How can you live in a former missile silo?
One problem is how to get away with the absence of windows. Can you imagine it? According to Osnos,
“The condo walls are fitted with L.E.D. “windows” that show a live video of the prairie above the silo. Owners can opt instead for pine forests or other vistas. One prospective resident from New York City wanted video of Central Park. “All four seasons, day and night,” Menosky said. “She wanted the sounds, the taxis and the honking horns.”
To me this sounds like virtual reality–with an emphasis on virtual. Will this be life behind these walls? Hall has given some thought to how people will live there, but I wonder if he has given enough thought. It is ironic that these vistas are all part of the commons. I thought that was what they wanted to get away from. These are things the super-rich should have helped sustain, but many preferred to enhance their own private wealth instead. Now they want them?
According to Osnos,
“Hall [the developer of the missile silo] said the hardest part of the project was sustaining life underground. He studied how to avoid depression (add more lights), prevent cliques (rotate chores), and simulate life aboveground.”
Frankly I would not be satisfied with simulated life. Would you? Or is even death preferable? This is particularly poignant when you consider that most (all?) life might outside the bunkers might perish.
Some survivalists have mocked Hall’s plan. They say they won’t pay. They will just attack when the time comes. Hall claimed that he and his “guards” could repel all forces. And if necessary, the guards would return fire. What will Hall to secure the loyalty of the guards. After the apocalypse won’t things start over? What will money be worth? Why won’t the guards switch sides? Who would persuade the hired armed guards to stick with supporting the rich people hunkered down? Why would they stick with the rich? How long could people survive a siege?
Things are not likely to be perfect in a former missile silo. I know I am deeply skeptical.