I again accessed the data on my nanoprobes. “You are correct. Humans already existed at that time. And they survived.”
“So what was different about the magnetic change in the twenty-third century?” asked J.
“The solar storms. In 2232 scientists studying the solar cycle progression forecast an upcoming period of frequent solar storms that would likely hit Earth. This was the year of the News.”
“So if these storms happened during the absence of polarity,” said J, “the Earth would have no protection against the sun’s flares.”
“Precisely,” I said. “And they predicted that these storms would be among the strongest and most violent the solar system had ever experienced.”
“This would cause the Earth’s global power grid to fail,” said J.
“Not only that. If a solar storm hit the Earth directly at the same time the magnetic field protection was missing, it would not only cause a shutdown of all electronic equipment; it would simply burn the Earth. Nothing would survive.”
There was a moment of silence. Everyone must have been imagining how devastating the whole event was.
“So, people decided to leave Earth?” asked Rick.
“There were two options, really,” I continued. “One would be to hide deep under the ground. But no one really knew how long the solar storms would last, and once it was over, if there would be anything left on the surface to enable life to continue. The second option was a much greater technological challenge, but also more promising. It was to build spaceships and colonize other planets. If these Seedships didn’t find any planet that they could adapt, the alternative was to return to Earth after several generations, hoping the planet’s surface was habitable again.”
“And they chose ships,” said Simon, who had been quiet throughout the conversation.
“Yes.”
They were all in their thoughts again, silent for several moments.
“But,” Simon asked, turning to me, “they wouldn’t have had all the ships needed to evacuate eleven billion people. Right?”
I knew that sooner or later they would come to this conclusion. I took a moment before I answered.
“No, they didn’t. Only a small fraction got to go.” I looked down and continued, “Many scientists, doctors, engineers, and other highly educated people were chosen, but also many rich people who paid for the huge technological investment needed at this time. In this way, they bought their ticket off the planet.”
I looked at all of them, wondering how they would react.
“That means that we,” said Peter in a different tone, “being underground, cryo-preserved, were actually saved in this way, right?”
I nodded. I was happy that no one insisted on the utter unfairness of it all.
“But why didn’t the Descendants come back? The Earth is”—Peter looked around while talking—“a very livable place. Why didn’t they return?”
“From the information I am aware of, the Earth was considered dead, not viable for any organism. The last images taken before the ships left the solar system showed a dead planet. That’s why they never thought to come back.”
“But this total annihilation did not happen, otherwise we’d be sitting in sand… or, in fact, we would not be sitting here at all,” said Simon.
“Well, the fact is that all electronic equipment we found so far was dead. That must have been the EMP. But the solar storm wasn’t long enough or strong enough to eradicate all life,” said J.
Patrick leaned his elbows on his knees, pressing his lips with two fingers. Then he took a stick and moved the bits of fallen dry leaves until he reached the soil underneath.
“Okay, let’s say this is the sun… and this is Earth.” He drew two circles half an IP from each other. “Now, Earth has an axial tilt of twenty-three degrees. Let’s draw it like that, okay?”
“Yeah,” responded others.
“In the moment of no magnetic field protection, when the sun’s flare is greatest, it would reach the planet like this.” He drew arrows from the sun to the Earth. “If this side here is the west side of North America”—he re-drew the line in the circle that faced the sun to make it thicker—“then this part here would hypothetically be protected, to a certain extent.” He pointed to a circle on the opposite side of the sun. “The southern part of Africa,” he said and nodded, looking at the others. “Could work…”
The others looked at the drawing and nodded.
I looked at Patrick. “Is this where we are?”
“That’s right. Formally known as South Africa.”
“So, Patrick, if your theory holds, that means that the majority of the rest of the world is really a desert?” asked J.
“If it holds, then, yes.”
“It also depends on how long the solar storm lasted,” I said. “The Earth takes a day for full rotation, and from the astronomical information available to me, the solar flares of the sun that could reach Earth lasted several hours.”
“Which means only the opposite side of the Earth was burned,” said Frank.
“If it was only one solar outbreak,” J added. “Could have been more. Potentially, we could be the only viable part of this planet.”
“Aye, very optimistic. Thank you, J,” said Peter.
J laughed out loud. “I thought we were just hypothesizing.”
“We are,” said Patrick. “We’re not going to find out more until we reach farther north and see for ourselves.”
“How about reaching the computer facility first?” said Peter. “Let’s get going.”
Everyone laughed and then slowly stood up.
Simon collected the plates and cutlery and put them in his backpack and J packed the remaining food. We picked up our gear and were on our way again.
Chapter 17
It was late afternoon when J called it a day, pronouncing this the last stop before we reached the city the following day. As soon as all the tents were up, J came to me. “Hey!”
“Hey!” I stood up from a squatting position. Just as I did, he planted a soft kiss on my lips. My breath locked in my lungs for a moment.
