New Eden - 64
...
*64*
After a long moment to take in Jared’s words, Kyle finally spoke up at last, “So, no ship anywhere here, meaning no ship anywhere on this planet?” he reiterated as one last attempt at hoping he was misunderstanding the message.
“I don’t know if we should believe it or not, but that’s what it sounded like he was trying to tell me.” Jared admitted in his own sad tone, eyes downwards.
Another deep breath from Kyle as he composed himself and attempted to move on, “Ok, so that narrows it down.”
“Excuse me?” Jared asked as he quickly looked back at Kyle once more.
“So, if we know it’s not here, then that narrows it down.”
Jared scoffed loudly, “To what? The entire rest of the universe? Are you high?”
Then it was Kyle’s turn to scoff, “Why do people keep asking me that? Besides,” he then moved to flip open the box of medical supplies that Jared had been taking inventory of earlier, “you’re the one hoarding all kinds of herbs, aren’t you?”
“They’re as close as I could locate to ones similar enough to the ones on earth that all kinds of medicine is actually made of. You didn’t think meds actually grew in pill form, did you?” he scoffed.
Kyle just shook his head and then moved his eyes to the corner of the box where Jared had a cloth wrapped up and tied around a bundle of some kind, “And the ones in your special little baggy too?”
That was when Jared moved to close the box that Kyle was still inspecting, “Not so much medicine, exactly.” was the only answer Jared provided, though in a near mumble.
“So, you are self-medicating, eh?”
Jared scoffed again, “No, the ones in the bag aren’t that, either. Please, I need to be as alert as possible, all things considered.”
“Then what’s in the bag?” Kyle pressed.
“It’s something I gathered, as a just-in-case.”
“What? Arsenic? Hemlock? I thought Lili was the depressed one.” Kyle retorted, though did watch Jared closely, just in case his guess was somehow accurate.
“No, it’s nothing that’ll kill anyone, hopefully anyway, these are plants native to a different planet, after all.”
“Then what the hell is it, if it’s not medicine, or some crazy suicide-cocktail waiting to happen?”
“You really think I would deliberately collect stuff that would kill us?” Jared shook his head in disbelief.
“I dunno, hope does seem to be getting pretty slim these days.” Kyle mumbled, then quickly continued, “So, what is it then? I mean, I should know what all this crap is anyway. We all should. You never know when you might actually be the one who needs some kind of medical attention. We should all know what’s what in here, dontcha think?” Kyle pointed out.
Jared sighed again as Kyle did have a legitimate point. He then opened the box again, “Ok, this group is painkillers, this one is sedatives, this is antibiotics. Of course, that’s all in theory as I don’t exactly have any lab rats to test any of them on, but it’s better to have them than not to, I guess.”
“And the bag?” Kyle asked again.
“It’s something that I started collecting, just in case, but I doubt we’ll need it now, or any time soon.” he added more quietly.
“You are so the king of avoidance.” Kyle told him with a shake of his head.
That’s when Jared sighed again, “It’s not something you really need to worry about, even if I do get hurt someday. Lili would be the only one taking any of the stuff in the bag, and like I said, it’s doubtful that that will be the case any time soon.” he stated simply as he closed the box again.
“So, it’s something only a female would take?” Kyle asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, but it’s not something I’d recommend. It’s just there, just in case. And like I said, I doubt we’ll need to worry about it at all, considering the state this whole situation has put Lili in, ok?”
“So, it’s like birth control? Why wouldn’t you recommend that?” Kyle asked as he raised a brow.
Jared sighed again, more than a bit annoyed at the other young man’s continued curiosity, “No, that’s not exactly what it is. I still haven’t managed to find the right plants for that.”
“Not exactly?” Kyle pressed.
Jared shook his head again, “I didn’t wanna mention it, cause if anyone mentions it to Lili, it’ll most likely seem like we’re pressuring her. And that’s the last thing in the world she needs.”
“Fine, point taken. Now what is it if it’s not birth control, and why wouldn’t you recommend it?”
“I said that wasn’t exactly what it was.”
“Would you just answer the damn question?” Kyle replied in frustration.
“It’s like that, only it’s…”
“Jared!” Kyle complained, quite irked right then that Jared’s wall seemed to be in place almost all the time lately.
“It’s more of an ‘after-the-fact’ kind of thing. And that’s why I didn’t wanna discuss it. Like I said, if I mentioned it to Lili, it would be like we’re trying to pressure her into the same things that caused her current state. And that would really not be good.” Jared finally admitted.
