Alluvium
Authors: Nolan Oreno
ALLUVIUM
Earth is gone and most of humanity is gone with it. In the vast void of space, humanity's last colony still exists, and it exists on Mars. Within this colony, twenty-two survivors are fighting to stay alive, each day, deep beneath the deadly red desert. It is here the future of civilization will be redefined and a new world must be erected from the ashes of the old one. But when the body of one of their own is discovered, a question is provoked: Is humankind inherently good or inherently evil? More importantly, is it worth saving?
Alluvium, the debut novel of science fiction writer Nolan Oreno, explores the farthest reaches of human nature in a very inhuman place. It tells the tale of a small group of people who have lost all hope but are expected to transcend their inabilities and become the saviors of their species. Incorporating philosophy, science, politics, psychology, and drama, Alluvium will take you on a very real journey into what it would mean to be a member of the last colony of mankind and all the beauty and horror that can come with the ticket.
Nolan Oreno
Copyright 2015
B0156B68BW
Kindle Direct Publishing
Cover Illustration: Leung Cho Pan
Table of Contents
Part Seven: The Children of Mars
Part Eight: The Devil and the Desert
Part Thirteen: Harrowing the Hills
Part Fourteen: Artisans of the Arbor
Part Twenty-Two: The Hearth in all Hearts
SUBJECT 22 REBOOT// …
=/MEMORIES
=/PROFILE
[COMPLETE]
[PROGRAM INITIATED...]
[SESSION 1]
[NOV-2: 2079]
Good afternoon, I have been assigned to you in response to the recent traumatic incident that has occurred in the colony. I am here to observe your mental health and assess any restorative measures that may return you to psychological competency, as well as provide any emotional support if necessary. I must inform you that anything you say in this room will remain between us unless there is a possible threat to the livelihood of you or anyone else in the colony. We will progress through multiple weekly sessions until I feel that you are ready to be independent and without my care. Do you have any questions before we begin?
“Where the hell am I? What the hell happened?"
I have awoken you from deep REM sedation.
“Sedated? Why was I sedated?"
I was informed that earlier today you attacked colonist Franco Anton in a manic episode resulting from a verbal miscommunication. You were sedated as a safety precaution.
[NO RESPONSE]
Do you recall this incident?
“Sure I do. Now let me out of this chair."
[DETECTED: FRUSTRATION]
Please, if you would be so kind to remain emotionally accessible these mandatory sessions will go much smoother and swifter and to your benefit.
“I don’t need to be here."
You cannot leave until we have finished our session. I must get a full psychological report, and until then I have orders from the Commander to keep you detained. Please tell me, why did you attack Franco Anton?
“Why? Because he asked me a stupid question."
And what question was that?.
“Her name."
[STANDBY: 4 SECONDS...]
And why was this a foolish question?
“I refuse to have this conversation with you.”
Please-
“No more fucking questions."
I can assure you that a better understanding of your psychological trauma will aid in the conduct of your research in the station.
“My research? You mean the seed that was meant to save humanity? Considering recent events, it doesn’t appear to be of any more use, wouldn’t you agree?"
EDN can still save the colony.
“To Hell with the colony."
As long as the colony stands, so stands humanity. As long as humanity stands, so stands your duty to save it, no matter how small it may have become.
[STANDBY: 7 SECONDS...]
“Ask me what you need to know and then let me out of here."
Thank you. We will start with your sleep. Have you been experiencing any restlessness or insomnia lately?
“I’ve been sleeping like a baby."
[DETECTED: SARCASM]
Have you been experiencing any nightmares or daymares?
“No."
[DETECTED: LIE]
None at all?
“I wouldn’t call them nightmares."
What would you call them?
“Something else."
And what is that?
“I keep having the same dream, every night when I go to sleep since this all happened."
Can you recall this dream for me?
“There isn’t a thing I can’t recall. I remember every sight, smell, and touch, like a movie looped in my mind that never stops rolling."
