The
year: 2532. The city: Oasis, the only city on the dark side of the moon.
The city was a neon metropolis, a
beacon of light in a sea of darkness. The only other city on the big rock was
Oasis’ sister, New Philadelphia ,
located on the happy, sunny side of the moon. The people of New Philadelphia got to enjoy the gorgeous
view of the Earth every day.
The city was built in the shape of a
hexagram, and each side was a separate district. The buildings rose hundreds of
feet into the dark lunar sky. A glass dome covered the city, separating it from
the chilling vacuum of space. Building the dome had not been an easy process;
accidental breaches had sent a number of workers flying off to their cold
deaths early on during the city’s construction.
Internal systems supplied an
artificial atmosphere with oxygen and mild temperatures. Some buildings had
special windows that projected fake sunlight, but it was always night outside
on the streets.
Speaking of the streets—freeways ran
through the city and accommodated all manner of traffic. Air cars were also
used frequently by those who could afford them. Due to strict population
control, the populace of Oasis remained relatively constant. This discouraged
continued manufacturing of air cars, so most of them were imported from either
Earth or an automated factory that built them on-demand at a location a few
miles outside the city.
Many of the inhabitants of Oasis had
lived in the city their entire life. Many of them had never even seen the
planet of mankind’s dawn. This glittering burg was the only home they had ever
known.
Laws were much more relaxed in
Oasis. The city had been built to cater to those people who were fed up with
the stern rules of New Philadelphia .
For instance, anyone in Oasis could own a gun—though the caliber had to be low
enough so as to be incapable of putting holes in the dome—and almost all of
them did. A few massive corporations also set up shop in Oasis to avoid the
stricter regulations and oversights of New
Philadelphia . Being out the Earth’s sight definitely
had its advantages.
However, there were also
disadvantages. For one, the mortality rate in Oasis was far higher than New Philadelphia . This
was largely attributed to the lack of gun control. Of course, there were also
stabbings, stranglings, bludgeonings, poisonings and other homicides that had
nothing to do with firearms.
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