Elysium’s End

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP! “Sir wake up. The alarm has been going off for five minutes now. You told me that you wanted to be awoken in thirty minutes’ sir. That was now thirty-five minutes ago.” BEEP-BEEP-BEEP. The women’s voice had a southeastern dialect.

“Ugh. Thank you, Victoria, have I ever told you how good you are to me.” Said Salvel. He then sat his head up, his face still stained with the ink from his research he was doing. His arm was numb from using it as a pillow in between his drunken head and the desk. He then took out a small mirror that he kept inside of his desk. Another gray hair appeared just above his yet again red eyes that stood out even more against the blue iris.

“Yes sir, a daily reminder ever since four months, and ten sols ago.” Replied Victoria. Salvel looked down at a picture frame. It showed a picture of the three them, the last time they did a family activity together. It was hard knowing that no matter how much he missed his wife Lauravelle was not coming back. Salvel created Victoria originally to help him with his research that he was doing on the heating of Elysium’s core. Nowadays though it was more like his made up companion.

Salvel asked the AI for the date and the time.

“It is zero three hundred hours on sol number 123. May I remind you that it is Caseille’s twelfth birthday tomorrow. You did promise her that you would spend time with her.”

“Blasted! I forgot I have a meeting with the council tomorrow. Can you cancel for-“ Victoria reminded him that she noticed emotional distress in both of them.

“Well, losing your wife and mother will do that to you, wouldn’t it? To make it better the disease is genetic, so there is a high chance it is in Caseille. Now I must be getting back to work.” Salvel then wheeled his chair over to the console where he pushed a button and the large telescope in the center of the room turned on. As it was warming up, he gathered his notes and wheeled his chair around. Down the ramp and over towards the telescope. He then pointed it toward the satellite which had a mirror on it looking down back at Elysium. Over the past years, the temp had been rising four degrees a month. His instincts were telling him that it was because of the energy complex. That was the machine that powered the entire planet. He just could not prove it. Especially when everyone else thought it the best thing ever created. It was the one thing that kept us out of the dark ages.

After hours going back and forth between telescope, maps, and the notes he had been taking he had figured out why and how the energy complex was heating up the planet. All he had to do now was prove it to the council.

At Around 13:30 the buzzer sounded, and Salvel’s heart skipped a beat.

“Sir, Caseille is at the door. And you have forgotten to take us off lockdown.” In the corner of the room there above the door was an orange light flashing letting any person on either side of the door know that the place was on lockdown.

“Ohh. Thank you. Ahh, you can let her in. Tell her I am by the computer running an analysis on this diagram.”

“Sure, thing sir-” Then the door clicked as it unlocked itself, and swung open.

“And Victoria, why were we on lockdown again?”

“Because three days ago ye had a leak with the nuclear reactor and forgot to clean it up. Father.”

“Ohh. Hello, Caseille and I’m sure it has been cleaned up by now.”

“Victoria, has it been cleaned up yet?” Asked Caseille as she strode inside, looking around at the scientific objects that were in the room. Her favorite being the microscope on the desk because it showed objects that were invisible to the naked eye.

“No. Caseille not all of it. Although I had started on it, your father had me stop to do other tasks. Nuclear waste takes at least four sols to clean.”

Caseille walked towards the desk where all the logs were and started skimming through them. She recognized some of the equations she had learned in class.

“So, are ye going to kill yourself with radiation poisoning? Or drink yer’self to death?” She glanced over at the three empty bottles of shooklag over on the other table. “Or will it be the lack of sleep that does ye in?” After staring at his baggy reddened eyes waiting for a response and not getting one, she added: “Cause you look like shit.”

“I was doing research, and I have a promising theory.” Said Salvel as he pointed toward all his notes on the desk near the telescope. How could he ever get anything done with a mess like that? He thought. Logs scattered everywhere.

“Sure, ye were, do you do anything else?” Salvel then walked over to his daughter and placed both hands on her shoulder. “So, what time is us meeting tomorrow?”

“Well, it is quite remarkable that you bring up that point!” Caseille rolled her eyes as she knew exactly what was coming next. There was going to be a but somewhere. “--But I have a meeting with the council tomorrow that I absolutely cannot miss.”

“Didn’t you have something along the same story last year? There was either a new scientific discovery, a convention, or like this time a meeting with the council. Oh, and didn’t they give you a warning last time. They told you to stop disturbing the peace with your wild accusations against the aqua diffusers saying they were harming the marine life. What is it now?”

“I’m sorry Caseille, I know I promised but the energy complex, it’s— “

“No. It’s okay. Really. I should have expected. This is what I get for having my expectations too high.” Said, Caseille, as she turned around and left her father with a stack of papers none of which solved the problem of love. As the door closed, Victoria had completed the meta-analysis and was reviewing it over, but Salvel stopped listening.

“You know what. I think I am going to go out and have a drink.”

