Extinction Blues

“Gorerd, where are you? We should talk. Answer me please?”

Nali refreshed the hologram connection the hundredth time but there was nothing on the line. Where was he? She’d tried to reach him the whole winter!

Her large wings rose involuntarily in frustration and anger. What was she going to do with him? She turned her eye away from the device, stared at the hills afar covered in white snow.

Right then Gorerd’s unmistakable rich voice roared from the speaker.

“Hi, sweetheart! I’m here.”

There he was, his vivid 3D visual. As expected, he was wearing his white lab coat and famous large eye protector. He took his lab gear off revealing his dark blue feathers and gorgeous silver composite eye. Her husband was the most beautiful erman being Nali had ever met in her life.

“Sorry, I was in the lab since early autumn, good winter darling,” he said. “What’s up?”

Nali felt the butterflies in her belly. It had been a while since he spoke to her like that.

“You won’t believe it! I am ovulating right now!”

A cold silence. None of the excitement Nali had hoped for.

“Surely you can’t be,” he even said, “not at the age of fifty thousand”.

Nali took a deep breath and remained calm. She grabbed his repro-probe device blinking green and held it against the nearest camera.

“I’m not making it up. Look!”

Gorerd didn’t say anything but scratched his head nervously.

“Listen, there is nothing to think about. I just called the repro line, they are sending a drone right up, in just a few days” said Nali, checking the wall clock.

He flashed his silver eye the way he did when he was alarmed.

“What do you mean? Are you coming here? Now?” Gorerd’s panic was heartbreaking. Nali watched him pace the floor.

Why didn’t he want another baby?

“You are being ridiculous,” he said, “the isolation police are everywhere. They fine anyone who leaves their dome!”

Nali bit her lip. “I told you, I called the reproduction line. This is a priority. The police will escort my drone.”

Gorerd sighed. “Tell you what, don’t go out in this weather. It is warming up here, almost springtime. I’ll come to the North.”

Nali’s wings raised in frustration. Something was definitely wrong. She looked around the Gorerd’s bedroom, but the cameras didn’t cover the whole area. “What is that brown thing on the bed?” she asked. It looked like a basket from the old days.

“What? Nothing!” said Gorerd.

“What are you keeping in this house that you don’t want me to see?” she asked, “what are you hiding?”

“Nothing!” Gorerd repeated. Then his voice softened, “You know what it is like here, darling… This place gets hot. Especially in summer! Hardly any snow at all… The house is crummy, the coolers don’t work well… believe me, you won’t be comfortable here. Don’t fly all this way for nothing! And also...” he stopped.

He just didn’t want her there, did he? He was trying to make up a stronger excuse, she could see it in his eye. “What?” she asked, no doubt that he would lie.

“You know the pest situation earlier.”

Humans! Nali gasped. “Is there a breach? You should call the public health agency!”

“No, no, darling, there is no breach, the place is clean, it’s safe,” Gorerd said, “I disinfect the house regularly and I always use protectors when I go out.”

“Swear to me, have you ever seen a human inside the dome?”

“No.”

“Outside?”

“No.”

“Swear to me.”

“I swear, they disappeared after I took care of the last infestation.”

Nali relaxed. Her wings finally came down.

“They have invaded everywhere!” she said “They make holes in weak old domes and they breach into cellars and pantries. Is your dome strong enough?”

“Yes, very strong.”

Nali had seen the newly discovered human species on the news. They were small, light brown, and fragile, very different than the old dark hairy ones. But scientists were positive they carried a new variant of the virus. They moved incredibly fast. They climbed trees and domes. “Please be careful about what you eat. The snow melts and old viruses come out too. You can get infected from anywhere!”

“Well, this is a rural area, anything is possible in spring,” Gorerd said, “I don’t think it’s worth coming down South and taking the risk.”

Nali heard the buzz of the drone descending above her dome.

“You promised me last time, Gorerd. I am coming over no matter what,” she said. “The drone is here. You can go back to work, I’ll be there before the end of the winter.”

***

Nali leaned her forehead to the glass of the drone, watching the white mountains, wide planes, frozen lakes, rivers, and abandoned white cities in awe. This was the first time she was out since she laid her last egg four hundred years ago.

And before that- she couldn’t even remember her previous trip. Was it to the hospital or the cemetery? The lockdown had been on for three thousand years. She had laid twelve eggs. Twelve trips to the hospital. She had also made quite a few trips to the crematorium and cemetery but couldn’t remember exactly how many. She had definitely been to her parents’ funeral twelve hundred years ago. But after that, all funerals and cemetery visits were banned.

