James Scotson - Planets Falling

Jon set down his spoon. “My God you two. Who had access to the storage facility? Given the high level of security in those labs, it should be fairly simple to whittle down the potential suspects. I’m just a soil geologist but it seems pretty clear to me that it was someone with sophisticated knowledge, access, and highly technical materials.”

Ferris and Holst glanced at each other. Holst laughed dryly.

“Well Jon, security wasn’t our strongest asset, contrary to what the suits in corporate might think,” Pinch noted. “I mean, we were hired here to improve conditions on the planet, not threaten them. So, while only Tash and Namis plus me and Will had full clearance, lots of technicians and students were in and out of that space all the time. Not that anyone else was supposed to know about the strain.

But you know how we all talk openly about things around here. It wouldn’t be that hard for someone with microbiological knowledge to stash a small sample of spores in a containment vial and slip it out of the facility in their coat. If they kept the bacteria away from moisture and airtight in a freezer, they could hold it indefinitely.” She slumped into a chair. “It just doesn’t seem possible that one of us did this.”

Holst ran his hands through his thinning hair, wrinkling his brow.

“You have to be kidding me,” Jon croaked, throwing his cup across the room. “If you can keep all this,” he pointed to the dripping foilage outside the room’s portal, “a secret, then it seems to me that you could hold some bioterrorist’s dream goo in a locked safe.”

Pinch sighed. “I suppose we ought to tell the company that security was lax. That should let Tash get back to his family. It’ll set our research back, but we’ll survive.”

“Now Pinch, do we really want to risk losing all the progress we’ve made the last decade?” Holst countered. “They may come back and tell us that the risk is not worth the bottom line. We need to try and contain this within our group. When we have more information, then we can go to them.”

“So you’d be willing to let Tash rot in confinement? What is wrong with you?” Jon asked. He stood to leave. Then he realized he had no idea where to go.

“I understand your frustration Jon. A wise person told me to avoid rushing to judgment before I have my facts straight. Give me 48 hours before you go forward with this.” Will stood up and headed for the portal. “I’ll find out the truth behind this. Tash will be fine until then.”

Ferris rested her hand lightly on Jon’s shoulder. His anger washed away and was replaced by a warm calm.

As Will walked out, Pinch and Jon sat silently in tacit allegiance to his plan.

Within 24 hours of what the colony’s residents were calling the “big breach”, the nefarious brown slime had eaten various sized holes in five other sectors of the colony.

Dome 2 was devoted to administration and interment. When a portion of the north wall collapsed, two lunching bureaucrats were sucked clear of the structure into the dusty martian air. Their bodies were recovered a day later, frozen and desiccated, like Peruvian mummies curled up in their shallow desert graves on earth.

Dome 6 housed the schooling sectors. Luckily, the children were on holiday and the breach was contained with no injuries. In Sector 2 of housing Dome 3, three boys who were born and raised as true martians in that area were not so fortunate. They were bouncing a ball against a wall that had stood steadfast for their entire short lives. During the last few moments that their minds worked, they marveled at how the wall dissolved before them and then wondered why the air in their chests was being forced out like water through a straw.

The transportation hub, the center of arriving and departing vessels in the colony, experienced only a minor hole in its arrivals bay. No one was hurt. But shipments of repair supplies and even rescue cruisers were impeded until the integrity of the area was assured.

The final breach occurred in the sector containing Jon Fuerst’s laboratory. The wealth of his equipment was smashed against the lab benches when the air rushed out. Hama, the brilliant student who Jon had trained for months and who was only twenty five years old, became trapped between two tables and suffocated while the emergency sirens blared.

Jon and Pinchot emerged from the tunnels just before the walls came down. They stood dumbfounded sipping cold herbal tea in a biological staff lounge as they listened to the chatter on the staff communications network. Holst had vanished. They suspected that he was meeting with corporate leadership brokering a deal to protect the biological section. However, given the events unfolding in the domes, it was apparent that their days of research on mars were over. When Jon heard about his lab, he wanted to rush there, see poor Hama for one last time. But the sector was sealed and it would be weeks before access was granted again. Pinch paced the room, exhaustion awash on her face.

On the screens of the general communications network, Director Ansa Heldren peered out at the entire colony, her mouth tight around her brilliant teeth. She smiled, calmly gazing at the camera, her eyes tarry black. “Dear citizens and patrons. We are in control of the situation. During the past day, several small explosions were set by an unknown person. Be confident that our security is patrolling the perimeter of all living areas and will ensure that no further damage will occur. We ask that any information about suspicious behavior be reported to us immediately. Please remain in the confines of your living areas and do not leave them until further notified.”

“And the cover up begins,” Jon murmured.

“I guess reporting that an uncontrolled pathogen that eats plastic and perhaps some metals is on the loose would be a bit unsettling,” Pinch laughed quietly. “If this stuff is propagating naturally, it could consume the entire colony and any ship coming to rescue us. We’d be the mars equivalent of a leper colony. And we’d all be dead in a few weeks.”

As the two scientists worried, panicked people from all walks of colony life amassed at the trans hub. The hub was a huge building with hundreds of gates that connected transport vessels to the colony interior. Only a small section had been isolated following the breach and outbound transports were still available. Throngs of visitors fought to get onto departing vessels either to other stations on the planet, or more desirably, off planet to earth.

Those who called the colony home had more complicated considerations. Parents attempted to arrange immediate passage for their children. Others were ready to leave all their belongings and jump ship to a new life away from the domes. For those remaining in their living areas, they awaited another breach and possibly an agonizing death.

Over a few short days, the colony settled into resolute silence. Most of the paying visitors had managed to escape off station. The maintenance and technical staff were either busy wandering the perimeter searching for additional damage or staying clear of the gaze of security. Many families associated with colony governance or with biological studies were discretely planning their own flights. Security was questioning biological staff, but did not seem to be particularly earnest in its job. The thin air smelled and tasted particularly artificial. Inhabitants were dreaming of green earth only to awake in the dim martian light.

Then came the directive.

To: All personnel.

Subject: General announcement.

From: Directors Heldren and Holst.

Effective immediately, all egress from the colony is prohibited. An extensive search for the perpetrators of the incidents on Dec 12-13 is underway. Once repairs are completed at the transportation hub, supplies will arrive as normal. The threat of more explosions has been contained. Access to all authorized areas is granted. Please resume all normal work activity. Avoid damaged sectors until further notice.