Beyond the Crystal City

by Logan Brookfield

  ‘Seventy-five per cent please, coolant levels and temperature holding,’ O’Connor said.

  The ship lurched, wanting to break free from its holding area. The sound of creaking bulkheads increased and the vibration was more noticeable.

  O’Connor wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. ‘Thank you, gentlemen, engines down to idle, five per cent, please.’

  Edmond walked over to him and shook his hand as the rest of the crew and those inside the engine compartment applauded. ‘Excellent work, Captain, please pass my thanks and best wishes to your entire crew. We will be leaving soon.’

  O’Connor opened a drawer and pulled out a bottle and two small glasses. ‘I think this calls for a tipple, if you’ll allow me to share one with you while I’m on duty.’

  ‘Excellent idea,’ Edmond said picking up a glass. ‘You and your men should celebrate and relax today. We have a great journey ahead of us and I think you all deserve a break. I want you and your men fired up and ready to go as soon as I give the word.’

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The years of planning were finally coming to a conclusion as the last day approached. Every resident of the Crystal City had rehearsed this day and prepared for it. Regular drills ensured that people were where they were supposed to be at the correct time. If thousands of people were to leave the city, it had to run like clockwork and nobody could be left behind. The task was made easier because many of the towers’ elite and those who provided security and were involved in the service industry had already left. Most of the supplies were now on board the Lasell and the city was slowly shutting down, bit by bit.

  Carl was amongst the workforce under Hugh who would be taken on a mid-morning shuttle. His movements were being watched more closely than most because of his connection to Amy and his valuable DNA sequence. All the boys in the same sector were told to report to the office in the early morning for further instructions and Carl and the rest of the team waited patiently at their desks.

  Hugh entered the room flanked by two Black Hats. ‘Morning, boys.’

  ‘Morning, Hugh,’ everyone replied in unison.

  ‘As you are aware, today is the day we leave the Crystal City and join our friends on the spaceship Lasell. I hope you are as excited as I am,’ he said wringing his hands. ‘This is truly the dawn of mankind and the start of something wonderful. The earth is dying and we must leave it for a time and return when it’s healed itself, as we well know. We’ve discussed this before and you are clear about your duties, but any questions?’ he said looking around the room. ‘Speak now or wait until you’re aboard the ship when we can relax a little, unwind and see what interesting work awaits us.’

  Carl raised a hand. ‘Forgive me, but do we just wait here?’

  Hugh smiled. ‘Thank you, Carl, for leading me on to the next bit. You boys return to your pods and retrieve the bag you packed as instructed. These gentlemen here will escort you there, then onto the shuttle bay. From there you’ll be taken to the Lasell and I’ll see you on board either later this evening or sometime in the morning after you’ve had some rest. That all clear?’

  Everyone nodded together and Hugh left the room.

  ‘OK, people, follow me and get your bags quick time. This place will be empty real soon and you don’t want to be left behind,’ one Black Hat said.

  Carl made sure he was the last one out and as they walked down the corridor towards the habitat area he looked around trying to think of a way to escape. As they walked past a recessed doorway he ducked out of sight and hit the door entry button, disappearing inside. He had to work fast because as soon as they noticed he was gone they would search the entire facility for him.

  He now found himself in a storage room. Racks and shelves filled the small space and he slid the bolt across the door to lock himself inside. Looking around he noticed that the ceiling had some kind of vent, probably for air conditioning, and he climbed his way up the racks until he could reach it. He balanced one foot on the top of a rack while he reached up and carefully removed the grill. Reaching up inside he was able to pull himself up into a small square shaft, too small to stand up in but big enough to squat inside and crawl about. He carefully placed the grill back in place and started to move along the metallic tunnel.

  He peered through another grill that was over the corridor and he saw one Black Hat running back down towards the offices. He stopped just near the grill where Carl was.

