The Dome

Anna Underwood had never known how The Dome really worked until she found herself on set in her first live episode being snogged by Travis Ullman, who the public had voted to be Anna's lover, even though he was already married. Anna hadn't been the least bit attracted to him and had been mortified when the viewers voted for her to have sex with him in the jacuzzi on their third date. She had no idea just how much The Dome controlled the lives of cast members. Fans of the show were convinced that parts of the show were scripted, that it was all done in jest - it wasn't. It was all real. It was barbaric.

Anna was no longer with Travis. The public had voted for their separation a year ago. She didn't think things could get worse than having to pretend to enjoy fornicating with Travis on live television - but the public had gone one step further by voting for her to sleep with Travis's brother. Travis had tried to quit after that, but the producers wouldn't let him. Roman, a virtual assistant that could predict all human behavior and was the reason why The Dome could function as a hit show, had already told them the outcome of the vote to slowly unravel Travis's life - the show would hit billions in viewing figures worldwide. The Dome was well-established in people's homes - they were invincible and unstoppable and the executive producer had responded to Travis's request to quit by saying 'Over my dead body.' The man practically had dollar signs in his eyes whilst Travis begged to be free.

Travis's choices in the following episode were either to exact revenge by getting his brother's ex-wife pregnant or by fighting his brother. The public had chosen the former after Roman had predicted the outcome of each choice, advising that the former would be a better outcome. Roman was never wrong. The world trusted Roman's algorithm. The minority who hated the technology invented by Athena were considered crazy people who didn't know what was good for them.

Unable to bear his uncertain future that only Roman could predict, Travis killed himself on the 100th episode of The Dome. He tied a noose around his neck, live at seven 'o'clock in the evening on December 1st.

Cory was introduced as Anna's new lover on the Christmas special a year later, which was dedicated to Travis. It made Anna sick to her stomach. But what could she do? She hated the thought of Nathan Daniels consulting Roman and mapping out the next five or so years of her life whilst her mother watched the show with Charlie - that's if they still watched this crap. Most of the world did. Viewers loved having so much control over someone else's life. It distracted them from being unable to control their own.

Anna was sure that her mother still watched The Dome. Anna could imagine her, smelling of her flowery perfume, her dark curls resting on her shoulders as she scrolled through her phone, watching The Dome and wondering where she had gone wrong in raising Anna, and perhaps glad that Anna's father wasn't alive to see this.

Feeling depressed, Anna stood up and entered the bathroom of her apartment that was inside The Dome. The cast members had everything they could possibly need, but they were never allowed to leave the set. Reflected on the surface of The Dome were images of a bright blue sky, which would transition to ink-blue when it was night time outside of The Dome. It was beautiful what The Dome's interior was capable of, but not quite like the real thing. Anna had not experienced the real thing in three years.

The automatic doors slid back to reveal a large room with glistening white tiles, shelves filled with make-up and toiletries, and a large bath in the corner of the room with a fifty-four-inch screen on the right-hand wall, with Roman built-in, of course. Roman was built into all technology systems. There was no escape from it. As soon as Anna had entered the bathroom, the Ambilight around the television illuminated the room and Roman greeted her. She missed the simpler days of Alexa and Google Assistant. Systems that seemed helpful. Systems with boundaries. Roman was almost human in the way it could converse with her. It was like talking to an invasive relative who made you feel uncomfortable, but you weren't too sure why and depended on them too much to speak up.

'Roman, what are my choices?' said Anna.

'The public will decide your fate,' said Roman. 'Tomorrow at six p.m. you will either eat a spider in order to impress Cory, or throw a drink in his face.'

'What do you predict?' said Anna as she ran a brush through her black hair.

'Ninety-nine-point five percent of voters will vote for you to eat a spider. The majority of voters will be expecting you to couple up with Cory.'

'Live in five minutes, all cast members make your way to the main area, thank you,' said a voice in Anna's earpiece.

Anna left the bathroom and made her way to the main area of The Dome. She had reached an unfeeling realm of her depression. A dark place where she felt numb. Too miserable to care about what was to come. And perhaps it wouldn't be so bad, to do something so ridiculous as to eat a spider. She had been voted to do worse, after all.

*

'It's on, Mum.'

Verity Underwood sat down on the sofa, pen, and newspaper in hand as the stylish opening credits for The Dome flashed on the seventy-two-inch screen in front of her. She tried to sip her wine without thinking of her daughter munching on a spider. Good Lord. That constituted as entertainment these days.

'The vote is now closed,' said Veron Starr, presenter of The Dome. 'Anna, the public has decided your fate. Ninety-nine percent of the public have voted for... Anna Underwood to eat a spider!'

'No! What?!' Anna cried dramatically.

'Cory is waiting for you in The Lott Club - join him there and we will be with you shortly!'