Her heart burned as she remembered the visual of her parents motionless in bed. So many couples had died together; such a tragedy. When the health agency finally decided to separate all couples, not many people protested; they didn’t have any other choice, really. Each erman being received a personal dome. Partners could visit each other only during ovulation periods; once in a hundred years, tops.

When Nali heard the signal, she realized the drone was already descending. They had arrived at the Southern Blackhills. Nali was shocked to see the river next to Gorerd’s dome was flowing. The ice had already melted. She looked around to see if there were any green spots in the snow. But no, the snow was intact.

***

The drone was an old, single passenger model from back sixty thousands. It was loud, even louder from the outside. The modern, silent ones weren’t produced anymore since the cost was too high. Nali was grateful that these old models were still functioning.

The drone floated above Gorerd’s dome and as soon as the door opened, Nali spread her large wings. She came alive when she felt the cold wind and the bright light on her face. But, it definitely was a few degrees warmer than the North. She knew this was one of the final cold winters of the planet.

She let her body glide down slowly. As she circled above the dome, her shiny purple dress fluttered like a flag. She knew Gorerd loved purple on her. He always said it highlighted the beauty of her bright orange feathers.

And there he was. A gorgeous dark blue and silver shape slowly soared towards her. Gorerd was coming up to meet her mid-way. He looked dreamy behind the fog of snowflakes.

Nali felt pain in his stomach. She had almost lost hopes of seeing his husband in person ever again. But here she was. All the thoughts and emotions were overwhelming.

What was there to think at that moment? Gorerd wrapped his wings around Nali and welcomed her. As they slowly descended through the door in the middle of the glass dome, they were already intertwined with each other. “Slow down, calm down,” said Nali as she chuckled. “We have time. I will be ovulating for the next two years.”

***

When they woke up embraced in the bed, it was already spring. Gorerd had shut all the curtains of the room tightly and turbocharged the coolers. Nali spread her body in relaxed happiness. “Maybe this time it will be a female,” she said, “maybe they will be a couple with Reya’s male chick in the future when the lockdown is over.”

Gorerd sighed and turned away. She could see his disbelief bursting out of his feathers. The pain squeezed her stomach again.

“Don’t you think that would be wonderful?” asked Nali.

“Huh huh,” said Gorerd but his wings began contracting involuntarily. Nali couldn’t ignore the passive aggression in the air anymore and sat up.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Nothing.”

“Reya’s chick is a century old now. He is healthy. Why can’t you be happy for once?”

Gorerd looked at Nali’s eye but he didn’t say anything. She already knew what passed through his mind, because he had repeated the same things for the last thirty thousand years.

This was going to be their thirteenth chick. None of their chicks had survived. Each chick that was lucky enough to hatch got infected with the virus in their first few centuries and died. The whole world knew that ermanity was beating a dead horse. But it was still worth coming out of the isolation to touch someone you loved once in a century or two even for a sad excuse to reproduce. Many couples produced a chick every century just to be allowed to mate, but those chicks mostly died in the egg. The luckiest ones would live to see their tenth summer.

“We play games with Keos; he always asks about you,” said Gorerd.

Nali’s froze in her tracks. Why did he bring up Keos now? Did he know something?

A few centuries ago, a short time after Keos’s wife Ema had returned home to lay her egg, she had got infected and died with their three chicks. The oldest was seven centuries old. Later Keos realized he was infected too, but he had magically recovered. Thanks to his insurance policy, he had stayed at a health facility for a short few years and then moved into a new house in a brand new dome. Their two old domes were first flooded with water and then pulverized.

Since then, Keos kept calling Nali. He tried to persuade Nali to have a chick with him. Nali had refused and never told Gorerd about it. She felt weird about this whole thing.

“Poor Ema’s house had a long-lasting human problem, but she wasn't aware of it,” said Nali finally. “There were so many holes on the dome, and the humans kept coming in. So disgusting!”

***

Gorerd touched the music player. A ten thousand year old ice symphony filled the room. “Are you still listening to these?” said Nali. He shrugged, brought the tray he had prepared, and placed it in front of his wife. Nali hesitated as she looked at the olive tree on her plate.

“Hmm… doesn’t look bad. Where is this from?” she asked.

“I shop online. They bring the cans on a drone and deliver directly to the dome” said Gorerd. “We have lots of fresh ones here but don’t worry, I don’t go out tree picking.”

“That would be ridiculous,” said Nali and bit off a branch.

“A bit chewy, isn’t it?” said Gorerd.

Nali felt talkative all of a sudden. “When we were chicks, it was so nice. We went out and break the branches of any tree we liked, and ate them for free.”

