Sedulity 2: Aftershock (Sedulity Saga)

by David Forsyth

  Mr. Crawford leaned into the room and said, “Captain? Your wife is back and she brought food for everyone up here. She also says she needs to speak with you about something.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Crawford. I’ll be right out,” the captain said, still trying to get his head around the long-term weather forecast. Turning back to Kevin he said, “Europe? The Med? Greece?” He was obviously concerned about his homeland, which had been unscathed by the initial phase of the cataclysm.

  “Too soon to tell,” Kevin replied. “I haven’t run projections for that part of the world yet. Offhand, I’d predict heavy rain, like everywhere else, lasting for weeks or months. Snow in the higher elevations. I wouldn’t be surprised if it snowed at sea level too. I doubt the Med will ever freeze over, but they’ll have more than the weather to worry about soon enough.”

  “Such as?” the captain pressed.

  “Such as an invasion of people coming from the north,” Professor Farnsworth explained. “If Greece is lucky, it might only be hordes of refugees escaping the cold. If not, I’m afraid your countrymen could face true invasions by armies seeking to move entire nations south. Much of Eurasia will be uninhabitable by this time next year. Desperate people will resort to desperate measures.”

  “Jesus,” Captain Krystos muttered. “And your homes, in California? What will happen there?”

  “Our homes are already destroyed,” Kevin said bitterly. “But the weather will be bad for those who survived. Torrential rain, snow in the mountains and eventually all along the coast and deserts too. We’ll have to wait and see how the Jetstream shifts before we know for sure, but I suspect parts of Southern California will still be habitable – at least the areas that weren’t wiped out by tsunamis. The whole Southwest will become wetter and cooler. The Wheat Belt will move down into Texas and New Mexico, if there’s enough sun to grow anything at all. People will migrate south from colder states. I wouldn’t be surprised if the United States invades Mexico and Cuba to make room for all the refugees.”

  “It will be quite the role reversal if millions of Americans decide to move to Mexico and demand equal rights,” the professor chuckled dryly.

  Captain Krystos couldn’t fathom the magnitude of what they were describing, and didn’t catch the irony of the professor’s quip. He was too overloaded with apocalyptic visions. Still shaking his head, he returned to the bridge to find out what food Lydia had brought and discover what she needed to talk to him about. He desperately hoped that it was not more bad news, but had a feeling it would be.

  Chapter 9

  While the tsunamis swept north along the Pacific coasts of North America and Asia, they also hurtled into the southern hemisphere, channeled around Australia, spreading out towards New Zealand, roaring down the coast of Chile towards Tiera Del Fuego and Patagonia in Argentina, as well as towards Cape Town and the east coast of South Africa. These southbound tsunamis were ultimately destined to smash into the ice shelves of Antarctica. It was a recipe for a disaster even larger than the ones being covered on live TV, although few people were focused on this end of the world.

  The monster waves struck the North Island of New Zealand hard. The city of Auckland, home to 30% of the country’s population, was centered in the crosshairs of the tsunami. Although there had been hours of warning and attempts at evacuation, the death toll in Auckland exceeded one million. The massive loss of life was attributed in part to the eruption of no less than a dozen active volcanoes in and around the city. The accompanying earthquakes, lava flows, and fires sparked by flaming ejecta impeded any effective evacuation. When the tsunami arrived it grew to monstrous heights as it funneled into the Hauraki Gulf, overrunning populated islands and active volcanoes in the gulf, before falling upon the Auckland Isthmus. It ripped through the densely populated two kilometer wide urban zone and flowed over from the Pacific Ocean into Manukau Harbour, carrying wreckage and flotsam from the city and flushing it out of the mouth of the harbor into the Tasmanian Sea.

