THE DOME CITY by Nichole Haines

Jane glanced over at the wall noticing for the first time a very thin see-through square glass, lodged just inside of its structure. She wasn’t exactly sure what it was, however, at that moment a robot appeared on a screen and said:

“Hello Jane, my name is Bato and I’m the Artificial Intelligence that controls the Dome City.”

“What year are we in?” asked Jane.

” 3030 Jane,” Bato replied.

Jane felt confused, she couldn’t remember anything clearly, yet had a strange, vague recollection of it being the year 2025. She opted for curious and probably forbidden questions:

“Why am I here in this place and why can’t I remember anything?”

Bato looked at her, he was void of emotion:

“Child, those are forbidden questions here in the Dome City” he confirmed “and I’m not allowed to answer them for you, the First Law of the Dome City is never to ask why you’re here. Your memory has been erased for a reason and once again I can’t answer why, you must follow all the rules and regulations of the Bato Artificial Intelligence system here, remember, nobody can go outside, and no-one contradicts our Law!”

OK, Jane thought, let’s try this question:
“How and when was the Dome City formed?”

Bato, rather surprisingly, answered her question quickly
“The Dome City was formed in the year 2025 because World War III broke out and chemical warfare destroyed most of the Earth. We made The Dome City from old malls which were no longer in use after the year 2020 as Internet retail had taken over the world of shopping.”
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About the Author

My name is Nichole and I have a mild to moderate case of Cerebral Palsy. I have a 12-year-old daughter and a two-year-old daughter. None of my daughters have Cerebral Palsy because it isn’t genetic. I was a Computer Science major in college, but the math part of it was too difficult for me to finish my degree, so I dropped out. I used to love technology when I was younger, but as an adult, I don’t like it anymore. I like it to a certain extent it can be used for good and evil. The quantum computers and Artificial intelligence creeps me out the most This is the very first fiction book I have ever written. I started having strange and scary dreams already when I was in first and second grade. I usually had dreams about UFO and Black helicopters as a young girl. A lot of dreams I have are futuristic and sometimes hard to explain. I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at the age of two, and I didn’t start walking until the age of three. My twelve-year-old daughter has an IQ of 132 and is a gifted student at her school. She was able to read books very well at the age of four years old, so I had her IQ tested when she started the second grade. She has been in the gifted program since the second grade. In my spare time, I like to spend time with my two daughters, read books and I also love listening to music.

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