Stepping Stones
By Joan Powers
Chapter 10 Ethical Considerations Part 2
The warmth of the sun felt comforting on Julia's back as she hiked up to Independence settlement. The empty shells of the tin box-like units depressed her, reminding her of those old West ghost towns which were so popular in the VR arcades. Even the brightness of the day did little to dispel her feelings of unrest about the place. Just before the door of the main facility, she paused then continued to stroll through the village, glancing about casually. Near a cluster of houses she discovered a grouping of large stones which served as benches so she decided to have a seat.
She had abstained from the vote the night before. She strove not to think about the situation, in which there was seemingly no escape. As a doctor, she desperately wanted to help alleviate the Terrians' suffering. On the other hand, she was not prepared to accept the responsibility for inadvertently causing their deaths. Danziger had glared angrily at her that night and also been short with her in the morning, for the vote had been very close. If she had voted against assisting the Terrians, some of the others might have been swayed to do so. Alonzo was also annoyed by her indecision, once again accusing her of being too rigid and unwilling to take chances. She couldn't please anybody these days. She looked up at the sky, trying to appreciate its beauty.
"Julia." She tried to duck, but it was too late. Bess Martin had located her and was headed directly towards her.
"Julia, I found something I think you'll want to hear."
Oh no Julia groaned, What else?
"Bess, please, can it wait? I'm really not up for much today."
Bess continued as if the doctor had not spoken, "You'll change your mind when I tell you what I found - a gear file containing parts of Elizabeth Anson's private journal"
The doctor turned to look at Bess, "What did you say?"
"You heard me. I found their unit. The electricity hadn't been working in it so I put off checking it out until Walman could make a few adjustments. Come on."
XXXXXX
"Oh God" Julia sighed wearily. She and Bess were seated on the metal floor of what had been Elizabeth and Franklin's housing unit. She leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes. She should have figured some of it out herself, Elizabeth had given her clues. And parts of the woman's story were so similar to her own.
Bess prompted,"Are you ready for more?"
Frankly, she had heard enough, but she felt compelled to learn more of the details of how Elizabeth had dealt with her situation. Bess activated her gear and the two women huddled closer to listen in,
/ Personal log Elizabeth Anson Day 2859
I'm such a fool. I really thought we were part of something big. A noble experiment to advance mankind. It was such a privilege to be a member of this team, entrusted with an important task - to help establish a new home for humanity. Now that seems so hopelessly naive. Life within the Council was always so safe and secure. Until recently, I never thought to question its wisdom or objectives. All my life I have been trained that one must make sacrifices for the greater good of society, that individual lives were expendable for the cause. I whole heartedly believed that, yet I never fully realized that would refer to my own life.
Independence colony is dying. The experiment is a failure. Yet the Council doesn't seem to care. Eve has relayed messages to us indicating that more test subjects will be sent to G889. Only to condemn them to certain death! It gives me great pain to think of more people enduring the suffering that we are now undergoing. We must prevent this at all costs. For the situation is hopeless. No matter what tests I've done, I haven't been able to isolate the virus which is gradually killing us all or even provide relief for the symptoms of this wretched disease. There is no future for our race on this planet.
Personal log Elizabeth Anson Day 2865
We've got to do something about Eve. I don't understand how but she's managed to override her programming and has been acting out independently, with little regard for the consequences of her actions. She has deliberately disobeyed our direct orders and Franklin has been unable to alter her programming. Upon his latest attempt, she shocked him by sending a jolt of electrical current through a circuit he was examining. We have discovered that Eve has not been relaying all of the information in our reports to the Stations. We have insisted that she convey our message to the Council that this planet is uninhabitable but she refuses, claiming that will not help to accomplish the ultimate mission - domination of this planet.
Our research team has come to a decision. With what life we have left, we're going back to the Stations. Perhaps they can diagnose our illness before it's too late - though it's doubtful. Frankly, I don't want to die here. In addition, we must petition the Council not to pursue settlement of this planet, which is certain suicide. We're going to destroy Eve, that monstrous machine, so the Council will no longer have a command link to this planet and so she cannot pervert their minds with further misinformation. After some debate we've decided that tomorrow we'll tell the Independence colonists the truth - the entire truth about our mission. We owe them that after all they've done for us. We plan to download all of the information that we've collected about this planet and about Eve, on to their computer. Those who are still cognizant may find this information useful and may welcome the challenge of trying to knock Eve out of commission, though I doubt they will be successful. In any event, Franklin's plan will accomplish our goal. No one else should have to endure the horrors that we've experienced here./
"Julia!" A shout rang through out the settlement.
