by M. D. Cooper
The AI didn’t respond.
Martin hated when he did that.
After retracting the extension tubing into the submersible, Martin started the engine and turned the craft in the direction of the control center. He’d spent a long day adding the finishing touches to several exhibits, and he’d spent half an hour with the octopuses giving them a final warning about their behavior. The creatures had given their usual, probably fake, assurances.
Martin especially distrusted Xavier. The giant Pacific octopus appeared to have set himself up as some kind of octopus overlord and had been speaking on behalf of all the others. Martin knew the typical octopus character too well to believe that Xavier’s machinations would be tolerated for long. The last thing the park needed was an octopus uprising on the eve of its grand opening.
Seeding the deep-sea dome with angler fish had been Martin’s final task for the day. Usually at that time, he would be looking forward to the refreshing swim to the bottom of the cliff, putting on an a-grav pack, and rising to his beautiful home, loving wives, and adorable son. Now he only had two of those three to look forward to. He needed the complete set.
Bedtime would be worst of all. Ever since his argument with Erin, every night over the past few weeks in their shared bed had been spent in cold, frustrated distance from both her and Isa. It was horrible. He still loved Erin, but he didn’t feel like making love with her, and he was sure the feeling was mutual.
Yet he also couldn’t do anything with Isa, even if she would be willing, which he was uncertain about. Getting something going with her while Erin was right there next to them would be insensitive and way too awkward.
He knew of only one option that might put things back to how they had been before: he had to sincerely apologize for what he’d said.
But he couldn’t. There had been a lot of truth in his comment. If he pretended he didn’t hold that opinion, he would be lying, and he didn’t want to lie just to keep the peace. That would be bad for their relationship too.
If only Erin would admit she’d been wrong to side with Tanis and agree that she should have considered her family first. That would be the best way forward for everyone, though Martin couldn’t see that happening. Erin could be unbelievably stubborn.
As his submersible approached the bay, the doors opened. He piloted his vessel inside, and the level of the water rapidly dropped as the pumps removed it. Martin climbed out of the single-seater before the water had entirely drained away so he could easily float the vessel over to its clamps. After securing the submersible, he walked out into the labs.
Lindsey was with Pietr in the planning area. They were running the holo of the marine park and had their backs to Martin. The vast site, which had been condensed to a scaled model, filled the floor of the room. The buildings that had already been created by picotech dotted the park, and the larger creatures were also represented, swimming or floating in their areas. The underwater climate controls that affected temperatures, currents, salinity, and concentrations of other minerals were working well. Along with the presence and density of a wide range of microorganisms , the control systems were keeping the park’s many organisms roughly within their designated zones. Some escapees were inevitable, but that wouldn’t be a big deal.
“The angler fish eggs are in the dome,” Martin reported. “What else is there to do?”
“You made me jump,” said Lindsey. “You finished doing that already? That was fast. Uh, I’m not sure what’s left to do. And it’s getting late—isn’t it about time you headed home?”
“I can probably manage another trip out into the park.”
“Do you have time?” Lindsey asked.
She looked up through the transparent ceiling. The sunlight shining through the water was visibly fading.
Martin shrugged. “I can use the submersible’s lighting.”
Lindsey gave him a concerned look. “You’ve been the first to arrive and last to leave every day lately. Weren’t you the one telling me I can’t expect to get everything done within the schedule? Martin, I appreciate it, but you don’t need to work so hard. Go home to your family. I’m sure they would like to see more of you. Margot’s left already, and Pietr and I can finish up here.”
“If you say so.” Martin heard the flatness of his tone. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He went to the cloakroom and took off his lab coat before walking down to the exit that led directly into the water. The cool, blue liquid rippled as he stepped into it, and it shimmered gold with the rays of the setting sun, but for once, the effect was lost on Martin. He switched to underwater mode and opened his mouth to allow the water to flow through his modified lungs, beginning the long swim home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
STELLAR DATE: 05.21.8941 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Family home, eastern shores of Ithaca
REGION: Troy, New Canaan System
It had been Isa’s idea that they take a vacation. Erin knew it was because the situation between herself and Martin was driving their wife crazy. Isa was hoping to heal the rift in the family, but Erin wasn’t convinced that spending a few days in each other’s company was going to do any of them good.
Nevertheless, she’d agreed to the suggestion. Her team at the space station was more than capable of managing without her for a while, and she was always accessible via the Link if they wanted to ask her anything.
Isa and Martin had already gone down to the aircar and were waiting there with Jude while she threw a few things to wear into a bag.
It would be nice to explore more of Troy and get some downtime with Isa and Jude, but she wasn’t looking forward to spending time with Martin. Ever since he’d made his asshole comment, she’d noticed more and more of his faults and annoying little habits that had somehow gone under her radar previously.
