The Antarcticans (30 page)

Room eight had a small round table in it with four chairs. There was a side table with a food replicator and a picture on the wall of an Antarctic scene. She made a cup of tea, sat down, and waited. She hadn’t seen Henri this evening and didn’t know what to expect from him. Vinettea and Henri were talking quietly to each other when they entered the room. Henri cast a huge smile and put his hand out to shake Noila’s. His wide face looked overly enthusiastic for what she had done. She felt like she saw some Antarctican in him.

“Congratulations on your work. The whole community is so proud of you. Let me get right into why I asked to meet with you.” He sat down at the table. “We have a great need for your abilities here. Addie tells me you’re an excellent researcher, that you see patterns in the DNA that can’t be discovered by running comparison programs or pattern identifiers. He said you’re the best he’s worked with. I don’t know if you know Addie’s past, but he’s probably the smartest biophysicist on this continent. We think with your knowledge paired with his, you’ll be able to solve the final problem we’re facing, the actual genetic alteration of the species. Is there any way you can stay here permanently?”

Noila looked back and forth between Vinettea and Henri. She’d never been in a position where she was sought after; she’d always been the grunt that everyone piled work on, and then, when it was done, someone else took the credit. “I can’t,” she said. “You know the situation with my son, right?”

“Yes, we looked into it. Lucifer inquired as to how you were doing here, and he let me know what’s happening back on the
Dragon
. They’ve had quite a difficult time there, haven’t they?” He looked at Vinettea, who didn’t respond. “It’s important for us that you stay. We need you to continue. No one else is anywhere near providing us a solution so that the Antarcticans will be able to adapt to the changing environment.”

“I think there’s some misunderstanding,” Noila said. “While I agree that I made the leap in the next piece of knowledge for your research, this was the culmination of the work of many researchers who preceded me. Any well-trained biologist should be able to continue where I leave off.” She paused and took a sip of her tea.

“I can’t say I agree with you,” Henri said.

“I’m very honored, but my son is going through a very rough time. I felt guilty for having left for a few weeks—I can’t stay for longer. Is there any way I can continue my research on the
Dragon
?”

Vinettea and Henri looked at each other. Noila could tell they hadn’t considered this possibility. “We can get back to you on that,” Henri said. “In the interim, I’m hearing that your answer is no?”

“That’s right,” Noila said.

“There’s a ship heading back to the
Dragon
in two days. We’ll have an answer for you soon about completing the research offshore. Thank you for everything.” Henri stood up and left the room, clearly disappointed by her answer.

Vinettea leaned over the table and splayed her hands flat on the surface, her blue nails centimeters from Noila’s teacup. “You’re making a very big mistake,” she whispered.

“I have to do what’s right for my family. Believe me, I want to stay here.”

“No one’s questioning your honesty.” She stared at her, her feline eyes catching the fluorescent lights and throwing it in spears toward Noila. “I’m not going to report your decision until tomorrow. You need time to consider what you’re giving up, and I’m not talking just about here in Antarctica.” She retracted her hands and stood up, walking to the door.

“I’m not asking, Vinettea. This is my son. I’ll find my own way back if I need to.” Noila’s heart beat faster as she spoke.

Vinettea spun around. “Do you think they’re helping your son for goodwill? Did you ever consider why he’s on board the
Dragon
, receiving treatment he can’t get anywhere else in the world? It’s because your family has a promise for our species that we’ve been searching for since the Great Episode.” She turned back, waved her hand in front of the panel next to the door, and left the room.

Noila was struck by the idea, that her son was a bargaining chip in the Antarcticans’ hunt for survival. Her mind raced through the dinner with Lucifer and Ruftan. She didn’t see it at the time, but they must have been putting on a spectacular show in order to entice her into her position here. She sat in her chair stunned, looking at the smudges on the table where Vinettea’s hands had been.

Eventually she made her way back to her cottage and climbed into her bunk. The past few days had exhausted her, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to make a decision of this magnitude while sleep deprived. She began to drift off when she heard the familiar sound of the Ptahs moving about. They found their way to her bed, slipped under the covers, and wrapped themselves around her neck and torso.

Let them strangle me if they want
, she thought, settling into their warm metallic embrace.

…

In the morning the Ptahs were gone, but the samples for the next set of experiments were sitting neatly at the edge of the sink in the bathroom. Noila looked at her torso and saw the faint imprints of where the Ptahs had spent the night. An hour or so later, Vinettea appeared in her room as a projection, just as she had on Noila’s first day here.

“Decision time.” She stood with her finger on her chin, the blue nail spiraling up beside her right eye. “But before you do, I have one more piece of information for you.”

Noila looked up from the samples she was inspecting.

“You can do your work on the
Dragon
for a month, but then you must come back here and complete what you started. I’ve spoken to Lucifer, and he informed me that your work must be complete before you can go back home to Florida.” She tapped her finger against her cheek, waiting for Noila to respond. “Just think, the faster you work, the quicker you go home,” she said with a smile.

Noila walked over to the projection and stared deep into her eyes. “Is this how your species survives? By intimidation? Lucifer exploited my son’s weakness to get me here, and now you’re carrying it out at any cost to me?” She pointed a finger at her.

“No, no, you have it all wrong. Your son is part of the equation. I spoke with Lucifer last night. He proposes that we transfer your whole family here and have Joshua continue his treatment in Antarctica. He thinks one of the Antarctican doctors might have a technique that can help him.”

“Who’s in charge? Why are the rules always changing? I feel like I’m being led from promise to promise. Who can I talk to? Is it Amun?” Noila’s voice was getting louder.

