As usual, Dr. Samuel Lamm walked to work from his home in Steen’s southwest quarter. The sun hung low, casting a pink sheen over the clouds. Laborers trotted to get to their jobs on time. Long-necked metal machinery awoke and started to whir. Dr. Lamm breathed in deeply, filling his lungs with fresh morning air.
Today will be a good day, he decided. Yesterday, the dynameter readouts had shown that power production was up five percent since the beginning of the year – more evidence that his experiments were working. Even better, this afternoon was a breeding afternoon, another opportunity to increase total potential power and, of course, move closer to achieving the goals of his own private experiments.
As Dr. Lamm approached the twelve-foot tall, cinder block wall surrounding the power plant, an iron gate swung open in anticipation of his arrival. Two crimson-coated guards inclined their heads as he strode between them.
“Good morning, Director.”
Dr. Lamm nodded his head almost imperceptibly at the speaker. Hands clasped behind his back, he turned toward his office. But, before he could take even two steps, the captain of the guard appeared from nowhere and intercepted him.
“Sir! There’s a situation.”
“What is it, Phillips?” responded Lamm.
“A midge– a midge is missing, sir. She wasn’t in her pod when we opened it this morning.”
“Did you check the cellblock?”
The captain nodded. Lamm sighed. So much for his good day.
“No more,” said Dr. Lamm, holding up a thin, elegant hand, “until we get to my office.”
The director took his time unlocking the door of his office, circling his desk, seating himself in the chair behind his desk. He polished his spotless, wire-rimmed glasses on a silk handkerchief and smoothed his short silver hair. Only then did he look up at Phillips and gesture for him to continue.
“When the pods were opened this morning, one of the twenty in Dormitory F16 was empty. A minder examined the pod and discovered its hose had been shredded. The minder immediately came to me, and I put the whole compound on lockdown. All the midges are currently in their dorms. They're being counted to make sure no others are missing. Guards are sweeping all the buildings and the yard to find the missing midge.” Phillips swept his crimson sleeve across his glistening brow, pushing damp strands of blonde hair out of his eyes. “There’s no way she left the compound. We’ll find her.”
A knuckle rapped urgently on the office door. Lamm nodded at the captain, who opened it. A guard burst in.
“Sir. Sirs. Something strange. The hedge. The hedge… It’s…” He raised his arms above his head, his words sticking to his tongue.
“Show me.” Dr. Lamm stood. The harried guard blinked, hesitated, nodded, and led them out the door. They followed him across the yard, rounding the main building, headed toward a section of the wall near the female midges’ dorm wing.
The director saw what had set the guard on edge from fifty feet away. A portion of the thorny hedge that ran all around the inside of the compound’s circular wall – a portion about three feet wide – stood several times higher than the hedge on either side. High enough that someone could have easily climbed it, hoisted herself onto the top of the wall, and escaped from the power plant.
Phillips, who was walking on Lamm’s right side, spoke. “I walked the perimeter of the wall yesterday afternoon. This section of hedge was the same height as the rest of it.”
The guard leading them looked over his shoulder and nodded emphatically. “You see? It’s… It’s impossible! Sirs. No plant grows this fast.”
They reached the wall. Two more guards stood near the hedge, staring at it dumbly.
Not a whole brain between them, thought the director.
“You,” Lamm addressed one of them, one of the few female guards. “Go fetch a pair of hedge clippers.”
She shut her mouth and nodded, then turned to follow orders.
“Wait," Lamm said before she could walk away, thinking quickly. Everyone looked toward the director, attentive. “Don’t tell anyone what you’ve seen here, inside or outside the plant.”
They all paused a beat to see if he would say more. When he didn’t, they expressed their agreement, and the female guard set off toward the ground-keeping shed.
“You, find the guard who was stationed here last night. I don’t care if he’s off duty or not."
“Yes, sir.” The twitchy guard who had led Lamm and the captain to the hedge sprang to attention and scurried away.
Dr. Lamm directed his gaze toward the remaining guard but couldn't think of anything else to send him to do. He looked at Phillips.
“Don’t just stand there! Go do something useful,” Phillips commanded. Disgust twisted his upper lip into a sneer. The final guard’s face and shoulders relaxed with relief, and he just about ran in the other direction. Thank goodness for Phillips, thought Dr. Lamm. He’d never have promoted a guard to captain so young – How old was Phillips? Twenty-six? Twenty-seven? – but the man had a way of handling people. His skills were invaluable.
When he was alone with the captain, Lamm stepped closer to the hedge and leaned in to examine it. The new growth was a lighter, more vivid green than the rest of the plant. Not unusual. To be honest, there was nothing unusual about the hedge itself. Besides its sudden change in height, it looked like your average hedge.
Of course, Lamm knew there wasn’t really anything different about the hedge. It was the outside force that had acted on it that was different. A midge. A midge in his compound had escaped. That itself was unprecedented. Worse, they had been strong enough to use their power to do it. This was bad. Very bad. The consequences would be chaos, not to mention a bureaucratic and logistical nightmare. But, despite that, the director smiled. Because this escape also meant that his experiments were working, and they were working much more quickly than he had ever imagined they would.
