"Daniel? I brought you cookies."
Dan heard his door open and PPMC's whirling hands but didn't take his eyes off the multiple blue windows that floated before him and above his computer. He flipped back and forth between his story and the geologic time scale.
"You working on your story?" PPMC asked.
"Oh. Sorry, PPMC." Dan finally looked at her. "Yes, I am."
She moved Junior Bucket to his dresser, set the cookie pan beside it, and gestured at his computer. "May I?"
"Be my guest." Dan turned the keyboard, and the screens flipped with it. He picked up a cookie and nervously chewed it while PPMC reviewed his work.
She chuckled. "Dan, I'm just gonna be honest—you do not know how to write an intimate scene."
He blushed. "Sorry. I don't read a lot of Romance."
PPMC returned his computer. "You also don't have the experience."
He blushed harder.
"It's okay." PPMC patted his back. "You will one day." She next gestured at the PPMC Gauntlet on his forearm. "May I see the gauntlet?"
Dan removed it and handed it to her. "PPMC?" he said while she studied it. "I'm sorry I was such a jerk earlier."
"Huh?" PPMC rotated her hands.
"It's just"—Dan rubbed his eye—"ever since Mom died, I've been obsessed with geologic time. Anyway, I'm sorry."
"Aw, don't worry about it." PPMC lifted her wrist. "Your dad and Chenoa warned me." She paused for a minute, seemingly lost in thought, and added, "Dan... about what you said in the wormhole about your mom...?"
"I was scared; I don't know what came over me," he quickly answered.
PPMC sighed. "I know there's something you're not telling me. Ben said you were the last person with your mom."
Dan seized up. "Goodnight, PPMC. I'm going to bed." He shut off his computer and pulled his pillows down. "Mirovia Ocean tomorrow, remember? That's more important. Just make sure the gauntlet's okay. That's all I'm asking."
"Please don't change the subject on me." Dan heard PPMC's frustration. "I'm just trying to help."
"Goodnight, PPMC." He put his covers over his head and pretended to fall asleep. Dan waited until PPMC left to uncover himself. His fist shook, and a tear ran down his cheek. "I'm sorry, Mom."
***
Dan's impatience caught up with him during the middle of the night. He had to see the Mirovia Ocean! He had to see the stromatolites. PPMC told him to stay put for the night, but she seemed to forget Dan was Daniel Matton.
He climbed out of bed and snuck to his closet, pulling out the sunsuit and helmet. Dan changed and carefully slipped the helmet on. He started to reach for the gauntlet but stopped. There was no doubt PPMC would try to call him once she noticed he was gone, and Dan didn't want her to distract him from his research. Therefore, he let the gauntlet be and grabbed his hoverscooter. She was AI-powered, so he was confident she could find the ocean.
He thought about the mysterious force that saved him earlier during the trip to PPMC's cockpit. Dan still didn't know how that was possible. Then again, his mom said she would be with him during Precambrian Time. Ghosts weren't real, though... right? Whatever the case, he couldn't dwell on the strange phenomenon.
Dan found the cockpit and searched for the button that opened PPMC's hatch, but there were too many to choose from.
Hoverscooter 23 turned on and slid out from his armpit.
"Hoverscooter 23?" Dan inquired. It was unusual for her to turn on automatically. Was she trying to help him?
23 searched the cockpit. Her nose pulled a latch on the ceiling, and PPMC's hatch opened.
"Huh," Dan said, impressed. "Maybe I underestimated you, 23. Thank you." He didn't even think about a latch.
23 floated to him, and he hopped on.
"If you're smart enough to open the hatch, then maybe you can find the ocean, too." Dan steered her to it, and they popped back out to Rodinia. "Whoa," was Dan's comment.
The full moon, closer to Earth during the Precambrian Time, shimmered like a giant lamp in the young atmosphere. Its rays lit Rodinia's rocks, creating a path toward the west. Hoverscooter 23 turned that way.
"It's over there?" Dan questioned. It would make sense because PPMC flew over Mirovia on their way in.
