Please, come in! Have a seat.
Thanks.
Tell me how can I help you - he said while closing the door.
Well, as you know I have asked to be transferred to “Colony 2”, I wanted to check how the paperwork is going? It has been more than 6 months.
Yes, of course. Let me check.
He watches the computer, clicks here and there till he finds my file. I can see in his face that my request has been denied, again. He now looks for the reasons that the Directors gave, he knows I will not give up, I will do whatever I can to leave “Colony 4”. I promised them I will catch up.
Well, how do I start? - he finally said
It has been denied, what is the reason now?
As you know, Dr. Andrea, things here are getting complicated. We are one of the biggest colonies and we are expanding even more. The mining crew is in constant danger and the Directors believe that it is too risky to lose such an important member of the medical unit.
I already know that and since the last time we talked I have trained other doctors to replace me. I feel confident that they can control whatever happens to this colony.
Yes, the Directors took that into consideration but at the end they found you too valuable for the colony.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, but as you know, my wife and daughter were transferred there and I was promised that I will catch them once the mining team had finished the first vault. That has been done for quite some time now and my request keeps getting denied. I need to meet with the Directors personally, you need to make that happen.
Yes, I have been asking them for a meeting, I have filed the paperwork but there still no answers. As you know there are more important concerns for them. I promise I will keep asking but I can’t force them to meet with you.
There is always something more important. I’m getting tired of waiting and I can promise you I will not wait forever, I will move there with or without their consent.
But doctor…
I don’t let him finish his sentence. I stand up, open the door and walk away. I know this is not his fault but I’m tired of getting empty promises.
It has been ninety five years since we were pushed underground by our planet. I was born here, I have never been outside but as a kid I used to hear stories, memories of those who survived, tales of happiness now long gone. We have adapted and developed technology that keeps us alive. We have found a way to survive outside of the colonies for a limited time and we have found resistant material to the acidic rain. Directors and scientists move constantly and thanks to that effort we have found ways to survive, we have found ways to slowly reverse the damage we have done outside and hopefully that will allow us to return to the surface again.
Inside each colony there are multiple teams working together to keep the colonies running. We have Directors, a group of five individuals chosen by the refugees to make sure the resources keep moving between communities. Below them, Scientists, trained and educated group that keeps researching and developing everything we use to survive. After them, Miners and Guardians keep our walls safe and in constant expansion. Below them is us, the Medical Unit. We are not trained for research we are trained to keep Miners and Guardians healthy and making sure new diseases don’t spread in the colony. Below us is the rest of the people, elderly, kids, mothers, anyone that is not fit to perform other duties.
My wife is part of the Scientific Unit, due to how important their work is they get an unlimited amount of resources, food, water and space. They enjoy them at the same level as the Directors. For the rest of us there are scheduled times to eat, controlled portions of food and a limited amount of water. We live in small underground chambers where we can fit one or two small beds. Clothing is sterilized constantly and provided to us daily. The entire community works together to keep the toxicity of the planet outside our walls.
Our daughter is being trained to be a scientist, we want her to belong to that group, to have everything she needs to grow and join the research team. If everything works as expected, her generation should be the first one to be able to get back outside. I hated the day that the Directors decided to move them away from me, they moved all the scientific unit from all the colonies to “Colony 2”, according to them it is the centric one and that allows it to be constantly restocked by the others. I talk to them every day, I hear their voice and I imagine their faces, I miss them so much.
After my talk with the Directors Assistant I get back to work. Our walls have become very safe, we have managed to increase our food production and maintain a good quality of life. As the head of the unit I’m responsible of identifying people that can become doctors, keep them trained, motivated and focused. As Doctors we get the chance to prescribe extra food or water to sick people, that keeps us busy most of the time. Identifying who is really sick and who isn’t makes us not very popular among the population but that is the way it works and we need to follow the rules.
Today's work is nothing out of the ordinary. Some injured miners, some people trying to get extra food or water portions. I don't want to be here today but it is my duty, I’m responsible of training these people and I need it to be able to move, if the Directors want someone to run this colony I will give them someone.
At the end of the day I get back to my room. I live alone. I used to share it with my family but not anymore, I don’t know if they haven’t assigned me anyone yet or if nobody wants to live with me but I’m happy with this arrangement, I have extra space and I can keep their space and my memories intact. Like everyday I prepare myself to talk with them. Our routine is one hour call starting at 9 o’clock. I change my doctor clothes, I use some of my water portion to wash my face and hands and sit in front of an old radio. It is one of those radios that you need to push a button to talk to a standing microphone. I have heard stories of how amazing it was before, when everyone had a cellphone, everyone could do video calls and see each other from great distances, I have seen those devices and wonder how it was possible for our previous generations to destroy the world when they had such amazing technology.
I sit in front of the radio, prepare the frequency and send an initial call just to check if they are already there.
<8:58> Hello! Anyone there? Can you hear me?
<8:58> [white noise] - They may be a bit late.
<9:05> Hello again! Are you there yet? I miss you!
<9:05> [white noise] - Probably she was busy or they got stuck on one of her classes.
<9:15> Are you there yet? Please answer me!
<9:15> [white noise] - I check the frequency and try again.
<9:15> Are you there? Please answer me!
<9:16> [white noise] - I need to stay calmed anything could have happened.
<9:45> Catherine? Juliet? Are you there? My love please answer me! I’m starting to worry.
<9:46> [white noise] - Passing in front of the radio.
This has never happened, this has been our routine for six months. Catherine would never miss the call without let me know first, she is like me, she likes the routine and she knows how important this call is for us, for Juliet, for our family. But maybe I can call the “C2” frequency and they can tell me where she is.
<9:55> Please, if anyone is hearing this, please answer me! My name is Dr. Andrea from “C4” and I’m looking for head scientist Catherine. Please answer me, is everything ok over there?
<9:56> [white noise] - Adjust frequence again!
<9:56> Please answer me! Are you there?
<9:57> [white noise] - This is not normal, the colony is not answering. I need to tell this to the Guardians. I open the door, take a last look at the radio and walk away, something is wrong, I know it, I can feel it. I start walking but this is important this is my family. Run! Andrea. Run!
<10:13> [white noise]...Andrea? sweetheart? we need help? we need…..[white noise]
