The Leab ridge

Yiska Fonseca jumped into the Outboard Hover Motor. The engine whined and clicked as she started the navigation system and began the pre-flight checks. One of the specimen jars knocked itself over and rolled towards the edge of the dashboard. Yiska grabbed it as it flung itself off for a final decent towards the floor. Peering in she could barely see the insect she'd captured in there less than twenty minutes ago due to the extensive webbing that now filled the space inside the jar. Collecting it up with the rest of the days' finds she went to the CryoCupboard and placed each jar into their holders, sealing the door with a satisfyingly freezing hiss.

The navipanal bleeped to indicate that the helm was sealed and ready to move off. Unclipping her OxyFilter mask, the young scientist took the control seat of the vehicle and navigated the craft across the open marsh plains of the western tip of the European Research territories.

The late January heat was pulling a thick mist off of the marshes, creating the illusion that there was more out there than the endless stretches of desolate pond and toxic air. The remains of an occasional tower block sticking out of the wetland were all that remained of the city that the waters had reclaimed. What life there was left clung to these metal and concrete bones like barnacles to a ship. These were the areas of utmost interest to Yiska and her team. Here, life was adapting to the changing air content and temperatures. The plants had always been able to cope with the CO2 levels but the intense, chaotic heating and freezing seasons killed off most of the indigenous vegetation, what was left was hardy and around it pockets of evolution were thriving.

The O.H. Motor steered northward away from the study site and out into the expanse of bogy nothingness. Yiska engaged the autopilot and changed out of her Atmossuit. She necked a couple of pep pills, the day had already been long and these specimens would have to be processed immediately.

The craft jogged against something and bumped Yiska off of her feet. She jumped back into the control seat to gage what had made such an impact. The fog was so dense that outside was now just white. She switched on the 3D digital radar but even the holographic readout spat static through the thick cloud. Apart from this there was nothing out there, no rolling shrubs, no city debris, nothing. Staring out of the window Yiska tried to make out the shape of the Leab Ridge Research Centre she was closing in on. The intense whiteness was playing tricks with her eyes; she could almost see the outlines of buildings she knew couldn't be there anymore, the shapes of office blocks and shops that had been submerged long ago. A dark shadow of movement flicked across her peripheral vision. She span to the radar to catch a glimpse of what was out there; there was nothing but holographic static for a 25 meter radius around and above the craft, the waters dead and lifeless. Yiska stared back out into the blankness. Nothing. Not even the sight of the great wind turbines that powered the Leab Ridge centre.

The engine tuned down a frequency and the Outbound slowed to a gentle hum as the autopilot turned the vehicle and slid in backwards towards the docking folds of the Bio-facility. The 3D image of the radar pictured the looming structure of the research centre engulfing the Hovercraft. Lights on the navipanal bleeped and whirred as the docking procedures secured the Motor into its resting place. Finally the seals around the door sighed open as the external atmospheric chamber reached breathable levels. Stepping out onto the launch pad Yiska drew in a deep breath, even though the air was manufactured within the Bio-dome she couldn't help but rejoice in the feeling that this was fresh air. Pulling out the CryoCupboard from the external side of the O.H.M. and setting down its wheels, Yiska pulled it across the bay towards the entrance of the centre.

‘Welcome To Leab Ridge European Research Centre. Western Station 36' was written in shiny chrome letters over the mirrored doorway that led inside. There had once been an automated voice that chirped those words at whoever was entering, but the team had disabled this after a couple of months as it was only them going in and out that ever heard it. The Centre had been built as a model research facility for all the E.R territories and Yiska had been proud to be tasked to this site. Not so much due to its leading facilities (although they were GOOD) but more over because her family were from this sector. Most of them had been shipped out to the Central Territories Housing Facilities when the floodings had come. A lot of people hadn't made the Exodus ships and had been deserted in the flood regions. Chaos had wiped out millions across the Globe as people tried to create makeshift living facilities in the rapidly rising tides, fighting each other for provisions and floatable materials. Small self-sustaining communities had formed beyond the control of the Centralised Bio-Facilities that had been built to house Millions, not Billions. But even those that had found a way around the water could do nothing to combat the extreme temperatures and unbreathable atmosphere. As the planet become more inhospitable to human life, great numbers of people swelled towards the already overpopulated BioHousing-Facilities, those that didn't make it, died. Yiska was not sure how many of her relatives had survived the Chaos Decades.

‘Hey Fonseca!' Barked a voice from the now open doorway. ‘You in there?'

Jumping a little as she was brought back into the now, Yiska looked down at her companion. Steel and silicon alloys stared back at her. Digital Analysis Nano Servers had been built for all research stations. Fast scientific and biological processors combined with state of the art emotional receptors modelled into a canine form made DANS a scientist's bestfriend. ‘Hey DAN. Just lost my mind out in the clouds,' she replied shaking her head as if to get rid of some lingering mist. ‘But I found some beauties today. Right little entrepreneurs. Are the labs ready?'

 

By Anon