Chapter Six

5 March 3160

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[1] Opening Day – February 20th, 3160 [2] Day Two – February 21st, 3160 [3] Day Three – February 22nd, 3160 [4] Day Four – February 23rd, 3160 [5] Day Ten – February 29th, 3160 [6] Day Fifteen – March 5th, 3160 [7] Day Thirty-One – March 21st, 3160 [8] Problem – June 3rd, 3160 [9] One Year! – March 1st, 3161 [10] Evelyn – April 19th, 3161 [11] Two Years! – March 1st, 3162 [12] Three Years – March 1st, 3163 [13] Engine Shutdown – October 28th, 3163 [14] Technical Issues – December 24th, 3163 [15] Four Years – February 29th, 3164 [16] Celebration – March 15th, 3164 [17] Disease – July 30th, 3164 [18] Revelation – September 23rd, 3164 [19] Deaths – December 31st, 3164 [20] Five Years – March 1st, 3165 [21] Last Log – April 3rd, 3165

 

Accessing Day Fifteen – March 5^th, 3160

 

            Adam Smith is sitting at his desk, appearing to be more or less back to normal. He’s shaved, his clothes are unwrinkled, and he has an aura of nonchalance and happiness. Only the tightness around his eyes betrays the fact that he’s still under stress from the fact that people outside have died or are still dying. He clears his throat before starting.

            “We’ve been in Oasis for just a little over two weeks now. The excitement has worn off for most of the people here, and they’re progressing along life as they would normally. I’m afraid that we may have made a mistake in how we built this place. When you’re in need of work, or are working, Oasis accommodates you perfectly.

            “Unfortunately, once that work is over, and you want to do what you want to do for a while, there’s not much there. Sure, we have a game section, with all sorts of ancient video games, simulations, holographic chess, and casino games.  What happens when that charm wears off? The entertainment section of Oasis is big, over 100 square feet, but even that can only hold so much. We brought down most of the cultural aspects of the world above, but how long can that last? 

            “Movies, for example. We can’t film anything down here, because we just don’t have the space. We can’t film anything on the surface, because the equipment, not to mention the actors, would be destroyed very quickly. Luckily, we have over 1200 years of movie history to fall back on. If you’ve seen every movie from the last 100 years, then you can watch a classic, something from the dawn of entertainment, back in the twentieth century. That ancient classic Star Wars is a great example.”

            Smith laughs to himself and looks away. “Star Wars. If only they’d been right about the future when that was filmed. Nineteen-seventy-seven was when that movie was made. You know that? That’s 1183 years. Surely, with inspiration like other planets, alien species, and all that, the human race could have aspired to put a bit more effort into the space program. They had one at that time.

            “Unfortunately, after the colony on Mars, established in 2085, was destroyed by a rain of meteors, the collective governments of the world shut it down. They hadn’t even found a trace of life outside of our own planet. There have been attempts to restart the program over the years, but our technology has spread in different directions. We needed to provide places for the increasing population of the planet, and outward just wasn’t going to work.

            “Lasers. Lasers could have done so much. Focused energy. We use lasers in construction and destruction anymore. Well, we did, until this catastrophe. That’s how we dug such a precise hole for Oasis. Lasers could have defended against meteors. Focus some energy on the center of the giant rock, and fire. The thing will shatter into a million pieces, and spread outward, away from your base. It was such a simple principle, but nobody ever reached out to accomplish it.

            “But that’s ancient history. I just believe that we could have done something like they did in that movie. Colonized other worlds, slowly increasing our own technology level until we were able to travel to other systems and star clusters. Then we could have colonized those planets, and eventually built a little failsafe for the human race. If Earth was wiped out by something like the sun rapidly expanding, another colony could carry on our legacy.

            “Now look at us. Two thousand people, all that’s left of a race that once spanned the entire Earth, numbering in the tens of billions. 

            “Bah, it’s useless. Failures in government, incompetent leaders, scientists who were afraid to take a leap of faith on a specific piece of technology that could have increased our capacity of understanding… it’s all made us pathetic. So few movements in the past thousand years. 

“Before 2100, countries were always changing. Someone would step up and snuff out another nation, and absorb it into his own.  Human beings would reach new levels of technology during war. That was how it was. This stupid concept of eternal peace, which only lasted for two hundred years, probably caused this damn problem. 

“Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. That’s a famous quote, and it holds a ton of truth, in both directions. Those who don’t learn how Friet Pietmer, the Dutch leader in 2537, was crazy and completely incompetent don’t know why he tried to take over the entire world are doomed to allow that same catastrophe to happen again. Those who don’t understand that he based his ideologies off of Adolf Hitler, six hundred years prior, are even more ignorant to the truth of the world.

“It’s sad, you know?” Smith leans back in his chair, apparently contemplating this. “Because nobody learned that we only improve through fighting, nobody fought. And because nobody fought, nobody increased our technology level. We moved so slowly through the ranks. It was 2350 before the Internet was replaced with the faster and more efficient Extranet, and 2780 before the Extranet was replaced by a faster and more efficient ARPANET, named after the predecessor of the Internet. That’s pathetic. It took less than fifty years for the Internet to replace the original ARPANET. You know why? We were at war!

“Ugh, I can’t concentrate today,” Smith has leaned forward by this time, and is covering his eyes with one hand. “Between everyone dying outside, and little problems in here, I can’t focus on anything long enough to make a good log about it. If I can clear up later today, I’ll probably just replace this one. Until then, sixth transmission over.”

 

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Reviews

[Yana Larson]

In this log, Adam Smith reflects on the two weeks that have passed since the residents of Oasis sealed themselves in, with life gradually settling into a routine. However, Smith is increasingly concerned about the long-term sustainability of life in the shelter, particularly as the novelty of their new existence begins to wear off. He highlights a significant flaw in the design of Oasis—the lack of long-term entertainment and fulfillment once the work is done. The residents are beginning to experience boredom and restlessness, and the novelty of video games, simulations, and old movies like *Star Wars* can only go so far. Smith's frustration grows as he recognizes that the temporary solutions they’ve put in place cannot last indefinitely.

The log then shifts to a more philosophical and introspective tone, as Smith reflects on humanity’s failed potential to expand beyond Earth. He laments the stagnation of technological progress, particularly in space exploration, after the collapse of the Mars colony and the failure of attempts to reinvest in space programs. His frustration with human history and the lack of progress after the fall of early civilizations is clear. He references how war, historically, drove technological innovation, but with the lack of conflict in modern times, humanity's technological growth has slowed down to a crawl.

Smith's disillusionment deepens as he considers the historical failures that led to the catastrophic situation they find themselves in now. His anger at the political failures, the missed opportunities for advancement, and the inefficiency of the past is palpable. His thoughts, however, are scattered and interrupted by the pressures of the current situation—both the deaths outside and the mounting small problems inside Oasis. The log ends with Smith acknowledging his inability to focus, leaving the transmission as an incomplete record of his frustrations.

The entry paints a picture of a man overwhelmed by the enormity of his leadership role and the seeming futility of human history, caught in a cycle of missed opportunities and unmet potential.