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THE EDEN DILEMMA by Tucker Spolter 

Chapter 1

“And we’ll remember you as well. We love you. Krista, you’ll always be part of my thoughts. Of everyone’s thoughts. If anyone can solve the mystery of the Tineke virus . . . I know you can. I wish you the best in your quest for a solution. I won’t say goodbye. Till the next time.” 

     Krista fought off a sudden wave of abandonment. Isolation. I’m an Observer, damn it. I made this choice. Krista released the communications connect and looked to the shuttle door. I have an entire world to explore, and a shuttle and new friends to help me. Not the path I expected . . . but who knows.  

     Krista looked out of the control room window. Hanar and Tyree hadn’t moved. They looked anxious. Krista waved. They returned the wave but hesitatingly. 

     What are those two concerned about? The people of Iuama are some of the most handsome men and women I’ve ever seen. Don’t know how much is true about the increased libido, but I’m differently feeling a bit randy, she laughed.

     Krista stood by the control room window, pointed to herself, and motioned that she would be joining Hanar and Tyree shortly. They returned a more friendly wave. 

     I need to get some of what I’ve learned recorded while it’s still fresh in my mind. Then I need to take inventory of all the items that might —    

     A long flash of white light poured through every portal of the shuttle and disappeared. Krista looked upward. Tears rolled down her cheek. The Erebus is gone. They’re all gone. On their way home. . . She sighed. Collected herself. No time for pity. Regrets. Get busy! She admonished. “Back to your plan.” Krista laughed. “Whatever the hell it is.” 

     After a final glance at the sky, Krista dropped into the pilot’s chair and activated the vid-screen and shuttle recorder. A pencil-thin mic extended from the top. Krista cleared her throat, “Observers Report. . . Krista Aanya Tay title – Ob5-MD. Star date 2537-092-2. Planet Iuama. Outer edge of the Perseus arm of the Milky Way.  

     “The following will be an account of recent and ongoing events of my sojourn on the out-world planet Iuama. This account may be opened by any senior member of The World’s Oversight Council using code translator alpha omega beginning  R3#Tt9a*6^/z. 

     “Of my own volition, I stowed away on the starship Erebus space shuttle B203 and landed on Iuama where I was drugged and –—” Wait a minute. Krista brushed strands of hair behind her ear. How much do I want to put in this report. . . Krista hit erase and began again. “Of my own volition, I stowed away on the starship Erebus space shuttle B203 and landed on Iuama where I was introduced to Sagra Kalam by his daughter Tyree . . . Sagra Kalam was previously introduced to the captain and crew of the Erebus as Sagra Kalam the fifth. Sagra Kalam is not the fifth, but rather one of the original colonists and the current, elected leader of Iuama’s governing body–— the Council of Equals. During the interview, Mr. Kalam, his children, and members of the Council of Equals related the following . . . 

     “Upon arrival on Iuama, the first colonists believed they'd found Eden. Though a tropical paradise, they quickly discovered Iuama's biosphere brought with it strange, and what would first appear to be an exciting series of biological oddities.

      

   [Observers side note 1]

 

     Krista paused. Leaned back and began again. “According to Mr. Sagra Kalam, the first biological change noticed upon arrival was a huge upswing in the populous’ libido. 

 

   [Observers side note 2]

 

     “I suspect the leaders and citizens have had to make dramatic changes in mores and human relationships with regards to this intriguing dilemma.

     The second revelation came when I was asked to look at the assemblage in the great council hall. As a trained Observer I was embarrassed. I'd failed to notice that of the hundred-plus gathered only one person appeared to be older than forty years of age. 

     At that moment Mr. Sagra Kalam told me the people of Iuama were not aging. Not growing old. At least not in the normal sense. This single fact was the catalyst for my decision to remain on Iuama and . . . Regrettably . . .To lie . . . To Captain Kohonen and the crew of Erebus. Please see below for a more explicit explanation of my actions.  

