Deleted Scenes from Allie’s Return

Warning! This blog post will contain spoilers for anyone who hasn’t finished reading Allie’s Return yet. Skip this post if you haven’t finished reading the story.

Just like for Oceania: The Underwater City, I thought I’d share some of the deleted scenes I edited out of the final version of Allie’s Return. This will be the last post for Allie’s Return, so I hope you enjoy it!

Having the world of Oceania already developed made writing Allie’s Return easier, but I still had some doubts about how I wanted to depict certain scenes in the novel. One of those scenes was the city-wide announcement when Allie returns to city level after her deep-sea ecology class trip outside the city. At first, I considered gathering the entire city in Central so the mayor could address everyone at once. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was a stupid idea. If four million people gathered in one location, it would be too much weight concentrated in one location of the city and could cause a structural catastrophe. So I decided to take the following paragraph out:

Feeling awkward walking around in a highly-sophisticated wetsuit, we joined a line of people boarding one of the trains that had switched from pink for the Art District to black for Central. Every seat was taken and I was lucky to find a spot where Rosa, Katrina, and I could sit together. None of us spoke on the way to Central. The heavy buzz of expectation resonated throughout the train car, keeping everyone quiet, but fidgety.

At the Central train station, people crowded in so closely that it was nearly impossible to walk. Every body pressed so closely to the body next to it, that we swayed nearly as one organism. I tried to keep in contact with Rosa and Katrina, but the three of us were pushed apart and lost amongst the crowd.

Although it appeared that Central wouldn’t be able to hold of the citizens of Oceania pressed together so tightly, bodies began to spill out into the concentric circles until everyone must have been preset.

Originally, Allie’s Return was shorter than it is in its final version. I felt like the story was long enough and had surpassed the size of Oceania: The Underwater City too much, so I hurried the ending. As I read the book again during editing for my second draft, I realized that the ending needed to be gradual enough that it gave the reader some closure and tied up a loose end I hadn’t realized I’d missed. So here is the original ending to Allie’s Return:

“What are your names?”

“I’m Dylan Baker and this is Allie Baker. We’re brother and sister.”

I glanced over at Dylan, wondering why he hadn’t given them my real name. He gave me an imperceptible shake of his head, which could have easily been interpreted as a nervous twitch.

The same guy spoke into a radio and soon we were allowed to get up. We were escorted to downtown. The entire city was dead, quarantined like Chicago, I assumed. When we reached the ICDP, they didn’t allow us inside but instead took the Myxine sp. from us outside.

“There’s an enzyme in the gut of these fish that hold the key to the plague cure. You’ll find that this enzyme is what has been keeping the elderly woman who’s the oldest surviving infected person with the plague alive. I have a file here with all of the explanations. I also have the pills that the woman was taking that helped her to withstand the viruses for so long.” Dylan handed everything over to the worker with the mask across her face.

“Thank you,” the woman muttered. “We’ll look into it right away.”

The door was shut to us and the military men ushered us away from it. They told us we were to wait outside in case they needed us again.

I looked over at Dylan. “Well, we did all that we could.”

Dylan nodded at me. “Yes, we did. Now it’s up to the Land Dwellers.”

This is it! You’ve just finished the last blog post regarding Allie’s Return. I hope you’ve enjoyed the blog posts of the last few months. If you did, leave me a comment or send me a message at elizataye@gmail.com and let me know. If you didn’t like it, be sure to email me and let me know why. I always love hearing from my readers.

The next blog posts will be for Shark Station, book 3 of Oceania: The Underwater City. If you want to know more about the book’s release and when the blog posts for it will begin, visit https://elizataye.com/news/. 

Academic Focus Quiz

Every high schooler in Oceania has to choose an Academic Focus to lead them toward their future career in a discipline of their choice. If you lived in Oceania, what would your focus be? Take this quiz to find out.


(You don't have to enter your name if you don't want to. Just put anything in the blank and you can take the test.)

If the embedded quiz below doesn't work, you can access the direct link to the quiz here. 

A Guide to the Train Stripes Color Codes

In this blog post, I will be explaining the train stripe color codes and giving you a little summary of the main function of each district.

