Author Games: Brave New World

Task Six Entries: Eden

Sydney Morristan

Eons ago, the Romans and Greeks looked up to the stars and saw them as gods and goddesses, heavenly deities whom they looked up to with a mixture of awe, fear and respect. Sacrifices ranging from vegetables to human flesh were made as the common folk prayed for good fortune – sometimes for better crops, more money, or perhaps to save a loved one's life.

Sydney had never considered herself as one who believed in Astrolatry – the worship of stars or the association of deities with heavenly bodies. She didn't really believe in anything – no, wait, scratch that. She believed in science. Yes, even though in her youth her parents had taken her to church every now and again, Sydney hadn't bothered with what in her opinion was naught but a fickle thing – religion. She devoted herself to her work, doing what she did best and was passionate about – unlocking the mystery of the universe, discovering hidden wonders buried away in the darkness of the endless galaxy. On more than one occasion, she had admired the stars, but at no time did she believe that they had powers or abilities to grant one's wishes.

Now, however, she was ready to sweep all science aside. Science had failed her in this field – there were simply not enough resources to develop a cure for the vicious plague sweeping through the two colonies. Already, one of the colonists – the journalist Rasul Rashid – had been reported dead. Though there was only one other colonist that had contacted the disease – and was now being kept in quarantine – Sydney felt as if her heart was ready to burst. Though she wasn't a doctor, she'd tried everything. Antidotes for a similar disease on Earth known as Ebola, researching anything that might give her an idea as to how to find a remedy, spending hours locked away in her room, biting at her fingernails as she leafed through old medical textbooks. There was nothing. Nil. Zero. Nada.

It made her want to scream.

For the one colonist dying, experiencing violent fits of coughing and battling a raging fever, heart rate deteriorating by the hour, was her one and only friend.

Lucia.

It was Lucia who was dying, Lucia locked up in a lonely room with wires and tubes connected to all parts of her body. Beautiful, wonderful Lucia, who had shared her passion with the stars with Sydney. Lucia, who had volunteered for the mission for the selfless sake of providing a steady income for her family. Lucia, whose dark eyes sparkled in the light whenever she mentioned her younger sister, the sweet Maria.

She has a family.

She has a dream.

She has a life.

She can't die.

The only qualified doctor on the team, Reagan Wilkie, had apparently perished not two days before the report of the disease was announced. Briefly, Sydney wondered if the kind woman had been the first to fall prey to the pathogen, but did not dwell on the fact. She knew that whatever had happened to the doctor, there was no bringing her back now. There was no help – Earth was a million miles away – and the only thing that the colonists could do was keep the infected in quarantine, while they whispered lies of comfort into Lucia's ears, saying that everything was going to be alright, while in reality crafting a coffin outside the tent. They were preparing for her death. They said that nothing could be done. While her logical, scientific part of her mind agreed with them, her heart was screaming 'No!' in flashing red letters.

So, without any other options, Sydney Morristan ran from Eden's campus.

She ran past the numerous tents and into the field, ignoring the curious looks that others sent her, letting the sharp stalks of long grass whip her legs and the wind to sting her eyes. The short jabs of pain that jabbed at her skin only seemed to drive her forward; the pain as well as the agony tearing through her heart. She ran so fast that everything was a meaningless blur of colors around her, and finally Sydney Morristan collapsed, a heartbroken woman, underneath the same gnarled tree where she had found the mysterious alien object a few days prior.