The Gaia Effect

by Claire Buss

  'This is everything we have on Anti-Corps movements in the past six months. I think you might be surprised at how widespread their little spies are.'

  The agent paused as if deciding whether or not to reveal any more details. He thumbed his earlobe whilst moving back to stand at the side of the Chief's desk.

  'In fact,' Deveraux said. 'We also know about your own personal infiltration.'

  Pete and Jed tried to keep their face neutral.

  'Anti-Corp are not the only ones who look to the student body for convenient bug placers gentlemen. Your apartment has been under surveillance for several months now. Audio only – of course.'

  Jed's jaw tightened. The Chief interrupted, glaring at the Agent.

  'What Deveraux is trying to say is that he wants you to continue in your infiltration of Anti-Corp. Find out everything you can because we will not be left on the sidelines holding our arses when this thing kicks off.' The Chief breathed heavily through his nose.

  Jed addressed Deveraux.

  'I assume you'll be removing that bug immediately. Now that we're on the same page.'

  The Agent shrugged.

  'Sure. Just make sure you use the info jacks I've given you to get up to speed and then continue to update us with your progress.'

  Jed nodded, then looked at the Chief.

  'Anything else, Sir?'

  'I want you heading up a team for today's protest, Jenkins. I will not allow these fragging activists to get away with anything. If one of them so much as puts a toe out of line you arrest first, ask questions later. That'll be all.'

  ANTIC: No Comment says Corporation in the face of medical miracles – new experiment gone wrong sparks health scares – check your womb today!

  ANON6: Martha Hamble was the rape victim!!!

  ANON88: Serves her right – Corpers deserve it.

  JMBISH: Have some respect you sweep vultures and leave the poor girl alone!

  MAHA: Thank you for the supportive messages. I am keeping the baby.

  ANTIC: We support MAHA.

  'What the frag are SI doing bugging your fragging apartment?' Pete asked when the two men were back at their desks, his face red, fists clenched. Jed ran a hand through his hair as he sat. His head felt like it was fizzing. Everything seemed to be running out of control. Four women falling pregnant. All of them he, and especially Kira, knew. One of them suffering a miscarriage. And now that their little spy stunt had stumbled on the HER source, things were getting more and more serious.

  'I think we need to get ourselves up to spec.' Pete waved the info jack at his partner.

  'I agree,' Jed said, 'I'll just send Kira a quick message.'

  Hi love, it was an internal leak – we're on it. Tell everyone to stay in and stay safe. I'll fill you in when I get home. Love you xx J.

  It took several hours to go through the data on the jacks. Jed was surprised, and a little impressed, at how far Anti-Corp had managed to infiltrate. They had people in every division of Corporation, with access to every level. It was clear to Jed they were planning to release the information about HER from Science Division, but there was no indication as to a time-frame.

  The protest planned for this afternoon was about water restrictions. It was being held outside Corporation HQ, about as far from Science Division as you could get.

  Anti-Corp were meant to be demonstrating peacefully, but the Chief didn't trust them - especially after the Special Investigation bombshell. He wanted as many Force operatives on site, and that meant riot gear, as per procedure. Since the pregnancies had been leaked over the news sweep that morning, people were becoming restless. Jed had felt it when he'd walked through the Community Hub on his way to work. There had been a lot of muttering and hostility, much of it broadcast through the news feed and aimed towards the pregnant women. Fortunately, Jed knew Martha and Ingrid had enough sense to keep away from the Hubs, but it didn't stop him worrying about them. Especially his sister, who still believed Corporation could do no wrong.

  The Corporation kept a tight control over water allowance. It was the most precious resource there was – if the reports that no usable water existed outside the city were true, that is. Jed had always listened with interest to Ruth's descriptions of what she found beyond the city. Most young people made a foray, but Jed had never got round to it. Then he'd made Detective. And then he'd gotten Grace. It was too much to risk for the sake of idle curiosity. Besides, what possible reason could the Corporation have to lie about water. It made no sense to Jed. Catching up with the others on his riot team, Jed exchanged greetings with them and then went through his own kit check. Just because they weren't expecting trouble didn't mean he shouldn't be prepared. After gearing up he went to find his partner.

