Chapter Fourteen - Resonating


    <strong>Chapter Fourteen - Resonating</strong>


    <em>Enclosed vertical farming will be the only way to farm soon. Not only arend prices constantly on the rise. Things like environmental issues (flooding, droughts, acid rain, corporate warfare, fires), make traditional farming unviable in this half of the 20th century.</em>


    <em>Vertical farms allow full control of the enclosed environment to be achieved, ensuring optimal growth potential, and protecting the profits of thepany who operates the farm.</em>


    --Excerpt from the patent for a fully-enclosed agricultural control tower, 1981


    ***


    I snuck up to the side of the garden pir and waited.


    Most of the aliens, it seemed, were held up on the floors above. I did notice some movement within though. The tops of some of the nts were wiggling around, and I heard metallic crashing as a trolly rattled across the grated floor, the tools on it ttering about.


    Not exactly subtle, I muttered as I started to make my way around the pir. How many have they breached?


    <em>In this area? This tower, and the one currently to your right.</em>


    I nced that way, noting that the next tower over was right next to the very edge of the facility. There was a fence there, just the sort of cheap chain link fencing that was topped by a roll of barbed wire. A hole was torn into the side of it. They didnt exactly go all-out with security here, I muttered.


    <em>In defence of the facility, this is a greenhouse. I think the fencing is mostly to keep wild animals away and perhaps deter industrial spies. It is far below the rating required to prevent any level of antithesis entry.</em>


    Yeah, fair enough, I muttered.


    I nced between the two towers before I made up my mind. Myalis, I need two of those sonic melting grenades. You know the ones. With proximity detonators.


    Myalis replied by having two boxes appear next to me.


    <strong>New Purchase: ss I Resonator Mark I-D X2</strong>


    <em>Points Reduced to... 1,414</em>


    I pulled the boxes open and tucked one of the grenades in the pocket of my coat while palming the other. I ran over to the hole in the gate, eyeing the world past the facility. There was a small bit of clearing, just scraggly grass that had obviously been trimmed once a season, then a thin forest. The sun was still bright above, but the woods were filled with shifting shadows.


    Kneeling down next to the hole, I ced the grenade down, then fiddled with it for a moment. I set the distance to one metre, then put the timer for activation on thirty seconds. Plenty of time to move out of the way.


    That done, I darted to the nearer of the two towers and found the way the aliens had used to move in.


    They werent exactly subtle. There was a pile of safety ss next to a broken window. I shifted closer, ced down the second resonator, then flicked it on as well.


    That would fuck up any of the antithesis trying to move around. Hopefully that would also lock them in ce while I cleared out the other tower.


    If I had to clear out more than two, then the entire thing would take far, far too long.


    I nced over in the direction Gomorrah had gone in, and couldnt help but notice the thick plumes of ck smoke rising into the sky. I switched to the channel we still had open. Hey Gom, you okay?


    Oh, Im fine, she said with a pleased sort of purr that I decided not to question.


    Right, okay, just dont burn the whole ce down.


    Noted.


    Shaking my head, I moved back to the first tower Id spotted the antithesis in. I knew there were some model threes in there, and at least one worm. Not much of a threat, really, but I wasnt stupid enough not to take it seriously.


    How was I going to clear this one?


    I could go up floor by floor until I reached the top. It would work. I didnt have to worry too much about the low-levelled aliens here.


    I could set up a killbox. Get two or three turrets around the base, maybe a cat-mech, then attract the antithesis inside the tower so that theyd run out.


    But then they might hide.


    So, a bit of both?


    Myalis, Im going to need a lot more of those resonators. I need a bigger model. More range. And... do we have nanites that can eat nt-matter without spreading too far? I dont want to destroy all the towers here.


    <em>Both can be arranged, yes. The nanites are by necessity not fast-acting however.</em>


    I nodded as I counted the floors. The tower was a hundred metres tall, but only had ten floors. It looked like each floor was filled with racks for the nts within.


