With the cable removed, Silver carefully turned Aliyaah onto her back and began CPR. She was painfully aware that Dominic was loose somewhere in the biodome and would almost certainly have heard Silver crashing through the plants to get to Aliyaah.
Silver pushed down hard on Aliyaah's chest and grimaced as she felt a rib crack. She continued compressions and just as she thought it was too late, Aliyaah drew a breath and spluttered back to life.
Aliyaah clutched at her neck, then stared up at Silver, realising the cable was no longer stopping her from breathing.
Silver sat back on her ankles and let out a long sigh of relief as Aliyaah got her breath back.
"Dominic?" Silver asked, once Aliyaah's ragged breathing normalised.
"Yes." Aliyaah's voice was crackly, and after she spoke she let out a single sob, then put her hand to her mouth and fell silent.
Silver stood up and looked around, but could see no sign of Dominic. She turned back to Aliyaah, who was trying to get to her feet. She thought better of it, and sat back down, holding her ribs and grimacing at Silver. "Thanks, I think," she said, attempting to smile.
Silver returned the half smile and said, "We should move somewhere less visible. And find you some painkillers."
Silver helped Aliyaah to her feet and held onto her as she stood unsteadily for a few seconds. Aliyaah was taller than Silver, which meant Silver had a clear view of the angry red welt around the Chief's neck.
"What happened?" Silver asked, once Aliyaah had her breath back.
"He just turned on me. One minute he was telling me about the plant growth, then he started talking gibberish and lunged at me. He had something around my neck before I could react. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't get my fingers under it or fight back." Aliyaah ran her hand over the red raw skin on her neck and realised she was bleeding from the wounds she had inflicted on herself trying to release the cable. "It's like he just became a totally different person."
"And nothing else happened, before he attacked you?"
"No. He just... became someone I don't know," Aliyaah said, then added in a whisper, "and with this awful strength I didn't know he had. Like he was tweaking on something."
"We have to find him, Chief. We have to restrain him properly this time, so he can't do something we can't come back from."
"I know," Aliyaah said. "If he gets it into his head to decontaminate the inner dome, or flush the oxygen system, well… you know."
"Any idea where he would hide? You know this place better than I do."
"We should check the other sectors. I can take one and two, and you can -"
Silver interrupted her. "No. We stick together this time. We've got to have each other's backs." Aliyaah nodded. "Anyway, if he's that strong, it might take both of us to restrain him safely."
Aliyaah walked Silver to the far wall, where there was another control panel. She toggled some switches and suggested that they walk the outer ring of the inner dome, doing a quick scan of each sector for any large heat signatures. "I've deactivated the heat lamps for now," Aliyaah said. Aliyaah also turned all the lights on full, overriding the normal schedule. Silver worried for a moment that the sudden blaze of light would give away their position, but the crater wall hid the biodome from the station and Hadley would be none the wiser.
Silver activated her hand-held scanner and moved the device from side to side, checking to see if Dominic was hiding in Sector Five. They walked slowly around the perimeter, but their scanners did not pick up any heat signatures. Either Dominic was very adept at hiding, was following right behind them, or had already left the inner dome.
Aliyaah stumbled ahead of Silver, who reached out to grab her arm and stop her from falling. "I'm still a little lightheaded, I guess."
"Sit down for a minute and rest. Up against the wall." Silver lowered Aliyaah to the ground, then crouched beside her. She pulled a protein bar from her pocket and broke it in two, handing half to Aliyaah.
"I can't eat, Sil. It hurts to even breathe."
"You need to eat something, Chief. Those veggies aren't going to sustain us for long, and we should take another round of anti-rads soon." Silver rolled the protein bar between her palms, warming it until it softened. She gave Aliyaah a thin smile, and offered the ball to Aliyaah, who laughed hoarsely.
"It makes it easier to swallow," Silver said. "I've eaten so many of these damn things, I've had to figure out how to make them a little more palatable."
