“Eh… well I’m shocked. If it’s true, that is.”
“Shocked? Is that it, you’re shocked?”
Kayden raised his hands. “What do you want me to say? Yes, I’m shocked. And it looks like we got out just in time.”
Jann turned back to the comms desk.
“Have you got EVA suits?”
There was a pause, presumably they were checking. This was a good sign as far as Jann was concerned. If they were lying then the response would be instant.
“We’ve got one, wait…” there were some indistinct snippets of conversation in the background. “…shit, it’s got no power…” more background talk, “We have two injured, one I don’t think could EVA, even if we had a suit… and there’s another problem… we have less than twenty minutes of air left in the rover.”
“Hang in there, we’ll think of something.”
“They could just drive in to the workshop garage, there’s air in there.” Samir had calmed down a bit.
“There’s no way through from there, they would still have to EVA.”
“You’re not seriously thinking of letting them in?” said Noome.
“Look, this is actually good news for us. Because if they are who they say they are, then that means we have both rovers and no one can come after us, unless they walk.”
“Boateng-beta walked here.”
“Yeah, and it killed him,” said Samir.
“I say we do as Samir suggests and send them to the workshop. We can keep them corralled in there. It would be safer, for all of us,” said Kayden.
“There is another option,” said Gizmo, as it moved over to the holo-table and brought up a 3D schematic of the Colony One facility and zoomed in on one sector.
“This module has an airlock that connects with the one on the back of the rover. They simply reverse it up close, and we can manipulate the umbilical to connect.”
Jann looked at the 3D image. “Does it still work?”
“Well that could be a problem. Nills built a windmill in it, back during the sandstorm, so it is full of dust and debris. It would need to be cleaned out and checked. But my analysis suggests that should take only a few minutes.”
“Okay, let’s do it.”
Jann sent a message to the stricken rover and gave them instructions where to go and what to do. Then she, Noome and Samir suited up to EVA. Kayden was left to operate the airlock from inside Colony One.
As they stepped out on to the planet’s surface they could already see the rover in the distance. Gizmo raced off to direct it to the airlock. Jann and the others made their way there and started to clear out the sand blocking the outer door. They had disconnected the windmill and had cleared out most of the debris when the rover pulled up. Dust blew up around them as Gizmo directed them in. They backed up slowly and the rover inched its way along the guide rails to within operating distance of the airlock. Jann and Noome stepped into the open door and manually hoisted the connecting umbilical. It clicked into place at the rear of the rover with a satisfying clunk.
“Kayden, you can pressurize it now.”
“Okay.” His reply echoed in her EVA suit helmet. She waited… and waited.
“Christ, Kayden, what’s the problem, these guys are breathing nothing but CO2 by now.”
“I’m trying, I’m trying… it’s not working.”
“Dammit, we’ve got to do something.” With that Jann could feel a noticeable vibration in the airlock and it began to pressurize.”
“Wait, it’s just started working… that’s weird.”
“I did a manual override from the control panel on the outside. That is why it is working,” said Gizmo.
The alert flashed green and Jann popped the visor on her helmet. The rear door of the rover cracked open and out came two betas, one supporting another who looked badly injured. She had a blood-drenched bandage around her thigh, her face was ashen.
“Thank you, we were dying in there.” The beta’s eyes widened, “Are you Dr. Jann Malbec?”
“Yes, come on. Let’s get you all to the medlab.”
“I am honored.” He bowed.
“Quick, Noome, help get them inside.”
Finally the last beta came out of the rover, his arm was in a sling and he had blood spatter on his face, but there was no mistaking who he was. Jann recognized him immediately.
“Nills! Is that really you?”
He looked at her and smiled. “Yes, I am Nills-beta.”
Jann’s face betrayed a look of astonishment. He really did look exactly like the Nills she used to know—the same bright smile, the same raggedy chin, the same unkempt hair.
“You knew my alpha, didn’t you?”
“Yes, a long time ago now, he… he was a dear friend to me.”
16
Memories
“Are they all dead?” Kayden directed his question at Nills who was now sitting on a bed in the Colony One medlab.
“I don’t know, it all happened so fast.”
“And what about Vanji and the science team?”
Nills shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Christ, this is insane,” said Samir.
“Well, it looks like we got out not a moment too soon.” Kayden patted Samir on the shoulder.
“So you’re the one who helped Dr. Jann Malbec escape.”
“Yeah, we all did.” Kayden waved a hand over at Noome who was tending to the injured beta.
“Why? You’re a council member, you had a lot to lose.”
“Not any more, it would seem. If what you’re saying is true.”
“You’d better believe it. The hybrids control Colony Two now.”
“Greetings Nills, glad to have you back.” Gizmo raced into the medlab followed by Jann who had divested herself of her EVA suit.
“Eh… this is Gizmo, Nills. You built him.”
Nills looked quizzically at the droid. “You mean my alpha did.”
“Yes.”
Nills scratched his chin. “I have no memory of this machine.”
“Gizmo was built after the analogues of the colonists were created. So, assuming that was the source for the cloning, then you would have no knowledge of it.”
Nills continued to stare intently at the robot.
“Would you like me to fetch you some tea?”
Nills laughed. “Sure, yes, why not.” Gizmo raced off.
“That’s an amazing machine. And you say my alpha designed it?”
“Yes. He did have a lot of time on his hands.”
Nills shook his head and then looked around the medlab. “I have memories of this place. Dreams. I remember the layout.”
“Here, let me have a look at that arm.” Jann unclasped his hand from his upper arm and inspected the wound. It was superficial. She went off to get some bandages and saw Lars looking around in awe at the place. “Lars?”
He stood up and bowed. “Dr. Malbec.”
“Do you know where the galley is?”
He thought about this for a moment. “I do, I have memories of it.”
“Then why don’t you go there and help Gizmo prepare some food. We’ll have it in the common room. You know where that is too, don’t you?”
His eyes went wide. “I do, I know this place, as if I’ve been here before.”
“Good, then you know what to do.”
When Jann returned to Nills, he was explaining all of what he knew about the hybrid coup to Samir and Kayden.
“When they had finished with the council members they came after us, the beta leaders. It was very early so most of us were still asleep. But we were down in the main entrance cavern. You see, when you guys escaped we were sent down to check on the readiness of the second rover and to see if any of the other vehicles were operational. That’s when we heard the news that the hybrids had gone on the rampage. We barricaded ourselves in, but they were too strong and broke through just as we were making run for the rover. They killed six of us in the first charge. Two were injured,
we’re all that made it out.”
“Those bastards.” Samir turned to Kayden. “How come you didn’t see this coming? You’re on the Council.”
“Nobody saw it. Do you think any of those on the council who are now dead saw this coming?”
Noome had finished patching up Anika, who sat up on the edge of the bed looking pale. “Well, it doesn’t matter now anyway, we’re leaving this godforsaken rock forever.”
“Leaving?” Nills stood up.
“Yeah, we have a ticket for the next bus, and I for one, am taking it.”
“You mean leave Mars, go back to Earth? How?”
“The old ISA MAV,” said Jann. “The one I came here in. It’s still operational and the Odyssey transit craft is still in orbit, waiting for it to return. I can go back.”
“To Earth?”
“Yes, but not for at least another sol. The fuel tanks aren’t ready yet.” She turned to the others. “We’re safe here for the moment, the hybrids have no way to get to us.
“Jann’s right, there’s no panic,” said Kayden.
“Come on then, let’s eat.” One by one, they shifted out of the medlab into the common room.
Gizmo and Lars had been busy. The table was arrayed with standard colony fare. Fruit, fish and, if Jann wasn’t mistaken, colony cider. They all sat and picked at the food. No one spoke much, it had the feeling of a last supper. The mood was somber. After a while it was Nills who finally broke the silence. “I was wondering, if you have time before you leave, would you show us the biodome?”
“Sure, we have plenty of time now,” said Jann. “You probably have a memory of it.”
“We do, but I’d like you to show it to us, if that’s okay with you all?” He turned to Kayden who just opened his hands. “Sure, go ahead.”
The betas all rose. Lars helped Anika as Jann led them toward the biodome. She felt like she was bringing pilgrims on a tour of some sacred site. Maybe that’s how they see it, she thought. They stopped just inside the entrance and craned their necks to take it all in.
“Wow, I can’t believe I’m really here. It’s exactly how I dreamed it would be.” Lars could not contain his awe. The experience of standing in the biodome of Colony One was visibly emotional for him. Anika too, seemed mesmerized.
“Come on, let me show you the central dais, it used to be my home. I slept in a tree, can you believe that?”
None of them replied, obviously anything Dr. Jann Malbec did was okay with them. Jann was conscious that Anika was finding walking painful. “Here, why don't you sit down in my recliner and rest that leg.”
Anika was open mouthed for a moment. “Are you sure that’s okay? I mean, I would be occupying your seat.”
“Of course, sit.” Anika lowered herself into the wicker recliner and looked decidedly uncomfortable at her sacrilege. A mere mortal desecrating the temple of a deity.
“It’s okay, sit, I insist.”
“You are too kind, Dr. Malbec.”
“Don’t be silly, you’re injured, you need it more than I do.”
“Lars, would you keep Anika company here, while Dr. Malbec and I take a quick tour?”
“Of course.”
Nills-beta signaled to Jann to take a walk with him. When they were out of earshot he spoke. “You must forgive them, they see you as a deity. A god, if you will.”
“I’ve noticed it already, in Colony Two, the bowing and deference. I feel somewhat unworthy of such consideration.”
“It’s just the dreams we betas have, they can do strange things to the mind.”
“What are they like, these dreams?”
“They are fragments of retained memory, from our alphas, like snippets of encoded experience. At first they are vague, but as we age they become like memories. Memories of places we have never seen, of things we have never touched, of events we have never experienced.”
“Is it not difficult to deal with this… retained memory?”
