Chapter 20
In the two hours since sunrise, things hadn't gone as badly as Adam expected. Bez was still over in Environmental Control, but he'd completed the changeover and was now trying to regulate things without Noah's steady hand. The temperature had dipped slightly, but not enough to worry Adam. He and Sarah had gathered everyone together in the dining room, clearing away the tables and chairs. She was leading them all in a singalong now, trying to keep spirits up. Some of the younger children had been in tears at Noah's 'indifference'. He supposed that made sense. To someone very young, the drones freezing in place might seem like a sign that the kids were being ignored.
Winter was in its downswing now, but temperatures outside still dipped below freezing from time to time. Adam knew that the plants outside could handle it, but if the agro-dome was compromised it could mean starvation later on. That was assuming Noah came back, anyway.
He hoped that little nerd was up to the task. Society required all kinds, including people like Simon. For once, Adam was forced to admit to himself that Simon had his uses. He still couldn't believe that Simon was a qualified pilot, if an untested one. Life was surprising him all over the place today.
He coughed lightly, wondering if he should send someone out to the agro-dome to regulate its temperature as well. As he did, Hippo approached him from another side. "We might have another problem," he said quietly, glancing over at the collected kids. "I've noticed some of them are having a little trouble breathing. At least five have coughed repeatedly, including you," he added pointedly. "I'm feeling pressure in my lungs as well. There's something wrong with the air."
Now that he mentioned it, Adam did know what he meant. It was hard to tell in the late afternoon light, but he thought he could see a greenish tinge in the air. "Bez said the O2 scrubbers were back online. Are we running out of O2 already? I thought we had several days, even without the electrolysis plant."
Hippo shook his head. "I don't think it's that. I was running tests in the lab just now, but we should check the filters just to be sure." Adam nodded and Hippo sped off down the corridor. Briefly, Adam looked over at Sarah and the others before following him, and thought of the old saying about raining and pouring.
He headed down to the filter room. Bez and one of his younger assistants named Palo were hard at work by the environmental controls, having opened a panel and attached leads to try and get information. The EMP damage had been repaired in here, but two teens, no matter how well educated, were a poor substitute for Noah. Tycho beckoned him over to the far wall and opened up one of the panels for the air-filtration system. "What the heck is that?"
Adam didn't know either. Lodged at the bottom of this filter was a clear... fluid of some kind. It was tinged green, like the air Adam had noted earlier. Hippo pulled out a sample kit and carefully separated some of this slime into a bottle. "It's organic, whatever it is."
That caught even the engineers' attention, and all four of them just stared at the fluid for a moment.
The dome was a closed structure. Each airlock did a decon sweep every time it was used. The foundations were sealed and solid, letting nothing in even from underground. All cell cultures in the lab had originated from Earth, as did every plant in the agro-dome, every hardier plant outside, and every person in here. It was all from Earth. Whatever that green goo was... wasn't.
"Noah's been scanning for native life since before any of us were born," Adam said slowly. "How could he have missed this?"
"I don't know," Hippo said, his voice showing both fear and excitement. He raised the sample up to eye level slowly. "But I'd sure like to find out."
-.-
"It's a kind of super-light algae," Hippo reported about half an hour later, to the collected circle of people. The ten of them (sans Simon but including Sarah) were here right now, along with a few people just slightly younger. Some of the guys had objected to a girl being present, but it wasn't like they were swimming in new ideas at the moment. Maybe her limited perspective could help.
They were shivering though, and each was bundled tightly inside layers of simple clothing. They had lowered the temperature on Hippo's recommendation. Everyone in the dome was bundled up and clustered together. There were only a few thermal blankets available, and they were all being used in the dining room by the kids. Gen, one of the older boys, was in there with them right now telling Bible stories to keep them occupied.
"From what I can tell, this stuff has been here all along, but the air-filtration system has been killing it before it could be exposed to our air. I'm not surprised Noah didn't notice it, because it's usually microscopic, and he's only tested the air in here." Hippo looked a bit glum. "When the system went down, these algae got inside, and started a massive reproductive cycle. Looks like one of the things they like is the high O2 content that they found in here. That fluid we saw in the port was a byproduct of their life cycle. They've been spreading through the air ever since, getting into our lungs. That's why it's been getting harder to breathe."
