[ WP ] `` Hello , welcome to your tour of the world 's first self-sustaining , Utopian city ! ''

I'll be honest, I have n't slept a wink since the announcement. When he said `` anyone can enter'' a lot of people thought it was the usual ploy to garter consent and support. They could n't have been more wrong. 
 
 I was at work when the announcement came on the tube. Did n't even get a chance to see it, I was busy scrubbing the piss stains and porcelain Shakespeare out of stall 4. 
 
 It was quieter than normal, albeit after closing time, when I walked out of the Men's Room. They'd all known what I'd been doing the last 45 minutes, but they all shook my hand just the same. It was a miracle, and they were a part of it. 
 
 When the ship pulled into the harbor, the expectation of the Titanic was far from met. But, honestly, we were foolish to expect so much. There were only 153 of us from the States, so the size of the boat was quite suitable to a compliment of 200. 
 
 The 4-day boat cruise was more or less a briefing, preparing us for `` the grandest social experiment in human history.'' The director made sure to emphasize that. It seemed like he did n't want us bringing any bad habits to `` the island.'' 
 
 The number of recruits became startlingly clear on day 2. 76 men, 77 women. Minimum requirements for repopulation. The application phase was as much a cultural and genetic `` lottery'' as it was a scrape for suitable psychologies. And `` the island'' won big. 
 
 We saw the light on day 3. Figuratively, and literally. The night was beautiful on fire, the east and west horizons glowing with a blaze to rival the Gods. The islands purpose became all too real, all too soon. 
 
 When the ship finally pulled into harbor, we were on board with the plan. This floating vessel in the southern tropics would be our home, and the future of all mankind. 
 
 They were calling it, Atlantis.
