In interrupted letters, the phrase "Welcome to Commercial District R12" printed across the shattered windscreen of the hovercar. A moment later the vehicle lurched off the road and began its descent.
"Don't worry, we won't crash," said T1N. "This vehicle has little repulsor jets to help with landing."
T1N looked out the window and Dotty craned her neck, trying to see the sky. It was still dark. Only a few sections of the glass dome let in the light, but dawn was coming soon.
"We're still inside!" she said.
Dotty was amazed to see the tops of skyscrapers looming out of the dark. This section was a miniature city in itself.
"There are 1,177 distinct city hubs and shopping districts. Each one is protected by its own dome. That's not including the various recreation areas with specific biomes or any of the refineries, factories, or processing plants that clean the air of Eidolon. This moon-city is a complicated heart that beats in perfect rhythm. Or at least, it was once."
The hovercar dipped down between two buildings, their outsides entirely covered in windows. Most of the windows were shattered and filled with dust. A hundred metres below their car the city was split in two by a huge avenue that crossed from one end to the other. The streets and rooftops were littered with glass, chairs, tables, and other scattered debris. It was far from paradise.
"But, what happened here?" asked Dotty.
"I have no idea," said T1N. "If we manage to survive, we might find out."
Dotty gave the android a questioning look. "You don't think I'll survive? I know how to defend myself."
"At the moment, I have only seen your ability to run and to run people over."
The android gave her a mischievous smile. Was that meant to be a joke? It was incredible that the metal of his face could contort with such natural emotion.
"I haven't decided if you count as 'people' yet, Tin Can. I normally reserve that for humanoids with more meat on their bones."
"Look there." He interrupted her with a pointing finger. "That low building with the roof like a tortoise shell. Can you see it?"
Dotty nodded and turned the hovercar towards it. At that moment the steering wheel began to move of its own accord and a message appeared on the dashboard screen.
SEARCHING FOR NEARBY PARKING...
PARKING LOCATED. LANDING IS AN AUTOMATED PROCESS. PLEASE WAIT AND RELAX. THANK YOU.
Dotty leaned back in her seat and laid her hands in her lap. She took a few deep breaths.
"I'm sorry about earlier," she murmured.
"Pardon?" T1N looked at her blankly.
"What I said about 'people.' I said I didn't know if you were a person yet, but you seem like a decent guy. I get like this sometimes. I find it hard to trust people, I guess. Doesn't matter if they're flesh and bone or aluminium."
"You didn't offend me. Don't worry. You'd be surprised to see how most humans treat me. That includes some of my owners. You're nicer than them for certain."
Dotty smiled at him.
The hovercar finished its landing maneuver, touching down gently on the pavement.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"What's that noise?" asked Dotty, searching on the control panel for some explanation. There was a flashing yellow symbol.
"The vehicle has run out of power," said T1N.
"We'll have to find another battery."
"How? It's not that simple. From everything we've seen so far the probability of finding another would be less than 1%."
"You're the life of the party, aren't you? Can't you believe in luck? It worked for us last time, didn't it?"
Dotty and T1N got out of the hovercar. In front of them, about two hundred metres over the other side of an intersection, sitting at the top of an escalator, was the guard outpost. To the east, the road led to a recreation area filled with skeletal trees that appeared sculpted from stone. To the west, the sprawl of shops continued. Their display windows were smashed and their neon signs dangled over the street. The whole scene was overlooked by those mammoth buildings that reached hundreds of metres into the air, some almost touching the dome itself.
"H-how many people must have lived here?" asked Dotty.
"In this district or across the whole moon?"
T1N allowed Dotty some time to look around.
"I mean… How many people must have walked these streets? What were their jobs? And most importantly, where the hell are they now?"
"We need more information before we can draw conclusions."
"And their bodies?" Dotty continued. "Where are they? They can't have just disappeared like this."
"My leading hypothesis is that they moved somewhere else. There is no trace of corpses or clothing or personal effects."
"Either that, or something turned them to dust overnight…"