Silver Elite

by Dani Francis

“Have you been to Tierra Fe before?” Lyddie asks, peering at him over her shoulder. Roe nods. “Shithole. That whole continent. They claim we’ve lost God and that’s why we don’t belong in their holy presence, but that sounds mighty convenient, yeah? Wouldn’t surprise me if they were cooking up a new toxin in some lab down there.” He shrugs. “Or working on the existing toxin.” “The Aberrant toxin from the Last War?” Betima’s forehead wrinkles. “It’s all gone.” “You can’t be stupid enough to believe there’s no trace of the toxin left.” “There isn’t,” Lyddie says. “My mother is head of Biotech. She would know.” “Maybe she does and hasn’t told you.” Roe looks amused. Lyddie is steadfast in her refusal to believe him. She picks up her source and says, “Nexus, what happened to the biotoxin that created the Aberrant?” The screen comes to life, a monotone voice sliding out. “All doses of the airborne biotoxin were destroyed in the Last War, more than a century and a half ago. The laboratory where the airborne biotoxin originated, located in the Lost Continents, was destroyed after radiation levels were deemed safe.” “See?” Lyddie prompts, smug. “What does that prove?” Roe challenges. “That a voice on your comm is asserting it to be true? Guarantee there’s still some of that shit floating around. I bet they’re colluding with the Aberrant, smuggling supplies to their secret base.”