    The aliens hadnt smashed in a window on this one. It looked like theyd slipped in through the front door. There were scratch marks on the edge of the door, cutting into the thick rubber seals and the ss front. I pulled the door open, then let it shut behind me.


    <em>The carbon dioxide levels in this room are bordering on lethal.</em>


    I blinked. The air felt pretty humid, but I couldnt exactly smell anything, not with my helmet filtering everything. Am I in trouble? I asked.


    <em>No. Not unless you remain in this one room for over three days. Your helmet will filter out the worst of the contaminants.</em>


    Good, good, I said. It was very warm, but some of that had to be the big lights spread out across the ceiling. The room was full of hanging racks filled with rows and rows of nts. How many resonators will I need per floor? I asked.


    <em>If you purchase arger variety, only one, though it will need to be centralised.</em>


    I nodded. Got it, I said. I darted to the middle of the room.


    Then my heart leapt halfway out of my chest as I came to a sudden stop.


    A Model three stepped out ahead of me, its beady eyes scanning across the room while its three-hinged jaw drolled open. Its head turned, and for a moment I suspected it was looking right at me.


    I swallowed, staying perfectly still for a moment.


    Then I remembered that I wasnt some punkass little bitch and I reached into my thigh pocket, pulled out my Trenchmaker, and aimed down the barrel to the aliens head.


    It saw the gun floating there, its eyes locking onto it.


    Then I fired.


    The model three flinched back, its ears twitching as I blew a hole through one of them.


    I swore, lowered my aim a bit, then fired a second time.


    This time the aliens head gained a fist-sized hole that sttered what passed for its brains on the wall of nts behind it.


    <em><strong>Target Eliminated!</strong></em>


    <em>Reward... 10 points</em>


    Myalis, resonator, I said.


    <strong>New Purchase: ss I Resonator Mark II-G</strong>


    <em>Points Reduced to... 1,414</em>


    I picked up the new resonator. It was a chunkier thing, definitely heavier than the usual grenades I had.


    Jogging over to the centre of the room, I ced the bomb on a little counter space with tools and such behind it, then quickly activated it.


    The sound it made was great, a grating, high-pitched whine that had my teeth feeling like they were about to wiggle out of my gums, and I wasnt even the target here.


    A nearby nt, with some long trailing leaves, sttered to the floor as part of it broke apart. So at least it was working.


    I need another, I said.


    <em>Coming.</em>


    I picked up the next then ran up to the floor above. The middle part of the tower had a staircase that turned around a central shaft that had a sort of opened elevator tform. I imagined it was there to bring the ntstock they gathered up and down, as well as whatever fertiliser or tools they needed to work the greenhouse.


    I made it to the second floor, where a couple of model threes were already sniffing their way over to the stairs.


    They couldnt see me, of course, but I ducked behind a counter anyway as I set up the second resonator.


    The next floor up had more aliens, with one of those big model eight worms chowing down on heaps of nt matter with the help of a few model threes.


    I ced another resonator down, then moved on.


    I was getting a good workout by the time I reached the topmost floor. Even with my suit helping, it was good cardio climbing ny metres worth of stairs. Thest five floors didnt have any aliens as far as I could tell, but I put some resonators on them, just in case. The tower was going to be a write-off regardless.


    On the top floor, I called up the elevator, then stood in the middle of it before tapping the button to send it down.


    Alright, I need some of those nanite grenades, I said. Ten of them.


    Myalis provided, and I got to one knee over the box before tossing one out onto the tenth floor.


    Then I headed down, flicking a grenade out onto every floor.


    By the time I reached the ground floor, I figured the aliens above were just starting to feel the sting of those nanites.


    So, of course, thats when I activated the other nine resonators Id left.


    I was grinning to myself as I walked out of the tower, the entire thing screaming with the high-pitched whine of melting aliens.


    ***