Plurapod Pathogen

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The dwelling pods close to the edge of the tank were the same bright yellow as the piers. The plas-wood formed low, rounded domes, built smooth with no need for traction for wet boots.

The pier split into two elevated ramps, with Seetha’s pod on the left and Les’s nearly identical one to the right. Even though the breeze and waves were much calmer out here, more fresh-smelling than briny, water lapped and splashed just under the boards. By the time the dim lights overhead winked out in about fifteen minutes, the piers would be submerged for the night cycle.

Digital screens along the tank wall displayed landscapes Earth or alien. Either of them could change the view for leisurely rest days or the confinement of storm days.

They stopped at the y-shaped break in the pier, the usual routine before parting company. Seetha would continue on to her door set into the pod, while Les would submerge to a passageway under the surface.

Les hadn’t spoken at all on the journey home, and the silence and fretting were unlike hir. The only question, still unasked or answered, was whether they would meet again this evening. Seetha didn’t want to spend the entire night-cycle wondering what was bothering her friend, much less what was wrong with the vital reseeding.

“Will you share the harvest feast with me?” Les said, saving Seetha the trouble. “I will do my best to be good company.”

“Your company is always welcome, Les, good or not. See you in half an hour.”

Les paused, like ze wanted to say more, before submerging. Seetha shook her head, then turned to watch the sunset behind her house. A blue star in a cloudy green sky sank into a sea much too thick and slow-moving to be water. Not even the exotic water that surrounded her, harvested from gas giant moons, unsullied by millennia of abuse on Earth.

Seetha continued on toward home.

As always when she closed the door to her house, she was struck by instant silence. Even away from the machinery, their tank was constantly noisy. Splashing, blowing, squeaking. Seetha’s ears stayed on low-level duty every second she spent outside these insulated walls.

The other welcome contrasts to the uniformity of the tank were color and warmth. Many deep jewel tones covered the walls, floors, ceiling, whatever surface Seetha could manage to alter. And even with the house systems conserving power while Seetha was out working, the house was warm, delightfully so.

A low tank took up most of the wall closest to Les’s pod, nearly three meters long with plenty of room for a young plurapod to stretch out. A human-sized tank with fresh water rather than salt sat close by.

Temperatures uncomfortably hot for a plurapod would be divine for Seetha’s weary muscles and bones.

Besides the explosion of color, her living room and kitchen space were as functional and standard issue as her work uniform. Her most likely visitor was Les, guaranteed to be unimpressed by elaborate furnishings and decorations. Besides, the rather boring plas-wood and glass made cleaning—one of Seetha’s least favorite duties—relatively painless.

The only thing better than her soaking tank was her bedroom, hidden behind an embroidered purple and gold curtain from Earth Zone Asia. Seetha dropped her gear-pack on the kitchen counter and walked through, smiling at the jingle of dozens of tiny brass bells.

She filled her most intimate space with luxurious cushions and fabrics, decidedly earthy scents and music. Her night-cycle clothing matched, turning her downtime into a sensual paradise deep in the cold and black of outer space.

No time for such indulgences until after she knew what was wrong with the new crop. Then she’d probably need to relax more than ever. She changed into a midnight blue robe, nearly black in the low light.

Les would bring hir own meal, mostly the same off-world crops that were causing all the trouble. Seetha had just enough time to get her own food ready and brace herself for whatever was ahead.

She never suspected how much she would soon wish for the calm of an evening at home with her friend.