Cricket201904

(Lars) #1
Fifteen-year-oldTaylivesonRannoch,adistantplanetcoveredwithwater,
whereunderseapodsorlivingchambersprovidelifesupportforuptothreepeo-
ple—usuallytwoadultsandonechild.Taylearnsthatherparentsareexpecting
another child and that she must marry andmove into a pod of her own. Upset, she
thrustsherportablebreathingtubeintoherthroatventandslamsoutofthepod.
Swimming past the school, she remembers learning about the history
ofPlanetRannoch.Onedaytheclassviewed an ancient Video that showed the
Survey StarshipMacmillanarrivingfromPlanetEarth.Thestarshipsmashed
intoashockwaveofradiationfromthesolarsystem’ssunanddisintegrated.The
luckyoneswhoseescapepodslandedontheplanetengineeredunderwaterhomes
andgeneticallyadaptedtheirbodiessotheycouldliveinthesea.
Suddenly it all comes flooding back to Tay—what she is swimming away
from,thefuturethatshecan’tescape—marriagetooneofthreeavailablepodmates:
Forth,Eden,orEsk.Shepowersoff,kickinghard,herstrokesfueledbyangerand
frustration. Swimming through the electrical barrier that marks the Perimeter, she
finds herself outside the community’s protective Enclosure. Suddenly, a net wraps
itselfaroundher.Terrified,shefeelsherselfbeinghauleduptotheSurface....
Franck,aplanetarysurveyornewlyarrivedfromEarthonthestarshipNova
Scotia,isstartledtofindasilverybluealieninhisnet.Hehaulsitonboardhisone-
personlandingcraft.Tohisastonishment,thecreaturelookslike...“Amermaid?”
Thecreaturepants,“Don’tbestupid.I’mahuman.Whatareyou?”Althoughher
accent is strange, he realizes they are speaking the same language and that Tay must
be descended from the originalMacmillancrew.“Yousurvived!”exclaimsFranck.
Shesmiles,revealingsharplittleteeth.“Ofcoursewedid.”
Franck is fascinated with Tay. He tells her about the hundred-year Planets
War, and she tells him about the solar flares that destroyed theMacmillanand cause
massivetsunamisontheplanet’ssurfaceeverytwoyears.Anothertsunamiseasonis
duetooccurinthreemonths.
SuddenlytheseaisbobbingwithheadsasTay’speopleswimtoherrescue.
OneofthemshootsFranck.Paralyzed,hesinkstothedeckandlosesconsciousness.

IllustratedbyRenatoAlarcão


In Search Of ...
by Joan Lennon
Part

4


38

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