“Mom, I’ll be fine,” I insisted. “You don’t need to come with me. Sarah will meet me there.”
My mom sighed, weariness carved into her fine features. “Jaanu, I wish you would take a safer position.”
“We discussed this,” I whined. “The lab in Ciores has so many opportunities.”
“I know, I can just hope, right?”
I resisted an incredulous glance. It was my mother who was always pushing for chasing the best opportunities. I did understand her aversion to my new apprenticeship; Ciores wasn’t one of the Adrift Large-Scale Establishment initiatives, meaning it was forsaken by the affluent, leaving the city to rot on its own. The rot provided its own opportunity however, The laboratories at Ciores focused greatly on chemical transformations of the pollution that plagued the city, something my newly acquired degree in chemical engineering would help with.
“Call me every day, ok?”
“Sure,” I agreed offhandedly. I didn’t think that my absence would affect much, although I supposed it would be a big change for my parents. I had never lived anywhere else, much less exited the ALSE system. College in New Baghdad had allowed me to commute easily back to New Dwarka and live with my parents. All the ALSE cities were interconnected through the LightTransport system, which allowed speed-of-light travel in between the establishments. “I gotta catch the train now,” I insisted to my mother, mostly to cease her nagging. I scanned my ALSE ID on the door scanner, pressing the hover button on my suitcase to initialize “Follow” mode.
My mom looked at me sadly, but with a forced grin. “You’re growing up, aren’t you.”
“Definitely.” I was glad she finally came to her senses. I had barely convinced her and my dad that I could go to Ciores alone without them coming to help me “settle in”.
“Remember that buy anything if you need it and call me every day!” My mom shouted as the doors slid shut.
I smiled and waved through the window as I entered the picked a seat on the spherical transnational train. I had wanted to be rid of her, but now I already missed her… No! We’re independent now, I insisted to myself. THis was my very first opportunity to go out into the real world and form my own identity. But as the smooth hum of the train grew louder and the train shot into midair, displaying a spectacular view of the city I had spent my entire life in, I was uncertain.
I would miss the banyan trees, however annoying they made walking on the sidewalk, I would miss the smell of spices, the rustle of the public streetcars as the zoomed to transport the thousands of people across the expansive city, the ancient hindu layered architecture, and the open courtyards overlooking peaceful pools of lotuses. Although New Dwarka was an ALSE, like the other cities, it had adopted the culture of the country miles below. And now I was off to dark and ominous America, leaving behind all that was familiar. At least there would be stops at New Baghdad, Mandé, Atlantis, Teotihuacan, before finally arriving at Ciudad de Angeles, the closest ALSE to Ciores.
The ALSEs, all namesakes of some of the greatest cities in history, were only living spaces to the richest. Afterall, it had cost a lot to establish the satellite magnets that kept the suspended cities floating, and even more to establish the magnets that allowed for the LightTransport system, which worked by using propulsion to get lift, then slowly curving the path of the spherical train by activating and deactivating the magnets to finally land at the appropriate destination, with carefully calculated velocity. I supposed it wasn’t the safest form of travel, but it worked out, and your life matters more when you’re rich.
I wouldn’t have that privilege when I arrived in Ciores. My ALSE ID was useless there, and in fact may have made it more dangerous by painting a target on my back. I studied the scar on the inside of my left wrist, where the ID had been embedded so long ago. I was going into uncharted territories. I should have been feeling nervous, but I couldn’t be happier! Finally I could live my own life.
The LightTransport was a relatively smooth ride, and I usually dozed off on my trips between New Dwarka and New Baghdad for college, but my nervousness prevented me from sleep. Instead I watched as the train bounced through the puffy clouds, the path affected by the magnets affected the train, shifting the paths slightly as the pre-programmed magnets veered the sphere off track.
What hell will the downstairs world be? I had heard the horror stories of the land down below, but the Indian News hadn’t seemed that bad. Since the more rich and influential people had left to ALSEs, I believed the wealth gap down there had decreased, affecting supply and demand, allowing everyone to buy more. I hadn’t been there, so I wouldn’t know.
Well, I had done some research. On the ALSE’s, I would scan my ID to purchase anything. For down below, I had to have my financial account connected to a small plastic card. I observed the card now, glancing at the picture that they had taken. How did the Grounders not lose their money sources? The whole thing felt awfully ridiculous, which was probably the reason my parents had wished me to simply relocate to a different ALSE, if I had to move from New Dwarka at all. The idea of that sounded horrible. Traveling between any ALSE took no more than a day, allowing my parents to come and visit me at any moment. For the Grounder cities, the process was much more complicated, as, although the ALSEs allowed transnational travel, the same wasn’t true for the Grounder cities. I had needed to apply for a long-term Admission in order to enter America as an Indian citizen. Even short-term Admissions required at least a week to process, meaning I would have plenty of warning to brace myself. The ALSE’s were only barely part of their own countries, complete with their own governance board. Instead, the cities in the sky were almost their own nation. Of course, that cultural divide prevented me from entering Ciores, in America, until after disgusting amounts of paperwork.
