Microstory 2461: 10,000 Emerald Pools

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This, to the best of my knowledge, is based on a song, which in turn, is based on a physical address from a city called Las Vegas, on Earth before the Great Rewilding of the 21st and 22nd centuries. From what I gather, the song is about love, but it’s open to your interpretation. Castlebourne’s interpretation is quite literal. There are actually 10,000 Emerald pools dotting the landscape on the surface under this dome. Though don’t expect to ever see all of them from above, or even a handful of them. That’s not how it works. This is classified as a Leisure Dome, but it’s also sort of Residential, because there’s no time limit. If you wanna stay in your pit for the rest of time, it doesn’t sound like anyone’s ever going to kick you out. This is a very personal experience, which the prospectus doesn’t go into, so there’s a chance that my review will be autorejected for revealing too much information about it, but this is what happened to me, so I feel like I have the right to detail it. When I first went in, they asked me the standard questions about what kind of person I am. How organic am I? Do I have a heart condition? Do I require electrical charge? That sort of stuff. They needed to know if I needed hygiene facilities, or a bed to sleep in. They also asked me some psychological questions, such as how my mood is, how easily it shifts, and how much human contact I feel like I need. It’s a personal journey. When I woke up in my hallway, I had to pass through a plasma barrier tailored specifically to my DNA. I would not have been able to bring anyone with me, nor break into anyone else’s domain. But more on that later. After the questions were done, they processed the data, and assigned a pool to me. They didn’t give me a name or number for it, nor tell me where in the dome I would be going. It could have been clear on the other side, right by the entrance, or somewhere near the center. I just don’t know, because they had me take a sedative before I was allowed to continue. Don’t think you can get around this if you have any cybernetic upgrades, or something. They also have technosedatives. That’s why they needed to know my substrate specifications. Like I said, I woke up in a hallway. On one end was a metal door that said EXIT. A sign underneath informed me that I could leave at any time, but I would never be allowed back into any of the pits. That’s right, it is a one time experience, full stop. I’ll never be able to go back. It’s kind of sad, but beautiful, really. As soon as I walked through the plasma barrier, I was stripped naked. They didn’t tell me that part either. But I was happy, because this was a special gift. I walked through the wooden door, and into my pit. Before me on the ground was exactly what I was promised: an emerald pool of water. Flush with the grass was concrete coping, and the pool itself was lined with smooth concrete. All around me were trees and open spaces, but nothing else. I waded in the water for about two hours before I even thought about exploring. I walked less than 400 meters, up the incline of the pit, before I ran into the ceiling. That’s right, the edge of the ceiling started at the edge of the rim of the pit. To visualize it, imagine a bowl with a clear lid fitted on the top of it. I walked all along the perimeter, sliding my hand along the ceiling above me. There was no escape. The only way out was the exit door on the other end of the original hallway. I went back to my emerald pool, and jumped in. I slept on the bottom of it that night, using my gills to breathe. I won’t tell you what I thought about while I was there, because as I’ve been saying, it was very personal, but I’ll say that it was rewarding. The next day, I reopened the wooden door, walked back down the hallway, though the plasma barrier, and left forever.

