At long last, Vanja handed over the completed forms to the receptionist, who bent over the counter to read them through. He tapped his pen on one of the boxes.
“Here. You haven’t filled in the section ‘children and their place of residence.’”
“No,” said Vanja.
The receptionist tapped his pen on the box where Vanja had given her age. “I see.”
Vanja looked down at the floor. Her cheeks were hot.
He asked for her credit book and stamped it with hard little thunks.
“Welcome to Amatka,” he said as he handed it back to her. “You’re registered as a visitor and may move freely within the colony. Thank you.”
“I would also like to fill in a request for information from the archive.” Vanja avoided his eyes.
“Next floor, first door on the right.” The receptionist turned around and continued stamping documents.
On the next floor, Vanja presented her papers once more and filled in a request for a list of local independent businesses. She was told the procedure would take a few days, thanked the clerk, and left.
The necessary formalities thus taken care of, Vanja visited the clothing depot, Nina’s shopping list in hand. After wandering about among work clothes and outer garments at the front of the store, she eventually found her way to the section for sweaters, underclothes, and small items. The store had few visitors at this time of day; the only noise came from a clerk who moved from shelf to shelf with a marking pen, mumbling at each garment.
The fabrics were different here, the materials warm under Vanja’s hand. Most clothes were monochrome and bright. Vanja, who was entirely dressed in brown, hesitated. She thought of Nina’s blue overalls and Ivar’s green shirt and chose clothing in shades of blue and green: a sleeping cap, long underwear, a thick shirt, gloves, socks, a scarf, and an outdoor hat with earflaps and a chin strap. She tried some of the garments on in front of a mirror. She looked a little peculiar with the hat on; her hair stuck out from under the rim and the earflaps stood straight out. She pushed the hat back a little, tucked her hair in, and tied the flaps. That made it look a bit better. She fingered her thin anorak. It was worn at the elbows and shoulders, but it was freshly marked and would do for now. Her trousers were still decent enough, with plenty of space for underclothes now that they had become so loose.
The company hadn’t given Vanja extra credit for clothing, but her general disinterest had led to savings substantial enough for all the clothes she’d picked out.
The pharmacy was a couple of doors away. Products were stacked according to category on the shelves, most of them packaged in the red and white of the commune. A couple of dispensers were busy serving customers at the back of the store. Vanja walked slowly along the shelves, reading labels. The range was virtually identical to Essre’s, but the proportions were different. Amatka’s inhabitants apparently suffered from skin problems: a whole section was devoted to eczema, fungal infections, and other skin conditions. The general-hygiene section was sparse in comparison. Vanja grabbed all boxes not decorated with the commune’s colors and filled in a requisition form handed to her by one of the dispensers.
“Do you import any independent products from Essre?” she asked, as the dispenser, a young woman with her hair in a tight bun, packed the items into a brown bag.
The dispenser paused with her hand in the bag. “No. I don’t know why we would. We can barely get rid of the stuff made locally. By the independent businesses, I mean. So I don’t know how something from Essre would do.”
“Why don’t people want them, d’you think?”
“You’re not from here, are you? It’s new. People don’t like new. It never turns out well.”
The dispenser bagged the last of the items and rummaged for something under the counter. She brought out a couple of pamphlets and stuffed them into the bag.
“Take these, too.”
Vanja lugged her heavy load back to the house. She put the bags down on the kitchen table and found some coffee powder in the pantry. It looked homemade, stored in a jar with a mismatched lid. Ivar probably brought coffee mushrooms from work and dried and ground them himself. Vanja filled the pot halfway up with water, added a couple of spoonfuls of powder, and put the pot on the heat. While it simmered, she emptied her bag and went through the bottles, jars, and tubes, arranging them on the table. All in all, she’d brought back thirty-two products from two different manufacturers. When the coffee had finished brewing, it came out of the pot a pale yellow color. Vanja retrieved her notebook out of the satchel and started taking down the names of manufacturers and products, as well as content lists. It was soothing work.
A sudden laugh made her look up. Nina stood by the kitchen door, eyebrows raised. She looked at the jars and bottles covering the table, then at Vanja and then laughed again, not at all in an unfriendly way.
The following is a preliminary report on the occasion of my first visits to stores and the pharmacy, in addition to a few short interviews. I am still awaiting a complete list from the commune office, but have so far identified two independent manufacturers in the hygiene sector. Both specialize in products more expensive and of higher quality than the commune’s own. They are not in direct competition with each other, as they have targeted different product areas.
Several persons with whom I have spoken express a dislike for products not the commune’s own, but give only vague explanations as to why this is. A common expression is that they simply don’t want “new things.”
Hygiene products of high quality that cost extra credit. The products contain extracts of plants and fungi. The packaging is elegant, in muted colors. According to the pharmacy, this is the most popular alternative product range.
Quality Belt. Holder for menstrual liners. 1 per package. A girdle for fastening around the waist, with loops for attaching menstrual pads. The material is somewhat thinner and softer than the commune’s own girdles. Girdle and pads are washed normally.
Quality Pad 1. Short menstrual pads, extra thin, 4 per box.
Quality Pad 2. Medium-length menstrual pads, extra thin. 4 per box.
Quality Pad 3. Extra-long menstrual pads, thin and highly absorbent. 2 per box.
Hair Soap 1. Hair soap for greasy hair and dandruff. The ingredients do not differ significantly from the commune’s own.
Hair Soap 2. Hair soap for dry hair. Contains extract of cave russula.
Hair Treatment. Softening treatment for hair. Contains extract of slime truffle and soybean oil.
Quality Soap. Liquid soap. Contains extract of cave russula.
Quality Cream. Skin cream. Contains soybean oil and extract of slime truffle.
Products associated with beauty care. Cost extra credits, except for when prescribed by a physician. The range consists mainly of foundation creams, covering creams, and skin powder. The very wide range of covering creams to hide scars, superficial veins, and cold damage is noteworthy. According to the pharmacy, the products are bought by men and women in equal proportions.