Paradise Blight

Chapter 16

The signal ceased for the moment. Having successfully purged life from a small area of the planet, the Legion stood down and waited to be called again.

[Mora]

"Mora..." The timbre of Gan's voice told me something was wrong. "The blight is striking again at the southern settlement. Now as we speak, and growing. You might catch it in action. I am sending you the coordinates and images we have now."

"Okay, thanks, Gan. I will go there immediately."

"Mora..." Concern laced his voice, and it warmed me. "Be careful — take every precaution. We've seen what it does to people. Liz ordered an evacuation."

"I promise. I'll call you back after I get underway."

This flyer was rigged for bio-surveys, so I had everything I needed. After entering the location, I engaged the autopilot, and thus my attention would not be required for several hours until arrival. I would go in alone, without Gan, but I needed him to continue his satellite data analysis. The urgency of his task was reason enough, but secretly, I did not want to risk him or anyone else.

Being with Gan has been wonderful. I had fallen hard for him, and I think he had for me. Although, I have been fooled before.

But there were some things I did not understand about him. Like, how does he generate so much heat in bed? Why does he make jokes in serious situations? Why does he leave his clothes lying on the floor?

And why would he choose me?

Once we discover the nature of this blight, I may look into these questions.

The blight on the east coast was horrifying. Tears blurred my vision as I flew over the devastation. A once vibrant temperate rain forest and rich aquatic kelp field laid wasted. Introduction of larger animals was ongoing in this ecosystem, but they shared the same fate. I wore a full biohazard suit while I collected samples, although I felt fairly sure that the danger had already past based on previous experience.

And now we had an ongoing blight infestation, if that descriptor was accurate. Collection of active blight samples may be the break we needed to understand this thing, but it was also incredibly dangerous. If I became infected, I would surely die. As Gan implored, I would take every precaution.

I called Gan back, and we spent the next hour talking to each other while he scoured satallite data. We spoke of the east coast blight, satellite images, and of the resurrection of space pong. We spoke of the exceptional and the mundane, and I laughed at his jokes. We spoke of dreams and erotic desires. We made plans to explore more of this world, and of each other.

As we talked, the words slipped out of my lips. "I love you."

I sucked in a breath and held it. Was it too soon for such a declaration? Would I scare him away? After an anxious silence, he responded. "You know what? I've kinda fallen in love with you."

My heart soared after our conversation ended, and I closed my eyes to savor the blossoming warmth within. Maybe he chose me, as I did him.

Beeps from the flyer controller brought me back to the serious task at hand, and I switched the flyer to manual control as it neared the south settlement. An orange-hued sun held low in the sky, with less than an hour of daylight left, as I directed the flyer to circle over the settlement and surrounding areas before landing.

The extent of the blight was horrifyingly obvious. Its darkness extended over most of the settlement and all the agricultural areas. This was an absolute disaster. And it was advancing! I could just make out the moving blight borders, as it claimed more plant life. No normal pathogen killed that fast.

A nervous crowd gathered near the landing site within a grassy open area away from the settlement. Most lined up to board ground shuttles, presumably for evacuation. But well away from the group, a woman and a child waved frantically from atop a rocky knoll, cut off by the advancing blight. Fearing for their survival, I flew over and landed next to them. This was risky since air wash by the flyer fans might blow the blight to me, but I could not abandon them.

"Hurry!" I yelled upon opening the gull-wing doors. They leaped inside and I took off, moving straight up.

The young woman clutched the small whimpering child, her long sandy hair cascading over them both. With widened eyes, she looked up at me. "What is this thing?"

I shook my head. "We don't know. It started after the ark ship arrived and seems to hit random areas. I am here to find a way to end it. Were there any casualties?"

She dipped her head and pulled her child closer. "Yes, many. I don't know how many. It kills so fast, like some kind of bio-weapon."

That response sent chills down my spine. We had to consider that possibility.

I landed near to the crowd. After exiting the flyer, the woman embraced me in a grateful hug. No further words were spoken as she ran off with her child into the arms of a bearded man that emerged from the crowd, lifting my spirit.

I needed to preserve samples of the blight while still active, and fortunately, I had the equipment to do that. Unloading the remote bio-sampler, I sent the small robotic device on its way. Propelled on ribbed all-terrain tracks, it carried several cylindrical containers, each of which would cryogenically preserve plant and soil samples.

Before I approached for a closer look, I donned my white bio-hazard suit, which looked something like a thin spacesuit. I had no intention of actually entering active blight areas, but I owed this precaution to Gan and to myself.

I came up to the edge of the blight, which continued to advance and consume anything alive in its path. The rate was uneven, anywhere equivalent from a stroll to a moderate walk. While faster than any pathogen I knew, it was still slow enough that I could outrun it if needed.

The deadly effects chilled me. The advancing blight appeared like faint smoke. Plant stems visibly twisted and leaves fell after curling as the blight overtook them, even so for larger trees. Colors faded and then blackened. Seeing the results of the blight was troubling enough, but watching it in action was even more horrifying. I recorded what I could of it with my viewer in the fading light.

The robotic bio-sampler signaled me, and I met it at the edge of the blight zone to replace the sample cylinders and send it off again. I carefully washed the sample containers to prevent the spread of any pathogen and placed them in an enclosed bag.

Then, inexplicably, the blight stopped, as if it switched off. Again, it was unlike anything I had ever seen.

After collecting the next set of sample containers, I abandoned the robot sampler in place, leaving it there to minimize risks of spreading a pathogen, then shed my bio-hazard suit into a special bag and abandoned it for the same reason.

While loading the flyer in the fading twilight, a long-bearded man wearing camouflage clothing approached me. I couldn't help but notice his drawn down eyebrows and the sidearm strapped to his belt. He pointed a finger at me, almost touching my chin. "Who are you? What are you doing?"

I took a step back. "Mora Torr, a botanist. I took samples of the blight, so we can analyze them."

That did not satisfy him, and he narrowed his eyes to suspicious slits. "We will not allow the government to take our land!"

A small, murmuring crowd gathered around the exchange — some of them armed as well. Thus far, they showed no signs of hostility, but this could easily escalate.

I kept my voice calm and lifted my hands, palms facing outward. "Sir, I came to take samples. We just want to understand it so we can prevent future outbreaks." These people were part of the Freedom Alliance group and naturally suspicious of organized government. "I am not part of the government, just a scientist."

A female hand appeared on the angry man's shoulder. "Cletus, let 'er be."

He retreated, scowling, but the blonde-haired woman remained and glared at me with deep blue eyes set in a weathered and wrinkled face. "This be not over. Tell the governor we want answers. Now be off before more trouble comes."

I let out a big breath once I was airborne and on my way into the night. But it was more than just relief from leaving unscathed — I was also eager to get back to Gan.