Secret Genocide

As the USS Pilgrim was preparing to land, it began vibrating so violently that Erica felt like her entire body was being ripped apart—as if she were riding the Loop-the-Loop, Kingda Ka, and Space Mountain all at the same time. Though she had spent hours in the simulation pod, nothing could have prepared her for this savage landing. She clenched her fists inside her spacesuit and squeezed her eyes shut, silently praying for a safe touchdown.

Erica had always turned to prayer in times of need; it was her way of coping with situations. Little did she know how it would soon be letting her down in a spectacular way.

Hours after landing, after all the final checks had been completed, Erica’s ecstatic crew members lined up to exit the spaceship. Men and women slapped each other on the back, shook hands, and yelped with jubilation as they jumped off the ladder onto their new planet. Erica laughed as she watched her colleagues remove their helmets and toss them in the air like graduation caps. Though she felt a little silly, their joy was contagious, and she joined in the merriment, sending her own helmet soaring. It was the first time any of the crew had breathed fresh air in over two years, and Erica sucked in a deep, glorious breath.

As the noise and celebration began to wind down, Erica needed a few minutes to herself. She stepped away from her colleagues, put her hands together, and prayed for the strength to do her job well, for the health and happiness of her family, and for her safe return home when her mission was complete.

She then closed her eyes and thought back to the day just three years earlier when she received the call that she had been selected for this mission. She couldn’t help smiling as she remembered how proud she’d felt to be chosen to take part in a mission that would write human history.

Making the decision to leave her family, though, was one of the most difficult of her life. Her husband and daughters meant everything to her, and the thought of being away for six years was excruciating. Erica gathered her husband and two grown daughters at the kitchen table, and they spent an entire day debating the pros and cons of the voyage.

Ten hours and three meals later, a decision was made. Erica would go. Her husband reassured her repeatedly, “Six years will pass quickly. It will be like a dream. We’re so proud of you, Erica.” He winked at her. “I promise to not have any fun until you come home.”

Erica sighed. She knew six years was a long time to be without your spouse, and she prayed that he would wait for her.

Gracie then piped in, “Mom, Gabby and I are grown-ups now. We can take care of ourselves. We’ll all be okay.” Smiling, she added, “You can’t get rid of us that easily. We’ll send emails and video messages all the time. And besides, it’s not like you’re going to be gone forever.”

On the day of departure, Erica embraced her daughters and whispered, “Please don’t do anything exciting until I return. No weddings, no babies, no anything, okay?”

Gracie and Gabby rolled their eyes at their mother; they both had serious boyfriends and weren’t going to make any promises.

As Erica returned to the present, she groaned softly. Just two years later, Gracie was married with a brand-new baby, and Gabby was newly engaged. Erica had watched the video of her daughter’s wedding in tears. Life was continuing along without her, and she found herself questioning her decision.

When she heard a familiar voice calling, she waved to her colleagues and skipped over to join them. They put their arms around one another’s shoulders and stood in awe as they stared at their new surroundings, so much like Earth.

Up above was a blue sky overflowing with billowy clouds. Green grass and trees lent beauty to the landscape, and a radiant sun was shining upon them. But there were differences, as well. The air on Eden was as thin, and Erica already felt her head beginning to pound. She put on her oxygen mask and took a few deep breaths as she contemplated some of the weirder things on this planet. There were no birds in the air, no squirrels in the trees, no planes in the sky, and the lack of ambient noise was startling.

The first order of business was setting up the temporary shelters. Before long, the area resembled a tent colony with rudimentary porta-potties set up outside each tent. Erica prepared her cot in the enclosure, and that night, between all the chatting and excitement, she barely got any sleep. The next morning, she pressed her hands against her head to keep it from throbbing and popped some ibuprofen as she got ready for her day.

Exhausted and achy, she dragged herself over to the mess tent, where she forced down a packet of freeze-dried eggs. As she chewed the mushy concoction, she fantasized about eating real food again and smiled as she pictured her first bite of freshly grown vegetables on Eden.

Meanwhile, all around her, the air in the tent buzzed with excitement as her colleagues prepared to put their years of research into action. The botanists would begin testing and preparing the soil for crops; the zoologists would begin unfreezing the animal embryos; and the construction team would begin chopping down trees and laying the foundations for apartment complexes. Each member of the crew had their own mission to complete before returning home.

As a chemist, it was Erica’s job to travel back and forth to the many bodies of water scattered across the region and add the necessary chemicals to make it potable for human consumption and sustainable for freshwater fish. She had spent the past two years poring over computer diagrams, outlining the size and depths of the waterbodies, and calculating exactly how much base and other chemicals would be needed to bring the much-too-acidic water to their specifications. Today, Erica would be traveling to Zone 1, taking water samples, and beginning to add the human-life-sustaining chemicals.

When she arrived at the first body of water, her exhaustion melted away and she felt exhilarated. She jumped out of the rover, scattering her equipment and canisters of chemicals everywhere. As she kneeled down to test the pH of the water, she flinched. She could swear she saw something move.

She rubbed her eyes, looked again, and jumped a foot into the air. Something was definitely moving. Her heart began to race as she grabbed her scope and submerged it in the water. Her eyes flew open as she stared in disbelief at what she was seeing.

