“We feel we need to know about the military presence here,” said Valerie. “Or the medical details of our mission are need to know to you too.”
“If it was up to me, Commander Rovine, I would put you in the brig and court-martial you in the morning for the tone of your voice alone. But I’m under orders to play nice with you people.” The colonel paced around the room slowly. “So here’s the need-to-know. If you bozos don’t solve this problem quickly, this planet will disintegrate soon. Not that I give a shit about that. But, when this planet goes, this stellar system goes and, through a domino effect, our own system, our sun, Earth and its surrounding planets go with it. Good-bye, human race. I can’t have that happen. I’m here to make sure you solve this problem and solve it quickly. I’ll be monitoring the carbonyl trioxide levels closely as well as the dream output from the Terrae Virentians.”
“We’re working the problem already,” said William. “Your presence here will only slow us down.”
“Intimidation won’t help us work faster,” said Valerie.
“Look, Doctor,” said the soldier, “if I ever need you to have an opinion, I’ll be sure to give you one. For now, you will do exactly what I tell you to do, or we’re going to have problems. You know how easy it is to have an accident way out here so far away from your mommy?”
“Are you threatening us?” asked William.
“Oh no, Doctor! I don’t threaten,” said the commander, a smug grin on his face. “Threats are for the weak with too much bark and too little bite.”
“Let’s take a step back and a deep breath,” said Ellie, looking from the colonel to her cohorts and back. “If you want the Terrae Virentians breathing normally and out of stasis, we need to get on with our research and get rid of the infection we transferred on to them. They’re our patients, and we need to do our job. Then what you do after that is your military business. Not ours. Fair enough?”
“Now you’re talking with some sense,” said the colonel. “We need the carbonyl trioxide gas, and we need lots of it. So get to work. Don’t let me stand in your way! I’ll be monitoring your progress. And now, my men and I will make ourselves at home.”
And just like that, the soldiers, with their menacing weapons, exited the lab. All but two, who remained at attention right outside the laboratory door.
Chapter Seventeen
She sat at his side and shared the food he had just procured. He began to notice their similarities and their differences. This creature was the most alike to him he had ever seen. Her head, her eyes, her mouth, her fingers, her feet all worked just like his. Unlike most creatures, but just like him, she had the ability to grasp objects. The image of himself he had seen reflecting back from the pond water looked just like her, although he had more hair. Her chest was different. Her pelvis was different. The differences excited him.
On the ground was the vandalized sign with letters he gathered from the round thing. Adm—ive.
She picked it up and stared at it and then showed him.
“Adm,” she said, pointing at him, the torn placard in her hand.
“Adam!” he repeated. He took the ransacked sign from her. He pointed at her, “Ive!”
“Eve,” she said. “Adam. Eve.” She showed her teeth as the lips peeled back into a smile. He reciprocated.
After consuming the fruits and vegetables he had gathered while she slept, the two walked outside the cave. The skylight was bright and warm on their skin. Their quadruped locomotion was rhythmic, hers less practiced. He felt more complete with her around than he’d ever thought possible, as if she’d live at his side for a lifetime.
“Eve!” he pointed at the distance. “Zebra.” Then more to the right. “Giraffe.” Then to the ground several yards away. “Serpent!” He looked up at the sky, his eyes in a squint from the brightness. “Eagle!”
“Adam!” she grunted. She pointed to the distance. He nodded and took the lead.
When they reached the perimeter, he said, “Garden of Eden.” He pointed at the apple trees. “Eve! No!” He shook his head side to side. “No!” he grumbled again. “Forbidden fruit!”
She nodded.
They reached the flowing waters of the river. He pointed at his feet and then hers, all blackened by dirt. Her face was coated with muck. He gestured for her to follow him into the water. She mocked a shiver with her arms wrapped around her own body. He gesticulated again for her to enter the water, where he already stood knee deep. She took two steps back. He extended out his right hand and signaled for her to hold it—and to trust him. She did. He lightly pulled her into the water, and soon she entered the river. But this time, it was warm and pleasant.