  ‘Hugh, we’ve lost Carl, he disappeared on the way to the pods,’ he said, talking into a radio on his shoulder.

  ‘How did that happen? Don’t put too much effort into looking for him. There are more important things at stake and we need to be on time,’ Hugh said, crackling over the radio.

  ‘I’ll have a quick look around but he could be anywhere by now,’ the Black Hat replied trying the door to the storeroom.

  Carl continued along the shaft peering through each grill along the way. He knew Edmond’s office was nearby and he needed to gain access and try to figure out where Amy was. After crawling for what seemed like forever, he came across a grill directly above Edmond’s desk. He carefully removed the covering and lay on his front so he could push his head through the gap and look around. The office was empty so he dropped down onto the desk.

  Carl was now alone in Edmond’s office and he looked around for any clue as to the whereabouts of Amy and details about the weapon. He pulled out the drawers of the desk and turned them upside down, emptying their contents, then pushed over the tall filing cabinets, which spilled their papers onto the floor. There was nothing but stationery and useless paperwork.

  He walked over to the computer terminal and tapped the space bar. It required a four-digit password for access. Carl looked closer at the numerical keypad and noticed that four of the number keys were a little shinier than the rest. The numbers had also slightly worn away meaning that they were used more than the others. Carl tapped in the numbers 7, 8, 9 and 4.

  The computer screen flashed with a message denying access.

  He then tried a different combination 8 9 4 7. But again, and for several more attempts after that the machine denied access. He stepped away and rubbed his chin. There could only be so many combinations of four fixed numbers. He tried again and punched into the keypad 4 7 8 9 and the system beeped, the screen unlocked and a welcome message appeared. Carl’s heart skipped a beat; he was in and needed to act quickly to gain as much information as he could. He was now presented with a very simple operating system. He’d played with some basic computer systems years ago and also had his recent experience to rely on. He’d built basic systems using circuit boards and old screens salvaged from the city dumps and powered by discarded vehicle batteries. But as time went on it became much harder to get the parts and even more difficult to obtain batteries.

  He navigated around the screen. There was a collection of folders in a logical order containing a ton of information about the city and its occupants, too much data to be digested and understood in such a short time. He opened a folder containing plans and schematics. The first document was a blueprint of the city. With a bird’s eye and side-on view it gave a very basic description of each city level. Opening up several more documents he noticed that the central part of the city was in fact designated as a military area. But no matter how hard he searched he couldn’t find any mention of the weapon that would be launched and hit the city today. As far as he knew there was nothing outside of the city perimeter but no launch sites within either. He zoomed in on the military area of the central part of the city and examined the levels in more detail.

  He looked at the diagram on level two, which had some kind of engine or machine with fuel cells, radioactive raw materials and a detonator attached to it. Carl realised there was no rocket to deliver the bomb; the city was the bomb. His mouth gaped open; he was frozen for a few moments at the realisation of what Edmond had built. According to the scribbled notes on the diagram, everything within a hundred miles would be vaporised.
If anything else was out there within the blast radius it wouldn’t survive. Beyond that everything else would suffer radioactive fallout, which would make most of the area a deadly place to be for many years to come and the resulting dust cloud would darken the rest of the planet bringing a fatal nuclear winter. Any trees and plants that were left would quickly die and any animals too would quickly succumb to radiation poisoning and the rapid drop in temperature.

  Carl found the medical level on the plans. If Amy and Pete were receiving treatment they most likely would be found there. It was also en route to the area where the bomb was kept and he had to try to make it there to see if he could do anything to stop the complete destruction of the city and everyone in it.

  The Cloud people were rapidly evacuating the city with their well-rehearsed plan. Shuttles were now taking off every few minutes taking the Crystal City inhabitants to the Lasell. The sky became full of vapour trails as the ships engaged their full power to break free of Earth’s gravity.