'Wait,' said Charlie.

Verity looked up from her crossword. Charlie lifted his legs so that he was more comfortable on the sofa and asked Roman what he had predicted of the vote.

'Ninety-nine point five percent of people will vote for Anna to eat a spider. Four point five percent of voters want her to throw a drink in Cory's face. Would you like me to put in your vote for the next decision to be made? I can accurately predict what you will vote for. The next vote will be announced at eight p.m on tonight's episode of The Dome.'

'No thanks, Roman,' said Charlie. The Ambilight around the television dimmed and The Dome continued to play. Verity muted it. She didn't want to hear the retching sounds from her daughter as she tried to eat the spider.

'Roman was wrong,' said Charlie.

'Roman's never been wrong,' said Verity, frowning over her glasses. 'Athena said its algorithm-'

'Roman predicted ninety-nine percent of the vote would be in favor of Anna eating a spider. Vernon said ninety-nine point five.'

'It was probably a slip of the tongue!' Verity snapped, flicking her newspaper impatiently and trying to focus on the clue for eight across, but it was impossible.

She knew Charlie was right - someone had made a mistake. But surely it couldn't be Roman. Roman's algorithm was never wrong.

*

'Get Simmons in my office right this fucking minute!' Nathan bellowed at his secretary down the phone, even though she was only outside his room sitting at her desk. Five minutes later, Mr Simmons went past the meek secretary and into Nathan's office, his solemn face resembling that of a sad cartoon worm. His neck had disappeared beneath his bowed head and his eyes bulged as his thin lips quivered, trying to find the right words to placate his boss who was now beetroot-red.

'How in God's name did this happen!?' Nathan bawled.

'Roman's prediction was incorrect by zero point five percent,' said Simmons. 'This has never happened before. The algorithm's never been wrong.'

'It's happened on my fucking show!' Nathan bellowed, throwing his coffee mug across the room. It smashed against the wall opposite his desk, making Simmons jump. 'You better come up with a way to cover this royal fuck up, Simmons, or we're in the shit. Do you have any idea how deep said shit will be!?'

'Very,' Simmons muttered. 'I'll be on the phone to Mr Jenkins immediately, Sir. You'll be needing to release a statement to the press shortly, journalists are already outside the set. Some of them think Vernon misspoke, others think Roman made a mistake. That's the story they want.'

Nathan raised the receiver and barked at his secretary, 'Get rid of the journalists outside - don't say a word to anyone!'

'I'm sure we can reassure people that Roman didn't make an error-'

'People aren't that stupid, Simmons!' Nathan snapped as he slammed the receiver back down. He was a thin man with sandy-colored hair and a rat-like face. 'If people find out that the algorithm cannot predict what the outcome of the vote will be, people will stop voting. If the system doesn't work, they'll lose faith. It'll be the start of the fall of civilization.'

'I feel that may be an over-exaggeration,' said Simmons.

Nathan looked up.

'Athena controls everything. Even The Dome. Their Rome software makes people feel safe, by predicting what will happen next based on our choices,' said Nathan, as if he were talking to a child. 'There will be absolute uproar if people realize the system has flaws, and therefore cannot be trusted. Are you following me, Simmons? More importantly, Simmons, a flaw in Athena's software means my show falls apart, so tell those giant bastards at Athena I won't have the downfall of society start on my fucking show!'

'Yes boss,' Simmons muttered. He walked through The Dome set beneath the screens that depicted a starry sky, thinking of a way to put Nathan's rant in polite terms during his conference call with the CEO of Athena.

*

Anna looked deep into the lens of the camera in the top-right hand corner of her living room and could still feel the taste of the spider she had had to eat. The next vote had been announced to cast members and would be announced to the public in an hour's time. Her choices had not surprised her, but her lack of willingness to accept her fate had. Roman had predicted that seventy-six percent of viewers would vote in favor of her marrying Cory. She had heard one of the executive producers talk about the first baby being born live on a special episode of The Dome.

She clung onto the error Roman had made in order to stay whole, and not shatter into a million pieces at the thought of having a child bred in captivity, a child that would be raised on live television, a child that would never get to meet their uncle or grandmother, and have their life controlled by strangers before they were even conceived. If she had a child, she prayed she didn't have a girl. She knew what it was like to be a woman on The Dome.

'I quit,' said Anna, looking deep into the lens of the camera, trying to find a sign that someone who cared about her was watching. 'I cannot - will not, live like an animal trapped in a cage. Travis was my friend. I watched him die-'

'That's not in the script,' said Nathan's cold voice into her earpiece.

*

'Mum?'

Verity hadn't said a word since last night's episode of The Dome. She had dreamt of her daughter giving birth to her grandchild whilst Vernon Starr commentated, live from New York inside the set, whilst Cory held Anna's hand and Verity was stuck outside the studio, trying to break the glass panels that surrounded the apartments within The Dome.