Microstory 2453: Threshold

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A liminal space is an empty place of transition, such as a hallway or a stairwell. The keypoint is that it’s empty, devoid of life...except for you. This invokes a sense of unease, suggestive of not simply being alone in the room that you happen to be in, but in the world, or even all of time. It is quiet and creepy, and behind every corner could be a lurking threat. It’s hard to decide if such a threat even would be worse, however, or if you wish something would be there just so something would happen to break up the emptiness. Just so you wouldn’t be alone anymore. That is the idea behind a dome simply called Threshold. It’s nothing but liminal space. Any empty room you come across will just lead to a closet, another hallway, or another empty room. You will occasionally come across a small white bucket on a table that’s missing a leg, or a stain on the carpet in the vague shape of a man. While it is generally quiet, random unplaceable noises will sound off somewhere nearby, like a creak, or a chirp. When you walk over to investigate, you won’t find anything, except maybe a surprise mirror, which could give you life-affirming jumpscare. I’ve been through this one a lot, because I revel in the disquiet. I see it as an opportunity for introspection and self-reflection, if there’s a difference. I should wander around and give a think on that. There are some water stations for safety, but no other supplies. You go in with a dayfruit grower-slash hygiene station combo cart, and a cot, but that’s it. Whenever you’re ready to leave, you can activate an exit beacon. A bot will come to retrieve you and lead you out through the nearest locked trapdoor. That’s the only time you’ll see someone else, and once you press that button, you gotta go. If you’re wondering if it’s even possible for multiple people to visit Threshold, and not run into each other once in a while, I assure you that not only is it possible, it may be impossible for two to cross paths. There is plenty of room here. Like the terminal, the outer shell of the liminal space complex takes up just about the entire volume of the dome, which—I looked it up—is 149 thousand cubic kilometers, or 149 billion megalitres. With over 13,800 floors, you’re not gonna run into anyone else. They make sure to keep us separated, and while I can’t be sure, I believe the locked doors I run into occasionally would lead to other people’s areas. Thresholders, as we like to call ourselves, have been discussing the possibilities on the message boards, but Castlebourne gives you very little information. Obviously part of the experience. Normally I wouldn’t discourage someone from visiting a dome. My reviews are usually pretty upbeat and favorable, but it takes a strong stomach to even cross one threshold once you’re inside, let alone a series of them. I don’t know for sure that there aren’t any monsters hiding in dark corners. I only know that I’ve never seen any before. But I do hear those noises, and I don’t know what’s making them.

Microstory 1399: Story

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Seasoned Reporter: This is the interview with Fiore Stern, noted serial killer and terrorist.

Fiore Stern: I am not a terrorist. I’m the one who helped take down the terrorist organization. Get your facts straight.

Seasoned Reporter: You worked for Hemming Fertilizer for three years before you contacted the authorities about their misdealings.

Fiore Stern: That’s right. I was undercover all that time.

Seasoned Reporter: That’s what you said when it happened, but you were later discovered to have personally killed two dozen people. Does that not call your motives regarding the bomb-making company into question?

Fiore Stern: I don’t think it does at all. The two things have nothing to do with each other.

Seasoned Reporter: According to earlier interviews, you knew the entire time what Hemming was in reality. Now, I’m not saying it doesn’t take three years to go undercover, and bring terrorists to justice from the inside. I honestly don’t know how I would do it, let alone how long it would take. But because of these revelations about your private inclinations towards violence, you have to understand that people are going to be suspicious about your role within the company. Some are wondering whether you had always intended to fight against them, or if you simply saw an opportunity, and took it, assuming that no one would scrutinize you about who you really were.

Fiore Stern: I can see where people might start modifying their perception of me. But they have to realize that serial killing and terrorism are two very different ideologies. What I did to those innocent victims was very personal, and I’ve been working with mental health professionals to understand my reasons. It’s a lot more complex than you might think.

Seasoned Reporter: I would never characterize your behavior as simple. No one seems to be arguing that.

Fiore Stern: Yes, but terrorism kind of is simple. These people were angry at the world. The justice they saw, they perceived as injustice. They believed it was their duty to correct society as a whole, and make people afraid to go against them. Now, I’m not at all saying that the terrible things I did were okay. It’s just that Past!Me had very different motivations. He thought he was making art, and subsequently beauty, and he even thought he was creating life. When I put those bodies on display, I surrounded them with plant life, which signified rebirth, and transcendence. Again, I’m completely aware of how wrong that was, but the terrorists couldn’t care less about any of that. I don’t fault people for hating me, or thinking I’m not better than the people who worked for Hemming, but to suggest we fall into the same category is quite negligent, and no psychologist would do that. I just want to make it clear that I didn’t hurt anybody for Hemming. I’ve hurt people, but not for those reasons, and not for them. It’s important to me that the public acknowledges that.

Seasoned Reporter: Okay. You’re both bad, but you’re not the same. Acknowledged.

Fiore Stern: Thank you.

Seasoned Reporter: Let’s move on. Tell me how life in prison has been for you over the course of this last year. Have the other inmates accepted you for what you did to your victims, or do they mistreat you because of what you did to those bomb-makers?

Fiore Stern: I’m actually in protective custody, but a special corner of it. This is where they put the corrupt cops, and snitches, so I interact with people a little, but not much. I’m mostly in solitary confinement.

Seasoned Reporter: And have you found that difficult, being alone all the time?

Fiore Stern: I like it. I don’t much care for people, and I don’t find myself going crazy in there. They gave me a little window, so that’s nice.. I will say this, though, the place could do with a few more plants.