Sequel to The Frozen Earth 2. Ocean society.
Read The Frozen Earth 3
Disclaimer: Nothing much to disclaim. I got stuck on the fourth part so it is yet unfinished, but I hope to correct that one day.
The Frozen Earth 3
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by Carola “Ryûchan” Eriksson
She stepped out through the archway of house 5, section C, absently correcting the already immaculate line of her white science uniform and the golden pin on its collar that spoke of her rank and field, briefly checking the intricate but stern braid that held her pale blonde hair in place at the nape of her neck, and walked outside in the street. She had not worn either for very long as she was newly licensed and incorporated as a research assistant in the bio-logistic research department.
Despite the scant lighting in both her own cubicle and the common room shared by the inhabitants of house 5, section C, her eyes did not need a moment to adjust to the brightness of the unwavering artificial sunlight above. The houses had no doors and a multitude of large windows placed in a fashion to allow the sunlight to lighten much of the interior of the houses as well as the outside, and generations of living the same way had caused the human body to adapt.
In the beginning these houses had been built for families, to house four or six families each, but as the need for procreation was lost, the concept of family vanished soon after. The buildings were changed so that individuals lived in areas mostly depending upon profession, or lack thereof, and shared housing according to a computerized system not many knew anything about.
The C-section was located next to the A-section, the compound where most laboratories where located, and for this reason the scientist class were relocated to housing within the C section. It did not take Melisande long to reach her department, but this day she walked the small distance in company.
At work she tidied up her notes and handed in her work to her superior, already having arranged for the day off, but remained for a moment indulging in some brief small talk with the woman since she quite liked her closest superior Maxima. Maxima was not only understanding and kind to her new assistant, but she also greeted Melisande’s friend, Lori, pleasantly even though Lori was of the non-worker class.
“Melisande tells me that you are competing in the tournament today Lori” Maxima smiled slightly at Lori as her hands flew over the portable data console Melisande had brought her. At Lori’s nod she continued “Are your chances good? I might just leave early today and bring a friend to the arena to watch, so we will be sure to cheer for you.”
The smiles on Melisande’s and Lori’s faces, as well as the words Lori was about to say, died out nearly instantly as an old man in the science uniform entered the room. He glared at Lori in her civilian garb and snorted.
“Bio-Researcher Maxima, what is a breeder doing in this facility? This is a workplace, not an entertainment centre.” High Researcher Cornelius was an old man with a lot of old prejudices, but he was the department head, and Melisande was terrified of him. Maxima was not.
“Cornelius.” Maxima nodded in greeting. “Lori is here to pick our Assistant Melisande up for the tournament in the arena today, and I wanted a few words before they left.” She smiled at the two youths. “Thank you for your time, and I am sure your work will prove as immaculate as ever, Melisande.”
“Lori?” The old man snorted again. “What kind of name is that? We have no-one by that name in this city.” He eyed Lori’s tall muscular form with disdain, disapproving of everything from her clothes to the short shaggy white hair. “Use your proper designations as they were assigned to you.”
Maxima rolled her eyes. “Cornelius, if you ever bothered to take a look around the dome outside of your labs you would know that Valoria is one of our top athletes in the arena. She has section C clearance, no need for you to be concerned.”
He harrumphed. “Those... games... only verify my opinions of the deficiency of breeders, Researcher.” He allowed Maxima to lead him away, ignoring the younger women as he continued to discuss the topic with her while they walked away. “Section C clearance? Does that mean…?”
“Yes sir.” Maxima interrupted quietly. “She is another Ten.”
The Ten was the ten percent of every generation, which constituted to no more than a handful of individuals, that were not bred by the randomizer pattern of the Reproduction department computer system, but engineered in a way to combine the best and most favourable traits in the previous generation. Melisande was another Ten, the product of the combined genetics of High Science Chancellor Virote and Science Chancellor Sebastine, and her IQ level was a success for the program. Equally Valoria was the product of the combined genetics of First Chancellor of Engineering Augustus and Chancellor of Engineering Bernadette, and while her IQ and aptitude was well enough that she was on the substitute list, she was considered a failure since she was not deemed having the ability or skill to earn her a job. Only the fact that she was a Ten set Lori apart from other breeders, as the slur was, and allowed her to continue to live in section C.
The breeders were called thus because it was considered the only purpose a non-worker had in existence, to add his or her genetic code to the Reproduction banks and to fulfil their ‘conditioning’ duty, performing their assigned tasks when a child was located in their house. It was a task some never needed to fulfil, and even those that did only very scarcely, since the rejuvenation process – the creation of children – was at a relatively low frequency. Still, the term breeder was used by the older generations of scientists and engineers in reference to non-workers because that was their only purpose in their eyes, and also because little was found more unseemly in their society than the mindless copulation and childbearing of their distant ancestors.
