“And the Northern States, why do we think they may be able to develop void technology, if, as you say, the planet has been pushed back to the eighteenth century?”
“Oh, most of the planet has reverted to feudalism but there are pockets – the collapse seems to have been uneven. When the global economy crashed many of the public institutions also collapsed – hospitals, and especially schools and universities. Basically some of the core disciplines that are needed to sustain civilisation collapsed and knowledge was lost. Within a couple of generations children were no longer being taught to read. Instead they were put to work scavenging, growing food, prostituting themselves, doing whatever was necessary to survive. Even those that could read didn’t have a consistent teaching program to help them interpret some of the more complex theories and processes. Basically the intellectual capital of the world disintegrated and the average IQ dropped…”
“Whilst ours increased?”
“Yes, the average adult human is less educated than our average six year-old, many are illiterate. Even by old Earth standards they have an IQ around eighty, roughly where they were before the industrial revolution.”
“Okay, but might I guess the Northern States have somehow begun to reverse the trend?”
“Yes, they have re-established a rudimentary education system. The leader of the NS seems to be a benign dictator and he’s re-established Princeton. He’s been encouraging the best and brightest to study. Remarkably some families have been able to preserve their genetic advantages.”
“Meaning the Earth genome still produces geniuses?”
“The potential is still there…”
“And this dictator?”
“Robert Wolf. From all reports he’s clever. His family has controlled the country for three quarters of a century. They rose to power by scavenging; picking apart cities that had collapsed. The Wolfs gained control of New York and Boston but rather than go for trinkets - gems, gold - they went for essential metals: copper, steel, silicon and so on, everything that was needed to maintain some form of industrialisation. It turns out that whoever controls the resources in the old cities controls the wealth.”
He shook his head. “And the cultural treasures of Earth?”
“Looted, destroyed, rotting or under the control of this or that warlord. If you ask me, operation rescue ought to be about rescuing the great art and great libraries. Let Earth humans wallow in their own imbecility. Ultimately they failed to understand what they had.”
“And the intelligence suggests that the NS might have uncovered void technology?”
“Yes, we have heard of a young genius at Princeton, a high functioning autistic with considerable, but as yet unrealised mathematical skills.”
“Do we know his name?”
Ravi shook her head in disapproval. “Whilst I can understand why you might justifiably assume he is male, he is in fact a she and her name is Maria, but that is all we know.”
He frowned. He was indeed justified in making that assumption. High functioning autism was more common amongst males and he was not about to let her chide him. “So it’s a gender-neutral society then? I must admit I assumed Earth would still be largely patriarchal?”
It was her turn to be defensive. “Well, yes. I’m sorry. She seems to be an exception in many ways. There are those who say she is a witch. I guess I’ve been reading a little too much about the position of women on Earth.”
“That’s okay – but a witch?”
“Yes, she was about to be burned when a Jesu priest rescued her…”
“A what?”
“A Jesu priest from the Restored Catholics.” She sighed. “I must admit I’m a bit overwhelmed by how much you are yet to learn. I think it is best if you do some of your own revision. I’ll think it through and inform your guardian of key study areas. Then if you have any questions you can ask either myself or Peter.”
“Yes, that might be best. Conversation can be a slow way to digest new information.”
“Good,” she said as she finished her fruit juice. “Now, if you don’t mind. I’ll have to have time to myself to devise the program. Shouldn’t take me more than an hour or so.”
“Okay, nice to meet you Ravi. It’s been most interesting, but I think I also need time to digest things. I must confess this news has had an emotional impact I haven’t had time to process.”
“Yes,” she said with a note of compassion. “I struggle sometimes, especially when I think that Earth is our home and these humans are our family. There are times when I hate them and then times I have the most overwhelming desire to save them.” She reached forward a kissed on him on the cheek and started to walk away.
“Oh, Ravi, one last thing…”
She turned and smiled. “Yes…”
“How do I get back to my hut?”
“Just ask your guardian. They’ll send someone to escort you. In the meantime I suggest desert, the mousse is especially good.”
He had just finished his desert and a cup of moonleaf tea when he saw defender Torv walking toward him from the other side of the canteen, her graceful, feline walk immediately catching his attention. The spright runners had a particular gait that hinted at the immense power of their legs. In that moment he found her quite sexual - he had heard the runners were quite skilled and forthright. He allowed himself to admire her body: the gap between her thighs, the cleft of her vulva, her taught stomach, her small breasts and small nipples, her broad shoulders, high cheekbones and those penetrating, golden eyes.
Those eyes! All of a sudden he blushed with embarrassment. She was staring at him and smiling faintly. He had forgotten that her enhanced eyes had a far greater resolution than his own and that she had no doubt focused in on his face from the other side of the canteen. She would have seen him staring at her, admiring her.
“Magnus,” she said as she stood directly in front of him, daring him to look.
