The Colony Ship Eschaton: The entire ten book series, page 4
“The Old World had people who denied what science was telling them about the Earth and the ecology. They denied, then waited, then argued, and waited too long. You have heard the history before. So by the time it was clear that the disaster was coming, there was not much that could have been done. And it seems many of the same trends were happening a long time before the Great Event. But had they acted sooner, maybe we would not need domes,” The teacher answered. “Many factors led to the Great Event and the 90 Hour War, but sadly much of the records from that era have been lost.”
“They were just stupid to ignore science,” the student muttered under his breath.
“Shall we get back to practical learning? When a patch needs to be made in the energy conduit, what is the first thing to assess?” The teacher asked.
A chorus of answers rang back from the eager students.
Michael and Jamie continued onward.
There were only twenty-one people in the fifteen year old’s class. Four had committed suicide over the past several years. These students were soon to be entered into society, and they were refining their designated assignments for post-graduation. Soon they would be fully integrated into the society of the dome. Each person would have a designated function and place in the Dome 17 society.
Michael remembered hearing some of the older people talk about when the dome had held thousands of more people, a number not even close to its potential capacity, but now the numbers that could be supported were much lower. But for a while now the age mate groups had been twenty five to a group.
Michael briefly considered looking over the class list, but then realized how futile and stupid that would be, in light of the limited time before launch.
“The mission is all that matters now,” Jamie said as she caught his look. “There will be no more classes, no more babies, no more educational system, unless we succeed.”
“Agreed.” Michael looked at Jamie and grasped her hand. He reviewed in his mind that mission. They were about to be slung out of normal space, and then sort of shunted to another part of the galaxy. There would be only two possible outcomes for Michael and Jamie. They would successfully build and establish the teleportation receiving pad and rescue the people of Dome 17, or they would not. If they failed, then everyone would die when the dome failed. Unless one of the other teams succeeded first. No what was the outcome, either would mean that Michael himself, and his partner Jamie would not need to worry about coming back to this dome. This was a one way journey, and honestly, that scared Michael. Dome 17 was all that Michael had known for all thirty years of his life. From his beginning in the sterilized incubators, to his life today, Dome 17 was the only home he had ever known. He and Jamie were about to leave all of that behind forever. The best case scenario would mean rescuing the people from Dome 17, but the dome itself was doomed. Worst case, Jamie and Michael would die trying to save the remnant of humanity. Michael looked hard at the teenagers and tightened his lips.
“We will do this!” Jamie said as she touched his arm. “Together nothing can stop us.”
7 Gone fishing
As was most always the case, John was in one of the classrooms. He was still going strong as he had for the last fifty years. John had been a teacher since he turned fifteen and was assigned as a teaching instructor. So for fifty years, he had been working with the various classes of students. He could teach in one class, walk from that classroom to the next and alter his style to meet the needs of those students who were either five years older or five years younger than his previous class. John even spent some of his free time in the nursery with the babies, telling them stories about animals and exotic aspects of biology. The babies cooed and smiled at him as he rocked them.
Every youngster somehow came to know John as “the Smart Guy,” and that informal title seemed to get picked up from class to class. John always made time for individual questions and treated the students with great admiration and respect. Even among the other teachers, John was considered the best. His life partner, Amber, had been a teacher as well, and she too had been admired by all. Since she had died, John had poured more of his time into reading old texts and dreaming about how the world once was.
“Come right in, Jamie and Michael. Come in and sit down. This is so very exciting!” John was beaming as he smiled and shut the door behind them. “I know this is a secret, but Murial called and personally explained your mission. To think, you will actually get to see ecosystems, and real plants, animal and fish! How I long to be a fisherman myself. I have read so much about that ancient art; it just seems like a perfect pastime.” John’s light blue eyes twinkled as he spoke. His thin grey hair was receded, but his face showed great animation as he spoke.
“So, John, what do we need to know?” Jamie cut right to the heart of the matter.
“Oh yes, yes, you need to know a great deal. But unfortunately, I can only tell you the little I know. Biology has not been needed, well at least not a comprehensive biology, in the dome at all. We teach students about the biological units from which we get food, air and some raw materials for medicines and such. But those are just basically a hybrid mushroom and not too complex. But you, my friends, will see ecological systems where thousands of individual organisms interact in a symbiotic manner where the whole thing is self-replicating and sustainable.” John paused for a minute and looked down in thought. “A functioning biological system. It will be amazing for you both.”
Jamie pressed on. “Yes, I am sure it will, but what can you tell us to make our mission a success as quickly as possible?”
He looked at her and paused. After a moment John continued. “Well, everything I know comes from data sticks, books, and records from the Old World. He sat at his desk and opened an electronic screen on his desk. The picture showed the cover of an ancient book.