“Wanna see something beautiful?” he asked.
Beside you? “Yes, J, I’d like to.”
“Come,” he said, smiling, offering me his hand.
I took his hand. He gently squeezed it once and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. It felt wonderful.
Peter and Simon were at the camping grounds, the others were nearby.
“Bye, guys! We’ll be back in an hour or so!” shouted J.
“Where are you off to?” asked Simon.
“Can’t tell you!” said J. Then, looking at me, he continued, “It’s a surprise!”
“Maybe she already knows, did ya think about that?” Peter grinned.
J looked at me, serious now. “Do you know? Have you… seen it?”
I shook my head, a big smile on my lips. I had no idea what he was talking about, but I thought it was amazing, the way he saw me: just like another Human, able to be surprised.
He smiled back and said, “Good!” And he pushed on.
After several passes, I realized my sight was starting to get blurry—it was a Vision, wanting to present itself. J’s intentions were so determined that there was only one possible projection of the future. The Vision was pushing its way in.
And I kept blocking it. I focused on the sounds of our feet, on the plants we were passing, on J’s arm and shoulder, on the subtle movements of the muscles under his skin.
He stopped and turned to me. “Now, close your eyes! I will guide you.”
“Mmm… okay…” I said and did what he asked.
This made it harder for me to push the Vision away. There was nothing to distract my thoughts.
Excitement. Amazement. And—blue…
No! I don’t want to see it—I want to be surprised!
In my mind, I pushed away the blue that appeared in front of my eyes and focused on black. Black room, bl
ack floors, black walls, black—under my eyelids.
The Vision disappeared and I sighed in relief.
J continued walking, slowly guiding me forward, unaware of my inner battle.
With no visual input, I started focusing on different senses. I could hear the pine needles cracking under my feet and the birds singing high above us in the branches. And a sound. A new sound I couldn’t place. It was a very regular, deep, background noise, so calm and soothing that I could almost ignore it. But, of course, I didn’t. It was new. And I could not find any reference on my nanoprobes.
What is that?
And with the sound came—a scent. It was different, refreshing, and it came carried by the wind.
I’d never smelled anything like this before. I moved my head to follow it, opening my nostrils to take all of it in.
The deep rolling sound was now getting louder. It never stopped and the rhythm never changed. I was getting even more curious, and my Vision started seeping through.
No! Black!
And it was gone again.
I realized we must have come out of the forest, because through my closed eyelids, more brightness shone through. Whatever was before me had that intriguing smell I was sensing before, and it was carried by the wind in a fine spray, like miniature drops of rain.
“Now can I open them?” I asked.
“Yes. Now,” he said, standing beside me, still holding my hand.
I opened my eyes and saw something I had never seen in real life before.
As far as my eyes could reach, I saw deep blue water, with many white foamy lines parallel to the horizon.
“Oh, the Moons of Senthia! Is that… is that the ocean?” I turned to him, realizing he wasn’t looking at the water but at me.
“That’s the ocean,” he said with a huge smile plastered across his face. “I knew you’d like it.”
This was an amazing moment for me. For some indefinable reason, I felt like crying. Not because I was sad, but because the sight touched me so deeply that this emotion needed to have some kind of physical release.
I tried hard to fight it, not letting it show. Senthiens would never cry at such a majestic creation of nature.
Senthiens wouldn’t cry at all.
I looked at J. He was watching me intently, his expression serious, his head tilted to one side.
“Why do you think you didn’t get the flu?” he asked abruptly.
I looked at him, startled. “I don’t know. I guess I was lucky.”
“Luck has nothing to do with it. And I think you know it, too.”
“I do not understand what you mean, J.”
“Look, I don’t know what happened to you in your past to make you so… so closed up. But I would bet that whatever it is, it’s not present here on Earth.”
“I still do not understand. What are you suggesting?” Automatically, I hid behind my invisible but unmistakable Senthien wall.
“Just tell me—how do you think you evaded the flu?”
“Why are you making such a big deal out of it? You didn’t get the flu either!”
“Yes,” he said, his voice deeper with a slight sense of victory behind it, “but I’m Human.” He stressed the last word intently, looking at me. “I have an innate immunity against it. Humanity has had it for millennia.”
My eyes were wide open now, my heart racing, my throat closed shut.
How does he know? How can he possibly know?
In all of my years of disguise, no one had even come close to discovering my secret.
J came closer and took both of my hands in his. Warm orange sunlight drew the most beautiful shadows over his neck and shoulders. And for a moment, I forgot what we were talking about.
“Your eyes are green. Bright green. I’ve never seen anything like that. Your hair is thick and straight and dark gray. I’ve never seen anything like that, either. But you can cry. You can even smile when you want to.”
He smiled, trying to make me smile and confirm his statement.
I remained serious, though. My whole body was geared to preserve the secret and tell no one—no one—about my true origins.
“Tell me, Dora. How come you evaded the flu?”
