Before her, in overlapping squares and rectangles projected outward from the wall, were holos of her mum, except the girl in the holos didn’t look like her mum, not exactly. Surrounded by friends, laughing, talking, smiling, her flurry-thyt either perched on her shoulder or cradled in her arms, she looked happy and fun and all of the things Hero had never thought her mum could be.

In essence, holo-walls turn entire walls into gigantic holo-screens, allowing a user to access a building’s AI as well as the prime- and sub-nets. Frequent uses include:

• displaying external scenes, giving the illusion of windows overlooking gardens and exotic locales
• displaying artwork. A new artistic movement has taken advantage of the technology and now many homes and businesses feature intricate artworks that respond to the mood of the occupants
• audio-visual entertainment
• conference calls

Although there is no restriction on the size of a holo-wall, it has yet to be adapted for outdoor use.

The holo-wall is a relatively recent advent in human technology. Although first invented well over 300 years ago, before the Jørn colonists left Earth, lack of resources turned holo-walls into a luxury the colonists couldn’t afford. It is only in the last 70 years that it has been ‘rediscovered’, and can now be found in the homes and businesses of most upper-middle class citizens.