by Ken Barrett
“Is that what the solar observatory in Flatiron was looking for?” Denise had sat up, she couldn’t see anything in the dark, but stared at him anyway.
“Yeah.” He smiled. “Astrophysicists knew we were in a period where a solar-induced extinction event was possible, and the observatory was researching the internal structure of the sun in hopes that it would give them the ability to predict the coming storm.”
“Well, I guess they got it right,” Keith said.
“And you can thank those scientists for the work they did because it spurred the building of this shelter,” Liam added. “Without that, humanity would be gone, we’d all be dead.”
“Even you and your sister?” Keith asked.
He paused, hoping that no one else had heard Keith’s question. “Of course.”
“Well, it’s getting pretty stale in here,” Denise said. “I hope we can get by until someone fixes the air conditioning.”
“The exterior intake and exhaust ports might be wrecked or clogged,” Liam answered. “Even if the storm has passed, going outside to fix the ventilation system will be really dangerous.”
Rose slid closer and urged Keith and Denise to move in as well. “It’s too hot for humans to be outside, so Commander Davis will probably send me and my brother,” she whispered.
“Going outside could be bad for us too,” Liam responded quietly. “Our bodies can automatically repair some physical damage but have a limited ability to dissipate heat. In an extreme case, high temperature can shut down our electrical systems, maybe permanently.”
“You could die, that’s what you’re saying?” Denise asked.
“Yeah,” he answered. “Overexposure to intense heat would kill us.”
“And even if we did survive, people would know that we’re not like them when we return,” Rose said.
Denise frowned worriedly. “What would happen then?”
“You’ve seen everyone’s prejudice of technology, and my brother and I are the embodiment of that, so what do you think would happen?” Rose asked.
“There isn’t a clear way forward,” Liam said after running a series of simulations. “I noticed some asbestos blankets up on level two the other day. Wrapping ourselves in them would limit our risk of overheating, and might reduce the suspicions of others.”
“Well, let’s hope that no one notices that the firestorm has ended,” Denise said. “That would give the weather a chance to cool down before you’re sent out.”
“There’s something else we might do.” Keith nodded resolutely. “We could go too, that way you guys won’t be singled out.”
“No!” Rose whispered. “Your body can’t handle the temperature, and the air might be toxic too. I won’t let you die for me.”
“I do love you, but I’m not suicidal,” her boyfriend responded. “Denise and I could wrap ourselves in asbestos and go to the upper levels with you, then hide up there while you’re outside.”
“That might work,” Liam responded. “But for now, let’s keep quiet and pretend the solar flare is still active. The longer we wait, the better chance we have of surviving.”
“It’s early, and most people aren’t awake yet,” Rose said. “So, let’s hurry and get breakfast and bring it back here. If we keep out of sight, we might be able to buy ourselves more time.”
*****
Liam and Rose guided their partners along the darkened hallway until they emerged into the flickering illumination of the cafeteria. Most everyone in the large open area lay sleeping together in groups; only a few looked up to watch them through blurry eyes.
“Let’s get our food and leave before too many people notice us,” Rose said, leading them toward the buffet line.
They each grabbed a plate and moved along taking helpings of reconstituted eggs, tofu sausage, and bread. A young girl touched Liam’s arm just as they were about to make their escape. He didn’t recognize her immediately because her face had been washed and she was wearing clean clothes. “Oh! Hi Jackie,” he said.
The child smiled. “Thank you for rescuing me.”
He grinned. “It’s good to see you, and I’m sorry we didn’t find you sooner.”
She looked down and shuffled her feet uncertainly. “I know.” She sighed, then glanced up with tear-filled eyes. “My aunt and uncle are taking care of me now. I miss my Momma and Poppa, but there are a lot of other kids that have it worse; some are all alone.”
“Oh,” he replied, knowing what it felt like to be alone even when surrounded by others. “Once this mess is over with, you can come to me or my sister if you need anything at all.”
“But it is over with, isn’t it?” she asked. “I mean, the shaking has stopped at least.”
Fear tightened his chest. His simulations hadn’t predicted this. “Well, it may start up again soon.”
“Someone else thought it was over too, a lady that’s kinda old,” Jackie said. “She went somewhere to check.”
The girl probably saw Roxi going up to level ten to check the seismograph. Hopefully, the instrument wouldn’t be working. “Oh, well, that would be good news, wouldn’t it?”
“Did she leave just now?” Rose asked hopefully.
“Oh no, it’s been a kinda long time,” Jackie smiled, then glanced toward the nearest ramp. “Oh, look! Here she comes.”
Crap. “Well, we’re going to eat our breakfast. Maybe we’ll see you later.” Liam started to move away, then heard someone shout his name.
“Liam!” Commander Davis’s voice boomed through the hard expanse of the room. “It’s great luck that I found you. I see you have breakfast, you and Rose come sit with us. We need to talk.”
Could this get any worse? “Oh. Yeah. Ok, sure.” He turned to Keith and Denise. “We’ll catch up with you guys later.”
“No way,” Keith said. “We’re a part of this too.”
