The Fury of Xero Nekton by Nicholas Forster

Author:Nicholas Forster [Forster, Nicholas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781729332702
Publisher: NFJ House
Published: 2018-11-26T05:00:00+00:00

***

It was one thing wanting to get out, and another achieving it. There didn’t seem to be any end in sight for their captivity. Scott lay in the bubble cell watching the other humans, the gawkers, and the ceiling of the outermost bubble. He marveled at the creatures that swam overhead, whose silhouettes he could see against the light of the Hürantån sun. Huge, marine beasts, with morphology akin to life enabled beneath the waves: fins, scales, gills. They were similar in colour and size, but different to those of Earth. From the safety of the globule it was hard to determine what they were from shadow alone.

We are deep into it, Scott thought, and a feeling of hopeless overcame him. It had been hours since they were dumped in here and his stomach started to growl. They would have to feed them soon, surely. What kind of place was this? Xero Nekton is some piece of work—why did he even bother with all the niceties before? All he wanted was to take us to this second-rate animal farm. This makes the Mumbai Zoo look like the Shangri-La!

The more he thought of Xero, the less sense this all made. What was the purpose of the trident necklace? Why was Xero interested in them? Why had he taken them here? He was a marine biologist, studying ground-breaking, plastic-eating plankton that could save the world. Here he was no more a monkey in a cage, or rather, in a bubble.

Pete rolled over beside him and started tapping on the bubble. Scott, lying on his back, could feel the vibration through his skull. These bubbles–what were they made of? Some sort of energy force-field? Scott joined in with Pete, drumming a counter beat with his hands by his side. They had a nice little groove going on, and Brooke slapped the floor of the bubble. Scott forgot about their problem for a while. They made a tight beat and he closed his eyes and pictured Earth, and how much he missed it. Why are we not taking care of it? How can we squander such a beautiful home?

Scott’s eyes closed and he pictured the Earth spinning, spinning free. He wanted to go back. He opened them, and there was Chuxor, staring back at him on the other side of the membrane. The big Hürantån shrunk back in surprise, then a big toothy grin washed over his face.

“I think he likes you,” said Brooke, who was leaning on her elbow across the bubble.

“Can we get in on that?” said Pete to Chuxor, enunciating and exaggerating every syllable rubbing his stomach, pointing at the food cart.

Scott’s belly rumbled. He slapped the membrane with an open hand. “Me too. Hey Chuck, what about us?”

Chuxor looked side to side and appeared conflicted for a moment. He held one hand on the bubble and tapped a large tattoo on his elbow. The bubble turned orange and then dissolved. They were all now standing together in the larger bubble.

“‘umans feed.

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