Lemuria by Burt Clinchandhill (most popular novels of all time .txt) 📗

Within seconds, the floors were empty. When the roof was almost completely open, Mulder touched the screen on a tablet in his hand. To the left of the rocket, a large LED screen switched on with ‘00:15:00’ in large letters, and then began counting down.

“Oh, professor.” Eldin’s voice sounded from the top of the support tower. He almost sounded cheery.

Bishop and Jennifer still behind the crates, looking at each other.

“Does he mean you?” Jennifer asked.

Bishop shrugged.

“Do you two know each other?”

Bishop shook his head. “Not that I know of.”

“Yes, professor, you. Professor Bishop, born in Bar Harbor, September seven in nineteen seventy-one. Mother died when you were young, and your father was a traveling salesman for Boeing. Currently, you are employed at Yale University as a professor of mathematics and philosophy. Friend of Jennifer Porter, with which you discovered the secrets behind the Aldaraia document a few years back now. Did you think I wouldn’t investigate you when I recruited your precious Jennifer? You can come out now. Please come closer.”

Jennifer peeked from behind the crates. “It looks like there’s no one left but him.”

“Stay here,” Bishop whispered as he stepped from behind the crates.

“That’s better.” Mulder stretched out his words and his arms. “Welcome, Matthew. May I call you Matthew?” he called out with maniacal intensity. “You can call me Eldin.”

Bishop slowly walked to the rocket. He glanced back. Jennifer was still hiding behind the crates. “You have me at a disadvantage.” Bishop’s voice carried through the great hall. “I know almost nothing about you.”

“Who’s to say that’s a disadvantage?” Mulder called down. “What is it you think you came here to do?”

“Stop you from committing genocide,” Bishop answered, “by launching missiles full of innocent people.”

“Genocide? Au contraire, my dear professor. I’ve created a backup plan to save humanity. I’m rescuing these people from a world destined to destroy itself. And besides that, you’re too late.” He pointed to the clock. “Everything is automated, and in a little over ten minutes, I will have saved these people from certain doom and started the first colonization of a planet in over five hundred million years.

“You said it yourself, professor, in your paper on evolution. The turning point in human evolution will be when we find out how to manipulate our genes, accommodating new environments. Our Earth will stop sustaining biological life when humankind generates an AI intelligent enough to transcend its builders. Wasn’t that what you wrote, professor?

“And you, young lady behind the crates. I believe that it was you who claimed that evolution equals extinction. That with every major upgrade, the older version goes obsolete?”

“You lied to me,” Jennifer said, stepping out from behind the crates. She stood next to Bishop.

“I did?” Mulder asked, frowning.

Jennifer nodded. “You stated AI evolution was still in its infancy.”

“I also told you things were going fast. I might have understated the timeline a bit, but lied? I don’t lie, do I? It was even a surprise to me when the Occidium One cracked the evolution code in our introns in less than a week. From there, things snowballed. I was able to speed up my research on the isolated tribes and prepare their DNA. Changes needed to colonize another planet. Think about it; it’s the perfect picture. Tribes—people years behind in evolution waking up on a different world, not giving a second thought to minor changes in their environment or in the way they feel. Simply picking up their business and without knowing it, populating an entirely new planet. Humankind can survive again for another hundred thousand years or so. A new civilization that doesn’t need you or me. They simply start anew without all of modern man’s burden.”

“And what about Earth?” Bishop jammed his hands in his pockets.

“What about it?” Mulder asked rhetorically. “I truly hope you make it, though I seriously doubt it. It’s like I said at the introduction of the Occidium One. Humanity will always find a way to use new technology as a destructive force. My goal was to give humanity a chance. Now it’s up to everyone else. I once believed that we could artificially evolve mankind faster to keep up with technology. Now I’m not so sure anymore.”

“So this is your backup plan,” Bishop concluded.

“Why not go to Mars yourself?” Jennifer argued.

Mulder laughed out loud. “I could, but you remember that I told you human evolution and technology weren’t in sync anymore. That our technology was moving faster than our bodies could adjust. The same thing, only in reverse, would happen should I, or you for that matter, colonize another planet. We cannot live without our marvels of technology. We would want to take it all with us, need living quarters, heat them, and we would need our privacy. And our bodies are used to regular meals, junk food, vitamin supplements and modern healthcare. Simply said, we would never be able to take everything we need with us. We wouldn’t be able to sustain ourselves and survive in such a harsh environment. And guess who can?” Mulder looked at the clock. “Four minutes to go. If I were you, I would leave the launchpad. That is, if you don’t want to be barbecued at takeoff.”

“So, what about you?” Bishop asked. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going nowhere.” He now waved to arms in the air. “I’m staying right here. My mission, the purpose I was put on this Earth to realize, is done. This Earth, with its short remaining lifespan, doesn’t need Eldin Mulder anymore. Three minutes.”

Behind them, the door opened, and Fawcett, De Cremonese, Lindsey, Ignatowski and four armed officers entered the launchpad.

“Ah, more visitors,” Mulder called out as they joined them.

“How’s it going?” De Cremonese asked.

Bishop pointed to the clock.

“We know.” Fawcett held his tablet up with the running clock.

With a loud hiss, tubes extending from the support tower to the rocket released venting gasses.

“There’s still time,” Mulder cried out.

“He’s not going?” Fawcett asked.

“Apparently not. He says