“Defender Torv, seems we meet again.” He stood and realised that he had become partially erect. Perhaps she was emitting a particularly strong dose of pheromones because she was in the middle of her cycle? This subliminal attraction to Torv would be something he would need to monitor carefully.
She looked down immediately, pausing for a fraction of a second to assess him before lifting her head to meet his gaze. “Yes, I’ve been assigned to you for the next few days, as your guide, until you are fully familiarised with the schedule and lay of the land.”
“What about your unit?”
“I’m not assigned to a unit; I’m something of a free agent. I help with training, which reminds me that I am also to inform you that I’m to start you on your fitness regime.”
She did not move. She was teasing him, had sensed his arousal and was instinctively toying with him, trying to gauge his self-control. There was more to this girl than she was letting on.
“Sorry, fitness regime?” he asked.
“Yes, your fitness level is not optimum. We start with a run at O-600 tomorrow, sharp.”
He nodded. He was used to early rises.
He followed her as she led him to the scooters. He tried not to look at her firm, muscular gluts as she walked but as soon as he attempted to walk by her side she increased her speed, indicating that he was to follow.
“I’m going to give you independent control,” she said as they reached the scooters. “I’ll go slow, but if you feel comfortable, we’ll pick up speed.”
She wasn’t exactly telling the truth, either that or her idea of slow was different to his. He struggled to keep up and he made a couple of poor moves, causing the scooter to over correct or to wobble. By the end he had gained a little more confidence and found it exhilarating. The sun had started to set and golden rays were filtering through the canopy. The lights of the scooters had switched on - a neon ring around the base and a small but powerful headlight on the handlebar - and the effect was quite entrancing as they rushed past the undergrowth. When they reached his hut she speed up, spun the sc
ooter around and gracefully placed it on the ground. His attempt to stop was much less graceful and he almost fell off as he attempted a spin.
Torv was laughing as he collected himself. “Not bad magnus, considering you are a novice.” That of course, was the other thing about runners; their innate competitiveness.
“It was sort of fun,” he said as he walked toward his door. “So, O-600 then?”
“O-600,” she said as she lifted her scooter, turned and then sped off into the night, his scooter following behind.
He stood still for a moment and sniffed the air. There were unfamiliar scents. It was a different ecosystem here on the mainland, although still tropical, still humid. He heard a rustle and looked up. He caught a glimpse of a silver tail: a ghost possum. He hoped it wouldn’t decide to walk across his roof in the middle of the night. He had heard they could be quite noisy and mischievous.
He walked in and commanded the screen. For the next four hours he poured through as much data as he could.
“Prax, it’s one in the morning,” his guardian announced.
He stretched and yawned. “Okay, in a sec.” He commanded the screen to show some images from the new planets. They were extraordinary: a planet of towering forests, rugged mountain ranges and active volcanoes; the other a planet of undulating hills, lakes and vast grasslands covered in wild flowers.
As he dropped his sarong and clambered into bed, it began to sink in that humanity was on the verge of a momentous breakthrough. They were about to colonise not just the New World but multiple new worlds – a future of seemingly endless opportunity.
31
Nuku
She rolled out of the bed groggy, her bladder full. When she returned, her face freshened with a splash of water, she looked down at Isla stretched out asleep. She smiled, almost purred. Biologically she knew exactly what was happening. If she took a blood sample she would find high levels of oxytocin. In fact it was probably oozing from their pores and filling the small room with the stuff. On a personal level she was pleasantly surprised. She hadn’t felt this good in a long time. Her circle had reached the point when they had adapted to each other and settled into a routine. They no longer emitted anywhere near the same levels of oxytocin. The sex was still good but it needed that extra edge to replace the kick of new genetic material and fresh oxytocin.
But it wasn’t just about biochemistry. The night before had been wonderful on many levels. Isla was indeed special. She had carefully seduced her on every level imaginable: her cooking had been sublime, her music choice unique (twentieth century Earth jazz) and her conversation witty and intelligent. The final seduction was completed when, drunk on an exotic liqueur, Isla showed her some remarkable footage from a planet discovered at exactly the same time as Eden.
“I found this in the archives. Amazingly it had been forgotten. I can’t find any academic references. Apparently they programmed a probe and sort of forgot about it with all the excitement. It continued to feed images for two years before it malfunctioned.”
The screen displayed images of a probe skimming across a vast rocky plain with a large river of larva pushing its way across until it cooled and came to rest. It flew over low mountains dusted with snow and into a valley filled with a patchwork of colour.
“Is that what I think it is?” exclaimed Nuku with wonder.
“The oceans are more interesting.” She instructed her guardian and the images changed to oceans brimming with primitive life. “They called it Proto…”
“After Proterozoic…”
“Yes, and of all the planets I want to go there the most.” She turned to Nuku and smiled. “We can go together. Imagine, we can spend our lives exploring planet after planet, finally answering some of the last questions.” She was excited. “Imagine if we stumbled across a world where abiogenesis had just occurred?”
