Inside their Dome

Inside their dome – an planetquake-resilient construction of some ten kilometres in diameter and two kilometres in height – they had an approximate simulation of a Spring day on Earth, as the main colours of their environment within were green and blue. Green for the trees and abundant shrubs they had grown over the years. Blue for the little clouds and patches of blue sky that seemed to blend happily with the outside scenery of rocks and sharp ravines. There was no dawn but a subtle change in hue in the prevailing purple light from the distant sun. The hum of the artificial atmosphere could just be heard. The birds did not see to mind.

Exploration

Their early exercises completed they planned the day, though the routine of checks and exploration was more or less the same every day. But they had earlier  introduced  some variations, in order to fight monotony. Not that there was no challenge. The programme of maintenance of the sensors, geophysical, meteorological and chemical, that now covered most of the surface in the proximity of the dome took two or three hours every day.

They had managed to maintain a constant temperature of 20-22 degree centigrade, by placing the massive data centre outside the dome, powered and cooled by the enormous magnetic field that surrounded the planet. The amount of information collected every twenty four hours by the sensors and the geostationary satellites was huge. Each week of seven Earth days, they run a verification programme over the compressed files, that the telecom sat system then sent toward Earth, for a journey of several months. Paul and Agnes often talked about the circumstances of their presence here, on the small planet whose friendly name was Little Andromeda. 

Navigation

He, a planetary scientist with doctorates in engineering, geophysics, meteorology and geology, had been selected on the mission for his knowledge and navigation skills, but also for a make up of his genetic history that made him resistant to a range of pathogens. Agnes was there for her skills in botanics and biology, her ability to withstand stress, and the sheer sensual beauty that was considered essential to the maintenance of Paul’s sanity.

Her makers had made her the perfect companion for a battle-hardened spatial explorer of the twenty-second century: she was intelligent, resourceful and supremely sexy. The third member of the team was Hans, a replicant like Agnes, who was both a superlative mechanical engineer and a skilled soldier, if there was a need.

Peripheral

That morning they decided to walk the perimeter on their tour of inspection. Hans was outside doing repair work on the peripheral sensors. The planet atmosphere was thin, but breathable. The three of them nonetheless always went out with spare oxygen and light helmets. Paul sometime thought that the other two were doing it in sympathy with him, as they could have survived without much oxygen for a long time. Indeed they avoided carefully to remind him of his human vulnerability.

The length of the walkable route around the dome, with its detours and leisure trails through the small forests, was about forty kilometres, with ups and downs. Inside the dome the sensors measured everything from humidity, temperature, air composition to biological parameters. Insects were doing well in their small world, but ended up being picked by the swallows and other birds.

Dream

Paul was telling Agnes of his latest dream. He dreamt a lot on Little Andromeda, and this dream was very vivid. In the dream, the two of them were living on the coast of West Africa, in a city on the Atlantic seaboard. Agnes wanted to know everything, what they were doing there, where exactly they lived, and what was the colour of their skin. Paul was puzzled by her curiosity.

On Little Andromeda, Agnes had jet-black hair, a very white skin and deep green eyes. There, in the city of the dream, she was black, otherwise no different from the woman he knew. Agnes wanted to know if he thought the dream was some sort of memory, perhaps from another, earlier life. 

They were sitting under young oak trees, which were developing very well in the dome, a credit to Agnes’ skills. He said the dream was like reality, described his and her work there, in the city named Dakar. “Dakar” she repeated, it’s real, it’s a real city in West-Africa. He told her he could not recall any memory linked to Dakar, he was just aware of the city’s existence. She wanted to know more about the work he was doing there, the people they knew, what their life was like. He said their life was much like it was here, under the dome.

More Human

She kissed him, and asked again, us, are we there the way we are here? Yes he said, there like here, you are my wife. She pressed against him, then with a slightly broken voice she asked, am I more human there? At first Paul did not understand, as he never thought of her as different from himself. He was now holding her tight against him, covering her face with kisses: there and here we are both human, Agnes. He sensed her relaxing in his arms, then realised she’d been crying, small pearls of tears. But there I am black, she said. But maybe I am too he replied, in the dream I don’t look at myself, just you.

She smiled, and they laughed as they resumed their walk. They came close to a small field where there were growing corn. The approximate seasonal cycle under the dome, one of his projects, seemed to be doing the trick, though the precipitations were at times erratic. They stopped at a hygrometric station, Agnes checked the battery. She turned toward him, as he was observing her, in awe, for her grace and beauty. I want to come with you in your dream she said. But you are there, he said, everywhere I go.

Picture: Actress Sean Young in a scene from the movie ‘Blade Runner’, 1982. (Photo by Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images)