 

     [Observers side note 3]

 

     “The following list of goals and objectives are in no particular order of priorities.

I hope to learn more about the aging process or lack thereof.

I hope to learn more about the changes to the human libido.

 

     That's going to be interesting, Krista laughed to herself.

 

I'm looking forward to learning more about these people and how they've learned to cope with both of the above. Along with their –— 

Developments in music, art, literature, science, ethics and mores. 

 

    “I believe this is an incredible opportunity to add to my understanding of  medicine and cultural –— SHIT!”

     A loud THUD and CLANG startled Krista from her report. Her heart raced as she rose and peered out of the control room portal. 

     A boisterous crowd had grown around Hanar and Tyree. A smaller, separate contingent lingered next to the outer hull of the shuttle. All of them wore oddly shaped blue shade caps. One large man in sandals, shorts, and the same odd blue head covering was wielding what appeared to be a rubber club. He glared up at Krista.

     “Who the hell are –—? ”

     The man WHACKED the side of the shuttle several times then pointed his club to the shuttle door.  

     Krista understood the gesture. She stiffened and glared right back at Blue Head, “Don’t know who you be Mister, but I’ve been through a lot lately, and I don’t like being told what to do. I’ll come out when I am ready. And you are not getting inside this –— ” 

     Blue Head whacked the hull of the shuttle again. Two other folks in blue caps and rubber clubs joined him. The dissonant THUDS and CLANGS drummed through the belly of the shuttle and control room. 

     What the hell is going on? 

     Krista watched as Hanar rushed to ‘Blue Head’ and seized his arm. The group of onlookers seemed to immediately take sides. 

     Damn it –— The Erebus’s takes off. Now I’m alone and under assault.

      A rock SMACKED against the control room window. Krista almost laughed. Your rock won't do much against acrylic-silica  –—  A storm of rocks pelted the window and side of the shuttle.        

     Who are these assholes in the blue beanies?

 

     Outside the shuttle, Hanar wrested the club from Blue Head. Tyree grabbed a second club from a small, blue-capped adolescent girl, and dragged her away by her hair. Sheepishly, Hanar held the club aloft for Krista to see and smiled. Though Krista couldn’t hear the voices outside, but, the defiant posturing and Hanar and Tyree's attempt to placate the mob were enough to make the decision.

    I’m out of here. Krista sat back at the control panel and hit the automatic sequencer. The engine gyro kicked in with a low hum. Krista toggled the switch. The shuttle powered up.

     Blue Head, Hanar, Tyree, and the whole crowd took one look at the shuttle and raced up and over the mound. They think there’s going to be a rocket blast, Krista chuckled. Of course, when a five-hundred-ton amalgam of ceramic and plastic goes into take-off mode, people pay attention. 

     Maybe a long life and increased libido aren't the only things going on in this Garden of Eden. Krista touched the anti-grav button. The vehicle rose with a soft purr. A cloud of dirt and rocks bellowed from under the craft. From a far corner of the shuttle bay came a plaintive MEOW.

 

#

 

     Behind her, the shuttle pad and mob disappeared. Krista directed the shuttle back toward Lakal. By some directive or common cause, people had returned to the streets. Some pointed skyward as the shuttle passed. Others were oblivious, continuing on their way crossing bridges, moving up and down avenues, and vanishing in the narrow rabbit warren of streets and alleyways. Twice Krista had to shield her eyes from the reflections of the Tineke glass city. 

     From her down-world bag Krista retrieved her mother’s mem-cam present; attached it to one corner of the portal and pressed record. Time to get to work; Miss over-qualified Observer, she laughed.

     Krista used the Nuaka River as a guide. The further from Lakal the lower her cruising speed and altitude. Krista eased the shuttle west following the flow over a lush expanse of tropical forest. 

    Gazbags and several other avian species darted in, out, and over the yellow-green canopy. On top of huge green fond leaves, basked some sort of brownish primate that seemed neither curious nor disturbed by the approach and departure of the shuttle. Krista snapped several close-ups and made a mental note to study the creature in depth at some juncture. 

