Chapter 5
The stellar core fragment had passed safely out of the Moab system. The colony was shaken by powerful tembors but fortunately there were no injuries and only minor damage was reported.
Nita and Michelle were with Snyder in the Genome courtyard, as they prepared to leave.
"We're ready to go, Mister Snyder."
"You've been invaluable, Nita, thank you again."
"If there's nothing else, we'll be on our way."
"Would you tell Carolyn for me, that I'm sorry I didn't have the opportunity to say goodbye personally."
"I'm sure she'll feel the same."
Suddenly, there was an alarm… Snyder reacted. "A breach in the biosphere," he turned to a nearby colonist. "Get Dey Young."
He moved off, and Nita and Michelle followed.
Later, at an isolated area near the biosphere wall, Dey examined the wall with a scanner device. The alarm continued. "Apparently, the refortification wasn't adequate. There's definite structural damage, it appears the tectonic shifts created a breach."
"Can it be repaired?"
"I don't know."
Michelle watched this unfold, rather disconcerted.
"I'll have to run a diagnostic in the lab." She was on the move, the others following her. "Unless we can find a way to seal it, and fast, we'll have to evacuate."
"How long do we have, Dey?"
"Based on the level of toxicity I'm reading, it may be only a matter of hours." She moved off.
"Mind if I… giver her a hand, Nita?"
"By all means."
"Interrupt all communication link-ups, advise families to return to their homes and stay there until they're contacted."
People ran off.
In her lab, Dey moved to a monitor and studied some schematics. After a beat, Michelle entered.
"Isn't it amazing, after all we went through."
"Yeah, amazing."
"It looks bad, it's cracked well beneath the surface."
"Why are you doing this?"
"What do you mean?"
"There's no breach."
"What are you talking about, it's right here, look at it. I measured the toxic leak, you saw me."
"Dey, my scanner would have detected the leak, and its molecular pattern enhancer would have picked up even the smallest crack."
Dey sighed, guilty. "The damned thing doesn't miss much, does it? Fine. I'll tell them the truth. Will that make you happy?"
"Why are you doing this?"
A beat as she collected her thoughts. "I was born to be one of the best scientific minds of my generation. But in the past five days, I have encountered technology that I have barely imagined. I've got to ask myself… If we're so brilliant, how come we didn't invent any of these things?"
"Maybe necessity really is the mother of invention. You don't always look for something until you need it."
Dey nodded. "And all my needs are anticipated and planned for. Before I'm even born. All of us in this colony might as well have been living in the dark ages. It's like we're the victims of a two hundred-year-old joke. Until you came, we could only see to the wall of the biosphere. Suddenly our eyes have been opened to infinite possibilities. Now I'm supposed to come back to the farm and pretend I never saw Paris? Well, I can't"
Michelle had just told the Doctor, Nita and Carolyn about her conversation with Dey.
"Asylum?"
"She wants to leave the colony."
"She may not be the only one. We fielded a lot of questions from the colonists who were more than curious about what's outside their world."
"Why shouldn't we grant them asylum?"
"We can't do that."
"We have to do that."
"Do you understand what it would do to the colony?"
"I understand these are Human beings, Carolyn. With free will. If she wants to leave, she has a right to."
"And what happens to the colony if she does? If others join her.?"
"The society is genetically integrated. Suddenly, there would be gaps, missing pieces."
"It would destroy them."
"There must be something we can do to help."
"I think, Carolyn, that we may have 'helped' these people too much already."
"We did save them from destruction."
"Did we?"
The moral issues here were far from clear and the Doctor was deeply troubled by the choice at hand. "Carolyn, I think it is time you took me to meet Mister Snyder."
The Doctor and Carolyn stepped out of the TARDIS. The Doctor was quiet, thoughtful. Carolyn could stay silent no longer. She was an uncomfortable as he'd ever seen her. The words sort of stuttered out…
"Doctor, I… have to tell you something… and it isn't easy for me… because I've used some very poor judgement… I've acted quite unprofessionally, actually…"
"Carolyn… what is it you always say? 'Take a deep breath'"
Carolyn sighed. "Snyder and I have had a relationship."
"I see."
"It should never have happened. I knew there was concern about outside influences. I should have been more careful."
"Yes… I think we all should have been more careful. That's becoming more clear by the moment. What is your status with him presently?"
"I did not intend to see him again."
"Would you prefer not to return to the colony?"
"I think I should come with you. But I wanted you to know before we went there."
"I appreciate that."
He looked at her for a beat, gave her room for more… she felt awful about this… she was almost on the verge of tears.
"I wanted so much to help him, to be there for him, but the more I was…"
Carolyn shook her head. The Doctor looked at her.
"Carolyn, every one of us went into this with the best intentions."
"I should have walked away as soon as I saw what was happening."
"And you didn't. And that's Human. We make mistakes. Genetic manipulation or not – nobody's perfect."
She smiled in appreciation.
Canada and Snyder were with Dey in her lab.
"You would ignore the welfare of the colony for your own selfish interests?"
"The welfare of this colony would be best served by rejoining the Human race."
"She has been contaminated by the people on that ship."
Snyder was glum, overwhelmed with the turn of events.
"John…"
They turned to see that the Doctor and Carolyn had entered.
"Mister Snyder, I believe you and I should talk."
Snyder nodded as Canada said to the Doctor…
"This is your doing. We should never have answered your hails."
"If we'd followed that advice, Ronald, we'd all be dead now. So much for the welfare of this colony."
"You are not taking her with you."
"I'm leaving. And I'll tell you something else. There are at least a dozen more who are ready to go with me."
"Dey, let's allow John and the Doctor to discuss this. Why don't we take a walk."
Dey didn't want to disengage the argument but finally led Carolyn out, getting the last word. "There's nothing for them to discuss."
