While she lay dying by Paula Sanders

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While She Lay Dying (2/6)
by Paula Sanders
copyright 1995

"Querida," Alonzo said, sneaking up behind Julia at her table. She shivered at the feel of his breath against her ear. "You could use some sleep. I don't think Devon would want you killing yourself like this." She nodded. "And you'll be no good for travelling tomorrow if you don't get some rest."

"I don't think I can sleep, Alonzo," she admitted. "There must be something I'm missing. Something that's right under my nose. That's where the answer always seems to be when it's been eluding me." Alonzo smiled and kissed her shoulder. "What?" she scowled.

"Nothing," he answered. "Devon's lucky she has you." "Have you heard anything from the Terrians?" she asked. Yesterday, without telling the others, Julia had asked Alonzo to contact the Terrians in this valley. It was a last ditch effort. Maybe the Terrians knew what was happening to Devon. If, like Elizabeth had said, the planet was rejecting Devon then maybe they could cure her. It was worth a try. But it was a long shot, and that was why she had not told the rest of the group.

"Yes," he said, but did not sound hopeful. "They don't want to have anything to do with us. Remember the tribe near the winter camp? The ones that fired on us."

"Yes," Julia said, then turning to look at him, asked, "Are they somehow related to the Terrians here?" He nodded. "Then it's not safe here."

"No, I don't think they're dangerous. But they won't help us," Alonzo told her. "That much is clear."

Julia sighed and leaned back against Alonzo, he encircled her with his arms.

"If only I could get into Elizabeth's logs. She probably knew more about this planet than I do," Julia said. "I can't stop thinking that the information in her logs holds the key to what is happening here. But they're locked up, and I don't know the first thing about cracking codes."

"I think I can help you there." Julia and Alonzo spun around to see Morgan Martin standing in front of the tent flap. "I got pretty good at breaking codes back on the stations."

Julia stared at him, stunned for a moment, then grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the tent.

"Come on, Morgan," she said.
"Hey, Julia wait. Slow down," he said, struggling to get his feet back under himself and through the tent flap without bumping his head.

Julia only let go of Morgan when she arrived at the ship and realized she could not drag him down the ladder. She released her grip on him and climbed down the ladder, followed closely by Morgan. It surprised her that he had stepped forward to offer his help. He did not often volunteer for anything. But she knew how much Devon meant to all of them. They would all do anything they could to bring her back. In that respect, Morgan was no different from the rest of them. He had changed so much from the shallow, self-centered politician who had landed on this planet.

Morgan sat down at one of the stations and began searching for the files. Julia stood behind him, hovering like an insect.

"Do you think you can do it?" she asked. She was desperate. She had to know what was in Elizabeth's logs. Julia was getting nowhere in finding a cure for Devon with her own information. Maybe, by adding Elizabeth's knowledge to her own she could find the cure.

"This is such an out dated system. I don't know," he answered, his face screwed up in concentration. Julia fought the impulse to lash out at Morgan, controlling her anger. He turned and smiled. "I've worked on worse system and still broken the code." He turned back to the machine and continued snooping around.

"There isn't a code out there that could keep Morgan Martin out," he boasted.

"I hope you're right." Julia began pacing, impatiently. Her eyes kept drifting away to the cold-sleep crypt where Devon slept. She finally gave up trying to fight the impulse and walked into the crypt. It seemed such a eerie place, now. Before when the cryosleep tubes had been full of Bennett and crew she had felt indifferent about it. But now the leader of their group, and a woman she had come to respect and consider a friend was occupying one of those tubes and suddenly, this place felt like a morgue. When they had put Devon inside Julia had had to tear herself away, ignoring the helpless feelings, working to convince herself that there was a cure and that she would find it. Standing in front of the cryotube now, staring at Devon, her guilt surfaced. Devon had come to expect Julia to be able to solve any puzzle. This was one puzzle Julia was afraid she might not be able to solve.

*How could I have missed that her symptoms were different from ours?* Julia asked herself. They had all gotten sick so fast Julia did not have time to think about anything else but finding a cure. Devon was at the bottom of the curve, so when the illness had finally attacked her, Julia had assumed it was the same thing. It never occurred to her that something different might be wrong with Devon. She should have been more careful, more observant, more meticulous.

"Eureka!" Morgan cried out, making the doctor jump. "You did it?" Julia came rushing back into the control room. "Piece of cake," he told her, leaned back in the chair, grinning proudly.

"Thank you, Morgan," she said, smiling broadly. He relinquished the chair to her and backed away, leaving her to her work. Julia began downloading the files to her scanner to take back to her tent for study.

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Dr. Elizabeth Anson Log Entry
Station calendar year: 2165
Day 1 on planet G889

"This place is more beautiful than I could ever have imagined. The sky; I never dreamed it could be so blue. And the air is so fresh, not like the stale, recycled air on the stations. There are so many colors; colors I'd never seen before. I went exploring this afternoon. I needed to stretch my legs. All that time spent in cold-sleep has numbed my brain and body. Franklin trailed behind me. He said I was crazy for going off alone. He was frightened for me. He's such a dear. But what harm could such a beautiful place do me? We found a stream where the water rushes over rocks. I took off my shoes and dangled my feet in it. Franklin called me a silly, foolish girl for doing it, and I reminded him that's why he loves me. He couldn't argue that. This is such a beautiful place. It's hard to imagine that Earth ever looked like this. . ."

