Chapter 44: Chapter 44

Moving day put everyone in a bit of a festival mood. There was barely any sentimentality of leaving New World 81 and everyone was eager and excited as they boarded the train. The reveal of the Sentinel eyebots at the station handling the luggage also sparked keen interest, even more so from the group of vaulters I invited along for the ride.

It was a fair chance for them to judge Caladan for themselves before they decided on moving in. After all, they’ll be switching from one underground bunker to an underwater one.

I was at the control station with my girls and a few of the residents who managed to crowd in to watch the tracks rush towards us. Novel experience for sure, being on something so fast and silent save for the chattering of its excited passengers.

We reached Caladan in no time and the Sentinel eyebots were already waiting to guide everyone out with their monotonous voices.

“Please exit the train calmly and mind your step.”

“Please do not forget any personal belongings.”

“Welcome to Caladan.”

Their droning impressed Gwen and her fellow vaulters, which was good I guess. I waited for everyone to assemble with their belongings before giving them a general layout of the place.

“Welcome to Caladan station, part of the Caladan arcology. The place beyond the station walls is huge, but there are maps and automated buggies that will help you get around.”

*****

Tim and Katy held hands as they followed Sev out into Caladan. It was like a massive vault level, only that it seemed to go on forever into the distance when Tim looked down the main road. Sev mentioned that the whole place was a square mile in size, a scale which Tim was confident that everyone couldn’t really grasp, even the slack-jawed visitors from Vault 81. Whispers of awe fluttered around him, and save for those too young to appreciate the sight, everyone was suitably amazed.

Whatever anyone had in mind, no one was prepared for the experience.

Everything was well lit from lights in the ceilings and walls, and there were even actual bushes at the corner of some hallways, usually surrounding what looked like a shortened street lamp.

There were occasional metal signposts in green along the wider hallways with a button on it. “For calling the buggies. There’s a commuting service set up so that you don’t have to exhaust yourself walking too far. The buggies only accept registered residents though, so unfortunately visitors would need guides to use the service.”

Of course Sev would think about easing the hassle of walking for everyone.

Walls defined the rooms along the hallway like the rows of houses or shops out in the wasteland that clung to roads and streets. Simple yet sturdy doors, not like the heavy vault doors of Vault 81, marked the entrances to each room, while long windows of clear glass allowed an inside peek.

“This will eventually be the designated commercial zone, since being near the station makes life easier for visitors,” Sev explained. “There’s a residential area allocated for outsiders to stay in while they’re conducting trades or just visiting.” It also kept them from straying too far, Tim realised, though with the amount of the Sentinel bots flying around, he doubted Sev needed to worry about curious wanderers.

“Look Tim, there’s street names.” Once Katy brought it up, Tim suddenly found himself viewing this whole place as more than just a vault. Other than the fact that there were rooms instead of buildings, it was easy to imagine the hall as roads and streets running underneath a light blue ceiling he could easily touch with a tall enough ladder.

As they walked down the ‘main road’ to the recreational zone, Tim finally got it in his head that this was a proper underground city. That, or a fully indoor one, which was about the same to his mind.

“So, this is one of several parks. I’ll probably do a naming contest in the future for them. You’ll notice the floors above us, and the stairwells over there and there to get up to those floors. Also note the elevators next to the stairwells. Incidentally, upstairs is where the actual residential rooms are. I’ll let you all pick your rooms later.”

Sev had built a park indoors, the ceiling above it removed so the trees could reach up two floors above them once they’ve grown enough. As it was though, they were still short things that could barely be seen amongst the shrubbery. Katy gripped his hand a bit tighter and Tim saw her gesture to the plants with a lusty smirk.

Guess he’ll have to ask Sev about fucking in the bushes later...

“Anyway, next to each park, is a robot operated cafeteria like that one. Citizens eat for free, visitors will have a card system to limit the meals they can claim.”

The cafeteria was basically a bar staffed by six white-armed Mr Handy bots with tables and chairs out in the open...well, as open as one could be in an indoor setting. Just beyond that, several rooms had different colors painted on their walls, with blank sign boards above the doors.

“Uh Sev?”

“Yeah, Colin?”

“If the upstairs is where we’ll stay, what’s the other rooms on this floor for?”

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Sev smiled as if expecting the question. “More food stalls, stores, and other recreation areas like a swimming pool...hopefully. Right now, I’ve only developed a small area, well small for a square mile of coverage, so lots of potential to be unlocked once Caladan grows in people and we actually need the space.”