I lowered my gaze to my hands, then sat on the sand, pulled my knees up, and hugged my legs, looking at the place where the sky meets the ocean.
“My father… my father had green eyes, even greener than mine. He was respected in the Council of Senthiens. He had what others thought were true Visions of the future, but he always said that he only saw glimpses of probability.
“He was one hundred and ninety-five when he met my mother. She was twenty-six. They wouldn’t have been able to meet normally, but my father had a certain project where he was ported to… the planet where my mother lived. My father said she was stunning, which I think was the primary reason he wanted to get to know her better… although he was not supposed to.
“He said they were immediately attracted to each other, like magnets bearing opposite charges. They kept looking at each other from a distance, because they did not move in the same circles. I never asked him, really… I wonder if he had a Vision then, if it was clear for him that they would be together.”
“How old are you?”
“Excuse me?” I was surprised by this interruption of my story, which I was now willing to share.
“It’s just that you said your father was one hundred and ninety-five when he met your mom. That’s very old, in Human terms.”
“Ah, that, yes… well, um… I am three hundred and ninety-two standard years old.” I looked at him, half expecting to see a hint of repulsion behind his eyes. But I saw nothing else than calm and inviting depths of ebony.
“Mature woman. I like that.” His lips spread in a crooked smile.
I smiled in return and continued, “Anyway, they fell in love. A Senthien and a…”
I stopped. My heart was racing, my palms sweating and my breathing uneven.
“And a…”
I took a deep breath.
I had to laugh at myself, realizing the absurdity of the situation: I was afraid, almost paranoid to tell him the truth, but I couldn’t have picked a better listener. I looked at him and said, “A Senthien and a…”
“Human,” he finished. He smiled gently and reached to take my hand again. “And so you could fight the most common virus on Earth.”
“How did—how did you know?”
“You might have had an easy time hiding it from your other fellow Descendants who never saw a Human up close, but here most of us can recognize a Human, even when she’s undercover.”
“Under what?”
He let out a hearty laugh and said, “It means in disguise.”
“Ah.”
“Don’t worry, it’s an old term. So… do you think that the mistake of this teleporting computer—”
“The Mind.”
“Yes, the Mind—happened because you are half Human?“
I lowered my gaze and said nothing.
“I mean, all the other Jumpers were Humans,” J continued. “It’s a pattern.”
“I know.” I nodded and then looked at him. “Yes, I think the error happens only to Humans. I don’t know why, but I am here because I’m half Human… and Stevanion is dead because he ported with me.”
I lowered my gaze again. It was my fault that Stevanion died. I knew this. And now it was obvious to others. It was obvious to J.
J tilted his head and lifted my chin with the tips of his fingers.
“That was not your fault, Dora. You know this, don’t you?”
I didn’t respond.
He sighed. Then, changing the subject, he said, “Tell me more about your parents. How did you happen?”
“They didn’t exactly go into detail,” I said. “I do know it was the old-fashioned way.”
“The old-fashioned way?” He arched his eyebrows.
“At Uni, most progeny creation is done extracorporeally.”
“You
mean tube babies?”
“Tube?”
“Like, in a laboratory?”
“Yes, that’s correct. But of course, my parents couldn’t have something like that go through official venues, and frankly, I think they liked the old-fashioned way, for some reason.”
“Surprising indeed.” His crooked smile was back, and he studied me. “You’ve never tried the ‘old-fashioned way’?” he asked.
“Not for the purposes of making offspring, no,” I said calmly.
“Not for the purposes of making offspring…” he repeated bluntly. “Okay, I am confused now. You haven’t had sex to have kids, but you did have sex not to have kids, and… you have kids but without sex? Did I miss anything?”
“What is ‘sex’?”
“The old-fashioned way.”
“Oh, okay. The first two are correct. The last one is not.”
“Sorry, I’m not following you. What’s not correct?”
“Your last point. I do not have an offspring. I did not contribute to the Office of Progeny.”
He was looking at me, slowly shaking his head. “Office of Progeny?”
“Okay, let me try to explain.” I poised myself as if I was about to start a lecture on Visionaire studies. “In Uni, there is no urgent need for progeny because many Descendant species live several hundred, sometimes thousands of years. However, there is a need for some inflow of new individuals, and those are made at the Office of Progeny. Women donate eggs cells and men sperm cells, and the rest is done by technicians.”
“Voyeurs.” He grinned.
“Voyeurs?”
“Never mind. So what about parenting and upbringing?”
“There are professionals who take that responsibility.”
“So children never meet their parents?”
“They never meet their biological parents, no. I was… I consider myself lucky to have spent a part of my youth with my parents.”
He smiled, looked down at our laced hands, and stroked the back of my hand with his thumbs. Then he looked up and said, “And what about the second point?”
“Which second point?”
“Where you have sex but no babies?”
The Senthien (Descendants of Earth Book 1) Page 17