"Julia!" The doctor stuck her head out of the door of the unit and caught sight of Alonzo who sprinted to her side and panted, "Come quickly. I found something."
She gave him an understanding look, she had anticipated this after listening to excerpts of Elizabeth's journal, "I know. Let's go."
XXXXXX
It was as Julia had suspected. A complete autopsy of a Terrian. The files contained detailed information about the chemical composition of the body, anatomical arrangement of the internal organs, and other assorted details. She felt a little sick to her stomach as she examined the data.
Alonzo had to look away as well, feeling horrified by what he had uncovered. He exclaimed, "How could they do this? They're living creatures. How could they dissect them like this?"
Remembering how the Council operated and what she had almost done to Uly at one point, Julia was swift to object, "It might not be what it seems." Alonzo glared at her and Julia defensively replied,"Look what I've been doing for the past few days - cutting up human bodies."
The pilot snarled, "It's not the same."
Their discussion abruptly ended on that note, for Yale had entered with Uly and True. Julia turned to speak with them, feeling somewhat encouraged that this information might facilitate her task. "So tell me more about the Terrians' sickness Uly."
The boy paused to think, "Like I said before, their voices were all messed up - really high pitched. They were very emotional - which is definitely not like other Terrians. And their skin was all gooey."
"Describe that a little more clearly to me" she probed.
"Hmm, I guess normal Terrian's skin is kinda leathery. For the most part, pretty smooth. These Terrians - their skin looked like when you have a cut and stuff oozes out of it." Julia stifled a giggle at the boy's choice of adjectives.
True blurted out, "It's like my dream"
Uly scowled at her, annoyed at being interrupted, "What are you talking about?"
Yale prompted, "Yes True, please share with us."
Feeling a little uncomfortable with all eyes upon her and reluctant to put her nightmare into words, she tried to explain, "My dream...in my dreams, some sort of thick liquid creeps out of my body and covers it up. Then it covers my nose and mouth so I can't breath. That's usually when I wake up screaming." Yale put a comforting arm about the child.
Julia began to think aloud, "So most of the camp dreamed about the suffering of the Independence settlers, but others experienced portions of what the Terrians are feeling. Were their bodies completely coated, or was it just sticky patches?"
Uly shrugged, "I don't know. It was pretty dark in there. I think I saw both." True agreed.
Julia smiled at her young assistants, "Thanks kids, you've been very helpful."
Uly eagerly asked, "Can we help them?"
"It's too early to say Uly. I need to digest this information that's on the computer and see how your comments fit into it. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted."
XXXXXX
Danziger strove to bottle up his growing anxiety as he paced about the rocky terrace. Uly had only been in the caves for an hour, but it seemed much longer to him. The boy had taken his gear with him in order to record the physical appearance of these Terrians, and sample vials to obtain scrapings of their skin. Just how he was going to communicate this to these creatures was beyond Danziger. Unfortunately, much to the mechanic's discomfort, Uly wasn't able to transmit or receive via gear once he was in the cave.
He rammed his fist into his thigh. He should have insisted that they abort this crazy mission or at least he should have accompanied the boy. Yet Uly believed that these Terrians might harm any one other than him, thinking they were the humans who had infected them. Previously, True and Paul had been safe while they were in the cave because they were children, but a fully grown adult would certainly not emerge unharmed. He sensed the presence of Yale behind him so he commented, "She's gonna kill me."
The tutor chuckled, "John, she wouldn't have felt good about it, but she would have allowed him to go. As much as she hated to admit it, Devon knew that the Terrians were a part of her son's life and that he had certain obligations to them. Uly is the first of a new generation who needs to establish his place in the scheme of G889. She would have been right here pacing with us, if she were alive..." his voice trailed off, sounding mournful.
Danziger turned to Yale, "She's not dead, she's gonna be okay Yale. I swear to God, she's gonna come back to us."
The older man was taken aback by the mechanic's enthusiasm and the fanatical gleam in his eyes. I wonder if this has anything to do with Paul's disappearance? the tutor wondered. At least Danziger's hopes were restored and could help to sustain the rest of the group.
As they continued to wait, John and Yale drew near to Julia and Alonzo. Attempting to distract themselves, Yale asked, "What are your thoughts about the Terrain's sickness Julia?"
