Fall of Venus (19 page)

Authors: Daelynn Quinn

BOOK: Fall of Venus

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After
about an hour, the train begins to slow and come to a stop. The doors open and
we are greeted by a familiar face, grinning ear to ear. Myra looks different
from the first time we met at the side of the road. She seems more mature, more
professional. She wears a white lab coat, gray slacks, her blond hair dangles
over her shoulders and her red-rimmed glasses highlight her green eyes.

“I’m
so glad you all made it out okay,” says Myra.

I’m
taken aback by my surroundings and everything that is happening. We’ve stopped
at a large Web depot. The electricity is working here and the domed ceiling
emits such a bright light I have to squint and cover my eyes for a moment. I’m
speechless.

“Do
you remember me?” she looks to me, then Marcus.
“It’s good to see you too, Myra,” Marcus speaks up. She looks relieved when she
hears this, then looks to me. “Pollen?”

“Yes,
I remember,” I say, still struggling to find my voice.

“Good,”
she says. “I was hoping the high charge from electromagnetic field wouldn’t
extend down into the Web.” She squats down and looks at Evie, who is hiding
behind my legs. “And what’s your name?”

“Evie,”
she murmurs shyly.

“Well,
it’s lovely to meet you Evie.” Myra stiffens back up and addresses all of us,
“Follow me. I’ll show you to your new home.”

Myra
escorts us through a heavy steel door into a huge room as large as a football
stadium that can only be described as a greenhouse. The air is hot and humid.
My body immediately reacts with tiny beads of sweat appearing from beneath my
skin. There are a variety of plants and growing devices everywhere, from small
hydroponics stations, to large, unusual looking trees giving the room a
jungle-like appearance. Men and women wearing white lab coats and safety
goggles are walking amongst the plants, handling them delicately with strange
instruments.

“This
is our tropical greenhouse,” says Myra. “We have a total of five greenhouses,
just like this one here. Each has its own climate, depending on the plants’
temperate zones. The location we are at now used to be a botanical research
center. When the virus was released and insects began dropping dead, we
transplanted as many species as we could into our greenhouses.”

A
tiny object whizzes by my ear, and I instinctively swat at it, turning Myra’s
attention to me. I look at it hovering in the air and I’m dumbfounded. It
sounded like a bee, but it looks like a paperclip with wings.

“That
would be one of our robotic pollinators. Don’t worry, they don’t sting. They
were developed years ago by an intern. Turns out, they will most likely save
lives. The harvest will yield enough to feed our entire colony for years to
come.”

The
greenhouse is so large we ride in a small electrical cart for the remainder of
the journey, finally passing through a set of glass doors into a corridor with
an elevator. As we are waiting for the elevator, I peer through the glass door
opposite to the room we just exited. My jaw drops in wonder at the sight I
behold.

“Cow!”
Evie shouts, her nose pressed up against the glass.

A
grassy field extends across the seemingly endless room with cattle grazing.
Along the sides are egg-laying hens and roosters, pecking at the ground. The
distant wall displays a holographic sunrise, so realistic it fools me into
believing we are in the outside world.

“This
is where we grow our meat,” says Myra behind us. “When we first brought the
cattle down, they were very stressed and would not eat. We created the
holographic walls to coincide with the sun’s cycle and make them feel more
comfortable. This room holds beef and poultry. We also have an aquarium for
seafood.”

Marcus
has to practically drag me away from the doors when the elevator door opens.
The elevator is round like a cylinder, and when we ascend out of the bunker I
spin around to find the walls are also made of glass. We pass through several
floors, the first being a large recreational level, complete with a bowling
alley and mini golf. The second looks like a shopping mall or commissary, with
a cafeteria, food court, and other shops. The third floor is a very plain
looking lobby. Myra described this as the medical complex.

When
the elevator finally slows to a stop we are in a huge domed room, like the
rotunda at Crimson, but at least three times larger. Three stories extend up
the rotunda, with four large corridors leading out on each floor. There is an
opening in the center of the floor, revealing another level, filled with all
sorts of electrical and mechanical equipment that I am unfamiliar with. In the
center of the lower floor, extending up past the second floor above us, is a
holographic structure of something I can only describe as a space shuttle.

“Pollen!”
shouts a familiar female voice from across the rotunda. I almost didn’t
recognize her in the white lab coat that all the scientists wear here. But as
she draws nearer I recall the tall lanky woman with glasses and blond hair as
my old roommate, Lynx. I limp towards her and we embrace as old friends would.

“When
I heard you two were recaptured, I feared the worst. I’m so glad you made it
out again. And this time with Evie!” she says enthusiastically.

Marcus
approaches Lynx sympathetically, “I’m not sure if you heard about Clover--”

“Clover?”
she asks, bewildered.

Myra
pulls me aside while Lynx hugs Marcus and Evie and whispers, “She hasn’t
regained her full memory yet. She probably remembers you three from our
descriptions and surveillance of you.”

“Will
her other memories return?” I ask.

“Possibly,
in due time,” Myra replies. Then she turns to Lynx, “Lynx, would you be kind
enough to show Marcus, Pollen, and Evie to their new apartment?”

“Absolutely,”
says Lynx.

“What
is all this?” I ask as Lynx guides us through the rotunda.

“With
the rising heat our planet will soon be uninhabitable. We are planning to
emigrate and start a colony on A1D3. The scientists here have determined that
despite its severely frigid temperatures, it is inhabitable near its equator.
I’m sure Myra will brief you on the details after you get settled,” says Lynx.
“Come this way. I’ll show you to your rooms.”

A1D3.
I remember the icy planet from my high school science class. The planets are
classified by galaxy, solar system, star, and order from the sun. A represents
our galaxy, 1 our own solar system. D represents our sun, named Demeter, and 2
indicates second planet from the sun. Our planet is A1D2, which we usually just
call Demeter-2. I guess we’ll soon be calling Demeter-3 our new home.

Lynx
leads us up a stairway to the second level. We start to enter a corridor with a
sign that reads “Level Two Dormitories.” As we pass by the holographic shuttle
on our way to get settled in, my eyes catch a glimpse of a word on the side of
it.

“Lynx,”
I point to the word on the side of the shuttle, “what does that mean?” She
pauses to view what I am referring to.

“That’s
what they are calling the shuttle. They chose to name it after the scientist
who discovered the planet A1D3. His name was Desmond Earth.”