For one thing, he snored. Erin guessed that she used to sleep through his nightly nasal song, but now her slumber was shallower and more restless. She would often wake up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason and hear Martin’s tonsil tune resounding in the bedroom. Perhaps the snoring was a side effect of his aquatic mods. She didn’t know and didn’t care; she only wished he would stop so she could get a decent night’s sleep.
Martin also had an annoying habit of ‘fixing’ stuff wherever he went. He couldn’t walk through the garden without looking for weeds and pulling them up. If a drawer or cupboard door was open, he had to close it, usually while tutting under his breath. He even made the bed every morning as soon as everyone was up. It was ridiculous. They had servitors for all those kinds of things, like every regular household did.
At first, Erin had thought Martin’s finickity behavior was a hangover from his time at the beach house, where everything had been more hands-on. But as the weeks on Troy had passed, she’d come to realize that was just how he was, regardless of his environment. He would probably find something to tidy up inside an empty box.
And then there was the way he fussed over Jude. He was far more attentive than Isa—borderline obsessive, in fact. There was a line between being a good parent and smothering your child with over-attention, and as far as Erin was concerned, Martin had crossed it long ago. If she’d been around more while Jude was a baby, she might have been able to do something about it, but only Isa had been at home most of the time, and she was too easygoing to intervene. Now Martin’s parenting style was set, and he’d convinced himself that he was normal and everyone else was weird.
Erin sealed her bag and carried it out of the bedroom. She descended the staircase that swept around the hall and down to the first floor. She noticed that the front doors stood open. Her lips twitched.
Martin is probably dying to close them.
As she stepped out into the sunshine, she saw that he was indeed focusing on the doors through the window of the aircar. At he
r appearance, however, he snapped his head around and stared out the front of the vehicle.
Erin sighed and then climbed into the passenger seat next to Jude, tossing her bag into the back. She was about to close the house doors, but realized Martin had already done it remotely.
* * * * *
“Where did you say we’re going?” Martin asked as Isa input the destination coordinates.
“The Island of Aeolia,” Isa replied.
The aircar lifted smoothly into the sky and swooped around the house.
“Cool,” said Erin from the backseat. “A beach holiday. I miss the beach. A swimming pool just isn’t the same.”
They were flying out over the Sea of Marmara and rising steadily into the upper atmosphere.
“You could always go down to the shore at the bottom of the cliff if you want to go to a beach,” said Martin. “Take an a-grav pack if you don’t feel like diving into the deep water.”
“Yeah, I know I could,” Erin replied, “but it isn’t the same as stepping out of the house onto the sand. Or listening to the waves on the shore at night.”
Martin didn’t answer. He missed the beach house too, and not only for the reasons Erin mentioned. He also missed the life the three of them had led there. Things had worked so well between them; if he and Erin had argued, it had only been banter, nothing serious. But he hadn’t really known her or where her loyalties lay then.
“Actually, there isn’t a beach where we’re going,” said Isa. “Sorry.”
“Oh, so it’s a rocky island?” asked Erin. “That’s OK. We can still go swimming.”
“Uh, there’s no sea, either,” Isa said.
“Huh?” Martin asked. “An island that isn’t surrounded by the sea? How does that work?”
“Don’t worry,” she told them. “You’ll see. I was hoping neither of you had heard of the place. Promise me you won’t look it up, OK? Let it be a surprise.”
“Sure,” Erin said. “I’m intrigued now.”
They were soon skimming through the thin air high above Troy on the edge of space. The peaks of clouds lay far below them, and the horizon was a blue curve.
“Are you planning on adding this island to your list of installations?” asked Martin.
“I haven’t decided. I’ve been interested in the Island of Aeolia ever since I heard about it, but it’s so far away from Ithaca. To fly there, record everything I need, and then return home before Jude’s bedtime would have taken too long, so I didn’t make it a priority. But I don’t want to turn our vacation into a work expedition, either. I want us to relax and enjoy ourselves.”
“Me too,” Erin said.
Martin checked the aircar’s journey data. They would reach their destination in a little more than an hour and a half. That meant one and a half hours in close proximity with Erin with nothing to say to each other. It was possibly the longest time they had spent together since the invasion drill, apart from when they were sleeping. It could turn out to be a long flight.
Erin was entertaining Jude in the backseat, playing peekaboo with the stuffed octopus Martin had brought home from the marine park gift shop. Each ‘Boo’ she uttered elicited fits of giggles from Jude.
Martin was reminded of Xavier. He was tempted to tell Isa and Erin about the uplifted octopus, but he couldn’t muster the necessary enthusiasm.
He looked over his seat at Jude, who was trying to snatch the octopus from Erin’s hands. When she relented and gave it to him, Jude copied what she’d been doing, hiding behind the toy and then popping out.
“Boo, Mommy Erin! Boo!”
Martin caught Erin’s eye, but then they both quickly looked away.