"I take it the low temperature is killing it off?" Adam asked harshly, trying to keep his teeth from chattering. Hippo had a tendency to go on, and right now they just didn't have time for that.
Hippo shook his head. "The cold is slowing its spread, but I'm not sure how to kill it without killing all of us as well. When it comes to alien algae, I'm no expert."
"Technically we're the aliens," Sarah said, shivering. "This stuff is native to New Eden. Come on, there's got to be a way to get rid of it."
The group looked at each other uncomfortably, tossing the problem around in their heads. Finally, Anton spoke up. "The only differences between our air and the air outside are oxygen content, temperature, and humidity. We need both of the first two, but we can do without humidity at least for a while. From what I've read, algae can't. Almost every species on Earth needs a very humid environment to survive."
Adam realized he was right. Anton was one of Hippo's understudies. He wasn't old enough to go through a Naming Day, but he was still calling himself after the first scientist to discover microscopic life, and he was in his element here. "Ok, Bez told me we can't control the humidity directly using Noah's system. So how do we dry out the air on our own? Without lighting a fire in here, that is." Such a rise in temperature might make them comfortable, but it would use up their O2 almost immediately.
Anton shook his head. "First we need to seal off the kitchen, and all the bathrooms. Make them airtight if possible. Then we all gather in one room. Probably the movie room in the guys' side because it can fit everyone. Whatever we do has to be in there."
Hippo looked over in the direction of the kitchen. "I don't suppose you have a few hundred kilos of salt in there, do you? That'd probably be enough to dry out the air."
"Calcium chloride," Tycho spoke up suddenly. "Do we have any of that in the lab?" He asked Hippo.
"I don't think so," the tow-headed medic responded. "Why do you ask?"
Tycho looked a bit uncomfortable as everyone looked at him. "I've been reading ahead in chemistry. CaCl2 is a natural dehumidifier—much more powerful than normal salt. We'd need..." He trailed off for a bit, apparently doing some calculations. "Let's see, the dining room is pretty big—about two hundred fifty cubic meters, right? How much would the air in there weigh?"
Hippo scooched a bit closer, smiling for some reason. "I get where you're going with this. It would be about thirty-five kilograms on Earth, but it's closer to forty here. If the humidity is about forty percent right now... then the water in the air would weigh about a sixth of a kilo once condensed. What's the ratio of calcium chloride to water?"
"Three to two." Tycho smiled as well. "We'd only need about an eighth of a kilo of it to dry out the whole room."
Adam exchanged bewildered glances with everyone else. It was clear he wasn't the only one surprised by their knowledge. "Great. How do we get calcium chloride?"
Hippo got up as quickly as his wrappings would allow. "I'll check the lab for some, in case I was wrong."
"Look for hydrochloric acid as well," Tycho called after him as he left. He looked back at the others. "We'll need to pour it on limestone to get the calcium chloride. Limestone's pretty common—on Earth at least. I don't know how much we have here."
For once, Adam wished he'd paid more attention in geology classes. "We don't have access to Noah's database. Does anyone know what it looks like, or where to find it?"
After a few moments, Massimo spoke up. "It's one of the most common sedimentary formations. It usually shows up.." He paused, looking out the window, and winced. "Under bodies of salt water." As one, they followed his gaze. It wasn't quite freezing out there right now, but the nearby ocean looked particularly chilly. At least they wouldn't have to worry about big waves. Daniel and his friends here didn't have quite the same pull as the moon orbiting Earth.
Adam did some calculations of his own. Despite being younger, Bruce was probably the strongest, but he wasn't a good idea. He'd been hit a bit harder by this algae stuff than most, and was already breathing shallowly. That left Adam as the most experienced outdoorsman. "All right. Tycho, tell Hippo how much of that acid he needs. Massimo, you suit up. You and I are going outside to get the limestone. You know what to look for better than anyone here." He held up a hand to forestall objections. "Bez, while we're gone, try to tap into one of the airborne drones. If you can get it flying remotely, we won't have to haul the limestone back."
