Which Floor First?

The three of them arrive at the outside of the laboratory and look up at the giant building. It was always an impressive sight to see. The building was huge and stretched all the way up to the ceiling of the dome. There were even rumors that the laboratory had an underground facility as well and that it stretched throughout the city. But the rumors were yet to be confirmed which is why they were rumors. But the chances were that the rumors weren't true because there wasn't any space under the dome.

"This place really does look a lot bigger up close," Zack remarked while holding his hand over his eyes like he was an explorer looking at something far away. "With how big this place is and how many people there are working here, it's surprising that I.C.E. has yet to develop even a prototype something that would refreeze the earth's poles after all this time."

"Guess that's why the people are angry," Samantha said while shrugging her shoulders. "I mean, I would be pretty pissed too about it if I cared even a little bit about what they are doing." The three enter the building and go over to the receptionist to provide their identifications and reason for visiting.

"Do you not want to see the earth back in its former glory?" Jean asked Samantha after they finished talking to the receptionist, continuing the conversation where they left off.

Samantha pinched her lips with her fingers, thinking of a way to respond to the question before saying, "I wouldn't say no, but I wouldn't say yes either." Jean and Zack gave Samantha confused looks, asking her what she meant by that. "What I mean is that life is fine as it is right now. We have been living down here in the domes for generations now. We've already grown accustomed or adapted to our life, whichever one of those is the right word. I really don't want to deal with a big change like suddenly going back to living on the surface or something," Samantha explained her reasoning for why she didn't particularly care whether or not I.C.E. found a way to reverse the damages caused by global warming.

They had been born down here and have never once seen the surface. The only thing that they can do is look at pictures and images of how the earth used to look. Their generation does not know how life was before everything was submerged. They only heard about it through their parents who heard it through their parents, who heard it from their parents as well. None of them actually experienced life on the surface so they don't know if it is actually 'better.' But because their parents or grandparents say it is, they say so as well despite none of them having seen the surface for themselves at all.

"Wow, I never knew a muscle-head like you are capable of deep thought," Zack said teasingly.

"Hm!?" Samantha grabbed Zack and put her arm around his neck. "Who are you calling a muscle-head you pipsqueak!?" She asked as she pressed her knuckles against his head.

"Ow ow ow! Stop!" Zack tried to break free from Samantha's grip but the difference in strength was too much. The only thing he could do was squirm in her arms, trying his best but being unable to break free. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry! Please stop!"

Samantha let Zack go after he apologized. He rubbed his head, trying to relieve the pain a little. "Jeez, I really hope you put a dent in my skull after doing that." After a little bit, the pain went away, and Zack went to the elevator and called for it. "Anyway, where do we want to start first?" he asked as he turned to the two, looking for their preferences.

"I'm fine with anything," Samantha told him.

"Yeah, it's the same for me," Jean also said. The two of them didn't really care where they started and where they ended. Since Zack was the one that wanted to visit this place, they might as well let him decide where to go and what to do here.

*Ding* The elevator arrived and the rotating glass door slid open. "I guess we can start with where we normally can't go to and then work out something from there," Zack said as he stepped foot into the elevator.

"I'll tell you this again, but I am only allowed in a few of the employee floors," Jean reminded Zack. Furthermore, she still wasn't sure if they would allow her friends in with her. Hopefully, it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

"Mhm, got it." Zack looked at the floor selection pad and asked Jean, "Okay, so which floors are we allowed to go on now?"

"Anywhere between 60 and 64," she told him. Those were all the floors that her dad worked on and had access to. She in turn also had access to those floors since she would occasionally go and deliver things or visit him. While she was at it, if they were to bump into him and he wasn't busy, she could possibly ask him for his keys.

"Hm, let's start from the top and work our way down then," Zack told the two. He pressed the button for floor 64 and there was a buzz. A small square opened up and a camera popped out. Zack and Samantha were startled by the camera. After releasing what it was, they both looked at Jean for an explanation.

Jean walked up to the camera and closed one of her eyes and put the other in front of it. A laser came out and scanned her eye, going from up to down and then back up again. *Beep!* A green light appeared to show that she was authorized. The camera retreated back into its little square home. The elevator door then closed and started moving up. "It's exactly what you think," Jean told Zack and Samantha.

"A retinal scanner?" Zack asked.

"Yes."

"Woah, that's fancy," Samantha commented as she walked up to the small square where the camera had gone and tapped on it. It was her and Zack's first time seeing this. "Are there more things like this where we're going?" Jean nodded her head. Samantha's lack of interest suddenly disappeared and she became as excited as Zack was in exploring the place.

The elevator rocketed to the 64th floor and they arrived in just under thirty seconds. The elevator door opened to reveal a man standing behind it. "What?" he looked at them with a very confused face. "Why are you kids- wait... Jean?" It took the man a few seconds to see her since she was standing all the way in the back with part of her face being blocked by the other two.

"Yeah, it's me," Jean said while tippy-toeing to give the man a clearer look at her.

"Oh, it is you..." The man scratched his head and then looked back at the other two whom he did not recognize. "Who are these two then?"

"We're her friends," Zack introduced himself and Samantha before Jean could say anything.

The man lifted an eyebrow. He looked at the two, then back at Jean, then back at the two, his eyes bouncing between them. "Okay... I can see that, but why are you two here? Only classified personnel and a few other people are allowed on this floor," he asked them.

"Uhhhhh..." Zack looked back at Jean. It was originally her idea but she gave Zack the 'you're the one who agreed to it and so you should do the talking' face. Zack gave an annoyed 'really?' face in return and then turned back to the man. "We wanted to look around a little," he told him.

The man looked at Jean who nodded her head yes. That was exactly why they were here. "I see." The man crossed his arm and thought about it for a moment before responding. "I guess you guys can look around here. Just make sure you don't bother anyone working, and don't touch anything you're not supposed to. Other than that, go for it I guess." The man stepped to the side to let them out of the elevator after giving them his okay.

"Thank you, Mister..."

"Roger."

"Okay, thank you Mr. Roger," Zack thanked the man for letting them explore the floor.

After exiting the elevator, Roger got on and then pressed a button to go to another floor. Before he did though, he told Jean, "Oh yeah. Jean, in case you want to find your dad, he is on the 62nd floor." Jean thanked Roger for telling her that as the elevator door slid close and went down.

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