In the shadow of the stolen light. Nika Veresk

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      “Derek, before we leave the hospital, I’d like to tell you a little something about the place where we are now.”

      “About the spaceship?”

      “Yes, I guess you could say so… The thing is, Titanium is not exactly a ship… It’s…” Lora remembered how hard she had been rehearsing this conversation that morning, but when the moment came she was at a loss for words. “It’s a whole city” she finally uttered.

      “A city in space?” the young man tried to clarify.

      “Yes, a big city in space… So big that we actually classify it as an artificial planet with its own atmosphere and climate and…”

      “Wait there!” the earthling shook his head. “Give me a second to think… An artificial planet?!”

      “Yes, exactly.”

      “It’s unbelievable!”

      “I’m ready to show you everything, but the consequences of stasis, amnesia… The doctor is concerned…”

      “Don’t carry on, I got the general idea,” Derek softly interrupted her confused explanations. “Even though I might not remember my past, it doesn’t mean that I’m not ready to see the future of mankind.”

      Lora nodded. She relaxed a little at the confidence and calmness of his voice. Derek was leaving his ward for the first time during his stay at the hospital. A windowless ward had prevented him from seeing the city till this very moment. But now, passing through the hall with the panoramic glass walls, he could hardly contain his amazement.

      “Oh, God…” sighed the young man, gazing at hundreds of towering skyscrapers; at the foot of which one could see rivers, lakes and parks, surrounded by rich greenery and blue rays.

      “Welcome to Titanium!” said Lora proudly.

      “This is unbelievable!” Derek moved closer to the window in his chair. “A real city! These are trees, aren’t they?” he pointed at one of the parks that could be easily distinguished even from the one hundred and eighth hospital floor.

      “Yes, the city has a lot of greenery,” said the girl. It was hard for her to understand his emotions as the dark sunglasses hid his true feelings behind them. However, she could read the excitement in his voice and his pulse running wild as the bracelet indicated. “Let me show you the hologram,” she thought quickly. “This‘ll help you understand how Titanium was created.”

      “Yes, of course!” Derek turned away from the window and looked seriously at the transparent tablet computer on Lora’s palm.

      “Display the panoramic hologram of Titanium,” said Lora and a basketball-sized 3D model appeared above the tablet. “This is the view from space. The planet is a sphere with a blue nucleus at its core. The inhabited part of Titanium with all its buildings is not on its surface. The city expanse cuts the planet just above the equator into two hemispheres, while a part of the core stays visible and the city, sort of encircles it. The Upper hemisphere is the energetic dome rising over the megalopolis, which keeps the air and protects the inhabitants from the deadly radiation. The floating clouds are only a perfect illusion of the sky: a holographic projection. The Lower hemisphere housing all the city buildings is built from titanium and is shaped like a layered pie. It includes a layer of city communications system, an equatorial transport terminal and several thousand more layers going deep down.”

      “And this?” the young man pointed at the shining, rainbow-like cover enveloping Titanium.

      “It’s the outer energy field generated by the nucleus and functions as passive protection from a possible attack from the outside.”

      “How could people have created such a thing and launched it into space afterwards?”

      “The planet was built in space. At the base of the building process is a constantly perfected nanotechnology. The tiny nanites process raw materials and recreate the necessary construction elements according to the project.”

      “Did nanites build all this?”

      “Yes, nanites and the robotic devices. The raw material was the debris of a gigantic asteroid field. Our scientists have found a way to convert the basic chemical materials from the asteroids into the chemical combinations necessary for the construction. Titanium prevailed among other solids that were used; hence the name of the city: Titanium. Travelling in the megapolis is possible by means of a teleport. I think it’s time you had a real feel of the transport system at work. There are also stairs, but they’re not as popular. The teleport system is the fastest transport means in the spaceship.”

      “The fastest after the stairs?” smiled the young man.

      “No, after the micro-transport on the electromagnetic pillows,” Grinning, Lora pointed at the guest’s chair. Suddenly her tension that had been so strong back in the ward was melting away fast.

      “Do many people use them?” asked Derek, feeling genuinely curious.

      “Not these ones in particular, however, there are many devices for carrying different loads. By the way, the central teleport is a public transport, but there are also freight units.”

      “I get it, like buses and lorries.”

      “Buses?”

      “Well, it’s like some old-fashioned transport means with tyres. They used to travel by land burning tonnes of petrol. However, they were improved later when the electric engines were introduced.”

      “They̓re described in encyclopaedias,” Lora tried to remember.

      “They must be.”

      “So, you remember the transport means on Earth. Anything else?” asked the girl as they were slowly heading towards the closest teleport.

      “I remembered when you started talking… This information sounded like something I take for granted…”

      “The doctor said that you would remember things which were associatively connected to your memories.” remembered Lora.

      “Looks like he was right then.”

      “I can take you directly to your apartment if you wish to rest.”

      “I’d prefer to take a walk if possible,” answered the young man.

      “Alright, what would you like to see first?..” At that moment the UCD on Lora’s temple buzzed softly, lighting a green colour which was indicating an incoming call. “Will you excuse me, I’ll have to take it,” she explained to the man. “Yes, Jean.”

      After a short conversation she returned to the previous discussion with the guest from Earth.

      “I was going to show you some of the local attractions…”

      “What’s that?”

      “This?” the girl touched the mini contraption with her palm. “It’s a universal communication device, UCD for short.”

      “Is it a walkie-talkie?”

      Lora frowned trying to remember the meaning of this word and finally answered.

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