Even though we had been living here for about a year and a half now, I was still fascinated by the construction that formed the basis. It was a huge complex, both underground and on the ground, and at least twenty stories high. They were large halls made of either metal or glass, depending on their use. And each hall served its own purpose. We had amongst others the harvest hall, the eating hall, the training hall, bunkers for the engineering and aquaculture divisions and more.

The corridors and hallways were all connected by stairs and elevators. There was also a large inner courtyard, around which the floors formed a kind of giant glass atrium. Trees and plants were also planted in the courtyard, like a small private city park. And yet it was filtered air that we breathed, not air that came in directly through a window from outside. Windows in general were not designed to be opened, which is why there were often cases of claustrophobia in the hospital wards. But most people had gotten used to it by now. After all, we had no other choice and almost everyone recognized that. And the few who sometimes still had to struggle or made a fuss were helped as best as possible. I used to always wonder whether you wouldn't be able to recognize such a huge building from a distance, and whether more people would come and ask for help. But it had never happened that anyone from the outside world came. I was also secretly sure that no one would have let them in, even if the top management had always spoken positively about it. I had always put it down to the fact that the building was probably hidden in the mountains or in the forest. But no one could really explain it. Everyone just accepted it because it was their livelihood and I was sure that most people would have no problem defending it, even if it was at the expense of other people. Fortunately, that had not happened yet and nothing had come of it.

We then arrived at the harvest hall and we grabbed one of the pads that were larger than our normal hand pad. They were always there and rooms were available because other groups also used them. But they were bigger and easier to deal with the one-liner data we always entered. So it was good that we got one today. Then we went to the corresponding row where we had finished yesterday and, as so often before, took the measurements and wrote down the data in tables. Potassium, potassium, PH value, sodium content, water and sunlight storage and much more. Other groups and E were already busy with work, but it was still relatively empty. The pumpkins we measured today already looked oil-sized and wonderfully orange. I remembered that we used to enjoy pumpkin tea. My mother always had them in her garden and used them to make soup for me and my little brother. I missed her a lot sometimes, but I've gotten better at dealing with it. I was also able to better understand why she liked gardening so much. It gave her peace and relaxation. I could now understand that too. I knew that if possible, I wouldn't be in this division forever and would like to go back to medicine or maybe even go somewhere else. But for now it was exactly right. Hollow and I worked in a consent form silence and it pleasant. We made quick progress and by half past one we had completed all of today's tasks and rows and then some. We poured water and emptied the bottles in one go. Although it wasn't hot, the humid air was still hard on you when you worked in it for hours.

We set off for the community hall a little early because we didn't want to get caught in a storm of people again. Hollow and I talked about the dishes we knew from the past that could be made from pumpkins. "Pumpkin soup, pumpkin cake, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread were her ideas. And then she raved about the pumpkin seeds that you always cracked with your teeth in the summer. I grinned and let her stories take me along into the summer that promised no worries and was simply there to be enjoyed.

When we arrived in the hall, many benches and seats were still free and we looked for a corner further back. The hall was big enough to hold the almost 500 people. Of course, not everyone would come, because there were workers who had important tasks and couldn't just leave their posts. In addition, there were always people who had to constantly monitor the sick bay and other things. So I expected a good 350 participants. We chatted for a while, as I filled the hall more and more within the ten minutes. Despite the tight schedule in the base for each individual, we could still expect to be late at such large meetings - which rarely occurred - and they usually started about half an hour later than planned. Those who knew this really only came at the last possible moment. Caleb spotted us and sat down next to us. Henry, who was standing nearby with an acquaintance of his, also looked at us and then sat down on the same bench. If you lived in the base, you had seen every person in the competition at least once. And yet, it always happened that at some point you met people and saw faces that you could swear you had never seen before. At that moment, I felt the same way about Henry's acquaintance, whom he knew from work and who introduced himself as Giuoio. We waited and it got louder and louder around us, the hall was filled with conversations, chairs and benches being moved, and noises like coughing, laughter, clearing of the throat - all in a crowd of around 350 people. But when the meeting opened half an hour later, as predicted, with our chairman Mr. Cambridge coming onto the stage and holding up a microphone, the room immediately fell silent.

“Hello everyone, thank you so much for showing up in such large numbers.” He didn't need to shout because the microphone was so good that it sent even the smallest and quietest word from him to the farthest corner. His face was projected onto several large televisions that were pulled out from the sides so that I could see his white, gleaming teeth all the way up here. He waved like he was some kind of celebrity, but no one cared. That's just how he was. He was elected to office after the founder's death and was able to win over everyone around him with his charm. Cih had seen him in person a few times, but they had always been public meetings. I have never met him individually; he often stayed in the private offices of high-ranking officials. “I hope that you are all doing well and that you had a good and, above all, reductive morning.” Cheering and murmurs of agreement rang out. Half the crowd seemed unimpressed by him, the others seemed to be clearly celebrating him. And most people were probably wondering what this meeting meant. And you really had to give him one thing. He always got to the point quickly and didn't beat around the bush much.

"My dears, I know how valuable your and all of our time is, so I don't want to give a long speech and explain to you what we are talking about here today. As I'm sure you all have noticed, the information for today's meeting said that there was good news. And that's true, there is very good news." He paused dramatically for a moment to keep the crowd in suspense. "And that is," he then said, "we have found evidence of another base like ours." For a moment it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop to the floor.

