Authors: Nolan Oreno
Julius lifted his limp head and nodded towards the rack of drones. “Those right there. Those are ready to be deployed. Take them."
Maven entered the workshop and inspected the line of five machines in hesitance. “I thought we were expecting seven," he said dryly. He did not like Julius very much and cared very little about hiding it. The man was too timid and shy for how long they had known him and far too agreeable on top of it.
“That one isn’t going to be fixed. Builder 31. It’s scrap-metal," said Julius to the picture. “It’s just those over there that we have up and running."
After inspecting the drones, Maven nodded to the Julius and left the workshop to return with two other engineers on his team. Together, the three carted the rack of drones from the workshop to the loading dock where a Crawler was parked and awaiting them. They loaded the rack of drones into the Crawler’s rear and locked everything within so that the rough transit to the Refugee Settlement would be made safer. It was essential that the team take great care of their mechanized workforce until the project was completed as they knew there was only a limited number of replacement parts available, and as it appeared lately to Maven, more and more Builders were breaking down each day they were in use. Not only were the Builders essential for construction but also useful for maintenance of the Hub and all the other outer-stations. The desert was not kind to the walls that the colonists hid behind, and they needed their drone workforce in prime condition to keep the sands from breaking through.
Maven rounded the Crawler to find Saul on the other side going over his itinerary for the long day ahead with engineer Elisa Perry.
“Elisa, if I can get you and Jackie to take a crawler and inspect Tower One before we send over our new supply, that would be great," Saul was saying to her. “We need to make sure the coolant tanks haven’t flooded the basement and shorted the electricity before we go tinkering in the dark with our drones."
“Sure, we can leave as soon as we finish here," said Elisa. “Anything else? What about directing running water to the towers?"
“No need to do that just yet. Let’s finish with the inspections, then begin oxygenating the towers, and then we can start thinking about water and other amenities."
“I’m thinking too far ahead, I know," Elisa admitted. “I’m just excited about the idea of finally moving out of this place. These halls have become too familiar, and it’s a horrible kind of familiar. I’m excited for our fresh start."
“With hard work and patience, we’ll be out of here soon, I promise," Saul state. “Now get to work before the day is lost." He nodded Elisa off and turned to Maven who was waiting patiently with his piece of information.
“We’ve got five more Builders in the Crawler all set and ready to go," Maven reported.
Saul rolled his blueprints into tight coils and slipped them into the alloy-case leaning against the Crawlers side.
“Only five?" Saul asked. “Julius promised me seven."
“He told me the sixth was scrap, and I don’t know what happened to the seventh. I took his word for it, but I can bring him here so that he can explain himself, if you’d like."
“No, that’s fine," Saul said. “Five will be fine for today's work."
Saul beat his fist against the hood of the Crawler in three quick strikes. “Let’s get going everyone! Recheck the shipment and get your exo-suits on. I won’t be far behind.” In obedience, the Crawler erupted to life, and a small group of engineers entered its cabin.
“How much longer until we can start getting power into the settlement?" Maven asked, struggling to keep beside Saul as he briskly walked from the loading dock and into the main complex of the Hub.
“My hope is to finish the major repairs and construction before the month has ended but that all depends on the dedication of the other colonists. We need at least five towers functioning to kickstart our new city, and as long as the drones don’t keep breaking at their current pace, it shouldn’t be unrealistic to expect us all moving there in three or four months time," Saul said. The large alloy-case was hugged close to his side as they walked. “I think we both agree the engineers could be working better as a unit. They require more training and leadership."
Maven nodded in approval. “They need longer hours is what it is. Ten hour shifts aren’t going to get us very far very fast. I’ll talk to the team and figure out more effective site scheduling. Keeping them busy will do a lot of good."
“Idle hands are the devil's playthings," Saul affirmed.
Down the spiraling hallways, Saul led Maven. They diverted from the main chambers and turned into a maintenance shaft that tunneled into a section of the Hub that was hidden away from the rest. They went deeper and deeper down the low-lit shaft, digging farther into the cold earth. The further they went in, the more the maintenance shaft’s walling began to transform from standard metal sheeting into a color-coated canvas of someone’s artwork. Drawn along the blank walls of the hidden tunnel were crude tree’s, dozens of them, and although they were only abstract outlines in their current state, they still held a surprising realism within their leaves. The forest mural was clearly unfinished, but beautiful nevertheless, and its impression showed on Maven’s face.
