Plains of Utopia
Colony Six Mars
Gerald M. Kilby
Contents
Reader’s Group
Maps
1. Jann
2. Nills
3. Mia
4. Gizmo
5. All Wired Up
6. Our Sol Will Fall
7. The Brandon Waystation
8. The Order of Xenon
9. Plains of Utopia
10. By the Book
11. Enclave
12. Time to Dig
13. Walkabout
14. A Promise
15. Innermost Cavern
16. Primary Directive
17. Access Denied
18. Shoulder to Shoulder
19. Decision Fork
20. A Friend in Need
21. Failure to Comply
22. Network Node
23. Atmosphere Processing
24. Time to Get Real
25. Deserted
26. Breakdown
27. APU
Epilogue
Author’s Note
Also by Gerald M. Kilby
About the Author
Reader’s Group
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1
Jann
Dr. Jann Malbec studied the DNA analysis displayed on screen as Dr. Lewis Dendryte, Head of Forensics, pointed out the salient details—not that he needed to, because it only took Jann a moment to realize there was only one person on Mars with a DNA signature even remotely like the one she was now looking at.
But it was not so much the scientific detail that concerned her, it was more the seismic repercussions. If what she was seeing were true, and she had no reason to doubt it, then something very weird was going on, something that brought back memories of the horrors of an earlier time—a time that Dr. Jann Malbec wished never to experience ever again.
The colony had just come through a yearlong dust storm, further exacerbated by a tech embargo from Earth and a quasi-revolution in Syrtis. The entire period almost finished the colony on Mars as an independent entity, and although things were returning to some level of normality, the overall political and economic situation was still precarious. So much so that she had been recalled by the Mars Council and pressed back into the service of the state.
Jann had spent most of her time during the Great Storm, as it had become known, holed up with Nills Langthorp on an opulent orbital station owned and operated by the industrialist, Lane Zebos. It began simply as a short sojourn, a vacation of sorts, but as the storm progressed, eventually engulfing the entire planet, the station had turned into a refuge, albeit for a privileged few.
As the months passed, Jann found herself becoming more and more distant from the trials being experienced by the people living on the planet surface below. It was only when she received a long and detailed report from Mia Sorelli on the chaos that had taken place in Syrtis that she began to realize just how detached she had become from the reality on the ground. She vowed to make amends and returned to Jezero City as soon as flights resumed after the Great Storm. The Council then prevailed upon her to help shore up confidence in the current administration as the reconstruction efforts got underway and the citizens of Mars tried, as best they could, to put the past behind them and return to something akin to normality.
But now this new threat had emerged. Two sols ago, a ship bound for Earth blew up on the launch pad on the outskirts of Jezero City during a routine ignition test. The failure was catastrophic; all that remained was a shredded hunk of metal and a large crater. Fortunately there were no people on board at the time, nor were there any ground crew present, as the test had been performed remotely.
Yet, buried in the wreckage of the ship lay the charred remains of two bodies, so badly burned that the only way to identify them was through a DNA test, and it was the results of this analysis that were proving to be truly seismic.
“You’re saying they’re an exact match?” Jann looked over at Dendryte.
“Insofar as a DNA fingerprint can tell. Yes, identical in every way.”
“Twins?” Jann offered.
“Possibly.” Dendryte pushed his old-fashioned glasses back up his nose. “But twins of this age are rare here on Mars. There are only two pairs in the population, and all four are alive and kicking. So if what we’re looking at are indeed twins, then they’re not from around here. And, there’s no record of twins arriving on the planet since well before the Great Storm.”
He paused for a beat and readjusted his glasses again. “The other interesting observation, and the primary reason I brought it to your attention, is that the DNA shows a remarkable similarity to…eh, Xenon Hybrid. I’ve identified several micro-islands of sequences that are only seen in his DNA.”
Jann shifted her gaze back to the lab data. “Yes, I noticed that. I know that signature so well it was the first thing that jumped out at me. Yet”—she paused for a beat—“it’s not specifically his, is it?”
“Correct. There are subtle differences. But still, it’s very odd.”
Jann studied the patterns on the screen again and tried to think about what all of this meant. Xenon Hybrid had an exotic profile, a result of him being an amalgam of several strands of enhanced human DNA. He was unique, and one of the few still alive from that dark period of the colony’s past when human cloning and genetic experimentation were practiced without restriction. Some said his DNA was so different that he represented a new human species—less Homo sapien and more Homo ares.
