Chapter 28

The boat pulled alongside a metal pier.  The escort soldiers hopped off and tugged on mooring ropes until the boat was secured.  Then they hooked a walkway from the pier to the boat’s deck.  Peggy Lee, Ian, Graham, and Charley disembarked. 

Despite the slight morning breeze, the air was quickly growing stale and heavy.  The dark steel pier concentrated the sun’s intensity.  Above them, the top of the three-story pontoon radiated thick heat waves; it looked like the sky was melting.  Graham noticed that Peggy Lee had broken a sweat.  She produced a neatly folded, blue handkerchief from her back pocket and wiped her brow.  Graham wanted a drop of her sweat on his tongue.  He imagined that it would taste like sweet tea.

The group walked up a flight of stairs.  By the time that they reached the top of the pontoon, everyone was sweating profusely.  The breeze was stronger up top, but it did not really make a difference; this kind of heat penetrated everything, even the wind.

From the walkway that circled the massive pontoon, they could see down into the boiler unit, which was framed by a second immense pontoon about a mile away.  Between the two pontoons, a vast network of cables hung like a web under four feet of water, supporting thousands of heating nodes. 

“It’s amazing,” Peggy Lee said.  While Ian set up, Peggy Lee checked her face in a compact and then positioned herself next to Graham at the guardrail overlooking the network of heating elements.  “Is this the right spot?” she asked Ian.

“Looks good to me,” he answered as he flipped on his array of cameras.

##

After the interview, they all returned to the boat and took refuge from the heat in the air-conditioned bridge.  The boat headed farther west to the solar farm, where long rows of giant, floating solar panels reached out to the horizon. 

“Three solar farms power the water production facilities,” Graham explained.  “This one is the largest, with dimensions roughly the size of Rhode Island.  Each panel is approximately the size of a football field and is set at a 32-degree angle.  They track the sun from sunrise to sunset.” 

“They look like huge wedges of metallic cheese,” Peggy Lee remarked as they began to cruise between two rows. 

Graham continued, “The electricity that’s generated is transmitted via massive underwater cables to the central power transfer and storage facility on the Farallon Platform.  From there, the power goes out to the boiler units, which transform it to back to heat and then to fog.”

As he spoke, Graham wondered what would become of the solar panels after the facilities were shuttered.  Would the U.S. government try to sell them?  Or install them back east?  Would pirates beat the government to it?  Or the Alaskans?  Or would the panels just sit and fry in the heat – a remarkable relic – until they eventually sank to the bottom of the ocean? 

##

After touring the solar farm, Captain Sherwood set a course for the Farallon Platform.  Despite the comfortable cool air in the bridge, Graham returned to the deck.  Peggy Lee was busy talking to Ian, and Graham did not feel like disturbing them.  Now, his stomach rumbled.  He was looking forward to getting to the mess hall on the Platform.

He sat down on a bench with no shade and closed his eyes.  The sun burned into his pale forehead and cheeks, but he wanted a fair dose of vitamin D before heading back into the fog. 

As the boat rocked towards its destination, he drifted into a semi-sleep.  He had been thinking about Peggy Lee, and now a somnolent dream took shape.  He was riding a mule into the desert.  Peggy Lee had been right behind him on a white horse, but when he looked back, he couldn’t see her.  The sky was heavy red velvet.  The sun, a hazy globe directly overhead, scorched his head.  Small clumps of desert grasses burst into flame at the mule’s feet.  Large cactuses on the horizon smoldered like torches.  He looked behind him again, but he still could not find Peggy Lee.  Was he the last human on earth?  If he could find Peggy Lee, perhaps together they could survive.

The mule turned down into a large basin.  Graham wanted to go back and look for Peggy Lee, but it was too late – the mule refused.  A windstorm kicked red dust high into the sky.  The dust commingled with the velvet sky, creating an upside down bowl of dark, thick heat.  The sky began to press down on the landscape while the bowl’s edges crept down the sides of the basin.  Graham spurred the mule on.  He did not want to get caught in the wind and dust.  He knew now that he would never see Peggy Lee again – he knew that this remaining capsule of land and sky was all that was left of the earth.  When they reached the lowest point in the basin, Graham surveyed the sky.  The sun was gone, swallowed by the thick, red clouds that swirled around him.  He stood inside the shrinking globe of breathable air.  The mule tossed him to the ground and ran, braying madly, headlong into the dust storm. 

