Transformation Space - Marianne de Pierres [54]
He pushed the door open and found himself in a chamber lit by the dull glow of emergency lights running on their last dregs. It was filled with rows and rows of seats, divided down the middle by an inactive escalator.
He sat down at one and flashed the ’scope’s lamp for long enough to see the array of interface options. He chose the simplest audio download, hoping it still worked.
Slotting the audio pad over his ear, he waited, imagining Mira Fedor here, engrossed in learning from the studium interface. He felt strangely exhilarated, knowing she’d sat in one of these seats, maybe even this one.
The overwhelming and ridiculous nature of his sentiment for her had begun to fade; perhaps it had only been a moment of lust for one of the most decent and refined women he’d met in his life. And yet an equally powerful yearning had replaced it, a yearning for something he would never have. Maybe those moments in space, without air, had done more than scare him. Maybe he’d lost part of his mind, then.
Come on, he urged the library, talk to me.
‘Choose from the menu,’ crackled a faint voice in his ear.
Jo-Jo’s heart lurched. ‘Alien genera,’ he said after listening. ‘Saqr.’
He asked for the summary overview.
Tardigrada giantus … relative of arthropods … segmented bodies … eight legs …
Nothing new there. ‘Dietary needs. Reproduction. Special qualities,’ he asked.
Polyextremophiles that are known to survive in extreme environments.
‘More detail.’
‘Tardigrada giantus can withstand maximum temperatures of 151°C (424 K), through to minimums of -200°C (70 K). Dehydration: Tardigrada giantus have been shown to survive for decades in a dry state. Radiation: Tardigrada giantus can withstand median lethal doses of 5,000 Gy (gamma-rays) and 6,200 Gy (heavy ions) in hydrated animals. Pressure range: vacuum through to more than 1,200 times Cerulean atmospheric pressure. Environmental toxins—’
‘End.’
The audio stopped.
If humanesques could do even half of that … ‘Main menu.’
The response was sluggish.
‘Visual map of Araldis,’ he requested.
He studied the dull image on the film that unfolded from his armrest. ‘Southern sector. Islands.’
Thousands of tiny dots scattered across the screen. The survivors could be on any one of them. Then again, maybe not, he thought. Some of the islands were little more than dots of sand with scant cover, and the surviving population would need shade and fresh water.
This time Jo-Jo set some search parameters. The library took so long to respond that he became fidgety, thinking at every breath that he could hear the Saqr.
It wasn’t until he was standing up preparing to leave that the search result flashed onto the screen. Only four islands fit the criteria he’d set. Two lay close to the southern axis, too far for the survivors to have reached on yachts or small vessels. The others were across the open water of the Galgos Strait, a dangerous crossing but possible.
The name Galgos scratched at his memory. Mira Fedor had mentioned it, he was sure. The two potential islands were large and according to the map key harboured fresh water. Only one, though, was vegetated. It also had species of fauna not found on the mainland.
He committed the map coordinates to memory and told the search to clear and close. As he made his way from desk to door, a scraping noise drifted across the quiet.
He abruptly changed direction, seeking another exit. Though he could see nothing, the sweet Saqr scent was unmistakable. Something fierce and cold gripped his stomach. How many were out there? Did they know he was here?
He found a narrow door and opened it, stepping through and flattening his body along the wall on the other side. A passage led him to a room that stank of spilled chemicals. More dim emergency lights revealed a number of well-worn com-cast modules, and desk-films languishing on real wood tables. He breathed in air thick with dust. The environmentals were barely functioning in here; heat pooled.
He made his away across the room, looking for another door, but something made him stop and look more