Singularity: Chapter 2:Cheslie (Part 1)

Chapter 2: Cheslie

Cheslie had been to New Washington to visit Elliot a handful of times before, but this time felt different. She looked out the window of her train cabin. The sea rushed by at 1500 Kilometers per hour. Cheslie didn’t like the train ride. The speed frightened her. She was used to the traditional tube lines that traveled regionally throughout Europe. Their speed was limited by the capacity of the train to stay on the rails, as well as by the drag effects on the train, plus, the trains didn’t have windows, so you could hardly tell they were moving at all. The Intercontinental Express between Inner London and New Washington was a new concept in tube travel. It was a major accomplishment of engineering. The train was nestled safely inside the evacuated plexi-crystal tube that kept the water from rushing in. It was the longest continuous vacuum sealed tube ever built. The ICBM, as it was commonly called, was propelled by an electromagnetic coil drive, allowing the train to forgo traditional rails and wheels, and simply had casters built in rings around the cars, a gyro compass kept the train upright as the massive magnets at the front pulled the train through the tube at speeds that blurred the little bit of scenery visible through the windows. It allowed the trip to be made in only a little more than 4 hours, a trip that used to take 12 hours when the train had to make stops at land masses along the way, stopping in Iceland, Greenland, and then down the coast of North America. Cheslie wondered about all that technology put into the system, seemingly all designed to make her sick and nervous. But she liked how fast she could get to New Washington to see Elliot.

In his last phone call with her, he had mentioned some big news that he wanted to tell her, but he wanted to tell her in person when she visited. She didn’t like waiting for things like this. She hated surprises, and didn’t like not knowing everything at all times. She couldn’t believe he actually made her wait two weeks to find out what was going on with him. She was trying to guess. Was it a job? Maybe he won a contest. It could be a girl. She was convinced of that last one. It must be that he’s met a girl, and he wants to introduce me. Cheslie had worn her best dress for the occasion. If she was going to meet her future sister-in-law, she had to look her best. She tried to picture what the girl was like. She’d surely be tall. Elliot always liked tall girls. She imagined she would be smart, brilliant really. She would surely have dark hair, and a warm smile. Suddenly, Cheslie was jealous of this girl. She knew that as time went on, Elliot would have less and less time for her. How could he forget about his sister?

The speaker above the door to her cabin interrupted her quiet anger, “We will be arriving in New Washington in approximately fifteen minutes. Please return to your seats and fasten your safety harnesses for deceleration.” Cheslie moved from the small writing desk in the corner to her seat, pulling down the rigid harness and latching the buckle to her seat between her legs. After a few minutes, a small alarm went off signifying that the deceleration was about to start. Cheslie felt the pressure on her shoulders as her body tried to keep moving against the train’s slowing progress. She could hear the click clack of the magnets switching on and off outside the vacuum tube pulling against the train’s progress. After eight minutes, the train had slowed to docking speed, and she could hear the cars in front of her detaching from the train, and entering the airlock before being unloaded into the docking bays. She did enjoy the docking process. Her car got lifted out of the half-tunnel where it had rested, and was carried across the terminal to dock C-3. When the crane had set the car down, and locked it down to prevent sideways rolling, she headed out onto the platform. She tried to hide her smile as all her resentment flooded away from her when she saw Elliot waiting for her on the platform. A box of candies in his hand, he opened his arms to hug her as she ran over to him.

“Hey Ches! How was the ride?” Elliot asked his sister.

“Terrifying as usual, Elliot. Do they really have to do that so fast? Why is everyone in such a hurry?”

“Because they are all excited to see their older brother, and find out the secret that he’s been hiding for months!” He couldn’t contain his excitement, and his voice showed it. Even with her head buried on his shoulder, Cheslie could hear Elliot smiling.

“You couldn’t even wait one minute to remind me, could you? And you thought you’d bribe me with candy to boot.” Cheslie slapped her brother on the chest teaslingly. She wanted him to see that she was upset, but she was still excited about his big announcement, and forced out a cursory smile. All she could think was that this girl that’s got his attention better be something special.

