Bending over to catch his breath, he finally uttered breathlessly, “Well, you had a lot more faith in me than I did.” Ambling over to the nearest seat, Dr. Wilcox collapsed down into it.
I took a seat across from him and asked, “So, where will this train take us?”
“It travels principally around the outer edge of the city. It winds through most of the neighborhoods that still haven’t been allocated for residency as of yet. On its last leg, it’ll take us within a few blocks of the city entrance. From there we will have to walk to the elevator.”
“How long will that take?”
“Possibly an hour or so…you might as well get some rest while you can. We’ll be traveling until the end of the line.” Dr. Wilcox lay back across the space of several seats and closed his eyes. “I certainly will be.”
Just as Dr. Wilcox had predicted, it was an hour until the train finally brought itself to a slow stop and we disembarked at an unmarked area. Dr. Wilcox did his best to take me down empty streets, but it was impossible to avoid everyone being so close to the entrance of the city. Luckily, since I was wearing clothes similar to everyone else, no one paid us any attention.
By the time we arrived at the elevator, several other people were already waiting. Shuffling to the rear, we waited as the rest of the people got on. This time, the elevator stopped at every level, giving me a chance to see what laid below sublevel one—the only one I’d seen so far. Finally, I got a chance to glimpse the elusive greenhouse sublevel. About half of the people on the elevator got off here, giving me time to examine it. Each area was compartmentalized based on the types of crops. According to the sign near the entrance, it included a livestock area as well. As the air from the greenhouse level filtered into the elevator, it felt humid and warmer than the temperate air I had grown accustomed to in Oceania.
The doors closed and we began to descend again—way before I was ready. The next level down was filled with large containers resembling silos. The fourth level was full of what appeared to be a lot of high tech equipment, but the elevator doors closed so fast on this level, I could only guess at what it was for. The remaining people disembarked here, leaving Dr. Wilcox and me as the only ones on the elevator.
“Okay, we only have one chance at this. I’m certain the suit will work, Allie. I normally would test this in an underwater simulation chamber, but we don’t have the time. You will be fine. I am sure of it.”
I couldn’t tell if Dr. Wilcox was trying to assure himself or me. Peering out of the corner of my eye, I could tell he was fidgeting nervously. “I know, Dr. Wilcox, you’ve told me that already, remember?”
Somehow, I’d become resigned to what I was about to do. I felt calm. The excitement had finally overridden my fear sometime between when we exited the train and made our way to the elevator. Perhaps, it was my curiosity at the different sublevels of Oceania. I still couldn’t figure out what was on level four and it was driving me nuts.
My silence must have made Dr. Wilcox think I was afraid, because the next thing I knew, he placed his hands on my shoulders and stared at me dead in the eyes. “Allie, you will be fine. There is nothing to worry about. Every part of this suit has been individually tested multiple times. The only part that hasn’t been is the entire suit together. You will be fine. In a matter of a few hours, you will be back home in the surface world and this will all be a dream.”
“Wait, did you say hours?” My tranquility shattered and my breathing quickened. I tried to calm it down, but to no avail.
“Allie, Allie, Allie…you’re going to be fine. Focus on the animals you’ll see. No one in the world has had the experience you’re about to have. You’re going to be able to freely swim in the ocean like any deep sea creature without a submersible at 12,000 feet below the surface.”
I nodded; he was right. This experience was going to be an experience of a lifetime. No one else had done this before—I’d be the first. A fourteen-year-old girl would be the first human being to go deep-sea diving without a submersible. As long as everything went right, I’d be in the history books. Well, the history books of Oceania that is…my world would probably never know of it.
“Oh, and I forget to elaborate on the GPS. It is a computer automated artificial intelligence system. It will guide you the entire way via conversation and a miniature map in the right-hand corner of the screen. It won’t simply tell you which direction to take, but it will give you companionship as well.”
I gawked at Dr. Wilcox. “Why didn’t you tell me that sooner?”
“It slipped my mind until now…I am sorry.”
I simply shook my head. Gran had once told me scientists often thought of things differently than the average person. She said they frequently forgot or misplaced things other people deemed as important. Apparently, it was why she and her mother, who had been an environmental scientist, never saw things eye to eye. I think she was right.
At last, the elevator reached the bottom floor and the doors opened into the white corridor. Dr. Wilcox and I hurried over to the access code panel adjacent to the door of the docking bay.
“I’m going to have to alter some things here so that we aren’t red-flagged. Hold on a minute, Allie. In the meantime, you might as well remove your street