“Please prepare for landing in New Baghdad,” a cool mechanical voice sounded from the intercom. “The local time is 11:57 am. Please make yourself comfortable and visit the shops in this illustrious city.”
The LightTransport sphere began to shake as it hurtled to the landing port of New Baghdad, slowed by powerful magnets. From the sky, the tall geometrical buildings were visible, carved with flowers and patterns. In the distance, I could see a tall mosque’s bells ringing, the call for prayer. Just like New Dwarka was the center of health, innovation, and harmony, like the ancient days, New Baghdad was a center of bustling trade and tourism.
New Baghdad was a center point in Eurasian travel between ALSEs, meaning people would stop and shop. Companies from all over the world ached to be able to purchase a storefront in New Baghdad. I never had time for that, rushing from classes to home, and then back again. Things are different now, I convinced myself, as I stepped out of the cool air-conditioned LightTransport station into the sweltering city.
People drifted calmly with a relaxed chatter between shops, a juxtaposition of ancient cultural keepsakes, and expensive high-end brands.
The sweet smell of incense distracted me, a familiar scent, coming from a chinese shop tucked in a corner, labeled Shangri-La, like the other shops labeled with the ALSE they came from. I gently pushed open the door, and the bells hanging from the mantle jangled as I entered, giving the whole shop a quaint feeling. An engraved map of China covered the entire left wall, complete with elevation and depressions, where. Shangri-La was situated high in the tibetan mountains, named after the mythical city detailed in Lost Horizon by James Hilton. The room had very cultural items, small travel-sized buddha statues, natural herbs and medicines you would find in both China and India.
I hadn’t really intended to buy anything but I felt bad looking at the quaint old woman at the desk behind the shop… I pretended to look around. Maybe I should call my mom and ask if she wanted a Durga statue or a Lingam for the garden. The old lady beckoned me over and I immediately obeyed, then silently cursed at myself. I needed a thicker skin. I wasn’t going in my safe hometown anymore, where the adults were all happy and satisfied in their lives. Once I arrived in the Grounder cities in America, I needed to be more cautious.
“You’re a good buddhist girl, no?” the old lady wheezed. I nodded, even though I wasn’t buddhist… I was close enough. The old lady pressed a small but heavy silk drawstring bag into my palm. I glanced inside of it, viewing multiple tiny intricately carved buddhas, made of some kind of bronze metal into my palm. They seemed to be from many different places and different sects, it was kind of cool.
“Thank you!” I said to the woman, a little awkwardly. She smiled, wrinkled skin making her narrow eyes even narrower.
“For you. Free,” she insisted, closing my hand roughly around the bag. I really didn’t know where old people found the strength.
“Oh, no, I must give you something!” I tried to tap my ALSE ID on the register, but she quickly pushed me away.
“Out, out!” she yelled angrily, sort of scaring me. She shoved me onto the street, with my new collection of Buddha statues. I really hoped she hadn’t just scammed me into stealing something from her shop… I didn’t know why she would even do that, but I couldn’t think of anything else as I continued to stroll through the streets.
***
Similar to New Baghdad, Ciudad de Ángeles was a tourism hub. It was kind of out-of-the way from the ALSE LightTransport System, located on the western coast of America, but made up for it by the booming Hollywood industry. Large sprawling mansions floated, tethered to the adrift cities, home of the greatest actresses of all time. Ciudad de Angeles was the biggest ALSE in the world.
I thought with slight satisfaction that it was a little overrated. I had spent most of my life watching Bollywood movies instead, produced from Mumbai. It was a Grounder city. When the ALSE’s were first being constructed, there wealth divide of the massive indian city had been too great to invest in a floating town that only a few of the citizens would be able to afford.
That’s why New Dwarka was created. Dwarka was a pilgrimage town, with history rooted in hinduism, but it was just that now. Just a pilgrimage town. So the ALSE had been established above it. I liked the poetic symbolism. Dwarka in mythology was a great magical city. Now it was returned to its former glory.
“Rya!” someone called from the LightTransport Station’s Taxi Center, distracting me from my thoughts.
“Heyyyyy Sarah!” I responded excitedly, waving back and hurrying over. The tall blond girl stood near her own suitcase, which was considerably smaller than mine. I felt a small surge of sad envy, but I quickly squashed it down. Sarah had less things to pack because she had lived her entire life in Ciudad de Angeles, the closest ALSE to Ciores. She could visit home anytime with a four-hour drive. I had purposefully tried to get as far away from home as possible. “Are you excited?” I asked, trying to distract myself from my self-imposed sadness.
