Stepping Stones
By Joan Powers
Chapter 8 Hope Part 2
Scanning the rocks and trees of a nearby ravine with jumpers, Walman was unable to detect any signs of the kids or any disturbances which might have indicated their presence. He frowned and thoughtfully rubbed his chin as he lowered the jumpers.
In the daylight he and Baines had discovered faint traces of what could be construed as small footprints along a trail which was adjacent to the nuclear containment field. Yet the ground rapidly became much harder, so it wasn't much of a lead to follow.
Walman shook his head, he had hoped that if they continued to climb along this crude path that they might uncover some other evidence confirming that the children had come this way - such as a piece of torn cloth on a tree branch or some type of indentation in the shrubbery. The only unusual item that they had encountered was a pair of crossed Terrian staffs blocking the pathway. After a moment of contemplation, the two men reasoned that finding the kids was worth potentially upsetting some Terrians. Besides, Alonzo hadn't had any contact with them and the staffs looked pretty old.
Baines urgently called over to him, "Hey, come check this out."
Walman maneuvered about a few rocks and rounded the corner to join him. "What do you make of this?"
The area predominantly consisted of a sheer rock wall with small shrubs and rocks dotting its base. But what commanded the men's attention was a section about 15 meters tall and 25 meters wide - rubble, dirt and debris which suggested that a landslide had occurred.
"Could it be a cave in? Maybe the kids could be trapped behind there?" Baines asked nervously as he knelt to attempt to dig with his hands.
Walman squinted as he took a step forward to examine the area more closely. He gingerly tapped the formation in several spots then replied, "Don't think so. It seems pretty settled, like it's been here a while. Look - there are even weeds growing in the dirt. But somehow, this doesn't look natural to me" Walman commented. "Think the diggers were bothering these people and they decided to try to block them off?"
Baines shrugged, "Who knows. But it wouldn't make a difference anyway because they can travel through the ground." He chuckled, "Looks like someone went to a lot of trouble for nothing."
XXXXXX
As the shrill tones of the Terrians grew fainter, True exhaled an audible sigh of relief, "Thank God they're gone. I don't know how much more of this I can take."
She leaned into Uly, thankful he was with her. She couldn't imagine enduring all this by herself - those Terrians terrified her. There was so much venom and rage in the Terrians that she feared they would try to harm them. She had no idea what they wanted and she dreaded anticipating the creatures' next course of action.
As she became more agitated, she tried to stop herself from thinking about their situation. Where was her Dad? Was she ever going to get to see him again? If she got out of this situation, she promised herself and whatever powers that rule the universe that she would never disobey her father again.
Uly whispered, "I feel sorry for them." Even in the darkness, he could feel True's eyes boring into him.
"What? Are you nuts?" she gasped uncomfortably, becoming anxious that Uly was losing his mind.
He replied, "I'm not enjoying this either. But they can't communicate any other way. They're desperate."
True responded rapidly, "So you can finally understand them?"
"I think so" was his tentative answer.
"What's wrong with them?"
"They're sick. Didn't you notice their skin when we first saw them? I think it's affecting their ability to interact with the planet and it's driving them crazy."
True remembered that those Terrians looked different from others, the slimy texture of their skin had reminded her of...something - she couldn't recall exactly. Hopeful that Uly could supply more answers, she continued to ply him with questions,
"But...do they know what they're doing? Will they hurt us? What do they want from us?"
Uly didn't care to answer her. The truth of the matter was that the creatures were so sick that they could be extremely dangerous - they might inadvertently harm the children. As the kids had already experienced, these Terrians still had lightening. Uly was convinced that the only reason they were still safe was the fact that these creatures recognized his bond with them. Not wanting to frighten True, he rationalized,
"I don't think so. They've provided us with food and water and they seem to be aware that I'm part Terrian. They think I can help them so I don't believe they'll hurt us." He mentally crossed his fingers and prayed that his statements would be valid.
"Why are they so angry?"
"Like I said, their sickness has affected their ability to interact with the planet. I don't completely understand it, but they seem to be saying that the Earth is rejecting them - it won't accept them."
True frowned, "What does that mean?"
A beam of light cutting through the utter darkness of the chamber caused the children to wince and draw back. Putting her hands before her eyes and blinking rapidly to regain equilibrium True cried out, "Who's there?"
A rumpled looking Paul with flashlight in hand motioned to them, "Come on. I don't know how long they'll be gone. We have to hurry!" Uly nodded towards their bonds and the younger boy speedily located a knife in his pack to loosen them.
