VI #3
Nika straightened. She was still studying the contents in her hands. Finally she lifted her gaze and shrieked in obvious delight: "YES!"
Nick straightened; she'd literally frightened him with her behavior.
But then he noticed the immense joy on her face.
People were gathering to see the reason for such delight.
Nika jumped up and tightly hugged the astonished Nick.
He instinctively returned the hug, still marveling.
Then the girl broke away, raised the vials in the air in a triumphant gesture, and announced to the gathered people: "WE'RE SAVED!"
Everyone was puzzled. She finally noticed the expressions on their faces and then, in a slightly raised tone, explained: "Being a vegetarian isn't healthy if you don't have the ingredients to make up for the substances plants don't have. Lettuce, tomatoes,
and similar plants that we can grow don't have the proteins our bodies need, you know that."
People agreed. Nika continued: "Without protein, our bodies would starve over time and we would literally die of hunger or the consequences that a lack of protein creates in the body. This is our protein."
She held the vials up high so everyone could see them.
"In these vials are dehydrated mushrooms. The thing is, the mushrooms went through the dehydration process at the moment they were richest in spores. At the peak of their life cycle. I can say with near certainty that the spores in the mushrooms aren't destroyed.
Spores are able to survive extreme conditions in order to develop when conditions improve. Something like seeds. In the laboratory we'll create the conditions for development and grow the first mushroom beds for our population. Mushrooms are full of protein and,
in combination with other crops we'll grow, our survival is secured."
Her enthusiasm passed to the people, and a spontaneous applause broke out.
Nika bowed gracefully and accepted the praise coming from all sides.
Then she looked at Nick, who stood off to the side, and quietly said: "And again you were the herald of good news. Think about that."
Then she turned and headed down the passage toward certain laboratory machines, holding in her hands the vials that, judging by her reaction, were more precious than dry gold.
People dispersed, excitedly commenting on the latest development, and Nick was left completely alone.
He thought about the words she'd directed at him as she left.
He had indeed been the person who brought the dried mushrooms, but that, admittedly, could have been done by anyone.
He wondered whether it would all have unfolded the same way in some other reality, one in which he didn't exist.
Maybe, and maybe not. At this moment he saw one overjoyed girl who was just doing something around a machine, surrounded by people, to secure their survival.
The fatigue had vanished from her face, replaced by vigor and the will to work.
Hope is a damned motivator. It makes you find the last of your strength to persevere and do what you deem necessary.
With that in mind, Nick headed toward the laboratory exit.
Coming out, he stopped to let a crowd of workers pass, carrying plastic hoses through the corridors.
That was for the farm project Nika had begun.
He was glad it was all progressing quickly.
He decided to follow the workers to check whether the work was progressing.
Soon after, he found himself in a dimly lit cave that, for the first time in its existence, had experienced an enormous flow of people and material.
Electricians climbed the rocks trying to connect cables to power.
Plumbers stretched plastic hoses into neat rectangles across the floor.
It seemed chaotic, but it looked like Denis and Ivan held all the threads in their hands.
Even the inexperienced Nick could notice the positions where the seedling beds would stand.
Sacks of soil were being brought, minerals scraped from the rock, plastic sheeting laid so nothing of the precious compost would be lost through invisible cracks in the stone floor.
The gloom was retreating as the electricians hooked up the newest lamps set at regular intervals along the rocks and the stone wall.
All this bustle reminded Nick of an anthill or a beehive.
Literally. The only difference between the industrious insects and these busy people was the conversation among them and the odd bit of laughter.
People were in good spirits. They commented on the progress of the work, on the future, but what Nick heard most was that everyone was looking forward to a warm dinner, for which they should get a call in the coming hours.
It's astonishing how little people need to feel good.
Give them a warm meal and a word full of hope, and they'll work diligently for hours on a project they don't even understand themselves.
It's all down to hope. Hope that they'll manage to survive, that they'll create something that will help everyone in the future.
Though they didn't understand the puzzle themselves, the mere knowledge that they'd taken part in such a big project was enough for them.
A project their children would profit from.
A project that secures survival and comfort for everyone in the shelter.
And that's why, with smiles on their faces, people carried out every task Ivan and Denis assigned them.
The work progressed at such speed that Nick could literally see the farms taking shape in the days ahead.
If only the politicians of the failed world above their heads had thought that way.
Maybe the world wouldn't have ended in the fire of a nuclear holocaust.
If they'd only given people the illusion that they were needed by the world, instead of stuffing them into two-meter-wide boxes with heartless screens inside them.
In a way, people were enslaved. In fact, they had it worse than slaves.
All of that was a thing of the past. Now the busy young people around him radiated hope and purpose.
Waving cheerfully, he passed a loud group and headed toward the gray stone of the rock.
Finally he found himself at the place he'd been looking for.
Following the gentle curve of the wall, he entered the gloom of a silent cave.
In the distance he noticed the lit doors leading into the clinic.
He didn't feel like going there now. He leaned against the cold rock of the wall to pause for a moment and think without the noise of the shelter that had surrounded him until then.
He noticed he wasn't cold. The space he was in had a certain temperature, not too cold to need warmer clothes, but he couldn't sit idle for long in short sleeves either.
Nick sighed deeply. The air was somehow heavy, earthy, full of dust, but it was fresh.
That surprised him. They were deep below the surface — he estimated they were somewhere in the foundations of the western side of Sljeme, at a depth of some two hundred meters.
So the presence of fresh air was, to put it mildly, astonishing.
Maybe there was some danger from that fresh air he hadn't considered before.
The danger of invisible radiation creeping through cracks in the rock and entering his body, damaging and killing his cells.
Though the chance of radioactive poisoning was small, it still existed.
So Nick decided to mention his observations about the light air current through the cave at the next council meeting.
He pushed off the cold rock, ready to head toward the clinic, when a small recess in the rock caught his eye.
About five meters ahead of him was an opening in the rock a meter wide.
Nick approached the opening and noticed that the interior wasn't lit, but he could make out the pale rock wall in front of him, some ten meters away.
Stalactites and stalagmites filled a small chamber of about thirty square meters.
He understood why the shelter's original designers had left this part untouched.
The faint light coming from behind Nick reflected in an incredible way off the minerals throughout the room.
Incredible patterns of various colors, with lines of tiny crystals running through the rock, formed a mosaic of nature that captivated Nick.
Holding his breath, he entered the small chamber, allowing more of the red light to enter, creating new patterns on the surrounding rocks.
He watched, captivated, the play of light and shadow throughout the room.
As if he were in a fairy tale, he couldn't believe such a thing was possible.
Even in the poor light of the primary lighting coming from outside, the chamber broke even the smallest ray of light into an incredible array of patterns.
Nick could only imagine how the chamber would look if some stronger lighting were placed in it.
Then an idea occurred to him. He'd finally found what he needed.
A place where he could come and think, a place where he'd feel separate yet as if he belonged, and a place where he could finally bring Irena on a date.
He could say with certainty that the girl would be impressed.
For the first time in the past few hours, Nick laughed.
A sincere, loud laugh of a happy man. With a step that was now a little lighter, he came out of the small chamber and headed toward the clinic to carry out the plan that had been born in his head.