"Natural Talents", Part 2
by Joan Powers
Morgan was sitting up, still in his bed. Underneath the covers it was warmer and more conducive to thinking about things other than freezing to death. Talents, what were his talents? He loved VR, but he didn't think that counted. His job had involved occasional schmoozing with diplomats and filling out a lot of paper work. *Don't see either of those here.* He knew how to play the stock market and invest in companies. Another zero. He loved music and kinda knew how to play the drums. *There's got to be more. If Bess sees it, it must be there.* He thought about his sojourn here on the planet which had started with him panicking and releasing the escape capsule too soon. He became dejected, *There's no hope for me.* Yet, he had been able to trade with that Grendler to get saliva to cure Danziger and Baines. Though he hadn't seen any Grendlers around lately. He was pretty good at breaking codes. Wait a minute, he knew electronics. He had used that knowledge to track Dell's signal. Was there any way that this technical know-how could help them find food? He jumped out of bed. He had an idea to try.
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Danziger was leaning against a large rock, trying to rest while still balancing Devon in his now aching arms. She was feverish and no longer fully cognizant of what was going on around her. He had finally been able to use his gear to contact Yale who was driving out to meet them. "You okay, Adair?" "Hmm?" she mumbled. He could wring her neck for pulling a stunt like this which could have endangered their lives. Yet, he also understood her determination and somewhat admired her over zealous dedication to the needs of the group over her own. Yale pulled up in the Trans-Rover and hurried over to them, "Come on. Let's get her back to camp." "You go without me. I don't want to waste any more time. Day light is short" Danziger explained. Yale disagreed, "It would be foolish for you to go that far by yourself, especially when you know your gear signal can't get through. You're also tired from carrying Devon. I'm going to have to insist that you return with me." Since Yale spoke with such authority and there was a grain of truth to what he was saying, John reluctantly agreed to return with them on the condition that some other crew members drive out and continue their mission.
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Yale was exploring an area nearby camp with the children. He had left Devon in Dr. Heller's capable hands. Julia seemed confident that all she needed was some food and rest. Uly asked Yale, "What kind of stuff are we looking for?" The children had wanted to help out with the search for food. "Berries, plants or animals. Even animal tracks" the Teacher explained. "Is this how people on Earth find food?" True wondered. "That's silly. They have food distributors just like we did on the Stations" Uly taunted. True turned toward Yale, "I mean, the people who live off the land." "True, it depends on the region. Many areas of Earth are too hot for this type of plant and animal life" Yale explained. He had taught the children about the irreparable damage their ancestors had done to Earth's ozone layer. As a result, the median temperature rose and selected for hardier life forms. In fact, due to the acidity of the rain and high levels of pollutants in the atmosphere, it became difficult to raise crops using traditional methods. Thus climate controllable Bio-Spheres and the science of hydroponics had evolved out of necessity. Yale was interested in trying the older methods of agriculture which were more in harmony with nature at New Pacifica.
"You wouldn't know an edible food sample if you saw it" Uly accused True. "What?" True considered herself to be older and infinitely wiser than the younger boy, "You're full of crap." "Yeah?" Uly began to chase after her. She ran, baiting him by screaming, "You can't even catch me." She tore ahead of him within minutes. After she became fairly confident in her lead, she began to slow down. Uly put on an extra burst of speed and began closing in on her. She quickened her pace only to slide and fall flat on her rear end. Tears welled up in her eyes. Yale hurried to catch up to the children, "Are you all right child?" "Yeah, I'm okay" a slightly subdued True replied. "What made me fall?" She noticed that there was a thick layer of ice beneath the area where she had fallen. It was a frozen stream which the snow had camouflaged. After they brushed off more snow, Uly moved in closer, pushing his face near the icy surface. He shouted "There's something moving down there." True gave him a look of disbelief. "There is" he insisted "Look." Yale became excited "I think we may have found something! I have an idea. Let's go back to the Dome to get some supplies and we'll return here to try it out. This will be our secret which we can share with the others if it works out." The children beamed. They didn't understand what Yale was so pleased about, but they wanted to help and they were thrilled to have their own secret project.
