POD

POD stands for Projectile Object Delivery, the service that provides transportation to both the Marked and Unmarked residents of Sierra City.

Development
After the giant earthquake that destroyed much of the West Coast, most of the roads in and near Sierra City were ruined. Private vehicles were too expensive to use, and public transportation could not function until the streets were repaired. A new company called PopHopper responded by launching a pet program intended to temporarily solve the problem. The Projectile Object Delivery system it developed was surprisingly successful. Since Sierra was never properly cleaned up after the earthquake, the public transportation system never overtook the PODs as the preferred method of transportation.

Appearance and Function
From the outside, the PODs look like giant blue balls. From the inside, however, they are made of transparent, shatterproof glass. As a result, the passengers can see the city passing beneath them as they travel. Much of the glass is taken up by immersive advertisements, however, which are the way PopHopper makes money from the PODs. Because the PODs essentially pay for themselves, Markscans are not required in order to use them.

PODs are projectiles, not airplanes. They use steam to propel themselves into the air and to slow down in order to land safely. For most of each trip, following the initial launch, the PODs are in free fall. A navigation system allows users to control the POD's trajectory.

Problems
The PODs' free fall frequently causes motion sickness in its users.