trainee,” he starts. “Not in the form of random rumors but as actual, possible experiments. There was
a particular one about changing the DNA of chimpanzees to make them more human-like.”
We take a closer look at the action below and we realize that the apes, most likely chimpanzees
if we judge by the pictures we have seen, are behaving with an intelligence that far exceeds that of
any animal. There are seven of them. They’re big and look very strong and agile. They have some
form of language that they use to draw one another’s attention.
They pour water and drink out of our glasses. They examine our equipment and devices
carefully. These are no ordinary apes.
“Look at that,” Damian says. “They’re aping our behavior.”
We may even be more stunned now. Damian just made a joke. Who is this guy and what has he
done with our normal leader?
“How’d they end up here?” Finn says. “Do you think they escaped?”
“Possible, but not likely,” Doc replies. “My guess is they were released into the wild for
reasons known only to their creators.”
“Creators or tormentors?” Zoe asks.
“Both,” Theo replies.
“They seem to be having fun actually,” Tilly says.
“Not fun,” says Finn, “something else. It’s not fun to be altered, to be driven away from your
nature and to be thrown into a world completely foreign to you.”
“Are we still talking about the chimpanzees?” Daphne asks and Finn shrugs his shoulders.
“We need a plan,” Damian says. “We have to get them out of the camp and drive them as far
away from us as possible. We can’t afford to share our food with them. Our crops are not as plentiful
this year.”
Biscuit sighs. “I’d like to share with them now,” he says reminding us that we haven’t eaten
since yesterday.
“First things first,” Damian says. “First we deal with the invaders, then we can worry about our
stomachs.”
We are all in agreement. Theo will activate the alarm siren. The rest of us will attack the chimp
apes shouting and waving our pulse guns. Doc is convinced they will have been conditioned to
dislike the guns, on top of the fact that like most creatures they will hate the loud noises. He’s
convinced they won’t want to stick around after all the racket and gun waving.
“It’s a good thing the Armory was locked,” Rabbit says. “Can you imagine if they could get their
hands on our weapons?”
“They actually look friendly,” Tilly says.
“They don’t belong here,” Daphne says before the alarm goes off.
I have my doubts but the plan works and the chimpanzees run out of the camp and keep running
until we can’t see or hear them anymore. They might come back now that they know there’s food here,
but we will be prepared. Our superior intellect has won the day. It will take a lot more than a few
DNA tweaks to create an earthly opponent able to match human kind.
“Don’t forget what we talked about,” Damian says brushing by me.
*
FINN STEPS INTO MY TENT and sits on the floor next to me. We were happy to see that our
tents, along with Rabbit’s, had been left untouched. The tents in the main part of the camp were
thrashed.
“What’s up, Tick? Is everything ok?”
I nod, but start to realize that nothing is okay. Damian’s right, everything looms over us,
unpredictable and threatening to swallow us. This is what happens when humanity is reduced to a
band of tenderfoots.
Finn says that we’ve got to join the others, help them clean the facilities and update the security
plan.
“Finn,” I say to stop him from leaving.
“What is it?”
“If they’re doing that to chimps, messing with their DNA and disposing of them like trash, what
do you think they do with us when they remove us from the plantations?”
Finn shakes his head. “Let’s hope we will never have to find out.”
“You always do that,” I protest.
“Do what?”
“Avoid giving a straight answer, avoid looking directly into the eyes of what’s been staring at
you since the day you were born.”
“What do you want from me, Freya?” he sighs.
“I want you to be honest. I don’t want you to try and protect me all the time. I mean, I even
understand Damian these days more than I understand you. I’m lost with you. I don’t know what’s
going on in your head.”
“Freya, it seems I can’t act in a way that pleases you. I am who I am and I remember a time
when you actually liked me. I’m not the same Finn. I’m growing. We’re all growing. Stop resisting
that.”
“I’m not resisting, I’m scared,” I yell at him as Rabbit and Scout show up at the entrance.
“Can we come in?” Rabbit asks and I urge them to do so with a gesture.
“Finn and I, well, we were about to come and join everyone.”
“Okay, cool, but before you do that, there’s something you need to know.”
“Spit it out, Rabbit.” Finn’s impatience is written all over his face.
“Ahem, Scout is moving to the empty tent next to mine,” Rabbit informs us while Scout nods in
agreement.
“What, now?” Finn says.
“There’s no better time,” Scout says. “My tent is a complete mess and I’ve wanted to make the
move for some time now.”
“Did you ask Damian?” I say.
“Did you when you moved here?” Finn says right before he leaves.
“What’s wrong with Finn?” Rabbit asks.
“I don’t know,” I say. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
“What do you think about my tent, Freya?” Scout asks.
“I think you should let Damian know before you do anything.”
“You’re right, it’s the proper thing,” she agrees.