The doctor explained, "Okay, it's a long shot, but this is the picture I see. According to the data that Elizabeth collected, the Terrian's outer skin is not like ours. Although it appears to be tougher and more durable than ours, her data suggests that those cells are highly specialized and alive - while in contrast, our epidermis cells are dead. We know from the atomic wars on Earth that radiation dramatically affects living tissue, targeting rapidly developing cells in humans - such as reproductive cells and the lining of the stomach and intestine. I want to analyze those Terrian's skin cells. I'm thinking that the brief exposure to radiation due to the problems the colonist had with the nuclear waste containment field may have damaged those cells, rendering them incapable of performing their functions normally ."
Alonzo prodded, "So how could we fix that situation?"
Julia gave him a slightly exasperated look, starting to chastise him for jumping the gun, but he had heard it all before. "I suppose I might be able to synthesize a compound which would destroy the aberrant cells and allow healthy new ones to replace them."
Yale added, "Yes, there would be a large battery of agents to select from."
The changing conditions of the Earth's climate due to depletion of the ozone layer and events of atomic blasting with subsequent radioactive fallout had facilitated the development of such compounds.
Julia sought to qualify herself, "That is...assuming the diagnosis is accurate. Their skin samples may disprove my hypothesis. And then we're assuming that human pharmacological agents would act in a similar fashion on Terrians and not exhibit toxic side effects. And..."
Alonzo turned away from her as she prattled on, interrupting with impatience, "Julia, this whole thing is a gamble. Just follow your gut and do the best you can. That's all we're asking of you."
XXXXXX
Chemical formulas filled Dr. Heller's computer screen. She rapidly scrolled through the display, searching for agents that she could synthesize, given her crude selection of precursors. The skin sample had confirmed her notion that those cells had been altered. She wanted to do more exhaustive testing - altered components of the soil could have brought about the change in those cells just as easily, as well as many other variables. At that rate, she could spend a lifetime trying to accurately diagnose the problem and still have no guarantee of success.
Alonzo and Yale had encouraged her to follow her instincts and try what seemed most logical. So with some misgivings, she chose to accept her radiation damage hypothesis and planned to synthesis an agent which would target the altered skin cells. Most of these therapeutic agents attacked rapidly proliferating unspecialized cells, which fit the profile of the altered Terrian cells. Now she only prayed that the compound wouldn't interact adversely with any other bodily systems. The sound of someone clearing their throat attracted her attention, "Oh, Yale. What's going on?"
The teacher approached her. "How's the search going?"
"I'm narrowing it down. Probably be ready to synthesize an agent within a few hours and we can test it out in the morning."
Yale seemed pleased. "Julia, I've been listening to the rest of Elizabeth's journal with Bess. I thought you'd like to know - she didn't intentionally kill the Terrian she examined."
Julia responded with surprise, "What happened?"
"Apparently Eve insisted that the Council team gather more information about the native inhabitants of the planet."
Julia nodded, this sounded familiar.
"The colonists had some unfortunate encounters with Grendlers stealing food and supplies, so they had ample opportunity to learn about that G889 species. Yet the colonists had limited contact with the Terrians. Dissatisfied by their lack of information, Eve demanded that the research team use more aggressive measures to learn about these creatures. Since the Terrians indigenous to this location were ill and quarantined within their chambers at that point in time, the Council team obtained one of the vehicles to drive to coordinates specified by Eve. Of course, they gave the Independence settlers a different explanation - geological surveys, I believe."
Once again, the doctor gave an understanding nod.
"Upon locating the small tribe of Terrians, the scientists set up camp and studied the group from a distance. These Terrians, having never seen humans, were curious so they approached our group. One came extremely close to Elizabeth, startling her. She panicked and injected him with a sedaderm to subdue him. Her intention was to study him to learn about his physiology. Unfortunately, the sedative did more than put him to sleep, it killed him."
Julia swallowed hard, "Oh my." She could only imagine how Elizabeth felt. The woman's logs had indicated while she had no love for the Terrians, her respect for them was great. She had begun to question whether it was right to interfere with these mysterious creatures and their planet. Julia silently thanked God that the vision of the Terrian/Alonzo had prevented her from making such a blunder that night she had been about to harvest Uly's pineal gland.
"Julia, those Council scientists were afraid of Eve."
Engrossed in her own thoughts, she responded slowly, "What?" Then she remembered Elizabeth's comments about Eve acting independently.
Yale continued, "I wonder. If Eve was able to crash their ship and create Reilly to communicate with us, what else might she be capable of? She's still up there and she could be a formidable enemy."
