Fairhaven Chapter 3

Lemmings

Read chapter 2 here.

8.30 pm, Thursday, October 22, 2026
Penang, Malaysia – Chan family compound
Global average temperature: 1.4°C above pre-industrial levels

Occasional babysitting duty was the price she paid for free rent. But as Grace attempted to clean up crumbs from an unsanctioned bag of Mr Potato crisps off the bed, she wasn’t sure it was worth it. She was already exhausted from a long day at Bazalgette Lock. ‘Auntie Grace, why did you move back here with us?’ asked Sasha. ‘I thought you weren’t coming back, because you’re a grown-up now.’ At six, she had not yet learned about tact, although she had stopped objecting every time Grace asked her to put on her pyjamas.

‘Well, it’s too expensive for me to rent an apartment by myself. And my roommate Nant had to go away to Singapore, because she got a new job.’

‘Nant is our auntie, too. You can tell because her name sounds like aunt,’ declared Sasha’s brother. He was two years older and knew almost everything.

‘No, she’s not related to you at all. She was my friend. Is my friend. In fact, I am not your aunt, either; I’m your first cousin once removed, because —’ he had already stopped paying attention. ‘Where did your cousins get to?’

‘They’re in the living room! They’re playing Orcraft again!’ Sasha reported, bouncing up and down on the bed. ‘And Auntie Katherine said they couldn’t!’

The moment their parents leave, Grace thought to herself, they revert to savagery. ‘Kids! Get in here!’ she bellowed. ‘It’s bedtime!’

‘We’re not done yet! Ten minutes!’ returned a shout from the other room. 

‘Five minutes! Or no story!’ Three dramatic groans came from the other room, loud enough for her to hear, followed by their shout of assent. For now, the threat still worked, since all five of the children still enjoyed her stories. But she didn’t know how long she could keep it up. The eldest, Clara, turned 12 a month ago.

When five minutes elapsed, they put down their controllers and headed into the big bedroom. Grace sat in the middle of the group. ‘Okay, you little lemmings. What’s it going to be this time? You want the one about the Titanic again?’

‘No, tell us, tell us one about a volcano. And it should have animals. And helicopters. And snow.’

‘Okay, okay. Got it. Let me think. Once upon a time … there was an enormous volcano. It was one of the biggest volcanoes in the whole world. And its name was Mount Erebus. And do you know where it was? It was all the way in Antarctica! One day, a little lemming climbed all the way up the side of the volcano, because he wanted to see what was going on.’

‘And although the sky was blue, and the sun was shining, he was very, very, very, very, very, very cold. And he was so cold, and there was so much snow, that he couldn’t walk there. He had to go everywhere on little lemming skis or little lemming ice boots. So he was looking at the lava. And before he knew it, there was an enormous BOOM!’

The two youngest shrieked. ‘Did he fall in the volcano?’

‘Yes. And that’s the end of the story!’

‘Wait! No fair!’

‘Okay, you’re right. That’s not the end of the story. But the little lemming did see something very, very strange. The volcano was erupting! So he went down the side of the mountain, as fast as his little skis could carry him. And what do you know, when he got there, his lemming friend had already started up the engine of their helicopter! So he got in, and they flew away as fast as they could.’

‘Where did they go?’

‘They went to McMurdo Station. But as they were flying away, they looked down, and saw that there was a river of burning lava running down the side of the mountain! The lava was going straight into the ice sheet. And it made huge explosions, because you know what happens when something very hot hits cold water? Steam. So the lemming had to figure out whether he and the other lemmings should stay there, since it looked very, very, very, very, very dangerous. In fact, pretty soon, they realised that it was going to be a big disaster!’

The 9-year-old, who had kept quiet until this moment, objected. ‘Auntie Grace, your stories are always about disasters!’

‘Oh? I guess we’ll just have to find out whether they get out of this one. Anyway, all over the world, the lemmings were very worried. In particular, they were very worried if they lived in Shanghai, or Singapore, or New York. Why do you think those lemmings were more worried than the others?’

‘I know! They’re all near the ocean.’

‘Yes. They were worried because the ice in Antarctica was going to melt, and make all the oceans rise 10 metres. And it was going to happen all at once, not in ten years, but in just one year! So, do you know what they did? They decided to move every lemming in the world to new homes. And every single one of them had to be 20 metres above sea level. 

‘But there were problems. First of all, it was very expensive. Second, there would be places that couldn’t be saved. And third, once the seas rose, there would be fewer airports, because most of them would be drowned!’

‘Why couldn’t they just live in Fairhaven? I thought you said it’s supposed to be okay if the sea rises.’

‘Well, even huge projects like Fairhaven can only protect against a few metres of sea level rise. But you see, there was one more problem and it was the biggest of all. Do you know what it was?’

‘What?’

‘They were all fighting with each other about what to do! Something I believe you five are familiar with. But they realised that if they wanted to solve their problems, they could only depend on themselves.

