[Curtis nods. He’d been young once. Getting out of the city he’d been born and raised in had been the plan, but scientists made some choices and everyone had to suffer in the ice and snow.]

There’s coffee and I can stretch my legs out without hitting anyone. That’s already a step up.

[He could walk in any direction and not bump into another person for a while. There was so much space it threatened to be overwhelming, but all the other odd things distracted him from that.]

Short version? [He shrugs a shoulder.] Global warming got pretty bad. They shot some chemicals up into the atmosphere and froze the whole damn planet over. Some of us got a ride on a self-sustaining train. [He won’t say some lucky people, he’s not sure about that.] Been there ever since.