“They’re your favorites. Fruit squares and a few chocolates. I think one or two have hazelnuts! You dressed up for the occasion, happy to see your brother, huh? C’mon, I’ll get your bag. Sarah’s waiting outside the station for us.” Elliot picked up Cheslie’s bag and started walking towards the exit.

Cheslie was not one to miss a subtle hint, and she caught exactly what Elliot just said, and he tried to pass it off so nonchalantly. So, her name is Sarah. That’s an ok name. An old pre-Travesty name, like Elliot. Could he have been so careless as to not realize that he was giving away his surprise? Probably not, I’m sure that was supposed to be a hint. If he expects me to ask about her, I won’t satisfy him with that kind of reaction. I’ll just forget he even said it.

As they worked their way through the maze of tunnels and hallways that led to the different platforms of New Union Station, Cheslie couldn’t help but be impressed with the structure. It was built near the center of New Washington, just a few hundred meters from the Capitol, and only housed one story above ground. That is, above the surface of New Washington’s roads and walkways. The whole city was underground in reality. The rest of the station was built below the ground level of the city. Different train routes entered the station at different depths. The local trains were shallow, while the long distance trains were on the lower levels. The Intercontinental Express was the deepest, since it was added recently. The trip from the platform to the surface was long and disorienting, so Cheslie was somewhat confused when they suddenly emerged from the station into the grand cavern of New Washington.

Even though Cheslie had been to New Washington several times before, she was still in awe at the first view every time. They walked out through the massive columns of New Union Station and she saw the sunlight streaming through the massive gap in the dome overhead. The light seemed to flow like water throughout the cavern. The whole city was bathed in clean, white light. The Capitol dominated the view, with its majestic dome reflecting the sun’s rays in crisp whiteness. Beyond the Capitol, the cityscape stretched, each building unique in its details, some were glass monoliths, others stone or brick structures. The roads radiated out like rays of sunlight from the bright Capitol in the center. It was just about the closest thing to a beautiful vista that existed on Earth anymore. The natural light made the city much more pleasant than the artificial lights of Inner-London. Cheslie was too distracted by the view to notice the woman that came up to her with hand extended in greeting.

“Hi, I’m Sarah, you must be Cheslie. Elliot has told me a lot about you.”

The voice took Cheslie by surprise, and her reaction was less than gracious, “What? Who are… Oh, right, Sarah, Yeah, it’s nice to meet you too.” She looked at Sarah. She was thirty-something, with wavy dark hair, fierce blue eyes that Cheslie was sure could cut steel. Not unattractive, she was of average height, Cheslie could, if it weren’t such a terrifying experience, look her eye to eye. She was thin, but not in the way that you would expect of a person who takes care of her body, more in the manner of someone who frequently forgets to eat, no doubt for the same reason that she has no time to exercise. Her handshake was firm, with a hint of bitterness to it, in the manner of someone who has a serious chip on her shoulder, and resents the world for all the problems it causes. Cheslie was surprised by the woman. What a letdown, that is not what I expected. She’s definitely not right for him. I must prevent this from going too far.

Sarah was a little put back by the reaction from Cheslie. After what Elliot had told her, she was expecting a friendly, gracious young woman who could make conversation with anyone. The distracted teen she met was not as Elliot described. Sarah remembered how it felt to be seventeen. Sarah was raised in a lower-middle class household in Lower Chicago. She never had to worry about her next meal, but was no stranger to a hard day’s work. It took her several years of academia to rid her hands of the calluses of her youth. Her parents had split when she was eleven, and Sarah went to live with her mother and grandmother in a deeper part of the city. Her teen years were marked with awkwardness and a feeling that she didn’t belong to the world in which she lived. Her youth never slipped into criminal territory, but she was never far from that. She struggled with who she really was until she was asked to join a program for children of single parents at Harvard University. She discovered that academic pursuits provided an escape from the memories of the turmoil that marked her youth. It was this release that caused Sarah to spend the next ten years of her life learning everything she could. Her passion for academics translated perfectly into her career as a professor. She discovered a passion for life support systems and atmospheric and environmental manipulation theory. That passion led her to teach at NWU, which is where she had met Elliot.