Melisande belonged to the younger generation of scientists that found such prejudice to be outdated and frankly embarrassing, but of course she never dared to speak up to her superior Cornelius. To have such an attitude in front of her male superior when she herself was but a young, new and female research assistant was very ill advised indeed.
The reason Melisande had asked for this particular day off was off course that she had promised Lori that she would come and see her win at the tournament that day, but they also had something else on the agenda for the day. Melisande led the slightly lost Lori through the maze of the science section with the ease that comes from habit, until they reached their destination. The Reproduction department.
Entering their clearance codes Melisande deftly steered them down a certain corridor, greeting scientists in passing, having visited there before on her own. Finally they reached the glass divider that allowed them both to look in at the purpose for their visit.
Because of the low number of births in each generation, and the even lower number of specially designed ‘Tens’, Melisande and Lori’s city dome had only held three Tens for as long as either could remember. The other Ten had been a grouchy old man living in the same house as they, but last winter he had taken ill and died soon thereafter. Or, as Melisande silently acknowledged to herself, he was found to old to receive the medical care he needed and was euthanized. Either way his death had left an empty room at their house, and an opportunity for another Ten to be implanted in their city.
The child had been created directly after the old man’s death, and the news of her existence, along with the date for when she would be delivered to the house, had reached Melisande. Compelled by curiosity at first, then a strange longing, Melisande had visited the department every so often to see the child she would soon have a hand in caring for until the girl was old enough to receive instruction from the teaching devices on her own. The scientists that worked there did not mind Melisande’s visits although visits of this kind was unheard of, in fact her interaction with the tiny infants had made more than one Reproduction Manager express his or her regret that Melisande was assigned Bio-research and not Reproduction.
Behind the glass divider was a narrow walkway between two rows of tiny transparent cubicles in the floor. There were sixteen tiny cubicles in the room in front of two workstations, but only eight of the cubicles were occupied, and only one Reproduction Manager was keeping stations today. The children in the cubicles ranged from the tiny infant girl that Melisande and Lori had come to see, to a tiny boy that was nearly sixteen months old. They all sat in their transparent squares, the smaller ones sleeping or gurgling to themselves and those big enough to be more mobile waving their reflecting toys and laughing at their own image looking back at them. This shipment was soon to be placed out in the houses, and with the exception of two embryos growing in the incubators in another room it would take a few years until the next batch was created, unless of course something unexpected happened.
Going through yet another completely unnecessary disinfection and putting on white robes over their own clothes, Melisande and Lori were finally admitted inside the room, and the Reproduction Manager walked over to the cubicle in question and brought the child over to them. With a small smile the baby was deposited in Melisande’s arms, and then the two visitors were left alone with the girl.
“Lori, meet Melantha, the newest member of our house. Melantha, this is my friend Lori.” Melisande whispered the introductions while carefully placing the child in Lori’s arms. The startled athlete went rigid in fright, staring first at the child then at Melisande with wide, panicked eyes. “Relax, you will not drop her and she will not break from you holding her.” Melisande said softly, amused, and corrected Lori’s grip on the gurgling infant.
After the initial terror, Lori was quite awed. She had actually merely agreed to go with Melisande on this visit because it was important to her friend, but now that she saw the tiny child that would soon be a part of her daily life for a few years, Lori found herself intrigued by the tiny person and the small toothless smile directed her way. She was surprised to actually feel a sense of loss when Melisande took the child back for a few moments before the Reproduction Manager came to retrieve her and they had to leave.
Exiting the building Lori heard Melisande release a nervous breath, and she discreetly edged her own arm to brush against that of Melisande’s in silent comfort. She knew what was bothering her friend; Melisande had told Lori in confidence of her strange urges for physical touch, and of her fears that this anomalous behaviour be discovered and she deemed defective. Defective individuals were removed and replaced, they were both well aware of that fact, just as Lori had always been aware that Melisande had a tendency to casually brush her fingers across Lori’s arm for no apparent reason, or put a hand on her elbow, or stand closer than necessary. It wasn’t that it was forbidden to touch another person, it was just not... normal. People did not touch unless there was a reason to do so.
Lori didn’t mind Melisande’s casual touch, in fact she was rather pleased to be the only one – up until now – that her friend felt safe enough to indulge that particular urge with. Now, she had somewhat fearfully admitted to Lori, Melisande felt a peculiar need to hold the baby or touch her tiny hand, for no reason at all. Melisande was worried that whatever was wrong with her was getting worse. Lori, seeing the blue eyes cloud over with worry, wished silently that she dared to take one of Melisande’s hands into her own as they walked. It was just plain wrong that Melisande would need to worry so.