Graham could do nothing to save himself.  The dense, blowing sands were upon him.  He struggled for air; he covered his mouth and nose with his shirt.  The wind whipped his bare skin, chaffing it.  The blood on his arms became instantly caked with grit.  He fell to the ground and tried to shield himself from the force of the storm.  The sand below him gave way and he fell headlong into the earth.  His descent slowed and then stopped.  He found himself buried alive in the depths of the sandy desert.  The winds were gone.  Light was gone.  Graham could not move, and he could not breathe.

Chapter 27

            The engines below grew louder, and the boat picked up a little more speed.  Graham turned and looked up at the bridge.  Captain Sherwood waved down to him and gave him the thumbs up.  Just then, the door below the bridge opened and out popped Charley, who sauntered over to Graham and Peggy Lee:  “Nice to be outside, eh?”

“Certainly is,” Graham answered.

“Where’s Ian?” Charley asked Peggy Lee.

“Oh, he’s coming along, I think.  That man runs on his own schedule, if you know what I mean.  So tell me, boys, are we just about to bust through that fabled fog curtain of yours?”

“Exactly,” Graham answered.  “The fog thins like this for a few miles, and then the sun starts to peek through intermittently.  I like to think of the fog curtain as one long, highly intricate piece of lace made of cloud.  Once we clear the curtain, we’ll be out on the sunny Pacific, with nothing but blue sky and the majestic ocean in front of us.”

And as if on cue, a ray of sun shined down on the deck.  The light raced quickly across the bow and disappeared.

“I see what you mean,” Peggy Lee said.  “If I didn’t know any better, I would guess that it was going to be a dark and dismal day for miles around.  But – oh, here comes another one.”  Sunlight flashed across them and then out into the ocean, disappearing a few hundred feet out.   

The captain increased the speed as the fog continued to disperse.  Thick, low fog banks rolled past the boat.  Up above, slow-churning clouds were interspersed with bright areas of sunlight.  The boat was moving out of the fog with visibility increasing rapidly.  Morning sunbeams broke through the clouds, shining diagonally onto the ocean’s surface before the cloud cover swallowed them back up.  Graham leaned against the rail between Charley and Peggy Lee, watching and waiting.  Each sunbeam foretold the moment of exhilaration, the highlight of this trip, when the boat would escape the fog bank entirely and roar into the open seascape of the Outer Territory.

Peggy Lee’s hand moved over next to Graham’s on the handrail.  A vivid rainbow appeared for a moment in front of the boat.  Charley was looking down toward the stern, but both Graham and Peggy Lee saw it.  She secretly hooked her little finger over his as they watched.  His stomach dropped as if he were on a roller coaster.  He felt as big as the world.  He was a shining light pulsating across the ocean.  He was the moon and the stars.  He was all that is and all that has ever been.  He was joy, pain, and love.  He felt that no matter how messed up the planet might be, no matter how ultimately doomed the water production facilities were, no matter how many people were in the process of dying – including poor, young Mirosevich back at HQ – there would always be some good, some happiness, in the world.  Unbelievably, he felt hopeful.  His heart swelled with a nearly forgotten feeling of raw excitement about life – about humans in general and about his life in particular.  Maybe everything will work out in the end.  Maybe this is just one, big test for humanity, and we will succeed, survive, and then thrive once more.  And he could live with Peggy Lee in a small house near the ocean and they would sip tea, watch sunsets, and curl up next to each other at night.  They would take care of each other and grow old together and die peacefully.

“There you are,” Ian said from behind them.  “I should probably shoot some of this scenery, right?”

“Yes, of course.”  Peggy Lee withdrew her hand.  “I got caught up in it all.  Why don’t you set up over there – quickly now – and get some shots without me.  My hair is a mess, and I would rather shoot the interviews once we get into consistent light.”

“Right,” Ian said, lugging his camera case over to the other side of the ship, where he began to set up three tripods and an array of small holographic cameras.

“Need any help?”  Charley asked.

“No,” Ian responded.

Charley crossed the deck over to a bench underneath the bridge and sat down.

“What do you call this place?  It has got to have a name, right?” Peggy Lee asked, turning back to Graham.

“Technically, it’s called the curtain.  Most of the soldiers, however, refer to this area as Purgatory.”

“Well, whatever you call it, it is truly beautiful.”

The boat was humming along now, cutting through small swells on the relatively flat ocean.  Bright sunbeams populated the view, flashing and then disappearing as the fog banks split and remarried over and over.  It was as if hundreds of extremely powerful spot lights had been hung high above the remaining cloud cover and were being turned on and off at random. 

