The Darwin Elevator

Chapter Nineteen

Above Darwin, Australia

4.FEB.2283

When the countdown ended, nothing happened. The ship should have fallen out and away—a backward swan dive from one hundred kilometers.

“Where’s my release?” Skyler asked.

They were well above the atmosphere, yet the Melville remained firmly attached to the climber.

Angus reached above his head and toggled the release-readiness switch. Twice, and then a third time. Despite showing green, nothing happened. “Canceling the push-away,” he said. “Malfunction?”

“Jesus. Ours?”

“Has to be theirs. We’re green on this side.”

Skyler leaned forward, trying to scan the cockpit displays for errors that Angus had missed. Ultimately Gateway had final control over release. A safety mechanism, to prevent the ship from separating too early, or too late. The indicator from their side showed green as well. “Maybe that power blip earlier caused it?”

Angus shrugged. Hours ago, at the start of the ascent, the climber car had stalled for a few seconds. Nightcliff control had said, in a pointedly worried tone, not to worry.

The intercom crackled. “What the f*ck, guys?” Samantha said through the speaker.

Skyler elbowed it, forcing it to the off position.

In the pilot’s seat, Angus held up a hand. They could both hear the voice through their headsets.

“Melville, this is Gateway control. Detecting a code red failure in the primary latch. Confirm.”

Skyler put a hand on Angus’s shoulder, indicating he would handle it.

“Control, this is Melville. Confirmed, we’re still attached.”

They waited thirty seconds in silence.

“Did they hear you?” Angus asked.

“Control,” Skyler said into the microphone, “Melville. Confirm primary latch failure. How about a switch to secondary?”

“Melville, there is only the primary,” came the voice.

“Why the hell is it called ‘primary’ then?” Skyler muttered.

An uncomfortable minute passed.

“Melville,” came the voice, “we have to bring you on up to Gateway to troubleshoot.”

Angus turned in his seat to look directly at Skyler. His eyebrows arched so high, they almost disappeared under his helmet.

“Control, repeat please. You’re bringing us up there?”

“Affirmative, Melville.”

Skyler grinned. “Copy. How about a grand tour while we’re there, eh?”

“Negative,” the voice said. “You will remain on board at all times.”

“How long is this repair going to take?” he asked.

Another long delay. “Unknown,” they came back with, after a few moments.

The possibility that the mission might end before it started tugged at Skyler. More than a week had passed since the return from Hawaii with no news, and no new requests, from their benefactor.

Skyler had tried, twice, to get information on Tania’s status. The guards at the Nightcliff gate turned him away, though he suspected they didn’t know anything. A crane operator, whom Skyler found in a hookah bar not far from the fortress, was friendly enough and, after a small bribe, willing to ask around. He didn’t come back the next day as promised.

Then Prumble had received a specific order from Platz for a set of spare filtration units that were, hopefully, sitting in a long-abandoned warehouse in Abu Dhabi. The mission came as a welcome break in the monotony, and Skyler figured Prumble could ask about Tania when the goods were ultimately delivered.

Samantha opened the cockpit door and floated halfway inside. “What the hell’s going on?”

“We’re stuck,” said Angus.

“No shit. Takai looks like he’s going to piss himself back here.”

“Not now, Sam,” Skyler said.



It took another hour for the climber to reach Gateway. A pair of robotic arms extended from the inner ring and began to unload the cargo containers attached.

Skyler and Angus watched as two workers, in full space-walk gear, drifted out from an airlock just above the main cargo bay. They floated past the Melville’s canopy and disappeared from view.

After twenty minutes of silence, the radio crackled to life. “Melville, Gateway. Clamp’s frozen in the locked position. Going to take about eighteen hours to fix.”

Skyler shook his head. “No can do, Gateway. We’re not outfitted for an extended stay. Not enough air.”

“We will extend a transfer tube.”

“No airlock for it. We’re only designed to drop from the Van Allen.”

Another long pause on the other end. “All right, Melville. We’re going to disconnect the whole climber section and bring it and your ship inside. We can do the work in here.”

“We’re supposed to stay in here for eighteen hours?” Skyler said.

A different voice came over the air. “Without proper decontamination, you must remain—”

“Decon us then,” he said. “Nothing we haven’t been through before.”

“God,” Angus said, “not that again.”

Another long period without a reply. Then, “You and your crew will be under escort, and must remain in Section B. You will leave all weapons and contraband on board.”

“Section B,” Skyler said. “Sounds thrilling.”