  ANTIC: Fight Corporation for water rights - today at noon.

  Pete was whistling as he grabbed his stuff from his desk.

  'Why do you sound so happy?' Jed asked.

  'Half day. I'm off for the weekend, so no responsibilities. And best of all I'm spending it all with Ingrid and …'

  Pete remembered where he was and stopped speaking, looking around to see if anyone was listening. Jed knew he meant Ingrid and the unborn baby. He was pleased for his friend, especially now Pete would become family, but he was still caught up in everything they'd learnt this morning.

  'Don't you think you should stay here?' Jed said. 'Now that we know more about....well, everything.'

  A ping came through Pete's wristplant. He glanced down and grunted.

  'Guess whose working late. Again. That woman is a workaholic.'

  'You could always stay for protest watch.'

  'No thanks,' Pete paused. 'I've got...' He looked round again then continued in a quieter tone. 'Little person things to do. And as for the rest of it.' He waved his hand. 'There's nothing we can do right now. They've put extra security measures in place at Science Division and the other girls are all at home today right?'

  Jed agreed with Pete, but he did not feel happy about it.

  'Alright Pete. Take care out there, who knows what information they'll leak next. I've got to get my team ready. Have a good one.'

  Jed clapped his friend on the back before heading out.

  Ingrid sat at her desk. A single droplet of sweat trickled down the side of her face.

  'Air-con!'

  A tinny voice replied. 'Air temperature is at an optimum nineteen degrees Celsius.'

  It seemed natural pregnancy came with pitfall after pitfall, even with regular check ups. Even so, Ingrid didn't want to feel like she was being parboiled from the inside out if she could help it. Perhaps her electronics weren't functioning properly. The med-tech had told her that changes in her magnetic auras due to the pregnancy could affect her implants, and as some of the tech was in beta test, there were still kinks in the software. A cool breeze swept over her as the doors to her office opened. It was her boss.

  Ingrid, you look cooked. He projected with his telepathic neural implants - the latest thing being developed. They were full of bugs and blinking out all the time – Ingrid's especially.

  A green shimmer waved its way across the room. Ingrid watched, entranced, picking out motes of gold and red. She felt the fire within embrace her and stretch to the ends of her being. There was something. A noise. A noise that didn't belong. It shattered the colours into a myriad of rainbows as her bosses neural network invaded again.

  I'm serious – I need those figures stat. Meeting in t-minus 10.

  Her boss left the room and a jolt went through Ingrid's body as she remembered what she was supposed to have been working on. This is why you aren't finishing on time, she thought to herself.

  Ingrid tapped her receiver and bought up the screen, amalgamating sales and losses. The figures looked good. Only a handful of off radars, and those would be picked up by Agency. A curl of steam wound its way out of her nostril. Butterflies fluttered in her womb as more sweat trickled down her back.

  Dina pushed her way to the front of the crowd,
looking for Ruth. Despite the morning's sweeps they'd decided it would be prudent if both of them were present at the peaceful protest but they'd travelled separately. Who knew how many Anti-Corp eyes were watching them, and being seen at a public event should help maintain their cover, bringing Ruth one step closer to her husbands body.

  Dina wished Anti Corp would hurry up with whatever it was they wanted from Science Division. She was looking forward to her next session in the fish bowl, and it seemed she was a front runner for permanent selection.

  Bobby appeared next to her.

  'Hello my little pregnant chip.'

  'I'm not pregnant,' Dina snapped.

  'That's not what the sweeps say.'

  'Yeah, well, sometimes the sweeps are wrong.'

  There was a tense silence as Dina scanned the crowd looking for Ruth and Martha, wishing Bobby would go away. Finally he spoke.

  'Great job on the planting. We've got everything we need.'

  Dina turned to look at him.

  'So I'm done?'

  'For now,' Bobby confirmed. 'Although we can always use more soldiers. Especially as you are so uniquely qualified to fight against Corporation.' He took her wrist and pressed his own wristplant to her tech, transferring contact details. 'You can reach me anytime.' He smiled down at Dina, his eyes twinkling, full of mischief.

