Palin smiled. “Because of you, Alison Shaw, your world will someday become one again. A lesson that my people wished we had learned much sooner.”
66
The front wall was floor-to-ceiling glass, looking out from within the orange-red stone. The room was larger, cut from the face of towering cliffs that traveled as far as they could see.
Clay stared outward through what he had assumed were giant, clear panes of glass, but after closer inspection, he realized there was no glass. The clear wall between them and the outside world was simply air. And beyond it, a small blue ocean stretched out before them.
“Is this all of it?” Clay asked.
“Yes. For now. The impact that devastated our planet was almost inconceivable. It killed most of our people and the majority of our planet’s other inhabitants. Our two largest oceans were vaporized from a force great enough to send most of it out into space.”
“You mean you’ll never get it back?”
“We will in time. Most of our oceans are now in the form of ice crystals floating outside our atmosphere. With each year, as we pass through the clouds, the gravity of our planet attracts a little at a time, causing it to thaw and fall back to the surface. It’s how water originally arrived on our planet, but it will take a great many years to regain it all. In the meantime, the water we now have, thanks to you, is enough to begin the reconstruction of our complex ecosystems. We have a long road ahead of us.”
Clay started to reply but stopped when a woman walked into the room behind them. She was tall with blonde hair flowing far past her shoulders. He had met her once before.
Laana moved with a grace that made her appear to be gliding across the floor with her long blue dress trailing behind. She smiled kindly at the four of them as Palin nodded and stepped back.
“Welcome,” she said, in a smooth voice. “And hello again, Mr. Clay.”
“Laana,” Clay nodded respectfully, still unsure what her title or position was.
Alison watched the beautiful woman look over them and was sure she noticed a twinkle in Laana’s eyes upon studying her and Clay.
Laana examined Caesare’s side which was now covered with bandages and clothing. “How are we feeling, Mr. Caesare?”
Caesare’s looked surprised. “I’m well, thank you.”
“We’re surprised to see you again,” she said, returning her eyes to Clay. “However, we are pleased with your decision.”
“It didn’t feel like much of a decision at the time.”
“Which means it was the right one.” She turned and looked out over the glistening water. A deep red from their large sun reflected off the surface. “I see Palin has been giving you a tour.” She waved one of her arms outward. “This is our planet’s last city. Protected deep within the rock of these great cliffs.” Laana gazed out over the picturesque horizon. “Great battles were once fought here, many years ago. It has an important place in our history, though not as important as now. It will forever be sacred and known as the city that saved the last of our race. And the place where your water saved more than just a race, it saved an entire planet.”
Laana turned back. “Thanks to you, we are growing again. Slowly, but growing.”
“Palin told us you would get your water back eventually,” Alison said.
“Yes, in time. Until then, we are learning patience on a scale we would never have imagined before.” Laana’s voice promptly took an upbeat tone as she studied one of the cliffs in the distance. “Not far from that spot is where we launched our ship to travel to your planet. It took several years. Of course, Palin and I were much younger then. It was a very frightening time.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “We owe you so much.”
“Eh…” Caesare grinned broadly. “We know you’re good for it.”
Laana looked at him curiously then laughed. “We are thankful for your courage and hope that someday we can repay it.”
Alison was still smiling from Caesare’s joke. “Well, let’s hope that won’t be necessary.”
Laana nodded and peered past them. DeeAnn entered the room, escorted by a medic. Dulce lay unconscious in her arms, heavily bandaged.
“How is she?” Caesare asked, as DeeAnn approached.
“Good. She’ll sleep for a few days, but she’ll be okay.”
More footsteps were heard as Will Borger entered the room. Next to him walked one of Palin’s men, an engineer whom Palin had summoned. He had been working with Borger for the last hour to analyze a sample of soil Borger had collected immediately upon landing in the helicopter.
Borger was beaming. “She was right. Commander Lawton was right about the soil.”
“What did you find out?” asked Clay.
“Actually, she was more right than she knew. The Commander suspected there could be something in the soil, which is why she asked me to get a sample from near the fire.”
“What is it about the soil?”
Borger nodded. “It’s not the soil itself. It’s what is in the soil.” He stared at the others, as if waiting for them to guess. When they didn’t, he blurted out, “It’s the water!”
“Water?”
“Yep. There’s an enzyme in the water that neither of us has ever seen before. And it looks like that may be what is creating the special DNA mutations in the plants!”
Clay raised an eyebrow. “What kind of enzyme?”
“I’m not sure, but it looks synthetic. And it’s glowing.”
“Any idea where it’s coming from?”
“Nope. But thanks to our friends,” Borger said, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a small instrument, “we now have something to use to find the source.”
Clay looked at Palin. “I suppose that’s our cue.”
“It appears so,” he replied. “Your portal won’t remain open much longer anyway.”
Laana and Palin escorted them back through several rooms to the main area where the portal was still shimmering. One by one, they thanked Laana and Palin and stepped back through the black oval.
Clay turned to leave last when Palin stopped him. “John Clay.”
Clay stared back, awash in the bright blue outline of the portal. “Yes?”
Palin stepped forward. “I don’t know what your search will reveal or what knowledge you may glean. But remember, great knowledge requires great wisdom. Beware of the leap.”
67
The humidity and smoke overwhelmed them immediately. Coupled with the heat, it felt as though they had walked back into a damp furnace. Some smoke had dissipated, allowing them to breathe a little easier. However, much of the mountainside was still obscured.
Clay coughed and looked at Borger. “Okay, Will, where to?”
Borger looked around. If it was the water they were after, there was only one logical direction: uphill. He peered over a slow moving bank of smoke to the top of the mountain. There was a small cliff where part of the peak had long since eroded and fallen away. Under the afternoon sun, it resembled a half dome with its one side sheared off.
Clay stopped them before they started up the embankment. “We need to get Dulce someplace where she can rest.”
“Agreed,” replied Caesare. “You three go ahead. I’ll take them.”
“Where are you going?”
Caesare coughed then smiled devilishly. “I have an expensive and rather comfortable helicopter they can stay in.”
Clay nodded and began trudging up the rocky hill with Alison and Borger.
They stopped periodically for Borger to sink the instrument into the soil and wait for a readout. As he suspected, the frequency of enzymes in the water decreased as they moved to either side of the incline but increased as they climbed higher. The source was above them.