Chapter – 6
Mary's patience had finally paid off. Her breakthroughs were being accepted by the right people, and given the proper legal protection. No one would claim more credit than they deserved, and everyone knew Mary Tanaka was the craftswoman behind practical genetic engineering.
Her research was published in every major database, and funding was suddenly endless. She had been working with pathetic budgets for far too long. She became widely known, within only a week, as the woman who created the first organism completely adapted to the Martian climate.
It was strange for her. She wasn’t forced to work alone in her small lab anymore. Now she had an entire level dedicated to her research in the Terran Science Institute. Over fifty brilliant people were fulfilling her every request. Instead of working months on genetic manipulation, a team of scientists would have it done in hours.
This fast pace was a little overwhelming for Mary. Hunched over her desk, she pored over pages and pages of data produced by her teams. Two weeks had passed since she visited her apple tree in the wastelands. In that time, everything had changed. She would adapt to success in time, but a part of her missed the small, cramped lab space. There used to be plenty of time to think within its solid walls.
The Terran government was urging her to proceed with another project as soon as possible. Their aim was to have another adapted organism on the planet’s surface within a year. Mary had never dreamed of such progress, but seeing how dedicated the government was to her work, she couldn't go back now. Dozens of other departments were developing small plants as resilient as her apple tree, everyone following her original research. A small eco system was in the making.
Mary rested her face in her hands, exhausted. Something was troubling her greatly. The news of her discovery had been sent to all the Great Gardens, to every ship and station in space or at sea. Mary expected a global celebration, for the Martians to dedicate all available resources and research to the institute. Instead, after the news had been broadcasted, there was nothing.
Not a Martian soul responded to the news. There existed a void between Terran and Martians, perhaps now more than ever. Worse still, no Terrans seemed to notice. Half of this planet’s population, five million people ceased communication, and there wasn’t a trickle of concern. Terran society continued as it always had.
Mary looked around the room, its lights dim. Everyone else had left for the evening. She couldn't, even if she was tired.
She reached into her pocket and withdrew the pearls. They looked harmless, and also useless. Mary was a rational person. She knew there was no reason to keep these pearls at her side. Even as she stared at them, she repeated these facts to herself. The protective instinct these pearls inspired didn't frighten her. Deep down, it appealed to her.
She slipped the pearls back into her pocket and stood. Walking past her desk, she ran her hand across another of the lab stations, admiring the small experiments taking place inside while the exhausted scientists slept. Some of them might still be awake, reading over Mary's work from the last many years, double checking their own predictions.
As she moved from vacant station to vacant station, she felt proud. It hadn’t all turned out exactly as she expected, but that didn't matter. This is what she had worked for. This was everything she had ever wanted, ever since she convinced herself that she could save, or even resurrect, a planet with science.
A smile curled her lips, and she looked to her left. The wall was constructed of multilayered glass, trapping the warmth of the station inside, while giving a spectacular view of the Martian wastelands. She allowed the momentousness of her accomplishment to settle on her shoulders, as she imagined the vista before her covered in green grass and small shrubs.
There was a deafening explosion.
The facility lost all power.
__________
Two men entered the lab, where Mary was hiding behind a desk, whimpering. The explosion had destroyed the far section of the facility. Mary could hear people screaming in the distance. She just wanted to stay behind her desk, unwilling to face the chaos beyond. One of the men pulled her to her feet.
“Mary Tanaka?” he asked.
Mary nodded, tears in her eyes.
“We need you to come with us, now.”
The other man was looking around the lab hastily.
“W-what’s going on? What was that noise?” Mary asked, looking back and forth between the two men.
“Martian suicide bomber. We don't know how he got inside. Now please, we have to get you to a safe location.”
“Hurry the hell up,” the other man urged, speaking for the first time. “We can’t be sure there aren’t more of them.”
The first man had a firm grip on Mary’s arm, leading her to the lab entrance. His partner walked in front of them the entire way. He opened the lab door and led them into the hall. Making a quick right turn, they moved together at a hurried pace.
“Why are we heading towards the explosion?” Mary asked the man holding her arm.
The man in front answered first. “If there’s another bomber, he wouldn’t bother hitting the same spot twice. If anything he’ll…”
Another explosion erupted behind them, shaking the halls so violently everyone was thrown to the floor. Mary could barely orient herself. The two men threw themselves on top of her as soon as the explosion sounded.
Once the second explosion died down, the men stood up and got Mary to her feet. They assumed their previous positions and continued faster than before. Mary noticed the man holding her was taking awkward steps. To her dismay, there were burns on his back, and blood on his hip.
Mary felt sick. The man in the lead didn’t appear injured, and kept a few metres ahead.
Mary couldn’t make sense of all this.
Martian suicide bombers.
Soldiers.
Her world had been thrown into madness.
A bitter cold was flooding the halls, and it became apparent the Martian air from outside was filling the corridors. There were small fires, hunks of twisted metal, the occasional person running past. One hall was full of people, fighting to put out the flames. They were scientists, or civilians. The two soldiers pushed their way through. They led Mary to less damaged areas of the facility, in the upper levels. These areas had many more people, all frightened.
“Here!” the lead man shouted, running ahead. He reached a distant door and flung it open, rushing inside. Mary saw lights activate within, and a small craft became visible.
They were leaving the facility.
The light fell into the hallway, catching the eyes of everyone nearby. People began walking towards the escape craft.
“Quickly,” the soldier holding Mary urged. He forced her to move faster, and outrun the others.
Once inside, the soldier released Mary and turned to the door, slamming it shut. He locked it quickly and ran for the craft, grabbing Mary again.
“What about the others?” Mary asked, looking back to the locked door.
“The military is on its way. We are here to get you out.” The man answered, getting her into the craft and finding her a seat. The craft was small, capable of holding no more than three or four people. The other man was working away at a control panel on a far wall. When he stepped away from it, the ceiling above slowly began to open. The air became cold again.
“We’re good to go!” he shouted to his comrade. “You ready?”
“The system is still booting! One minute!”
Mary could hear people slamming their fists against the locked door, shouting.
“Don’t worry,” the burnt man said, seeing her face. “Help is coming for them.”
Another explosion, muffled by the many levels between it and Mary, sounded over the working machinery. The people on the other side of the door became frantic. The soldier at the control panel ran to the door, putting his shoulder against it to hold it closed.
??
?Get back!” he shouted to the people beyond. “We can’t take anyone else! Help is coming! Get away from the door!”
They didn’t. The door became more and more difficult to hold, but the soldier was diligent.
“We’re ready for takeoff!” the burnt man cried out. The other man ran for the craft, jumping in next to Mary.
“Get us out of here, Mitch!” he shouted.
Mitch nodded and pulled back on the controls. The craft slowly lifted into the air, and exited through the now open ceiling.
Both soldiers held their breath as the craft soared away from the facility. Mary didn’t allow herself to look down at the destruction. She couldn’t stand the thought of being saved while all her fellow researchers were waiting for rescue. She heard both soldiers let out a sigh of relief as the craft escaped the facility.
“No anti air missiles,” Mitch commented. “I think we’re home free.”
Mary clenched the pearls in her pocket tightly, sighing as well.
“Can someone please tell me why my laboratory was attacked?”
The expression on the soldiers’ faces sobered as they made an effort not to look at her.
“We are not permitted to say,” the soldier next to Mary said. “But we're taking you to someone who is.”