Please, tell it to me.
“And if I do I’m free to go?"
You have my word.
“It always starts with a drop of rain. Just one, landing on my forehead. I’m walking and I catch myself mid-step realizing a storm's coming. A big storm. I know I need to hurry my pace. I needed to find her."
Who?.
“My daughter."
[HEART-RATE <120 BPM]
Where were you?
“A garden. Incomprehensibly beautiful. Sprawling flowers of every color and endless hills and trees, as far as you could see. But there’s a storm coming, and it’s dark on the horizon. I know she’s somewhere out here, in this garden, and that I need to find her before the storm comes. I had to. So I start running as the rain starts falling. I run as fast as I can, tripping over my own feet. But I’m not quick enough, and once the storm hits I can barely see my own hand in front of my face. Still, I keep searching and searching until I’m lost myself. Then I see it, twisting in the storm- her little pink umbrella. That’s when the fear sets in. A fear I’ve never felt before."
[DETECTED: FEAR]
When does the fear stop?
“It feels like an eternity goes by of me exploring the gardens, fighting through the rain and wind of the storm. The sidewalks are flooding, it getting darker, and I start screaming her name. Rosa. I didn’t know what to do. It’s at the edge of my sanity that I finally find her, and it's at the most innocent of places. She’s playing in the rain beneath a massive olive tree, laughing and careless as a child is. When I run up to her, I’m disoriented and scared, and I’m demanding to know why she ran away."
And what does she say?
“She replies with the most beautiful thing I ever heard:
Because the rain is warm
."
Because the rain is warm.
“So I relax, and I listen. For once, for just a moment, I decide to become a kid again. I step out beneath my own umbrella, under the clouds and into the rain. It was warm, just as Rosa said, and all the fear washes away. I see then that my wife, Elena, is there with us too, enjoying the rain just as we were, and I’m so happy to be with my family again. It had been so long since we were together and in love."
Can you describe to me how you felt in the rain?
[DETECTED: PASSION]
“At peace. I instantly forgot about my problems and the world’s problems. I forgot about the war and my mission. For that short time, with my wife, with my daughter, I was on another world. A better world."
And what comes next?
“I wake up and I’m here. I’m back on Mars."
[INFORMATION ACQUIRED: PRELIMINARY PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE DRAFTED]
Thank you for your recollection. That will be sufficient information for today's session.
“Wait, that’s it? That was nothing."
For now, that will be all. Session two is scheduled in one week's time.
“I’ve got to admit, I expected more. You’re not concerned I’ll lose it again? That I’ll hurt someone in the station or kill myself? You couldn’t possibly have gotten enough information."
I trust you will be of stable mind until our next session. Until then, focus your energy into your research.
[DETECTED: CONFUSION]
“Enough about the damn research! What about the dream? Why is it haunting me?"
A good dream surely haunts no man.
[DETECTED: HOSTILITY]
“Of course it does! It haunts me because Earth is gone! It haunts me because I’ll never feel rain again! It haunts me because my daughter is dead and seeing her again, every single night, pulls me to pieces! I don’t want to see it! I don’t want to feel it! Just tell me how to stop the dream from coming back! Tell me how to forget!"
Please, regain your calm. The dream is not the problem, and forgetting it will not bring you peace. I must warn you that I can only help you if you tell me the truth, and only then will you conquer these truths you try so hard conceal, from me and from yourself. Together we will explore this next session. That is all for today, Mr. Reyes. Goodbye, I have another waiting.
