Episode 22 - The Labs

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After having my shoe soles cleaned, we continued walking through the laboratories.

"I don't know if you mind me asking, but how do you manage to keep the facilities so clean?" I asked.

"It's very simple. We're not many, and hardly anyone comes in, so that's why is so clean." The scientist replied.

"How many scientists are there?"

"Ninety-five."

"That doesn't seem like a small number."

"It's not if you don't divide it between engineers, biologists, virologists, psychologists, doctors, and their teachers or students, it's not really that many."

"I see. So, this place is more like an academy. But, is there a connection with the library?"

"Other than the occasional book we might need; No. We have everything we need for our research here."

"Right. So, what do you do here?"

"I used to be an obstetrician. I helped with childbirth. I used to work for the Ministry of Health, but I was more interested in furthering my knowledge. I want to write notes that can be useful for future nurses. With the lack of demanding primary education, we have to lower the standards that the old world had." He reasoning.

"That's quite interesting. But, don't you perform deliveries here?"

"No, no. This is more for research than putting theory into practice."

On the one hand, the whole thing still seemed stupid to me since Sali told me about it. But, I can understand his reasoning.

But, is it 'his' reasoning?

"Do you receive orders from the king?" I asked

"Of course, yes. But we have a reciprocal relationship. We inform him, he asks us, and we advise him."

"And does he want these laboratories to remain private?"

"In what sense?"

"In the only sense that matters. Can you research childbirth while you practice it?" I clarified.

"Without a doubt, but there are already people working on that. Sometimes, I even go out to teach. In fact, that's why I received you. I'm one of the few who has more contact with people from the central plaza."

"But, getting back to the topic at hand. What do you do?

"I'm a math expert." I answer

"In what area? There are many branches of math. Can you measure things without any problem?"

"Yes."

"That doesn't tell me much. Okay, how about Pythagoras? Tell me what comes to your mind."

"The Pythagorean theorem? Explain it to me."

"To calculate the hypotenuse, which is the longest part, you take the root, square them, add them together, and there's the result."

"And what's the use of that?"

"It's used to measure the hypotenuse. It works for all right triangles, regardless of their size, and always works even if you modify their values."

"I see. Look, I'll be honest with you. I don't remember exactly what I just asked to you. My specialty is more in medicine, but from what I know, it was something like what you said. I don't know why they made me see it if I never used."

I see a woman with her back facing me, alone in that place so bright and white like the rest of the laboratories.

"Hello, are you the doctor?"

"I am a doctor, yes. Are you the new one? I heard about you, but I was busy to receive you."

She turns around and I must admit it was a pleasant surprise. Even though I was told that she was not someone who went out much, the first thing I saw was that she was a beautiful woman. Her skin tone was the same as everyone else's, but her complexion was impeccable. Her curly black hair was tied up, despite still being abundant. I cannot imagine how chaotic and wild it must look when it's loose. She wore small glasses and a white lab coat that outlined her slender torso. She looked almost expressionless, but with just one glance, I could see how intelligent she was.

Her self-control and tranquility were simply enviable.

I took a deep breath and asked to her;

"What's your name?"

"Maisha."

"That's a nice name."

There was a brief silence.

"Oh, where are my manners? What's your name?"

"Broken Forever."

"A peculiarly dramatic name, to be honest."

"Tragic, I would say. I don't even know why I started calling myself that. I don't remember my real name."

I don't know why I told her that. She just hypnotized me with her eyes, which were staring at the floor until she looked back at me, always maintaining her expressionless demeanor.

She took a few steps forward.

"How can I help you?"

"A scientist... Oh, I forgot his name. The one who was in charge of births."

"Oh yes, he was going to take care of you. What happened?"

"My knowledge is in mathematics, not so much in nursing."

"I see. What did he ask you?"

"Something basic, the Pythagorean theorem."

"While that makes you stand out from many in the central plaza, I would like to know if you have any knowledge of physics."

"Very little, to be honest. I should review them. I hardly remember any formula or unit conversion."

"That complicates things..."

"Look, I suppose they told you that I'm new in this city. What is that purifying machine who everybody... Well, some of them talk about?"

"I know, that's what Mrs. Nassoumi said. If you want to see the machine, follow me."

Near the Maisha laboratories, there was a sound coming from the ground that I hadn't paid attention to until we went down a single flight of stairs together.

Between metal fences that reached my waist, I gazed upon a huge silver medallion-shaped machine that kept vibrating while emanating a sort of iridescent color.

"Behold the purifying machine." She said in a neutral tone while observing the machine. She looked at me, smiled slightly, and replied; "I always wanted to say that."

"What is this?" I asked as I opened my backpack to take out my journal and something to write with.

"As its name suggests, it's the purifying machine. It cleanses the pollution in the city through an expanding wave. Additionally, underneath this machine, we have the energy source that powers all the facilities. And if we ever wanted to take a risk, we could also illuminate the city, but a blackout could be fatal."

I remained silent while jotting down some notes.

"What are you doing?

"Forgive me if I don't answer you right away. I'm still trying to rationalize what I see."

"But besides that, what are you writing?"

"It's my personal journal. Don't think that I'm ignoring you, Doctor. I just don't want to forget this." I said as I put my journal back in my backpack. "So, I want to think that the purifying machine is the reason for the green skies, right?"

