Building New Canaan - The Complete Series - A Colonization and Exploration Space Adventure
Page 18
Martin smiled as their connection closed. He’d met Cameron at college. His friend had taken to calling him ‘old man’ not long after, in reference to Martin’s habit of shunning the latest fads in leisure and entertainment.
It wasn’t that he was a Luddite; he didn’t object to using whatever devices were required to help him in his work. But outside of work, it was true that he preferred simple, ‘old-fashioned’ pursuits, like plain old swimming, walking, and reading. He would rather read a book than experience a sim any day of the week. He preferred his own imagination.
Or he had. Until a certain person had interrupted the peaceful serenity of his thoughts.
He finished completing his notes on his observations and went to bed early.
The next day, he left at first light and piloted his boat along the coast to Knossos’s seaport. From there, he took a shuttle to Paros, where Cameron picked him up in a bright green, metallic, amphibious vehicle.
“This is what you use for work?” Martin asked, eyeing the craft. It was about the size of a four-seater autocab, but it ran on caterpillar tracks and sported several propellers.
“Sure,” Cameron replied. “I can go to any depth I like, and if I use the extendible equipment, I don’t ever have to leave my duck.”
“Your duck?”
“That’s what I call it.”
“OK, but being in the water is part of the fun, isn’t it?”
“It’s all right, but it’s colder here than where you are, don’t forget. And I don’t like wearing a wetsuit.” Cameron opened the hatch on the top of the vehicle. “Jump in.”
Martin climbed inside and sat in the passenger seat. Even before his friend closed the hatch, he began to feel claustrophobic. The feeling didn’t go away as they traveled to his colleague’s seeding site on the coast of the Aegean.
The wide ocean stretched as far as the South Pole and beyond, which made it cooler than the Mediterranean. Cameron drove down to the sand, across the beach, and straight into the waves. As the greenish water went up and over the windows, he started up the propellers and dove downward, following the seabed.
Turning his attention to the transparent floor and the sand below it took Martin’s mind off his strong desire to leave the vehicle. Though the air inside turned colder now they were underwater, he still felt warm.
“The main kelp bed is about a kilometer offshore,” Cameron told him. “We’ll be there in a minute or so. I’m interested to hear what you think; there has to be something I’m missing. I’ve done everything by the book, so I can’t think of an explanation for the kelp just not taking.”
“I’m happy to look at it,” said Martin, “but I can’t promise anything.”
When they arrived at the site, Martin crouched on the floor of the amphibious vehicle to get a close look at the sand while Cameron propelled his duck through the water. What Martin saw confirmed exactly what his colleague had said. He might have planted the area with young kelp plants ten days previously, but there was no sign of the plants anywhere. It was as if they’d never been there at all.
“Are you sure it isn’t just that something ate them?” he asked.
“I’m pretty sure. There just isn’t enough life around here at the moment to eat it all—I planted acres of the stuff. I even scanned the bed to check for organisms I might not have taken into account, but I didn’t see anything unusual. I held back on releasing too many organisms before the kelp was established. But what I have released is already breeding, so if the kelp doesn’t grow soon, it could be a disaster.”
Martin shook his head. “This is no good. I can’t get a proper look at anything through the floor. I have to get out there.”
“If you insist, there are a couple of sets of diving equipment in the back,” said Cameron. “I’ll come out with you, but I don’t think it’s going to make any difference.”
Martin put on a wetsuit as Cameron guided the vehicle up to the surface. After dropping the anchor, he also put on a suit and fins. When he opened the hatch, Martin took a deep, pleasurable breath of the fresh ocean air before fixing his face mask and rebreather. It was just as pleasant to leave the confines of the craft and plunge into the cool water.
He dove under the waves and swam down to the ocean bed. Nutrient levels were higher in the Aegean than the Mediterranean, decreasing the visibility—especially on the seabed, where light struggled to penetrate.