Everyone nodded in turn, and got up. Some started to head towards the dining room, but Adam paused for a moment, looking at each of them in turn. As far as brainstorming sessions went, he was impressed. Hopefully Noah would be too. "Well done, everyone."
-.-
Simon was sweating hard, despite the mountain air. His pack was heavy, as was the O2 canister. He was pushing his way up an increasingly steep incline, trying to get up onto Noah's plateau safely. The place wasn't designed for human use, but at least it would be flat.
He was walking past the remains of the old solar sail, which had propelled their ship all the way from Earth. Noah had converted it into solar panels just after landing, but that had been years ago. Most of them were in tatters by now, unused by Noah or any of the humans on New Eden, and unmaintained against the weather. He picked his way between the massive struts, trying to find a safe path up.
Drops of sweat were pooling inside his breather too, forming a mass of irritating liquid on his chin. Periodically, he had shut off the breather long enough to lift it off his face and dry off, before replacing it. He couldn't wait until the air here was breathable normally. Or at least until the shuttle was pressurized again. The first one would take centuries.
Poor Diana. The damage the shuttle had taken must have been heartbreaking for her, but then being trapped inside it? Simon muttered recriminations under his breath, both on her and himself. He could have stayed a bit longer, couldn't he? He might have been able to repair the console's systems, and get it to lift off of her.
Or maybe not. She had been right. There was more at stake right now than just her freedom.
Simon heard a strange whirring noise up ahead, about thirty meters from the plateau. On closer inspection it turned out to be a drone. It was small—not an industrial model. Probably a scout, knocked out by the EMP, but with some of its blades still operational.
He paused though, examining it more closely. The damage to the vertical-lift blades was obvious, but it wasn't what he'd expect from it just falling out of the sky. Those were scorch marks, as if the drone had been hit by something very small, moving very fast. He looked up at the darkening sky. There hadn't been any sign of meteorite showers recently, though there had been an impressive shower three years ago, which Noah had allowed them all to stay up and watch.
Putting down the drone, he continued his journey cautiously. A stone turned under his foot and went slipping down the hill. As it did, a strange grating noise rang out from above, and the stone broke apart! Simon froze, looking at the pieces of it rain down the hill and bounce off each other. He knew that sound. It was gunfire, like from the movies!
He'd seen enough action films to know automatic weapons when he heard them. Hastily, he took cover behind a large, flat boulder.
None of this made any sense! They had no need for guns here. Even if they wanted some, Noah never would have made any for the kids back at Harmony. They could only be used to injure or kill people. Reaching down, he grabbed another flat stone, and cautiously tossed it out from behind the boulder. As before, there was a grinding noise and the rock flared into incandescent smaller rocks, bouncing away.
What was Noah thinking? Had his programming glitched somehow, and started interpreting any moving object out here to be a threat? Trying not to breathe too heavily, Simon tried to get into the mind of his inorganic father.
Noah had been programmed to build and maintain a human colony here on New Eden. His tools were educational, industrial, and agricultural. But then... he had been built by the US military. And an EMP like the one yesterday might have felt like an attack. If he had automatic defensive capabilities, that would have been the time to deploy them.
Simon grimaced. If he'd approached from a different angle, those drones would have seen him long before he was this close, and gunned him down without hesitation. Reaching down into his bag, he pulled out a radio. "Diana, are you still there?" Fortunately they were well out of radio range of Harmony, so they didn't need to worry about anyone else listening in.
There was a static pop, followed by a distorted chuckle. "It's not like I have anywhere else to be or anything."
"So, I've got a problem here," he ignored her jibe. He would have been all for some witty back and forth, any other time. "It looks like Noah has some automatic defenses here. At least two drones, with guns. They're shooting at anything that moves. I got lucky not getting shot on my way up!"
There was a stunned silence over the radio for a moment. "Noah would never try to hurt any of his children intentionally," she said slowly. "He must not be in control of them. Can you hear if they're flying?"
Simon tried to focus. For once his hypersensitivity was working in his favor, and he'd had enough time to get over the nausea and the crash. "I don't hear anything. They must be stationary."