“Sir I highly advise against--“Salvel pushed a button and suddenly the AI shut down without saying another word. He then gathered his coat and walked through the back door for fear that Caseille would judge him again. Out there his hovercraft was parked waiting for him. He decided that it was better to fly on autopilot. He had enough responsibility for one day. It is not like the world would end overnight he thought to himself. And at that, he flew off into the distance.

“Late last night there was an explosion at the energy complex, only minutes later nearly ninety percent of people lost power. Only people on the solar grid were able to wake up to their alarms this morning many of them late to their daily duties. To make matters worse many of the hovercrafts were not able to charge causing several people to be stranded. The cause of this disaster is still unknown as the peace officers are still investigating.” The newscaster’s voice dragged on as Salvel finally rolled out of his sleeping quarters. He was one of the few that was still on the solar network, so all his devices still worked. He looked at the time as he rubbed his eyes. His head was still spinning a bit from last night. Holly electrons! I’M late! He thought to himself. The meeting with the council was supposed to start in a couple minutes. He ate and dressed nicely as fast as he could. He wanted so bad to blame Victoria until he remembered he was the one who turned her off. He then ran through the door and jumped into the hovercraft. But something was wrong. He jumped back out went inside and grabbed his ignition switch. When he knew that he hadn’t left anything else he got back into the hovercraft and flew off towards the judiciary hall.

Since the autopilot was only allowed to go 30 clicks an hour, he drove manually. Several of the other crafts wailed on their horns as he swerved and glided around them. His ticket meter was now up to thirteen class D tickets as he ran yet another red light. When he finally got there, he moaned “Shut up” to the AI that welcomed every guest with a smile. Though no one who walked through those doors ever smiled back. The people on the other side walking out however usually did, though there were far fewer people going out then going in. Politicians and peace officers all in one building, oh how I hate this place. At least we finally did it right where if someone wanted to do us all a favor and destroy the laws they would only have to go to one place. Unlike the olden days. He thought to himself.

There were four councilors seated on high chairs in a half circle around the man. The room was dark and cold. The only light was over the councilors heads and in the center of the room where there was a chair that Salvel was supposed to sit in.

“Next!” yelled number four. As Salvel was the only other person in the room, he walked towards the center of the room where the chair was. It wasn’t until now that he realized how intimidating the council seemed looking up at them on their high chairs. Even though he had been here several times before this was the first they did not agree with his scientific findings.

“Meeting number one hundred twenty-three starting at 11:32, Salvel is here on his defense. He has been accused of spreading false accusations about the safety of our planet and spreading fear due to this false information.”

“Please, we can skip the formalities on this one” number three interrupted. “We know Salvel, he has been here many times and helped us with several cases, he is the smartest scientist on the planet.” Now that he spoke Salvel recognized the voice. It was Murray. Salvel longtime friend. At least there was one person there who he sort of trusted.

“He also defends to an account of a total of thirteen class D tickets that have yet to be paid.” Continued number four. “How do you plead sir?”

“Not guilty. Those lights have been broken for years. It is not my fault that they do not change to the right color.” The other council members laughed while number four sat there sternly.

“Oh. That. Well yes if you have not heard yet I did believe that the world may come to an end if we do not do something about it.” Salvel continued to argue his case. The council, however, felt like they knew everything about the planet and had stumps in their ears. He the told them that he had logs with him to prove it.

“Pass those forward please.” Said number four. Salvel stood up and handed the papers to him who passed it along to the others.

“You believe that the energy complex is the cause of this change in our environment, yes?” said number two. Salvel responded yes and that the graphs proved it.

“You realize that since the installation, millions of lives have improved. People have energy now. Food can be harvested at all hours now. Not just during the day! Now we can cook it. You yourself know how much bacteria were found in the food supply. Lives have been saved because of the complex.” Said number two.

“Not to mention that the hospitals can now treat at night. They do not need to rely on the solar system.” Said number six. Salvel was worried that they would bring this up. He looked to his left at the counselor that had a number one. He remained silent along with number five who did show a few nods in agreement with the others. He then looked at Murray for help any sign that he was on his side. He was lost on whose side to take.

Murray then spoke up and said, “Is there any chance that the rising temperature can be caused by something else?”

“Well. The planet does get closer to the sun, but that is because of natural seasons. Even children know that!”

“So, you do not deny that your facts can be wrong.” Said number four. Before Salvel could respond, however, the building began to shake. The shaking lasted for two minutes before stopping. The high chairs that the council was sitting on were still swaying a bit for there was only one trust centered directly beneath them to hold them up.

“I assume those quakes are also due to the energy complex?” said number four and then laughed.

“Laugh all you want, but when you find out that I am right and those quakes and the rising temperature are in fact due to the energy complex you will regret not listening to me! Cause by then it will already be too late!” Salvel was breathing hard now. He still could not believe they wouldn’t listen to him.

