Genesis Code, (Book 1, Genesis Series)

Chapter 13

Stephen watched Ben from behind a cluster of large trees as he skipped to the bench. A bout of empathy for the loner boy hit him. He shook it off and evoked images of his dead parents to serve as a reminder of the Surface Creatures' true nature. Last night, Pierre had told him to keep an open mind about this invading race, that not all were bad.

Easier said than done, Pierre.

When Stephen had asked how he could be certain, all the elder had said was the advice came from a friend of the Indigenes.

Stephen turned invisible by moving his static body faster than the Surface Creatures could process visual information. Two military figures lingered close to their meeting place, as they had done the week before. He picked up their scents as they neared. But similar to last week they stayed out of sight. They wanted this meeting to happen.

So did Stephen.

His covered skin prickled with heat as the rising sun warmed the cool morning air. The protective lenses shifted against his eyes. His air filtration device felt large and obtrusive in his nose and throat. He took a deep breath to calm down. Everything would be fine if he kept to the time limit.

The area close to the bench where Ben sat was too crowded. While Stephen waited for the park to empty a little, he recalled the Surface Creatures' attack on Exilon 5 thirty years ago that had altered the way the Indigenes lived forever. The tunnels, colder than the surface, had protected his race from the blasts' severity, but living underground was only supposed to be a temporary measure until the worst of the airborne chemicals had dissipated.

Stephen was just an Evolver back then observing the changes through the actions of others. The explosions had tainted the surface air but with those changes came a hope that the air would become breathable again. Stephen had watched the first of the exploratory groups approach the airtight door that stood between the air-controlled environment and the tunnels leading to the surface. They took their first steps up top only to return moments later with bad news.

'The air is unchanged. Nothing remains,' said one.

'Everything is covered in a thick dust,' said another.

Their cities, their homes—the places where they once socially gathered, discussed, meditated—no longer existed. The atmosphere, polluted with harsh chemicals, burned their throats. A few struggled with life underground while most adapted, creating large living spaces off the existing tunnels. Those who possessed a heightened spatial awareness had sped up the excavation by analysing the rock's composition and finding its weak spots.

The years passed and Stephen had kept his own notes about the conditions of the surface as seen through others' eyes. If the scientists' and his own calculations were correct, then the last of the chemicals should have been absorbed by the land. Excitement and expectation followed, along with another exploratory group, but Stephen couldn't predict what would happen next.

A new atmosphere had formed through the chemical haze, containing high levels of oxygen and some nitrogen—a mix far too corrosive for them to breathe. Pierre and Elise had followed this news with an order to hermetically seal all the entrance points to the districts. Stephen watched as scientists grappled to design a synthetic protein for long term use, to replace their main food source.

Stephen missed the cool air and the grey skies with tiny glints of sunlight peeking through. Without light, his advanced visionary capability couldn't see the seven colourful strands contained within.

But he missed hunting the most. It was in his blood.

None of that mattered when a final group, an unsanctioned one, disobeyed elder orders to resurface and check these conditions for themselves. Stephen's parents were among that group. It was the last time he saw them alive and the only time he saw Pierre angry.