Paphos, p.2
Paphos, page 2
Austin lay on his bunk, smelling the new foam of his mattress. He could close his eyes and get a little nap, somehow feeling zapped.
“What do we do now?” his little girl asked.
“We settle in and begin our documentations. A thorough study takes a few weeks, and then we fly back home.”
“So… what do I do?”
And that was the question for days.
Despite her initial excitement, Carolina grew bored after the first hour, and this feeling persisted for several days.
Now, a week after landing and settling in, she was still confined to the quadrohuts and the area immediately surrounding. There were a few trinkets to pass the time, but they soon grew old. She was only able to bring a little bit of luggage with her. She had clothing, a digital camera, a marker pen, and her camera lens. Mom wanted pictures, so Carolina took pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. It kept her sane while waiting for permission to explore the forest, which she still wasn’t allowed to do yet. She couldn’t go beyond the perimeter, at least not until dying of boredom first. Seriously, how many tests were they conducting?
She couldn’t get sick, or at least her dad said so. She had so many shots and vaccines put in her that it was supposedly impossible. There hadn’t been an outbreak since the first expeditions began; inoculations were good now. Genoscience, it was called, grown-up things always had names like that. And she didn’t have to worry about wild animals; her dad also said that. Things like that didn’t exist, just plants and microscopic stuff. No one ever found anything more than that. Nothing with a face, she was told. Dad always went on and on about how these unexplored planets had amazing plants and bacteria. Who cared about that?
Austin cared, of course. He had dreamed of such things ever since he was a boy. As more planets were explored, they continued to prove that Earth was an anomaly. Each expedition discovered amazing, exotic, and wonderful forms of plant life, but intelligence was still the missing factor. With solace, he knew he would never make such a find; his life was one without destiny.
When the crew was finally and completely ready, they began to explore beyond the initial perimeter. A month went by, and all Austin ever saw of his little Carolina was the back of her bouncing head as she traipsed off into the bush. She ventured at her leisure. It was the best way to keep from hating each other, and they all had their personal radios in case Austin needed her for something or if she got lost. She refused to acknowledge him, and he stopped trying to keep an eye on her because she just tried harder to lose him. How close was he supposed to watch her? She was eleven, after all, and her mother hadn’t left him any instructions. No, twelve. She was twelve. Pretty sure. In dealing with Carolina, he realized he knew much less about her than he thought he did. They used to have a lot of fun together… when she was entertained by puppets and spooky voices.
Carolina felt the same way, more or less. She found her afternoon adventures to be the only thing that caused the day to turn, and she had many more days to turn until she could get home. Mom was supposed to be better by then. And while the planet was a lush garden with a breathtaking skyline, and while the night sky shimmered like a cavern of gems, she was homesick. Completely and utterly homesick. Her digi-pad had long ago become a paperweight; she could only play so many puzzle games and read so many books. Without messaging and streaming, she hardly had any use for the device. She found herself drawing with the marker pen more than anything else; she mostly drew pictures of home. But she usually erased whatever she drew because it never looked right.
And so out of boredom, if not desperation, one afternoon she traveled far beyond the secondary perimeter. It wasn’t the first time. But it was the first time she saw something.
Deep into the hillside, behind a growth of brush and bramble, she found an obsidian, perfectly flat wall that stretched the length of a building.
CHAPTER 2
Carolina blinked. Not jungle, not earth, not rock.
This was definitely a wall.
If there was a building too, then it was buried in the hillside. Or the hillside was swallowing it.
Had she found an abandoned bunker or something? It looked old. Something other than bushes and trees was a welcome addition, but then her face rightfully changed. If they were the first ones on this planet, and no one had been here before, which she was certain they said, then who built this?
Carolina blinked again, trying to remember what the grownups had talked about. She was certain they said something like that. She went to scratch her head, but her hand froze when she saw something move, small and quick. She jumped, frightened by the suddenness of it. Waiting in stillness, she stared ahead, arms clutched to her chest. After a minute, she had to doubt whether she had really seen something move or not. It was probably a vine or a spindly bush guided by the often rambunctious wind.
She took a moment and tried to gather her composure, something her mom had taught her. She was always quick to panic, and her mom spent a lot of time getting her to slow down and just breathe. She was just a kid, and she knew there must be a logical reason for what she found. Obviously, someone had been here before, or the wall wouldn’t be there. She would just have to ask her dad, assuming she wasn’t in trouble for going past the second perimeter.
When her fear subsided, she followed the long stretch of black edge, which was hard and cold enough to be steel, to see where it went. The hillside lay over it like a blanket, and there wasn’t a window or door. She climbed around gnarled tendrils of foliage, thicker than her, and they reminded her of Earth’s ancient ruins. She didn’t understand how no one had seen this before landing; she thought they had different satellites that could read building materials and other things. She would ask her dad about it, and he would know. He always knew. He was the scientist.