     Moments later the rain forest ended abruptly. Cleared for half a mile in every direction by human hands. She passed over a small settlement and gawking citizens. A herd of long-nosed, moose-like ruminants grazed idly in a meadow of blueish – what appeared to be St. Augustine grass. 

     Below the shuttle, the Nuaka River disappeared over a wide cliff crowned by a rainbow of mist. Krista descended into a long, narrow valley of high mountains and jagged cliffs. The waters of the Nuaka raged over miles and miles of rapids vanishing again and again over a series of magnificent waterfalls. Starting to like this place, she mused.  

     The shuttle zigzagged along the river and over terrain that morphed from tropical rainforest into yellow-hued desert far to the south. 

     Twice the shuttle was pelleted with hail-sized salt particles as it passed over a small mountain range. And for the first time, Krista got a glimpse of the ocean far ahead. 

     Nature sticks with a good idea, Krista thought as she recorded a dozen unique arboreal flyers including gazbags. She hovered the shuttle over a flock of huge bird-like creatures, at least twelve feet long, with iridescent tail plumage that flipped up and down, and side extensions that seemed to be doing the breast-stroke for forward motion. 

 

#

 

     Two hours later Krista reached the river delta which expanded north and south as far as she could see. Far below tiny, colorful specs of color billowed. Fishing boats. Oops. Krista eased back the control gaining altitude. Don’t know when the thug in the Blue Cap or Hanar or Tyree will come calling. But sailors have good eyes. I have a feeling it’s best I stay incognito for a while. Don’t need the good folks below reporting where I went. Better yet.

     Krista accelerated. The shuttle turned south until the delta disappeared behind her. She made a long arc out, over the ocean, then turned north and back to shore. Wise to fly low and slow, she thought. I’ll get better views, and a chance to examine the shoreline and the ocean at the same time.  

     For the most part, a forest jungle edged the shore giving way to bluegrass and a kaleidoscope of sand. Mostly crimson. On several occasions, she hovered when shadows of different-sized creatures appeared in the grass or jungle, but she was never quick enough to catch good visuals of any of them.  

     Over the ocean it was different. Each wave had thousands of miles to build and two moons to pull them. Massive waves rolled to shore and broke spewing spray and foam upward. From the back of her mind, Krista remembered reading or seeing an otherworld-vid where people hopped on planks and rode such mountains of water. 

     Krista looked far out to sea. There are thousands of islands out there. I wonder if they’ve been explored or colonized. Below her the floor of the ocean dropped to unimaginable depths, the water was clear. Turquoise. The huge waves were the playground and graveyard for a variety of sea creatures that bounded through, along, and over the crests. Krista saw a gull-like flyer pluck a gelatinous blob from the bowl of a wave. . . And seconds later a tentacled creature snatched the gull from the air. Survival of the fittest.  

   

     For several hundred miles the shuttle hugged the coast passing above an archipelago of islands and two large rivers that were fed by a distant range of mountains in the east. It was the third river that caught Krista’s attention. She cruised inland until it vanished under a thick rainforest. She banked the shuttle back to the ocean and over the top of a picturesque cove. 

     Perfect place for a luxury hotel, Krista grinned. Twelve-foot waterfall dropping into a shallow pond. Small stream meandering through a beach of magenta and crimson sand to a turquoise ocean. All this needs is one of those umbrella cocktails Lynnette was always talking about . . .

     Krista sighed and goosed the shuttle into a wide loop out over the ocean and approached the cove head-on.  

     She hovered. The right side of the cove was in shadows. Krista eased the shuttle forward. “Bingo!” she said aloud. Eighty yards, above the high tide line the cove was a cave covered by a large overhang of rocks and a wide curtain of thick vegetation. If it’s deep and wide enough . . . Perfect garage to park a shuttle, Krista laughed. Then it is a swim, a shower, and lunch. Been a long day. . . Has it only been one day since I stowed away on —  Forget it. That's done. No negative thoughts.

