The Geodomes: Gamma

"It's a trick!" Geo said desperately. "A joke! It aint real!"

"I told you," Thee said to me, darkly. "It's an experiment."

"I don't think it is," I said, numb. "I think it's real. I think that just happened."

He looked at the screen again and took hold of my hand, squeezing tightly.

The screen went dark.

"Welcome to Gamma Dome, your new home. We have chosen nine viable regional candidates from each sex to start over in this region. Within the dome, you will find everything you need to start over. There are nine domiciles within the dome for when you are done pairing. Your jobs will become apparent once you reach the second waystation within the dome. As time passes, you will be returned here to speak with those from other domes to communicate what your needs are once the domes are opened. You have 48 hours to talk amongst yourselves and elect a leader and find a partner. If you have not done so in the time provided, one will be assigned to you. Please, exit this waystation through the door on the north and head to the next waystation."

No one moved. We all stood staring at the black screen, still horrified.

"Was that real?" Ivy shrieked.

"Naw, we are bein' punked or some shit. I'm getting out of here!" Geo said, going to the door we came it. It was locked.

"Please proceed to the next waystation," the voice said pleasantly. "In one minute, this room will be filled with toxic gas."

We all fled through the north door, half running. I could see the next waystation in the distance.

"Please stay on the path. Anyone straying from the path will be targeted and punished."

Geo and two other boys as well as a girl hurried back onto the path.

Thee grabbed my hand again and started walking towards the next waystation. This time, I didn't pull away. I was terrified and I needed a little human contact, even if it was from the tactless and graceless boy.

We arrived as a group this time, into the large, open room. It looked like a living room or a day room, with couches, chairs, three TV's, half a dozen bookshelves. There were hallways leading off east and west and what looked like a kitchen in the north.

"Welcome to your temporary home. Please, make yourselves comfortable. To the west are the dorms where you will each find a room specially designed for you and your needs. To the east are the rooms with your amenities. To the north is the kitchen and the door leading to the outer buildings. For now you will be staying here until you have chosen your partners, gotten a feel for your jobs and have elected a leader.

Let's go ahead and start. Alessandro Legge, please step to the front. This is Ali and he will be your medic. The medbay is located in the east wing, first door on the right. He will be working closely with Ella, Marta and Aysha.

Nettie Livingston, please step to the front. This is Nettie and she will be in charge of raising the livestock. She will work closely with Katie, Lovie, Ella and Zachary. The barn is located to the north of the kitchen and will be open after this exercise has concluded.

David Waters, please step to the front. This is Davey and he will be in charge of all woodworking. That includes felling trees, making furniture or other small wooden devices. Davey will be working closely with Jaydan and George. The woodshop is opposite the barn to the north.

Maggie Ortega, please step to the front. This is Magpie and she will be in charge of pottery, including gathering clay and making bowls, mortar and other needed objects. Magpie will be working closely with Eric and George. The arts room is in the east wing, past the medbay.

Kenan Higgans, please step to the front. This is Key and he will be working with electronics and general repairs to the facility as needed. The repair shop is in the east wing, first door on the left.

Aysha Joyce, please step to the front. This is Aysha and she will be midwife to the many babies born in the dome. Aysha will be working closely with Alessandro, Marta and Ella. Aysha will be working in the medbay.

Eric Pearson, please step to the front. This is Eric and he will be working in masonry. Eric will be working closely with Maggie, George, and Timothy. The masonry is located next to the woodshop and the blacksmithy.

Ivy Lewis, please step to the front. This is Ivy and she will be the seamstress. Ivy will work closely with Lovie and Marcus. The design studio is in the east wing, the last room on the left after the swimming pool.

Jaydan Wyatt, please step to the front. This is Jay and he is the blacksmith. Jay will be working closely with David, Eric, George and Timothy. The blacksmithy is located next to the woodshop, across from the barn.

Katie Patton, please step to the front. This is Katie and she is the beekeeper. Katie will be working closely with Lovie, Tanisha and Ella. The bees are kept to the south of the living complex, within sight of the barn.

George Lopez, please step to the front. This is Geo and he is a carpenter. He will be building larger structures and additions as needed. Geo will be working closely with David, Eric, Jaydan, and Timothy. The woodshop is located next to the blacksmithy across from the barn.