Uly excitedly asked, "What happened to you? Did they catch you too? Or did you go get help?"
Paul hesitated, "No..I'll tell you...later. Come on, we have to hurry. They'll be very angry if they find us walking around."
True and Uly staggered to their feet, their legs tingling after being bound for over twenty four hours. Paul put an arm around each of them, and the three hobbled along as best they could.
As they hurried through the elaborate labyrinth of tunnels, Paul seemed to know exactly where he was going, never once hesitating about which fork of a path to take. It dawned upon Uly,
"You knew all about this place and these Terrians, didn't you?"
The younger boy remained silent.
Uly was confused, "Why did you bring us here if you knew they were dangerous?"
Paul responded, "I think you know."
XXXXXX
"Hmm" Yale replied as he listened, engrossed in Dr. Heller's explanation of Elizabeth's theory and her own test results, "So Dr. Anson believed that G889 had developed its own type of immune response and that particular agent is what killed the members of Independence Colony." He stroked his beard as he thought, "But how does she account for the fact that the members of the community didn't manifest symptoms at the same time?"
Julia explained, "She felt that individuals had different tolerances toward the invader. Some people's immune systems were more successful than others at prolonging the full onset of the disease. There is precedence for this type of behavior."
Yale wasn't convinced, "Sounds logical, but it seems like there ought to be a better explanation. Let's see." He began to pace about the medical lab, "Julia you've focused on identifying some type of bacterial or viral agent. But true antibodies are proteins. Perhaps we need to expand the parameters of our search."
She snapped to attention, "You're right. In fact, any type of environmental contaminant might have caused these types of effects." Anticipating the tutor's next comments she replied, "Yet, I've already tested the local vegetation and water for known contaminants, and Elizabeth performed this type of analysis on the environment and her patients as well ."
"But Julia, don't you see - it wouldn't have to be present in the environment in large amounts. These people were here for almost 10 years - plenty of time to allow a local contaminant to accumulate in their bodies. Perhaps this compound could be processed by the human body in low amounts but once a threshold was reached, accumulation of higher levels of the compound would lead to illness and eventually death. Individual variation in the metabolic pathways that process the compound could account for why the progression of the disease varied so from person to person. Look at history - the fall of the Roman empire. A civilization destroyed in part by lead poisoning. Our bodies can actually process 2 mg of lead per day but once those levels are exceeded, disastrous affects are manifested - mania, neurological problems, eventually death. And to carry our analogy even further, lead poisoning has more severe effects on the developing bodies of children than adults"
"And all the children of the colony died first." Julia was getting very excited.
Yale continued putting the facts together, "The reason Elizabeth and Franklin weren't exhibiting symptoms may have been because they came to the planet two years after the original settlers. Their internal levels of the contaminant may not have reached the danger mark yet."
Julia wondered, "How would that account for Devon then? Less than 6 months on G889 certainly isn't equivalent to 9 years of exposure."
He phrased himself carefully, not wanting to crush the young doctor's spirits. Gently placing a hand on her shoulder he encouraged, "Let's focus on the colony first - one thing at a time. Can you run more specific tests for metabolites?"
Julia nodded and added, "Elizabeth's results from these types of tests indicated no unusual compounds or altered levels of metabolites." A broad grin began to cover her face, transforming her haggard appearance and captivating the tutor's attention, "That's where my medical equipment comes in. Significant advances have been made in spectrometer technology. Especially when it comes to identifying small molecules."
She and Yale smiled, basking in the glory of the potential behind their ideas. As she turned to organize the samples that she needed Yale added,
"I wonder why Elizabeth didn't share this information with us? She must have realized that with our advances in medical technology we would have a better chance of diagnosing their illness."
That was a question which had plagued Julia as well. Inwardly, she was relieved that the woman had not been directly involved in the death of all those people. She had liked Elizabeth and felt they could have been friends had circumstances been different. They had a lot in common - she had sensed that Elizabeth had grown on G889, just as she had. Striving to come up with a rational explanation, she voiced,
"Maybe she had been struggling so long with the problem that she just lost hope. Her records, while I haven't read them all, are very detailed. They contain months of tests, theories and reports. The disease ultimately affected the nervous system - the symptoms sounded horrible. Most mild cases experienced depression, some memory loss, slowness in coordination, along with minor aches and pains with some bleeding. As it became worse, leading to total system failure, many had paranoid delusions - they didn't even recognize friends or family. As their vital organs deteriorated, they lost their minds as well. And I can't even imagine what they went through watching all those kids die." They were silent a moment, for the children were still missing.
