Humid, p.10
Humid, page 10
Wendy surprised herself by sleeping through the night. She knew she was very tired from hiking all day in the heat and humidity, but even then it was difficult to sleep when it was so hot.
She longed for the days of snuggling under the blankets for warmth with her husband Henry. Before they had kids it was not uncommon for them to leave the heater set at fifty five degrees in the winter, relying on the wood stove to knock the serious chill out of the main part of the house. Their bedroom always stayed cold when they did this and she had loved it.
That all changed when they had kids. She assumed, in this day and age, that keeping a house that cold with children in it would be considered some kind of abuse and lead to a knock at the door from some agency. Instead, they would sometimes open their bedroom window to let a draft in. Forcing the need for more snuggling.
As much as she tried, she could barely remember the feeling of being cold. It had only been a year, but it seemed like a lifetime.
As she rolled over, she found Colby staring at her. “Good morning.” She almost asked him how he had slept. “Do you even need to sleep?”
Colby’s face was neutral, but he shook his head in the negative. He seemed very distracted. “How are you feeling this morning?” he asked.
She sat up and noticed how wet with dew all the algae was. She knew that water must taste a little odd, but still thought about trying it. Wendy wondered if algae smoothies would catch on amongst the health nuts, assuming some were still left alive.
She smiled at her thoughts before realizing Colby was waiting for an answer. “I feel great. Thanks for bringing the pillow, it helped a ton.” Wendy stood up and kicked her bag of salt several times. She could feel that it was starting to harden, but a few quick kicks broke it apart again before she strapped the bag on. “Let’s get the hell out of this green air today, huh?”
Colby nodded and handed her a pair of granola bars before slinging his own heavy pack up onto this wide shoulders. Wendy stuffed one bar into the damp chest pocket of her shirt and began snacking on the other.
As she walked down the road, she did her best to avoid stepping in the mats of dark green algae. They seemed to be thickest along the edge of the road where the highway department notched ‘rumble strips’ into the shoulder of the highway. She remembered how much her kids loved those lines of divots. On road trips they would beg her to drive the car over them. She didn’t do it often because it gave the impression she was swerving, but if no one was around she would oblige the boys and the car would be filled with a loud rumbling sound. The pair would laugh and laugh. She never really understood how it could be that funny, but it was worth it to hear the sheer glee in their voices.
As Wendy kicked some of the algae out of one of the strips, she saw that the dew must be accumulating in the divot, giving the filamentous algae a strong place to begin growing. Once it reached a certain size, the strange, blob-like shape of the algae could trap its own water, and essentially create the ideal environment for its growth.
They had walked nearly an hour before Wendy felt like she should stop and rest. Her legs felt fine and her face wasn’t flushed in the slightest, but she was trying to be careful not to overdo it. A decent night’s sleep had really done her good and she didn’t want to jinx herself.
“The air feels less thick as we get farther from the station.” She unwrapped the second granola bar as she spoke.
Colby looked at her seriously and paused before responding. “It’s not.”
“What are you talking about? The sky is certainly less green out here.”
“That’s not how the diatoms work. They take time to fully replicate themselves, for sure, but the saturation in the air is the same here as it was at the station. It just became fully saturated here slightly after the other location, so there are fewer diatoms here.”
“Hmmm. It must be some kind of visual brain trick then. I see less green and I just imagine that it’s more comfortable.”
“I don’t think that’s it, Wendy.”
She broke the last piece of her snack into two smaller pieces and dropped one into her mouth. She was hungrier than she had realized.
“No, they’ve done studies about that. Sometimes when humans see pictures of cold places, like a snowy glacier, they feel colder even if they happen to be standing in a sauna.”
“I understand that.” Colby tugged on his goatee once more, and this was when Wendy knew something was amiss. “Let me ask you a different question. Have you ever taken two electronic devices and put them near each other? Like two walkie-talkies, or a cell phone and a cd player?”
“Of course. I’ve even seen a musician on stage make a beat by using the interference from two walkie-talkies.” Wendy paused. “But how do you know about that?”
“Don’t forget that I downloaded your internet. I can also tell you that the musician you are referring to is Keller Williams.” He smiled then as his eyes unfocused, as if he was watching a movie no one else could see. “Ha! It sounds just like he’s playing the trumpet, but it’s just his mouth! You really are an amazing species.”
“Yeah, he’s great. Now what were you talking about?”
“At some point last night while you were sleeping, I began to notice that interference.” Colby squinted slightly as he looked her up and down. “It was coming from you.”
00000
The rhythmic thumping of Wendy’s heart reverberated inside her ears as her panic rose. “Are they in me again?” She shouted with a good dose of fear in her voice.
“These can’t be from the others. They simply can’t.” He waved his hands over his own body. “This very form is made of the same diatoms that are in the air. No interference here.”
She was willing her hands not to tremble as the level of adrenaline continued to rise within her. “So what does it mean?”
“This situation is entirely new, but it does explain how the others were able to get some of their machines to live inside you in the first place. They had a template to learn from.”
Wendy turned and started heading down the road, thinking some distance might somehow calm her.
