She pressed
her nose against the cold glass window of the boat, trying to figure out what
it was she could see. The day was gloomy… the air thick with the whisper of
rain. As such, there was not much that could
be seen from the window. She slumped back into her seat, disheartened, bored
and cold. Then, as the boat began to slow, she feared they would be stuck there
forever.
Her teacher rose from his seat
near the door and called them to attention, waking many from the early morning
slumber induced by too little sleep or no breakfast. He ushered them, single
file, from the boat, and she hugged herself for warmth as she trudged onto the
jetty. Immediately she put her hands to her ears. After the relative quiet of
the boat, her ears were assaulted by an intensity of traffic sounds. Of sirens
and beeping horns. Of the laughter of her schoolmates and water splashing and a
crow carking in the distance.
Ahead she saw the backs of her
classmates, but beyond this two large, whiteish pillars flanked by buildings
that looked old and somewhat crumbly. Beyond this rose an enormous cliff, atop
which were buildings and various scrubbly trees. In between this she noticed
another building, which appeared to both blend in and stick out at the same
time. It was both box-like and wibbly-wobbly at the same time. She thought it
was weird!
Suddenly she realised her
classmate’s backs were growing smaller – they had moved towards the weird
building. She jogged after them, drawing closer to the mouth of that crazy
beast. Now on the threshold, the building loomed above her: it seemed to grow
outwards from the base. Large glass doors welcomed her in. She stepped into the
belly of the beast.
Cautiously she lowered her hands
from her ears. They were assaulted again… but this time by the low hum of
insects, chirping of birds, human laughter and the occasional squeal from one
of her classmates. And although she could hear nature… she certainly couldn’t see it.
She looked around. To her left
she noticed a sweeping staircase leading to a set of double doors. Following
this she swept her eyes to the right, catching a glimpse of what looked like
trees and a skyscraper through narrow glass windows. Shooting her eyes downward
she was disappointed to see nothing but high walls, blank save for some posters
and large text, at the base of which was a reception desk. Moving her eyes to
the left again, she noticed another class door, with darkness and twinkling
colourful lights beyond.
Her teacher had been saying
something, but she hadn’t been listening. As her classmates began to wander up
the stairs after an unfamiliar woman, she thought she’d better drag herself
along.
Through the double doors at the
top of the staircase her classmates filed into the rows of tiered seats. She
chose one near the edge. The light was soft, and the walls appeared to be
covered in wood. It was silent. At the front of the room was a large screen.
Excellent, she thought, a movie. No work!!!
The unfamiliar woman started
talking about Brisbane Town, which seemed like a funny little place. The woman
showed a really old film of some people working in what she said was now the
Queen Street Mall. The woman talked about the way the city grew and changed,
how the people changed, and how the plants, birds, animals and insects changed
too. The woman said that they weren’t all found in Brisbane anymore, because
the humans got too big and the city replaced the trees.
Suddenly the woman pressed a
button, and the screen rolled away. The class took a collective breath in… as
they looked out on an abundance of trees, skyscrapers and birds. There was one
question on everyone’s lips… how?!
The class buzzed as they bounced
back down the stairs, this time they were led towards the blank wall, which was
revealed to be two walls overlapping one another. Around they went and entered
another world.
The girl looked up. Trees and
skyscrapers towered above her. But above them, she saw silver, not blue.
Inside?! Bringing her eyes downward, she saw a ramp winding its way up through
the buildings and trees. Already, the woman was talking and leading them up As
they walked up, they could look around and see they birds on the branches, touch the bark and
hear the insects. The woman talked more as they climbed. At the end of the ramp
was another set of doors, and a room set high above the ground… in the very
tops of the trees.
Through the doors they went, and
the girl was again assaulted by the sound of a siren and the whoosh of traffic.
Confused, she strained to hear the birds and insects, but to no avail. Looking
around she could see displays about pollution, greenhouse gases and some of the
other things they had been talking about in class this term. But she could also
see the tops of threes, and a galah sitting on a branch through a window. She
put her hand to the glass, wishing she could get through. After a while they
were ushered back into the peaceful natural tranquillity… down to a grassy area
at the very base. Here, it was time for lunch. She lay on her back on the grass
and munched away on a sandwich, watching a bird flying high above her. Her
classmates sat amongst real rocks and faux-buildings, climbing them and playing
around them. Mindful of her litter, she stuffed her paper bag into her pocket.
Her teacher called for them to
assemble and led them back through to where they had started. From here, he led
them into the dark room she had observed earlier. There were some large
computers and some interesting consoles. Their woman guide told them they could
have a go at creating Brisbane City in 2090.
The girl knew her Brisbane would
have lots of trees.
Heaps of birds.
But definitely plenty of humans.
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