by Dale Musser
All the vegetation in the area of our landing site was gone, leaving only the bare ground and structures that were, for the most part, surprisingly intact. Many of the roofs had caved in and the structures themselves showed signs of advanced weathering, but the airport runways were still in good condition. We really didn’t need runways, as all transports and ships were designed with vertical landing and takeoff capabilities. The airport, however, offered a large stable area with a safe surface for landing.
Cantolla and her team weren’t at the airport when we arrived. They were investigating a grid on the outskirts of the city and collecting samples of soil, water and other materials. A surface transport rendezvoused with us at the landing strip and shuttled us to Cantolla’s site. As Reide and I transferred from the ship to the surface transport, I noticed a great improvement in the clarity of the air. I could see a good distance without obstruction from dust or contaminants and the air was once again breathable, though it had a dry, dusty smell that I didn’t relish and the slightly acidic tang burned in my nostrils. For the most part, though, it was bearable.
“Dad, did the air smell like this when you lived here?” Reide asked with a wrinkled nose.
“No, it smelled a lot like the air does on Megelleon,” I answered.
“It smells a little like rotting fidat fungus now,” he said. “Will it get better?”
“One day,” I said. “It’s actually improved a lot since the asteroid impact. On my last visit I had to wear full protective gear and a contained breathing apparatus.
“Are we anywhere near where you once lived?”
“No, that’s thousands of kilometers from here,” I answered.
“Why did Cantolla pick this spot for her tests?”
“Probably because this is the area that’s recovering the fastest. She’s hoping the time is right to start reintroducing some basic life forms.”
Reide twisted around to look out the transport windows in all directions. “Dad; I think it’s too soon. I don’t believe anything could survive here.”
“You’d be surprised. I suspect some lichens and grasses will be able to survive now. Maybe some trees as well. If nothing else, I have no doubt that a lot of bacteria strains could thrive in these conditions. I think that’s what she hopes to reintroduce first. If they do well, we can start to reinstate some higher life forms in maybe another ten years.”
“How long will it be before people can move back?”
“I don’t know. Maybe fifty years, maybe less. But I’m no scientist.”
Reide looked out the window and into the sky, “Is that the moon where the prisoners are?”
“Yes, it is, but you’re not supposed to know that. It’s classified, you know,” I said with a wink, knowing he would never speak of it outside the company of Kala or me. After that we rode in silence, as the view unfolded outside our windows. The winds had blown the sand into drifts that spread across the streets here and there, but our transport navigated easily over them. The driver had to make occasional detours to side streets in order to avoid fallen buildings or other obstacles that lay in the streets. Eventually, we arrived at Cantolla’s mobile lab where her team was busy processing samples and comparing data. Kala greeted me as I exited the transport.
“I’m glad you came down. What do you think of your home world now?”
“It most certainly looks better than it did on my last visit, but it’s got a long way to go before its restored to what it was,” I said. “Where’s Lunnie?”
“She’s over there with Cantolla, digging in the dirt. She’s really fascinated with the planetary reclamation process,” Kala said.
“Are they finding anything good?”
“Yes. Cantolla says the planet is recovering much faster than expected. She believes it’s because of whatever it was the Tottalax dumped into the atmosphere. She dropped some hints in my direction that she hoped you would go back to their planet and negotiate with them to acquire more of whatever they used to seed the atmosphere. Her team has also found some live bacteria in the soil and at least one mold that is flourishing as well.”
“So is she going to try to introduce more life forms?”
“Yes. They’ve already planted some grasses and even a few deciduous trees. She wants to check them out in a few weeks to see how they’re faring. If they’re still alive and growing at that stage, she says she’ll plant more.”
“That’s exciting to hear. Reide tells me that you’re okay with him joining the JAC,” I said, changing the topic.
“That’s not exactly what I told him,” replied Kala. “I said I thought he should talk to some of the people who went through the program before he makes a commitment.”
“Well, in fairness to him, he did mention that and asked if I would introduce him to Captain Mareoparen and ask whether he would be willing to answer questions about the program.”
“I’m not against the program, Tib. I’m just not sure how well Reide would do in that sort of structured environment. He’s never led a very disciplined life, even though his dad is second in command for the entire Federation military. He’s pretty much been used to having whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it. I’m not saying he’s spoiled, but he isn’t used to the rigid lifestyle that the military represents.”
“I know, but maybe that’s what he needs right now. I certainly don’t think it will do him any harm. That being said, I don’t think he’ll like it.” I noticed some motion in my peripheral vision and turned to see Lunnie smiling and rushing toward me, her hair blowing in the wind as she ran.”
“Hi dad! Look what I found over there,” she said, pointing back to where she had been investigating a shale embankment. She handed me a rock that bore the fossil imprint of a prehistoric sea creature. “Cantolla looked it up in one of the old Earth records and says it’s a fossil of an animal called a crinoid. It looks more like a plant to me. She says it's over three hundred million years old. Imagine that!”
“And now all the animals on Earth are extinct,” I said sadly.
