Eden Extremis

The dying paradise awaited the Extreminal storm raging on the horizon. Santiago pressed her forearms against the railing of the mezzanine’s highest floor. She leaned forward enough for her head to hang upside down over the one hundred foot drop.

She didn’t look at the mass of greenery below. The sight of the miniature tropical forest, the epitome of her life’s work, didn’t bring her solace; her eyes were closed as she hung her head. It was better than seeing the industrial mezzanine and the other Eko-steel structures surrounding the forest. Better than seeing the high walls of the enclosure. Better than seeing the enormous, ever present dome of the Biome pressing down upon it all. Better than seeing her little green world doomed.

With eyes closed, it came to her hanging in the thick, humid, temperature controlled air. There, the smell of the perfectly nutriated soil, the fresh oxygen, and the well humidified wood. With an empty mind she was back to the times before the Biomes. Back to when they weren't anything but just a hopeful dream. Back with her grandma.

This place was a dream though. Truly a paradise. A man-made oasis. Nature’s Haven. All dictated by the Laws of Nature.

She pushed herself further over the edge.

“Ms. Santiago?”

She opened her eyes. The heart-shaped locket around her neck hung by her forehead, dangling. She snatched the locket and erected herself. It had almost slipped off. Her grip tightened with the thought.

She searched for the speaker, pushing away the dizziness of getting up too fast. Miguel, one of the assistants, stood with brows knitted. His head was tilted as he watched her.

“Are you alright?”

She was still holding the locket. She dropped her hand.

Santiago opened her mouth to reply, found no answer, and sighed, “Did you need something, Miguel?”

“Oh,” he said, readjusting, “Mr. Cambell will be arriving soon, so.”

“Right,” She said, pinching her nose bridge, and turning her back to him, “Thank you.”

“Um, also. The storm’s closer than we thought. It's taking strange paths. We’re monitoring it but. It might be dangerous. ”

“What’s the Level?”

“We’re at Level 4. We’ve just reached yellow alert.”

She gripped the railing of the mezzanine to maintain herself.

“Thank you, Miguel.”

The youngman stutterd. Then he finally left. Santiago sighed. She gazed at her lush garden below. Then shut her eyes and heaved her head over the railing again.

Outside.

She hated outside. The Biome was better, though she hated that too. Though the facility was so understaffed that Santiago herself had to be the one to escort Campbell from the helicopter pad.

The storm would make it worse out there.

Preparing herself, she opened the door. The wind almost blew the door from her hands. The orange storm clouds rumbled and twisted in the sky over the near desert-like lands. She looked into the distance and saw the Extreminal storm ravaging the barren earth miles away. It was close. They had never gotten this close before. It might get closer still. And if it does... Today might be the day.

She sank. Her mind was nothing. A wet drop ran down her cheek; she wasn’t sure if it was rain or a tear.

Someone shouted.

The “Eko-copter” had already landed. He pressed his black, wide brimmed hat to his head and his nice emerald colored, Eko-approved suit thrashed in the wind. Mr. Cambell strode towards her under the crimson light of the fire stained sky.

Santiago held the door in place as Cambell came up to her. His face hidden under the flapping hat on his head, a senseless thing to be wearing here. The wind seized the hat, it was hundreds of feet away in an instant.

He cursed over the wind. And turned to her.

“I was told this storm would be far off!”

She shrugged.

“I was told the same!”

Thunder cracked and he hurried inside.

She took one more look at the storm. And closed her eyes. She inhaled the acrid air, stinging her nose as she smelled this world. The burning lands, the acid seas, the choked skies. This is Nature.

Cambell dropped himself into a large chair in the meeting room. There was a wide window that overlooked the Biome’s garden. It was the perfect showroom when it first opened. A room where champagne was popped and hands shook. That was when people still came this far. Back when things were still built out here. Back when it was safe.

Back when there was still a tropical forest outside too.

“Now,” he began, fixing his emerald suit, “Why don’t you start by telling me why in the hell you requested this meeting during a damn storm?”

“Frankly sir, Extreminal Storms are entirely frequent in these areas. There is one every other week, sometimes every week.”

He leaned in with eyebrows raised, “But have they ever gotten this close?”

Santiago paused.

“Typically not. Though this one was not supposed to come this close either. However, storms in the Extremis Zones are entirely unpredictable. This one seems particularly erratic. And violent.”

“Wonderful. Listen Santiago, I don't like being outside the Temperate Zones. I really don’t. And due to the storm, the Eko-copter was too far out to turn back. So now! Because you wanted your little meeting today of all damn days, I’m here until it blows over. So please, make this worth my time. Tell me this is about more than just how badly the facility is doing.”

“Well,” she began as the PA system went off.

“Level 6 Storm Warning.”

“The hell?” Campbell said, sitting up.

“Just… forget it,” she said, waving a hand.

He eyed her.

“You’re looking terrible,” he said, “What’s the problem now?”

She paused again. There was no point to this meeting anymore. Not after what she just saw. But this man, there was so much she wanted to say to him.

“The Biome is doomed,” she said, hard and flat, “Storms will keep getting closer until they finally take it. And it looks like they’re coming faster than we predicted.”

“You’re positive about this?”

