Anna entered the password and a voice registered who she was by saying ‘welcome back Anna Santos.’ As the door slid open, it revealed another corridor. This time it was made of steel walls. It looked like an underground scientific research centre.
‘Is this what you expected?’ Anna paused to face him.
He shook his head and laughed. ‘I don’t know what I expected to find in a dormant volcano in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest, but it certainly wasn’t this.’
‘I hope I can surprise you some more.’ She gave a simple half-smile and carried on.
The adventure continued.
Chapter 27
Community
When Steven and Anna turned around the corner they were face-to-face with another barrier. This time it was a lift, with another password protected keypad. Anna entered a number swiftly and the doors opened. She pressed the L button. There were five settings: 2, 1, U, L, and G. It looked like they were on the U level. Steven assumed they represented Upper Level, Lower Level and Ground Floor. The button for the upper level was controlled by a key. Escaping was not going to be an easy option. As the doors opened to the L Floor, Steven remained glued to the entrance as he watched in awe.
‘Come on, you have to get out of the lift,’ Anna encouraged.
He must have looked dumbfounded.
The scene before them was surprisingly familiar. It looked like a typical English shopping complex. There were people walking around in groups, little stalls selling a variety of goods, and small shops on the sides that looked incredibly normal. Robotically, he got out of the lift and started looking around.
The shop fronts had subtle differences. A clothes shop had no mannequins dolled up to impress customers. All you could see were simple railings with a range of clothing.
A greengrocer’s display was filled with colourful fruit and vegetables of different shapes and sizes, unlike any you would see in supermarkets. The main and glaring difference was the lack of prices. No buy one get one free signs to tempt the consumer, or general sale and discount signs. The goods were just there.
‘Anna,’ Steven called out, unable to hold back his questions anymore.
‘Yes.’
‘Is it me or is something missing?’
‘What’s missing?’ She gave a knowing smile.
‘Where are all the prices? How do people know what to pay?’
‘I wondered how long it would take you to notice,’ she smiled. ‘We don’t use money. Everyone has a job to do and you just take what you need from each other. It’s based on the barter system, without anyone taking account. We all trust each other; no-one takes more than they need. We all work hard and help to sustain one another.’
His mouth opened wide in amazement. ‘Does no-one want more? Isn’t it human nature to succumb to greed and jealousy?’
‘Are you like that?’
‘No!’
‘Well there you go. Greed is like a sickness. If you feed it, it will grow. We do not promote selfish or singular behaviour. We work together. We have always had to, otherwise our days would have been numbered from the start.’
‘But you obviously have resources to provide electricity and other luxuries.’
‘Well you don’t expect to put together a group of nuclear physicists and not have electricity do you?’ she said, her face alight as she chuckled.
‘Nuclear physicists? Why are there…?’ he trailed, confused.
‘I don’t know how much you’ve been told. My father, your grandfather, Jeff is one of the brightest minds you’ll ever come across. He was a close friend of Albert Einstein during the Manhattan project.’
Steven could not hold back. Now he was impressed. ‘Wow. I’ve heard about that. It was linked to the nuclear testing in Los Alamos, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes. Your grandfather was the mastermind for our community. He designed it. He thought of everything.’
Steven was not sure he’d agree with that. He did not factor in the chance of his daughter having a liaison with a normal human. He let it drop. ‘How do you generate electricity here?’
‘We currently have access to solar, hydroelectric, fossil fuel, and wind-generated electricity. We are in the process of investigating a geothermal method.’ She paused for what felt like effect, and then added, ‘We are quite an intellectual bunch. We like a challenge and we found the community diversified naturally. Some took on the role of providing food, whilst others focused on the living arrangements and nurture of the younger members of the community. In time, you will find your calling.’
‘You know, as much as I am impressed by what I see, I’m still not totally convinced that I would like to choose my calling and stay here. No offence intended.’
‘Steven, only time will tell what your future holds, but try to keep an open mind.’
