|
|
|
|
|
|
Amazon.com, 
Amazon.co.uk, 
Amazon.de or 
Amazon.ca
|
 Sisters of the Wind (Book Excerpt)by Diana Kemp-Jones The Alternate Universe of Diana Kemp-Jones Page 4 of 5 "How natural for you to prefer dark corners," said Seladon. "It suits your personality." Delahl shot her a hostile glance. "Prowler command doesn't entitle your opinion to be the word of God." "Well at least you acknowledge someone more superior." Ekkoe flashed a warning glance to Delahl. "Call off the dogs, now," she hissed. "This could be a monitored transmission. The Service could be listening to your lover's quarrel at this very moment." "I'd hardly call it a lover's quarrel," he muttered. Just keep that mouth running, thought Seladon. For if the Service was listening in, and there was never any indication when a transmission was being tapped, Delahl's churlish behavior was not likely to endear him to his superiors. A troupe of delightfully costumed children filed onto the amphitheater's raised stage as the crew returned their attention to the screen. Seladon smiled as they faithfully re-enacted a number of ancient Greek myths. "Did Earth truly spawn such civilizations?" she said wistfully, recalling the former glories of her own homeland in the Nile Delta. "Where did they go? What happened to us? These people are more human than we are." "It's called loss of innocence," said Ekkoe. "Symptomatic of progress, such as it is." The scene froze as Blaurwun's ascetic face superimposing the screen. "By now, you're probably wondering what your next mission has to do with a pseudo-idyllic humanoid colony. Pay careful attention to the next scene, particularly to the audience." Seladon frowned as the voyeuristic satellite panned the rows of spectators, her stomach knotting with foreboding. At first she almost missed them, mistaking the childish figures for youngsters. Then something anomalous leapt out; the odd misshapen limb, a stunted or hunchbacked body. "Some of them are deformed," she blurted. "At first I thought they were children. but ..." "Correct, Commander," replied Blaurwun. Stony silence ensued. Ekkoe and even Delahl sat grimfaced. Blaurwun paused and continued impassively. "What you see is the latter stage of a terminal genetic disorder known as retroactive devolution. Our medical staff only discovered the problem recently due to the strict prohibitions regarding colonial interference. It basically means that the Greconians are devolving to a mutated state. Regrettably, our efforts to reverse the problem have failed. An unknown element, perhaps within the genes themselves, has blocked every possible remedial procedure." Seladon exhaled sharply. "I understand the enormity of the problem, but how does the inevitable extinction of the Greconians involve us?" Blaurwun regarded her unblinkingly. "The condition is highly contagious. Two supply transports docking on Greco Novus within the past six months have reported serious health problems affecting the majority of the crew. The vessels were immediately sequestered into quarantine stations for examination. The prognosis was even more appalling than that of the Greconians. In alien lifeforms, the degeneration accelerates dramatically." "What happened to the infected crew?" said Seladon. "The uninfected crew will remain in strict quarantine for six months to assure no possibility of further contagion. The infected crew were euthanized immediately after the diagnosis." Seladon blanched. "My God! They were killed without any kind of observation period? Why weren't they at least temporarily segregated? Their condition might have improved with treatment!" Blaurwun's expression frosted. "Your expertise does not include the medical profession, Commander. Rest assured that the finest experts were consulted to no avail. At every stage, the governments of those affected were fully involved. Though the decision to liquidate was difficult, it was deemed necessary to safeguard the galaxy from potential devastation of unimaginable scale." "But how can you be certain the infected crew posed such a threat?" said Seladon. "Especially after they were immediately euthanized?" "The action does seem radical," added Ekkoe. "A vital clue may have been overlooked by such hasty action." "Emergency situations demand radical solutions," said Blaurwun. "The infected crew had literally metamorphosized into creatures of no identifiable form. We would transmit our observations to convince you, but the information is still classified." "Blaurwun's right," said Delahl. "Unchecked communicable mutation is far worse than any plague threat. The loss of a few lives was acceptable under the circumstances." "As long as the circumstances didn't involve you," said Seladon. "You'd have been screaming for justice had you been one of the infected crewmembers!" "And I suppose you'd prefer to mutate into some freakish lifeform with no immediate hope of treatment? No thanks! It was bad enough when jungle leprosy wiped out half the Amazon settlements. I lost half my family to that scourge. At least it was quick." Copyright© 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Diana Kemp-Jones, sffworld.com. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the author. |
Copyright © 1999 - 2004 sffworld.com