Alice in Sporeland

Alice wore the heart-shaped locket her grandma had given her, on a chain on her wrist. Her grandma said she had intended to leave it for Alice's mother when she died, but grandma had preceded her daughter in death. Now an adult, Alice was without any close family.

Her only family left, distant cousins, lived in the domed nearby city, but there were too many mushrooms to get there easily, literally a mountain of them had formed between where Alice lived and the domed city. All attempts to get rid of the mountain of growth or keep it under control had failed years ago. All that could be done now was to blaze through the mushrooms in delivery trucks armed with flamethrowers.

Everything to keep the mushrooms under control had failed. Now human beings and their domesticated animals had to wear hazmat suits with air filters and internal coolers to keep from inhaling the spores that would kill them. People now lived in thermoplastic cubes, sealed airtight to keep the spores outside. There were two doors in the entrance which consisted of a cube in between each door so the spores could be sucked off the hazmat suit before one entered the home.

The delivery truck brought food once a week, but soon enough, would stop delivering for the area Alice lived in. The worst mushroom mountain of its kind. There were days when the wind blew strong and hard, there was zero visibility because of the pernicious spores. People had trickled out of there over the years and Alice was going to do the same today. She would leave with the delivery truck when it came, this time for the sole purpose of pick-up.

She knew the delivery driver of course. Lory, the driver, had been working the route for five years now and with every visit, had told Alice she could get her away from the mountain to a domed city where one could walk under the Dome without wearing a hazmat suit.

Alice had not wanted to leave. She liked being alone. Too much, her Grandma had said. Grandma had planned to leave years ago and take Alice with her. But she had died one day when her hazmat suit had torn on a broken chain-link fence. Alice had the fence taken what little money her grandma had left and had the broken fence torn down. Fences were not necessary anymore. Animals were now kept in barns like thermoplastic cubes. If one could afford them. The farm Alice lived on had ceased to have any animals long ago. Domestic animals required thermoplastic barns and individual hazmat suits customized for their unique physiques, a necessity Alice and Grandma could not afford. They had lived off Granma's social security check and what little Alice's parents had left behind. The delivery truck was supplemented by the government to prevent a huge rush to move into the city, now encased in the Dome. One could walk outside in the city without a hazmat suit and Alice was looking forward to it. But she was not looking forward to all the people that would be walking around with her.

When her Grandma had died, Alice was legally an adult and had made the choice to stay there at the old family homestead. Her cousins had ceded their interest in the land so worthless it no longer had property tax. At the time, the Government had not made any permanent decisions about how long the delivery trucks would be coming out to where Alice lived. She had known it would be one day and that Lory would help her out of there once that day came.

It had been Lory who had told her of the upcoming transition. Even though Alice had tv and internet and radio where she was, she rarely tuned into them. Nothing that much interested her on TV, but Lory had told her to watch the news at least once a night. But Alice had lagged behind on the evening news for three weeks and when Lory came inside with part of the delivery, she noted Alice had not begun packing.

"Alice, hon, you haven't heard, have you?" Lory was about fifteen years older than Alice and always had an air of maternal concern around/about her. She had nagged and begged Alice for years to move right away instead of waiting for the government to ultimately abolish the truck deliveries.

Alice stared blankly as Lory continued. "Alice the last delivery is two weeks from now. And you haven't even packed a thing!" And that is how Alice found out it was time to leave.

Lory had dropped off the rest of the supplies and left a list of suggestions for what Alice should pack. She encouraged Alice to call her cousins in the city and tell them when she would be there. Lory had met them in person, and they had worked in conjunction with her for years to convince Alice to leave the homestead. Delivery truck drivers were not just drivers, they were social workers as well, checking on the needs of Alice and the families that use to live there. Now, they had all left but Alice. Alice was Lory’s only charge now.

Alice was packed and ready when Lory came. Two packed bags, each one small enough to carry with one hand were at her side as she waited for the delivery truck to come to a stop.

