2143: A century has passed since the earth was struck by that damned meteor. Now we’re holed up like rats in a sinking ship, trying to survive a storm no one thought possible. Of all the microscopic terrors we had imagined, we never could have believed that there was an organism like this.
There exists a team of humanity’s best and brightest scientists in a wide variety of fields, created by the remaining governments of earth to combat this threat. Until very recently, sentient life forms were always left untouched. My predecessors never had the the chance to figure out why before it mutated, but that is where I come in. I am now leader of this team, and we have been tasked with discovering just that.
I am Dr. Ian Burke, and this is my account of mankind’s darkest hour. Even as I wrote this, people were scrambling to evacuate. But the scientist in me had to finish my notes.
I typed frantically, vainly attempting to stay ahead of the wave of chaos that was breaking all around me.
…capable of higher thought, replicating as it chooses. It almost seems nanite in nature, but it is confirmed to be a biological organism. It’s truly frightening how intelligent the bug really is.
“Doctor, come on! Grab your computer and let’s get the hell outta here!” It was my assistant, a young man by the name of Derick. Although I had reservations about his military past, he had not only proven himself an invaluable pilot, but a remarkable scientific mind. He was truly one of the brightest members on my team.
“Where are the others?” I asked.
“I don’t think they made it Sir. They were right behind me when the corridor collapsed, and then they were just gone.”
“Understood. Grab the blue folders from the filing cabinet in Dr. Sanbourne’s office and we’ll make our way to the southeast launchpad.”
“No offense Sir, but we’re months away from completing that thing you call a ship! Do you really think she’ll fly?”
“I can appreciate your concern Derick, but I assure you, the other pads will be long gone by the time we reach them. The Zephyr isn’t my first choice, but she is our only choice. Now go, the more time we waste arguing the less time we have to escape.”
He ran into the adjacent office and began rummaging through that mess Sanbourne called a filing cabinet and I did my best to collect the various notes that had been strewn across my office in the recent months. I don’t even remember writing all of this, there were notes everywhere. I had even taken to writing on the walls and ceiling.
“Hey, grab a camera while you’re in there, I need to catalogue a couple things.” There was a loud crash followed by an indiscernible obscenity and a “Yes, sir”. I could hear him tearing that office apart like a rabid pack of wolves. Ridiculous…
“Got it” he said as he emerged from the darkness of Sanbourne’s cave, debris fallowing in his wake.
“Oh god, thank-you. Quickly, I just need to take a few quick shots and then we’ll be on our way.” A tremor hit and it shook us to the very soul. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust again and when they did I could see everything in the room had shifted slightly to the left, papers and supplies spilling out of a variety of drawers.
“I bet that was one of the landing pads, we better hurry sir.” I took my photo’s, barely paying attention to where I was pointing the damned camera.
“There, that’ll have to be good enough. Now lets get out of this death trap.” We crashed through the door and, scrambling to our feet, we ran.
“Derick, how far had the bug spread when you came for me?” I asked as we took of down one of the many now darkened corridors.
“It just came out of nowhere, I’ve never seen it replicate so fast! I think we’re in some serious shit here sir.”
“How far?”
“Most of the base is gone sir. I think we’re the only ones left”
“Derick, take my laptop and notes. I want you to go ahead of me and prep the Zephyr. If I am not there in 2 minutes, leave without me. I have to try and grab one more thing.
“Yes, Sir. Just hurry, we are running out of time.” And with that he ran off. Hopefully he would begin the launch protocols immediately rather than waiting, but he is only human. Only human. That phrase has taken on an entirely different meaning. Just when we thought we were beginning to have a real presence in the universe, we were brought to our knees. It was almost a sign, like our arrogance was infuriating to these creatures.
“Almost there” I thought out loud. “103, 104, 105, AH, here we are.” I kick in the door marked 106, Propulsion Development and run inside, only to find most of the room decaying. ‘My god’ I think to myself, ‘How is this spreading at such an increased rate? Only a few weeks ago it would have taken years to even reach the main gate. If only I had more time here to study it, this is a perfect opportunity.’
“Doctor? Are you there sir?” Crackled and distorted, Derick’s voice over the com brought me out of my awe-struck stupor. I rushed forward and grabbed a large portfolio half a second before the desk previously holding it disintegrated.
“I’m here, whats your sit-rep?” I inquired as I streaked out into the hall.
“Sir?”
“Situational Report Derick. Weren’t you in the military?” I know my tone was sarcastic, but I was powerless against it. I wasn’t used to being in these situations and I could feel myself losing control of my faculties.
“I started the launch sequence Sir. You only have a minute to get to the lift.”
“Oh, and by the way, you’re an asshole sir, I couldn’t hear you over the engines,” he added with a chuckle. “I know damn well what sit-rep means.”
“On my way. Good news, I managed to save the prints for the subspace drive. No reverse engineering for us.”
“Ha ha ha, that’s great Doc, but you need to shut up and run!”
As if I didn’t realize that… I ran as fast as I could, almost losing control on the slick floor several times. I finally made it to the elevator lobby Almost there… I repeatedly hit the call button, but to no avail.
“Stall as long as you can Derick, the lifts are out.” I slammed open the stairwell door and raced through into the tight, light-less, corridor. Taking to the steps, I clamored up them several at a time. I climbed faster and faster, pushing my aging legs and lungs to their breaking point. By the time I had finally rea ched the top I could barely see and was desperately gasping for air. The last few steps to the door seemed like the hardest I had taken in my life, but I pushed with all my strength and heaved the door open, practically falling out into the light of day.
As the glare cleared and my eyes began to adjust, the Zephyr came into view, barely seconds from blasting me off of the pad. I raced for the closing ramp as fast as I could, half stumbling and half diving the last few paces and losing a shoe to the door that was now sealed around it. I will never forget how flat a shoe becomes between a 150 ton ship and a 5 ton door.
“That was close, and this was my favorite pair of shoes dammit.” I pressed the button on the com, “I’m in,” I panted, “Get us out of here. I’ll be up to the bridge as soon as I catch my breath.”I then collapsed and my vision was dark once more.