Cassie treated Tuna with a certainty and underlying affection that Gen dreamed of one day having with Zeke. She envied the reverence between them, the playfulness and the familiar trust.
Ozzie entered next to Maya and quickly thereafter Zeke sat down next to Gen. She flashed a pleasant smile at Zeke, but said nothing. She was just happy Zeke had arrived before Adam who seemed to enjoy making people wait.
Sylvia was noticeably disappointed. She sat alone until Adam entered confidently and set some kind of blue malt drink in front of her. While the simple gesture pleased Sylvia to no end, it pissed Gen off completely. Adam was the most self-centered kid in the dome and yet he always got away with everything.
“Can we begin?” Gen said, sounding nastier than she had intended.
Adam smiled his breezy smile through the wall panel and right into Gen’s heated gaze or so she felt. He knew he had gotten to her again and she knew what he was thinking.
“We each sit with our intended,” Gen said, recovering. “This is an open forum suggested by Doctor Quarna and Doctor Becker.”
“Doctor Hottie suggested this?” Tuna asked with a wide grin.
Gen clicked a button on her console and a fourth panel opened up in front of everyone. Doctor Becker appeared on the monitor.
“Doctor Becker will sit in with us as a moderator,” Gen said pointedly at Tuna’s panel. Cassie shoved Tuna who turned red.
“Hello everyone,” Doctor Becker said. “Hello, Tuna.”
Everyone enjoyed Tuna’s discomfort except Tuna.
“Okay. So the topic of this forum is to be--” Gen struggled to find the words.
“Yes?” Adam prodded. “It would be nice to know the topic.”
Gen cleared her throat. Doctor Becker said nothing and instead curiously watched Gen’s struggle to answer.
“The topic is human sexuality,” Doctor Becker said, finally coming to Gen’s aid.
The others sat stunned waiting for someone else to break the ice.
Tuna looked around again at all the panels. “Forgive me,” he finally began, “but haven’t we all read the books, seen the diagrams?”
The girls winced at Tuna’s use of the word diagrams.
Ozzie tried to help his friend. “What Tuna is trying to say I think is that it’s elementary according to the book.”
Zeke and Adam seemed to easily understand Tuna and Ozzie. The girls were mortified by their callous word choice.
Doctor Becker studied each panel and their reactions. “Thanks for beginning, Tuna,” the doctor said. “That must not have been easy, but what we are here to discuss is not the clinical side of sexuality, but the human side, the emotional side.”
Doctor Becker noticed the curiosity rising in their eyes. “We need to talk about being a life partner, being a listener, learning to hear each other and anticipate needs.”
She could have been talking about mythical beasts in space for all the wonder and awe her words enticed onto their young faces.
“A small example of being sensitive to your mate occurred moments ago. We all bore witness to it.”
Gen flashed red thinking about the blue drink. It better not be the blue drink. Adam was late. He was just manipulating Sylvia, hardly romance by anyone’s definition.
“I saw it,” Tuna blurted out. “It was Adam. He brought Sylvia her favorite drink, the blue coconut explosion.”
Sylvia beamed proudly and looked to Adam who winked at her.
“Exactly right, Tuna. It does not matter if Adam thought of the drink beforehand or if he thought of it only because he was late and was trying to keep Sylvia from being upset with him.” Doctor Becker paused for effect. “What’s important is he has given some thought to how Sylvia would feel and he made an effort.”
Unable to help herself, Gen sighed heavily.
Doctor Becker noticed Gen shifting uncomfortably. “Speak your mind, Genevieve. This is an open forum.”
Zeke turned curiously to his intended who was obviously agitated.
“No. It’s just—what if your partner thinks of you only after they let you down? Isn’t that more like bribery or psychological manipulation rather than affection?” Gen noticed first Adam grinning then Zeke suddenly uncertain at her side. “Not Zeke. This is not about him. This is, you know, a hypothetical.”
