“Welcome, everyone, to the great Hollow City of the Io Iceberg!” an attendant said as she and a few others started to collect the passengers who had checked in at the gates. Overwhelmed by the crowd, and a little sweaty from trying to catch up after missing her stop, Dassah made herself as small as possible in a far corner. “If you are new arrivals for the Varier Corporation’s Project: Theirworld, we ask that you please wait in the park until a guide collects you. Your apartment information and key will have been updated on your WristComps when you received your passing scores. When we go outside, you will see signs with groups of apartment numbers. Please line up with others in your apartment grouping and wait for a guide. Thank you, everyone, for your cooperation, and welcome to Varier.”

The doors of the lobby swung open.

They stepped out into the park below the world’s surface with a chorus of sharp inhales.

“Wow...” Dassah said breathlessly.

Standing above the hollow city, in a park of brilliant teal grass, they could see it all.

Dassah had heard enough about hollow cities to imagine what they would look like, but she’d expected a tight, dimly-lit structure. After all, they were, as the name implied, built within the massive hollow inside the underwater portion of the ‘berg.

Reality proved quite different than what she had expected.

If she didn’t know that they were inside an underwater structure, she would’ve thought they were in a canyon somewhere on the surface. A false sky above — whether it was created by magical valkyrian science or a simple trick of the light — was as brilliant a shade of lavender as the real Yidaran sky.

It was a cloudless day below the surface.

“Everyone, please find your respective apartment floor numbers — the second and third set of numbers in your address — sign in, and wait for your guide,” the attendant instructed the gawkers with polite disdain.

Dassah turned her wrist so the holographic screen of her WristComp showed through her skin like a tattoo and opened the Project: TheirWorld app.

“3-100-1048, floor 100...” Dassah searched through the kiosks, eventually finding one that read ‘1000-1050.’ She signed in and then stepped over to the scalloped rail of the park.

It was a marvel. Draped in blue and pink trees and dripping with deep blue ivy dotted with little orange flowers with long yellow stamens, it looked like it could have been something born from nature.

Between the side walls, where most of the living spaces had been built, were high columns topped with parks similar to the one they were currently gathered in. Some were topped with mini biodomes, and others held small gardens.

Everything was linked together by a network of pedestrian bridges and monorails. These constructs seemed to have some living spaces attached to them as well, in the form of cocoon-like structures that Dassah assumed were homes for blee and earar who could fly between the spaces with ease.

“People... made this?” a tivarys girl next to her murmured. Her head barely rose above the railing, but even then, there was so much to see.

“Incredible, isn’t it?” Dassah said.

“Yeah,” the girl answered. “It’s almost scary. But also so pretty!”

“It is,” said Dassah, leaning over the rail to look down. The ground below looked like a forested park where people were walking and playing.

“Hello, hello!” a female jikak attendant dressed in a slick black and white outfit came up to them. “My name is Bariela Zoth, and I will be your guide today! We will be receiving many waves of new arrivals, so you may, or may not, be the first to arrive at your designated apartments,” she said. “Apartments 1000-1500, please gather your things and follow me! Try to keep up!”

Dassah and the others who had gathered around the sign along with her — the tivarys girl with copious amounts of luggage, two valkyrian men, a jikak man with thick glasses, and an earar girl who showed up last minute — grabbed their belongings and followed their guide down an enormous staircase. The guide spouted off facts and statistics about how the Hollow City was organized and pointed to locations with a speedy, professional patter.

The guide had everyone board the elevator and then typed in their desired floor number before continuing her speech. “Every lunar month you will receive a refill for your food credits and luxury stipends. You will also receive a monthly calendar that marks sponsored events planned for scholars who have the desire and time to attend. Please ensure you RSVP to any events a week in advance.” The elevator came to floor 100, and they unloaded into a small shopping district. Roughly two dozen small shops and restaurants buzzed with activity as scholars like them went about their daily lives.

Hardly giving the group time to adjust the guide continued: “From here, everyone’s apartments will be to the right. Are there any questions? No? Very well. I hope everyone will enjoy their stay, here inside the hollow city of Io.”

Dassah and the others exchanged looks as their guide disappeared into the elevator without another word.

“Um... Was she... a robot?” the jikak man asked, scratching his bald head.

“I guess we're supposed to find the rooms on our own then?” the earar girl said meekly.

The tivary looked at their WristComp. “Can't be that hard, right? I'm in room 1039. Anyone close?”