“After-the-fact?” Kyle repeated, “So, like the morning-after pill?”
Jared sighed once more, “If these plants are as close as I think they might be to the ones of the same type that were back on earth, then, yes, they should share the same active ingredient, in theory.” he had to add, “But who knows how much damage, I mean, long-term damage they might do, just because of the very way they work. Which is why I wouldn’t recommend them without first warning her of what they actually do. And I’m not planning on even doing that much right now, cause like I said, that would most likely translate as us trying to pressure her back into…the way things used to be.” he finally decided on.
“You mean, back when we all, including Lili, seemed a lot happier than we do now?” Kyle pointed out, though his own tone seemed to drop along with his eyes.
“Yeah, I suppose we were, a bit.” Jared admitted in his own quiet tone, “But look where that got us.” he couldn’t help adding, “Now, you’re not gonna go in there and tell her about this, are you?”
“Like you said, I seriously doubt it will come up in conversation any time soon.” Kyle allowed.
“Now, your turn.” Jared asked after another moment.
“My turn?” Kyle asked as he finally looked back at where he had since moved his eyes to the woods again.
“Narrows it down?” Jared repeated with a raised eyebrow.
“It means, I’ve been thinking, and when we first landed here, I was under the impression that the ship was where it was supposed to be. Which it obviously wasn’t. But the point is, I was trying to send a message to it, when what I really need to do is try and locate it.”
Jared looked further confused by that statement, “And didn’t we just discuss how probable that might truly be, now?” he asked sadly.
“Like I said though, I was just trying to get a message to it, before, and now I know that where I was sending the message, there was no way it could have received it, especially if Serena had taken over, cloaked it, and then got killed, therefore causing the ship to crash, and the computer to shut down with her. The computer wasn’t where I was aiming, so to speak, let alone, even on at all. That’s why it could never have gotten our message.”
“Ok, but how is any of this new information, really?”
“Because, it wasn’t on. It couldn’t have received our message. When she died, it shut down completely, went offline completely.”
“Ok…But I still don’t get how this changes anything.”
“Because, what I need to do is turn it back on. Then not only can we get a message to anyone who somehow survived this entire year and is still there, but we could then finally find the damn thing.”
“Um…ok?” Jared shook his head, “But could you even do that? Turn it on, I mean?”
“This is me.” Kyle stated plainly, though Jared’s expression remained unconvinced, “If I get my LU to hack into the pod computer, and get that running again, then the pod computer can hack into the ship computer, and tada, reboot.”
Jared still seemed wary, but continued, “And, don’t you think that Serena most likely changed all the passwords you’d need to even reboot it at all, assuming it’s even still in good enough shape after the takeover, and the crash, to even be rebooted?”
“You’re such an optimist.” Kyle scoffed, “And there’s not a password in the world that I haven’t been able to get to spread wide and let me in.” Kyle had to add.
“You really have spent too much time with Ian.” Jared mumbled, then continued, “But still, Kyle, assuming you can get the pod computer restarted, and assuming the ship’s computer is even functional at all, and assuming you can get past those passwords Serena most likely put in place, I still don’t know that this plan is gonna be what we need. I mean, assuming all the above, then yes, you could send a message to the ship’s computer, but the likelihood of anyone still being there to hear it at all, after the crash, and then after another eleven months stranded, wherever the ship is stranded? I just don’t see it really being a real solution.” he said sadly.
Kyle shook his head again, “Ok, so even if no one is there at the crash site to answer the call, did you miss the part where I said that by turning on the ship’s computer, we could then get the exact location of where it did crash. Hello, that means we find the ship!”
Jared then bit his lip, his own expression still dark, “Even if we did somehow find where the ship actually crashed, Kyle, if it’s not on this planet, like he said, then we still have no way to get to it. I don’t wanna rain on your parade, here, but, honestly, finding the ship, even if we can, that may just let us know, for sure, once and for all, that we’ll never be able to get back to it, at all, if it’s not actually here. And that would really be the end of all of our hope for once and for all, wouldn’t it?”
Kyle just scoffed loudly again, “I guess I would rather have real, solid answers than blind hope.” he retorted.
“I really doubt that’ll be the case once you do have them.” Jared stated softly, though the words seemed to fall on deaf ears, as Kyle already seemed quite determined to pursue those answers he claimed to want, for the moment, anyway.