When the truck stopped, the hatchback door in the back opened and Alice put her luggage in and then got into the front seat, hazmat suit still on until they got inside the Dome. Alice felt her stomach rolling with anxiety.

Lory pulled the truck back around and Alice could see the mountain of mushrooms in front of them. Lory turned to Alice and smiled.

“Here we go,” she said as she pushed the accelerator all the way down. There was no one there to enforce a speed limit.

It had been a long time since Alice had ridden in a vehicle of any kind and Alice wore the heart-shaped locket her grandma had given her, on a chain on her wrist. Her grandma said she had intended to leave it for Alice's mother when she died, but grandma had preceded her daughter in death. Now an adult, Alice was without any close family.

Her only family left, distant cousins, lived in the domed nearby city, but there were too many mushrooms to get there easily, literally a mountain of them had formed between where Alice lived and the domed city. All attempts to get rid of the mountain of growth or keep it under control had failed years ago. All that could be done now was to blaze through the mushrooms in delivery trucks armed with flamethrowers.

Everything to keep the mushrooms under control had failed. Now human beings and their domesticated animals had to wear hazmat suits with air filters and internal coolers to keep from inhaling the spores that would kill them. People now lived in thermoplastic cubes, sealed airtight to keep the spores outside. There were two doors in the entrance which consisted of a cube in between each door so the spores could be sucked off the hazmat suit before one entered the home.

The delivery truck brought food once a week, but soon enough, would stop delivering for the area Alice lived in. The worst mushroom mountain of its kind. There were days when the wind blew strong and hard, there was zero visibility because of the pernicious spores. People had trickled out of there over the years and Alice was going to do the same today. She would leave with the delivery truck when it came, this time for the sole purpose of pick-up.

She knew the delivery driver of course. Lory, the driver, had been working the route for five years now and with every visit, had told Alice she could get her away from the mountain to a domed city where one could walk under the Dome without wearing a hazmat suit.

Alice had not wanted to leave. She liked being alone. Too much, her Grandma had said. Grandma had planned to leave years ago and take Alice with her. But she had died one day when her hazmat suit had torn on a broken chain-link fence. Alice had the fence taken what little money her grandma had left and had the broken fence torn down. Fences were not necessary anymore. Animals were now kept in barns like thermoplastic cubes. If one could afford them. The farm Alice lived on had ceased to have any animals long ago. Domestic animals required thermoplastic barns and individual hazmat suits customized for their unique physiques, a necessity Alice and Grandma could not afford. They had lived off Granma's social security check and what little Alice's parents had left behind. The delivery truck was supplemented by the government to prevent a huge rush to move into the city, now encased in the Dome. One could walk outside in the city without a hazmat suit and Alice was looking forward to it. But she was not looking forward to all the people that would be walking around with her.

When her Grandma had died, Alice was legally an adult and had made the choice to stay there at the old family homestead. Her cousins had ceded their interest in the land so worthless it no longer had property tax. At the time, the Government had not made any permanent decisions about how long the delivery trucks would be coming out to where Alice lived. She had known it would be one day and that Lory would help her out of there once that day came.

It had been Lory who had told her of the upcoming transition. Even though Alice had tv and internet and radio where she was, she rarely tuned into them. Nothing that much interested her on TV, but Lory had told her to watch the news at least once a night. But Alice had lagged behind on the evening news for three weeks and when Lory came inside with part of the delivery, she noted Alice had not begun packing.

"Alice, hon, you haven't heard, have you?" Lory was about fifteen years older than Alice and always had an air of maternal concern around/about her. She had nagged and begged Alice for years to move right away instead of waiting for the government to ultimately abolish the truck deliveries.

Alice stared blankly as Lory continued. "Alice the last delivery is two weeks from now. And you haven't even packed a thing!" And that is how Alice found out it was time to leave.

