Diary extracts from the journal of J. Miggs, plant engineer.
Date: New Spring calendar year 01
28/5
Plant still working poorly. The water output is becoming a problem. Only just able to fill the quota per person per day. There is a mutinous feel in the air, a dallon is just not enough out here in the desert. Couldn't see the plant angel today, am afraid she's feeling the worst of it.
5/6
Tried some modifications. A disaster. The water output is now only a half dallon per day per person, no more. Matt tried all he could and made things worse. No one blames him, but the mood is ugly among the people. They accuse us of cheating them. The plant angel seemed to sense what we were doing and I watched her watching Matt, but he bitterly didn't believe me that she'd moved.
12/6
Chased off two scruffy kids exploring the shipwreck. They were well within the restricted area. The water output is down to a quarter dallon per person per day, people are getting desperate. No movement from the plant angel, it has been almost a week and even Matt thinks she's dying.
15/6
Found Matt dead below the plant orb. Shot himself in the head. This shocked people. Had his funeral. First time in weeks that the water queue was quiet instead of complaining bitterly. Sean, Laurie and I are working flat out shifts to protect the plant and keep the distribution going. People prefer to complain rather than help. Spotted those dratted kids again, but they kept their distance. Odd, I've not spotted them in the water queue. Plant angel unresponsive and output erratic, but still enough to survive, just.
17/6
People are getting sick. Some blame the dehydration. Could be. The plant output food wise is not doing much better than the water. People are worrying, which just makes it worse. Am exhausted, the water queues are fractious again. Discussed with Laurie that we appoint a police force. Can't decide who to appoint. Of the one thousand five hundred people we support, they are an amazingly stubborn, opportunistic bunch. I hope this means they are tenacious rather than rebellious.
22/6
Laurie is dead, as are the three men we appointed to the police force. Was a riot today. Sean and I locked off the ship and Sean was all for putting up the shields so that no one could get in. They don't understand that if they damage the only remaining plant they'll die in three days without water. Estimated death toll 24, probably more by the end of the week. Hoisted a hose out of the wreck, the people organised their own water ration queue. Tapped the bulb today, but no response. Sean and I don't talk about her anymore, we are both too worried.
21/6
Negotiations pending. Still supplying the town with water and food. Sean and I are apparently greedy overlords. I wish that they would know how bloody worried we are about them. Saw those odd kids again today, one was standing beside the water pipe, talking to people as he poured them water. They seemed to go away much calmer. The other kid I did not see, until I took out my binoculars and found him sitting on the mesa beyond the town. He turned his gaze and watched me. It was eerie, as if he could see at that distance. Sean says the plant angel moved slightly, and watched the south... if she could see through the ship walls that was where the water queue was. I wonder if she is aware of how desperate things are. Aw, I'm tired. What foolishness, they are not self-aware.
22/6
A miracle has happened. The people got together last night and called to Sean and I. They left a paper on the doorstep then went back to their homes. Sean was braver than I and retrieved it. It was a formal apology, and a statement that they wouldn't harm us.
24/6
Back to the old manner of water queues and food supplies, though still much depleted. Not seen that kid. I wanted to know what he said to the people, that's someone I want as a sheriff, someone who can calm people like that. No one seemed to know his name or where he stayed. No response from the plant angel again, since Sean noticed her movement, we've seen nothing.
25/6
Went up to the Mesa today. Found a camp, but no people. Those kids are beginning to walk my dreams. Water output dropped to below a quarter dallon per day. Sean spent his time on the satellite he is building. If we can get up one satellite, we'd be able to contact the other ships. If our plant dies, we'd at least know which direction on this sorry world we can travel. We have enough road cars and fuel to take us 500 iles. No good if we land up in the desert to die.
26/6
Woke to the security alarm going off. Grabbed my gun. Someone other than Sean and I was in the plant chamber. Found that eerie kid crouched over the controls. The first one, the one who had talked to all the people jumped me at the door and kicked the gun out of my hands. We wrestled a bit and he grinned at me when I pinned him on the floor. He's not a natural fighter.
"Done!" The eerie kid called and walked slowly over to me. His eyes were cold and the emptiest eyes I had ever seen. "You will let my brother up, you ungrateful wretch. I didn't do it to help you."
"H-hey!" The boy I'd captured complained. "He's just confused."
"He can be dead if he doesn't let you up."
I don't know what happened next but I found myself on my back staring up at the plant. Neither boy was there. I hurried to check the plant readouts. Whatever that cold eyed boy had done, it was a miracle. The plant was 85 % operational. The plant angel had curled out of her usual sphere and reached out towards the door with a hand, as if trying to grasp at something that had left. Those boys? She liked them? Not self aware or not, if she were human I'd swear she were longingly reaching for a loved one. I really must be tired, speculating that.
29/6
Found a note written on this day.
"To Petty Officer Joe Miggs,
These are the access codes for the engineers manuals kept in the onboard computer. Please learn all you can so you can help the plant. I'll be back to visit some time. Thanks to you and Quartermaster Sean Fauler for all your hard work."
There was no signature, but I knew it had been the boy I'd fought. The cold eyed one was too distant to graffiti another's personal journal. How did that boy know who we were? Probably asked around. I checked the ships computers and entered the codes, there were manuals there. As Sean and I read through them, we felt relief and panic. There was no way we had anywhere near the expertise involved to keep this plant running. We decided to appoint thee other clever people to help us. I've kept an eye on the plant angel since. I tried putting my hand on the glass this evening, to test out a theory, and after a minute of staring at me, she tentatively opened her hand towards me, but did not reach out. Okay, I now have a theory. They might not be self-aware, but they sure as hell can see and sense people, and have some sort of connection to them. So much for being just "an organic form to contain the bio-engineered matrix for inter-dimensional energy conversion" as the manual says.
3/7
Found another note from the boy.
"I'm sure you're doing great. Keep up the good work."
I looked through my diary, he wrote all sorts of complimentary notes on random pages. What a peculiar sort of person. If only I'd been able to speak with him. I sincerely regret fighting him now. How did they have such incredible knowledge for kids so young? No one has seen the pair of them in the community since the 26th. The plant is responding well and the three 'engineers in training' are doing well. I've taken to pulling a chair over to sit under the bulb in the evenings. Mostly I sit and read and re read the engineering manuals trying to grasp what is beyond me. Twice now, while I have been sitting the plant has shifted and tonight, she reached out, towards me, as she had done the boys. I grinned at her and told her that we were trying. Sean thinks I'm going "fairy mad" as he calls it, talking to machines. However, there is a connection there, and even if it is my imagination, I'd like to keep it good. People like to be appreciated; pets like to be rewarded, so why not plants? We owe a great debt to those boys.