[His shake was efficient and brief; he didn't trust himself to hold onto her for long, not when the years of isolation had left him craving human touch so badly. He wiped his hand on his hip once he let go, trying to rid it of its treacherous urge to grip her once more.]

Err, cubes, yes, I suppose we didn't have those until recently. They were mass-produced, self contained... think of them like city blocks sealed up so you could walk around without worrying about acid rainfalls. Why, what did you used to live in?