Science fiction story: Where my children grow (Part 3)
When he woke up, the clock said it was 2 am. He was perhaps more tired than he had realized. He decided he would take the soil samples on the next day. He climbed out of his room, and put on his mask. As there was no photosynthesis going on during the night, the oxygen levels inside the dome dropped.
Without the sunlight passing through the light catcher, the Dome felt eerily dark. Bluish specks of light scattered throughout the wall – distorted images of stars focused by the light catcher. He took a closer look at the saplings. Two large cotyledons had sprouted from each, and the plants bent down slightly in the absence of sun. After a brief walk through the greenhouse, he went back to his room and fell asleep.
His digipad said that there would be a ‘gathering’ the next day. That was something to look forward to.
#
The gathering took place once a month. It was an act of socialization for the farmers, and did them well after months of isolation. He woke up early the next day, prepared himself, and waited patiently by the entrance. The door opened, and a guard took him to the dining room. Although the farmers were given a modest ration every day, food during the gathering was looked forward to. Tables of buffets were lined up in the middle of the room. There was a small kitchenette for those who liked to cook. People were already helping themselves. He spotted George sitting among a bunch of unfamiliar faces. There was a woman talking to him.
He picked up some sausages and egg, a glass of orange juice, and took a seat at their table.
“Claud,” George said with a smile. “Long time. How’s the Missus?”
“Martha’s fine.” Claud said, nodding curtly to the others. The woman left the table to get more food.
“Where did they hook you up to, this time?” George asked.
“Sunflowers.”
“Lucky bastard. Four months to freedom. You know how long I’ve been stuck? Five months, with six more to go,” George huffed.
“They are paying you thrice as much.” A man from across the table said.
“They are trying to break me. That’s what they are trying to do,” George said. ”One bout of cabin fever, and I’m through. But they won’t get me, though. I’ve got just a year left.”
There was a murmur of agreement. They discussed about how many of the farmers could actually get to the retirement age. It turned out to be a handful of lucky ones. An open secret in the company was that more got fired than retired. But the benefit package was worth the fight.
The conversation shifted to the living conditions of most of the farmers. The city was getting more crowded every year, with no sign of population control. Most of them lived in shared flats. Less people, less consumers, less profit, someone commented. Everyone seemed to agree that large corporations were behind everything that was wrong in the world. Claud did not voice his opinion. Who knew when they were being listened to?
In the midst of the conversation, he told George about Bob’s illness, and if he could manage some tropical fruits, and George assured him that he would send some over.
They spent the rest of the afternoon playing billiards. When it was time to return, Claud remembered about the eBook reader. He was hesitant to ask, with George already helping him with the fruits. But when they were shaking before parting their ways, he blurted out,
“I need your eBook reader.”
George gave a visible shudder.
“What am I supposed to do, then?”
“I really need it, George. I forgot mine.”
“No doubt about that. But I can’t part with mine. I’ll be crazy by the end of the week,” George said. “Relax. It’s your first month. Put in a request for a reader. They’d clear it soon. The first month’s the easiest. You’ll get something by then. Play solitaire, write a journal.”
He left before Claud could say anything more.
Claud could not blame him. He had already been here for five months. The monotony would get to him faster than it would anyone else. In fact, he felt ashamed that he had asked for it in the first place.
In his last hour in the dining hall, he checked his emails. Bob’s fever was gone, which was a thing of relief. He arranged with the pharmacy to ship off some medicine to his family.
There was some more routine detox session before he could enter his dome again. He spent the remainder of his day collecting soil samples and testing their mineral content.
(To be continued)
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