Lost in Space--Infinity's Edge Read online

CHAPTER

  I bolted up. What was happening? It had to be another corrosion leak—had I missed a spot?—but I checked my communicator and it wasn’t giving any dangerous atmospheric readings.

  “Suits on!” I heard Judy shout, followed by the pounding of her boots as she ran by. “Suits on!”

  Oh no, my suit was still in the ionizer! I jumped out of bed and ran down the hall. The air already felt thin in my chest. I half climbed, half slid down the ladder and ran for the machine, past where Penny and Judy were clipping their helmets in place. Dr. Smith stood beside them, already in her suit, her hands handcuffed in front of her.

  “I’m surprised you’re bothering to give me a suit, considering the way you’ve been treating me,” said Smith dryly. “Oh, hello, Will. You’re awfully underdressed—”

  “Oh quiet!” shouted Penny, shoving Smith’s helmet into her hands.

  “Warning! Life support levels critical!” The message repeated.

  “What’s going on?” I shouted over the noise.

  Judy just shook her head. “We have no idea.”

  I stopped the ionizer, yanked out my suit, and started tugging it over my feet. “My communicator isn’t picking up anything!”

  “Neither is mine, but we can’t risk it,” said Judy. “Make sure you’ve got your suits in power-saving mode! If life support really is out, then—”

  Suddenly, the warning tone stopped.

  “Disregard alert,” the computer announced. “Life support levels normal.”

  “Will!” It was Dad, calling over the ship-wide comms.

  “Dad, what’s going on?”

  “Get down here!”

  “Do I need my suit?”

  “No, we’re inside. Under the cockpit.”

  “Ooh, can I go?” said Smith.

  “You are going straight back to your cell,” said Penny, leading Smith by the cuffs.

  “Must be nice to be so important,” Smith muttered to me as Penny dragged her past.

  I didn’t answer. Ever since on our last planet when Smith had tricked me into helping her escape, my goal was to interact with her as little as possible.

  I returned my suit to the ionizer and climbed back up to the hall, where I found one of the floor hatches open just outside the cockpit doorway. I knelt and peered inside. Dad and Don were crouched in a narrow sub-compartment surrounded by big bundles of wiring. They were both wearing headlamps and had opened a circuit panel in the wall.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “Good question,” said Don.

  “Power surge,” said Dad. “A nasty one.”

  “Things are cycling back up to normal now,” said Don. “But yeah, that wasn’t pretty. Drained the batteries thirty percent in under a minute. We’re going to have to ration for a few days just to get back to safe levels.”

  “A surge from what?” I asked. “The solar panels?”

  Don shook his head. “They don’t make enough power in a week to turn all the lights on in this ship.”

  The emergency lights blinked overhead, and there was a low hum in the floor. “Okay, I think we’re good,” said Dad. He and Don unclipped their helmets, and I climbed down into the compartment beside them.

  Don slid one of the large circuit boards down from the wall and peered at it, running his headlamp slowly back and forth over the geometric pattern. “Look at the scoring on these transistors.” He rubbed his finger over one of the little knob-like structures, and it came away with a filmy, black resin. “It’s like they all nearly overheated at once, completely evenly, which is impossible, unless…”

  “Unless what?” said Dad.

  Don ran a hand through his hair and blew air out of his cheeks. “Well, unless there was an energy source in the air, something that could hit all the transistors at once without having to run through the circuit pathways, thus bypassing the breakers.”

  “Like that lightning we keep seeing on the horizon?” I wondered aloud.

  “Maybe,” said Don. He tapped his communicator. “Sensors did record a two-millisecond electromagnetic spike right before this.”

  “So that’s it?” said Dad.

  “Not exactly. Lightning usually coalesces into a bolt, and if the Jupiter had actually been struck by lightning, this would look very different.”

  “Plus, the ship would have acted as a Faraday cage,” I said, crouching beside them.

  “Care to keep me up to speed on whatever you’re talking about?” said Dad.

