Ark II: Life on Gaea - 9. Recovery

One of the men sputtered, “Eles não são humanos!” Saying we weren’t Human. It was a form of Portuguese, which Joel didn’t understand but Athena did.

“Your first response to the non-Human threat is to attack,” Joel stated. “He’s right, though. Not one of us are organic. Meaning, we’re not Human. To travel through space, it’s easier to travel as we do.,” He touched his own chest, “This isn’t Human. I’m operating this twelve light years away. I am Human, but not here.”

“Missiles sent by your grandfather killed my wife, his wife,” he turned and waved at the A1 Mark was in, “and his husband.”

Barroso looked horrified looking at us, our ships. The concern for him and his citizens was apparent, “What do you plan to do?”’

“We want to see what else your grandfather put in motion to do,” Joel answered. He pointed to the large, rounded complex that was so large, it could be seen from a great distance. “We want to see what’s beneath that dome.”

Barroso’s eyes widened, “Under the dome!? No one goes under the dome. It’s contaminated under there. We were lucky to contain it when we did. No one going in there will survive but a few minutes.”

Joel nodded at the man that said they weren’t Human, “We aren’t alive. Haven’t you sent probes in there?”

“We have,” Barroso nodded. “We were mostly concerned with anything spreading. After the launch, Grandfather died. I had the whole area sealed off by a containment field and cover. We built the dome to be sure.”

“What was your grandfather trying to do? And why?” Hank asked.

“He thought it was wrong we weren’t chosen to survive,” Barroso answered. “He was attempting that we would be the only ones to survive.”

“He wanted to irradicate the competition,” Joel said. “What gave him the right?”

Barroso looked very ashamed, “He thought you were all deserters. You left.”

“We didn’t have a choice!” Hank shouted back. “We barely got away in time. How many Humans were killed after the bombs went off? How many animal species did we lose?” He sighed, “Will Earth recover? Maybe, but not for thousands of years.”

“Your grandfather’s plan was flawed,” Joel growled. “How many other threats are under that dome?”

“We stopped it,” Barroso defended. “The computers and whatever else has been contained.”

“You have no access to the computers in there?” Joel asked.

“It’s been closed off,” Barroso said.

“There’s no way of knowing what else your grandfather had planned,” Joel said to be sure.

“No,” Barroso answered.

Joel looked at Hank, “We have no choice. We need to get in there.”

“The dome is unbreachable!” Barroso claimed. “We constructed it to remain sealed. We’re keeping what’s in there...” he stressed, “in there!” He was still uncertain.

“That’s good,” Joel nodded. “It’s still there. Did your grandfather have other plans for the Lunar colonies? For Mars?” He waved toward the rest of the world. “There were billions of lives lost and there will be billions more to die of radiation sickness...what about the billions of survivors? What happens to them?” He nodded again, “Leaving Earth was a huge gamble. We didn’t know if we’d even make it, but we did. Every time we entered stasis, we knew that it was a possibility we would not wake up. We decided to put our children in stasis; we might lose them. It was a risk we agreed to. We left understanding that risk. It’s paying off.” He pointed at the dome. “We intend to destroy the dome and everything inside it.”

Mark chuckled without much humor, “He thinks we’re here to destroy him.”

Joel grinned, “That’s what we wanted him to think.” He waved back at the Harpy-Stinger. “We designed these ships to look mean and threatening.” He sighed wearily. “I am tired of all the...” he thought of a way to express what he felt, “childish behavior from everyone! One gets hit and the other hits back.” He waved at them. “I would hear from my children, he hit me first!” He grabbed this sides of his head as if to physically hold it together. “Who cares? Who will be the first to say, enough is enough? Choose not to hit back.” He walked forward a bit toward Barroso. “I say, enough is enough. We won’t be striking back.” He threw his hands out in futility. “Our destroying you won’t bring anyone back! My wife, my children’s mother is gone!” He waved at Hank and Mark. “The person important to them is gone. Damned you! Grow up people! We’ve been at war for eons! Stop!” He shook his head. “We have destroyed our world. With care, we can nurse it back to health. Or do we just say forget it and let you die?”

“I want to strike back,” Mark admitted.

“So do I.” Hank added.

Joel looked at them, “Do you think I don’t? Other than a very brief satisfaction, what will we gain?”

Hank and Mark nodded their agreement.

“How are you going to do it?” Barroso asked. “We sealed it to keep whatever poisons are in there from seeping out.” He waved at a broader range. “We have to deal with the toxic and poisonous rains now.”

