Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 97

Harmonia
Diocesan Girls' Junior School, Chu, Annabelle - 10
I looked outside from my machine, Chronos, and saw a lush green land. I was a time-traveler, and I loved
to explore. I steered Chronos towards the land, curiosity rising.
The world was unlike anything I had seen before! Magnificent skyscrapers scratched the clouds, wide
bridges towered the roads of pedestrians, and flying cars flew under the burning sun. “Unbelievable,” I
blurted.
Standing at the entrance, I was welcomed by a robot grasping an Xpad. I introduced, “I am Annabelle.
Where is this place?”
The robot responded, “You must be from very far away to not know anything about here. But don’t
fear; our most knowledgeable guide will explain this fantastic land! Would Robot X9 come over here?”
Without waiting for my reply, he hovered in the air and flew off, as Robot X9 turned up. X9 was
white with a radar signal placed on his head. He had a rectangle on his face which I assume was his mouth.
He verbalized piercingly, “Good morning! Please follow me. We are going to the flying taxi station!”
I asked, “Where and when are we?” X9 stared at me with a suspicious look. “We are in GBA, Greater
Bay Area, and it is year 2030. GBA has a combined population of over 70 million people. It leaves New
York and Tokyo behind on economy and technology. The flying taxi stand is there!”
We picked a white taxi. Immediately after we hopped on, the taxi extended its wings and soared in the
air. The taxi was eco-friendly, with two solar power engines stationed next to it. Out of curiosity, I pressed
a hamburger shaped button. A metallic hand popped up from under my seat with a freshly-cooked
hamburger!
“Look! There’s Shenzhen. It is my home, as I was invented here.” X9 declared. I saw an enormous
floating research lab, which looked silver thanks to sunlight filtering on top. Inside, a group of scientists and
robots sit at a round table, discussing a project called Global Warming. Different languages were used,
English, Mandarin, Cantonese … Peeking at the charts on touch-screens circling above scientists’ head, I
realized Shenzhen was a zero-carbon city, running entirely on renewable energy!
Still in awe, the taxi took us to Guangzhou.
Guangzhou looked like a transport hub. High-speed railways connecting the regions stretched in to
the horizon, and busy planes soared past my head. I entered the airport and glanced at the information
screen. It was showing how long it took for each flight. To my surprise, it only took 1 hour to get to New
York and 35 minutes to get to London!
We went to the train strain. A silver train with no wheels ran on the railway. The counters were
served by robots. All you need to do was to scan your face to board the train. It was so swift. It appeared to
me like a blur. Within seconds, we arrived in Macau.
The tasty aroma of food wafted through my nose as I saw a lot of fun tourism places. Fancy hotels and
amusement parks circled the packed town. When I got off, I followed the appealing scent and arrived at
Taipa Food Street. All of a sudden, X9 started talking in Portuguese, “Oi, tudo bem? Bem vindos a Macao!
Welcome to the World Entertainment Expo!” I observed a stage in the middle of the street. I rushed there
and immersed myself in the fabulous performance on the stage. A colossal tent nearby was filled with tourists
watching a circus show. Against my will, X9 dragged me to Hong Kong.
I found myself in a busy but beautiful city. Modern architectures gave out pink light, and tall
skyscrapers reached for the clouds. Ships glided smoothly on Victoria Harbour, puffs of smoke disappearing
in the sky. The blue wrinkled sea shone, glittering in the sunlight. Reflections of towers were mirrored in
the water, turning bits of the sea silvery-black. A tall building stood majestically in the distance. When I got
closer, I noticed it was Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with a big electronic billboard on the top showing
stock price changes around the world. Still trying to understand these numbers, a loud speaker scared me. It
proclaimed, “Would all people gather at the Grand Hall in 15 minutes…”
I whispered, “X9, what is the Grand Hall?” He rolled his eyes. “The place where GBA governors live,
of course!” We charged towards the Grand Hall as the governors approached the crowd.
One governor spoke. “Ladies and gentlemen, you all know GBA doesn’t have an official name yet.
But now, we will start the ‘name-making-ceremony’, to determine what name it will be. The name should
reflect GBA – we embrace diversity of political systems, cultures and languages. ” The governor stepped
back as another one stepped up and spoke in Cantonese. I racked my brains for any names and it suddenly
popped up to me. “Harmonia,” I murmured. When it was time to talk about which name GBA should
have, I walked up to the stage like all the others did and cleared my throat.