Read Online The Dying of the Light: Interval by Jason Kristopher - Free Book Online Page A

beautiful.”
    “Very. Would you like to hear the whole thing?” he said, moving to his desk, where he began scrambling through drawers.
    “Yes, please.”
    “Now where did I put… ah, there it is!”
    Hacker pulled out his iPod’s dock, plugged it into the wall outlet, and, in turn, the iPod into the dock. A moment later, the lilting voices of the two divas filled the air, causing them both to smile as they turned back to their work.
    A few moments later, the room suddenly went quiet, and they looked up to see Major Bill Shaw politely waiting to be noticed.
    “Ah, Major,” said Hacker, moving over to shake the pilot’s hand and nodding towards the iPod. “Sorry about that. It’s just that Marcie had never heard it before. What can I do for you today?”
    “It’s not a problem, Dr. Hacker. Actually, it was quite beautiful.”
    “I’ve found it’s important to remember, in this new world of ours, that at least down here, beauty such as that still exists.”
    “Very important indeed, Doctor.” Shaw began walking along the hydroponics trays, looking at the different plants soaking in their nutrient baths. “How’s it coming?”
    “Well, this wasn’t what I expected to be doing when I came to McMurdo, but I think it’s turned out good.” The shakeup in the command of the base the year before had been much easier than expected when Hacker had refused to resume his previous position as area director. His counter-offer to take over the leader-less hydroponics lab had been quickly accepted.
    Shaw smiled. “A lot has changed, hasn’t it?”
    “It certainly has, Mr. Michaelson .” Hacker chuckled at Shaw, who realized he’d been turning his new wedding ring on his finger while walking. “How long has it been now?”
    “Just under four months.”
    “Ah, still in the honeymoon period, then.”
    “I suppose so,” said Shaw, smiling. “I never thought I’d get married again, you know. Funny how the end of the world changes your plans.”
    “That it does, that it does, indeed,” Hacker said, waving his hand at the rows of hydroponic trays around him as if in demonstration. “Never pictured myself as a horticulturist.”
    Shaw nodded, and took a gentle hold on Hacker’s arm, directing him to the corner of the lab, out of earshot of his assistant.
    Hacker, for his part, got the hint. “Let me show you the new radishes that are just coming in, Bill,” he said as they moved away. When they were safely out of range, he looked over at the tall pilot. “So, what’s up?”
    “Jennifer asked me to come talk to you about the new trays. When do you think they’ll be ready?”
    Hacker sighed. “I told you, the material you managed to salvage from the buildings you destroyed isn’t the right sort of stuff. It won’t work as well as these, and I can’t guarantee…”
    Shaw put a hand on the rotund scientist’s shoulder. “Reuben, we don’t need a guarantee. And they don’t have to work perfectly. They just have to work .”
    “I know that. It’s just… I may have a better idea.”
    Shaw leaned back against a workbench. “Oh?”
    “Have you ever heard of aeroponics?”
    Shaw raised an eyebrow but otherwise remained silent.
    “I’ll take that as a ‘no,’” continued Hacker, motioning for Shaw to follow him as he approached a padlocked side-door. He opened the door with a key hanging from a chain around his neck and stepped through. Hacker swept his arm around what was clearly a converted storage closet as Shaw peeked inside. “Some people call it a subset of hydroponics, because it uses a nutrient liquid, but that’s really irrelevant. Come in, come in.”
    Shaw stepped fully into the room, wide-eyed. Racks stretched from floor to ceiling, and there was a constant noise of sputtering, spurting air, like a hose with a leak. He looked at the plants held in rows above the bubbling concoctions in the trays. “These… these look even better than the ones in the other room, Reuben!” He