Her comment pushed him too far. ‘Look, you lot have just made me leave the girl I love, my family and my life. I don’t know if I want to be more open-minded.’
‘Keep your voice down,’ she warned.
‘I wanted to be a lawyer someday, but somehow I don’t think you’ll have much need for one here,’ he ranted on, as several people started to stare at him.
‘Let’s move on,’ Anna said, her nostrils flaring.
‘Fine,’ he huffed, suddenly self-conscious. Everyone was staring.
Anna smiled through gritted teeth and pushed him along.
After walking through the shops in silence, Anna stopped and turned to face him, ‘I’m sorry about what happened to you. Are you hungry?’
‘Yes,’ he admitted. Even though he was angry, it only made him hungrier.
The gigantic entrance carved into the rock gave way to a huge area. Stone tables and wooden benches provided the base for the hive of activity, as a range of people chomped into their meal. For the first time, Steven took the time to observe. He had never seen such a disparate group of people. Some had olive skin and nearly black hair – he assumed these had to be people of Spanish descent. Others had bleached blonde hair and blue eyes – just like Ingrid and her family. A few wore, what looked like Jewish caps, or kippah – as Steven had learnt during his religious studies course. They had to be descended from the Jew they had mentioned – Isaac Abel. The rest were a real mixture. At a guess, Steven conjectured they were offspring of all the different permutations obtained after couples of different descent had paired off. The array of people was mind-boggling.
One thing was clear. No-one in the room looked over the age of twenty.
A lot of children scampered around the room. Some sat down, eating. Most ran around chasing and playing with what looked like older siblings or friends. A few women nursed their babies; they showed no sign of embarrassment. The scene reminded him of something out of a bible story. That was until he spotted an area similar to a canteen serving station – a modern one.
Steven was aware that a few heads had turned in his direction. By now, they must have realised he was a stranger.
Anna laughed out loud, as she feigned amusement. She whispered in his ear and sharply added, ‘Don’t say anything. Your accent alone will give you away. Let’s just get some food.’
At the serving station, Anna introduced Steven, ‘This is Mike, Annika and their daughter Sian. Everyone this is Steven.’
The three of them stared, transfixed.
‘Steven,’ Annika glared, and seemed to quiz her husband with an intense glance, before she held out her hand.
‘He will be formally introduced soon. For now, can we have some food please? He just got here,’ Anna said.
Everyone in the room, barring the children, stopped talking.
Mike nudged Sian. Coming out of her trance, Sian poured a helping of food into a wooden bowl and handed it to Steven – she was not smiling.
The steaming food made Steven’s mouth water, as his stomach rumbled.
Anna spoke to Mike in a different dialect; he shook his head in response. ‘Let’s sit down,’ she said.
; It was not a request.
Anna steered him towards an empty table and seemingly ignored the puzzled expressions she passed.
Once seated, Steven picked up his spoon. Ravenous, he tucked in before stopping to examine the contents. ‘What am I eating today?’
‘It looks like caiman stew. We do grow our own vegetables so it does actually have things you would recognise, like potatoes.’
‘Hang on a minute. Caiman, as in, crocodile stew?’ He barely contained his mouthful as he choked.
‘Of course,’ Anna smiled, amused at his reaction.
‘I guess I’ve got nothing to lose.’ He put some more in his mouth and relished the taste – it was a cross between chicken and fish. Again, this was a pleasant surprise. He ate with vigour.
‘Glad to see you have an appetite.’
The sound of new arrivals made him glance at the entrance – it was Ingrid and Lana. As they walked, the older children ran up. They pestered and asked them same thing over and over.
‘What do they want?’ Steven enquired, as he noticed Ingrid was smiling, happy.
‘Treats. They know Ingrid has been away and hope she has something for them. There are many things we can’t get or make here.’
