The Dead Planet Series: Exodus (Book 1)
Page 4
Chapter 3
Thom and I glanced at each other just before Kara spoke, realizing that whatever she had to say would be the kind of sensitive information that could get both of us killed. I felt somewhat bad for leading Thom into a family affair like this, but Kara and I had no one else to turn to. I knew this would put me in Thom's debt and I was fine with that. Anything to protect my sister would be well worth it.
"As you know, Serus, I'm a scientist who does research and analysis on our planet's atmospheric conditions. Because we use an artificial electro-magnetic field, we need to constantly monitor it. The magnetic field allows us to maintain our atmospheric conditions, oxygen levels, and it protects us from most of the space debris that threatens us on a daily basis. Any changes in our atmospheric conditions can be very devastating.
"Anyways, I was monitoring the nuclear power source that powers the northern hemisphere’s electro-magnetic field when I realized that the uranium core was depleting at an abnormal rate. I put in some calls for a new uranium core and found out that all of the uranium discovered on Mars had not yet been enriched. I guess they felt that we had enough in our supply to last us another decade.
"By my calculations we have enough nuclear energy to power the magnetic field for another year to year and a half. We have enough uranium to last another several centuries, but we need to keep our power grid on line long enough to enrich what we have on hand. Given our current situation we will be pushing the envelope on the enrichment process being able to finish in time to create a new core. We are dealing with a process that hasn't been performed in at least twenty five hundred years when our ancestors left earth! It will be a challenge just to meet the deadline, but if word about this gets out it could cause mass hysteria.
"After double checking my figures I talked to some of the higher ups at the university to find a way to secure as much unnecessary power from being used in the metropolitan cities as possible, my thoughts were that we could reroute it to the magnetic field generators to buy us more time. Apparently that was a topic of interest because those power sources feed into the technology services that everyone uses and everyone is addicted to technology. I got into a heated discussion with Mr. Whelming about this a few days ago and I told him that some people may not be able to live without technology, but no one can live without the atmosphere. I guess he felt that I was too passionate about the situation to be trusted to keep quiet. He was talking about how a loss in technological services could affect how our society functions; he also mentioned something about profits in his ramblings. Now that he tried to have me killed I feel like I should have let the proverbial cat out of the bag sooner."
“I don’t think it would be a good idea to do that, at least not yet.” I said.
Thom stood up and paced around the room while clasping his hands behind his back. He moved over to the window and looked out over the water. "What is wrong with the uranium already mined?" He asked.
"Without the enrichment process it will lack efficiency," she said. "Besides the fact that the magnetic field generator is depleting the core too rapidly for how it was designed. Without fixing the generator, the problem will just arise again at a later time. This planet isn't exactly rich on natural resources, much less uranium specifically so we would have to be careful not to waste what little we do have."
"What would we need to do in order to prevent the magnetic field from collapsing entirely?" I asked.
"I really don't know what can be done," she said. "Everyone at the university already knows about it, but the technology we have is different from what they used on Earth. It's a science we have to learn to use when time doesn't permit us to fail. Maybe if we can find a supply of enriched uranium that no one knows about then we can avoid this fiasco. To be honest though, things are looking bleak."
I looked up at the clock to see that it was just after midnight. In about seven hours Pontiff White would be in his office. Maybe I could go see him about pulling the Syndicate's interest off of Kara. Unfortunately for all I knew he could be behind the decision that called the hit. He may just be a puppet of the Syndicate, but he still held more power than most of the people on the planet. Still, if he wasn’t behind the decision to kill Kara, and he knew of another supply of enriched uranium then maybe he could put a stop on the hit and help us save the magnetic field at the same time.
I went to the window and stood next to Thom and gazed out over the water. I could hear him breathing in and out of his nose as he stood there contemplating what Kara had told us. "What do you think?" I asked.
"It's possible that this information is critical enough that the Syndicate felt they needed to silence any potential threats who may release that information. Kara most likely stood out as the biggest threat. Realistically at this point every scientist that works with her could have hits placed on them. Also, I find it unlikely that there is some magical uranium supply stocked away that people have forgotten about. Best case scenario is that the people working on those power generators can delay the inevitable."
I knew he was right. I had to play my cards close to my chest. If I approached White about the hit on my sister then he may shrug it off and word his answers accordingly, always preserving the image of the Syndicate. If I approached him about some scientists being targeted for hits then maybe he won't draw the connection between me and Kara being related and I can get more answers. I also doubted the chance of anyone finding a hidden supply of uranium. If it did exist then putting the hit on Kara was moot. Either way it was going to be tricky to get answers out of White given the circumstances we were in.
"Do you think Pontiff White knows anything?" Thom asked.
"I was just thinking about that myself," I replied. "Maybe I should pay him a visit."
"It's risky, Serus. Three policemen were killed by a fellow agent. If you go into his office trying to meddle in affairs of the state then he may connect the dots, provided he hasn't connected them already," Thom said.
"Yeah, you're right," I said.
"Of course I'm right," he smiled. "I had a good teacher."
I nudged Thom in the ribs with my right elbow and smiled, a small reprieve from the drama of the day. Sometimes it's good to have a friend. A looked over at Kara who was rubbing her eyes tiredly. I knew I had to do something to save her. She was all that I had left.
"Thom, I need you to look after my sister while I‘m out. Can you do that for me? This is something that could go south very easily and I don't want her to pay for any failure on my part with her life." He nodded in response and I walked back over to the couch and sat next to Kara, taking her hand in mine.
"Kara?" I whispered. She lifted her tired green eyes up to my own and a frown pouted her lips. "I'm going to fix this, I promise. I just need you to stay here with Thom. You can trust him as a friend, I promise," she nodded at me as I draped my arm around her shoulder. I could feel her heart beating under my arm; obviously the fear had not subsided from what had happened earlier. She was as fragile as a flower, and now this kind of political war was invading her life. I had to protect her at all cost.
I patted her back gently before standing. I straightened out my uniform and nodded at Thom before turning to leave his apartment. I looked back and smiled at Kara before walking out the door; she brushed her raven black hair away from her face and smiled back at me. Once upon a time we were almost twins in our appearance. Now it seemed that life had preserved her beauty, but left me a shadowy version of myself. I stepped out of Thom's apartment and went on my way; my next stop would be the office of Pontiff White.