I felt lightheaded when he stated urine was recycled to be used, so I decided not to ask anymore about water. Instead, I focused on the things passing outside the window. We started passing through a large gap, filled with nothing but medium to tall-sized white buildings encompassing an area the size of several blocks. “What is that area?”
“That’s the Medical District. The best hospitals, medical research centers, and the like are there. We have various clinics and minor hospitals scattered throughout the city, but that’s where the main trauma center and specialty doctors are located.”
“Wow…the city is really compartmentalized.”
“Yes…it was designed for everything to have its place. Unlike cities on land at the time, the whole place was designed and built all at once. Each industry and function could be placed wherever the designers wanted it to be. Nothing was an afterthought; everything was laid out according to a meticulous plan.”
“I can see.” The Medical District disappeared and I was shocked as we entered an area so colorful that after the chromatic tones of Central, I felt like I was seeing color for the first time.
We disembarked at the next stop and took the main pathway down a long line of creatively designed shops.
“This is the Entertainment District, Allie. You’ll find the OVRR here.”
As I took in the sights, Dylan’s voice blurred into obscurity. Oranges, reds, yellows, blues, greens, and purples in energetic, vibrant hues covered all the buildings and structures inside the Entertainment District. Funky shaped roofs curved on one side and spiked on the other dominated the low skyline. Stripes, polka dots, and other kinds of crazy decorations adorned each building. Statues of people, animals, and abstract ideas were in front of nearly every structure, giving each one its own particular identity.
“Hey, Allie…remember when I said that walking or using the train are the only modes of transportation in Oceania?”
I twisted my head to look over my shoulder just as Dylan kicked something over to me.
“Here, we can use hoverboards to get around.” Dylan jumped onto one and hovered about two feet into the air.
Peering down at my feet, I saw a rectangular shaped board with rounded edges at each corner. Wider than the typical skateboard, but smaller than a snowboard, it easily fit both feet when placed one in front of the other. The one Dylan had shoved over to me was sapphire blue with a sunshine yellow rim around the edges. Tentatively, I placed one foot and then the other onto the smooth surface. When I caught my balance, it began hovering in the air just as Dylan’s had.
“Have you ever used one of these before?” wondered Dylan.
“We have them on land, but I haven’t used one much. They hover about this high, I think.”
Dylan began shaking his head. “This is simply the starting height…it can go much higher.”
Shooting my gaze over to Dylan in surprise, I watched as he stomped the back edge and it soared into the air about ten feet. “Come on, Allie!”
Mimicking Dylan’s movement, I kicked mine up into the air as well. As the board rose in height, I noticed a suction on my feet that glued them into place. I tried to readjust them, but couldn’t.
Dylan saw me and counseled, “Don’t worry about that. It’s so you can’t fall to your death. Once you descend to three feet above the ground, it releases. Follow me and I’ll show you this side of the Entertainment District.”
Dylan took off into the air, flying just above low lying sculptures and building signs. My competitiveness awoken, I followed quickly, swaying back and forth to catch my balance on the board I wasn’t yet accustomed to riding. It took several minutes of trying to get steady. I nearly smacked into signs about twenty times before I got the hang of it.
When I was finally used to the rocking and able to stabilize it, I began reading some of the signs instead of nearly slamming into them. Oceania Theatre of Fine Arts was shaped like a coliseum, open air at the top with thousands of seats wrapped around the circumference. At the edges, a thin layer that looked like it might hold roof projections hidden around the outside.
“Over there is the stadium where they play Aquaball.” Dylan pointed across the way from the theater to an area nearly twice the size. A domed arena resembling a bulbous fish tank was situated in the center, with stands surrounding the entire sides.
“What is Aquaball?”
“It’s kind of like soccer, football, and basketball mixed all in one, except that everything is underwater.” Dylan rocked into a hover just above the stadium.
I tried to mimic him, but my board simply kept moving. Dylan reached out to steady me and my board stopped as well. “Thanks. How does that work?”
“Everyone wears personal breathing devices that can last up to three hours underwater. The sport is hard to explain, but their season begins in a couple weeks. Maybe I can get tickets for both of us to see it.”
My face lit up, “Yeah, that’d be stellar!”
“Stellar?”
“Yeah, it’s something we say on land. We’re pretty obsessed with space since we finally had a successful Mars mission.”
“Really? We were told the multiple Mars mission failures were one of the reasons Oceania was built. They gave up on colonizing space.”
My eyebrows shot up. “No, not even close.”
“Hmm…let’s move on.” Dylan kicked the board into gear and towed me along with him. “In the building that resembles a half-tilted over box is the convention center. All kinds of events are held there. Next door to it is the multi-purpose sports building. Inside you can find basketball, volleyball, and tennis courts. There’s also bowling, ice skating, roller rinks, archery, disc golf, and the like.”
“Every one of those sports is inside?”
“Yeah, they are each on