“What is this?" Maven asked in curiosity and amazement, slowly stepping down the painted tunnel.
“Autumn," Saul said while stroking the painted walls, flaking paint chips onto the spotless floor. “She comes here to work on this art for hours at a time, nearly every day. She told me that she wants to fill the entire station with landscapes like this one to bring peace to the others by filling this station back with color and with life. But I know the real reason she does it."
“What’s that?" Maven asked.
“She doesn’t want our child to be frightened of this place," Saul said softly.
Maven started after a moment's pause. "But why does she hid it? Few people use these maintenance tunnels. Why not paint it where all of us can see?"
Saul chuckled. "That, you’ll have to ask her. Maybe she doesn’t think they’re ready yet.”
“Well, you can tell her I said she’s an incredible artist," Maven nodded. "Who would have known?"
“We all have our hidden talents," Saul returned, and motion Maven forward. “Come on, I want to show you something else."
The two marched deeper down the maintenance tunnel and eventually came into the inner-bowels of the station where the gears truly turned. They were surrounded by dozens of off-shooting shafts that opened into boiler-rooms, coolant systems, and electrical generators that powered the station. The tunneling subterranean basement was the engineer’s sanctum and a place that was rarely entered unless for a repair. The two continued into the dark towards a particular door, one that was identical to all the others, and they entered its narrow frame. What was once one of the stations supply room had now been converted into the architect's office. All along the dim and yellow stained walls were sheets of brittle paper that displayed drawings and designs of a future society imagined. They were everywhere the eye could touch, and besides the small desk that sat lonesome in the cramped closets center, they were all that was there.
“Like windows to another world," Saul said, taking Maven to the walls to inspect the art more carefully.
There were buildings of different shapes, colors, and sizes, all pinned to the wall like wet photographs waiting to dry. Some buildings were more familiar than others and yet all had an inviting quality to them. There were buildings that stretched far into the clouds and others that sat fat and close to the ground, and everything in-between. One design, in particular, struck Maven as something of great significance, and he could not reason as to why. The building was smaller than all the others and far simpler. Nothing but a single door and window were on the buildings front. It’s stone texture was painted a soft blue which contrasted nicely with the bright-green foliage and flowers that spread across its basin. A stone pathway led outwards from the front door and in the direction of Maven standing in the supply room. He felt as if he was being invited to step forward into the scene.
“Something about this one," Maven spoke aloud, entertaining the thought of walking down the grass-laced pathway and opening the door. “What is it?”
Saul came behind him, looking over his shoulder to the paper. “Yes, this was one of my earlier concepts. I used a variety of different designs from all over the world, across cultures and histories, and averaged them out into this one. If I remember correctly, there were nearly two-hundred references I used for the final design, from all different time-periods."
“What is it?" Maven asked, picturing what laid within.
“A home.”
Maven found himself in remembrance of his own childhood home in Iceland; the log cabin by the frozen lake. He turned to Saul retaining a smile he had so often as a kid. “You really believe it’s possible, don’t you," he said. “That there will be a time when we have families again and a normal life."
“I do. If not us, then our children. And if not our children, then certainly our children's children. The tower’s are just a stepping stone to the new world I intend to build for us here. There will be a time when we have houses and schools, churches and theaters, and countless other places to visit and see and experience. Here, let me show you."
Saul took Maven through all his visions. Together they walked the pathways that lead throughout the magnificent architectural mammoths of Saul’s design. The places they saw resembled the very best of humanities cities and towns, and as he closely followed Saul through it all, Maven was certain that he could never stop exploring. When they reached the very last of the designs, Saul turned to Maven expecting of the awe and devotion that his world deserved.
“What do you think?" Saul asked.
“I think I could see myself living there. I’ll buy the first house on the market," Maven laughed, but he composed himself quickly. “I only have one concern."
“What might that be?"
“I believe that you can build it, and with our workforce and resources the possibility is more of a probability. It’s only that there is a constant in all your pictures that is out of your control-" Maven lifted one of the pictures off the wall and pointed to the green background. “The grass. The trees. It’s in all of them. You’re expecting the nature of the world will be changed too and trust me when I tell you that a world is a much harder thing to build than a house."
“You don’t have faith in EDN?" Saul asked.
Maven shook his head. “I have faith that the tree will work. The theories all support themselves and early terraform testing on Earth had been a great success in the past. It would only be a matter of time before we figured it out."