Joel nodded, “It will take time. We have the plans for the atmospheric processers that we can build.” He chuckled. “We used them to make a unbreathable atmosphere breathable. We will make them to filter out the radiation. The water?” He waved over his head, “There is literally tons and tons of water available out there in space.” He shook his head. “We’ll begin working on a bigger dome to cover you from the toxic rain. It’s a shame on a world with so much water we’re forced to get water from space to water the crops.” He shrugged, “We’ve proven we know how to destroy. Now we can work together to show we know how to heal and create.” He looked back at the Harpy-Stingers. “No, we landed in ships that are menacing not friendly so we will be seen to tell you will know we ain’t kidding. We won’t be bullied, and we are not bullies.” Joel smiled, “We are going to help you rebuild.” He nodded again, “First, we will get rid of that.” He pointed at the dome. “Second, we know about the toxic rain and irradiated soil. You will have to go to hydroponic farming until we determine what soil can be used.”

Barroso looked back at his people gathered. “We don’t know how.”

Joel smiled, “Fortunately, there are people a few thousand miles away who do.” He pointed to the south. “Those with Ark V have the personnel and knowledge that do.” He made contact with Lieutenant Commander Raymond Boullion with Ark V. “Can you talk?”

The image of a man appeared in front of Joel, “I can talk.” No matter the century, a man in the military looked military. He wore the coverall, but it was red from neck to toe! He turned to Joel and grinned, “Hello, Commander. Hank. He frowned at the A1, “I don’t know you.”

“This is Dr. Mark Koval,” Joel introduced.

“Dr. Mark Koval?” Ray Boullion asked. “With Dr. Matthew Koval? You were married. I’m sorry he was lost to us.” He looked at Barroso. “He and his husband broke the gender problem with fertility. That and the need for two genders with producing an offspring. They brought back dozens of species from extinction.”

“And made it possible for any two people to have a child if they chose,” Joel added.

“Which led to the many protests by several conservative churches saying you were playing God!” Ray nodded. “Which you were by taking the mother out of the picture.”

“It was okay to bring back endangered species,” Joel smiled. “To add the Human...” he shook his head, “Brought judgement by the churches you were giving life to soulless harbingers of Hell!” Joel pointed at Mark, “You were even condemned by the then Pope as working on abominations.”

“Where is the Human soul?” Mark asked. “We’ve studied the Human makeup and never found the genome for the soul.” He held his arms out in exasperation. “In a world where the Human species was exploding in number, maybe having another way to create a Human wasn’t needed.”

“Who is to say?” Joel asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” Ray stressed. “When a new approach is given, there will be protests by the ignorant.” He turned to Barroso. “We propose to start rebuilding here.”

“Here,” Barroso repeated.

“We are colonizing a world,” Ray shrugged. “There are only a few places on Earth where we can build cities. This is one. There are others, one in the Hawai’ian Islands, near Australia and areas in the South Atlantic where the radiation is less.” He smiled. “This will be the land where we build the first city after the bombs. We have the radiation absorbing isotopes we can spread in North America, Europe and China...it will take a while, but those isotopes will absorb the radiation, and we can scoop up radioactive sludge and get them off world.” He stopped and looked at Joel. “The orbital solar collectors don’t need the power boost.” He sighed, “The Earth you knew is gone. We will rebuild and create a new Earth. We start here.” He pointed at the ground. “We need to get rid of what is under the dome. Start new hydroponic crops to feed the many. Covered housing to keep the people safe.” He pointed at Barroso. “They aren’t your people anymore. They are part of the Human race, and we will survive!”

Joel got closer to Barroso and Ray, “About going into the dome, do you have anything to open it? Something we can move various robots inside?”

Ray only pondered a moment when he looked at Joel, “We can cut a hatchway in. A kind of airlock.” He grinned at Joel, “I’m sure you know about them.”

Joel nodded, “I know them well. It will be something to let us in without letting anything out. No contagion or radiation. Then we can see about destroying the whole thing.”

“Agreed,” Ray nodded. He looked at Joel, “The android bodies should be safe to go in...”

“We will use the A2s,” Joel held his hand up. “The android bodies might carry something out. If necessary, we can leave them in while we are destroying the dome and the complex underneath.”

Hank walked over, “We really need to access the computer there. It’s not connected to anything out here, right?”

“Right,” Barroso nodded.

“Too bad we can’t just scoop the whole thing and get it off the Earth,” Hank muttered. “If it hasn’t been connected with...”