Hoverscooter 23 glided steadily under the moon, allowing Dan to admire his surroundings. Even though it was just rocks and towers (he hoped to find an ancient canyon), they still pulled him under their spell. However, he also felt like something followed him. What, though? There was no land life—only ocean.
It probably wasn't the best distraction, but Dan's mind traveled to his mother's death again. Why did the world punish him for trying to save her? He was twelve years old, scared, and wanted his mom. When the doctors found her, they said they didn't understand because she was on the road to recovery.
Dan couldn't tell Ben. He didn't want to go to jail. He was trying to save her, for Pete's Sake! But the guilt had haunted him for the past five years. He hated G.M. medical technology now. Why didn't anyone let him know his mom was recovering?
Hoverscooter 23 jiggled under his feet and brought Dan back to the present (or past?).
"What is it, 23?" And then Dan saw it—the Mirovia Ocean! 23 had succeeded!
Mirovia was a shallow ocean but still remarkable, especially with the moon. Volcanic islands dotted it, but there was also something dark further out. It was a cluster of rocks that overtook the shallow waters.
"Stromatolites!" Hoverscooter 23 jumped with Dan's yell. "Those are stromatolites, 23! We found them!" To heck with his past! The very first lifeforms on Earth were right there—cyanobacteria! Oh, man, now that was what he was talking about! Stromatolites, the Mirovia Ocean... stromatolites! Dan could finally do some fundamental geologic research with actual past specimens! Boy, he could hardly contain his excitement!
He pointed at the ancient rocks and ordered, "Over there, Hoverscooter 23!"
She nodded and soared over the shallow waters of Mirovia.
Dan didn't expect to find anything else in it but kept an eye out, just in case. The moon guided him like he was the alpha of a pack.
Just before he reached the stromatolites, he did see something in the water that didn't resemble another Precambrian rock. "Hold on, Hoverscooter 23!"
She screeched to a halt.
Dan squinted, and his jaw dropped. "No... way!" At once, he unstrapped himself and leaped into the ocean.
The water was waist-deep. Dan inhaled, even though he wore a helmet, and ducked under. He searched Mirovia for what he saw. Eventually, he found it, and a grin stretched across his face. "I knew it!"
He picked up a gray, sponge-like creature. It sported osculum holes and looked like a cross between a rock and an animal. "Otavia Antiqua! I found Otavia Antiqua!" So, it was confirmed they lived 760 million years ago! One of the very first multi-celled organisms—Dan held it in his hand.
He wanted to cry, show 23, and take Otavia home, but he couldn't. Regardless, he did hold onto her while he swam for the stromatolites, feeling like a deep-sea diver in the Precambrian sea (so cool!). If only there were more to see than rocks. He wondered why the space center didn't program PPMC to travel to the Cambrian Explosion. Whatever, it wasn't important. What was important was that Dan had made it to the stromatolites!
They lined the sea like different-sized bowling pins, some in straight lines, others scattered about. Dan couldn't stand there, so he kicked his feet and circled a few of his discoveries. He knocked on the side of one—it felt like a rock—and examined its mat-like surface. Bubbles escaped it, and Dan yelped. Watching stromatolites work their magic was all he needed in the Precambrian Time, but the Otavia discovery was neat, too.
Dan held the sponge close and looked for a rock at the surface to rest on. All the swimming strained his sore chest. He knew he was sick but didn't want PPMC to take him home. Dan was not ready for another Hell trip through the wormhole. He'd rather travel to the freaking K-T Mass Extinction than experience that again. And as long as his mother was with him—prehistoric life was more important.
He poked his head out of the ocean and saw Hoverscooter 23 flying toward him. Her headlights flashed in his face. She guided him to a small, rocky island, and Dan lugged himself out of Mirovia. He set Otavia in the water. The last thing he wanted was to kill someone else he loved.
Dan sat on the island and waited for the Sun to rise, but within an hour, he yawned and fell asleep under the Precambrian sky. He rested on his front, using his hands as a pillow, and dreamed about his mother.
Hoverscooter 23 set herself down beside him. She snuggled close and shut off.
Coughing, Dan grasped her and hugged her like a stuffed animal. "I miss you, Mom," he sleepily mumbled.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
