Paradise End

Tyler stood on the edge of a barren landscape, sticks of old trees jutted up from the ground every few meters. They were all that remains of a once lush and verdant forest. One that bore the name of this planet, Paradise. He climbed clumsily into the armored car and before closing the hatch he grabbed the rad-meter he had set down earlier. Its raucous clicks signified that the radiation was nearly twice the deadly dose for an unprotected human. Nothing could survive out here, he thought.1

He pulled onto the abandoned highway. The sun shimmered on the pavement like water glistening in the morning sun. The city a once hectic and bustling metropolis was now abandoned. The buildings now stood as great monoliths to a bygone era of excess and safety. Driving through this area was like waking the dead, the thought sent chills down Tyler's spine.2

He was coming in to view of the complex now. Shelter One was an enormous structure built into the side of the tallest mountain in paradise and many dug many kilometers deep into the planet. It was built to withstand many years of radiation though they had underestimated the levels, the planet would receive. Tyler punched a button on the dash and a voice squawked over the radio, "Tyler that you?". Tyler grimaced, "Of Course its me Sam who the hell else would it be?". Sam responded "I don't know, but they got the whole place on high alert and Julie is real anxious to talk to you."3

"Alright well let me in and tell Julie I'll be up in a moment."4

The Massive steel and lead doors quickly slid open revealing a large garage area with cars parked next to openings in the sides of the walls. Tyler Parked at one of the open spots and got out. Each opening in the wall had a special door that was used to minimize human contact with the outside. Behind the door was an L shaped hallway that led directly to the rad-suit locker room. Just as he reached locker Julie came running through the door. "What's the hurry?" Tyler said jokingly as he took off the Rad-suit's helmet. Julie bent down for a second with her hands on the front of her hips, catching her breath. "There's life out there, Tyler. Something is living among the ashes" Tyler looked at Julie and couldn't help but smile. 5

She was young for a plant biologist and already had her Phd at 23. Her red hair matched the passion she had for her field. She wore a white lab coat and a pair of ratty Blue Jeans. All of the clothes in the shelter were ill fitting due to the fact that they had to last them twenty years. Despite that Tyler could tell her figure was lithe and her light complexion made Tyler wonder why they would ever need to leave. Tyler snapped back in to the conversation as Julie finished describing her test results. "Well lets go check it out" Tyler replied, hiding is inattentiveness. "We don't have time" Julie says worriedly "Commander Sokolov is preparing to launch the Ark, it will destroy everything!" Tyler began to unzip the rad-suit, Julie pleaded "You have help me, the Commander won't listen to me alone but if we both tell him he'll have to understand the importance of this discovery." Tyler took of the rad-suit and hung it next to his lab coat. "Wait, wait, wait Sokolov's decided were going to launch? But the expedition's only been here for two years there should be another eighteen years worth of research here." Tyler put on his lab coat. "Astrometrics says that in five days the radiation levels will double again reaching the limit for humans to leave the shelter; they say in another year rad levels will reach the limits of the upper shielding!" Julie eyed him as Tyler loaded his pens into his pocket protector. "Well Sokolov is not going to believe us unless we have proof but we can ask him to at least postpone the launch." Tyler said as they briskly walked down the hall towards the control room. 6

The inside of Shelter One was a labyrinth of hall ways and tunnels weaving between common rooms, maintenance shafts and generators. Along the length of every hall ran a multitude of steel and copper tubes carrying unknown substances to unknown destinations, the life blood of the place. The grayness of the concrete and the harsh artificial sunlight had a way of seeping into everyone's life causing each day to blur to the next. of course all five hundred of the inhabitants of Shelter One knew it would be like this. Heck they volunteered for it.7