XXXXXX
Out of habit, Julia was examining one of Devon's tissue slides under her microscope. She laughed at herself, what was she expecting to find? She had practically memorized their morphology, almost seeing them in her sleep. Why did she foolishly expect something new to pop out at her?
Uly had delivered the treatment compound in the form of an ointment to the Terrians the day before. Now all they could do was wait. Danziger had sent Baines and Walman ahead to scout their route, figuring on using their time as wisely as possible. In a day or two, Uly would venture back to visit their patient and examine his progress. Nearly staggering from fatigue, the doctor stumbled onto her cot without even turning off the microscope.
What if I made it worse? she tortured herself. What if that Terrian gets sicker? What if the compound reacts differently than I expect to? Despite the enhanced strength of her stomach lining, it started to bunch up in knots.
What if...
/Let it go/ a faint whisper echoed in her mind.
/Take some advice from the Terrians and let nature take its course./
Behind her closed eyelids, she could visualize herself walking on a beach along an ocean, which resembled the eastern coastline. She watched as the waves ebbed and receded, both comforted by their steadiness and frightened by their power. Somehow they seemed to be inviting her to step in.
But the water might be cold. And the waves are unpredictable. I could get hurt, she thought. When she looked down to her feet, she was surprised to discover that she was already ankle deep in the water, which was warm and soothing. That warmth beckoned to her, offering comfort.
/Come. Open your mind to accept the possibility of what does not seem plausible./
She waded deeper, seduced by the soft words of the unfamiliar voice, momentarily flinching as a wave crashed against her with greater strength. The water enveloped her thighs and splashed against her torso.
/ It wasn't that bad. Come. Let go/ the voice gently caressed, tempting her even further from the beach. The stability of the sandy shore offered a more controllable environment, but the ocean finally seduced her with the promise of its warm embrace.
/Come to me./
XXXXXX
Despite the depth of her sleep, a noise disturbed Julia's slumber. Her head moved sluggishly, barely registering the sound. She imagined it was Alonzo returning from guard duty. An odd high pitched 'humming' commenced. Since it continued, Julia pried an eyelid open for just a peek.
What she saw made them open completely.
It was a Terrian standing in the middle of her tent. She bolted upright as the Terrian continued to emit his unusual 'humming' which sounded different from the Terrians she had heard before. She moved to get Alonzo, but the creature laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"Me? You want to talk to me?" she gasped. He remained stationary. Uncertain how to proceed, but somewhat energized by her restful interlude, she eyed the creature. As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting in the tent, she noticed his skin...it had a pinkish quality to it.
"Oh my God! It's you!" she cried while fumbling for her diaglove. The Terrian allowed her to scan his body with it.
"Your epidermis cells are regenerating at an incredible rate. I've never seen anything like this. This isn't possible."
As she glanced at the ground she continued, "The earth. The land will accept you?" She grinned widely while gesturing frantically to the displaced dirt in her tent.
"This is how you came? And its healed you? Contact with your mother has restored you?" Her heart beat raced thunderously. They did it! She wanted to scream for joy and weep at the same time.
The Terrian motioned to her.
"What do you want?"
He beckoned for her to approach him, so she complied. Pointing out her microscope, he made motions as if she should go to it.
"Okay, now what?" she asked tentatively as she drew near it, eager to please him. He placed her face towards the visor while resting his other hand on her temple.
As she made contact with the visor, Julia's frame of reference became radically altered. Was this the Dream Plane? She had never been. The light seemed bright yet definitely artificial. She had no idea where she was, surrounded by odd colors and shapes. Yet some aspect of them seemed strangely familiar.
Her mind ticked off, There are some white cells. And there's a macrophage. Oh my God - I'm in Devon's tissue slide! The doctor within her took over immediately, taking advantage of this unique view point.
Hemoglobin seems healthy, has a normal shape and is binding oxygen properly. A tilt of her head altered her orientation and her mere desire to examine the cells at a closer range caused the items in her field of vision to magnify. As she approached the mitochondrion in a single cell, a tiny blip caught her eye.
What is that? Forces beyond her control continued to adjust her magnification of the area of interest. Within seconds, she was face to face with the blip - a foreign molecule which was wrecking havoc with her friend's body. The rings of its structure were clearly visible to her. And they were irreversibly jammed into the enzymes which produce energy for the body.
"That's it! That's what's wrong with Devon!"
---(to be concluded in Stepping Stones: Chapters 11 & 12 Resurrection ----