by Davies, WJ
He felt better as he packed, as his blood began to flow. His pulse thrummed in his veins and excitement flooded his body. Had preparing for adventures always felt so good? The same adrenaline that fuelled his passions as a young man now brought him renewed strength. He floated around the room, the ghosts of past achievements nudging him onward.
Reggie’s heart swelled with each item crossed off the list. Every scratch of his pencil opened up more and more possibilities in his mind. He propped the bursting yellow travel pack up on a table, smiling as his cherished belongings breathed new life into old bones.
• Aporia •
Chapter 9
The large titanium door made an upward path impossible, so Jonathas had no choice but to head back down the tunnel from which he and Linsya had ascended. How long had he been out? He wasn’t sure…
To Jonathas, it seemed only moments ago that he and Linsya had been together, about to step through the security door. When the disruption struck, it had blasted shut, locking them in. After he’d passed out, he supposed Linsya had set off to search for another way to the surface, probably trying to find help for him. He felt guilty, knowing she was in danger because he couldn’t stay conscious. He should be the one getting help.
He looked down at the small, luminescent hair band that she had secured to his wrist. He didn’t know why she’d left it with him, but he hoped it meant that she was ok.
As he started downward, his footsteps echoed against the hard granite floor and arched ceilings. The oppressive silence around him magnified the sound even more, making him feel self-conscious as he walked, like he was disturbing spirits as he kicked up dust behind him.
Emergency lights flashed orange alert, signifying a level-four orbital disruption.
Damn, he thought. If this had been a simple Earthquake it would be over quickly: one or two main shocks followed by a series of aftershocks, each one less powerful than the one that came before. But the orbital disruptions could last much longer—sometimes hours, sometimes days. When they had first begun nearly twenty years ago, Jonathas was just a kid. Most people had dismissed them at first, until OD1, the first truly devastating disruption. Buildings and bridges had collapsed, entire sections of cities had tumbled into the planet’s exposed depths, and thousands of colonists had died.
Amazing how death and destruction can turn skeptics into believers.
Hoping the worst of this disruption was behind them, he continued on, following the tracks of lights overhead, their luminous glow alerting him to any sharp corners or alternate passages that snaked through the catacombs. Without the lights, he would be walking blind.
The sound of thudding footsteps replaced the lonely silence of the corridor. Jonathas turned his head as a shadowy figure approached from one of the side passageways. It was hard to make out any features in the dim light, but he could tell who it was by his slow and deliberate movements.
Of all people he could have run into down here, it had to be Fletcher, the chief engineer of the repairs division.
Fletcher didn’t have as much authority as some of the other people Jonathas sometimes worked with, but he was ranked higher than Jonathas, and he rarely let him forget that fact. Now that Jonathas had been promoted to Operator, he was technically higher up on the whipping chain. Fletcher wouldn’t be happy about that, and Jonathas hoped he hadn’t been apprised of his sudden promotion. Fletcher’s shadow paused in the darkened hallway. He was breathing heavily.
“Hello?” Fletchers deep voice rang out against the walls, a chorus effect of echoes.
Jonathas didn’t answer. He simply slowed his steps and turned to face the dark figure, the orange lights sending intermittent flashes across his face.
Fletcher squinted, peering forward. “Is that you, Jonathas?”
“Hi Fletcher,” he replied.
They both stopped at the intersection where the hallways met.
“I thought it might be you,” Fletcher said. “Everyone else went back to the surface when their shift ended. But you were passed out somewhere, weren't you?”
Jonathas kept his mouth shut as Fletcher continued, “Yeah, ‘cause they injected you with nano-DNA, right?” His tone was accusatory now. “I heard you didn’t take it well. Your body is probably rejecting it.”
“I’ll be fine.” Jonathas told him.