“Besides,” Kyle finally continued, “I already have a pretty good idea of where the ship is. I just need to narrow it down, that’s all.”
That was when Jared looked up quickly once more, “What do you mean you already know where the ship is?”
“I have a pretty good hunch.”
“Share please.”
Kyle scoffed again, “Did you already forget all about those computer readouts that you handed me? The ones that started this whole beautiful mess?”
“What about them?” Jared narrowed his eyes again.
“We were only out for three days. Like I said, if the ship’s not here, then that definitely narrows it down.”
“To?”
“The fucking readouts, Jared. Two planets. As close together as the earth was to the moon. They even share the same sun and moon. If the ship’s not on this one, it’s on the other, plain and simple as that. I just need to find out what part. And I can do that, once I get the fucking computer back online.”
That seemed to silence Jared for a long moment as he thought on Kyle’s conclusion, “Ok, I admit, you’re probably right.”
“I’m always right.” Kyle returned smartly.
Jared just shook his head again, then continued, “But still, Kyle, the ship crashing on this planet’s twin, I’ll give you that, but it still doesn’t explain how we would ever be able to reach it.”
Kyle gave Jared another exasperated look of disbelief before he responded, “I redesigned the pod once, I can do it again.”
“With no tools, or tech team, or supplies?” Jared had to add.
“The pod is run by the computer on board. All it’s settings are determined by that computer. Still think I can’t do it?”
Jared looked down again, “Ok, so you probably can. But there’s no gas left, only twelve hours worth of air, and the twin planet may be close, but it’s not as close as the ship was, when it was where it was supposed to be, anyway.” he had to add, “We’d never survive the trip. And all of us couldn’t go. I mean, there’s not exactly any way to make it safe for a little baby to travel in that pod, now is there?” Jared reminded him somberly, “Even if you could get the pod itself to make the trip, we most likely couldn’t survive it, and the baby definitely couldn’t. She would have to be left here, and someone would have to be left behind, to look after her. Is that really a decision any of us wanna have to make?”
Kyle took a long moment to try to hold onto his composure before speaking again, “I’ll find a way to get us back on that ship again. All of us. I have to.” was his final nearly whispered statement before he turned on his heel and headed back inside once more.
*64*
After a long moment to take in Jared’s words, Kyle finally spoke up at last, “So, no ship anywhere here, meaning no ship anywhere on this planet?” he reiterated as one last attempt at hoping he was misunderstanding the message.
“I don’t know if we should believe it or not, but that’s what it sounded like he was trying to tell me.” Jared admitted in his own sad tone, eyes downwards.
Another deep breath from Kyle as he composed himself and attempted to move on, “Ok, so that narrows it down.”
“Excuse me?” Jared asked as he quickly looked back at Kyle once more.
“So, if we know it’s not here, then that narrows it down.”
Jared scoffed loudly, “To what? The entire rest of the universe? Are you high?”
Then it was Kyle’s turn to scoff, “Why do people keep asking me that? Besides,” he then moved to flip open the box of medical supplies that Jared had been taking inventory of earlier, “you’re the one hoarding all kinds of herbs, aren’t you?”
“They’re as close as I could locate to ones similar enough to the ones on earth that all kinds of medicine is actually made of. You didn’t think meds actually grew in pill form, did you?” he scoffed.
Kyle just shook his head and then moved his eyes to the corner of the box where Jared had a cloth wrapped up and tied around a bundle of some kind, “And the ones in your special little baggy too?”
That was when Jared moved to close the box that Kyle was still inspecting, “Not so much medicine, exactly.” was the only answer Jared provided, though in a near mumble.
“So, you are self-medicating, eh?”
Jared scoffed again, “No, the ones in the bag aren’t that, either. Please, I need to be as alert as possible, all things considered.”
“Then what’s in the bag?” Kyle pressed.
“It’s something I gathered, as a just-in-case.”
“What? Arsenic? Hemlock? I thought Lili was the depressed one.” Kyle retorted, though did watch Jared closely, just in case his guess was somehow accurate.
“No, it’s nothing that’ll kill anyone, hopefully anyway, these are plants native to a different planet, after all.”
“Then what the hell is it, if it’s not medicine, or some crazy suicide-cocktail waiting to happen?”
“You really think I would deliberately collect stuff that would kill us?” Jared shook his head in disbelief.