Finally they reached the control room. On the door was painted in large red letters 'Authorized Personnel Only'. No one ever payed attention to the sign everyone who stayed was authorized. They rushed through the door, Julie began "Commander you have to call off the launch, I've found something living" The commander was a heavy set man with a large gray beard and piercing blue eyes. He wore a Federation Commander's uniform and the brass buttons were always polished to an incandescent shine. "Do you want me to condemn this Shelter to death, because one of your samples is still alive?" Sokolov boomed in a russian accent. 8

"Sir the purpose of this shelter was to study the effects of the solar radiation on this planet. All we're asking for is more time!" Tyler argued9

"We will not be launching for another twelve hours, find your 'life' and I will consider your request" The Commander conceded angrily. 10

The headed to the garage and got in the armored car. Julie pulled out a canister containing the sample. It was a green like moss with small yellow shoots sprouting from the surface. "This sample was found near the city Arboretum." she informed him11

"Well then that's our first stop." he pressed on accelerator and they soon reached the inner city. The landscape took a sudden change as they neared the Arboretum, yellow shoots the size of the surrounding buildings came up from the green mossy floor. The whole museum district was covered in a thick green coat. "amazing Tyler gasped, half thinking. 12

"This plant is one of the few remaining native life forms here" she told him "This colony was formed over two hundred years ago and this plant completely covered the surface of the planet." The moss had almost completely covered the sign to the arboretum, all that was left visible was the word Welcome. "When the colonists first arrived they introduced plants and animals from earth nearly wiping out the native population of flora and fauna." she continued13

"I guess they were more suited to this planet after all" Tyler interjected. While bending down to collect a sample. 14

"it seems that radiation improves the growth rate of this species" she picked up the canister and observed the creeping growth of the sample inside. Out of the corner of his eye Tyler Caught something moving. As he turned quickly towards it glimpsed a small lizard like creature, another native inhabitant. "Look at that" Tyler pointed towards the creature "It’s a Scaled Lizard, the could never figure out how those things reproduced, they have an impossibly long life span but no visible way of reproduction." Following behind it were several smaller creatures, babies. "It seems this solar radiation must be a cycle for this planet" Julie exclaimed excitedly. 15

"Let’s get back to the car its been more than half an hour we're in danger" Tyler responded16

As the vehicle approached the shelter a loud siren was sounding and over the radio and loudspeaker a voice was repeating "Dangerous radiation spike incoming. Close all hatches and head to the deep shelter."17

They met Commander Sokolov in the atrium of the deep shelter. "Sir It appears that the solar radiation that this planet is receiving is part of its natural cycle" Julie continued "these plants and animals only reproduce when they receive massive doses of radition" Tyler held up the now overgrown sample canister. "You cannot launch the Ark, it will destroy this planets atmosphere and the chance for life to ever come back to this world." Julie pleaded.18

"No we are out of time. The astronomers predict that the radiation will breach the bunker in two weeks instead of a year. We cannot stay any longer." The commander sternly announced. "At least call for transports instead of using the Ark, it will destroy this planet!" she exclaimed angrily, the commander for a time studied Julie considering her request. "No" he finally answered "we cannot waste anymore time. We are leaving now, the Ark is prepared. Load up!"19

Defeated her shoulders slumped Julie fell in line behind Tyler at the entrance to the Ark. She mumbled "Humanity is foolish like insects we come to a planet devour it and leave only destruction in our wake." Tyler grabbed Julie's hand and led her on the gangplank of the waiting ship. The Ark was a goliath of a ship powered by hydrogen bombs it spanned the depth of the shelter. The ship was made this way for reliability, it was expected to be launched after twenty years of dormancy the system needed to be fool proof and completely reliable. The environment was not considered in this equation. Everyone just assumed nothing could survive. As the first launch rockets were fired and the Ark rose into the air, a large growing green patch could be seen covering most of the city. With a flash the main engine engaged and all that was left was a smoldering crater the size of a continent. The sky was had turned red as the atmosphere burned off. Tyler embraced Julie "Humanity survives on the ashes of lesser beings" The Ark sped off into the distant blackness of space. 20