Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
Ellie
There was freedom in knowing she could disagree with him. Ellie wasn't sure what the feeling was in her chest, but she was thoroughly and wonderfully relieved that she could speak her mind without fearing his anger.
She trialed it ever since she'd gone against his wishes and walked into that room with all the other people there.
First, she told him she didn't want a particular fish for dinner.
He'd been busy, and the only thing he could find were herring, which he brought to her in a fistful.
She didn't like herring and told him as such.
Of course, anxiety bubbled up in her chest the moment she did. She waited for an argument. For rage to burst forth from his chest as he yelled at her that he'd been taking care of her for so long, and what was she offering him? But none of that happened.
He just looked down at the herring, sighed, and then nodded. As though he had known she would say that. Proteus disappeared back into the sea for a while before returning with squid, which had become one of her favorites.
Another time she told him that she wasn't quite ready for bed.
He'd ordered her to get some sleep so that she would be ready in the morning, but she wanted to watch a few more of the holograms. Instead of picking her up and putting her to bed, he'd nodded solemnly and resolved to stay awake a little while longer with her.
If she wanted to research more, then he would do the same.
The freedom it gave her was staggering. She hadn't realized she could tell anyone how she felt. She hadn't realized how easy it would be to just say "no". And life continued on without anyone being angry at her.
What a strange feeling it was.
But now, Proteus had been gone for a while, and she'd been left to her own devices.
Ellie had seen countless of the holograms, freezing them in time so that she could wander through them.
It was so easy to walk through all the images of what this place had once been, to peer into the past. The glory days really were remarkable.
So much of their equipment was taken for granted.
She'd seen marvelous things done with machines that could perform surgeries on their own, but also create.
Her pod had been very similar, but that was the most expensive equipment in Tau.
Not just anyone was allowed to use it, but it seemed like the machines here had been freely used for centuries.
The people here had been so intelligent. They used their minds without hesitation, and they made every hair on her body stand up on end when she watched them do it.
There was only one thing left to do. Push her limits just a little more.
She stood in front of one of the exits, taking a deep breath.
She didn't hear the wind howling outside, nor could she hear the crackle of thunder.
Sand wasn't blowing into the doorway, and as far as she could tell, there wasn't any ice falling outside.
Which meant, if she was going to do this, then the perfect moment had arrived.
"It'll be fine," she muttered. "Everything will be fine."
"Ellie," Pilot said as he stood beside her. "This is a very stupid idea."
"Yes. It is." But she had to see it for herself. She couldn't stay in this place, or even honestly allow others to stay here, without leaving it. She had to know what it would be like to not just poke her head out the door, but actually try and exist where the sun could touch her.
Steeling herself with a steady breath one more time, she opened the door and walked outside.
The heat was the first thing she noticed.
How could anyone not? It blasted her in the face, nearly pushing her back into the opening that she'd just left.
Brutal, blistering heat made sweat slick her body.
She'd never experienced heat like this anywhere else and had no idea how anything could survive it.
Ellie tried to breathe through her mouth, but it was like she was trying to breathe water. The air was so heavy out here. It made her lungs seize, trying desperately to suck in more air, but she couldn't no matter how fast she breathed.
Not to mention the weight. Maybe it was just that it was so overwhelmingly hot, but her body felt heavier as she stepped out onto the golden sand.
She'd seen this sand countless times inside. Ellie had played with it, letting it run through her fingers and fall in a waterfall down onto the ground. But when she touched it out here, the sand was so hot it burned her fingertips.
Hissing out a breath, she backed toward the building. How could anyone live out here? How could there ever be any hope at all that they would return to this place?
At least it was cool inside the facility. For the first time, she noticed the vents where there was icy air pouring out. Her eyes clung to the insulation that was one of the few things left remaining in this building and suddenly she was grateful for it.
Gasping as she was overcome with dizziness, she sat down on the much cooler sands and stared out the still open door.
"You're alive then," Proteus's voice interrupted her thoughts. He was still in the water, watching her with those dark eyes that saw far too much. "Did your little experiment go well?"
"How are you expecting us to survive out there?" she asked, shaking her head in disbelief. "It's so hot. Everything is so warm it feels like it would melt the flesh right off my bones."
"Some people might think that it's possible.
I've seen humans die in heat less than that.
" He pulled himself out of the water, sliding across the floor toward her.
With him came a rush of icy ocean water that pooled around her feet and gave her some sense of relief.
"But no human would be out in the heat like you just were.
It's dangerous, for one. You’ll have to adjust. When the sun is at its peak, humans cannot be outside.
The facilities were meant to protect you from the heat. "
She swallowed hard. "I'm just not... not certain how it will be possible for any of us. You know? It just feels like it's futile."
"Perhaps. But with the plan the other scientist laid out, and with your own people working on it, I believe we could make the environment more habitable for all of you with a few tweaks of the plan.
The world is malleable. It is not something that exists only in one way, shape, or form.
And yes. It will take a lifetime to fix, perhaps even generations of your people before you'll see the difference.
" His hand came down on hers on the floor.
"But you will see a difference. The world will ease.
The heat will become easier for you to withstand.
And what has been broken will be fixed."
She nodded. "I know in practice it makes sense, but I just... I still don't see how we're going to do it."
"You don't?" He nudged her with his shoulder. "Do you really not see how it's possible?"
She took some time to think about it. There was a lot that could be done, but most of it was almost impossible from where they were.
"The land is uninhabitable. We can't grow things out there." She waved her hand at the door.
"No, you cannot."