Lory had dropped off the rest of the supplies and left a list of suggestions for what Alice should pack. She encouraged Alice to call her cousins in the city and tell them when she would be there. Lory had met them in person, and they had worked in conjunction with her for years to convince Alice to leave the homestead. Delivery truck drivers were not just drivers, they were social workers as well, checking on the needs of Alice and the families that use to live there. Now, they had all left but Alice. Alice was Lory’s only charge now.

Alice was packed and ready when Lory came. Two packed bags, each one small enough to carry with one hand were at her side as she waited for the delivery truck to come to a stop.

When the truck stopped, the hatchback door in the back opened and Alice put her luggage in and then got into the front seat, hazmat suit still on until they got inside the Dome. Alice felt her stomach rolling with anxiety.

Lory pulled the truck back around and Alice could see the mountain of mushrooms in front of them. Lory turned to Alice and smiled.

“Here we go,” she said as she pushed the accelerator all the way down. There was no one there to enforce a speed limit.

It had been a long time since Alice had ridden in a vehicle of any kind and she felt her anxiety surge into adrenaline. She knew she would enjoy this part of the journey with no barriers until the mountain.

“Do you think I could learn to drive when we get there?” asked Alice, looking at Lory as she handled the big wheel of the truck.

Lory quickly glanced at Alice as she spoke. “Yes of course. They even have jobs for drivers inside the city. They don’t pay as much as this one,” she said as she watched the truck dashboard. “But enough to live I think.”

Alice looked out the window, straight ahead. The mountain was coming up fast and Alice could see that Lory had switched on the flame thrower. The entire cab was encased in pyrex and insulation to protect the riders. Alice couldn’t even feel the blast of heat. But she could see it as they reached the mountain, the mushrooms turning black from the flames.

“I’ve heard the smell of those things burning is horrendous,” Lory remarked, her hands and eyes fully focused on the dashboard and her feet on the accelerator. The hazmat suits did have the advantage of keeping out smells.

The black remains of the mushrooms pressed against the sides of the window as they drove through. In the rear-view mirror, Alice could see them growing back quickly, as much as four feet in as many minutes.

For ninety minutes, the flame throwing truck pushed through the mushrooms and then suddenly, stopped.

The burnt remains of the mushrooms were being pushed aside by the new growth that was now pushing against the truck windows. Alice felt her heart stop as she turned to look at Lory. Lory put the truck in park and then turned to Alice and said with a sigh, “We’ll have to get out and walk.”

Lory told her, as she armed her with a flamethrower, that occasionally the trucks over-heated due to the flamethrowers and it was necessary to walk. Alice quickly learned how to use it and then they were on their way.

Up and down, they swept their flame throwers, walking over the remains of the smoldering mushrooms as they made their way to the dome. A crew would be back later to tow the truck with Alice’s bags in it.

The mushrooms grew so fast that Lory had to turn around and sweep the flames behind them. Alice wondered if they were going to have enough flames in the flame throwers to make it to the Dome.

“We only have half a mile to go,” Lory told her. She had to repeat it because Alice could barely hear her the first time she said it.

They had a quarter mile left when Alice slipped on the mushrooms. Down she went, the mushrooms growing over her as soon as she landed. She was briskly covered in them as they smashed against her face shield. She sat up and managed to uproot them as she did so. Lory was waiting with an outstretched hand to help her to her feet. She clutched the flamethrower with her other hand and as soon as both hands were free, she began throwing flames again.

Finally, the mushrooms got lower and lower until they were outside the mountain of mushrooms. Alice could see the door to the Dome ahead. Exhausted, they stumbled forward, crushing the mushrooms under their feet. The mushrooms grew back as soon their feet left them.

They finally made it inside the Dome. At the entrance, the spores were blown off their hazmat suits as the door closed behind them. When they got to the other side of the door, Alice tore off her suit, relieved to be out of it at last.

“Can I burn this thing?” she asked as she indicated the suit by holding it up.

“No,” replied Lory. “It stays with you always. Just in case we have to evacuate the Dome.”

Alice sighed inwardly and held the suit close to her. Now it was time to meet her family