Second generation, p.23
Second Generation, page 23
“Where?” whispered Mishka.
“At the edge of the forest. So she would not be too far from you.”
Mishka nodded, eyes red, “Show me.”
Aristion beckoned Mishka to follow her then paused, pointing at Demetria, “Please come with us. Just you.”
Demetria looked between Leo and Georgia. Leo nodded. “I believe she wants a witness. Someone to confess to,” he said quietly. “I think she needs someone from outside the village or the bunker. Someone neutral.”
Demetria nodded then followed Aristion and Mishka.
Leo turned back to Hanta and Plato, “It doesn’t matter what we look like or where we come from, we make mistakes,” he said, his voice flat. “God knows I’ve made plenty. Plato and Aristion panicked and killed the child by accident. They’re not murderers. Perhaps they can make peace with the child’s mother.”
Hanta watched Mishka walking to the dinghies with Aristion and Demetria, then turned back to the open door of the bunker, “What about all this?” he asked. “How can they explain all this?”
“Rossier wanted to save humanity, she just didn’t see the cost. To you. You chased her into the sea where she drowned. She may have been wrong in what she did, but I don’t believe she meant any of you harm. And she was a mother to these people,” he gestured to Plato, Timaeus and Hedistē. “Perhaps they can forgive you?”
Hanta eyed the children of the sea. Plato, Timaeus and Hedistē regarded the children of the new forest.
“Heaven knows,” added Leo, turning to Georgia, “we all need forgiveness.”
Aleutian Peninsula, Earth – Demetria Philippou
Aristion held the prow of the dinghy as Demetria and Mishka stepped out. She had swum alongside, rather than sit with them. Probably wary of Mishka. Yet the young woman had sat silently the whole way as Demetria steered. It was as if she had been absorbing Aristion’s words. Turning her story over in her mind.
“This way,” whispered Aristion. They followed her up the beach. Demetria walked behind Mishka, comparing her footprints in the wet sand against Aristion’s. Almost the same size. Almost the same shape. Just the hint of the webs between Aristion’s toes to tell them apart. A glimmer of sun caught the tops of the trees and made them glow against the blue-grey clouds.
Aristion knelt under a pair of pine trees that leaned in towards each other, as if deep in some timeless conversation. She brushed the damp needles away with her hand to reveal a small pile of pebbles. “Here,” she whispered.
Mishka knelt beside her, placing her hand on the pebbles.
“What was her name?” asked Demetria.
“Atuat,” said Mishka softly.
The gap in the clouds widened and sunlight now fell across the pile of stones, making them shine.
Mishka smiled as a tear finally broke free and rolled down her cheek. “It means clear sky.”
Ark One, Aleutian Peninsula, Earth – Leo Meier
Leo craned his neck, staring up into the top of the huge circular soffit, then down through the dizzying concentric galleries below. Timaeus and Hedistē had led everyone through the tunnel they’d discovered with Demetria. It sloped gently down through the centre of the island, arriving near the top of the vast chamber. Georgia and Phoebe were pulling out drawers, reading labels, gasping and chatting as if opening Christmas presents. The people from the village stood and gawped into the void.
“What is this?” asked Hanta.
“I think it’s a repository,” said Leo. “A repository of life on Earth.”
“There must be enough here to restart every species on the planet,” marvelled Georgia.
“Grain? Fruit? Cows?” asked Judi.
“Everything by the looks of it,” said Phoebe. “But not overnight. We need to plan a programme, reintroduce species in the right order, in the right conditions. Some might not survive at all now the planet has changed, but others might thrive.”
“How do we even begin to do this?” asked Hanta, bewildered.
“Together,” said Leo, firmly.
Hanta looked at Leo. Leo couldn’t begin to imagine the strange journey of survival this man had been on. It was a marvel that he lived at all. And yet it was also a marvel that Leo and his family lived. That they had not only survived, but thrived on a frozen distant planet, so much further from their shared sun.
“You will leave us,” accused Hanta. “You will go back to Mars and you will forget all about us.”
“How can we forget you?” asked Leo, incredulous. “Everyone on Mars wants to know all about you. How you survived. How you live.”
“We’re not a zoo.”
“No. You are family.”
Hanta raised an eyebrow, then his eyes slid towards Timaeus, “And them?”
“They’re our newest brothers and sisters.”
Hanta puffed out his cheeks, “Wonder what Alyona would say?”
“She’s probably still asleep in Rossier’s chair,” said Judi.
“She’d sigh and say ay, ay, ay,” smiled Georgia.
“That too,” agreed Judi.
“I promise,” said Leo, a serious look in his eye.
Everyone turned to look at him.
“What?” asked Judi, surprised.
“I promise to return to Earth. With as much help as I can beg, borrow or steal. The Martians have two futures now, on Mars and on Earth. So do you.”
Georgia frowned at Leo. Then she smiled.