She was sure Cheslie’s cold shoulder was just distraction, and was hoping that she and Cheslie would get a chance to talk privately later. She was sure that with all the time she and Elliot would be spending together in the future, a good relationship with Cheslie would be important for Elliot, and also would give her some personal peace of mind.

The trio began to walk to Elliot’s apartment. It was a long walk, but Cheslie always enjoyed the walk across the city, so they didn’t take the subway to get there. They walked down the steps of the station and found themselves in an area called Pratt Square, named after the city’s first mayor. It stood between the station and the Capitol, and today it was the home of a flea market. As they walked past the vendors that lined up across the square, they saw every variety of oddity, necessity, and a lot of things that didn’t make any sense at all. Some of the vendors stood in front of their stands, shoving their wares in Cheslie’s face as she passed. Others sat quietly reading or napping behind their tables. Vendors’ children ran between the tables with complete disregard for the sales going on, or the people walking through the square.

They walked past a table full of pieces of rusted metal that looked like tools. Thin rusted metal cylinders with one pointed end, and one blunt sat next to some kind of striking tool with a heavy metal head attached to a metal handle with a rubberized grip. Another tool had a plastic handle with a metal shaft and tip shaped like a plus sign. Several other tools on the table were hard to recognize, and all were rusted to the point of being fragile. A man behind the table was dressed head to toe in a slick black suit. Only a small section of the suit opened for his eyes. The skin around his eyes was redish black, and looked like a tomato charred under a broiler. The table had a large slate with a small piece of chalk next to a card that read I cannot hear or speak, please write questions on the slate. All tools were personally gathered from the surface, certified Pre-Travesty woodworking tools.

An old man jumped out in front of Cheslie. He looked at her through one eye, the other was shut tight, a scar running across it from his cheekbone to the center of his forehead. He wore a pair of tattered blue pants and a striped, button-down shirt, with only two buttons remaining. His hair was reduced to thin gray whisps that darted randomly across a scarred and filthy scalp. His wrinkled lips tightened into a toothless grin as he held up a large, empty glass bottle. “Would y’be needin’ air? Ten pounds pure Oxygen, only fifty dollars, git it befur it’s all gone. Er maybe y’need water? I’ve got twenty liters fer only ten bucks. Garunteed pure. Stock up now little lady.”

Elliot grabbed Cheslie and pulled her away from the peddler, dragging her along with him. “Let’s get out of this square, it creeps me out.”

They walked faster towards the Capitol. When they finally cleared the last of the tables, they were able to slow their pace, and Cheslie could start to take in the sights. She looked up at the dome as it glistened in the light from the opening in the cavern roof. Elliot lived about two kilometers South from the Capitol down the 165^th degree radial street. The route took them down South Avenue, through the government office complexes of the inner ring, then the business district, with large, multi-story buildings between 1^st Ring Road and 2^nd Ring Road. They turned on 2^nd R.R. and headed counter-clockwise one block to the start of 165^th Street. From there, it was another 3 rings of business district before they arrived at NWU. The University occupied six blocks of the city between 5^th R.R. and 7^th R.R. stretching from South Avenue to 135^th Boulevard. The university buildings were mostly between three and seven stories above the surface level. To refer to these as separate buildings is somewhat inaccurate, since the entire university complex occupied five stories below ground level that were linked together through hallways and tunnels, forming essentially one interconnected building with various sections protruding up above the ground. The Surface Studies building was in the southwest corner of the University, at the intersection of South Avenue and 7^th R.R. The above ground portion of the building was six stories above surface level, and filled one block of the city. Below ground, the building went an extra two stories down, seven in total, to allow for extra labs and equipment storage near the access tunnel that ran under the city to the surface studies platforms. Cheslie marveled at the building’s construction as she walked past. The exterior was mostly plexi-crystal, shaded verdant green at the base, and fading to a rich blue at the top, to symbolize the colors of the surface from before the Travesty. Sections of the building protruded from the sides, in cantilevered rooms, at seemingly random intervals. A sky bridge extended across 165^th Street from the Surface Studies building to the commons building on the other side.

