The Forgotten Earth

Chapter 4 - The Fascinating Miss Farvald

The hairs on the back of my neck shot straight up. "Farvald," I said cautiously. "Like Otto Farvald? The trillionaire."

"Yes," Asha said. "He's my grandpa. Or rather, he was."

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to appear genuine. "What happened to him?" Nevermind that I already knew the answer.

Asha breathed in deeply. Not the best move considering the air toxicity. "A few days ago we heard a gunshot from his room and found him dead. Someone broke into his room and shot him through the skull."

I barely managed to cover the smile that crept across my face. It was confirmed, I'd killed him. There was no coming back for the son of a gun. "Oh, I'm so sorry. That must be so hard for you."

"It's fine," Asha said. "He and I were never terribly close. Nevermind that he and his companies were to blame for this nastiness." Asha gestured to the thick brown smog surrounding us.

"Well, maybe it was a good thing he was killed," I said.

"How could you say that?" Asha asked, taken a step away from me. "Even if he was to blame for the death of the planet, he was still my family."

"You're right. I'm sorry, that was insensitive." I said, backpedaling. I needed to keep good terms with her. With any luck, she could be my key to The Sanctuary. Then, I could wreak absolute havoc on those dirty rich people.

"Apology accepted," Asha said.

"So, whats a Rich like you doing out of The Sanctuary then?" I asked.

"I already told you, research," Asha explained.

"Research for what?" I pressed.

"The future," Asha said, her eyes lighting up. "Let me explain. My whole life I've watched from The Sanctuary, seeing the world grow worse and worse. I wanted so badly to help, to save the planet, to be able to run in a field of green."

"HA!" I scoffed. "Fat chance of that!"

"Except I think it may be possible," Asha said, ignoring my scoffing. "I've devoted my life to studying everything and anything I could get my hands on, especially on the environment before this disaster. I learned as much as possible, and I think I have a solution. I think I can save the planet."

"Oh really?" I said, rolling my eyes. "And how would you do that?"

"Bacteria," Asha said.

"Bacteria?" I asked skeptically. "You mean those tiny little things that cause sickness?"

"Not that kind of bacteria. The good kind." Asha said. "In my studies, I came across some kinds of bacteria that consume pollution. Some even cleaned up oil spills in the past."

"Then how come these 'miriacle' bacteria haven't already fixed the planet?" I asked.

"Because they don't live everywhere," Asha said. "But I've constructed a machine that could distribute these bacteria all across the planet, along with seeds for every plant we have in the seed banks."

"So what, you expect me to believe you have a magical machine that could distribute miracle bacteria and seeds all across the planet?" I asked sarcastically. "I ain't buying it, sweetheart."

"Believe it or not, its the best shot by far to fix the Earth," Asha said. "I already built the machine. The whole reason I was out here in the first place was to get some more data to put the final touches on what types of bacteria I need."

"And how exactly would your machine work?" I inquired.

"It would make it rain, all across the world," Asha said. "Well, not exactly rain. More like it would spread droplets of water containing the bacteria over the planet. Then it would rain seeds."

"Yeah, whatever you say girlie," I said. "And when do you expect to launch your 'miracle machine'?"

"Just as soon as I can find a suitable power source," Asha said.

"Where do you expect to find such a thing?" I asked.

"That's the problem," Asha said. "The only power source I'm aware of is a quantum crystal owned by Zahi Renat."

"The reclusive scientist..." I said thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Asha said. "I've heard he designs his own security system. Almost impossible to penetrate."

"Ah, you see, almost is the keyword there darling," I said with a grin. "Tell you what, I'll help you break into Zahi's compound to steal this quantum crystal thingie."

"First of all, don't call me darling," Asha said. "And second of all, why would you do that?"

"Let's just say, I'm extremely good at breaking into places," I said slyly.

"And what do you want in return?" Asha asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," I said. "If this miracle machine really works, fixing the world is payment enough. Don't you think?"

"Alright," Asha said. "It's a deal. You help me retrieve the quantum crystal, and we can save the Earth."

"Sounds like a plan," I said as we shook on it. "Now let's get cracking, eh?"