The Long Winter Time
by Quintin Snell
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Table of Contents parts: 1, 2, 3 4 |
part 1
Excerpt from The Gospel of the Burning
1:1 And so it was that the Fist of God appeared in the heavens, and mankind looked upon it in wonder, not realising their judgement was at hand. Years passed and learned men proclaimed it no more than a passing comet, a harmless distraction, and the unfaithful were satisfied.
1:2 But there were those who found scientific words hollow. There was among the faithful one of the lords of old, and he was advised by the wisest of men. They set their plans and prepared for the coming judgment. They proclaimed loudly, so all men could know of the end times and be saved, that the comet was the bringer of Armageddon; the Earth would be scourged and all upon its surface would be returned to the Ash.
1:3 The learned men scoffed and declared him foolish, a false prophet, and he was scorned. But there were the faithful, who realised the truth of his words and came to him to pledge their allegiance, and they were saved.
1:4 Thus was Bunker built, that those who saw truth would survive The Burning. Bunker was a haven where humanity could take refuge and survive the Burning and the everwinter that would follow as surely as night follows day. There, below the surface, they would endure until it was time to emerge and reclaim the world.
1:5 On the day the sky caught fire and the Earth burned, Bunker was complete. The faithful saw the Fist of God open and enfold the world, they watched as the skies took to flame, and sealed themselves underground.
1:6 Those who had not believed perished along with all living things. The world was cleansed of wickedness, all that remained was the Ash.
* * *
Shet trudged through the snash, dragging his ancient wagon behind him. He hated the cold and he hated the grey. This was the world he had been born into. Everything was grey; the sky, the snash, the ground, all colour leached out of the world, covered in that disgusting and corrosive snow/ash mixture, as it had been since the world burned. That had been in the Long Ago, when GranDa Eric had been a little boy.
Before he had returned to the Ash, GranDa had told Shet about the Long Ago, shared the remembering. The world had been beautiful, the sky blue, the ground brown, full of plants and living things. And the oceans, GranDa had exclaimed, what a sight they had been, stretching beyond the horizon, sparkling blue with pounding white waves instead of completely choked up with the heaving LG.
Before he Ashed, GranDa gave Shet his book, a most precious heirloom, full of pictures, ancient but still vibrantly coloured, showing a world still alive. Sometimes he wished he had never seen the pictures with their smiling people and bright colours; you couldn’t miss something you never knew had existed.
Shet was a scrounger, like his Da and GranDa before him. He was good at it too, often finding intact artefacts to trade, and the materials that Genset required to manufacture and recharge the batteries that were so vital to the community.
He had been extremely lucky today. He had found a gnarled lump of lead and a teacup in the ruins, the cup was undamaged, and the scorch marks and grime had rubbed off, revealing a pattern of delicate blue flowers. He was confident that he would be able to barter such a pretty trinket for an extra ration of goat milk, a fruit, and, if he was really persuasive, maybe even an egg.
The lead he would give to reclusive Genset, the eccentric but very capable engineer who kept Bunker’s electrics running. Nobody knew why he needed lead, but he wanted it and traded batteries for it, so he got it.
The most important find, however, was the small package that Shet had carefully stowed in his pocket. He had nearly tossed it aside before realising the unimaginable treasure he held in his hand. It was a vacuum-sealed foil pack of plant seeds, something called a bell pepper. Shet was sure the gardeners would be ecstatic with the chance to add to the few crops they had. He had no idea if they would still grow after all this time, and what they would taste like. Whatever the case, bell pepper had to taste better than LG.
The LG was the only growing thing he — or anyone he knew — had ever seen on the surface. According to legend, after the world burned, the LG choked up with prodigious speed whatever oceans had been left unfrozen. The sciencers said a combination of the decreased temperature and light during the everwinter, and the ever-present ash from almost every living thing on the planet had provided it the perfect environment to flourish. This LG was harvested and formed the basis of most of their food, but tasted awful. The promise of fresh food — or even just living things — was beyond thrilling. The only plants Shet had ever seen were the crops carefully tended by the gardeners.
Home was called “Bunker.” It had been built in a disused mine in the years before the world burned. It was a subterranean habitat which had allowed the people sheltered within to escape the holocaust. It was an almost entirely self-contained structure, stocked with all a community would need to survive for an indefinite period, even including a few carefully bred number of livesock.
