Transient Echoes (2 page)

CURIE
: Hm. I’m not sure…

FINN
: Don’t make me start with the pet names.

CURIE
: Okay! You win. Come and be with me in the desert. Let us sit together and stare at the dirt.

FINN
: What a softy you are.

CURIE
: Just shut up and get here.

FINN
: I’m already packing a bag.

End Audio File

Ortego Reconstruction Outpost

April 12, 2350

Mei Curie sat on
a slab of metal debris, staring into the solar fields of the former Ortego headquarters. The panels glistened with the sunlight, unmoving. They looked exactly as they had on the day of the Second Jolt over three years ago, back when the sky erupted and a crater had formed at the edge of this field. Mei had stood here and watched it happen. It still gave her nightmares.

“Doctor Curie?” shouted Sophia Mitchell, but everyone called her Sophie. Mei stared at the M2280 on the girl’s face and neck, otherwise known as a breather, a machine used to filter Variant from the air. It was hard to believe how far technology had come. Before the Second Jolt a few years ago, the idea of walking around on the surface without a protective suit on was laughable. Variant affected all organic cells, killing biological matter from the inside, so any exposure usually resulted in death.

Mei had been genetically engineered from birth to endure Variant, but most weren’t so lucky. Instead, thanks in part to the blood of people like Mei, a vaccine had been created. This didn’t allow anyone to breathe the corrupted air, however. It only kept their cells from degenerating. So the breather had been created, and with it, a massive step forward in the battle to take back the surface.

Sophie handed Mei a digital pad. “Lieutenant Finn called. He said to tell you he’s on his way.”

“Thanks,” she said, checking the report and handing it back. “Let me know when he arrives, will you?”

Sophie nodded and returned to the tent.

Mei sighed, digging the heel of her boot into the wet earth, dragging clumps of dirt toward her. The world was changing. With it, the human race. Each day, progress was being made to bring mankind to the surface. In the last few years, several outposts had been established, the range of the radio towers extended, and most of the hostile threats eliminated. Just as the first Jolt had brought about a great change, the second had created a new age all its own. For the first time in two hundred years, humanity was no longer stagnant.

A horn honked in the distance. Mei turned and spotted a dirt cab a kilometer and a half down the road.

She got to her feet and jogged to the main research tent. “Sophie,” she called.

Sophie poked her head out of the flap. “Yes, ma’am?” Despite only being a year younger than Mei, Sophie always treated her with the same respect she gave the older staff. The girl was remarkably intelligent and exceptionally mature for her age. Her thesis on the Ortego Corporation’s lesser-known technologies had prompted Mei to look her up, despite a lack of field experience. Unlike most of the senior staff and many of the newer PhDs, the young Sophia Mitchell possessed what Mei considered one of the more valuable personality traits—a penchant for the unconventional. During her training, Sophie had a knack for coming up with outlandish solutions to complex problems. It was why Mei had taken a shine to her in the first place, despite her instructors’ objections. “She doesn’t follow procedure,” Doctor West had said when Mei inquired. “It’s as though she’s intent on failing her classes.”

Mei didn’t care about any of that. Where so many others saw failure and a lack of focus, Mei found an ignored creative spark in need of sustenance. Six months after attaining her own doctorate, and shortly before receiving authorization for her new team, Dr. Mei Curie approached Sophia Mitchell about becoming her apprentice, and the girl readily accepted it. Mei never regretted it for a second. “Lieutenant Finn is almost here. Let the others know I’ll be meeting with him and to only bother me if there’s an emergency.”

Sophie looked confused. She stepped out of the tent and glanced at the camp entrance. “I didn’t receive any transmission. Where is he? I don’t see him.”

“Down the road. Five minutes out, maybe.”

“Sometimes I forget how good your eyes are. I’m a little jealous.”

“I’d take your height over my eyes if I could,” said Mei, laughing.

Sophie grinned. “Enjoy your time with the lieutenant, Doctor.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” said Mei.

Sophie gave her a look that said,
You’re not fooling anyone
, and then receded into the tent.

Mei headed toward the entrance to the camp and waited for John’s cab to arrive. She was torn about his visit. On the one hand, he brightened her day, and she loved seeing him. On the other, he wasn’t a scientist. There wouldn’t be much for him to do but sit and stare at the ground, something he was sure to complain about. John was a soldier, an active explorer in the physical world, always on the go, never slowing. It wouldn’t take him long before he grew tired of the boredom and isolation of this place.

