"Tell me about this place," Andrew said to Jinho.
Evan leaned in and asked with a conspiratorial tone, "Do they experiment on you?"'
"No," Jinho snorted. "There are–"
"Wait!" Andrew felt a lecture coming on and lay back against his pillows. He patted his blankets. "Okay. Now."
"–multiple types of research going on in here but none is conducted on any of the inhabitants of the helidrome. Some of the research centers around the structure of the dome itself and some of it focuses on the plants growing inside. My father is a structural engineer so his research pertains to making the dome self-contained and sealed off from outside contaminants. He works with a handful of scientists who look at everything from construction of the glass to the recycling facilities that control water and air quality. If we humans continue to pollute our planet, we may all need to live in these domes one day."
Jinho paced between Andrew's bed and the window looking out into the dome. He fiddled with the chain fastened to his shirt. Aurum was pulling a bit of his hair with his beak.
"Dr. Lapointe, er, Jordan's mom, on the other hand, is a geneticist, so her research is of a wholly different nature. She conducts genetic modifications on corn and soybeans by taking the genetic material of the plants and manipulating it based on instructions and materials given to her by the Central division of research."
"Cross-breeding?" Evan snapped his fingers. "Like Gregor Mendel."
"No, not like Gregor Mendel," Jinho derided. "Cross-breeding takes pollen from one plant and sprinkles it on the pistil of another plant to try and achieve the desired progeny."
"Plant sex," Evan whispered to Andrew with a wink.
Jinho ignored him and continued condescendingly, "Genetically modifying plants involves mapping and replacing the DNA related to the desired traits. They are nothing alike."
Andrew threw up his hand and pointed at Jinho. "Expelliarmus."
"What did you say?"
Evan snickered.
"Forget it. You were saying?"
"You know what DNA is, right?" Jinho looked from Andrew to Evan.
"Duh," said Evan.
"Sure, since third grade or something...basic building blocks of all living things," said Andrew.
"Right. In the most simple terms. All over the world, scientists have been in this race to map all the genes in plants and animals. Once genes started getting mapped, Dr. Moreau's island suddenly became a real possibility."
"Dr. Moreau?"
"H. G. Wells?" Jinho waited. Andrew stared at him blankly. "Have you ever read a book?"
"I've read plenty of books," Andrew snapped.
"Well, in this book, the scientist was splicing animals together so they were half man and half animal. GMOs are the same thing but on a whole different level. The gene level." Jinho pinched the air with his fingers. "We take out this gene here...and put this one in its place."
"Super corn," remarked Andrew.
Jinho nodded. "Super corn. Bigger, faster growing, pest-resistant super corn."
"And they're doing that here? Making super corn?" Evan asked. "This might be better than aliens."
"Yes. Our facility is given the bits and pieces to put together. We splice the parts together, grow the plants, and send crop back to Central Labs for testing."
"Why does it have to be so secretive? Way out here in the middle of the desert? Behind electrified fences and a bad-ass with a big-ass gun who shoots trespassers?" asked Andrew.
Jinho shrugged. "Money. Proof positive results are going to make someone very, very wealthy."
"How do you know all this?" Andrew narrowed his eyes. "You're like twelve or something."
"Fourteen. I work in the labs. The scientists love to talk about their work."
"Do you live here with your parents?"
"My father. He's the helidrome engineer. He constructed the dome and now he manages all the mechanical systems. He knows everything about the dome and how it works. My father says it is a great honor to be able to be a citizen of South Korea and be allowed to work in another country."
"And your mom?"
"She lives in South Korea. She came to the United States before I was born, but could not stay. Korea requested that she return home, and she didn't have a Visa to stay in the U.S. Since I was born here, I'm a U.S. citizen."
Andrew picked at an imaginary fuzz on the sheet. He couldn't imagine not having his mom around all the time. She was home more than she was away. "When was the last time you saw her?"
"In person? Not since she left. I was a baby. But we do video sessions every week. My father made that a condition of his employment."
A low tone vibrated through the room.
"What's that?" Andrew winced as he boosted himself to a seated position.
"That was the warning for a perimeter seal. I didn't know we were doing a seal today. My dad usually tells me so Jordan and I don't get locked out." Jinho walked over to the window and looked out. Nothing looked out of place. "I wonder why they're doing a seal."
"What's a perimeter seal?" Andrew twisted to arrange the pillow behind his back. Evan took his pillow and fluffed it.