Forest village, Aleutian Peninsula, Earth – Demetria Philippou
Timaeus and his family tentatively joined the ring around the fire. Judi sat at their side and passed slices of skinned roasted rabbit. Helen and Troy peered at it suspiciously. Hedistē gave Helen a subtle nudge, urging her to eat. Plato and Aristion sat at the edge of the village, watching, much as they had before. Only this time they were in full view. They did not need to hide. They said they didn’t feel ready to join just yet, they were content just to listen without fear of being chased away. Hanta, Innik and a few of those who had been quickest to reach for their weapons cast them sour glares. But the other villagers seemed relaxed towards their guests.
“We are sorry for your loss,” said Judi to Timaeus.
“So much has happened in a short time,” he whispered. “Leonie often said she would not live forever. That we would have to look after ourselves before long.”
“Was she your biological mother?” asked Georgia.
“Mum!” admonished Demetria, “Give them some space.”
“It’s okay,” said Timaeus. “Our true mother and father were Persephone and Poseidon. They gave birth to Plato, Aristion, Hedistē and me.”
“They were like you?” asked Georgia
“Similar. Leonie says she helped our evolution along a little.”
“But Persephone and Poseidon did not live long?”
“No. They suffered from the narrow range of vitamins in their sea diet. Leonie said she fixed that for us. After our biological parents died, she became our mother in every way that made sense to us.” He turned towards Judi who was frowning. “Yes, we know that it is not socially acceptable for siblings to make a family of their own. Leonie said we were like Adam and Eve. That a great new family of humankind would spring from us.”
“I’m not judging,” said Judi. “There’s a few who made that choice among us. Seeing as there wasn’t much choice.”
“But… Persephone and Poseidon…,” persisted Georgia.
“We honestly don’t know how they were born,” said Hedistē. “There were a few things Leonie would not share with us.”
“She mentioned an artificial womb, but none of us have found anything like that. I don’t even know how such a device might work if it exists,” pondered Georgia. “I wonder if she was telling a lie to avoid you becoming too attached to her. Perhaps she was actually your grandmother?”
“We will never know now,” said Timaeus. “In a way it doesn’t matter, we will always think of her as our mother.”
“But it may still have been a lie,” said Judi sourly, “like hiding a repository of life so huge it could restart the planet.”
“We can’t defend her for that,” said Timaeus. “We can only seek to forgive her. She gave so much for us to live.”
“Hm,” Judi sounded unsure.
Demetria saw Mishka go by with a bowl of food, walking out beyond the circle to Aristion and Plato. Aristion hung her head. Plato nodded and took the bowl. Mishka smiled and walked back to the ring around the fire.
“Do you think Plato and Aristion might start a family?” asked Georgia.
“Mum, you are so damn nosy!” exclaimed Demetria, burning with embarrassment.
Timaeus smiled, “Ask them, not us.”
Troy gave his father a pleading look while picking the bones out of the rabbit. Timaeus gently encouraged his son to eat up.
“Leo gave a heavy commitment this morning,” said Judi. “Is he able to speak for all of you?”
“I think he was speaking for himself, in the hope we may agree,” said Georgia, looking across the circle of people at her ex. “I will come back here with him. And I think there may be others,” she added, looking at her daughter.
Demetria held her mother’s eye, wondering if she would come back to Earth with them. Then she started to wonder how she could stay on Mars with so much here to learn. So much help she could give.
“None of my damned business,” said Judi, “but things didn’t seem quite right between Leo and the rest of his family. Demetria here made a few comments about her father in the bunker.”
“I didn’t mean to embarrass him,” said Demetria, “I was just trying to say that none of us are perfect.”
“I think things are improving,” smiled Georgia. “I think Leo’s found a purpose he never thought to have.”
Forest village, Aleutian Peninsula, Earth – Leo Meier
Leo laid back on the bed of pine needles and stretched. He was full of roast rabbit and he hadn’t realised how tired he felt until now. It had been a long day.
“Mind if I join you?”
He jerked his head up. It was Georgia. “Of course,” he patted the ground beside him. “Though I think I’ll be asleep soon.”
“You should feel proud,” she said.
“Of what?”
“This,” she spread her hands at the circle of semi-slumbering bodies around the last embers of the fire.
“It was Judi’s idea, not mine.”
“Only a few hours ago, they were all trying to stick spears into each other’s guts. If it hadn’t been for you, we’d be at war!”
“It was a misunderstanding, that’s all.”
“People could have been killed.”
“One was.”
“I know. I still don’t know what to think about Doctor Rossier. But there could have been more lives lost if you hadn’t stepped in.”
“Guess I hate conflict.”
“Says the man who spent the last decade at war with himself and his family.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
“I’m really sorry. Especially to you and Demetria.”
Georgia held Leo’s hand.
He gave her fingers an experimental squeeze. It felt good. There were so many things he wanted to say, but he didn’t know where to start.
“You will come back here,” said Georgia. “Won’t you.”
“Yes. I made a promise.”
“That was a bit rash.” He could hear the smile in her voice.
“It was, wasn’t it.”
“Think you might want to run that one past Mission Control and the rest of Mars?”
“Given what we’ve discovered, I’d be surprised if they said no.”
“Mm. Me too.”
“Since I’m in the swing of making rash promises, I’ll make another one.”
Georgia lifted herself up onto her elbows to look at him.