“Alexandra,” he said, pointing at the bright skylight. “She is G…G…Gd.”
“God?” said Eve, her face inquisitive.
He stood there, unmoving, the water slurping at his lower legs. “Good.” He smiled and nodded his head. “God!”
He began to rub his head and face with water, with the grime slowly vanishing. She mimicked him. He rubbed her hands with water caressingly. Her skin was soft, free of callus. Massaging her palms provided him a strong urge of connection with her, to protect her and forever see to her safety and comfort.
Chapter Eighteen
Once alone, Ellie, Brent, William, and Valerie sat down and took a collective deep breath.
“We have to inform General Narrows about this intrusion,” said Ellie.
“He’s probably the one who ordered this invasion,” said William.
Brent nodded. “I’m pretty sure the soldiers wouldn’t come all the way out here without his knowing.”
“He’s been good to us,” said Ellie. “And fair. And kind. Let’s see what he has to say about this. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. And maybe he can help us out.”
Valerie squinted her eyes. “I agree. We should communicate with him.”
Brent began to set up the eCorresponder as the others gathered around him.
Just as they were beginning to record their message, William whispered, his eyes on the door, beyond which stood the soldiers guarding the lab. “Brent, you go ahead with this. I need the ladies to help me look at something. Join us when you get done.”
Inquisitive miens arose from Brent, Ellie, and Valerie, but no words were exchanged. William signaled for Brent to proceed with the eCommuniqué and walked away, followed by Ellie and Valerie.
Brent began. “General Narrows, we’re sure you are aware that soldiers have invaded the Traveler Space Station. We feel that their presence is interfering with our mission and…”
The words dissipated into silence as the three walked out of the laboratory proper and into the adjoining planetology research room. William wanted to do a quick laboratory experiment, and the time was limited.
“What are we looking for? What’s so important?” asked Valerie.
“Why are we really here?” asked William. “We’ve taken a lot for granted. It’s time we check into the facts.” He was already dishing out a small sample of dirt from Terrae Virentia onto the gravinometer. “Ellie, take a sample of this dirt from the planet and measure its integrity and density.”
“Why are we really here?” repeated Valerie, her hands on her hips. “What kind of question is that?”
“Valerie,” said William. “I need you to prepare ten beakers with increasing concentrations of trioxide carbonyl concentrations.”
Valerie began to nod her head and then slowly reiterated, “Why are we really here?” She smiled as she picked up a scoopful of soil and dumped it into a container.
“Are either of you two going to fill me in on what we’re doing?” asked Ellie.
“Carbonyl trioxide!” said William, his eyes rolling and gesturing toward the two soldier sentinels, whom they could see through the large glass window. “Increasing concentrations!”
“Oh!” said Ellie, picking up a beaker. “Increasing concentrations of carbonyl trioxide.” She too smiled. “I bet you’re right!�
��
“We’ll know in a few minutes,” said William. “Won’t we?”
And in seconds, the three scientists were hard at work, each performing their assigned task and recording the results of the experiments they were performing on the eTablet.
Soon, the final step of the experiment was ready to be analyzed. William looked through the lens of the microtelescope in silence for a long moment and then stepped aside. Valerie peeked next. Ellie last.
Brent entered the planetology research room. “The eCommuniqué is off to the general.” He sat down and gazed at the others’ faces. “What’s with the gloomy look?”
William spoke first. “We measured the integrity and density of samples of soil from Terrae Virentia at different concentrations of carbonyl trioxide.”
“To what end exactly?”
“Why are we really here?” Ellie repeated the question yet again.
Brent peeked through the microtelescope. “We need to run a planet-wide and stellar-system-wide simulation with these findings and…”
“We did it already,” said William. He touched his computer tablet’s screen and shook his hand toward Brent’s, pushing the analysis data onto Brent’s device. Brent stared into the virtual screen in front of him for a long moment and then said, “This is definitive proof that Terrae Virentia would not disintegrate if the atmospheric levels of carbonyl trioxide became too great or too small. But why were we lied to?”