Elliot’s apartment building was at the corner of 7^th R.R. and 165^th Street, diagonally across from the Surface Studies building. It was a five story building above ground, with two more below. It was built as a large stone square, with fifty small studio apartments. Elliot lived on the third floor, facing 165^th street, with a view across at the Surface Studies building. As they entered the apartment, Cheslie noticed, as always, how much better this apartment smelled than most homes throughout the world. Her home in Inner-London was a hole in the ground, with an exhaust shaft and fan to circulate air through. This apartment had windows that could be opened, and air circulated directly into the open air of the city outside. It was one of those things that most New Washington residents took for granted, but it was marvelous for her. She set her bags down next to the couch under the window that would be her bed for the next two weeks. She looked around the room. Elliot had a way of making this place feel much larger than it was.

“Well Cheslie, I’m sorry, but I have to run to a plant biology class, it’s my last one for the day. Maybe you and Sarah can run across to the commons and grab a cup of coffee and I’ll join you two in an hour. I’m off, I’m really glad you’re here, Ches, this is going to be a great visit!” Elliot grabbed his bag and ran out the door before Cheslie could protest.

Great, now I’m stuck. Cheslie thought to herself looking over at Sarah. I’m going to have to try to talk to Sarah, and pretend I don’t know what’s going on. Elliot never even introduced us properly. He seemed to be in a big hurry the whole time. His mind seemed pre-occupied. I just need to grow up. If this woman will be my brother’s girlfriend, or maybe even my sister-in-law, then I am going to have to learn to like her.

Headphones

This is totally not related to anything. I just had a sudden warm loving feeling towards my headphones, and I needed to communicate it. I love them so much. They are Philips SHE-9500 in-ear headphones. They come with 3 different sized rubber cones, so you can fit them to your ears. They kinda jam into your ear canal (I know, it sounds painful, it's not). But they completely seal off your ear, so all you can hear is your music. It works really well, I can't hear my phone ringing 2 feet away from my head, and I never notice when people come into my office either. The sound quality is very good. I imagine I could probably spend a lot more and get something even better.

I've always been impressed by the bass that they can produce. They have a bass port design, so there is an opening on the back side of the headphone, and that allows the bass to react more naturally, which it can't do when jammed into a tiny ear. The result is a great frequency response range, and minimal loss of volume in the low frequencies. Sure, it's nothing compared to listening on my system at home, where the bass has an entire room to fill, and the speaker cones can be measured in full inches, and the power measured in hundreds of watts. But it's great for my office.

That makes me think about how it's been a long time since I've had the chance to just sit down and focus on listening to music. I used to do it all the time, especially in college, when I had all the time in the world. Now I mostly listen to music as a background to doing something else. I listen while I work, while I write, while I clean or mow the lawn, etc... So I don't give the music my undivided attention. When you actually sit and listen to the music, you can catch a lot of details that you've never heard before, and come to appreciate the finer points of the music you listen to every day.

Singularity - Chapter 1: New Washington

Chapter 1: New Washington

Elliot tried to repress a smile as he ran into the flat he shared with his father Bruck and his little sister Cheslie. He ran up the stairs from the front door, and stormed into the kitchen where his dad and sister were chopping vegetables for dinner. He was a tall young man, with dusty brown hair, he was strong, but not muscular. His pants were an inch too short, and his shirt a size too big. He looked awkward, like a young deer fawn just getting used to his legs. This analogy would, of course, be lost on Elliot and his family, since none of them had ever seen an adult deer, much less a fawn. The deer had now been extinct for several hundred years, along with the other major land mammals other than humans.

“Happy birthday, Elliot!” Cheslie blurted. Cheslie was 14 years old, with the same hair as Elliot, only she wore it considerably longer. She was getting quite tall now, was very smart, and absolutely adored her older brother. “You’re 18! That’s exciting!”

Bruck put down his knife and walked over to Elliot, and shook his hand, “Welcome to the adult world, son.”

