Lifeblood
Angela Malik looked out the frosty window and stared at the vast array of concrete buildings below. The headquarters of the Public Heating Commission (PHC) was the tallest building in the city and gave her the most expansive view she had ever seen. Angela could even see a few ruined buildings and the broken Ichor plant by the edge of the city. She saw a few people outside. Each had many layers wrapped tight around them, and all hurried so as not to suffer the cold for long. The entire city was designed so that one could traverse it without setting foot outside in the biting cold, although there would always be those that decided to risk it.
From up in the building, everything looked so cold and fragile. She could count the snowdrifts and saw that not one building was spared from frost’s icy fingers. Her good hand was pressed against the glass, and Angela was lost in reverie. Soon she was called away from the window and towards the table at which the other members of the PHC sat. Everyone served their mandatory three years in the energy sector. Few got to serve on the PHC.
Angela sat down, there was some chatter about the failed project Ichor and about some new project. She hoped that the two would have no connection. Some people said the husk of the ruined facility was haunted. Indeed the specter of the explosion still haunted the PHC. It had been one of their first projects, and its failure loomed over the PHC. It, and the dozen deaths it caused, loomed over everyone.
The director sat down, and there was silence. No one mentioned Ichor.
“I wish to offer congratulations. We’re quite excited to have you join us- especially given the project we will implement tomorrow.” The director of the PHC brought up a glowing blue hologram.
Manifested before Angela was a translucent cityscape. Outlined in red were heating pipes that brought water heated through geothermal energy to the 4-a-1 sector. Geothermal was the most consistent form of heating and kept many families warm. The PHC had spent many resources and much time trying to boost geothermal’s effectiveness. And, there was a scheduled test for a new system of pipework in the 4-a-1 sector that could increase the efficiency of the pipeline.
“Tomorrow, we are going to start phasing in the next iteration of geothermal energy. Hopefully, this will allow us to take out enough heat to stave off the next winter.” His voice hardened and his hands gripped the table so hard they turned white. “The next winter will be harsh, perhaps the worst if the forecasters are correct. This test must be successful if we want to survive it through the coming winter.” Angela thought she saw the director glare at one of the members of the PHC as he spoke the last line.
There were nods all around, and Angela could see the steely looks and hard faces of the commission’s other members. All of them knew what could happen, no delusions, and they would do anything they could to prevent the worse. The determination was palpable.
The meeting was over, and Angela got up to leave. As she rose, she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was the woman that the director had glared at earlier. Angela shivered slightly.
“Dr. Malik? Hello, I’m Dr. Ferris.” Dr. Ferris paused as if making up her mind “I’d be pleased if you could join me tonight at six. Just, have an open mind, okay?”
Later that day, the wind still had not died down. Angela couldn’t make out anything outside of the concrete box she called home. She shivered. The wind looked piercing as if it would shoot straight through her and freeze her bones. Walking inside would be much safer, although it would take a bit longer to reach Dr. Ferris’s house for the meeting. Resolutely, Angela opened the back door of her house, the one that led further into the concrete mess, and stepped out. Even the corridors she walked through, which wound and twisted their way throughout the structure and beneath the soil, were not unmarred by frost. It was there, slight and creeping, with one only barely being able to see its fingerprints. Angela wondered how much colder the coming winter would be.
Soon, Angela reached the building she had set out for. It was a concrete slab on metal hinges like the others. Angela began to knock, but her knuckles had barely brushed the door before it opened for her. Soon, Angela Malik sat with Dr. Ferris in a small room towards the front of the building. There were no windows but the ceiling was made up of glass. One could see sunlight peeking through the frost.
“So, Dr. Malik,” Dr. Ferris said without the hint of a smile. “I asked you to come because we need your help. I know that there’s going to be a test of the new geothermal pipework tomorrow. But, It isn’t going to work. We’ve squeezed almost all of the efficiency out of it that we can. You heard the director: the next winter will be one of our harshest. Already the wind has started to pick up. Already it’s howling. Suffice it to say, we need to do something, anything. And, well, hear me out, but right now there is only one thing that can save us.”
Angela listened to what Dr. Ferris had to say. The word Ichor’ conjured up dreadful images in her mind: a fireball, a deadly inferno, seared flesh, corpses. Such fears lingered.
Angela looked at Ferris and shook her head, no.
Dr. Ferris smiled sadly. “I figured. Well, it was worth a shot. You should know that the first project failed because the facility was shoddily made. It had been done when we had little money, and few resources. If we put the full weight of the PHC behind a new facility… We’ve already done preliminary tests and the results are quite promising. We’ve created a prototype of a system that uses nitrogen-oxide that can cool down the reactor in case of another inferno.
“If you want to see what our future will hold, please, stop by the facility.”