Today will be a good day, he decided. Yesterday, the dynameter readouts had shown that power production was up five percent since the beginning of the year – more evidence that his experiments were working. Even better, this afternoon was a breeding afternoon, another opportunity to increase total potential power and, of course, move closer to achieving the goals of his own private experiments.
As Dr. Lamm approached the twelve-foot tall, cinder block wall surrounding the power plant, an iron gate swung open in anticipation of his arrival. Two crimson-coated guards inclined their heads as he strode between them.
“Good morning, Director.”
Dr. Lamm nodded his head almost imperceptibly at the speaker. Hands clasped behind his back, he turned toward his office. But, before he could take even two steps, the captain of the guard appeared from nowhere and intercepted him.
“Sir! There’s a situation.”
“What is it, Phillips?” responded Lamm.
“A midge– a midge is missing, sir. She wasn’t in her pod when we opened it this morning.”
“Did you check the cellblock?”
The captain nodded. Lamm sighed. So much for his good day.
“No more,” said Dr. Lamm, holding up a thin, elegant hand, “until we get to my office.”
The director took his time unlocking the door of his office, circling his desk, seating himself in the chair behind his desk. He polished his spotless, wire-rimmed glasses on a silk handkerchief and smoothed his short silver hair. Only then did he look up at Phillips and gesture for him to continue.
“When the pods were opened this morning, one of the twenty in Dormitory F16 was empty. A minder examined the pod and discovered its hose had been shredded. The minder immediately came to me, and I put the whole compound on lockdown. All the midges are currently in their dorms. They're being counted to make sure no others are missing. Guards are sweeping all the buildings and the yard to find the missing midge.” Phillips swept his crimson sleeve across his glistening brow, pushing damp strands of blonde hair out of his eyes. “There’s no way she left the compound. We’ll find her.”
A knuckle rapped urgently on the office door. Lamm nodded at the captain, who opened it. A guard burst in.
“Sir. Sirs. Something strange. The hedge. The hedge… It’s…” He raised his arms above his head, his words sticking to his tongue.
“Show me.” Dr. Lamm stood. The harried guard blinked, hesitated, nodded, and led them out the door. They followed him across the yard, rounding the main building, headed toward a section of the wall near the female midges’ dorm wing.
The director saw what had set the guard on edge from fifty feet away. A portion of the thorny hedge that ran all around the inside of the compound’s circular wall – a portion about three feet wide – stood several times higher than the hedge on either side. High enough that someone could have easily climbed it, hoisted herself onto the top of the wall, and escaped from the power plant.
Phillips, who was walking on Lamm’s right side, spoke. “I walked the perimeter of the wall yesterday afternoon. This section of hedge was the same height as the rest of it.”
The guard leading them looked over his shoulder and nodded emphatically. “You see? It’s… It’s impossible! Sirs. No plant grows this fast.”
They reached the wall. Two more guards stood near the hedge, staring at it dumbly.
Not a whole brain between them, thought the director.
“You,” Lamm addressed one of them, one of the few female guards. “Go fetch a pair of hedge clippers.”
She shut her mouth and nodded, then turned to follow orders.
“Wait," Lamm said before she could walk away, thinking quickly. Everyone looked toward the director, attentive. “Don’t tell anyone what you’ve seen here, inside or outside the plant.”
They all paused a beat to see if he would say more. When he didn’t, they expressed their agreement, and the female guard set off toward the ground-keeping shed.
“You, find the guard who was stationed here last night. I don’t care if he’s off duty or not."
“Yes, sir.” The twitchy guard who had led Lamm and the captain to the hedge sprang to attention and scurried away.
Dr. Lamm directed his gaze toward the remaining guard but couldn't think of anything else to send him to do. He looked at Phillips.
“Don’t just stand there! Go do something useful,” Phillips commanded. Disgust twisted his upper lip into a sneer. The final guard’s face and shoulders relaxed with relief, and he just about ran in the other direction. Thank goodness for Phillips, thought Dr. Lamm. He’d never have promoted a guard to captain so young – How old was Phillips? Twenty-six? Twenty-seven? – but the man had a way of handling people. His skills were invaluable.
When he was alone with the captain, Lamm stepped closer to the hedge and leaned in to examine it. The new growth was a lighter, more vivid green than the rest of the plant. Not unusual. To be honest, there was nothing unusual about the hedge itself. Besides its sudden change in height, it looked like your average hedge.
Of course, Lamm knew there wasn’t really anything different about the hedge. It was the outside force that had acted on it that was different. A midge. A midge in his compound had escaped. That itself was unprecedented. Worse, they had been strong enough to use their power to do it. This was bad. Very bad. The consequences would be chaos, not to mention a bureaucratic and logistical nightmare. But, despite that, the director smiled. Because this escape also meant that his experiments were working, and they were working much more quickly than he had ever imagined they would.