Fletcher barrelled on. “Not everyone can be an Operator, you know. Some people’s physiology won’t accept it.” He let out a harsh, mirthless cackle. “I’ve seen people try to fight against the nanos for a couple of weeks. I’ve seen ‘em get real sick. I heard one guy even died.” He coughed into the sleeve of his tunic. “Then, after a few shifts in the operating module you start to feel the drones crawling inside you. That’s when most people snap, they can’t take it anymore and then BOOM, you’re done… You’re right back to where you started, kid.” He pointed a bony finger at Jonathas’s chest. “Maybe that’ll be you.” He spat onto the dusty floor, “You think you’ve got what it takes to be an Operator? Why’d they choose such a puny kid anyway? Doesn’t make much sense to me—”
Enough of this.
“Have you seen Linsya?” Jonathas asked.
Fletcher huffed. “Have I seen Linsya? What, is she your girlfriend now?” he cackled again. “Sure I’ve seen her. I see her when I close my eyes in the shower, and I see her when I’m falling asleep at night.” Fletcher shoved Jonathas hard on the shoulder, as many people would do when poking fun, but to Jonathas it stung, and the feeling didn’t go away.
Jonathas shoved him back. “Don’t talk about her like that, Fletcher, you know what I mean,” he said. “She was with me when the alarm went off.”
“Oh, was she? So, now that you’re a famous Operator the girls come running to you, is that it?” His voice quivered, as if holding back panic. “And then what, you just lost her?” His eyes crinkled as he peered through the darkness. “Pfft, some boyfriend you are.”
“We’re not... she’s not really my girlfriend.” He did not want to be discussing his private life with a co-worker, and a creepy one at that.
“Oh, great. Fantastic! Then, you won’t mind if I take a turn at her, will you? Share the wealth, distribute the resources, isn’t that what she does best? It’s her job in the DoD, right? Don’t worry, I’ll treat her nice. I’ll show her what a real man can do for her. She’ll be—”
Jonathas moved swiftly, grabbed Fletcher’s wrist and twisted. He swept his foot into Fletchers leg, causing him to crash down to the rough floor. Jonathas’s boot crushed against the back of his neck.
Fletcher’s voice was muffled when he spoke next. “Oh, gonna fight me now? You gonna fight me?” He laughed and choked, breathing in dust.
Jonathas leaned down, keeping a steady grasp on Fletcher’s arm, his boot held firm.
“I think you resent me because they made me Operator and not you,” Jonathas said. “You’re jealous of me because they overlooked your file again.”
Fletcher made a move to get up, but Jonathas tightened his grip. Fletcher gave up and slumped back down.
Jonathas continued, “I didn’t choose this promotion. None of us chose any of this, you understand? The bad things that happen in our lives? It’s no one’s fault. We don’t have control over it, we just do the best we can with what’s given to us.”
Jonathas felt Fletcher nodding under his grimy work boot. A line his caregiver used to say came to his mind. “The best we can do is use skill to get us to a place where luck can help.”
Fletcher coughed, his mouth full of dirt. “They didn’t pass over my files.”
“What do you mean?” Jonathas asked.
“I got promoted, just like you. Five cycles ago.”
“But then—”
“I don’t know why I couldn’t do it. I was going to be an Operator. I was so... happy. I felt like my life would finally have some purpose, some meaning. They injected me with the nano-DNA and… yeah I passed out too,” he admitted. “They brought me to the control
module, turned it on, but I just couldn’t see anything. No bots, no drones, nothing. They injected me with more of the stuff, cranked up the amplification syndicates, but it didn’t help. I just got sick and fevered. Some people’s bodies can’t process the nanos properly.
“They had sought me out, promoted me, moved me into a higher station in life, but then I failed. There’s nothing I could have done differently. My body rejected it, not me”. He sighed, his breath sending chalky particles into the air.
Jonathas lifted his boot and backed away. Fletcher rose slowly and brushed the sand off his work clothes, patted and smoothed the wrinkles out. As if anyone would notice an unkempt uniform down here.