“Girl you don’t even know!” She leaned in close to whisper conspiratorially. “We’re going to have so much fun!”
I tried to grin, but it was uneasy. I had done this to myself. “So excited! You have the ride sorted out?”
Sarah grimaced. “Yeah, but it was super annoying. No quality driver wants to go down there. I had to use Uber. That’s so ancient!” She sighed dramatically. “Welp, that’s our life now.”
Sarah loaded our suitcases into the taxi, before instructing the driver to take us to the Descender. I sympathized with the concerned look he shot in our direction. No sane person would leave the ALSE’s to go down to the Grounder cities. I was regretting the decision more and more as we got closer. But I knew this was my one chance to be free. I could finally, finally, have my own dreams, aspirations, and lifestyle.
The drive through Ciudad de Angeles was pretty, and the route took us through the Hollywood district. I could have just picked to live here… I cringed at myself. I really had brought this upon myself. I can visit this place anytime, I reassured myself, glimpsing a large Hollywood sign attached to an impossibly tall skyscraper. I knew the original iconic sign had remained in the Californian hills. There’s one benefit of going down there, I tried to convince myself. Maybe I’d get to see it.
The Descender was in the least crowded part of the city. It always worked out like that, in every city I’d gone to. I supposed no one wanted to live even close to where the ALSE’s connected with their Grounder cities. The Descender building was clean, like the rest of the ALSEs, but it was desolate, almost abandoned. Is this what down below will look like?
Sarah and I unloaded the taxi, and the driver quickly sped off. Even he didn’t want to stay here for long. Sarah looked at me and shrugged, before giggling. I laughed with her. We were insane, but we were insane together. I followed her into the building, our footsteps echoing in the loud but empty facility. There was only a receptionist.
“Can I help you?” she said, perking up. It must have been a boring life, just sitting at the desk of the forsaken building.
“Yeah, please, how do we get to the Descender?”
The receptionist recoiled at my words. “U-uh… people usually don’t come here to get down there…”
“Well what do they come down here for?” Why would you go to the Descender building if you weren’t going to descend..?
“I mean, its usually to throw things off the edge.”
I shrugged. I guess because the Descender is the only part of the city not walled off from the edge, people might come down here to throw away the skeletons in their closets…
Sarah spoke up now. “Well, we need to get down, so please direct us to the Descender?”
The receptionist shrugged, before beckoning for us to follow her as she led us to a large chamber with Descenders arranged. She helped us in, strapping us up and making sure the suitcases wouldn’t fly around wildly during the freefall.
The Descenders worked similar to the ALSEs and the LightTransports, using momentum and being controlled by magnets. And as the ground below us gave way to open air, gravity sending us plummeting down, I never regretted my decision more.
***
After a few moments, when the shock wore off and Sarah stopped screaming, my breath hitched in my throat as I glanced around the transparent Descender.
The view was stunning.
For miles around us, the earth expanded. I could see huge neighborhoods, larger than anything I had ever seen, huge winding rivers, natural ones, not the man-made ones in the ALSE’s. Wild vegetation, unlike the carefully curated ones of my home cities, stretched everywhere, painting the earth with vibrant tones of green and brown. And as we plummeted faster and faster, I could see the huge buildings of ancient cities, with skyscrapers taller than even the Hollywood Building in Ciudad de Angeles.
All my doubts vanished at the beautiful construction of harmony with the natural earth and man-made wonders vanish. This was freedom, this was the free unbridled life.
In the textbooks in history class, none of the pictures did the view justice. They were also pretty outdated, I realized. The Grounder cities had lacked strict government regulation for decades now. The earth had reclaimed the land that had stopped being carefully maintained after the richest had ascended to the ALSE’s.
The Grounder cities had been abandoned by government control, but instead had unbound freedom. The ALSE’s had restricted their own freedom, opting instead for disciplined lives to increase their success, but instead had been gifted with beautiful, albeit controlled lives.
I had lived my entire life thinking that I was condemning myself to hell by opting to go to the Grounder cities. But staring down at the massive earth and land I couldn’t have even conceived to exist, my regrets evaporated.
As the Descender slowed with the magnets, slowly bringing us closer to the ground, I took a deep breath. I hadn’t even realized the air had been sucked out of me with awe, and I had forgotten to breathe.
Sarah’s eyes had been screwed tightly for the entire ride, and she blinked them open now, feeling the aircraft slow, before squeezing them shut immediately after realizing we were still in the air.
“Sarah the view is amazing!” I laughed at her. We had lived our entire lives in floating cities and she was scared of heights.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever psycho,” she forced out painfully, eyes still shut.
The Descender rocked to a stop and the door slid open with a hiss from the air pressure change.
Someone stepped up, the first Grounder civilian I had ever seen in my life.
“Welcome to LA, pretty ladies.”
