Chapter 15

The Iceman Returns

Biotech Center: February 23, 2054

Dom could see a light. And he was warm. He remembered being so cold. The light was blinding. He had to close his eyes again. When he opened them again, slowly, he saw that he was in a room and on a bed. The room was familiar, yet unfamiliar. It looked like a hospital room. He cleared his head and tried to communicate. "Seala are you there?”

Almost immediately, a door to his right opened. He caught her coming out of the corner of his eye, and rose on one elbow as she reached his side. Tears welled in her eyes as she clasped her hands to each side of his head and kissed him. Her thoughts were wild and crazy. He couldn't believe what she was thinking.

“Oh, Seali! What happened! My last thoughts were that I was--freezing to death. And now I'm here with you—warm! Your kiss sure seems real. Am I in heaven?”

"No silly, you're here with me, back on Earth. Dr. Keeley-Jones pulled off a miracle. I told her before I left, that if I found you frozen, and intact enough to repair, I would bring you back here to Biotech Center. Well, I found you whole--and flash frozen to boot!“ She laughed.

"You had me thawed out?”

"I sure did. Your pressure suit helped keep your cells from rupturing. You also froze very fast, like the others. They've been working on restoring frozen animals for over 50 years now. They're getting very good at it. Johns Hopkins is getting a reputation for saving people based on these experiments.”

Dom was surprised how good he felt. “What about the others?”

"They’re all here to. They're five of them. Their condition is worse than yours, especially George, but they're all in various stages of recovery. Everyone needed cell rejuvenation. Yours took two months after you were thawed out. You've been under sedation since then. There would be no way you could have stood the pain, even with blockers. Your cells had to reproduce new ones to replace the bad. Then the bad ones were rejected. You weren’t a pretty sight! George has about two months to go yet before his family can see him.”

“Oh, … Seali. I'm so glad. I thought we were all lost. Wonders never cease! That means no one died on the surface?”

“Yes, they did, they survived!” She moved closer.

He felt strange, but he was kissing her. His muscles moved reluctantly, but he was making love to her. When they were through, he felt so hungry. She helped him dress, and they went to get something to eat.

There were no funerals. President Jackson released the news to the World. Science had triumphed over death. To some, it was not good news. A billion people died that year of starvation and disease. Seven hundred million, born in desperation, rose to replace them. Why should we spend so much time, money and effort saving a few dead people? That was the question raised by ambassadors from the losing countries. To say that these few were the finest and brightest people was not enough. One could easily say that those dying never had a chance to prove how fine and bright they were.

Natural selection had reached unnatural proportions. Vast areas of Asia and Africa were barren. Hardly a blade of grass grew. Salt, pesticides, fertilizers or waste poisoned what water there was. Only a few insects and small scavengers survived. When it was dry, the wind carried great clouds of dust the world over, spreading disease and contaminants. When it rained, there was nothing to slow or stop the water. Floods and mudslides were commonplace as erosion carved great rifts in the land. The oceans were murky in many places from the poison silt that flowed unhindered from the dead lands to the sea.

Still, there was hope. The Saganites transformed themselves into Setiites and pushed Project SETI II. One hundred Albatrosses were built, tested, and launched. New radar and particle beams were installed to detect and destroy even the smallest meteorite. Escape pods with nuclear fuel were added to the craft. And the design itself was changed to add rockets for maneuvering and evasion. The new design permitted repair or full replacement of the sails in an emergency while underway.

A train of Albatrosses, a month apart, stretched from the Earth to Mars, each one delivering its segment of the growing Sagan Array. As the array grew, so did its power of perception. Still, it only picked up the hiss that is the background of the Cosmos.

The Setiites were dauntless. They possessed a religious zeal toward their savior and the second coming he proposed that carried them beyond the short, wretched lives most of them lived. They gave all the money they could to the Project in the hope that, like a lottery, they would be the ones to meet their saviors and the relief. If not them--their children. There was always hope for the children.

The Red Storm vehicles were refitted too. Manual releases were placed on all electric and electronic door openings. External docking bay doors were made so that they could be entered manually from outside. This posed a security problem. So many doors were designed so that they could not be opened manually unless the power was off. With the news that there was geothermal heat, water, and minerals on Ganymede and much hope for more on other moons of Jupiter like Europa, efforts to colonize and exploit these worlds redoubled.

After they had eaten, Dom and Seala roamed the grounds. Seala uploaded her recollections of events that happened since Dom's demise so many months ago. His memory recharged, and his stomach full, Dom was starting to feel like his old self again.

“Dom, there's something I want you to see.” They were approaching the laboratory where the prehistoric animals had been cloned.

“What has Dr. Keeley-Jones been up to? They haven't cloned dinosaurs, have they?”

“No they haven't, but I've got something that you'll like to see anyway.”

They entered the building, and Seala led Dom to a small room off the main hall. "Do you know what this room is, Dom?” She said.

"It looks like an archive room for prehistoric objects. All those drawers probably contain bits and pieces from archeological sites where the clones came from.”

“Aren’t we the Sherlock! It’s as though you could read my mind! Do you know what this set of drawers contains?” She answered before he could respond.” It's the remains and belongings of the Iceman, Ötzi, that were used in cloning you. Researchers here were intrigued with the hair that your father brought back with him from Tyrol. It was a lock of woman's hair, but there were strands woven into it of two other individuals, a boy and a girl.” With her retinal ID and an access code, she opened two drawers electrically. The first contained the tissue that was used to create Dom. The second contained a few strands of wispy hair.

"So that's my essence. I suppose that if I hadn't returned, they would have cloned another of me?”

“That was debated, but like Seti, the decision was put off for later. Instead, they did a wondrous thing. Let me show you.” She began to project a holo in the back of his mind. “Meet your family.”

Dom saw three fair-haired children playing in a yard. The yard in the background looked very familiar. It was the Montana ranch.

"They are five. Nona Esther is on the left. She’s the oldest. She was hardest to clone because her DNA was somewhat dissimilar to the Iceman’s and yours—probably his wife. Nona is a common name in your father’s family. Kemas Dominic, named after you, is the boy in the middle—definitely their son. Sendia Anne is the girl on the right—definitely their daughter. Using a little anthropology, the researchers here surmised that the Iceman was carrying a lock of his wife's hair. The other hair appeared to be children's hair woven into the lock. Detailed studies proved that to be true. They had wanted to clone someone just from hair, and this gave them the opportunity. They used your DNA from blood samples to fill out the sequences. While they look like triplets, they are different, and their differences will show when they become adults.”

"I'm amazed. How many new clones are they creating?”

"Not many. But they just had to try this experiment. Besides, your siblings are Neolithic--the kind of stock that Dr. Khundi felt safe with. He would have been proud. Three separate surrogates carried them. Then, they were entrusted to the care of Keama and Leana. Margeret didn't tell us, because the team thought you might defer your plans to go to Ganymede in favor of nurturing those kids. Don't worry; they're happy and healthy. We will go to see them as soon as you are debriefed at Johnson.”

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