Joel suddenly held his hand up, “Why can’t we just scoop it up? What would you want to do?”

“To dump the whole thing into the sun,” Hank shrugged. “Or a volcano...something that would destroy the thing.”

Joel gave a shrug and grudged a nod, “Or we bring the sun here.” He looked at some confused expressions. “We can bring the heat here!” He said. “We drill below and put the generators below and hit the above ground with heat! We have those shields that hold things in and out. They will keep the heat in and melt everything in the dome...including the dome!”

“That much heat,” Barroso started cautiously. “That won’t be too hot?”

Joel shook his head, “The same energy that will allow that much heat will be guarded by the same energy by the same source.” He smiled, “That needs to be monitored by a go0d computer intelligence. You have a computer system here.”

“Yes,” Barroso answered.

Ray raised a hand, “You need a powerful computer to monitor the force field and monitor the heat levels. I suggest our computer help with that. Hercules, can you show yourself?”

A Greek man appeared near them in a short, white toga. It covered his waist and gathered over his left shoulder. Muscular with bulging biceps attached to a muscular body of muscles. He was a male bodybuilder’s dream and handsome! Hercules was born of a woman and a god! Zeus! Of course he was handsome! Black hair on his head cut short and well groomed. He smiled at them. “I certainly will show myself.”

Ray gave a sheepish grin and wavering shrug, “We’ve met your Athena and know of Oracle...we decided to create him!” He waved at Hercules. “What do you think?”

Hank nodded, “That we all paid attention in the ninth grade of high school.”

Ray shrugged, “You took the name Gaea which means mother. Mars took Aries since it is Mars. The moon took Selene. We face a Herculean task to rebuild. It made sense.”

“A very smart hammer?” Joel chuckled and saw Hank laugh a little.

“We’ll share the joke later,” Hank promised.

“For now,” Joel pointed at the dome. “We go in there.”

The normal situations with something like this were also changing. Barroso was looking like a young military person about to be dressed down by a superior military officer...or young student about to be confronted by his principle. Joel smiled, “We’re offering help, Mr. Barroso. You can refuse and things will return to the way it has always been.” He raised the hand, “Or, accept our help and we can improve millions of lives.” He nodded and grinned a bit meanly. “I admit. I envisioned coming here and destroying you.” He laughed with what he said next, “But Sara Beth would have haunted me for the rest of my life.” He waved away from them, “The Southern Hemisphere has been hit less than the Northern Hemisphere. There are things we can do here now, or are we to build a new complex in the Southern Atlantic away from here?” He looked at the man. “It’s your decision.”

Barroso relaxed and said nodding, “Your help will be appreciated.” He looked uncertain. “Can we offer anything? Drink or food? A place to rest?”

“We’re fine,” Joel assured with a smile.

“We travel this way so we won’t use oxygen or waste resources,” Hank explained. “This isn’t a social call.”

There were things that needed to be done. There was a lot of salvage that needed to be done. A new Space ladder was primary. Earth had two, one in the Northern Hemisphere and one in the Southern Hemisphere. The one we used to board the Ark had been destroyed but the wreckage could used for the new one. Brazilia was near the equator and would prove to be the best location for the new Space Ladder. We would introduce the mining robots and how to get the resources to be rebuilt. There had been an effort to clear the “space junk” from orbit. There aren’t that many unused satellites now. We would tell them about the boron nitrate and how to use it. We were going to heal our home world. It would take a while. The Space Ladder was needed. Bringing ore and even water down the needed ladder.

Hank walked closer to Joel, “I’m still wanting to destroy him.”

Joel nodded, “I do, too. We’re hurting, but he didn’t do this. His grandfather did. I’m still in the anger stage.”

“Yes,” Hank muttered. “Nayef has told me of the stages of grief.”

“Knowing and experiencing them are two different things,” Joel sighed. “Denial was the first. We will experience the depression soon. And fluctuate in the others.”

“That’s not enough,” Hank all but hissed.

“There should be payback,” Joel nodded understanding. “Who is the target?” He saw Hank’s confusion. Joel waved at the surrounding city. “The man that launched those missiles is dead. He’s been dead for three decades! If we could time travel, maybe we could stop him. Campos Saies is dead. Sara Beth, Rita and Matt are dead.” He sighed, “The strike back would get us nothing. They’d still be dead! We can add insult to what he did. This will be the hope for Humans.”

Hank frowned, “I still want to do something.”

