by B. C. CHASE
Doctor Ming-Zhen couldn’t see it clearly as it was silhouetted against the light, but its yellow eye glistened as it blinked, the large pupil twitching to look straight down at them. The thin rubber floor of the boat was vibrating under Doctor Ming-Zhen’s feet. He quickly realized that this was because Chao was shaking, his eyes wide with fear.
“What is it?” he whispered in a panicky voice.
“A spinosaurid. Looks as big as an egypticus, but the sail isn’t quite right.”
A loud splash and screams came from one of the other boats as it suddenly overturned as a second spinosaurid rose up. It stomped up the shore to lunge for the giant sawfish the first spinosaurid had caught. A third spinosaurid came up from the water, bellowing loudly as it took two steps and, to Doctor Ming-Zhen’s astonishment, leaped through the air over the boat and onto the bank.
The spinosaurids seemed to take little notice of the boats or the people and squabbled ill-temperedly among themselves for the remnants of the sawfish. A smaller one succeeded in breaking off a large chunk for himself.
Zhang ordered the man at the electric motor to steer them to the overturned boat. They quickly reached it and Doctor Ming-Zhen leaned over and grasped the rubber to try to help right it while, on the other side of their craft Jia Ling and Zhang struggled to help people aboard.
Without warning, the overturned boat blew up into Doctor Ming-Zhen’s face, knocking him backwards. It flipped repeatedly as it flew high into the air, sent there by a sarcosuchus’s six-and-a-half-foot jaws which had burst open from directly under it. The crocodile was hissing furiously and surged forward, the jaws clamping down on Doctor Ming-Zhen’s boat. As it pulled the rapidly deflating rubber under the surface, Doctor Ming-Zhen frantically reached for Jia Ling. But his foot was caught between the aluminum bench and the rubber and he was sucked under the black water.
He could see nothing but rubber and felt like meat in a grinder as the crocodile feverishly shook the boat back and forth. When it stopped, he was pressed between the still-inflated front of the boat and the crocodile’s large scutes, scales, and teeth.
He was dazed, seeing stars. But his foot was free.
He kicked toward the surface and simultaneously pulled himself up the rubber. Within a second or two he broke the surface and inhaled deeply.
Tremendous upheaval surrounded him. The spinosaurids had brought their dispute into the water, and the crocodiles were attacking them and the other boats. Screams erupted from all over the place. A man next to Doctor Ming-Zhen was suddenly dragged under the surface with barely a ripple.
“Jiàoshòu!” a familiar voice cried from behind him.
He spun around and saw Jia Ling swimming toward him. Approaching her from the side was a giant crocodile with a trail of spiny scutes. “SWIM FOR SHORE!” he shouted and began frantically stroking toward her. He was surprised by how strong he felt despite his waterlogged shoes and clothes. The croc made steady progress toward her.
Suddenly something clamped on his ankle, dragging him under the water. It was a firm grip, but not teeth. He looked down to see a man with half his body in a sarcosuchus’s jaws, blood coiling around its teeth. Doctor Ming-Zhen shook his leg as powerfully as he could to try to free himself from the man’s grip, but his effort was futile. The man stared up at him with wide, terrified eyes. It was clear he wouldn’t let go. The surface was rapidly retreating as the crocodile descended to the bottom. Doctor Ming-Zhen aimed his free heel at the man’s face. When the man didn’t react, he kicked him as hard as he could. With three kicks, he was released and he bolted toward the surface. Breaking into the air, he looked for Jia Ling. But she wasn’t where she had been, and there was no sign of the crocodile that had targeted her.
“JIA LING!” he hysterically screamed.
E 44th St
“Why are you helping me?” Wesley asked as they walked down the sidewalk in the shadow of skyscrapers. He shouldered a video camera bag.
Kelle said, “You can’t get in without my credentials.”
“You aren’t planning to stop me, are you?”
She looked down at her feet as they walked. “This isn’t the right thing to do.”
“Maybe not. But I’m kind of looking forward to it.”
“Do you really think it’s what Sienna would want?”
Wesley said through clenched teeth, “Don’t use her name. You don’t have the right.” They were passing a little plaza with chairs and tables with umbrellas. The laugher of children came from one of the tables. He said, “Besides, she isn’t here, is she?”
Kelle stopped. “I am.”
He paused for a moment, turned his head back toward her. But then he walked on. She trailed behind him as he emerged onto a sunny avenue dotted with tourists and dominated by the imposing form of the United Nations headquarters building.
From their perch in the glass-walled press box overlooking the Security Council chamber they had a clear line of sight to most of the delegates, but there was only one in whom Wesley had any interest, and he was obscured because of the special place he had taken due to his wheelchair. Wesley had meticulously assembled the weapon from the parts hidden inside the camera while witness after witness spoke to the delegates. Now he waited, sweating, for his target’s skull to move into view. He knew Abael Fiedler was on the roster of witnesses, so the opportunity was coming. It was only a matter of patience.
