“I can report that progress has continued at a steady pace, but nothing more tangible than that right now,” Holly replied. “For those of you who weren’t here last time: work in our Botanical Gardens may not be at the top of everyone’s interest list, but our Head of Botany is very excited about the potential of what they’re doing there. As most of you will remember, Robert Harrington and his Habitat Management team at New Eden have been working alongside Bo Harrington to test sub-zonal divisions in the Gardens, and those divisions have already enabled major atmospheric variations within the Gardens’ single zone. That, combined with the Botany team’s ongoing work on genetic manipulation and their aims of expediting evolutionary mutations through artificially shortened day- and life-cycles… well, all of that has already led to some very encouraging breakthroughs which could have enormous near-future implications in the field of regenerative medicine.”
Bill Norman’s eyes perked up; this sounded like something which could produce the kind of tangible return that he and his bean-counting colleagues lived for.
“That strikes me as something we should be focusing on a lot more than we are,” a previously silent man interjected. He sat to Holly’s far left and she recognised him as a man known as Slick — a media executive responsible for maximising revenues from Terradox Live, the daily show produced on the colony and broadcast to hundreds of millions of loyal viewers on Earth.
Holly’s disdain for this man paled into comparison to that which she felt for the show’s on-site producer, Monica Pierce, but she knew that having to deal with him for only a few hours every quarter rather than every single day might well have had something to do with that.
Slick, a thirty-something redhead whose appearance and general aura didn’t fit his nickname all that well, continued his point: “Who is the Head of Botany? If he — or she! — is going to deliver a breakthrough like the kind you’re talking about, we should make sure to get regular interview footage and progress updates at every stage.”
“Christian Jackson,” Grav answered. “A great man, but a private one.”
Slick’s eyes lit up like he was a cartoon dog eyeing a pie on a windowsill. “Christian Jackson?” he asked, his voice full of glee. “Chase Jackson’s father? Holly, if you’re telling me that Chase’s dad is on the verge of a breakthrough, we need to get Monica and a camera crew over to his little garden right now and—”
Rusev sighed and interjected: “For the last time, Holly is not here to talk about Terradox Live and she’s not here to talk about Chase. Holly, I apologise… I know you can speak for yourself, but I couldn’t have been more explicit before you arrived that this wasn’t what we were all gathering here to talk about.”
“It’s okay, I’m not hiding my views,” Holly said. “I don’t like Terradox Live, I don’t like Monica Pierce, and my life was a lot simpler before I first saw either of them. But I’m also not too blind to see the positive effect the show has had in terms of public engagement on Earth, especially among young people. Teenagers think Terradox is cool; and outside of the ones who are naturally interested in science, that just wasn’t the case eighteen months ago. If anyone doesn’t know why that matters, you need to understand that the Terradox colony needs continued support from every demographic group we can reach. This is a controversial project — not just because of what almost happened with Netherdox, but because of what we could do on Earth with the resources and brainpower we’re expending on Terradox. For every Bill Norman who thinks we should be doing one kind of research on Terradox instead of another, there are a thousand more on Earth who think we should be doing none at all. We need to be eternally vigilant of populist politicians on Earth who could see the Terradox colony as an easy focus of us-versus-them grievances, and things like Terradox Live are important in that fight for hearts and minds.”
“And what better way is there to make sure we win that fight than to show Chase’s father engaged in research which could benefit all of humanity?” Slick pushed. He was significantly less abrasive than Bill, but something about him still rubbed Holly the wrong way.
“Listen,” she said, “Chase is an absolute gift in terms of public outreach and he’s probably the most promising young astronaut I’ve ever seen, which would be true even if he wasn’t so… whatever you want to call it; marketable, photogenic, whatever. But all of you should already be familiar with Chase’s mother Jillian, who was the only member of the family we actively recruited and who has done great work in Childhood Development. Everything Jillian does shouldn’t be tied to Chase, and neither should everything Christian does. But the main reason I don’t want to hear any more about this is that none of Christian’s current research is public knowledge — not even the general goal — and for now it has to stay that way. Is that clear?”
Slick nodded convincingly, and somewhat sheepishly.
“But we certainly hit the jackpot with the Jacksons,” Dimitar Rusev said, joining the conversation. “Three productive individuals for the price of one, just like the Kohlis and the Harringtons. Speaking of whom… Holly, how is Bo getting on with the latest rover prototypes?”
“I don’t see a lot of him,” Holly said. “His level of focus, even in a research colony full of dedicated scientists, is something else altogether. We’ve actually been considering placing individual time restrictions on his access band to make sure he gets enough sleep and remembers to eat.”
Dimitar smiled. “And speaking of those access bands, are you still committed to introducing restrictions on—”
“Dimitar,” Holly cut him off. “I didn’t come here to talk about that.”
Only a handful of those present understood the sudden tension in the room as the recent turbulence surrounding Holly’s plan to introduce intra-zonal restrictions on colonists’ movements almost came into the open. Grav, one of those who knew the subject well, stepped in to diffuse it by continuing the previous point.
