I have made my selections." With that she touched a button, and in a moment a clerk appeared.

He took down her order on a tablet with a pencil which made two copies, of which he gave one to her, and enclosing the counterpart in a small receptacle, dropped it into a transmitting tube.
"The duplicate of the order," said Edith as she turned away from the counter, after the clerk had punched the value of her purchase out of the credit card she gave him, "is given to the purchaser, so that any mistakes in filling it can be easily traced and rectified." "You were very quick about your selections," I said.

"May I ask how you knew that you might not have found something to suit you better in some of the other stores?
But probably you are required to buy in your own district." "Oh, no," she replied.

"We buy where we please, though naturally most often near home.

But I should have gained nothing by visiting other stores.