*
WE FIND THE OTHERS in the Armory. I can sense the tension in the air before a single word
is uttered. Damian sits on one side. Daphne and Finn sit on the opposite side. No one looks happy.
When Damian sees us, he calls Scout over.
She looks insecure and gloomy as she goes to him.
Damian begins, “Daphne tells me you want to move and stay with Finn and the rest of them. Is
that true?”
“Um, I guess.”
“You guess or you know?”
“I guess… I know?”
Tilly laughs which doesn’t help matters. Damian will turn to Red pretty soon and everything
will go back to normal.
“Where people stay, should be their own business,” Daphne says. This is something new.
Daphne’s actually challenging her best friend and ally in front of the Saviors.
Damian looks thunderstruck as much as the rest of us. He wavers for a moment trying to take in
the situation. “You have no say in this,” he says in the end. I’m sure there’s a lot more he’d like to add but he controls himself.
Daphne won’t budge. “I don’t have a say, but Scout definitely does.”
“Enough. We have more urgent matters to deal with.” Red raises his voice and that should have
been the end of the conversation followed by a Daphne apology, but instead she glances at Finn
urging him to jump in.
“Daphne’s right,” Finn says. “You can’t bully us regarding our personal freedoms just because
we’ve elected you to lead us into battle.
We didn’t escape the plantation so that we could submit to
you about every little decision we make.”
This is so out of character for Finn, so preposterously bizarre that my jaw drops to the floor. My
shock feels like terror. I cannot put my finger on what it is that Daphne has hanging over Finn. How
did she manage to turn him into her puppet? Is he in love with her?
“Would you like to be the leader, Finn? Is that it?” Damian spits his words out slowly and
deliberately.
“I’m not challenging you, Damian. I just want to remind you that we are free people now. You
shouldn’t snap at anyone.”
The red rises in Damian’s cheeks. He turns to Daphne, simmering. “Do I snap at people without
a reason? Is this what I do?”
Daphne seems taken aback. She’s not sure how to respond. “You just snapped at me,” she
whispers.
“This has gone far enough,” Zoe interjects. “We’ve all been through a lot. We’re blowing off
stress. That’s all. We have to keep it together. There’s a lot of work to be done.”
It’s clear most of us agree or maybe we just want the tension to stop.
“You’re right, Zoe,” Damian says as he stares at Finn.
“I’m sorry,” Scout says. “I had no idea that I’d cause such a stir. I’ll stay where I am and repair
the tent.”
“Do whatever you want, Scout. None of this was your doing,” Damian assures her and then
marches out of the Armory alone.
I grab Finn’s arm and drag him to the back of the room. He doesn’t resist. “What the hell is the
matter with you?” I demand under my breath.
“Nothing’s the matter with me, I have everything under control.”
“That was under control? You’re doing exactly what you’ve told me not to do. And you’re doing
it repeatedly. Do not question authority, Freya. Not in public, Freya. You’re too impulsive, Freya. ”
My imitation doesn’t amuse him. He’s preoccupied. “I don’t expect you to understand,” he
offers, “but I hope you trust me.”
“Help me, Finn. Help me understand.”
“I can’t. It’s not up to me.”
“It’s Daphne, isn’t it? What does that girl have over you? Did she decide she’s had enough of
Damian and you’re her new man?”
“Can you please cut it off? You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“So tell me. I’m all ears.”
He licks his lips and shakes his head. “I can’t. I promised not to say anything. Not yet.”
“Was that what all your whispering has been about? Promises?”
“Freya!”
“You’re keeping secrets from me, Finn. How am I supposed to trust you?”
“I know it’s a lot to ask. Let it go for now.”
I can’t let go, not yet. “I can’t believe you’re conspiring with Daphne.”
He seems to be genuinely perplexed. “What do you have against Daphne? She’s fiercely loyal to
our cause and our well being. We’re all partners, Freya.”
“Some more than others apparently,” I conclude and then storm away.
Fiercely loyal, I think. Huh. Ask Damian about her loyalty. And Finn? All his loyalty has shifted
to Daphne. Maybe I should tell Damian about all this, but of course he would already have figured it
out. He’s just like me after all. Yuck. What a horrible thought. I am like Damian not only in our sense of doom, but we both are newly alone in the world, having lost our best friends.
12
We wake up to a pounding thunderstorm. The rain falls hard and heavy on the ground creating a
wet curtain around the camp and the forest. It was fortunate that we stayed up late tidying up the
place, fixing broken roofs, replacing mattresses and dishes. Biscuit and Tilly went out to our crops
and brought back vegetables, fruits and grains. It takes very little effort to grow and harvest these
super foods that were modified by the aliens so that they would thrive under any circumstances.
We rush out to bring in the few things that have been left lying around, dishes, pans and blankets.
The cool rainwater on my face, hair and arms is refreshing. My mood is lifted. There is promise in
the air, an invisible layer of possibilities.
