I’m glad someone was there to greet you. What’s the apartment like?”

“Nexima, start Vision Share.”

“Lounge, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom.” I tell Dad as I walk around and look through the doors. “This is the balcony, but I’m a bit too far round the building to see the ocean properly.”

“It looks bigger than my first place was. You’ve done well to get everything organised so quickly. I’d suggest that you relax for the rest of the day and then you’ll be fresh for work tomorrow.”

“Yes, Dad, you’re right. I’m going to go out for a walk for an hour or so and get a bit more familiar with the area. I want to go down to the ocean and see what it is like. Besides, after being stuck on the ship for a while, it is nice to have the freedom to explore.”

“Okay, Son. I’ll speak to you soon. Bye.”

“By Dad.”

“Nexima, End call.”

Inevitably, the ocean here is very similar to the ocean around the peninsula, but the beach is broad and much more sand than stones. The waves are substantially bigger than any I am used to seeing. The huge rolling breakers have travelled the best part of ten thousand kilometres and have built up an enormous amount of energy that they seem determined to expend on the sands here.

There’s a single figure, sitting out on some sort of flotation device, just beyond the breaking point of the waves. Suddenly they start to paddle towards the shore with strong pulls of their arms. As the next wave begins to crest beneath them, they jump up on to their feet on the flat board and begin to balance themselves against the movement of the water.

I’ve never seen surfing other than in an old movie, but this is clearly what I’m watching now. The guy, now close enough for me to make that determination, balances as the board plunges down the face of the three-metre breaker gathering speed as it flashes along. He disappears as the breaker rolls over him, but then shoots out into the open again travelling even more quickly.

As the wave begins to disintegrate, he flips back over the top of it and drops into the still water behind the breaking line. He paddles back out over the top of the next wave and sits back on his board to rest for a minute or two.

I sit myself down on the sand and watch as he rides the next wave, possibly even bigger than the first. Just as I am marvelling at his poise and balance, he suddenly loses his balance and is tumbled over and over by the roiling breaker until he washes up on the sand just a few metres from me. I jump to my feet and rush to check on him, fearing that he might be injured.

“Are you okay?” I yell over the sound of the breaking waves as he stands and hauls his board towards him by the tether that I didn’t notice was around his ankle.

“I’m fine,” he tells me as he grabs the board and tucks it under his arm to walk towards me. “That’s enough for today though. The waves are getting a bit too big for me to be out here on my own.”

“I’m not used to seeing such big waves, except for the occasional storm,” I tell him.

“You’re not from around here, then?”

“No. I have just arrived from Sevrin City. The sea there is much calmer than this.”

“No surfing then?”

“I’m afraid not. You’re the first one I’ve ever seen. It looks like fun, but appears difficult.”

“It just takes practice. I can teach you if you like? Sorry. I’m Martin, Martin Kinnin.”

“Aidan Quilliam,” I reply and hold out a hand which he takes and shakes firmly. “I’m starting work at the research centre.”

“Quilliam? Any relation?”

“Yes, but I sometimes wish I wasn’t. It’s not fun being infamous.”

“Don’t you mean famous?”

“No, Martin. I think I chose the word pretty well.”

“Sorry. We don’t see many newcomers down on the beach. They take one look at the breaking waves and then keep well away. Would you like to learn to surf.”

“Actually, I think I would. Do you really have time to teach me?”

“Yes, I think so. I will start work at the centre too, in a few weeks. Just as a technician, but it keeps me off the streets and down on the beach. There are a few of us who surf regularly, but new faces are more than welcome. I take it you can swim?”

“Oh, yes. I’ll need a few days to get settled in and find out when I have some free time.”

“Sounds good. Let’s swop contact details.”

We get our implants to swop details and slowly walk back to the promenade and what I now realize are changing rooms and toilets.

“I’d better get back to my apartment,” I tell Martin as we stop. “I still need to do some prep for my first day tomorrow. I feel that I need to try and make a good impression right from the start.”

“No problem, Aidan. I need get dressed anyway. I’m supposed to be meeting my girlfriend for dinner in a couple of hours.”

“I’ll be in touch Martin. Bye.”

“See you soon, Aidan.”