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Alonso, Baines and Magnus had been exploring sector 16 for over four hours and had not found anything yet. The group was silent. No one was in an especially talkative mood. Alonso stopped the Dune-Rail so they could perform their next detailed fan-out. They operated mechanically, not optimistic of finding anything. Magnus commented to Alonso, "You should ask the Terrains where to find food." He shook his head, "It doesn't always work that way. It's not like a two-way communication. They usually dictate the terms. In my dreams sometimes the Terrians have shown me the location of herds of animals for us to hunt, and other times they have specifically indicated that we were not to touch specific animals. But that's about all they've shared with me regarding food." Magnus was relieved that the Terrians didn't dream to her. It sounded confusing. Baines called out to the pair, "Hey guys, come here. I think we have Grendler tracks - you game?" Alonso and Magnus exchanged amused glances and proceeded to join him. It was probably a long shot but at least it was something. They began to follow the tracks.
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Morgan approached Bess and Gomez who were gathering firewood. "Need some help?" he gallantly offered. "Sure", Bess wondered what had happened as a result of their morning discussion. But she would wait until he was ready. At least he was out of bed. Morgan feigned nonchalance, "Have either of you two ladies seen Yale?" "He and the kids ran off somewhere with a bunch of stuff a while ago. They seemed kinda excited. Glad someone can be" Gomez complained. As the group carried the wood into camp, Danziger crawled out from beneath the main generator housing. He announced to the group passing by, "We are back to fully operational." The women cheered. "That's the best news I've heard all day" Gomez claimed. Yale, Uly and True rushed to meet the group with broad grins on their faces. Uly said to Yale, "Can I tell them?" "Uly, we agreed that True could be the first to share our news and that you could be the one to tell your Mother" Yale reminded. The boy pouted. True smirked, "Look what we found" She opened their cargo box and held up a large fish. The box contained several of them. "Where did you get these?" Danziger asked. Uly and True both rushed to inform the group. Uly blurted out , "We found a frozen stream and Yale taught us how to go ice fishing." True butted in, "Yale cut a hole in the ice and made a fishing pole. Then we dug into the ground to find these creepy worms and we caught all these." Uly added, "There are more too, but Yale said we shouldn't be greedy." John resisted the urge to hug his daughter in front of the group, sensing it would not be welcome, ruffling her hair instead, "I'm proud of you True-girl." Gomez commented, "I wish we could eat them now, but we better get them tested. I volunteer to bring them over to Julia." Since no one objected, she grabbed the carton and practically ran over to the Med Tent. While a few fish would not even be sufficient for one meal for the seventeen Eden Advance colonists, at least they were able to boost their spirits.
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Magnus was getting tired. "Come on guys - this trail isn't going anywhere. We've been following it almost an hour." She was discouraged and her feet hurt. Baines was determined, "We can't go back empty-handed and this is the best option we've had today. Let's try a little while longer." He wanted to make amends for his cowardly behavior the other night, when he had locked himself in the Trans-Rover. Alonso agreed with Baines. Magnus insisted that she had to sit and rest a minute before they continued. While searching for a convenient rock to sit on, she noticed something, "Hey, what's over there?" It was the opening to a small cave. Alonso motioned for Baines to back him up and Magnus would guard the rear. The men cautiously entered the dark chamber. Baines flashed his luma light about the interior. It was small, but there were a few crates. Alonso took a closer look, "Eden crew supplies." The two men grinned like maniacs. Baines volunteered to get the Rail while Magnus and Alonso investigated the crates. Alonso pried open a box, "Let's see what we have here. Hey Magnus, look just what you wanted - more semolina - 3 crates worth." "Solace, even that stuff looks good now. Just as long as it helps us hold out until warmer weather comes." "What have you found Magnus?" "This one is sealed, but I think it's medical supplies from the code on it." *Julia would be pleased* Alonso thought. Magnus chuckled, "Look, just after Bess has perfected a native brew, here's real coffee!" They were pleased with their findings and anxious to share them with the others.