The reply puzzled him. He was surprised by the humanity of the situation. He hadn’t known what to expect. In honesty, the environment simulated a lost and ancient civilisation, not a recently formed one.
‘What is the language you’re talking?’
‘It’s the language we developed,’ she replied.
With a full stomach, he could not stop his eyelids from drooping as tiredness set in.
‘You need some rest,’ she observed.
‘I could fall asleep on the spot,’ he admitted.
‘I’ll find you somewhere to sleep. Let’s make a move.’
As they stood up to go, the sound of shouting made him look at the entrance again. A woman, who looked remarkably similar to Anna, was pointing her finger at Ian. The words became clearer as everyone was silenced.
‘You bastard, how could you go behind my back? How dare you. Tell me where he is – tell me now,’ she screamed.
Ian looked around the room, his signature grin on full display. Extending his arm, he pointed towards Steven and gave an unapologetic shrug.
The woman stared at Steven and froze. Aware of her impromptu audience, she turned and fled.
Reticent, Steven asked, ‘Is that my mother?’
Anna looked embarrassed, as she gave a slight nod. ‘This is a lot for her to take in. She needs as much time as you do.’
‘I doubt that,’ Steven retorted.
‘Your mum has not had it easy. I’ll leave it at that. Finish your food and let’s get out of here,’ Anna said. Now, she looked angry.
Everyone was looking now, formal introduction over.
As they went out of a smaller exit, on the other side of the room, a series of stone steps revealed their route. He was sure Emily had just gone the same way. The steps led towards a maze of corridors, with rooms dotted in between. On the whole, the room entrances were covered by curtains, not doors. It was obvious safety was not an issue. It made him wonder if anyone valued their privacy as much as he did. Once at the end of the hall, they came across one of the few wooden doors. He noticed there was no lock since Anna did not need to use a key. It struck him that once inside, security was lax. Was the high level of security to stop anyone or anything from coming in or to keep them from going out?
Inside, a small lounge area led to a balcony. On the right, a curved, door height entrance was covered by a curtain.
‘You can sleep in there.’ Anna pushed aside the curtain to reveal a bedroom. ‘I’ll let you be. You rest, I’ll come back later.’ In a sympathetic voice, she said, ‘It’s nice to have you home.’
Steven nodded, not having the energy to argue and headed towards the room. A huge bed, made from intricately carved wood, greeted him. The mattress was covered in a purple sheet and matching pillow. As he collapsed on the bed, he closed his eyes and switched off.
Chapter 28
Back Home
Ian was irritated. Emily was out of line. The only reason he had hung around was to eat, but he refused to answer any questions. As soon as he was done, he left in a hurry. There was no way he was going to be subjected to a Spanish inquisition for longer than necessary. A swim was what he needed. With a fresh set of clothes, he headed out. The soothing sound of water, whooshing down and bubbling as it met the surface echoed in the underground cavern. The sight of the waterfall never ceased to amaze him.
He left his clothes strewn on the floor and dived into the pool. Once under the waterfall, he started to feel at ease. If there was one thing he loved about what he was, it was his constant energy. It was great to look and feel his twenty-year-old self. He had been the same for over fifty years and he had definitely come to terms with his eternal youth. Aging was not for him.
He heard someone approach, and he looked up just in time to see Eilif diving into the pool. The dive was graceful and he disappeared under the surface of the water for a while.
Finally, Eilif surfaced and gave a shriek of joy, ‘It’s great to be back.’
‘Definitely,’ Ian agreed.
As Eilif approached, Ian voiced his thoughts, ‘People look so withered out there. Don’t you think? Here everyone is so youthful. Well, apart from the originals,’ he guffawed.
‘At least they show the ones that have never left what people look like when they age. Even if they always look the same,’ Eilif observed, as he performed a perfect eggbeater kick in the deep water.
‘They do look older, but they are relatively young compared to those aged seventy and above.’
‘Do you think our parents mind? You know, having been frozen in time at their age,’ Eilif asked, his hands sculling back and forth.