In Oceania, the train system is the chief mode of transportation for the residents of the city. The trains travel throughout the city, stopping at a variety of stops with no final destination. Instead, the trains weave through the maze of districts and residential sectors in a continuous loop. To indicate where a train is headed, a wide band on the side of the train sports a color that represents a specific district. Each district in the city has its own color code, while trains destined for residential sectors are white. 

Gray—Engineering District

The Engineering District is the headquarters for all things engineering except for robotics. Businesses and research operations involving engineering are headquartered in this district as well as a few residential areas for the workers. The color for the district pays homage to the color of construction materials of the past like steel and concrete.

Black—Central

Central contains all the headquarters for businesses in the city as well as governmental operations. The civics buildings, incarceration center, archives building, and other government buildings are located here. Headquarters for large businesses and the various departments for the city are located in Central. Not only a headquarters for the city, Central also contains architectural wonders, including the SPLRS that give the power of sunlight to the city. There are no residential areas in Central. The color for the stripe represents how Central is independent of the other districts since the color black comes from the absence of all other colors.

Green—Agriculture District

The Agriculture District is where some of the farming is done in Oceania. The majority of farming is conducted on one of the sublevels, but some crops are grown at city level. All such crops are in the Agriculture District. Rows upon rows of fields beneath artificial domes create ideal growing conditions for the crops. Although most of the district is comprised of plants, some research facilities and other agricultural-related businesses are in this district. There are no residential areas in the agriculture district. The color comes from the green of the plants that grow there.

Blue—Science District

The Science District is overwhelmingly marine science. A large part of the district is dedicated to it even though one main skyscraper houses a lot of the laboratories. The district includes all the disciplines of marine science, geology, ecology, chemistry, genetics, physics, and more. The science district is the largest district in Oceania. It has several residential areas within the district and surrounding it. The color of the district comes from the ocean, which once again hints at the dominating presence of marine science in the district.

Orange—Entertainment District

The Entertainment District is where the focus of entertainment for the city is located. The Aquadome stadium for official games is located here, the OVRR, the largest immersion theater, a theater for performing arts, and more are also in this district. Live shows occur here and so do any city-wide festivals. There are no residential areas within the district. The color for the district comes from the energy it represents.

Yellow—Center of Knowledge

The Center of Knowledge is the district where Oceania University is located. Other research institutions and places of higher learning are located here. Everything about the Center of Knowledge is focused on learning more about anything there is to know. There is one residential area in this district. The color of the district comes from the light of the sun which represents enlightenment.

Red—Medical District

The Medical District contains the main hospital of the city as well as the BHT headquarters. Medical specialists of all disciplines have offices here and see most of their patients in this district. Although there are medical clinics and centers throughout the city, most doctors have ties to the medical district and rights to the main hospital. Research pertaining to the medical field is conducted in various locations throughout the city but is centered here. There are a few residential areas nearby, but only one within the district. The color for the district comes from the color of blood.

Purple—Robotic District

The Robotic District is where all the robotic manufacturing and design is located. The nanotech factories and other types of factories are located here. Robots go to this district to be repaired and maintained. There are no residential areas within the district. The color purple comes from the synthetic metal derived by Oceanian scientist to use in their manufacturing.

Rainbow—Art District

The Art District is where all of the art of the city is created. It includes architectural design offices and all sorts of artistic shops. There are a few residential sectors and many shops. Unlike most of the districts, the Art District is mostly self-supporting and those who live there rarely leave the district. The color for the district represents the variety of colors used in the Art District to beautify the city.

White—Residential Sectors

Residential areas outside of the districts are called sectors. Residential sectors are large blocks of apartment buildings and shops. Unlike the districts, they have few major places of work. Instead, most of the employees in residential sectors are robots. Residential sectors are residential communities that include a clinic, parks, schools, restaurants and the like. Trains traveling to residential sectors are indicated by a white stripe. To specify where the train is going, the white stripe may also show a sector number.

You’ve reached the end of the blog post for this week. Check back next Friday for a new blog post or subscribe to be immediately notified. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post and if you have any comments, you can leave them here on my blog or email me directly at elizataye@gmail.com. As always, I love hearing from my readers.