“She’s talking about me, Doctor Becker,” Adam said. “She thinks I was manipulating Sylvia by bringing her the blue coconut explosion.”
“Was that your intention, Adam?”
Adam considered Doctor Becker’s question. “I was thirsty. I was going to join Sylvia here. I grabbed two drinks. I picked the one I knew she liked for no other reason than I knew she liked it. If it was anything, it was just a simple act of hydration.”
He wasn’t even on the same ship, but he still sucked the air right out of Gen’s lungs. Even Doctor Becker was swayed by his calm manner, all cool and understated, but by devious design. She knew it. Sometimes you know something with no evidence. You just know it in your bones. And she knew, even if no one else did, that Adam was potentially destructive. Perhaps his coolness would even be the final sin of humanity, the one that would bring an end to the species.
She decided then and there that she would not let it happen. She would not let Adam Thirdborn destroy them all. His powers of manipulation would no longer go unchecked. She was going to make him her new hobby.
The first thing she needed to know was what Adam and Tuna had been doing in Audio Relay Systems yesterday? And what manipulation did Adam use on Tuna to get him to use his tech skills?
There was no static within the dome. The static must have come from the outside. She had to find out what they were up to before Adam’s destiny of destruction was finally realized and the sound of that dead air became prophetic.
-6-
Gen walked through rows of hydroponic tomatoes examining the work of three smaller girls. She slid a small black device out of her pocket and placed it in the water. After a few seconds it beeped. She turned the device sideways to read the levels.
“Good. The pH level is back up to 5.8,” Gen proclaimed. “Keep an eye on it. I have to go take care of something.” She tried to project certainty with her words, but she was anything but. “Ah, nudge it to 6.1 and then monitor it for twenty minutes to see if it levels off.”
One of the girls nodded. Gen returned an awkward smile as she passed the girls. She knew she was not skilled at deceit and half truths but what did it matter with the girls of the agriculture deck. She was their mentor. They would not question her comings and goings.
She would have to do better with Tuna and especially with Adam if it came to that. She needed to use subtlety, tact, guile. They should not see her coming. She would earn their trust and become a confidant, so they would invite her into their secret world.
Her plan could have gone better when she finally cornered Tuna behind a row of plastic trees near the western dome wall. She put her hands on him, actually shoved him a little, something she had never done to anyone in her life.
“What does he have on you, Tuna? Huh? What?” She shoved him again, then suddenly realized what she was doing and let go. She brushed his shoulders with her hands trying to erase the offense.
Tuna stared at her in disbelief, confused, almost frightened.
When she reached out to reassure him he pulled away from her and started to walk away. Her guilt flushed her cheeks. She quickly stepped into his path to cut him off. He again backed away.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Gen.” Tuna collected himself, realizing she was no threat to him. He was twice her size after all. “Are you okay? Did you drink some bad soy milk or something?”
“I’m sorry, Tuna. It’s just I have been waiting to talk to you since yesterday and I’m just not good at this kind of thing.”
He looked at her curiously. He started to guess what she wanted. “It’s fine, Gen. I have to go. I have systems to check.”
“Tuna, you need to t
ell me what Adam has on you. And what that static was all about. I heard it. You know I heard it. There’s no static in the dome. That didn’t come from within.”
Tuna looked at Gen with a stern glare that took her by surprise. She never knew he had such a serious, mirthless side.
“Adam’s my friend. He has nothing on me. I didn’t know you could be so condescending. We were just messing around, checking capabilities.” He turned briefly to glance out to sea. “We have to be prepared for what might happen out there once we’re alone in the dark, beyond charted space.”
Gen was taken aback, yet somehow proud of her friend for standing his ground. She had to change her approach quickly before Tuna told Adam about this conversation and her chance would be lost to get something out of Tuna.
“Okay. I am sorry, Tuna, but I can’t sleep. That static haunts me. I need to know. Do you understand the feeling?” She moved closer to him, stared intensely into his eyes. “I need to know if you found anything.”