* * *
The guard challenged him at the entrance, but upon recognising the lanky Shet, let him proceed. Other than the inhabitants of Bunker, no trace of other people had ever been found, but precautions were still taken.
“Hey, Shet! How are you? Have a good day out there?” Shet happily showed off his haul. The guard was also excited about the seeds. Any addition to the menu would be a more than welcome treat.
The community of Bunker, although numbering in the thousands, was fairly closely knit, everyone knew everyone else to some degree.
“Hey, Brahm,” Shet called out to the guard, “you got married a while back, didn’t you? Here, give this to your wife.” Shet handed him the teacup.
“Wow, thanks! She will love this. You know what they say: ‘A happy wife means a happy life!’ What do you want for it?”
“Nothing. Consider it a late wedding gift.”
The guard, beaming, turned the crank that opened the entrance to Bunker. The door squealed in protest as it laboriously rolled open on its corroded bearings. The engineers would have to replace them again soon.
Shet paused inside the entrance to take off and rinse his protective coveralls. They were made of peevees, to protect from the snash, which turned into burn water and caused red welts upon contact with skin. After the frigid conditions outside, the warmth of Bunker hit him like a wave, so he also took off his fleece. He put the wheels back on his wagon and descended the long ramp to the Atrium. This was the heart of the community, where everything important happened — meetings, weddings, funerals, festivities.
The Atrium had been laid out like a park, with all the plants being edible crops. Like all of Bunker, the Atrium was lit by LED lighting but was brighter than the other areas, to allow the plants to grow.
Bunker was built with the tunnels radiating from the huge central Atrium. The tunnels housed the population in small rooms carved into the bedrock. Across the Atrium from the entrance ramp, was the off-limits area where Genset lived and worked. It was flanked by the two utility tunnels, one housing the dining hall, school, gym and hospital, the other, the workshops, animal pens and purification plant.
Shet headed across the Atrium to deliver the lead to Genset. He was a mysterious character, whilst not unfriendly, was almost a hermit. Nobody knew what he looked like, (it was assumed Genset was a man) as when in public, Genset always wore a laboratory clean-suit with an opaque visor, saying he was allergic to the pollen from the plants and the bees that pollinated them.
Apart from the antechamber to his space, nobody had ever seen where Genset worked, all they knew is that he maintained and ensured the supply of electrics and manufactured the batteries crucial to Bunker’s survival. It was rumoured that he had been there since the day the Earth burned, but that was impossible, it would make him well over a hundred years old. As long as the electrics and batteries continued, nobody paid him much mind; like everyone else in Bunker, when the time came, he would take an apprentice and train them as his successor.
Shet banged on Genset’s door. After some muttering and rustling noises, the door slid open almost noiselessly. No corroded bearings on this door. As with everything else Genset did, this door was immaculate. Genset wanted lead, as well as glass or plastic containers. Glass was rare, plastic even more so; they had been mostly destroyed when the Earth burned. He recycled the old batteries, but sometimes they were damaged, and he needed containers to make new ones. Shet assumed the lead went into the batteries; they were heavy enough!
Genset greeted Shet, wearing his suit, his voice muffled as usual. “Welcome, Shet. Come in. What do you have for me today?”
Typical of Genset, always curt, no small-talk, straight to business. Shet entered the room. The room was pristine, with minimal furnishing. A steel counter in the centre of the room, steel racks stacked with batteries lining the side walls. Most of the batteries were in the recycled original shells, but some were in the scrounged containers. The far wall consisted of a large window overlooking a dim cavernous space and a closed door. The area beyond the window was too dark to make out any detail other than huge huddled shapes.
Shet could feel an almost imperceptible vibrating in the floor, emanating from that poorly-lit place.
Shet heaved his chunk of lead onto the counter. “I found this for you. I know you need it for the batteries.”
Genset sounded pleased. “Well done, Shet, that’s a good haul. Help yourself to a battery, you’ve earned it.”
Shet thanked Genset, claimed his precious battery, wished him a good day and left, retracing his steps. Genset thoughtfully watched him go before closing the door and removing his suit.