Aliyaah shook her head and took the other half of the bar. "What can I say? I'm a traditionalist," Aliyaah said, then took a bite of the bar and started chewing slowly.
Silver had rested her scanner on her knee when she crouched down, and as she finished the last of her protein bar she saw a bright spot emerge on the screen. She nudged Aliyaah's elbow and angled the screen so the Chief had a better view. They both stood up slowly and quietly, the Chief wincing as she put a hand to her ribs.
They kept their backs flat to the wall, their eyes flitting between the screen and the space in front of them. The heat signature was about fifteen feet away and was getting bigger and brighter. It wasn't getting any closer though, and it was definitely not shaped like a human.
The focus of the heat seemed to be on the other side of one of the dome's interior struts, demarcating the edge of Sector Five. The strut was narrow, about a foot in diameter, and made of a strong titanium alloy. For the heat to penetrate the metal and create a signature on the scanner, it had to be much higher than human body temperature.
The Chief gestured to Silver that they should investigate. They stepped forward, keeping an eye on the periphery in case Dominic reappeared. The air seemed to hum, and Silver felt beads of sweat forming on her brow. She wiped them away and inched forward.
They were within five feet of the strut when a sharp crack split the air. Silver covered her ears, dropping the scanner into the dirt at her feet. Aliyaah had also covered her ears, and the two women stared at each other for a second. Silver bent down to pick up the scanner and took a breath. As she inhaled, she realised that the dank smell in the air was not coming from the soil. It took her a moment to identify the odour. It was the same as the smell from the refiner, just after they had lost contact with Jaz.
Silver and Aliyaah checked the scanner. The heat signature had diffused. There was now no clear focal point, just what looked like the residue from a small explosion, although there was no smoke. Silver suspected she already knew what they would see behind the strut.
Aliyaah moved first, circling around the strut one way and indicating that Silver should go the other way, keeping their distance just in case. As she rounded the strut, Silver saw a glint of light bouncing off a close packed cluster of crystals flush against the titanium. The plants in the immediate vicinity had wilted, but there were no scorch marks, despite the heat.
Aliyaah drew closer, then clasped her hand to her neck, as if searching for something she already knew was gone. It took Silver a second to see what Aliyaah had already seen. A gold chain hanging on one of the tallest crystals, complete with Aliyaah's wedding band.
TWENTY-FOUR
After landing, the crew had relocated Octavia to a site two kilometres away from the station, reachable only by hitching a ride on a rover or taking the SEV. Even that short distance on uneven terrain would be difficult to walk in an EMS, and the risk of solar storms was ever present. The crew had spent several sevensols finishing the new launch platform and, while a walkway between Octavia and the station was slated for construction closer to the time of their return to Earth, several other projects were scheduled for their next thirteen months on the planet. Given recent events, Hadley wanted to make sure they were prepared to leave quickly. He couldn't help but feel that something didn't want them here.
Hadley worked through a variety of scenarios, focusing on what they knew and what might soon be revealed by the autopsies. Occam's razor told him that there was most likely a link between the strange events of the last few sols: th
e accident at the quarry, Specialist Viper's disappearance, the organism Chief Diambu had found in the west wing, and the behaviour of the Commander and the specialist who had died at the station. And, after Aliyaah cited Article seven point five, Hadley knew she was already operating under the assumption that, whatever was going on, any one of them might experience the same rapid cognitive decline as the Commander.
If it was true that they were all infected, the journey to Earth would give them months to figure out how to eradicate the organism, assuming they didn't succumb to it first. If that happened, then at least they would have tried to get back home. In the worst-case scenario, NASA could pilot Octavia remotely and do what was needed to prevent anyone bringing the infection to Earth.
