Regression (24 page)

“
Is Jennifer not joining us?” Adya was disappointed at the
absence of Abraham’s assistant when they met at the airport. She
had hoped to spend a final few hours with her friend.

Abraham’s response was terse.
“She’s fallen behind in recent weeks and has work to catch up on.”
She returned his penetrating stare minute for minute until Peter
broke the tension, directing their attention toward the
plane.

“
Well, it looks like
they’re ready for us.”

The men disappeared into separate
compartments leaving her to watch the world slide by below her. She
pulled out her journal.

It seems so surreal. I find myself
lost within this timeline, without an anchor or dock. I look at
what is happening around me and think there should be more
happening inside of me – why can’t I cry?

My God, I’ve lost everything. My
husband. My family. My life. My virginity. And now, I know due to
this pregnancy, due to this company, I will never be able to return
to normal. Yet, I sit here with dry eyes.

Is it the serotonin? The
pheromones? The plasmid? Why can’t I feel anything?

I remember a girl in school with
scars on her wrists. She usually wore long sleeves but one day she
rolled them up in home ec and I saw the criss cross of angry red
welts. Her eyes met mine over the boiling pot of water, and they
were empty. Devoid of emotion. I understand now why she was doing
it. Cutting. She did it to make herself feel, because there was
nothing inside of her. I don’t feel the urge to hurt myself, but I
do wonder why some people feel nothing, and others feel everything.
And, why have I become one of those people?

She folded the journal shut,
staring out the window again. Endless kilometers of water rolled
away underneath her. The ocean swallowed her thoughts, draining
even her ennui and lethargy.

“
Mom, you remember
Abraham? This is Peter, the Three Eleven Geneticist. Peter,
Abraham, this is my father Matthew, my mom Samantha, my sister
Annie, and my brother Evan.”

“
A pleasure to meet
all of you. Adya, I have just remembered an important memo I need
to prepare, so I will return to the jet to await you after we sign
these papers. Mrs Jordan, Mister Jordan, as mentioned in our
telephone conversation, we need a signed guardianship form. This
gives us the ability to take her through customs on her way to
Sanctum, and any other international trips.”

Samantha frowned. “I know, but it
still is so sudden…to sign over my baby girl…”

Matthew patted her shoulder. “She
just hates the thought of Adya growing up, makes her feel old.” He
barely avoided the gentle swat his wife aimed in his direction, and
then both placed their signatures on the requisite
forms.

Abraham immediately turned to
leave. “I will see you after your dinner.”

“
Won’t you join us?”
Samantha’s confusion furrowed her eyebrows.

“
Sorry, I do have to
do up a report.”

They first drove to the Jordan’s
house, Samantha handing Adya a suitcase filled with more clothes
including winter attire for Sanctum. The group ate at her favourite
fish and chip spot in Stamford, the Huron Belle. She waved goodbye
from the plane as her family stood on the tarmac and watched her
departure.

Adya reviewed the profile for
Sanctum on the plane during the flight. The city was carefully and
meticulously planned for the most efficient layout and use of
space. The original mining tunnels had been expanded and further
developed, with more than 55 miles of tunnels on 14 levels being
prepared to provide accommodations for over half a million people.
All of the necessary industries to support the residents were
included in the layout. Power generation, water purification,
agriculture, waste management, and even storage of knowledge were
provided for.

They taxied on the frozen runway
at Port Radium late that afternoon, the weak winter sun glittering
on Great Bear Lake with sharp points of light. The snow groaned
underneath their feet as they disembarked. Looking over the vast
emptiness, Adya found it hard to believe this could become the home
of human kind in a couple of decades. The underground city of
Sanctum was located in a remote corner of the North West
Territories in Northern Canada.

Ventilation shafts punctuated the
ground above the city, drawing up stagnant tunnel air to be
exchanged with crisp arctic air. The only other clue to the
existence of the underground city was the presence of a bustling
airfield welcoming arrivals on an almost daily basis and black
tree-shaped objects in the distance, too large to be other than
man-made.

“
Why here?” she asked
Abraham.

“
Discretion and
resources. The original mining claim had been worked over, but
there was still residual mining value. A great cover story for the
excavation required to construct a city the size of Sanctum.” A
uniformed staff member beckoned to Abraham, who indicated they
continue without him. “I won’t be descending, I will just return
again to the Island. I expect Sanctum will provide,” Abraham’s
pause was almost indiscernible, “everything you need. Good bye,
Adya. Peter.” He turned away to meet the employee, leaving a
puzzled Peter looking after him. Bemused, he shook his
head.

“
Guess I’ll continue
with the explanation. The seismically stable Canadian Shield offers
a solid foundation. The city should be able to withstand even the
direct strike of a meteorite or remain relatively undisturbed
should there be a major tectonic shift. Although the surface is
frigid, the underground actually supports strong geothermal energy
flow. The Earth’s crust is relatively thin here at 35 km.
Geothermal power generation and heating were easily developed.
Great Bear Lake is one of the world’s largest freshwater lakes, but
remains relatively pristine. Accessing the lake for the city’s
water supply required little filtration. All in all, an excellent
location for Noah’s Ark.”

Adya laughed. “It’s a little flat,
though…no mountain tops in sight.”

They entered a large metal
building resembling an aircraft hangar, with a multitude of
doorways populating one entire wall. Signs directed entrants to
either Biosafety or Waiting areas. She looked askance as they
entered the Biosafety sector, using their ID cards and palm
scans.

“Sanctum remains a clean zone for
bacteria and viruses. Your blood tests on the island were not only
screening your health, they were checking for contagions.” Peter
glanced at their luggage. “Do you have anything in your suitcase
which can’t go through cleansing, like notebooks or
documents?”