The Doctor was left alone with Canada and Snyder.
"Ronald…"
Canada looked at him, refusing to take the hint. "I think it would be helpful if I…"
"I want to talk with the Doctor alone."
"But…"
"Thank you, Ronald."
Canada threw the Doctor an enraged glance and left.
"The irony is, he's the one who saw this coming. From the moment you arrived. And because I didn't want to hear it, I chose not to listen."
"You made decisions that you felt would save your colony."
Snyder grinned, self-indicting. "No… no I wish it were that simple, but I cannot forgive myself so easily. You see, Doctor, I know what Dey Young is feeling. For I have been feeling it as well. I found… your people to be… intriguing and stimulating… as she did. I was every bit as curious about you as the next man. But I am not the next man. I am the leader of these people. And every genetic fibre in my being demands that I protect them. Instead, I have betrayed them. I have allowed this to happen."
"We have both allowed this to happen, Snyder."
"Then let us both find a way to stop it from going any further."
"I wish I could see a way."
"Doctor, I was born to govern this colony, not to dismantle it."
"If you force them to stay, you will be suppressing their Human rights."
"If even a handful leave, the damage to this society will be devastating. What about the rights of those who would stay behind? They are the ones who inherit the social chaos that would follow for generations. Your arrival created this problem. Your departure solves it."
"That is simplistic."
"Refuse them passage."
"I cannot ignore the requests of people, Humans who ask for transport away from here."
"Nor can you ignore the fact that thousands will suffer if you agree to take them. And as suffering grows, more will demand to leave. We are witness to the end of this existence, Doctor. I implore you – do not let it happen."
The Doctor studied him, with sympathy. "You would have me make the decision for you, Snyder. But I cannot. I am willing to talk to these people with you. I will urge them not to make an impulsive choice. But if they finally choose to leave, the TARDIS cannot turn them away."
Carolyn, Dey, Canada and dozens of other colonists were in the Genome Courtyard waiting for word from the summit meeting… finally the Doctor and Snyder came out… Snyder moved to address the crowd.
"The Doctor has decided to grant transport to any individuals who wish to leave Genome Colony."
There was an instant uproar about this announcement, both pro and con. Carolyn exchanged a glance with Snyder and saw the deep pain in his eyes. Snyder struggled to continue.
"I'm asking you to stay."
"John, we can't be happy here any longer. We were innocent. It will never be that way again."
"The experiences of the past week will become part of our heritage. We will adjust. In a few generations, we will be able to…"
"We're not willing to wait a few generations."
"All right. Give me six months, just wait six months before you leave."
And this has been part of his plan, his hope to forestall this action, and he has the Doctor's support.
"What will that accomplish?"
The Doctor stepped forward to speak. "There is no question that our presence here has had an unintended influence on your society. That is done and there is no way to undo it now. But feelings are running high. Perhaps it's not such a bad idea to give yourselves adequate time to carefully weigh the consequences of what you are about to do. We are prepared to return in six months…"
"In other words, we are being asked to stay here for six months while they pressure us to change our minds."
"In five days, you have seen only the most superficial evidence of what life is like outside your biosphere…"
Dey moved forward to confront him. "Would you ever choose to live aboard a ship-in-a-bottle, Doctor?"
"What I would choose is not at issue…"
"You are the pilot of a spaceship. You live to explore the unknown. We ask for the same privilege."
"Dey, this is your home, and we are all, in a sense, your family. Don't we deserve an opportunity to open a dialogue on this issue at the very least? I am only asking for six months."
"It's not going to make any difference. You will only be putting this colony through unnecessary pain and anguish."
"You are the ones who are causing pain and anguish in this colony. You."
"Don't you see, John? It's over. It's time for you to lead our people into a new era, into a renaissance of discovery… come with us."
There was a long beat. Snyder's eyes moved to Carolyn's, and she could see a part of him wanted to go, but finally, he lowered his head, defeated. "When you're ready to come home, you will be welcome." Snyder moved away, turning to the Doctor for a moment. "You may proceed, Doctor."
The Doctor nodded. There were no words left to say. "We will return to the TARDIS for now."
"Doctor, may I have a moment?"
The Doctor nodded. "See you soon."
The Doctor headed back to the TARDIS. Carolyn stood there alone with Snyder. "What will you do now?"
"Attempt to assess the damage. Spend the rest of my life on the near-impossible task of rebuilding this society without the proper pieces."
"John, you acted in the best interests of your people, there was no way to avoid what happened."
A beat, he looked away, thinking. "I replay each step of this in my mind, looking for the wrong turn, the mistake in judgement. And I find only one." He turned and looked at her with still deeply felt passion. "And as hard as I try, I cannot even regret that one. In fact, I'm certain that given the opportunity, I would choose to make the same mistake again. I have to wonder why, with all the hundreds of genetically compatible women here, I would fall in love with you."
"Don't say that, John."
"Perhaps it is your imperfections that make you so unique. But I am in love with you, Carolyn, and I will always be." One more look in her eyes and he walked away.
The Doctor was in his study, musing. There was a knock at the door.
"Come."
Nita entered. "The colonists are all on board, love."
"How many finally?"
"Twenty-three."
The Doctor took that in… frustrated, unhappy… "If we ever needed a reminder of the importance of not interfering, we have it now."
"They're Human. They needed our interference."
"Really? Our very presence damaged, perhaps destroyed, a way of life. Whether or not we agree with that way of life, whether or not they are Human, is ultimately irrelevant, Nita. We are responsible."
"We had to respond to the threat from the core fragment, didn't we?"
"Yes. Of course we did. And I wish I could see any other course we could have taken. But I would submit, in the end, we proved ourselves just as dangerous to that colony as any stellar fragment could ever be."
THE END