  Carl hit the button to open the door and quickly glanced left and right to check if all was clear. He walked as fast as he could to the stairwell and started to descend. The lifts would be too risky as they could stop on any floor and there would be no escape, but at least with the stairs he had the option of going back up if he encountered any Black Hats.

  Chapter Thirty

  Hydroponics was located within a vast, clear dome that sat on top of the ship, which allowed natural sunlight to reach the large and diverse collection of fruit and vegetables inside. It was an ever-changing environment where areas could be shaded to mimic darkness and give the plants a natural 24-hour cycle of day and night. There could never be enough provisions brought on board for such a journey, so a sustainable solution was found in the green of the growing areas. Every conceivable vegetable and fruit flourished in large banks of nutrient-rich solution. This wasn’t just a garden to admire, it was the life-sustaining food of humanity.

  Edmond and Captain O’Connor stood on a raised platform looking down onto the forest.

  ‘Quite a sight to see so much greenery in one place; it almost doesn’t look real,’ Edmond said.

  ‘It does take some getting used to, particularly if your eyes have only ever seen the clinical interior of the city,’ O’Connor replied.

  Edmond leaned against the rail. ‘It’s the cool fresh air and smell, it’s hard to describe, but it’s like being outside, walking on freshly mown grass with all the borders full of exotic flowers.’

  ‘I do know what you mean,’ O’Connor said. ‘A lifetime of breathing recirculated air, passing through filters, makes us forget just how nice the outside used to be. All before our time obviously, but it was a lush green planet full of life with huge oceans at one time.’

  Edmond removed his glasses. ‘I really do look forward to a time when I can walk in green fields and take a deep breath of fresh air. We’ve been surviving, not living. We’re not designed to be cooped up in glass structures; it’s made us frail and more prone to illness. Our lungs are becoming weak and feeble and everyone seems to have coughs and colds that seem to linger forever. The only things that keep us from being like the Wretches are our better diet and clean water supply.’

  O’Connor moved closer. ‘I’ll let you into a little secret. I used to spend my spare time in here, tucked up in that corner over there with a cup of tea and a good book. It’s the only place on the ship where I feel relaxed and can get some peace and quiet. The only sound you hear is the gentle hum of the water pumps and filtration units.’

  ‘Well, you might need a bigger pot of tea because I might join you,’ Edmond said rubbing his eyes. ‘Although I’d probably fall asleep the way I’m feeling today.’

  ‘Still not sleeping?’

  ‘Not really, how can I sleep when I have so much on my mind? Everyone on this ship is my responsibility.’

  The captain nodded. ‘I know, but if you don’t rest you’ll feel fatigued, and you can’t make good decisions while suffering from sleep deprivation. Once we get under way you need to loosen your grip a little, Edmond, if you don’t mind me saying. We have a slick operation here and a highly trained, handpicked crew. You can trust them to keep things running smoothly.’

  ‘Yes, I know you’re right.’ Edmond sighed. ‘I’ll take your comments on board and see if I can relax a little. There’ll be a lot of work to do when we return and we all need to be fit and rested for the rebuild phase. If the planet does repair itself as we expect, we can plant our seeds outside. We’ll be sending a scouting party down first to locate a good base and to plant crops before we decide to leave the safety of the ship. Once the crops are flourishing and a base camp has been established the plan is to leave the ship in stages. We don’t want to overwhelm our resources, but I’m telling you things you already know, Captain. You’ve been party to most of our forward planning meetings.’

  ‘It’s a good plan and I look forward to helping you instigate it,’ O’Connor said.

  Edmond adjusted his glasses and looked out onto the sea of green. ‘So how does this setup differ from the one we had back in the city? I mean, I know the basics, it gets more sun obviously for a start.’

  O’Connor pointed to the glass dome. ‘Well, like you say, we have this transparent dome structure which allows any natural sunlight to flood in. Once we leave orbit the sun’s light will diminish and eventually it’ll be too weak to make a difference, so we’ll use the artificial light which is very efficient. The new liquid formula full of plant food is very good too and produces stronger, hardier roots.’