“Is that a threat to the council?” Number four was serious looking now. “The price for such out lash is quite high, and we take threats very seriously around here.” He looked straight into Salvel’s eyes neither of which wavered.

A peace officer then walked into the light and whispered to number seven who was on the right side of Salvel still. He then walked back into the shadows as number seven passed on the message to the others. The council started whispering amongst themselves so Salvel could not hear. He stood there confused. Then number four pushed a button on his chair and a semi-transparent screen appeared between Salvel and the council. On it showed a video, although it was dark it clear that a man who looked just like Salvel was at the energy complex, carrying around bombs.

“Tell me that isn’t you!” said Murray as he saw his old friend on the screen giving the camera the bird. Salvel looked down to his feet in shame. He didn’t even remember last night. He then lifted it back up to try to argue that somehow the footage was fake but the council wouldn’t listen.

“on account of disturbing the peace, treason against Elysium, and unpaid tickets, we find the defendant guilty and due for two hundred sols in jail. Any objections?” He looked around at the others who said nothing. Some of them did have sad faces as they were struck with this new evidence. None of which however were as sad as Murray.

“Peace officer take him into custody.”

The officer then walked over to Salvel and placed the cuffs on him. Salvel resisted, but the officer was too fast. He threw one punch and Salvel’s world went black.

When he woke up, he had a headache. He looked around and realized he was in a cell. He could hear the voices of the other prisoners from down the hall. Some of them were rioting. Just then he heard footsteps coming toward him. It was Murray.

“I am sorry Salvel.” Said Murry. His face was swollen with bags under his eyes. “But from here on out I can no longer help you.” He started to turn away from the bars of the twelve by twelve cage his grandfather had helped to create.

“Why not?” Asked Salvel. With that Murray turned back around. “You know that I am correct. The Science proves it.” Salvel continued

“Proves what? That the world is getting warmer. That there are a few more storms this year than previous. The world is not going to end Salvel! Why do you not get that through your thick skull of yours!” As Salvel stared at him he could see that Murry’s cheeks were getting red. Even as little kids they always did that when he was embarrassed or angry. Obviously now was the latter.

“Plus. Let us just say for hypothetical reasons. Your so-called theory was right. And. And the planet really is dying. Who would believe you? You have gone mad. Oh, yes you have, don’t give me that look! Dammit.” As Murray was talking Salvel stopped leaning on the bars and went over to sit on the cold hard bench that stood for his bed as well. Salvel considered himself lucky. Most prisoners didn’t even get that. Was he mad? Was he as crazy as people thought? Ever since his wife had died a year earlier people have tried to comfort him, but he pushed them all away. Even his daughter hardly looks at him. If he could have only found the cure three weeks prior. All he could do now was bury himself in research.

“As your longtime friend, I am begging you. Go back to your daughter and spend time with her as soon as they release you. Spreading false accusations about the council is a serious crime no doubt. Given your closeness with some of them and no prior convictions, I am sure they will be lenient on you. “As long.” Murray was running out of breath as he needed to calm down. “As long as you stop this nonsense.” Murray looked over at Salvel who was looking back at him with those damn sadden short horn eyes that he was good at.

“I can’t.” Said Salvel “If you know deep down that no matter what people think, no matter what the world leaders say. Or what the world computer algorithm states. If you are absolutely a hundred and ten percent sure that you are right, and the world is going to end in a few weeks, not few million years like the algorithm predicts, and you keep the knowledge to yourself. You do not tell people. Warn them I mean. Aren’t you just as responsible for killing billions of people as the energy complex is?” Salvel paused a moment. “Isn’t that the very definition of mass genocide? Which you yourself swore to protect against when you took the oath. Damn coward!”

At that moment, a peace officer came down the long hall up to Murray and whispered that it was time for him to go. Murray motioned for just one more second and the peace officer backed off.

“As an ex-scientist, you know that there is no such thing as a hundred and ten percent. And plus, didn’t you help create the computer’s algorithm?” Said Murray.

“Keyword helped. I didn’t come up with the plan myself. And I certainly do not believe that thing to be accurate anymore.”

“If that is true then I guess you will be watching the destruction of Elysium from this cell.” At that Murray turned toward the exit and walked with the peace officer. Even after they closed the concrete door behind them, he could still hear Salvel yelling “Murderer! Murderer!” His heart ached more now than it ever did. Whether Salvel was right or not, he had lost his longtime friend. As he was walking back to the council, he looked down at his locket which had a picture of Lauravelle. Salvel’s deceased wife. He never thought the feelings for her would ever come back. At that moment, he looked up as he felt another quake. However, his gut was telling him that something was wrong. He decided to look out the window he was standing next to. There was a blinding light in the distance that was coming closer. The ground shook harder as the light came closer. He could feel the heat all around him as his skin started to burn, and peel. The light was so intense, and the loud roar of the explosion was even worse.

Then everything went black.