Death and The Divide Read Free

won’t share research with the North. And the North wouldn’t appreciate my attempt at obtaining it.”
    She started to tell him about her friend, but decided she should ask Carol’s permission first. The issue of sharing data across the Divide was taboo. Anything that happened in either country could only find its way to the public through publication in international scientific journals. They had no time for that. 
    “What about this new member of the triumvirate who was attacked?” she asked, trying another tack. “He’s promoting the idea of more interaction. Shouldn’t we share scientific data when it comes to the common good of humanity?”
    “Spoken like a true student of democracy.” He laughed, but the sound mocked her ideology. “Sure, he’s spouting regulated trade and structured tourist visits, but even that minor change is years down the road.” He rubbed his chin. “Don’t forget he was attacked. Not everyone is on board with this softer approach to the South.”
    “Then how can we help figure this out?”
    He shrugged. “We can’t unless something similar happens on one of our beaches. Till then, this is simply a story from the South about some dead birds and fish.” His expression hardened and he threw a stylus across his desk. “That damned war! All a bunch of political nonsense, dividing the country like that. It set us back a good fifty years in technological advances. Imagine where we’d be now if that devastation hadn’t disrupted our focus on the future and sucked resources from research? We’d probably be living on other planets by now, or at least the dimwitted Southerners wouldn’t still use archaic fossil fuels.”
    It was a typical rant for him. He firmly believed politics should stay out of the way of scientific advancement. He resented how regulations slapped scientists on the wrist. He had a separate set of morals to guide his actions, which he considered higher than any political figure’s.
    Further conversation was useless. She took the tech-pad he returned to her, and headed to her desk, fascinated despite her limited ability to study the phenomenon. She looked forward to Carol’s call tomorrow to learn if her friend had more news. A tight ball formed in her gut, telling her this was bigger than just some dead birds and fish.
     

 
     
     
    Chapter Two
     
     
    Dr. Lincoln Butler stood on a dune, frozen and aghast. He detected a brisk ocean breeze on his face and bright sunlight shining from above. These nuances he absorbed, but his mind couldn’t process the horrible sight before him. He closed his eyes a moment then scanned the horizon where oil-drilling rigs rose like buildings of a floating city across the distant water.
    Huge blimp-like oil-collector transports hovered over some of the structures, uploading the black gold into their tanks to carry to the mainland. He gritted his teeth at the unwelcome sight on his beloved ocean. Overhead, military drones cruised back and forth with their sensor-rays fully extended to gather information about the disaster on the sand below. Their whirring buzz set his already frayed patience on edge. Reluctantly, he finally lowered his gaze.
    Gray shapes, a large number of some sort of small whale, littered the red-stained beach of Mobile, Alabama—hole carcasses along with pieces of fins and tails with flesh attached. The smell of fish left too long in the sun blasted him, carried on a gust of wind. His stomach heaved, but he managed not to lose his lunch. Now he understood why the military had blocked off the area and removed the spectators. Only the sound of seagulls and crashing waves seemed normal on this gruesome field of death.
    His team stalled at his side, their faces pale and eyes wide. One of the women cried, and one man wasn’t as successful as Linc in controlling his gut. The splatter of vomit on sand brought bile to his throat.
    He swallowed and continued to the level beach, then donned his waders and stepped