To get the walkway ready, Hadley needed Aliyaah's insight. The original plan was to build the walkway using materials created from metals extracted from the rocks in the quarry. The hangar currently housed almost all the prefabricated pieces they needed, but with the quarry gone, they were short some materials. Aliyaah not only had the engineering know-how, she also had the respect of the other engineers, both of which they'd need to get the job done.
Hadley considered their other options. The need to transport both personnel and cargo to the ship meant that the rovers were of little use, and it would take too long to ferry everybody over in small groups using the SEV. Once Hadley determined that the walkway was their best option, he contacted Aliyaah to ask if construction was possible with the materials available.
"It's possible, Commander," Aliyaah said, as she sat beside Silver at the workbench in Biodome Three. Silver was preparing samples for the M-Lab following Dominic's death, and the call from Hadley proved a welcome distraction for them both. "The thing is, Sir, I'm not sure we should focus our resources on this yet. We don't have approval from Mission Support, do we?"
"No, Chief. I recognise your concern, but we need to be ready to go when the launch is approved. And, frankly, if I don't give the crew something practical to do, I'll likely be facing a revolt in the next few hours," Hadley said. After a brief silence, he added, "They feel like they're just waiting to die."
Silver looked up at Aliyaah when she heard this, and Aliyaah swallowed hard. The Chief asked Hadley which crew members were with him and he rattled off a list of names. Aliyaah told him who had experience with Octavia and then talked him through the process of laying out the segments of the walkway.
"I'll put together a team to check out the ship and get everyone else working on the walkway," Hadley said.
As Hadley was about to close the line, Silver asked, "Any news from Schiff?"
"She checked the things you mentioned, Antara, and, yes, the Commander had elevated levels of all three biomarkers, and higher than normal dopamine and testosterone," Hadley said.
"And the other fatality?" the Chief asked.
"The same. Elevated testosterone, dopamine, and cortisol. Cause of death appears to be a massive myocardial infarction, which might explain why it was so quick after the onset of aggression, unlike with the Commander." Hadley paused, then asked Aliyaah, "Will you be able to carry out autopsies where you are, Chief?"
Aliyaah hesitated, so Silver responded. "Sir, I don't think you quite understand. There are no bodies, as such. Doctors Alvarez and Watson are, well, they've been sort of… crystallised."
"But you can still get tissue samples, yes?"
Aliyaah glanced at Silver and frowned, then said, "It's possible, if we can find the right tools. But, Sir, the bodies were almost entirely consumed. All visible organic material has been transformed."
Hadley was quiet for a moment, then he said, "Do you have any thoughts on why that didn't happen to the Commander and the other man here? If that's what this organism does, why leave those bodies intact?"
"Perhaps the growth conditions just weren't right, Sir," Aliyaah suggested.
"Commander, did you detect any significant changes in temperature around the time they died?" Silver asked.
"No. At least not that I recall," Hadley said.
"And they were in an open area?" Aliyaah asked.
"Yes, we were all gathered in the rec room."
Silver jumped in and said, "radiation levels were lower when they died, right?" Silver looked at Aliyaah as she spoke, trying to see if the Chief shared her suspicions about the organism.
"Yes, there was less background radiation than usual at the time of both deaths," Hadley confirmed.
Aliyaah returned Silver's gaze, her expression thoughtful. She muted the line with Hadley and asked Silver, "Can you bring up a readout showing background radiation for the last few hours, just at this biodome?" She unmuted the line and suggested Hadley get a similar readout at his location.
"What are you thinking, Antara?" Hadley asked. "That galactic cosmic rays might be a catalyst?"
"The GCRs could be a factor, and so could an enclosed environment, like in the refiner and the west wing," Silver said.
Aliyaah continued the thought, saying, "If it turns out that these factors are contributing to the organism's growth, it will give us more insight into how we can protect ourselves from it."
"But the others still died, Chief," Hadley said.
"It might buy us some time, Sir," Silver said.
Hadley closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He exhaled, then said, "Of course. You're right. OK. Be in touch when you've got something."