Poor visibility is part of Cameron’s problem, Martin mused as he searched the sand. A scanner sometimes only told you that there was life there, and you had to interpret the results to understand what kind of life it was. When it came to marine organisms, no scanner in existence could beat a thorough search by someone who knew what to look for.
Martin said.
Sea urchins were kelp’s nemesis, biting off the seaweed stems at their bases. The ocean current would soon have swept away the remains of the plants and the roots would rot.
Cameron carefully turned over more stones. Hundreds of urchins were hiding there, large and small. The nocturnal animals had been grazing the kelp during the night hours, eating it as soon as Cameron had planted it.
Martin said.
Another colleague, Lindsey, had a seeding site on the other side of the Parthian continent’s southern peninsula.
Cameron mentally tutted.
On their way back to the shore, Cameron talked to Lindsey and told Martin that she would be over soon with something to donate to his site. Despite still feeling a little morose, the news brought a smile to Martin’s face. He had a good idea of what Lindsey would be bringing.
The marine biologist arrived an hour later on an autotransporter. The small trucks were ideal for transporting living creatures that wouldn’t deal well with air travel.
Lindsey waved at the
two men from the cab. “Hi, guys! Long time no see.”
The three exchanged greetings and news. Since leaving stasis after arrival, they hadn’t seen much of each other. When the pleasantries were over, Lindsey took them around to the back of the truck, where they helped her unload lidded boxes. Their weight shifted while Martin carried them to Cameron’s workroom, as the creatures inside moved around.
“I brought fourteen males and females, and nine mothers with pups,” said Lindsey. “That should be plenty to keep your sea urchin numbers down.”
“Enhydra lutis,” said Cameron. “Love them. I think they’re probably my favorites.”
Lindsey said, “I didn’t think we were supposed to have favorites.”
“I guess so,” he admitted, “but I can’t help it. Can you?”
“No, I can’t either.” Lindsey chuckled. “Do you want to release them now?”
“Yeah, they must be dying to get back into the water, and I’m dying to see them.”
Martin was also looking forward to seeing the creatures. He wouldn’t be introducing sea otters into the Mediterranean. The conditions weren’t quite right for them, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a soft spot for the cute, smart animals. And Lindsey was right: they were just the solution for Cameron’s sea urchin problem.
He watched while Cameron and Lindsey performed the release. The sight of the sleek-furred animals bursting out from their containers the moment they were opened and diving into the water was heartwarming. Yet deep down, Martin’s emotions were unchanged.
There was still something—or someone—missing.
TSUNAMI
STELLAR DATE: 12.03.8935 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Atlantean Ocean, Grecia
REGION: Athens, 4th Planet in the New Canaan System
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
Isa desperately clung to her surfboard as the waves threatened to pummel her under the surface. Sheet lightning seared the sky. A crack of thunder roared.
When they’d started out an hour ago, riding the tsunami had been just as exhilarating as Isa remembered from her time on Victoria. Along with Usef and his Marine friends, she’d traveled kilometers on the gigantic wave, the wind blasting in her face. The whoops and shouts of the surfers had been drowned out by the bellow of the wind, but they’d talked over the Link, kidding with each other and commenting on each other’s moves and tricks.
Isa lost sight of the burly man for an instant before she saw him working his board slowly up again, almost to the crest. She’d never seen surfing skills like his. He was a phenomenon. Though she was no stranger to tsunami surfing, it was all she could do to stay on her board and upright in the current conditions.
Even if she did fall, she wasn’t too worried. Search and rescue pinnaces circled the pleasure-seekers, ready to pick up anyone who wiped out. But it would be embarrassing to take a tumble among such proficient wave riders, and she would have to wait several hours for the next wave.
Isa peered over to see what the man was up to now, and was utterly astounded. He was doing a one-handed handstand on his board, perfectly balanced with his legs slightly arched backward. She couldn’t figure out how he’d gotten into the position, or how he was managing to stay straight on the ever-moving wave. As she watched open-mouthed, Usef pushed off with his arm, flipped and landed feet first on his board.