Later, on the arena, when Lori looked up from defeating yet another opponent to see Melisande cheering and clapping her hands for her, something strange happened. It had been a tough fight for once and Lori was exhausted... perhaps that was why.
Lori waved and looked at Melisande over the small distance to the spectator seats. Their eyes locked and suddenly Lori felt a strong wave of incredible warmth washing over her, leaving her slightly breathless and trembling.
She swallowed and stared with wide-eyed confusion. Across from her Melisande’s eyes were just as wide and shocked. What was happening to them?
A few days after the events in the arena Lori was summoned to Melisande’s department by Maxima herself, along with a number of other top athletes from the arena. She had been chosen for a surface mission, the first one for Lori although many of the other athletes joining her on this mission had more experience. They had two weeks of special training and preparation in addition to the training they usually underwent, and to Lori’s surprise her many successes in the arena landed her the position of second-in-command to the male athlete that would lead the elite guards on the foray.
Melisande, who would not get to go on a foray mission for some time yet given her status as an assistant, worried for Lori and told her to be careful. Lori smiled and secretly squeezed her hand before joining the group, telling Melisande not to worry. She would be back soon with lots of material for Melisande to work with in the lab, and a few stories to pass the time with. What could go wrong?
In retrospect, nearly everything.
It began during the journey to the surface, with a few agitated deep-sea predators attacking the shuttle. A few illumination and sonar mines chased the creatures away, merely making the ride slightly bumpy. The real trouble began at the surface.
The automated probes that had been sent beforehand to make sure this was a good location had not found much activity at the designated spot, but when the shuttle surfaced the area was filled with the dreaded violent bipedal creatures that was the biggest threat to forays such as this. Lori’s stomach turned to ice when her commander ordered them all out of the shuttle to clear the way for the scientists.
Setting her weapon to stun and biting back on her fear, Lori charged out of the shuttle, taking point.
It horrified her to hear the shrieks of the animals, and even more so when she realised that there were many young... pups, she supposed, at the site as well. She fired at the adults and prayed she wouldn’t be forced to take aim at the little ones, stunning one charging beast after another. Some distant part of her wondered if they were a mutated form of some kind of ape she had learned about as a child, or if perhaps they originated from something else altogether. Dogs perhaps?
Her commander called to them all that the scientists had decided to take a few samples back with them and that they should try to keep them conscious if possible. A few young and an adult would do.
A man to Lori’s right immediately grabbed a small child, intent on carrying her back to the shuttle to be secured, but an adult snarled in outrage and began fighting with him. At the same time two other creatures came running out of the gnarled woods, carrying weapons.
The light halted their approach briefly, enough that Lori turned towards the man with the child and, realising that the adult carried another even younger creature in a pouch on her back, called to him that they should take all three specimens. She hurled the net over them moments before her superior agreed, secretly not wanting to part the adult from what apparently was his or her young. An image of the tiny but smiling face of Melantha flashed before Lori’s eyes, and something hurt inside at the thought of separating a parent from his or her offspring. It just wasn’t right.
It was all done very quickly, and Lori turned around just in time to see one of the hairy creatures charge, and to her eternal shock, ram its crude weapon right through the containment suit and deep into the side of her commander. Everybody screamed in her ears over the radio, and with a horror that would repeat itself over and over in her nightmares for a long time to come, her training kicked in and Lori involuntarily lifted her weapon, switched off the stun setting, and fired.
Her aim was as true as ever, and the creature was instantly torn apart by the blast.
Shocked and nauseous that she was, she still managed somehow to bark an order over the radio for all of them to get back aboard the shuttle. The mission was aborted and they had to go back right away. She prayed they would make it back in time to save the commander’s life.
As Lori turned she saw at the edge of her vision how the last one of the creatures showed away the weapon aimed at it, and even as she turned towards it, it lunged forward and through the opening into the shuttle itself. Cold with dread Lori raced forward, but the man that had brought and subdued adult with offspring had fortunately kept his wits about him and stunned the creature before it could do any damage.
As shocked and sick as Lori felt, the scientist team seemed even worse for wear, and when she told them they had to return to the city, not a single protest was heard. In fact no-one even hesitated, nor did they take a moment to throw out the unconscious body of the creature that had charged inside... instead it was sedated more properly and restrained with the others.
Still trembling and feeling a bitter taste in her mouth, Lori leaned back in her seat holding her weapon with white-knuckled hands. Her eyes never wavered from the containment area and the dark-haired creatures in it.
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