Those Left Behind

by Alan Davenport

  “No. We’re fine. Come on, we’re almost there!”

  They walked for almost an hour when a new sound intruded into the echoing silence. It started as a low rumble at the very edge of perception. The travel vehicle that Tiny inadvertently called sped towards the train station platform at a very high rate of speed. The echoing tunnels distorted the sound of its electric motor and its steel wheels upon the rusty rails into an unearthly, warbling wail. Not unlike the sound one might imagine coming from a monstrous, mythical beast. Mary noticed it first. She stopped and cocked her head to the side. Tiny looked at her curiously and asked, “Why did friend Mary stop?”

  Mary grabbed his hand and asked, “Do you hear that?”

  At first, Tiny shook his head no. However, as the sound grew, his eyes snapped open wide with fear. “It’s the monster!” he screamed. “Mommy was right! Save Tiny!” he pleaded and then embraced Mary so forcefully that the lantern slipped from her grasp. With a musical tinkling of breaking glass, it fell to the floor, emitted a brilliant shower of sparks and then went dark.

  Mary gasped, fully aware of the enormity of their misfortune. Tiny, assuming that Mary was scared of the monster as well, hugged her even more tightly. “The monster! The monster!” he screamed over and over again, right into her ear. Mary was even more terrified than Tiny, but for a different reason. She shouted at him, “Stop it! Be QUIET!” and embraced him with all the strength of her small frame. Tiny stopped shouting, however he continued blubbering big fat tears onto her shoulder.

  The sound of the train peaked and then slowly faded away to a faint, rumbling reverberation in the distance. Soon, even those echoes were gone and the normal silence returned, leaving the terrified pair trembling and clutching one another.

  As Mary contemplated the seriousness of their situation, she lost all control of herself and began to sob great, desolate tears. Knowing the horrible, slow death that awaited them, she cried as if her very soul had been ripped from her body. Trembling, she took Tiny’s hand and carefully led him to the wall. She turned and placed her back against the wall, slid down and sat on the floor with her feet sticking straight out. Tiny joined her on the ground. He took her hand and held it tightly. Tiny had never witnessed his dear friend so out of control. Not like this. She was usually the strongest person he knew. “Why is friend Mary crying? Don’t cry friend Mary,” he crooned, trying as best as he could in his simple way to soothe his dear friend. “Friend Mary can fix the lantern. It will be alright.”

  Forgetting the Tiny could not see her she shook her head no. “No Tiny, I can’t fix it. The glass broke. You heard it. Sometimes when something is broken badly enough it can never be repaired.” She sobbed some more, hugged him and cried, “Oh Tiny, we are going to die down here in the dark. Just like you were afraid we would!” She hugged him to her chest and softly cried into the impenetrable, stygian darkness.

  Chapter 12

  Three hundred years ago, the leaders of The Starship Project watched in horror from their vast spaceships in orbit as humanity self-destructed. Powerless to intervene, they observed brilliant white flashes of light blossoming all over the planet. Each flash indicating a nuclear detonation. Armageddon lasted only two days before petering out, however in that time virtually every city, farm and industrial complex was reduced to a glowing slag.

  Their scientists, whom usually biased their opinions based upon their own particular field of expertise, all agreed with one another this time. They agreed that everybody on the planet had perished. Nobody could have survived the highly elevated levels of nuclear radiation.

  They turned their eyes outwards towards the stars, returning to their original purpose. However, this time they did so with greater urgency. They sent out the remainder of their vast exploration starships in all directions, searching for a new home for the few remaining humans. They did not abandon the Earth out of malice. They truly believed that everybody on the surface had perished and that the Earth was forever lost to them.

  It took them sixty long years to find humanity’s new home. A sparkling blue and green, garden-like planet which they named Eden. The leaders of The Starship Project, picked from the best of the best examples of humanity, vowed to protect Eden above all else. Everyone was taught the fate of humanity’s birthplace and protected Eden like the precious jewel that it was. All industrial activity took place in outer space. Nothing harmed the planet’s biosphere. Now on the two hundred and fortieth anniversary of the planet’s discovery, the planet resembled a vast garden with a few gleaming towns populated with youthful looking people.

