by M. D. Cooper
Isa was aghast at her landlord’s mercenary attitude. Her expression must have shown her feelings, for he turned quickly away from her and resumed his journey around the room, as if he felt a little ashamed. But Isa was also curious about Singh’s other statement.
“Do you really think that Troy will secede soon?” she asked.
His comment didn’t seem to make much sense. A parliamentary election had taken place only a few months prior, and the party that had run on a secession agenda had lost. Despite the noisy rallies, Isa had the impression that most Trojans were not behind the idea.
“Yes,” said Singh. “I do. I can’t elaborate on how I know, but, between you and me, it would be wise for you and your family to be prepared.”
“Prepared? In what way? Are you saying we should leave?”
Isa couldn’t imagine herself, Martin, or Erin uprooting again after such a short time on Troy.
Singh had progressed to the opposite side of the space. His slight form was dwarfed by the wall that stretched all the way up to the narrow, rectangular windows of the third story. He faced Isa and spoke across the length of the room.
“I’m not advising you one way or the other. But the time to decide whether you’re a Trojan or a New Canaanite is coming soon. Whatever you think that decision might be, you and your family should act in accordance with your long-term interests. If you don’t believe in Troy’s independence, living here will quickly become uncomfortable.”
Singh resumed his inspection, leaving Isa in silence while she chewed on his words.
A few moments later, he said, “Ah, now look at this scrape.” He indicated an area of the wall. Isa couldn’t see any damage from the distance she was at, so the mark was either faint or non-existent.
“Disgraceful,” Singh continued. “This may require this section of wall to be replaced.”
* * * * *
Sickened by her landlord’s attitude and worried about what the future held for her family, Isa hurried Singh through his inspection and left her gallery not long after he finally departed. Surveying the aftereffects of the drill had depressed her. She needed a change of scenery and some exercise.
Isa had spent so much time working on her enterprise since arriving in Troy that she hadn’t spent any time in the capital’s streets. She felt like they would be a good place to just hang out and do nothing, which was exactly what she needed. She was also wondering if Singh been bullshitting her with his ominous warnings.
Is Heliopolis on the verge of some kind of uprising? Or did I misunderstand what Singh meant, and something even more sinister is going on?
She didn’t know the man very well. It was possible he was only being a dramatic scaremonger. On the other hand, she’d heard about several demonstrations, and one had taken place directly outside her gallery. If what Singh was implying was true, he was right in that she, Erin, and Martin had a hard decision to make, and soon.
Isa walked along the sidewalk outside her business, unsure where she should go. Heliopolis was full of interesting narrow alleyways and tiny shops, as well as wide plazas decorated with frescos under awnings that were unusually colorful compared to the generically white buildings.
In the end, it was the pinnacle on the skyline that captured her attention. The spike was visible from all parts of the city. Isa knew that the structure rose from Troy’s Government House, but she had never been there.
Using the point as a guide, she headed in its direction. On her way, she passed all the usual places she expected to see in any capital in New Canaan: bars and cafes, sim centers, sports facilities, body modding clinics, parks and gardens, speciality food vendors, and autocab stations. People seemed to be going about their business normally; she didn’t detect a mood of discontent or restlessness. Life went on as usual. But then what did unrest in a population look like to the casual observer?
When she reached the avenue that led toward Troy’s parliament, she paused for a moment to take in the building’s majestic appearance. The sight caused her to forget her troubles for a short time and return to her earlier speculation on whether she should create a cityscape installation. She could do a lot with such a magnificent structure.
Isa snapped herself out of her reflection. She might not be running a gallery on Troy at all in the near future.
She continued to walk down the long avenue, the afternoon sun beating down on her bare head. As soon as she’d taken a quick look around the government buildings, she would return to the gallery and make her modest and honest claim for damages. Then she would fly home. Perhaps Martin and Jude were already there.
The thought of Martin reminded her once again of the fight he’d had with Erin that morning. Isa had always been aware how easy it would be for her two strong-willed, opinionated spouses to fall out with each other, and it had finally happened. Suddenly, the prospect of returning home didn’t seem so inviting.
By the time Isa reached the imposing mirrored spiral of Troy’s parliament, she was gloomy again. On both a public and personal level, everything around her seemed to be falling apart. Why was everyone so determined to be discontent?
Isa wandered under the overhanging upper stories of Government House, where it was shady and cool. She halted and looked upward. The rows of floors, each larger than the one below, rose away into the sky. At the structure’s base stood the transparent walls of its first floor. Isa looked inside at the lobby where visitors, tourists, workers, and maybe some politicians mingled.
What caught her attention, and caused her to wonder about the planet’s future even further, was the presence of so many guards.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
STELLAR DATE: 05.18.8941 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Marine Park, Ithaca
REGION: Troy, New Canaan System
The octopuses were misbehaving and—for some reason that Martin hadn’t figured out—dealing with them had become his responsibility. He didn’t relish the task, but it meant he would be out of the labs for a while and the opportunity appealed to him. Ever since the invasion drill a week ago, he’d been out of sorts. He was angry with Erin, angry with himself, angry with everything, and having to work with Lindsey and the others at the lab every day didn’t help.
As he piloted the single-seater submersible in the direction of the octopuses’ area, Martin recalled the garden they’d created. It was a nice spot that visitors to the park would love, and he decided he should be careful not to antagonize the creatures. Uplifted octopuses might be total pains in the ass a lot of the time, but they also had plenty to offer. With the opening of the marine park only a few weeks away, it would be a shame to lose them.
Lindsey had already laid down the law with the creatures. They weren’t in the marine park under duress. They could leave whenever they wanted, but if they wanted to stay, they had to behave.
