soiled themselves during
their perilous landing.
Jackson
laughed, ‘I bet you rag him for that all the time, don’t you?’
‘He’s
dead.’
‘Oh.
Sorry.’
‘That’s
okay, mate. You didn’t kill him.’
The
LSV began to manoeuvre itself toward a growing line of vehicles that queued at
the main entrance to Eindhoven, a massive archway built out of marble.
Eindhoven
was a square compound several hundred metres in length, blocked off from the
city beyond by walls tens of metres high and lined with concrete sangars,
raised fortifications, that bristled with weapons. It was unlike any military
base I had ever seen. It was built - at least originally - entirely above ground
and it wouldn’t have looked out of place a thousand years ago.
‘This
place looks like a Roman villa,’ I observed, considerably impressed.
‘A
what?’
‘A
Roman villa. You know… The Romans?’
Jackson
looked back at me blankly, ‘Romanians?’
I
sighed and waved it away, ‘Don’t worry, mate.’ Sometimes I wondered if I was
the only man in drops who’d actually listened in school.
The
convoy of LSVs exited the base and accelerated along a wide street lined with
warehouses toward the first of the city domes. One-by-one, the vehicles passed
through a series of airlocks built into the dome, and I saw that the LSVs were built
just small enough to fit through. The convoy waited until every vehicle had
entered the dome, and I used the time to again marvel at the classical
architecture of the city. Even apartment blocks had been built with grand
entrances flanked by pillars that towered high above our vehicles.
‘It’s
all like this,’ Jackson commented, pointing toward the buildings, ‘You’d have
to be loaded with cash to live in a place like that on Earth, but to these guys
it’s standard!’
‘Not
bad living.’ I agreed.
Jackson
went on enthusiastically, ‘Don’t think Nieuwe Poort’s all about old buildings
though! It’s all about the tech here! The whole city lights up with holograms
in the evenings, just before midnight. I’d love to spend a night out here on
the drink. Shame we’re not allowed.’
‘So
is that where everyone works?’ I asked, pointing through the countless domes
toward the glittering skyscrapers at the centre of the city, one of which must
have been a kilometre high. There were some tall buildings where I lived in
Portsmouth back on Earth, but nothing like what I saw in Nieuwe Poort.
He
shook his head, ‘No, not everyone. A lot of the factories are underground, and
the buildings above them are their offices. Those towers are where the
corporations run their business in the province.’
‘Well,
business is certainly booming.’
Jackson
nodded furiously, ‘No shit! See that massive tower in the very middle? They
call that one ‘ The Citadel’ . It’s the headquarters of a massive software
company or something.’
We
lurched slightly as the convoy began to move again along a wide street that cut
through the dome, in the direction of the towers.
‘What
kind of software do they make?’
‘Everything!
Military programmes like the robotic AIs for our saucers - all the way down to
holograms for kids to play with.’
‘Wow.
That’s one corporation you want to keep on your side!’
He
laughed, ‘Yeah. Otherwise they’ll send your kids porn!’
We
drove on deeper into the city, the convoy splitting toward its two separate
targets. There was no doubt that we were being watched, and so we accelerated
toward our objective, making several turns onto different streets to make it
difficult for an observer to predict where we were going until it was too late.
We
passed through several domes on our journey, many of which were interconnected
by tunnels of glass suspended by marble arches and beautiful buildings. Finally
the conscripts broke away from us as we drew close to our objective.
‘That’s
the conscripts moving into position,’ the boss confirmed over the platoon net
as our
their perilous landing.
Jackson
laughed, ‘I bet you rag him for that all the time, don’t you?’
‘He’s
dead.’
‘Oh.
Sorry.’
‘That’s
okay, mate. You didn’t kill him.’
The
LSV began to manoeuvre itself toward a growing line of vehicles that queued at
the main entrance to Eindhoven, a massive archway built out of marble.
Eindhoven
was a square compound several hundred metres in length, blocked off from the
city beyond by walls tens of metres high and lined with concrete sangars,
raised fortifications, that bristled with weapons. It was unlike any military
base I had ever seen. It was built - at least originally - entirely above ground
and it wouldn’t have looked out of place a thousand years ago.
‘This
place looks like a Roman villa,’ I observed, considerably impressed.
‘A
what?’
‘A
Roman villa. You know… The Romans?’
Jackson
looked back at me blankly, ‘Romanians?’
I
sighed and waved it away, ‘Don’t worry, mate.’ Sometimes I wondered if I was
the only man in drops who’d actually listened in school.
The
convoy of LSVs exited the base and accelerated along a wide street lined with
warehouses toward the first of the city domes. One-by-one, the vehicles passed
through a series of airlocks built into the dome, and I saw that the LSVs were built
just small enough to fit through. The convoy waited until every vehicle had
entered the dome, and I used the time to again marvel at the classical
architecture of the city. Even apartment blocks had been built with grand
entrances flanked by pillars that towered high above our vehicles.
‘It’s
all like this,’ Jackson commented, pointing toward the buildings, ‘You’d have
to be loaded with cash to live in a place like that on Earth, but to these guys
it’s standard!’
‘Not
bad living.’ I agreed.
Jackson
went on enthusiastically, ‘Don’t think Nieuwe Poort’s all about old buildings
though! It’s all about the tech here! The whole city lights up with holograms
in the evenings, just before midnight. I’d love to spend a night out here on
the drink. Shame we’re not allowed.’
‘So
is that where everyone works?’ I asked, pointing through the countless domes
toward the glittering skyscrapers at the centre of the city, one of which must
have been a kilometre high. There were some tall buildings where I lived in
Portsmouth back on Earth, but nothing like what I saw in Nieuwe Poort.
He
shook his head, ‘No, not everyone. A lot of the factories are underground, and
the buildings above them are their offices. Those towers are where the
corporations run their business in the province.’
‘Well,
business is certainly booming.’
Jackson
nodded furiously, ‘No shit! See that massive tower in the very middle? They
call that one ‘ The Citadel’ . It’s the headquarters of a massive software
company or something.’
We
lurched slightly as the convoy began to move again along a wide street that cut
through the dome, in the direction of the towers.
‘What
kind of software do they make?’
‘Everything!
Military programmes like the robotic AIs for our saucers - all the way down to
holograms for kids to play with.’
‘Wow.
That’s one corporation you want to keep on your side!’
He
laughed, ‘Yeah. Otherwise they’ll send your kids porn!’
We
drove on deeper into the city, the convoy splitting toward its two separate
targets. There was no doubt that we were being watched, and so we accelerated
toward our objective, making several turns onto different streets to make it
difficult for an observer to predict where we were going until it was too late.
We
passed through several domes on our journey, many of which were interconnected
by tunnels of glass suspended by marble arches and beautiful buildings. Finally
the conscripts broke away from us as we drew close to our objective.
‘That’s
the conscripts moving into position,’ the boss confirmed over the platoon net
as our
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