“That also begs the question of why we are really here,” said William.
“I think the Terrae Virentia overpopulation problem is real,” said Valerie. “Well, it was before we got here. It’s changing drastically now, thanks to us and our unfortunate incident.”
“Overpopulation was probably leading this planet into serious potential consequences, but I see no evidence that the planet would disintegrate and disrupt this stellar system and affect our home planet down the line.” said Ellie.
“So, we were sent here on a false pretense?” asked Brent.
Valerie piped in. “The whole time we’ve been here, we’ve been unknowingly siphoning off carbonyl trioxide and sending it somewhere?”
“Computer,” said Brent. “Interrogate the atmospheric levels of carbonyl trioxide gas surrounding the Traveler Research Space Center.”
“Scanning,” said the pleasant electronic voice. “There is a stream of highly concentrated carbonyl trioxide being pulled toward the Traveler Research Space Center.”
“Computer, show a cartoon representing this carbonyl trioxide stream,” requested Brent. “Show the source and where it leads.”
“Showing now. I have colored carbonyl trioxide as green,” said the computer.
Superimposed on a telescopic view of the Triloptia Stellar System, the four scientists regarded the invisible greenish tunnel-like structure beginning in Terrae Virentia, meandering to the front of the Traveler Space Station, and then exiting in the back into deep space.
“Computer,” said Valerie. “Where does this concentrated gas stream lead?”
“Scanning,” said the computer voice. “To be precise, I will require four days, eight hours—”
“Computer, what is the most likely destination of the carbonyl trioxide given its present trajectory?” asked William.
“Neptorus, the sixth planet from the star Anser of the Vulpecula Constellation.”
“Neptorus was the planet where we first met General Narrows,” said Ellie.
Brent chimed in. “He told us they were devising a way to get a chemical around Neptorus to act as an ozone layer to protect it from the nearby stars and allow easier colonization of that planet and others like it.”
“Are we stealing carbonyl trioxide from the Terrae Virentians so somebody can get rich quicker?” asked Valerie.
“So, why are we here?” asked William. “They can do all this without us.”
“I think the general and all those in charge know the interstellar community will realize they’re stealing from the Terrae Virentians if they just come out here and start syphoning it out,” said Brent.
Ellie nodded. “But if they say they put us scientist here to solve the planet’s overpopulation problems, nobody will suspect the thievery.”
“Meanwhile, they use our space station as the extraction tool,” said Valerie. “It’s quite clever, actually.”
Brent said, “Well, overpopulation could lead to wars and disease, which could potentially lead to sufficient deaths, which could in part cause inadequate carbonyl trioxide production for their purposes on Neptorus.”
“In the long run, it is to the military’s benefit for things to run smoothly on Terrae Virentia, isn’t it?” William asked.
The others slowly nodded in agreement.
“Unfortunately, we came in and inadvertently created a worse problem for the planet by introducing a terrible pathogen,” said Valerie. “We’ve got to cure the planet and find a way to make the military stop stealing from the Terrae Virentians.”
“Yes, but how will we do that?” asked Brent.
Chapter Nineteen
Adam slumbered by a pond, the warmth of the sky rays lulling him to sleep. Eve sat up at his side, awake, admiring all that surrounded her. In the not-so-far distance, she spied the line that encircled the Garden of Eden for as far as her eyes could see. A serpent emerged out of the water and slithered by slowly, inching its way toward the forbidden fruit.
Eve shook her head. “No,” she whispered. She got up and walked toward the advancing snake. “No!”
