Biome

by Ryan Galloway

  I force my eyes to turn away again, this time from the grotesque sight of his wounds. Drinking all that water so quickly was a bad idea. I feel like I might throw up.

  “So you don’t even remember stealing the Memory Bank?” I finally ask, yet clinging to hope that he might be able to help us. “Or… or why you gave it to me?”

  “Why?” He looks up as if bewildered by the question. “No, I don’t know why. Although, more than anything, I wish I did.”

  My mind is reeling. I want to keep him talking, but I feel so exposed. And overwhelmed. I don’t know what to think or do. But even if scanning Atkinson’s thumb didn’t alert the doctors to his escape, they must have discovered his empty cell.

  They’ll be coming after him—and soon.

  As if he’s reading my thoughts, Atkinson says, “We can’t stay here.”

  “Yes,” I quickly agree. Right now I don’t want to think. I just want to get somewhere safe, where we can figure out what to do next. “Are you ready to go?”

  He nods. Having rehydrated a little, he looks as if he’ll be able to walk on his own. That’s a step in the right direction, at least.

  “This way, then,” I say. “And stay close.”

  Relieved to be moving again, I peer into the hall. Still empty. But the familiar passages, ever so ordered and clean, have become something else to me now. Something haunting and disturbed. A facade to hide the nightmares under the surface.

  I think about how it must feel to know that your world is being deconstructed. That the things and people you love most are slipping away and there’s nothing you can do about it. Then, as I turn the corner toward the Bolo domes, my thoughts are halted by a figure heading toward us. By her lumbering stride, I immediately know who it is.

  Sarlow.

  My pulse quickens. Is she looking for us? She must be.

  “Get back,” I whisper.

  As I turn around to push Atkinson back up the hall, I find it empty.

  “Doctor?”

  No reply.

  Panicked, I dash into the previous corridor and glance around. At the end, I can just hear the echoing sound of heavy footfalls.

  I almost shout for him to stop but catch myself before I bring Sarlow down upon me. Instead, I race after him, running on the tips of my feet for a furtive stride. By the time I catch him, he’s already reached the airlock.

  “What are you doing?” I hiss fiercely.

  He gasps, almost falling over in surprise. He must have already typed the access code because I can hear the gears turning behind the bay door.

  “We can’t stay here,” he insists. “We need to get off the colony.”

  “There’s nothing out there,” I tell him. “They’ve… shut Aster down. I think—” And then I give voice to a suspicion that I had yet to admit to myself. “I think he might be trying to prevent the next wave of colonists from coming, to hide what’s happening here.”

  He stares at me blankly.

  “If the planet isn’t terraformed, more settlers won’t be sent from Earth,” I explain slowly, to help him understand.

  “You don’t know why he does it,” Atkinson murmurs. “Why he changes your memories.”

  I swallow, unnerved by the way the shadows hide his face.

  “Because of a secret,” I say.

  “Yes,” Atkinson says. “He let me keep it. He wanted me to remember the… the reason.”

  Again, he starts to shake. When I reach out to steady him, he stumbles into the airlock as if afraid I might hurt him. He reminds me more of a wounded animal than a doctor. All I can think about is not scaring him away. Not before he tells me what he knows.

  I waver in the archway, chest tight, one eye on the button that will seal the room and push him out onto Mars.

  “Tell me.”

  Atkinson falters.

  “He does it because… because they’re dead.”

  “Who’s dead?”

  “All of them. Just months after we arrived. Everyone on Earth. Dead.” He shrinks further away, fiddling with the strap of the nearest spacesuit. It occurs to me that maybe he hasn’t just had pieces of his mind erased.

  Maybe he’s lost it entirely.

  “They can’t be dead,” I say as carefully as I can. “I talked to my dad last week.”

  “Did you? Are you certain it was last week?” he asks.

  I hesitate. When I think about it, talking with my dad seems like it was only a week ago. But I realize that my sense of time is still skewed by the memories that were erased.