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The last traces of daylight were disappearing as the sun sank into the distant horizon. Alonso and his party had safely returned to the Bio Dome with the newly found supplies. The Eden Advance crew were hopeful that they could convince Devon to lift their half-rations status. Surely the weather would be warmer by the time all this food was consumed. Several people were in the Main Dome. Cameron and Walman had taken the ATV out as far as they could to sector 14 then continued on foot. No word had been heard from them yet, and Danziger knew their gear signal wouldn't carry from that location. Eben and Bess were checking the last coordinates that the men had transmitted from. Danziger and Alonso agreed to wait a little longer before driving out to locate them. It would be awfully cold weather for the men to be stranded in.
Bess was spying on Morgan and Yale who were engaged in a discussion in the communications room. They had been in there for a few hours, intently concentrating on something. She was curious, what were they doing? Yale projected a map using his holographic arm, and the two men referred to various locations. As she drew closer to attempt to listen in, her husband fiddled with a piece of electronics and an area on their projection emitted a quick pulse. Yale jumped up and exclaimed "I think you've done it!" He clapped Morgan on the back. Both men seemed pleased. "What did you do honey?" Beaming with pride, Morgan explained, "I figured out my talent. I used my knowledge of electronics to adjust our detectors to pick up pulses emitted by zeta-particles, then I rewired our detectors to boost their range." She looked blank, "What does that mean?" Yale cut in, "The cargo pod transmitters contain zeta-particles which periodically emit those types of pulses. Before today, we only knew approximate locations at best of our other cargo pods. Morgan has determined a way to get a better fix on one which we believe is located within a hundred miles or so. Judging from the ship's data, I believe it's cargo pod #9 which contains food, clothing, medical supplies, and even vehicles. I've got to tell Devon." Bess embraced her husband, "Morgan, I'm so proud of you." Feeling brave, Morgan told her, "You might even get me to volunteer to go on the scouting trip."
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Devon was lying in her bed, finally starting to feel human again. Earlier, Uly had charged in, wide-eyed with excitement, to share his fish story with her. She had tried to show him how impressed she was, but she had a little trouble following him. According to Yale's latest update, the new food stocks would help them stretch their current food supply to last two or three weeks on full rations. The crisis was forestalled, but not over. She was relieved by the news that Cameron and Walman had just safely returned from sector 14, although they hadn't found anything. Knowledge of the possible location of cargo pod #9 had thrilled her. If they could organize a scouting trip to retrieve it - they would be in good shape. She was anxious to go on the scouting trip, wanting to jump out of bed immediately and plan the trip, but Yale refused to let her leave her room. She supposed she should apologize to Danziger for her foolish behavior earlier that day, but she didn't like to appear weak in front of others. Especially with John Danziger. Yet, his respect was very important to her. She'd decide what to do in the morning.
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(voice of Morgan)
It was just another day, but somehow a few fish, some crates of semolina and news of the possible location of a cargo pod were sufficient to boost the Eden Advance crews' morale. While the threat of starvation had not completely passed us over, our spiritual crisis had been momentarily defeated. I was encouraged that I was able to contribute to the group's efforts in locating food sources. Maybe it was possible to grow and adapt to these hostile surroundings. Maybe each one of us had untapped potential or hidden talents within us that life on this planet would draw out. Yet, the struggle for survival could foster the development of both positive and negative qualities. We would discover these as we continued our journey. Maybe I could survive here after all.
-The End-
Chapter End Notes:
(Thanks to Chris and Alyssa for their assistance.)
//From Earth 2 E-Mail List on July 26, 1995
//From Earth 2 E-Mail List on July 26, 1995