16 December 2012
When I opened my eyes, I realised I was outside. Outside the zone, outside the safety. Under the harsh light of the natural moon. No artificial lights, no artificial oxygen, no artificial food, houses, anything out here, to keep me alive. This was the Outside, the place every child was told stories about, warned never to go there. A wild, unruly, disheveled place, torn by wars, between man and nature, nature and nature, man and man. Torn, and dangerous, oh so dangerous, with its savage plants and creatures that would hurt you, kill you, eat you.
I stood up, and could see the City, far off in the distance, it's neon lights twinkling knowingly, reflecting off the bubble, the force field, the 'unit of protection' that covered the City. That let no one out, and no one in.
Why was I here? How had I got out here? But more important, how was I going to get back inside?
Outside • Opuss № I