  A beautiful woman with long, thick and wavy chestnut brown hair sat at an impressive wooden desk. At first glance, a person might have mistaken her for a person in her late twenties… that is, until they looked deeply into her eyes. Those eyes held a depth of wisdom that few ever achieved. Those eyes had seen things… things that would make a normal person’s soul wither and die. She saw all of these things and yet she had survived. Protected by a strength of character few others possessed, she actually thrived despite the horrors she had witnessed. The woman’s name was Jane McCann. She was three hundred and seventy-five years old and had continuously been the director of The Starship Project for most of those years.

  Jane sat at her desk in growing annoyance, rubbing a little bulge on the back of her neck. She turned to a large computer monitor and said, “Josh! Where is Lane Basso, the minister of exploration?”

  Jane’s personal computer avatar instantly appeared upon the screen. “Lane sends his apologies, Madam Director. He is on his way and should be here within the minute.” The computer’s simulated face frowned and he said, “Is your cellular computer/brain interface bothering you today, Madam Director?”

  Jane waved a dismissive hand at the avatar and said, “No Josh. Well, not a lot anyway. I banged the spot this morning while getting dressed and it is a little tender, that’s all. I’ll be fine.”

  Josh was not easily put off. “You know Madam Director, it is my duty to look after your wellbeing. Do you wish me to schedule the printing of a replacement body for you?”

  Jane’s face wrinkled in annoyance. “Oh, don’t you mother me Josh. You know better than that! You have to be kidding me, too. You want to order a replacement body for me just for this tiny little bump on my neck? I’ve survived injuries a lot worse than this without running to get a new body. It’s just a little tender. I’ll be FINE!” she said, ending the conversation.

  When he entered the room, Lane Basso, the minister of exploration, cringed when he saw the expression on the director’s face. Even after many long years in her service, Jane still intimidated him. “Oh, good grief. Why can’t she just let me use my brain interface to upload a copy of my request like everybody else does?” he thought, sweating into his clothes. Aloud he said, “I am sorry I am late, Madam Director. I got tied up…”

  Jane cut him off with a sharp glance. She held him, locked in her gaze for several seconds before her mouth curled up into a little smile. “Lane,” she laughed. “You are just too easy to tease. I mean, seriously, after all these years working together you still cannot relax around me?” She pointed to a chair and said, “Sit Lane. You said that you have an idea for another habitable planet. Start at the beginning. I want to hear all of it right from your mouth and not from the damned computer interface.” With a wicked little grin, she added, “Just don’t Madam Director me. You know better than that. Call me Jane.” Lane gulped and sank into a chair. Jane laughed and commanded, “Relax!”

  Lane took a deep breath and spoke. “Well, as you know, habitable planets are few and far between. We have only found two other ones besides Eden where humans can live in total comfort.”

  Jane frowned and interrupted him. “You know, you are not speaking to a child. Don’t waste my time. Please skip the history lesson and get to the point! You said that you have an idea for a world that everybody else skipped over. I find that hard to believe however I am willing to listen anyway. What wor
ld has everybody else skipped over? Really? Get to the point!” she repeated.

  Lane wilted under her criticism however he began speaking anyway. He spoke rapidly, gaining momentum as each word escaped his lips, like a boulder rolling down a steep hillside. “Well, we could recolonize the planet of our origin.”

  Jane looked at him sharply. “You mean Earth? Are you serious? The planet is a nuclear wasteland!”

  “No, no. Hear me out!” he said. “It’s been three hundred years since the Armageddon. Except for the worst hit locations, the radiation levels will have dropped down well into the safe zone. Also, despite what people may think, most areas of the surface were never hit. It was the radiation in the atmosphere which killed off the population. That will have settled out and dissipated by now.” Gaining confidence as he spoke, he excitedly continued, “All of the computer simulations that I have run indicate that grasses and similar plant life should have survived the nuclear exchange.” Lane took a deep breath. “If those models are correct, the plants will have recolonized all of the viable latitudes of the planet by now. This will have replenished the oxygen that was lost due to the former overpopulation of the planet.”