There were some sharp inhales and murmurs of wonder at Sev’s vision. For a group of mostly freed slaves, the thought of living in a peaceful town-sized area… No, living in Sev’s town-sized area sounded like the best thing ever. New World 81 gave them a much needed sense of security, but here, where the threat of the outdoors were effectively eliminated? Nevermind the vault-like lifestyle, Tim was happy to call this paradise, and he was sure he wouldn’t be the only one.

Besides, Sev had assured them that they could take the crazy fast train back to the Commonwealth if they wanted.

The tour then went upstairs, where everyone got their first look at functioning escalators on some of the marked stairwells. The excitement at the sight and experience was understandably childlike, but Sev had to herd everyone away from playing with the automated stairs to what he promised were better sights.

So they found their rooms, and Tim felt that Sev was just trying to spoil them now. The rooms in New World 81 was already comfortable enough, but the rooms here in Caladan were almost twice as big, with actual separations from the living rooms and the bedroom. They came with functioning bathtubs as well as showers too.

“Weekly room cleaning by Ms Nanny bots is a default, though you can schedule for higher or lower frequency visits. Try not to depend too much on it though, there might be cases where I might have to redirect them to handle other matters.”

There were already hushed but fierce discussions on calling dibs on rooms. Katy gave her suggestion, and Tim would be joining her in fighting for one of the rooms facing the park. It was either that, or get one right across the escalators.

*****

Tina was dumbstruck, just like everyone else from her vault. The kids were all excitedly calling out at the wonders of Sev’s new home, but everyone from Vault 81 was struggling to grasp the sheer scale of things. Just what kind of resources did Sev have to keep something as big as he said running?

He showed off a fucking park for fuck’s sake, and promised more! Even Dr Penske was knocked out of her usual snappy self to marvel at what was basically a megavault. It was the escalators that did it for Tina, the sight of moving stairs, the luxury of using energy to run it, that proved once and for all that Sev offered the route to an idyllic life.

Tina didn’t care if she had to kiss Overseer McNamara’s ass, she’d do it with a smile if it meant she was allowed to move in immediately. Fuck, she’d french kiss everyone’s bum right now if it meant she could get a room and didn’t have to go back to Vault 81.

When Sev led them to the highest floor, Tina amended her thoughts; She’d gladly let the boys and girls of Caladan ruin her for a week, no, a month. Sev could collar and brand her and she’d bark like a happy little bitch if it meant she got to stay.

This seventh floor was beautiful. Higher than the other floors, the ceiling and walls were apparently made of glass, because she could see the skies shining down from above, the waves crashing and the dirty but still lively ocean beneath it through the walls. And the floor was basically a carpet of grass. Real, life-rich green grass that didn’t have the stench of the wasteland on it.

And then Sev showed off a field, a real field of growing vegetables just some distance away. And then the saplings of a fruit orchard, and then what seemed to be a rolling plains beyond that that ‘wasn’t developed yet’.

Fuck, did she really have to go back to Vault 81? She turned to her other vault dwellers, seeing about the same anguished looks in all of them, the overseer included. And when Sev announced the end of the tour and ushered everyone to the larger elevators to go back down, every member of Vault 81 dragged their feet with heavy reluctance.

The elevator stopped at the first residential level for Caladan’s kids to begin their mad dash to get their rooms, and then it was just Sev, his girls, the Curie robot, and the glum people of Vault 81.

“So, whatd’ya think?” Sev asked with an oblivious smile, his girls smirking at his side.

“It is...tempting,” Gwen calmly said with heavy understatement.

Scott and Calvin were shaken, but still nodded their agreement. “Hell of a place you got here,” the security head managed. Drs Penske and Forscythe just kept thoughtfully silent.

“Well, we’ll follow the timetable, if you really want to move in,” Caladan’s undisputed ruler casually said. “Thirty days of seeing if your side is comfortable with my laws, but you’d get to use New World 81 in the meantime.”

“Can we do anything to skip that?”

“Tina.” The overseer called out her impulsive blurt with a cautionary tone, and Tina just gave a soft ‘nevermind’ before shutting up. Gwen was right though, no sense annoying Sev needlessly. It was just thirty days after all.

Tina resolved to hammer Bobby into a model citizen of Caladan in the meantime. She was not going to lose her chance at a cushy life just because her brother decided to be a troublesome prick again.

*****

As they took the train back, Gwen chewed on her lip absently as discussions brewed between the vault heads and other vault dwellers who came along for the visit. Perhaps she should have petitioned with Tina for Sev to make an exception for them? Whose ass would she have to kiss to skip thirty days of waiting?

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