“As Holly was saying, young Bo works like a machine,” he said. “And while we cannot force him to sleep for a certain number of hours per day, we could ensure that he does not work any more than a certain number of hours by cutting off his access to restricted areas and computer systems at a certain time. And since he truly shows no interest in anything else besides his work, if he could not work then he would almost certainly spend the extra time eating or sleeping.”
“I think we’ve covered everything,” Rusev said, slowly clapping her hands together to signal the end of the meeting.
As everyone gathered their things and began filtering out of the room, Dimitar asked Holly if they could meet privately in a few hours. Having expected this request, she accepted it quite warmly. Dimitar was an ally on all important matters and any disagreements they had were always cordial, with both realising that it was better to have such disagreements away from the prying eyes and ears of the decidedly less cordial.
More surprisingly, Slick then stopped Holly at the doorway with a similar request. “Chase and the rest of the test subjects will come out of Little Venus in eight days,” the media executive said, nothing if not persistent. “I really would love to sit down and discuss how we can best utilise his father’s beneficial research before then.”
Holly shook her head. “Like I said, that research has to stay under wraps for now. The show has already run a short general feature on Christian’s work in the past. Why not re-run that?”
“That’s one idea,” Slick said, well-practiced in politely dismissing things out of hand. Slick by name, slick by nature. “But would you be open to the idea of the team recycling that existing footage, and maybe just adding in some non-specific commentary about how much progress Christian has made in recent months?”
Holly shrugged. “I suppose… as long you don’t tell anyone about the specific progress you just heard about and as long as the full piece is cleared with me before any of it airs. And most of all, as long as none of your people hassle any of my colonists for new comments — especially Christian himself.
Needless to say, I’m thinking of one of your people in particular.”
“Thanks, Holly,” Slick grinned, setting off with a spring in his step. “It’ll be a great piece.”
“I’m serious,” she called after him in a tone that left no room for doubt. “If Monica gets in any of my researchers’ way, Monica is gone.”
four
As Vijay and Romesh Kohli headed off towards their waiting transport capsule, Viola glanced at her wristband to check whether Peter was home yet. It looked as though his day had also run late, which wasn’t a particular disappointment since she still had an appointment with the on-site psychologist to attend before her own day was completely finished.
Jillian Jackson had become a close friend of Viola’s mainly by virtue of her frequent presence in an office in the main school building adjacent to the primary daycare facility, where she conducted low-key monthly sessions with each of the colony’s children. She was also responsible for designing and tracking the results of both general and individual development programs, which had delivered excellent results for many children at both ends of the academic spectrum. Jillian had a natural way of putting people at ease which worked even on Viola in sessions which could otherwise have been awkward given their personal friendship, and she had been kind enough to offer to return once Vijay had been picked up, even though her workday officially ended at 5pm.
The unusual fact that Viola had requested an extra session at short notice suggested to Jillian that it was important to conduct it as soon as possible and she arrived just minutes after Vijay’s departure, stepping out of a transport capsule which had carried her across two full zones from her home in the Sunshine Springs residential area.
Although she was the same age as Holly at 43, Jillian had a far more youthful air about her; so much so that Viola often thought of Jillian as a peer rather than someone a full generation older than she was, despite the fact that Jillian’s son Chase was only two years younger than Viola.
Jillian’s perennially tied-back reddish hair and lightly freckled skin glistened under the low evening sun, with a typically bohemian but understated outfit completing an unassuming look which stood in natural contrast to Viola’s more considered and more deliberately cultivated appearance.
Jillian conducted her child psychology work quietly and effectively; even more so than her husband Christian, the colony’s leading botanist, Jillian liked to stay out of the spotlight. Her preference for a low profile was so strong that the only time Viola had ever seen her angry was when Monica Pierce, the controversial host of Terradox Live, ran a fifteen-minute feature on Chase’s family which included a full biography of each of his parents.
The feature had been entirely complimentary, stating that Chase’s integrity and selfless leadership qualities indicated that the colony’s future was in good hands so long as Jillian, introduced as his “understandably proud mother”, maintained high-level oversight of Childhood Development.
Viola hadn’t seen any real problem with this particular incident despite having no love for Monica, but she knew that Holly had been even angrier about it than Jillian, apparently having seen it as a deliberate flouting of the rules and a test by Monica to see what she could get away with.
And while Viola and Holly certainly hadn’t seen eye to eye on everything lately, a firm and well-founded dislike of Monica Pierce was something they’d always shared.
Jillian got down to business as soon as she entered her office, encouraging Viola to take a seat. The room was laid out for its more typical clientele, with child-sized chairs and colourful decorations filling most of the floor space. This wasn’t the first time Viola had been here, however, and she always preferred to talk to Jillian than one of the colony’s ‘grown-up’ counsellors who she didn’t really know in any personal capacity.
“So… how is everything?” Jillian asked.