Special Inventions in Allie’s Return

Introduction

In Allie’s Return, the reader gets to live in the underwater city with Allie as she discovers what it’s like to actually live in Oceania rather than simply visit it. To further build the world of Oceania, and specifically the scientific endeavors, I had to think of some additional special inventions to add to those in the first novel. Two of the inventions highlighted below relate to scientific research, while the other one relates to the city itself.

“I held up a specimen containment box with two Myxine sp. inside it. Only about six to eight inches long, the little gray things squirmed around inside the tank like worms.”

-Allie, Allie’s Return

The Specimen Containment Boxes

I originally thought of the specimen containment boxes early on when I decided to write the novel. However, during researching for the novel, I discovered that scientists in our time are already creating similar deep-sea retrieval chambers. This both excited me and made me hopeful for the future expansion of deep-sea research.

The specimen containment boxes used in Allie’s Return are highly specialized. These boxes are designed to mimic the conditions of the deep-sea, meaning that the pressure of where the animal was caught can be maintained within the containment box until the specimen can be transported to a tank. Constructed of three layers, the outermost layer is solid durapane, the middle layer contains the pressure sensor technology, and the innermost layer is a smooth glass-like substance. The main function of the specimen containment boxes is to protect any deep-sea creature captured by researchers and maintain their safety until they can be deposited elsewhere.

Although the boxes can range in size, the typical size is 45.72cm (18in) long, by 45.72cm (18in) wide, by 145.72cm (18in) high. To capture the organism, the box comes apart into two halves that can then be pushed back together, trapping the organism inside. The user only has to apply pressure and a slight twisting motion to open it, but once the halves are pushed back together around a specimen, they can only be reopened by a UPC or a series of unlocking procedures to prevent accidental opening.

Take a look at the two videos below to see how specimen containment boxes break apart: 

How The Specimen Containment Box Detaches When Capturing a Specimen

How the Specimen Containment Box Breaks Apart in a UPC

“Katrina held open the door to the Underwater Pressure Chamber or UPC as she called it for short.”

-Allie, Allie’s Return

Underwater Pressure Chamber (UPC) tank

Humans can’t survive under the same high pressures that deep-sea organisms can, so Oceania is pressurized close to one atmosphere. Most creatures of the deep would perish if subjected to the lack of pressure humans thrive in without protection, so a way to safely capture and study them needed to be developed. Enter the Underwater Pressure Chamber or UPC for short. The UPC is a sophisticated fish tank and digital diagnosis system in one. While a UPC can house an organism of the deep for a long period of time, its primary function is to aid in the research of their internal systems and behavior. UPCs can track the movements of the fish as they swim, monitor their vitals, create an image of their internal systems for the researcher to observe, and alter the conditions of the water. The UPC is a vital piece of technology for deep ocean research and pivotal in the discovery of how deep-sea organisms survive in the harsh conditions of their home.

Due to the small size of most deep-sea creatures, the Underwater Pressure Chambers used in Allie’s school isn’t very large. Although there are other UPCs in Oceania larger in size, the ones mentioned in the book are 1.5m (5ft) long, 1m (3.5ft) wide, 1.2m (4ft) feet high. Attached to the tank on the right side is a control panel and chute in which the specimen containment boxes can be placed into. Like all technology in Oceania, it can seamlessly be integrated with c-com devices so the researcher can remotely monitor their specimen day and night.

“A few jumped up to quickly sketch it on their digipads as it swam past.”

-Allie, Allie’s Return

Digipad

The digipad is an essentially an accessory to the c-com. For individuals who prefer a writing or drawing tablet to the holographic projection of the c-com, they can use a digipad. Digipads are mostly used for drawing or when a physical medium is necessary. Similar to a modern-day tablet, the digipad differs in that it can project images and also create a 3D holographic replica of whatever is drawn on it. Digipads are most commonly used by scientists and artists in Oceania. The majority of Oceanians don’t have a need for it. 

You’ve reached the end of the blog post for this week. Check back next Friday for a new blog post or subscribe to be immediately notified. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post and if you have any comments, you can leave them here on my blog or email me directly at elizataye@gmail.com. As always, I love hearing from my readers.