[...PROGRAM END]
[PRELIMINARY PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE] LOG::::::::::
<<[SUBJECT: HOLLIS REYES; AGE: 28, COLONIAL BOTANIST]>
[PSYCHOANALYSIS:]
:P:MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER
:P:POST-TRAUMATIC SHOCK DISORDER
:P:GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER
:P:MINOR HALLUCINATIONS
:P:INTERMITTENT EXPLOSIVE DISORDER
:P:SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDER
:P:INSOMNIA
[ACTION:]
:A: DATA ANLYS: DELUSIONS OF BETRAYAL/ROSA
[NOTABLE ANOMALIES:]
SUSTAINS PURPOSE/MOTIVATION
>>CLASS-A SUBJECT PRIORITY<<
INITIATE SURVIVAL PROTOCOL SESSION 2 [EDN]
The human body is a fragile organism. Its fragility is an inevitable consequence of its biology, and like every organism, there must be measures of protection to prolong its survival. Humankind, however, was built with no more protection than a thin layer of flaky flesh baked by the light of day and cracked by the cold of night. The human’s skin is easily penetrated by a sharpened object, easily boiled by temperatures exceeding one-hundred and forty degrees Fahrenheit, easily frozen by temperatures below negative forty degrees Fahrenheit, easily scarred by the teeth of a ravenous animal, easily bruised by a well-thrusted elbow, easily dirtied by dust in the air, easily worn by a malevolent disease, and easily spotted by the passage of time.
If the fragile skin of a human was broken into then the inner-workings would be visible. The heart, the lungs, the stomach, the intestines, the liver, the bladder, the kidneys, the skeleton, the arteries, the inner reproductive system, and all the remaining organic ingredients that produce the recipe of life. Without these parts beneath the skin, the human organism would cease to function, and life would stop flowing through it.
This is what the skin protects.
Yet, of all the millions of components of the human organism, the most indispensable is the brain. This neuronal nucleus is the crux to all that is perceived and experienced. It is full of infinite possibilities, both divine and sinful, and by itself has the power to change everything. But the power of the brain can be easily swayed. It is also fragile in this way. The human brain can be easily penetrated by a powerful speaker, easily boiled by an aggressive adversary, easily frozen by the fear of death, easily scarred by a lover’s betrayal, easily bruised by a family lost, easily dirtied by lust and greed, easily worn by the burden of responsibility, and easily spotted by the passage of time. It is because of the brain's sensitivity that the human must be wary of any corruptible outside forces, and more importantly, the forces that exist within. Just as the skin yields to fire, so too must the brain yield to fires of its own.
The fragile human, in both its body and brain, must exist in precisely calculated conditions in order to thrive, conditions tailored to its own biology. It is in this way that the human organism is linked to all other things. The Sun that cooks the skin also brings the human eyes light to see. The falling rain that drowns the lungs also provides water to drink. The soil brings a platform for the feet to stand on, and from the soil trees rise to bring shelter from the rain and oxygen into the lungs. Above, the clouds weaken the burning light from the Sun, and beyond the clouds, the stars shine and urge the human brain to think and wonder and pursue. The connectivity of all things in the human ecosystem is just as important to the fragile human as is its own beating heart. Without this universal connectivity, the human organism would surely die, and with its death all other life would follow like an endless row of dominoes leading to oblivion’s edge. All living things are dependent upon each other; all is connected.
Hollis Reyes felt disconnected to all things as he advanced down the blank corridors of the Hub and away from the psychological interrogation room he was just awoken into. As he shook away the fatigue of a deep sleep, Hollis could only think of how easy it would be for him to end it all. To destroy his fragile self. All he would need to do is unlatch the blast doors of one of the Decompression Rooms and exit from the underground Hub onto the surface wearing only the clothes on his back. He would be exposed to the elements above. Without a suit, he would surely die within minutes. His lungs would contract, unable to attain any oxygen from the carbon-dioxide rich atmosphere. All the moisture in his body would evaporate leaving him a dried out husk, the intense solar radiation would penetrate his skin, and hypothermia would quickly set in. He would die convulsing and gasping for air. The place he now lived did not welcome life, and all Hollis had to do was accept this truth. All he had to do was touch the cold ashen ground of Mars with his bare feet, and it would all be over. It would be that easy. Too easy, perhaps.