Martin suspected that the real reason the octopuses fooled around so much was because they thrived on the mayhem they caused, and they loved the attention they received whenever someone turned up to scold them.
When he had crossed about three-quarters of the Sea of Marmara, he began to see the complex, beautiful pattern of marine plants, colorful rocks and shells, and sculpted sand of the octopuses’ garden. It was surprising how similar the place was to a human garden. Had the creatures been copying designs they’d searched for on the Link? Or were their aesthetic preferences another example of convergent evolution, like octopus and vertebrate eyes?
Either way, the octopuses designing their spot to be exactly how they liked it was a feature, not a bug. It was their habit of leaping out onto unsuspecting visitors, ‘cuddling’ them, and then squirting ink everywhere before zooming away that was the problem.
So far, only Pietr and Lindsey had fallen victim to the prank. Martin had to make the creatures understand that while the park technicians might find their antics amusing, regular tourists would not. He had to make them promise to lay off. He doubted he would get through to the creatures, but Lindsey h
ad asked him to try.
Martin guided the submersible over the garden, heading toward the kelp forest. Peering over the side of his vessel and all around, he couldn’t see a single octopus. Nothing but plant life was moving, wafting in the wash of the water so close to the shore. The octopuses’ prey animals like crabs and molluscs were conspicuously and predictably absent too. Like last time he’d been there, the place appeared to be deserted. But there was no doubt they were there somewhere.
Octopuses were masters of disguise. Without specialized equipment, Martin couldn’t distinguish them from the seaweed, rocks, sand, and pebbles, even with his modded eyes. Somewhere, they were hiding, watching, and waiting.
A huge piece of the sea floor shifted and detached. Turning brown-grey and eight-limbed, it flew toward Martin. Instinctively, he tried to escape, but he didn’t stand a chance. In another moment, the octopus had wrapped itself around his submersible. All he could see was the pink-fleshed underside of octopus arms, thick with wide suckers. The creature was very large, around six meters from tip to tip.
Probably Enteroctopus dofleini, Martin guessed.
The octopus’s arms shifted, sending the suckers sliding over the submersible’s shell. The creature was extremely strong. Though the submersible’s engine was still running, the vessel wasn’t making any progress.
Martin turned it off. It looked like he wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while. At least he would have a good story to tell at dinner that night. Then he remembered the state of things at home.
Maybe not.
It was a surprisingly human name. The few uplifted octopuses Martin had encountered had given themselves names that were unpronounceable.
He was determined not to ask the creature to release him. That would be playing right into its hands, or suckers. If Martin knew the character of octopuses, Xavier probably loved to tease his captives. The more boring Martin was, the quicker the octopus would decide he wasn’t any fun and would release him. Then Martin would give Xavier a stern talking to.
The silent impasse stretched out until Xavier was finally the one who cracked.
The creature seemed to think highly of itself. Martin figured a little flattery wouldn’t go amiss.
Darn it, Martin thought. The conversation wasn’t going how he’d intended.
Martin caught a glimpse of the seabed, but then the gap was filled by a large octopus eye. The rounded rectangular pupil focused on him.
The thick arms writhed off of the transparent surface of the submersible, and Martin regained control of the vessel.
Xavier was bobbing on the seabed, his large tentacles outstretched and his mantle flopping lazily to one side. His buddies also revealed themselves, altering their coloration so they no longer looked like pebbles or shells or any other part of the ocean floor. Martin had rarely seen so many all at once. Most of the species in the order Octopoda were solitary. He guessed that it must have been quite an effort for them to come together to create the garden. Perhaps it was their unusual proximity to each other that was sparking their aberrant behavior. Or maybe they were like intelligent kids with too much time on their hands.
A vision of seventy thousand more octopuses roaming the marine safari park, pouncing on visitors, holding them hostage, demanding to be taught how to be sarcastic, sprang into Martin’s mind.
He pushed the images away. Most of the larvae would be eaten. He hoped most of the larvae would be eaten. He returned his attention to the job at hand.
The octopuses’ coloring began to darken, and one or two reared up, stretching out their legs like tent poles.
Whoops. These creatures are so sensitive. He added quickly,
The octopuses relaxed, and their coloring paled to their normal hues.
Martin said,
said Xavier.
Martin heard Eamon’s chuckle as he turned the submersible around and left the garden. He didn’t know if the octopuses would hold to their promise, but he’d done his best.
* * * * *
On his way back to the labs, he took a quick tour of the site. Most of the attractions were nearing completion. The massive dome that housed the deep-sea creatures was finished and only awaiting pressurization, then he and Lindsey would deliver the organisms they’d nurtured at the lab.
At the ocean shelf, Martin finally caught a glimpse of a plesiosaur. The young creature was already terrifyingly large; it would give the visitors a real b
uzz. He continued on to the gigantic whirlpool. It was fully operational. Margot and Pietr had ridden it several times and begged to have two or three more turns each, even though it had been clear it was working fine.
Martin left the sea mammals area out of his tour, knowing that he would be tempted to spend far too much time with the engaging animals.
He was passing near the sinkhole, which had been transformed into the formal entrance to the underwater cave system. He guided his submersible into the dark depths. His approach triggered concealed lighting to turn on, illuminating the jagged gap in the wall that led into the caves. He’d been too busy up until then to check inside and see the work Pietr had managed to find time for.
The technician’s background in underwater cave diving had made him the ideal person to grow and furnish the caves with suitable species. Martin saw albino shrimp and other crustaceans, as well as blind fish and eyeless eels. In one spot, transparent crabs swarmed over some unidentifiable remains.
The caves were definitely the place for visitors with a taste for the morbid and macabre. The place wasn’t his cup of tea, but at least its existence meant that the safari park really had something to offer everyone.
Lindsey broke into his thoughts.
