Abandon any notion of surviving the apocalypse by doing anything as boringly obvious as running for the highest hill, or eating cockroaches. The American firm Vivos is now offering you the chance to meet global catastrophe (caused by terrorism, tsunami, earthquake, volcano, pole shift, Iran, "social anarchy", solar flare - a staggering list of potential world-murderers are considered) in style.

Vivos is building 20 underground "assurance of life" resorts across the US, capable of sustaining up to 4,000 people for a year when the earth no longer can. The cost? A little over ￡32,000 a head, plus a demeaning-sounding screening test that determines whether you are able to offer meaningful contribution to the continuation of the human race. Company literature posits, gently, that "Vivos may prove to be the next Genesis", and they are understandably reluctant to flub the responsibility.

Should you have the credentials and the cash, the rewards of a berth in a Vivos shelter seem high. Each staffed complex has a decontamination shower and a jogging machine; a refrigerated vault for human DNA and a conference room with wheely chairs. There are TVs and radios, flat-screen computers, a hospital ward, even a dentist's surgery ready to serve those who forgot to pack a toothbrush in the hurry. "Virtually any meal" can be cooked from a stockpile of ingredients that includes "baked potato soup" but, strangely, no fish, tinned or otherwise. Framed pictures of mountain ranges should help ease the loss of a world left behind.

Vivos says it has already received 1,000 applications.

How long do the rest of us have to decide? "Nobody knows" when disaster will strike but Vivos takes a shot at guessing, sourcing clues from Nostradamus, the Bible and Native American lore to suggest 2019, 2029 and 2036 as danger years. But the real fear is for 21 December 2012, a date forecast for doom by the Mayans and towards which a countdown clock on Vivos's website ticks.

We ought not to get too comfy over the next couple of years either: President Obama's recent warnings about nuclear terrorism proved "timely", a Vivos spokesperson told the Observer. "Doomsday may be closer than many would otherwise like to believe..."

It's warning enough. ￡32,000? Check. Carpentry skills? Check. Jogging bottoms? Check. Good luck in the hills.

相關(guān)中文報(bào)道（摘自揚(yáng)州晚報(bào)）

據(jù)英國(guó)媒體4月18日?qǐng)?bào)道，擔(dān)心好萊塢災(zāi)難大片《2012》的場(chǎng)景會(huì)噩夢(mèng)成真嗎？別怕，美國(guó)一名實(shí)業(yè)家正在打造一種"末日地堡"，它位于地下約9米深處，號(hào)稱可抵擋里氏十級(jí)強(qiáng)烈地震和500小時(shí)的洪水以及核生化襲擊，即使屋外攝氏677度的烈火持續(xù)燃燒10天10夜，只要居住其間，也可安然無(wú)恙。據(jù)稱，雖然這樣一座"末日地堡"每人入住一年的價(jià)格高達(dá)5萬(wàn)美元，可是目前已有上千名富人預(yù)訂！

位于地下9米可容200人

據(jù)報(bào)道，提出這一"末日地堡計(jì)劃"的是美國(guó)Vivos網(wǎng)站創(chuàng)辦人羅伯特·維希諾。事實(shí)上，最近他已實(shí)地走訪加州沙漠一處"未經(jīng)披露的地點(diǎn)"，視察該地堡計(jì)劃的第一個(gè)成品。這座地堡位于地下約9米深處，共分為5層，總面積約1800平方米，墻厚近1米。

地堡內(nèi)設(shè)有數(shù)十間臥室，共可容納200人。值得一提的是，地堡內(nèi)平板電視、寬帶網(wǎng)絡(luò)、跑步機(jī)、可自我凈化的淋浴器等生活設(shè)施一應(yīng)俱全，此外還有一間醫(yī)院、牙科診所、儲(chǔ)備有1年糧食的超級(jí)廚房以及DNA儲(chǔ)藏庫(kù)。顯然，維希諾希望它不僅是一個(gè)臨時(shí)庇護(hù)所，還是一艘創(chuàng)世紀(jì)的諾亞方舟！

可抵擋地震洪水核攻擊

據(jù)悉，維希諾計(jì)劃在美國(guó)各大主要城市附近都建造這種"末日地堡"，總共要打造20座，共可容納 4000人，預(yù)定于2012年正式啟用。根據(jù)他在Vivos網(wǎng)站列出未來(lái)可能發(fā)生的天災(zāi)人禍，除了瑪雅人的末日宣言、電影《2012》假設(shè)的場(chǎng)景之外，他還列出一些末日預(yù)言家的理論。維希諾表示，當(dāng)今地球麻煩不斷，從核戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)、生化戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的陰云，到最近世界各地頻傳的強(qiáng)震，而他打造地下碉堡，就是希望幫助有經(jīng)濟(jì)實(shí)力的富人擺脫末日災(zāi)難，因?yàn)?政府有設(shè)備，只是不會(huì)給你和我"。

維希諾宣稱，他所打造的"末日地堡"足可抵擋里氏十級(jí)的強(qiáng)震、時(shí)速700公里的強(qiáng)風(fēng)、36米的積雪與3000毫米的大雨，即使浸泡在滔滔洪水之中，也可支撐500小時(shí)，面對(duì)室外攝氏677度的大火，也可抵擋10天，甚至就連太陽(yáng)耀斑運(yùn)動(dòng)所發(fā)出的百萬(wàn)瓦特電磁脈沖以及核生化攻擊，也統(tǒng)統(tǒng)不在話下。

入住一年每人5萬(wàn)美元

維希諾打算趕在2012年12月21日(瑪雅人預(yù)言的末日)之前啟用這20座"末日地堡"。據(jù)悉，打造一座"末日地堡"的費(fèi)用高達(dá)1000萬(wàn)美元，而每人入住一年的價(jià)格需要5萬(wàn)美元。可是即使你有錢也不一定就能在這里訂上房間。因?yàn)閾?jù)維希諾稱，目前已有1000名未雨綢繆的顧客預(yù)訂客房，一旦屆時(shí)"客滿"，再有錢恐怕也沒(méi)辦法了！