Finally, the moment arrived. Abael refused assistance as he wheeled himself around the circumference of the round table and chairs and to the podium. Despite the protests of his entourage and with considerable difficulty, he lifted himself to his feet, supporting himself with the podium. When at last he stood, hunched over and rigid, he strained to speak, “Too many of us have lived in the shadows too long. Too many have been hiding who we truly are and what we know. For fear of ridicule or prejudice, we have sealed our lips and bowed our heads in silence. But a person is who he is. He shouldn’t be forced to live two lives only to please the ignorant.
“We have heard from enough witnesses. We have seen enough evidence. You have all listened and learned for days and yet it seems you know less than you did before!” He slammed his hand on the table, a disquieting crack resounding. “I say enough! I am exhausted from hiding who I am. The time has come to reveal the truth.” He flinched and clenched his jaw. “The whole world longs for absolution. The world is ready.”
The man had moved into Wesley’s sights. He tightened his finger on the trigger. His heart was pounding and he imagined his hands on Abael’s neck, wringing the life out of his boney frame. Bashing his head on a rock until blood flowed freely. A bullet wasn’t enough justice. But it would have to do. He smiled and his heart skipped a beat with anticipation.
He felt a hand on his arm.
“Go, Kelle. Get out of here.”
“No.”
“When I do this they will come right for me.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“GO!”
“Please, Wes. Don’t do it.”
Out of the corner of his eye he could see a tear trailing down her face.
She said, “They’ll kill you, Wes!”
“I know.”
“If you’re going to die, at least do it doing something that would make her proud.”
“Like what?”
“Trying to live.”
He looked her in the eyes, “There’s nothing to live for, Kelle. Face reality.”
“Not if you’re living for yourself, maybe. But what if it’s not about you? What if you live for someone else? Doesn’t that make it worth it?”
Layla
She didn’t care where this place was, anymore, or if she had died and her soul had gone to paradise. It almost seemed she was an entirely new person, the entire sum of her years a mere flicker of memory from some distant, nearly-forgotten place and time. A place a time full of misery and hardship.
Their shirts and pants had been cast away long ago, soggy inconveniences that seemed to b
e out of place in this perfect paradise.
Doctor Katz took her hand and they leaped over the edge of the waterfall. The fall was exhilarating, and they splashed into a pool of misting, warm water below. Easily buoyant, she surfaced quickly. Doctor Katz emerged and floated on his back, his body barely denting the surface, his hands folded behind his head as if he was reclining on a bed. Remarkably, the surface tension in this pool was enough to keep him above the water. “Try this!” he exclaimed. “It’s amazing.”
She kicked up and stretched her legs out, finding that she slipped to the surface without effort. The water embraced her back, slick as ice but balmy as a bath. She felt weightless.
They slowly drifted underneath the waterfall, its warm spray exhilarating and fresh. They stood in the water, which lapped around her waist. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the flow as it cascaded over her body. She was impressively aware of Doctor Katz’s strong presence beside her. His hand touched her jaw and she felt weak as his other hand pulled her close against his firm build. He pressed his lips to hers, and her heart pounded with the electric shock that coursed through her. Every fiber of her being pulsed with desire for him. He lifted her up to level her face with his, kissing her more and more deeply, ravenously drinking her in.
They bathed in the warm waters, ran for the sake of running, and enjoyed the cool evening breeze as it kissed them to sleep. They ate all the brightly colored things that grew on the trees, sweet juice dripping off their chins. Their bodies were enslaved to pleasure. They denied themselves nothing.
The petals dropped one by one to the ground. Thousands of them. They had all the time in the world and innumerable flowers to choose from. When they were finished their bed was soft and aromatic, the most perfect bed one could imagine. They softly kissed one another for what could have been hours anywhere else, but here it seemed as if time did not exist. They slowly dozed off into slumber, the sparkling sky above them like a sea of diamonds.
Layla woke suddenly. His warmth was no longer beside her. A cool breeze was swaying the large leaves that framed the twinkling night above. She turned on her side and saw his muscular silhouette stalking away into the forest. She inhaled deeply, and closed her eyes. Sleep overtook her again.
Gondola Hangar
Everyone who had been sleeping inside the gondola was now awake, huddled around its outside, shivering and dazed. The rest were still sleeping inside.
Doctor Kaufmann was explaining, “This is the portal. Or, at least, the portal as guests were to witness it. The real portal, the one that was discovered, is deep, a thousand feet deep. It is a space-time vortex, the product of a spinning light anomaly of extraordinary power and speed. We don’t know what caused it, but we think we understand the physics that makes it work. It’s as if you had a cup of coffee—”
Babel interrupted, “The physics lesson can wait. Cut to the chase.”
“Okay. So we had big, big plans for this. When you travel through, you come out in a new world, a paradise. Eden. Paradeisia. A place where all ills are cured, where senescence stops, where life is not fragile or suicidal as it is here, but is powerful, unstoppable. When you go there, you become the best version of yourself. The ultimate you. No defects. No ageing. No disease. A place of irresistible attraction to anyone on earth.”