Three more minutes and the clouds lightened up considerably, turning white and taking on a blinding glow.  When it seemed that the sky could not get any brighter, the cloud line appeared like the edge of a huge piece of cotton, and then, in a matter of seconds, it drifted off behind the little boat.  Full, glorious sunlight shined down on the deck.  The ocean lit up with glittering reflections, and the sky became instantly, unfathomably blue.  Graham closed his eyes and turned towards the sun.  He looked momentarily at the blood red light through the backs of his eyelids and felt the sun’s heat drying his face.

“It’s so nice to feel that again,” Graham said quietly.

“Especially for you, I’m guessing,” Peggy Lee said as she removed her rain gear.

Graham also took his coat off, took Peggy Lee’s from her, and returned them to the hooks in the hallway.

The sun was quickly heating up the deck.  Charley, who remained seated under the bridge, had already unbuttoned the top of his uniform.  Graham rolled up his shirt sleeves as he walked back over to Peggy Lee.  As he approached, she bent over at the waist and combed her long hair down around her head with her fingers.  She shook some of the water out of her curls, and then lifted her head up and flipped her hair into place.  Despite the hazmat suit, the accident, and the overheated decontamination chamber, her hair looked perfect.  She winked at him and said, “Making do.” 

She reminded him of a girl from an ancient Elvis movie . . . Blue Hawaii, or was it Viva Las Vegas?  He could not recall.

On the horizon, Graham could see the large pontoons of boiler unit 379, the outermost boiler unit in the region and their first stop on the tour.  As expected, it had been powered down for maintenance, and thus it stood clear of fog.  Back behind the boat, the wall of fog billowed up high and then dissipated into the vast blue sky above it.

The boat roared up to full speed.  Peggy Lee produced a pair of large, white-rimmed sunglasses and then she and Graham joined Charley on the bench under the bridge.  The three of them sat in silence, enjoying the sun and the warm breeze on their faces and the lulling rhythm of the boat.

Chapter 26

A few minutes later, the boat’s PA announced, “We have cleared the Spore Zone and will now commence exterior decontamination.” 

The SS Birmingham was equipped with hundreds of sprayers, which began to cover the entire outside of the boat with a potent, de-molding liquid.  Just like in Graham’s office back at HQ, a green liquid covered the bridge’s windows.  After a couple of minutes, the sprayers produced a rinsing agent, and the green hue disappeared.  “Decontamination complete,” the PA announced.  “Exterior doorways unlocked.  All hands may now exit the sealed area.”

“It’s nice to be clean,” Captain Sherwood said.

The fog was still very thick, but just then, Graham saw Peggy Lee walk out onto the deck.  He decided to join her.

At the bottom of the stairs, a short hallway led to the deck door.  Along the side of the hallway, yellow and red raingear hung from hooks.  Graham grabbed a yellow, full-length coat, opened the door, and stepped into the warm, thick outside air.

Through the fog, he spotted Peggy Lee.  She was leaning against the rail at the side of the boat, looking out into the gray emptiness as it flowed by the boat.  She had helped herself to a red raincoat, but had left the hood down.  Her hair was soaked and lay flat against her head.  Her head was tilted up – a challenge to the foggy breeze.  He could not see her full face, just her ear and the very edge of her cheek, such a fine line cutting down towards her perfect chin.  He stood stock still, frozen by her beauty.  He noticed one of her hands clasping the rail.  Her fingers were slender, but every part of her conveyed strength and grace.  

Then Graham saw that one of her feet was tapping ever-so-slightly on the wet metal of the deck floor.  She was waiting, waiting to get going, waiting to start the story, waiting to see the facilities . . . or perhaps she was waiting for him.  He desperately wanted her to turn around.  He wanted to see her face though the fog, to see her smile at him.

And then she did. 

She caught him watching her.  He was immediately embarrassed, but she didn’t seem to care.  She smiled and waved.  

As he approached, he noticed a rippling undercurrent of sadness in her eyes, but then it disappeared.  Would he ever know her well enough to ask her about those moments – or even to understand her thoughts without explanation? 

Her forehead and cheeks were covered in tiny beads of water.  As he reached the handrail, a rivulet of water ran between her eyebrows, down past the side of her nose and onto her lips.  She licked it with the tip of her tongue.  “Tastes sweet,” she said. 

“I’m glad that you are enjoying your free sample.  The next one will cost you.”

“It’s lovely water, Graham.  It truly is,” Peggy Lee responded.