  Further south, the capitol city of Wellington fared better. The south facing entrance to the harbor and surrounding hills sheltered the city from a direct hit. However, the harbor did experience a twenty meter tidal surge that inundated most of the city with effects similar to a run of the mill tsunami. Nevertheless, Wellington got off easy and would remain the southernmost capitol of any country in the world, at least until the ice age arrived in earnest.

  The South Island of New Zealand fared a bit better on the day of impact than the North Island which bore the brunt of the initial onslaught. However, the largest city in the south was in triple jeopardy. Christchurch sat at the southern end of the Bay of Pegasus where the tsunami was magnified. It also sat on a major seismic fault and was flanked by volcanic mountains. It was never clear which one of these factors took the most lives that day, as very few of the inhabitants lived to describe the events that took place there. What is known is that Christchurch was hit first by an earthquake larger than the one in 2010, followed by a volcanic eruption in the Port Hills that spewed a pyroclastic flow across much of the city, sparking countless fires in the surrounding area. Whatever was left of the city was finally consumed by the tsunami that put out the fires and stirred the rubble.

  While many smaller cities and towns of southern New Zealand escaped destruction from tsunamis that day, their long-term prognosis was dismal in the face of the projected climate change. Queenstown, for example, a mountain resort town nestled along a lake formed by ancient glaciers, was virtually unscathed and many survivors fled there for safety. However, their sanctuary was only temporary, as that town would soon be consumed by new glaciers when the endless snowfall began.

  The portion of the tsunami that hit Tasmania did reflect back towards the south coast of Australia hitting the bays and shoreline with waves over a hundred feet high. That should have offered a clue as to what would happen when the waves hit Antarctica, but no one was paying attention to that aspect of the ongoing global disaster, being far too consumed with the moment to moment horror unfolding on live television covering more populated areas of the world. The tsunamis would reach Antarctica about the same time as they struck Alaska, shortly after hitting Japan. There would be additional delays before the importance of the southern strike registered with the global media and panicked political leaders.

  Rachel Brewer woke up in a king size bed surrounded by a dimly lit balcony stateroom and, like so many others that day and in days to come, hoped she was awaking from a bad dream. Her first movement, however, triggered searing pain from her burns and emotional scars. She spent the next few minutes sobbing over the loss of her husband, more than the physical pain she was in.

  Eventually Rachel decided that although she was grateful to Mandy for offering her a place to rest, she couldn’t remain in bed any longer. She rose gingerly and put the bathrobe that Mandy had laid out on over her hospital gown. She stood there for another few minutes while the pouring rain streamed against the balcony window, then took a few more minutes in the bathroom. She cried again when she looked in the mirror and saw the bandages covering her burns, not to mention the frizzled remains of her once long and healthy hair. It wasn’t a matter of vanity, only another sign of the loss she had suffered and more proof that her life would never be the same.

  After she had collected herself as best she could, Rachel knocked on the door to the adjoining room. Mandy opened it and welcomed her into what looked like a cross between an office and a sitting room. Mandy’s daughter was napping on the couch. Mandy, Lydia and Mrs. Farnsworth were having soup and sandwiches at the desk. The captain’s wife was quick to offer Rachel her soup, but Rachel declined. The pain killers had upset her stomach. Though they all spoke in hushed tones to avoid waking the little girl, Rachel could detect the worry and anguish in their voices. She wasn’t surprised to learn that her home in Southern California had been destroyed while she slept. It was only one more piece of the rug that had been pulled out from under her life when the fire and water had
ripped her new husband away from her.

  Rachel accepted a cup of tea offered by Mrs. Farnsworth and sipped it while she listened to the other ladies speak in hushed voices. Although she found it hard to care about anything at the moment, she couldn’t help being disturbed by what she heard.

  “Well, as I was saying,” Lydia said, “there’s a bit of trouble with some of the crew. A group of them abandoned their posts in the kitchen and my husband says it’s been happening in other parts of the ship too.”

  “Why would they do that?” Amanda asked.