  'Thanks,' Dina muttered, as he melted back into the crowd.

  'Air-con,' Ingrid asked again, not bothering to hear the reply.

  She messaged the office intern for ice, and when the cup appeared on her desk – the contents began to melt. The cold squares quickly ran into liquid as she picked up the cup. A ripple shuddered through the water as tiny bubbles started to form. She put the cup down, noting her melted fingerprints on the surface. It was stifling in her office, there was no air and the heat. She began to panic. I'm with child. I can't be sick. What is wrong? Ingrid dialled through to the Med Centre, and requested a check up. She sat half panting as they checked her vitals remotely.

  'Infant is fine.'

  'What about me?'

  'Carrier is normal. Keep up the good work.'

  She couldn't believe it. Her hair was stuck to her scalp, her tunic was moulded to her body, and steam was rising. From the back of her hands. She looked at her reflection in the window by the side of her desk and thought she saw flickers of flame in her eyes. What was happening?

  'What was all that about?' asked Ruth breathlessly, as she and Martha pushed past protestors to stand next to Dina.

  'Do you think we should all be here?' Dina asked. 'Aren't you worried at being recognised?'

  'We can't stay locked away forever,' Martha said. 'Besides, isn't Jed working this protest? I'm sure we'll be safe.'

  'Never mind us,' Ruth said, 'What did Bobby say?'

  'Well, he congratulated me on my pregnancy,' Dina sniffed. 'And apparently I'm all done, for now. At Science Division. They've got what they wanted.'

  'I hope you told him to frag off,' Ruth said sharply.

  Dina looked down at her feet, hunching her shoulders.

  'We should let Jed know,' Martha said, reaching for her ear comm.

  Dina grabbed her hand.

  'Not here. Later.' Dina gestured at the crowd. 'We just need to show our faces briefly and then we can get back to Kira's. We can fill everyone in then.'

  Ruth linked one arm through Dina's and one through Martha's, and the three women began to meander through the protestors. As they passed by the Force defenders, Jed raised his eyebrows at them, but the women smiled serenely at him and continued on their slow circuit.

  'Asking for trouble,' Jed muttered, scanning the crowd for troublemakers.

  There was a commotion to the left. A man and a women, dressed in garish purple with identical cropped heads, were pushing through the throng roughly, trying to get to where Martha and the others were.

  'I know who you are,' shouted the woman. 'You're Hamble's daughter – you're one of the affected.'

  Jed discreetly called for back up, and began to make his way over to the women.

  'Aren't you going to say anything?' The woman sounded slightly hysterical.

  'Yes, I am Martha Hamble. My handle is MAHA, and I will post an update later.'

  'I don't want some sweeping update. I want answers. Now!'

  The woman pushed Martha hard. Martha windmilled her arms but lost her balance and fell backwards with a jolt. Jed quickly grabbed the aggressive woman and magno-bound her arms behind her back.

  'Get off me!' she screamed as she fought the restraints. 'You can't touch me. Filthy Force scum.'

  'Martha – are you okay?' Jed called out.

  Dina and Ruth were helping Martha back up. She looked pale and shaken.

  'We'll take her home and do a Med check,' Ruth said, using her body to block access to Martha's as they forced their way out of the crowd.

  Jed jabbed his finger at two nearby Force Officials. 'You two. Go with them, see them safely home.'

  The woman who had attacked Martha was still struggling. Jed touched his ear comm.

  'I need an offender transport from Corp HQ protest, now.'

  The butterflies rippled inside her. Ingrid got up, hot, exhausted, melting, and walked across the floor in a burning daze. The door was open. The corridor felt cooler and she knew that if she got out of the building she would feel so much better. She could feel heat absorb her, reflect out of her, resonate with her soul and the child within. Suddenly tendrils of flame were licking her skin in bursts of heat. Her electronics fell out, breaking as they hit the ground. It felt like the sun burnt twice as brightly as Ingrid exploded into flames, and woke up with a start. She looked around wildly, before realising she was still at her desk and despite feeling a little warm, she certainly wasn't on fire.