“This book is called ‘Basic Fundamentals of Biology’ and is simply fascinating. The Old World had many different ecosystems, where a huge variety of diverse plants and animals lived. Also the insect world was even more abundant and complex. There were also whole systems that lived in and under water. Vast pools and areas were completely under water. Fish are an animal that lived in water. People would use a fine, thin string with a hook on the end to try catch fish. It was a trick, you see, for the person would put some type of food on the hook, then drop that string into the water, and the fish would come and bite at the food getting itself caught by the hook. Then the person would pull the string in and get the fish out of the water.” John was thrilled as he explained about this activity. “Then the fisherman would prepare and eat the fish, or let it go. Yes, it sounds wonderfully amazing.”
John touched the screen, and another picture appeared. “This book is called ‘The Outdoor Handbook,’ and it describes all kinds of thing to do in the wild ecosystems. It is hard for me to imagine it all. In fact, I sometimes wonder if it was just a fantasy, or a novel, but there are other historical records, and videos and photographs which show vast abundances of plants, trees and animals.”
“We need to know what to do to survive and set up the receiving pad,” Jamie insisted.
“Oh yes, sorry. When I think about biology I often go off on a tangent. Sometimes that was called ‘running down a rabbit’ or “chasing a wild goose’ but I digress. Let me get to what you two will need for your adventure. First, wild ecosystems are incredibly complex. One part interacts with many others. Basically, it is all interconnected, but everything all seems to come back to water. Just like people need water; it seems that all the ecosystems are somehow water driven. Plants will need water; animals will drink water; even the insects need water. Oh my, I have not even told you much about the insects! They were sometimes called bugs, but there is some confusion about bugs being organic or some kind of electric thing. I have wondered if electric bugs, called lightning bugs, were really used to spy on people? The record is confusing, so just looking at insects is too vast to explain in any detail. Insects are those are small tiny creatures, and they are everywhere in ecosystems. That reminds me, some of these things, according to the old records, are quite dangerous to people. Some of the insects, animals, and even some fish in the water, will bite people. Those bites can deliver toxins, diseases, parasites, or venom to the person and kill that person. Sometimes the tiniest animal can carry a deadly venom. One general rule seemed to be that brightly colored animals tended to be venomous, but not always. I have loaded as much information as I have to the data sticks you will be taking. Honestly, I did not know exactly what to tell you. There are huge gaps in our understanding, and some things just do not make sense. Like fishing. It sounds like a great chess game of a person against a fish, but then some accounts say the fish are let go to play over again, while other accounts say the fish are consumed. It is not like ricochet ball where we have set rules and established guidelines. Biological systems are vastly more complicated than a game of ricochet ball, or even than chess.”
Jamie looked at Michael, and then turned to John. “So what do we do when we get there?”
“That is the great dilemma you are facing. We do not know. It will all depend on what ecosystem you encounter. It could be a frozen wasteland, with frozen water everywhere. Or it could be a giant area covered in water with fish and all sorts of things in the water. Or it could be an area where plants grow as high as our dome, and that foliage will all vary in type and age and whatnot. In that forest place you will find all sorts of animals running, jumping and flying in and about the foliage. The fauna will be diverse and depend much upon what kind of biological habitat you find. It is so hard to imagine, but the animals eat each other and some eat the plants, and even some of the plants seem to eat the animals.” John adjusted the screen yet again. “Let me show you a video film I found of a plant eating a person. It is very strange.”
On the screen came the moving images of a man in odd clothing, and he was standing in front of a green thing shaped like a large oval. It was bigger than the man. The green oval thing was attached to a flexible green pipe which held it up off the ground, but the pipe seemed to have sheets of green cloth coming off of it. The oval was swaying back and forth when a woman appeared on the screen. The oval opened what looked like a deformed mouth and bit down over the woman. The oval was carrying her away when the film ended.
“That was horrific!” Michael said, and Jamie nodded.
“Yes, it was. I am not sure what to make of it. There are other records of large animals eating people as well. So, as I told Murial, you will need to be very very careful in any ecosystem. Plants, insects, and animals are not the only dangers. From the old records, we also know people also killed each other as well. The aftermath of the Great Event seems to have been one of those killing times. Human were the most dangerous and unpredictable animal of all.”
“So we basically be very careful,” Michael replied.
“Sounds about exploring the other domes. They all held risks and threats as well,” Jamie added.
“I would say an ecological system is many orders of magnitude more dangerous than what you have encountered in the other domes. A dead world, like outside od Dome 17 has a set number of direct threats: radiation, toxins, and accidents being the primary ones I can think of, but none of those actively hunt you down. On the other hand, an ecological system will have predators which are cunning and ruthless. A predator could stalk you and strike before you even know you are the prey.”
“Willie did supply us with some weapons for defense,” Jamie interjected.