Lovie Mason, please step to the front. This is Lovie and she will be in charge of all of the crops, plants, trees and herbs. Lovie will be working closely with Alessandro, Nettie, Katie, Tanisha and Ella. Lovie will be working from a plot map in her quarters.

Timothy Barker, please step to the front. This is Thee and he is our site engineer. He will be drawing up plans for any structures needed within the dome, or large scale repairs needed. Thee will be working closely with Eric and George. The drafting room adjoins the electronics room in the east wing.

Marta Acosta, please step to the front. This is Marty and she is the veterinarian. Marty will be working closely with Alessandro, Nettie, Aysha, Lovie, Zachary, Marcus and Ella. The Vet office is a wing within the barn.

Zachary Vaughan, please step to the front. This is Zach and he is the butcher. Zach will be working closely with Nettie, Marta, Tanisha and Marcus. Zach will be working in the kitchen.

Tanisha Hinton, please step to the front. This is Tanny and she will be the chef. Tanny will work closely with Nettie, Katie, Lovie, Marta, Zachary and Ella. Tanny will be working in the kitchen.

Marcus Chester, please step to the front. This is Mark and he will be working with leathercrafting. Mark will be working closely with Nettie, Ivy, Marta and Zachary. Marcus will be working in the design studio.

Ella Jenkins, please step to the front. This is Ella and she is an herbalist. Ella will be working closely with Alessandro, Aysha, Katie, Lovie, Marta and Tanisha. Ella will be assigned to the medbay and the adjoining alchemy lab.

There are some jobs with ample idle times and they can be recruited and trained to help those who have a large workload. This includes, but is not limited to: Nettie, Eric, George, and Lovie, most often Nettie and Lovie. All guests with idle time will be required to work when they are assigned a temporary duty. Only three guests may not be assigned temporary duty. Alessandro must be available for the medbay at all times in case of emergency. Nettie will never have downtime. Lovie will never have downtime.

Now that you have all been introduced and assigned your jobs, you may see your rooms. You were each given a number on your invitation and your room number corresponds to your assigned number. Girls on the left, boys on the right on the west bay."

I looked around for a moment as everyone milled, then looked over to see a shortish blonde girl sitting down hard as people started to their rooms. I hurried to her.

"Hey. Ella, right? I'm Lovie. You ok?"

"Are they really gone? My whole family?"

"If this is real. I mean, it might not be. Thee thinks it's an experiment. So, an herbalist huh? That's cool. We'll be working together a lot."

She gave me a tremulous smile, her big blue eyes still full of tears. I got her to stand up and turned. Thee was there, waiting for me. I shifted uncomfortably, looking up at him. He gave Ella a single glance, then looked down at me. "Told you," he said.

"You were right," I agreed. I led Ella down the hall and Thee followed us. "What's your number?" I asked her.

"Eighteen."

I led her to the end of the hall and tried to open the door. It wouldn't open.

"It's locked?"

She tried and it opened for her.

"Handy," I said, looking over my shoulder at Thee who was back down the hall in front of my door. "I am in twelve, knock if you need anything, ok?"

"Thanks Lovie," she said, hugging me. I hugged her back, harder than I needed to since I needed the hug just as badly.

"Hey, if you are giving those out," a boy said shakily, awkwardly opening an arm as he came out of 17.

I would have blown him off if he hadn't looked so shaken and terrified. Instead I pulled him into the hug.

I pulled back and smiled. "I'm leaving her in your care. I need to look at my room," I said to him before turning and going to my room. Thee was scowling. I hesitated outside my door, hand on the handle. "How was your room?" I asked.

He shrugged and pointed to 13, kitty corner to mine.

I was still too nervous to open my door. Geo came out of 11 right across from me and I took the moment of distraction to slip into my room and shut the door.

Someone immediately tried it. What was his deal? He knocked. I ignored the knock as I looked around the huge room. It was done in white and bamboo green, simple and tasteful. There was a huge screen on the wall between two doors. One led to a bathroom, the other to a walk-in closet where my giant suitcase was sitting. I went back to the giant screen and stood in front of it, but saw no way to turn it on.

"How the hell do I use this?" I whispered, bending to look under it.

"Commands are spoken," the electronic voice said.

"Oh. Great. Umm, screen on?"