“Well, we ate anything then, didn’t we? My grandfather collected all kinds of animals, fermented them and sold them.”

“Yuck! He picked them in his wooden basket. Even humans!”

They both shook their heads in disbelief.

“Everything was so different before the pandemic. The ice was thick; noone worried that it would melt. Life was easy and comfortable."

"We all lived together, we visited whoever we wanted. I remember three of us chicks sitting under the wings of my grandmother. How disgusting!” Nali laughed “Would you believe if I said I miss that feeling sometimes?”

“You used to go to school. You sat beside each other. You were inseparable with Reya”

Nali looked at Gorerd. “You kept social distance even then. We never saw you outside. We were so curious about you.”

Gorerd moved uncomfortably. “When did you last see Reya?”

“Wow, a long time ago,” said Nali, “at least twenty centuries”

“Have you ever thought about visiting Reya’s dome the way you came here?”

“That’s nonsense,” said Nali, getting annoyed. “Why would I risk my best friend’s life, mine and yours as well?”

“Haven’t you already risked our lives by coming here?”

Nali lowered her eyebrow and put her fork down. “What are you trying to say? Should we give up reproduction just because it is risky?”

“No, I didn’t say that. On the contrary, if you can come here, you should be able to visit your best friend too.”

Nali couldn’t believe he was still talking about this nonsense.

“It’s not nonsense. This isolation stripped us from our ermanity and it will never end. I am wondering when you will drop it and accept the truth.”

“The truth. So what is it?”

Gorerd shrugged, completely ignoring her question, he asked “Would you like me to call the drone? I have lots to do in the lab.”

Nali leaped onto her claws, checking the repro-probe device on her wing. “But no insemination yet!”

“Sorry. I am really, really busy.”

Nali couldn’t believe how cold he’d turned all of a sudden. Why was he pushing her away again? She tried to talk as warmly as she possibly could, but she could feel the lump in her throat.

“I still have time! Why don’t we hibernate the summer together? We can try again in autumn.”

Gorerd froze for a second and then sighed, “Alright then, stay.”

Nali released her breath in relief, but she still couldn't understand why he wouldn't love her.

“But you can’t come into the lab,” he added, “If you need anything, call me on audio. Be patient, I might not hear it right away.”

Nali softly nodded and watched Gorerd wrap his plastic coolers around his body, put on his lab coat and protectors: eye protector, wing protectors, claw protectors.

***

After Gorerd disappeared behind the lab door, Nali sat down and closed her eye, overwhelmed.

When she heard the beep of her communicator, she was about to burst into tears. It was Keos on the hologram. His wide green eye looked irritable. Why was he calling now?

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were ovulating?” asked Keos.

“It is between my husband and I,” said Nali, “What do you want?”

“What do you want from him,” said Keos “Do you want him or do you want a chick?”

Speechless, Nali stared at the hologram. She couldn’t believe the audacity of this guy.

“You want a chick,” said Keos. “See, if you had called me first, you would save a trip. There is no way he can give you one. Dead or alive. Not anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Nali was losing her patience.

“Gorerd can never inseminate your eggs because he sterilized himself. Centuries ago.”

Nali froze. She threw away the communicator and began searching the room.

She found the proof on Gorerd’s thousand year old, broken communicator. He had sent money to an old physician to operate on him remotely. The whole thing was illegal, of course. She let out a scream.

***

Nali glided towards the lab. Audio call? She didn’t have the patience for that. She opened the door and moved right into the lab, not bothering with any coolers or protectors. She didn’t care.

The place stank. It was the most disgusting, putrid smell Nali had ever smelled. Her mind didn’t register it for a second. What was this place? When she looked around, she saw red bloodstains, and a bunch of dead animals. Tiny ones like rabbits but also two sizable hairy mammoths. What was Gorerd doing with dead animals?

She remembered their earlier conversation. Was he fermenting them? Eating them? Had he lost his mind?

Nali’s stomach turned. She did the only thing that she could think of: Took out her communicator and called the health line, reporting the situation in the lab. She didn’t care if the agency flooded Gorerd’s dome at this point.

She walked a few more steps to find Gorerd, but he was nowhere to be seen. There was another white door at the end of the room. An inner room in the lab?

Nali pushed the door handle down and opened the second door, and as she slowly moved in, her eye got dazzled with bright light. She let the door go, and it shut behind her with a click. Only then she realized there was no door handle on the other side. She was stuck inside!

That’s when the warm, terrifying breeze hit her. There was no smell here but something felt terribly wrong. She called out to Gorerd as her skin burnt from the warm air. The ground was covered in trees and plants. This wasn’t a lab! She wasn’t inside! This was outside!