Before long, the Melville, with a large portion of the climber attachment, was tucked safely inside one of the giant cargo loading docks. After thirty minutes of waiting for the huge room to pressurize, the crew received permission to exit the ship.

A man in a yellow hazard suit and protective mask greeted them. He led them through a tunnel to the outer edge of the station. Gravity slowly returned to normal as they traveled toward the rim.

At the entrance to Decontamination, the man directed Samantha to a separate medical area. She made a rude gesture behind her back as she walked away.

“This way, please,” the man said to Skyler, Angus, and Takai.

Skyler thought the contrast between here and Nightcliff couldn’t be sharper. Clean white walls, air that didn’t churn the stomach, and a professional staff.

“Please disrobe,” the man said, “and enter through there. I’ll have your clothing disinfected.”

Skyler followed the instructions silently. Angus and Takai followed his example. The door led to a narrow industrial shower. Takai made his way into the room last, and the moment the door closed all three were inundated with hot water from nozzles on the ceiling. The liquid smelled like it contained additional chemicals.

Under the warm water, Skyler began to relax. He tried to remember the last hot shower he’d taken, but came up with nothing. “I could get used to this,” he said.

Angus grunted agreement.

Decontamination went by much faster compared to the medieval methods in Nightcliff. Drying himself, Skyler wondered if Tania was still down there, and how she fared. There had been no word of her fate since Skyler and crew were released eight days earlier.

An idea came to him, as part of a daydream. He could deliberately incur another inspection and thus another trip through the fortress. He saw himself staging a breakout, rescuing the gorgeous doctor, fleeing into the danger and chaos of the Maze. The brigand hero and his dark princess, escaping the madman’s castle—

“You lover boys enjoy the shower?” Sam asked as they exited the medical center.

The daydream faded. “Sam! Hardly recognized you all cleaned up.”

She grabbed her crotch and squeezed like a rugby captain. “They’ve got a tavern here. How cool is that?”

Skyler turned to their escort. A true guard now, wearing a black security uniform, armed with some kind of stun gun. “Is that in Section B?”

“Yes,” said the man.

“Well, lead on then.”

They passed through the wide reception room. Skyler continued to marvel at the cleanliness of the place. Compared to the run-down state of Darwin, Gateway looked like it had been built yesterday. Skyler had risked his life many times to find spare parts for places like this. Seeing it in person gave him an odd sense of pride.

Angus kept the guard’s ear busy as they walked. Skyler fell back a few paces to be alongside Samantha. “Keep your ears open,” he muttered. “Might as well try to drum up some business while we’re stuck here.”

She stifled a laugh, shaking her head. “Never a boring mission with you in charge.”

“What, this is my fault?”

She looked down her nose at him. “Skyler, I’m in orbit. First time, probably last. I’m going to have a drink, in orbit. Relax, in orbit. You handle the business, in orbit. Sound good?”

Picking up her pace, she moved ahead to walk with Angus.

When they reached the bar, things did relax. Angus and Samantha eventually wore down their guard and convinced him to have a drink.

Skyler took a table on the far side of the crowded room. Takai joined him.

“I think,” Skyler said over a truly delicious cider, “you should head back to the ship. Offer to help with the repair, or say you’re uncomfortable in here. Something. I’m not happy with them crawling all over it.”

“Agreed,” Takai said.

“Trick will be getting word back to us, if something is—”

“Skyler Luiken?”

A middle-aged man approached their table, flanked by two others too grim to be there for leisure.

“That’s me,” Skyler said.

He leaned in close and dropped his voice. “I represent Neil Platz. He’d like to have a word with you.”

Skyler searched for deception in the man’s face, and found none. He looked to the bar. Sam and Angus were laughing with their supposed escort. “Here? We’ve got a chaperone.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” the man said. “Platz is in his office. It’s a short walk.”

“My crew?”

“They should remain here,” he said, leaving no room for debate.

Skyler and Takai exchanged a glance. “You’ll be okay?”

Takai shook his head. He kept his eyes on Skyler’s.

Skyler frowned and turned to the man. “Thing is, there’s a problem with our ship, and we need to be ready—”

He leaned in close. “The business with the latch?”

Skyler said, “Yes, that.”

“The latch is fine,” he said under his breath. “We needed an excuse to get you up here. Let’s not waste any more time, eh?”

Skyler hesitated.

“Your ship will be fine.”

“What does Platz want with me?”

The man looked Skyler up and down. “Wondering that myself,” he said. “Shall we?”



