you sure you’ve never captained a ship before?”
“I’m sure,” Jack said.
“Okay, I’ll take your word for it,” Jazen replied. “Blue, how we doing?”
“All back full,” Blue said, reversing the ship’s engines. “Activating tangital control panel now.”
Blue flipped a switch, and Jack heard a series of beeps as several keyboards and display screens started appearing all around him. They were all semitransparent images projected in luminous reds, blues, and greens. Jack thought they were more holograms like the TV inside the ship, but when Blue started hitting their buttons, the images didn’t ripple—they clicked. They were solid.
“Cool, huh?” Blue said, noticing Jack’s fascination. “These are tangitals. Tangible digital images. They’ve gotall the computing power of your basic tech, but they take up less space because they’re holograms. We call ’em Hard-Light Holos for short.”
Jack reached out to touch the controls. “Can I?” he asked.
“Be my guest,” Blue replied. “Hit that one.”
Jack hit the button that Blue had indicated, and a woman’s voice announced, “ HOVER MODE ENGAGED .” On the main display screen a schematic of the Vision appeared with sections of the ship’s hull extending outward. Jack watched in wonder as hatches on the ship’s extended panels slid open to light up with a blue glow, and the ship began to rise above the water. Once the ship was a good foot and a half clear of the relentless current, the holo-computer issued an alert beep and the woman’s voice declared, “ HOVER MODULES FULLY DEPLOYED.”
Jack marveled at the futuristic technology all around him. “Minor modifications, you said?” he asked.
Jazen shrugged. “More or less.”
“Is this how we’re going to get across the falls?”
Jazen shook his head. “The HoverPanels can only lift us about two feet off the ground. They have to be close tothe surface or they won’t work. We’re going to need help to get across.”
“FriendShips at ten o’clock,” Blue said.
Jack looked across the water and saw two small ships flying toward them. They were pod-shaped one-wing aircrafts, each with only enough room for one pilot. As they got closer, Jack could see a powerful mechanical arm below each wing.
The glow of the tangital communication display grew brighter than the other controls, and an official-sounding voice crackled over the radio.
“FriendShips Beta and Zulu, hailing crew of the Vision. Welcome home, Emissary Knight. Do you require an escort?”
Jazen tapped a holographic button to address the incoming pilots. “Thank you, gentlemen, that would be fantastic. We’re ready whenever you are.”
“Very good, sir,” the voice replied, and the FriendShips swooped in and lined up next to the Vision, one on each side. The robot arms under their wings latched on to the ship and locked down tightly.
“Here we go,” Jazen said as the FriendShips fired uptheir engines and lifted the Vision high into the sky. Within seconds they were flying the boat through the air like birds gliding on a breeze.
“We call them FriendShips because they carry you wherever you need to go,” Jazen explained as they soared through the sky. “There it is up ahead. Empire City, capital of the Imagine Nation. That’s where we’re headed.”
Twilight was setting in, and Jack got a good look. It was the most unusual city Jack had ever seen or even imagined. It was built on a hill that ran right up to the cliffside edge of the floating island, and Jack could see what Jazen had meant when he said that people brought their own cultures and styles with them when they came here. Looking at Empire City was like looking at six cities crammed into one. Jazen called out the different boroughs of Empire City, describing them for Jack as they made their approach.
There was Galaxis, the futuristic spaceport, home to aliens from across the cosmos and beyond. Directly above that was Karateka, a singular
“I’m sure,” Jack said.
“Okay, I’ll take your word for it,” Jazen replied. “Blue, how we doing?”
“All back full,” Blue said, reversing the ship’s engines. “Activating tangital control panel now.”
Blue flipped a switch, and Jack heard a series of beeps as several keyboards and display screens started appearing all around him. They were all semitransparent images projected in luminous reds, blues, and greens. Jack thought they were more holograms like the TV inside the ship, but when Blue started hitting their buttons, the images didn’t ripple—they clicked. They were solid.
“Cool, huh?” Blue said, noticing Jack’s fascination. “These are tangitals. Tangible digital images. They’ve gotall the computing power of your basic tech, but they take up less space because they’re holograms. We call ’em Hard-Light Holos for short.”
Jack reached out to touch the controls. “Can I?” he asked.
“Be my guest,” Blue replied. “Hit that one.”
Jack hit the button that Blue had indicated, and a woman’s voice announced, “ HOVER MODE ENGAGED .” On the main display screen a schematic of the Vision appeared with sections of the ship’s hull extending outward. Jack watched in wonder as hatches on the ship’s extended panels slid open to light up with a blue glow, and the ship began to rise above the water. Once the ship was a good foot and a half clear of the relentless current, the holo-computer issued an alert beep and the woman’s voice declared, “ HOVER MODULES FULLY DEPLOYED.”
Jack marveled at the futuristic technology all around him. “Minor modifications, you said?” he asked.
Jazen shrugged. “More or less.”
“Is this how we’re going to get across the falls?”
Jazen shook his head. “The HoverPanels can only lift us about two feet off the ground. They have to be close tothe surface or they won’t work. We’re going to need help to get across.”
“FriendShips at ten o’clock,” Blue said.
Jack looked across the water and saw two small ships flying toward them. They were pod-shaped one-wing aircrafts, each with only enough room for one pilot. As they got closer, Jack could see a powerful mechanical arm below each wing.
The glow of the tangital communication display grew brighter than the other controls, and an official-sounding voice crackled over the radio.
“FriendShips Beta and Zulu, hailing crew of the Vision. Welcome home, Emissary Knight. Do you require an escort?”
Jazen tapped a holographic button to address the incoming pilots. “Thank you, gentlemen, that would be fantastic. We’re ready whenever you are.”
“Very good, sir,” the voice replied, and the FriendShips swooped in and lined up next to the Vision, one on each side. The robot arms under their wings latched on to the ship and locked down tightly.
“Here we go,” Jazen said as the FriendShips fired uptheir engines and lifted the Vision high into the sky. Within seconds they were flying the boat through the air like birds gliding on a breeze.
“We call them FriendShips because they carry you wherever you need to go,” Jazen explained as they soared through the sky. “There it is up ahead. Empire City, capital of the Imagine Nation. That’s where we’re headed.”
Twilight was setting in, and Jack got a good look. It was the most unusual city Jack had ever seen or even imagined. It was built on a hill that ran right up to the cliffside edge of the floating island, and Jack could see what Jazen had meant when he said that people brought their own cultures and styles with them when they came here. Looking at Empire City was like looking at six cities crammed into one. Jazen called out the different boroughs of Empire City, describing them for Jack as they made their approach.
There was Galaxis, the futuristic spaceport, home to aliens from across the cosmos and beyond. Directly above that was Karateka, a singular
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