Part 9: Who Can It Be Now

Chapter 8: Who Can It Be Now

Despite my nightmares, I was glad to have the chance to get a good night's sleep at home before setting out again, this time for Climatrol. Before going there, though, I had to learn all I could about it. We returned to Central Tower's library and checked the file on Climatrol.


maintains the proper amount of rainfall and so on. Mota was originally a very dry planet with no natural rainfall. So the existence of Climatrol is essential now.

That was less useful than I'd hoped it would be: there was only basic information on Climatrol's function, and no information on how to actually get there. Even though it was in the middle of the lake, there had to be some way to access it.



But first, we had to do something about Hugh's equipment. Hugh, like Amy, had come to us armed only with a scalpel, and that just wouldn't do.

"Now that we have access to the southern half of the continent," I said, "I think our first priority should be to head to Zema and get all of us some better equipment for combat, especially Hugh. Maybe we can find out more about Climatrol while we're there."

"Wait," Rudo said. "You don't seriously want him to travel with us, do you?"

"Why not? An expert on Biomonsters sounds like exactly the kind of help we need right now."

"I won't stand for this. I won't be held responsible for protecting another person who can't defend himself. If he's coming with you, I'm staying behind."

"Suit yourself. Feel free to stay at my house and welcome any other visitors who come by."

And with that, Rudo and I parted ways, at least for the moment. I understood his concerns, but I needed Hugh's expertise.




Besides, Hugh wasn't completely defenceless. His extensive knowledge of biology gave him a number of techniques for disabling Biomonsters.

"Nice work, Hugh," I complimented him, after striking down the last paralysed Biomonster.

Hugh gave me a small smile. "Thank you, but I cannot feel proud of using my abilities to kill. Violence seems such a primitive way of resolving problems, even if there is no alternative available to us. It would have been better if the Biomonsters were never created, but... well, we all made mistakes."

I raised an eyebrow. "'We'? You worked at the Biosystems lab?"

Hugh nodded. "I am afraid I cannot tell you much that is not already common knowledge. Had I not been at home on the day of the accident -- if indeed it was an accident -- I would most likely not be alive today. The Biomonsters were grown in a fully automated section of the laboratory, which is why nobody knew about them until they had already been released. Our security systems and safety procedures proved inadequate." He sighed sadly. "I lost many friends and colleagues that day. Sometimes I wonder if there was anything I could have done to prevent it."



We teleported to Oputa and walked to the western bridge. My new key tube opened the door as promised.



From the bridge, it was only a short walk to Zema. It was a beautiful little town, although the view would have been better if the lake hadn't been almost empty.



A jet scooter might come in handy. Even if it wouldn't get us all the way to Climatrol, we could at least ride it up the river as far as the mouth of the lake.



Too bad for us that nobody in town had one any more. With the teleportation network linking every town on Mota, it didn't make sense to maintain your own slower, more expensive means of transportation. I was starting to see the Commander's point about Mother Brain's technological advancements being a double-edged sword; teleportation was a very convenient way to get around, but it wasn't much fun. And of course, once everyone had abandoned their cars and jet scooters in favour of the teleport stations, any place not connected to the teleportation network was hard to reach.


That area smells terrible because of the garbage smell from Roron."

Uh, if its most notable feature was a garbage dump that stank to high heaven, why would I want to go there?



I still don't see what that has to do with me, given that I'm not one of the natives.



Ah. Of course. The only people on Mota who still had a functioning jet scooter were the natives, and we had to go to Roron if we wanted to buy it off them.

So our next destination was a garbage dump. It would be nice if just once we could go somewhere where I didn't have to hold my nose to breathe. Was that too much to ask?



For a resort town, Zema sure did sell some nice weapons and armour. I invested in a pair of poisonshots for Hugh and a pair of laser knives for myself.



Before heading to Roron, I went back home to check on Rudo and make sure there were no hard feelings. He was still at home, so at least he hadn't decided to abandon me completely.

"We're back. As you can see, Hugh is still alive and well."

Rudo stared at the wall behind me. "For now."

"I can't force you to travel with him if you don't want to, but I wish you'd reconsider. Can't we at least try to get along?"

Rudo ignored my offer. "There was someone here to see you earlier," he said gruffly. "She's out at the moment."



The corner of Rudo's nose and mouth turned up in apparent disgust as he looked at the door. "That'll be her. Rolf, if I were you I'd think carefully about the company I keep."