Elliot immediately gave his dad a hug, and then walked over to Cheslie to hug her too. He picked up a piece of radish and ate it, trying to show indifference towards it, as if it was the most ordinary radish he’d ever eaten. It was, in fact, a very ordinary radish. Red skin, white flesh, grows in the dirt, slightly bitter, very crunchy, in every way, a very ordinary radish. But for some reason, it was the best tasting radish Elliot had ever eaten. He couldn’t contain the excitement anymore. “Dad, Ches, I have a big announcement.” The family gathered around the counter. “I got accepted to New Washington University!” The smile that had been building up behind his teeth burst out with what seemed like an explosion.

“Yay! Congratulations Elliot!” Cheslie was immediately happy for her brother, but slowly her smile faded as she remembered the family’s trip to New Washington four years ago, and how long that took. She started thinking about the fact that Elliot would be far away, and she’d never spent more than a day or two without talking to her brother. Her eyes went to the floor as she wiggled her foot.

Elliot could see that she was upset and walked over to her. He put his arm around her shoulder, “Don’t worry sis, I’ll be home for holidays, and I’ll call you every week. Maybe you can come visit me sometime. With the new bullet rail service across the sea, it wouldn’t take you more than a couple of hours to make the trip.” He looked up at Bruck who was still smiling. “That is, if it’s ok with Dad.”

“Of course that’s ok, Cheslie’s almost 15 now, I think you’re ready for a trip by yourself. But we can figure that all out later. Elliot, this is your day. I’m so proud of you. Your mother would be proud too.” Bruck had pictured this day for years now, and it was harder than he imagined it. Elliot and Cheslie were all he had in the world, and the thought of Elliot heading out on his own was bittersweet to him. It wouldn’t be four years before Cheslie would be out on her own too. They would both get jobs, maybe move to a different city, and Bruck would be left alone in Inner-London. It was times like these that he missed Jenla. She was his soulmate, and they had such plans to spend their lives together, raise a family, and just be happy. But she was gone now, and he had two beautiful children, one of whom was about to head off to college, so he was determined to move on.

Elliot could tell his dad was sad, and knew it was about his mother. Times like these were hard for Bruck. Elliot couldn’t remember much about his mother, just her vague presence when he was very young. He remembered when Mom and Dad went to the hospital, and he was sent to the neighbor’s house. He remembered his dad coming home with Cheslie, and not Mom. He also remembered how sad everyone was. He remembered Dad holding Cheslie and just crying for hours. Over time, things became normal without Mom. The neighbors all talked about her as being a wonderful person. They all spoke of how generous she was, always helpful, always caring, and kind. He also knew that those were just the things people say about the dead. Nobody remembers the bad, only the good. He just remembered her being warm. Elliot always wondered why Bruck never remarried, but he just figured it was because of him and Cheslie. He hoped that once they were both out on their own, Dad might think about finding someone. He could hope at least.

“Well Ches, we should get back to making some dinner for Elliot. Son, go sit down, put your feet up and relax. We’ll let you know when dinner is ready.” Bruck gave Elliot a solid pat on the shoulder, and got back to his vegetables. Cheslie went to the sink and started washing something, but something was bothering her about her Dad.

“Dad, what’s wrong? “

“Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about your mom. She would have been really happy today.”

“What was mom like?”

“She was a lot like you, actually. She loved her family, worried a lot, and always knew when something was wrong. She was beautiful like you too, Cheslie. I’m proud of who you’ve become.” He paused, realizing that all the time he’d spent missing Jenla, he never realized how great his kids had turned out. “How are those berries coming along? Almost ready to make the pie?”

“Yes, Dad, be right there with them.”

* * * * * *

Elliot was in the living room, relaxing, and daydreaming about his future. Elliot had learned about the original Washington DC, and it’s place in history in one of his school classes. Before the Travesty it was once the seat of government for a very powerful country called “The United States of America.” The US, as the country was commonly called, was the most powerful nation in the world shortly before the Great Nuclear War. They had become too proud of their power, and had resisted the admission that Europe was becoming more powerful than they were. Although Europe and the US were never officially at war with each other, it was this tension that had caused the Great Nuclear War.