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And then suddenly a loud cheer broke out, many people jumped up from their seats, they clapped, cheered, some even hugged each other. I was briefly overwhelmed because I didn't really know what to do with this information at that moment. I looked at Hohlkörper, who formed an "Oh my God" with her mouth, and at Calbe, who grinned and nodded slightly. Of course he knew about it. Caleb was always well informed when it came to information from the outside world. When the crowd had calmed down somewhat and everyone was seated again, the broadly smiling Mr. Cambridge continued. "Yes, that's exactly how I reacted when the reconnaissance team of our brave and courageous Delta unit told us about it. It's really great and we've already started to discuss plans and procedures for how we could find out about this base and how we could even get in touch with them later if necessary." Some people shouted why they couldn't do that now, that it would only bring advantages. "I hear you," said Mr. Cambridge soothingly. "But unfortunately we have to proceed with caution because our own base is our highest priority and we have to protect it from all eventualities." Murmurs of agreement could be heard. "Well, I'm glad I was able to share this good news with you all so quickly. Everything will go on as planned for now, the planning is ongoing and of course we want to be open with you. If you have any questions or comments or concerns, you can always contact my fantastic planning team, they will be happy to help you." He spread his arms and nodded again with a broad smile. "Thank you very much!" And with that he waved to the people again and left the stage. Immediately the hall got louder again, the tents chatted excitedly, exchanging their initial thoughts, some sounded enthusiastic, others rather reluctant. "How cool is that, then we'll be able to see how they live," said one of the people in front of us to his friend. He didn't seem to agree, but they both got up like most of them and followed the stream that was moving outside. Our row waited until it was emptier. I was tempted to ask Caleb and Hollow what exactly that meant and why everyone was so excited, but I held myself back until we could also get up and look for a room nearby. It was a meeting room, but it was empty and open at the moment.

Caleb, Hollow, Henry and I stood around a table. Caleb braced his hands and looked at me. "You know that our group always goes out exploring, right?" I nodded. "It's become more frequent in the last few months and we've been able to find out a lot that wasn't known yet." What?" Henry asked, but Caleb shook his head. “I can’t tell you at this point, but it’s important. In any case, on a recent tour we heard noises near a lake we had just sampled. There were other people who spoke. We then hid and followed them. We wanted to know where they were going. After a while, also in a valley like ours, we discovered where they had gone. It was a basis.” He also let the words hang in the room and they built up no less drama than those before in the hall. “What next?” I asked impatiently. He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Well, it was a large complex, a compound with many individual buildings. It was a base. It looked very different from ours, but there seemed to be a lot of people living there, judging by the number of buildings. Not as many as ours, but still a large group. We immediately informalized the board when we came back.” He sat down on a chair and we followed suit. I put my hands on the table and leaned slightly toward him. "And? What did you say?” Caleb stared at the tabletop, seeming to be concentrating. “Well, to be honest, the general consonance wasn’t the most positive. But they were interested in investigating this further.” I nodded slowly. Caleb seemed to want to say something more, but was holding back. I knew him well enough by now to realize that. There may have been questions on the tip of my tongue, but I didn't want to ask them at that moment because I knew Caleb wanted to be careful. He didn't know how much he could or should tell us. And finally it wasn't just me, but also Henry and Hollow in the room. This increased the risk of the information being shared with others by three. So I nodded thinking about what he said that night.

When we finished the short conversation, Caleb stepped aside for a moment and he gestured to me to wait with him. "There is something I wanted to discuss with you in private." I looked at him expectantly and nodded. He looked around and then said, "But better not here. It would be best if you had some time later, we could meet around 5. In the training hall." I nodded again and then went towards my room. Henry was already there.

“It was all strange, wasn’t it?” he said, scrolling around on his handpad. I just grumbled and then put my work clothes in the closet. I slipped into the normal pants and t-shirt that she always wore. “I don’t know, I’m curious to see what else they’ll tell us or whether there will be further meetings.” I thought briefly about what I should do now. Caleb didn't want to meet until later and I still had some time. Should I go to the jetties again? I was up there almost every day. But somehow it just seemed more important to me to go to the training center and do some more training to make the most of the time beforehand. So I made a quick decision, took my training bag with me and went to the training hall. It was large and designed for all types of sports, except perhaps swimming. There were pillars in the hall around which punching bags were hung. In addition, several fighting rings were untidy and many of the mats on which I understand that Xavier had fought were lying on the floor around them. On the other side of the hall there were large mirrors where I knew dance lessons were also offered. Although these were not generally considered necessary, banners were very welcome by many who wanted to bring a bit of normality back into their everyday lives with such things. I went towards one of the punching bags hung around the pillars. Even though I wasn't in my training clothes at the moment, I wanted to warm up. At that moment I had such an overwhelming urge to exercise and burn off energy that I didn't even want to bother changing. I threw my bag on the floor and then stood in front of the bag. I reached out and struck the first blow. The heavy bag moved only slightly. Then I went back into the same attacking stance that Xavier had shown us and acted as if that was my opponent, as if the sack was the cause of all my trouble. I gave the next blow and another. The bag now began to sway, adapting to the rhythm of my strokes. I gave another blow and another and I noticed how the blows hurt, but it felt good. I felt like I was building my willpower through this. The Wiulle who kept me upright and who made me get up day after day. I believed that it could get better, that it would get better. If we just kept working on securing everything here at the base for now, then maybe we could eventually get back out there once we have determined it was habitable and no longer a threat. Actually, if you thought about it, the environment itself had never been the danger as such. But back then we had received so much incomplete or incorrect information that today hardly anyone could say exactly what was involved, who was involved and, above all, how it all got out of hand.