Chapter 13 : Crystal’s cabin

Something about the colony was getting under his skin. For the first time since he worked for Mole Mines, he wanted to involve himself in what was happening on the surface, for there was a wide-eyed enthusiasm among the people here that set Greenshoot apart. There was no commercial interest to dominate the lives of the colonists, indeed there was nothing being produced here apart from VIBE, and no fortunes to be made. The mission of this colony, as far as he could tell, was merely survival and self-sufficiency, driven by the pure spirit of science and adventure.

Jack was excited about seeing Crystal again. He followed the path to her house along the shore northwards until the habitat was out of sight, staying close to the roaring ocean and blown by sea spray. It turned inland across the dunes and into forest, and climbed steeply into the hillside on steps cut into glistening rock. The path then rose steadily, switching back and forth, and through the trees there were just occasional glimpses of the blue sea, now distant and quiet. At last the ground leveled out and the cabin came in sight, built from round timbers and with a roof pitched to throw off the snow. It stood in a small clearing from which there was an unbroken view of the coast, around a sweeping bay to lines of hills that became faint and grey in the distant haze. The cabin seemed completely alone in this vast landscape, presiding over it, for the habitat lay behind a ridge to the left, and the few cabins further to the north were lost in the forest.

“Do you like it, Jack ?”, Crystal said pointing at the cabin.

Jack was still looking out to sea, and he turned to examine the cabin more closely. It had a simple symmetry, with a single central door and a few steps leading up, and a window on either side. He was drawn to the wide stone chimney which glinted in the sunlight. Gold veins ran through the rock in an intricate, winding pattern, and the same lustrous material formed the base of the cabin, and on it rough logs of varied sizes were stacked, overlapping at each corner, and sealed with a transparent resin. The roof was covered in smooth precision-cut square tiles, which might have been a component from the habitat, but with an earthy brown color that did not disturb the natural setting.

“It’s a beautiful place, Crystal. You’re isolated though, there’s no transport out here.”

“Come on Jack, you’ve got a starship, you could land it right by the house.”

The cabin looked surprisingly big on the inside. Synthetic panels from the habitat were fitted on the walls and ceiling and gave it a tidy look, and there were a few comforts - a screen, a separate bathroom, and a large inflatable sofa which appeared to double as the bed. There wew no photographs or mementos, nothing to give a clue about the owner’s past life. It occurred to Jack that Crystal was trying to escape from something, even the colony of Greenshoot and its habitat was not remote enough for her, and now she had run to the far horizon. This place was surely too lonely though, it was not a place for forgetting, and anyone not at ease with themselves might soon be consumed by their own demons here.

“Look at me Jack”, Crystal said.

He looked into her eyes as they stood facing each other in the middle of the room.

“I’m going to try an experiment. I want you to think of something you feel strongly about”, she continued. ”Some vivid memory of pleasure or pain or disgust. Picture it in your mind, and try to feel what it was that you felt at that moment.”

Jack did as he was told and cast his mind back quickly over the journey in the Beluga, further back to his apartment and the days of drinking and sadness, and his mind rested on one thing, a noxious burning smell. He had wanted to clear that smell of whisky in the room but outside, to his disgust, the air was even more foul.

“Is this a mind-reading trick ?”, Jack asked.

“Just concentrate like I told you.”

She stepped closer and tilted her head up at Jack as if she were about to kiss him, and for a moment they were completely still. Then Crystal, the experiment apparently over, promptly walked away and sat down on the sofa.

“I am slightly telepathic”, she said. “I can sense things sometimes, emotions, ideas, visual memory. I can’t tell you your date of birth or your mother’s name. This isn’t a party trick.”

“I’m not a skeptic”, Jack said. “Although under lab conditions I don‘t think anything has been proven. I guess you heard the reports, people living here may have some capabilities that are exceptional.

“I think you were afraid of something, Jack.”

“You’re talking about my recalled memory ? No I don‘t think it was that.”

“Men sometimes won’t admit to being afraid”, Crystal said. “I think you were trying to hide something from your boss, something you were ashamed of.”

Crystal seemed to see in Jack’s look of surprise that she had hit upon something, and gave him a mischievous smile.

“What’s your success rate with this ?”, Jack asked casually.

“Was I right ?”, Crystal said.

“The result of that test was - inconclusive. I’m not afraid of my employers though. I’m comfortable with what I do and with who I am. I don‘t really have anything to hide. I was wondering though, and I don‘t mean to be intrusive, but are you really happy out here ? It seems a bit like a hiding place. And the people living in the habitat, they seem to be enjoying themselves, leading full lives.”

“You don’t know Jack, what goes on in there. Behind all those closed doors, people in their little cells, they’re dying. Literally dying, I mean.”

“Dying from what ?”, Jack asked.

“Go ask the government. Maybe you can get a straight answer but I can’t. I see a physician about my headaches, but he’s useless. I had a brain scan and they said there’s no sign of a tumor or anything else, but their scanner is a piece of junk, it was actually built to test for metal fatigue ! His professional opinion, was that I should live in the habitat. He said I need a warmer environment and more hot meals. That tells you something about the level of medical care we get here. So no, they don’t know why so many people are getting sick, wasting away. You don’t see these people around the habitat because they can’t get up. That place is not a natural environment. Something bad, I think, is circulating through all those ducts and pipes. I feel better out here, and I’m not going back.”

Jack sat down on the sofa and considered how to advise Crystal without aggravating her further.

“I’ve seen a lot of places, Crystal, some tough places where life expectancy is short. People go there to make money fast, they know that if they work the mines too long, they’ll either die there or their health will be ruined. The health problems always come down to environment. The longer you spend outside the controlled environment - controlled pressure, temperature, air, water, light - the faster you die. Now I know that Greenshoot seems like some Garden of Eden to you, but actually it’s not natural for us to live here, the Earth is our only natural environment, and in any other place there are problems. Sometimes it takes years to understand exactly what the causes are, and they may not have much diagnostic equipment here, but the general idea of keeping people in the habitat sounds right.”

“I know you mean well, Jack”, Crystal said. “I really do know.”

Crystal relaxed into the sofa in a gently seductive way, spreading her arms, her gaze lingering on Jack. He tried to head off a further attempt at mind-reading and went over to the window and looked out.

“You need a special set of skills to survive out here”, Jack said. “What are the dangers ? What advice would you give to a new colonist hiking out there for the first time ?”

“There’s nothing out there that’s going to eat you. The largest land animal we have is a beetle, it’s about the size of a fist. The only danger in this terrain, is to slip and fall, because no-one is going to find you. The sea is quite a different matter. There’s been no effort to catalogue the species there, because we don’t have enough boats and equipment to do it. Scooter said he has seen some sea creatures, weird looking things, but then he’s always telling tales.”

“Your friend Scooter has a boat ?”, Jack asked.

“Yeah, he does. Would you a like a boat trip ? I’m going down there tomorrow, you can come with us.”

“I’d like to, but I was going to check up on Hugo, since it’s his first time on leave, and also on Hal. You know, the pilot we pulled out of stasis ? Hal seems to be coping so well, I‘m wondering when he’s going to feel the impact of what‘s happened to him. I should really spend some time with Hal.”

“Why not bring them along. Get them to relax and enjoy themselves, don’t pressure them. You learn more about people that way. Do you want me to arrange it with Scooter ?”

Jack hesitated, and wondered about putting himself and young Hugo at risk, out on those rough seas. Above all he wanted everyone to stay out of trouble and complete their mission. But this would just sound weak and cowardly to an adventurous woman like Crystal, and against his better judgment, he made another date.