Verity read the headline of the article that she had asked Roman to put on the television. Charlie sat in silence on the sofa behind her and read the headline: Travis's Note Found On Set Reveals Anna Killed Him.

'The twenty-six-year-old will be arrested for the murder of Travis Ullman. Anna, who was Travis's lover, talked him into killing himself.' Verity read out loud in a monotone voice that did not sound like her own. 'Ullman's note details the threats Anna made on his life. Anna Underwood will be arrested if the public vote in favor this Friday. In the event of her arrest, her case will go to trial. Roman's predictions of the jury's vote have already been leaked by an unknown source: the jury will reach a guilty verdict, and Underwood will face the death penalty via lethal injection.'

'It's bullshit!' Charlie spat. 'Nathan Daniels has framed her because she tried to quit.'

'The Dome killed Travis,' said Verity. 'And it'll kill her too if she stays there.'

'What are you saying, Mum?' said Charlie, searching his mother's tired face for a glimmer of hope. He found nothing. She was an empty shell.

'I can't watch her raise a child, Charlie,' said Verity, staring at the bright Ambilight that illuminated the small living room. 'Like raising a lamb to the slaughter. Do you understand?'

'Mum, no,' said Charlie. He couldn't move. Instead, he stayed in his seat and looked at his mother, who suddenly seemed taller and more sinister in the unflattering blue light.

'Would you like to place your vote, Verity?' said Roman. 'I predict a ninety-nine percent vote in favor of Anna's arrest.'

Verity turned back to her son, who suddenly looked like his father. The shadows under his glossy eyes had aged him. He was no longer a boy. It was like living in a world dominated by Athena and watching his sister try to survive on The Dome had turned him into a man, a man who didn't possess a normal life because he spent his time campaigning for the end of The Dome. Perhaps, Verity thought, if she made this decision, the worst decision of her life, she could save both of her children.

'Roman,' said Verity. 'I'd like to place my vote for The Dome. Arrest Anna Underwood.'

*

'Well?' said Mr Jenkins as Simmons sat in the seat opposite the desk. 'Is it done?'

Simmons nodded. He couldn't look at the beefy man's face. He was worried he would break down in front of Jenkins. It had been the hardest month of his life.

'The lethal injection was administered this morning. Anna Underwood is dead.' said Simmons.

'I see,' said Jenkins in a sympathetic voice.

'Do you?' said Simmons. He looked up at Jenkins, the CEO of Athena, who had several chins and no neck and small eyes that were shiny beneath the yellow light above his desk. 'I don't understand why her family would vote in favor of her arrest,' said Simmons, his lips pursed as he tried to hold back his emotions. He was grateful when Jenkins pulled out two small glasses and a bottle of scotch from beneath his desk. It was just what the men needed. 'Her mother and brother voted for her arrest, knowing she'd be sentenced to death.'

'I know we couldn't save her, but we did all we could,' said Jenkins, handing Simmons his glass of scotch. To Simmons's surprise, Jenkins withdrew a cigar from his top drawer.

'I know it's old-school,' said Jenkins. 'But sometimes the old stuff's the best. It's safe. I'd say these are safer than those e-cigarettes. Technology can be a dangerous thing. I remember when I first showed the plans for Roman to Barry, he told me that in the wrong hands it would be used as a weapon and I said codswallop. Athena is improving lives. Our Roman software is going to change the world. But Barry, God rest his soul, was right. He saw something I didn't. Something I should have seen the first time I met Nathan Daniels.'

Jenkins flicked ash into the glass ashtray on his desk, which was next to his name plaque. He had been proud of the CEO title imprinted next to his name once. Not now.

'We cannot change the past,' said Jenkins, deep in contemplation as Simmons studied him. Jenkins knew Simmons had started crying, and simply handed him one of his cigars. 'But we can kill our darlings. I suspect that's why Ms Underwood voted in favor of her daughter's arrest. To save her. I believe she voted in favor of Anna's inevitable death for the same reason you have been wearing a wire every time you're in the same room with Nathan Daniels - to set everyone free from what I have created. Sometimes the hardest decisions are the right decisions. Sometimes there has to be sacrifice for the greater good.'

'We couldn't save Anna,' said Simmons.

'We did all we could,' said Jenkins. 'Something good has come from all of this. That's something we can hold onto. We couldn't turn back time, so we did the next best thing. We rewrote the future. We shut down The Dome.'

'It's over,' said Simmons. Even though it was true, there was no conviction in his words. As he thought of Nathan's confession, how he had talked Travis into killing himself in order to save his show and framed Anna, he knew that no one, himself included, would ever really be truly free of The Dome.