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t have faith in Hollis. I think he may be a misstep away from insanity and that he could be potentially dangerous to the colony. I’ve had Franco come to me many times warning me of Hollis’ borderline personality, and if I were inclined to believe him, I would start to think we’re taking too many risks trusting in Hollis with this."
“Hollis is an expert in this field."
“But how do you know he will deliver?" Maven asked. “He’s only one man, in the end, and an unstable one at that. You know it to be true."
Saul took the picture of a sprawling city park from Maven’s hand and pinned it back to the wall with the others. “Hollis’ tree is no more a reality than anything I’ve imagined here. Do I believe it to be possible, his reality in our world? I won’t lie to you. I don’t see his forest in our lifetime. I don’t see his forest in our children's lifetime, or even our children’s children’s lifetime. But what I do see is something to fight for. A hope. We need to give these frightened people a direction in this darkness and Hollis’ tree is just that. It’s perfect at doing that. It’s a dream, and dreams are something any meaningful existence needs. So no, I don’t believe it will come, but I do believe that we should continue believing.”
A loud crackle sounded from the desk in the center of the room. Saul left the wall and briskly moved to the blinking device that sat on the desk’s surface. He lifted its speaker to his mouth and tapped the front lightly with his finger.
“
Saul, we found something in the ruins of Tower Twelve. You’re gonna want to come out here and see it for yourself,"
a voice came from the device.
“Okay, I’m on my way," Saul said back. He lifted the alloy case back to his side and went for the door.
“What is it you think they found?" Maven shouted at him before he left.
“Nothing we haven’t expected," Saul said blankly and softly closed the door behind him leaving the room undisturbed.
“Novak," Maven whispered to himself, and then he rushed back to the wall of windows where he found his dreams drawn out for him.
The light from the garden was behind him. He was deep in the desert and only going deeper. To his left, far across the blackened sands, the skyline of a broken city cut into the night sky. The golden haze of the stars and the soft-band of the Milky Way were the only lights reflecting on the plains for miles except that which was trapped within the broken city, and Hollis wanted nothing more than to stay far away from there. He was much more comfortable on sand than on concrete. Something about the artificiality of the city drew shivers through him. The construction seemed contradictory to his mission to breathe life into the planet's soil, natural and legitimate life, and he could not bring himself to support anything that appeared to do the opposite. He did not want to find his plants emerging through the cracks of a concrete world, fighting for life and sunlight in the shadows of tall buildings. Hollis wanted the forest and nothing more. He wanted the future of humanity to be just as it was in its ancient history, without cities or roads, and where civilization lived with simplicity and humility. He saw his people depending upon the soil for food and the trees as shelter and living one with nature in a mutually beneficial relationship. He saw a world with no destruction and no overtaking, with no gluttony and no ego, because such flaws would ultimately destroy them just as it did before. It was a vision that required no walls and no windows because modern-day conveniences would be nothing more than a distraction for them. What Hollis wanted instead was true and limitless freedom, like that of primitive man, and such a freedom could only exist in the forest.
The Crawler rocked and swayed as it drifted over the cold and barren dunes of the desert. A large complex peaked above the furthest dune and its lights drowned out those of the distant city and the stars and the Milky Way. The complex curled around itself like a crescent moon, protruding out of the sand, and it beaconed Hollis to enter its safe walls. However, this too was a place Hollis wished to stay far away from. The inside of the complex, the Hub, was filled with liars and murderers that lurked around them like a wolf in sheep's clothing. While the open desert was neutral ground, the Hub was a place of power struggles and deceptions. If a monster truly existed there, as Asnee and the Computer had said there to be, then Hollis had to be weary of his movements. He could no longer live a comfortable and ignorant life to the swelling dark forces around him and had to distance himself from all others to stay free from the winds of the coming storm. Unfortunately for him, Hollis had no choice but to return to the Hub and its dangers because it was the only habitable place on the planet.
Hollis’ heart quickened as the station began to fill his field of view and the safety of the desert disappeared behind him. He attempted to calm his creeping anxiety but found nothing to be working: no reassuring words, no pleasant thoughts. He had to try something else. He stopped the Crawler in its tracks and from the pouch in the vehicles storage he produced a white herb. It was a compound he had been working on in secret alongside his research in the garden. The herb had the same chemical ingredients as the Datura flower, but after a few genetic alterations, it became something more. No longer did the hallucinogen have the side effects of memory loss or toxic erosion of the liver, meaning that Hollis could take more of it at a lesser physical cost. It was a safer way for him to drive his mind from chaos to comfort.
