Stars

Part II (continued) - Dome 423

Ranger Aaron Creel, Specialist First Class, stepped from the lift door onto the forest floor. The soil always felt good beneath his feet after several months of nothing but steel corridors. This eco-system in particular, held him entranced. Dome number 423. This was where he and Jim had first experienced the thrill of a living forest. Years ago, when the journey was still new, their parents had brought them here. Ever since that day, both boys had been obsessed with the dome.

For Jim, the obsession turned out to be more of a mechanical nature. He had studied Environmental Structures in school and went on to the Dome Maintenance Service. Aaron was more interested in the plants and animals contained in the domes than he was in the domes themselves. Studying Forestry and Eco-Management, Aaron breezed through his schooling with the grace of the deer he loved to watch running
wild in the domes.

He had been accepted into the Forestry Service immediately after graduation. His career began in the nurseries which were buried deep within the latticework of tubing supporting the domes. He loathed the close quarters and the crowds that worked there. He knew, however, that this was the path to his dream. To work daily in the forest domes. To feel the power of nature, the colors, the perfumes floating on the air. The scrabble of small animals populating the forests. This was Aaron's desire.

Aaron walked softly through the brush. Making as little sound as possible, he moved between the trees listening for the clamor of tiny feet. He stopped, straining at a sound he thought he heard. Slowly turning to the left, he caught sight of a red squirrel frozen in place, halfway down an old oak.

The pair stared at each other several moments before the squirrel decided he was not in danger and scurried to the ground, disappearing in the thick undergrowth. Smiling, Aaron moved further down the path, still quiet, still watching.

The dome was unusually quiet this morning. Even a rustle of feathers was rare. The squawk and twitter of dozens of birds was routine in this forest. Underlaying these was normally the constant hum of insect life. Today silence prevailed. As Aaron walked along his sense of peace was slowly replaced by agitation. The silence was unnatural. Something was wrong.

He picked up his pace. His eyes darted about as he strode down the pathway. Nothing was obviously amiss, yet there was a distinct lack of wildlife around. After a quick search of the dome, Aaron made his way back to the lift. If there was anything wrong, it would show up on the control panel. He entered the lift and keyed the Control Platform button.

The room flickered to life as he entered. Dormant screens lit up with data and graphs, displaying the current conditions in the dome. Moving from screen to screen, Aaron searched the data for irregularities. The humidity was down a little, but it was within tolerance. Temperature too. Nothing was showing any figures in the red, and yet...

"Dome 423, this is DMC. Please identify yourself." The synthesized voice startled Aaron, he was seldom addressed by Dome Maintenance during his duties.

"Ranger Aaron Creel, Specialist First Class, Forest Management, Division 4A."

"System analysis indicates unscheduled Dome Status Review. Please state your business."

"Something is wrong in the dome, I'm trying to locate the problem."

"Please state the nature of the problem."

"I don't know what the problem is, I just know that something isn't right. If you could review current status figures and run a comparison with the dome history stats I might be able to figure it out."

"Retrieving requested data." Aaron moved over to the screen that was now scrolling streams of data.

"Give me a graph of each data stream for the last 48 hours." Another screen came to life to Aaron's left, this time with the colorful graphic displays he had asked for.