“No, dad, they’re not. You have most of them in the genome banks on the NEW ORLEANS and back at the estate. Soon we’ll be able to reintroduce them back into their native world.”
“Maybe, but I doubt I’ll live long enough to see the Earth the way it was when I lived here.”
As Lunnie and I chatted, Cantolla walked our way, dusting the dirt from her hands as she approached.
“Tibby, I’m glad you came down to look around. Things are rebounding a lot faster than expected. I'm certain it has something to do with the compound that the Tottalax used for seeding. It would be nice if we could find out what it was and get more of it.”
“I guess we could go ask them – that is, if they can understand us. Their language is not perfect for communication with us and if we get any information, it’ll probably be sketchy at best.”
“Tibby, if it’s alright with you, I’d like to set up a gate here that links back to the lab at your Megelleon estate. Direct passage will allow my scientists to travel back and forth at will and monitor our latest tests on a daily basis.”
“I don’t see any problems with that,” I replied. “I assume you plan to have a manned contingent here at this end. We can’t just leave an unmanned open gate here.”
“Oh, no, of course not. The normal security protocols would apply. I want to set up a permanent base here and add full-scale laboratories at this and other sites that are currently being monitored in the northern hemisphere on the other continent across the ocean.”
“You mean east of here?” I said, pointing in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean.”
“Yes,” she replied.
“That would be Africa. Yes, I think you can do that. However, I want people from my security team guarding an operating all the gates at both ends.”
Kala asked, “Tib, why is it that Ming hasn’t tried to return to Earth and set up a base here? It’s outside the Federation and it’s his home world. I would’ve tho
ught he’d come back here.”
“Well, Ming hates failure and won’t acknowledge it when he does fail. I think the Earth and moon both represent failure to him. He failed to conquer the Earth in World War III and his colony on the moon was near collapse before we arrived. For Ming, life is about conquest and power. There’s no one and nothing left here to conquer or dominate, so Earth is of no value to him. The only reason he would come back here would be because he learned of what we’re doing – and then only to destroy it as a means of exacting revenge against me.
“Cantolla, you might want to instruct your team that this restoration operation is classified for the time being. The last thing we want is for Ming to get word of it.”
“I’ll make sure to let them know,” Cantolla replied.
“We’ve identified a few buildings that are still relatively strong structurally. If you don’t mind, I’d like to outfit some of them for staff quarters, laboratories and storage. My team has already discovered suitable locations for installation of a power module large enough to provide the required electricity. We’ll need to install some other utilities as well.”
“Do whatever works best for you. It looks like you have things under control. Let me know how the grasses and trees do over the next few weeks,” I said.
I spent some time exploring San Paulo with Kala. It was strange to see what a ghost of a city it had become. The streets and structures would probably have deteriorated more, if all life had not been destroyed there. Not so much as a blade of grass grew through the cracks in the sidewalks and streets. There were no termites or ants to chew away at the wooden store fronts or alley doors. No significant rot or decay had taken hold, as the bacteria and fungus that would have caused them didn’t exist anymore. The only substantial damage we saw resulted from seasonal weather and normal chemical breakdown from oxidation. Steel was rusted where exposed and water erosion could be seen where flooding had carved ditches and channels and had washed out an occasional street during heavy flooding. Otherwise, things were remarkably intact. We stepped into the ground level of several buildings, where we found numerous skeletons, some with mummified flesh, as there were no bacteria to eat it away. Most were still clothed. It was terrible, surreal and macabre.
After some time, I decided to return to the NEW ORLEANS. Kala and Reide were also ready to go, but Lunnie wished to remain and return later with Cantolla.
“Dad, could we fly to the place where you were from before we fly back to the NEW ORLEANS?” Reide asked just as we lifted off.
“I would like to see it, too, Tib,” Kala added.
“I don’t know what there is to see. The northern hemisphere was damaged a lot more by the impact than this area and the sea levels have changed, so I don’t know if Louisiana is even above the shoreline anymore. Besides, it’s getting late. It’ll be dusk by the time we get there.”
“We don’t need to land, just fly over. Please, dad?”
“Oh, alright,” I said. “Hold on. Let’s see how well this ship that A’Lappe designed for me does in atmospheric flight.” I opened the throttle and soon found myself praying that my reaction time was up to moving so fast while so near to the ground. Even at a kilometer above the surface, we seemed to be flying at an unnatural speed.
Before I knew it, we were flying over the Gulf of Mexico, only I couldn’t recognize the coastline. It certainly wasn’t as I remembered it. It took me a few moments to realize that the crater shaped by the asteroid impact, which immediately flooded with sea water to form a new sea, was large enough to result in a world-wide drop in ocean levels. Coastlines had since transformed to reveal much of the adjacent sea floor. The city of New Orleans, which once sat on the Gulf Coast, was expected to eventually sink into the sea. Instead, it was now positioned several kilometers inland from the coastline. Had it not been for the Mississippi River that still flowed past the city, I would never have found it. Even so, I wasn’t able to locate the exact location of the house where I once lived. The roads and streets had vanished beneath mud and layers of debris that shifted about in the periodic flooding that followed the asteroid impact.
