Chapter 1 – The Prison
The Rotunda was a male-only, state-of-the-art, top security prison built to incarcerate high-risk criminals and terrorists. When it was first announced that the establishment would be built in a former logging community in Northern Ontario, the local inhabitants were vehemently opposed to the proposal. However, after realizing the number of jobs it would create and the service industry that would be generated as a result of the institution, the attitude of the mostly unemployed adults living in the area quickly changed.
The remoteness of the institution was another reason why this particular location was chosen. The nearest airport was over fifty kilometers away and that was merely a municipal one, catering mainly to floatplanes taking fisherman to remote camps for a long week-end. The railway line that had once brought supplies to a thriving community had not been maintained since the demise of the area’s logging trade. Only one main road provided any communication with the area and the outside world. The authorities thought process was that no prison escapees would have any access to transportation and even if they did, their paths for escape were severely limited. For five kilometers surrounding the facility there was just swamp land with nowhere to hide. The only entrance to the prison was via the exit off the main highway onto the single road leading to the institution’s heavily guarded gates and the car park, situated just inside the gates. The car park was for prisoners’ visitors, guards, and support staff. There was a building housing a comfortable waiting room and facilities where the staff and guests could wait in between shuttle buses that would take them to the main building. The whole stretch of the five kilometer long road, named the Rotunda Expressway, was clearly visible from the twin towers that straddled either side of the prison’s gate. The tower guards had direct communication with the command center located inside the Rotunda and personnel in either location were able to close the exit barriers to and from the main highway in the unlikely event an escapee made it that far. Within the establishment, guards could raise any of the four remotely deployable spike strips built in to the road, positioned at one kilometer intervals along the Rotunda Expressway. Anti-crash barriers along the length of the road prevented any hope of evading the machines once their protruding prongs were primed.
Around the square perimeter of the Rotunda was a six meter high, thick, wire mesh fence topped with razor wire. At the corners of the perimeter were towers containing armed guards and on the sides and back of the perimeter, positioned halfway along their lengths were additional towers. The nine towers provide an unobstructed view of the open ground between the Rotunda, the inner fence, and all nine were in direct communication with each other and the command center. Inside that was the inner fence which was a five meter high electric fence, again capped with razor wire that surrounded the exercise areas and playing fields around the actual building called the Rotunda. The Rotunda itself was a white, three-tiered circular structure which the locals affectionately called the ‘wedding cake’. The bottom tier consisted of thick reinforced concrete and housed the cells that encompassed the outside of the building with strategically placed gaps for access to the workout fields and the main entrance. With the exception of the main entrance, the gaps were accessed through double doors controlled by the command center. The main entrance at the end of the Rotunda Expressway was flanked by two guard houses and they controlled the sliding metal doors that protected the entrance to the Rotunda. One guard house was situated on the inside of the door, the other on the outside. Before the door could be opened the guards contacted one another and both had to activate a switch before the doors would open.
Each cell had accommodation for one prisoner and was made of a thick polymer insert that nestled neatly into specially designed niches in the concrete wall. The insert included a clear, thick, glass window that provided some natural light for the inmate. The opening and closing of the cell doors were controlled by the command center. For each prisoner there were set times for showers and meals but in between these set times there were few restrictions to the number of activities in which a prisoner could participate. The prisoner merely made a request by accessing an intercom embedded in the wall of the cell. His intentions were made known to the guards patrolling the inside perimeter of the cells and they escorted the prisoner to his destination. This was possible because as far as correctional facilities go, the Rotunda had a very high ratio of officers to prisoners. Beyond the cells, at frequent intervals, were shower blocks and further towards the center was the dining area. The outer area of the next level provided games rooms, gymnasiums and the prison library. These facilities were accessed by either stairs or elevators for those prisoners with medical conditions. The inner area of this level housed the guards, administration offices and medical center. The guards were on eight hour shifts and when on duty spent two hours walking the inside perimeter of the cells, two hours general duties, dining area, shower supervision etc. and two hours in the emergency pool, to be called upon as and if necessary. That left them two hours for meal and administration breaks. In addition, a rotation was scheduled by the warden to cover the towers, gates and prison complex. The warden felt that constantly changing duties would help alleviate complacency and keep the guards sharp. The division of the outer and inner areas were serviced by cutover doors that provided access for the guards and for the transportation of the prisoners. These cutover doors were operated by the command center which was situated on the top level of the building.
The command center was a technological marvel with video surveillance covering the entire complex, capable of observing every access into and out of the fences, building and cells. It also had automated controls for emergency procedures, lockdowns, broadcasting canned messages across the speaker system and sending alarms to other emergency services and military units. Each inmate wore a wrist bracelet with a unique bar code that could be read by sensors detailing his whereabouts at any given time. These wristbands required special tools to safely remove them without sending alarms to the command center. During emergencies or lockdowns a head count was automatically issued and alarms were immediately raised if the wristband count was not correctly reconciled with the number of current inmates. Furthermore, the wristbands were detected at checkpoints in and out of the buildings as well as the entrance gates. Any escaping prisoner would have to somehow remove the wristband with the appropriate tool to avoid raising the attention of the guards at these checkpoints.
In the event of a power failure backup generators automatically kicked in and there were even backup generators for the backups. Even if they failed, all the cells and access points would automatically be in lock-down mode and would only be able to be opened by special keys kept in the command center. It would come as no surprise to anyone to learn there had been no successful breakouts from this prison, however; that was about to change.