  Since finding out she was pregnant this wasn't the first time Ingrid had had a dream about catching fire at work, although what it was supposed to mean was beyond her. She had put it down to an odd side effect from changes in her hormone levels, and her reluctance to go into work this morning after a distressing heat dream, was pure laziness. Just because she was growing a life inside her and not in a laboratory like it was supposed to be, didn't mean she had the luxury of lying around all day. Ingrid was under way too much scrutiny to show any sign of weakness, especially today with the information leak to the sweeps.

  A ping on Ingrid's console refocused her attention to the figures in front of her. She had to get this done. She had plans. Suddenly her desk started to move as the floor fell away and a gaping chasm opened up beneath her. Ingrid held her stomach as she tumbled down, her last thoughts of Pete.

  A boom rang through the air as the ground shook and a plume of smoke appeared across the city. All around Jed urgent instructions could be heard from Force Control.

  'Terrorist attack at Corp Tech. Calling all units for immediate scramble. Terrorist attack at Corp Tech. Calling all units for immediate scramble.'

  'Frag!'

  Jed looked at his wristplant. Ingrid was still at work. Releasing the aggressive protestor, Jed gathered his team. All the Force skimmers were parked nearby, Jed and his team were in the air and on their way within moments of receiving the call.

  ANON76: Corp Tech explodes – live feed available.

  When he arrived at the scene, Jed looked at the wreckage in dismay. There was nothing left of the building except a pile of smouldering rubble. Dust hung thick on the air. Force operatives donned their breathing gear and a Detective organised the safety barrier. Jed quickly found the first on scene operative.

  'Was anyone inside?' Jed asked, his voice sounding thick in his ears.

  'Most likely, Sir. Apparently there was a meeting on the upper floors but we haven't sent teams into the rubble yet.'

  'The list? Do you have the list?'

  The operative passed over his handheld. Jed frantically scanned the list, checking, checking.

  There. Her name. Ingrid Jenkins. Present. She hadn't left yet.

 
'Frag it. She shouldn't even be there.'

  'Sir?'

  'I'll head a team up. Let's get moving.' Jed commandeered the handheld and yelled for his unit to fall in behind.

  They headed over to the destruction. Drones hovered above making their own scans. Several had stopped above a patch of rubble, beeping, indicating life signs beneath. Quickly, Jed divided his unit into two teams. Heading up one of the teams, he began to shift the rubble aside using pressure blasts where needed.

  The second team found a body first. Jed's heart pounded in his chest as he craned his neck to see. It was a brunette. Relief rushed through his body, he didn't even stop to feel guilty – he had to find his sister. One of his operatives uncovered a man's shoe and Jed wanted to scream in frustration but they had to help anyone they found. After shifting a pile of rubble the man's leg ended abruptly and one of the rescuers threw up behind a broken chair. This was taking too long. Jed blasted some ceiling wreckage into smaller pieces and a pale arm flopped out with the debris.

  'Halt,' Jed yelled.

  He knew that arm. He knew that hand. It couldn't be. He began to scrabble desperately with his hands at the debris, gradually clearing enough away for the team to help him pull the inert body out of the wreckage.

  It was Ingrid.

  And she was not breathing.

  'Medic!' Jed screamed.

  A medic rushed over. Jed cradled his sister's head on his lap, unaware of the tears streaming down his face. The medic ran his scanner over Ingrid's body, then jerked it back in surprise.

  'This one's gone,' he said. 'But there's an anomaly.'

  Before he could continue his report, Jed finished it for him.

  'Her name is Ingrid. And she's pregnant.'

  The medic yelled over to his colleagues. 'I need a gurney - stat.' He tried to move Ingrid from Jed's lap, but Jed shoved him away roughly. 'Sir. We may be able to save the baby.'

  One of the Force operatives put a hand on the medic's shoulder, bent down and whispered in his ear. The medic looked up in dismay at Jed clinging on to his dead sister's body.

  'I had no idea,' he said. 'I'm so sorry for your loss, but we have to act quickly if we hope to save the child.'