John’s cab soon arrived. He brought the vehicle to a stop near the edge of the solar field. As he hopped out, she could see he still wore his brown and green military uniform. He also had a canteen strapped to his hip and a rifle on his side. John picked up the duffle bag sitting in the passenger seat and swung it over his shoulder. Standing there, he looked daunting, a little more than two meters tall with shoulders twice as wide as Mei’s. He beamed an inviting smile at her. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Doc.”

She ran and hugged him, barely wrapping her arms around his waist. He buried his nose in her hair, chuckling. She smacked his side. “Missed you.”

“I bet you’d miss anyone living so far in the middle of nowhere like this.” He glanced around the field. “Took me eight hours to drive here from Komodo Outpost.”

“Imagine the trip without the dirt cab,” she said.

“I know, I know. I shouldn’t complain,” he said. “Where’s our tent? I need to unload my crap. You set up near the crater?”

“No, we’re about two kilometers from the site.”

“Why so far?” he asked.

“There’s radiation,” she said. “We have to wear suits while we’re there.”

“So it’s safe back here?”

She nodded.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” He went to the rear of the cab and grabbed another pack. “Here’s some extra supplies. It’s mostly food.”

She opened it and found a bundle of fruit, two bottles of wine, a bag of seasoned soy meat, and even some candy. “Wow, I don’t know what to say,” she said. “The team’s going to love this. They haven’t had anything but rations for three weeks…you didn’t have to do this, John.”

“Sure I did,” he said, winking. “The best way in with the natives is food.”

******

Mei took a seat in the main tent next to John, waiting for everyone to show up for the afternoon brief. The tent was ten meters long and five wide, containing a large conference table, half a dozen chairs, a digital display board, and several crates no one knew what to do with.

Sophie entered after a few minutes, followed shortly by Travis, Zoe, and Bartholomew. Once they were seated, it was down to business. “As you can all see, Lieutenant Finn has arrived safely,” said Mei, standing at the head of the table.

John waved at each of them. “Glad to be here,” he said.

“Thanks for the food,” said Zoe Masters, a talented computer engineer with dyed red hair and green eyes. Her voice had some rasp to it.

“The lieutenant will be here for a few weeks,” said Mei. “He’s offered to help out where needed, so I’ve asked him to assist Bartholomew with setting up a third supply tent.”

“Great,” said Bart, sighing. “You know I’m an engineer, right?”

Mei ignored him. “If any of you need an extra pair of hands, please do not hesitate to ask him.”

John sat up in his chair. “I’ll be in and out a few times a week, but I’ll schedule around you guys.”

“You’re leaving?” asked Zoe. “Why?”

“I promised Central I’d do some scouting. We’ve already mapped most of the area, but I figured I’d spend some time filling in the gaps. Gives me something to do.”

“Regardless, Lieutenant Finn will be happy to assist,” said Mei. “Simply let him know ahead of time.” She nodded to Sophie. “Your turn.”

Sophie got to her feet and replaced Mei at the head of the table. She turned the display screen on, quickly locating a file labeled
Radiation Levels.
“As you all know, I’ve been studying the residual radiation from the Second Jolt, which we first noticed approximately six months ago.” She glanced at John. “Sorry, Mr. Finn. I hope you don’t find this too boring.”

He shrugged. “Trust me. It’s not the first time I’ve been subjected to a science lecture I didn’t understand.” He nudged Mei with his foot.

“Fair enough,” said Sophie, continuing. “Today marks the end of my first testing period. Here are the results.” She touched the file on the screen and a map appeared. “I’ve been trying to find the source of the radiation, but so far I haven’t had much luck. My best guess is it’s coming from the rubble of the old Ortego building, but after several scans, I still don’t have a good answer.”

“That sucks,” said Travis.

John raised his hand. “So you don’t even know what’s causing it?” he asked.

“I was hoping to have a solution by now, but as you can see, I’ve come up short. Also, you don’t have to hold your hand up, Mr. Finn.”

John scratched the back of his head. “What kind of radiation is it?”

“High frequency, electromagnetic,” said Sophie. “Gamma rays, technically.”

“I take it gamma rays are bad?”

“Deadly,” said Mei. “It’s the reason we’re staying as far away from the crater as we are.”

“We have the suits, though,” said Bart. “They’re solid, and the radiation’s not so strong. It’s annoying since it slows us down, but hey, it could be worse. We can still do our jobs.”