“Look around. That’s why I asked you here. I’ve been saying this for years but I get the same response every time.”

He cursed, leaning back again as his foot tapped. She waited for him.

“That can't happen,” he said, “PR nightmare! The Tropical Biome, zoned off? Taken by storms? No, unacceptable.”

“There’s no stopping it.”

He scowled, “Then… Then we’ll reopen the Biome. New facility, in the Temperate Zone. Near the Tundra Biome possibly? That could even be an attraction. Yeah, Tropical and Tundra. Hot and cold!”

Santiago shook her head.

“What?”

“Level 7 Storm Warning. All personnel please make their way to the bunker.”

“Ignore those.” She said, “You should know the real reason you’re here. What I want you to see.”

“That is?”

She gestured at the large window overlooking the Biome.

“The garden. It’s dying.”

“What?”

“It’s dying. Just... dying.”

“Well keep it alive, dammit! That’s what we’re paying you for!”

“We’ve tried, nothing’s working anymore.”

“Then plant more! You’re forgetting what this place is.”

She raised an eyebrow.

He continued, “This is Nature’s haven. Hope. People believe in this place. In Nature. In the Laws. Fix it. This place cannot fail, we cannot afford that.”

“Nature isn’t one of your perfect little systems.”

“Then make it be, Santiago.” He paused, “For the people.”

“The people?” She said, then went quiet. Her throat was dry when she spoke again, “You know, my family’s from this area. Even my ancestors are. And, my grandma, she’s the one who inspired me to become an ecologist. She’d always tell me stories about our people. And how they took care of the forest that was here before. Actually nurtured it, listened to it. Were part of it. It’s gone now. And so are they. So is my grandma. She had to leave once this region was no longer habitable. She didn’t die here though. No. My family died from storms in the refugee camps outside the cities. In the temperate zones. Though I suppose storms will take us all in the end.”

“Level 8 Storm Warning. Red Alert. All personnel make their way to the bunker.”

Campbell shifted in his seat as he watched her.

“Santiago?” He said, the storm wailing lourder outside.

“My point is,” She said, brushing off both him and the announcement, “We follow Nature’s Laws. We claim to respect Nature. We’ve made everything Eko-approved: Eko-clothes, Eko-cars, Eko-fuel, damned Eko-cities. We’ve constructed all the different Biomes. All seven major environments. Nice and neat. Perfect! Synchronized ecosystems. And now we can continue living our lives normally, right? All thanks to the efforts of the great Eko Alliance Conglomerate. You, who saved Nature.”

His eyes narrowed at her. She met his gaze.

“Or did you? ‘Cuz the planet’s still dying, isn't it? In reality, you hardly did anything. You just slap “Eko” on all your products and the public thinks you’re doing god's work. Eko was just another PR project while your companies hardly changed any of their practices. But oh! You all acted like you saved the damn planet. You build little domes so everyone thinks the ecosystem survived while you continue to plunder and pollute and profit! A few gardens can’t rebuild a planet! You’ve created a whole system of lies so you and your friends can keep getting rich exploiting the earth! Exploiting the people!”

“Are you finished?”

“No!”

“Level 9 Storm–”

“You promote your ‘Laws of Nature’, so everyone thinks you have everything under control. Then no one truly, truly understands this thing we call Nature. No, you can’t perfect Nature! It’s all chaotic, cause and effect. Perfect, separate biomes don't exist; separation is a myth! Everything’s all interconnected, and blurred, and meshed. Everything! That’s what I realized. Even us. We’re Nature too! The problem wasn’t with the planet! The problem was the system you were never willing to sacrifice!”

Something boomed above.

“Santiago, calm down! Shouldn’t we go to the bunker?”

“The bunker won’t save us! This whole facility is a joke. It’s all a joke! If the storm comes, it’ll take it all. Just like it took everything else. Just like all the people you left vulnerable to it! Just like my people! Just like my grandma. And now I’m alone. And all I have left of her is her locket.”

She put her hand to her chest but… Her heart stopped, the locket, it wasn't there. She touched her neck but the chain was gone. She felt her hair, sometimes it'll catch there if it falls off. No. She searched the floor, maybe it fell—

The mezzanine.

She turned to the window and the forest beyond.

The building shook from the storm's bombardment. Something crashed and Campbell fell to his knees.

“Christ! Santiago, I really think we should go.”

“Weren’t you listening? The bunker can’t save us. Nothing can.”

She ran out of the meeting room, Campbell calling after her in horror, and down the halls toward the Biome. The lights flickered. Then darkness took hold; the power shutting off. She kept going, emergency lights leading her way.

That locket was her heart. Tears burned her eyes. The heart of her grandma. Run. She stumbled as the facility shuddered and creaked. Hurry. She reached the Biome. Onto the edge of the forest floor, below the mezzanine, where steel met soil. Quickly. Where? Where is it? There!

Santiago dropped to her knees, grabbing the locket; a heart alone on the Eko-steel floor. She pressed it to her chest. And wept in her little green world.

Demons howled as the Biome dome cracked. She watched as the great structure was torn apart and taken by the shrieking winds. Colossal clouds, toxic-red rampaged above. The trees of the forest whipped and snapped, and all the garden was swept into fury as the storm came in.

“We’ll be together soon, grandma.”