“Yes, fine,” the older man said. “Come along then, let’s all eat together like a big happy family.”
*****
“It’s too dangerous for them to go outside.” Roxi glared at the commander with her fists resting on her hips.
“They were built to do this sort of work,” Commander Davis countered, then looked at their group and smiled. “Please, sit down everyone.”
“No, they weren’t made to be used this way,” Roxi said through gritted teeth. “They’re people, just like anyone else.”
“They affect human features and mannerisms, but beneath all that, they’re just machines and are meant to be used as such.”
“If you’re going to speak of us that way, you should at least have the good manners to do it privately,” Rose said.
The commander stared at her for a long moment, then nodded grudgingly. “As you wish. Please, let’s sit down and talk.” He waved vaguely toward the open seats. We have a problem, and now that the solar storm has ended, we require your help.”
“You have no evidence that it’s over,” Liam countered as he sat down beside his sister. “The exterior sensors and camera feeds are burned out, and the earthquakes may have only stopped for now, they could start up again.”
“I will not argue with a machine,” Commander Davis countered in a hushed but angry voice. “You will do as I say.”
“I can’t believe you said that!” Denise said.
Roxi cleared her throat loudly. “Paul, you have all the subtlety of dynamite. I told you, they are thinking, feeling creatures just as we are, the only difference is that they’re made from different materials.”
“They are physically better able to handle the exterior repairs than are humans,” the older man replied.
“You want us to go outside and fix the vents, right?” Liam asked.
Roxi nodded. “Yes. Carbon dioxide levels within the shelter have risen alarmingly. Some people are already having trouble breathing and are feeling dizzy, so we’ve decided to move our population to the upper floors.”
“It’s getting dangerous then,” Rose replied thoughtfully, t
hen glanced at Liam. “We have to go.”
He sighed. “Yeah, we do.”
“We’ll go too,” Keith added.
Roxi leaned forward and whispered, “You can’t do that, you’ll never survive.”
“It’s just a cover,” Denise said. “Keith and I will hide in the upper floors while they’re doing the repairs, that way Liam and Rose won’t be singled out when they get back.”
“If people learn what we really are, there’ll be trouble,” Rose whispered.
“She’s right,” Liam said. “But there are asbestos blankets on level two that’ll disguise our abilities, and help us survive in the heat at the same time.”
Roxi nodded. “That’s a good plan, but I think we should wait a few days before sending you out.”
“Why?” The commander frowned. “The air’s getting worse all the time, something needs to be done right away.”
Roxi seemed lost in thought for a moment. “You believe they’re just useful machines, but if another flare comes while they’re outside, we’ll lose them. If that happens, we won’t be able to fix the ventilation system once the event really does end.”
The commander stared at his uneaten breakfast. “Ok, we’ll hold off for now, but what’s the minimum wait until we’re certain that the danger has passed?”
“Three days,” Roxi said. “The event may actually be over, but I just want to give it a little more time to be sure.”
*****
“Attention everyone.” The commander’s amplified voice echoed loudly off the granite walls and reverberated through the cafeteria. “We believe the worst of the calamity is behind us. The earthquakes have subsided and the firestorm appears to be easing, it may even be over.”
As the crowd cheered, Liam realized that he hadn’t seen anyone show genuine happiness in a long time.
“But even if the storm has ended, the danger of the aftermath remains,” their leader continued. “Our ventilation system refuses to function and carbon dioxide levels are reaching dangerous levels. The problem we face is twofold, first, we believe our exterior intake and exhaust vents are damaged, and second, our power generators are offline and our battery backup is nearly drained. It’s a dire situation, which if not remedied, could lead to catastrophe.”
“Why don’t we all just go outside?” an elderly man in the crowd asked. “We don’t want any of that science or technology crud. Let’s all just go back to our homes and farms.”
“It’s still too hot outside, and the air could be poisonous,” Commander Davis responded. “We’re certain some of that will change though, now that the fire is finally out, temperatures will start to drop. Maybe in a few weeks, or a couple of months at most, we can all go home.”
Approving murmurs rumbled through the crowd.
“You’ve got that wrong Commander,” Roxi said as she stepped forward. “All the forests have burned, and the smoke and soot will block the sun, we could be looking at a winter season that lasts for years.”
“Feckin’ science shite. I don’t believe a word of it!” the same elderly man shouted.
“Science doesn’t care what you believe,” she countered. “We need to face the fact that the world we knew is gone. Our homes and the places we loved have burned, there’s nothing left for any of us to go back to.”
“The hell you say!” The older man shoved his way through the crowd, obviously intent on confronting Roxi.
Liam started to step forward to protect his friend, but Rose gently held him back. “Wait,” she said. “Roxi will be fine.”
“Calm down Ed,” the commander said. “No one knows what the outside world is like. Either you or Doctor Beckman here might be right, we won’t know until our repair party goes out to fix the vents.”
“You’re sending people out there?” Ed responded. “If it’s as bad as that lady says it is, they’ll die, won’t they?”