  “Some of them might be suffering from grief, or shock, to the point where they simply can’t cope with their duties. That’s problematic, but understandable. However, my husband is afraid that others view the current crisis as the end of their responsibilities to serve the passengers. He says there have even been reports that some of the crew want to force the captain to take them to their home countries in Southeast Asia instead of sailing to Darwin.”

  “Really?” Mrs. Farnsworth said with surprise. “From what I saw on the news, there isn’t much left in most of those countries, is there?”

  “No, there isn’t,” Lydia confirmed. “However, that won’t keep some of them from wanting to see for themselves, especially if they’re hanging onto hope that their families survived.”

  “How will the captain deal with it?” Amanda asked.

  “He’ll find a way.” Lydia smiled. “He always does. I just wanted to let you know that we can’t expect room service or housekeeping up here. I brought a cart with this food from the kitchen myself. One of us will need to take it back down and bring up some dinner for the bridge crew later too. We’ll all have to pitch in since the crew was already shorthanded even before this problem arose.”

  “Of course,” Amanda said.

  “What can I do to help?” Rachel asked.

  “Oh dear,” Lydia said. “You don’t need to do anything but rest and recover. You’re injured. And I need to find you a berth, don’t I? Don’t worry about a thing. I was already planning on going down to check on how the room assignments are going. I’m sure we can find you something as nice as possible, although you will probably have to share a stateroom or cabin. Why don’t you come down with me now and I’ll get it sorted for you?”

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Rachel replied. “What happened to Armando, the bartender? Is he alright?”

  “Yes, dear. I escorted him to his cabin, which thankfully wasn’t flooded too badly. He should be resting in his bunk now,” Lydia reassured her.

  “Maybe I could stay with him? Or near him?” Rachel suggested hesitantly. “I could help take care of him, and I really feel safer when he’s around. I mean he saved me last night and I feel like I owe him a lot.”

  “Hmmm... that would mean taking a berth down in the crew quarters. Are you sure you’re okay with that?” Lydia asked.

  “Yes, I think so,” Rachel said.

  “I understand they have to move some the passengers down there anyway, and it is closer to the medical center,” Lydia said, thinking aloud. “You’ll be needing your bandages changed and more burn ointment applied soon, so that would be convenient. Alright then, let’s go see what we can find for you.” Lydia said her goodbyes to the other ladies and led Rachel out of the dayroom.

  *****

  Lieutenant Reiner had finally been relieved of babysitting duty in the theater and was looking forward to a few, hopefully dreamless, hours of sleep. Unfortunately, another crisis was brewing and the captain had ordered him to look into it immediately. Apparently there was unrest and dereliction of duty among some of the crew. Although the word had not been spoken aloud, it sounded as if the captain was concerned about the possibility of mutiny. Even the thought of such a thing was enough to get Reiner’s adrenaline pumping and shake off his fatigue.

  A mutiny, or even a strike — which would amount to the same thing — was almost more terrifying than what they had already been through. More than half of the crew was already out of action, either injured or dead. The ship was in need of a lot of work and repairs just to keep it running. Meanwhile the surviving passengers, not to mention all the injured, would require more attention than ever. The captain was right to enlist the help of the passengers and encourage them to pull their own weight, though that would only help as long as the remaining crew continued to perform their duties too. The ship would be paralyzed if too many of them abandoned their posts. More terrifying still was the possibility of an actual mutiny at sea in which the crew tried to take over the ship by force. If violence broke out among the Sedulity’s crew, Lieutenant Reiner was certain the ship would be doomed.

  The captain had ordered him to investigate the extent of the potential rebellion, get an idea of their leaders’ intentions, and come up with a plan to get them back on the team. Arrest and detention of the ringleaders would be a last resort, and up to Mr. Cohen and his security team to enforce, but it was hoped that a junior officer like Mr. Reiner who worked closely with many of the crew would be able to convince them to remain loyal and return to their duties. Reiner hoped this was all a mere misunderstanding and he would begin by approaching it as such, though his gut told him that this was a serious situation.