  How long has it really been? If we’ve been on the colony for over a year, maybe… I think back frantically. My knees grow unsteady as I remember week after week, the doctors telling us that a geomagnetic storm was blocking the signal to Earth.

  “A nuclear holocaust,” Atkinson says distractedly. He begins to scratch again, drawing fresh blood in streaks over his ragged flesh. “It destroyed the planet. And we were two hundred and twenty-five million kilometers away.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” I throw back at him, suddenly angry. “There are billions of people on Earth. Even… even if there was a war, people would’ve survived!”

  I might as well have struck him with my fists, the way my words affect him. He stumbles toward the button that will cycle the airlock, a hand reaching out, twitching. I freeze.

  “You see?” he says desperately. “When the cadets were told, they became inconsolable. Depressed. Aggressive. Dosset said that if we could erase what happened and give you a fresh start, it would give you a chance to move on.” He licks his lips, the cadence of his words picking up with every syllable. “And of course that’s very important. You’re the future of mankind now. Your health… is the most important thing of all.”

  He smiles at me, his face contorted. As if an earthquake has damaged the surface yet beneath is where the true damage lies.

  “All that remains of Earth is our memories,” he says weakly. “I won’t let him take what few I have left.”

  Before I can react, he punches the button. I stumble back as the door closes rapidly between us. Then the alarm, the red lights swirling on the walls as I stand there motionless, unable to grasp what just happened.

  It’s like day one, when I first put the pieces together about the Revisions. Numbness spreads like freezing smoke in my lungs. But the alarm is loud, so loud that it gradually stirs me from my daze. The doctors will be coming. I need to get out of here, and fast. I begin to move, slowly at first, then breaking into a disjointed run.

  But where do I go? I’m so rattled that I can’t even remember. It’s all too much to get my head around, so I don’t even try. I just focus on the next step.

  We were supposed to meet in the Bolo Biome. By now, Noah and the others will have assumed that I failed. That I got caught and stuffed in a cryobed. More than anything I want to go after them, to tell them I’m okay—but this time I think I should ignore what I want. Dosset will have concluded I must have allies in order to get in and out of the Helix unnoticed. He’s probably watching the sleeping pods right now, just waiting for us to regroup.

  Which means the safest and least-expected option will be to spend the night in a biome, where the cameras won’t be watching. I can figure out how to contact the others in the morning.

  Rather than risk the Wheel again, I decide to make the long trek through the Xeri Biome, followed by Polar. From there I can loop back into the tropical habitat, well out of the path of any doctors. The rainforest climate should be comfortable enough.

  And this way I’ll be able to check if the others left me any kind of message.

  Stepping through the portal into the Xeri Biome, I’m briefly startled to find that with the coming of evening, the usual heat has been replaced with a senseless chill. I pull my hands into my sleeves as I work my way down to the valley floor, the spines of cracked plants poking up at me like monster teeth. Then the questions start to break free.

  Was Atkinson telling the truth? Are we l
ike Voyager 1, the last chronicle of Earth floating out here in the exile of space?

  My home, gone. My mother and father, gone. Everything lost forever in a burst of flame and ash. I feel a burning ache form in the back of my throat. If it’s true, maybe Chloe was right. Maybe it is better not to know. But I swallow the emotion, silencing it with the very obvious truth:

  Atkinson was deceived.

  Obviously, he was tortured. If what Romie said is true, Dosset could have made him believe anything, could have manufactured whole new memories to make Atkinson think all was lost.

  If Dosset is willing to alter our minds, to erase Atkinson’s family, nothing that comes from him can be trusted. Not until I see proof.

  But I’m still shaken up. Because really, how do I account for the length of time since I last spoke with my parents? Is there another archive somewhere containing a year’s worth of messages from home?

  And if there is… what do they think, our families? Has NASA given them similar lies to keep them from guessing the truth?