Tuna sighed. He could obviously relate to her curiosity. It was, after all, what had pushed him into helping Adam in the first place.
“Listen, Tuna. I can’t sleep. It’s not good. I just want the truth. I’m not stupid. This had nothing to do with what will happen once we’re out in deep space.” She touched him tenderly on the shoulder. This time he allowed it. “I mean what could you be hoping to pick up out there? A stray signal from Andromeda 7 playing alien punk rock?”
They both smiled. Tuna might have told her something just then, but Adam appeared in the distance. Gen pulled Tuna back by his arm to the shaded nook under the trees, out of Adam’s sight.
* * *
CLAUDIA CARDOZA HURRIED TO catch up with Doctor Quarna in the corridor as the others entered the conference room down the hall.
“What gives, Doc?” Claudia asked. “These unscheduled meetings might work for the rest of you, but I have an electrical issue I’ve been struggling with today and I’d rather it not wait.”
“I understand. I’d rather it not wait as well, but I did not call this meeting,” Doctor Quarna said stepping aside to let Claudia enter in front of him.
Doctor Becker stood holding a stack of stapled papers. She started passing them out while Claudia and Doctor Quarna took their seats.
“Thanks for coming everyone,” she said handing the last pack to Doctor Quarna who regarded her with concern. Doctor Becker cleared her throat and turned back to the others.
Her heart raced, cold sweat moistened her neck and forehead. She watched them all glancing doubtfully through their small stack of printouts. “That’s it. I’ve gathered information from every possible source still left to us.”
“What’s the point of this?” Doctor Quarna coldly asked.
She had been planning this meeting for the past twenty-four hours and every time it was at the point when Doctor Quarna lost his patience that her plan always started to fall apart. Never did she let herself imagine he would lose patience so fast. It was too soon. The plan could fall apart now and she could have blood on her hands.
“What you’re holding in front of you—”
“And where’s Doctor Hossler?” Doctor Quarna surveyed the room again as did everyone else. Doctor Hossler was not present.
Doctor Becker nervously watched the room become restless. Doctor Quarna started scanning through possibilities in his head, a place where numbers and scenarios process at alarming speeds.
Doctor Quarna had graduated at twenty from CCID with his Doctorate in Medical Physics and added two more doctorates by twenty-three. When Doctor Becker attended CCID in the years following, stories of his genius bounced off the walls. It was said he had aced every test and every paper on his way to his doctorates, the only student in history of the school to do so.
That means he had nothing wrong. Ever. Nada.
“I asked Doctor Hossler not to attend while we revisited his request.”
Doctor Quarna dropped his head. “You did what? We have met on this. It’s been decided.” He studied the papers he held as if they were contaminated and tossed them onto the table. He started to stand.
“Please, listen!” Doctor Becker raised her voice, startling everyone.
Doctor Quarna sat back down as did the other doctors who had followed Doctor Quarna’s lead. Claudia just shook her head.
“If you turn to page three,” Doctor Becker said, pointing to Doctor Quarna’s papers now on the table. He picked them up, slowly. “You’ll see some startling new information on infected activity in the Northwest region where Doctor Hossler’s grandson is sheltered.”
“It says attacks on shelters have subsided to the lowest rates in nine years. That’s great,” Doctor Quarna said, detailing the report for her, but his tone was less than impressed. “The lowest rate? Do you realize what that means, Doctor Becker?”
“It means that the attacks are lessening,” she stalled and Doctor Quarna saw his opportunity to pounce.
“No, it means there are far fewer shelters remaining and still they are found and attacked. There are still attacks. Attacks like the one that killed Doctor Hossler’s son. That attack probably is not even included in these stats. Most attacks never go reported because no one survives.”
The other doctors gave her sympathetic looks as her points were crushed by the obvious truth. Claudia could not even muster sympathy and instead dropped her head to avoid eye contact.
“Perhaps a second attack occurred,” Doctor Quarna continued. “And, god forbid, his grandson won’t even still be there.”
