Read The Eden Project: Humanity's Last Chance for Free Online

heard the shout, but did not react to the word that felt so foreign to them. They processed the word as they smiled up to Adam. For his part, Adam smiled back to them.
    Milo pivoted back in his chair with no urgency to check his screen. There was nothing on the first view, nothing on the second view. The third view was different. The third view showed a boat on the sea.
    Milo studied his screen unsure at first and then he jumped right out of his chair to get a glimpse of the real boat. He could see it with his own eyes. Isaac was momentarily put off by Milo’s manic reaction until he too spun back and saw a blip on the radar. His jaw dropped. He rose to see what they all saw.
    A small motorized boat fought mild waves and moved slowly out to sea. There appeared to be a person on board. The person began waiving happily at all the kids who moved closer and closer to the glass to watch.
    “That’s why I came up here,” Adam said calmly. “I forgot. I wanted to see the exercise.”
    “What exercise?” Milo said.
    Isaac believed Adam’s words and even waived back at the person on board the boat. Milo, however, was doubtful. He hesitated, weighed his options, stared into Adam’s eyes and then made his decision.
    Milo reached over and sounded the alarm.

-7-
    Doctor Becker followed Doctor Quarna and Claudia out of the conference room as the siren wailed.
    “What was the electrical issue this morning?” Doctor Quarna asked, looking down to Claudia at his side.
    “A power issue in the old loading dock.” Claudia answered, glancing back at Doctor Becker trying to guess her part in it.
    Doctor Quarna attempted to mitigate his anger by keeping his eyes off Doctor Becker who followed behind unable to find words.
    “The boats. Of course.” Doctor Quarna said to himself, realizing the obvious. He turned back with rage in his eyes. “Did you not think there would be a contingency for this?” He directed his disappointment solely at Doctor Becker.
    A contingency? Panic swept through her. She had spent so much time working this out with Doctor Hossler. The hardest part was diverting electrical power from the gate so that they could manually open it. Her diversion of holding the meeting to soften Doctor Quarna’s resolve and to keep the entire staff far from the dock had not lasted long enough.
    The element she worried most about was using one of the kids to help with the plan. Adam was to delay the lookouts and give Doctor Hossler enough of a head start so he could outrun anyone in pursuit.
    What did Doctor Quarna mean by contingency? He spoke the word with such a fatalistic tone. There was darkness in his eyes, some unspoken doom. He made her feel like she had inflicted an unwanted burden onto him.
    They entered the control room to find every camera screen focused on a small boat on the sea. This was the work of Milo and Isaac. On one of the screens a camera slowly zoomed in on the distant boat, just close enough to find a man on the boat wearing an orange rain hat and an orange rain coat. He turned slightly and they could all see him, Doctor Hossler, concentrating on the task of sailing the boat. His face was already drenched from his efforts.
    Doctor Quarna bent over and hung his head, heart struck by the discovery of the expected. He turned to Doctor Becker, still bent over, and shook his head with the deepest dread she’d ever seen.
    Contingency? What the hell was the contingency? She started to understand, but fought off the truth. What an awful word.
    “Every boat is rigged with explosives,” Dr Quarna finally explained. He stood and looked desperately up to the heavens.
    “No. You can’t possibly,” Doctor Becker pleaded.
    “Thanks to you, I can’t possibly not.”
    Claudia started to understand and turned sadly back to the screen where Doctor Hossler worked diligently at his escape.
    Doctor Quarna walked slowly to the control panel and stared down at the empty seat there. He became resigned to his fate. “I