Hereafter

Hereafter: Part I Crossing Over, Chapter 8

8

THE AMUSEMENT PARKS IN heaven were always open, day and night. The Powers running this place put a high premium on the value of the kind of pure Joy that can only come from having good, wholesome fun. All kinds of activities qualified, but among the divorare the many amusement parks, referred to affectionately as flatline islands, were most attended. They got their name, flatline, because many of the rides were so intense that unless you had a glorified body, your heart and nervous system could not take the pounding.

Each park was designed around a theme which was apparent on the massive gates leading to the rides as well as clearly displayed all along the walking paths leading to the main entrance. We hopped on a Tellurian Rapid Transit (TRT) pod which had its destination LCD screen lit up as Wild Waters, our amusement park destination. For a single dalasi credit the TRT pod would take you anywhere in our quadrant.

The pod was shaped like one of those old Oscar Meyer hot dog vans, cylindrical and curved, but without any wheels or engine and much larger, two levels with enough room for 300 passengers. It was floating, but stable, could move in any direction, and despite its size could stop smoothly and quickly. The pod was full of other divorare eager for what was coming at the end of the line, so we had to stand in the aisle holding on to the horizontal and vertical bars provided for that purpose.

“Lydia, I’ve ridden the ‘L’ in Chicago and the MTA in New York City, but these pods are amazing. What makes them run, though, and no wheels . . . what’s up with that?”

“Like everything here, the pod system is powered by Divine Light. I’m not exactly sure how that translates into engineering and physics, but as you can see, the pods work just great!”

They weren’t confined to tracks and could elevate so they didn’t have to be located underground to avoid traffic. You could pick them up anywhere, not just at certain stations, and once they filled up they went straight for their destination.

“I don’t see any schedules or signs, how do you find a pod when you need one?” I naively asked . . . with still so much to learn.

“Remember the white dove and apple images, well the supervisor of the TRT must have lived in Chicago, because the image to think of to let the system know you need a ride is a capital L!”

“Come on . . . even absentminded me can remember that!” I was delighted to reply.

A few more stops, the pod was full, and we were off to Wild Waters Theme Park.

APPROACHING THE PARK COMPLEX the pod traffic got more and more congested until our pod hovered over one of fifty or so platforms covering a couple of football fields for dropping people off to walk the final six blocks or so to the entrance. Signs clearly marked the way to the main path. Crossing a pedestrian bridge, we joined a growing throng of divorare eagerly anticipating their Wild Waters’ experience. On either side of the 30-foot-wide path were two raging rivers.

I can’t say just how they managed this, but the rivers formed two walls of churning water, rushing left-to-right. The river, acting like a movie screen, was projecting live scenes from inside the park! If this was your first time, you could start thinking about which rides to check out when you finally got in.

“Lydia, have you been on that ride?” I asked, mesmerized by what I was seeing and pointing to.

“Oh no, I won’t get near that one, it’s the Waterfall of Death! You must love a good scare if that ride appeals to you!”

From what I could see, people were getting on surf boards and riding a huge wave right up to and over the edge of what could have been the famed and aptly named Angel Falls in Venezuela, the longest drop of any on Earth.