Dr. Elizabeth Anson Log Entry
Station calendar year: 2167
Day 20 of second year on planet G889

". . . Thomas had another of those dreams last night. None of us can explain them and they frighten him. He says, in the dreams creatures spring up from the earth around him. They encircle him, curiously watching him. They carry staffs and look vaguely human. He says they talk to him. They call themselves Terrians. China suspects that this is their way of communicate with us. She understands the planet so much better than the rest of us. . ."

Julia scanned ahead through the data logs, finding most of the entries to be catalogs of the flora and fauna, about diseases they encountered, and about their attempt to get Eve up and running.

Dr. Elizabeth Anson Log Entry
Station calendar year: 2175
Day 220 of eighth year on planet G889

". . .Eve is safely up in orbit. We launched her two days ago and she settled into a stable orbit at 1600 hours today. We are all so overjoyed. After eight long years of hard, sometimes tedious work, the computer is finally operational. Franklin says we shouldn't celebrate too soon. I know there are still bugs to be worked out and minor adjustments to be made. But she is up there and now we will have a way of communicating with the Council, back home. . ."

Dr. Elizabeth Anson Log Entry
Station calendar year: 2175
Day 340 of eighth year on planet G889

". . .The Terrians sent Thomas another dream last night. The dreams have been coming regularly now and they are more and more disturbing to him. He woke up hollering for them to get out of his head. He says they were screaming in his head. They are angry. They don't want us here. They know we plan to colonize this planet and they won't allow it. The planet will fight us. He says they will kill us. . ."

Dr. Elizabeth Anson Log Entry
Station calendar year: 2175
Day 345 of eighth year on planet G889

". . .Everyone is paranoid and guarding themselves. We all wonder when the Terrians will strike. And we are plagued by illness. China is sick, now and I have no idea what is causing it. She gets weaker everyday. Thomas and Burton came down with the virus two days ago. It is reminiscent of cold-sleep syndrome, but that can't be what it is. Not after eight years. . ."

Dr. Elizabeth Anson Log Entry
Station calendar year: 2175
Day 347 of eighth year on planet G889

". . .Caroline came to me this morning complaining of shortness of breath and stomach pains. Her heart rate is much too fast. Magda had a coughing fit and collapsed at her station, this afternoon. She is weak and her temperature is climbing, just like the others. I fear Franklin and I will be next. I already feel weak and Franklin has been sleeping far too much and not eating enough these past few days. And I still haven't a clue. . ."

Dr. Elizabeth Anson Log Entry
Station calendar year: 2175
Day 348 of eighth year on planet G889

". . .We are all dying. Every treatment I try fails. We've come to the conclusion, from our studies of this planet, that it is a living organism. I believe we are like foreign bacteria to this planet. So, like an immune system fighting off a virus, this planet is rejecting us. We won't survive this unless we leave the planet. But we are alone here. Eve is our only link to the Council back home but none of our communications will reach the stations for decades. Fifty years ago we left the stations to come here, sent by the Council. But, that Council no longer exists. Eve tells us that there has been talk, of dumping prisoners, their refuse, here on this miraculous planet. They plan to use this Eden for their jail. We can not let that happen. But there is no way to make them hear us. We are desolate, abandoned. . ."

Dr. Elizabeth Anson Log Entry
Station calendar year: 2175
Day 350 of eighth year on planet G889

". . .Our health declines rapidly, but we have yet to lose anyone. I can't think of anything else to do but leave this place. Franklin and the others have taken my advice. We are going into cold-sleep and Eve will send us home. We know we cannot leave Eve up in orbit. As long as Eve is up there, the Council will have control of this planet. Once we get home, Eve will die, and the Council will have no control over this planet. Franklin has seen to that. They cannot have this planet. We would be condemning millions of people to death if we let the Council have it. G889 must be left in peace."

That was her last entry.

Julia's shoulders sank and she let her head drop onto her folded arms. The Council had left them alone on this planet, after promising them they would do great things for humanity. Julia could understand how betrayed they felt. The Council had played on her loyalty and forced her to do things, against her own code of ethics. It was only these people, of the Eden Project, who had given her the strength to turn her back on the Council before they turned their backs on her.

For all her knowledge of this planet, Elizabeth's data was fifty years old. It was incomplete data. The Terrians had obviously changed their views on humans and were trying to learn to live with them. They had tried to create a link between the two species, in hopes of understanding each other better. They had failed with Mary and any number of other children and finally succeed with Ulysses Adair. So, Elizabeth could have been wrong when she said they would all die and that the planet would reject them. But the planet *was* rejecting Devon. Why had it singled Devon out to die?

"Julia." Alonzo entered the tent. When he saw that Julia still had her nose in the files, where he had left her hours before, he scowled. "Are you still at it?"

"I can't quit now, Alonzo," she told him, pushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I'm so close. The planet is rejecting Devon. Elizabeth was right."

"Why?" Alonzo asked, hopeful. Julia shook her head. "I don't know yet. I haven't figured that out." Alonzo took one look at the dark circles under her bloodshot eyes and dishevelled appearance, and laid his hands on her shoulder. She had been working for about twenty-four hours straight.

"Come on, doc. You're going to get some sleep. I promise you this will all be here in the morning." She started to protest and he held up a quieting finger. "Hey, don't make me pull out a sedaderm. I know how to use one." She smiled, weakly at his terrible joke and allowed him to lead her to her cot.

end part 2

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