This Other Eden by Ben Elton

Author:Ben Elton
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw, epub
Published: 2011-07-12T16:15:16+00:00

The black hole of Great Pew.

The geodesic shell of Flossie’s Claustrosphere was non-transparent. All Claustrospheres were like that, the reason being that the outer surface of the dome was its energy source. Sunlight so dangerous that it could kill people was still a valuable source of solar power, and it was this solar fuel which made the BioCycle viable. There were not even any windows. So delicate were the ecological rhythms of existence within the dome, it was thought that the intrusion of a natural light cycle might imbalance the process. Besides which, no transparent material had yet been developed which could be guaranteed to filter all the harmful elements of naked sunlight. Many Claustrosphere psychologists argued that windows would be a bad thing anyway. They felt that, to the occupant, their Claustrosphere was their world and to be able to look out at another might lead to them denying their new reality and failing to come to terms with their own world.

Therefore, once inside, Flossie was completely alone. Claustrospheres had no phones. The very fact of BioSphere technology was based on the presumption that all life outside was over. Therefore, any factor which required maintenance, power or organisation from outside the Claustrosphere was, by its very nature, untenable. Some richer people had invested in expensive radio and solid state land-line networks between small groups of friends, but any intrusion into the structure of the geodesic shell was frowned upon by the manufacturers. The whole principle worked on complete enclosure. A world apart. They refused to guarantee shelters in which the dome had been punctured. ‘Once you’re in, you’re in’ was the cheerful slogan employed by the companies marketing the numerous Claustrosphere accessories that ranged from Virtual Reality sex-suits to worry beads. Flossie was in.

Now she knew how much she missed Nathan. She missed him, to coin a phrase, with all her heart. In fact, with all her heart and all of the rest of her body. She shook with how much she missed him. She wept and she wept. She was weeping when she realised that a light was flashing and a recorded voice was speaking to her.

‘Please activate LifeCycle immediately, please activate Life-Cycle immediately.’

Flossie knew what that meant. She had to start the damn thing up. Claustrospheres produced their own oxygen and if the occupant did not start the generation process within approximately half an hour of closing the BioLock, the available natural oxygen would be exhausted and the occupant would suffocate.

Flossie seriously thought about ignoring the warning. Why not? She was alone in a Claustrosphere! Alone, without Nathan, in the Claustrosphere that they had built together after endless debate and hand-wringing. True, it was only for a year, but a year alone in a Claustrosphere? Could she hack it? She looked around at the big TV screen and the miniature rain forest which would be her only companions. She could not even turn the lights off because she and Nathan had decided that they couldn’t afford a night-time cycle.

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