The Song of the Jubilee (The Phantom of the Earth Book 1) Read Online Free
Author: Raeden Zen
pathogen could understand or invade, the Reassortment Strain somehow adapted, entered, and altered the subject’s neural and blood cells, consuming the former and crystallizing the latter …
Behind them, someone screamed.
Brody turned.
Two scientists had collapsed. They writhed on the marble floor, apparently dying from Reassortment exposure, inside the dome.
Brody retracted his consciousness and focused on quelling his rising panic. This was the stuff of his nightmares, to lose his team. “Verena, conduct a biomat suit diagnostic.” He turned to Nero. “Calculate Reassortment concentrations.”
The strategist and striker manipulated the holographic readouts above their workstations.
“No biomat suit breaches detected, Captain.”
Three more scientists collapsed.
“Reassortment has achieved critical levels inside the dome, Captain.”
Two more scientists collapsed.
We’re evacuating, now! Brody sent. He hand-signaled the research bots. Some rushed to the helicopters, others to the dead scientists, wrapping them in body bags. The surviving scientists dashed toward the landing pad, up the stairs, and into the helicopters. They lifted off, one after another.
After the last one departed, Brody entered his helicopter with Verena and Nero. He connected to the chopper’s navigational intelligence and ordered it to take them back to Area 55, where they would undergo quarantine before being allowed back into Beimeni.
Brody closed his eyes. As usual, his career and life were in jeopardy. How he would explain the latest biomat suit failure to the board and ministry was anybody’s guest. The chancellor wanted results, and rightly so, but Brody couldn’t keep his team alive long enough to study the pathogen, not on the surface. He would need to innovate, find a way to solve this thing underground.
He looked out the windows in the hull, watching the island move farther and farther away until it was a green speck between the river and ocean. The screams of his team members echoed in his ears. He could already see the look of horror on Damy’s face when he told her he’d failed again.
ZPF Impulse Wave: Johann Selendia
Hydra Hollow
300 meters deep
“Mr. President,” the helper said, “the Leadership awaits, as do your people.”
The title escaped the child’s lips so easily and elegantly, Hans almost believed her. “Interim President,” he said. “My father isn’t dead.”
Unlike in the commonwealth, children spread about Hydra Hollow, with some employed as helpers of the Leadership. The president’s cove, a cavern of granite, bioluminescent waterfalls, and a prehistoric pond, seemed empty to Hans without their presence. His own helpers, a boy and girl who’d been assigned to aid his preparations for the inauguration, stood next to him. They turned toward their colleague standing near the cove’s entrance, where heavy curtains hung.
“I pray to the gods that Jeremiah the Liberator lives,” the helper said.
“Save your prayers, child,” Hans said. “My father’s belief in the Twin Gods of the Cosmos did nothing to protect him from the commonwealth. Neither did my mother’s.”
The helper’s face lost all its color. She tugged on the leather strap around her neck that crossed over her tunic and shoulder. “What do you want me to say?”
Murray Olyorna stepped through the curtains, which swayed between stalactites and stalagmites. Wisps of mist disappeared from stone pedestals near the curtains, then returned, spreading the smell of cinnamon. “Tell them we’ll be ready soon.”
The helper nodded and turned to go.
“Wait,” Hans said. The helper looked back at him, her body tense. She appeared preadolescent, with sausage curls that bounced above her shoulders whenever she moved. She still carried a bit of baby fat. “What’s your name?” Hans asked.
“Jocelyn Vertulli.”
Hans saluted her, moving his forefinger over his forehead in an S-shape. “You do us proud, Miss
Behind them, someone screamed.
Brody turned.
Two scientists had collapsed. They writhed on the marble floor, apparently dying from Reassortment exposure, inside the dome.
Brody retracted his consciousness and focused on quelling his rising panic. This was the stuff of his nightmares, to lose his team. “Verena, conduct a biomat suit diagnostic.” He turned to Nero. “Calculate Reassortment concentrations.”
The strategist and striker manipulated the holographic readouts above their workstations.
“No biomat suit breaches detected, Captain.”
Three more scientists collapsed.
“Reassortment has achieved critical levels inside the dome, Captain.”
Two more scientists collapsed.
We’re evacuating, now! Brody sent. He hand-signaled the research bots. Some rushed to the helicopters, others to the dead scientists, wrapping them in body bags. The surviving scientists dashed toward the landing pad, up the stairs, and into the helicopters. They lifted off, one after another.
After the last one departed, Brody entered his helicopter with Verena and Nero. He connected to the chopper’s navigational intelligence and ordered it to take them back to Area 55, where they would undergo quarantine before being allowed back into Beimeni.
Brody closed his eyes. As usual, his career and life were in jeopardy. How he would explain the latest biomat suit failure to the board and ministry was anybody’s guest. The chancellor wanted results, and rightly so, but Brody couldn’t keep his team alive long enough to study the pathogen, not on the surface. He would need to innovate, find a way to solve this thing underground.
He looked out the windows in the hull, watching the island move farther and farther away until it was a green speck between the river and ocean. The screams of his team members echoed in his ears. He could already see the look of horror on Damy’s face when he told her he’d failed again.
ZPF Impulse Wave: Johann Selendia
Hydra Hollow
300 meters deep
“Mr. President,” the helper said, “the Leadership awaits, as do your people.”
The title escaped the child’s lips so easily and elegantly, Hans almost believed her. “Interim President,” he said. “My father isn’t dead.”
Unlike in the commonwealth, children spread about Hydra Hollow, with some employed as helpers of the Leadership. The president’s cove, a cavern of granite, bioluminescent waterfalls, and a prehistoric pond, seemed empty to Hans without their presence. His own helpers, a boy and girl who’d been assigned to aid his preparations for the inauguration, stood next to him. They turned toward their colleague standing near the cove’s entrance, where heavy curtains hung.
“I pray to the gods that Jeremiah the Liberator lives,” the helper said.
“Save your prayers, child,” Hans said. “My father’s belief in the Twin Gods of the Cosmos did nothing to protect him from the commonwealth. Neither did my mother’s.”
The helper’s face lost all its color. She tugged on the leather strap around her neck that crossed over her tunic and shoulder. “What do you want me to say?”
Murray Olyorna stepped through the curtains, which swayed between stalactites and stalagmites. Wisps of mist disappeared from stone pedestals near the curtains, then returned, spreading the smell of cinnamon. “Tell them we’ll be ready soon.”
The helper nodded and turned to go.
“Wait,” Hans said. The helper looked back at him, her body tense. She appeared preadolescent, with sausage curls that bounced above her shoulders whenever she moved. She still carried a bit of baby fat. “What’s your name?” Hans asked.
“Jocelyn Vertulli.”
Hans saluted her, moving his forefinger over his forehead in an S-shape. “You do us proud, Miss
Readers choose
Tamsin Baker
Claire Thompson
Adam Mansbach
Jeffrey Meyers
Robert Sheckley
Jessica Wood
Tom Bale
C. S. Friedman
Sharon Biggs Waller
Laurie Paige