Evolution (4 page)

“What about the village’s experiments in social living?” Sam asked.

“Our first twenty years in space were like being an egg. We grew, but it’d be hard for someone on the outside to see it. I thought of Chariklo as our evolution to a fully realized society—young but on its way toward a community based on the ideas of sexual liberation, education, and empowerment. A community where everyone was family. Now I think we were closer to a caterpillar. Lumbering along, getting bigger, figuring things out. Out here again, we’ve entered the pupa stage. Funny how a pupa and an egg can seem so much alike.”

Sam digested the analogy. “So returning to Earth will be the final realization? The butterfly hatching and extending its wings?”

Doc crossed his arms. “The caterpillar enters the pupa stage without an idea of what it’ll be on the other side. But with wings as big as
Leviathan
’s, hopefully we can float above Earth’s troubles to fulfill our goals.”

Would it be too arrogant to think of Sara and Emily as those butterflies, lilting around Earth, adding beauty to the grayness of life, oblivious to what they’re getting into?

Doc pointed toward the back end of the pod. “Yoshi’s setting up shop back there. Mira’s already manipulating wisteria into some bondage setup.”

Sam gave a lot of thought to Doc’s words as he floated back toward Yoshi’s new endeavor. He’d sounded so much like Jess. Sam had to find a way to make the transition to Earth easier. The village needed to be part of humanity again, not an isolated colony of social scientists trying to find a better answer to mankind’s questions. And Earth, still housing the largest population of humans, needed the ideas the village had developed.

* * *

D
oc’s
subtle method of handling the village meetings ensured everyone had their say without the gathering dissolving into conflict. The new facilitator did not have the skill set for that kind of subtlety. Jonathan either didn’t care about other people’s views, wanted to air out every piece of dirty laundry, or waited until the aggravated party lost his or her voice from screaming. Meetings that had lasted an hour under Doc’s leadership now took all day. Sam always came away knowing who’d won the argument, though.

To Sam’s surprise, the discussion whether to move back to Earth proved remarkably civil. Most of the young people were excited about the prospect of being around ten billion other people—lots of opportunities to make new friends. No matter how hard Sam tried, they just didn’t get that they couldn’t know every single person the way they did in the village. The prospect of life again in the weightless agro pod pacified the older generation. Only a small handful of the original founders found fault with the plan.

Mira crossed her arms under her breasts. “We were never welcome on Earth. Do none of you remember the original commune?”

Doc wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “We won’t be moving back down to Earth. We’ll stay aboard
Leviathan
. Even if people visit, we won’t be the outsiders like when we were young.”

“I don’t like it.” Yoshi sided with his wife. “Our successes on Chariklo can be reproduced on another small planet. If we stay here, we’ll be forever stuck with this limited space.”

The living structures had been more impressive on the minor planet. Not that the gardener’s creations weren’t marvels in zero gravity. But relieved of their height restrictions, and given gravity to establish direction, the plants that had become living spaces on Chariklo would always be home.

Doc scratched at his gray, stubbly beard. “We’re getting a little old to start over. We don’t have a twenty-year head start with the plants like we did last time. And Sam won’t be just your apprentice—he’ll have a whole solar system of responsibilities. We’re in the minority. There’s a good possibility our little experiment has grown beyond its original need for us.”

Jess squeezed in next to her father. “You’re always needed. All of you.”

“No one’s saying that you’re irrelevant,” Jonathan said. “All of the founders’ opinions are highly valued and always will be. This change is only in location, not in the direction we’re taking as a society.”

Sam wondered if that was true. Jonathan would gain leverage over the village being so close to Earth’s repressive societies, which believed as he did. But Sam could help the Tobes on Earth while not losing his home in space.

Jonathan’s stare sent a shiver down Sam’s back. “As I understand it,
Leviathan
still has more than a year of rescues ahead. We’ll have plenty of time to readjust to life in the agro pod before we have to deal with living in orbit around Earth. Would you return sooner? You could set the groundwork for us, see what the pitfalls might be, and ensure we’ll have what we need for a society in orbit around our home planet.”

The village had made a place for Sam in their hearts. But like an adopted son having to confront sibling rivalry from a child born to the family, he’d never felt completely at ease with his position. Jonathan had made his feelings clear that day Jillian severed their relationship—he wished Sam wasn’t a part of their lives. And the facilitator had found a way of once again ensuring the village wouldn’t have that beloved stepchild in its midst, stealing the love Jonathan thought was rightfully his.

But much as Sam hated to admit it, Jonathan had a point. Getting back to Earth ahead of the village would give him time to see what they’d be up against. He wondered if the Tobes could ease people into seeing humanity’s potential and if his daughters would manage to straddle both societies. He struggled with the complexity of what was to come. Then there were the Moons of Jupiter to consider.

We’ll be with you and help wherever we can.
Sam nodded to Lev’s unspoken words, delivered on behalf of all of Earth’s Tobes. No longer isolated from the garble of information transmitted from computer to computer, he’d also have to adjust to the Tobes’ constant eavesdropping and unsolicited answers.

“I’m sure I can make that happen, but I won’t be traveling alone.” No leaving the family behind, and anyone living in their home was family. Jonathan might balk at the two women he’d once loved being taken from the village, but he had asked for the help, and that came with a price.

Jonathan’s quick glances at Jess and Jillian made Sam straighten his back in resolve. But the looks Jonathan shot Emily and Sara put a chill in Sam’s stomach. People weren’t possessions, and women weren’t a weaker sex. So why did the look leave Sam wanting to hug his daughters close?

“When can you leave?” Jonathan’s intense stare into Sam’s eyes said,
The sooner the better.

“Rendition has a ship, the one we returned in four years ago. It may take a couple of months for it to catch up with us. But I can make arrangements for the five of us to get back to Earth a year ahead of
Leviathan.
”

“Good, then it’s settled.”

Sam felt as if he’d just been in an arm-wrestling match. Jonathan wanted him out of the village while securing control—even if the facilitator wasn’t the one in charge, it was the most powerful position in the village. But influence over a society of only two hundred people paled in comparison to the wealth and power Sam commanded on Earth with its ten billion individuals.

S
am snagged
Jess around the waist as she pruned back a watermelon vine. “Feel like getting out of the pod for a bit? Lev needs my help convincing a colony they need to leave.”

Jess stashed the shears in her gardener pouch. “Doesn’t she have people for that?”

“She does. But they’re not very diplomatic. And with the increase in population, most of her crew are needed up here. She thought as Chariklo was a relatively smooth operation—and we have experience with different terraformed colonies—we might prove useful.”

Her unruly hair floated with the vines. “You can’t even pilot a shuttle.”

No one could see Sam as honestly as Jess could. The Tobes might consider him their god, the monster corporation Rendition their owner, and the village their spiritual guide, but in Jess’s eyes, he’d forever be the bumbling outsider she’d had to rescue so long ago. He couldn’t be frustrated with her, but sometimes he did have skills she wouldn’t acknowledge.

“If you don’t want to, just say so. Her shuttles are automated. But she needs actual people to explain the situation.”

“No, it’d be good to get out. I just don’t want her pulling us away from the village for every little task. If you think this is worthy of our time, of course I’m on board.” Jess tied off the creepers and secured the rest of her tools.

“Most of the people already moved off the small planet. It’s just the diehards. From what Lev’s told me, they didn’t respond well to the evacuation notice.”

Their position hadn’t been hard to understand. A cohesive tribe was hard enough to convince. Isolated families that had resisted leaving—even when the minor planet’s business had failed—weren’t likely to accept a computer’s mandate.

* * *

N
essus held all
the appeal of a barren asteroid. The lack of anyone at the helm to help them land didn’t calm Sam’s anxiety. He still hadn’t figured out what he’d say. And what if they didn’t listen?

Jess looked at the view screen displaying the centaur planetoid. “How does anyone live here?”

The shuttle passed low enough that Sam could easily make out the rock-strewn landscape. He would have sworn Lev had made a mistake—this place couldn’t have been terraformed. Not an animal, plant, or pond gave him hope that life existed in this barren desert. He’d about given up hope when light from the single solar-array panel beamed between two boulders in the distance.

Sam scanned the horizon. “Over there, toward that reflection—that must be water. Looks like maybe there’s a settlement.”