This time, the whoops and hollers were loud enough to be heard even over the rushing elements. Isa joined in. She wanted to give the man a round of applause, too, but she thought she might lose her balance.
she replied.
It had seemed as though every tourist on Athens was riding the tsunami wave. As far as Isa could see, hundreds of people were guiding their boards over the wall of water. She hadn’t noticed so many on the long beach where they’d waited for the wave to arrive. Maybe more had been waiting in the ocean, ready for the wave to pick them up.
The shallow beach led to a wide, flat expanse of barren land, perfectly designed to give the wave maximum height as it came to shore. The sense of exhilaration Isa had experienced as she was lifted up had been amazing.
Athens was like a world-sized theme park. She had heard there were also permanent warm air geysers that people could float on, tumbling, spinning and flying in the wind. And there was a swiftly moving water current that swept around the oceans, where massive floating discs had been scattered for leisurely journeys.
Isa had almost felt sad that one day, the planet’s tectonics would settle down, and Athens would turn into a regular place. It was too bad. She was determined to make the most of it until then.
But all her enjoyment and excitement about her spontaneous vacation had been before the storm struck.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t known it could happen; Usef had told her in passing that frequent storms were another feature of Athens’ turbulent state. The lightning displays were spectacular, he’d said—better than any fireworks show. There were even regions where lightning played constantly over the mountaintops.
Isa had seen plenty of storms in her time, and on hearing about Athens’ meteorological performances, she’d been looking forward to seeing them in action. But she’d been entirely unprepared for the doozy that sprang up midway through the tsunami ride.
One minute, she’d been coasting along, having the time of her life, clear skies all around. The next, a massive bank of black clouds had appeared from behind the wave. The cloud had been running faster than the tsunami. Within seconds, it had overtaken them and blocked out Canaan Prime’s brilliant white-yellow glow. The air temperature had plummeted, and what seemed like a solid sheet of rain hit them.
It all happened so fast that no one even had time to comment. Isa thought it might have been the pounding water from above affecting the integrity of the tsunami wave. Either that, or the rain simply washed her off her board. Whatever had happened, she suddenly found herself bobbing in the ocean, with rain pouring over her head and eyes, making it impossible for her to see. She had to angle her head downward, or she thought the rain might drown her above the ocean.
Another blinding flash of lightning tore through the atmosphere, and Isa began to worry she would be electrocuted in the water. Tired of the rain lashing her head, she dove down.
The strap that attached her to her surfboard prevented her from diving deeply, but the environment under the surface was a welcome respite from the torrential downpour of the storm boiling and seething overhead. All around her was the loud hiss of rain on the ocean’s surface.
The need to breathe grew too strong to ignore, so Isa kicked up to the surface and grabbed her board.
Resting her arms on her board, she tried to catch her breath. She couldn’t see any of the tsunami-surfing support pinnaces nearby—which didn’t mean a lot, because she couldn’t see much farther than her outstretched hand. The ships had to be around there somewhere, though, pulling people out of the water. She seemed to have been overlooked.
After a pause, Usef said,
Isa would have heaved a sigh if that didn’t mean breathing in several liters of water. She was beginning to feel lonely out on the waves by herself. From what she could see of it, the sky remained a rolling dark grey, as a buffeting wind swept down heavy blankets of rain. Isa was beginning to feel chilled and uncomfortable, floating in the ocean water.
Or was something else making her feel uncomfortable? She had learned some ancient Earth history while she lived on Victoria. She’d read all about the gigantic sharks that had roamed the oceans of humankind’s original planet in prehistoric times. The rational part of her brain was confident that the FGT would never have added such animals to a planet intended for human habitation, but fear of what might be lurking under her in the deep, dark depths rose up from her subconscious unbidden.
Isa contacted Athens’ planetary AI, which responded instantly.
The storm didn’t seem to be easing at all. If anything, it was becoming more intense. There scarcely seemed to be a break between the lightning flashes and the thunder; it was one continuous, echoing roll. Isa wasn’t feeling remotely patient. She wanted to be picked up right away.