The Last Days of Krypton - Kevin J. Anderson [113]
In the dark of the night Jor-El set out his seed crystals at the four corners of the Square of Hope and atop Lookout Hill at the outskirts of the ancient city. He positioned each brittle seed carefully, measured, checked, and double-checked. Zod, Aethyr, and Nam-Ek accompanied him, watching every step of the process, their excitement tangible in the cooling night air.
An hour before midnight, Jor-El added the catalysts and liquid impurities, checked the angles and positioning yet again, and stepped back, satisfied. “Tomorrow,” he told them, “be here exactly at sunrise.”
The next day, when he and Lara arrived in the Square of Hope in the predawn darkness, Zod was already there, pacing impatiently. Nam-Ek stood motionless, as big as a statue; aloof, Aethyr lounged on a new stone bench. No-Ton and Koll-Em also joined them, rubbing their sleepy eyes.
The colors presaging sunrise flooded across the eastern sky. “Any minute now,” Jor-El said. The air was thick with anticipation.
The roiling red fringe of Rao rose above the horizon, spilling crimson light across the landscape. When the first rays struck the seed crystals, the reaction was instantaneous. At the four corners of the Square of Hope the first crystals began to sparkle. Energized by the sunlight, they drank in the catalyst powders like dry sponges absorbing a flood.
A hexagonal spire shot upward, four times the size of the original crystal, and it kept growing, thickening. It spread out subsidiary crystal branches that followed the design Jor-El had programmed into the base lattice. The extraordinary rush of growth made a thunderous cracking and popping sound. Perfectly symmetrical with the upreaching spire, the crystal’s anchor root plunged downward, drawing more material from the rocks and soil. Stone paving tiles at the square’s perimeter buckled and broke.
At all four corners of the square, shining spires seemed to be competing with one another as they raced toward the sky, rapidly dwarfing the other structures in Kryptonopolis. On Lookout Hill outside the city, a fifth gleaming tower rose higher and higher.
Commissioner Zod’s face showed deep satisfaction. Nam-Ek reacted with childish glee as the components continued to erupt and unfold like a puzzle made of diamonds and emeralds. By the time Rao had risen fully, the red giant shone down upon an entirely new city.
“This does indeed rival Kandor!” Zod clasped the scientist’s shoulders. “You have done everything I expected—and more. I knew you would not let me down. Krypton owes you a debt greater than I can ever repay.”
Jor-El seized the moment. He had been considering how to bring up the matter. “Then it’s now my turn to ask you a favor, Commissioner. It is vitally important to our planet’s survival.”
Zod’s eyes took on a calculating look; then his expression shifted again. “You have never asked for any kind of boon before. If it is within my power to grant…”
“As you know, my brother discovered dangerous instabilities in the core of our planet. The Council refused to take any action until Zor-El provided them with extensive data.”
Zod nodded slowly, cautiously. “Yes, I was present when you and your brother made those claims. And the Council, as usual, chose to ignore problems rather than address them.” His voice held a heavy undertone of caution.
“We’ve all experienced the increasingly severe quakes. More than one tidal wave has struck the coast, and massive volcanic eruptions continue in the southern continent. The core pressure is still growing—and now I do have a full set of data. The situation is precisely as bad as I feared. Trust me, Commissioner. The evidence is indisputable.”
He could see Zod trying to decide how to respond. “Even if I accept your warning, what can we do about it?”
Jor-El’s words came in a breathless rush. “I’ve been thinking about the old prototypes I submitted to your Commission. Do you remember an intense cutting laser I called a Rao beam? At the time I felt it would be useful for boring tunnels through mountains, for mining, and