Fletcher leaned against the wall, catching his breath. “After my failure, they sent me back down to repair division and made me head of the department. They felt sorry for me, gave me a bigger living chamber, a ration increase, but that was it. I’ve been stuck here ever since, my entire working life spent wandering these damned halls and now there’s nowhere else for me to go.” He slapped his hand against the wall.
“I’m sorry Fletcher, I didn’t know,” Jonathas said.
“It’s not your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault...” He trailed off. “Listen, I’m sorry about Linsya, I shouldn’t have said those things. It’s just when I heard you got promoted I felt so... angry. Seeing you get the opportunity that I once had, it’s like having to relive everything that happened to me.
"Jonathas, I’m sorry ok? I’m happy for you. I am. It’s great to see people like us get promoted out of this dump. Refreshing to see it’s not always the city-borns who get all the opportunities. I really mean it. And Linsya’s a great girl.” He flashed a grin. “She’s obviously way too good for you, but if she doesn’t see that, then you must be doing something right.”
Jonathas nodded. “Thanks Fletcher,” he said. “I guess we have to do the most we can with whatever chances they give us, right? For the colony.”
“For the colony.” Fletcher repeated. He patted Jonathas on the arm, with respect this time, the malevolent look gone from his eyes. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
As they started walking, the ground suddenly erupted beneath their feet. Jonathas felt his knees give out and he collapsed. Cracks formed in the rock walls and ceiling, and great stones broke loose and rained down on them, knocked free by the tumultuous vibrations.
Fletcher and Jonathas both rolled out of the way as the ceiling came crashing down.
Jonathas jumped to his feet and scrambled down the the corridor, away from the cave-in. He tripped over his feet but managed to absorb the fall and used the downward momentum to roll himself down the sloped hallway. He skidded hard and banged into a wall. He was dizzy, and the world still convulsed as he squinted his eyes, peering back up the hall. Fletcher lay pinned under a pile of rocks some twenty paces up.
“Jonathas!” Fletcher cried out, trapped beneath the rubble.
The cavern lurched again and more boulders broke loose from the ceiling, burying Fletcher alive. The stones completely blocked the upward path and the cave-in muffled the sounds of Fletcher’s frantic death throes.
No!
Jonathas scrambled to his feet and ran back toward the rock pile, desperately trying to clear the debris.
The stones were too heavy.
He called to Fletcher but received no response. After another feeble attempt to move the rocks, he gave up and slumped onto the ground.
Poor Fletcher.
He didn’t deserve to die like that.
Jonathas couldn’t believe his luck today. He shook his head and stood up, performing a quick diagnostic of his body. When satisfied he wasn’t injured, he continued down the dark hallway.
Please, let her be safe.
Chapter 10
Men in black suits met Reggie outside his condominium complex. The glow of Evening lit up the mountains of Alexendia in the distance. The men’s dark clothes matched their eyes and demeanor. They wore identical uniforms: crisp collars, tight black pants, and military grade body armour. Their hair was cropped short, and both stood stiffly at ease. These were the kind of hardened soldiers that would put themselves into any amount of danger for the right price.
Reggie’s production manager had assured him that he would be able to trust these men with his life. It was their job to protect him at all costs, and one look at their stern faces and the glossy black guns at their hips suggested they took their warding duties very seriously.
“Good morning,” the taller man said, extending a hand. “My name is Magnus, and this is my partner, Stevens.”
Reggie greeted both men.
“You ready to go?” Stevens asked.
Reggie shrugged, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
A service droid loaded his hefty packs into the lev-car the men had arrived in. Condensation glistened on the magnetic tracks beneath the car, and swirling mist added depth to an already atmospheric moment.
Stevens heaved the last crate into the trunk of the lev-car and gestured for Reggie to take the backseat. Reggie stepped into the glass car and pressurized doors hissed shut behind him. Magnus got in the driver’s seat and activated the electromagnets. The car rose a meter above the tracks and they sped off toward the train station.