‘And they took down as many buildings as possible, and moved everything to the new locations: windows, bricks, wood, steel. And in their new houses, each lemming had to learn how to live without using up so much stuff. How do you think they did that?’

‘How?’ 

‘In their new cities, they decided that since all the lemmings had four feet, they didn’t need cars, and they could go around on roller skates, or else take the MRT or the tram. And since they were so tiny, they didn’t need such big houses. And since they were lemmings, which are herbivorous, they decided to eat more vegetables. 

‘And they all escaped from the sea level rises and lived happily ever after. At least until the point where the demographic calculus no longer made sense in terms of the planetary carrying capacity, and they needed to embark on a multilateral program of gender equity and female empowerment in order to manage out-of-control birth rates and the resulting increase in global emissions.’

‘What? What do you mean?’ Sasha was bouncing on the bed again.

‘Sorry, I got carried away. What I meant to say was that they all lived happily after, until the end of their days! The end.’

The four youngest children got into bed, but Clara lurked outside the door. ‘Auntie Grace, I think your story wasn’t about lemmings and volcanoes. It was about climate change.’

‘You’re cleverer than I had you down for. Must have been all those vegetables. It’s true that an eruption of Mount Erebus could cause a ten metre sea rise, although the chance of that happening is super low.’

‘The sea level rise is happening already, though, isn’t it.’

‘Yeah. Does this stuff bother you?’

‘Sort of. We hear about it in school all the time. But it’s not so bad, at least not for us.’

‘How so?’

‘We know you’re working on it. You’ll fix it.’ Clara hugged her, got into bed, and switched off the light.

Sitting in the living room, Grace texted Hans, tears in her eyes. 

> I can’t live here any more.

She saw the word ‘typing …’ and waited.

> Why not?

> There’s too much pressure.

6.30 pm, Friday, November 27, 2026
George Town, Penang – Zur Bratpfanne

‘So this is it,’ Zygmunt concluded, surprising them with a vulnerable expression as he swiped through the images on his phone. The older man was wearing a polo shirt and shorts, his white legs conspicuous. 

Grace was sitting at the plastic table with Hans. Ivan, the new civil engineer and wreck diver, joined them. They sipped their cold tea to temper the heat, looking at the views in the photos. ‘That apartment is gorgeous,’ Grace sighed. ‘Nant got a new job in Singapore a few months ago, so I had to move back into the family compound with my aunties. I’m grateful, but it’s stifling.’

Ivan, distracted by the television, whooped at something on the screen – a sudden save by the team in blue and green livery. Too slight ever to be an athlete himself, he was an enthusiastic fan. As he and Hans analysed the play, Zygmunt put away the phone and turned back to Grace. ‘Have you tried their German sausages? Not quite like the Polish ones back home, but acceptable.’

‘I’ve never tried them. Are you buying?’

In response, Zygmunt went to the counter to order and returned with the receipts.

‘How did you get that contract sorted out with the concrete supplier?’ Hans asked Zygmunt as he sat down again.

‘It’s pretty straightforward. The cement will be delivered in bulk by ship to the harbour, and then trucked to the readymix units around the construction sites.’

‘They might struggle to supply the amount needed,’ Hans pointed out. ‘Did they really agree?’

‘You can trust me on this one. I’ve been doing contracts my whole career.’

‘But back to the apartment,’ Grace pressed on. ‘How would this be possible? You know what our salaries are. And that place looks well out of our range.’

‘The market’s tight, but there are still empty apartments. And by living as a group, we can enjoy a very good lifestyle.’ Zygmunt was fiddling with the paper wrapper on his cutlery, folding it this way and that, and soon constructed a clever little holder to perch them on. It was the kind of thing he did when he was nervous.

‘I didn’t know you were such a real estate tycoon.’

‘There are many investment properties that are bought but not lived in. I’ve made enquiries and there are at least nine empty units in Gurney, the block next to our site office. And they are big apartments, six bedrooms in each.’

‘I’d have thought it was a load of small apartments,’ said Ivan.

‘Each floor is two massive apartments. So I tracked down one of the owners. He has no desire to rent, and less to sell. But I’m a contract negotiator, right?’

‘And you talked him into it?’ asked Grace.

‘I subscribe to the theory of standing side by side with your negotiating partner. I’ve stayed in communal apartments in other cities, and wanted to do the same here. So, I’m asking, would you like a room?’

‘I’d love to! I need to ask my aunties, though,’ she frowned. ‘They won’t approve of me staying with a group of unmarried men.’

‘But you’re half my age! And there will be others there. Hans, Ivan – well, I suppose they’re also unmarried – but it’s 2026, and these old-fashioned attitudes must give way.’

Hans piped up, ‘In the Netherlands, such arrangements are quite common.’

‘When would you want us to move in?’ asked Grace.

‘Beginning of next month, if we can manage it. You three were at the top of my list.’

Ivan clapped his hands, his infectious smile lightening the mood. ‘I’m willing to take a look. We’ve had sausages together. I think that counts as knowing each other well enough!’

Read chapter 4 here.