“So Jinkins envisioned building this system, the gondolas, which could ferry people through the portal to this new world. The people could receive restoration, and return. But of course the countless visitors who would doubtless come would need to be fed, housed, and entertained. This opened the door to limitless opportunities for investment. Developers from all around the globe poured in billions, each hoping to get one small slice of the pie.
“Once we had the gondola system in place, we started planning facilities in this new world—a visitor center, lodging, restaurants, anything to sell to the guests.
“But the longer we were down there, the more apparent it became that there was a problem. Paradeisia had a fatal flaw.
“For those of us like Jinkins and myself who spent a great deal of time down the portal, it was exhilarating. We found ourselves with more vitality when we returned. We felt potent. More intelligent.
“I led three visiting scientists from the University of Basel on a research expedition to Paradeisia. Of course we wanted to learn as much as we could about this new world.
“But the longer I stayed with them down there, the more I found myself resentful of them. After all, I was the chief scientist. Why should I share my glory and pollute my domain with their clumsy experiments?
“Others who had not gone down began to become unappealing to us. We were superior. We were new.
“And there were incidents in the new world, in Paradeisia. The conceit that came with physical perfection began to take root. People lost control. They felt free to do anything, try anything. They sought every pleasure, denied themselves nothing. Sexuality was without any inhibition. Frenzied episodes like seizures or drug-induced euphoria became frequent. People became enraged over the slightest offence or if they were deprived of the smallest desire.
“When I had returned to the surface with my friends from Basel, a disagreement broke out. We fought about who would receive credit in the reports we published. Who would receive the glory for our discoveries in this new world? I was surprised by the power of my rage. I lost all restraint, and we screamed in each other’s faces. I attacked them. I was stronger than they were because I had been to Paradeisia longer, more frequently. I…” he trailed off. “With my bare hands, I killed them.
“I could not believe what I had done. Three of my good friends, dead. And I was terrified.
“I took their bodies to an unused plain near Out of Africa and buried them.
Henry interrupted, “That area become the drainage basin for the Congo area after there was flooding?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps.”
“We found your three friends. The tigers must have pulled them out of the lake. And you didn’t tell anyone what happened, I take it?”
“No. And no one suspected because I told them the scientists had left for Basel.
“But I agonized with the guilt. And I struggled with myself. I reacted to the slightest insult with extreme indignation. I couldn’t tolerate imperfection, or at least my own version of it. I was losing patience, I was losing my discipline and self-control, my sex drive exploded and I could find no satisfaction, I was becoming grossly dishonest, lying about even the mundane or trivial, I was suddenly enraged at everyone around me for no apparent reason and even at myself. I gave way to terror, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, and fear of the common calamities of life. I was losing my mind.
“Then, one day, I was with Jinkins and Doctor Andrews. He was our chief geneticist.”
“Geneticist? Why did you need a geneticist?”
“He was assessing the genetic impact Paradeisia had on visitors. He had tested his own genome and documented the changes that had taken place when he was in Paradeisia. Every time he returned, these changes disappeared, although some lingering effects remained that diminished with time. This was true even if we brought back biology local to Paradeisia. Once here, it was different.
“Andrews wanted to make his genome on earth match the genome he had in Paradeisia. He wanted to create a polydnavirus that would actively change his genome and transform him into what he was in Paradeisia, the best version of himself—for good. He had a vision to transform everyone in the world: to release a polydna virus that would infect everyone on earth and evolve humanity forever.
“Jinkins didn’t like the sound of that. It was not our job to ‘fix’ humanity, he said.
“Andrews was incensed. He scoffed at the notion Paradeisia was dangerous. He said we could have a perfect world once and for all. He argued that the redemption to humanity far outweighed the cost. But when Jinkins would not relent, Andrews attacked him. He tried to kill Jinkins, but Andrews, well. He lost his life.”
“Ho
w?”
“Paradeisia killed him,” Kaufmann replied mysteriously. “The fact is that Paradeisia certainly has a fatal flaw. It was a paradise that people would pay anything to see and experience. It gave its visitors newfound youth, strength, and life. But all this newfound power made its visitors arrogant. We had found a perfect world and we were physically and mentally the best of what we could be when we were there. But rather than finding happiness, we found hell. The more perfect we became, the more apparent the imperfection of our minds was. We were haunted with every kind of evil: envy, conflict, deceit, hatred, slander, disrespect, pride …. And Paradeisia changed, too, after our arrival. The animals changed. Where they had all been herbivorous before, they now began to attack one another. Death came to paradise.
“You see, we were not worthy of the perfect paradise we had found. We defiled it. The world was perfect. We were its flaw.
“After Andrews died, Jinkins decided no one should ever visit Paradeisia again. We shut the entire operation down. But of course we couldn’t tell the developers. They would never be satisfied and they would discover the secret. They would refuse to believe us, that it was not safe. The nightmare would start all over again. After all they had invested, they would sue IntraWorld Capital and take the portal for themselves. They would not stop, and mankind could be changed forever.