The Spell of Rosette - Kim Falconer [0]
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Dedication
Map
Prologue Earth 21st Century—The Past
The Present Gaela
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Earth
Chapter 4
Gaela
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Earth and Gaela
Chapter 12
Gaela
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Gaela and earth
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Earth
Chapter 21
Earth and Gaela
Chapter 22
References
Acknowledgments
About The Author
Other Books By
Copyright
About the Publisher
PROLOGUE
EARTH 21ST CENTURY—THE PAST
When JARROD came online, the planet was on the verge of environmental collapse. Calculated from infinite variables in mirror realities, he saw the options as simple—either raise the consciousness of the global community so a unified intention would restore nature to a fecund state, or develop further technologies that would, in survival-of-the-fittest fashion, support the continued existence of a select few. ASSIST scientists voted for the latter; the JARROD did not. The intensity of their debate introduced new sensations to the quantum sentient, emotions he’d never previously experienced in his conversations with Janis and Luka—frustration, anger and, strangely, fear.
‘Can’t you see the limitations of your choices?’ JARROD questioned them, scanning the boardroom. He would have pounded the table with fists if he could. The looks he received were blasé, masks concealing boredom, indifference or perhaps weariness in the face of insurmountable challenge.
‘JARROD,’ Dr Macquarie answered, his lip curling, ‘your outbursts aren’t helping us reach a solution.’
Macquarie had been chief of the board of directors at ASSIST, the Allied States Stanford Institute of Science and Technology, for nine years now. He treated the quantum sentient as if he were simply another piece of hardware—not a distinct consciousness with insights and perspectives that might supersede his own. He tolerated the JARROD, barely, and his contempt was not well disguised today.
‘You aren’t listening, Dr Macquarie. Can you open your mind? If you keep going with this line of thinking, nature will deteriorate until the vast diversity of flora and fauna will be reduced to simple life forms. Do you understand what that means?’
‘How simple?’ a scientist from the back corner asked, raising her hand as she did so.
JARROD felt a beam of hope. ‘They would include blue-green algae, phytoplankton, primitive bacteria and, of course, viruses of all kinds, especially virulent strains.’ He paused to gauge the response. ‘Nature as you know her will die—; simple as that.’
‘Rubbish,’ Macquarie mumbled as he flipped through his statistics screen.
‘You do realise what I mean by nature, don’t you, Dr Macquarie? Mother Earth?’
‘Speculation.’ He waved at the monitor, dismissing the JARROD along with his theory. ‘The research clearly shows…’
‘What it shows,’ JARROD cut in, ‘is that manipulating these gene pools in ways that you propose can easily backfire, catastrophically. The destruction has already begun.’
Macquarie took a sip of water and placed the glass carefully on the coaster in front of him, turning it so it sat square in the middle. He focused on the half-empty glass and finally shook his head. ‘The seas will be dead inside of this century no matter what we do. There’s no risk either way.’
‘There are other options.’
‘The flagella will solve the immediate problem. They’ll counter the overgrowth of toxic algae and generate more oxygen for the biosphere.’
‘Those single-celled SWAT flagella will cause more damage than the prolonged algal bloom, and you know it. You’ve seen the projections. They’ll be out of control within the decade.’
‘Only if we lose all solar radiance.’
‘Oh for fuck’s sake, Macquarie, just say it: if we block out too much of the sun! And that will happen when you initiate your ozone repair protocol. You can’t launch a fleet of solar shields over every hole