There were electric blue creatures with shining black eyes, long green eels with glowing stripes, and large-headed beings with tentacles crawling on the rocks. The lake was teeming with life, and she could hardly believe she had been the one to discover it.

What a privilege, Erica thought. She tore through her backpack in search of her waterproof camera and danced around the lake, plunging it into the water and taking videos. When the gravity of this discovery hit her, she put her hands to her heart and whispered a prayer of gratitude that she hadn’t blindly dumped in the chemicals. The much higher pH would surely have killed off anything living in that water. Erica climbed into the rover and raced back to the ship to speak with the director of Project Eden.

When she arrived at the communications center, Erica burst through the door and immediately uploaded her videos to the computer. Her heart pounded as she composed a letter to the director. Because of the distance from Eden to Earth, it would take seventeen minutes for the message to be received. As she waited, she chewed her fingernails and fantasized how the project director’s face would light up when he learned of her discovery. She toyed with the idea that they might name a lake after her. She smiled at the thought. Lake Erica. She liked it.

When the video reply arrived, Erica’s hands flew to her mouth. The director of the project and all his cohorts already knew about the indigenous life and were well aware that most of the bodies of water throughout the planet were inhabited. Erica gasped as the director ordered her to do her job and dump the chemicals as directed. It had been determined months ago that the sea creatures were not compatible with the human digestive system, and the director could see no reason to keep them alive. He told her it would be absurd to nurture them when humans needed to utilize the lakes for their own survival.

Erica sat frozen like a statue for what felt like hours before finally preparing a second video. Her normally calm demeanor disappeared, and her eyes became daggers. “What you are suggesting is genocide! We are the aliens on their planet. I will not kill those beautiful creatures. We must come up with another strategy to establish regular drinking water, or we will have to abort this mission. We can’t in good conscience take over a planet that is already inhabited!”

She took a deep breath as angry tears burned her eyes. Her voice calmed.

“Did you even consider that these creatures might be sentient?” she continued. “Please don’t ask me to murder these life forms. If you do, I will be forced to include this information in my next press release. The whole world will learn about the monsters that run Project Eden.”

Erica sat glued to her chair, refusing to move until she received the next communication. Many hours later, mentally exhausted, she was dozing in her chair when she heard the ping of the computer.

General Donaldson, the director of the project, was on the screen. The sixty-year-old veteran of the center wore an evil sneer on his craggy face. Erica felt her heart drop when he barked, “Erica, you will add the chemicals to the lakes tomorrow as planned and keep your big mouth shut! We have worked for years and spent billions of dollars preparing to develop Eden, and we are not going to let you, of all people, ruin it for everybody!” He brought his face directly up to the camera and snarled, “Oh, and Erica, congratulations on your daughter’s new baby. We sincerely hope no harm comes to your new granddaughter.”

Erica began gasping for breath as the words of the director sank in. They were threatening her grandchild. Her brain became foggy, and she couldn’t get out of her chair. How could she forgive herself if her own granddaughter were harmed? Yet it was against everything she believed in to have any part in the annihilation of all the natural life on this planet.

As Erica paced the floor deep in thought, she prayed to God to guide her, to help her choose the correct thing to do. But this time, she didn’t get an answer. Instead, a scenario popped into her head from an ancient Star Trek movie. Mr. Spock, with his life hanging in the balance, declared, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” He was sacrificing his own life to save his crew members, and Erica was ready to do the same. She was fully prepared to risk her own life to save the indigenous species. But it was not her life that was in danger, it was her granddaughter’s. Ruining her family was not the kind of sacrifice she was willing to make.

She then thought about Captain Kirk’s rebuttal to Mr. Spock. “Sometimes, the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many.” Her granddaughter’s safety exceeded all else. Didn’t it? But how could she live with herself if she contributed to a genocide?

Erica spent the entire night lying awake in bed, ruminating and softly whimpering. Her friends came over one by one to ask what was wrong, but she told them it was just another headache. The next morning, exhausted and defeated, she walked to the communications center slower than a turtle to propose a compromise that would break her heart.

Still in her nightclothes, her hair stringy and disheveled, she opened up a new message and addressed it to General Donaldson. She proposed that they create a giant aquarium to include every species of life on Eden. Their own personal Noah’s Ark. It would be a teaching instrument for children and an entertainment center for families. Marine biologists could come to Eden and study these creatures and give them the honor they deserved. It was the least they could do. Tears ran down her face as she proposed this idea, agreeing to sign their nondisclosure agreement.

The response came back quickly. Director Donaldson said, “Okay, Erica, we will support this plan. The aquarium will be set in Zone 3. The crew will be instructed to disregard the lakes in that area until all the creatures can be removed and relocated to their new enclosures. Meanwhile, you will go ahead with the original plan and drop the chemicals in Zone 1 tomorrow. As we go forward with the aquarium, you will be responsible for the care of the indigenous creatures. You’re to remain on Eden permanently and become the spokesperson. All your communications will be monitored. We’ll send your supplies and clothing on the next ship.” He then smiled and it reminded Erica of the Joker from the Batman movie. “And once again, congratulations on your new grandchild.”

Erica watched the video message over and over again, her heart growing heavier with each view. She was never to return to Earth. She would never see her husband or children again. They would never understand why she was not coming home or know about her sacrifice. They would think she valued her job more than her family. She looked at a video of the creatures again and cried. She would have to live with that.