The Science of Transient Cartography - Part Two
By Nico Martinez Nocito
It’s been centuries, but Appalachia still isn’t fully connected to the transit lines, its status as the natural barrier blocking the encroaching Atlantic Ocean for all those years rendering it still a historical landmark rather than a destination. I trek along the rutted dirt path for nearly a mile before I reach the Blue, the narrow, two-tier train nicknamed for its aqua paint coating that snakes its way over the Appalachian Mountains. The conductor looks vaguely surprised to see me, as if he didn’t believe he’d have a passenger here today despite the clarity of my earlier message.
He recovers from his stupor before I’ve fully entered to rattle off a string of safety guidelines.
“The safety straps are recommended but not obligated. Please find a vacant seat and do not stand or walk around during our trip. We will arrive in York in approximately thirty minutes.”
The other passengers shift, and a few snicker, and I want to feel resentful at the conductor for delivering what’s clearly an elementary lesson in Blue safety for a country bumpkin he assumes has never stepped foot on such a contraption before.
Unfortunately, he’s right.
I duck my head and find an empty seat in the back, squished up beside a red-haired man whose back hunches over a whirring holographic screen. He’s not wearing the safety strap, so I decide I don’t need it either.
The woman I’m going to have to be is far too capable for that.
The first lurch forward makes me wish I’d chosen differently. Breakfast eggs and honey rush back up my throat, and I barely suppress a retch. I press my head against the seat in front of me, drawing in a few scattered breaths. When I open my eyes again, I discover the man sharing the seat is looking at me, and has angled his screen so I can read the words he’s scrawled across its center.
Welcome to York, Amanda Riverwood.
I look at the man again. This time, I see another face in the curious tilt of his eyebrows and small quirk of his mouth.
“Professor?” I ask.
He smiles.
Nico Martinez Nocito (they/them) writes speculative poetry and fiction, often with a queer and feminist bent. Their work can be found in Strange Horizons, Grimm Retold, and in Flame Tree Press’s anthology Morgana Le Fay, among others. Learn more about them and their writing on Instagram @nicowritesbooks.
Copyright © 2025 Nico Martinez Nocito