A Hole in Time

The Dome - Chapter 7 - Eyes and Ears everywhere

At breakfast, I sit quietly and eat, but my eyes and ears are going crazy. I look in every place I can think of to find hidden cameras and microphones. My eyes light on a strange shadow on the wall and I start. That is, until I realise that it is just a shadow from the light fitting. I shake my head and laugh at myself. If the Hierarchy have got hidden cameras and microphones in every room, they would not leave them visible for a 16 year old girl to suddenly find. Or would they? The logic is sensible. If no-one will be looking for them because they do not think like that, why bother hiding them?

I mentally berate myself for being so paranoid and just as I am finishing, I see the handle on the door move. I look out of the corner of my eye and I can tell that it is exactly what I am looking for. A hidden camera, recording everything that happens at our dining room table. If John or Scarlett ever say anything when they are sitting here doing homework, the Hierarchy will know about it. 

The thought chills me to my bones. Nothing is private. Someone, somewhere in Hierarchy, is sitting at a computer screen, watching my family eating breakfast. I have always wondered why everyone in Hierarchy, after school age, reports to Hierarchy Headquarters. I can understand the Unionists reporting for work, because they do everything that is needed in the Dome. Technicians, mechanics, teachers, practically every profession is filled by a Unionist. The Healers all work at the Healers centre, although some do house calls for the elderly and babies. No matter what class, the mothers are allowed to stay home for the first two years of their child's life. When a child reaches two years old, the Hierarchy decrees that they must go to Early School. This way, the mothers can go back to work and benefit the rest of the citizens of the Dome. Early School teachers come from Unionists.  

Why do all the Hierarchy need to be in that building? It is the tallest building in the Dome, and sits at the very centre, in the middle of the square. There are no windows into the building. No-one else would ever think to wonder what is going on in that building. But I am proving more each day that I am not like everyone else. And that is why I am starting to notice things like the camera in the door handle. 

I don't eat all of my breakfast. Our respectful bows are over with fast and John and I step out into the street. Scarlett and Liam exit their house at the same time, so we are able to walk together to school. I know I must look antsy, and Liam does as well. My eyes dart to the tops of each street lamp post and I find cameras on each one. I see blinking lights on tops of picket fences, little black microphones on house numbers and sensors on the ground to count how many kids are walking to school. This all comes together to scare me. 

The Hierarchy say that they do things to protect us, but why can we not protect ourselves? And one big question is, how can a kind, caring Hierarchy throw complete families out of the protection of the Dome and into the midst of a nuclear winter? What kind of people would do that? I quickly stop these thoughts as we reach the school. I take my place in the greeting line and stare at the ground. I see a c***k in the concrete, leading straight up to the school. 

The Dome itself is falling apart. We are taught in school that the energy grid takes care of the structural integrity. If the two men outside my house each morning are correct and someone is leeching power out of the energy grid, is that affecting the structural integrity of every building in the Dome? Liam's line is right next to mine and I quickly get his attention. I point to the ground under my feet and I see the shock on his face when he sees the c***k. 

After school, Liam and I are only too happy to escape the buildings and be safe in our field. The black spot is only visible from directly underneath it, so we steer clear of that area. The spot is a mystery because it is not a c***k or a hole. It is almost like the light has been turned off in that one area. I do not sleep today, because I am getting enough rest of a night now. Liam and I spend most of our afternoon talking about things we have discovered today.

"Gracie, what do you think that light is in the side of everyone's head?" I shrug my shoulders and chew my lip before I answer. "It might be the microchip that gets implanted. It must act like an information relay to the mechanical bed head. That is my theory at least." Liam nods. "Yes, that is what I thought it was as well. And the light pulsing, it was almost as if the microchip was being charged for another day." I nod. "That is quite possible. Lee, I am finding it hard to still behave like I am indebted to the Hierarchy. I think they are hiding something from us. We have been in here for 15 generations, so they tell us. They have never told us how many years. Nuclear winter is only supposed to last for a couple of hundred years, according to our science teacher. So, why are we still in here? Simple mathematics state that, if each generation gap between mother and child is about 22 years, then 15 generations equals about 330 years. Why has no-one gone Outside and checked on the world out there?" The thought I do not verbalise is, 'Why are we still trapped?'