"I agree, it must have been difficult for her to see such suffering and not be able to alleviate it."
"But Yale, we told her that the penal colonists survived - that should have indicated that there was hope after all. Why was she so convinced that we didn't have a chance to survive here?"
"Perhaps she was getting sick herself. Depression was one of the first symptoms to manifest itself. Or there may be something else about this planet that we aren't aware of yet. We'll have to continue searching their files."
"I want to know why they tried to leave. If they were just becoming sick, perhaps they thought the doctors at the Stations could save them. But then why sabotage Eve in the process? Why leave classified Council information on the main frame computer?"
XXXXXX
As the kids hiked down a hill, Baines and Walman were the first to catch sight of them and they used their gear to contact the others. More than half of the camp converged on the site within fifteen minutes. True immediately flung herself into her Dad's arms and unabashedly broke out sobbing. She clung to him tightly, not about to let him go. Yale wrapped his arms about Uly and Paul, to welcome them back.
"What happened? Are you two okay?" he asked, seeing how upset True was.
Uly responded, "We'll be all right. It was really scary, but we'll be fine." Some of the pieces of the puzzle were finally fitting together. While he wasn't aware of all of the details, he was pretty certain that Paul's mission had been to ensure that he met those Terrians. Without Paul's interference, he would have dismissed his disturbing dreams as problems with the Dream Plane and he would never have encountered the creatures. Now with his understanding of their situation, even the young boy of nine knew, came certain obligations.
"The Terrians need our help" he announced to the group. Many gave him confused glances, the children were so grimy and pale that their main concern for the moment was their safety. Uly repeated himself a little louder - insisting, "The Terrians need our help."
With True in his arms, Danziger approached him and assured him softly, "Hey buddy, we can talk it all out later. Let's get you guys cleaned up first, okay?" He smiled warmly towards the boys.
"So what happened?" Morgan inquired, eyeing Paul in a not so subtle manner.
Bess moved to place her hands on the small child's shoulders, "Maybe we should talk about it later?" exchanging glances with Yale. He agreed,
"Yes, I think that would be a good idea."
Bess indicated to Danziger, "I'll get them cleaned up then send them back to you. I think they could use some rest. Don't worry - I won't let them out of my sight. Come on guys." She put an arm about each boy, who did not resist her efforts.
XXXXXX
The door of the medical lab was flung open in haste by Dr. Heller who was followed closely by Alonzo. He could sense her growing enthusiasm so he urged, "Tell me what all this means."
She took a breath to calm herself then proceeded to explain, "When Yale and I spoke earlier, we came up with the idea that the disease could have been caused by some sort of contaminant - some small molecule other than a virus or bacteria." The pilot nodded so she continued, "I performed spectrometric analysis on various samples from the corpses. The idea being that altered levels of a metabolite or the presence of novel molecules could be disrupting biochemical pathways. My results showed that those corpses had a very high concentration of a particular compound, one so small that Elizabeth would never have been able to detect it. Ordinarily, our bodies could deal with this substance in low concentrations but if the body were to retain higher levels of it, problems could result."
Alonzo smiled and tentatively stated, "So you've identified what caused the disease?"
She nodded vigorously.
"Can you develop a cure?"
"I think I can - now that I know what the compound is." She was so ecstatic that she was stumbling about the lab. Gesturing to some samples, she added, "This is it. I've incubated three samples. One from an Independence corpse, one from Devon's tissue samples, and one of my own as a control. If Devon's body shows the levels of this compound which I'm anticipating - I can cure her." Tears almost came to her eyes. Was her long journey almost over?
Her hands trembled as she injected a sample into the instrument. "Here's the Independence sample" A large peak showed on the computer monitor - indicating very high levels of the compound.
"Here's the next sample." A small blip was present.
Alonzo looked to Julia.
"That must be the control - my sample. Here goes." She held her breath as she injected the final sample. A small blip appeared. Julia's eyes widened, she was devastated. She grabbed her sample vials to check the labels, only to find that the second sample had been Devon's.
XXXXXX
Danziger awoke feeling refreshed after his first night of uninterrupted sleep in a while, he had been too exhausted to have any of those nightmares. He was comforted to see his daughter lying close by his side. She was pretty shaken up by her experience - who could blame her, but she was going to be okay. He turned to check on the boys. Uly was fast asleep but Paul's cot was empty.