After the Oil Wars, the great powers of Europe and North America had learned that it was too costly for them to actually fight wars themselves. They decided that the best way to fight wars was to get other smaller countries under their influence, and induce them into fighting the wars for them. It was very effective. The great powers didn’t lose as many lives, but the battles were still fought by proxy, and the desired results achieved. Of course, everything changed when robotic warfare became the standard. At that point, without soldiers fighting the battles, it became easier for attacks on the heavily fortified nations to be carried out. Great tunneling robots or airborne robots were used to execute pinpoint attacks within territories never thought possible. Once this began, the chain reaction was rapid, and the world began its slide into the state it was in that day, as Elliot sat on his couch.

After the end of the wars, and the environmental disasters, collectively called The Travesty, life had become impossible on the surface. Most cities began to build downward. The basements of buildings became entries into the massive tunnel systems that started growing beneath the once great cities, being overrun by heat. Over time, as more and more people retreated to the underground, new tunnels were built. On average, most cities achieved a depth between 2,000 and 5,000 meters below the surface. In some places, those depths got close to 8,000 meters. The balance was to find the spot where the temperature of the earth surrounding the city was neither to cold nor too hot. Care had to be taken to avoid major aquifers or lava flows, or potential lava flows. However, proximity to aquifers was an obvious advantage. Most cities became somewhat complicated systems of tunnels running at odd angles and varying depths.

It was very easy to get lost in a city like Inner-London. The problem was with depth. Elliot’s house was at approximately 2,800 feet below the surface. There were at least 2 layers of city above his house, and more than 10 below. So a person could be heading the right direction, but be a thousand feet too deep. The tunnels wove back and forth, crossing occasionally, or occasionally ending abruptly, sometimes at an Elevator or ladder, sometimes not. Great efforts were made to map the cities, but it was well known that there were corners of the city that very few people knew of, except the packs of miscreants who spent their time there. Elliot remembered a poet who had written about the city of Chicago.

Windy City, where have you gone?

Gone to the depths below the earth.

Gone are the winds, gone are the lakes

Gone with Lower Chicago’s birth.

Grab your children, grab a shovel

Like ants, we’ll tunnel with food to store

Windy City, what have you become?

An earthen anthill, nothing more

Elliot was all too familiar with ants, and other tunneling insects. Of all the creatures of the earth, the tunneling insects were the ones who survived best. At times, it seemed as if Inner London were overrun with ants. Some tunnels and homes were coated with materials to try to prevent the ants from getting in, but they were resourceful, and got in. Elliot thought that the poet got it exactly right, although he had never been to Lower Chicago, he knew exactly what it felt like to live in an anthill. It was stifling for him. He had spent his entire life underground. 18 years, and he had never seen the surface. The truth was, not many people went to the surface. The surface was a dismal place. Nearly devoid of life due to the extreme heat, and the sun’s rays were so powerful that they could burn you almost instantly. The only people who ever went to the surface were the power engineers, going to repair or replace solar arrays. About the only good thing coming from the thinning atmosphere was a great source of solar power, and the surface above cities was blanketed with solar arrays. The power engineers would put on their protective suits, stuffed with frozen gels and cooling devices, and even still could only spend an hour or two on the surface at a time. Elliot’s only experience with the surface was when he would look up through some of the air shafts, and catch sight of a speck of light at the top. And he could watch videos coming in from the cameras mounted on the surface. The cameras themselves were remarkable, able to withstand the extreme weather of the surface. The boiling heat, the torrential, hot rains, which were more than a little acidic, and the fierce winds would be enough to rip normal equipment apart. But these cameras had to be built tough. Their job was to monitor the solar arrays, watch for debris, or other potentially dangerous situations.

Elliot had always felt like mankind was out of place living underground. He read books from before the Travesty, all stories about life on the surface. They took it all for granted. He read about characters running from the rain to find shelter. People complained about the heat of the sun, or worse yet, about the cold of a season called winter. In the northern and southern parts of the globe, ice occurred naturally. Elliot thought they would have seen this all so much differently if they had lived the life he has. Some people were ok with living underground, but Elliot hated it. It was his curiosity that made him wonder what it would be like to breathe clean, fresh air that naturally came from plants, not the stagnant, recirculated air in the cities. Elliot dreamed about running through the fields he had seen in photographs, and read about in books. He would watch the video feeds from the sky cameras and deep space telescopes, wondering whether there was a better place out there for people than this wretched ant-hill called Earth. Inside, he often hated mankind. He hated that they had a perfect planet, capable of sustaining the race for eternity, but unable to control their warlike urges and selfishness for the sake of humanity. It wasn’t until humans saw their own destructive abilities that they finally got together to try to solve the problems, and by then it was too late.

