Cleaning is a term used within the Silo to depict an action that someone exiled from the Silo is asked to perform. This pertains to cleaning the camera that relays a video feed of the outside world back into the Silo. When someone is exiled from the Silo, or asks to leave, they are asked to clean, but it is made clear that this is not mandatory; despite this, most people do clean when they leave the Silo.
As a result of this action, the term "being sent out to clean" has become associated with anyone who chooses to leave the Silo, regardless of whether they have voluntarily left the Silo or been exiled for crimes against the Pact.
Process[edit | edit source]
There are two ways in which a person can leave the Silo, or "be sent out to clean". The first way, is to break the laws of the Silo which are outlined in the Pact. The second way, is for a person to voluntarily leave the Silo by speaking the words "I want to go outside". Once a person utters these words, they are free to leave the Silo, but can no longer return. This is known as being "sent out to clean".
At the ceremony, the person being sent outside is dressed in a white safety suit, resembling that of a hazmat suit. They are given a cloth—so that they may clean the camera of the Silo if they chose—and a helmet to protect them from the harsh environment outside of the Silo. During the ceremony, the currenty Mayor of the Silo reads the following[1]:
You have been charged with and convicted of violating the cardinal law of our society. Any spoken request to leave the Silo is granted, but it is irrevocable. Once uttered, it is determinative. You have been asked to clean, and have been provided materials to do so. But you cannot be forced into cleaning. Once outside the airlock, you are outside the law.
Following this, the Sheriff also reads a passage. The following passage was read to Allison Becker prior to being sent out to clean:
We do not know why we are here. We do not know who built the Silo. We do not know why everything outside of the Silo is as it is. We do not know when it will be safe to go outside. We only know that day is not today. Allison Becker, on behalf of the people of the Silo, I hop that you will clean so that we will better see the world outside our sanctuary as it is and thereby be remidned that here is safe and there is not. Have you any last words?
Cleanings[edit | edit source]
Notes and Trivia[edit | edit source]
- Bernard Holland tried to force Juliette Nichols outside under the guise that she had requested to go outside. Whilst Juliette had never explicitly stated this, Robert Sims was willing to lie and state that he had heard her request this.
- In the books, Bernard is successful in his attempt to get Juliette sent out to clean.