Colby easily caught up with her, even with the heavy pack on his back. “This might not be the terrible thing you think it is.”
She stopped suddenly and Colby bumped into her. “How could this not be a bad thing? Huh? You just told me I have more tiny machines inside me. Are they going to try to control me too? How much time do I have? You don’t know any of that, so I’m just trying to get back to my family as quickly as I can.” Wendy returned to stomping down the road.
“They are machines, but essentially, so are all the various little cells in your body. In essence, you just have a specialized cell that seems to only be able to help you. They made it seem less humid, right?” Wendy didn’t stop walking. “I can’t control them, Wendy, which means that the others can’t control them either. I think they are yours to control.”
Wendy stopped again. “But I’m not controlling them! I didn’t tell them to make it less humid.”
Colby peered at her. “Yes, but you also aren’t telling your heart to beat.”
Wendy was silent for a moment as she looked down at her hands. It was nice to not feel as hot. Plus, it would allow her to travel faster. Still, it was incredibly unnerving. “I thought you said the salt in my body would hurt them.”
“It does, but I have a feeling yours are different. I think they’ve been in you for a long time, evolving and learning to adapt in the harsh environment of a human body.” Colby looked puzzled as he stared off at the sky. “The original diatoms that we left here have been in stasis in the upper atmosphere for four billion years, waiting to be activated when we needed them to begin suspending the water in the air. If enough of them got knocked to ground level, it stands to reason that perhaps a few, even only one, found its way into your body and somehow survived to replicate enough to have an effect.”
The word replicate caused Wendy to hug her arms close to her chest involuntarily.
“I know the idea is creepy, but think of it as being the same as a person who has a good immune system or something. You’re more advanced, that’s all. Hell, all the humans could have a few of our diatoms in them for all we know. The difference is that yours are now turned on, probably from the others’ attempt to control you. I certainly wouldn’t have expected to find any inside you, and they must not have either.”
“Has this happened before?” Wendy asked, slowly coming to grips with the situation.
Colby was at a loss. “We wouldn’t have known if it had. The more I think about it, the more likely it seems. It’s just not the kind of thing we think about. It’s trivial.”
Wendy was getting tired of being referred to as trivial. “It’s not trivial. It’s an entire planet!”
“Yes, it is. But have you ever searched a bird bath for microbes that might be exhibiting novel traits before you clean it out, or do you just change the water, scrub it off, and go about your day?”
Wendy’s fear had been replaced with anger. She preferred the anger. She could work with the anger. “I’m getting out of this area and radioing for help from some other trivial beings.”
Colby was quiet as he followed along behind her.
20
Their walking that day was done mostly in silence. Wendy never felt the urge to stop, and that bothered her. She had so many questions and no real answers. Colby had said the machines in her were reproducing, and she worried what she was turning into.
Wendy remembering reading a book several years ago about a future in which everyone had tiny machines in them, but if they ever became more than fifty percent machine they weren’t considered human anymore and were killed. She certainly never dreamt while reading that book she would someday wonder if she would become less than half human.
For the past several hours Wendy had walked along deep in thought. She was able to walk around the piles of algae, but had noted early in the day that they were becoming less and less common as they made their way down the highway.
A large grumble emanated from her stomach just as Colby walked up beside her. “Except for those two granola bars, you haven’t eaten all day.”
“Maybe machines don’t need to eat. You don’t eat.”
“You’re not a machine, Wendy. You’re very much human, and you will remain very much human until the day you die.” He placed his hand on her shoulder and urged her to stop, and she did. “I know you’re upset about this, but please understand that my form is made purely of diatoms while you probably don’t have a single actual diatom in you anymore. The diatoms would have released their microscopic machines and just switched up your wiring a little better. As far as I can tell, you have a few cells that have been altered, and that’s it. A slight upgrade.”
“A few cells can make a dew point of 89 feel comfortable? I doubt it.”
“Those cells are altering some small things in your body, that’s all. They’re making you function more efficiently. I’m afraid you misunderstand what I mean when I say they’re replicating. They are simply copying and repairing their own lines of code.”
Wendy kept walking.
“You’re not filling up with alien machines, Wendy.”
“And you know this how?”
“I’ve been monitoring you continuously since I first noticed the anomaly. As I understand it, what I first sensed was the miniscule amount of our bio-organic machines turning on and communicating with one another. Essentially, figuring out what they needed to do in order to make the larger machine, which would be you, function at its highest level.”
Wendy finally stopped walking.
“They do the exact same tasks in our ship, which is just a single very large organic creature. The premise is the same. They seek out and fix problems that they find. They took notice that your body was very hot, so they have made you more resistant to the humidity. Wendy, I’m sorry this happened, but it’s not the curse you think it is. In fact, if many of your species carries the same salt-resistant bio-machines and we can figure out how to turn them on, it may be a giant evolutionary leap forward for your kind.”