The white herb flaked as Hollis rolled its seeds between his gloves. He checked the dashboard to be sure the cabin of the vehicle was pressurized and unscrewed his helmet, breathing in the warm and oily air of the Crawler. Hollis knew that if he wanted to go any further into the lion's den, he needed help, and so he pushed the seeds onto his tongue and began to chew. He laid his head back against the headrest and smiled in relief as the drug spread.
“
Bueno
," he said out loud, and he waited.
As he waited, feeling his fears dissipating, a face crept into his mind. It was a face of disappointment and sadness, and from the strawberry hair Hollis saw her name. It was Autumn who looked back at him from the shadows in shame.
“I’m sorry," Hollis muttered. “I can’t save you. I can’t save our child. I’m not strong enough. Not anymore. Not after this."
Autumn’s eyes opened wide, and from behind her another face emerged from the darkness of his mind. Hollis could not make out any distinguishing features except that the face was red. All red, and nothing more.
“No!" Hollis screamed, leaping in his seat, and suddenly the visitors left him and he was alone in the dark of the desert again.
Was he the one screaming?
With a kick of his right foot the Crawler thrust forward, rocketing towards the Hub with no further stops intended.
Hollis entered the Hub in a disoriented daze the likes of which he had never experienced before. He stumbled down the hall, seeing the red face lurking in every shadow and hiding-place, and he willed himself not to look it directly in the eyes. No matter where he ran or how far he kept himself from it, a demon was guiding him into a face-to-face with the masked molester. Through doorways and passageways, Hollis scurried, like a rat in a maze with no place to go but deeper into the dark. Round and round he went, and the red-faced demon laughed at him from the shadows as he wandered in horror and exhaustion.
TOO LATE
, it laughed into his body and mind, over and over again.
THE STORM HAS COME
. Hollis refused to give in and kept faith in an escape from the horrific realm he led himself into. He continued to wander through the dark, up until the brink of insanity. That was when he found her.
She was standing beneath a half-painted tree, one of many plastered along the walls of a maintenance tunnel. Her now fully-rounded belly was covered in paint and brushstrokes, and her hands were caked with color as she held to the brush. Hollis jumped back behind the hallways bend before she noticed him and let only the peak of his head remain exposed so he could watch. As he studied her, he felt the red-faced monster leave and the light return.
With grace Autumn continued to paint on the empty wall. She moved her hands in delicate strokes, building a calming landscape that stretched far down the blank passageway. Stroke after stroke brought more reality into the imagery until a great countryside was formed. Amongst the sprawling hills were fields of flowers and trees sprinkled without organization, and it gave an illusion of a vastness to the narrow confines of the cold complex that was not there before. For Autumn, her child could only exist in a place like the one she was painting, and she pictured them walking hand in hand over the hills, taking shade beneath the trees when they were tired, resting until they were ready to continue again.
Hollis was careful not to disturb the moment. He lowered his breath and watched in awe as the landscape came alive. A wind rustled through the leaves of the trees, and the grass swayed back and forth as it sparkled in the sunlight. He could smell the sweet spring flowers puncture the stale artificial air and feel the wetness that hung heavy up in the clouds. It was just as he had pictured it would look, in every little detail. From each blade of grass to the color of the sky, it was his world in its exactness. Hollis basked in the sudden relief that somewhere, beyond all the walls that trapped them in, there existed a place with no boundaries or limitations: an endless arboretum.
“What in the Hell are you doing?" an angry voice cut in from behind.
Hollis was nearly taken with gravity but caught himself. He turned to face the man who intruded upon his moment with his world.
Franco stepped closer, shouting again. “What are you doing? Are you spying on her?"
Hollis could hear the rhythmic brushstrokes come to a stop around the corner where Autumn and his world were waiting. A pure hatred emerged in Hollis for Franco, a man he had never liked, for he ended the heavenly feeling that had surged inside him. He had been forced awake from the most perfect of dreams, and with each passing second away from it, the dream dissolved away until it slipped through his fingers like falling sand. Franco took that from him. He took everything.
“Tell me, Hollis. We’re you spying on her?" Franco shot again, nostrils flaring.
“You fucking creep, look at yourself, you’re high."