The longer she walked along the wall, the more it felt like trespassing, as if she were being watched. She continued down the ominous wall another thirty meters, wondering when it ended. It would be easy to miss this, since the hill went over it and didn’t stop, like any other tiny mountain. Finally, the wall disappeared into the hill, and it didn’t resurface. She backtracked and stopped to analyze her reflection in the smooth, reflective black, surprised at the state of her messy hair. This was much farther beyond the second perimeter than she was allowed. “Time to head back, before I get in even more trouble.”
The hike back, a few kilometers long, offered no relief from the feeling of being watched. She walked with a jitter that would become an outright sprint should anything else move. She was thoroughly spooked; she had to admit.
Finally, the forest was recognizable, and another minute later, she approached the quadrohuts. Upon entering, she found the crew inside, all looking ill as they listened to Dmitry speak. Muster, they called it. Apparently, Dmitry wasn’t happy with their progress; they were running out of time to make good on key initiatives that the company had commissioned them for. So many big words, being an adult didn’t seem very fun. Carolina didn’t understand why they couldn’t just stay until the job was done, although she didn’t want to be here forever. Daddy mentioned something about a schedule, something about a launch window, gravity, alignment… he was never good at explaining simple questions.
Carolina paced; they would want to hear this immediately, but Daddy glared, so she waited. Dmitry was long-winded tonight. She sat down and, out of boredom, began to draw little circles and shapes on the wall next to her. Then, realizing what she was doing, she quickly put her marker pen away. She didn’t need to be in trouble for graffiti, too. All she could think about was what she had found, and when she’d go back. It wouldn’t be tonight; it was already getting dark. But she’d definitely go back tomorrow with her photolense and take some pictures this time. She wondered if she might not tell them about the wall… At least not yet?
It was hers, but telling them would make it theirs.
Dmitry’s voice droned on. It was exciting, knowing something that the others didn’t know, wondering what else was up there. When the meeting was over, Dublin and Athen sat in the tiny room called a mess hall and ate, while dad and the others took their meals to their dorms. Carolina followed him, first grabbing a package of ham slices and a juice. They ate in silence on the bottom bunk bed. She had a feeling he was in a bad mood. He had a faraway gaze that broke when he finally said something.
“Did you get enough to eat?” asked Austin.
“Yeah,” she said. He smiled. Carolina had forgotten that she had been giving him the silent treatment for two days now, although he hadn’t noticed.
“What have you been up to? Any new pictures?”
“No, I forgot to bring my camera today,” she replied, gnawing on her tongue. Should she tell him about it?
“We get to leave soon,” he added with a scoot to get closer. He smelled like lab equipment, like that sterile chemical smell, and his eyes were sunken under dark circles. He hadn’t been sleeping, staying up late to work. He had to redo some experiment because of organic contamination or something.
She heard about it yesterday, and out of pity, she considered ending the silent treatment then. She managed to stay firm, though, at least until today, when she forgot.
“That’s great, I can’t wait to see my mom. Uhm… want to guess what I found today?”
“An elephant.”
“No, duh.”
“A drive-thru? I could go for some burgers. I’m sick of space meals.”
“Daa-aaaad…”
“Okay, what did you find?”
“I found a wall! I think…”
“Oooh, that’s neat,” he said, stifling a yawn. Austin closed his eyes and leaned his head back.
“Yeah,” she said, her excitement gone. Perhaps it wasn’t actually important. “It’s just, you said no one was here before us.”
“Yep, that’s true, it’s just us, we are the first.”
“Then who made the wall?”
Austin blinked his eyes open. “Well, no one, it’s just a rock formation or something.” Another yawn.
“It’s steel, or another metal. It’s just past the second perimeter…”
Now his eyes were open. She bit her lip shut.
“You went past the second perimeter?”
“…yes, and I found a wall!” Didn’t finding a wall excuse breaking the perimeter rule? The silent treatment might be back on.
Austin stared quietly for a few moments. He was mad, but the little father skills he possessed said this was important to Carolina. “It can’t be a wall, it’s a natural formation, I’ve seen some strange things on other planets.”
“I’m not stupid! Let me just show you tomorrow?”
“I can’t go running around in the bush, honey. I’m way behind on my projects.” He gave her a nudge, trying to garner some understanding from her. “And besides, you’re grounded to the first perimeter from now on.” He didn’t like upsetting her, but she needed to learn.
She squealed in frustration. The silent treatment was definitely back on!
Austin stared at the back of her head. She was going to be angry until he said something; she was stubborn enough to go for days.
“Listen…” he said, not sure what to say. He chose to say nothing and climbed up to his own bunk. It wasn’t lights out, but it was late enough, and they were all tired enough.
When morning came, she was out of bed and dressed faster than anyone else. She bounded down the hallway and suddenly stopped because Dmitry blocked her way.
She didn’t like him. He wasn’t mean, but he wasn’t nice either. He was always serious, and he was even more so lately. She guessed he was that way because he was the boss, and bosses were mean.
“Good morning,” he said, nursing the rim of his coffee.
Carolina didn’t reply.
“You’re awake early.” It felt like a question. Dmitry smiled, holding his mug, still blocking the hallway.
