The limousine landed on the platform, and the three of us exited. As the hired limo flew off to ferry the next batch of guests, I couldn’t help but look down. The landing platform was small, and we had to be a thousand meters above ground. The Swedish landscape was below, and it was a scary view. Despite the fear, I had to admit that it was gorgeous.

Rolling hills, a lake surrounded on one side by pine trees, and mountains in the distance. It was a dramatic showcase of how beautiful nature could be. I wonder if this was why the conference decided to hold their dinner event on Njord. It was traditional for the Conference of New Energy and Technology to hold a dinner on the evening after the last day of the conference and this year, they decided to host the dinner party on the flying city of Njord. I tore my eyes away from the beauty below me and took a good look at the city.

Njord, the Flying City.

Nowadays, it is just one of the flying cities but Njord was the first city to take to the air and the name had stuck. Like most other nations, the Scandinavia Bloc originally had doubts about building megacities due to environmental concerns. However, progress (and money) could not be ignored. What was different in Scandinavia was that as their cities threw bigger and bigger, local environmentalists revolted. Various small groups launched a campaign of protests, sabotage, and hacking attacks against the government. Under this backdrop, came one of the most audacious engineering ideas in history.

Engineers proposed a plan to build a flying city.

A city in the air that could expand as it like, without having to destroy the nature landscape of Scandinavia. No one took the plan seriously, but the plan was quickly approved. At first, it was nothing but a political compromise. Local politics at that time made it important for politicians to pretend like they were willing to protect the environment. So, the politicians found some money for the engineers without believing that it could work.

It did.

The game-changer was the invention of an anti-gravity engines that used Power Core Technology. Anti-gravity engines had been around since the Rocket Era, but it was a niche field. The engines ate power like a drunk in a bar and the cost always outweigh the benefits. There was never enough power, and sooner or later the engines would break down. The invention of Power Core technology solved the problem.

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While I wasn’t an expert in the technology, a Power Core was basically an everlasting generator. If you do not overexert the core, it could in theory last forever. This was why it is the dominated technology of the current Space Age. A group of Scandinavian engineers invented an anti-gravity engine that used Power Core technology and lifted a piece of land over three kilometers wide up into the air. As the world marveled at the feat, the engineers got to work. They began to build on the floating island and named it after the Norse God of Wind and Sea. This was the beginning of the Njord, and I could not believe that I am here. Usually, only the rich and powerful could land on a flying city. I was nowhere near that list, and the hotel in front of me showed why.

The limo had dropped us before the front lobby of a hotel, and it wasn’t one of those third-rated places like the Vinda Regional. It was an miles high skyscraper with an entrance lobby that was crafted with marble. We entered the hotel and the lobby had statues and art pieces that were worth millions of credits each.

A man dressed like a butler met us in the lobby. After confirming our identities with the hotel AI, the butler guided us to an elevator. One long elevator ride later, I arrived at a large banquet hall. A lot of polished stone, glass, and electronics went into making the room as impressive as possible. I was momentarily stunned by the extravagance of it all. Renting this hall had to cost at least a few million credits. It was a lot of cash to drop for a dinner event.

“This way please.” The butler said. “I am afraid your guards will need to wait here.”

There were various security guards in the hall, but they were all stationed at the sides of the hall. Evidently, only invited guests could enter the center of the hall. I nodded. As Salma and Howard waited by the side, I followed the butler to the center of the banquet hall. Once the butler brought me to the centre, he disappeared. I was on my own.

I looked around and quickly noticed Liam Haraldsson. I wasn’t surprised to see a crowd around the man. A rule of note for scientific conferences was that those who had put up a particularly interesting report would be sought after. The big man seen to be enjoying the attention, and I left him to it.

I slowly made my way through the crowd and felt extremely out of place. Research is a lonely field, and most scholars and researchers lack social opportunities to interact with each other. The idea behind the dinner was to create a venue for the various scholars and researchers to interact and communicate with each other. Unfortunately, I was neither a scholar nor a researcher. My name was in the report helmed by Liam Haraldsson, so I scored an invite and Haraldsson had encouraged me to come as it was a good opportunity to expand my network. Now I am wondering if I should have ignored it. I felt like a fish out of water. I was not used to this type of social event.