  “He’s right,” said Don. “The Jupiter’s body would’ve transferred most of the lightning energy straight into the ground. Some systems would’ve definitely been fried, but it certainly wouldn’t look like this.”

  “Okay, so it’s not the lightning. Then what is it?”

  I peered at the circuit panel Don was holding. Mom often had me do spot checks on the panels around the ship, and I could see what Don was talking about: the charred color on the end of each transistor.

  “Could it be some kind of energy field?” I asked.

  “That is what it looks like,” said Don, “but that kind of thing should only really happen in a vacuum environment, not here in the atmosphere.”

  “Why did you ask that?” said Dad, eyeing me.

  “Just… trying to think it through.” I didn’t feel like getting into it again and dealing with all the disbelief and skepticism about Clare, about me, but it had crossed my mind that maybe the rift that had made Clare appear was affecting us, too. I could try to find out more from her tomorrow, and then, if this really was related, I’d have something concrete to say that wouldn’t have everyone treating me like a little kid.

  “Whatever it was, things seem all right now,” said Don. “But if it happens again… it could get a lot worse.”

  “Define worse,” said Dad.

  Don shrugged. “Something like a cascading systems failure that could kill us all. Hold on.”

  “What now?” Dad asked.

  Don held the board aside and peered into the slot. He ran his finger along the base of the frame, then held it up. It was glistening with a spot of greenish fluid.

  “What is that, engine fluid?” said Dad. It did have a sort of oily look to it.

  Don smelled it, and his nose wrinkled. “Sour. It looks more like something organic.”

  Dad groaned. “Our last planet had eels in the fuel lines. Please don’t tell me this one has something else that wants to eat our ship.”

  “Unlikely, but you’d better scan it just to be sure.” Don pulled off his glove and handed it to Dad. “Will and I can check these other boards to see how widespread this is.”

  Dad took the glove and frowned at it. “I’ll have Judy run it. Here, you’re more use down here than I am.” He handed me his headlamp and climbed out.

  Don pulled out the next board and placed it on the floor, then removed another.

  I peered at the circuit pathways and saw the same black char.

  “If this burst had lasted even a few seconds longer, these entire systems could have been completely fried,” said Don.

  “There’s scoring on the insulation,” I noted, “like it partially melted.”

  “Okay, so we need to protect these things somehow,” Don said, “but we don’t exactly have the supplies or the hundreds of hours it would take to add shielding to every system on the ship.”

  “What if we reversed the charge?” I said. “If this electrical field returns, we need the circuits to not absorb that energy. Like charges repel, right?”

  Don’s eyes lit up. “You’re talking about switching the polarity on the systems.” He nodded. “The only problem would be that the systems wouldn’t work.”

  “What if it was only for a millisecond or two? Like, only in response to the electromagnetic spike you recorded? That might counter the field before it could fry everything,” I said.

  “It could work.…” Don looked at the rack of circuit boards. “If I set up a battery with reverse polarity on the backup circ
uit channel—at the panel coupling, not on each board—I suppose we could then program the Jupiter to flip the switch the moment a spike is detected.” Don patted my shoulder. “That, my friend, is genius. See, I knew there was a reason we kept you around.”

  I smiled and felt my face getting red. “Thanks.”

  “Now, since you’re still young enough for me to give you orders, head up to my compartment and grab my green supply bag. That’s where I keep the spare cells.”

  “Got it.” I went for the bag, and Don and I spent the rest of the afternoon wiring up the panels. The work had to be precise, and for long stretches of time I managed to forget about the itching on my neck, and there were even a couple of moments when I forgot about Clare. But once I got the wiring routines down, my thoughts drifted to the next day and meeting up with her again.

  ONE DAY BEFORE LOWEST TIDE

  CHAPTER

  Rise and shine, Farmer W—”

  “Yeah, I’m up.” I met Dad in the doorway, already dressed and zipping up my pack.

  “Oh, hey.” He smiled. “Somebody’s anxious to check those potassium levels.”

