C James - Dome Six

Some time passed, and he fell into a half-sleep that played tricks on his eyes. He saw stars and twinkling lights. Shadowy purple figures lumbered across the filling room. Geometric patterns shifted and flexed like muscles. He leaned into it. And why not? He’d earned some respite.

Maybe this is what a yellow Macro is like.

And then the visions froze, for there was something else to occupy his mind. A sound, distant but sure. A low rumble that made the very ground shake beneath his numb ass. The more his awareness returned, the louder and closer it seemed. And as his awareness returned, a smile crept across his face.

His train was arriving.

The alarm in the FPC was so muffled by the doors that only Dee heard it at first. They’d been hiding nearby for hours waiting for something to happen and it caught them all a bit by surprise. At nearly 3:30 a.m., the first of the workers emerged, not in any particular hurry. Soon, they streamed out by the hundreds and clustered around their assigned muster points in the Agora.

They waited behind the rise of the FPC entrance until it seemed the last person had left, during which Tosh fretted about whether Elle would actually keep her word or board the train with Downing.

But after a few minutes she appeared at the door and motioned them inside. Upon seeing Hideki, she went as pale as if she’d seen an actual ghost.

“How…?” she muttered.

“Surprised to see me?” Dek said, brushing past her.

Elle was utterly speechless. Her eyes roamed over the others as though to confirm they all saw him, too. As delicious as it was to see the look on her face, Tosh knew she wouldn’t be able to focus until she knew why Dek was standing there.

“Dek figured out how the Box works,” Tosh explained. “It blocks a signal that keeps the Macros inside us from killing us.”

“Macros?” Elle stammered. “What Macros?”

“The ones Cytocorp hides in the drinking water,” Hideki said. “Thousands of the little fuckers.”

“I don’t understand,” said Elle.

Tosh put her hand on Elle’s shoulder. “All you need to understand is that we replicated the signal. We’ll be safe as long as we stick close to Dek.”

Dek withdrew the device from his shirt and dangled it in front of Elle’s face.

“We’d better hurry,” Tosh reminded her. “For all we know, Downing’s already on the train.”

“Small problem on that front,” Elle said, which got everyone’s attention. “There were no suits. Either Luther got to them or they were never there to begin with. I took what other supplies I could.”

Tosh looked anxiously back at Byron and the others. “So, what are we supposed to do?”

“I’ll be the first to venture out,” Elle said. “If it’s safe, I’ll come back. If I don’t, you’ll know it wasn’t.”

“Why you?”

“Everything that happened, happened on my watch,” Elle said. “I should go.”

“Screw that,” Tosh said. “You’re not going out there alone.”

“It’s too risky.”

“We accepted the risks,” Tosh said, and everyone nodded in agreement. “We’re in this all the way.”

Staying meant safety, shelter, food, and water for as long as the Dome’s systems lasted. That could be a year, or it could be 50. But it wasn’t that simple. To stay was to write off the truth when you’d been spoon-fed lies your whole life.

Elle checked everyone’s faces for confirmation and shrugged. “Okay then. At least I have these…”

Elle rummaged through her pack and removed a small bundle. She undid it and started handing out elastic straps with small boxes attached. “These are headlamps.” She demonstrated the surprisingly bright beams then handed them out to everyone. “Everyone brought rations?”

The Originals were allowed to bring in as much pre-approved belongings as would fit in a small, Cytocorp-issued backpack. Pretty much everyone still had them, though they were of little use in the Dome. Earlier that day, they cashed in whatever Ration Rewards they had for whole fruits and veggies, filled their bottles, and stowed everything in their packs. In addition, Byron brought a small tool kit.

It didn’t amount to much.

“Let’s get moving,” Elle said.

They followed her down the long, elevated catwalk that clung to the curved wall of the FPC. Only she and Hideki had ever ventured so deep into the facility, though all the processing bays under the Towers looked the same. Eventually they passed Bay 5 and there it was, a behemoth of a machine that rose nearly to the ceiling.

“Whoa,” Owen said. “I knew it was big, but jeez.”

“How does something so shitty come out of something that fancy?” Aaron mused.

They descended the steps to the floor and took in the processor. Dark streaks radiated out from the vents along the spine of the roof from sucking in a century’s worth of dust, smoke, and CO 2. After a lifetime in the Dome, the opportunity to take a lungful or two of un-recycled air was motivation enough for Tosh, even if it clogged her lungs with dust.

By the time they made their way around the conveyors to the processor, they could plainly see where Downing had removed one of the panels bolted to the side. But there was no opening of any kind. Elle put her hand to the steel and felt around, then waved her arm around as though it might be activated by her CHIT. Nothing happened.

“Is this right?” Tosh asked.

“I don’t know,” replied Elle.

Byron reached between them and felt around the edges. His fingers stopped along the top. “I might have something here.”

They heard a click and the heavy door slowly retracted into the floor.

“All right, Byron!” Owen said.

They all took a couple cautious steps back. Beyond it was a landing at the top of a stairway and the faint outline of pipes. Elle drew her neurogun and ventured just inside. Automatic lights activated, bathing her in peach-colored light. She peered around the corner and looked down but seemed satisfied that it was empty.

“I think it’s okay,” she said.

“I don’t know how far the Macro signal reaches,” Hideki said. “We should stay close.”

Tosh was the first to fall in behind her. The stairs clung to the near wall and descended further than she could see. Everything around it was a dense cluster of machinery, mostly pipes. Elle started down the steps and Tosh turned back to the others as though to indicate this was their last chance to change their minds. Starting with Owen, they fell in behind her and Elle with Hideki in the middle.

It was hard to keep her eyes on the steps, so surreal was the sight of the hidden facility where her parents disappeared.

“What is this place?” Tosh asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Elle said as she paused on the steps.

Eventually the stairs ended at the lowest level, and across the way was a stout metal door, open just a crack. The others piled up behind her and Elle as they both stared.

“Is that…?” began Owen.

Suddenly there came a heavy thunk from beyond the door as though something had engaged.

“The train,” Elle said, rushing forward to door. She pushed it open, and some of the orange light spilled out into the darkness. At the very end of its reach they saw the back of a departing train disappear into a black tunnel.

“Shit,” Tosh said. “We’re too late!”

The others peered anxiously out while Hideki pushed past them. “Like hell. Run!” he cried and took off after it.

“Dek, stop!” Tosh shouted. “The signal!”

Hideki abruptly stopped and turned back to them, mortified, while they caught up. Tosh reached up and flicked on his headlamp.