Doomsday Wonderland

Panda Novel

Everything in the dream was hard to grasp. Every step she took she felt like she was walking on a cloud. Sometimes her steps were solid while other times she was just wobbling around. It took her several minutes to turn the corner, and she didn’t even know how she managed to walk so far in her current state.

Be that as it may, her luck was good, as she found several townspeople along the way to the town hall. She followed the group of people for a while, and then the entrance to her destination appeared at the end of the street. The town hall was dazzlingly bright, as there were several beams of lights focusing on the building. There was a sea of people and a procession of vehicles between her and the white building.

People were getting out of their cars and rushing towards the town hall. The steps leading to the building were swamped, and those who couldn’t squeeze into the first team crowded at the entrance across the street from where she was standing.

More vehicles were coming into the street. Sharp blasts of horns rented the air; her ears rang with the screeching of tires grating against the asphalt and the shouting of people. All of Peanut Town had drowned into a chaotic mess. She could see several policemen that were trying their best, shouting at the top of their lungs to contain the agitation but to little effect.

After some effort, Lin Sanjiu successfully wedged herself into the congregation of people. From inside, she could see that they looked even more restless from when she was afar. The people jostled each other, advancing forward as they raised their arms to look at their watches from time to time. Once she got close to the police, she finally heard what they were yelling. “Please stop pushing and follow the line!”

As Lin Sanjiu continued to hurtle forward, she realized she was standing next to a high school girl. Sensing her gaze, the girl turned around and offered her an affable smile.

“What is everybody doing here?”

The high school girl seemed a little shocked at the question. “Today is the first day, didn’t you hear on the radio?” the girl asked and then examined Lin Sanjiu. “Hey, wait a second. I have never seen you around before. You aren’t…”

“Yes, I am not from this town. I just arrived here today,” Lin Sanjiu assented. “What first day are you talking about?”

“Oh, today is the enforcement day of Mr. Orlean’s first law.” The high school girl shrugged. “Mr. Orlean is our town’s new mayor, and he’s a very good person.”

“What kind of law is it?”

The high school girl was friendlier than the people she met earlier during the day. She did not show any signs of impatience and explained to Lin Sanjiu with equanimity, “Everyone in town has to bring their legal documents, a verification of residency, and other supporting documents and come to the town hall at nine o’clock for residency re-registration. The registration process will last for two hours, and those who fail to show up after 11 pm will no longer be considered as lawful residents of Peanut Town, and are hence no longer eligible to enjoy our benefits.”

‘What a weird law.’

“The town hall should have all of the residents’ information, right? Why do you still have to register again? This is kind of ineffective, don’t you think?” Lin Sanjiu commented with a frown. “Besides, what if someone got caught up in an accident and were unable to show themselves? It’s unfair to them.”

“To prevent any predicaments from arising, all the registration documents were rendered obsolete once Mr. Orlean took office. Besides, things are looking pretty black outside, so although it is troublesome, all of us can understand him as this is his own way of protecting us.” The girl furrowed her brows and pouted. “There is nothing unfair about it since the announcements clearly stated that you have to come here at 9 pm to do the registration. If you still fail to fulfill your obligation as a resident of Peanut Town even after you’ve already been told, then you have to suck it up and pay the fiddler.”

Lin Sanjiu still could not understand the reasoning behind this action even after the girl explained things to her. After all, forcing his residents to come out of their houses in the cold night and queue up for the registration did not sound reasonable to her at all. However, she did not want to argue with the girl anymore, so she just nodded. The girl stopped talking as well and moved along with the crowd.

The bustling of the crowd created a warmth, but the night wind was freezing. The sweat that beaded on their foreheads dried up immediately, and everybody shivered despite feeling hot when huddling together.

When Lin Sanjiu finally got into the entrance of the town hall, the clock tower struck for the tenth time. Lin Sanjiu turned her head around to see that there was still a sea of people on the street. The loud and long bell rang through the sky, haunting the people’s ears like the call of death. Suddenly, the whispers turned louder as the crowd became agitated.

“Don’t panic!” a police officer holding a rifle roared. “Stand in line, and if you stay calm, everything will go smoothly! Two hours is more than sufficient for all the townspeople to make the registration.”

Listening to his shout, Lin Sanjiu walked into the square in front of the town hall. There was a row of twenty to thirty desks that served as registration points in front of her. Thick stacks of paper that should be the documents on the tables fluttered in the wind. She did not come for registration, as she did not have any supporting documents. All she wanted was to take a look.