Chapter 25

As the group exited the locker room, Captain Sherwood offered Peggy Lee and Ian the use of his office to prepare for the shoot.  “Just don’t try to go outside yet,” the Captain instructed.  “All of the exterior doors are locked and sealed until we clear the Spore Zone.  You will hear an announcement when it's safe to exit.”

Graham, Charley, Captain Sherwood, and the escort soldiers went up to the bridge, a large room at the rear of the boat with floor-to-ceiling windows, which, when not obscured by fog, overlooked the boat’s long deck two stories below.  Graham ordered a soldier to bring Peggy Lee and Ian a pot of coffee and some cookies.

When the boat cleared the pier, Charley pulled Graham aside.  “Sir, I didn’t mean to be argumentative down below.  I just thought your initial inclination to return to HQ made sense.”

“I understand, Charley, but Peggy Lee is under a deadline and well . . . .”

“Yeah, but deadlines can always be pushed back – especially for someone like Peggy Lee.  Wouldn’t it make more sense to delay for a day or two, make sure everyone’s healthy, get the bags, and then come back out here?”

“Perhaps I let Peggy Lee talk me into pressing on too quickly,” Graham said, smiling, “but she’s a pretty convincing woman.”

“Yeah, I see your point.”  After a moment, Charley asked, “So what do you think of your chances?”

“Chances of what?”

“Your chances of getting somewhere with her?  She clearly likes you.  But you gotta play your cards right with a woman like that.  You gotta have the right approach or you risk getting rejected right away.  Do you have a plan?”

“Yeah, I have a plan.  My plan is to do nothing,” Graham responded.  “She’s here in a professional capacity.  And I’m an Army representative – the Colonel in charge of these facilities in fact.  I can just imagine the headlines:  ‘Army Outpost Filled to the Very Top With Aggressive, Sex-deprived Perverts.’  I’m certainly not going to try to hit on Peggy Lee.  It would be completely inappropriate.  Not to mention the fact that she would slap me silly if I tried anything.  She is way out of my league.  You and I both know it.”

“Sir, with due respect, you’ve got it all wrong.  She’s totally into you.  I could see it within the first five minutes of being around you two this morning.  Ian can see it, too, I’m sure.  Shoot, the hover transport pilot could probably see it on the cabin cameras.  You just need to play your cards right.  Again, with all due respect, don’t be a coward.  She’s one of the most beautiful and talented women I have ever met.  You’d have to be crazy not to at least give it a try.  I’d be all over her if I was in your shoes.  She’s sending you positive signals left and right.”

“To tell you the truth, Charley, I’ve never been good at reading these kinds of situations.  We did have a really nice time last night, just the two of us in the planetarium.  And . . . well . . . I guess I can let you in on a little secret.”  Graham lowered his voice.  “I asked her if she wanted to go out beyond the fog curtain to see the stars tonight after dinner.  She was totally into the idea.  But I was not planning on making any advances.  I’m at least ten years older than she is.  So my plan was to take her out there for a little while tonight, show her the stars, and, well . . . who knows?”

“Now you’re talking, Chief.  You never know with women these days – she might make things a whole lot easier for you by making the first move.  If she doesn’t, though, my guess is that she will be waiting for you to do it.  So you’ve got to act decisively when the time is right, okay?”

“We’ll see,” laughed Graham. 

“There’s only one thing that I’d add to your plan,” Charley said.  “You need to find a way to bring some wine or booze or something out there with you.  I bet I can rustle you up something when we get to the Platform.  I know some soldiers had a batch of reconstituted burgundy going a couple of months ago.  It won’t win any awards, but it should do the trick.  Supplies are always limited, but if you want, I can hunt around this afternoon.  A couple of the guys on the Platform owe me a favor or two so I should be able to get my hands on something for you by tonight.”

“Sounds good.  I’m completely dry.  My flask is back in my bag on the wrecked transport vehicle.  I’m not sure she really would have appreciated my white lightning anyway.  But please don’t say anything to anybody.  I was planning on keeping the whole star-gazing expedition under the radar.  Just say that you want the wine for yourself.”

“Ten-four, good buddy” Charley said.  “In fact, I will start right now.  Those escort soldiers were out on the Platform just a few days ago, right?  I will ask them if they have any leads.”

“Thanks, Charley, but don’t make it too obvious.  I’m trusting you.”

“Not to worry.  I’ll hook you up with the finest vintage available.  I’m glad to be of service, sir.”