‘I don’t think they’re bothered. It is what it is. Their change did not give them the ability to reverse, just to freeze the aging process.’
‘It’s so dirty in the outside world, isn’t it? I mean I like going to visit, it’s part of our heritage. But to quote Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz – there’s no place like home.’
‘The sad thing is I remember watching that film when it was released. I must have been only eight years old at the time. It was before we went to live in Los Alamos. What a different time. No-one knew then how the war would change and destroy countless lives in the name of creating a better race. It always gets to me that Hitler genuinely thought he was on a noble quest to create better human beings.’
‘So you all decided to vanish and create this utopia?’
‘Well, you know all this from your teaching, but yes my parents and the others realised that they had become, in some ways, superior or stronger to normal human beings. They did not want to conquer or take life. The war was doing that already. So, it felt like a natural solution to disappear from society and develop a place that was hidden from the rest of the world. The thing is we still have so much to learn about ourselves. We’ve barely scratched the surface. But, at least we have full control of our destiny; we are not subject to the laws imposed by normal man.’
‘Don’t you think,’ Eilif paused, as though uneasy, ‘Don’t you think it’ll only be a matter of time before we can’t sustain ourselves? The population is growing and there is a restlessness developing.’
Ian sighed, ‘I know.’
Eilif changed the subject, ‘Do you think Steven will adapt?’
‘I hope so. He can’t go anywhere else.’
‘From my observations, it is obvious that humanity does not usually like being caged up. Even though we’re not strictly speaking, normal human beings, our emotions are the same. The level of protection we have installed is just looking for someone to try to find its weakness.’
‘There is no flaw in our security,’ Ian snapped, his stare resolute.
‘Look I know you change the security codes and have a high level of surveillance equ
ipment installed. All I’m just saying is I’m not the first person to think it. Steven is new to this. I’m not convinced he’ll just accept it.’
‘He has no choice. He’ll have to do as we say.’
Eilif shrugged, dived under, and disappeared.
Before he had a chance to resurface, Ian swam to the water’s edge, got out and hastily put his clothes back on. The conversation was not going anywhere productive. Ian was loathed to admit that Eilif had a point. Steven did not seem like the type to lie low. Yet, he did not get the impression he was radical enough to try to escape. Either way, even if Steven tried to find a way out, the security was impenetrable.
No-one would get out unless he authorised it. They never had and never would. The only blip in all the time he had been in the community was Emily. They should never have let her leave. He would not make the same mistake again.
***
Emily knew she was not exactly role model material, yet, there she was pretending to be the picture of responsibility. As a teacher, she could never say aloud what she was thinking, but the facts spoke for themselves. So far, she had managed to get infected by a bat and become an abnormal human being; become dependent on blood for survival to the extent that she had killed human beings; lived within the confines of a surreal environment; given birth to a forbidden half-human child; abandoned the said child; and attempted to get on with her life, albeit a disgruntled and unsatisfying one.
Someone had to see the irony of her situation.
She could walk away. Refuse to take the lesson. Her trauma warranted a sick day. Then again, what was the point? She had to try to carry on as normal. She had to rise above it.
‘As all of you know I’m Emily, one of the originals.’ She hated that word – originals. She did not feel superior to anyone else because she was bitten by the psycho bats. ‘I’m here to develop your new abilities, and to enable you to enhance them. Anyone got anything to start us off with? Can you do something new that you couldn’t do before?’
An eager girl at the front raised her hand in the air. She flapped her hand higher, as though she might explode unless she was allowed to reply.
‘Please tell us,’ Emily obliged.
‘I can see perfectly at night,’ she beamed, using a lot of hand gestures to continue with her explanation. Her frizzy, brown hair bounced as she talked, ‘On the hunt we attended the other night my vision was so clear, I couldn’t believe it. It was amazing. The veins and arteries pumping blood around the animal seemed magnified. I knew exactly what to do.’