BENTOTA
Bentota
KAIHENRY
BENTOTA
©Kai Henry2025
Publisher: BoD·Books on Demand,Östermalmstorg1, 114 42 Stockholm, Sweden, bod@bod.se
Printer: LibriPlureos GmbH,Friedensallee 273, 22763Hamburg,Germany
ISBN:978-91-8114-497-0
PREFACE
Ihavealwayshad troublefallingasleepatnight.Everyone has heardofcountingsheep jumpingoverfences,but I’ve neverunderstoodit. Is it supposed to be monotonous with all thesheep beingthe same –black or white, bigorsmall? Whywould youget tiredfromseeinglivelysheep? I’ve probably tried, butinmycounting, oneof them always fallsoverorthe crownjewelshit thefence,and they end up lyingthere writhing in pain.
No,instead,I startedmanyyears agoduringsleepless evenings andnightstoembarkonafantasy journey. It developedovertime, andIcould jump rightintothe “next episode” withoutmissinga beat.Ithelped, andI sleptbetter. It eventuallybecamequite alongstory.Itolda friend aboutitafter yearsof“fantasytraveling.”Hethought it definitely should be writtendown. Ileft it at that,but after yearsofcontemplation,Igatheredthe courage to contact an author whosharedthe same opinionmyfriendhad yearsearlier.She is aFinnish-Swedish author whohas publishedthree books, MiaBergenheim.I live in Thailand myself butmadea detourtoFinland,where we met andalmostimmediately startedworking on thebook. I wrote firstand sent afew pagestoMia,who then rewrote them to make thetextmore“book-style.” We hadprobably made it halfwaythrough thebookwhenMia thoughtI shouldwrite thebookmyself. It probably differed so much
from herpreviousbooks that shehad some difficultyunderstandingwhatIwanted. Or perhapsshe grew tiredof my complainingand correcting thetextshe wrote. But by then, Ihad caught thewriting bugand restartedinmy ownrough style. However, withoutMia’s encouragement andhelp, thebookprobablywould neverhavecometobe. Thestory takesplace 150 yearsinthe future,inthe year 2174.Yep,we’re heading outintospace andthe unknown–or maybenot.Readon to find out. Butifyou’reaspace geek andwanttoknowhow things work in thefuture, you shouldstophere. Idon’t know anything aboutthat, and maybesomeone knowswhatthe worldwill look like 150 yearsfromnow?Mydad used to say, “It’shardtopredict, andespeciallyhardtopredictthe future.”
Butimagine youare aleader with 1,600people, and youhavetostart anew world. Howmanythingsfrom today’sworld wouldyou want to bringalong?Money,cell phones, cars,creditcards,swimmingpools,niceclothes, luxuryfood, restaurants, movies, TV,stereos, beer,spirits, cigarettes? No,that’swhatI wouldanswerto that –you need yourself andyourfellowhuman beings.
Abig thankyou to my momas well,who hassupported me andbeenhappy to seemefollowinmygrandfather’s footsteps, whowas awriter. Ihopehewon’t be turningin hisgrave when he readsthe book.
1. HOTELKÄMP
Ilookedout thewindowata bleakautumn-winterlandscape, slushy andwet. Iwas furiousand outofsorts, so thegrayweather fitmymoodwell. They said thehotel was locatedright in thecenterofHelsinkiand wasthe best place to hold theannualconferenceorganizedbyICPA (International Corrections&Prisons Association). Ihad been askedonshort notice to actas host forthe event. Although Ihad been aboard member forseveral years, everyone knew that theseeventsweresomethingI did notlookforward to.But since all theotherswere, oddly enough,unavailable –plusafew “convenient”colds –I didn’t have much choice when thechairmanofthe board askedmetotakecareof it.
Sure,Ididn’t mindthe actual travel;HQwas in Brussels, butIwas rarely there. So nowI flew directly from my home in NewYork, andwiththe newelectricjets, thetriptook no more than four hours. Thejet lagwas worsethanthe flight.Especiallywhen flying west,it always felt strange to arrive afew hoursbeforeyou even started. No,there wasnothingwrong with thetravelorthe hotel, whichwas almost 300 yearsold.Built back in 1887, HotelKämpwas considered oneofthe best in theNordics. That wasn’t what wasgnawing at me.Itwas thenew correctionalreformI wastryingtoget implementedtothe “dinosaurs”incorrections.
Ihad developeda systemthatwould allowustoimplant microchips in everyone,not just theelite.Withthe ongoingrefugee influx, we hadnochanceofcontrollingcrime worldwide.Ihad asense that thealready microchipped elitewerequite satisfied with theirlives. They gottolivein their enclosed areaswitharmed guards andevery comfort. Butwhatkindoffreedom wasit if youcouldn’t go to the beach, have afamilypicnic, or even take acar trip without, at best,justbeing robbed? Theworld hadbecomea dangerous placefor everyone.
