Chapter 1 - The Gaia Project

C42N: Retraining courses still available - have you registered?

ACAD: Grow Your Own filling up quick. Today is the final sign up for this rotation. Don't miss out!

ANON17: Grow your own is poison. They're hoarding food!

GOVHAM: Come to the next open taster, click for details. All food grown in Camp Eden is safe to eat. There are no contaminants. We do not have hidden food supplies. Together we're looking after City 42.

C42N: Still no news from City 15. Have you heard from a loved one?

'I'm worried about Jed,' Kira said as she faced the multi-screen in front of her. It was meant to be synth-caf with the girls but lately it was physically difficult for them to all be in the same place at once. As it was, only Dina had linked in to the comm. They were still waiting for Ruth and Martha to appear.

'Why? What's happened? Has he been getting into more fights at work?' Dina sounded sincere but she was fiddling with something off camera, her attention not fully on Kira or the conversation.

'Oh no, nothing like that, he's just not himself. And he has a meeting with his boss today. He thinks they're going to force him to get a new partner but he says he can't think about it, not since...' Kira trailed off.

'Not since losing his sister and Pete.' Dina had stopped whatever she was doing and was looking straight at Kira. 'You've done everything you can for him you know. Grief is a difficult thing for people to process.'

'But it's been months. So much else has happened.' Kira looked at Dina with pleading eyes. 'I need him. I need you, all of you. I feel like I'm always all on my own.'

'I know, I'm sorry. There's so much to do here, I never seem to have a spare five minutes.' Dina looked away from the screen, her attention momentarily elsewhere. 'Huh. Thought I saw a bee.' She turned back to Kira. 'We've got bees here, did I tell you?'

'Yeah. I've been thinking I should come out to Camp Eden. Bring Grace with me. It would be good to see Max again, have a look at what you guys are getting up to out there. Visit the bees and everything.' Kira tried not to sound too desperate, but she wanted a change of scenery. Besides if there were bees at Camp Eden, maybe Kira would see Gaia as well.

'Yes! You should totally come. It would be great to see you.' Dina was grinning widely at the camera. There was a shout behind her and she whipped her head around, half rising from the chair. 'Oh wow - sorry Kira, I've got to go. They've spotted something in the trees, some kind of cat. It's so exciting. Catch up with you soon.' The connection went dead.

Kira sighed at the blank screen in front of her. So much for synth-caf with the girls. She was about to turn her comm link off when Martha's face blinked into view.

'Sorry I'm late. I can only stay for five minutes but I wanted to drop in and say hi to you all.' She looked puzzled. 'Where is everyone?'

'Hi, Ma. Dina had to go, they found a cat or something. And Ruth, well, Ruth hasn't turned up yet,' Kira replied, glad to see her friend but annoyed that she was already getting ready to bail.

'That's odd. Ruth didn't tell me she had other plans. At least, I don't think she did.' Martha frowned. 'Kira, I am so tired. I don't know whether I'm coming or going half the time. I've got another meeting in a few minutes, more problems with supplies and I have no idea how we're going to sort this one out.'

Kira took pity on her friend. 'You'll figure it out Ma, you always do.'

'Thanks, Kira. Look I've got to go but let's try and have dinner soon. We should get all the kids together as well. Ruth said Lucas was trying to crawl yesterday. I can't believe how much time has flown by.' Martha gave a little wave and disconnected her feed before Kira even had chance to agree to the dinner plans. It didn't matter anyway, they were always saying they would make plans but somehow never found the time to actually put them in the diary.

Kira realised that Martha had an important job. She was governor of City 42 and since the Anti-Corp rebellion had removed much of the previous administration, Martha had faced a huge job putting in new procedures and finding staff capable of carrying out her orders. They'd managed to fix the water problem with the nearby river supply and the combined effort of the city's inhabitants had repaired the old sewage works so that clean water came in and dirty water was recycled. Thank goodness Archive had all the records on how the system worked. Without the board members of Corporation to provide the passcodes so many of the city's systems were locked out. The food hydrators still worked but processed sachets were running low, as were medical supplies. No-one seemed to know where or how to get more.

Kira waited a few more minutes in front of the blank screen but there was no sign of Ruth. She pinged her comm, no answer. Since having her baby, Ruth had shrunk into herself. She'd stopped teaching full time in order to look after Sarah, and take care of Lucas for Martha, but she was still liaison for Academy which meant attending various government meetings as well. When Kira did occasionally see her, Ruth was quieter, made less of an effort with her appearance and frequently missed catch-ups like these. Turning off the screen, Kira decided to go and see Ruth at the apartment she shared with Martha. Make sure she was alright. She needed to talk to someone about Gaia. She hadn't seen any signs of the goddess for months. There was no talk of a blue lady on the sweeps and Kira wanted to know if any of her friends had seen something, anything. It felt strange that their lives had been so influenced by the spirit of the Earth yet now when they needed guidance more than ever before, she was nowhere to be found.

How did you even go about trying to find a spirit or god or whatever she was? The only thing Kira knew for sure was that too many people had seen Gaia for her to only be a figment of imagination. She went to get Grace ready to go out, determined to speak to at least one of her friends, in person.

DING: Latest species discovered in Camp Eden - Felis silvestris - a beautiful cat. Check out the images at CE's holopage.

It was lunchtime by the time Kira arrived at Ruth's door. Grace had decided she was hungry, then produced an explosive nappy which had required Kira to change the baby's outfit. She had then rushed to get Grace into her travel cube before she fell asleep. Kira felt harassed as she flashed her ident in order to gain access to Martha and Ruth's apartment block. Since Martha became governor and Dina had moved out to Camp Eden there had been lots of changes in their living arrangements. Kira often felt sad that her friends weren't the other side of the door, like it had been back when they had all shared a flat but, she knew it made sense for Martha to be seen as a person of importance and to live in a secure, elite, apartment block. At least she wasn't alone, she had Ruth with her.