“We will,” Joel nodded. “We’ve done more than any other species has done. We’re in three systems now. God forbid anything were to happen to any of us. We will survive.” Joel shook his head. “Enough. It ends. Now. Repairing the damage is the first step.”

This would take a while. The sun was setting, and they decided to return the next day. Barroso offered to put them up for the night, but until there was trust, Joel decided to board and take the Harpy Stingers into an orbit and would return. Athena would guard the Stingers.

Joel sighed as he removed the headset he had used. Leah smiled at him as Joel stretched his arms.

“This is a lot like waking from Stasis?” Leah observed as she helped Joel sit up.”

Joel nodded, “Just making sure my mind works in this body. My mind was working ten to twelve light years away.” He smiled, “Just making sure I can work my fingers correctly.” He wiggled the fingers on his left side and then the right. He looked to see Nayef help Hank. “Were things alright here?”

Leah nodded with a small smile, “Fine. I think you need to speak with Jim.”

Joel looked concerned, “Is he alright?”

Leah nodded again, “He’s fine. He needs a parent that’s also grieving to speak to him.”

“Sure,” Joel agreed.

Leah smiled compassionately, “How are you?”

“Fine,” Joel answered automatically. Then he sighed, “I feel lost.”

Leah nodded understanding, “You are.” She sighed but looked at Joel. “No one can really relate to your loss but Hank and Mark. Your wife wasn’t killed in an accident or killed by a long battle with a disease. She was here and then suddenly gone. Mark and Hank had the same thing.”

Joel frowned and got up standing, “I know. Was what happened really necessary?” He demanded angrily. “Was there no alternative? Not even remotely?”

Athena appeared in the room, “No. There wasn’t. Programmed by the many biologists and scientists on Gaea. The purging was demanded to prevent spreading of any disease or contagion. I had no choice.” She explained. “I was prevented from seeing the missiles that came here.”

Joel turned angrily, “I swore to Ian that we were too far away, and nothing could reach us. I was wrong! They could.”

“Yes,” Athena admitted. “They can. I’m setting up some other defenses. I didn’t kill them. They were infected and they didn’t suffer.”

“I know!” Joel said angrily. “I’m just mad! This shouldn’t have happened!”

“No,” Leah agreed. “But it did. We’re safer then we’ve ever been, but not totally safe. You have to remember that. You have four children that need you and thousands of us here that need you. We all do.”

Joel nodded with a sigh, “I know.” He said softer. “I am doing this rebuild of Earth in their memory.”

Leah smiled, “I think that’s marvelous. Jim I think realized more his mother is gone. He needs you.”

Joel stiffened, “I’ll go to him.” He waved at Leah, “I’ll be fine. Really.”

“You have enough Psychology to be a counselor. Application on a personal level is hard.” She patted his arm. “Nayef, Tom and I are here to talk, if needed.”

Joel walked back to their quarters. He was aware his perception had changed. The town center and square were active with people doing their needed tasks. Ran was shining brightly. The air was warm with the cool breeze. Birds sang as butterflies fluttered by. Looking up he saw the blue sky and some clouds. His joy was gone. The chittering of a chipmunk attracted his attention. It wanted a nut or something. The people of New Charleston had placed dispensers to give the nuts or seeds so they could lure squirrels and birds to them. It was tame! The animals in their park area were all tame and came willingly unafraid. Joel went to a dispenser and took out a healthy, unsalted nut and bent down and gave it to the chipmunk. It was habit. Again, he did not feel the happiness he usually got. He realized it was 13:00 and most of the children were in school.

He walked on to the quarters. He noticed the quiet there. Daylia was over with Little Hank and Alicia. It was a bit unnerving to be so quiet. He entered Jim’s room and found his son looking over some computer data. He was almost frantic.

“Jim?” Joel asked entering his son’s room. Looking at Jimmy it was hard sometimes to see the child he was. He was about to start puberty and Joel knew it was already starting. He saw the shoulders were beginning to broaden. He would probably be as tall as Joel...just over two meters. Six feet. He was only nine years old! He was so smart it scared Joel at times. “I heard there were...problems today.”

Jim looked at his father and nodded, “Yes, there was.” Joel could see his son’s mind working as he continued to look at something he could barely make out. He sighed and looked at his father, “What is time, Dad?”

Joel was not prepared for that question. “Time? It’s not really understood except for what happens from one point to another.” He frowned. “There are quite a few theories, but it’s what happened before to what happens now and what will happen tomorrow. Why?” Then he sort of knew why Jimmy asked the question. “You want to go back and stop your mother from dying.” He nodded. “I wish you could.”