Since sun light was creeping into the tent, he figured he better get up and organize camp business. He needed to see what was going on with Julia's work and determine how much longer they would have to stay at that deserted settlement. New Pacifica wasn't getting any closer. And after the kid's experience, he wanted out of there as soon as possible to get away from those crazy Terrians.
Bitter anger rose in him, he was infuriated that those diggers had frightened his little girl so badly. As if the nightmares hadn't been enough, she had cried herself to sleep in his arms last night. Still, he wasn't pleased by his overpowering urge to grab a Mag-Pro and blast away at the creatures.
What has this planet done to me? he wondered.
Paul's absence nagged at him, so as he pulled on a shirt he decided to locate the young boy first. Some other Edenites were already up and about. Despite the uproar with missing children and the ongoing investigation of the settlement, regular chores still had to be done - meals made, food and firewood collected, equipment maintained. He nodded greetings to his crew mates as he scanned the campsite for the young boy.
Becoming more concerned, he asked Bess who was stirring a pot of oatmeal if she had seen him. She directed him to the area just south of camp where she had seen the boy wander off several minutes ago. He headed in that direction and found him sitting on a fallen log with his rather large pack by his side. He sat down beside the boy,
"True tells me you saved she and Uly."
Paul shrugged nonchalantly.
The older man replied with pride, "That was a brave thing to do. Those Terrians sounded frightening."
With a quiver in his voice the boy replied, "They were."
Danziger suddenly realized that despite his outward bravado, Paul was much younger than he had originally thought. He reached over and drew the boy close to him in a hug, which the boy did not resist, "I'm glad you're okay and you're back with us."
Paul uncomfortably replied, "Umm...I have to go."
Taken aback, Danziger asked, "What are you talking about? Are you sure you're not sick?" reaching to test the boy's forehead.
Paul ducked, "No, I really have to go. My parents are probably worried sick."
Why does he still cling to the idea that his parents are alive? Danziger thought with annoyance. Humoring the boy he replied, "Oh, we wouldn't want to worry them. Where are they?"
Thrusting out his chin in a determined fashion, the boy defiantly claimed, "You can't go there."
John was shocked, He means it. He's really going to leave. As he held the young boy, something about his eyes, his tone of voice struck him.
/"I considered your opinion, I just..."
"Want to do it your way"/
Even that determined manner in which Paul insisted he was going to do something - regardless of what anyone else thought.
/"I am not going anywhere. If you want to leave, that's your business but you'll leave without me."/
Devon - it reminded him of Devon. Even the shape of his mouth and color of his eyes resembled hers. He pulled the boy even closer to him, "I'll miss you."
The boy wrapped his arms about the older man, hugging him tightly, "You'll see me again - I promise."
Then he stood and walked up the bluff. A Terrian appeared. Not out of the ground, but apparently out of thin air. Paul and the Terrian clasped hands and they both disappeared in the same fashion.
Danziger dashed over to the area to try to figure out where they had gone. Was he losing his mind? Was this just a dream?
If Devon had been there, she could have told him that, due to their relationship with the planet, the Terrians have access to time in a manner unknown to humans. At the BioDome, she had heard the voices of the previous occupants and witnessed Mary's reunion with her long dead mother. In fact, most of the Eden Advance crew were currently experiencing the anguish of the sick Independence settlers broadcasted as a nightly feature in their dreams.
In addition, Devon's experience with an older Uly on the Dream Plane had revealed to her that the Terrians would not abuse this privilege or interfere with the natural order of events. Only the combination of a Terrain and a human who was link between the two species would dare to send an emissary back in time whose actions might alter the future.
At first a sense of loss overwhelmed him, for he already missed Paul, but after several minutes had passed - hope prevailed within him. The knowledge rang true in his heart.
That's gotta be Devon's son. She's gonna live. I don't know when, but we will be able to cure her. His cheeks became flushed and a silly grin covered his face. Staring at the spot where the boy had disappeared, he wondered how he was going to explain what had happened without looking like a complete imbecile.
But he didn't care. They were going to be able to cure her. There was hope after all.
Unbeknownst to Danziger, True had crept up behind him,
"Where's Paul?"
"He had to leave."
"Oh, that's right. He told us that before. Know who he reminded me of Dad?"
Danziger was only half listening, Devon's son kept resounding in his head, "Who, True-girl?"
"You."
---(To be continued in Stepping Stones: Ethical Considerations Chapters 9&10)