by Benson, Tom
Cherry said, “If I can have Anne, another volunteer and a hover-board tomorrow we can deal with all the emergency exits in the portals.”
“You’ve got your volunteer,” Sandy said.
It was an exhausted but happy team that were ferried back to the facility on the hover-boards when the main job was done.
Bill had no regrets about Patsy Mayne aka Claire Fairfax’s fate or her decision to accept voluntary banishment. As he sat on the almost silent hover-board cruising back as one of the final passengers, he wondered how long the woman would last in the forest and mountains. Although he didn’t voice his opinion he felt that the woman they’d known as Patsy was a true survivor. Not only might she survive a hostile environment, she would probably feel comfortable.
17 - Mutual Support
Day Eight
Saturday 4th June
Jean Sands stood in the small enclosed balcony with tears rolling down her cheeks. She was fifty years old. Geography, history, and teaching those subjects had been her reason for living for so long. Now with her favourite topics in mind, her heart was broken.
Standing in the balcony with Jean were Ramona, Alan and Calvin.
Tracey came up through the trapdoor and lowered it to prevent anybody from leaving the platform vertically by accident. “Okay, guys, you’re safe to look around now. From here on a clear day like this you can usually see the Trossachs National Park to the east, or if you like, the left. To the south, or straight ahead, is the Argyll Forest. It has been increased to twice the size over the past thirty years. She turned to her right and paused.
Jean sobbed. “If you look to the west, or the right, you’ll see the North Atlantic Ocean.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes as Alan put a reassuring arm around her shoulders. The distressed woman reached up to hold Alan’s hand and continued, “The ocean is now only ten miles away, and five miles farther out under that ocean is the town of Oban.” She sobbed. “We’ve lost five miles of coast along the west of Scotland.”
Alan embraced Jean, who was sobbing, and he wiped his own eyes as he stared out at the massive stretch of wild water and the revised coastline. Between this location and the coast, there should still be two towns and several villages. The executive’s vision misted as he tried to imagine how it must have been for a few thousand people. They’d gone down into the perceived safety of their anti-nuclear bunkers.
Jean whispered, “Beyond Oban and the Scottish coast were many small islands, but worse still would be the fate of Ireland.” She wiped her eyes again as she stared out across the water. “Ireland has mountains, but they’re not as numerous or as high as the range that we’re on here.”
“Oh my god,” Tracey said, and she joined the others in grief.
Ramona embraced the firefighter, and they cried openly together, both having been in this small enclosed balcony before, but enjoying the view of land, towns and villages off in the distance. Now, there were mountains to the left, and forests, foothills and a loch to the front. To the right for as far as the eye could see was the Atlantic Ocean.
“We can’t let anybody else see this,” Calvin said under his breath.
“We must,” Jean whispered. “I screamed and cried on the coach when Paul was trying to save our lives. I panicked and thought how carelessly he was acting. I disagreed with Bill when he wanted to explore the old tunnel.”
The others stood in silence as one of their oldest companions rationalised their position.
“The British Isles are not mountainous … only certain areas will be like the one where we’ve taken refuge.” Jean turned to meet Calvin’s gaze.” Our entire country will be reduced to a few small islands.”
“Surely the east and maybe the south coasts will be safe,” Calvin said, remembering that most of his relatives were in London and the south of the country.
Jean shook her head. “What you see out there isn’t the result of a tsunami alone, Calvin. That is what happens when the polar icecaps are destroyed. Sea levels around Britain will have reclaimed territory many miles inland. Only small areas of the British Isles will have been safe.”
Calvin’s tears flowed silently as he tried to imagine what would happen when the great River Thames and smaller rivers around the country would burst their banks. Low-lying suburbs would succumb, just as Oban had done. Nobody would survive, irrespective of their safe haven. Tower blocks would become temporary islands of despair for all who had made it back to them.
“Jean, this is an awful thing to ask,” Tracey said. “Would you be able to stay—”
“Yes, I’ll stay until everybody has been up here, and we must make sure all of our fellow survivors see this. The young ones among you must learn from this, and pass it on. It’s our duty to those who have been lost out there.” She looked at each of their faces. “Whoever is capable should begin a new generation, but from this moment we must relearn gratitude and understanding.”
Five minutes later, the schoolteacher was standing alone in the tiny space built into the side of a huge mountain. She looked out across the remnants of southwest Scotland.
“We’ll do our best to start again, and all of you who perished will be our incentive to get it right.”
Over the next hour, Jean educated, supported, commiserated and cried several times. When she arrived back down into the main complex, she had a quiet word with Bill.
Day Nine
Sunday 5th June
Harry was standing alone drinking tea before the next scheduled meeting of the whole group.
Bill approached. “Harry, have you heard from any of your international friends?”
“Benji in Kenya has been silent since our agreement to leave things for a few days.”
“What about the others—there were three people you told me about?”
