Should I Go? Or, Should I Stay?

She was supposed to be sleeping. But there was just too much going on inside Sedona's head to relax enough to sleep. So much new information had been poured into her mind in just a very few hours. Eventually all the thoughts filtered down to one. A picture of the little girl, Daisy, with her masses of tangled hair.

Her ancient grandmother, Cherry, had the same kind of hair. That thick hair was one of the adaptations that was made to bodies of the sub-humans. Their hair could absorb toxins excreted from their bodies and they could shed the toxins simply by cutting their hair. Sadly, this was the only genetic adaptation found in little Daisy’s body. And it just wasn’t enough. The only chance of long-term survival she had was to be adopted into the domed city.

“Poor Daisy,” murmured Sedona, finally on the edge of sleep and about to slip into a dream.

Only to be wakened in no time at all. There was a knock on the doorframe as Cherry and Daisy came in. “Time to get going,” said Cherry, help sleepy Sedona crawl off the bed and slither into her tox-suit.

As Cherry urged them toward the doorway, Daisy reached up and took Sedona’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Turning left as they walked out of the room, Sedona was surprised to see how many people were up and about already. Then she remembered what Green had said about his people having night-time training sessions on the surface.

People ahead of her still blocked her view, but after a minute Sedona knew they were approaching the end of the tunnel when the light changed. It was brighter up ahead and there was movement in the air. The small breeze carried strangely appealing scents down the tunnel. Without even realizing what she did, Sedona took a deep, full breath.

Someone in front of her moved off to the side and she got a glimpse of something ahead. What was that thing? It looked like … a huge pillar, or maybe a column of stone? A few more steps and she was able to get a good look.

Sedona gasped. It was a tree! A huge living tree, standing proudly in the middle of an immense open square. There were leaves, bright green leaves simply covering the entire tree. She could see there were other plants all around her, but that big tree in the center of the room got all her attention.

EverGreen was with them now, but he said nothing. He just let her drink her fill of what was in front of her eyes. Apparently, this was a common reaction from any surface dwellers and he could appreciate the shock it must be to them. Sedona was quietly weeping.

After a few minutes he gently touched her arm. “It’s not going anywhere; it will still be there if you stop looking at it for a few moments.” He reached out his hand to pull his wife, Aloe closer, and she took his arm as they exchanged glances. Aloe patted Sedona on the back as she fought to gain control of her feelings. 

Sedona was astonished. Trees and other plants were supposed to be extinct, wiped off the face of the earth along with all the animals and insects. Clearly, this was not the case. Which meant that everything she’d ever been taught was now suspect as well!

And now, of course, she had even more questions about the underground city. Green motioned someone over to their little group. “There’s someone else I want you to meet. This is my friend Sycamore, he's in charge of our farming and foot production and can answer some of your questions.”

Sedona’s mouth popped open on the one word: “How?”

Sycamore smiled in amusement. "I’m sure Green has already explained how the city was built. Even though the original underground spaces were small, there were still some areas that were large and open. In those beginning years we rescued as many people as possible and settled them in the tunnels and basements.”

Aloe added, “And we also rescued as many animals and insects and plants as we could and put them in the larger areas where everyone could have access to them.”

“Well, we tried to rescue them,” corrected Sycamore. But many of them, both plants and people, just couldn't adapt and a lot of life was lost. Our secret hope is that plant species that couldn’t survive here, might still be flourishing in other shelters around the world.”

Now Green spoke: "In the tallest of those large spaces we dug through the floor until we reached open earth. We drilled upward to open spaces for the sky tubes. Then we planted the young trees we had been keeping alive in containers. And we let them settle in.”

Sedona looked down, now noticing there was a metal grid beneath her feet. A moist, almost-musty smell came up from it. Green smiled when he saw her sniffing suspiciously.

“You’re smelling the earth,” he informed her. “We usually water the plants overnight, so there’s a damp smell right now. We actually feed the soil, trying to keep it healthy and as much like the tree’s natural environment as possible.”

Sedona tilted her head back, looking over the top of the tree branches, up to the peak of the ceiling. There was so much light in the room! She blinked a bit in the bright sunlight.

Sycamore explained how the sky tubes worked. “The openings are hidden in the tops of the ruins and the tubes come all the way through to the ceilings below. Every shaft contains filters for moderating the daylight when it’s too bright. And there are reflector valves all the way down the tubes so we can re-direct the light. We don’t want our trees to get sunburned and the light can be directed to our other plants as well.”

Aloe reached out to take Sedona’s hand. “Can I show you some of the other plants before you have to go?” Looking up toward the tree again, Sedona was now startled to see small shapes flitting about it its branches. She caught her breath. “Are there … birds up there?”

