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My fingers trembled as I looked up my medical discharge record on my dataview, and called the number. I was relieved when the call was answered, and then terrified by the fact it was a sound only connection. Buzz must have her dataview in power conservation mode too. That was a bad sign. A very bad sign.
I moistened my lips. “Buzz, it’s Amber. Is your power on?”
“Hello, Amber.” There was an oddly wary note in Buzz’s voice. “Why are you calling to ask me that?”
“There’s a power outage here. We know the power is out across the whole of Blue Zone, and my emergency group leader told me to call you and ask if the power in Turquoise Zone is still on.” It was probably obvious from my voice, but I said it anyway. “I’m scared. We’re all scared.”
“Ah, yes. I’d forgotten you lived in Blue Zone.” Buzz paused as if she was thinking something through. “There’s been a delay in sending out information because it takes time to assess a situation on this scale. You should get an update soon, but if you’ve already worked out the power outage covers all of Blue Zone, then it’s perfectly understandable that you’re scared, so I’ll give you some details now.”
She paused again. “There’s been a failure of power supply nexus 7. That took out all the power for Blue Zone. The Hive is designed to have an independent power supply for each zone, so none of the others are affected by the power outage. The safety systems have triggered an automatic closure of the Blue Zone bulkhead doors, but there’s absolutely no need to worry.”
No need to worry? The other night, I’d watched a test closure of the great bulkhead doors. Now those bulkhead doors had closed on Blue Zone again. We were cut off from the rest of the Hive and running out of air!
Buzz must have heard my instinctive moan of fear, because she repeated her words in a soothing voice. “There’s absolutely no need to worry. Tell your emergency group leader that the repair work will take time, but Turquoise and Navy Zones have power, and Oasis is already operating.”
I didn’t know what Oasis was, but I clung to the reassuring fact that Turquoise and Navy Zones had power. The Hive worked together for the good of all. Turquoise and Navy Zones would find a way to help us. They had to help us. Once the air ran out, my friends would die, my family would die, and I’d die myself.
Buzz was still speaking. I tried to blot out my nightmare visions of ten million people struggling to breathe, and focused on what she was saying.
“Health and Safety are sending teams through the bulkhead emergency access routes from both Turquoise and Navy Zones to assist with lift rescues and other problems. I’m part of the medical support on one of those teams.”
“You’re coming into Blue Zone yourself?” I was stunned.
“I’m in Blue Zone right now, Amber. That’s why I’ve got my dataview set to take calls on sound only to conserve power. I have to go now. My team has just got some lift doors open, and I have patients to help.”
“I understand. Thank you.” I ended the call.
“What did she say?” demanded Atticus.
“She ...”
“No, don’t just tell me, tell everyone.”
Atticus held down the green button on his communicator, and I leaned over to speak into it. “Buzz said that something important in the power supply has failed. I think she said it was a nexus. Anyway, that’s taken out all the power for Blue Zone, and our bulkhead doors have closed, but the rest of the Hive is fine. Buzz said to tell you that repair work will take time, but Turquoise and Navy Zones have power, and something called Oasis is already operating.”
Ruby’s voice spoke. “You said this Buzz person was a Level 1 Psychological Therapist. She’d naturally know if the power is on where she is, but how would she know the status of Oasis?”
“Buzz said Health and Safety are sending teams into Blue Zone through the bulkhead emergency access routes, and she’s on one of those teams.”
“Your therapist works for Health and Safety.” Ruby gave a relieved sigh. “That means we can trust her information on Oasis. If that’s already operating, the situation isn’t critical, but we should be prepared to implement second response protocols and ...”
Jason’s panicking voice cut in.
“Turquoise Zone has power and air. We should forget second response protocols and start walking north immediately. We’re at 510/6120, and we only need to get to 510/5999.”
“You’re seriously suggesting we try walking to Turquoise Zone, Jason?” asked Ruby. “It may not seem far to 510/5999 when you’re whizzing along on an express belt, but it’s a very long way on foot through a maze of pitch-dark corridors.”
“Those corridors can’t be any darker than the one I’m standing in now,” said Jason.
“You’re standing in a dark corridor that you know very well,” said Ruby. “We’d soon get lost in a strange area. Even if we didn’t, how many hours would it take us to walk to the bulkhead between Blue and Turquoise Zones, and what would we do when we got there? All the bulkhead doors are closed. If you know how to find the emergency access routes through the sealed bulkhead and reach Turquoise Zone, then please tell me, because I don’t.”
She waited but there was no reply from Jason. I ruefully remembered dozing through that lecture on the bulkhead doors. If I’d paid attention back then, I’d probably know all about emergency access routes.
“We’re going to forget about walking to Turquoise Zone, and put our trust in the Hive,” Ruby continued. “We know that Oasis is already operating. At some point in the next couple of hours, we should be told to move to the park.”
“Can’t we move to the park right away?” It was a girl’s voice.
“No, we can’t,” said Ruby firmly. “Remember your warden training. If everyone tries to move through pitch-dark corridors at once, people will get injured. Top priority areas, like childcare and medical facilities, evacuate to the park first. Then public places like shopping areas. Then corridor blocks get instructed to move in turn.”
“But what if there’s a mistake, and we don’t get our instructions?” It was Jason talking again. “At the four hour point, we’ll start noticing the first symptoms of ...”
“There’s no need to worry about that,” Ruby interrupted him. “If we don’t hear anything by the two hour point, I’ll give the order to move myself.”
She paused. “Now get back to your corridors, and warn your friends that the power will be out for a while. You mustn’t let them know how big an area is affected. Don’t say a word about the air issue either. People are already scared, and we don’t want to tip them over the edge into panic. I’ll be listening in to the group circuit on my communicator at all times, so you can tell me if you have any problems.”
Atticus put his communicator in his pocket and picked up his lantern.
“What is Oasis,” I asked, “and why will we be moving to the park?”
“Oasis is the Hive emergency system where neighbouring zones supply power and air to a zone that’s in trouble,” said Atticus. “Turquoise and Navy Zones can’t supply everywhere in Blue Zone without risking overloading their own systems, so the Oasis network only supplies the neighbourhood parks. Right now every park in Blue Zone has power, fresh air, and a lake full of water that can be filtered and drunk.”
There’d be fresh air in the park! I’d thought the Hive parks were places for children to play, adults to relax, and people to hold parties. I hadn’t realized they were also a vital part of the Hive emergency system.
My friends and I just needed to reach our local park and we’d be safe. There’d be emergency wardens on Level 27, making sure my parents and Gregas made it to safety as well. I felt dizzy with relief, but then I remembered the person who wouldn’t be able to make it to a park, and tensed again.
“If Oasis will only supply air to the parks, then I need to tell you about Forge. He’s not in a medical facility, but ...” I broke off and frowned. “I think I can hear someone shouting. Is that Reece’s voice?”
