Once the blue glow was in sight, she followed the terrain through its rises and falls until she reached her bunker. She arranged herself into position under the camo netting. Lying prone, with her rifle sitting idle next to her, she removed the binoculars and played with the zoom until her view was in perfect focus. The rows of the sentinel coils greeted Ella, and glowed a much brighter blue in the darkness. Nothing would give her greater delight than watching the row of them come crashing to the ground, opening the way for her and the Masked camps to join the party on the Inside.
The day had not yet started for those who oppressed her kind, the lot of them still fast asleep behind the glass walls. She was not sure how much time she had before the skies brightened, but she frequently longed for a closer view. The break in the row of active Tesla coils where the latest expansion was being built gave her the chance. Though it was forbidden by the Elders, she knew her mission was solo and her position in the bunker would go unchecked until she missed reporting in, something she was not scheduled to do for another three days.
She had the time and the opportunity to get closer, and reasoned this to be her best chance. After securing her lookout and leaving everything behind, she crawled on her belly toward the dark corner of the glowing city of glass and steel. She stayed as flat to the ground as she could, keeping her head down the whole way, except the occasional check in to make sure she was staying on course and not straying into range of the perilous coils.
She arrived at the perimeter, which appeared dark from her lookout, but was close enough to the dome and power lines to glow faintly blue. Caution was exercised to avoid exposure, as she was sure someone from the Inside was watching. Despite the clear glass, she trusted nothing about Glass City. Even if her eyes told her the coast was clear, a deeply rooted mistrust told her otherwise.
Standing beneath the unpowered coils, she studied their construction closely. They were much farther from the glass than she guessed, and she made mental notes of how to best attack them if ever the opportunity arose. This up close view was unique to Ella. None of the Masked she knew had ever been this close to Glass City before and it was likely none would ever again, unless their attack was successful. Being so close to Glass City and these instruments of instant death empowered Ella, making her feel invincible. The base of concrete steadied the steel rod running through the middle and supported the weight of the massive coil and large polished ball resting at the coil’s peak. Lattice style construction provided additional support. Starting around the sixth story, the coiled metal wound up and up the rest of the steel rod, where the shiny ball was mounted some fifteen stories above her. Lines running in at the base of the coil would someday provide the power to the killer coils.
Ella walked to the glass, where she saw piles and piles of processed materials. Stack after stack of glass panes created a small maze in one area. Rows of steel beams, countless piles of different sized nuts and bolts along with other assorted construction materials, tools, and debris.
This brought the rage flooding back. How could they have so much, yet share so little. This is not the way her camps operated. Except for warring camps, the Masked shared everything they had. Food, water, clothes, if it belonged to one of them, it belonged to the lot of them. She did not understand the Oppressors way of life, how cruel and greedy they could be while others suffered so much. Ella continued inspecting the area of isolated darkness among the glowing city. The anger was winning the internal battle over reason; Ella was now less concerned with being discovered and could no longer fight the urge to explore.
Staying close to the perimeter, she walked east, following the edge of the glass around its corners and bends. The eastern most point of the expansion area was not enclosed by glass as all other parts of the city were. A small opening with a sign that contained five letters hung over the opening with an arrow pointing the way inside. She was intrigued and thought of walking right in, but it seemed too easy, like a trap. A trap she would let some sucker from another camp fall into, not her. Ella couldn’t read and had no idea what the letters D-E-C-O-N meant when grouped together, so she decided not to enter.
Instead she retraced her steps to the starting point, to get a better inventory on the supplies being held in the area. As she was making mental notes, she noticed the first of the workers returning to their duties. In a panic, she hit the dirt, laying low in the small ditch directly adjacent to Glass City. Her gray zip up coveralls were filthy, not uncommon on the Outside, and helped her blend into the surroundings. Her mask looked like a common piece of trash, of which there was plenty blowing around freely in the wasteland.