  I spend the trip through the tundra habitat trying to call up memories about Earth being destroyed. It’s too cold to focus well, and nothing is forthcoming. Eventually, I let myself break into an easy sprint, burning what’s left of my energy reserves, sweating in spite of the frigid temperature as I make my way around the frosted hill.

  Blue archway markers for the Bolo domes come into view at last. Just a little further. Just a bit further and I can finally rest.

  Inside the rainforest climate, the air hangs heavy. After so much cold, it’s a bit like being wrapped in a warm, wet blanket. I carefully weave between the trunks of smooth, springy trees, over a floor of tangled vines that pop with colorful wildflowers. I’m just beginning to relax a little when I hear voices.

  More doctors? I catch a glimpse of something gold rendered nearly gray in the faded light. It moves, and I recognize Terra’s bright blond hair.

  For a full minute, I just watch her, uncomprehending. It’s after power down. How can she still be out here? Is she waiting up for me?

  Unexpected anger swells inside my chest, gaining a speed and ferocity I can’t control. If she’d been waiting like she promised, Atkinson wouldn’t have escaped. We could’ve gotten answers. But instead, she let this stupid rivalry get in the way, just like she always does.

  “Where were you?” I demand as I burst out of the trees.

  Her head whips around. For a second her eyes are so wide I can see the whites. Then they narrow as Romie steps up beside her.

  “Me?” she snaps. “Where were you?”

  “What happened?” Romie asks, stepping between us and holding up his hands as if trying to create a barrier. “Are you hurt?”

  “I’m fine. No thanks to her.”

  “What did I do?” she demands.

  “You said you’d be waiting outside the Helix,” I say, shoving Romie out of the way. “You know, just in case I needed help. Just in case I was being followed.”

  Terra laughs, which only fuels my rage.

  “Hours ago, Elizabeth. You were supposed to be back hours ago. Do you have any idea how long you’ve been gone?”

  “Long enough, apparently,” I say. A part of me is aware I’m overreacting. That I’m taking out my fear and frustration on her. But at the moment I can’t seem to care.

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “I think you know.”

  “No, I don’t know,” she growls. “I waited until Shiffrin came by twice to ask what I was doing. Seemed like I needed to move on if I didn’t want to be joining you in cryonics. So I left. What did you expect me to do?”

  “Lie,” I snarl. “Like you’re doing now.”

  She slaps me so hard I see stars. When my vision clears, I find myself sitting in the dirt, holding the side of my face as she leans down.

  “Call me a liar again.”

  I hear scuffling, and Terra leaves my field of view. Beyond, the tool shed opens and Noah appears, Chloe on his heels.

  “What’s going on?” Chloe asks, a note of panic in her voice. “Why are you—” Her eyes find me and she lets out a moan of relief, kneeling beside me, examining my cheek. It’s selfish of me, but her concern is immediately comforting.

  Maybe she doesn’t hate me after all.

  “Lizzy, what happened?” she asks.

  “She slapped me,” I mutter. I can already feel my cheek swelling.

  “Next time I’ll just electrocute you and tie you to a chair,” Terra spits, Romie holding her at bay.

  “We’re being too loud,” says Noah nervously. “Come on.”

  Allowing myself to be hauled to my feet, I join the others inside the small plastic building. Rows of tools have been sorted in their proper blocks and buckets. Shovels, spades, rakes, and hoses. All of it ordered and accounted for. Out of habit I check for cameras, knowing I’ll find none.

  “How come you’re still out here?” I ask, wincing. If only we were still in the Polar Biome. I could use some packed snow for my jaw, which is starting to throb.

  “Waiting for you,” says Chloe. “We thought you must’ve been caught. What happened? Did they chase you?”

  “No,” I murmur. “I had to hide, and it… took awhile.”

  Noah nods.

  “We were forming a rescue plan to come in after you,” he says softly.

  “Yes. We were just discussing our options,” Romie agrees. “I saw you managed to find a port, by the way. Excellent work.”