"Yes Sir," Aliyaah said. She closed the channel with Hadley and turned to Silver. "I want you to do me a favour, Sil."
"Chief?"
"I want you to check my blood for those biomarkers we found in the others."
Silver said nothing, but got a vial of nanobots from the medical kit.
"Use the other bots, the ones that stick around for longer. I want to track any changes in my bloodwork over the next few hours, or sols, depending how long I stay alive."
Silver put the bots back and chose a different vial. "And Sil, we should do the same for you."
Silver nodded, but said nothing. She had seen the readout when they had returned to the M-Lab. She already knew that something was happening to her, she just wasn't sure if she would meet the same fate as the others.
TWENTY-FOUR
The existence of galactic cosmic rays had fascinated Silver for years, even before she put herself on the fast-track to NASA. That these ionised particles, remnants of ancient supernovae, were flying around the universe was at once exhilarating and terrifying.
Galactic cosmic rays could penetrate spacecraft and the human body, and had been a major obstacle for earlier missions to Mars. Exposure to GCRs could break down tissues in the body, and seemed especially damaging to the neurons in the prefrontal cortex, the decision-making centre of the brain.
When scientists on Earth exposed animals to galactic cosmic rays, the effect was like stripping the branches from the neuronal trees of the brain. In humans, pruning the neuronal pathways this way significantly reduced a person's capacity for dealing with the unexpected; the thoughts simply had nowhere to go. Everyone who spent time in space, and strayed beyond the protective magnetic field of the Earth, needed some way to protect themselves from these rays.
As Silver processed the samples she had taken from Dominic, she noticed that a strange separation had occurred in centrifuge. A thin crust of sediment had formed at the apex of each vial, and when Silver held a vial up to the light she saw that the sediment was made up of tiny crystals. She put the sample under the M-Lab's microscope so she could see the crystals more clearly.
Silver called over to Aliyaah, who had been analysing the data they had on levels of galactic cosmic rays in the biodome. Aliyaah showed her the near perfect correlation between peaks in the rays and the two deaths. There were two other, smaller, peaks, which corresponded with both of Dominic's attacks.
"What have you got, Sil?" Aliyaah asked.
"The samples I took from Dominic, they've crystallised in the centrifuge. It's possible that the white stuff
I removed from his mucus membranes was substrate for these crystals."
Aliyaah looked into the microscope and then nodded. "If these were in his respiratory system, chances are that whatever this thing is, it's airborne. Which means we're already exposed."
Silver nodded. "Given that the activity of this thing seems to correspond with elevated GCRs, maybe this organism isn't a source of radiation. I think it feeds on radiation, Chief."
Aliyaah frowned, then continued Silver's thought. "So, if other conditions are right, a spike in GCRs would lead to a massive growth surge. That would mean… to stop it growing, we'd need to shield ourselves from radiation."
"Yeah, and that could buy us some time to figure out how to eradicate it from our systems," Silver said.
"Simple!" Aliyaah said, grimacing. "Any thoughts on how to do that?" Aliyaah asked, and Silver shrugged as best she could in the cumbersome space suit. Aliyaah sucked her teeth and shook her head. "Yeah, me either. I've never seen a pathogen like it."
"We should send all of this back to Mission Support and see what they make of it." Silver said. Aliyaah agreed, and Silver asked, "Has Hadley sent anything yet?"
"Yeah. It's the same at the station. A spike in GCRs around the time the Commander started behaving erratically, and the same for the specialist."
"But not when they both died?"
"No. There was a drop in GCRs then."
"So, the organism itself died?" Silver said, then raised her eyebrows and quickly threw an idea at Aliyaah. "Maybe, then, if we just deprive this thing of GCRs for long enough we can kill it?"
Silver's excitement vanished as Aliyaah said, "Yeah, but even if the organism died, so did the Commander and the specialist."
Silver sighed and said, "You're right."
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