The supplies were all secured by assorted ties and locks, which the first worker was removing. A second man arrived soon after and kicked the power on. Several interior lights flickered before brightly lighting the area. Anyone that ventured near the glass would surely see Ella, despite her camouflaged attire. The rage and invincibility quickly left her, and fear jumped in to fill the emotional void, paralyzing Ella. Her heart began to pound heavily within her chest. Ella’s eyes were all that moved and she tracked the ever growing number of bodies in the area. If she were spotted, surely they would alert the Rangers. Without her bayoneted rifle, she had no way to defend herself. Part of her wanted to get up and sprint to her lookout. But she knew that would certainly get her noticed and although she would probably get away, her lookout position would be revealed.
Ella lay motionless, awaiting an opportunity to get away. The sky was getting brighter by the minute, closing her window to escape. More and more crew members arrived in their fluorescent orange uniforms, adding to the number of eyes that could potentially discover her. In a panic, she picked up a sizable rock or hunk of dirt and launched it toward the glass, hoping to create a diversion.
It struck its target and shattered into a million pieces, falling back to the earth harmlessly, going unnoticed by anyone inside. Ella tried again with a slightly larger rock, but the result was the same. The glass was too thick; the double panes silenced her efforts to distract them. Her pulse quickened and her breathing became labored, broadcasting the fear loudly to her ears, adding to her panic. It was not long before her breathing turned to heavy panting. She tried several more times to get someone’s attention on the Inside, with the same level of success.
As the panic level within her rose, the escape routes vanished. Realizing the desperate nature her mind was sinking to, she turned to her instincts. They calmed her. They told her to do the one thing that made the least sense to her in this panicked state. They told her to relax and breathe, to lay motionless and observe until she was discovered. They told her there was no present danger, and therefore nothing to escape from. Burn that bridge when you get to it.
Like always, she trusted her instincts. Ella took a deep breath and exhaled. Then she did what she does best, she watched.
CHAPTER 5 (Jacob Niles)
Jasper was already working when Jacob arrived. Jasper had an undeniable love for what he did, it gave his life a sense of purpose and fulfillment, a feeling Jacob and many others in Engineering felt as well. “Looks like you beat me here again old man, do you ever stop?” The days of Jacob’s shyness were over and what little bit of coyness still in him was left on the other side of the whooshing doors, saved for those he didn’t know. He felt at ease on the job site and the jokes were always flowing. His jests were not always taken in kind by Jasper and no reply outside a grumble was returned in Jacob’s direction.
The sky was still dark, and the dull blue glow of the power lines and untamed current flowing above them was the only thing lighting the work area. Jacob flipped the switch and the long tubular bulbs flickered before coming on, causing grumpy Jasper to shield his eyes.
“Thought I’d bring a little light into the darkness,” a chipper Jacob said to his co-worker.
“How about a little warning next time, huh?” Jasper barked, as he often took some time to warm up to the day. That did not stop Jacob from joking ar
ound with him, just as his father had done going back to their time as school bunkmates. Only then, Jasper was young and gregarious and often returned the barbs with fervor. Jacob did everything in his power to bring ‘Old Jasper’ back, but so far was unsuccessful.
“Ok. Tomorrow morning when its dark and the next day and the next, I am gonna turn the lights on some time after I arrive at work. Happy?” Jacob remembered he had to record his time since the sensors at the doorway were disabled and would not read the Embedded Personal Chip (EPC) in his arm. He walked over to the table and picked up the small wand with the circular opening at one end and ran the opening over his arm up to his elbow. A green line flashed across the small touch screen indicating the chip has been read, followed by his personal information, available gredits, and his personal sustainability score. He verified the info before returning to needle Jasper. “Now, is a whole day enough warning for you?”