  “So did you find Atkinson?” Terra asks, arms folded. “Because I’m guessing you didn’t.”

  Everyone gets quiet. So I tell them. About reaching cryonics and discovering the frozen cadets. The Comm Room. Mercer shutting down Aster. The Verced lab. As I talk, I notice how close Chloe stands to Noah. I suddenly wonder why the two of them were alone in the tool shed while Romie and Terra kept watch.

  Is that why she’s being nice to me? Because she snuck off with him? The idea bothers me. Not that I’m jealous. It’s just, I know Noah doesn’t feel that way about her. And the thought that he might be stringing her along makes me defensive.

  But now is not the time, so I shove that down too.

  Finally, I reach the part about finding the interrogation rooms and Atkinson. The others immediately look around as if expecting him to crawl out from under the terra cotta pots and throw confetti in the air.

  “So where is he?” Romie asks.

  “Gone,” I say. “I got him some water and tried to lead him back here, but he went nuts. Stumbled off to the airlock and left the colony.”

  Chloe gasps.

  “He left?”

  I nod.

  “Did he at least say something?” asks Noah. “Like, about his plan? Or how we might overthrow Dosset?”

  I open my mouth to tell them about the nuclear holocaust, about Earth being destroyed and our colony being the very last fragment of humanity. But as I do, my anger slips. An unexpected sob rises in my throat. I catch it, feeling it burn like salt in a wound. I have to keep it together. What Atkinson said probably isn’t even true.

  But what if it is? I’ve already seen how learning the truth about the doctors impacted Chloe. After a loss like this, I don’t know if she’d ever be the same. And Noah, he’d probably just shut down, crippled by anxiety. I don’t even take time to consider what the news might do to Romie or Terra, because everyone is still staring at me, hanging on my every word. Whether or not I believe it’s true doesn’t matter. Because if it is, if there’s any chance that it is…

  “He told me that Dosset erased his memories one by one, as a way to torture him,” I say evasively. “I guess he had a son, but Atkinson doesn’t remember a thing about him. So he told me… he told me that he wouldn’t let Dosset take the memories he had left. Then he closed me out of the airlock.”

  And that’s how it happens—another lie to protect those I care about.

  I suddenly wonder, is this how Dosset justifies his actions? By believing them to b
e some kind of mercy? The thought makes me want to scream, to tell them everything I know. And yet I can see the logic in it. If I didn’t, I’d have already told them the truth.

  “But… I can’t believe it. I can’t believe he would just abandon us like that,” says Chloe.

  “He seemed pretty delirious,” I say quietly.

  “If the terraforming isn’t completed, no one from Earth will come to Mars,” Romie says blankly. “Our families will never arrive. We’ll be stranded here.”

  “Living the same week over and over,” Terra says. It’s the first time since I met her that she seems sincere. No trace of the sarcasm I’ve grown accustomed to.

  Outside the shed, the sprinkler system clicks on.

  “I don’t get it,” says Noah. “That still doesn’t answer the question.”

  “What question?”

  “Why is Dosset doing this?”

  No one has an immediate reply. Because it’s true: The big question still hasn’t been answered. In fact, it’s gotten more complicated. Even if Earth was destroyed and the knowledge was too much for us to handle, Dosset has been altering our memories to keep us healthy. So, why stop the terraforming?

  There must be something we missed, something Atkinson didn’t know about.

  “I believe there is yet a way to get an answer,” says Romie at length. “A way to end the Revisions and get Aster back online.”

  “How?”

  Frowning, he removes his glasses and begins polishing them on his sleeve. “Well… I propose that we move forward with our original plans.”

  As usual, his words are met with silence. Chloe leans back against a shelf, arching an eyebrow at him. “What original plans, Romie?”

  “The complicated ones. You know—stage an uprising, steal a Stitch, kidnap a doctor.”

  “How would that work?” asks Noah.

  “And which doctor would we kidnap?” asks Terra.

  “The one with all the answers, of course,” says Romie.