  “Let’s get to it.” I didn’t bother mentioning that I’d already been up for an hour with the anticipation for the day, not to mention the itching on my neck.

  Dad noticed my bag. “You have somewhere to be?”

  “Today’s the second lowest tide of the cycle,” I said. “I want to do some more exploring.”

  “All right, well, don’t skimp on your chores.”

  We headed down to the garden and I quickly did my probes.

  “Everything look okay?” said Dad as I walked over to him.

  “Yup, we’re good.” I knew he wanted the detailed report, but I fought the urge to give it to him, instead checking my communicator to make sure I was still on time.

  “Well, take a look at this.” Dad held out his hand, revealing a few cherry tomatoes. “Best ratio of size to skin integrity we’ve had yet.” He plucked one between his fingers and popped it in his mouth.

  I knew I was supposed to take one, too—tasting our successes was another part of our morning routine—but instead I said, “Cool,” and started pulling on my helmet. “I already had an energy bar.”

  “Oh. Okay.” Dad’s face fell. He ate another one before lining up the rest on the control table. “You’re missing out,” he said.

  We stepped out into the morning wind, the suns not yet up, and as we ducked beneath the Jupiter, I paused. The terrain looked different.

  “Lot of wave action last night with the big high tide,” said Dad, moving toward the first landing strut.

  That made sense. With the extreme low tides came extreme highs as well, but I was still surprised to see how much had changed. There was a hollowed-out area to one side of the ship, exposing a set of rocks that we’d never seen before, and a mounded formation on another. There was also a wide eroded area over by the rocks beside Mom’s office, creating a little bay of water. The sight of all these changes made me worry. What would this have done to the spot where I was meeting Clare? Would I even still be able to reach it?

  I made my checks of the hull and went over to Dad while he was still inspecting the last landing strut. “All fine,” I reported. “I’m going to go. See you later.”

  “Okay. Have fun. After this, I’ll be helping Don install more of those battery work-arounds you two came up with. It would go a lot faster if you could help when you get back.”

  “I’ll come find you.”

  “Sounds good.”

  I wondered if he’d ask me anything else about where I was going, if he even remembered what I’d been saying the day before, but he just peered back into the machinery.

  I still felt a twinge of guilt as I left. I’d spent so many years wishing Dad had been around more, looking out at audiences and sidelines and wishing I’d see him there, and now here I was, taking off when I knew he wanted to spend time with me. And yet, as I hurried across the sand, a surge of relief coursed through me. I was on time to reach the rocks before the tide was at its absolute lowest.

  I stopped just as I was passing the bluff. Even though I wanted to head straight to the new spot, I turned and ducked into Mom’s office.

  “Who dares disturb the mad scientist at work?” she called from over her shoulder.

  That made me smile. “Hey.”

  Mom turned from her table and blinked hard, like her eyes were already tired from studying her charts. “Oh, Will. You’re up and at ’em early.”

  “Not as early as you,” I said.

  Mom shook her head. “No rest for the obsessed.”

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Headed out exploring?”

  “Uh-huh, I just—”

  “Want some company?”

  That stopped me in my tracks. “Oh. I mean, aren’t you busy?”

  Mom spread her hands over her table. “Yes, but it occurs to me that I am always busy, so why not play hooky for an hour?”

  “Um…”

  “I realize we were kind of harsh yesterday in the hub. It might be cool to see what you’ve been discovering—unless this isn’t a good time.”

  I had looked away, and now I couldn’t quite meet her eyes. Yesterday I had wanted them to know about Clare, but after how they’d reacted… now I just wanted to get the proof on my own. “It’s actually, um… it’s not the best time right now? I mean, that would be fun, just, this morning I had some stuff I wanted to do on my own.”

  “But…” Mom was looking at me with her concerned expression. “Aren’t you always on your own?”

  “I guess.” The Robot’s glowing face flashed in my mind. I hadn’t always been. “It’s fine, Mom. You don’t need to worry.”