Isla’s excitement was infectious. They would become adventurers and in that moment she was returned to her childhood and all her wild imaginings.
“I have it all planned. After I do a few missions for the Common they will owe me a favour and I will suggest Proto. Will you come?”
At that point Nuku could not say no to Isla. She would do anything she asked. She moved toward Isla and kissed her and was surprised by the wave of passion that swallowed them both.
Isla stirred and opened her eyes slowly. She smiled and her eyes lit up when she saw Nuku standing there smiling back.
“I think I’m in love,” sighed Nuku.
Isla stretched. “Me too, you coming back to bed? I can cancel my commitments for today.”
She did so willingly, wrapping Isla in her arms. “I miss you already,” she sighed.
“I know. A bit silly of us to crash like this but this is just the beginning, a tease, a promise of what is to come. When we get back we’ll be even hungrier for each other.”
“We’ll literally be star-crossed lovers,” sighed Nuku.
Isla laughed. “Listen to us, drunk on oxy, our minds addled.” She kissed Nuku.
They stayed in bed all day, only leaving to bring back food or relieve themselves. They lost count of how many they made love because it all seemed to blend into one. She’d heard about this happening but had thought the stories exaggerated. Now she knew.
32
Akash
As soon as he entered the command centre he was informed that they had discovered two new candidates for exploration, Tess 1047c and Webb 499d.
“So I gather you didn’t really stop looking either, despite my direct command,” he said to the survey leader.
This was a moment of embarrassed silence as she considered her response. “Um no, we were advised to continue.”
He knew it had been Aviva but there was nothing he could do about it. She had been right to disobey him. This project had never been a one-man show and there were protocols in place if something should ever happen to him, like insanity. “Do we have any probes free?”
“Yes, one is in the vicinity of 1047c and we can assign one to visit 499d immediately.”
“And by in the vicinity you mean it’s already in orbit?”
There was another moment of silence. “Um, well, yes.”
“And?”
“Very promising: oceans, lakes, rivers, four continents, one polar, one tropical and two in the temperate zones, and a large archipelago of hundreds of tropical islands, the largest is roughly the size of New Guinea – all teeming with life. She’s a little larger than Earth, average Terran temperature, atmosphere.”
“Safe for an exploratory team?”
“As far as we can tell. Shall we send the probe down to make sure?”
He wanted to say something sarcastic about his approval apparently being redundant but realised he was actually relieved he had been disobeyed. Aviva had assured him that his gesture was respected and understood as a sign that he genuinely cared about his team, even if they disagreed and thought the best way to remember them was not to let their deaths be in vain. Besides, the news that they had found a planet teeming with life excited him. He couldn’t wait to see how it had evolved.
“So, do you want the good news first or the bad?” He was sitting in front of a large screen in the conference room, the smell of coffee and fresh bagels and donuts homely and tempting.
“The bad.”
People found their seats and the lights dimmed. The screen showed the probe skimming over a turbulent ocean toward a broad rocky shoreline. In the distance they could see the flume of an active volcano.
“Webb 499d. A bit smaller than Earth, .89 Terran gravity, low oxygen levels, similar to high altitudes but with elevated sulphur – there’s a lot of volcanic activity. It’s just breathable but it would stink. Substantial oceans but as you can see, the surface is barren. However there is life…”
The screen changed to show a series of stills of valleys covered in variegated algae, moss and lichen. A voice asked a rhetorical question. “Early stages of life, not enough to sustain a colony?�
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“Right, no food source, basically uninhabitable. Although I’m sure a biological team would love to take a look.”
“Looks Proterozoic,” said someone stating the obvious.
“The oceans would be interesting. Can we send the probe under?” asked another voice.
All eyes looked toward him.
“I can’t see why not. Why don’t the biological team set a schedule? But it’s not a priority,” he suggested. “So the good news?”
The screen changed and displayed a vid of blue seas, golden beaches and a dense multicoloured forest. There were gasps of shock and wonder as the probe explored a tropical archipelago of extraordinary beauty.
Akash looked closely and thought there was something missing. “There doesn’t seem to be much sign of animal or bird life.”
“No, it seems to be a planet of plants. We’ll keep looking but there don’t seem to be many animals. In that sense it seems a lot like New Zealand and some of the Pacific islands. And it seems to be the same with the continents. If there are animals they may be small. The oceans however may be quite different.”
“I’ve been to New Zealand,” said someone to his left. “Birds evolved to fill the gaps of mammals, lost the ability to fly. The largest animal there was a bird, the Moa, but it was hunted to extinction. It had no defences against humans.”
“So, no sign of major predators?” he asked hopefully.
“And no sign of significant prey. Predators evolve according to whatever prey is available. We think that what animal life there is might be herbivorous, with no apparent carnivores. Equilibrium might be maintained through competition rather than predation. On a first guess we think any danger is likely to be biological; bacteria, toxins, allergens, that sort of thing.”
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