Hollis felt his face redden. While they glared at each other intensely, quick and delicate steps echoed down the corridor towards them. Autumn hesitantly entered the scene and moved herself into the confrontation, still clutching to the brush that dripped with green.
“What’s going on?" she asked in a shaky voice.
“I caught Hollis spying on you. He had a look in his eyes that worries me for your safety," Franco turned to Hollis. "You need to stay away from her, do you hear me? You need to stay far away from her."
Autumn slowly fell into Hollis’ eyes, fearing what was living behind them. “Hollis, why are you looking at me like that?" she said. “What’s wrong?"
Hollis said nothing and maintained a piercing stare at Franco.
“Are you- are you high again?" Autumn cried. “My God, you are, aren’t you."
Franco stepped between Autumn and Hollis. "He’s unstable, Autumn. We need to bring this up to the others, to Saul, and stop this lunatic from doing any more harm to the colony. First, he attacks me a few months back and we brush it off by giving him therapy, but now I catch him stalking you, planning to do God knows what to you or your baby. He’s not safe to have around. He’ll be the end of the good we’re trying to do here if we continue letting him run loose like this, high on his drugs."
Hollis could not longer hold his anger together. “I’ll fucking kill you," he whispered to Franco.
“Hollis! Stop this!" Autumn cried, and that was all she could get out before he ran from them, just as he did from the hill many months ago. He ran from reality. He ran as fast as he could, away from his world that was still wet on the wall and into the shadows where the demons dwelled. He found himself stumbling into the residence hall and to the cabin door of Asnee. He banged on the door until his old friend answered, and he spoke to him without a quiver in his voice.
“It was Franco. He did it," Hollis said in hate, and then he left Asnee standing there with nothing more than the name ringing in his ears.
In the early morning, Hollis awoke as he would on any other day. He went about his daily routine with no difference in his pace and was haunted by no ill-effects of the hallucinogen. Still, in shame, he forced himself to forget the events of the night before. He ate lunch by himself as he normally would, read over the progress reports on his research from the day before, and prepared to leave for the garden by mid-afternoon as he always did. The only deviance from his careful orchestration came from Saul who stopped him from entering the loading dock to obtain one of the Crawlers to make for the garden. Hollis feared it was confrontation.
“Hollis, I was hoping I would find you before you left. I want you to see something that is very special to me," Saul said.
“I have a lot to do at the garden. I should be going," Hollis returned worriedly, hopeful to be left alone in peace and quiet to recover from his mental breakdown from the night before.
“I know, but if you could just entertain me for a few hours I promise it will be fruitful for the both of us."
Hollis was suspicious. "Where?"
“The city."
Before he knew it, Hollis had found himself strapped to the dusty seat of a Crawler, somehow convinced by Saul to join him in the rusted machine in a journey out to the Refugee Settlement. Ahead of them eleven great towers lifted high on the horizon like mighty monoliths. They trembled like a mirage soon to disappear. Hollis tried to turn himself free from the seat, and from the city, but the harness kept him still.
“Relax, Hollis. We’re nearly there. It shouldn’t be much longer now."
“I need to go to the garden. We need to turn back, right now. This was a bad idea," Hollis responded frantically, grappling and pulling at the harness. “I don’t the have time to tour your city."
Saul kept his sights straight ahead towards the towers. “Compose yourself, Hollis. Getting out of that isolated garden of yours for a moment will do you some good and clear your head. That's what you need right now more than anything else."
“No, my head's clear, and I’m telling you I need to go back," Hollis continued, looking about the vehicle's cabin for something to return control into his own hands.
“That we both know is a lie," Saul said, giving him a quick glance of knowing. “I hope that after today, incidents like last night will never happen again, and I don’t need to worry about you any longer. We have moved far beyond the stage of madness, and we need to look forward to hope."
With his free hand, Saul grabbed the front of Hollis’ helmet and turned him to face the city. “Look forward, Hollis," he said. “What do you see?"
“Concrete," Hollis said overwhelmed with irritation and discomfort.
“Concrete, yes, but what else? Perhaps you don’t see what I see, and perhaps you never will, but what I see is much more than what's on the surface. Beneath that concrete is untapped life and a second chance for the new face of humankind. We have been given the opportunity to fill the guts of those towers with whatever kinds of people we want to become, good or bad, and each step we take from here on out will decide whether we will remain the mortal men that we are today, with all our flaws and limitations, or perhaps become something more."