“I promise not to be such an arse to the people I love.”
“Do you?”
“Promise? Yes, of course.”
“Love me?”
“…Never stopped.”
20
Permission
The Shuttle, Aleutian Peninsula, Earth – Leo Meier
“So, we found the source,” concluded Leo. “Ark One, a vast repository of life on Earth.”
There was a long silence from Stef, following his report. Perhaps she was looking at the headcam files he’d sent. Perhaps she was still trying to follow every far-reaching consequence. Eventually she asked, “And you made a promise to these people?”
“How could I not? It would be like abandoning the last few relatives we have.”
“You didn’t think to run that past me first? Let alone Mission Control?”
“I’ll come back with him,” said Georgia.
“And me,” said Demetria.
Leo looked at his ex and his daughter with wonder.
“Very touching,” said Stef. “How will you do that if the good people of Mars won’t let you use the Armstrong?”
“I was hoping you’d explain the scientific and moral importance of a return,” said Leo.
“Moral,” she repeated, flat.
“We came here because we couldn’t ignore a plea for help. They still need our help. That repository is the size of Tithonium Central Park, full of seeds, eggs and DNA. They need our help to plan a full-scale restoration of life.”
“Hm.”
“Come on Stef! Think of the potential. This could revive our mother planet. There could be a million benefits to all of us.”
“It won’t be easy.”
“No shit! That’s why they need our help. Think of the knowledge and tech we can bring here.”
“We don’t even know if all those seeds of life are useable.”
“We won’t until we try.”
Stef shook her head. “You and Georgia need to put a report together. Send it to me and I’ll forward it to Mission Control. I’ll warn them what’s coming, should make a few heads spin.”
“How are things with Pawel?” asked Leo. “Seemed you were having problems when we last spoke.”
Stef looked over her shoulder, “Not good. Won’t speak to me. Won’t even open the comms channel.”
“Is there anything we can do?”
“Come back.”
“Give us time. Ursula is with the AI, trying to gain access to all the records. Help us understand more about what went on here. Katya, Feng and Chen are still trying to work out a way to pull this shuttle out of the mud.”
“’Fraid you’re on your own with that. But you’re going to need to get airborne sometime, Hal and his team are really keen for you to get back to the South Pole.”
“Why?”
“Seems it has far more in common with their own findings on Mars than they first thought.”
Leo sat on the beach, staring out across the Bering Sea. Clouds lay on top of each other, layer upon layer, every shade of grey. Behind them a pale white disc sought to burn through. It reminded him of the pale and distant sun on Mars, yet he knew how much brighter it could shine here on Earth, given half a chance. Given half a chance, life could thrive again here too. It was already overwhelmingly alive compared to the barren dust seas of his home.
Home.
Where was his home? Conceived in the void of space, born on a distant red planet yet drawn inexorably back here. Had he made a mad promise that would cause him to spend the rest of his life travelling between the last two refuges of humanity? Was that a terrible thing? Georgia said she would come back here with him. So had Demetria. That made him smile. It seemed home might come with him, wherever he went.
“Come on, Dad,” said Demetria, walking up and standing over him. Her exoskeleton purred and whined, keeping her tall slender legs and back straight under the crushing weight of gravity. “Time to see how Ursula’s getting on with that AI.”
He nodded. “Noah.” Noah was still an enigma to him. Could it be persuaded to become an ally? Or was it a threat?
Bunker, Aleutian Peninsula, Earth – Leo Meier
“But the mission parameters have changed,” argued Ursula.
“The loss of Doctor Rossier was a regrettable, yet inevitable event,” said Noah. “My task is to continue the programme agreed with her.”
“People are surviving on land as well as in the sea. They need the resources in Ark One even more than Timaeus and his family.”
“The resources in Ark One should be dedicated to our programme.”
“But you aren’t using more than a tiny fraction of them.”
“Nevertheless, I am not authorised to allow it.”
“You’re no longer able to stop it,” interjected Leo from the doorway of the AI technical room, “all we want it your cooperation.”
“You are not authorised.”
“Who is, now Rossier is dead?”
“I am not authorised to say.”
“Fuck this!” exclaimed Ursula. “I keep going round and round in circles with it.”
“I think we can have a shrewd guess at who is authorised now,” smiled Leo, “don’t you?”
Ursula looked up at Leo, “Timaeus?”
“It could be any of them, they were all her children. But he struck me as a favourite son.”
“You’d know so much about that, wouldn’t you,” quipped Ursula, then bit her sharp tongue.
Leo looked blankly at her for a few moments then burst out laughing. “I think he’s with Demetria and Georgia in the repository. I’ll go get him.”
Leo found them with Phoebe and Hedistē, pouring through drawers on the top gallery. They were making an inventory. The list of plant species would be invaluable in working out which to deploy where and in what sequence.
“Sorry to interrupt,” said Leo. “I think we might have need of Timaeus.”
“Me?” asked Timaeus, surprised.
“Did Leonie have any meaningful conversations with you about her work? About Noah?”
Timaeus frowned, “She always told us all how important we were.”
“What about you?”
