The Mendel Experiment (4 page)

As the moon rose, Corree finished her exploration. She watched the pale-green orb lift above the horizon. The foam appeared luminescent and little lights winked at her from under water. She stepped closer to the water to investigate. It was almost as though the glow bugs of the forest had undersea cousins. Corree walked into the foam, curious. The lights retreated and she stood still. They approached cautiously. Something tickled her ankle, and then a whisper of touch worked around her legs and feet. She stepped back, tripped, and fell into a shallow pool.

The lights gathered around her. They didn’t touch her but seemed to be waiting for something. The water rose slowly as the tide moved in, but she remained motionless. The glowing creatures fascinated her. Why were they interested in her? She knew they didn’t mean her any harm. They approached and touched her again, tickling every part of her that was underwater. Corree allowed the investigation until the tidewater reached her chest. Afraid she might be dragged out to sea, she scrambled back onto shore. The glow creatures retreated just far enough into the depths for her to know they were still there.

The glow bugs’ departure brought Corree back to the problem at hand. She wondered not only how she would get back to the mainland, but also how she could survive the prolonged effects of the blue sun. She swept her hand down her arm and felt the sting of sunburned skin underneath. Her pelt protected her from the acidic rain that dripped through the trees, but the forest was her protection from the harsh sun. Even her eyes smarted from the excessive sunlight. There had to be better protection than a small stand of bushes.

Corree explored again, this time with an eye for some kind of cave or crevice where the sunlight couldn’t reach her. The second moon had risen by the time she found what she was looking for. Two boulders were leaning against each other. There was a small, triangular crevice near the ground that she should be able to squeeze through. The only problem was that Corree had no idea if anything lay beyond. Her ears caught no sound of anything moving or breathing. Her nose detected nothing either. Still, she was wary. Corree imprinted the location in her mind and continued her exploration.

This time she hoped to find some evidence of the person who had brought her food. Why would he or she be frightened of her? They had all lived together in the large space pod. Until the dreams, though, Corree hadn’t remembered that. What if this group had not had remembering dreams?

Two more trips around the island showed nothing else. The brightening western horizon sent her back to the crevice in the rocks. Corree got down on her stomach. She realized her tool belt would hamper her so she took it off and shoved it in the opening, using a stick to push it out of her way. There was still no sound from within. She slithered into the crevice, feeling the morning sunshine on her back. Corree stretched her fingers to grab onto anything that was inside, but only clawed sand. The surfaces of the rock seemed to have a sticky-bark hold on her. Corree grunted with the effort to squeeze in. She exhaled and pushed with her toes. Finally, minus a little bit of pelt, she was in.

The inside opened up into a fairly roomy corridor that led downward. She was surprised to hear dripping ahead of her and smell vegetation more suited to the rain forest than to this wasted wind-blown island. Corree put her belt back on and crept down the low passageway, mindful of any sounds that would indicate occupancy. Only a short distance and she was gasping in wonder. The cave was three times her height with a small waterfall at the far end. It flowed to a pool that smelled salty/acidic like seawater. The falling water was fresh.

Only dim light filtered in behind her, but she was able to see quite well. The little glow lights from outside were gathered so thick they were like a thin covering over the whole pool. Corree walked around the edge to the waterfall and tasted a few droplets. It was good water; as fresh as any in the rainforest. Standing underneath the flow, Corree let it soothe her burned skin and fill her empty belly. Now that she was safe, she felt fatigue deaden her limbs. She curled up on the sand, her back to a rock wall, to rest. If she could stay awake long enough, maybe she might see who had brought her the food the night before.

Corree felt something different inside her body. Could the water have been poisonous? She looked at her hands. The claw-like fingernails had receded. There was skin between her fingers when she spread them apart. She looked at her arm. Her soft protective pelt had coalesced into a rubbery, supple covering, almost a second skin. Water beaded on it even faster than it did on her pelt.

What was happening to her?

Chapter Four

Corree woke with a gasp and sat up in the near darkness, feeling her hands, her ears and up and down her pelt-covered arms. She had been dreaming! It had only been a dream. Corree shuddered her relief and looked around her shelter.

The little lights had congregated near the water’s edge and a person was sitting cross-legged in the water. Luminous eyes gazed at her. In the dark it was hard to determine if this was a male or female. He or she was silent.

Corree saw no evidence of ears. “Can you hear me? Can you talk?”