“I dunno, hope does seem to be getting pretty slim these days.” Kyle mumbled, then quickly continued, “So, what is it then? I mean, I should know what all this crap is anyway. We all should. You never know when you might actually be the one who needs some kind of medical attention. We should all know what’s what in here, dontcha think?” Kyle pointed out.
Jared sighed again as Kyle did have a legitimate point. He then opened the box again, “Ok, this group is painkillers, this one is sedatives, this is antibiotics. Of course, that’s all in theory as I don’t exactly have any lab rats to test any of them on, but it’s better to have them than not to, I guess.”
“And the bag?” Kyle asked again.
“It’s something that I started collecting, just in case, but I doubt we’ll need it now, or any time soon.” he added more quietly.
“You are so the king of avoidance.” Kyle told him with a shake of his head.
That’s when Jared sighed again, “It’s not something you really need to worry about, even if I do get hurt someday. Lili would be the only one taking any of the stuff in the bag, and like I said, it’s doubtful that that will be the case any time soon.” he stated simply as he closed the box again.
“So, it’s something only a female would take?” Kyle asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, but it’s not something I’d recommend. It’s just there, just in case. And like I said, I doubt we’ll need to worry about it at all, considering the state this whole situation has put Lili in, ok?”
“So, it’s like birth control? Why wouldn’t you recommend that?” Kyle asked as he raised a brow.
Jared sighed again, more than a bit annoyed at the other young man’s continued curiosity, “No, that’s not exactly what it is. I still haven’t managed to find the right plants for that.”
“Not exactly?” Kyle pressed.
Jared shook his head again, “I didn’t wanna mention it, cause if anyone mentions it to Lili, it’ll most likely seem like we’re pressuring her. And that’s the last thing in the world she needs.”
“Fine, point taken. Now what is it if it’s not birth control, and why wouldn’t you recommend it?”
“I said that wasn’t exactly what it was.”
“Would you just answer the damn question?” Kyle replied in frustration.
“It’s like that, only it’s…”
“Jared!” Kyle complained, quite irked right then that Jared’s wall seemed to be in place almost all the time lately.
“It’s more of an ‘after-the-fact’ kind of thing. And that’s why I didn’t wanna discuss it. Like I said, if I mentioned it to Lili, it would be like we’re trying to pressure her into the same things that caused her current state. And that would really not be good.” Jared finally admitted.
“After-the-fact?” Kyle repeated, “So, like the morning-after pill?”
Jared sighed once more, “If these plants are as close as I think they might be to the ones of the same type that were back on earth, then, yes, they should share the same active ingredient, in theory.” he had to add, “But who knows how much damage, I mean, long-term damage they might do, just because of the very way they work. Which is why I wouldn’t recommend them without first warning her of what they actually do. And I’m not planning on even doing that much right now, cause like I said, that would most likely translate as us trying to pressure her back into…the way things used to be.” he finally decided on.
“You mean, back when we all, including Lili, seemed a lot happier than we do now?” Kyle pointed out, though his own tone seemed to drop along with his eyes.
“Yeah, I suppose we were, a bit.” Jared admitted in his own quiet tone, “But look where that got us.” he couldn’t help adding, “Now, you’re not gonna go in there and tell her about this, are you?”
“Like you said, I seriously doubt it will come up in conversation any time soon.” Kyle allowed.
“Now, your turn.” Jared asked after another moment.
“My turn?” Kyle asked as he finally looked back at where he had since moved his eyes to the woods again.
“Narrows it down?” Jared repeated with a raised eyebrow.
“It means, I’ve been thinking, and when we first landed here, I was under the impression that the ship was where it was supposed to be. Which it obviously wasn’t. But the point is, I was trying to send a message to it, when what I really need to do is try and locate it.”
Jared looked further confused by that statement, “And didn’t we just discuss how probable that might truly be, now?” he asked sadly.
“Like I said though, I was just trying to get a message to it, before, and now I know that where I was sending the message, there was no way it could have received it, especially if Serena had taken over, cloaked it, and then got killed, therefore causing the ship to crash, and the computer to shut down with her. The computer wasn’t where I was aiming, so to speak, let alone, even on at all. That’s why it could never have gotten our message.”
“Ok, but how is any of this new information, really?”
“Because, it wasn’t on. It couldn’t have received our message. When she died, it shut down completely, went offline completely.”
“Ok…But I still don’t get how this changes anything.”
“Because, what I need to do is turn it back on. Then not only can we get a message to anyone who somehow survived this entire year and is still there, but we could then finally find the damn thing.”