  Jane said nothing as she contemplated his words. She sat with her elbows on her desk and her chin in her hands. Lane became more and more agitated at her silence. Finally, he could not take it anymore and blurted out, “We should send a scout ship and check the viability of the biosphere.” Jane continued to stare at him in silence. “Well,” he rationalized, “Recolonizing the Earth will be a heck of a lot easier than trying to terraform some of those worthless rocks that the explorers keep recommending to us. We should…”

  Jane interrupted him with a single word. “Approved.”

  Lane’s Adams apple bobbed up and down in his throat. He was momentarily unable to speak. He was fully prepared to argue his point for as long as necessary. He did not expect Jane to capitulate so easily. “Approved?” he asked, utterly flabbergasted.

  Jane nodded and gently said, “Yes, Approved.” She smiled and admitted, “Actually, I was thinking of doing the very same thing. Good job bringing this idea to me.” Lane, in shock nodded back and said nothing. “As a matter of fact, you may requisition one of the new starships with the new generation five warp drive installed.”

  Lane finally regained the use of his voice. “Really? One of the brand-new gen five starships?” he asked in amazement, unable to believe what he had just heard.

  Jane laughed from deep down in her gut. “Yes, a gen five.” She pointed to the door and said, “Go on, you have a lot of preparations to make.” With a thought, she uploaded her approval to the computer network.

  Lane stumbled out of the room, half in shock and grinning like a schoolboy on his first date. He could not believe his good fortune as he traveled down the hall towards his office. Jane smiled at his back as he walked away.

  Chapter 13

  In a large well-lit cavern, enormous lemon-yellow reactors hummed with power. Two young men, who were lifelong friends, kept up a continuous good-natured banter as they sat in front of a bank of monitor screens. “Oy! Mate,” one shouted across the room to a repair and maintenance robot, “Be careful with that. If you break that unit, you will have to build a new one.” The man had a rectangular face with black hair, mustache and beard. He was thin as a rail and dressed in grease-stained, mismatched clothing.

  His friend was as physically opposite as he could be. Short, fat with a pudgy round face with a clean-shaven jaw. His red hair was tied in a ridiculous looking power pony tail which hung half way down an enormous back. His t-shirt tried valiantly to cover his prodigious belly but failed miserably. The owner of the oversized tummy shook with mirth and he said, “Come on now James. Have you ever known one of the bots to break anything?”

  “Well you know Ryan, there’s always a first time.” He feigned fear and said, “You know, I never trusted those mechanical beasties. They might all turn on us one day.” He broke out in a grin as he watched his friend’s face.

  “You can’t be serious. A bot would never…” He squinted at James and then said, “Oy, you are just yanking my chain again, aren’t you mate?”

  James let out a deep belly laugh. “Oh Ryan, I just can’t resist. It is too easy to wind you up!”

  “You cut that out!” Ryan said, feigning anger. “You keep that up and I will sit on you and squash you like a bug.”

  James held up his hands in mock terror and said, “I surrender! I surrender! Please! ANYTHING but that!”

  The two good friends rough-housed together for a few minutes until Ryan put on his serious, business face and said, “You know, we need to take reactor number two offline for maintenance too. I’m seeing a slightly elevated temperature on the cooling pump. The cooling system probably needs to be chemically flushed out again.”

  James looked at him askance. “You can’t be serious. You don’t want to have two of our five reactors out of service at the same time, do you?”

  Ryan gave him an equally sideways glance. “Oh, don’t be a scared little mother hen. Three reactors are more than enough to power the entire colony. You know that well as I do. Heck mate, you could easily run the whole colony on just one of them.”

  James shuddered, “You could, but why would you ever do that? Could you imagine if it were to fail and the colony had to rely on auxiliary power alone?”