He had these types of thoughts from time to time, and inevitably, it would lead him back the same types of thoughts. He would think about life, death, history, and always would wonder whether there really was anything outside of the Earth, and whether he was just dreaming. He thought about what old Rand Stillson, who lives down the tunnel says about a supreme being out there that controls everything. He wondered whether Rand was right about that, but had doubts. Why would a god allow people to destroy the planet he gave them? Not many people thought like Rand did anymore. It used to be pretty common that people had religions, but since the Travesty, people had sort of moved away from that in the focus for survival. Maybe it was the easy life the surface provided that made that so common Elliot thought. But he decided that sometime, he would have to go talk to Rand about it. He thought he was a sort of eccentric, but maybe hearing the man’s stories would give him a little hope for a brighter future.

All these thoughts brought Elliot back to thinking about New Washington. New Washington was half a world away, and a much bigger city. He remembered the family’s trip there a few years ago. Unlike Inner-London, which was built quickly, in pieces due to increasing need for space, New Washington was built as a fully planned city. The streets were laid out in a pattern of concentric circles, centered around a grand structure called The Capitol. Every fifteen degrees around the circle, a road radiates out away from the center towards the edges of the city. Since the original Washington was built near the ocean, at a relatively low elevation, the new city had to be built further inland. The final site was chosen west of the original city in a high-elevation area known as the Appalachian Mountains. The city began as a massive excavation of a huge cavern. The cavern was round, six kilometers in diameter. The roof of the cavern was built as a massive dome, which was reinforced such that it was self supporting other than a circle of support pillars about one kilometer from the center. From those pillars, the dome opened to a shaft that ran upwards in a slow curve to the south. By the time the shaft emerged at the surface, it was horizontal, and opened in a half-kilometer wide opening in the side of a massive south-facing cliff. That tunnel was lined entirely by highly reflective surfaces, which allowed sunlight that shone into the tunnel to travel all the way down into the city. The light shone through the gap in the dome, onto The Capitol and out through the cavern. It was one of the few cities in the world that could function without 24 hour electric lights.

The city was also one of the few places with open spaces. Most cities, like Inner-London, were simply a series of tunnels, connecting caverns that were converted into buildings. Although there were advantages to the tunnel/cavern construction method, there was nothing quite as remarkable as an open area six kilometers across. Of course, this meant that the city of New Washington filled very fast. Eventually, the main cavern had become full of buildings, and could not support any additional construction. The radial roads had been extended, and the traditional tunnel/cavern construction was used for the extension.

The university at New Washington was widely seen as one of the best universities in the world. Some of the pre-Travesty universities had survived underground, and Oxford, Harvard, and MIT had all remained good universities, but New Washington University was the best. Because it was located in New Washington, they could draw the best minds from around the world. It’s location inside a mountain made it a center for geological studies, and surface science. Tunnels extended outward from New Washington to the surface. The situation of the city meant that the tunnels could extend horizontally, and emerge on the surface near the base of the mountain. This meant that equipment could be transported easily between the city and the surface. Tracks were built with platforms at the emergence of the tunnel. Trains would leave the university and arrive at the platforms several minutes later. The trains could carry students, equipment, and other cargo to the surface for research, and the students could stay protected inside the train while the analysis was done.

