THE DOME

In what I assumed was the only home I'd ever have, life was well. When you stepped
out, you saw the dark ceiling with powerful lights gleaming down. The factories were to
the north and the farms to the south. No one knew what was living outside of the dome,
but no one could find out. Every once in awhile, you could hear the clang of metal on
the dome, but it was a hopeless effort. The first people to enter the dome volunteered in
2152, but 2000 years later,we were trapped.
I Walked to work. Late again? said the manager. Start production; youll have to do
overtime now, he scuffed. I always wondered where the parts we made were going.
They had promised us they would find a way to save us from the heat when the first
people entered the dome --s doing what we could to help make parts and taking the
test. We all take the test at age 16, and I have to take it tomorrow. Everyone Ive talked
to that has taken the test cannot remember what it is, they just wake up outside with no
memory of what was inside.
Instead of studying today, I am going to check out the forge and alloy factory. When I
arrive I have to get past the scanner; its function is to only let blacksmiths in, but I have
my ways. Its my hour break, but you werent supposed to distract other workers to be
efficient. That's what the scanners are for. To get past, I get a screwdriver and open the
panel. One of the wires is already a bit stripped, but I have to pull off a bit of the plastic.
Next, I create a short by connecting it to ground. This should work, I said. I jumped
through the scanner and continued into the shop. It was getting unbearably hot, I dont
know how they can work in this heat!? I thought. Then, I heard the pounding of a
hammer and yelling. I went further into the heat and saw the forge, huge buckets of
molten metal pouring into one pot to make alloys, giant fire, and giant men working
pieces of metal. I heard one man yelling, This is unbearable; we have worked for 2152
years and they haven't got nothin to show for it.
It is true I said a bit loud.
You must be my apprentice, better get started. Then I realized I needed to go. I
sprinted out. Hey! Where are you going? the man shouted, but I didnt slow down or
look back. I sprinted through the scanner, pulled the wire so it worked again, and hid.
He ran after me and through the scanner, which activated the chip. He fell over in
extreme pain, and I ran away. That night, I found peace in the feed room where we got
meals. Many people were specifically appointed to cook the borjhnt, and most others
were put on the farms. After eating, I went to sleep in the group beds.

I woke to the alarms; time for the test. I walked on the road between the farms,the
factories and the mines for the first time to the base of the tower. I scanned my ID card
and stepped in...
I awoke. The last thing I remembered was the step I took into the building. While my
eyes were adjusting, I thought, Aww, I failed. Then I looked around - no black dome or
soft soil. The whole room was white and padded. As soon as I had gotten up, a door in
one of the walls opened. An old man with gray hair walked in.
He said, Ah my apprentice; you passed. I was ecstatic. I had no ties to my old life, I
had always focused on working, I was ready. He took me to a metal hallway leading to a
door. When It opened, there was a little room. Get in, he said. After I stepped into the
metal box, it started to rise. Ill take you to my lab, he said. This is where you will learn
what I have discovered and continue my research. I have discovered a kind of
alchemy. I walked into a giant room where a huge machine was sitting. It looked like
one of the oxygen filters that took oxygen from outside and filtered out all other
particles.
I asked him, Is that an oxygen filter?
No, this is what we promised to the people down there, he said as he pointed out one
of the windows. You will learn how this machine works, so when I die you can continue
to perfect it.
Over the next 4 weeks he taught me about chemistry, electronegativity, Earth's
magnetic field, and the ozone protecting us from cosmic rays. He mentioned another
scientist was creating a way to restart the magnetic field. We studied the events that
had stripped away our ozone making it just thin enough for a massive solar flare to pass
through - an FTE (Flux Transfer Event) stripping away even more of the atmosphere
that had become densely co2 .
Now I will teach you what this machine is and what it does. So far it isn't the most
efficient, but it converts co2 to o2. First, it ionizes the oxygen so it breaks its bond with
the carbon. Then, it filters out the carbon atoms. After that, it ionizes the oxygen
positively so it will bond to make o2. One problem is we also need o3 to survive the
suns radiation. Now I will teach you how to operate and build one of these machines.
After another two months of learning, I was ready. Everything he had learned, I knew. I
could construct the machine in my mind. He had taught me how to break covalent
bonds and filter out certain elements.

That night, I was excited; I could finally see the outside. Soon we could find what had
survived, could filter the co2, and rebuild our world. Plant the seeds we had saved and
restore earth. I couldn't sleep; I had brief dreams of looking up and finding not black, but
blue, jungle, different animals, a whole new world. The next morning when I woke, I
found the scientist where he normally was, working on the o 3 manufacturing machine. I
walked up and asked, Have you tested the converter on the outside air?
He replied, There is no need to; we have a product that will work. I know it.
I have thought of a more efficient design, I said. We could start this one as a test and
start constructing the other. Could we could start to reoxidize the atmosphere? I
pleaded, though I knew I really just wanted to see what was outside.
NO! he yelled. Build the other one; we don't need to test it. I was so frustrated
that,while he was gone, I took the elevator to the top of the tower. I needed to go to the
guy in charge.
At the top of the tower, was the person I had spent the last three months with. What are
you doing here? I asked.
He responded, This is what I worked on for 15 years; you and those machines were a
side project. Let me show you something. As he pressed a button, one of the walls
glowed with an image. The outside is frozen; we have no chance here, he said. After
we created this sanctuary, the earth kept heating up. The oceans evaporated and
covered the earth in clouds throwing us into another ice age. However, we have the key
to terraform any planet now. He showed me what the tower really was and the giant
rocket we were supposed to fly to safety. Launch is prepped for next month. We are
loading the co2 converters on board tomorrow, and you are invited. Think about it. Earth
or humanity? Do you want to stay with us or the people in the dome? Progress or
emotion? Its for the greater good you come with us.
For the second night in a row, I couldn't sleep, not because of my dreams, but because
they were crushed. I could steal a converter, but if it didn't work in the cold, we were
dead. However, if I went with the scientists, I would have to abandon everyone in the
dome and leave earth. I decided to take the risk.
The next morning when I came in the room, he said, I knew you would make the right
decision. Then, I took the sharp piece of scrap and stabbed him. Why? he muttered
as he bled out on the floor.

Its a good risk, I said. One by one I took the converters with bloody hands and put
them in a safe spot. Because it was his responsibility to take the converters to the ship,
no one noticed. Everyone had a job, but it was no one's job to check if others were
doing theirs.
As the day of the launch came closer and closer, I used the only exit to set up the
converters one by one. One of the days, while I was exiting, a man yelled, Stop! I
quickly rushed out into the cold. The cold thin air was barely survivable even if you were
quick. Finally, the day came; all the reactors had been on long enough to make the air
breathable - probably. The dome was opened, and cool air poured in. People were
screaming with joy, then sadness; they had been abandoned. Though I knew it didn't
matter, I felt sad. A few minutes later when the dome closed, you could hear an
explosion.
Now, I was humanity and earths last chance. Years later, on the endless plane of cold,
we trekked to find a home, many scattering away from their prison to their new cold
world.
For the second night in a row, I couldn't sleep, not because of my dreams, but because
they were crushed. I could steal a converter, but if it didn't work in the cold, we were
dead. However, if I went with the scientists, I would have to abandon everyone in the
dome and leave earth. I decided, not, to take the risk.