“A group of four has volunteered to fix our ventilation system. These brave souls will venture out in three days. If the outside environment is toxic, we’ll bring them back inside and try again later. It’s dangerous work, but it has to be done, and sacrifices may have to be made.” Their leader slowly walked toward the crowd. “For now, I want everyone to pack up their belongings, and prepare to move to the upper floors of our shelter where the air quality is better.”
*****
The announcement was over, and Liam, Rose, Roxi, and Commander Davis quietly huddled together near the western ramps. “We should send a team to be sure the upper floors are structurally sound,” Roxi stated.
The commander frowned. “What can we do if they’re not?”
Roxi sighed. “You make a good point; they have to be intact, otherwise, we’re all dead.”
“I was up there two days ago,” Liam said. “Some of the apartment walls have collapsed, and there are cracks in the ceilings and floors but otherwise everything seems stable. We’ll have to do some cleanup; not just the rubble, but there’s probably some bodies that I missed.”
Commander Davis nodded soberly. “Where did you put the corpses?”
“They’re on level one, next to the inner vestibule door.”
“Good, you’ll stage any new discoveries in that same location, then take them with you when you repair the vents.” The older man cleared his throat. “For now, I’m sending you and your sister, along with a crew of maintenance workers up to clear levels four through seven. Prepare yourselves and be ready to move out in a half-hour.”
“I’ll take another maintenance crew down to levels fourteen and fifteen to see what it will take to get the power generators running again, and also check on the hydroponic gardens,” Roxi said. “Hopefully they weren’t damaged, because, without them, we’ll starve.”
*****
“We need to stop off at level ten,” Liam stated as they climbed the shadowy ramp while flickers of electric torch beams danced about them.
“What? Why?” Jerry, a maintenance worker, asked.
“Rose and I need to check the power grid. Once Roxi has the generators back up and running, we’ll need to recharge the backup batteries. If there’s any damage to the circuitry, the surge of electricity could start fires.”
“You know how to do that?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll also try to get the lights working on the upper floors; that’ll make our cleanup go a lot easier.”
“Huh, yeah, I guess it would,” Jerry replied. “I sure do wish we weren’t slaves to all them gizmos though, life’s a lot easier without ‘em.”
“That’s interesting,” Rose said. “The purpose of technology has always been to make life easier.”
“It sure didn’t work out that way, did it?” Jerry said. “Tech was supposed to bring everybody together and make the world smaller and better; that sounds innocent enough ‘til you figure out that folks will talk a lotta shite that they wouldn’t say to your face. People get pissed, fighting starts, and pretty soon we’re droppin’ bombs on each other. All that science crap was supposed to be so great, but it destroyed the world.”
“You may have a point,” Rose responded. “But the fault isn’t with science, it’s with people.”
“Maybe tech and normal folks just can’t get along,” Jerry said. “But also, I don’t think we’re meant to be livin’ so close together ‘cause we get on each other’s nerves. We need distance to stay polite.”
“You’re a wise man Jerry,” she replied.
“More of a wise-ass if you ask me,” another member of their group remarked, and everyone laughed.
*****
“You guys should take a torch,” Jerry suggested as Liam and Rose walked out into the darkened Engineering Center on level ten.
“We know the way, so we’re fine,” Liam answered. “And we’ll have the lights on in a few minutes.”
“If you say so,” Jerry responded, and the maintenance workers continued their ascent.
Their footsteps echoed as they walked across the gritty granite expanse. Several
tables had fallen over during the earthquakes and broken computer terminals littered the floor. The seismograph was still intact and running, and the readings indicated that the tremors had ceased.
He went to a utility closet at the far side of the room and studied the connections and meters. Everything seemed to be in place, although there was no power coming from the generators on the lower levels. The battery backup had a 20% charge remaining, which was enough to get them through three or four days, so he returned power to the upper floors.
The overhead lamps flashed on, flooding the rubble-strewn floor with glaring white light. The earthquake damage was less than he expected. Several apartment walls had crumbled, but the vast majority were intact. The cracks in the floor and ceiling also seemed less formidable; more than a meter of solid granite separated each level, and that expanse had held up well under the strain.
He returned to the science area and looked over his sister’s shoulder as she reconnected a fallen computer terminal and powered it up. “Any readings from outside?”
“Nothing,” she answered distractedly. “The video feeds are down, as we expected.” She quickly typed an inquiry, then stepped back and frowned. “The airflow between floors seems ok, but we’ve lost the external registers; there’s no intake or exhaust at the surface.”
“So, we’ll have to go out there,” he stated.
“Can we?”
“There’s no way to know until we try.” He shrugged. “For all we know, everything outside could be covered in molten lava, or with all the smoke from the fires blocking the sun, it might be snowing.”
“What should we do?”
“All we can. If we can’t open the outer vents, everyone will die.”
“Nothing like a little pressure,” Rose answered.
“Yeah, well, let’s look around and see if anyone was trapped on this level.”
*****
Of course, they found more bodies buried within the rubble. Not many thankfully, but the discovery of a young family was sadly disturbing. Liam carried the corpses of a man in his late twenties and a child of about three, while Rose took the young mother away from the horror of their last moments. They brought them to the ramps then gently conveyed the family to the highest floor in the shelter.