Alex followed the hopper of seed potatoes from the delivery vehicle supplied by Isaac and watched it take up its position next to a row of five others at the top of the field. Laid out in front of them were the stacks of empty soil trays waiting to accept their next crop. In the aisle that ran between them, the farm workers who Kurt had persuaded to help were preparing the field to be planted. Among them was Kurt himself, who came jogging up to the top of the field as he saw Alex.
“Is that the last one?” he said, glancing over at the hopper which brought itself in on the automated track.
“Yeah.” Alex nodded.
“If this works, it’s going to be a hell of a thing,” said Kurt.
Pedro appeared from around the back of the stacks of trays. He looked both amazed and troubled.
“Kurt!” Pedro waved as he saw him. “I want to thank you for all you’re doing.”
“Don’t thank us yet,” said Kurt. “Not everyone agreed to work, so we’re a bit under strength compared to what we’re used to. But potato planting has a reasonable amount of automation, so we’re confident we can get it done in one shift.”
“I want to make sure all the growing conditions are optimized,” said Pedro. “Because of the accelerated growth, there’s not as much leeway for the plants to cope in less than ideal conditions.”
Pedro lifted his WristTab to consult a data sheet.
“Pedro!” Kurt slapped him on the back like he had been a lifelong friend. The scientist shuddered under the sudden thump from his strong hand. “We’ve discussed this. You can look over my shoulder while I program everything in if it makes you feel better. But let’s get these things in the soil first – before some officious so-and-so realizes we’re not supposed to be in here.”
Kurt clapped his hands to draw everyone’s attention and told them to get ready. The last of the remaining farm workers scuttled to the top of the field.
Alex was so pleased he was able to rely on Kurt. His skills at organizing and handling people were far better than Alex’s. One day, Kurt would probably be running a farm, if not a whole series of them.
With all of the people clear of the field, Kurt set the first of the forklift robots running and it trundled down the aisle to the far end, where it turned to face the empty trays. Its prongs elevated to the height of two fully grown Mars-borns and slid beneath the top tray on the furthest rack on the left-hand side. It turned, brought the tray down to a human’s waist level and trundled back to the top of the farm where Yule and Langi were waiting.
They helped the robot line up the tray onto the waiting conveyor belt. The belt sensed the weight of the object and propelled the tray into the potato planter. The machine’s tiller blades turned the soil to make a trench for the seed potatoes which were dropped from a funnel and covered up with soil by a second set of blades. The forklift collected the tray from the conveyor at the other end and trundled back to return it to its place on the stack. Ready to begin the growing cycle.
Kurt grinned widely. Pedro still looked worried. Alex turned to the hopper and, by hand, helped Kieran fill a container to replenish the potato planter. It was heavy work and they would have to rotate tasks every twenty minutes to avoid over-tiring themselves. Meanwhile, a second forklift was set running and the robots entered into a planting relay.
Alex was carrying a heavy basket of potatoes to the planter when he noticed the door to the field sliding shut.
The embarkation room acted like an airlock to maintain environmental integrity. If the door to the inside was closing, it meant someone from the outside was trying to get in.
“Kurt!” he shouted and dumped the basket on the conveyor.
Alex rushed to place his hand in the closing gap between the door and the frame. He knew safety measures wouldn’t let it shut if a human was in the way. But, as he reached out to the narrowing gap, it became too small to fit even his fingertips. He nails scratched uselessly at the surface and the door sealed itself into the frame.
“What’s going on?” said Pedro.
“We’ve got unexpected visitors,” said Alex, powerless to prevent whoever it was coming to stop them.
“Who?” said Pedro.
Alex dared not imagine the answer.
•••
Deverau sat in the back of the rover traveling from Deimos City to the farm, keeping an eye on Mel while Jones sat in the driving seat. As the dark of night claimed the landscape outside of the windshield, he asked her to explain more about what she had learned and why people had broken into one of the farms. In return, he told her about his encounter with Kaito at Teractor.
He knew it was rash to have removed Mel’s handcuffs and allowed her to come with them. He could sense Jones disapproved, even when he told him his reasoning. Deverau was, he had to admit, betting his career on the integrity of a botanist.
•••
The forklift robot stood in suspended animation at the end of the planting machine, it’s arm-like prongs held out as if begging for something it was not going to receive. The machine had been stopped while the farm workers stood waiting for the inner door of the embarkation room to open.
In the quiet of nervous anticipation, Alex heard the locks release and the gentle hiss of gas equalizing between the pressurized environments. The sliding door revealed a uniformed MSS officer standing ready with a drawn shockgun.
Gasps rose up from some of the farm workers. Others murmured their anxieties. Alex ran through a host of possibilities in his mind, each one more terrible than the last.
The door continued to slide, revealing even more armed officers. Eight in total. Standing in front, like a commander in a blue suit, was Kaito Tanaka. She was the only one without a gun. Unless the authority entrusted in her by the Terraforming Committee was considered a weapon, in which case she commanded the most power of all.
It was the worst possibility of all – they were about to get shut down and arrested.
Kaito regarded them with a stern, disapproving and uncompromising face. “All work here is to cease and this farm must be evacuated!”
“But we’re working to feed Mars,” said Kurt. “Everyone here is willing to work overtime to ensure it happens.”
“Not with untested, experimental crops, you’re not,” insisted Kaito.
Pedro stepped forward, holding out his hand to introduce himself. “I’m Doctor Pedro Serrano from the Squyres Research Outpost.” Kaito didn’t even look down at his hand, let alone attempt to shake it. “We have an exciting opportunity to get food on the tables of ordinary people on Mars far quicker than if we rely on standard crops. I have prepared a full report, if you would care to consider…”
But Kaito had already stopped listening. She turned to an MSS officer standing to her right. “Sergeant, get these people out of here.”
“Yes, doctor,” replied the sergeant and waved forward the rest of the officers.
Dark blue uniforms invaded and voices of protest filled the field. The strong hand of an MSS officer grabbed Alex’s upper arm.
“You can’t do this!” shouted Alex at Kaito. He tried to pull his arm free, but it was held tight.
Alex continued to struggle. “Kurt!”
He looked to his friend for some kind of help, but saw the broad, muscular farm worker had all but given up. He allowed an MSS officer to pull his arms behind his back and cuff him. If Kurt – physically the strongest of them all – could not fight back against the MSS, then all hope was lost.
Pedro was led away at the point of a shockgun. “Doctor Tanaka, let us try it in one farm,” he pleaded. “Just one – and if it doesn’t work, then you have lost nothing. But if we are successful, think how valuable it will be to Mars.”
Kaito did not waver from her stern, disapproving and uncompromising expression. “The answer, Doctor Serrano, is no. We need all fields to grow reliable food. I’m not going to be the one to look into the eyes of starving children and tell them there’s nothing to eat because we let a scientist play around in one of them.”
Pedro was pushed into the embarkation room and Alex was pushed in afterwards. They stood with the other farm workers, some in handcuffs, some not. But all surrounded by armed MSS officers.
Through the gaps in the row of people in front of him, he watched Kaito at the conveyor belt. She picked up one of the seed potatoes from the basket he had left there. She turned it in front of her eyes like it was a curious artifact. Then discarded it.
She glanced across at the embarkation room and nodded to the officer standing in front. “You go ahead,” she said, evidently deciding against stepping inside the crammed space with the rest of them. “I’ll join you in a minute.”
The door began to close and Alex wondered how Kaito had arrived at the farm so quickly. Then he thought of the few people who hadn’t turned up to take the bus to work the shift. One of them, he realized, must have leaked the information.