Cold People by Smith Tom Rob

Author:Smith, Tom Rob [Smith, Tom Rob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, thriller, Horror, Fantasy, Adult
ISBN: 9781982198404
Amazon: 1982198400
Goodreads: 61273860
Publisher: Scribner
Published: 2023-01-19T08:00:00+00:00

FINAL STAGE CHAMBERS EITAN’S ENCLOSURE

SAME DAY

AS YOTAM SAID GOODBYE, EITAN asked:

‘Are you in trouble?’

‘For what? Talking to you? No. This is my job.’

‘They’re looking at us strangely.’

‘How are they looking at us?’

‘Like we’ve done something wrong.’

Yotam was impressed with his level of perception.

‘I didn’t run it past them, that’s all. I’ll see you tomorrow. We’ll do something new.’

‘I am looking forward to it, Yotam.’

‘Me, too.’

Yotam left the cage, shutting it behind him. He climbed up the ladder, returning to the office floor of the ice chambers. Leaving Eitan behind and re-entering the world of ordinary-born people, he felt no sense of relief; he didn’t feel safer or less afraid. The truth was that with each step closer to regular people he felt less at ease. In the observation tunnels he stood before his team, separate from them, under the scrutiny of their uncomprehending gaze.

‘What were you doing?’

‘Testing him.’

‘You were inside his enclosure.’

‘That was the test.’

‘You didn’t tell us?’

‘No.’

‘Who did you clear it with?’

‘I don’t need anyone’s permission to risk my own life.’

The security officer was unimpressed.

‘You could’ve been captured.’

‘That’s true.’

‘We would not have negotiated for your return.’

‘I’m aware of that.’

His colleague added:

‘More importantly, this test proves nothing.’

‘I disagree.’

‘All it proves is that he wasn’t stupid enough to kill you. It doesn’t prove that they’re safe to integrate.’

‘It doesn’t prove that, no. But it’s a first step. Someone needed to go in at some point. We had to break the barrier between us. Otherwise, what’s the point of all this? We need them to live alongside us – that’s the dream.’

The scientists and support staff stared at him, not as if he’d broken down the barrier between the species, but as though he’d simply moved himself to the other side of it. Ending the debate, Yotam said:

‘I take responsibility for my actions. I’ll make that clear should any questions arise.’

Yotam packed his backpack and left the Final Stage Chambers, climbing up the ice staircase to the Ross Ice Shelf, passing through the heavily armed Russian checkpoints under their glare, as though they suspected him of trying to smuggle one of the creatures out. Rather than heading straight home, back to McMurdo Old Town, he walked to the work cabin, the converted military transport aircraft that had been the Antonov Mriya. Entering the interior of this vast plane, where dozens of blubber lanterns hung from the ceiling, he was immediately wrapped in a blanket, handed a mug of warm seal milk and his temperature checked. He assured them he wasn’t feeling cold, or sick, requesting instead the overnight use of a welfare animal – one of the Siberian Husky dogs. The fact that he’d never asked before concerned the people who worked there.

‘Are you okay?’

He struggled not to break into tears, holding his emotions together long enough to answer:

‘I don’t feel like being alone tonight.’

The team selected the friendliest of the dogs, a husky called Copper so named after his unusual red-coloured coat, and it struck Yotam that people had been genetically

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