  Lt. Reiner tried to remain calm and collected when left the public areas and ventured into Crew Country below decks. Keeping that demeanor was next to impossible after watching the apocalypse unfold on live television, but he did his best. It would be important to display confidence and goodwill towards any of the crew he encountered, having no idea which of them might be involved in any plot. His first stop was the kitchen where he spoke to the same chef that had informed Mrs. Krystos of the missing staff. The Englishman was obviously nearing his wits’ end and had lost patience with the crewmembers that he now referred to as “deserters.” The lieutenant tried to calm him down and promised to send down more help by reassigning staff from the specialty restaurants in other parts of the ship that were no longer operating. That mollified the chef’s temper, but he couldn’t offer any information on where his missing staff might be.

  “If I knew where they were,” he said, “I’d bloody well have gone and fetched them back myself by now, wouldn’t I?” Looking at the big man holding a bloody meat cleaver, Reiner had no doubt that he would have done just that. After offering several more reassurances, Reiner left the kitchen and continued his search.

  The companionways were unusually empty, but all of the able-bodied crew who had not abandoned their posts were working double shifts, or trying to grab some food or sleep before going back to work. He realized that anyone he encountered loitering down here now was probably supposed to be somewhere else. With that thought in mind, Reiner decided to head for the Crew Lounge. He figured the bar there would be a natural gathering place for malcontents and malingerers among the crew, as well as those trying to drown their grief.

  *****

  Hank and his two assigned roommates were happy to learn that the suite was available. The crewman at the table in front of the dining room printed each of them a pass that would allow them to use the elevator or stairs to reach the suite on Deck 10. He explained that they would have to show them to crewmembers who were still assigned to prevent other passengers from trying to reach staterooms declared off-limits on the upper decks. He also informed them that there would be no room service or housekeeping for the foreseeable future and food would only be served in the main dining room during regular meal times.

  Hank took that in stride and was glad he had brought a few pounds of beef jerky with him on the cruise, because he wasn’t sure if they made it right down in Australia where had planned to work for at least a few months. It would serve him well now. His mouth was actually watering as he led Romy and Fred up to the suite.

  If Fred had been proud of his concierge class balcony stateroom that had been destroyed, he must have been envious of Hank’s suite. Although he hadn’t said a word since leaving the theater, his eyes widened when Hank showed him in. It
was twice the size of a normal stateroom with a double wide balcony over the stern of the ship. There were two sets of sliding glass doors, one in the bedroom and one in the sitting area, each of which boasted flat screen TVs. The two areas were separated by a partition with frosted glass walls and both rooms flowed into an open dining area with wet bar, mini-fridge, and microwave. The suite had a walk-in closet and the bathroom had a jetted tub as well as a shower stall.

  The worst news that the officer had given them while issuing their passes was that there was a shortage of fresh water and water pressure had been lowered to conserve as much as possible until the water-makers were up and running. He also warned them not to open the doors onto the balcony because the rain was still hot and possibly contaminated, but assured them that it was safe as long as they remained inside behind closed doors. Those two restrictions took a lot of the fun out of having the suite, but it sure beat being stuffed into an inside cabin or sent down to live with the crew. Romy perked right up and even displayed a slight grin as she gazed around the suite.

  Hank was happy to see that there had only been minor damage to the suite itself. The TVs were still on the wall and the furniture was all there, if not quite where he left it. Some of the cabin boys must have made a quick run through to straighten things up after the ship’s roller coaster ride over the tsunamis. He noticed that most of the wine and drinking glasses were missing, undoubtedly broken, as were the centerpiece and bottle of champagne that had been sitting on the dining table. His personal belongings that had been on the desk, counters and tables were all piled in a corner of the bedroom. He would have to go through them to check for damage to some things, especially his laptop, but it looked like everything was there and in one piece.