Chapter 17: Cities of the Silk Axis

Celia rests her head on the window on the train as it moved across the intercontinental railway connecting Euracia and the Silk Axis. In the corner of her eye, she lazily reads the last messages her parents sent her before her departure.

“Stay safe!”

“We know you’ll do great!”

“We love you.”

She smiles as she reads each one.

Celia was nervous because it was her first time traveling outside of her own country, and her parents knew it without even having to tell them.

I’ve got this, she thinks to herself.

The only thing she was really worried about was what her parents would think about her true plans. How would they feel about having a criminal as a daughter? She knew they loved space as much as she did, but she also knew that they wouldn’t go as far as breaking the law and building a rocket.

Celia sighed and slumped back in her seat. She knew she had to tell them at some point; she didn’t want them to find out when she's already getting arrested, especially since her plan could be found out at any point. However, a lazy part of her wanted them to find out that way. 

It would be less emotionally taxing on her, and she was worried that she wouldn’t have their support anymore. She wanted to believe that she would still follow through with her plans regardless of whether or not they agreed with it, but she knew it would be infinitely harder on herself to do so if they didn’t.

For now, she wanted to bask in their blind support of her for as long as possible. She was still shaky on whether or not to follow through with her dreams, and her parents’ support, as aimless as it was, helped to fill in the cracks of her uncertainty.

With her reputation rising on the ProtoTask app, along with being able to score an internship at a large company, it was now easier than ever for her to quit her dreams and pursue a nice and easy life as a general robotics engineer. Hikaru probably knew this too; it was why when he wished her luck on the internship, he also reminded her that the purpose was also to secure some funding for building a rocket. She didn’t like that he was doubting her, but she couldn’t exactly blame him for doing so either.

She looked over to Tabby who was resting on the other side of the windowsill she laid her head on, recharging his energy in the dying sunlight. Older support drone models like Tabby, who she had since she was 8, needed to recharge a lot because their battery life didn’t last a whole day like the newer models. It was why Tabby could be found recharging his power at any chance he got, especially since Celia kept him constantly running throughout the day.

As she watched the sun disappear along the horizons of the mountainous landscape, she gently closed her eyes.

Right now is not the time to think about these things, she thinks to herself, I have a long day tomorrow, and I need to get some rest.

Celia pulls out the blanket from underneath her seat and lays down on her seat to sleep.

The distance from the capital sector of Amsterlin to the one in Shanghaijing was so far that the trip between the two sectors was an overnight trip. The intercontinental railway that connected all the countries together was a large system of railways so extensive that they were standardized to always branch out from the capital sectors of each city so that they didn’t interfere with the general railways that people used on a daily basis to move across the city, and the transcontinental railways used to travel between them.

Celia had spent most of her day confirming the details with her sponsors, finishing up packing things for the trip, taking the train to the capital sector of Amsterlin, and going through security checks, and now she was exhausted enough to let her fears and worries creep up on her.

Even the thought of all the assignments and tests she was skipping out on at school was beginning to sting the back of her mind, even though she had already decided a while ago that she didn’t care about things like that anymore.

She scratched her head in frustration and moved around uncomfortably in her seat. Even though the company had paid for a business class seat and she had all the leg and sleep room she needed on the train, she still missed the comfort of her own bed.

Eventually, after a few more minutes of tossing and turning uncomfortably, she eventually drifts off into a nice and steady sleep.

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“Now entering Sector Shanghai, capital sector of Shanghaijing,” the train’s announcer rang out over the system.

“Celia — Celia…! Get up Celia!” Celia could hear Tabby's voice shout at her as she wakes up. 

“Huh… what time is it…?” she softly murmured, her hand aimlessly reaching out for her glasses before finding them on the windowsill.

“It is currently 10:14 right now,” Tabby said, “the train is already in the capital sector and it’s about to make its stop.”

“Huh?! Already?!” she shouted in surprise as she pulled out her phone, to confirm the time.

Dang it, I must’ve been so busy yesterday that I forgot to tell Tabby to set an alarm to wake me up early so I could prepare. I still need to brush my teeth, eat breakfast, pack up my things to move out…

She frantically begins tidying up her area, throwing the blanket back under the seat, and putting the few things she took out back into her bag.

Fortunately for her, unlike the general trains she was used to taking, intercontinental trains often gave passengers time to unload their stuff, with first and business class passengers getting assistance from the train attendants.

As if on cue, a knock on the door of her personal train cabin interrupts Celia’s frenzy before a train attendant enters and offers her assistance. After everything is off the train, she patiently waits for the dedicated movers from the Jade Orchid Hotel to come and move her stuff over to them.

She was still new to how the global traveling system worked, but according to her research, most hotels such as the Jade Orchid often offered hauling services to help their customers move their luggage in. It was a huge relief for the time crunch she was on, since her appointment at the company was at 11:30.

After the movers come to take her stuff, she heads to the restroom at the station to clean up and then immediately begins heading to the company’s headquarters, having no time to stop and eat.

The streets of the capital sector of Shanghaijing were colorful and vibrant, much like the capital sector of Amsterlin. Around her were signs and symbols from another language that she can’t read, and in between all the tall buildings and skyscrapers were ginormous, imperialistic, ancient buildings that resembled the historical dynasties of the past.

Unlike the cities of Euracia, the cities in the Silk Axis typically built their cultural architecture inside of their urban areas instead of having dedicated sectors for them. Giant palaces characterized by their ornate upturned roofs decorated the city’s skylines, perfectly incorporating their historical and cultural significance from the past into the modern and futuristic buildings of the future.

Celia walked underneath the tall bridges that held the sky roads that the trains in the city rode on, taking note at how even the products and brands advertised here differed greatly from her hometown. The people here also carried around more cube-shaped drones compared to the spherical ones which were more popular amongst the people of Euracia. She realized Hikaru must’ve been an odd outlier in this country with Kyomi's design.

Speaking of which, was Hikaru also this overwhelmed by the cultural shift when he first visited Euracia?  she silently wondered as she continued walking.

After about a few more minutes, she finally reaches her destination.

Standing at 130 meters tall was a large, black, spherical building, with a few skyscrapers jutting out from it that stretched to about 50 meters higher with a grand total of 55 floors. Large arches spiraled out from the sides of the sphere, taking on a sort of flower shape — it was as if the twin towers were built on top of a lotus-shaped Sydney Opera House. Viridian green lights faintly glowed along the edges of the building, their luminosity weakened by the bright morning light.

At the center top of the entrance to the building were the words, “Terrastock Headquarters” written in a sleek, golden, letters.

Taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, she quickly enters the building with Tabby.