“I hope you never need to use them. I have painted a picture of so much danger, but let me also say human beings have evolved in biological systems and can flourish in them. It is just here in Dome 17 we are out of practice. You two are smart and will do well. I envy you being able to see a real ecosystem.” John looked at them and smiled. “The wonders you will see! I know you also need to get down and see my friend Brink in machinery to get the ship ready, and your time is short. So let me just say briefly, ecosystems and biology are beautiful, helpful and very dangerous.”
“Thank you John. I hope we see you again soon,” Michael stated.
Jamie and Michael rose and departed.
In the hallway, they held onto each other in a comfortable hug and wondered about what those ecosystems would really be like. Then Michael said: “We also need to report to medical and see Doctor Carolyn before we leave. Medical is just around the corner, we should hurry over there and get on our way.
“The launch time is set, and we are all in on this!” Jamie replied.
8 What's up doc?
Jamie and Michael were quiet as they walked to the medical department. They each were lost in their own thoughts about what seeing a real ecosystem would be like. They had heard John’s exuberance about biology, seen the pictures, and watched that odd video of the plant eating a woman. None of that really answered their questions about what they would truly experience. Neither Jamie nor Michael had any real understanding about living in a biological habitat. The dome was a structured, sterile and ultra-clean place. The images of the ecosystems looked messy and chaotic.
They passed a workshop where several people were repairing some electronic implements. Those people seemed content enough, but they did not know the dome was about to fail. They were not adventurers who had traveled to other domes and seen the death those domes held. Sure, the Committee had sent out news reports, carefully edited, about the other domes, but none of the general population understood the gravity of the situation. Michael considered telling them, but then restrained himself. ‘What good will come of scaring these people?’
They entered the medical department and a nurse who was sitting at the desk greeted them. “Hello Michael. Hello Jamie.”
“Hello Daniel, can we see Doctor Carolyn? I believe she should be expecting us.” Again Jamie took the lead in opening the conversation.
“She is just finishing a video conference with the nurses over at the senior center. They had a senior fall a few minutes ago, Agnes, who fractured her hip. The nurses are administering a bone stimulant, and Doctor Carolyn should just about be done.” Daniel stated. The senior center was where the oldest residents of the dome lived. Agnes was not the very oldest person, but she was at least ninety-five years old. The records of her birth were unclear as that has been in a prior storage system of the dome, and some information from those years had been lost. Aiden was the oldest person in the dome, and he was one hundred and fourteen years old. The very oldest people were not spaced in five year increments, and that was difficult for Michael to comprehend. He understood it intellectually, but it just felt strange. Children should be born five years apart, in age mate groups. That was the normal and regular way. Aiden and Agnes were from a different era. A time that was so long ago, when the dome was at a different stage. Some of those very old people were actually birthed, and not developed in the sterile incubators. Like Willie’s mother, Agnes, Aiden and the other seniors had lived through a very different time in the dome.
Doctor Carolyn opened the door to her office and asked them to enter. Doctor Carolyn was one of their age mates, therefore the same age they were. Jamie and Michael had known her since they were infants. Her shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes were not the most common coloring in the dome, but age mates came in all different shades of skin, hair, and eyes.
“Well, Michael and Jamie, it has been hard to keep your secret. I so wanted to be able to tell the people at the senior center that they may get to see something different than what is under the dome. In fact, Agnes just said to me: ‘There is nothing new under the dome.’ She was referring to her broken hip. In my mind I wished to tell her of the possibilities which were coming our way. I knew what you two were headed for, and I did so want to tell. Murial insists this be a secret for now. When you succeed it will be a great day for us all.”
“Some secret, when the head of every department knows about it,” Jamie said with a bit of an edge to her voice.
“So Doctor Carolyn, what do we need for our journey?” Michael tried to get them back to the subject.
“Well, I have been considering that. I have put together a medical kit for you. It is programmed for easy use. It is not quite an artificial intelligence system, but it is enhanced from a mere data stick. Inside you will find treatments for all the old diseases that were in our database. I have no idea what you might encounter, but the treatments will consist of illness gels, injections, physical medical manipulations, and trauma stimulants.”
She opened a small rectangular box about two fingers thick and roughly the size of her hand. “Just connect the assessment wires to near the problem place on your body. The readout will give you a diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. The treatments are made internally, and expelled here.” She pointed to the small compartment on the side of the medical kit.
“So what comes out?” Michael asked. He had rarely been sick in the dome, and when he was had just come to medical for treatment.
Doctor Carolyn answered, “The medical kit will dispense a variety of treatments. Oral capsules, blue packets of illness gel as well as trauma treatment injections. If you become ill with fever or nausea, diarrhea, vomiting or coughing run the diagnosis, then follow the instructions. For example, if it dispenses a gel, just open one of these illness gels and consume that or apply it topically. The illness gel will work in your body to destroy any pathogen; be it viral, bacterial, fungal, or parasite. The results will not take long to be seen. You should feel much improved within a short while.”
