Tunneling

The long tunnel stretched out ahead of her. Slowly walking forward with Green, Sedona’s eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. She noticed there were doorways along either side of the tunnel. Lots of doorways.

Just as they reached a door, someone pulled aside the curtain blocking it and Sedona got a quick peek inside. The opening gave way into a room full of bright colors. There were pictures and tapestries hanging on the walls, cushions and small tables scattered around, and to Sedona’s astonishment there was a woman wrapped in a red shawl and holding a baby. The woman smiled down at the baby in her arms as she rocked back and forth.

Still holding the drapery aside, the man turned back toward the woman, smiling as he said something Sedona couldn’t quite hear. The woman laughed up at him and there was no mistaking the affection in both their faces.

It was the kind of feeling Sedona got when she had a long hard day, and her cat Snuggles met her at the door when she got home. Snuggles would meow happily and twirl around her ankles.

Next, a very little boy ran up to the man and he lifted the boy high up in the air. There was just enough time for Sedona to see them both laughing before the drapery fell back over the doorway, Sedona was astonished. The man and woman did not seem like nursery workers. There was just too much happiness in that little room full of color. Were they… could they be… a family?

She felt a sudden stab of longing. Longing for something she never had. And a thought flashed through her mind of the mother she’d never known. A woman who probably had gray eyes just like Sedona’s.

Before she had time to think more about what she’d just seen, they walked past other doors. Some were open, giving Sedona glimpses of people at work, people eating food, people laughing, and once she saw several people singing together and playing odd instruments.

The notes of that sweet melody followed them down the long tunnel, weaving in and around the soft patter of their feet as they walked.

Finally, they reached a doorway with a sign overhead. Green opened the door – a real, solid door this time, not a drapery – before Sedona had a chance to read the sign. But she knew the room must be a library. There were a few people already sitting at tables in the room, holding books. Reading and turning the pages of the books! The only books Sedona had ever seen were displayed in sealed glass cases at the museum. Sometimes there were only one or two pictures in the cases, all that remained of a precious old book. No one ever touched them.

This was a room full of untold wealth. Green let her look her fill. Then he gently guided her over to a table with a box on top of it. He had her sit down in a chair in front of the box, turned some dials on the box and Sedona saw things.

She saw terrible things. She watched in horror as Old Earth destroyed itself. Huge black storms raged and pushed enormous waves over entire cities. As if from a distance, Sedona watched water creeping over fields and little houses, drowning whole forests full of trees. And she saw the sun blazing down on scorched ground while hundreds of people tried to flee and were swallowed up by raging fires. She didn’t even realize there were tears running down her face. Nor did she notice that Green kept his hand on her shoulder, as if to brace her for more horror to come.

Finally, the pictures stopped. EverGreen leaned forward and turned the dial and the box went black.

“Let’s take a break now. I think you need to catch your breath.” He stood, saying, “I’m going to have warm drinks brought in for us, and something to eat, while we look through some of the books.” He opened the door to speak to someone in the hallway, then came back into the room.

Sedona turned eyes on him that were full of rage. Instinctively, Green took a step backward, as if he expected her to attack.

“How can you show me this so calmly?” she cried out. “Just look what your kind did, you destroyed the Earth.”

“I know that’s what you’ve been told …” he started to say. "But from what I've heard, your city has destroyed or hidden most of these early records. You only have a few edited films available to view. Which leaves only still photos and relics that can be interpreted any way they want."

Sedona shook her head in denial.

Green put his hands up, as if to stop her. “Just wait, there’s so much more you need to see.”

He began pulling a large pile of books over to Sedona, just as someone brought in a tray with a steaming pot on it, along with cups and flattish pieces of bread on a dish. Green poured Sedona a drink, then put on gloves before lifting up the first book, a thin one with a floppy cover. When he opened it, Sedona saw it was full of brightly colored pictures.

“This type of book is a news magazine. People used to travel all over, taking pictures of what was happening around the world. This magazine is from when environmental problems first started getting very bad. Why don’t you sip your drink while I turn the pages and read you the stories?”

So, Sedona watched and listened and as she drank the warm broth, she learned things she had never been taught in the domed city. She wanted to deny it, to refuse to believe any of it, but the pictures were right there for her to see. She saw the Earth turn on its' humans. And on everything living. She watched domes rise over some of the surviving cities to protect them, and she saw people inside locking everyone else out. Those shut out were left in the rapidly degenerating environment to die. She saw soldiers wearing armor come out of the domes to turn evil weapons on the people outside, killing thousands, even little children. Then the killers  turned their backs on the destruction they made and went back into the domes.

As he reached the end of the picture book, Green explained further. “This happened everywhere around the world. A small number of people were safe inside the cities -  but always the same people. They were the ones who had refused to listen to warnings, when there was still time to save everything. These people took everything for themselves, even the portions that belonged to others. Everything else around them crashed and burned while they sat safe in their domes, leaving everyone and everything else to die.” He paused, watching Sedona's face.

Then he continued, “But, as it turned out, not everyone died. In their hurry to get to the domes, the city-people left scientists and engineers and other creative people outside in the hazardous environment. And those humans endured and learned ways to survive even though some of them starved or were killed by toxins and diseases. Even in that harsh new Earth they survived and they helped each other.”

“Then something unexpected happened. The bodies of the survivors began to change, to adapt to the new environment. People’s skin became thicker and darker to protect from them from the sun, their lungs got bigger allowing them to breathe more efficiently, hair grew thicker to absorb toxins, optic nerves grew larger to help them see better in dim lighting, and brow bones enlarged to protect the eyes.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” asked Sedona.

“I know that in the domed city you’re taught to despise those you call sub-humans. And that we’re different, bad, just because we don’t look the same. But we are the same, or at least we started out that way 1000 years ago.”

“You need to understand that we don’t want or need your city. We have our own underground city that is larger, and richer, than yours could ever be. And our bodies have adapted over the years so we better equipped to live on the earth as it is now. We are thriving. Without domes.”

Sedona was overwhelmed. She had just been shown things that completely blew apart her view of the world. She didn’t know what to believe. Who could she trust now? And suddenly, she wondered… did Lundun know about any of this?

Green saw the stunned look on her face. “I know it’s a lot to take in. Why don’t we take a good long break now and you can let some of this new information sink in while we go meet some people and have dinner.”

They were back in the tunnel again, this time joining groups of people who seemed to be moving toward a common area. Suddenly, Sedona came out of her daze to stare at a man and woman walking toward her. The couple looked less like the sub-humans, more like people who lived in the dome, and they seemed familiar. She gasped as she realized who they were – it was the pair of lovers, the ones who were exiled from the dome when she was a child. And yet here they were, walking along and holding hands. As she watched, stunned, a small child came from the behind the woman and grabbed onto her hand. Another family!

Green noticed her stare and answered her unspoken question. “Yes, we rescued them from the surface after the dome put them out. They’ve been living here ever since.”

All the people flowed into a large room, filled with tables, benches, and amazing aromas. As bowls of strange food were passed around, Green placed a few things on the dish in front of Sedona.

“You’re only getting small servings of food, just enough to have a taste. Your body may not remember how to process real food and we don’t want to make you sick. So, take small bites and chew well. Why don’t you start with this cherry tomato?” And he put a small, round, red ball on her plate.

She picked the little ball up. It felt slightly squishy - almost like a bed pillow - but the surface was shiny and smooth. She carefully put it on her tongue and gently bit down. Sedona jumped as there was a sudden explosion inside her mouth