Earthrise by William C. Dietz

Author:William C. Dietz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2010-12-03T05:00:00+00:00

ANACORTES, WASHINGTON

The site for the facility had been chosen for purely pragmatic reasons. The factory would require fresh water and plenty of it. A sizable water main ran next to what had once been a rather pleasant park. By cutting the trees down, and leveling some small service buildings, the aliens freed sufficient ground for their purpose.

The Sauron Book of Cycles didn’t include any strictures where the manufacture of birth catalyst was concerned, or that’s the way it seemed, as an engine revved, and a team of bright-eyed cokeheads used a crane to swing a pump from one side of the construction site to the other.

Andromeda felt the pain before she heard the crack of the Fon’s harakna hide whip. The blow wasn’t much as such punishments went, only what the bugs referred to as a “starter,” but it would leave an angry weal nonetheless.

Andromeda swore at herself for daydreaming, knew the lapse to be drug-related, and returned to work. She, along with three others, had been assigned to prepare valve assemblies for installation. The necessary parts had been laid out on a series of improvised worktables. Andromeda’s job was to snap an injector nozzle into the side of each fitting, grease the threads, and pass the assembly down the makeshift assembly line. Her peers worked in silence.

It had rained earlier that morning, which meant that everything they touched was wet and cold. A fact that would normally generate a considerable number of complaints but didn’t.

The simple fact was that the daily injection of cocaine had changed the way the slaves viewed the world. Now, as their bodies grew increasingly dependent on the drug, it moved in toward the very center of their lives. Cocaine was more important than their loved ones, more important than food, and more important than anything but the worst sort of pain. Even more horrible was the fact that Andromeda knew what the Saurons were doing to her and was still powerless to stop it.

Each day was the same. A restless night during which the hours seemed to crawl by. Then, as light appeared in the east, the anxiety would begin. Would the dose arrive on time? Would it be strong enough? Did the bugs have enough blow to supply the entire workforce?

That’s when Andromeda’s hands would begin to shake, when some of her fellow slaves became dizzy, and others started to hallucinate.

Then, after a breakfast which they were forced to eat, the slaves would rush to queue up. Everyone wanted to be first—especially since the chits had a consistent tendency to come up five doses short. Not every time, since that would introduce an element of predictability, but every third or fourth day, so as to keep the addicts on edge and at each other’s throats.

Most of them understood that, understood the manner in which they were being manipulated, but found that the knowledge made no difference. The drug was in charge, and they were unable to intervene.

So, thanks to the leverage provided by the cocaine, construction was actually ahead of schedule.

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