“Um…ok?” Jared shook his head, “But could you even do that? Turn it on, I mean?”
“This is me.” Kyle stated plainly, though Jared’s expression remained unconvinced, “If I get my LU to hack into the pod computer, and get that running again, then the pod computer can hack into the ship computer, and tada, reboot.”
Jared still seemed wary, but continued, “And, don’t you think that Serena most likely changed all the passwords you’d need to even reboot it at all, assuming it’s even still in good enough shape after the takeover, and the crash, to even be rebooted?”
“You’re such an optimist.” Kyle scoffed, “And there’s not a password in the world that I haven’t been able to get to spread wide and let me in.” Kyle had to add.
“You really have spent too much time with Ian.” Jared mumbled, then continued, “But still, Kyle, assuming you can get the pod computer restarted, and assuming the ship’s computer is even functional at all, and assuming you can get past those passwords Serena most likely put in place, I still don’t know that this plan is gonna be what we need. I mean, assuming all the above, then yes, you could send a message to the ship’s computer, but the likelihood of anyone still being there to hear it at all, after the crash, and then after another eleven months stranded, wherever the ship is stranded? I just don’t see it really being a real solution.” he said sadly.
Kyle shook his head again, “Ok, so even if no one is there at the crash site to answer the call, did you miss the part where I said that by turning on the ship’s computer, we could then get the exact location of where it did crash. Hello, that means we find the ship!”
Jared then bit his lip, his own expression still dark, “Even if we did somehow find where the ship actually crashed, Kyle, if it’s not on this planet, like he said, then we still have no way to get to it. I don’t wanna rain on your parade, here, but, honestly, finding the ship, even if we can, that may just let us know, for sure, once and for all, that we’ll never be able to get back to it, at all, if it’s not actually here. And that would really be the end of all of our hope for once and for all, wouldn’t it?”
Kyle just scoffed loudly again, “I guess I would rather have real, solid answers than blind hope.” he retorted.
“I really doubt that’ll be the case once you do have them.” Jared stated softly, though the words seemed to fall on deaf ears, as Kyle already seemed quite determined to pursue those answers he claimed to want, for the moment, anyway.
“Besides,” Kyle finally continued, “I already have a pretty good idea of where the ship is. I just need to narrow it down, that’s all.”
That was when Jared looked up quickly once more, “What do you mean you already know where the ship is?”
“I have a pretty good hunch.”
“Share please.”
Kyle scoffed again, “Did you already forget all about those computer readouts that you handed me? The ones that started this whole beautiful mess?”
“What about them?” Jared narrowed his eyes again.
“We were only out for three days. Like I said, if the ship’s not here, then that definitely narrows it down.”
“To?”
“The fucking readouts, Jared. Two planets. As close together as the earth was to the moon. They even share the same sun and moon. If the ship’s not on this one, it’s on the other, plain and simple as that. I just need to find out what part. And I can do that, once I get the fucking computer back online.”
That seemed to silence Jared for a long moment as he thought on Kyle’s conclusion, “Ok, I admit, you’re probably right.”
“I’m always right.” Kyle returned smartly.
Jared just shook his head again, then continued, “But still, Kyle, the ship crashing on this planet’s twin, I’ll give you that, but it still doesn’t explain how we would ever be able to reach it.”
Kyle gave Jared another exasperated look of disbelief before he responded, “I redesigned the pod once, I can do it again.”
“With no tools, or tech team, or supplies?” Jared had to add.
“The pod is run by the computer on board. All it’s settings are determined by that computer. Still think I can’t do it?”
Jared looked down again, “Ok, so you probably can. But there’s no gas left, only twelve hours worth of air, and the twin planet may be close, but it’s not as close as the ship was, when it was where it was supposed to be, anyway.” he had to add, “We’d never survive the trip. And all of us couldn’t go. I mean, there’s not exactly any way to make it safe for a little baby to travel in that pod, now is there?” Jared reminded him somberly, “Even if you could get the pod itself to make the trip, we most likely couldn’t survive it, and the baby definitely couldn’t. She would have to be left here, and someone would have to be left behind, to look after her. Is that really a decision any of us wanna have to make?”
Kyle took a long moment to try to hold onto his composure before speaking again, “I’ll find a way to get us back on that ship again. All of us. I have to.” was his final nearly whispered statement before he turned on his heel and headed back inside once more.