“I suppose so,” Jasper flatly replied. “Now that you are officially on the clock earning your gredits, how about you do something besides flipping a light switch?” That was as comedic as Jasper would ever get, but even the slightest joke from him brought laughter from Jacob. “Now get your ass over here and help me release these bundles,” the grumpy elder boomed, indicating the joking was over, at least from Jasper’s side of things
Releasing and then securing materials was the first and last thing to do every shift, in case of an attack from the Outsiders. New St. Louis had not had an attack in years, but the threat was ever present and stories came of attacks in other cities, including a devastating attack on Newer Orleans in recent days. The Rangers knew of nearby camps of Outsiders, but their policy was to leave them alone as long as they kept their distance.
“Sure thing boss, consider it done.” Jacob mockingly referred to Jasper as boss, though they were nothing more than coworkers, despite the fact that Jasper had him by decades in both age, experience, and seniority. The title meant he had to attend meetings with the higher-ups, but gave him no real power, the work to be done was spelled out for every citizen by the Sustainability Charts.
As the duo undid the straps on the glass and steel and unlocked their tools, they were joined by Virgil Green and Brent Lee Bagwell who wore the same bright orange rubber Nu-Skins as the rest of those in Engineering.
“Virgil G and BLB, glad you gentlemen decided to join us. Your materials are unpacked, tools hooked to the air hoses, you need us to affix the glass for you as well?” Jasper had no patent on being the butt of Jacob’s jokes, not even this early in the day.
“Nah man, we want it done right,” replied Brent Lee as he pulled his long red hair back into a ponytail, part of his daily pre-work routine. “You stick to the easy stuff and let us handle the hard part. This annex will never support life if you bunch of knuckleheads from metal did the glass.”
This brought a chuckle from the dark-skinned Virgil. “Yeah and just cuz you steelers want to show up early, don’t mean the rest of us have to, so long as we meet daily demand, what the hell does it matter when we get here.” Then he turned to Brent Lee and added, “We might have to build a statue for all the damn martyrs around here.”
“Ok, I see the ‘glassys’ brought jokes too,” Jacob said, “Now let’s hope you brought the hardhat and lunch pails fellas, we have a lot of steel up there waiting for you.”
The bright blue eyed Virgil closed out comedy hour with one final jape, “Well with as slow as you guys in metal move, we should be caught up in no time flat.”
The back and forth brought a chorus of laughs from the participants before they got down to work. The jabs were playful in nature and common among the different parts of Engineering, whether it be metalworkers, glassworkers, electrical, or any others present. For now, it was just the three sub-departments of Engineering putting the crown upon the latest annexation. Within a year, the last pane of glass would be set in the floor and a ‘best use study’ would be conducted by the Department of Research and Development to determine how the newest annex would be most efficiently utilized.
More and more workers joined them as the sky began to brighten. Somewhere behind the thick haze on the eastern horizon, the sun was rising. After all the supplies were released, Jasper, Jacob, Virgil and Brent Lee, harnessed up and began their ascent. The joking was left on ground floor. When ‘on the beams’, everything was serious. The work required great precision, not to mention balance and focus. Their harnesses would protect them from hitting the ground, but did nothing to prevent them from crashing into the constant flow of materials being raised all around them.
Glassmen began affixing panes on both sides of the beams. They swung back and forth in their harnesses with suction cups strapped to their hands, which they used first to catch and then maneuver themselves around the large panes of glass as they were placed in the proper position by the cranes. Once in place, Virgil and Brent Lee ran a set of long screws, as thick as a human arm, into the predrilled holes of the glass and into the heavy-duty steel beam. After applying a natural sealant they finished the work by capping the holes with specially made glass dowels, pounding them flush with a rubber mallet.
It was not uncommon for the metalworkers to catch some amusement by watching the ‘glassys’ floating in the air, waving the suction cups frantically and often times futilely as the large panes of glass seemed to try to dodge their best efforts. Once they attached themselves to the glass and it was placed into position, it did not take them long to complete the process.
