Page 2 of Lagoon

Or some sort of amphibians? How could that be? Most amphibians didn’t even have internal fertilization. Some species just left their sperm and eggs to mingle as they may in a body of water. Some species, the male left his lying around and the female found it and tucked it up inside. There were a few amphibians that had sexual intercourse that led to internal fertilization. And there were a few that gave birth to live young. But most simply left their fertilized eggs lying around somewhere and went on with their lives. Mammals and birds were highly social creatures, but amphibians? They were one of the least social class of animals.

It wasn’t an accepted idea, but it was a strong theory that much of the social bonding that mammals and birds experienced derived from the mother-child bond. Without that, species didn’t have the right chemicals to form social connections.

This didn’t make any sense.

“All right,” she said, her curiosity piqued now. “Send me the contracts to sign.”

“That’s a yes?” Dr. Greyson’s grin somehow got even wider.

She smiled too. “It’s a yes.”

“Excellent news, Dr. Stine. You’re not going to regret this.”

TWO WEEKS LATER, Riley was climbing aboard a helicopter bound for the remote site where she’d work with Dr. Greyson. She’d only been allowed to bring two bags, and they were crammed as full as she could get them with all the belongings she thought she could take along.

Even though she’d signed the contracts and received her sign-on bonus (an amount that was much larger than she was used to receiving for work) she still didn’t know much at all. She’d tried to initiate another video chat with Dr. Greyson, but he’d been busy and only responded to her via email and text. Hewas very vague in writing, saying that it wasn’t wise to leave a paper trail.

She’d hoped to be able to discuss it on the helicopter, but as she sat down, she realized it was not going to be easy to talk over the sound of the whirring blades overhead. Anyway, the people who’d met her at the airport she’d flown into were all in uniforms that made them look like security guards or army or something. They had guns, which made her nervous.

The man who’d escorted her here had introduced himself as Lieutenant Gary Harris. While she’d been collecting her baggage to meet him, she’d heard him on his phone with someone else, saying that she was “actually not half bad looking, for a scientist chick.”

He’d turned and seen her, seen that she’d overheard, and just smirked at her. He didn’t even have the decency to look embarrassed.

She did not like Lieutenant Gary Harris.

On board the helicopter was another guard in uniform. This one was a woman named Angela Ramirez. She shook hands with Riley and tried to take her bags, but Riley said that she didn’t need a servant. Well, she yelled it over the noise of the chopper.

They had to take a helicopter from the airport because the area they were going to was too remote for any other way in. There weren’t roads, just forest, and no navigable waterways either. It was far off from any other sort of civilization, but because it was under the purview of Anderson Scott, it was outfitted with state-of-the art technology, all of it sustainable and green, with a cleared space just for all the solar panels. All of the internet connected to Scott’s own internet satellites which he had orbiting the planet. Only a man like Scott could afford to put up satellites just so that he’d have reliable internet wherever he was.

It was beautiful.

She peered out the window of the helicopter at the ground below, and it was like coming back home, to an ancient primordial home, a place that dwelled inside the human ancestral memory. Familiar and yet frightening all at the same time.Civilization has made us soft,she often thought.

Deep down, though, humans were all more resilient than they knew. When push came to shove, humans could fight for their survival. There was a line, one that divided the cushy life of civilization from the life of risk and struggle. For some reason, she liked the feeling of going right up to that line, even the feeling of crossing it. She wasn’t sure why, but it gave her a jolt of energy. It made her feel alive, really alive.

She hadn’t been happy back in the US, in her parents’ comfortable house, where there was always hot water for her shower, where the temperature was never too-hot or too-cold, where everything was easy.

No, she needed a little struggle to feel good about herself. When they got off the helicopter, she filled her lungs with the warm, muggy air, and she looked up at the tall trees dripping deep green leaves, covered with vines and lichens, colorful birds calling to each other, in the branches…

Home, yes.

A new home, unfamiliar, but somehow right.

She was pleased to see that Anderson Scott hadn’t gone for some hokey jungle aesthetic with the buildings he’d put up. There was no attempt to make them blend into the surroundings. They weren’t made with grass-thatched roofs or anything like that. They were angular and gray, no-nonsense like something from a space station. Everything was lined up in perfect grids and right angles. The area in between it all was a dirt road.

The road stretched up a hill and around a bend.

“That’s where the lagoon is and the laboratory,” said Angela. “I’ll take you up there after you drop off your things in your cabin. If you want to follow me?”

“I have a whole cabin to myself?” The squarish buildings were small, but she hadn’t thought that they were meant for only one person.

“Anderson Scott did a lot of studying on what helps productivity and he found that in this sort of environment, where workers own nothing, having a private space is very positive for morale and ultimately to keep workers on task. We all have one. Everyone is the same, no matter their rank or experience,” said Angela.

Well, score one for Anderson Scott, Riley guessed.

Her cabin had three rooms. A bedroom, a bathroom—complete with a full-sized soaking tub and shower—and a living room with a kitchenette in one corner. It wasn’t huge, but it was well designed, air conditioned, and the high-end attention to detail and decoration made her feel she was staying in a luxury hotel suite. She could get used to this.

She smiled as she looked around. “Yours is just like this?” she asked Angela.

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