“How do you know about Amun?” Vinettea looked genuinely surprised then became coy. “I suppose Addie must have taken you there—he has a weakness for humans.” She looked away and said something to someone Noila couldn’t see. “The ship leaves tomorrow. Be at the dome transport station at eighteen hundred hours. Captain Clark will collect you there, and Noila, I might not see you again, so good luck.” The sentiment was dripping in sarcasm.

Captain Clark stood to the side of the dome transport station. He was flipping through a report on his tablet with a look of annoyance. Noila had dressed in the suit she had arrived in and taken one small bag of things she had collected while she was in Antarctica.

“Hello, Noila.” The captain’s tone was flat. “I need to take that from you.” He pointed to the bag.

“Sure. Thanks for helping.” She looked around at the empty station. “Is anyone else coming? I thought I was going to be late.”

“It’s just you, and you can’t bring anything back that hasn’t been approved, so whatever’s in that bag, you can leave here or I can destroy it for you.”

“Oh, uh, well, since I’ll likely be coming back, can you have them hold it here for me?

“Will do.” He took her bag and threw it on top of one of the round disks, which disappeared beneath the ground. “It’ll be here when you get back,” he grunted. “Now let’s go.”

“You’re running the whole ship back just for me?”

“You’re my only passenger, but this is a supply run, and I need to get back to my ship too. Hope you don’t get lonely easily.”

“Your ship?” she asked.

“I’m the captain of the
Dragon
. I just run the
Viking
down to Antarctica from time to time when Lucifer can’t find a qualified captain. The
Dragon
pretty much runs itself. But getting this ship through these icy waters takes some real experience.”

They stepped onto the disk, and it brought them to the boarding dock. Noila settled on the ship in the same room she’d been in on the way here. She didn’t want the stress of anything new, and Captain Clark had told her to pick whichever room she wanted. He suggested she take her meals with the crew and himself and not use the passenger cafeteria.

As the ship set sail, Noila watched the icy continent fade into the horizon as they traveled north. She changed into comfortable clothes that had been provided for her and sat in the passenger lounge, looking out the window for hours. The waters were majestic, and the ship passed several large icebergs and small islands. During the long journey, she got to know some of the crew better—they all had interesting stories; most were lifelong sailors. She became well acquainted with Roger in particular. When he first had sat down in the lounge next to her, she was somewhat frightened. His face was scarred, his hands thick and weathered. He looked like he’d been through battle, but his eyes told her he had more fight left in him. He didn’t cause her any problems, however. He just wanted to chat, and he endeared himself to Noila when he figured out the tea she liked and then fixed it for her each night, recounting decades of adventure on the seas. From speaking with several members of the crew, Noila figured out quickly that this was the best-paying ship for crew members worldwide.

The morning of the day they were scheduled to dock with the
Dragon
, she woke up with butterflies in her stomach, as if she were going on a first date. She was worried about what she would find and how the ship might have changed Gavin or Joshua. Night fell, and the cargo-bay door opened and extended the long jetty to dock with the
Dragon
. She saw Gavin standing on the other end, waving at her, a big smile on his face. When she set foot on the
Dragon
, they locked arms and held each other. Gavin pulled back and looked at her.

“I’m so happy you’re here, but don’t get too comfortable. Joshua and I are going back to Antarctica with you.” He looked elated; Noila couldn’t figure out why he would be happy to go to Antarctica.

“Who told you that?”

“Dr. Cristofari said there’s a doctor there—some very different kind of doctor—and it could mean a breakthrough for Joshua. Did you hear anything about it when you were there?” He put his arm around her, and they headed toward a door that led inside.

Noila was seething; she disliked the way the Lucifer was constantly twisting the story, sprinkling little bits of truth to different people.

Gavin shrugged. “I’m willing to try anything now.”

Noila stopped walking and looked at him. “They mentioned it to me while I was there. It wasn’t a choice, Gavin. They’ve been hounding me to stay down there because they liked my work, and now they’re just finding a way to keep me in Antarctica by transferring Joshua there.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Really? I had no idea.”

She looked around the bay. There were a few workers off-loading cargo from the
Viking
but no one else. “We should talk about this in private. There’s more to this story. I don’t feel like I’m operating under my own free will any longer.”

“Okay,” he said, looking concerned. He led Noila inside. “There’s still some damage to the ship, so be careful where you’re walking.”

Noila nodded. “How’s Joshua? Any progress? I can’t wait to see him.”

“I’ve been involved in his treatment. Dr. Cristofari has actually inserted me into Joshua’s mind to help the process and his healing. It’s unbelievable.”

“Wow. That is unbelievable. So much technology that could do the world good is trapped here. Where you able to help him?”

“I’ve learned there’s a disconnect somewhere. When I’m in his world, I have a hard time remembering that there’s an outside world and that my body is anything but the body in the simulation or whatever you want to call it. But my being there doesn’t seem to be helping Josh, and I’m even messing some things up. It’s just bizarre and not in a good way, if there is one.”

Noila became very serious. “Are we going to lose him?”

“I don’t know.” He pulled Noila in closer to him.

“And if we do?”

“Let’s not play the ‘if’ game. Let’s hope our prayers are answered and he pulls through.” Gavin kissed her on the head, and they continued walking through the decks toward the medical bay. “Did you hear about the vice president?” He was trying to avoid talking about anything related to them directly.

“Of America?”

Gavin nodded. “Vice President Anderson died on the
Dragon
when we got hit by the tsunami. The president is supposed to announce his nomination for his replacement today.”

“Is Lucifer trying to influence the president’s decision?” Noila asked.