As he’d guessed, a diminishing lake of open water lay hemmed in by a solid rock escarpment on one side and an impoverished village on the other. Beyond the community, the remnants of a large mining complex, complete with living quarters, decayed quietly in the dim light. A dozen people in tattered clothing watched with wide eyes as if the approaching shuttle were an oversized insect closing in on its prey.

They landed, and as Sam and Jess exited the shuttle, a woman with a boy clutching her leg stepped forward. “I’m Beth Underwood. This is my son Billy.
Leviathan
sent us a message you’d be coming. If you’ll follow me, maybe I can offer you what little hospitality we have left.”

The rest of the small group only watched as Beth led them to her makeshift home made of a transport shuttle’s nosecone and various brightly colored fabrics. “When they closed down the water-mining facility, they only left what wasn’t worth transporting. Some of us live in the old plant, but that ground’s unstable.”

A large man entered from the back of the tent, wiping thick black grease from his hands. The wrinkles around his eyes spoke of the smile that was noticeably missing. “I’ve got the generator back up and running. Don’t know for how long. Fred says he thinks we can scavenge some more equipment.” He looked up at Sam and Jess. “Oh, hello.”

Sam suspected they’d intruded on something the man would’ve preferred to keep secret. “Didn’t mean to surprise you.”

“It’s okay. They’re here to take us off this rock,” Beth said. “This is my husband, Joe. If we had a leader, Joe would be it.”

“Well, if you’re planning on turning us in for pilfering equipment, have at it. It’s not like prison would be that much of a slide from here.” Joe’s smile indicated he considered it unlikely anyone cared about the goings-on of the last inhabitants of Nessus. “We’ve been reduced to scavengers to keep the plant’s generator functioning. It’s the only thing keeping us alive. Even with that, the old machine shop doesn’t leave us much.”

Jess took a seat on an old storage container. “You won’t be getting any judgments from us. We’re here to help if we can. What happened here? Why didn’t you leave earlier?”

Joe warmed slightly at the beautiful woman asking him for information. “This small rock has water at its core. During the initial terraforming for this region, this was a busy place. The orbit is really slow, like 122 years to go around the sun. So we weren’t hard to find. Our little mining company could sit out here and provide water to all the passing planetoids and moons. Unfortunately, we mined too much, and the planet became unstable. Most of the settlers pulled out a year ago.”

Beth took her husband’s hand. “You should’ve seen this place at its height. This whole valley was lush with plant life. We had six solar arrays—every day was summer.”

Joe smiled at his wife. “I suppose that’s why we stayed—some mistaken notion we could create something beautiful out here, but that was never going to happen.”

Beth pressed her hands deep into the pockets of her heavy jacket. The garment, like much of the small enclave, looked to have been left over from the mining camp: dirty, too large for the diminutive woman, and with a chemical smell that burnt his nose even from across the room. But it was heavy enough to protect her from both the cold and any misstep she might take walking among the rocks. “We never expected to lose the solar arrays. Why did they do that?”

Only one satellite remained in orbit directly above the makeshift dwellings. The sad substitute for the sun was barely able to keep the planet above freezing temperature. Sam had never paid much attention to what Chariklo had to do for its power. So long as there was a profitable outpost, solar energy was plentiful.

Jess explained the Moons of Jupiter cutting off the transfer, but Sam doubted Beth wanted the facts.

He turned to Joe. “So that brings us to the reason we’re here. Things aren’t going to get better, but we have the means to move you and your group off this dying rock.”

Joe finished wiping the solvent off his hands. “Where to? I’d like to have a good story for the people out there.” He nodded his head toward the fabric door.

Lev had already filled Sam in on their options. “Ceres is a popular choice for people who want that planetoid experience. A few of Saturn’s moons are having trouble with the Jovian shadow, but some others are surviving. Once you’re on
Leviathan
, you can make arrangements.”

Joe sighed. “Anything’s better than here. I’d like to say it’d take a day for us to get ready, but I doubt anyone has anything they value that much.”

“You won’t have to worry about belongings,” Jess said. “
Leviathan
has stores to help you outfit for your next adventure.”

Beth looked down at her tattered boots. “I’m sure we’ll get by with whatever possessions we can take with us.”

