Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! That was the sound that signalled a leak in the dome. Our dome. The dome that now surrounded the Whangaparaoa Peninsula from all angles. This was the 8th leak this week! And it just so happened that I was the on that had to fix it each time. The 8th time that I have lying in my pod in the middle of the night and been rudely awakened by the loud, dreary sound of a female voice over the intercom that was as old scratchy as an elderly lion deprived of its food. This morning the voice said: “Jacob Cleary, please report immediately to Sector C, Area 4 to repair a minor leak on the first interior layer in the dome.” What? Another interior leak? 67/68 of all the leaks over the past 3 weeks have been interior. That must mean that it was happening from inside the dome and that maybe even that someone was trying to sabotage The Mission. I was frightening yet amazing how very right I was.
I gave no further thought to the matter, as I had to get to the site as quickly as possible otherwise we might lose too much of our oxygen into the deep abyss of space. Additionally, if any radiation from Blast 904 got through we were screwed. Big time. It would mean filtration, and that wasn’t easy. It takes about 6 full days to do, and in which time all the residents of The Peninsula would have to remain indoors and wear safety masks, because if anyone came into contact with even a milligram of it, they would die.
I scrambled out of my pod and threw on my radiation suit like a madman. As I rushed past the door I snatched a quick glance at the calendar. 19th November 2452, Earth Time. It was the 6th anniversary of the Break-Off. The date when the Whangaparaoa Peninsula broke off from New Zealand (literally) and became an independent nation. It also happened to be the 2nd anniversary of the execution of The Mission. The secret plan to send the whole Peninsula into space, and land on the colony on Jupiter. The mission that was said to take 2 years and 1 day to complete. That was tomorrow. Everything was going to plan, and we are set to land on Jupiter within the next 24 hours.
I ran down the metal corridors, my feet making an ever persistent Clang! every time they hit the ground. I cautiously stepped into The Chute, careful not to bump anything. I quickly punched in the code C7, and I immediately got sucked down feet first into the tube that was just wide enough to fit me. I have been doing this for years, but still nothing compares to zooming along at the speed of light (well not really, but close to it anyway!) and feeling all my troubles disappear. It gives me a sense of freedom. It makes me forget about the cruel world that lies outside our dome and all the people that didn’t survive, or all the ones that are still suffering. Flying through the tube like a bullet, with the artificial wind resistance in my hair makes me feel like one of those bird things that you see in the artificial textbooks.
As I screeched to and exited the chute, I noticed my best friend and wok colleague already working on the leak. He always got there first. His name is Grodfrond and he is an Outsider (we can’t say alien anymore) from planet Carebon 6. He is about 7 feet tall, has a large orange head and blue scales. His eyes are as big as the moon (not quite literally), and he has a long, bulbous nose. He had only come onto the Peninsula a day before we launched into space. He had escaped from his home planet where he was treated like a slave. He almost never talks, but when he does he talks about his home planet and how we pretty much saved his life. He was the most humble, caring, kind being that could exist, and I believe that the human race could learn a lot from his example. He was playing his part so well, no-one suspected a thing. . .
I was so concentrated on fixing the leak that I barely noticed the two large men in big, black suits approaching Grodfrond and grabbing his arms. I finished repairing the leak and turned around. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?!” I yelled, wondering why they would want to arrest someone so innocent. The men in suits refused to answer and remained pushing Grodfrond into their vehicle. They slammed the door and one of the men approached me. “You're friend has been convicted of the attempted sabotage of The Mission. He is the one causing the leaks. He was sent here from his home planet to sabotage our mission and kill everyone aboard the Peninsula.” Before I could respond and stand up for his innocence the man walked to his vehicle and took off, leaving there with a million emotions going through my head.
1 week later
The man wasn’t lying. Grodfrond was guilty and everything he had told me was a lie. How could that happen? How could I be fooled so easily? As punishment Grodfrond got banished from the Peninsula, not that it would do much good, as he would just return to his home planet. We were now safely on Jupiter, ready to start our new life, hopefully without deception and chaos.
By Luke Taylor
