The Cost of Survival by Stan C. Smith

Author:Stan C. Smith [Smith, Stan C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-06-15T05:00:00+00:00

11

Minutes

August 26 - 7:00 PM

Infinity had no time to straighten her body, so she hit the padded floor of the bridging chamber still in a sitting position.

Zachariah was the first to speak. “Ow! That was unexpected. Great, I’m naked again.” He then doubled over and retched.

Beside him, Lorissa was already dry heaving.

Infinity did a quick visual survey of her three companions sprawled on the floor around her. “We’re all okay,” she shouted. “No serious injuries.”

Armando’s voice came over the comm. “Welcome back! Glad to see you’re all safe.”

The airlock hatch opened and med techs in white biosuits rushed in. They went straight to the two scientists and helped them to their feet. Zachariah and Lorissa told them they could walk, so the techs led them out the airlock and to the med lab.

“I assume, then, that the world is viable?” Armando asked.

Infinity shook her head as she got to her feet. “No, it’s not.”

This was followed by a few seconds of silence.

“But you’re all alive and appear to be healthy.” It was Reece Eagleton.

Desmond stood up beside Infinity. “It’s not that simple.”

“It couldn’t be any simpler,” Eagleton said. “You’re alive and—”

Armando cut him off. “This can wait. Let’s give them five minutes to get their bearings and hydrate a bit. Infinity and Desmond, we’ll see you in the post-bridging interview chamber.”

There was a click as Armando switched off the comm, and Infinity saw the two men exchanging words behind the plexiglass barrier.

Desmond was holding his gut. “Jesus, does this ever get easier?”

“That Eagleton’s an asshole,” Infinity said. “Come on, let’s get some water.”

He nodded. And then he frowned. “Why do I still feel the alcohol?”

“It’s in your cells, so it bridged back with you. Why do people who drink always complain about the effects?”

He huffed out an abrupt laugh. “I deserved that.”

Exactly five minutes later, Infinity, Desmond, Zachariah, and Lorissa filed into the interview room and sat behind the waist-high barrier. Instead of being naked, they each wore a paper gown—another long-standing policy that no longer mattered.

Armando and Eagleton sat waiting for them on the other side of the plexiglass. Just the two, which was a little surprising. Infinity had assumed, with the fate of 718 refugees on the line, a few more people might participate in this decision. At least some of the refugees themselves.

“What’s happened since our departure?” Lorissa asked.

“Nothing good,” Eagleton replied with a frown. “Another massive wind storm in the region, north of Little Rock. Could be five hundred dead. More earthquakes worldwide. No way to even estimate the deaths from those yet. And no way to estimate deaths from suicide and homicide. Hell in a handbasket, as they say. Which is why we need to get these colonies off this planet.”

“About that,” Zachariah said. “The world we just assessed is not viable for our colony.”

“Why not?”

“We’ll explain,” Zachariah replied, “but we think you should begin preparing another bio-probe rather than preparing the refugees.”

“We don’t all think that,” Lorissa said.

Infinity wanted to grab the woman by the throat.

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