"They're on sentry duty, then. Can you get to the com array without them seeing you?"
That was the trick, wasn't it? Throwing another rock as a distraction, Simon took a moment to try and get sight of the large radio booster near the mining facility. "No. Even if I climbed back down and came another way, they'd get a pretty good shot at me on the way up."
He felt overwhelmed. He was just trying to help here! What kind of messed up people had built this technology? What kind of terrible threats had they been so afraid of?
Diana's voice came through again, this time thoughtful. "Didn't you tell me that Noah's core drives were protected by blast shields?"
Simon frowned. "That's right. They were supposed to be heat-shields on the way down, to protect his 'brain' as it were. They're not deployed now, though. The drones must be all the protection he needs."
"Maybe we can change that. Try throwing a rock high up, so that it hits the hull of the fabrication unit itself."
Not knowing where she was going with this, Simon grabbed one and lobbed it in the general direction. He was careful to crouch down first; he didn't want to get a hand shot off.
The guns railed away at it mid-flight, but enough of it got through to clang off the metal surface. There was an immediate grinding noise from up there, followed by another metal clang.
Simon threw another rock to the side, but this time nothing happened. Tentatively, he looked over the rock, ready to duck back down. The blast shields had lowered, blocking the view of the drones above.
He smiled down at his radio. "Another automatic defense. When it sensed actual damage, even if it was just scuffing the paint, it slammed the doors shut. Good catch. Now the drones can't see me or shoot at me."
"For now anyway," she reminded him, though she did sound a bit smug. "Keep throwing rocks ahead as you go, just to be sure. There may be more drones near the com array."
Fortunately for him, there weren't. Simon made his way up onto the plateau without further incident. As he pulled out his tools and opened up the underside of the radio booster, he thanked God that he wasn't alone out here.
-.-
It had been nearly three hours now, on the beach outside the settlement. Adam had walked with Massimo a great distance, stopping periodically for him to dig up samples to look for limestone. The farther away they got, the less likely it was they would get back in time to help anyone. Even if they could find any limestone to bring back.
Massimo seemed to feel the same increasing despair. "Limestone was mostly formed from prehistoric sea life fossils on Earth, but we have none of those here. I know it exists here though. Noah uses it for his smelting process!"
"Then there might be some near his core drives. Simon could bring some back for us, but he's far outside of radio range. Keep looking."
His radio crackled suddenly, and Adam answered it. "Adam here."
Sarah's voice came through, though a little distorted. "You can come home, guys. Noah's back online, and he's dealing with our algae problem. We'll leave a porch light on for you when you get back."
-.-
Simon had run for his life as soon as he'd heard that horribly familiar grinding noise. He couldn't hide behind the transmitter antenna itself—it was too thin to protect him. No, he was prone, underneath a stone embankment at the edge of the plateau. To his right was solid rock. To his left, a long fall and a bloody death. Above him the same death from different causes.
The shield door had opened again, exposing the area to the turret drones. Grimacing, Simon groped around for a rock, and then hurled it up into the air. Unlike its predecessors, it fell harmlessly down the slope. He let out a breath of relief, but he still wished for a branch or stick to hold up above him as he slowly stood up. Anything that could warn him that he might get shot.
The turrets were there, pointed at him. At least they weren't firing. Simon raised his hands, dirty and torn from his work and rapid hiding, nonthreateningly. "Noah, is that you?"
The leftmost turret moved up, and then down again. Taking that as a yes, Simon let out another breath. "Are, uh, are you going to shoot me?"
The turret moved left and then right. Its barrels then turned to face away from him, and the other turret did likewise.
Simon lowered his hands, and then put them on his hips. "I guess the earlier shooting was all automatic. Maybe you should delete that subroutine or something? Just saying."
The turret 'nodded' again. Twice.
Well, if Noah could control these defenses, maybe he was back after all. "Can you hear from Harmony right now?"
A nod.
"Are they all ok?"
Another one.