“Assuming your kind doesn’t kill us all off first.” Wendy was still angry, but what he said made sense to her. She didn’t feel any negative side effects….yet. She hoped he was correct about the machines not being able to multiply out of control inside her. If they all lived through whatever was coming, maybe doctors could find a way to shut them off with a big electromagnetic blast or something. Hell, maybe she could just eat bacon for a week and out salt them.
“Well, yes, we need to find a way to stop the others from stripping the water, but I’m still working on that.”
“Right.”
“Will you eat something?”
Wendy sighed. “Yeah, I’m pretty hungry. Did you bring anything substantial? The crackers and granola bars will work, but I’m feeling pretty depleted right now.”
Colby reached into the bag and pulled out a Meal-Ready to Eat, or MRE, that was labeled ‘Beef Stroganoff’ and handed it to her.
“That’s perfect for Curly. It’s his favorite one. I think it tastes like socks. I’ll eat if I have to, but do you have anything else?
“I have more of those MRE’s. What kind do you want?”
“Pretty much any but that one. I don’t even like homemade stroganoff, and that boxed stuff is just atrocious.”
Colby handed her a different MRE labeled ‘Buffalo Chicken’ and Wendy smiled widely. “Now you’re talking. This is my second favorite after the boneless pork ribs one. Thanks.” Wendy had grown very accustomed to eating military rations at the station. She always had other options, but an MRE actually felt like a real meal. They took some getting used to, but they were decent.
She didn’t usually use the ration heaters on her MREs because it was typically so hot outside that the thought of a hot meal wasn’t appealing to her. Since this was one of her favorite meals and the heat wasn’t as oppressive to her anymore, she went ahead and cracked the heater on it.
While it was heating up, she remembered how much Curly had loved the stroganoff flavor. She used to scratch his stubbly rump while he devoured his meal. It always made her smile when the dog would wag his tail while eating. It reminded her of her little boys humming and wiggling around in bliss in their chairs while eating extra cheesy macaroni and cheese. Even her husband was known to dance around the kitchen a little if you put a piece of Imo’s Pizza topped with bacon in his hands.
Wendy sighed as she felt her foul mood and anger fading. She hoped that Colby was right about the machines inside her, but ultimately she couldn’t change it. All she could do was continue to press on to New Mexico. To her family. Everything else was out of her hands.
“So do you want to try a bite or can you not actually eat anything at all?”
Colby eyed the Buffalo Chicken. “I can eat, it won’t hurt anything. I just don’t need to eat.”
Wendy held up a forkful to him. “Here, try it. It’s really good.”
“I shouldn’t eat your food. What if we run out?”
“If we run out, this one forkful wouldn’t make a lick of difference.” Wendy smiled at him devilishly. “I can see on your face that you want to try it.”
Colby acquiesced and took the fork from her. After eating the bite, he smiled widely. “I can’t be certain that what I taste is the way it tastes to you, but it’s tangy and sweet at the same time. Even a little spicy!” Then he laughed with delight. Wendy was fairly certain she saw him wiggle in joy too.
“Yep. That’s how it is supposed to taste. Next time we’ll try the pork ribs. They’re not exactly as good as authentic BBQ, but they’re the best pork ribs you’ll ever eat out of a plastic bag!”
00000
As she leaned back against the side of the road cut, she noticed the sky appeared to be entirely clear. “Do you think we’re out of it now, Colby?”
Colby looked around and then went very still for a brief second. “We are on the edge, but not completely clear. I’m still picking up quite a few diatoms in the air, just not enough to visually register.” Colby pulled the big bag over to him and started rummaging around in it. “I take it you can’t sense them?”
Wendy paused and then said, “No, I can’t tell anything. I don’t know how to do that.”
“I’m not sure if you’ll be able to sense them the same way I do, but I imagine you’ll be able to sense them at least partially. It’s not unlike how your sense of smell works, except instead of a scent, you’re picking up on a signal.”
Wendy tried to concentrate and think about picking up a signal, but nothing happened. “I got nothing over here.”
“You’ll probably just notice static. I might be able to give you something you can pick up.” Colby stood and closed the distance between the two of them. “Okay, I’m going to put out a blast and I want to you to listen carefully for anything that wasn’t there before. Got it? It might be come through as static or a high-pitched squeal. I really don’t know. I’ll make sure it won’t be big enough for anybody else to pick up on it.”
Wendy nodded and sat up straighter, folding into a cross-legged position. “Let’s try it.”
Colby went very still as Wendy strained to pick up any change. For a brief second she thought she heard something, almost like a gnat buzzing by her ear, but instead of her ear it was actually inside her head. When she thought about it, she couldn’t be sure it wasn’t the sound of her own blood rushing in her veins. She was concentrating so hard that it was a possibility.
Colby’s eyes blinked and then focused on her. “Did you sense it?”
“No. Well, maybe? I can’t be sure. It might have just been my mind playing tricks on me. Are you sure your friends won’t pick up on you if you’re blasting out signals?”
“No, I imagine they have already moved onto other things by now. The ship isn’t far off. We only have a week or so to stop them.”
She blanched at the idea. One week. A week to try to stop an alien civilization from taking something they feel belongs to them. “Can’t you, I don’t know, beam back up and try to reason with them?”