He was also a highly revered individual, and still—technically, at least—the head-of-state. But seeing as how this was a ceremonial post with no power, it allowed room for Xenon’s more obvious eccentric behavior. Not many had seen or heard from him for many years. He had removed himself from society and gone wandering, trying to discover the essence of the planet. Gone native, as many would say. Mostly this was seen as a cultural project, and no one minded too much. Many even applauded this walkabout and viewed it as the foundation of a deeper Martian cultural understanding. Then, around three Earth years ago, he stopped his wandering and established a quasi-spiritual retreat in an old research outpost some fifteen hundred kilometers north of Jezero Crater, deep within a region know as the Plains of Utopia. Since that time, there had been a constant trail of devotees making their way north. And soon, his enclave grew into a community estimated to be around a hundred or so people. No one bothered them, and they bothered no one.
“Who else knows about this?” Jann said, looking directly at Dendryte.
He screwed his mouth up and shook his head. “No one else, not yet. I almost don’t believe what I’m seeing. So I thought it best to, eh…get a second opinion.”
Jann nodded. “Good, a wise decision. We need to keep this under wraps for the moment.”
He shifted from one foot to the other. “I don’t know how long I can keep a lid on things. We’re talking about an ongoing investigation, and this is a critical piece of evidence. They’ll be expecting the results soon.”
Jann considered this for a moment. Dendryte was right: he could only stall for so long before he would have to reveal his analysis. Of course, there was always the possibly that nobody would believe it—she was having a very hard time believing it herself.
“You didn’t just bring this to me for a second opinion, Lewis. You know just as well as I do that this raises more questions than it answers. I assume there is no match in the population database for this DNA sample?”
Dendryte nodded, a little sheepishly.
“I think we have to assume these two individuals are clones.” Jann gestured back at the screen. “Clones that have been derived, in part, from the DNA of Xenon Hybrid?” Jann said this more as a question than a statement of fact.
“That would be one hypothesis.”
“Is there another?”
Dendryte stared at the data for a moment, then slowly shook his head. “None that I would regard as plausible. Yet, who would even have the technological know-how to do this?”
“Who indeed. But it also begs another question. That is, was the destruction of that ship really an accident? And if not, then who’s behind all this?”
Dendryte remained silent. He simply stared at the screen as if this simple act would somehow give him the answers.
Jann finally gave a dismissive gesture. “Look, this is all just speculation, nothing more. But I’m saying it to underline the danger of jumping to conclusions. One thing is for sure: there is more to this than meets the eye. That’s why we need to keep a lid on it for a few sols while I do some digging and try to find out what the heck is going on.”
“I understand.” Dendryte nodded. “But I can only sit on this for a few sols at most. If it goes past that, then questions will be asked, or they could simply get someone else to do the analysis and the truth will eventually come out.”
“I appreciate that, Lewis. But we might know a lot more in a few sols. Just keep it between us for the moment.”
Dendryte nodded again, more emphatically this time. “Okay, I’ll do what I can.” He turned and walked out, leaving Jann with her thoughts.
She switched on the holo-table and brought up a 3D map of Mars, then zoomed in on the location of Xenon’s enclave up in the northern lowlands, in the Plains of Utopia. It was a sizable facility now, far greater that the humble research station it had once been. She stood back as the holo-table slowly rotated the 3D rendering. “What have you been doing up there, Xenon?” she whispered to herself. “Maybe it’s time I paid you a visit.”
2
Nills
Nills Langthorp stood in the main hall of the Jezero City Science Museum, folded his arms, and considered the forlorn exhibit that was the final resting place of the droid, Gizmo.
Since all flights out of Jezero were suspended in the wake of the catastrophic accident at the main spaceport, he was now stuck here for longer than planned. So, with time on his hands, he decided to go see his old robotic friend and pay his respects, so to speak.
Even though Gizmo had gone its own way, first attaching itself to Dr. Jann Malbec and later to Mia Sorelli, Nills had always been concerned for it, like how a parent would for their own child. Yet, like a parent, over time he had learned to let go and stop worrying about the little robot. Now though, looking at the droid in this sorry state, he could not help but feel a pang of guilt for not being there when its fate was being decided by the Mars Council.
He stepped over the low, braided rope cordoning off the exhibit, much to the surprise of a few other visitors who had also chosen to kill some time exploring the technical history of the Martian colony.
Nills turned to them and gestured at the exhibit. “Maintenance,” he said, then stepped up onto the low plinth.
“Trash would be more like it for that old thing,” a young, elegantly dressed man with a distinct Earther look snapped back with a laugh.
Nills ignored him. Instead, he began giving the droid a closer examination. “What have they done to you, Gizmo?” he said to himself, shaking his head. “You look like complete crap.”
He ran a hand over the gaping hole in Gizmo’s breastplate where it had taken a direct hit from a high-powered plasma weapon. “That’s not good.”