Nothing happened.

"What command do I use to turn this on?" I asked, feeling silly.

"Plot map, on."

"Right. Plot map, on," I said to the screen. It lit up, showing me a layout of the dome. A giant map of all of it. "Can you tell me how to use this?" I asked the air.

"There is a user's manual in your personal electronic device in your top drawer of your desk. Your personal electronic device is number 12. If you need to be reached, anyone can contact you by asking for Guest twelve, or using your preferred nomenclature. Would you like to assign a preferred nomenclature? Would you like to be Lovie, Lovie Mason, or something else?"

"Lovie is fine," I said, going to the desk and opening the top drawer. There was nothing but a thick, silver bracelet. I picked it up, looking at it, then put it on and snapped it shut. Immediately, it stung me and zapped me and I squealed as I tried to scrape it off. It wouldn't open!

A glowing red dot appeared, then a green dot next to it, then the red dot turned green so that there were two green dots on it. I stared at it, panting. "How do I get it off?" I demanded.

"The PED cannot be removed. Touch both sensors to begin instructions."

I touched both green dots and a screen popped up, projected from the bracelet.

"Cool!" I whispered.

"If you wish the room to be warmer, state your preferred temperature."

"No, it's fine... actually, you could go a few degrees cooler in here. Like, 60ish I guess?" I said, looking around.

There was another knock on my door.

I went and opened it, ready to tell Thee to leave me alone, but it was Ella. She stared wide eyed at my PED. "Hey! Umm, everyone is meeting back at the living room? What is that?"

"We all have one, it's in your desk drawer. Thanks," I said, following her out and touching the sensors to minimize the projection.

Thee was standing at the end of the hall, waiting for me.

"Everyone have a seat!" Kenan yelled, pacing at the front of the room. Kenan was just above average height and he looked like a prep school knockoff. His frat boy shorts and polo shirt were off brands and his shoes looked second hand. He was trying hard to appear like a douchebag typical frat boy, but he was off his mark. He did have the tan, the hair and the looks though, I would give him that. He didn't quite command the room like he wanted to though. He was trying to be alpha but Geo and Jaydan had him beat by sheer presence.

Thee took my arm and led me to a loveseat, pulling me down to sit next to him. I almost objected, but he was ignoring me and looking at the bracelet on my arm so I didn't say anything..

"We have all had a chance to look at our rooms, I think we need to spend some time getting to know each other. The people here want us paired up, so we..."

"Just because they say it don't mean we're doin it," Tanisha said, standing.

"Yeah, no one is forcing me to couple up with some rando," Maggie said, also standing.

"Sit down everyone," Kenan said loudly. "Like I was saying, we should spend some time getting to know each other. We can sort of set up like a rotating shift and spend an hour or two with each other, see what..."

I stood up. "Sorry, that sounds... awful. Like speed dating but worse. Why not set up a lunch and we can sit and talk as a group. Rather than focus on pairing, we can focus on the larger picture and in that we will see who we are compatible with. Umm, dome, what do we address you as?"

"You may call me Gamma," the feminine, robotic voice answered.

"Gamma, is there food here or do we have to harvest and butcher it?"

"There is two weeks forth of food ready to be prepared in the kitchen. There is one days worth of food in the dining hall, waiting to be opened."

"Gamma, where is the dining hall?"

"Next to the kitchen."

I started to the kitchen.

"Wait a minute!" Kenan yelled as others got up and began following me. "We need to vote on a leader!"

I sat at the large table and people sat around me. Thee right next to me. I pulled the large cover off of the large dish in the middle and it looked like a lasagna of some kind with garlic bread. It smelled amazing. I dug right in and everyone was close behind me. I was starved after the long walk and the stressful morning.

I looked around as I ate, watching the others. Most of them still looked like they were in shock. I sat up and held my arm up, then hit the sensors so that the projection displayed. Everyone gaped. "We all have these in our desk drawers, they are our PED's. Look, it has a map, shows where everyone is. This icon says I can go dark if I don't want people to know where I am. We can contact each other, ask questions. I am 12, or Lovie. It also has user manuals and instructions on everything," I said, sitting back and playing with it.

A few people got up to get theirs, most sat and ate and watched me.

"You really 18?" the super tall Zachary asked me.

"Yeah," I answered. "You play basketball?"