“
Yes, documents in
this second bag. But, just clothing in the suitcase.”

“
Please pass your
suitcase to Hjörtur, his team’ll disinfect the contents then send
it below. Your documents need a different process.” A burly blonde
waited for her bag, having already taken Peter’s. She removed her
journal, identification, and other documents from her shoulder bag,
placing them in what resembled an elongated microwave. A tingle ran
up her spine as her most private thoughts glided away on a conveyer
belt. She turned to find Peter studying her face. Her cheeks
heated, and he smiled patronizingly.

“
You’ll be able to
pick them up on the other side. Don’t worry about valuables,
there’s no chance of them going missing. Video cameras have the
entire facility under surveillance but we don’t have to worry about
our staff at any rate.” She handed the rest of her belongings to
Hjörtur, who moved through another of the plethora of
doors.

They stopped at a door marked
‘Women’, he motioning her to enter.

“
The procedures are
posted on the walls. Just follow the instructions in each room, and
I’ll see you on the other side.” He turned and entered the door
marked ‘Men’ while she entered her corresponding door. The tiny
room had another door on the far side labelled ‘Shower’. Above it,
a red light and a sign stating she should ‘proceed through door
when light turns green’.

A second plaque on the wall
provided further instructions.

1. Remove clothing and place in
plastic bag provided.

2. Seal plastic bag and deposit in
wall drop box. Clothing will be returned after
disinfection.

3. Enter door marked shower when
the light is green.

As instructed, she entered the
shower after removing her clothes. Nozzles were positioned on all
walls, the ceiling and the floor. Following the instructions on the
notice board, she closed her eyes, held her breath and stood with
arms extended and legs spread. Jets of warm water bathed her entire
body in a powerful spray. A click preceded a dousing with a
gel-like substance. She was afraid to open her eyes or breathe
through her nostrils because of the gel, her fear building into
panic. The jets finally sprayed water again, washing away the goo,
alleviating her discomfort. She used her hands to wipe the
lingering material from her nose, mouth and eyes, taking a gasping
breath. Another click and the water shut off. Opening her eyes, she
inhaled deeply before moving to the door where a green light
indicated she was to proceed.

This room had racks of hospital
scrubs, sizes identified. Adya took a set of size 1 scrubs, finding
them slightly loose. She rolled up the ends of the legs and
sleeves. Her fourteen year old frame would not fill what even her
mature build barely fleshed out. Size six slippers fit her feet
perfectly, selected from a rack on the second wall. The third wall
housed one shelf with a glass of water and three pills. The
instructions indicated she was to take the pills, a combination of
antimicrobials and antivirals. Concerned about the potential effect
the drugs might have on her developing foetus, she realized she
needed to tell Peter. She picked up one of the phones stationed in
each of the sequence rooms.

A female voice answered.
“Yes?”

“
I would like to speak
with Peter Merten, please.”

“
Just a moment, I
think he’s finished.”

Peter came on the line. “Yes,
Adya?”

“
I have a concern
about taking the antimicrobials and antiviral drugs.”

“
They’re safe, we’ve
been using them since the inception of Sanctum.”

“
What about during
gestation?”

Adya could hear Peter’s intake of
breath. “Are you…”

“
Yes, only just
discovered yesterday.”

“
How far
along?”

“
Seven weeks
gestation, nine if counting back to what would have been considered
the first day of the monthly cycle.”

His voice was harsh, grating. “I
don’t think you should risk taking the drugs. We can justify your
exemption because of the importance of studying the plasmid. But
you and I need to talk once you get out of that room.”

The light above the door turned
green, and Peter met her on the other side, his expression
unreadable. He led her to a side office. “What in the hell, you
better not plan on pulling any stunts here at Sanctum. Did you
decide since you were young again you’d sow some wild oats and
forgot the price you could pay?”

She stepped back like he had
slapped her. “I was raped, you judgmental asshole. Do you jump to
conclusions about every woman you meet or are you just bitter
because you aren’t getting any?” Peter’s expression told her the
remark had hit home.

“
Don’t you dare make
assumptions about my private life.”

“
Then don’t about
mine. I am pregnant. It wasn’t planned, nor was it my fault. I was
raped.”

Peter sighed. “Let’s start this
over again. I’m sorry for jumping to a conclusion, and I am also
sorry to hear you were hurt…”

Adya let out the breath she had
been holding. “I arrived in this timeline in early August,
awakening from a coma. Before I made the connection with Three
Eleven, I was attempting to fit into the world I had known in the
original timeline. Two weeks later, I was raped. I don’t know the
assailant, so the child will never know a true father. But, I
cannot take a life. There will be no termination.”

Peter listened, sympathy in his
eyes. “I’m sorry.” He ducked his head. “You…I…look, if you need
someone…”

“
Thanks, Peter, I
appreciate…” she straightened her spine, “No one other than Babak
knows. Actually, he was pleased to know his theory still fit my
arrival.”

“
Why would you have
been ovulating two weeks after your arrival, if Babak’s hypothesis
is based upon the production of sex cells?”

“
Actually, my
understanding is his hypothesis concerns the commencement of
production of gonadotropins which in human females occurs before
ovulation. So two weeks prior to the first ovulatory cycle
gonadotropins are released to signal the follicles in preparation
for ovulation. In the majority of cases the onset of menstruation
is not accompanied by ovulation, generally there is a lag
behind…but we’ve confirmed through blood tests I am definitely
pregnant.” She sighed ruefully, “I am one of the few females who
ovulated with the onset of the very first cycle.”