It was snowing as Angela walked to the PHC building. The wind blew white flakes which landed on her parka and rested on her glasses, obscuring her vision. From her head to her feet, the most exposed part of her body was her cobalt blue eyes, with everything else covered by several layers of fabric. Even so, the cold gnawed at her bones. Angela’s PHC mandated wristband beeped, signaling that she needed to be inside in the next minute. The hand she had lost to frostbite felt heavy at the end of her arm. She sprinted the rest of the way, the wind was picking up.
There was a rush of warm air as Angela opened the large concrete door before shutting it quickly. Everyone knew the price of letting any spark of warmth escape. Once inside, and after shutting the door, Angela unbundled herself. It had become almost a ritual among many people, the way they bundled up when going outside and the way they removed their gear upon entering the warmth and safety of a building.
Angela removed her hat, gloves, parka, and scarf before wiping the snow off her glasses. She then turned to the other members of the commission. There was idle chatter, but not much. Mostly, people sat on chairs and sipped tea, waiting. A few people glanced at the large screen and control panel that sat at the front of the foom, full of blinking lights and flashing colors. Angela picked up a mug and sat down on a cushion. The hot beverage warmed her up, granting her a comfortable feeling. Although she couldn’t relax fully, there was too much worry in the room. A few people mentioned the failed Ichor plant, contrasting it with the coming project. Although they only spoke of it in hushed tones, and as they spoke they cast fearful glances.
This continued for a few minutes, with new people arriving and the room resetting in a state of almost tension. But the mood changed as another figure, Dr. Ferris, entered the room. The chatter died as every eye turned to them. Like the stillness after a blizzard, a deathly calm filled the stagnant room. Everyone waited, watched, as she removed her layers and grabbed her tea. Dr. Ferris stationed herself at one end of the room and sipped the tea. Angela spared her one nervous glance; Dr. Ferris met her eyes.
“So, when are we going to start the test?” Dr. Ferris was upbeat despite the hostile, almost fearful, looks of the others “I hope I didn’t miss it. Geothermal is going to need to improve if we’re going to survive the winter, won’t it? I don’t want to miss its big showcase.”
The director rose. “You have graced us with your presence at the last possible moment. We are overjoyed to see you, Dr. Ferris.” The director turned to the commission members and spoke. “This project is our next step towards safely providing heat to so many freezing families. Geothermal has helped us so much in the past; it is our future.”
The director, with a flourish, pressed the blinking button. There was a thrum as the newly placed pipes began to fill with heater water. There was a drip, and the pipes burst. For a second, the members of the PHC just watched as so many cubic feet of water flooded the ground outside, melting the snow and ice and frost.
“Shut it off!” There was a wild look in the director’s eye as he scrambled to the control board, throwing himself at the shutoff switch, trying to prevent their precious resource from escaping.
He pulled the lever. But, the worst had happened. They all crowded around the gauge and saw their reserves were at 50%. Their survival chances slipped towards nothing. There were shocked faces and more than a few tears among the commission. The weight of failure hung over them. People stood for a second, then left the building, in ones and twos, after a few minutes passed. The director had nothing to say.
The commission didn’t meet the next day. Collectively, they decided to take a break. Angela sat in her room and stared out the window. Her house was in the 4-a-2 sector, and she could see the impacts. Ice covered the streets and caked the sides of buildings, it was as if the remnants of a great flood had settled themselves outside of her doorstep. Angela shivered. The scene reminded her, slightly, of the ruined Ichor facility. Perhaps…
Angela busied herself by her stove and turned on the kettle. She waited for the kettle to boil and stared at the world outside her window. Outside, the wind was picking up. This happened often. Thousands of snowflakes whirled through the air, spiraling in strange patterns, shaking up the scenery, and covering everything in a thick white powder. Outside, the wind howled; inside, the kettle whistled. Anglea made herself a cup of tea, hoping it could warm her up. It was not enough. There was too much going on for her to feel comfortable.
Angela remembered the determined looks on the faces of the other members of the PHC, and Angela decided she too would do whatever it took to keep the city safe.
Angela left her room and walked resolutely through the concrete halls. Perhaps it was time to take a leap of faith. She could hear the wind howling, even through the thick concrete. It took some time to reach the end of the building, and all the while there was constant noise all around her. In time, however, she reached the end of the corridor. Tentatively, she stepped outside. Chilled to the bone, she wrapped her clothes tight around her. It was cold, so cold, but she stumbled forwards. And soon she reached the facility.
Angela stared up at the building’s walls: white concrete singed black. It, like everything else, was touched by frost’s icy fingers. Although, the building stood proud despite its marred appearance. There was a sharp intake of breath, although from who the group knew not. But slowly, tentatively, they pushed open the doors and stepped inside.
