Samuel And Me

Samuel And Me

A Journal

Here is the ongoing record of my experience of living in an underground survival bunker for the first ninety days.

April 1, 2028

My first day in the bunker has gone better than I could have expected. Starting all the seeds for food and getting used to my new surroundings took up most of the day. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the freeze-dried meals that I had for lunch and dinner. With that being said, I am still looking forward to when I will be able to enjoy food from the garden. If all goes according to plan, I should have my first crop of microgreens in the next 10-20 days. I was also pleased to see that I stuck to my one cup of coffee today. If I can keep that up, I will have enough to last 4 years, which is my worst-case scenario—all in all, happy with day one.

April 8, 2028

After one week in the bunker, things are progressing well. My seedlings are doing well, and food appears to be on track. Some boredom has set in as there is not really a lot to get done at the moment. I am finding that I cannot read as much as I had hoped I would to pass the time. As such, I found myself watching TV for the full 90 minutes that I had allowed. So far, power generation and storage have kept up with demand, but I am worried that demand could outstrip production and that I will need to cut down on my power consumption. I have started writing a book by hand that logs events in more detail than the journal, and I am hoping that it will help with the boredom.

April 15, 2028

I've had my first major success. The microgreens crop has been a huge blessing, and I have been able to add microgreens to my meals for the last few days. This feels like a huge achievement for someone without a green thumb. I have also managed to cut my screen time to 60 minutes, and I am no longer worried that power consumption will outpace production in the long run. I am also beginning to get some herbs, which is making bean and rice for dinner more enjoyable. I do regret not setting up a slightly larger garden for the occasional vegetable or trying to grow potatoes as well. But overall, I am happy with the food situation. I have also found that I can cut down on coffee to 1 cup every other day, which is good. Also getting into a rhythm with the bike for a little exercise and added energy, just in case.

April 22, 2028

Now that I have some idea of power use, I have changed my shower to every 6 days and am powering it by riding my bike. This is giving me a little room in case I need more power for something in an emergency. Salad greens are also almost ready. Looking forward to the added variety in fresh food. Still wishing I had set up the system for a couple of vegetable plants, but nothing I can do about it now. I have also found that I can read for a longer stretch, and I am feeling less bored. I have also begun to try to meditate, as that should improve my mood and help fight the sense of isolation.

April 29, 2028

My salad garden is now in full production mode. I am feeling better than I have since day one. I am still feeling the isolation, but progress and seeing things grow has improved my mood so much. Meditation has also been a huge help to my mood. I am beginning to worry that I don't have enough content to keep me occupied in the long run. I have added writing a back-and-forth conversation between a fictional person and me. It seems weird, but even though I created the person, it is making me feel less lonely. I am now spending more time writing than reading in a day, which is wild to me, as I've never written this much in my life. He is beginning to feel real to me, and I'm still not sure if there should be some worry about that.

May 6, 2028

This week has discouraged me a lot. I have not been nearly as motivated and upbeat as I have been. I lost one of my grow lights for no apparent reason; it just stopped working. This type of failure I had not predicted, and I am now worried that I do not have enough backup lights to account for the fact that they can randomly fail well before their lifespans. This led to a fight with the imaginary person I am talking to. They think I am overreacting and that this is no big deal. I am beginning to feel as though I am going crazy, as my imagination has taken on a life of its own. The one positive thing this week is that I read Moby Dick for the first time. Wow, that is an amazing book. I am now focusing my reading on the classics that I collected but have never read.

May 13, 2028

I have continued to have a back-and-forth conversation with my new imaginary friend that I have finally named Samuel. Samuel has really helped me with my mood. He managed to convince me that the light failing is a one-in-a-million chance and unlikely to happen again. He even helped me pick my next classic to read, A Tale of Two Cities. It was one of his favourite books when he was in school. I have also decided I am not crazy, and I remembered Stephen King saying something along the lines of a character being real when he's writing them. Allowing my subconscious and imagination to fully develop Samuel as a person has done wonders for my loneliness, as he is quickly becoming a good friend. He is beginning to feel real to me, and I'm still not sure if there should be some worry about that.

May 20, 2028

I have been studying my power generation and wish I had the material to narrow the waterfall, as I think that would help me produce more power. Samuel feels that this was a missed opportunity and that some extra power would have been a great benefit, as it would have meant a larger garden and more screen time. It would also let me shower more often, which would be nice. Samuel is proving to be very adept at making recommendations as to how things can be improved. I wish I had had him when I was designing the bunker. My mood remains positive, and I am still enjoying reading the classics. I have started reading David Copperfield.

May 27, 2028

My mood has soured somewhat this week as I got into a fight with Samuel and have not talked to him in three days. He has become critical of what he sees as flaws in the design of my bunker and cannot understand how I did not see them during its design and construction. I tried to remind him that this is the first time I have designed and built a bunker, and that if the opportunity to build another one should arise, I will take his advice to heart. Other than the fight with Samuel, nothing much has changed. I have not had any more issues with grow lights, and my food situation is still in good shape. I have also decided to go on a Dickens binge, as I really enjoyed David Copperfield.

June 3, 2028

Samuel has apologised to me, and I have accepted that he is only trying to help. We have decided to focus our chats on literature for the time being, as that is something we both enjoy. I have, however, added all of mine and Samuel's ideas to my logbook for future consideration. I am also, for the first time, really feeling isolated and alone. Samuel is not enough companionship, and the loneliness is beginning to get to me. Especially meals alone with no one to talk to, as I cannot write and eat at the same time with ease. I am hoping that adding more mindfulness to my daily routine will help things, at least for the next couple of weeks.

June 10, 2028

My loneliness has been progressively getting worse. Meals have become unbearable. The silence feels like a heavy weight on my chest. Samuel has suggested that I watch TV while I eat. He thinks that a show or movie with lots of dialogue will make it feel like I am in a busy restaurant and not alone. This might be the best idea that he has had, and I look forward to testing it out over the next couple of weeks. I have also begun to make design changes to the bunker. Between my experience and Samuel's ideas, there appear to be lots of improvements that can be made in the future. I am still lonely, but for the first time in a couple of weeks, I am feeling optimistic that everything will work out in the end.

June 17, 2028

Samuel is a godsend. I am still feeling lonely, but his idea about having voices and noise during meals is making me feel much better. I think if I had an audio recording of a bustling place that I could play in the background, that would do a lot, as there would be voices and movement that would make it seem like I was less alone. Things are coming along nicely, and I think with some improvements, I can see myself being in here without going mad. Samuel also had an interesting suggestion: I might want to meet a friend of his, so I would have someone else to talk to. I will have to give that a thought — one imaginary friend seems okay, but two might be one too many.

June 24, 2028

I have reached my goal and feel fantastic. This was an amazing experience, and I think I will emerge from this test as a better person. The loneliness problem still worries me in the long run. I'm still not sure how long background noise and imaginary friends will keep the sense of isolation at bay. I have decided that Samuel's idea of a second person to talk to is a brilliant potential solution. Still, I will take the time to develop Samuel properly and whoever he introduces me to. I will give them depth and guardrails so that my imagination does not get away from me again. I will also make the necessary changes to the bunker to increase food production. Maybe some vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes would be nice. All in all, I am glad I did a test run. I feel that whatever the future holds, I will be ready to face it head-on — with Samuel's help, of course.