There was no answer when Kira knocked on the door so she let herself in. Martha had keyed entry to Kira and Dina in case of emergencies.

'Ruth? Ruth - are you here? It's Kira.' There was no answer but the cry of a baby echoed down the hallway quickly followed by another.

'Oh for frig sake! You've woken them up!' Ruth yelled then appeared in a doorway holding her baby girl, Sarah and Martha's baby boy, Lucas. They were both screaming.

'I'm sorry. I was worried about you...' But Kira couldn't hear herself think over the screams of the babies so she hurried to take Lucas and was surprised when Ruth handed her both children. Kira glanced over at Grace to make sure she was still alright, glad she'd remembered to put the soundproofing on the travel cube. She was fast asleep. The babies stopped crying immediately, both children liked Kira and she held them close to her body, rocking herself and shushing to them.

'That never works for me,' Ruth said bitterly, glaring at Kira.

Kira looked at her friend. Ruth's hair looked unbrushed and matted in places. She had dark shadows under her eyes, her skin was pale and her shoulders slumped in defeat. 'Why didn't you vid me?' Kira asked softly. 'I could've come over, helped out.'

'Unless you can take over completely what's the point? It's the same mind-numbing grind, day in - day out. Half an hour here or there does nothing. I'm supposed to be at this meeting later and...' Ruth stopped talking as sobs started to escape.

Kira looked around for somewhere to put the children and saw a play cube in the living area. She gently placed both babies inside then set up a sensory loop to keep them entertained. Gentle music began to play accompanied by soft lights and shapes that moved across the cube walls. Kira went into the kitchen and made some synth-caf. She put all the dirty crockery into the steam washer and checked the fridge for baby milk. There was nothing prepared so she started a new batch. 'When did you last eat?' she asked Ruth.

Ruth shrugged her shoulders. Kira wondered if her friend even knew what day of the week it was. She looked in the cupboards. There wasn't much in there, but she found a couple of sachets of nutrient rich meals and activated them in the food hydrator. Then she steered her friend towards a chair and put a hot meal and drink in front of her. 'Eat,' Kira said and gestured at the untouched food. Ruth looked at it and shook her head.

'I don't have much of an appetite these days.' But she did as Kira asked, picking up a fork and toying with the food.

'Ruth, I do appreciate how hard it is having a baby, you know. Let me help you, please.'

Ruth stayed quiet.

Kira tried again. 'Look, I know I didn't go through labour like you did but I have had Grace since her birth. I know how tiring the constant crying can be, what sleepless nights feel like, the non-stop merry-go-round of bottle feeding, washing clothes, making more bottles and changing nappies. I do know how you feel.'

Ruth stared at Kira but still didn't speak.

'It feels like it'll never end but it does get easier, I promise.' Kira gave a small laugh. 'Either that or you finally get the hang of it. I know it's hard, believe me, I do, but, you have to start taking better care of yourself as well.'

Ruth snorted. 'How am I supposed to find the time to do that? Looking after Sarah and Lucas is a lot harder than looking after one, Kira. You have no idea how tired I am. And Martha is at work all the time, I get no help. I'm trying so hard to not rely on technology but it's ridiculous, I get no time for myself at all. Surely it shouldn't be this hard?' She shoved a spoonful of food into her mouth and avoided Kira's gaze.

Kira stayed quiet. She knew it was hard raising a child. Late night feeds and early morning wake up calls took it out of you. But she also knew that Martha had tried to hire night nannies and Ruth had point blank refused to accept what she termed outside help. The two friends sat in silence, one screaming silently for help but not knowing how to ask for it, the other wishing she knew what to do to make things better.

'What time is the meeting?' asked Kira once Ruth had finished eating.

'I'm not sure, I was going to feed the children and then take them to the office crèche. I think I've got all the reports I'm supposed to have.'

'Why don't I feed Lucas, you can do Sarah, and I'll walk with you over to Hamble HQ,' offered Kira.

Ruth smiled in thanks and went to get the children.

MSCHILD: Protest tomorrow in the Main Square. Bring back lab babies. Natural doesn't work!

ANON17: Never mind babies. Bring back Corp!
Bring back Corp!
Bring back Corp!

ENCRYPTED MESSAGE FROM NEW CORP TO 7421

>>STATUS REPORT DUE - UPDATE ON THE FOLLOWING:

1. FORCE

2. RESUPPLY

3. BABY LABS

4. PROPAGANDA<<

ENCRYPTED MESSAGE FROM 7421 TO NEW CORP

>>1. The new Security Guard measures have been accepted and implemented. The power shift within Force has begun but Minkov has forced a loophole. He's made Jed Jenkins Captain of the City Militia - we will have no jurisdiction over him.

2. Resupply is still blocked. No-one has managed to figure out the required codes. Supplies are low and will soon become critical.

3. Governor Hamble refuses to reinstate the baby labs. They remain inactive.

4. The use of anonymous sweeps is working well, support is wavering.

Additional question - what about City 15?<<

ENCRYPTED MESSAGE FROM NEW CORP TO 7421

>>REPORT RECEIVED. UNFORTUNATE DEVELOPMENTS AT FORCE BUT THEY WILL BE DEALT WITH. QUESTION NOTED. STAND BY FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTION<<

You can get your copy of The Gaia Project in paperback or eBook from Amazon, just visit mybook.to/gaiaproject.

The Gaia Project is the sequel to The Gaia Effect, also available on Amazon. You can find out more about The Gaia Effect on my website where the first chapter is available to read. 

Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Her latest novel, The Gaia Project, is out now! Find all her books on Amazon. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop.