The alleys outside our apartment are teeming with people, all trying to get to the Inside, but I think they are in the same situation as us. I do not think they have any UV credits left either, as their children seem as white as ours. Even the 20th Caribs look pale. Most of the NHS, UV centres are broken, and the ones that are working only seem to have about one in four lamps working, so the SUN-LITE is at a very low strength, and we are still white when we leave them after the 15 minutes per month.
I have a wealthy friend who lives on the edge of the Outside, and he has told me what it is like on the Inside. He has bought some investment credits for the Inside, and so he and his family are entitled to at least two days a year, access privilege.
Here, on the Outside, there is a concrete roof constantly over our heads, and the alleys which run under it are in perpetual darkness. Sometimes people light lamps with old oil on the outside of their Outside houses, but - as oil is a foodstuff - it is very expensive, even when it is stale and used up, so usually the Ministry gives people money to buy it back again, so it can be refined into edibility again. It is still expensive after refinement though. The rent for the Outside is more than most of us can afford, so we are always in debt to the Ministry, which is why we cannot afford UV credits.
My friend says that on the Inside, you can see the blue sky and clouds, just like in the children's books. He says that sometimes, the Sun comes out, and all the UV is free, but I think he is lying. How can UV be free? He says that it 'rains' sometimes too, so we are lucky to be on the Outside where it never rains, but water comes out of the pump, just so long as you keep up your credits. He says that there are real animals on the Inside too - not just the rats that we hunt in the Pipe-System every night. He has seen two horses and eight cows.
It's really cold now, and I have no credits to pay the Ministry. It seems like a real waste to not eat this rat, but I think that they can get to the Inside through the Pipe-System, so it is worth a try. If anyone gets this note, please look out for my children who live at intersection 22, on the overhead of 19. They are called Estelle and Imogen. Thanks".
In case you were wondering, the above is not really anything to do with current Green issues or paranoia about faceless government, but it has occurred to me that we are fleeced to the edge of endurance by large companies, and a sure fire way of extracting as much money from us as possible is to control all the basics that we simply cannot do without - food and housing being the two main ones.
ReplyDeleteIf they could privatise the sky, they certainly would.
I don't even know what to say to your post, but it sounds bleak..to say the least?!!? Have a visit over to my country, and be sure to read to the very last word of my latest post. An attempt to irk you? Maybe. Seemed like a good idea at the time..yes, but now, maybe not.
ReplyDeleteYes, sorry Heather - it's not exactly a bundle of laughs, is it? Never mind, I'll make up for it with the next post, which will be all warm and cosy, I promise. My golden rule is 'try not to lose your sense of humour', and I don't think I did with the above post, so I left it up, although it almost came down immediately. I think it might have been a reaction to Maiden's 'Pink' post...
ReplyDeleteI've just read your latest, and was not irked. I'll go back to it and try again.
P.S. - I have changed, 'GODGIVENSUN' to 'SUN-LITE'. You see, there is humour in it after all.
ReplyDelete