  Ryan made the sign of the cross and said, “Heaven forbid!” He glanced over at the army of bots industriously working on one of the reactors and said, as if trying to convince himself as well, “Three will be fine. More than enough.”

  James nodded. “It’s okay. I concur. Go ahead and schedule a shutdown and cooling system flush on the number two reactor.”

  Ryan nodded and then typed a few commands into the console in front of him. “Okay, done,” he said. “I may be a worse worry wart than you,” he admitted with a sheepish grin. “I scheduled the work to begin AFTER reactor number four is returned to service.”

  When James nodded his approval, Ryan inclined his head towards the heart of the colony and said, “Did you hear that the council wants to open the blast door and start working on repopulating the surface?”

  James shook his head in disgust, “Those bloody pompous fools. Yeah, I did hear that they want to start farming on the surface. Did they all forget that Alice Springs sits in the middle of a bloody desert and that the Todd River often runs dry?”

  Ryan shook his head and said, “I’m sure they remember that, James. Besides, we could always pipe water to the surface and irrigate the fields from one of our deep wells. Also, I heard they sent an expedition outside and the results were very promising. The environment has recovered even more than the computer models had predicted.”

  James looked doubtful. “Well I don’t know.” With a shudder he continued, “Who in their right mind would want to go outside, anyway? I heard that before, you know, the world ended, there were snakes out there that paralyzed you with poison and then ate you alive. Monster crocodiles, thirty feet long, lived in the rivers and broke into houses and ate young virgin women.” He vigorously shook his head side to side. “Not me, I’m staying right down here in our tunnels where it is safe!”

  Ryan laughed at him, his whole belly jiggling with his mirth. “You have been watching too many of those old monster videos! You know that rubbish isn’t real, don’t you?” He laughed some more when his friend looked at him, unconvinced. “Anyway,” he said with exaggerated gravity, “They have to try something. That blight that tore through the hydroponic gardens last month has left the colony short on food. I don’t think they want to move everybody outside. They just want to start farming out there.”

  “That’s good!” James said, relieved. “I don’t want to go outside, monsters or no. I am a cave rat and here in these tunnels, I will stay.”

  Ryan opened his mouth to rib his friend some more, however something on the monitor in front of him caught his eye. “What was that?” he muttere
d.

  James, misunderstanding the question, repeated himself. “I said I am a cave rat and don’t want to go outside. Ever!”

  Ryan pointed at the monitor in front of him and said, “No, not that, THAT! I thought I just saw a big power drain for a second.”

  James instantly dropped his jovial demeanor. All business now, he asked, “How bad was it? Do you think a power cable shorted out someplace? Where did the drain originate?”

  “Don’t know yet, give me a sec,” he muttered. His fingers flew over the keyboard. “No power failures reported anywhere in the colony,” He said with relief. He typed some more and then he suddenly stopped typing, leaned back in his chair, which creaked in protest and he muttered to himself, “No, that bloody well can’t be right. It’s impossible!”

  “What?” James said, leaning over Ryan’s shoulder to get a better look at the screen.

  “The logs show that it came from our power feed to the old inter-colony transportation system.” He shook his head as if he disbelieved his own eyes and then ran the query again. “Yep, that’s what it says!”

  James shoved him aside. “That’s bloody rubbish. Who would be using that old transport? We are the only surviving colony ever since Iceland went dark over fifty years ago. Let me check for myself.” He typed in a series of inquiries into the computer and then shook his head in disbelief. “Dammit Ryan, I confirm that the drain came from the old transportation system.” He faced a microphone that was attached to the console and said, “Computer, is there anybody down at the old inter-colony transport station?”

  A second later a synthetic voice came from a speaker grill. “Negative power technician James Zeus, there is nobody there. No personnel have been to that location for fifty-three years.”

  Ryan leaned over and said, “Computer, bring up the transportation hub control screen on monitor number three please.” A split second later, the screen appeared. A little speaker on the console said “Please select a destination.” Ryan shook his head when he looked at the list of nearby destinations. “All of them are offline, as expected,” he said.