* * * * *
“I can see it,” Erin said. “You’re cheeky, Isa, tricking us like that. So that’s why they call it an island.”
Isa also looked out the aircar window. Erin was right. There it was, the high plateau called the Island of Aeolia. The cloud cover was low currently, so the green expanse was surrounded by a white sea.
Isa switched to manual controls to take the aircar down; she’d been teaching herself to fly the craft and rely less on the autopilot. The Island of Aeolia had no designated landing area for the automatic navigation to target, so it was simpler if she landed the craft herself. There was no designated anything in this place, or any buildings or facilities. The island was untouched and, as far as Isa knew, entirely uninhabited. Most of the land was covered in forest. To land the shuttle, she would have to slowly fly over the canopy and find an open space large enough to accommodate the vessel.
“Whoa,” said Martin. “That is something.”
“I thought you two might like it,” Isa said. “You don’t mind being away from the sea for a few days, Martin?”
“I think I can manage it,” he replied. “Just for a few days.”
He was smiling, genuinely smiling, for the first time in ages. Isa breathed a mental sigh of relief. Perhaps her plan to end the stupid conflict between Martin and Erin would succeed.
She enlisted their help in finding a place to land. As the aircar skimmed the treetops, Isa explained that the Island of Aeolia was a continental plateau. Two thousand and six hundred meters below it lay the tropical jungle that covered most of the continent of Thrace.
“So the climate must be colder than the surrounding land, due to the altitude,” said Erin.
“Yes,” Isa said. “It’s subtropical.”
Martin was peering at the trees. “I think I can see a gap over there. Uh, southeast.”
Isa turned the aircar and took them in the new direction. “I see it.”
As they drew closer, the gap turned into an open glade in the surrounding thick canopy. Isa checked out the space as they flew over. It looked bumpy but sufficiently level to land the aircar. She brought the vessel around again, returned toward the open spot, and then slowed down and guided the aircar in to touch down.
“Nice landing,” Erin said. “Hey, I never told you guys, but I actually had a near-miss in a skiff at work the other day.”
“You did?” asked Martin. “Were you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine,” Erin replied. “Though the same can’t be said for my pride. I nearly flew right into a piece of maglev track, and now MacCarthy and Linch won’t let me hear the last of it. When I arrived at work yesterday and walked into the control room, Linch jumped up and moved all the seating out of my way.”
Isa laughed. “As long as you’re OK.” She turned off the engine and added, “They’ll forget about it in a while.”
“Yeah,” agreed Erin, “in a century or two.”
Martin opened his door and stepped out into grass. It was thick and lush and rose to his thighs. All around them, trees rose to the sky.
“This is wild, Isa,” he said. “Literally. I like it. Let’s find a place to set up camp.”
Isa also climbed out. The air was cool but so humid that the leaves of the trees that surrounded the glade glistened with water droplets. Unfamiliar bird calls and the cries of other unknown creatures echoed in the shadowy spaces beneath the canopy.
“Whoa,” Erin said as she exited the aircar. “Are we the first people to come here? It’s like no one knows this place exists.”
“I’m sure someone must have,” Martin said. “The FGT was on Troy for hundreds of years.”
While Erin took Jude for a walk to stretch his little legs, Isa and Martin removed the camping gear from the back of the aircar. They carried it to the other side of the glade, where the ground looked the most even, and selected the best space to set up the tent. Martin put down the pack at the center of the spot and moved out of the way before activating the mechanism.
Faster than Isa’s eyes could follow, the tent erupted from it. Where a flat pack had lain only a second previously, their compartmented tent now stood.
“That’s really neat,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve seen one of those in action before.”
The structure was roughly five meters square and was
still wobbling gently from its fast expansion. At the base of the structure was a cushion that would mitigate the effects of the bumpy ground.
“It’s been a while since I’ve gone camping,” said Martin. “It might be a little musty inside.” He opened the flap, stuck his head in, and sniffed. “No, it’s fine. It’s only two rooms and a shower room, but it should be OK for a short stay. I’ll set up the condenser. It won’t have any problems drawing water from the air around here.”
“Right,” said Isa. “I’ll set up the bed packs inside. I want to watch them pop up, too.”
* * * * *
Erin held Jude’s hand tightly as they walked through the trees. The trunks were packed closely together, and she knew she would quickly lose sight of the precocious child if he ran away. She would still be able to find his location via the Link, but maybe not before he’d come to harm.
The density of trees and the thickness of the canopy shaded the ground so heavily that little grew there. The forest floor was thick with leaf litter, making the going comparatively easy for Jude’s short legs. However, Erin used the Link to navigate. Without that or Walter, she could have quickly become disoriented within the endless spread of uniform tree trunks.
The air was still, a little chilly, and moist. It was filled with the calls of unseen birds, frogs and other unidentifiable animals, as well as the endless dripping of water from saturated leaves.