Yesterday was a long day, what with the council discussions going late into the evening. Today, our last in the Garden of Chiron, Cleve and I both just need time to ourselves. After breakfast, he announces that he’s going on a hike. I tell him to have a good time and let him leave on his own. The man deserves to enjoy a hike without worrying about me while I’m in whatever semi-aware state accompanies miasma-vision. Because that’s what’s on my agenda this morning: seeing if I can tap into whatever Sal did. Two of their visions in particular are of interest to me, the damaged colony module with cryopods—people who might need rescuing—and the wall of blocked miasma, which could be a valuable technology for all of humanity as we continue adapting to the new biome.
Marina’s patio is insufficient for accomplishing this; the windmills in town keep the air clearer than I would like. So far, the richest environment I’ve experienced in the Garden of Chiron has been down by the seashore, so that’s where I head. I don’t go to the soft sand by the docks, though. Xiao’s getting his boat ready for our departure tomorrow, and I don’t want to distract Gale from her associated work. And she’d distract me from mine, I’m sure, coming over to cuddle with me and demand we play games. And then that’d mean Xiao yelling at me and really, I just don’t want to be around people at all right now. I need quiet and focus for what I have planned.
Further north of the harbor, large rocks overtake the sand, some worn smooth by time and tide, others tall enough to have escaped such erosion and therefore still rough and sharp as coral. It’s a little tricky navigating the gravelly surface between the larger rocks, but I keep my footing as I make my way down to the shoreline. There I find a decent boulder with water lapping up against it and settle myself in. I’m not sure if touching water will help with this meditative exercise, but it’s hot and humid out here, and if nothing else, it will feel soothing. I take off my boots and socks, roll up my slacks, and let my feet dangle in the water. I roll up my sleeves as well, but I leave the vest on, even out here in the sun. I want to be as comfortable as I can, but I still want to look good.
I close my eyes to what’s immediately around me and then attempt to listen in to the environment. The wall holding back miasma is where I focus my efforts. That seems like it should feel pretty unique: a giant pile of miasma on one side and absolutely none on the other. So I start by seeking out a really dense concentration of miasma. Even if I can’t find whatever it is that Sal saw, maybe I’ll find something else that’s good to know about.
This is different from when I’ve used miasma-vision before. This time, I can feel my attention being drawn across the sea. There’s a whole new landmass there, one with plenty of miasma—except in this enormous pocket bordering the shore. If this is what Sal saw, I’m looking at a different section of it, not as far inland. In the water I detect all sorts of small changes to the environment—support pillars, water breaks, patches of scraped seabed, collections of barnacle-like creatures. Ah, it’s a harbor. There is no physical wall encompassing the settlement here, but further inland the miasma begins abruptly. I feel around that edge—there’s a slight shimmer—and conclude that there’s some sort of repulsor field at play. It’s holding back the miasma, and I wonder what else it might do, depending on the underlying science of how it works. Could it also cause some sort of resonance interference? It’s hard to say from so far away and just using miasma-vision.
Turning my attention from the repulsor field, I sense something foreign in the area, something I’ve never picked up before while communing with Chiron like this. Oh, those are humans. Given the direction I feel I’ve gone, this must be the University, or at least part of it. The area protected by the repulsor field is vast—larger than several of Morgan’s domes. It might very well hold thousands of people.
There aren’t as many ships here as in Garden Bay. When I concentrate harder, I can almost see them. What I mean is, I can sense them in a way that conjures up mental images. It’s like reconstructing the surface of a coin with your eyes closed by dragging your fingertips over its raised surfaces. These are certainly ship-shaped, but they’re different from the trawlers that the mariners use. On the side of one completely metal one, I can make out an embossed University logo—familiar to me from Damian’s card. This must be one of those science exploration vehicles that Xiao was telling us about. My attention tags along with this ship as it heads out of the bay, but as we get to deeper water, it descends, and I lose track of the submarine among all the other sea life down there.
I’m disoriented about where I am when my miasma-vision crawls back to the surface. It’s open water, but there is an island nearby, one with impressive chalky white cliffs. And yes, just as in Sal’s drawing, the large—and jagged—metal footprint of a ruined colony pod sits near them, prior to their drop-off. Plenty of Chiron life twines over and through the wreckage, thirty years worth of overgrowth. I sense humans again, humans up and about and doing things, though I cannot tell what or how many. It’s enough to know that at least some humans here are awake, though I have no idea how long that’s been the case.
This could be an island between the University and the Stepdaughters. I wonder if it’s on the route Xiao has planned for us. I try to move closer, to sense other details, but something is nagging at me, and I reorient. There is something immense out there in the depths, something on the scale of this entire island, and it is moving this way… with interest. ¡Ay, no! I did disturb more than just Dr. Citali’s sensors when I connected with Gale the other day. This is the siege worm all over again. An island is a safe place to be, right, against a sea creature? If the creature can’t go on land… or cause tidal waves with its passing… That’s no certainty at all. The people on that landmass are in danger, and they probably don’t know that creature is headed their way.
I have enough sensations now to tell something about relative locations. That sea creature’s trajectory leads to the Garden of Chiron, to here, Garden Bay, where I inadvertently set off an enormous resonance ping. And that island with the cliffs is along the way. I might need to do something flashy somewhere else to alter its course in order to protect both locations. I don’t sense any malice from this creature, but even just the interest of an enormous creature is danger enough. The siege worm was just annoyed at me, and that annoyance was devastating.
I open my eyes and look out over Garden Bay. “Well, that’s problematic,” I mutter, kicking at the water. Not exactly the most relaxing of meditation sessions. But at least forewarned is forearmed. I’m going to have to talk with Xiao about this.