The three men led Skyler from the crowded bar to a junction hallway that he assumed linked Section B to the “upper” sections. They stayed behind and directed Skyler to walk ahead.

A woman greeted him at the other end.

From the gray in her short hair, Skyler put her age at fifty. Still, her tight jumpsuit showed a muscular, lithe figure.

“Kelly,” she said, extending a hand. “Kelly Adelaide. Though some call me the Ghost.”

Skyler shook it. “Interesting title. What’s your role in this organization?”

“Whatever delicate tasks Neil needs done.”

Skyler grinned. “How’s that going for you?”

The hint of a smile crept into the corners of her mouth. “I’m a busy woman. Where’s the guard they assigned to you?”

“Drinking,” Skyler said, “with the rest of my crew.”

She nodded and led him through a series of corridors. When the silence went from polite to awkward, Skyler asked, “Does Platz own this station?”

“Not anymore. Though he does ‘own’ Section H, keeps it as a satellite office. The rest is under the jurisdiction of the council.”

“Doesn’t he lead the council?”

She cast him a sidelong glance. “He tries.”

Skyler considered that. “Why’d he give up control in the first place?”

“Ask him yourself,” she said. “We’re here.”

A large pair of double doors opened to reveal the famous face of Neil Platz.

An image, ten years old, burst into Skyler’s mind. Posters and billboards, plastered all over Darwin, kindly reminding the citizens that Neil toiled away, up above their heads, growing crops and manufacturing the things they needed to survive.

It wasn’t long before his iconic face became vilified. Food shortages, faulty product, and numerous other miscues made him public enemy number one on the ground.

“Mr. Luiken, a pleasure.” He extended a hand.

“Mr. Platz, uh … sir.”

“‘Your excellence’ is preferred.”

Skyler faltered in his handshake. “Your ex—”

“A joke, young man. Everyone calls me Neil.”

His legendary charisma exceeded Skyler’s expectations. “Neil, then. Call me Skyler.”

“Dutch?”

“Yes. From Utrecht.”

Neil smiled broadly. “The Flying Dutchman, eh?”

“That never gets old.”

The elder man laughed. “Join me for a drink,” he said. He turned and began to walk, expecting Skyler to follow.

“It’s your show,” Skyler said.

They left the entryway and entered the main portion of the orbiting office complex. The ceiling soared much higher here compared to other portions of the station. A shocking waste of precious living space, Skyler thought. Golden light bathed it, casting a strange yellow pall. Much different than the blue LEDs everywhere else.

Platz followed Skyler’s gaze to the display above them. “Natural sunlight, reflected in. One of my favorite things. Come,” he said.

They passed through another door into a lounge area. Two steps led down to the sunken center of the room, where a pair of couches faced each other.

Skyler felt his stomach lurch at the sight of the far wall, or lack thereof. Earth dominated the view, slowly spiraling below them due to the rotation of the space station.

“If the view gives you vertigo, I can close the blinds,” Neil said.

Skyler shook his head. “I was surprised to see guards carrying firearms. How thick is the glass?”

Neil puffed with pride. “It’s no ordinary glass. A borosilicate variant. Manufactured here in orbit, in my zero-g factories. It would take a tank shell to rupture it.”

“And the walls?”

“Multilayer Kevlar and ceramic fabric, woven with our proprietary technique.”

“Proprietary?” Skyler said. “You have no competition.”

“Not at the moment, no.”

Skyler bit back the desire to argue with the man. It had never occurred to him that Platz would still be thinking like a businessman, given the state of humanity. “Amazing,” he managed to say.

“A luxury, of course. It’s a hell of a thing keeping the temperature in check.” He pointed to special vents along the edge of the ceiling.

Skyler raised a hand and felt warm air blowing. It had the sterile smell of a hospital room.

“Have a seat,” Neil said. He placed himself on one of the two couches. Skyler took the other.

“Sorry for the business with your ship.”

Skyler spread his hands. “You could’ve just invited me.”

“Not really, I’m afraid,” Neil said. “Things are … complex, right now.”

“No kidding,” Skyler said. “Look, before we go any further, have you arranged for Ms. Sharma’s release?”

“Tania? Release from what?”

Skyler leaned far back into the plush fabric of the couch. “She’s okay then.”

Neil perched himself on the edge of his seat, confusion filling his face. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“We were detained,” Skyler said, “at Nightcliff. After the mission. You didn’t know?”

Platz shook his head.

“They said …” Skyler had to start over. “Blackfield, that son of a bitch, said that they were going to keep her for questioning. I thought she was still there.”

