Stepping Stones
By Joan Powers
Chapter 6 Deceptions Part 2
True was tracing her name in the dirt with a stick as she watched members of the Eden Advance crew scurry about the housing units. She quickly grew tired of her activity, tossing her stick aside. Cameron and Walman passed by, sweat glimmering on their brows as they shouldered another crate of spare parts.
Though she was glad that Yale had postponed classes so they could continue to investigate the settlement, she was restless. She could continue to help Denner and Bess catalogue the items in the units, but she didn't feel like it. She could help her father try to retrofit the vehicles they had discovered.
How incredibly stupid to design them to consume fossil fuels. Even she knew that wasn't a readily renewable resource. How could those people have been so silly as to bring something so useless so far. She shook her head, considering herself extremely wise for her ten years. Her father had even admitted to her that he didn't think they had much of a chance to salvage a lot from those worn vehicles. But he was stubborn, he had to try.
She wondered what was happening with those frozen bodies. She elbowed Uly a bit roughly, "Come on. Let's go check out the refrigeration unit."
Uly replied, "Didn't your Dad ask us to stay right here?" Danziger's occasional flares of temper intimidated him.
True rolled her eyes, "Don't be such a baby. We'll still be close by. This is boring."
Uly turned to Paul. The younger boy shrugged his shoulders, interested in a change of scenery - especially since Bess had just been making comments about trimming his hair. The trio hiked over to the main facility.
As they entered the building, they could hear Morgan mumbling expletives. They giggled and crept to the doorway of the medical lab to spy on him.
"Damn it." Morgan's patience was worn very thin. This was one of his few talents and he wasn't going to blow it now and look like a fool before the entire Eden crew. He was going to figure this thing out if it was the last thing he did. He crouched down by the locking mechanism to attempt another maneuver, pressing a different combination of keys.
Pausing momentarily he quietly pleaded, "This is it. This is it. I just know this has to be it. Please, dear God..." He expectantly flicked a switch and the controls remained blank.
He banged the door in anger and only managed to bruise his hand, "Aw...Christ, what does it take to get you open! I bet you think this is funny, huh? Why do you torture me like this?" he accused the electronic lock, completely unaware of his audience.
He dejectedly sank to the floor, "Let's see, I've tried logic. I've tried prayer, begging, pleading, what's next... dumb luck? Maybe if I had some Morganite I could figure this out."
The kids chuckled - attracting Morgan's attention,
"What the... What are you brats doing here? Get out of here!" he shouted after them as he sprang to his feet. They continued to laugh as they ran away.
When they realized that Morgan wasn't pursuing them, they paused several feet outside of the main facility to catch their breath. Paul asked, "Is he always so silly?"
Uly and True exchanged knowing glances and answered simultaneously, "Yes!"
Paul wondered, "What was he talking about? What's Morganite?"
Uly explained, "It's those glowing stones the Terrians mine."
The young boy nodded seeming to recognize what Uly was referring to but he was confused, "Why does he want it?"
Uly added, "He used it to decode the combination for a lock once before. He got us into a lot of trouble with the Terrains. The rocks are intelligent."
Paul bragged to Uly and True, "I know where we can find some of the glowing rocks."
True rapidly responded, "Where?"
Paul offered, "I'll take you there."
"Let me get my Dad and we'll go" True added.
Paul taunted her, "Who's being a sissy now? Don't you want to be heroes? Show up with the glowing rocks so Morgan can open the lock then Julia can examine the bodies and save Uly's Mom?"
The thought was appealing. True was tired of feeling like some useless kid. She wanted to make an important contribution to the group. She wanted her efforts to count - to make a difference. She never got to do anything. Her father and Yale were very protective of the children. They would insist that the kids stay behind while the adults searched for the stones. It would be far too dangerous for her. "I'm in." She glared at Uly, "How about you?"
Uly replied weakly, "I guess so." He didn't feel comfortable about worrying Yale and Danziger, having already noticed the strain in their faces resulting from the last month and a half. But it would be exciting if they could help out. And maybe the stones would help him to contact the local Terrains and this tribe might be more sympathetic to his plea for help to save his mother.
XXXXXX
An hour or two had passed, with Julia glued to the Medical files. Her original intention had been to skim the entries, but she found dozens of cases with fascinating information about diseases the colonists had contracted on this planet, unusual side effects of various native vegetation, and Elizabeth's pioneer resourcefulness in her treatments.
She was captivated by the data, knowing it could be important for their survival on the planet. The sheer number of reports was causing her brain to fog. Soon she would take a break; the details were all starting to blend together. Just one more, she assured herself.
She began to push her chair away from the counsel as the next entry played but one detail caught her attention. She rewound the tape to listen to it again,
/on screen: Med. file Dr. Elizabeth Anson Day 2288 (in progress)
.. I'm not sure this is particularly a medical problem but several of the people that I've seen today have been complaining about recurring nightmares. Some are even dreaming about the dirt creatures that appear to be angry.
Even those creatures which periodically visit our camp during the daytime aren't docile as they once were. Their cry is far shriller and they have aggressively waved their staffs to discharge energy if we attempt to approach them. We still haven't been able to establish a method of communication, which frustrates us to no end.