“Excuse me,” she said, forcing past him and down the corridor past the equipment lockers. She took a moment to double-check the latches on her boots and verify the contents of her water pouch. She felt ready, standing in the vestibule, patiently waiting for the doors to open outside. She turned her gaze and saw him staring as the hydraulics shushed and a breeze swelled.
He didn’t need to know what she was up to.
Early light meant the forest would be shadowy. With a determined look she began her hike. The journey took less time than yesterday; she gauged it to be about two kilometers. There were no trails, but the terrain had easy-to-remember markers: a small river, some unique finger-branched trees, and a large mossy rock. Unfortunately, it was mostly uphill, and definitely beyond her groundation.
She approached her wall and slowed her walk. “Hello again.”
She wished it could talk back to her; she’d been waiting all night to see it again. Somehow it looked different today, perhaps because of the lingering shadows. She pulled out her photolense and took a picture. She took several pictures, in fact, before deciding whether there had to be a door or a window to this wall. Nothing yet, though there were occasional grooves.
Striking out and bored with her photos, she picked up a stick and pretended to be a wizard protecting her castle. Lunchtime came and went when she heard her name on a very crackly radio. Dad, calling for her. She was starving, hadn’t eaten breakfast out of excitement, and she had just now realized it. Carolina sped back to camp, dragging her photolens with her. Dad waited at the door to the quadrohuts.
“Where were you?”
She wouldn’t answer.
“I asked you a question.”
“I went to the wall again.”
His head tilted in disbelief. “But I told you to stay in the perimeter.”
She wielded her photolense. “Don’t you want to see it? I’m not lying!”
Austin snatched the photolens from her. “Nothing changes the fact that you did not listen to me, miss, and for the last time…”
He gazed at the picture on the screen. After a moment he looked at her again. “You altered this.”
“Daaaad.”
“Did you alter this?” he demanded.
“Just let me show you!”
Dmitry walked by. “Show what?”
Austin went stiff. “Just some phony picture,” he said.
“Phony?!” she cried.
Dmitry took the photolens and looked at the photo. “Take me there.”
“What about our workload?” Austin asked.
“It can wait,” Dmitry added.
“Here,” Austin said, handing Carolina the rest of his oat and peanut butter bar.
This time, the walk took forever, this time there was pressure. Maybe it was a natural rock formation. Maybe she made it all up. No, she had photos. She thought of mom’s breathing exercises and tried to practice them. It wasn’t working.
Her dad offered several excuses about why this was a waste of time. Maybe he was afraid of being embarrassed.
She ate her snack on the way and finished the water pouch, wishing there was more to drink. Her dad noticed and handed her his hydropouch, which was nice, but didn’t stop her from being mad at him. Why was the walk so hard this time? Her dad noticed that too, and hoisted her up on his shoulders. That made her giggle; she was definitely too big for that. Which made her miss the days she used to do this all the time. Maybe she wouldn’t give him the silent treatment after all.
“Where did you say this was?” Dmitry asked. He stopped to rest, a look of doubt prevalent.
“Uhm…” she looked around. “Maybe we passed it.”
Austin exhaled. “There’s nothing to look into…”
Now she wanted down off his shoulders. He sighed and lowered her. The three of them continued around the corner of a hill, stepping carefully around an orange root that crumbled under her weight. When they cleared the bend, they saw that Carolina was right. There was a wall, just like she said.
“Now do you believe me?”
“I…” paused Dmitry. “…I believe you.”
Austin stood still.
Dmitry approached the wall, but he said nothing. Austin followed, fixated.
“Is this a good thing, daddy?” She didn’t understand why they seemed upset. Dad looked at her, then again at the wall.
“Well, I found it first, so I get to name it,” she said, crossing her arms. She watched Dmitry reach forward and touch it, as if needing to prove it was really there.
“Dmitry…?” Austin asked.
“Yes?”
“We need to call the others.”
Dmitry nodded and activated his radio, sending a muster order through the team’s headsets.
Dad looked down at her and smiled, but she had learned to recognize mom’s troubled smile. Dad’s smile looked exactly the same.
CHAPTER 3
They arrived together, the five other team members all interrupted from their tasks, jabbering and wondering what was so important. They all carried locators, and it wasn’t difficult to hone in on any one of their locations.
A collective gasp followed by silence. Then the questions came.
“Ah grand… what is this?” Dublin asked.
“Is this…real?” from Athen. Dublin scoffed.
“It’s real,” Orlean answered. Two seconds of silence followed.
“Made by us?” from Helena. The others looked at her. Everyone knew what she meant by ‘us.’
“Nay. Bloody can’t be.”
“It’s definitely not,” Orlean said, reading the screen on his prosthetic arm. He carried a lab with him at all times. It required good handwashing, as many of the sensors were his fingertips.
More silence followed. Dublin walked up to the wall and gave it a hearty tap with his knuckles.
Carolina felt herself shrinking. They were too serious; it was all making her upset. She turned away and took those deep breaths, staring into the forest, trying to calm down the way she was taught. It at least kept the tears from swelling.
Austin noticed, and he squared his shoulders.