“Marianna contacted me earlier today. She’s in Bolivia, South America. Apparently there are twenty of them living in a forest community on the side of a mountain.”
“Well, at least she’s okay, and her radio is holding out for her.”
“It might not last long, Bill. The equipment is solar-powered so making contact will become hit and miss.”
“Where is the third person?”
“Melbourne, Australia, that’s where Jacob lived until recently. He got through and left a message with Marianne. He was leaving on a boat with other people to strike out for New Zealand.”
“Surely that journey would be more of a risk than staying in Eastern Australia?”
“It sounds like they didn’t have much choice. Two extremes were endangering Melbourne and the surrounding territory. They had massive flooding. Forest fires were closing in where there was no water. On top of all that they had no idea if they’d be affected by radiation clouds.”
“We really should consider ourselves fortunate, mate.”
“I agree, Bill, we should.” He looked around. “It looks like your audience is ready.” Harry sat down and Bill went forward to the front area to address the gathering.
“Good morning one and all,” Bill said. “Yesterday started well for us as we all anticipated the joy of looking at the view far and wide from the balcony.” He forced a brief smile. “I’m confident that every one of us shed tears after spending ten minutes of sobering education with Jean. She will be taking the floor shortly, and I believe that what she wants to suggest will be worthwhile.”
Bill half-turned and nodded to the teacher. He continued, “It’s now Day Nine of our new existence, and we’ve achieved a lot in that short time. Yesterday, we saw the accepted disappearance of a despicable murderer, and she is no longer our concern. We secured the far end of the old tunnel from anybody attempting to infiltrate our new community. To ensure we had peace of mind overnight and until they are dealt with, we closed and locked the internal doors of all maintenance portals.”
Bill paused and looked at the faces around the room. Every eye was on him.
“Shortly,” he continued, “we will have teams setting out to continue w
ith security. The emergency exit of every portal will be electrified, like the old tunnel entrance. In each case, we will insulate the interior area by stacking wooden sleepers vertically against any of the doors that we adapt. Des will set up CCTV at either end of the glass corridor. Those of you who are continuing with training know who you are. You know when and where you have to be after this briefing. And now, a word from Jean.”
The teacher stood and had no need to ask for silence. Her audience were attentive and quiet.
“Good morning, everybody.” Jean took a deep breath as her audience murmured their response and nodded. “Ten minutes of sobering education … and I believe that was a good description by Bill. I’m pretty certain that I wasn’t the only one feeling low yesterday, but I believe it was right that we should all grieve. It is a natural part of loss, and necessary to allow us to move on.”
Steph handed her friend a glass of water.
Jean sipped her drink. “I asked Bill if I might have a few minutes of your time, but not to lecture or bore you. I will hopefully be among you for the foreseeable future but I don’t count myself as part of the regeneration of our race. I’m fifty now, so I consider myself a witness to what has happened and what will evolve. My request to you all is a simple one, and it’s to do with the balcony.”
One woman in the audience sobbed and was supported quietly by those around her.
Jean said, “Go up to the balcony regularly, and whenever necessary. When you find yourselves angry with each other, or frustrated by some minor problem, think about the view from the balcony. Actually, go up there if it will help. I would like to suggest that every one of us is reminded to go. Perhaps we should do it once a week or once a month.” She looked around the faces. “We must appreciate that we’ve got another chance to get it right, and we owe it to all those we’ve lost. When you’re finding life hard, just remember that you’ve been given the opportunity to try again. Thank you.”
The room was filled with the sound of applause and cheering. The unassuming woman returned to her seat with her glass of water.
Bill stood again, turned and nodded his thanks to Jean before addressing the group. “Okay, everybody, let’s see what we can achieve today, and I think I’m in the kitchen.”
“You are, and you’ll shortly be late.” Ramona stood near the counter, smiling, with her hands on her hips.
The day was productive in many ways and areas of expertise were being listed ready for an ambitious and progressive training programme.
By evening, the CCTV cameras were established with unobstructed views at either end of the glass corridor. The appropriate cabling was routed to two redundant monitors in the Control Centre and tested. All the emergency doors in the portals which were the final exit point, were electrified. The suggested safety insulation of railway sleepers was erected on the inside. Nobody would be entering any part of the old tunnel from the outside.
An agreement was reached for those with expertise to be excused demanding work details for five days. During that time, while they worked individually to maintain their area of responsibility, they would have the freedom to set out simple programmes of instruction.
And, so it was, that Harry listed and labelled his herbs, flowers, and vegetables, producing information about the natural remedies or the nourishment provided by various greenery.
Victoria catalogued and mapped every tree, bush, flower and plant within the installation.
Ramona was happy to have Alex, the baker as her opposite number in the kitchen which made the general routine and tasks much easier. They were assisted by Archie and Jean, the two fifty-year-olds who were content to free up the professional caterers to prepare semi-formal instruction for their proposed trainees.