Doctor Becker had to stop him. All she could do was keep to her plan. “You will see on page four—”
“Please, Lotte, stop. I understand it’s painful. I mean, god, we all want Hoss to save his grandson,” Doctor Quarna shocked the room with his own brand of human emotions. No one was used to seeing him like this and it was exactly what Doctor Becker had wanted.
She knew the printouts would do nothing for her argument in an empirical sense, but she knew it would make her seem desperate and emotional. And she’d made Doctor Quarna reveal his human side too.
He even called her Lotte.
They looked at each other and connected. Had she reached him? She began to think she had, until his big brain processed the final possible scenario of why Lotte had called this meeting. She watched deep alarm and disappointment overcome him. She knew her little ruse had ended. She hoped it would be enough.
* * *
ADAM CLIMBED THE LADDER to the lookout post. Two boys a couple years younger than Adam sat together at an all glass desk. Milo scrolled through multiple camera views of the surrounding sea on his screen while Isaac watched an empty radar screen.
Both boys sat up straighter as Adam approached.
“Relax, guys,” Adam said. He stepped behind them and touched their backs reassuringly. “I’m just killing some time.”
Gen watched from the shade beneath the plastic trees. Tuna squatted down next to her to get a better angle up to the lookout. They could see Milo and Isaac turned around in their chairs talking with Adam.
“What’s he doing up there?” Gen said under her breath. Tuna quickly realized she was asking herself and not him.
Gen watched Adam closely. She noticed his hands and their expressive movements. She noticed his easy smile at what appeared to be cheery banter with the boys. She knew something was off. There was something wrong with this picture. Adam does not banter cheery with anyone let alone thirteen-year-olds.
Somehow he was toying with them, working them the way he worked everyone, even Doctor Becker. That damn blue coconut explosion!
It was obvious from Tuna’s evasive smile that he had come to the same conclusion. Something was happening.
“Milo and Isaac are in our navigation class,” Tuna offered. She tilted her head at him wondering if that was the best he could do.
Then Gen looked up and beyond him. Not at Adam, at the sea. All feeling suddenly fell from her face. Her blank expression confused
Tuna. Gen was witnessing a thing she could not quite comprehend.
A boat. Out there on the sea. In the choppy waters. It was like seeing a rainbow or an eclipse. There had never been anything out on the sea. She had often thought that the sea may not exist, that perhaps it was a projection within the glass.
She’d even spent an hour or two trying to find a pattern, a repetition of wave activity to prove that the ocean was being projected, that it was not real, but she never could. And now, in plain view, a boat moved magically across the water like a cloud moved magically across the sky.
Tuna saw it too. He stood next to Gen stunned. “A boat,” he proclaimed to Gen and the world. She nodded barely at Tuna then lifted her eyes to Adam still chatting up the lookouts.
The truth rushed into her lungs leaving her breathless. Adam and the boat were connected. His cheery banter and that magical vessel. She turned quickly back to the boat and realized something else.
“That’s our boat,” she said, turning to Tuna who opened his eyes wider before glancing back at the water. He knew she was right. The boat came from the dome.
Adam could see the boat, but did not seem to care. In fact, he acted like the boat did not exist. Instead, he kept talking to Milo and Isaac and tried not to give the boat any of his attention.
“There’s a boat!” someone within the dome yelled.
Milo and Isaac heard the shout, but did not react to the word that felt so foreign to them. They processed the word as they smiled up to Adam. For his part, Adam smiled back to them.
Milo pivoted back in his chair with no urgency to check his screen. There was nothing on the first view, nothing on the second view. The third view was different. The third view showed a boat on the sea.
Milo studied his screen unsure at first and then he jumped right out of his chair to get a glimpse of the real boat. He could see it with his own eyes. Isaac was momentarily put off by Milo’s manic reaction until he too spun back and saw a blip on the radar. His jaw dropped. He rose to see what they all saw.
The Eden Project (Books One & Two) Page 3