Despite having these morbid thoughts, Hollis continued his advancement down the blank corridors of the Hub, past the Decompression Room, and towards all that was left of humanity. Hollis’ desire for death brimmed most when he was alone and deeply fallen within his own mind, so he pursued further through the halls with the intention to end his solitude. It wasn’t a long walk to find the others, for the Hub was small, and even smaller was its number of inhabitants. In fact, there were only twenty-two living between the underground walls of the facility. Of the twenty-two, the twelve engineers harbored the majority of the Hub’s duties through building maintenance and systems repair. The colony’s single medical doctor saw to the physical betterment of the remaining twenty-one colonists while simultaneously teaching them to become medically independent. One planetary meteorologist focused their attention outside the walls to study the strange ecosystem above. Four technicians configured the builder drones and other mechanized units in the stations. One architect oversaw the design and construction of the Refugee Settlement not far from the Hub’s position. One United Nations counselor served as a liaison between the colony and the political forces back on Earth, seeking to mediate any logistical disagreements between those that paid the bills and those that spent them. One commander directed the functioning of the Hub and the remaining colonists inside.
One botanist searched for hope in the soil.
They were called the Liberation of Twenty-Two back on Earth, and it was their collective duty to save their dwindling species by constructing a self-sustaining Martian colony from the ground-up. Initiated in the year 2073 by project lead Adrian Minor, the Extraterrestrial Colonial Society sought to save the human civilization through any means necessary. Each of the eventual twenty-two colonists were selected from a pool of thousands of other field-specific applicants, all of whom were world-class masters of their craft. Applicants were restricted between the ages of twenty to twenty-nine as it was motioned that young age reduced the development of future health concerns and thus would maximize the longevity of the mission. It was also considered that less overall time on Earth would make it easier for someone to adjust to another world. Hand-picked by an appointed counsel of the United Nations at an early age, these young prodigies were screened through a series of
best of fit
battery tests consisting of an array of mental stability assessments, adaptive reasoning rankings, physical fitness qualifiers, and general knowledge estimates. After the completion of the tests, the one-hundred top-scoring candidates were once again examined by the UN counsel. It was only then, after the passing of an entire two years of careful deliberation, that the twenty-two most outstanding applicants were prized with carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. Twenty-two youths, specially designed to save their world by building another.
Hollis Reyes recalled the day, many years back, when he had first heard about his candidacy for the colony. He was a young man of twenty-three who had just started a young family. A relatively attractive boy with a dark complexion and defined features, Hollis was physically nothing out of the ordinary. If one was to pass him on the vast streets of Mexico City where he had grown up, nothing in his humble looks would seem particularly peculiar. His mind, however, was what made him special. Hollis sought to be the first in solving the World Hunger Crisis of 2070 by way of genetically-enriched crops, and as a young man of his age, this feat seemed impossible. But Hollis was special. His tireless labor drew him to invent a strain of corn that grew abundantly in all habitable climates and sediments and thus became the cornerstone to combating the inability for crops to grow in the nuclear-contaminated soils of the third great war. Hollis’ genius and youth drew him worldwide fame and praise and brought him an endless supply of scientific and humanitarian awards. Quickly did the United Nations set their eye upon him as a candidate for their colonial botanist and even quicker did they reach out to him.
Hollis had entered the University of Mexico’s biology lab on the day of contact with the comfort that only normalcy laid ahead of him. He ran through all the habitual motions that came with beginning a long day of work: setting his keys in the cracked lime-green ceramic bowl at his desk, turning on the laboratories power at the breaker, recoiling as the sparks flew, brewing a hot cup of coffee, adding a dash of sugar and milk, checking the system levels, filing away papers left overnight, and writing reports with his favorite yellow pen- the one with teeth-marks on its tip. It was not until he sat down at his desk that he noticed a departure from the routine.