“Keep working on the problem, Sophie,” said Mei. “We’re here if you need help.”

The girl smiled and nodded before taking her seat.

“Bartholomew? Zoe? Travis? Anything else?” asked Mei.

Zoe shook her head. “I’m still working on the Ortego Disks we found in the rubble. They’re pretty banged up, so it’ll be a while before I have anything to talk about. Sorry.”

“Nothing here, either,” said Bartholomew. “Check again in a week. I should be done with the coil by then.”

“Coil?” asked John.

“Framling Coil,” he said. “Part of the reason we’re here is to research how they work. Central sees value in it as a new source of power.”

John glanced at Mei. “Aren’t those the things that turn hot air into electricity?”

“The very same,” said Mei. “Most were destroyed in the blast, but a few survived.” She clicked the display off. “Anyway, unless there’s something else, I think we’re done for the day.”

“Great.” John clasped his hands. “I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but I’m starving. Who’s up for some dinner?”

******

Ortego Reconstruction Outpost

April 13, 2350

The lead-lined radiation suit weighed almost as much as Mei, but thanks to her Variant-infused DNA, she barely noticed. Her genes gave her the strength of a man twice her size. Lucky, considering how small she was.

What used to be the Ortego building now lay in rubble. Most of the facility had vanished during the Second Jolt, consumed by the explosion. In its place, there was only a crater filled with chunks of stone, FlexCrete metal, and two-hundred-year-old office supplies.

Months ago, when Mei had first come here with her team, she had no idea what to expect. From a distance, the entire building seemed to be pure rubble, nothing more than rocks and metal shards, but such was not the case as it turned out. To her surprise, the basement levels were largely intact, according to the scans Bartholomew had taken. If luck was on her side, she might yet discover something she could use to further her research—a way to make her understand what really happened the last time she was here.

Her heads-up interface appeared over her suit’s visor. A green dot blinked in the corner, indicating she had a call. With her eyes locked on the icon, she blinked, accepting the transmission and opening the line.

“Doctor Dwarf, do you read me?” asked a muffled voice in her ear. “Doctor Dwarf, please come in.”

She rolled her eyes but smirked. “John, quit bothering me. I’m working.”

“I say again, DD, this is Omega Deathblade. Do you copy?”

“Are you okay, John? Do you need attention?” She stepped over a piece of debris. The scattered remains of Ortego littered the field. “I’m not surprised. I told you it was boring here.”

“Don’t be modest, Doc. You’re not even close to boring.”

“You flatter me, sir.” She edged her way to the side of the massive hole where the majority of the building’s remains were.

“Find anything cool yet?” he asked.

“Depends on your definition,” she said, setting her bag on the ground. She took out her tripod scanner and unfolded the legs. “I’m about to run a scan. Exciting stuff.”

John sighed into the mic.

Mei grinned. “Thought so.” Her display lit up again with an incoming call. “Gotta go. Travis is calling.”

“Farewell, my darling!”

“See you in a few hours, goof.” She switched to the other line. “Yes, Travis?”

“Doctor Curie, sorry to interrupt. I’m about to send in the flippies. You might wanna clear out.”

“Already?” she asked. “I was about to start my scan.” She glanced at the tripod. “Well, go ahead.” She hustled to the observation tent fifty meters from the site. Inside, Travis sat in his radiation suit, fumbling with one of the drones—flippies, as Travis called them. Mei was never a fan of the little robots, but they’d proven quite useful when it came to removing debris and hazardous material from the site. They were expensive, short-ranged, and malfunctioned constantly, which was why the contractors back home rarely had anything to do with them. It wasn’t until a young Travis Scott pulled the drones from storage and started tinkering with the little machines that they were finally put to good use. He’d retrofitted each of them with FlexCrete, the same material used to create the Ortego building as well as the Maddison Bridge. FlexCrete was the strongest metal alloy known to exist—atomically thin sheets folded repeatedly to produce the most durable material in the world. It kept the flippy’s tiny arms from buckling under the weight of heavy objects, while also allowing for its small size. These drones were only about a meter tall, but they were at least five times as strong as an average human. The design reminded Mei of a squirrel. The flippies sat on their back legs and waddled slowly toward whatever target their operators gave them. Once in place, their arms extended into flexibly thin tendrils which could wrap around and lift whatever objects were in the way. Useful and effective.