Sam looked around at what passed for shelter. Nothing looked worthy of being packed. Even their clothes seemed only useful as fuel for a fire. They had nothing except a small remnant of pride.

Jess shook her head. “It’s all part of the rescue. It won’t cost you anything.”

The woman’s eyes brightened as she pulled her son tighter. For the first time, Sam noticed how many different fabrics had been stitched together to create the garments that failed to keep out the cold.

Joe remained skeptical. “No one gives anything away for free. What’s this humanitarian mission going to cost us?”

“I’d tell you nothing, but you wouldn’t believe me,” Sam said. “Move your group up to
Leviathan
. Figure out where and what you want to do next—either as a group or as individuals. Take what you need from the ship’s stores. Just remember us should we ever need anything from you in the future.”

Joe nodded his acceptance. “Sounds like a crappy deal for you, but I’m not too proud to accept it.”

* * *

I
t didn’t take
long to transport the meager remains of Nessus. Jess made it her mission to make sure everyone had a place to stay aboard
Leviathan
and knew where to get what they needed.

Sam took Joe’s family on a little tour of the agro pod. “Some people prefer to hang out here awhile. After you’ve spent years on a terraformed planet, the lack of gravity and lush plant life can feel more like home than the fancy living quarters on the rest of the ship.”

Sam pointed to one of the two smaller-diameter metal tubes that reduced the view out into space. “Your quarters are over there, just one access port away.”

Beth’s eyes watered. “This is what we’d hoped for on Nessus. It’s so beautiful.”

As she looked out past the bamboo spiraling up toward the pod walls, a child screamed. Vines trailed after Billy as he shot out above the vegetation. Emily and Sara’s laughs followed along after him.

Sam grimaced. “Girls, get over here.” He turned to Beth. “Billy’s fine. Vines and stalks grow all along the pod. All he has to do is grab one. Anyone in the village will happily bring him back here.”

The two girls did their best to look contrite—heads down, eyes averted—but were unable to suppress their giggles. Emily pointed at the boy, whose momentum had slowed enough to leave him floating toward a thicket of vines. “He said he wanted to.”

Sam attempted to look stern. “And what were you showing him that made him want to sail out into weightless space?”

Sara couldn’t resist her laugh any longer. “The braided wisteria vines we’d made into a human slingshot.”

Joe joined in the girls’ sense of humor though Beth watched her son with some concern. “Is there another access to the shops and restaurants? We wouldn’t want to bother your people each time we went shopping.”

“Of course,” Sam said. “I only showed you the agro pod so you’d know where to find us.”

Joe took a deep breath of the plant-provided oxygen. “No filtered air, no sterile walls, no sounds of technology? If your tribe can use another pair of strong hands, I’d be happy to spend my days here while Beth goes on her shopping sprees.”

Sam had the impression Joe meant permanently.

He yelled after his girls as they disappeared into the jungle to find their new play partner. “Keep him away from Mira’s new garden.”

As Sam brought Joe and Beth back to the connecting tube to their living quarters, Lev flashed a screen on the pod wall to get his attention. He still couldn’t quite get used to her sense of humor—she displayed herself as a bowl of petunias. “I fear our next stranded society on Pholus isn’t going to be as easy to decolonize. They’ve made good money off their methane reserves, and plant life is thriving even with the reduced solar energy.”

Sam turned from Joe to the ridiculous talking bowl of flowers. “Any suggestions?”

Lev twirled the blooms like whirligigs. “I wonder if Joe might be of some use. He worked for the same water mining company—and suffered the same abandonment. The only real difference is Pholus found something else worth selling.”

Joe moved in next to Sam on hearing his name mentioned. “Is there any hope they could continue their operation?”

Two flowers wilted, but four others turned their petals upward. “They’ll be hit with the Jovian shadow, but they do have their own source of power. If they’ve developed a means of using that power, they might survive the energy blackout. Information is incomplete as most of their business is with the Kuiper Belt.”

Sam knew Lev intentionally left off the word
pirates
though he suspected Joe knew more than either him or Lev regarding any illegal activities that went on this far from Earth. Even the outpost on Chariklo had dealings with the Kuiper adventurers.