Alder's World Part One: Mass 17 Read Free Page A

flashed before Alder ’ s
mind; the incident on solar comet 2196 A. A University of Mars
researcher ’ s self replicating
nanobots had gone amok and replicated the entire comet out of
existence in a matter of hours.
    “Martin, get that off your
finger now! You ’ re boiling it
with your lights! ” It was too
late. With a hiss and a squeal, the nanobots ate through the outer
layer of Martin ’ s
suit.
    “What the hell man?”
    “Don ’ t hold your
breath! ” Pakerson
shouted. “ Let the suit adjust
to the pressure loss. ”
    “Get it off your
finger! ” Alder
shouted. “ You ’ re too
hot.”
    “I ’ m too hot?
What?”
    “Just do
it! ”
    Martin cursed, flung himself down, and
began scraping his hand back and forth furiously on the floor of
the sphere.
    “Turn everything on his suit off.”
Alder ordered Pakerson and Jinx who were clumsily bounding up
behind Martin.
    “Why?” Jinx asked.
    “Those are self-replicating nanobots.
The hotter they get, the faster they eat.” Cool him off.
    The squeal from
Martin ’ s suit was growing and
he grunted in pain. “ My
ears. ”
    “Just
don ’ t hold your
breath.” Pakerson demanded, trying to grab
his swinging arm. “ Let the
suit adjust. ”
    “I ’ ve got an emergency
bubble.” Jinx offered, pulling at the belt
on his spacesuit. “ Get him to
hold still. ”
    “Forget the emergency
bubble.” Alder barked. “ We ’ ve got to get it off
of him first. ”
    “It hurts.” Martin complained.
    “Just keep breathing. Your
ears will adjust. ”
    “No.” Martin protested. “ My
finger. My finger hurts. ”
    Pakerson held
Martin ’ s hand up into the
light. The drop was gone, replaced by a
hissing hole in the index finger of the suit. As they watched, a
thin stream of red, frozen instantly by the extreme cold, began
jetting out with the gas from inside.
    “Hold him still.” Jinx demanded.
    “No! ” Alder yelled. He swung his head to the
right. “ Computer! Priority
voice authorization. Alder Samuel C.
Respond. ”
    “Lieutenant Commander Alder Samuel C,
priority authorized.” The computer responded
emotionlessly.
    “Sam, what are you
doing?” Pilton ’ s voice jumped
on the line.
    Alder ignored him. “ Computer. This is a level one
biological emergency. Subject Martin, Caleb A. is infected with a
pathogen type seven, type three, possibly type nine.
Confirm. ”
    The computer began
reciting the information back but Alder spoke over it. “ Officers Pakerson and Jinx, subject
Martin, Caleb A is a level one biological threat as is your
environment.” Red lights began flashing
around the science bay.” You are to exit
the area immediately. Repeat evacuate
immediately. ”
    “What? and just leave
him?” Jinx asked.
    “Fuck that.” Came Pakerson ’ s reply.
    “What the hell
Sam?” Martin asked, his voice squealing as
the suit struggled to keep up with growing gas leak.
    “I ’ m…I ’ m sorry. Pakerson
and Jinx you are ordered to leave now. ”
    “No way.
I ’ m not leaving him.” Jinx knelt over Martin, the plastic emergency
bubble in his hands.
    “Carol.” Alder, plead to Pakerson. “ Carol, you need to look up
now. ”
    As Pakerson turned, her lights moved
up into the nightmare Alder knew she would see. The surface of the
cube had dissolved, turning in only a few seconds into a writhing,
swirling cloud.
    “What the...?” She
gasped. “ What is
it? ”
    “Just
run! ” Alder ordered. “ Just run! ”

“Maelstrom Rising”
    Alder
sat at the conference room table just off the bridge with his head
in his hands staring at the desktop. Eighteen hours? Had it been
eighteen hours? More like three years and eighteen hours maybe
since the cube had woken, Martin had been killed, and Lance One had
fallen silent. Surely the agonizing eternity that Alder had spent
in the exo-science bay, pouring over radio channels, searching for
any sign that Pakerson and Jinx were still alive had been more than
eighteen hours. Of course the