“We are 1043.” One of the valkyrian men with tanned skin and black hair exchanged glances with their fair-skinned, red-haired fellow.

“You already know one of your roommates? Jealous,” the jikak pouted. “I hope mine are quiet. I'm in 1025.”

“What about you guys?” the tivarys asked Dassah and the earar.

“1039,” the earar said with a shy expression.

“Really?” the tivarys girl asked, standing on her tiptoes to get a better look at the other girl's face. “That’s. So. Fantastic!” she cried, taking the timid earar’s hand and giving it an energetic shake. “I'm Antihirrinum Geed — but you can just call me Ri.”

“Shen...” the earar said in return.

“And you?” the red-haired valkyrian asked Dassah.

“I'm 1048.”

“At the end, then. Or the front,” the jikak said, looking around. “Do we know what number the first apartment is?”

Dassah pointed to a sign next to the elevator with a map of the immediate area. “It looks like I’m closer to the end.”

The black-haired man nodded. “Shall we start heading down, then?”

But as they turned towards the apartments, Dassah heard a familiar sing-song voice ring out: “Dah-ah-sah!”

Dassah turned to see a young, darker-skinned valkyrian with wild hair and vibrant red lips waving a finger in the air. “You. Are. Late! I’ve been waiting for literal hours!”

“S-Sorry?” Dassah half-heartedly apologized as Stella strode over to her, her red heels clicking loudly on the floor as she placed her feet perfectly, one in front of the other. Stella was a valkyrian from the mainland, but she and Dassah had become unexpectedly fast friends during orientation. For all her charisma and energy, Stella had a calming aura that helped get Dassah through several stressful situations. She hadn’t expected to see Stella down here, though. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what do you mean ‘waiting’?”

“Apartment 1048, right?” Stella grinned, placing a finger on Dassah’s nose.

“How’d you know?”

“Because I moved in earlier and saw the apartment roster!”

“You... are one of my roommates?” Dassah asked, her hopes rising. Stella took her hands with a nod and squealed.

“It’s gonna be like a never-ending sleepover party!” Stella said. “So! You must have a reason for being late, right? Was he cute? No... You’re more into the ‘hot’ type, aren’t you?”

It took longer than it should have for the gears in Dassah’s head to click into place, but when they did, she snorted. “Someone has an overactive imagination. I just missed the train stop. Hey, how far is the apartment from here?”

“Boring,” Stella told her, wrapping an arm around Dassah’s shoulder. The other people around them look vaguely amused as she winked at them and motioned for them to follow as she started walking. “Unfortunately, the guides chose the elevators closest to the 1000th apartment, so we’ve got a good ten-minute walk from here to get to ours.”

“That’s good for me though!” the jikak man said happily. “I’ll be the first in.”

“I’m so far down...” the tivarys whined, trying to keep up with everyone as she pulled along two suitcases.

“Let me help?” The red-haired valkyrian man offered, holding his hand out to take one of her cases. The girl’s eyes filled with tears as she dropped both to throw her arms around him.

“You. Are. So. Nice!” She cried into his stomach. The black-haired man laughed as the other looked at him in confusion. Sniffling, the girl backed up and patted the man’s shirt apologetically. “Sorry. Yes. Help would be lovely. I’m Ri, by the way,” she told him, shaking his hand.

“I know,” the redhead replied, as he picked up one of her suitcases. “I’m Jake. He’s Onyx.”

“I’m Kleary!” the jikak volunteered.

“I’m Stella,” Stella raised her hand in the air. “And this is Dassah!”

“And we are all friends now!” cheered the little tivarys girl as she pointed forward. “Come now, friends! To battle!”

The jikak snickered as he walked passed her. “We aren’t even in the game yet.”

“I didn’t know finding an apartment could be a fight,” Onyx said.

“When you have legs and arms as short as mine, everything is a fight!” Ri went, making a muscle with her arm. “That’s why I’m so strong! Gotta keep up with all you tall people!”

“That’s the spirit!” Stella shouted.

“You guys are so loud!” Dassah hissed at them. “We have other neighbors, you know!”

“Eh, it’s fine. Probably,” Jake shrugged. “The rooms should be pretty soundproof.”

“Still!”

“Oh, stop worrying!” said Stella with a wave of her hand. “Now, let me tell you how things will work around here...”

And so they made their way down the path to their new homes.