It was the surface science that drew Elliot to NWU, specifically atmospheric studies. Since his first Pre-Travesty History class in 3^rd grade, Elliot had been fascinated by the study of planetary atmosphere. He wanted to learn how atmospheres formed, how they deteriorated, and how they could be balanced. He knew there was a balance in the Earth’s atmosphere once, and he hoped there could be once again, under the right conditions. But he had to learn the fundamentals before he could move beyond that. He had to learn how Ozone and CO2 worked together to form the outer layer of the atmosphere that keeps everything inside protected. How light filtered through a thick atmosphere produced the right conditions for plant growth, and safe conditions for human exposure. He wondered how they could ever replace those elements. His thoughts were interrupted by a news bulletin on the radio.

…until next month. Meanwhile, in New Washington, the North American Region Government has announced that they will be starting a space travel program early next year. The program will be the first of its kind post-Travesty. NAR President Zeke Rennet made the announcement from the steps of The Capitol in New Washington. “The purpose of the NAR space program will be to again stretch the limits of mankind, to venture beyond the scarred atmosphere of the planet. Humans once regularly travelled to space for research, communication, even pleasure. If we, as a race, give up our curiosity, we give up that one thing that most makes us human.” No human has travelled to space since the last Mars mission, in the 3^rd year after the start of The Travesty. The NAR is calling the program Artemis, casting the program as in the spirit of the Apollo program from early space exploration times, which landed the first man on the Moon. The initial task of Artemis will be to launch 3 probe satellites. The first will orbit Earth, to determine the condition of any remaining orbital stations, the second will land on the Moon, to determine the status of the Armstrong Moon Base, named after Neil A. Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon. The Final probe’s status is currently classified for security, but speculation is that it may be sent outside the solar system toward neighboring star systems.

“Elliot! Dinner is ready.” Cheslie shouted from the kitchen.

Elliot’s daydreaming would have to wait. For now, it was dinner time, and of all the dinners throughout the year, it was his birthday dinner he looked forward to. He was not disappointed. As he walked into the kitchen, the table was covered in his favorite things. There was a large bowl of asparagus right in front of his plate. Across the table was a dish of beet and radish cole slaw. He saw a large dish of nut and bean loaf, which he was sure would be seasoned with fresh basil and rosemary. There was a golden loaf of cornbread in the center of the table next to a dish of brown rice with peppers and tomatoes. It was the perfect spread. He remembered from his history classes that at one time, people ate animals on special occasions. Birds, pigs, cows, sheep, and other animals were cooked and eaten. Since The Travesty, the idea of eating animals seemed silly. People had learned to supplement their protein needs with beans, and other vegetables. On rare occasions, people ate nuts. Nuts were rare because of the difficulty in growing them. Peanuts were common, but since trees did not grow on the surface, tree nuts were grown at tremendous cost in massive greenhouses near the surface. Luckily for Elliot, today was just such a special occasion.

“Thank you both so much for this meal! It’s absolutely perfect.” Elliot mumbled through a full mouth.

“You’re welcome, Elliot. We do it because we love you.” Bruck said through a wide grin.

“Just wait until you see dessert!” Cheslie said with visible excitement.

“Elliot, there are a few things I would really like to get done before you head to New Washington. We need to clean the water pump again, pressure is getting so low lately. I’m not sure it will do much good though, I think the city is putting too much of a strain on the aquifer with all the growth. I’d also like to replace the old com screen in the living room. If you’re going to be across the world, I want to be able to see your face well when you call home.”

“Sure thing, Dad…Dad, what do you think the future has in store for the planet? Water shortages seem to be more and more common around the world. I have heard that some cities are starting to collapse in Southern Europe. It’s getting hotter under the surface, and the atmosphere seems to be getting thinner every day. Today, I heard that the NAR is starting up a space program, that doesn’t make much sense. I’m worried about the planet, Dad.”

“I’m worried too, Elliot. I don’t have an answer though. I’ve spent my whole life as a rail mechanic. I fix trains, engines, rails, and things like that. I don’t know the first thing about fixing a planet. You are a brilliant young man, and I believe that if anyone can fix it, you can.”

“I hope so, dad.” Elliot finished his dinner, and thoroughly enjoyed the strawberry rhubarb pie Cheslie had made for him. That night, he couldn’t sleep. All he could think of was the Artemis program going on in NAR. He wondered if he would be able to see any of the facilities in New Washington. He was excited about college, but nervous about the future, and what part he would play in that future.