Judas Unchained

“No fish, no algae,” he said to Liz. It was strange; he normally associated water with life, while this was the complete opposite.

“It’ll come,” she said. “Every time someone comes swimming up here they leave bacteria behind. In a hundred years this tarn will be a proper little vat, the planet’s biggest natural petri dish, leaking its new bugs out across the landscape every time it rains.”

“We always leave our mark, don’t we?”

“Just about. I guess it’s evolution on a galactic scale. A planet that produces life smart enough to figure out star travel will spread its DNA across the stars. And evolution is one tough battleground.”

“That sounds like the Gaia hypothesis.”

“Taken to the extreme, I suppose it is. I wonder if the Primes recognize it at an instinctive level. They were certainly keen to alienform Elan. Remember those images Morton recorded of the biorefinery they built on the edge of Randtown?”

“So whoever built the barriers knew that, too?”

“Yeah. A stellar-sized rabbit-proof fence, like the one they built in Australia once the immigration started. And along we came with the bolt cutters. Damn, we’re dumb. Maybe this is evolution’s way of telling us we’re obsolete.”

Mark stood on the slippery rock, and started to wade out. “We’re not dumb, we’re principled. I’m proud of that, of what we are collectively.”

“Hope you’re right, baby.” Liz waded out beside him, and hurriedly wrapped a big towel around herself. “Five minutes, you two,” she called out to the children. They were several meters offshore now, splashing about with Panda. Barry waved back.

“Here.” Mark twisted the tabs on a couple of hot chocolate cans, and handed her one as it began to steam.

“Thanks.” She gave him a quick kiss.

“They’re moving me,” he said tersely.

“Moving you where?”

“To a different part of the project.” He looked up. One of the spaceflower moons was gliding up over the horizon. Even now, the massive gigalife gave him a thrill. To think that there was a society out there that could afford to produce such things just for the sheer fun of it. That was inspiring. The kind of endeavor that a new human civilization should strive for, rather than the constant commercial rat race the Commonwealth pursued and worshiped.

“What do you mean?” There was a hint of steel in her voice.

“It’s not just lifeboats the Dynasty is building up there. A fleet that big traveling through space we know nothing about…it needs protection, Liz.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Liz spat in contempt. “I might have known: they’re building warships.”

“Frigates, yeah. It’s a new design, smaller and faster than the Moscow-class. There’s something different about the drive, as well. I don’t know what. And nobody will talk about the weapons it carries.”

“No kidding. So what did you tell them?”

Mark took a long drink of the hot chocolate, marshaling his thoughts. He always hated it when they had an argument. For a start she was so much better at it than he was. “This isn’t the kind of job you get to choose assignments. We both knew that.”

“All right,” she said. “I guess not. I just don’t like the idea of you working on weapons.”

“I’m not. It’s the assembly system they want to get up and running. They’re using a different method than on the lifeboats, with their preassembled sections. The frigate assembly bays are combined with the station dockyard. Individual components are shipped in directly and integrated up in orbit.”

“Whoopee, another great technological step forward.”

“Liz,” he said accusingly. “We’re at war. From what I hear, we might not win. We really might not.”

She sat on a big boulder, and looked forlornly at the can in her hands. “I know. I’m sorry I’m being a bitch. I just…I feel so helpless.”

“Hey.” He went over and put his arm around her shoulder. “I’m the one who needs you to support me, remember, that was the deal.”

She grinned weakly up at him, squeezing his hand. “That was never the deal, baby.”

“So, are you cool with this?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Thanks, that means everything, you know that.”

Liz pulled him closer. “I’m so glad I’ve got you. I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else right now.”

“Well, I couldn’t face this without you.” He gestured at the kids. “And them. But the frigates are as far as we can go. We’ve been running ever since we got back from Elan. No farther. There won’t be any more surprises for us.”

“I hope you’re right, baby. I really do.”

***

The shower nozzles pumped water out at a velocity that pummeled Mellanie’s skin almost to the point of being painful. She didn’t even have to turn around; the water came at her from all sides, the nozzles sweeping up and down. Foam ran down her body as scented soap was mixed in by the management array. Cooler water flushed it away, its temperature invigorating her after the luxuriant heat. The water turned off, and warm dry air gushed out of vents all around the big marbled cubical, snatching the moisture away from her skin and blowing her hair about.