To Those in the Future, Part 1

John Malcolm was dreaming.

It was a rather simple dream of a non-descript day, which could have been a memory of a better time. He was laying down on a green field of soft grass, looking up at a pure blue sky. There was nary a cloud in sight, and all he could see was unending blue. It wouldn't normally have been the kind of dream to warrant writing home about, yet it was something that took up precious space in his heart.

As if to spite him, a violent shudder shook him out of his dream, dragging him back to the real world. The loud buzz and warm heat of artificial light battered him, forcing him to sit up and open his eyes. When he did, he was greeted by a bizarre sight. He found himself within a great white structure, surrounded by dozens of sleeping bodies. It wouldn't be long before others around him also began to stir, which partly relieved him; he did half worry if he had woken up in some kind of morgue.

While the others started to regain their bearings, John tried to identify the building they were in. It was a massive circular dome, with giant tinted windows that seemed to show nothing of the outside world. He tried to remember what exactly had happened to him before he came here. As far as he could recall, he was riding on an evacuation bus, but had fallen asleep on the way there.

Before he could fully recall anything, the screech of an intercom interrupted his train of thought. There were a few shocked screams, but before long, the crowd growing around him eventually gathered to hear what was about to be announced. After a short wait, a booming voice began speaking.

“Welcome, you lucky chosen! I am sure that you are confused as to where exactly you may be, but do not fear! You are in a secure location, safe from the hazards of the polluted world we have escaped from!”

A loud murmur began to rise from the crowd as people began to grow uneasy. John felt the same uneasiness. After all, he was pretty sure that he was supposed to be riding to a government location, but he felt that this dome, whatever it was, wasn't government affiliated.

The voice continued speaking once the crowd settled down. “Naturally, you have plenty of questions about where you are and how you got here. However, there will be time to talk about that later. First, allow me to welcome you to the Ackerton family's underwater shelter!”

John quickly cast his eyes upwards again. He had incorrectly believed that the windows were tinted, but in fact they were actually simply showing the dark, murky water of the ocean. In days long gone, that water would have been imbued with the blue of the sky, but pollution had muddied that canvas, leaving the ocean water similarly tainted. He recognized the name Ackerton as well. Considering the scale of such a structure, it could only have been the work of the Ackerton corporation, one of the richest corporations in America.

John focused in on the words coming from the intercom, which hadn't stopped during his train of thought. “This shelter is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities specifically so that three hundred people can live here comfortably. Artificial sunlight generators allow us to grow crops underground, and while it will be a rarer delicacy, we'll be able to provide everyone with some meat at least once a week!”

“But don't take all this as an act of charity. We are a community here, and while you may not have been brought here by your own will, you will do your part. You will be assigned various duties, whether it be helping to maintain the shelter's various facilities or providing entertainment and pleasure. As long as you work to justify your place in this shelter, then your every wish will be taken care of.”

Having had the particulars of the situation explained to them, the majority of the crowd had begun to calm down. John, however, still felt uneasy. After all, every single one of them had been brought to this shelter against their will, and he doubted that they would be let out even if they wanted to. His suspicions were confirmed by a bit of commotion he caught in the corner of his eye, where two men were attempting to calm some of the more hysterical “guests”.

The voice continued, paying no attention to the disturbance in the back. “The world outside has become uninhabitable over the past few years, and simply put, living on the surface is impossible now. But I, Paul Ackerton, believe in a future where humans will walk on the planet once again, and swear that we will see it in my lifetime!”

To John's surprise, the crowd was surprisingly moved by Paul Ackerton's performance, and cheered in response to his ridiculous declaration. It seemed as if everyone had come to accept their fate, and even those who had tried to get out had given up. It looked as if there was no other choice but to see things take their course.

Having said that, it wasn't as if John was planning on doing anything drastic here. A rebellion was out of the question, and he doubted he could get out of here on his own. He didn't even know how deep this supposed shelter was, so even if he did make it out, he could end up crushed by the water pressure or drown while trying to swim out.

In the end, the safest option was for him to accept the current situation, as questionable as it was. While he didn't think the Ackertons were going to do anything particularly heinous, their methods so far were already sufficiently shady, and unlike the others, he wasn't going to forget that soon. It would be foolish for him to not keep an eye out, especially when it came to the Ackertons.

---

In a room overlooking the entirety of the shelter, a group of men and women, thirty in total, stood in front of a large man in a business suit, smoking an expensive cigar. This man was Paul Ackerton, and he had just finished giving the new arrivals an introductory message. After taking another puff of his cigar, he glanced at a bespectacled man in a similar suit and gestured for him to come over.

“Derrick. Make sure that everyone down there gets assigned a room post-haste. We don't want anyone wandering where they shouldn't be.”

“Understood. But Father, was this really a wise idea? Forgoing the plan to leave Earth on the expeditionary ship and building this shelter down here?”

“What's the point of arguing about it now?” interjected a sharp-looking woman in a tight black dress. “After all, even if Father were to change his mind, it's not as with we can get on the ship now, what with it having launched days ago.”

“Even so, this is an incredibly risky venture we're undertaking,” remarked another suit. “A lot of the technology is seriously cutting-edge, and if it breaks for whatever reason, there's a chance we might not have the materials or even the know-how to fix it.”

“Enough!” Paul boomed as he chomped down on his cigar. “We've spent enough time equivocating over this! Now that we've executed this plan, there's no point rolling it back!”

His declaration silenced the anxious murmurs of the crowd. Once he was certain everyone was paying attention to him, he continued.

“This shelter was built using the better half of my massive riches. A massive shelter the size of a small town, built to house and sustain three hundred people for decades! There's no need to worry even a little bit!”

“B-But Father, even if the shelter lasts, who's to say how long we'll be stuck here? All our scientists claimed that the Earth is going to be irradiated for the next few decades. Do you really think we can stay in here for that long?”

“Enough! You think worrying about that will change the current situation?! Besides, that stupid expeditionary plan will never work! Finding another planet capable of housing humanity? If it was that easy, we'd have found it already!”

An uneasy silence followed Paul's outburst. If anyone in the room disagreed with Paul in their hearts, they certainly did not feel like revealing it. It was clear that he did not intend on listening to any concerns, and in any case, he was right. It was far too late for doubts now.

Paul took out another cigar and lit it. The smoke rose into the vents built in the ceiling, which funneled the polluted air straight to the filters. “Anyhow, don't worry. I don't plan on hiding underwater for the rest of my life either.”

“You don't?”

“'Course not! Don't you realize that there's no one outside right now? We've got the planet to ourselves! We give the planet a few decades to recover from the radiation, then we'll emerge from below and take over! We'll be the ruling family of Earth! Compared to that, even being the owners of one of the richest companies in America is paltry in comparison.”

“That's crazy!” Derrick cried incredulously. “Do you really think that could actually happen?”

Paul snorted in response. “Of course it can! Now, instead of doubting me, why don't you hurry up and do what I told you to do?!”

He punctuated this declaration by slamming his fist into the desk. The people around him, made up of both executives and family members, scattered as they left the office, trying their best to not be the only one left behind in the office. As he strolled out of the room, Derrick felt someone tug at his sleeve.

Derrick turned to see his younger sister, Marianne, looking at him with concern. He had many siblings due to his overly amorous father, but of them all, she was his only full-blooded relative.

“What's the matter?” he asked gently.

“I overheard what Father was shouting about from outside,” Marianne explained. “He isn't really thinking about such silly things, is he?”

In response, Derrick could only sigh and gently patted her head. “Don't worry too much about it. The only thing we can do is let Father do what he wants anyhow.”