“Why are you going down there? Are you mad? The sign clearly says, ‘Closed for maintenance.’”

 

The younger woman continued walking down the steps into the dam, ignoring the pleas of the older one. “I’m getting my pirithium back. You would not believe what I had to go through to steal it, it’s too valuable.”

 

The younger woman stood at the entrance of the New Hartbeespoort dam. The sky was grey and windy, sending her long, messy hair flailing all over. The strong winds disturbed the river water on the side of the dam, slowly pushing waves over the wall. Behind the woman was the entrance to the dam’s interior, protected by an electric barrier with a sign that read ‘Faulty foundation. Closed for maintenance.’

 

The older woman looked down at her; her own long cloak flapped in the wind. She gulped and asked a question she already knew the answer to: “Why do you even need it so badly?”

 

The younger one gestured down to her torn and tattered clothes, filled with holes and covered in age-old dirt.

 

“What do you think, gogo? To become a cyborg and get some money. Life ain’t cheap in this world…not that I’d expect someone like you to get it or have dreams of something better. I bet you still think mere brain chips are the future, eh? It’s 2056 grandma, keep up or starve.”

 

As the young woman continued her descent, the older one called out, “Mila, wait. It’s dangerous to go alone.” She pulled her cloak and overalls tightly over herself and made her way down to the young woman.

 

“I don’t need protection.”

 

“You sure? ‘Cause I could have sworn that I had to save a prick of a girl from some thugs who wanted to drown her just a few minutes ago…”

 

“OK, OK fine, you can join as a lookout or something…and by the way, I wasn’t at any risk of drowning.”

 

The older woman rolled her eyes and lowered her face as she joined Mila. The two walked down the steps till they came to the electric barrier at the entrance.

 

Mila cracked her knuckles and smiled, “This will be easy-peasy, I’ve cracked many like this before.”

 

She then squeezed through the crack in between the barrier and the wall, twisting her limbs to avoid the hot metal and slipping through the openings like a human octopus. Mila disappeared into the darkness and just as a heavy silence fell on the dam, the barrier was deactivated, and Mila struck a proud pose as the door opened.

 

“Light work. Though if I were a cyborg, I would have used my super strength to just rip out the damn thing.”

 

“That thing was specifically designed to prevent cyborgs from entering. The wiring alone would fry their circuits, and they aren’t as flexible as regular people to get around it. They wouldn’t get through the front door. I should know,” the old woman retorted.

 

“Aren’t you a little past your prime to be stealing and running from folks? How have they not caught you by now?” Mila felt the atmosphere shift when she said that and knew that was too much. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t speak like that. You did save me earlier…I never got your name.

 

“Zandile,” the old woman said plainly, “and let’s just finish this before the authorities find out we’re not supposed to be here.”

 

The two then descended into the dam’s interior, admiring the sights of the cave-like machine. The structure towered over them like a large hall that extended into the darkness. The river had expanded over the years and the government wanted to keep up to harness its power.

 

The entryway they were walking on was part of a network, one of many platforms. They all had see-through grates on their floors that allowed users to get a view of the rest of the structure. On either side of the platforms, lining from them to the dam wall itself, were hanging chains and scaffolding, planted there by the construction workers to fix whatever issue the behemoth was facing. 30 years ago, no one could have predicted that this is what simple dams at the time would look like. The whole world seemed to have advanced overnight, and that changed everything, for better and for worse. 

 

Mila points down, “That is where my pirithium would have ended up. We can retrieve it with that special claw they use. I saw them control it once. See? I told you, quick in and out.”

 

Far below them, at the bottom of the dam, a blue light shone. Mila recognised it as an aquarium from the old days when her primary-school class would go on field trips. The glass at the bottom would not only allow them to view the river from a different angle but it would also help the crew who worked in the dam to internally maintain operations.

 

Zandile stared up at the pipes that lined the ceiling of the dam as Mila talked, pumping river water at incredible speeds with a grim expression. Some of the water dripped from the pipes and fell like rainwater into the interior of the dam.

 

“Hello? Earth to Zandile?”

 

Zandile pulled her cloak tighter. “Are you sure about this? All this water at high pressure is a recipe for disaster…”

 

“Hey, I never asked you to join me. If you want to back out, the exit is right behind you.”A large gust of wind kicked up on the surface, disconnecting the caution sign and sending it flying down to the women. The platform they were on rumbled and shook as the noise on the surface got louder. 

 

One of the pipes overhead burst and sprayed water over the women. Zandile tried to run away from the sudden geyser when the platform she and Mila were on gave way and fell into the depths of the dam, taking the women with it.

 

Tell us: Mila is willing to risk danger to improve her life. Have you ever felt so determined to achieve something that you would go to great lengths for it? Share a time when you pursued a goal passionately.