The Two Fangs

Chapter 6

The cluster of domes that constituted Eurasia spread out over a stretch of a thousand miles. Few were fully separate, but connected by a short tunnel. Traffic to the eastern end, unofficially known as Asia, had to pass all the way through Europe, which it did through subterranean roads, raised highways, and magnetic peripheral tracks that ran along the walls. That also meant that all traffic intended for any dome, barring illegal and very dangerous submarine travel, had to pass through the Europe Gate station.

Aequitas presence was immediately much greater, or at least more visible, once they were in Europe. Black-armored soldiers oversaw the station as though expecting an attack at any time. They had frequent checkpoints beyond it: dark, brutalist huts at the entrances to tunnels and interrupting traffic oh old, dingy streets. Heads-up displays within their helmets alerted them to Grid's and Valley's status, so the travelers were never stopped.

The domes themselves were situated far into the plateaus that had once been the terrestrial continents for which they were named. Unlike Atlantis, the cities within them were far more like the classic ones described in stories, shown in ancient movies. Especially nearer the intercontinental station, asphalt streets ran between tight but orderly row houses and facsimiles of landmarks from the abandoned continents. An Al Hambra and an Arc de Triomphe, in memory of their originals. Beyond that, the inner-city monorail rumbled on an elevated track above dank streets, between high-rise tenements showing their three-century age, and below the elevated platforms where on which the wealthy built their estates.

The wealthy, but not the wealthy who could have their own bubbles.

Above the surface-bound city was another, made up of buoyant hemisphere domes and the occasional full globes, some tethered to the ground by elevator tubes and some permanently connected by enormous glass flutes that flared out at the base, as though the miniature city were a droplet of water about to fall upward to the surface. By nature these were all much smaller than the domes below, ranging from small private villas to university campuses. Dresden's, paid for by donations from zoans and guilty humans - the source of much of the family's fortune - was one of the former, tethered amidst the domes officially known as Germany. No short distance from Europe Gate.

Transit was free, as long as they remained en route to the bubble. Valle hefted his rucksack from train to cab to subcar, each able to take them partway through the next aging metropolis. Through the France domes and the Croatia dome, which had been his home for several months some time back. An entire day of slow urban driving. He slept again, in a privately owned cab that crawled slowly along a maglev track he could only trust was abandoned.

When he woke, they were stopped.

Outside the cab's windows was near total dark. A distant street light only showed the faint outlines of squarish buildings and run-down vehicles. The vehicle's screen was blank, and none of its controls responded when Valle tried them. He shook Grid, who lay with her head thrown back against the seat opposite him, snoring.

She tried to say something, but it came out as a strained whisper. Valle's voice did as well. Their voice boxes weren't working. A bright red light reflected in Grid's big eyes, the low battery symbol on her tablet. They'd been drained.

Valle clutched at his head in frustration. He opened his door and felt for the street outside with his foot. They were still atop the maglev track; if he had stepped out he would have plummeted twenty feet and probably shattered his none-too-sturdy spine.

Still, whoever had drained them would no doubt be back soon to see whom they'd caught in their trap. He tugged the leg of Grid's pants and tapped the door frame: they needed to go.