Aloe smiled her response. “Yes, we managed to save some. Sadly, there were only a few that could adapt to new food sources. Insects live her that were always underground dwellers, so the birds and bats help us keep them under control. And of course, the cats help us with the rodent population – both species were already down here before the surviving humans arrived.”

“Cats! Did you say cats?” Sedona was certain she misheard what Aloe said

Aloe gave Sedona a startled look, then smiled hugely. She put her fingers at her lips and blew, producing a shrill whistling sound. Before Sedona could ask why she did that, she heard a familiar lazy “Meoow”. And looking toward the sound, she watched in shock as a long, furry fluid shape glided around the edge of a stone planting box. A cat. A real, live cat! It gracefully slid around Aloe’s ankles. She bent down and picked up the armful of fur.

Sedona held her breath when the cat’s large green eyes met hers. Without thinking about it, her arm reached out so she could scritch behind those pointy ears and the cat purred contentedly.

“This is Dennis,” smiled Aloe. “I think he likes you.”

“Ohhhhh,” breathed Sedona. “I really like him too. I have a cat of my own at home. His name is Snuggles. "But,” she sighed, “he’s a robotic cat, not like this one.”

Aloe held out the cat to Sedona. “Would you like to hold him? As long as he’s purring like this it means he’s happy being held. He’ll let you know if he wants to get down.”

Sedona suddenly had her arms full of warm fur. She was speechless at the fluid sensation of the cat – it was almost as if he’d poured himself into her arms.

Aloe put her hand on Sedona’s arm, guiding her along a row of other stone boxes, all filled with various plants. Some were new - just tiny leaves in the soil. Others were huge and bushy, while still others had flowers on them. Once Aloe stopped to pull a tiny blue ball off a plant, which she popped into Sedona’s mouth. “Blueberry,” she pronounced, smiling as Sedona bit down on it.

Sedona tried to pay attention, but all she could think was “Cat. Cat and trees. Trees and Cats.”

Aloe finally noticed her dazed look and took her into a small side room, saying, “It’s nearly time for you to leave, but I know Green has a few more things to tell you first. Dennis looks content. I’ll just leave him here with you.” She patted Sedona's shoulder again as she said goodbye.

Sedona sat in a chair and just looked from the amazing creature on her lap, out to the gigantic tree she in the square. Then back to the cat.

Green walked into the room, chuckling as he saw what Sedona held on her lap. “It’s almost time now,” he said as he sat across from her. “I know I told you we’ve been making plans for the future of both cities. But what I haven’t told you yet is that your domed city is dying.”

That got Sedona’s attention! The cat must have sensed her distress because Dennis shifted his paws, then jumped down to the floor and strolled casually through the doorway. “What do you mean, it’s dying?”

“It’s been coming on for a while now. The problem is that the city is too contained, and over time, tiny problems in all the systems have begun to escalate. Eventually it will self-destruct from weather encroachments, a bacteria build-up – like the increasing number of plagues – or just plain old structural failure.”

Sedona thought of all the people living now in the domed city. Especially those she was fond of. What would happen to them all?

Green reached out to touch her hand. “Remember Sedona, I said both cities. We can help. We know how to change, adapt and grow, and we can teach the Domers how to survive. It will take time, and they will have to agree to transition, but we can save your people. At least most of them.”

“But how?”

“We going to stage a soft revolution. One with as little violence and physical distress as possible. There are already people in the domed city who are aware of the severity of the problems they're facing. A few, a very few of them, know of our existence and our willingness to help. They are few, but many of them are strategically placed. And there are also the orphans, who know a lot more about the city than the Domers suspect.”

“When will all this happen?” Sedona asked.

“Well, the dome might continue limping along for the next hundred or so years. That will just  give us more time to prepare. Or, something major could collapse tomorrow. If we see signs that it’s happening soon, we’ll put be able our plans into effect immediately.

Sedona couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief that someone was in charge. Someone was preparing to forestall yet another disaster for the human race.

Green continued. “So, here’s the thing we need to know Sedona. Are you willing to help with the revolution if it comes in your lifetime? The more people we have on the inside who are anticipating change, the easier and less upsetting it will be.”

Another shock for Sedona. She was being asked to help?

“Whatever you chose, we will see you safely delivered to the surface. If you say ‘no’, you’ll wake up with no memory of the last 24 hours and your life in the domed city will go on as usual. If you say ‘yes’, those same things will still happen. But you’ll also be given a code word. And when you’re back in your home city, if you hear that code word, all your memories of this time, all you’ve just learned, will come back to you. And you’ll remember the instructions for what to do next. I’m going to leave you alone for a minute to think about this. It must be your own decision Sedona. Yes or No.” And he walked out the door.