He half smiled. "Fair enough, sorry."

I shrugged, turning back to the display. Thee was leaning in close, looking over my shoulder as I moved things on the display with my fingers.

"Shit! You didn't say it would freaking hurt!" Ivy accused, coming back in, her big blue eyes brimming with tears.

"It wasn't that bad? It just scared me really," I answered, a little alarmed.

"What did it do?" A boy asked, and he was so nondescript, I couldn't remember his name from the round of introductions. He was pretty-ish, in a soft, andogynous way and he had longish curly brown hair that hid his fine features.

"It sent a spike into my arm, then electrocuted me!"

I blinked at her. "It was a pinprick, like when they poke you at the DR and a zap like static electricity," I said, closing the display so Thee would lean back to his own seat. He did not.

Ali leaned up in his seat, looking across the table at me. "So, a farm girl, huh?" he asked, his eyes shining.

"Yeah. What about the rest of you?" I asked, blushing as I pulled my eyes away from Ali's. He was too cute for his own good!

We sat and talked about where we grew up, what we did. Most of us. Some didn't speak, they just watched. Thee, for one. The beautiful but angry looking girl named Tanisha. Kenan. He sat glaring at me like I had taken something from him.

Hours later, people were relaxed enough that some were laughing and joking again. I noticed Geo loved to make the girls laugh, always smooth. Mark loved to make everyone laugh, then blushed when the spotlight was on him. He wasn't a traditional handsome with his strawberry blonde nest of hair and overly pink lips, but he had a cuteness about him when he smiled.

Jaydan liked to command the conversation and he was a man's man despite how ridiculously hot he was. High cheekbones, sculpted jawline, tousled black hair that touched his eyebrow lightly. He looked like an asian god.

Zach was quiet, but not in a shy way, in a way that said he was used to being the odd man out and not being included. He towered over the others at at least 6'7" and skinny. He tried to hide his face in messy hair. He wasn't overly attractive either, but he wasn't ugly.

David and the androgynous Eric, I remembered his name now, were both shy and quiet, choosing to watch as everyone else talked and laughed. David could have been Ella's brother with his white blonde curls and big blue eyes, super pale. They looked like they could be twins save that he was taller.

None of the girls were shy, none of us. Tanisha sat with her arms crossed and her full lips pressed in disapproval, but it wasn't a shy silence. She was about to explode. The situation had her angry instead of upset or sad.

Nettie liked to smile, and her full eyebrows made her very expressive. She wasn't a supermodel, not like Ivy or Tanesha, but her hippy happy personality made her more likable.

Marta had what some referred to as a resting bitch face. She was pretty, but she looked unhappy. She was quick to smile though, and super nice. Of all of the girls, she was the closest to seeming shy.

Katie looked older than 18, though I had seen her interview on the news and knew she was. We had been at the station at the same time and I had seen her, so I was curious about her. She looked like she should have been walking into a law office somewhere, so professional and perfect looking. I couldn't see her as a beekeeper in my mind. Her green-blue eyes peeked under her black bangs like they had seen a lot.

Maggie was loud and wild and loved to laugh and make fun. She was a tomboy and boisterous and fun. I liked her and her overly full lips and wild hair.

Ivy, who I had thought I might like to be friends with, was turning into the sort of drama queen that I disliked. She needed constant attention and wanted to be the center of it. It was hard to see past it to her personality.

Aysha was always smiling, her lips always turned up as she looked around the room with her bright, beautiful, brown eyes. Her hair was curly and wild, bigger than her face and I wondered how she was going to manage it.

After a while, Kenan stood again and tapped on his glass with a fork. I wanted to roll my eyes but didn't. I was not a fan of Kenan and what he was trying so hard to be.

"Now that we have had a chance to sit down and talk, get a little food in us, relax and take it all in a minute, I think we need to talk about leadership and electing someone."

"You're right," I said, standing. "I think we should set a time to do that. Gamma, what is the cutoff time for us to elect a leader?"

"Ten AM Sunday morning."

"Right, 9 AM good with all of you?" I asked around the table. "By then a leader will have stepped up, shown us who they are? Not with words, but in action? We can nominate at 9, have 5 minutes to speak, then vote. There's only 18 of us, we can probably show of hands it. Easy peasy, yeah?"