Welcome to This Month in Luxury, presented by Micah Singleton, The Verge's resident Luxury Director. In this monthly (or whenever we remember) column, I will take you on a completely superficial journey of opulence, pointing out one device, artifact, or service an upscale individual such as yourself would take pleasure in experiencing. Let the journey begin.
In 2009, Roland Emmerich's disaster porn flick 2012 showed the human race being preserved by three arks filled with the 1 percent of the 1 percent — kings and queens, prime ministers and presidents, and the super rich who could afford the $1 billion per person fee to get a seat on the world's safest boat (or so they thought, one of them sank). Despite the majority of the world being destroyed in the chaos of a geological catastrophe, the wealthiest citizens were given an opportunity to avoid the fracas in relative luxury.
It worked out in the movie, so why not in real life?
Billed as "the ultimate all-risk protection and life assurance solution for high net worth families," Vivos is here to fulfill your dream of leaving the takers behind while you wait out the apocalypse with your own customized living quarters. The California-based company acquired an old Soviet-era Cold War base in Rothenstein, Germany and has converted it into the most luxurious place you'd never want to visit, because the world is about to end.
The Vivos Europa One is a 76-acre facility underneath a limestone mountain, capable of withstanding a "substantial close range nuclear blast, a direct airliner crash, biological and chemical agents, massive shock waves, earthquakes, electro-magnetic pulses, and virtually any armed attack," according to Vivos.
Only 34 families will be invited to purchase space in the underground bunker
The compound is fully outfitted with power, plumbing and sewage, HVAC systems, communications lines, security systems, and the internet, which probably won't work if the Comcast guy can't come out and check your modem due to that whole mass destruction issue. It's not just filled with the essential utilities either; swimming pools, movie theaters, and gyms are also available.
The company says only 34 families will be invited to purchase space in the underground bunker. In the event of a civilization-altering event, Vivos will dispatch helicopters to ferry you and your family into the lap of luxury and safety, away from those pesky non-rich humans. If you're lucky enough to be invited, you will be given 2,500 square feet of living space, with the option to double that space if you need an extra room for your suntan bed, or a stable for your dressage horse, as one does. Because who would want to live out the apocalypse with your wealthiest friends and family without a bit of sport?