"The glass of the helidrome is constructed to generate all the power for all the systems contained inside."
"Superglass? I mean it makes sense, right? Superglass to protect the supercorn?"
Jinho ignored him. "If filters were not applied to the glass, everything inside would burn up. Have you ever seen an ant explode under a magnifying glass? Poof! My father is trying to perfect the seal so the helidrome can be completely self-contained."
"That's the best way to preserve alien bodies, I'm sure."
"Right." Jinho pushed up his glasses and rolled his eyes. "Now imagine if the helidrome were picked up and placed on the planet Mars."
"Mars?"
"Without the correct pressurization, the human body explodes. Just like a submarine deep under the water." He held his hands out into the shape of a ball with his fingertips. "As a submarine is lowered deeper and deeper into the water, pressurization can eventually no longer be controlled-"
The canary on his shoulder hopped when he snapped his hands flat.
The lights went out. The monitors connected to Andrew stopped between beeps.
Jinho pointed to the monitors. "I...didn't do that."
"Evan?"
"Wasn't me. I didn't touch nada."
The room was eerily quiet without the underlying hum of equipment. With a beep, the machines came back to life.
"Backup generators," Andrew stated.
Jinho walked to the window and looked down. He could see people walking out of the cafeteria and gathering in the garden below. "I think the power's out. That's never happened before."
Jinho saw his father come out of Mechanicals. He walked over to Farmer who had gathered with the group of people from the cafeteria. He had a flashlight in his hand that he had forgotten to switch off when he walked into the sunlight of the dome. Jinho could see the faint light beam move around as he waved his hand at the living quarters, then back at Mechanicals.
"My dad is down there," he reported to Andrew. "I don't think he knows why the dome doesn't have power."
A shadow crossed over the fields racing from one side of the dome to the other. Jinho saw Farmer and his father look up and his eyes flew to the glass above. The helicopter was leaving.
He turned back to Andrew with uncertainty in his eyes. "Something's wrong."
The door crashed open and Andrew's mom flew to his bedside. She pulled back his covers and swung his feet over the side of the bed.
"We need to get out of here. Now." She frantically searched the room. "Where are your clothes?"
"I don't know. My backpack is missing. What's going on?"
Evan ran out of the room and came back carrying Andrew's pack and shoes. Robin snatched the bag from his hands and pulled out a pair of pants. He caught them when they were tossed his way.
"Quick! Put them on!" she urged. She pushed the bag at Evan. "See if you can find a pair of socks."
Andrew pulled his pants on flinching as he pulled the leg over his sore ankle and gritting as he pulled them up. Robin bent down and grabbed his shoes.
Evan handed him a pair of socks and asked Robin, "How are you going to leave?"
"The chopper–"
"I was afraid you were going to say that."
Robin frowned. "Why?"
Jinho turned from the window. "The helicopter just left."
Robin froze. Her eyes flashed to the window and back to Jinho, then Andrew. "Then we'll find another way. Even if it means walking across the desert. You boys got in, we can get out."
Andrew groaned as he pulled the sock over his ankle.
"Are you going to be able to walk?" Robin asked with a frown.
He nodded and slipped on the second sock.
"I was groaning thinking about the jump," Andrew rued. Robin looked at him blankly and he pointed at his bag. "There's duct tape in that pocket."
Robin dropped the shoes on the bed and grabbed the tape from Evan's hands. She peeled a strip off and passed it to Andrew to wrap around his ankle. A second and third strip were added until his ankle was bound enough that he had support but could still pull on his boot and lace it up. Meanwhile, Evan had dug into the bag and handed a shirt to him.
Robin helped Andrew out of bed and he tested his step.
"We have to help Jordan," he said grabbing his bag and slipping the strap over his arm. Robin took the bag from him and put it on her own shoulder.
"What do you mean?"
"Jordan has a memory card. That's what this is all about." He limped out of the room after her with Evan and Jinho close on their heels.
"A memory card?"
"Dr. Carrel put a memory card in my phone out in the desert. It has information about the research being done in here. Research for creating crops that kill people."
"What?" She stopped and turned back to stare at him.
"I know it sounds crazy, but Jinho looked at the information on the memory card and found it had information about the research being done here in the dome. They're making genetically modified food that kills people. Jordan went to take the memory card to her mom in case Jinho got it all wrong."
"I don't think he got it wrong."