was tired; the eight-hour time shift was throwing their body
clocks out. Gillian was still working her way through the
historical database, particularly the pre-foundation material which
she seemed to be finding very interesting. Bashford was supplying
her with drinks and, as he put it, looking pretty for her. Ella’s
main work would be done in the morning when they had people to talk
to. She had gone over some of the more modern data on population
density, health, and lifespans, but now she was standing beside
Aneka at one of the large windows in their bedroom looking out over
the buildings below and the bay stretching out beyond them.
‘This was mainland Hong Kong,’
Aneka said, her voice soft so as not to disturb the mood. The
lights were out in the room and there was very little light coming
up from below. They were maybe two hundred metres above ground
level. ‘It was a huge, thriving city in my time. Kind of the
meeting place between East and West. Now they have one tower block
and we’re in it.’
‘Were you ever here,
before?’
‘Once. For about… six hours. We
had a stop off and I took the time to look around. That was mainly
on the island though. It was… vibrant, I guess. Lots of people,
lots of activity.’
‘There’s still some activity
down there.’
‘Huh… Seriously, that’s a slow
Sunday in a sleepy town in Iowa in comparison.’
‘Right. I don’t know what Iowa
was, but I get the picture.’
‘Well, the other city is
somewhere in that region. Maybe you’ll get to see it.’
‘Maybe. Harper said that the
Western City didn’t have much to offer. He said that continent was
the worst hit. They’ve had geological disasters on top of the
bombing. The west coast got hit with some huge tidal wave about a
decade after the war. The east coast was carpet-bombed with kinetic
impactors as well as some strategic nukes.’
‘I guess North America was a
primary target.’
‘Uh-huh.’ There was a second of
silence and then, ‘I should get some sleep, but I’m not tired.’
Aneka chuckled. ‘Is that a
hint?’
‘More of a suggestion.’
Unsealing her suit, Aneka said,
‘Well I guess this time I can take it.’
~~~
The main difference between the two
cities seemed to be the far larger building above ground on the
eastern one. It gave easier access to surface dwellers, so that was
convenient.
The houses were all built of
wood, but Wei Lin assured them that they were a combination of
ancient building techniques and modern technology. Not one building
had ever succumbed to an earthquake since the city had been built.
Aneka looked up at the tower they had slept at the top of and
wondered whether it had the same resilience.
The two couples split up, Wei
Lin going with Gillian and Bashford, and a new interpreter being
supplied for Aneka and Ella. She was a surface dweller, Chan Mei,
tall and slim with a mix of features that suggested some occidental
parentage. For one thing she had strawberry-blonde hair which was
not exactly common in oriental people. She was dressed in a very
pretty, Chinese-style dress, and Aneka got the impression it was
brand new and had been given to her just so she could be as
presentable as possible to the visitors. Importantly she spoke
perfect English with a slight accent, and Mandarin which the locals
spoke.
The other thing Chan Mei knew
was where all the old people with interesting stories to tell
lived. Ella sat and listened carefully to all of them, and then the
translation from Chan Mei, and slowly began to smile as they went
along. Aneka’s universal translation software was puzzling its way
through the language as they went, but it was apparent that Ella
was getting more than a few words.
‘It really is a lot like
Rimmic,’ she said as they walked from one house to another. ‘I’m
not getting everything, but I could possibly get by here.’
‘Sorry,’ Chan Mei said, ‘what is
“Rimmic”?’
‘It’s one of the languages we
use where I come
clocks out. Gillian was still working her way through the
historical database, particularly the pre-foundation material which
she seemed to be finding very interesting. Bashford was supplying
her with drinks and, as he put it, looking pretty for her. Ella’s
main work would be done in the morning when they had people to talk
to. She had gone over some of the more modern data on population
density, health, and lifespans, but now she was standing beside
Aneka at one of the large windows in their bedroom looking out over
the buildings below and the bay stretching out beyond them.
‘This was mainland Hong Kong,’
Aneka said, her voice soft so as not to disturb the mood. The
lights were out in the room and there was very little light coming
up from below. They were maybe two hundred metres above ground
level. ‘It was a huge, thriving city in my time. Kind of the
meeting place between East and West. Now they have one tower block
and we’re in it.’
‘Were you ever here,
before?’
‘Once. For about… six hours. We
had a stop off and I took the time to look around. That was mainly
on the island though. It was… vibrant, I guess. Lots of people,
lots of activity.’
‘There’s still some activity
down there.’
‘Huh… Seriously, that’s a slow
Sunday in a sleepy town in Iowa in comparison.’
‘Right. I don’t know what Iowa
was, but I get the picture.’
‘Well, the other city is
somewhere in that region. Maybe you’ll get to see it.’
‘Maybe. Harper said that the
Western City didn’t have much to offer. He said that continent was
the worst hit. They’ve had geological disasters on top of the
bombing. The west coast got hit with some huge tidal wave about a
decade after the war. The east coast was carpet-bombed with kinetic
impactors as well as some strategic nukes.’
‘I guess North America was a
primary target.’
‘Uh-huh.’ There was a second of
silence and then, ‘I should get some sleep, but I’m not tired.’
Aneka chuckled. ‘Is that a
hint?’
‘More of a suggestion.’
Unsealing her suit, Aneka said,
‘Well I guess this time I can take it.’
~~~
The main difference between the two
cities seemed to be the far larger building above ground on the
eastern one. It gave easier access to surface dwellers, so that was
convenient.
The houses were all built of
wood, but Wei Lin assured them that they were a combination of
ancient building techniques and modern technology. Not one building
had ever succumbed to an earthquake since the city had been built.
Aneka looked up at the tower they had slept at the top of and
wondered whether it had the same resilience.
The two couples split up, Wei
Lin going with Gillian and Bashford, and a new interpreter being
supplied for Aneka and Ella. She was a surface dweller, Chan Mei,
tall and slim with a mix of features that suggested some occidental
parentage. For one thing she had strawberry-blonde hair which was
not exactly common in oriental people. She was dressed in a very
pretty, Chinese-style dress, and Aneka got the impression it was
brand new and had been given to her just so she could be as
presentable as possible to the visitors. Importantly she spoke
perfect English with a slight accent, and Mandarin which the locals
spoke.
The other thing Chan Mei knew
was where all the old people with interesting stories to tell
lived. Ella sat and listened carefully to all of them, and then the
translation from Chan Mei, and slowly began to smile as they went
along. Aneka’s universal translation software was puzzling its way
through the language as they went, but it was apparent that Ella
was getting more than a few words.
‘It really is a lot like
Rimmic,’ she said as they walked from one house to another. ‘I’m
not getting everything, but I could possibly get by here.’
‘Sorry,’ Chan Mei said, ‘what is
“Rimmic”?’
‘It’s one of the languages we
use where I come
Similar Books