I'm afraid that they are resisting us. Perhaps we have outstayed our welcome? I've tried administering sleep aids to assist these people, but they only seem to make the problem worse./
"How's it going?" Morgan mumbled absently as he entered the room and approached the doctor. He was frazzled from his lock picking exercises and his rather humiliating encounter with the children.
She answered, "Found a lot of interesting information, though most of it doesn't pertain to our immediate problem. Any luck with that lock?" she asked anxiously, trying to keep her impatience out of her voice.
He shook his head, "I'm trying to clear my head before continuing." After he swiftly surveyed the area, he lowered his voice, "I wanted to talk with you about some of the files."
His conspirator tone attracted her attention. Dr. Heller nodded, indicating that he should proceed. She wondered what paranoid delusions the man was going to vent now.
"Doesn't it seem strange to you that Elizabeth would have left such incriminating information on the hard drive of the main computer?"
To her chagrin, Julia agreed completely with him.
He continued, "I mean, no self respecting spy would set himself up like that - would he? He would have stored the information on gear, or they could even have used the space ship computer."
Too tired to take offense at Morgan's not so subtle reminder of her past Julia replied, "Maybe she just slipped up. I haven't found any other entries in her Med. directory which would indicate that she was conducting secretive Council activities."
He raised his eyebrows, "Oh yeah? I did." She quickly moved aside to let Morgan show her his findings. He pushed some keys on the counsel to call up another file directory. "Look at this file name."
It was a bunch of characters, seemingly meaningless to Julia.
"Does anything about it look familiar?"
She strove to push her brain, but she was reaching capacity.
He hinted, "Look like any old Council codes?"
That was it.
"And wait till you see what it's about." He called up the data and displayed it on screen. It was all computer jargon. Julia looked weakly to Morgan who seemed to derive great pleasure from the fact that he was explaining this to her, "This is Eve."
A flabbergasted Julia replied, "What?"
"This is all about Eve. How they set her up and programmed her. There are over 20 files which detail all her functions and operations. What do you think now?"
Morgan was right - that made no sense at all. These colonists had fled from the Stations to escape the Council. They would never have endorsed such projects. And these people weren't stupid. At least one of them would have recognized this information just as Morgan had.
He suggested, "I think we should download this information into Yale. She's still up there. Could be very useful to know how Eve works"
Julia smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "For once Morgan, I couldn't agree with you more."
XXXXX
True, Uly and Paul, laden with backpacks and flashlights hiked up a narrow trail. They were near the northern edge of Independence colony which was bounded by rugged hills. The nuclear powered generator and containment field were also in this vicinity, but this wouldn't pose a problem since the Eden Advance had established that the area was not contaminated with radioactivity.
They continued walking along the path until they encountered a pair of crossed Terrian staffs planted in the ground, blocking their way. True halted and said with some trepidation, "Maybe we shouldn't go. That means that the Terrians don't want us here, doesn't it?"
This time Uly bravely retorted, "You can stay behind if you want to. I'm part Terrian, I'm sure they won't bother me. And since you're with me, you'll probably be accepted too."
True shoved aside her reservations and the group continued. They hiked until they reached a sheer rock wall with several bushes and rocks at its base. Uly gave Paul a puzzled look,
"Are you sure you remember how to get there?"
Paul assured them, "Yeah, just give me a minute." He fumbled about the area, tugging various shrubs and rocks. Finally, one gave way as he touched it. "Here it is. Here's the entrance" He motioned to a small hole in the ground which was barely large enough for a child, but certainly not for an adult.
Uly was confused, "The Terrians wouldn't have that type of entrance. They'd never fit."
Paul impatiently added, "Big deal. It gets us where we want to go, doesn't it? Come on." He fell to his knees and began to crawl into the cavern.
XXXXXX
Alonzo entered the computer room to discover Julia slumped over in a chair by the console, blankly staring off into space. He rushed to her side, "Julia, are you all right? What's wrong?" As he gently touched her shoulder with his hands, she lost her dazed expression,
"Um... nothing Alonzo, I'm just tired. It seems like the more information we discover about this place, the more questions we generate."
Alonzo wasn't sure if he should pursue this conversation. He was curious about this settlement and the inhabitants. But they were dead. Julia was not and she was his first priority. He began to coax her to relax, massaging her shoulders while speaking softly to her, "Why don't you and I go back to our camp? Get a little something to eat then catch a nap? A change of scenery ought to help you to concentrate better."
It wasn't working. He knew that look. Once Julia was engaged in something, it was difficult, almost impossible to tear her away. He decided to shift gears, "Did you find anything out about their illness from the Med. files?"
She responded, "Nothing concrete except it doesn't appear to be due to the biostat-implants as Bess had feared. That particular incident took place several years earlier."
He nodded, having already heard the other woman's version of the story. "So what's your strategy Doc?" he smiled engagingly.
"I had intended to skim through the files but they're all so interesting that I've just been playing them sequentially."