"Yes, unless the machine loses power, it expels pollution from all sides."

Mental note: Cross out my previous mental note. I've found the answer.

"You told me you weren't from this city. If you come from the other side of the walls, you should know what's there."

"To tell you the truth, I hardly remember anything."

"Not even the people?"

"I don't remember that. I only remember a few things, at best. I think writing in my journal and doing math is helping me."

"I'm not an expert in that area, but from what I read, amnesia or memory problems can be treated with certain exercises."

"Then the real fear will start when I can't even remember the formulas."

She didn't tell me anything, but she looked at the ground, it was clear she wanted to tell me how concerning this was, but she was trying not to alert me, she was very kind to me.

"In that case, it's no problem if you write in your journal, you won't offend me."

"It's okay, ever since I arrived in the city, I feel like my memory is solid, but I still write because I enjoy doing it."

"Perfect, however you like. The thing is; How is the world outside?"

"If you're asking if there is civilization, there is, many violent tribes, but it's breathable."

"Strange, then my mentor's and my theories were not so off, much of Africa by this point should have been liberated from pollution, except that here we had a head start. Or so I'd like to believe."

"Look, I don't remember seeing so many people, and I haven't traveled as far as I have now. I have some scattered images, but nothing like the central plaza. There are many things I didn't know, and that gives me the impression that this city fulfilled its objective, you know, being the bastion of humanity."

"I would say we only partially achieved it. When it happened, several years passed under these laboratories, even the exact date and duration were lost, but I can estimate that it lasted about forty years since the purifying machine was activated after everyone took refuge in these same laboratories and then emerged to the surface and founded the central plaza, while much of the city was still covered in a thick storm of sand and dirt."

"That's why there are greenhouses, right? In fact, when I arrived in the city, I crossed a sand and dirt storm, but they were several kilometers away from the walls."

"Well, of course, it has reached there already."

"I have a doubt, what about the wind blowing all the way here or raindrops? I don't know how they protect their crops in case toxicity comes upon them."

"You see, the machine has enough power to protect us from nuclear missiles, weapons of mass destruction. That was the purpose of this machine, and the evidence is in the hand-written warnings from previous generations of this city and founding members, especially Reicherstorfer."

"Nuclear missiles? I've never heard of them before."

"You don't know anything about the radioactive effect of nuclear bombs?"

"No."

"Think of a forest being destroyed by walls of flames and then leaving a poisoned air that kills everything around it, that's an atomic bomb."

"What about tectonic faults and the incessant tornadoes and global floods they sang so much about? The world ended for many more reasons."

"I don't know, you say it as if you were there."

"Well, I... you're right. I'm just telling you what I thought had happened."

"Am I right? Did you... Were you there when the new world happened?"

"No, I wasn't there to see it. I was in the present for so long that I never reflected on what had happened, and now that it's something I lack about myself, I realize that reflecting on the past was more important than I thought it was."

"The important thing is that you're someone valuable in knowledge, maybe not immortal or something like that, but you could do great things for this city."

For a second, I feel all the accumulated anger that I had never felt before.

"What good does it do me to know these things?! If I don't even know who I am!"

There is a moment of silence.

"If it helps, in your case, leave the past behind."

I sigh and reply;

"I went off-topic. So, how do you take advantage of the weather?"

"Did you see any water fountain?"

"Yes, several."

"These sources have an extra purification system, we grab the water and drink it until the next time it rains."

"It's weird, it's like there's more technology than it appears on the surface, I don't understand how this city works."

"Well... If you understand this machine, you understand a big part of the city. The machine is the core and contains four reactors on each side and it requires maintenance. It also serves as a system for analyzing and guiding the current state."

"Can they measure the perimeter?"

"Exactly, it has a..."

"Circular shape, with two or three axes if we include upwards, we could go by the radius or diameter. Although I'm sure you already have that data."

She looks at me for a few seconds, inhales and exhales through her nose.

"I see that you know." Maisha responded annoyed. "But please, don't interrupt me, okay?"

"I'm sorry."

Then we will have spent an hour talking about different things, especially theorizing about the idea that currently the machine's work is in its "half-life", meaning that after the same number of years that have already passed with the machine turned on, it will finish its work, not in the sense that it will break down, but that it will have purified the entire area perfectly. It would be surreal and worthy of science fiction to believe that it would have global reach.

After the interview, she guided me to the exit of the laboratories. The doctor told me that "I was going to be a candidate to consider", but when I asked her about my routine, she replied that "that remains to be seen." I am not naive, I know that means they don't have me in mind, but there must be several reasons for that.

I hope to see her again. Maisha is a beautiful woman. I felt the need to interrupt her, not because I questioned her, but because I wanted to show her that I was like her. Thinking about it now, it may make very little sense, but at the time I wanted to impress her. Simple as that.

Nassoumi had been waiting to take me back to the underground warehouse, and that was a significant part of the day.

After reflecting, I had an internal enlightenment. I finally understood this city, its green skies, its places, the people, and the different social classes that coexisted in it. I now even understood the term "social class", and I also understood that everyone has a different way of seeing things. Everything made sense now.

And lastly, there I was, the living proof that both what a gentleman like Abidemi could believe and what a woman of science like Maisha could believe, the mistaken belief that this city was all that was left of a broken world. Now, the only thing I wonder is, how is the Merciful in charge of all of this?


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