 

    It took half an hour for Krista to jockey the large vehicle under the overhang and through the vegetation. When she maneuvered the shuttle deep enough into the grotto, she congratulated herself.  “Not bad for a rookie shuttle pilot.”

     Minutes later, in the semi-dark, Krista paused at the open door of the shuttle. She inhaled the salty ocean air and the muskier smell of the cavern itself. Her eyes wandered through the shield of green vines and tiny lilac-like buds to the ocean, the stream, and the small waterfall beyond. Definitely a place for a luxury hotel complete with room service, a masseuse and a —  

     “MEOW.”

     “SHIT!” Krista jumped. 

     “Meow.” cried a familiar calico cat purring and rubbing its cheek against her ankle. 

     Scared the —  ! Krista stumbled forward, almost falling off the shuttle ramp. “Cat, where the hell did you come from?” Again, the cat mewed wrapping himself around Krista’s leg. She started to kick. The cat mewed and turned its head toward Krista. Doctor Krista Tay melted. “Poor thing. You must be starving.” Krista bent to pick up the cat. The cat was having none of it. He bounded down the ramp. Looked back at Krista and disappeared into the vegetation bordering the cove. That is not normal behavior, Krista thought. Cats do not bound. They move slowly. Cautiously. Especially in a new environment. Does this planet affect everything?

 

     Krista returned to the shuttle and carried selected gear back to the beach. A growling stomach encouraged her to open a food packet. She looked out over the ocean and bit into the cocoa-flavored energy bar. There were intermittent flashes of lighting far offshore. Iuma is alive, she thought and 

I'm going fishing after this. . . She eyed the remains of the energy bar. Real food! The poor cat must be hungry. Cat's a survivor. Probably got bored with Erebus and its synthetic food.  Probably decided to do some exploring —  Can a cat decide?

     Krista took a satisfied look at the small encampment she'd created. Time for a swim. Where the hell is my suit? . . .Who needs a suit? She laughed and headed for the ocean. Ah, a swim and a waterfall shower. 

     She walked up the beach a few hundred yards where a tongue of boulders extended into the ocean and the waves broke with less ferocity. 

From the high grass on her left came distinct chirps, clicks, and whirling sounds.  Occasionally flying or hoping critters of various sizes and hues appeared above the foliage for an instant then disappeared. 

     Past the reeds and grass, strands of thin, jagged trees extended into the interior. Their white-yellow scaled trunks had several layers of leaves—two or three feet apart—that formed a wreath around the trunk. Krista dubbed them ‘Hat Rack Trees.’  Got to remember to wear a hat myself, she thought.  

 

     Near the water, Krista piled her clothes and timed a dive into one of the smaller waves. Hope there’s nothing in here that would like to munch on me. This time, there wasn't. Krista swam and body-surfed exalting in the tepid water and her freedom.

     On the beach, she called several times for the cat, then lay naked in the sun using her dis-guarded clothes as mat and pillow. It may have been the sun. The ocean. Or just Iuama itself. Her thoughts turned to Dominic. Tall. Strong. Chocolate cream skin. His wonderful laugh. 

     Krista’s hand crept between her legs. The motion was familiar. The image was new. She was above. Dominic below. She pushed down on him again and again. Dominic dug his fingers into her buttock and pulled.  Her fingers circled. Dominic pulled. Encouraged. ‘Come for me. Come for me.’ The first rush was wonderful. Dominic’s face slowly vanished. Hanar was on top of her. She moaned under the drape of his long black hair. He thrust again and again. He smiled. White teeth glistened. He was beautiful. A shadow covered her face. Lips brushed her mouth. Female lips. The tip of a tongue teased. Pushed. Krista opened her mouth. The tongue entered. Explored. Washed. Teased. Nipples were bitten. Hanar thrust. Tyree nipped on Krista’s lip. Krista moaned in ecstasy.  

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