Reggie wrung his hands together in his lap as he gazed out the window. The bases of white towers whipped by, the streets still quiet at this hour. Gray clouds moved across the sky like a rising tide, the two suns shimmering behind a misty curtain.
They were catching a train bound for New Angelis, where they’d begin filming at the Spindex research center, hidden in the mountains. The bio-dome contained live Spindroth, and they would be provided with weapons used for fighting them, which they would take with them into the jungle. The sophisticated light-fire rifles were illegal for civilians to possess, so special arrangements had been made. Reggie didn’t know how much money had been exchanged or whose hands his producers had needed to shake for all this to come together smoothly. That wasn’t his job, and it was best if he didn’t ask questions about what special permissions he and his team were being granted.
Magnus brushed a finger over the touch controls and the lev-car slowed down and turned into the train station’s loading area. He guided their car toward the passenger drop-off platform. A light rain sprinkled against the glass roof of the car, adding more humidity to the thick air.
When the car came to rest, Reggie stepped out into the heat of the day, sweat beading on his brow. A service droid appeared from a hatch behind a potted fern and helped unload their packs, stacking them neatly onto a trolley.
“Hot as hell out here, even with the rain.” Stevens commented as they followed the droid and trolley into the station.
Reggie grunted a quick reply. With all the things he wanted to do, say, and film in order to make this documentary a success running through his mind, he wasn’t in the mood for chit-chat.
Sensing an opportunity, he grabbed a small holo-cam from his pack and fastened it to his shoulder. The 3D holomatrix would capture anything within a hundred meters of him, and he could use the train station footage as a quick transitional scene in his film.
A small army of shiny metallic service drones scuttled around them, laden with luggage and pulling trolleys around. The whooshing sound they made, mixed with the gentle patter of rain gave the impression of flowing water. Robots and people rushed through the station like a river. Everyone had somewhere to go, someone to meet. The station bustled with comings and goings, beginnings and endings, anticipations and conclusions.
Reggie took a deep breath as he stepped through the central archway. He liked beginnings, and this seemed as good a one as any.
• Air •
Chapter 11
Scientists maintain that orbital disruptions cause disorientation. But Jonathas had been disoriented even before the event had taken place: before the planet beneath his feet had started to shake and stutter upon it’s axis.
He felt
the lingering effects of the nano-DNA coursing through his system, and wasn’t looking forward to traversing these ill-lit hallways with what seemed like only half of his mental capacities intact. His temples throbbed and it felt as though his body had been dragged naked through a thicket of rosebushes.
Jonathas reminded himself that he had a missing girlfriend to find. He wouldn’t let a little pain stand between him and the woman he now suspected he was in love with.
He closed his eyes—they didn’t do much good in the gloom anyway—and pictured his location in the facility. Blueprints of the tunnels flashed through his mind and he tried to imagine where Linsya might have gone looking for help. The supply room for a radio? The sickbay for medical supplies?
Where did she go?
Jonathas decided to head back to the supply depot. It was closest, and besides, he wouldn’t mind grabbing a few items to assist with his search—like a flashlight for starters.
The orange emergency lights wore on his nerves and his work boots bit the dirt as he jogged down the corridor. Jonathas thought of Fletcher, and how every action begat another action, and so on. How it was dumb luck that he had escaped the calamity unharmed, while Fletcher had perished. So it goes.
He wondered what would have happened had he not met Fletcher there. Would he have been standing in that exact stretch of hall when the disruption knocked the rocks off the ceiling and walls? He pictured Fletcher alive, laughing. Then Fletcher crushed beneath rock, lifeless. All because of the planet.
Our home is killing us.
Taran had baited the original colonists with life and survival, and now it was destroying them. Such a cruel mistress. Jonathas couldn’t help but think that humans were nothing but pawns in some incomprehensible game played by the creators of the universe.
Here we are, carving out lives for ourselves, even as our own home threatens to rip that life away. So fickle is our existence on Taran, how tenuous our hold on survival…