A Visitor to the Future - 44 - A Changed Land
I didn't recognise the view at all, a realization that struck me with the tang of slight panic. My eyes searched the horizon, looking for something - anything - that might be familiar. I found nothing.
The sight before me was as strange as my first sight of Anchor. Tall, hexagonal skyscrapers sat on top of a small island in an expanse of water, the top floor transparent, revealing large rooftop gardens. The drone-craft banked around the western side of the island, making the magnitude of the change clear - there were very few short buildings on the island at all. The whole island was ringed by a curved, dark grey sea wall, on which I could see the ant-like shapes of people walking.
And then, I saw it. The first hint that we were actually where we were supposed to be. Off on its own tiny, walled island was a familiar red lighthouse. It looked very small next to the mass of tall buildings, but had once been a prominent sight from the ferry terminal. It looked out of place, a remnant of the past in a future that no longer needed it. With it as a reference, I could now tell that the entire former docks area was no more - it seemed to have been moved further inland as the sea level had risen.
My greatest shock was when I looked to the east. The roads and areas that had surrounded the Noordzeekanaal - the canal and conduits that had led east towards Amsterdam - they were gone. I had driven down those roads many times on my way to Amsterdam - a journey no longer possible. In fact, as I looked at the new sight of IJmuiden, now an island surrounded by sea to both the west and east, I couldn't see any roads or traffic at all.
I felt choked up by the sight, the reality of it hammering home just how out of place I was. "What happened?" I asked, simply.
Sarkona came over and placed a hand on my shoulder, slinging what they had been making into a bag over their shoulder. "I don't know," they said, "But we can find out. Would you like to stay here for a while? We're in no rush to land."
I took a deep breath, and fixed my gaze on the lighthouse. As long as something of my time still stood, I could steel myself, and keep going. "No," I said, "I'd like to keep moving."
The drone-craft circled round to the docks, which was busy with both drone-craft and conventional ships. Many things had changed, but it seemed that IJmuiden was still a port city. We touched down gently and disembarked. As we stepped outside, the salty sea air smell hit me, and I suddenly felt better. IJmuiden still smelled the same, at the least.
The docks were busy - there were many people of all different varieties moving around various ships and disembarking drone-craft. It even seemed busier than Anchor, and I said as much to Tungsten.
"Anchor's population is probably higher," said Tungsten, looking up to admire the glass-and-steel skyscrapers around us, "But this place looks far more densely packed together! I haven't seen crowds like these since I was last at Eru Ilúvatar! What a fascinating place to live."
We made our way through the crowds, sighting all manner of interesting people - CIs and humans enjoying each other's company, a man riding a quadruped vehicle over the top of the crowd, and a couple of heavily modified humans who looked a little ape-like. There was too much to take in, and I sort of stopped paying attention for a while and automatically followed the motions of walking through the crowd.
"At least in Eru Ilúvatar there's a pedestrian traffic system!" said Tungsten, "This is chaos! Look, I think I spy a café over there." He pointed in one direction, and I followed.
We picked through the crowd and entered the ground floor of one of the skyscrapers, revealing an entire floor as a dedicated café. Round tables and chairs were spaced all over the floor - which was mostly grass, with beige paths that led to each table. It was a like an inverted city - I had seen little vegetation outside the buildings, but the insides seemed like gardens, complete with tiny butterflies that moved between the fragrant and bright-looking flowers about the floor.
We took a seat, all three of us glancing around the room, taking in the large semi-transparent surfaces of the walls, the greenery of the interior garden, and the three massive elevators at the centre of the building, which appeared to be in constant use.
"This is all so different," I said, placing my elbows on the table.
"You were probably expecting all this to be a bit more familiar," said Sarkona, "I'm sorry if it's causing you discomfort."
The surface of the table in front of us lit up with a menu of items, which distracted us a little.
"Ah!" said Tungsten, "Local wares - is there anything particularly fragrant that you could recommend?"
Coffee, tea, and poffertjes were all expected sights - but for every item I recognised on the menu there were three more that I did not. I decided to stick with what I knew and suggested that we order coffee, which was delivered to us by a waiter, steaming hot within thirty seconds.