Chapter 617 - Book 6, Chapter 9 (1/2)

Book 6, Chapter 9 – Trade Negotiations

hellfloas occupied with her work in the labs when she received the co her to meet him It came as somewhat of a surprise She knew the man and kneouldn't ask her to leave her work unless it was important

So she left to answer his suht into the situation

“I have a surprise for you We're going on a field trip”

In the early days, when hellflower and Cloudhawk first met, she'd told him about her desire to learn about the history of their world A scientist and Seeker through and through, her thirst to learn all the secrets of what happened was ever present It was part of whatin her field

She was the first person Cloudhawk thought of when he found New Earth There was no one better suited to explore the Ark He first made his way to the proto-huh froh and laid eyes upon the scene, even she couldn't hide the shock on her face It was expected, of course A settleinable

New Earth was bustling and fantastical

hellflower rubbed her eyes to make sure it wasn't some sort of illusion Everywhere she looked there were markers and architecture res, to the people's clothes, all of it looked like they came from the ancient texts

And most iinal humans!

“Crazy, right?” Cloudhawk explained what she was looking at “I couldn't believe it when I saw it Who would have iined there was a piece of the old world all the way out here in so that they have survived for so long – thrived, even”

hellfloas bursting with questions, but they were all pushed to the back of her o look around!”

The two changed into local clothing, but even still attracted a fair a even without their wasteland garb Walking down the street, azes followed them

The base's interior switched to night Electric street lights flickered to life People walked back and forth through the city,their business

It was the end of their work day and people were colev shuttles They wore vintage-looking suits and dresses, but the rade composite Men hustled from one place to another with briefcases in one hand and handheld communicators in the other No one but Cloudhawk and hellfloere surprised by the scene

They passed by parks where grandparents were playing with their grandchildren Robot street cleaners shuffled endlessly along picking up debris

Because they'd been in such a hurry to evacuate, the proto-huy with them The barren and inhospitable environment of this neorld limited how much they could develop As a result, even after a thousand years New Earth could not recapture its old glory

These days New Earth was pretty asyriculture, co were all what they were back in the twenty-second century However, their space, biology and quantuy were all stunted

Anyone who grew up here in this city had no idea what the outside world was like As far as they were concerned, this Ark was their world There was no other nation but New Earth and it was the perfect place for them It was modeled perfectly after the lost cities of Earth, coht cycle After so long the citizens had practically forgotten that the world they eer existed

“What do you think?” Cloudhawk cast a glance at hellfloalking by his side “This is the surprise I wanted to show you”

hellflower feltin her eyes She was not an eination, but in this s Cloudhawk had met many incredible women over the years like Dawn and Selene They all held a special place in his heart, but it was hellflower he was most similar to

They'd both been born into hus, were raised in the wastes, and fantasized about the past As a scientist, hellflower's yearning to explore that lost civilization was eventhat could move her more deeply than this very moment

“Thank you, Cloudhawk”

“Don't even worry about it We don't have ”

As they toured the city, Cloudhawk explained all he knew He told her about the history of the Ark and the artificial intelligence that watched over it Although Father agreed not to try and expel theirbase, it also refused to help Green Alliance in any capacity The Ark and its city would reht or participate in their war It was a shame

New Earth's technology and production were under Father's control If he'd raiven a whole ar Skycloud would have become a whole lot easier

But Cloudhawk felt no regret