So after my lecturein thehotel’s Hall of Mirrors, Ifelt empty. Ireceivedmyobligatory applause;someone asked aquestion aboutthe subject, butotherwise,itseemed like people were more interested in thedrinksand buffet. Icould have endedthe lecturewiththe classicline, “Any questions, or should we startdrinking?”Tomorrow’sscheduleincludedgroup work andanexcursion to aprisonclassified as “high security.” Iwas starting to get tiredofthese excursions andmeetings that lednowhere.I chosea bottle of Chivas Regalfromthe minibar,lay comfortably on thebed,and reflectedonmylife.
Iwould soon turn 45, with no children,not even agirlfriendsince Cynthiaand Ibroke up almost ayearago.We sawnoreasontocontinuesince we were both constantly traveling– she in medical research andI with my work.We brokeupoveraphone call,withnodrama or anythinglike that.Idon’t thinkwe’dseeneachother fora monthwhenwe decideditwould be forthe best.Ithad been over six months since Ilastsaw my parents. They livedina nice suburban area in NewJersey,mostlydigging around in their garden. Ihad promised to come over forChristmas dinner,which wasn’t toofar off,soI’d gettoeasemy guilty conscience fora while.
2. AWALK IN HELSINKI
Idecidedtotakea shortwalkdespite theweather.Itwas November,and winter wasapproaching, butthere was hardly anysnowyet. ThecenterofHelsinki wasclassified as a“Go Zone”as opposed to allthe “No-Go Zones” that existed all over theworld.Iwalkedafew hundredmeters andeventuallystepped into asouvenir shop, thinking I might find somethingnice forMom since I’dpromisedto come over forChristmas.Ipickedout aSanta Clausona sled with reindeer in frontofhim. Ithought Santamust have alot of work thesedays, giventhatthe worldpopulation wasaround12billion. Iturnedthe number over in my head forawhile –12billion, thesameas12thousand millionpeople. What wasgoing to happen?Itwasn’tsustainable in anyform. It felt hopeless,and at thesametime, Icouldn’t shakethe feelingthatall theworkI’d done was meaningless. Nothingcould be stopped anymorewiththe resources available.
Iwalked back to thehotel,feeling, if possible,evenmore depressed.“Mr.Carter, youhavea message; thecodeisin your room,” called thereceptionist. Ithanked herand took theelevatortomyroom. Itossedthe SantawithRudolph andthe otherreindeer into my bag, took thecode, and threwmyselfontothe bed. “Playcodea34b75.”Iheard
Ralph’svoice: “John, call me as soon as you’ve listened to themessage.” What coulditbe now, Iwondered, probably some last-minutechangestothe program,Iassumed. Ralphwas my boss andalsothe chairman of ICPA,so therewasn’tmuchtodoexceptcallhim back.
“Call RalphWilkins, ICPA.” Ralphansweredinjusta fewseconds.“Sorrytobotheryou,John,”saidRalph.“No worries, it’s notlikeI’m lyingbythe pool sunbathing,”I replied. Ralphdidn’tlaugh at my joke butcontinued,“You have to go to Helsinki Airporttomorrowmorning. There’s aprivate jetwaiting to take youtoFortLauderdale. WSA wantstospeak with you.”“WSA?”Iblurted out, “World Space Association? What do they want –dotheywantme to builda prison on themoon?”“I only know it’s atop priority,soyou mustn’tmention this to anyone,understood?” Ralphcontinued.“Understood, of course,but the seminar…” Istarted.“I’ve delegatedeverythingtoTom, so youdon’t need to worryabout it.Makesureyou’rein thelobbyby8tomorrowmorning.Anescortwilltakeyou to theairport.” “Anescort…”I startedtoask.“That’s allI know.Makesureyou geta good night’ssleep;I thinkyou’ll need it fortomorrow. That’s all from me,goodnight,John.” “Yes, goodbye,”I replied, andthe call ended. No smalltalk, just straight to thepoint.Whatthe hell wasthisall about, Iwondered.
Gettingtosleep after that conversation wasnot goingto be easy.Ihad anotherglass of Chivas andthought it over fora while, butitdidn’t help much.Sure, therewas some relief in skipping tomorrow’s monotonous programina slushy Helsinki andtradingitfor sunnyFlorida.Maybe it wassomeentirelynew project– almost anything sounded appealingnow.Against all odds,I sleptquite well anyway.
To lead 1,600 people to settle an unknownplanet mightbeone of the greatest responsibilitiesa personcan bear.Until you realizeit’snot enough. Thegreatestresponsibility is when youfind out that youare leading the last remainingmembersofthe Homosapiens species. That’s when youtruly have responsibility.A book thatisnot shortontwists, butalsoleavesmuch for us to ponder.