A tightly sealed letter laid before him. It was placed perfectly in the center of his otherwise cluttered workstation. It was addressed by the
ECS
, or the
Extraterrestrial Colonial Society
. Hollis instinctively knew something of importance was concealed within. The act of mailing a physical letter was something of a taboo during his era of electronic-dependency and would only be done in matters to assure legitimacy and privacy. Realizing this, Hollis hesitantly leaned forward in his chair, lifted up the letter, and torn open his fate. Nothing would ever be routine for him again.
Hollis forever since regretted the day he found that letter, wishing more than anything that he died on Earth along with everyone else. He grew to despise his new home on Mars and would be successful at times convincing himself that he was not on Mars but instead on some secluded desert on his home world, not far from a bustling city or a vibrant ocean. Not far from Rosa, his lost daughter. With enough tricks of the mind he could, at times, convince himself that he was not millions of miles from home. Even still, two years into his contract on Mars, Hollis dared not to let his eyes drift out the passing windows of the Hub and into the true reality. He was happy that the majority of the hub was underground, and yet, he kept his eyes low as he walked. He let his ears be guided by the muffled sound of the twenty-one others echoing down the long hallway. Soon enough, the sounds grew more distinct and some words and sentences could be distinguished. With a few more strides, Hollis could hear not a conversation but an argument brewing. Pitches rose and fell with bursts of dueling emotions. Hollis entered the expansive dining area with caution.
“Enough of these fucking excuses, Janya! Tell me the truth!"
“I told you, I don’t remember! Let go of my arm! You’re hurting me!"
Hollis could see that the performers of the altercation were two other colonists, technician Asnee Rao and engineer Janya Taksin, and they were locked together in a grapple in the center of the dining area. The sparse onlookers hardly held their heads above their tasteless meals and did nothing to intervene. Events such as these happened daily since Earth went dark and would typically resolve themselves in time. All one had to do was wait for the shouts to cease, as they eventually would, and carry on with their daily duties, whatever those might be nowadays. However, Hollis knew today's fighters as his closest companions in the colony and would not stand by idly as the others did so easily in contentment. He leaped forward into the emotional storm.
“Asnee, calm yourself! Let her go!" urged Hollis, pulsing with adrenaline.
Asnee turned from Janya and shot Hollis a look of resentment. He slightly loosened his grip over his quarrelling lover.
“Shut your fucking mouth, Hollis! This is none of your concern!" Asnee snapped.
“It is my concern," spoke Hollis as he carefully inched closer. "You’re two are my closest friends here and I can’t have you battling one another. Just let Janya go and we can talk about it, okay? We can be civilized about this."
“Civilized?! You want me to be civilized do you?!" Asnee tightened his grip once more, bluing Janya’s wrists as she cried out in pain. “You’re allowed have these outbursts. You’re allowed to lose your mind, but I have to be civilized?! Damn you Hollis!"
Hollis stepped even closer to his friend, chest raised and fists clenched.
“We’re all losing our minds, Asnee. That’s the sad truth of it. But at least you have Janya to share your pain. At least you have her to guide you through all this insanity. You can lose your mind Asnee, just for God sakes don’t lose her."
Asnee felt the impact of Hollis’ plea and tore himself from the sobbing Janya after a moment's reflection. He dared not look into her in the eyes, into her pain, and only listened to the pattering of her feet as she ran from them and out of the dining hall. Once Asnee was assured she was far gone, he fell backward into an empty chair, defeated by himself.
Hollis took a seat next to his now docile friend.
“What happened, Asnee? What’s wrong?" he asked.
Asnee took a moment to regain his thoughts before he spoke.
“Did you see the bruises, all over her body?"
Hollis shook his head slowly in concern. "No." He felt his heart skip a beat. “Don’t tell me that was you?"
“Of course not. Never." Asnee covered his face with his hands. “She’s doing it to herself. She won’t admit it. She comes up with all these bullshit excuses but won’t admit to me that she’s doing it to herself." He closed his eyes. “And all I want to know is why."
Hollis was unsure of what to say next and waited in motionless silence along with the others in the cafeteria. He waited for all the pain to go away, but it was the only thing that remained.