World Builders Book 6 Snippet 3

 Sitrep:

So, I am almost finished the cover of Multiverse 8. Here is the snippet from the next story:

Congo City

 

PurpleSkies Star System, Tau Sector

 

Doctor Peter Ellingtondidn’t know his family well. His parents had died in a riot when the pirateplagues had killed many people. As humans they had been immune to the plaguesbut not to the violence from others. He had been living on the streets and hadgotten pneumonia. He owed his life to a medic from a visiting hospital shipthat had picked him up and brought him to the aide camp for treatment.

He had entered thefoster care system there. He might have ended up as a tragic statistic but hehad been determined to make a life for himself. He had proven he was gifted sohe had been given more opportunities than other people in the same situationmight have.

“Okay, folks, the gradeswill be posted by this evening. Oh, if you need adjustments, see me or Richy.We will be at the auditorium tonight trying to pitch the next expedition,” hesaid. He turned.

“Speaking of which, ifwe want to see it happen, please invite anyone interested in it to attend. Weneed to find a way to stop the beetles. I feel that the jungle may be the keyto that threat,” he said firmly.

A few students smiledslightly at his insistence. They knew their professor’s hobby horse intimately.

“Make sure those of youwho are on digs or other expeditions, check in with your team leads right away.I mean it! They might have changed the schedule, and you could get leftbehind,” he warned. He surveyed the students. “It has happened before,” hewarned darkly.

He dismissed them and agaggle of students immediately mobbed his assistant Richy. Richy did his bestto handle the questions. Pete stood by and handled any leakers.

There were a bare twentystudents so they got through that relatively quickly. Richy smiled and sat downon a stool in relief.

“Ever wish you’d goneoff on the science ship?” Richy asked.

“Sometimes. Notanymore,” Pete admitted.

A science ship had comeby the star system and had done an orange peel orbit around the planet to mapthe surface. Anomalies were highlighted and the entire data set given to thegovernment.

The scientists had donemany things during their brief time in orbit. They had taken readings, talkedto people, cataloged artifacts, and tisked tisked about the lack of museums andsuch.

The science vessel’screw had goaded the government into creating a college university system again.The government had done so in order to elevate their people into the future,and Pete had been one of the gifted students who had gotten through it. He hadeven taken a few classes with the scientists on the ship until they haddeparted the star system.

There had been hope thatthere would be additional visits. But then the war with Tau had broken out andeveryone had been busy looking for escape plans in case of invasion. Now thatthe war with Tau was winding down, they were keen to look into the lost citiesand relics of the past.

One such location wasCongo city, a reputed lost city near the equatorial region. The data from thescience ship and their own old maps had mapped it out. Expeditions had tried togo there, but few had returned. Those that did or those that just overflew theregion reported that the entire area was overgrown with seven centuries ofjungle growth. Pete was keen to know how the jungle handled the beetle menace,which was devastating plants across the planets in the region.

Traenor Industries, anoffworld company, had come in when they had heard about the lost city. Theywere eager to go there and check it out. They had a contract with thegovernment to get loot from the city when they opened access to it. Pete was abit dismayed by that fact, but at least they would catalog everything and makethe data available to the scientists.

He was practical enoughto understand the government’s reasoning. The government wanted to get a citygoing and to get the lost riches to fund growth and to combat the beetle pest.With them they could have a brighter future, perhaps even grow the college intoa proper university.

The government wastapped out on sending another expedition, however. There was an economicdepression hammering the planet and region. The beetle pest and the quarantineto keep it from leaving the world were tying their hands badly.

Pete had convinced his college topay half of the costs for his expedition to the jungle. He had to fit it inbetween semesters, however. They had six weeks to complete the expedition, butonly two days to find an investor to pay the rest of the money he needed, or itwas a no-go. Pete had put in as much money from his meager savings as he dared.

He needed the data from thefield. But there was more to it than that.

The official reason was to chartthe progress of the beetles devastating plant life on their world and on theneighboring worlds in the region. He and his assistant were also supposed tolook for some natural predator or some immune plant that killed the pest.

The idea was to find somethingthat might give them a glimmer of hope to kill the pest. He had his doubtsthough.

He had another more personalreason to go to the jungle though. Her name was Amy.

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