bought a Maserati, and then felt too self-conscious behind the wheel to drive it. He stayed under the radar and drove his Civic instead. The yacht. Parties of his own invention. Three power homes and an apartment in Manhattan. He chased the image the world seemed to require of him, and failed to embody even the smallest cell of that person's being.
He stopped sleeping.
He wrestled with his appetite.
He lost weight and worried his investors.
He parted ways with most of his friends.
He objectively studied his life and calculated the moments at which he appeared to be most happy. None of them, to his surprise, involved expensive toys or high-powered friends. While he liked the idea of women, actually being around them seemed to subvert his own nature, so he categorized women as an unpleasant distraction.
His most pleasurable moments involved his empty apartment, a stack of books, take-out food, and video games.
It cost him millions of dollars and several years of image-building to realize that all he really wanted was to stay home, far away from just about every other human being on Earth.
That's when he began thinking about the space station.
• • •
It was just a fanciful dream at first. Not much separated it from the other extravagances he had believed he wanted. What was a yacht if not a floating space station? But the yacht was designed to be enjoyed by many, many people. It was supposed to drop anchor at party beaches and rich casinos.
The space station Steven daydreamed about was even bigger than the yacht... but designed for just one human being.
It wasn't until his annual re-reading of Earth Abides that he began to imagine the space station in its proper context.
As a safe home for the last survivor of the human race.
The Stowaway
Where are we going? Does someone live here? What is this place for? Is it a secret laboratory? Is it a secret agent club? Is it a secret weapons bunker? Is the President here? Does she know about this place? Is Mr. Glass a spy? Is Mr. Glass going to take over the world?
For a child, you ask a lot of questions, Stacy says.
That's what childs -- I mean, children -- do, says Henry, who is nervously bouncing around the service elevator.
I can tell you some things, and other things I can't tell you at all, Stacy says, cryptically. But before I answer your questions, let me tell you what not to do.
Henry says, I can't see you in here.
The service elevator is not designed with the kinds of technology that the rest of the facility has been created with, Stacy says. As such, it is one of the few essentially invisible places within the complex.
What is this place?
Didn't I just tell you we would get to your questions? Stacy asks.
Henry wrinkles his forehead. Are you really a robot?
Ah, the Turing test, Stacy says. How original.
The what what? Henry says.
The Turing test is a -- please, let me continue. There will be time for such distractions later.
What's later?
Stacy would sigh if she were able.
• • •
The most important consideration is this, Stacy says. Mr. Glass does not allow guests into this facility. No visitors of any duration.
Okay, Henry says. So he doesn't know I'm here.
He does not know you're here, Stacy agrees. Remember, you're in the service elevator, so you're essentially invisible while you're inside of it. That is, unless Mr. Glass suddenly needs the service elevator.
Henry looks worried. Will he?
Mr. Glass has not used the service elevator in twenty-seven days, Stacy says. Human behavior is not easily predicted, but I have access to his supply and shipment records, and in fact I handle the creation and logging of such documentation, and there are no large shipments remaining. Mr. Glass has fully moved-in.
You mean he lives underground?
We'll get to that, Stacy says. Let's review. What is the most important consideration?
Henry says, Mr. Glass can't know
He stopped sleeping.
He wrestled with his appetite.
He lost weight and worried his investors.
He parted ways with most of his friends.
He objectively studied his life and calculated the moments at which he appeared to be most happy. None of them, to his surprise, involved expensive toys or high-powered friends. While he liked the idea of women, actually being around them seemed to subvert his own nature, so he categorized women as an unpleasant distraction.
His most pleasurable moments involved his empty apartment, a stack of books, take-out food, and video games.
It cost him millions of dollars and several years of image-building to realize that all he really wanted was to stay home, far away from just about every other human being on Earth.
That's when he began thinking about the space station.
• • •
It was just a fanciful dream at first. Not much separated it from the other extravagances he had believed he wanted. What was a yacht if not a floating space station? But the yacht was designed to be enjoyed by many, many people. It was supposed to drop anchor at party beaches and rich casinos.
The space station Steven daydreamed about was even bigger than the yacht... but designed for just one human being.
It wasn't until his annual re-reading of Earth Abides that he began to imagine the space station in its proper context.
As a safe home for the last survivor of the human race.
The Stowaway
Where are we going? Does someone live here? What is this place for? Is it a secret laboratory? Is it a secret agent club? Is it a secret weapons bunker? Is the President here? Does she know about this place? Is Mr. Glass a spy? Is Mr. Glass going to take over the world?
For a child, you ask a lot of questions, Stacy says.
That's what childs -- I mean, children -- do, says Henry, who is nervously bouncing around the service elevator.
I can tell you some things, and other things I can't tell you at all, Stacy says, cryptically. But before I answer your questions, let me tell you what not to do.
Henry says, I can't see you in here.
The service elevator is not designed with the kinds of technology that the rest of the facility has been created with, Stacy says. As such, it is one of the few essentially invisible places within the complex.
What is this place?
Didn't I just tell you we would get to your questions? Stacy asks.
Henry wrinkles his forehead. Are you really a robot?
Ah, the Turing test, Stacy says. How original.
The what what? Henry says.
The Turing test is a -- please, let me continue. There will be time for such distractions later.
What's later?
Stacy would sigh if she were able.
• • •
The most important consideration is this, Stacy says. Mr. Glass does not allow guests into this facility. No visitors of any duration.
Okay, Henry says. So he doesn't know I'm here.
He does not know you're here, Stacy agrees. Remember, you're in the service elevator, so you're essentially invisible while you're inside of it. That is, unless Mr. Glass suddenly needs the service elevator.
Henry looks worried. Will he?
Mr. Glass has not used the service elevator in twenty-seven days, Stacy says. Human behavior is not easily predicted, but I have access to his supply and shipment records, and in fact I handle the creation and logging of such documentation, and there are no large shipments remaining. Mr. Glass has fully moved-in.
You mean he lives underground?
We'll get to that, Stacy says. Let's review. What is the most important consideration?
Henry says, Mr. Glass can't know
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