When The Lights Go Out — Part One
To Utopia and Back
A nearby star sparks a global extinction. To save humanity, the Sandia scientists create a Utopian refuge under Yucca Mountain. However, paradise can only last so long. As the Ice Age ends, the people emerge to a new paradigm.
The band around Charlene’s left wrist buzzed. She rolled over to her belly and tapped the device to silence it. The annoyance was to alert her that her hour at the beach had come to an end. She had no idea why the device was called a watch. It had many functions, but none of them watched anything.
Charlene chuckled. Well, it does watch the passage of time, she silently thought. However, she considered this to be the device’s least significant function. In any event, she had five more minutes to enjoy the sun. The citizens of Yucca City had several ways to acquire their required dose of vitamin D, but the beach simulator was the favorite of the population’s youth. Charlene spent an hour each day enjoying the simulated solar rays.
She sat up, gazed out to sea, and inhaled the warm salty air. The ocean waves lapped against the sand a short distance from her feet and extended out to the distant horizon. Like the sun above, she knew this scene was an illusion. While the sand and water were real, the waves were mechanically generated. The real water extended for only three meters or so, the remainder of the vision was holographically generated. Likewise, when she looked to the left and right, the vision of empty beach extending to the horizon was also a hologram. If she should walk to the left or right, she would pass through the invisible barrier into the adjacent chamber. However, it was considered socially inappropriate to invade someone else’s private time.
While she was aware of these facts, none of these thoughts entered her mind to interfere with her enjoyment of the beach.
Standing, she shook out the sand from her beach towel. Tucking a corner of the towel under her arm, she wrapped it around her torso. Turning away from the lapping waves, she walked along the path through the seagrass covered dunes to exit the chamber. While her eyes told her the path stretched on forever, after four paces she passed through the barrier into the changing room.
“Hello, Roger,” she said. She was not surprised to see a person waiting for their time in the beach chamber, but she was a bit startled to see him standing with his towel dangling from his hand and not wrapped around his waist. Her eyes focused on the rippling muscles of his bare abdomen.
Why are they called six-pack abs? she mentally questioned herself, but their appearance was pleasing. Her eyes glanced lower before focusing on his eyes. “Sorry, did I take too long?” she asked, but she knew she was a minute or two early exiting the chamber. Perhaps this was why he was not covered.
“No, you’re just fine,” Roger said. He smiled, and added, “Charley, maybe I’ll see you at the club tonight?” He made no move to cover himself.
She involuntarily glanced downward again. She thought about dancing cheek to cheek with him and smiled. “Yes, I think so.” She turned and tapped her watch to the latch, and the locker’s door sprang open. Via the mirror attached to the inside of the door, she noticed Roger was suspended half a step through the threshold. Half of his body was invisible and half was visible, but his eyes were still on her. She raised her arms and allowed the towel to drop to the floor. Roger paused for two more heartbeats to examine her backside. Charlene did think it was her best side. And then, he vanished.
She knew several couples who sunbathed together and she wondered what it would be like to lie on the beach with Roger. She wondered if her father would permit it.
Charlene showered and dressed. Collecting her things, she exited the facility and headed to her education assignment. At the University, she had not yet selected a specialized field of study; thus, she had assignments rotating through a variety of subjects. On this day, she was reporting to the Mechanical Engineering section.
With some time to kill, she strolled along the path. Here, she was treated to a winding walk through a lush valley with a rushing river and rolling mountains along the right side and the jagged Grand Teton Mountains along the left side. The sky was filled with puffy white clouds.
Arriving at the appointed doorway, she tapped her watch to the pad beside the door jam. Her arrival was automatically announced and the door opened.
“Come in, Miss Carlson.”
“Hello, Professor Jones, am I on time?” She knew she was two minutes early, but it was always polite to assume one was late.
“Yes, but we have a busy schedule.”
He handed her a pair of boots and a coverall, to wear over her regular clothes. She dressed. The boots were somewhat uncomfortable. Like most people, she was usually barefoot. The interior of Yucca Mountain was cozy and warm, and the citizen wore minimal clothing.
And then, he gave her a hardhat. “There is nothing actually dangerous here, but it is a required safety precaution.”
The coverall was white with orange reflective strips for maximum visibility in the dark tunnels. She belted the waist, considered how it highlighted her figure, and smiled. She thought the outfit looked dashing. She thought Mechanical Engineering might be just the profession for her. She had done a rotation through the Medical Service and had thought their scrub outfits were shapeless and boring.
Guiding her to an elevator, he continued, “Today we will be touring the bowels of our community. Most of the Mechanical Engineering functions are performed with the machinery in the lower tunnels. I hope you are not claustrophobic. The lower tunnels do not have holographic generators.”
“I’ll be fine, sir.” She knew, but never gave it a thought, that the scenes along the walkways in the upper city were all an illusion. Her apparent winding path through the mountain valley had actually been a walk through the crisscrossed tunnels. “I was in the tunnels during a power failure once.” She grimaced, remembering the dark, confining stone walls which were visible while the holographic generators were inoperable. “I’ll be fine,” she repeated, hoping she sounded confident.
THE END of Part One
Part Two, Life Under Yucca Mountain
Copyright ©2023 by S. M. Revolinski All Rights Reserved
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