It raised a webbed hand and beckoned her closer. That was exactly what she had seen in her dream! She held her hands close to her face and examined them again. They had not changed. Despite the differences—the overly large eyes, no ears, and sleek rubbery skin—she knew this was one of the created people like her. Corree scooted closer to the edge of the pool. The little glow creatures seemed to edge closer too, adding more light in her part of the cave. She could see a smile on the sea person’s face.

“Yes, I can hear very well.” The words were a bit stammering, as though they weren’t used much. “I can speak, too.” The smile grew broader. “Even though I usually don’t.”

The voice told her he was male. “Oh,” was all Corree could think to say.

“I am Lenden.”

Corree remembered Lenden. He had been a prankster back in the large pod. She also had a crush on him. “I’m Corree.”

“I know. I remember you. You were a bit different then.”

She giggled. “So were you.”

“Why are you here?” he asked bluntly.

“To let you know what the creators want us to do.”

“The creators? So you have had the dreams, too?”

“Most of us in our group have.”

“Me and Breeann and Tira are the only ones among us. I have always remembered.”

Corree shook her head. “I haven’t,” she admitted. “Only in the past full moon cycle. Now I remember everything.”

Lenden snorted. “So what do you think our creators want? As though I couldn’t guess.”

She told him about the meeting with the hologram man.

This time he shrugged. “I wonder what they would do if some of us…well, some of us chose not to follow their directive?”

Corree really hadn’t thought of that. She had only assumed they could not do much of anything since regular humans couldn’t survive on Mendel. She said as much.

“They could send drones,” he suggested.

“Drones?” Evidently she didn’t remember everything.

“Robots.”

A picture of them entered Corree’s mind, then more memories. “If they could survive down here, why send us?”

“Good question.” His webbed hands stroked the surface as he considered. “I’m not sure, but even as difficult as it has been for us here, I will not take anything from the oceans for soft humans to use on other planets!” The words rang with heated conviction. “This is our world now.”

Corree understood. She remembered her indignation during the “teaching.”

“Would you be willing to come to our home and relate what you have learned? There is little we can do to pass along your message, but we will know.” Again he paused. “And knowing is everything.”

“You could at least tell the other sea people,” Corree pointed out.

“Our group is all that remains of the five pods that landed in the oceans.”

“What?!”

“There are nine of us now.”

Corree did the math. “Nine out of forty? What happened?”

“The oceans are very treacherous with many dangerous creatures.”

“But, but…” she sputtered.

“How many did you lose?”

“One. It was at the beginning.” Corree wondered why the old ones; the scientists would have sent some of them to such dangerous places. The forest had its share of predators, but certainly nothing as bad as what Lenden had dealt with.

As though reading her mind, he explained, “I would like to think someone was stupid, didn’t research well enough, or really wasn’t worried that some habitats would be more dangerous than others.”

She remembered the briefings before they came to Mendel. No one mentioned any particular dangers.

“But I suspect they wanted to experiment for their own purposes,” he added sourly.

Corree didn’t say anything.

“Come,” he said when the silence became uncomfortable.

Corree gazed at the dark waters. Despite the dancing light creatures, the pool looked ominous; ready to swallow her up. “How do you all live underwater?”

He smiled. “We can as long as we have an air supply nearby. We have a place of safety like this only bigger.”

“Is it far?” Corree was dismayed to hear trembling in her voice. She had to get a grip on herself.

“It’s not too far for you to hold your breath. I’ll lead you.”

She couldn’t back down now. Swallowing nervously, Corree edged to the side of the pool. Lenden held out his hand. Soft light showed through the webbing. Tiny veins pulsed. Corree took his hand and found it to be warm.
What did you expect?
Corree berated herself.

And smooth. He tugged gently and she walked into the dark water. It stung briefly at her ankles and then she was in. The water was cool, but it wrapped around her like a tarpa leaf blanket. Corree wondered about that. Tarpa leaves, when woven together, kept the heavy rains from soaking through their pelts. Despite the acidic quality of all the waters on Mendel, right now the water in this pool felt cushiony.

“Take several deep breaths, letting all the air out in between. Then take a last breath and hold it. Nod when you’re ready.”

“You won’t let go?”

“Of course not!”

Corree did as she had been instructed and they were in darkness. Then the little light creatures gathered ahead of them, lighting their way. Lenden’s hold was reassuring; the strength of his fingers equally reassuring. Corree was conscious of her lungs protesting. They wanted her to open her mouth and give them fresh air. She forced the urge down. They became more insistent and Corree’s brain sounded an alarm. Her chest hurt as Lenden continued swimming, pulling her deeper and deeper. Just when she was about to pull away from Lenden, her head popped above the surface.