"Phew. I was worried. Now I can worry about me instead." Simon stretched a bit, trying to get rid of the stiffness from his hiding place. Now that he had the luxury of time, he could look over the mountainside, and it really was beautiful. He'd seen pictures of mountains on Earth, covered with brush and trees. Maybe someday this would be just as covered and growing, but it had its own kind of beauty even now.
Down the slope, he could make out the plane, or what was left of it. "Right... listen, don't be mad, but I didn't come here alone. Diana's down the hill, in what's left of that shuttle plane. She's stuck, but not really hurt. Do you have any flying drones that are working?"
The turret nodded briefly, and then a flyer skimmed into view from the left. It swerved slightly, compensating for its speed, and then came to a hovering stop in front of him. Carefully, Simon reached out to it. "Could you give me a lift downhill to the plane? You can't miss it down there."
The flyer gained just a little altitude, and Simon reached up to grab its landing struts. Vividly reminded of the old settlement, and doing this to get away from the lava, he held on tight as the drone lifted off again. It was a much slower trip this time. But then, Simon weighed a lot more now than he had before. It was excellently handled, though. Noah didn't go too fast, or make too many sharp turns.
Once it deposited him at the open door, he knocked lightly. "Permission to come aboard, Captain?"
"Permission granted," Diana's voice filtered out from the cockpit.
She had made some progress wriggling free in the past few hours, it turned out. Simon could see strained metal where she'd given hard and sustained pushes. Another few hours and he was sure she would have freed herself. Still, she accepted the drone's help gratefully, as it extended an O2-enhanced torch and started cutting at the console. A few seconds later, and Simon was able to help pull her out from underneath it.
He paused as she stood up and stretched, glancing at the inside of the plane. "You know, I'm pretty sure Noah has a 'you-break-it, you-buy-it' policy. Maybe you really are the captain of this thing now. Should you pick a name for it?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking of calling her the Snarky Electrical Engineer. Has a ring, don't you think?"
"It needs work," he said wryly.
"Did Noah hear from Harmony?"
"Yeah. Noah said everyone's ok, but we're basically just nodding and shaking our heads for now. We have to get back in radio range of the domes to hear anything else."
The drone swiveled back and forth, before retracting its torch. It just hovered there for a few seconds, and then the plane's diagnostic console lit up!
They both stared at it for a second, before Diana smiled. "The plane has backup power for diagnostics. Noah's connected to it through the drone. He must be using it to—”
—communicate with you, the words popped up on the display, cutting her off. Can you read this, Simon and Diana?
Simon chuckled. "We can. Can you hear us?"
I can. Diana, are you injured? The flyer swiveled again, its camera surveying the rest of the plane's insides. Is anyone else from Harmony with you?
"No, it's just the two of us. And I'm not really hurt," she responded, stretching her legs gingerly, and then rubbing the muscles in her thighs. "Just a little sore."
Good. Why were you sitting at the controls?
They shared a scared look for a moment, but Simon just shrugged. "Cat's out of the bag now, I guess. Diana, uh... flew the plane here."
She doesn't know how.
"Actually I do," Diana said, a hint of pride getting through the chagrin of being found out. "I'm the one who's been studying on that simulator. Simon gave the pilot's manual to me, and I've read it cover to cover."
Impossible. I would have known if you had left the girls' half of the dome.
Simon scratched his head guiltily. Somehow he'd been hoping to keep the cat, or at least its tail, at least partly in the bag. "I, uh, might have done some... tinkering with your tracker system."
The console remained completely blank for a few seconds. I see.
There was an uncomfortable pause, but it lit up again quickly. You both lied to me, for months apparently. Still, we have more immediate concerns than that. I'm in contact with Harmony, and everyone is well, or will be shortly. Have either of you had any trouble breathing?
It wasn't the sort of question Simon had been expecting, and it threw him for a loop. "Uh, a little? Up on that ledge, while running and hiding from you, sure." Maybe Noah could be guilted into going easy on them. Then again, probably not.
Diana nodded. "I've been coughing a little, for a few hours."
As I suspected. I need to get you both back to Harmony for treatment.
They shared another concerned glance, before Simon asked. "Treatment for what?"
It's a long story, and you have limited oxygen. I'll tell you what I can, while you help me rig up some flyers to get you back home.