She thought even harder, almost breathless with the work of it all. "So we'd have to start with the sea. With the coral reefs. Rehabilitating what we can to make sure that the colder sea could perhaps slow down some of the storms that are brewing on it."
"Correct. And once that is done?"
She blew out a breath. "Then we can focus on the land.
There are pockets of areas less affected, perhaps areas around mountains with natural shelter from the storms. Focusing there would give us a chance to grow more trees, more barriers, and create pockets where the earth itself could start to heal and spread out from there. "
"Smarter and smarter every day." He nudged her with his shoulder.
"That is precisely what we're going to do.
But that is a lot of work. Humanity has long thought it could rage against the planet, forcing it to do what they wanted, but a planet is not like that.
It does not bend to human whims. It cannot be told what to do.
The best it can do is take what it has been given, and create from there.
That was the downfall of humanity long ago, and it is a downfall that we will avoid once again. "
"Are you certain we even can?" Ellie looked up into Proteus's concerned expression.
He blew out a long sigh and then shrugged. "We have to try, do we not?"
There was a part of her that saw this as a failing mission.
Now that she had seen and experienced the madness that was just outside her door, she wasn't as confident as she had been before.
But another part of her, the stronger part, knew that it wanted to try.
The very least she could do was give it her all.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, she nodded before standing.
"Right. Well, we have the rooms all set up and prepared for those who are coming here.
And we're ready to research whenever we can.
Most of the equipment is unsalvageable, but we have the blueprints.
From what you told me, Mira and the others are quite resourceful when it comes to building, well, anything.
So they should be able to replicate what has been lost."
He reached for her, grabbing her hand in his and tugging her closer to him. "Ellie..."
She wouldn't ever know what he was going to say to her. Holograms flickered to life around them, and Pilot came careening out of the back room.
"Look!" the droid shouted. "Look at what I found!"
Ellie held her breath as the hologram that flickered to life in front of them was... her. Literally her.
There wasn't a single strand of hair that didn't look out of place. From her eyes, her lips, to the button of her nose, all of it was Ellie. But she didn't recognize the weight of responsibility that dragged the woman's shoulders down, or the way the bags under her eyes darkened her entire face.
"Whoever finds this message, I apologize.
" The woman before her ran a hand through her short, cropped hair, just like Ellie wore it.
"For everything. For the world. For the cities below the sea that should never have existed.
For the future that is so murky now, I can't even hazard a guess at what it will end up being. "
The woman looked over her shoulder, toward the room where they’d found the body. “For my love. If we had gone with the others, she would have survived that sickness.”
"Is this..." Ellie stepped up to the hologram, running her fingers through the sparkling edges.
"Your Original," Proteus murmured, but his brows were furrowed in confusion. "She shouldn't have been here, though."
The hologram backed up and sat down on a chair that was no longer there.
She leaned forward, cupping her head in her hands as she sighed once more.
"It all went wrong. Everything. We are doing our absolute best, but I don't think it's fixable.
What we started is what will end this world.
But I want people to know that I... I tried to change it. "
She blew out a laugh. "I don't know why I'm even recording this.
I know they already have my clone ready to go underwater with the others.
She's got all my memories, mannerisms, looks just like me.
Maybe I'm the clone, for all I know. They just refused to bring me with them, and for good reason.
I'd tell the others the truth. There is no coming back from what we've done. "
The hologram looked up, and the horror in her eyes was hard to look away from. "This message has absolutely no purpose other than to assuage my own guilt. I know that. You all know that. Why I'm even recording this..."
And then it stopped. Just like that.
Suddenly the image of herself was gone, and Ellie remained standing there, shocked at what she had seen.
"Well," Proteus said. "That was interesting."
Pilot clicked his legs on the floor and then headed back toward the other room. "Sorry, I didn't watch it before I played it. Guess I should have."
Even so, Ellie found she couldn't move. She stared at the spot where the hologram had once been.
As though if she looked hard enough, she could see where the other woman had once sat and bring her back.
Some part of her wanted to look her fill.
What would it be like if she could see the other woman again?
Did she have the same quirks that Ellie had? Did she bite the inside of her lip when she was nervous, or wrap a strand of hair around her finger over and over again when she was thinking? There were so many features that looked just like hers...
"Ellie?" Proteus asked. "Why are you still standing there?"
"I never had a mother," Ellie whispered. "Not even a mother figure. But seeing her makes me wish I had."
"You are more than just a copy of her, you know."
For the first time in her life, Ellie agreed. "I know. I am so much more than the woman they cloned me from, but I guess there is a part of me who wishes I could at least talk to her."
His hand came down on her shoulder, squeezing tightly. "It sounds like you grew up rather similarly to her, at least. You will continue her work, Sisu, and I cannot imagine a greater way to get to know her."
She couldn't either. The notes she had been reading, maybe they were written in her mother's hand. Maybe she could know the woman who had come before her a little better through the scientific discoveries she had made before she died.
It wasn't much reassurance, but it was something. It was more than any other clone might get.
The other Originals were monsters in Tau. They were the ones who still thought what they had done was right. They were pleased with themselves. Proud of what they had built.
They turned their faces away from the monstrous things they had done, only to look at the light. But that was no way to live.
Monsters lived in the dark, after all, and those people had been surrounded by the dark their entire lives.
Ellie ran a hand through her hair, catching the movement as one that mimicked what the hologram had done. She had to stop doing that. She couldn't watch any more of that hologram lest she end up copying the Original of herself.
"I need some time to think," she whispered. "I'll... I'll go double check that everything is ready for our guests."
She disappeared into the back room, suddenly feeling like she didn't know herself all that well after all.