Des and Tracey worked together, sharing shifts and building a simple but practical troubleshooting guide so that those in training for the Control Centre would have something close to hand for reference before screaming for help.
Cherry had already taken Anne, the police officer and Paul, the coach driver under her wing to assist with electrical and wiring tasks. The first of which was to be the systematic renovation of lighting the maintenance portals by using the original fittings and making the interiors more like living quarters than caves with running water.
Bill and Calvin headed up teams on what was recognised as a monumental task, but one that would only be worked on for eight hours every day. The ambitious move was to lift every section of rail and every sleeper. The old tunnel was a considerable length. It sounded impossible at first, but like all jobs, once a system was in place and techniques were mastered, it became routine. Having a large team but not much in the way of tools meant that the people were not worked until exhaustion. The task was to continue at a steady pace, with rail sections and sleepers being stacked ready to be ferried where needed using a cargo hover-board.
Day Fifteen
Saturday 11th June
Harry addressed his first group of four. “I’m pretty sure none of you thought you’d ever be learning about traditional flower remedies. In many ways, as we’re now constantly reminded, we’re starting over.” He smiled. “Over the next few days, we’ll be looking at flowers. We’ll discuss growing, drying and storing flowers, and how to prepare and use flowers as remedies. There will be more, but before any of those topics, we’ll do a session on recognition.”
Craig said, “I know I’ll be the one expected to ask, but do the traditional flower and herb remedies actually work, yeah?”
“They do, Craig, and the main point to remember from the outset is, that they are not fast-acting. Some drinks are relatively quick to deal with a physical or even psychological condition. Most herbs, for example, require a regular dose to be effective. Natural remedies are not harmful as long as good hygiene is maintained, and we remember the adage about moderation in all things.”
Louise said, “I know you’ll probably cover this but are there specific flowers recommended for particular ailments?”
Harry nodded. “It’s not like going into a pharmacist’s store, but if it will help I’ll give you some examples to get you all focusing on the topic. Rose honey is a remedy for a sore throat. Chamomile helps to soothe sensitive skin, and of course, we can make tea. The juice from the Marigold relieves the pain of a bee sting, and since we have a couple of hives, it’s one worth remembering. A Violet infusion will help relieve headache, and Lavender can be used for dealing with rashes or minor burns. I’ve cultivated a large quantity of Lavender because it’s also useful to make mouthwash and to deal with bad breath.”
Fiona laughed. “As a dentist, I’ve been told about that one. Some of my clients were people who lived out in the wilderness and only came to me in desperation.”
“Talking of desperation,” Harry said. “I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that thanks to our climate here, we have a clove tree.”
“Right,” Fiona said. “I may not have a dental surgery, but I’ve got a natural analgesic.”
Harry and Fiona laughed, but nobody else did.
The brief introduction captured the interest of the small group, and the professor was at ease, slipping back into his easy instructional technique.
In the colossal chamber referred to as the orchard, Victoria took her group along the edge of the grass-covered indoor field. “Over the past few days, I’ve replanted a few varieties in here which weren’t surviving well in the glass corridor. You’ll see that they stand out where there is freshly turned earth around the base.”
“How many different fruits are growing in the facility?” Noreen said. “I can see we have plenty of trees and two massive lines of bushes.”
Victoria nodded. “Instead of thinking only in terms of this orchard where we have numerous fruits, keep in mind that we have different fruit trees in other parts of the installation. For example, in here we have apple trees, pear trees, cherry trees, a variety of berries, grapevines, and over there we have oranges and lemons. Elsewhere in the facility along the t
unnel road and in different warm chambers we have tropical tree varieties.”
Dawn said, “We have to admire the foresight of the guys who developed this place even after it had been in use for many years.”
“I think the turning point was the vegetarian movement,” Victoria said. “In the first half of this century, the dependance on meat consumption was reducing steadily. This place had already been serving a vegetarian selection for staff and visitors for some time. When they removed redundant equipment, it was a revolutionary move to create an indoor orchard, complete with the different types of vegetation.’
“How did they know it would work?” Dawn was genuinely interested.
“From the early days of its inception back in the 1960s, they realised by accident that tropical plants flourished due to the environment inside the mountain. The temperatures were ideal for working conditions. Over some time, a small selection of trees were introduced to brighten the place and make it more pleasant.”
Dawn said, “Did they carve out the spaces along the tunnel to put in the trees?”
“No, there were a few large spaces created by fractures when the tunnel was excavated. At one time the main road tunnel was a straight one-kilometre tunnel with shiny black walls and regularly-spaced lighting. When they saw the first trees survive, more were added and the more exotic, the better.”
“Hence the coconut, pineapple and banana?” Louise said.
“Yes.” Victoria indicated the far end of the chamber. “Down there we have greenhouses for things like tomatoes and a variety of green vegetables. The entire chamber is illuminated by artificial daylight lighting and regularly watered from the sprinkler system fitted along the roof between the lights.”