“Dad, is it down there that you found the TRYTITE?” Reide asked.
“Yes, somewhere down there,” I answered.
After that, Reide and Kala watched silently out the windows and at the vid screens as I circled around until it was too dark to make out any details. Finally, I turned the ship and headed back to the NEW ORLEANS. I realized that, even though we might be able to restore most of the life forms on Earth again, it would never be the same place. The Earth, as I knew it, was gone forever.
It was two days later on the MAXETTE during my usual status meeting with Marranalis that he said with some concern, “Admiral, there is something weird going on. We’re not getting the latest information from the FSO – or at least not all of it.”
“What makes you think that?”
“I had to make a trip to the Capitol Station to meet with one of our officers. I decided to eat in the military dining room on the same level where the FSO is located. It’s a secured area, so people there frequently discuss sensitive matters while eating. I overheard two of the FSO officers talking about the data they gathered from the computers and papers found at Alamar-4. Apparently they’ve confirmed the location of the Brotherhood’s main base, which is the same planet where Ming’s is hiding out. I expected to receive details later that day, but nothing was transmitted. That was two days ago. So this morning I called and asked for an update on intelligence. The officer who spoke to me acted strangely and then said there was nothing new to report.”
“Are you sure you heard the conversation in the dining room correctly?” I asked.
“Quite sure, sir. They said with this new data it would be likely that the Federation could put an end to Ming and the Brotherhood at last, if only the Senate would allow us to go beyond the Federation boundary to fight them.”
“I see,” I said. My first thought was that the FSO might have become compromised the same way the FOI had years earlier; but I had a nagging suspicion this was not the case and that the real answer was one I was going to like even less. I rose up from my chair and headed for the door.
“What are you going to do, sir?” Marranalis asked with a startled look.
“I’m going to talk to Wabussie,” I said. “If anyone wants to talk to me or see me; you don’t know where I am or when I will be back. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“When I got to Wabussie’s office at the Capitol Station, I didn’t bother to stop at his receptionist’s desk but went straight to his door. The trooper guarding it saw me approach and stepped in front of the door to prevent my entry without Wabussie’s acknowledgment that I could enter. He was only doing his duty, but I was in no mood to play military protocol at the moment. I had just received my latest treatment from A’Lappe the night before, and my reflexes were at their peak. Before the trooper knew what had happened, I had tossed him across the room and proceeded to enter Wabussie’s office. He looked up at me from behind his desk with a startled expression. We just stared at each other a moment, and it was clear to me that Wabussie knew why I was there. In the meantime, the trooper stationed outside had the opportunity to get to his feet and return with his gun aimed at me.
Wabussie hesitated briefly before saying, “It’s alright, Sergeant. Return to your post.” Then to me, he said. “You didn’t have to do that, Tibby. I would have granted you entry. Have a seat.”
“I couldn’t be sure,” I said hotly. “After discovering that vital military information is being withheld from me, it is reasonable to suspect that other things may be as well.”
“Hm, I see. So, you found out that we know where Ming is.”
“Why wasn’t I told? By the stars, how am I supposed to fight this war if the information is being withheld from me? This is what I get from you, of all people? You’re one of the few people that I truly trusted. And now… I can't trust anyone anymore.”
“WHAT! Regeny?!” I exclaimed as I looked at the ceiling in an attempt to vent my fury. “I guess I should have expected that, after he restricted me to Sector 1 and while he, in the meantime, runs off to Glomar Rosa in what I hope won’t be the biggest disaster of the millennium. What does he hope to accomplish?”
“He believes that if we wait to act on the information until after he retakes Glomar Rosa, the Senate will vote overwhelmingly to authorize military action outside Federation territories to take out Ming and his base of operations.”
“I see,” I said shaking my head. “And I suppose he sees this as some huge operation that requires eighty percent of the Federation’s forces bearing down on the base as one huge armada?”
“Yes!” said Wabussie with uncharacteristic animation that told me there was more.
“Oh no! Don’t tell me he still sees himself as commander of this assault?”
“I’m afraid so. If it’s any consolation, I’ve tried to talk him out of it.”
“You do realize that his chances of taking Glomar Rosa under these conditions are slim at best?”
“Honestly, Tibby, I’m afraid we’re going to get hit hard if he goes through with his plans.”
“So how do we stop him?” I asked as I began to pace the room.
“We don’t, or rather, we can’t. There is no legal precedence we can use to stop him at this point. I think that’s why he wants to carry out the plan in less than four weeks. If you had enough admirals on your side to collectively petition the Senate, you might be able to have him removed from rank or at least sidelined until an inquiry could be conducted. However, initiating that sort of action takes longer than four weeks. In fact, it takes more like three months. Besides that, you would need the support of at least eighty percent of the admiral staff, and I honestly don’t know if you could get it. In the end, there’s just no time. He’ll have already taken action and it will be too late.”