  “I’m not worried.” Mom looked at me for another second, like she was studying me.

  Yeah, right, I thought.

  Then she turned back to her work. “You have fun.”

  “Thanks.” I turned to go but then paused. I was so anxious to get out of there that I nearly forgot the reason I’d stopped by in the first place. “Hey, can I borrow the RF scanner? Unless you’re using it.”

  “Oh, um, sure.” Mom reached across her table for the small black instrument, but before she handed it to me, she checked her charts. “The next lightning storm isn’t for a week… so I have to ask, my scientist son, what do you need it for? Does this have something to do with what Don was going on about yesterday? Some sort of energy burst? He said you guys fixed it.”

  “Yeah, we did, but I just thought I’d gather readings on my hike. I don’t think I’ll pick up anything, but it can’t hurt, right? A good scientist is a thorough scientist?”

  Mom smiled. “So said a famous scientist and mother.” She handed me the scanner. “Careful with that. Nearest tech support is an unknown number of light-years away.”

  “Thanks.”

  I stowed the scanner in my pack on my way out.

  “Will,” Mom called. “I do want to come along. Maybe next time?”

  “Sure.” She smiled at me, and I returned it as best I could, then hurried out.

  Finally, I was on my way, around the bluff, over the Whaleback, across the Pools and along the Serpent, whose twisting back had changed shape slightly in the waves overnight. It had lost a section, too, but the gap was one I could jump over. As I climbed the Serpent’s head, my pulse quickened. It wasn’t going to be there, I just knew it wasn’t—

  But yes! Ahead, I saw the long spine of sand and, far in the distance, the triangle rocks. In fact, not only were they there, but the rocks looked a little taller, as if the sand around them had eroded further.

  The rock below me, however, the one I had to jump across the deep channel to reach, was still only just peeking out of the water, so I sat on the edge of the Serpent’s head and waited for the tide to fall a little farther. While I waited, I got out the RF scanner and waved it around. No evidence of energy pulses, like lightning would make. I also used my communicator’s
scanning tool to check for microwaves and gamma rays, neither of which should have been possible, and sure enough, both readings came out negative.

  After twenty minutes, the tide had lowered enough to expose the far rock. I leaped across and jogged down the long sandbar that led to the triangle rocks. As I got closer, I thought I saw movement there. Would she really be back? I checked my watch; it had been eighteen and a half hours.…

  But when I got to the triangle formation, Clare wasn’t there. The rocks definitely seemed taller, and peering into the space between them, I saw that the sand floor was lower than the day before, too, as if it had been hollowed out by the waves.

  But what really caught my attention were the three gnarled pieces of what looked like driftwood logs crisscrossing the top of the triangle. The logs were dark gray and metallic looking, and there were pieces of the bioluminescent kelp draped over them, creating a sort of glowy ceiling to the space between the rocks. There were also pieces of the kelp hanging on the inside faces of two of the rocks, about halfway up. They hung from pointy shells that looked like larger versions of the one I had found the day before. I stood there staring at the structure, my fingers rubbing my suit above my neck, which had started to itch again. The way everything was arranged seemed like it couldn’t have just been random, from the wind or the waves. It looked almost… decorated?

  “Do you like it?”

  Clare appeared on the far side of the rocks. She was wearing a futuristic-looking space suit and was carrying another piece of driftwood that was nearly as tall as her. Her suit was slick and purplish black, with a helmet that was more rectangular than ours, and clear on all four sides.

  “You’re back,” I said, grinning.

  “I told you I’d be here.” She dropped the piece of driftwood into the space between the rocks, and when it hit the side of the rock, it made a clanging sound. “This stuff is heavy,” she said, breathing hard.

  If she was carrying something, and if she needed to be wearing a suit, that meant: “You’re like, here here now, aren’t you? Like, solid.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Clare motioned to her suit. “Turns out this planet you’re on is super poisonous, huh?” She held out her hand. “Now we can meet like proper explorers.”