Platz took a deep breath. He stood and went to the window. Silhouetted against the spinning planet, he said, “Tania has told me nothing of this.” His tone was grave. “I hope she …” His voice trailed off.

Skyler kept quiet, watching the famous man as he stood and stared at the blue orb of Earth. For his own part, he felt as if an enormous weight had been removed from his shoulders. Tania had returned, unharmed.

“All she told me was that the mission was successful,” Platz said. “She was unusually terse, in hindsight.”

“I thought maybe you brought me here to try to plan a rescue,” Skyler said.

Platz turned from the window and moved to a cupboard on the wall opposite Skyler. He opened a panel and began to prepare two drinks. “No,” he said, “thank God that won’t be necessary.” He returned to his seat on the couch and set the glasses on the low wooden table between them. “I owe you a great deal of thanks for bringing her back safely. She’s the key to … well, she’s critical to my operation.”

Skyler took a sip of his drink and let the liquid warm his mouth. He took his time swallowing. “I take it this new mission to find your fancy water filters is a ruse?”

Neil placed his fingertips on the table. “Something more urgent has come up. I needed to discuss it with you in person.”

“I work through Prumble.”

“There’s no time.”

Skyler decided the moral stand could wait. He’d cut Prumble in no matter what Platz said. “Go on.”

Neil’s face turned grave. “You’re aware of the sporadic power failures on the cord?”

Skyler nodded. “One happened on our way up. Good thing the climbers are designed to grip when power is cut; otherwise it’s a short trip back to the bottom.”

“Indeed,” Neil said. He stood with a sigh and crossed to stand at the window. For a moment he said nothing, as if caught up in the view of Earth. “You may have also heard rumors of SUBS appearing within the Aura.”

A pit opened in Skyler’s gut. He remembered the girl, lying dead on the ground outside the airport, her father claiming a new infection. “I’d hoped they were nothing more than rumors.”

Neil half-turned, considering the response, before returning to the view. Whatever the man wanted, Skyler realized he couldn’t make eye contact.

“We noticed something,” Skyler offered, “in Hawaii. The subs were acting different. Grouped in a big clan, working together. Other crews have reported the same thing. Newsubs, the scavengers are calling them.”

“That’s … interesting,” Neil said. “Related, maybe. Bottom line is that something is wrong with the Aura.”

The pit in Skyler’s gut grew deeper. His mouth went dry.

Neil continued. “We had a subhuman get loose aboard one of the farm platforms.”

“In orbit?” Skyler asked. “That isn’t possible.”

“So we all thought. The Aura is … malfunctioning, it seems. Or being tampered with.”

Skyler stared at the back of the legendary man. The blue and white marble of Earth spun gently, far below. Always so peaceful in appearance, no matter what ailed it.

“You’re going to fix it, Skyler.”

Skyler coughed. “What the hell can I do about it?”

“More than you think,” Neil said. He finally returned to his seat, then took a peanut from a bowl on the table and popped it into his mouth. “Contrary to public knowledge, the Elevator itself does not generate the Aura. It’s more like a broadcast antenna.”

Skyler went still. He sensed that very few people knew what he was now being told.

“The Aura is actually created by a … machine … deep below the surface, below the end of the cord itself.”

“I had no idea.”

“It’s a guarded secret,” Neil said with a wave of his hand. “We explored down there, back when the Elevator arrived. A shaft was dug to ease access. Poked around for a while but eventually decided the object was another anchor, like the shell ship. Deadweight.”

“What changed your mind?”

“SUBS broke out,” Neil said. “Didn’t take long to realize the Elevator offered safe haven. We sent a team back to the bottom, to see if the Aura extended the entire way, and they found the object was no longer inert. In fact it was generating quite a lot of heat.”

“Switched on,” Skyler said to himself. “Maybe it’s switching off, now.”

“Quite right.”

Skyler ran a hand through his hair, buying time to think. “Why aren’t you still studying it? Send a team back there.”

“That’s where you come in.”

“Me?”

Neil held a hand out, motioning Skyler to be patient. “A decision was made, five years ago, to seal the place off. As control of Nightcliff, and thus our access to the place, shifted to authorities on the ground, it became clear to me that it would be better if nobody was going down there and doing any tinkering with it.”

“They might break it,” Skyler said, nodding. “Cause a malfunction.”

Neil’s eyebrows slowly rose. He looked at Skyler as if he’d never seen him before. As if the comment marked a revelation. The expression faded. “Which brings us to our present situation.”