She was still under the dome, but out of the house, like in a yard. The ground had no ice or snow. Where was this hellish breeze coming from?

She saw it right in front of her: a large hole on the outer glass wall! The dome was broken- it didn’t provide any protection at all!

Nali called for Gorerd again. That’s when she heard a strange humming sound and saw him, perched on the ground motionless, not far from the broken glass, his wings raised. He was in a kind of trance mode.

Gorerd wasn’t wearing any protectors either. Nali flew towards him in panic, then saw his feathers each moving independently. What was that?

“Gorerd!” she shouted. But Gorerd didn’t seem to hear anything. When she touched him, she saw something jump on her wing. She shook her wing in panic and dropped the thing. She knelt to see the strange creature. Was it… a human?

The moving little things under Gorerd’s feathers were all humans! Maybe tens of them!

Nali gagged and tried to glide backward. When she intended to land on her claws, she realized the snow-free area under the broken dome wasn’t just covered in plants but also tiny little structures made of twigs, and hundreds and hundreds of icky, smelly, ugly humans! This was practically a human world!

Nali’s skin crawled, especially her wing which felt the human’s touch. She wanted to scream but couldn’t breathe anymore. She was losing her mind. She felt queazy and all of a sudden, the whole dome turned upside down.

***

She opened her eyes. She was still in the yard, lying on the ground.

“Don’t panic, Nali,” said Gorerd in an anxious voice, “they are not dangerous.” He was kneeling beside her, and his wings were free of humans. She couldn’t see any of them. Was it a nightmare she just had?

“Don’t touch me!” screamed Nali, trying to crawl backward. Her wings didn’t move.

“They don’t have the virus. They are clean, look at this!” he said as he lifted a little naked creature with the tip of his wing. Nali turned her eye away.

“How do you know?” screamed Nali.

“Believe me, I examined and tested them, I know. Only the ones with white dots in their mouths got it.”

“What the heck are you doing with them? And what about the other animals in the lab? Do you eat them? This is insane!”

“I don’t eat animals! Humans bring animals to me as gifts. I explain to them that I don’t eat animals, but they never get it. But don’t worry, they really are harmless.”

Nali breathed deeply. It was the first time she saw a human so up close. She was terrified of it. But Gorerd’s calmness had affected her. The human had two eyes at the top of its face. It was wrapped in a piece of white cloth, but originally naked other than some fuzzy hair here and there, especially on top of its head. It was making high-pitched squeaky sounds as if it was talking.

Nali watched the creature in awe. She hesitated to touch it and didn’t know what to say to Gorerd. That was when she heard buzzing sounds from above.

Before she could tell what it was, the rest of the glass dome came crashing down. They both looked up and saw three drones in the air. One of them was a water cannon. They heard a voice from loudspeakers: “This is the Public Health Agency. Pest infestation detected. Please move away! Proceed to the evacuation zone.”

“No!” shouted Gorerd. Little humans began screeching and running around so fast that they were impossible to see.

Nali remembered calling the Agency herself. She lifted her wings. She felt better, ready to fly.

“We have to go!” said Nali, but Gorerd began picking up all the humans on the ground, and filling them into his wooden basket.

Nali shook Gorerd. “What are you doing? Let’s go!”

“You asked me the truth,” said Gorerd, rising into the air. “Death. The only truth is death. Chicks die. Erman beings die. Snow melts. Our environment dies. There is no hope for us. But there is hope for these little ones. They are clever beings. They learn everything so fast.”

Nali looked at the tiny creatures in the basket. There were at least fifty of them, all wiggly, scared, and nestled together in a ball. They were like featherless little chicks; disgusting, for sure, but innocent and cute in a strange way.

She lifted both of her wings and waved to the drones, but it was too late. There was nothing that could be done. She pushed the ground to rise above the building as giant flying water cannons flooded the building and the yard. She saw the wooden basket float down the river.

***

Nali opened her eyes. Her repro-probe had stopped blinking. There were two continuous pink lights now. “Congratulations,” said Keos. “We are so lucky. Our chick has a chance to survive.”

Nali didn’t say anything. She wanted to go home and cry.

Keos turned away from her and pressed the TV remote button. “He is all over the news,” he said. “They are taking him to a mental facility, but a reporter somehow managed to talk to him.”

When she saw Gorerd’s bruised face on TV, she felt that burning sensation all over again.

“Turn the sound on,” she said. Gorerd’s loud voice filled the room.

“You have to believe me, they are clever beings!”

"He sure sounds crazy" said Keos.

“They can talk!" Gorerd shouted "They say every word I teach them. They just cannot pronounce the r’s.”