Jimmy was nodding and waved at his computer display, “If I understood it, maybe I could!” He was beginning to cry. He turned to face Joel. “If I could stop her from going on that trip to the Ark, Mom, Aunt Rita and Uncle Matt would be alive!”

Joel came slowly and hugged his son, “I really wish you could. I would give anything to have her back. I miss her, too.”

“If I could just send a message...” Jimmy wailed. “I have to do something!” He was crying harder, “I’m learning all the time about physics and astrophysics! I learned about gravity and mass. Distance! We learned to break the light speed barrier, why not about breaking the time barrier? Why not? Is it quantum physics? I’ll learn that!”

Joel’s heart was breaking hearing his son’s protests.

“I was working in the lab with Tony Yates and Scott Fleming!” Jimmy wailed. “We solved a problem with gravity on the moon, Mars and any ship we build. Using the same power and mechanics as we do for anti-gravity...it works! Less power is needed and a steady and constant gravity! I was excited and wanted to tell you and Mom! But she’s gone!”

Joel nodded hugging him tightly, “I know. I know.” He separated just slightly to see Jim’s face. “We are so proud of you. Your mother is so proud of you...that hasn’t changed.” He hugged his son tightly again. “You miss her. I know. She was a big fan of yours. So am I.” He moved them over to sit on the bed. “It hurts. I know. It will for a while. That’s proof that she meant a lot to you.” He sighed rubbing his son’s back. “I know it hurts. It hurts me, too. I lost my very best friend...really a major part of my life. I hurt all the time...so much I don’t want to get up when I wake up,” he smiled sadly at his son. “I do because of you.” He saw Jimmy’s eyes widen. “Yes, you and Daylia, Kevin and Ian.” He waved out toward out of their quarters, “And Hank and his family and all the other lives on Gaea. It was something your mother believed it so much.” He chuckled sadly, “Your missing her tells me and you how much you loved her. I know you do. I hate pain, but it tells us something. I know you won’t understand yet, but relish that pain as proof! It will become manageable,” he grudged a nod. “I’m having to do this as well. We will get through this as a family.” He made sure Jimmy was looking at him, “Understand?”

Jim nodded.

“You and your brothers have a job to do.” He smiled. “Daylia won’t remember your Mom. We have to make sure we tell her how important she was. Can you do that?”

Jim nodded and hugged his father.

“I would love to see what your brilliant mind comes up with,” Joel smiled. “The moon around Earth, Mars, the mining colonies...they will love to get the information.”

“It’s your fault,” Jim muttered.

“What is?” Joel asked.

A little of the old Jim surfaced, “All those movies and shows you made us watch. The Time Machine, and there were a few of them. Back to the Future. The Time Cops.” He laughed touching his father’s arm. “Star Trek! All of those shows did it many times!”

“I hope you find a way to travel in time,” Joel admitted. He activated his connection to Athena, “Hank, Chloe, Rachel, Ian and Kevin, meet in our quarters, please.”

It didn’t take long for all of them to assemble in the Nesmith quarters. Chloe was carrying Alicia and Hank had Little Hank. Rachel had Daylia as she had been on the Cavill side of the quarters.

“Hi,” Joel said quietly and took Daylia from Rachel, “I called you all because we all lost someone very important to us. I would include Mark, but he is being helped and has his own support.” He looked at the sad faces before him. “I hate this.” He said angrily. “I hurt. I have to make myself get up and function.” He waved at Jim. “He had a wonderful thing happen and he wanted to share it with Sara Beth. He forgot and remembered she was gone. I told him, it will hurt. We are our support. I cry.”

“So do I,” Hank added.

“And that’s okay,” Joel said. “What you feel is going to happen. Each will do this. The pain you feel hurts! I hate it, but that’s life. If you want to cry, cry! If you are angry, be angry! If you want to hit something, hit! I’ll be the punching bag, if needed. Feel! Talk about it. To me, Uncle Nayef, Uncle Tom Sais, or each other. Talk!” Joel pleaded, “Know the ones here feel just as you do. We understand. Your mothers left gifts, Daylia, Little Hank and Alicia. They are gifts and need to be told about their mothers. Do not keep the pain to yourselves. Please, talk. We will get through this as a family. This horrible event can make us closer than anyone else. The Cavills and the Nesmiths are a family, too. Cling to that. Please.”

He watched as Chloe and Rachel were crying now. So were his sons. Hank was crying but hugged his son and daughter. Joel, not to be left out was too. They would heal.