Realms of Sci-Fi

Constructed Islands

Daria sat on the gentle curve of the hill while wrapped in the warm layers of a robe and hood. The black-horned sheep further down the slope bleated softly to each other between mouthfuls of yellow grass. Taking her gray eyes from the flock for a moment, Daria looked toward the eastern horizon as Island Seven floated past, covered in tall buildings adorned with crowns of trees and grass between the steam vents. Although additional facilities for medicine and various forms of supply distribution were a necessity, Island Seven was one of the primary population centers, so most of its territory was dedicated to housing.

Island Six, where Daria currently watched over her flock was more resource oriented and possessed a much lower population with greater emphasis on herds, flocks, and farmland. On the prow of the ship, where she pastured her flock, only two large buildings were present.  A rounded sphere on a supporting column, the first was a desalinization plant for turning the seawater into something they could use on the island. The other building possessed a number of square protrusions jutting outward in staggered layers atop the sphere. Extending upward from the stacked layers was the communication tower. Most of Island Six's administrative offices were housed inside the sphere and elevated structures around the tower as transmissions between the island ships was necessary to maintain cohesion.

In the distant past, the various villages were linked by trade routes, so what was unneeded in one location might fulfill a deficiency elsewhere and prevent anything from being wasted. Cooperation had always been paramount to survival as the summer heat would melt the frozen areas to the far north and cause the southern lands to flood. Each year, her people had abandoned their fields and their homes as the rising waters laid claim to everything. It'd been a continuous cycle of destruction and rebuilding until her ancestors decided to break free of it. Building the massive island ships, they transferred native soil, plants, and animals to recreate their towns and villages in a place that would be forever above the waters.

The island ships were dependent on each other as none of them had everything they needed to survive on their own. The design had been intentional to promote cooperation and unity through mutual survival. If any island was capable of being on its own, divisions might arise, perhaps even war. As it was, no one risked conflict as the damage or loss of even a single island ship might doom them all.

Daria noticed a gray form in the far distance and assumed it was Island Eight. Dedicated to underwater mining, Island Eight produced the necessary metals to repair and maintain the great ships against rust and corrosion caused by the ocean air and the waters themselves.

Although Daria wasn't supposed to know, she'd heard rumors of a ship being built capable of taking to the skies. She smiled, wondering how her sheep would manage in the air.