As Jasper and Jacob waited for more bolts, they watched the glassmen catch another pane. As Brent Lee and Virgil used their suction cup hands to crawl to opposite ends of the forty foot pane, the welder and boltman struck up a conversation, this one started unusually by Jasper as a tinge of sadness crept into his voice. “You know, me and your dad used to sit here and watch this same process. Well… not right here, but on different beams all over New St. Louis. Other Greenhaus’, too.”
“Was it as funny to watch then as it is now?” asked Jacob.
“Funny as it ever was,” replied Jasper followed by a rare burst of laughter. He quickly put a cap on the chuckles and the smile left his face. Jacob figured something was wrong as Jasper stared off into the distance.
“Is everything ok? Did you see something in the hills?” Jacob wondered aloud, as Jasper seemed to be staring past the men at work into the drab nothingness.
“Nah… it’s just that, well, I don’t see the point of all this sometimes.” There was great hesitation when he spoke and he nervously looked all around him, like he was unsure he should be saying what he was about to say. “Don’t get me wrong, I love building new things. It’s just, the Founding Fathers, the Green Constitution. Is this what they envisioned? And where does it stop?”
Jacob furrowed his brow, as if offended by the question before he proudly stated matter of factly, “When all can share in the bounty of Mother Earth again, just like the Green Constitution says.”
“I know what the Constitution says,” snapped Jasper, whose years removed from his schooling clearly had taken the shine off their beloved Green Constitution. “Look around you Jacob, your father saw it, I see it, someday you will too.”
“See what?” the confused young man asked while he looked all around him as if expecting to see things he didn’t see before.
“See what’s real. And what’s not,” Jasper retorted as his baby blue eyes nervously jutted back and forth. “See the distractions and learn what they are hiding.”
Caught off guard by the direction in which this deep conversation with Jasper was headed, Jacob paused before making a reply. This topic had never been discussed or even hinted at in all the years Jacob had known Jasper. The odd behavior Jasper was exhibiting made Jacob think he had finally reached the tipping point in life and gone mad, something that happened to many in the ‘Haus. Jacob was intrigued by his words, even if he partially doubted their legitimacy. He crouched down to receive the shipment of bolts as he issued his response,
a series of rapid fire questions, somewhat sarcastic in nature, but also to put feelers out to gage Jasper’s credibility. “Distractions? From what? The beautiful scenery? Clean Air? Plentiful food rations? Why would anyone need to be distracted? And from what? By whom? It all just sounds like crazy nonsense.”
Jasper’s eyes widened and his lips tightened. “It’s not crazy nonsense.” Jasper was walking toward Jacob, his blood boiling, the sound of tools and cranes working filled the background. “The answers to your questions are out there somewhere. I am not sure about where and neither was your father, but we did ask those same questions. It’s what we spent our lives trying to figure out. It’s why we traveled together so much and why I continued to do so after his death. We had our theories and reasons for suspicion, but nothing concrete ever surfaced,” he explained, calming himself as he gave his speech
“Reasons? Suspicions? Like what, I gotta know,” Jacob laughed. The mention of his father further piqued his interest, but he was still mostly skeptical of Jasper’s statements. Jacob continued to needle him, hoping to get just a shred of evidence.
“I shouldn’t even be telling you any of this, because I promised I wouldn’t involve you, but it’s time you know what we know. You make the decision to get involved or not. I figure out here is as safe a place as any to do it,” started Jasper, who had been visibly nervous throughout this brief conversation, continuously checking all around them even though they were alone on the beams. “Things are not as they seem Jacob, but I can’t explain it all right now. Me and your father both had similar suspicions and good reasons for why we had them. The main reason for me was the Sustainability Charts, specifically the false demand it creates. For your father, it was the amount of waste around the ‘Haus.”
“Waste? The Sustainability Charts? We are a zero waste city. The Sustainability Charts show we are at maximum capacity for population and all demand is being met. Been that way for decades. What proof do you have to back this up?” asked Jacob, stunned and offended by the accusations against a system he believed to be perfect.
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