She looked back at Adam, who had fallen into the inward quiet, his breaths deep and slow. Eve was curious about the serpent’s daring to touch the edge of the Garden of Eden, the trees bearing the banned fruit. She wondered what the consequences could be. She tiptoed away from Adam, all along keeping an eye on him. She followed the serpent as it zigzagged confidently toward an apple tree. Without hesitation, the serpent climbed up and wrapped its body around a branch. Hesitantly, Eve touched the tree. Just like the serpent, no harm came to her. She climbed up the tree and regarded the red fruit near the serpent’s body. The forbidden fruit was appetizing, accelerating the belly rumbles. The gnawing sensation in the pit of her stomach overcame her, enfeebling her resolve. The serpent stared at the red apple, its tongue darting out of its mouth, touching the fruit, goading Eve to have a taste. Eve gawked at the prohibited fruit for a long moment and then touched it gently with the tip of a finger. The serpent’s tongue lashed at the apple, rubbing its skin for several seconds as if to prove its innocuousness. Eve touched it again, this time feeling its smoothness. She plucked it and held the forbidden fruit in both hands, her eyes engrossed on it.
Chapter Twenty
Colonel Riggs sat down heavily on his chair around the table where the four scientists assembled. He exclaimed, “The carbonyl trioxide that comes out of these despicable creatures’ breaths is a necessary catalyst for the atmosphere on Neptorus and other planets. If we can transport massive amounts of this gas to those planets, we can make the air breathable there. The gas will also provide a shield similar to the ozone layer on Earth now and make the living conditions more pleasant. That will allow for faster colonization of those planets.”
“We’ll learn how to manufacture carbonyl trioxide on Earth,” said William.
“I’m told this stuff can’t be manufactured anywhere else in massive quantities,” said the colonel. “Not to these specifications. Something to do with the isomer or some bullshit like that.”
“We can’t just come out here and take advantage of the Terrae Virentians,” said Brent. “It’s not right.”
“Survival of the fittest, Doctor,” said Riggs. “Survival of the fittest.”
“Or somebody gets really rich faster,” said Valerie. “This has nothing to do with survival, Colonel. It has to do with making money. Let’s be honest.”
“Let it go, Valerie,” warned Ellie. “The colonel is only following his orders.”
“No, Ellie,” said Valerie. �
�It’s not ethical to—”
“Goddamn it!” yelled the soldier, his words full of rancor. “You pukes will follow orders without questioning them. You will figure out a way to give the cure for this damn disease you inflicted on these poor sons of bitches, and you will nurture them back to health and out of this planet-wide stasis you’ve got them under. Then we can resume the carbonyl trioxide transport to where we need it. That is an order!”
The colonel stormed out of the conference room, leaving the four scientists looking perplexed.
Brent began. “For the benefit of whom?”
“Someone’s been getting very rich on it,” said William. “Remember when we were on Neptorus? Besides the light being too intense and a bit oxygen poor, the atmosphere there wasn’t that bad.”
“Without a protective layer of carbonyl trioxide around the planet, life shouldn’t even be possible there,” said Ellie.
“When we put all the inhabitants of Terrae Virentia in stasis, the output of carbonyl trioxide decreased very significantly,” said Valerie.
“All of a sudden, there wasn’t enough of it to shield that planet,” said Brent. “Maybe other planets as well.”
“So they send the troops out here to fix that problem,” said William. “Make us work faster?”
“I still think General Narrows is on our side,” said Ellie. “Let’s wait to see what his reply is to Brent’s communiqué.”
“You’re such an optimist, Ellie,” said Brent. “Let’s research who is getting rich on this project back on Earth. I bet you the general is on top of the list.”
“I’ve done a GlobalNet search for the main players involved with the private company that’s colonizing the planets and moons in the solar system and nearby stellar systems,” said Brent. “It’ll take a few days to get the answer back.”
“And then we’ll know who our real enemy is,” said William.
All nodded.
“We need to sabotage the dream sequences,” said Ellie. “We need to give the Terrae Virentian kids clues that this is happening without letting the soldiers in on the secret. We will eventually need their help to put a stop to this pilfering.”
The Traveler's Return (Traveler Series 3) Page 7