We gather in the kitchen. Biscuit has prepared breakfast and there’s a lot of chit-chat. It’s the
first thunderstorm in a very long time and the elation in the room is palpable. Everyone is in a good
mood, including Damian and Daphne. It takes so little to make us happy. A good meal, a singing bird
or a thunderstorm. We want so little, yet we need so much. We need a different world, one with a
future.
We are probably the third or fourth generation of humans that have been born in labs but we
can’t be sure. All traces of recent history have been systematically destroyed and buried by the
invader aliens who seem to have no name and their frightful army of Sliman who, at times, look more
human than humans. The invasion must have been swift and devastating for there was no time to
record any of it. There’s nothing at the library, not even a scrap of paper with a short message on it for future generations.
We have no idea how it all happened. No details have ever leaked as to how the aliens took
over the Earth and began the Plantation system. That part of history seems lost forever. I remember a
phrase I read at the library while leafing through a quotations book a few months ago: “Those who
don’t remember history, are doomed to repeat it.” The words give me a chill.
During breakfast, I check on Finn as much as possible without making it too obvious. I watch his
movements and gestures. I try to read something in his face that doesn’t want to be read.
I become aware that something’s not right with Tilly when breakfast is almost over and Finn has
gone along with most of the Saviors.
The storm has quieted down. Tilly, Biscuit, Theo and Zoe are still in the kitchen with me. Tilly
sits by herself while Biscuit helps me clean up the tables. Theo and Zoe work on their touchpads
punching buttons impatiently.
“Everything good?” Biscuit asks Theo.
“Not sure,” Theo replies. “I’m a bit worried about the thunderstorm and its effect on our
communication system.”
“We depend on the satellite,” Zoe adds. “If there has been any interruption in our connection, we
might lose our link. It could take hours to re-establish.”
They excuse themselves and head for Theo’s lair where they can do more research. Tilly still
hasn’t said a word. I start to think that she might be sick. When I ask her what’s wrong, she just shrugs her shoulders. I catch her throwing a furtive glance towards Biscuit and start to put the two together.
“I have to go do something real quick before I forget,” I tell Biscuit. “Tilly’s under the weather,
can you try and cheer her up a bit?”
“Sure, leave it up to Biscuit to bring cheer into your life,” he says and I leave them alone
together.
Daphne spars with Nya and Scout in the combat ring. The storm is gone but the traces it has left
behind can be found all around the yard. Muddy soil, glistening leaves and the wonderful aroma that
comes after heavy rain.
I sit on the wet ground and watch them as they test their reflexes, their flexibility and their
stability. They look beautiful in the crystal clear sunlight of the after-storm, innocent yet unwavering.
Nya and Scout jump high a
nd try to reach a rope that’s hanging at about 10 feet off the ground but
they manage to collide in midair. They fall together on the ground. They take a look at each other
trying not to laugh.
“Get up, you fools,” Daphne yells at them. “This isn’t a playground, you have to take your
training seriously.”
Scout starts to apologize but Nya grabs Daphne by the arm.
“There’s no need for you to be so bitchy all the time,” she says. “Remember what you said to
Damian about snapping.”
Daphne is shocked for a second but it’s a very brief second. “Let go of me, you freak. Don’t you
ever call me bitchy ever again!”
“I’ll call you that if that’s what you are. Be something else and then I’ll call you that other
thing.” Nya speaks slowly and clearly.
Daphne pulls her arm violently from Nya’s clutch and screams at her.
Scout steps between them. “Stop it, Daphne,” Scout yells. “You’re not our boss, you can’t yell at
us like that.”
Scout looks at me, desperate. I know she wants me to intervene and I realize I have to, but I still
can’t bring myself to take one step closer to the incident. Our petty dramas are exhausting me.
I start to get up, but Daphne suddenly pounces and pushes me back down. She stands over me
angrily. When I try to get up, she steps closer and pushes me back down.
“What are you doing?”
“I don’t want to hear your voice,” she says and then I think I see tears welling in her eyes. This
has been a week of wonders. Daphne with tears. “Forget it,” Daphne says and storms away.
Before I know it, Zoe has appeared to help me to my feet.
“What the hell was that?” I say.
Zoe considers me with a deep look of concern. “She didn’t mean it, Freya. Don’t tell Damian.”
What’s going on, I think, as I see Nya and Scout escaping to the simulation rooms. I brush
myself off and Zoe helps.
“Please, Zoe, just back off. I can do this myself,” I say. I stare at Zoe as I pat dust off my pants.
Zoe is freaking me out. She acts like I have been hurt or something. “Fine, I won’t tell Damian or Finn or anyone. You know that.”
“Thank you, she’ll apologize eventually.”
“I won’t hold my breath,” I say and try not to smile.
[scifan] plantation - books one to three Page 8