Corree heaved in a lungful of air, choked and drew in a shuddering breath. Several other heads popped out of the water around her. Webbed fingers touched her soaked pelt. On the bank of the grotto, someone beckoned her. Corree did not see any place where the blue sun could shine into the cave, but it was bright enough to see every corner. She paddled the last few feet and felt her toes touch the bottom of the pool. By the time she was out of the water, Corree realized that the walls themselves shone with a soft greenish light.

“Welcome,” the girl on the bank greeted her. “I am Breeann.”

Breeann, like Lenden, had gray-green skin that appeared smooth and slick. She remembered her dream and suppressed a shudder. To not have a soft pelt… Corree also noticed that none of them had the outward vestiges of ears. They wore belts much like Corree’s group did, made of skins that were smooth, but darker.

Corree reached back into her memory and tried to remember a Breeann, but couldn’t. “I am Corree.”

Breeann patted a mat of some kind of woven material. Corree sat down.

“Lenden says you have been taught recently.”

Corree started. How, under the blue sun, did Breeann know that? She gazed at Breeann before turning to Lenden.

“I’ll explain later,” he said. “Go ahead.”

“Yes. A teaching pod called us. We met others, a mountain group.” All of the sea people had gathered close to her. Corree told them everything she had learned from the teaching computers. “They want us to grow in numbers and create large colonies wherever we have been planted. They claim this would ensure the Federation holds its claim on this world, so they could get the minerals and other resources Mendel has.” Corree thought out her next words carefully. “I think there is more to it than that, but I can’t figure out what. Riss…” She saw a few blank looks. “He is the leader of the mountain people we met,” Corree explained before continuing. “Riss felt the same way and we thought it would be wise to try and meet with as many of the other groups as we could. To see what others know and see if we can figure out what our creators are not telling us.”

“I agree they are hiding something,” Lenden concurred.

“You aren’t telling us anything you haven’t said a hundred times before, Lenden,” a younger voice said in a teasing tone. “And I’m hungry.”

“You’re always hungry, Matak,” Breeann answered, not without a soft chuckle. “But you are right. We have neglected our guest.” She motioned to several others. They jumped up and ran to a far corner of the cave. Within a few minutes large shells filled with a variety of foods lay at their feet. Corree sampled everything. When one shell was emptied, someone filled it up. She ate until she could eat no more.

“How did you know what I told Lenden?” Corree asked Breeann.

The girl tapped the side of her head. “When we learned to hear each other’s thoughts, we stopped dying.”

Corree gaped. “You can talk to each other in your heads? Without speaking?”

“Yes. It does not happen with you and your group?”

Corree shook her head. “We use hand signals when we need to talk over long distances.”

“What if you can’t see each other? Or in the dark?” Breeann queried.

“We hunt mostly during the night as soon as the first moon rises. We have very good eyes. We are also seldom out of each other’s sight.” Then Corree thought of those few times when someone in the family was out of eyesight. She always seemed to know where they were. Still it wasn’t the same thing as actually hearing someone speak in her mind.

“I guess each of us adapts to live wherever the creators put us,” Lenden stated the obvious.

“I guess.”

Corree noticed that, not only were everyone’s hands webbed, but their feet seemed somewhat overlarge, and there was webbing between their toes.

“What is it like where you live?” one of the younger sea people asked.

Corree told them about gliding through the trees in the moonlight, feeling the air whistle in her ears. She told them about howlers and whip snakes, herds of ground crawlers, and scaly hooded tree lizards. Corree told them how she leaped down on the lizards and used her hooked, hardwood stick to flip them over. The other end of the knobbed stick killed the creatures before they could scramble over and attack. Their meat was the most succulent of any animal in the jungle.

Lenden and Breeann told her of the wonders and terrors of the undersea world. The alliance of the little glow creatures fascinated her most. The group fed them the lichens from the walls, and the little creatures provided light in the darkest caves and deepest parts of the ocean they swam in. The glowies, as they called them, also warned them of the huge sea lizards that hunted in packs. It was fascinating to Corree after years of feeling they were totally alone in an often cruel world.

Breeann finally called a halt to the conversations by stating it was sleep time. Corree wondered how they could tell, but she had to admit she was still tired. She lay down next to Breeann and pondered all that had happened this past half-moon cycle. Before they had almost no remembrance, then suddenly they had complete lives in an incredible place. It was as though the creators were playing with them. It was just like when Kollin and Mendee used twigs to turn over leaf beetles and then laughed when the bugs waved their long legs in the air.
Is that what the scientists up in their cold offices are doing? Are they watching? Are they putting things in our paths and laughing at us when we fail?