Nicholas Smith - Hell Divers

He shrugged. “Probably to avoid an electrical storm.”

“Aren’t the engineers still fixing the wires that got fried in the last power surge?”

“Yup. They’re probably in the crawl space below us right now. That’ll be me someday, you know.”

“The gas bladders are the most fragile part of the Hive, ” Professor Lana said. “Like a living creature losing too much blood, if the ship loses too much helium, it will die.” She looked at the red oval clock behind her desk and stood. “Looks like it’s time for our next class, everyone. Finish your lessons and pack up. Oh, and don’t forget to read lesson three-point-one tonight on helium and how we keep a steady supply. It’s very important.”

Tin shot out of his chair. His next class wasn’t a class. It was a field trip! He stuffed his books into his bag and followed the other kids into the hallway, where two senior engineers in light-blue coveralls were waiting.

Professor Lana approached them and murmured softly, “Is it safe to leave the classroom right now? The ship’s been rocking a lot lately.”

The older of the two said, “Safe as safe can be. I’ll keep ’em close. Nothing to worry about, I’m sure.” He was probably too thick in the middle to maneuver in the crawl spaces anymore.

The other engineer was short and wiry—the ideal body type for someone who had to spend most of his time in cramped spaces. He had a thick silver beard with a mustache that curled at the ends. The bent bill of a ball cap covered his eyes.

Professor Lana smiled and said, “Kids, this is Eli, and this is…” She looked to the larger engineer.

“Ned.” He grinned and took it from there. “So you kids want to be engineers?”

“That is why we’re here,” Andrew quipped.

Lana shot him a disapproving look. “Yes, everyone here has enrolled in the engineering program. I was teaching them how to fix the internal gas bladders just today.”

“Is that right?” Eli said, scratching at his beard. “Gas bladders are very important, but today, we’re showing you something else. Who’s ready to see the water treatment plant? Some of you might end up working there someday.”

Tin raised his hand. He looked around him. It appeared that the others kids didn’t seem to share his enthusiasm for water reclamation technology. They all wore the same bored look. For them, this was just an opportunity to get out of class, nothing more. Andrew smirked at Tin’s obvious eagerness and whispered something. Several of the other boys chuckled.

But Tin wasn’t going to let them ruin his mood. Not today. He snugged the tinfoil hat down on his head as the two engineers led the class through the passages, to a three-way intersection. A sentry holding a big rifle stood at a door across the hallway. It led to the second and third floors—off limits to most residents, except today. Touring the water reclamation plant was a rite of passage for students in the engineering program.

Eli pulled a key card and his identification from his pocket. The soldier gave a brusque nod, pulled out his own key card, and waved it over the security panel. The door clicked open.

“Stay in single file,” said the soldier. “And don’t touch anything.”

“Did everybody hear that?” Professor Lana asked.

Tin fell in behind the other ten kids. Unable to see over the heads in front of him, he edged his way around to the side and waited impatiently as the other students slowly filed into the stairwell. As he was about to enter, he spied a man with long black hair and a trench coat across the hall. He seemed to be watching them. Another man, wearing a scarf pulled up to his nose, ambled by and nodded at the lower-decker in the black coat. Tin hovered outside the doorway, scrutinizing the two men from a distance. It wasn’t all that cold in the passage, so why would anyone wear a scarf?

“Let’s go, kid,” the soldier said.

Tin continued into the stairwell and glanced over his shoulder as the guard was closing the door. Then it occurred to him that the two men were interested in the security checkpoint, not in Tin’s class.

This was strange, and it gave Tin an uneasy feeling, but he wasn’t going to let anything distract him from the tour. He looked back up at the other kids. The glow of a single red light spilled over the group as they shuffled noisily up the rungs.

Halfway up the stairs, they stopped. Tin stood on his tiptoes and put his hand on Layla’s back. The two engineers were standing on the second-floor landing, outside the farms, where Eli was talking to another soldier.

“What’s going on?” Tin whispered.

Layla shook her head.

Eli stepped away from the soldier and looked down the stairs. “Today, we have a special treat for you,” he said. “Today, you also get to see the farms. You all can thank Hell Diver Xavier Rodriguez for that. He managed to convince Command to let you sneak a peek.”

Tin couldn’t believe his ears. X had done that? For him ? Tin removed his hand from Layla’s back and saw that Andrew was staring down at him. He had an odd look on his face, as if he was sorting something out. He flashed Tin a smile. A real smile, not a cocky I’m-going-to-kick-your-ass-later smile.

The soldier pulled the rusted door open and waved the group forward. The brilliant white glow of the grow lights blasted Tin’s eyes, and he shielded his face. Grow lights were ten times brighter than any other lights on the ship.

He followed the kids in front of him into a plastic bubble room, where his eyes adjusted to the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

“You’re standing inside the vestibule to the clean room,” Ned said. “All farmers are required to go through a rigorous cleansing process before entering the farm.” He turned and looked through the translucent sides of the bubble. “For two hundred and fifty years, this massive space has provided the Hive with the nutrients to keep our species alive, as it will for the next two hundred and fifty.”

“Feel free to take a look around,” Eli said.

“But remember, don’t touch anything,” Professor Lana added.

The translucent plastic box was the size of their classroom, with sinks set up in the east corner. Tin walked to the northern wall, where the other kids had gathered to look out over the fields.

Ned crowded behind them, and Tin could feel his hot breath on his neck. It stank of ’shine and coffee.

“Pretty great, isn’t it?” Ned said.

Tin nodded and worked his way up to the front of the group, squeezing next to Layla. His eyes swept over the farm. Rows of mature corn, taller than he was, ran from stern to bow. A plot of green beans and spinach grew in the field to the east. The different shades of green practically glowed under the full-spectrum light.

For the first time in his life, he felt the tightness lifting around him, as if he had shed a garment that was too tight. He no longer felt so trapped or isolated.

“The farms are six hundred feet at their longest point and two hundred and twenty feet wide,” Eli said. “We cultivate twenty different vegetables and ten different fruits, all genetically modified to grow in the conditions here. The lights are attached to the ceiling with steel wires that can be lowered and retracted. Somewhere in the central control center, a technician is monitoring exactly how much light the crops have received over the past twenty-four hours. A program will indicate whether they need to be dimmed, brightened, or shut off.”

He pointed to the other end of the room. “Over there is where we raise our livestock.”

Tin followed the man’s finger toward dozens of pens and several long sheds with low roofs. They shifted to the other side of the room, which put him in the back once again. He stood on his toes, trying to see over the other kids’ heads.