Alonzo shook his head. "Looks like you need my assistance. Show me what you've been examining." She complied. "Why don't you just jump ahead to the last entry? Cut to the chase?" She shrugged her shoulders, while he forwarded the log to the final entry in that directory,
/ Med File Dr. Elizabeth Anson Day 2726
Her appearance is haggard. Her face is tear stained and she is speaking quietly.
Today we cremated Peter Anderson. I just don't understand it. For over seven years people have been living on this planet, relatively healthy and happy. On the surface, the landscape still looks the same. The trees are growing and our crops are thriving. We still see the sunset every night. Yet in the past six months, we are changing, on the inside. Most of us have been tormented by nightmares and are having difficulty concentrating.
Two weeks ago, Peter was fine. He had a lot of dreams about the creatures, but physiologically he was okay. Then he began to have trouble with his coordination and memory. His decline was rapid, at the end he didn't even recognize his own wife. (She pauses to wipe her eyes with the back of her hand.)
The syndrome seems to target the central nervous system of each of its victims but I just can't isolate any causative agent. For some the decline has been rapid but for others it has been agonizingly slow, taking several months. And the fact that it has taken all of the children has been absolutely devastating to group morale.
I had thought that the children's immune systems weren't as well developed as an adult's or that exposure to some environmental influence at the Stations had provided the adults with the protection that the children lacked. But that theory is irrelevant, Peter and others adults have died and several others are beginning to exhibit more advanced symptoms.
I've done every test I can think of. I haven't been able to isolate any virus or foreign organism of any kind. After five months of intense study of this syndrome all I can conclude is that it seems like this planet is rejecting us and that it can never be our true home. /
XXXXXXX
As Paul strolled along the dark tunnel, he called back to Uly, "Do you have your gear recorder on?"
Uly replied, "Yeah, but what good will that do? We can't transmit from here. The signal won't carry."
Paul insisted, "Just keep it on. We're almost there."
True brought up the rear. She flashed her light about the dank cave walls. The tunnels were kinda cool but also a little creepy. She wished her father were by her side. Then this would be an exciting adventure. Regardless of the brave front she put on for the boys, she was scared. She followed them into an open area. Paul pointed his flashlight towards a cavern wall where some stones glowed as the beam of his light touched them. The children approached them.
"The stones, there's something wrong with them." True expressed with consternation.
"What do you mean? These are Morganite aren't they?" Paul asked.
True responded, "I think so, but they don't look right. The stones my Dad mined were bright orange. They glowed and gave off heat. These only glow when you shine a light on them and they're not hot." She demonstrated by placing a hand on one of the rocks.
"The color's not right either." Uly added. These stones were a ruddy earthy color.
Paul was beginning to get upset and he stammered, "This is what you wanted, isn't it? Maybe it will help anyway? We've come all this way. Why don't you guys get a few to take back with us?"
Humoring Paul, Uly began to unpack his pick to dig out a stone or two, while True did likewise. As the two children were using their tools to loosen some stones True asked Uly, "Do you think that this weird looking Morganite has something to do with the altered Dream Plane?"
He shrugged, "Could be. Let's ask your Dad or Yale when we get back. What do you think Paul?" When the boy did not reply, Uly repeated himself, "Paul, what do you think?" He scanned the area about him, the younger boy was no longer there. He and True exchanged timid glances.
"He probably just went exploring to see if he could find better stones." True quietly rationalized. "He was hurt when we didn't like these."
"Yeah, well I think we better get going. Hey Paul!" Uly called while stowing his rocks in his pack.
True clutched Uly's shoulder, "Did you hear something?" Before Uly could reply, the snarling sound repeated itself at a higher decibel. "Let's get out of here" True cried.
"But we can't leave Paul," Uly countered.
Terrains began to file in from each side of the cavern. True's eyes grew wide and she screamed. She and Uly huddled close together. She hadn't been this close to a Terrain, not since her misadventures with Gaal. And these Terrains seemed odd. Their cries resembled hostile snarls. They surrounded the children and began to direct their anguished voices towards Uly.
"What are they saying?" True asked frantically.
"I...I don't know" he was too terrified to concentrate. He had never felt frightened by the presence of the Terrains before, but now his stomach was knotted up tight. He studied the creatures. Something was wrong with them. Rather than having the smooth leathery exterior of most of their species, their entire bodies seemed moist.
True cried to Uly, "Maybe you should try to talk to them on the Dream Plane?"
He crouched and shut his eyes. As he listened to their cries, he realized that these were the creatures in his dreams. They had been trying to contact him for over a week now. He kept his eyes closed tightly to concentrate on their words. They recognized that he was part Terrian, in fact they had been drawn to him because of that. But they seemed to believe that he was partly responsible for their predicament. And that he could help them.
He tried to respond to them, trilling as he knew but this tribe could not comprehend him. Instead they became more agitated and the intensity of their voices rose. Despite Uly's repeated attempts, he wasn't able to communicate with the creatures at all which further increased their displeasure. As the Terrains crossed their staffs before the children's eyes, their last vision was of the shrieking creatures.
-----(to be continued in Stepping Stones: Hope Chapters 7&8