By 2422, humankind has achieved an ecotopian climate-positive future. There's zero conflict and zero waste throughout the whole world. But, when a young girl starts having mysterious visions of a walled city, it might signal the ancient return of so...
My stomach turns slightly, and I wish I hadn't eaten the oakweed porridge Mum forced on me. After I confirmed that I'd join P.D.S., I had an hour to pack and board a sub for the central PDS dome. There wasn't much of a chance to say a proper goodbye to my parents or Fox Two. I hope he understands. Mum has promised to feed and talk to him. I take one last look around my room. It's bright and warm. I feel so comfortable and safe here. It's all I've ever known. I try not to cry when I get on board the fancy P.D.S sub. Mum cries, and Dad blinks a lot. Some of the neighbours including Mr. Nosy come over. He keeps telling everyone that he always knew I was destined for great things and tries to see inside the sub but they don't let him.
Once strapped in, I'm left alone by the helmsman. Heading out into the vast ocean, I watch through a porthole as my dome and neighbourhood get smaller and smaller. It's a five-hour trip on the Sonic sub, and now I'm halfway around the world. On my own. For the first time. Holy smokes! What did I just sign up for? I fall asleep after an hour and we dock at the PDS central dome and headquarters it is dark. I've never seen a government dome this size before. It must have at least ten levels if not more. I don't know which grid sector we're in. The location is kept a secret. Five hours from my grid sector could mean anywhere, really. I do notice it's colder. My day suit automatically adjusts by five degrees to maintain my core body temperature. As we disembark, I start to feel panicked. Everything happened so fast. This is all I wanted and thought about, but now that I'm here, I doubt myself.
This dome is much older than those in my gridsector. For one thing, it's solid grey metal and rusty. All the domes from thelast two hundred years are transparent reinforced steel and titanium. This oneis dark and cold.
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The narrow corridors have low ceilings with no viewing panels on the lower level where we docked. Probably because the old metal can't withstand the pressure. It's loud and filled with echoing creaking noises. The air is stale with a faint saltwater odour. I'm led through a maze of tunnels until I'm shown to an ancient elevator. This is where the helmsman leaves me and I meet one of my team leaders. She's pale and slender with fiery red hair and light green eyes. She ushers me into the elevator and presses level twelve. We ride up in silence until she introduces herself.
'My name is Team Leader Atlas.' She has an unfamiliar lilting accent. Maybe she's from the eastern sector but I'm not sure. Besides that, she says nothing to me and keeps her body facing forward with her arms behind her back.
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