As was usually the case on days when they surfaced, Viola’s general feelings of unease had been largely absent during her busy workday, this one extended by Vijay’s late stay, but had slowly begun to build back up as soon as he left.
“Pretty much okay,” she replied. “I just… I still don’t feel as at home here as I used to. It’s difficult to explain. In the last few days, I’ve sometimes felt like I don’t want to be here anymore.”
“Where is here? Childhood Development?”
Viola shook her head. “Terradox.”
Jillian closed her digital notebook and clasped her hands. “Have you felt any different in a physical sense? Headaches, mild sickness, anything of that nature?”
“I’m not pregnant,” Viola replied with a nervous laugh, her hand instinctively moving to cover her stomach even though she wasn’t lying.
Jillian laughed a little, too, glad that Viola had said this without the question having to be asked outright. “I suppose they would know about it before you did, anyway, what with all the automatic testing.”
“And we’re careful with a capital C,” Viola went on. “Everyone is, because we all know what happens if that happens.”
“And everything else with Peter is fine?” Jillian asked, picking up her stylus-like pen and opening the notebook again.
“Oh, totally. Better than fine. Sometimes it feels like he’s the only thing keeping me sane. Well, not the only thing, because I love my work and the kids and most of the rest of the colonists. I think part of it is just that everything is so structured around here. It’s like my life is on rails… you know, kind of like how the transport capsules can only move along certain predefined routes. I step into a new day, and I know exactly where it’s going.”
“That’s a common feeling and we have established methods of dealing with it,” Jillian said, her tone more warm than the words themselves. “What I’m interested in is why these feelings have grown stronger of late. Christian is not normally one to gossip but you know that he spends a fair amount of time with your father, and he mentioned something about a falling out between you and Holly. Is this related to your difference of opinion on the new intra-zonal restrictions? Because however strong that disagreement might be, we both know that Holly always has the colony’s best interests at heart.”
Viola shifted in her hard-backed chair, the only one in the child psychologist’s office which she could comfortably sit on. “Holly has an obsession with control,” she said. “Right now, that’s what Holly has. With all the responsibility she has and all the pressure she’s under, I guess it’s understandable… but that doesn’t mean she’s right about the new restrictions. I’m not saying she’s got too much power, but she does have too much responsibility. Way too much, and it’s affecting her thinking. She always meets Peter before she goes to the station for each quarterly meeting, and usually it’s a five-minute rundown of a few main security considerations. But this time she was obsessing over every little thing. She was at our house for six hours, right until Grav came to tell her that their Karrier was ready to leave. When I brought up the point that I think these restrictions are going to do more harm than good, she said it wasn’t my place to tell her how to run the colony.”
Jillian was quiet for a few seconds. “Viola, I know Holly quite well and I can’t imagine that she would ever say something like that without provocation, especially to you. Are you by any chance leaving out part of what you said?”
“Do you know what these restrictions actually entail?” Viola asked, her tone sharpening. “Inter-zonal restrictions are one thing, to keep people out if they don’t have a good reason or sufficient clearance to be somewhere… just like I couldn’t just wander into Robotics or the Primosphere without special authorisation. But intra-zonal means within zones. Once this comes into effect, I couldn’t access this office if my wristband wasn’t cleared to let me in. She always talks about being against unnecessary new romotech applications, but these are basically cloaks to stop people going where she doesn’t want them to. How is that better? If you get too near a line you’re not supposed to cross, your wr
istband will give you a shock… like a shock collar for a noisy dog. Do you think that’s okay?”
“I don’t have a strong opinion either way,” Jillian said, being honest rather than deliberately noncommittal. “My understanding is that the number of areas restricted within zones will be very small and more concerned with safety than security… i.e., to stop someone from entering areas that would be dangerous to their health, not to stop them from entering areas where they could see something they’re not supposed to. Doorways in high-security areas already require individual clearance, so I don’t think the changes are going to be as extreme as you’re suggesting. To stick with the example you used, you couldn’t have gotten into my office without me today, either, because the door already has a physical lock.”
“But a shock collar? Do you really think people are going to tolerate being treated like dogs?”
Jillian raised her eyebrows slightly. “The upcoming changes aren’t secrets, Viola, and no one else I’ve spoken to has expressed any particular opposition.”
“You seriously think people are going to speak out against a decision made by Holly, whatever they feel about it? What world do you live in?”
Jillian allowed Viola’s words to settle in the air, waiting several seconds to see whether she would take them back or apologise for the sharpness of her tone. The silence continued until Jillian broke it: “Is this really about the strength of your view regarding these restrictions, or is this about your perception that your view isn’t being heard? Do you feel like Holly’s not listening to you?”
“It’s not about what I ‘feel like’, it’s black and white: she didn’t listen to me. She said it wasn’t my place, and even before that she said she didn’t have time to talk to me about it.”
“Maybe she didn’t.”
“What, she didn’t have five minutes? For me?”
Jillian scribbled some quick notes; Viola sounded genuinely hurt rather than egotistically affronted.
Terradox Reborn Page 3