He bent down, peered in, and started probing with his fingers, feeling out the extent of the damage. After a moment, he extracted his hand, stepped back, and scratched his chin before taking another walk around the machine. He made a slow circuit and arrived back at the start, facing the forlorn robot.
Nills shook his head. “Well, Gizmo, you’re all banged up, that’s for sure. I’m surprised they didn’t just send you to the crusher.”
For a long time, he just stood looking at the droid as memories of past exploits rippled through his mind. I can’t just leave it here to simply be scoffed at by moronic tourists…can I? He considered this for a while, running through the ramifications, both technical and political, of trying to reanimate the droid. Taking possession of it again would need Council approval, and that would take time—a lot of time, with no guarantee that his request would be successful. In fact, it would be highly unlikely. And even if he did manage it, then there was the considerable technical challenge of rebuilding it. Maybe the droid could be made to work again, but how would he restore its mind? Would it still be the same Gizmo?
His comms pinged. It was a message from Jann. The Council session was over, and she was now free to meet up. Nills took one more look at the droid. “I’m not making any promises, old buddy. You’re banged up pretty bad, and parts are still in short supply. Then there’s the Council to consider, and you know what they’re like.”
He turned to go, hesitated, then placed a hand on its shoulder joint. “Hang in there, I’ll think of something.”
* * *
It never ceased to amaze Nills how a biologist such as Jann could be so engrossed in politics. For him, it seemed like hell. All that arguing, and backstabbing, and manipulating, just to get something done—crazy. It was so much easier dealing with technical systems, where most problems could be fixed by simply following a logical process. There was nothing logical about politics. Still, Jann seemed happier now that they had returned to Jezero and became more involved with the Council.
They agreed to meet in the great biodome, the oldest sector in Jezero, a place with many memories for both of them. He found her sitting on a low bench beside a small pond, surrounded by lush vegetation and exotic trees. It was quiet, and no one else was around.
Nills nodded a greeting as he caught her eye. “Any word on when flights will resume?”
“Is that all you’re worried about?” She said this more as a statement.
“Aren’t you?” He sat down beside her.
“Right at this moment, Nills, that’s actually the least of my concerns.”
“What? Something crop up at the Council meeting?”
“Not exactly.” Jann glanced around her as if to check they were alone. “I’m going to tell you something, Nills. But you must promise me that it stays between us.” Her voice was low, almost conspiratorial.
“Don’t tell me the explosion at the spaceport was sabotage?”
Jann cocked an eyebrow at him. “What makes you think that?”
“It was a joke.” He paused, examining her face. “Holy crap, really?”
Jann gave a dismissive gesture. “It has not been ruled in or out at the moment.”
“That’s a classic politician’s answer,” Nills replied with a grin.
Jann gave a light laugh. “Yeah, I suppose it is.” Then her face turned serious, and she lowered her voice. “There were two bodies found at the scene.”
Nills raised an eyebrow.
“So badly burned,” she continued, “that we had to identify them using DNA samples. A half hour ago, I obtained the results of that analysis…and you’re not going to believe this, but it looks like they’re clones. Not only that, their DNA is remarkably similar to…Xenon Hybrid.”
Nills wasn’t sure if he had heard her correctly. “Clones?”
Jann nodded.
Nills remained silent for a beat. “Is it possible there’s an error in the analysis?”
“No error. No mistake.”
“I can’t believe
it. Xenon?”
“I’ve kept this quiet for the moment. You, me, and Dr. Dendryte, the Head of Forensics, are the only ones who know. But that’s only for a few sols. Then it will come out.”
Nills shook his head in disbelief. “Xenon was always a bit of an eccentric weirdo, but I just can’t see him involved in…cloning, after all he went through.”
“Neither can I. That’s why I think we should pay a visit to his enclave, up in the Plains of Utopia.”
Nills’ head snapped around and gave her an incredulous look. “Are you serious? That’s a hell of a journey, and there’s no flights, remember?”
“No one knows what’s been going on up in that place, Nills. They’re very secretive, they even have a vetting process before anyone can visit. But I don’t think Xenon would refuse an unannounced visit from you and me, now would he?”
Nills remained silent as he considered this.
“Something very weird is going on.” Jann sounded more concerned now. “A ship is destroyed and two bodies show up with identical DNA, and it all seems to lead to Xenon.”
Nills shook his head again. “I still can’t believe he’s involved in something like this. Granted, he’s very strange, but he’s fundamentally benign. I can’t see him doing anything that would undermine the functioning of the colony.”
Plains of Utopia: Colony Six Mars Page 1