  ‘Any major risk factors that we haven’t already covered?’ Edmond asked. ‘I’ve checked the risk register this morning and haven’t spotted anything.’

  ‘Not that I can think of,’ the captain said shaking his head. ‘You’ll notice that hydroponics is split into four areas. Although there are different species in each one, the same core items are in every quadrant, such as potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, apples, oranges and bananas. The main risk is disease and the main reason we split them up is to stop it spreading in the unlikely event of an outbreak. Even if one section is decimated, we lose twenty-five per cent of our food stores, not all of it.’

  ‘That makes a lot of sense. Some might call us spacemen or time travellers, but we’re actually farmers if you think about it,’ Edmond said smiling. ‘Throughout the ages the crop has been the hub of the community. When the people move the crop moves too. It’s essential for survival and we need to keep on top of it and make sure we cultivate endless quantities of quality food. How is our seed bank doing?’

  O’Connor pointed to a large metal door to the left. ‘Five hundred different varieties of seeds all cooled below zero. The seed chambers are so heavily insulated that in theory, if there was no power, it would take several months for them to thaw out.’

  ‘It’s a very impressive system, Captain. A testament to the work of the men and women who have sacrificed so much, and in some cases even their lives, to give mankind a second chance. Let’s also hope we come back to a protein source. It would be good if some of the animal population re-established itself.’

  ‘Do you think that’s likely within our time frames?’ the captain asked.

  ‘Difficult question,’ Edmond said shrugging his shoulders. ‘The longer we’re away the more chance there is of that happening. Mother Nature always finds a way, she just needs the right environment and a long time to make the magic happen … and how are you holding up, Captain, honestly?’

  O’Connor looked at the floor. ‘Much like you, I could do with more sleep and less worry. It’s been a very busy few months and I’m hoping that there will be more relaxation time on the journey. However, I’m not so worried about me; the crew could do with a break though. They’ve been working double shifts for a few weeks now and I can see that their stress levels are rising. They just need some rest, Edmond, like we all do.’

  ‘Of course. I totally understand,’ Edmond said nodding. ‘Once we reach our
intended velocity, we’ll ensure the crew get rotated and spend time recuperating. I appreciate everyone can’t continue to operate like they have been. Let’s not forget this ship does have a recreation level. Perhaps we should make it mandatory for everyone to visit it once in a while, as part of their physical and mental health assessments. How does that sound?’

  ‘Excellent idea and the crew will be very happy with that arrangement,’ O’Connor said.

  Edmond placed a hand on the captain’s shoulder. ‘Good, I’m glad to hear it. Now let’s take a few more deep breaths and enjoy the view of this Garden of Eden a little longer, before we get back to our duties.’

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Amy woke from her sleep and tried to focus her bleary eyes. She hadn’t left the bed or the room she was in for longer than she could remember, and all of her body ached and caused pain whenever she moved due to the lack of activity.

  ‘How are we today, Amy?’ the nurse said.

  ‘Go away.’

  ‘Well, that’s not very nice, is it, when we saved your life and helped you back to health. Today is a big day and we’re going to move you somewhere else.’

  Amy looked away. ‘You haven’t helped me at all, just kept me prisoner and separated me from my family and friends. Where are you taking me now?’

  The nurse wrapped the blood pressure monitor around Amy’s arm. ‘That sounds to me like a spoilt little ungrateful brat. You’d rather eat dirt and starve to death out there while breathing in poison, would you? Well, you just might get your wish if you don’t hush that sharp tongue of yours. You’re coming with us, to a new world and a new life and you’re just the kind of people we need, so please be grateful for once and understand your role in all this. You’re important but not so much so that we’ll let you jeopardise our plans.’

  ‘What’s the point in anything any more?’ Amy said. ‘We’re all dead sooner or later. You’re just killing the Wretches early for some sick reason.’