Apart from ensuring the electricity supply, Genset also served as Bunker’s census keeper and calendar, keeping track of the time and date. Every day he carefully recorded the date in a notebook, then went to the Atrium and wrote it on the large black panel there. The panel was a video screen, but had never actually displayed anything other than the handwritten date; at least not whilst any current inhabitants had been alive. It was also his responsibility to keep track of population and record bloodlines to prevent inbreeding, an important task with the relatively small population.
Shet headed off to the workshop to let the engineers working there know that the burn water had eaten away yet another set of entry door bearings. He offered help replacing them, which was accepted.
It wasn’t an entirely selfless offer; he knew the duty engineer was Meri, a girl he was seeing. At this stage it was still casual, but it looked like they could become serious. He went with her, and together they replaced the bearings. She was glad for the help, he was glad for the chance to spend some time with her. Once the job was done, they kissed and arranged to meet for supper and spend the night together.
* * *
One morning, Shet brought Genset a container of burn water, melted snash, along with his old discharged batteries. The door was open and Genset was waiting for him, looking at the ancient timepiece on his arm.
“Right on time.” he said, ushering Shet in. “Thank you for the sulphuric acid. You can help yourself to a replacement battery, but that’s not important right now. I have an offer for you. It is time for me to train an apprentice, and I want it to be you.”
Shet was gob-smacked. For decades, people had tried to prise Genset’s secrets out of him, and now, Shet was to be taught everything. He accepted without hesitation.
“You will need to move in here. You won’t be needing your cubicle in the tunnels any more. Bring your belongings and get settled in. I have prepared a room for you. You start tomorrow. I have a lot to teach you, and not a lot of time.”
Without delay, Shet went home, loaded his meagre possessions onto his wagon and informed the housing clerk of his change in accommodation.
Word spread quickly and Bunker was soon abuzz with the news. Genset had taken an apprentice! Was he ill? Would he soon return to the Ash? Shet was bombarded with questions.
“I only begin my training tomorrow! I have no information for you.” Begrudgingly, they let him be and he made his way to Genset and, now, his work space.
Meri had a more personal concern. “What does this mean for us?”
“I’m not sure, but I will make sure we still get time together.”
When he arrived, Genset ushered Shet through the battery room, into a corridor. One side was mostly taken up by windows overlooking the darkened space and its unfathomable equipment. The other side was featureless aside from a pair of doors.
Genset indicated the nearest. “That’s your room. I have furnished it with the things you will need. You are welcome to add your personal touches, but I’m sure you will find it adequate.”
Shet thought he detected a hint of a laugh in Genset’s voice, but with the suit obscuring his face and voice, he couldn’t be sure.
The room was fully furnished. One wall consisted mostly of shelves and a cupboard, another had a plain door set in it. There was also a double bed, side table, couch, desk and comfortable looking chair. These were more luxury than Shet was accustomed to, but paled into insignificance when compared to the far wall, particularly the book shelves that lined it.
Books! Such rare items, and hundreds of them! All were in perfect condition, sealed in plastic. He stared in wonder. How was it that all these precious books were here, unread, possibly since before the world burned?
Other details started to register; the lights in the room were plugged directly into the ceiling or wall, no batteries in sight. A computer adorned the desk and, unlike the few others he had seen, a small red light glowed on its screen; this one appeared to have power. The concrete floor was covered by a brightly coloured rug.
He strode across his new domain, taking everything in. He examined the selection of books. There were both fiction and non-fiction, many on subjects that meant nothing to him. He would definitely be getting back to them; he had a suspicion that that was the idea anyway.
He opened the other door which led to a bathroom equipped with a shower, toilet and basin. Surely all this couldn’t be for him alone? He scarcely dared believe it, but there was only one bed.
Genset looked in through the open door. “Do you like your room?”
Barely able to contain his excitement, Shet replied, “It’s incredible! Not even the mayor lives in such luxury.” While not exactly accurate, it was one of the most spacious accommodations in Bunker.
“Get settled in. I will show you around tomorrow. One rule. I know you are seeing Meri, you may bring her to your room, but only here. You are not to take here into the working spaces. If you discuss what I teach you with anyone, it must be nothing specific. Apart from yourself, nobody is to know what goes on in there.” Genset pointed towards the dim cavern behind the windows. Shet agreed, glad that his relationship with Meri wasn’t going to be an issue.
* * *
Copyright © 2023 by Quintin Snell
