Wholes Evolution
This for me was the most challenging iteration on the story, as I had to take it from its original article form and transform it into a story from an individual's point of view. Using the wholes exercise made this one of the most effective iterations for me on this story as it allowed me to change whole swaths of the story and make massive modifications quite liberally based on the criteria of the technique. For this story I had chosen to keep it from the story of a regular person and to tell it in a linear fashion to capture what it looked like to live a day utilizing the regional rail system was like in the future. This produced from an article describing what a future regional rail system a story that perhaps could be utilized to help people dive into and imagine a future in which they might use such a system as well.
Original Article: https://www.theurbanist.org/2022/08/16/puget-sound-regional-rail/
Journeys Beyond the Rails
In the cool, misty morning of Seattle, a young woman named Sarah wakes, wanting to get out of the city and enjoy some climbing in the cascade mountain range of Washington. The year is 2032, and Sound Transit, in partnership with Trimet, has finished the construction of an inter-county light rail system. The system goes from Eugene in the south, up to Bellingham in the north. From Neah Bay in the West to Spokane in the east. Providing heavy regional rail service to the region.
Sarah started her day off in the morning by packing her gear. She was planning on heading to Index, a small town off of US 2 in the middle of the cascades. There she planned on partaking in a type of climbing called trad climbing with her friend who was going to meet her in Index. Her friend was coming from Leavenworth so they both had to meetup at the rail station for Index and then bike to the rock climbing area from there.
She slowly began to pack her bag and prepare for the trip ahead of her. It was roughly six in the morning and she needed to be at the train station in Index by eight. She quickly prepared her coffee and started placing it within her thermal mug. It was going to be chilly this July morning and she wanted to make sure she had something to drink along the way. It was something she could appreciate because ever since they started implementing climate change mitigation strategies back in 2024 and started releasing net negative carbon in 2028 the climate hard started to go back to what it was like during her childhood. It was nice to be able to experience the mild summers that had dominated the pacific northwest then.
Sarah then quickly got on her bike, and headed towards the new and old Union Station in downtown Seattle from her place in Belltown. She quickly hopped on the 7am train that was bound for Leavenworth, placing her bike in the back storage where she could grab it right before getting off in Index. She sat down in her seat and then started staring out her window at the world passing by. She pulled out a tablet from her bag and began doing some homework assignments from her class last week, allowing the time to pass by quickly getting to her stop.
She remembers how before the regional rail network it would have taken her over an hour of driving to get there. But now she could do it in the same amount of time, but be able to do stuff on the train ride there. Not having to worry about focusing on the road or having the stress of being stuck in possible traffic on the old two-lane road on the way to Index.
Her train arrived at Index and she hopped off at the station meeting her friend there as well. Together they both biked off the the rock wall, and got started climbing. They were able to enjoy some of the spectacular views of Mt. Index from the wall as they continued their day. By 3pm they decided that is was time to call it a day and head home. Sarah quickly messaged a few of her friends in Everett to see if maybe they wanted to have dinner that evening.
She quickly hoped on the train at Index and then was able to get to Everett by 5pm just in time to meet up with her friends for dinner. They enjoyed a quick meal together by Paine Field watching some of the new hydrogen powered jet liners take off from the repurposed Boeing factory that used to make the old queens of the skies. After dinner she decided that she still had some quick homework to finish up. So she said by to her friends after a lovely dinner and proceed to get on the next train taking her home.
On the ride home, while working on finishing up some of her homework, she looked out the window. She admired how pretty the view was out the side of the train where she could make out the silhouette of the Olympics mountains as the sun set behind them creating a stark outline against the orange sky. Soon they pulled into Union Station and she got off the train and got on her bike to ride home. Thinking about it, she realized, that this was a much better way to live than sitting around driving in a car had been.