Chapter 15Sitting in her pleasant office overlooking the ocean, Kiri tried to envisage life in space confined to an aged structure designed in the era of space exploration when humankind had had hopes of finding another planet capable of sustaining life. She knew from schoolroom studies that the repercussions of climate change and overpopulation had put paid to extra-terrestrial missions, governments more concerned with the scarcity of food, water and fuel. Millions had died from starvation, disease and the wars that erupted as nations fought for control of dwindling supplies. Turning away from the window, Kiri thought of her own town, once a thriving city of more than three million people. Over the centuries, sea-level rises had reduced Auckland to a series of tiny islands connected to on