However, just as she walked forward, a voice erupted from behind her. “Ah! That woman over there is not from our town. She cannot register!”

Lin Sanjiu jerked her head around and watched as the high school girl walked hastily towards a registration point. She took her bag down from her shoulders and said, “She told me just now that she had only arrived in Peanut Town today.”

“That’s fine.” The female registration officer examined Lin Sanjiu from head to toe and then turned to the girl. “Peanut Town is very safe and rich, and we do accept immigrants.”

“That mean she could share our benefits…”

Before the high school girl could finish her sentence, another male registration officer came forward and greeted Lin Sanjiu. “Do you wish to register? Come over here, please!”

Lin Sanjiu initially did not want to register since she didn’t want to attract too much attention, but she did not have a choice now. Hence, after walking away from the registration point, she became a resident of Peanut Town.

“We in Peanut Town do not allow vagrants,” the male registration officer said before he attended to the next person. “But don’t worry, Mr. Orlean will help everyone. Just wait over there.”

Lin Sanjiu did not have any documents, so her registration process was swift, but it was not the same case for the locals. Aside from showing their identity cards, professional certificates, and kinship certificates, they also needed to hand in their list of properties, bank account numbers, ownership certificates, and other documentation.

According to the officer, the information was needed to ensure the benefits could be handed out more smoothly in the future.

However, Lin Sanjiu wondered why she hadn’t connected to another posthuman’s libretto even after arriving at the square for some time. By right, the female voice would not have given a wrong hint.

The registration ended at 11:00 pm sharp, and all of the residents returned home. Aside from some rubbish, they did not leave any traces behind. In the end, a total of 794 people had registered.

The population of the town was 799, so there were six people who did not show up. Nobody knew where the six people went. When Lin Sanjiu followed the address the officer gave her and walked back, she found that her car was gone. There were splashes of liquid that should have been petrol on the ground. It seemed that somebody had gassed her car up and driven it away. After fumbling in the dark for about 30 minutes, she finally found the house.

The house was situated at the edge of Peanut Town, next to the foot of a mountain. Light spilled out into the dark through the window, and the door was half ajar. On the letterbox, Lin Sanjiu found a name—”Pombo”.

She pushed the door and went into the house. There were some photos hanging on the wall, and most of them were pictures of a young woman and her family. Lin Sanjiu circled around the house and found a half-finished cup of coffee on the table. Upon touching it, she realized it was cold. The TV was left on but there was no signal. She picked up the remote control and tried to switch to another channel. After several attempts, she found that the TV only received one channel, which broadcasted a serious robbery and shooting case.

It was apparent that whoever Pombo was, she was the owner of this house. Lin Sanjiu waited for a while, but she did not return.

Lin Sanjiu felt like a thief, and the thought was getting stronger as she sat uncomfortably on the couch. The night was getting darker and the temperature colder. She sat for a long while, yet she still couldn’t figure out the plot of her libretto. She felt coldness seeping into her body, driving every bit of heat out but she could not do anything. Even though she was sober, she couldn’t control her own body as she wished while she was in the dream.

Unable to bear the cold anymore, she stood up and went upstairs.

She went into the master bedroom and switched on the light and heater. A warm circle of light filled the room, and she spotted a sleeping gown on the bed. Opposite the door to the room was a row of windows, and outside of the windows was the mountain.

“Attention,” a soft female voice rang out, making Lin Sanjiu jump. “You have been connected to another posthuman’s libretto. Please take note.”

Lin Sanjiu stared fixedly at the scene outside of the window. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

The mountain looked like a sleeping behemoth. It was huge and dark, and as if it was being aroused by the light, it began to move, little by little. There was a deep rumbling through the ground and the chandelier swayed along with its motion, throwing the room into a limbo of dark and light. Staring at the massive creature outside, Lin Sanjiu began to suspect that she was having a nightmare.

‘Oh yeah, a posthuman has been connected to my libretto. Could this be his or her libretto, and is he or she having a nightmare?’

As the thought surfaced in Lin Sanjiu’s mind, the mountain covered everything up with its massive body. Lin Sanjiu could faintly see rocks and trees rolling down its body, but she could not be sure.

Then, the mountain bowed its body down and looked into the window.