“It is. For some it can be just too much, too confusing. They go insane. Others manage them by creating myths. Like, of this place. We all have memories if it. I can tell you the exact layout of Colony One even though this is the first time I’ve set foot in here.”
“So why am I so special to them?”
“Colony One has become an Eden, or Nirvana, or Heaven. Betas have developed a near religious perception of this place. Some believe it doesn’t really exist, it’s just, literally, a figment of the imagination. When you showed up, it was like an angel had descended amongst them. A deity who had journeyed from the mythical Colony One. You can see how this would affect some of them.”
“I see. I should never have gone there. None of this would have happened if I had just stayed put.”
“Why did you come?”
“Oh it’s a long story. I was looking for a way out, a way to go home.”
“And did you find it?”
“Yes, I found it. Now I can go, get back to Earth.”
“But you’re still here.”
Jann laughed. “Sorry, but you remind me so much of Nills. It’s the sort of thing he would say.”
Nills-beta smiled. “I’ll take that as a good thing, then.”
“Please do, he was a very good friend and… I’ve missed him… all these years.”
They walked for a bit in silence. Then Jann stopped and looked at him for a moment. “Tell me, Nills, what are you going to do now?”
“I’m going back.”
“But why? It’s extremely dangerous. God knows what’s going on in Colony Two by now.”
“They’re my people, I’m their leader. Without me they will be turned into slaves for Vanji’s hybrid army.”
“You think Vanji is still alive? You think he is behind all this?”
“You met him, what do you think?”
“I don’t know, it’s possible. But those hybrids are a very strange species. It’s hard to know what they think. If you go back, you would most likely be captured and killed. It would do no good.”
“If I were to return with you, then the betas would fight. They might rally behind me, but they would lay down their lives for you.”
Jann stopped for a moment as the realization of what Nills was asking her sunk in. “You’re asking me to go back there? Are you crazy?”
“Think about it. We outnumber them, seven or eight to one. All they need is the will to fight. You can give them that will.”
“But how?”
“Your mere presence. The fact that you have returned, in their darkest hour. All those myths become real, they would be a formidable fighting force. They can win their freedom, all because you have returned.”
“I… I need to think… I can’t comprehend this all now… we’re leaving, for Earth. Home, Nills, I’m going back home.”
17
Decision Time
Jann sat in the recliner on the central dais of the Colony One biodome and considered her options. Nills had left her there to think about his request, Lars and Anika had followed him out. So she was alone now, with her thoughts.
She had everything she needed to return home. She was no longer a biohazard, the MAV was waiting, all her ducks were lined up. Kayden and his crew couldn’t leave without her as she was the only one who knew the launch sequence, and now that both rovers were at Colony One, the hybrids couldn’t journey here that quickly, so she had time to think.
Earth, to walk in the sunshine, to feel the wind in her hair, to get wet in the rain. It was the simple things she missed. Humans were designed for Earth, it was their planet, home. She had dreamed of it for so long, but now that the time had come, she hesitated. What would await her there? She, along with Kayden, Noome and Samir, would be the only humans ever to have returned from Mars. Many had gone but none had returned, so far. No doubt she would become a celebrity of sorts. Shunted around from one interview to another. Sell her story, want for nothing. They would be bringing back with them stories of Colony Two and the miraculous advances in genet
ic engineering that had been made there. Human cloning, genome manipulation, the secret of immortality. They would be returning with tales of Eldorado, the city of gold, of riches beyond your wildest dreams. And like the adventurers of old, there would be no shortage of private funding for return missions. Every mega-corporation the world over would pump money into Mars stocks, betting on who would be the one to return this life-saving technology to Earth.
And whose life would it be saving? It wouldn’t be the poor, or the downtrodden, or those on the margins. It would be the preserve of the very wealthy. The rich would have eternal youth, a new strata of super-elite would be created.
Then, there was the fact that Earth had left her for dead up here. No funding available for a rescue mission for her, she was expendable. What was the cost of her life? Not that she could blame them, really. After all, she was in no danger of dying and the popular consensus of the general population was there were better things to spend taxpayer’s money on than rescuing a foolhardy astronaut. She knew the risks, she would have to live with the consequences.
Her other option was to go with Nills, back to Colony Two. To what? Death, the horror of the recycling tank? His assertion that her presence would galvanize the betas into revolution seemed nothing more than fantasy to her, simply wishful thinking on his part. Jann could not see any way that they would get more than two feet inside Colony Two before they were killed.
As for the plight of the betas, she had no doubt that they revered her in some way, but would that be enough to overcome well-armed hybrids, no matter how much they outnumbered them? They were timid and deferential by nature, or maybe nurture, either way she doubted they had the collective balls to put up a fight.
So what would be their fate then? Subjugation, slavery, genocide? It would be one of them. At best they would be domesticated humans, used as beasts of burden, workhorses for the superior species that was Homo Ares. Did they deserve that? They might be clones but they were still human, and Homo sapiens at that, her species.
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