“Doesn’t answer my question, though. Why us?”

“If this is being caused by some malcontents trying to break the thing, I don’t need scientists down there, I need people who can stop them.”

“I see where this is going,” Skyler said.

Neil shook his head. “There’s more. It could truly be a malfunction. The Aura generator is, itself, outside the Aura, which makes it complicated for most of us to visit. Your crew, on the other hand …”

“What do you expect us to do, exactly?”

“For now, go down there and have a look around. It’s information we need. Look for … anything. Signs of decay or failure. Malfeasance.”

“We’re not scientists,” Skyler said.

“What you are is immune. And you understand the business end of a gun. You can go in quietly and stay awhile. You can take care of saboteurs, if needed. You can look around, if not. Any team I send will be detained by Blackfield.”

Skyler glanced out the window at the planet below. “Is all this related to the data cubes we went out to retrieve?”

“No,” Neil said.

Skyler figured he had little to lose by challenging the man. Worst case, he’d get thrown out and sent back to Earth, where he could return to a regular routine. Business as usual. He decided to push. “You’re lying.”

Neil Platz stared at Skyler for a long moment.

I’m lying, too, Skyler thought. Business could never go back to “usual,” now.

The man eased back into the cushions of his couch and folded one leg up over the other. He spread his arms out along the back of the seat. “The truth is, we’re not sure yet.”

“What was on those data cubes?”

He looked down at the fabric of the couch, running his hand over it. “I’m not at liberty to discuss—”

“Look, if you want my help, I need to know what the hell is going on. I already lost one of my crew over this, and whatever payment you plan to offer now won’t cover that.”

Neil slowly closed, then opened, his eyes. “I’m very sorry. I had no idea.”

“He knew the risks, but his sacrifice still holds.”

Platz stood again and walked to the window, his steps heavy this time, and slow. “What would you say to living up here?”

The words hung in the air. Most people in Darwin dreamt of being lifted from the squalor to a life in orbit, yet few ever were. The first problem was simply one of living space; there was no room, unless someone else got kicked out, or died. Even then, the children of existing Orbitals took precedence.

The second reason had to do with the quality of the person. Most of Darwin’s population could dream of ascending all they wanted, but it wouldn’t change the fact that they had nothing to offer. No applicable education, no skill set to bring along. With so little space, the last thing needed in orbit was deadweight.

“I’m hardly the right stock,” Skyler said.

Platz spread his hands wide. “On the contrary. I need people like you. Leaders. Fighters.”

“I’m not much of a leader. But fighters, what for?”

Neil ran a hand over his mouth, as if trying to take the words back. “What fighters do.”

Skyler shook his head. “Isn’t that Alex Warthen’s job?”

“Loyal fighters, Mr. Luiken.”

Skyler turned to the giant window made from exotic materials. “You’re really going to wage a war? In this place?”

“War …” Neil paused. “I just need to protect my interests. Present and future.”

“What about my crew?”

“Of course, they could come, too.” He downed the contents of his glass. “But first …”

“First the Aura.”

“The Aura, yes. By the time you’ve reported back, Tania will have completed her analysis of the Japan and Hawaii data. I promise you, once I have more information, I’ll explain everything.”

Skyler picked up his drink and took another sip. It had a spicy but pleasant kick to it. “Assuming I can get my crew to go along, how do we get into this shaft below Nightcliff.”

“The primary entrance is in the basement of the climber port, but it’s been sealed permanently.”

“Primary …”

“Which implies a second, yes.”

Skyler stifled a laugh. Not always.

The old man turned and leaned against the glass. “You’re aware of my old family home within Nightcliff’s walls? Good. Wasted on long-term storage now, I’m told. There’s a secret access tunnel from the basement that leads into the silo. It’s well hidden, but I’ll give you access. Go in, snoop around, then report back to me. Your friend Prumble has a paired comm.”

“How do I get into Nightcliff itself?”

“You’re the resourceful one. Figure something out.”

A loud knock came from the door, and the woman named Kelly entered.

“I asked for no interruptions,” Neil said.

Her face looked flushed. “Something’s wrong down at the bar.”

Skyler stood up.

“Warthen’s men stormed the place,” Kelly said between breaths. “There was a fight, shooting,” she said, the words tumbling out.

“My crew,” Skyler said. He went for the exit.

“Wait!” Neil shouted. “Dammit. Kelly, go with him.”

“What should I do?” she asked.

“Keep him out of their hands. We’re not done—”

Skyler raced out the door, and Neil’s voice faded.