The only time people were excused from work was due to injury. There was no allowance for time off due to illness because no one ever showed signs of being sick. Some reasoned that the series of inoculations they all received was responsible for this. Others said germs did not live underground, and yet others claimed that their food was enhanced with vitamins and minerals, which kept diseases in check. It was all a conspiracy to keep them working they joked.
They had their very own radio station. It was integrated into the computer system as well as broadcast through their internal communications terminals. They broadcasted three different programs featuring a variety of musical programming. There were TV monitors in the majority of workstations offering a limited in-house video stream. At several predetermined times of day, news was scheduled. This ranged from changes in work assignments, to educational opportunities, and even the occasional crime, mostly involving petty theft. If it was not taped, a news presenter would from time to time offer the latest weather report which was enough to lighten the mood no matter where they were, and what they were doing.
Keith stepped onto an elevator, slid his card through the magnetic reader, and selected the bottom floor. He rode in silence as he descended alone ten stories below his living quarters, watching the numbered floors count down as he went. When he reached bottom, the door opened and he stepped into the sweltering heat. He appreciated the air handling systems regulating the floors above. There were no computers here so it did not warrant similar regulation. The walls were solid rock, and the floor was compressed stone and dirt. Emergency lights could be seen down the individual corridors. Most of their equipment ran on compressed air, but the smell of natural gas was also present. He looked around to get his bearings, and headed toward an office located in the nearest tunnel.
“Hey Chief,” a stocky man in glasses said. “Is there something we can help you with?”
“I just wanted to take a look around, if it isn’t a bad time.”
“Sure. Give me a minute and I’ll take you myself. I need to get out of here for a while anyway,” he said indicating his office. After the engineer finished with what he was doing, he grabbed two helmets from a shelf along the wall, and handed one to Keith. Once he was ready, they left the office.
“This tunnel,” he said leading the way, “is being excavated for minerals. The men in their white coats upstairs put in requests all the time. We need several pounds of this; we need a hundred pounds of that, as if we just keep everything on a shelf down here made to order.”
Keith looked at the man and smiled. He was not speaking for entertainment purposes, but matter-of-factly. When they reached a junction, they turned to the left.
“This was one area where we discovered pockets of natural gas. We use a lot more caution here as we tap and capture as much as we can. It is piped throughout the complex. Even with geothermal energy, we can’t pass up the chance to tap into other resources. I think they are actually running a pipeline to the top, the top, top, for when we get outside.”
Keith was amazed at the size of the tunnels. It was a major operation. After what seemed like another mile of walking, they came into an open cavern. At the far end was a tubular shaped machine with half a dozen men surrounding it. They walked up.
“You gonna’ be runnin’ anytime soon,” he asked the man who appeared to be in charge.
“Just about to fire it up,” the man replied.
“Let’s stand over there and you can see this thing in action.”
“What’s it called,” Keith asked.
“It’s a TBM, tunnel boring machine.”
Keith nodded his head signaling his understanding. It was massive; at least thirty feet tall, he estimated. When the machine was starting up, the others walked to where they were standing. It was a sight to see for Keith, business as usual to the others. After a few minutes, his stocky escort indicated they should be on their way. When the noise diminished to the point that they could resume normal conversation, they continued on their tour. Keith was shown where they tapped into the aquifer providing them with water, and even how the geothermal power was generated.
When they returned to the office, Keith shook the man’s hand and thanked him for his time. It had been quite an educational and interesting experience. “No problem,” the man said, “we don’t get many visitors down here; in fact, hardly any at all.”
The next level he went to was the quartermaster or storage facility. It too was enormous in size. It looked like the same boring machine had gone through here at one time. These corridors however, were separated by steel link barriers with a door in each section. Pallet stacked upon pallet could be seen through the chain links. Few people were observable behind those transparent walls. He walked to the nearest one and examined the contents. There were canned goods, dried foods, lights, mechanical parts, and batteries; anything and everything imaginable. He saw more barriers beyond this one, and turned to see that the other corridors were all arranged the same way. Nobody noticed him as they all continued about their business and he returned to the elevator.
After he ascended a few floors he heard, “Hey Chief, you copy,” the faint scratchy voice announced from his radio.
“This is the chief. What do you have Cam?”
“Chief, your father said he wanted to meet with you. He is coming to your office. I said I hadn’t heard from you, and nobody answered at your quarters.”
“Yeah, I was in the lower levels. The radio doesn’t reach that far. In fact, I doubt it would work any further than where I am right now….I’ll be there in about ten minutes,” Keith finished.
“Got it Chief; ETA, ten minutes.”
He swiped his card and pressed the button for the third level. The number panel inside the elevator was the opposite of what was found in traditional elevators. They numbered from the top down because the only ones that changed were the ones below, which made the uppermost floor, the one his apartment was on, number one.
It had been a few months since he last saw his father. He decided it was best to keep his distance for now. He had not quite forgiven him and did not know if he even wanted to. Whatever he wanted with him was sure to be interesting. It always was.
When he reached his office, Cam indicated that his father was already there. He walked into his office and closed the door. His father was attired in a dark blue business suit, looking like he was fresh from the barbershop; clean-shaven and well-manicured. Keith took his seat behind the desk. “You’re looking well,” Keith said.
“You’re looking good yourself. And I’ve been hearing good things about you,” his father said.
Keith’s expression indicated he was interested in who was providing reports on him, and what exactly that meant, but no explanation followed. “What can I do for you Dad?”
“I’ve just come by to bring you up to date on a few things since I haven’t seen you for some time,” he stated in tone which Keith knew to be accusatory, but not pointedly so.
He continued, “We now have what you could call a board of directors: myself, Dr. Marrow, and Jim Forrest my former senior aide. There are a lot of preparations we need to consider, and not all of them are about what is going on inside.” He let that sink in for a moment.
“You’ve done a great job with your duties here but now we need to add another element to your mission. One of the lower tunnels is essentially unused. It will serve as your new training area. In your armory, there should be a number of paintball guns with all of the supplementary equipment. If you require any more or any additional materials, just let Brian know and he’ll take care of it for you.”