Chapter Fourteen – Resonating

Chapter Fourteen – Resonating

“Enclosed vertical farming will be the only way to farm soon. Not only are land 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.

Vertical farms allow full control of the enclosed environment to be achieved, ensuring optimal growth potential, and protecting the profits of the company who operates the farm.”

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

***

I snuck up to the side of the garden pillar 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 plants were wiggling around, and I heard metallic crashing as a trolly rattled across the grated floor, the tools on it clattering about.

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

In this area? This tower, and the one currently to your right.

I glanced 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 didn’t exactly go all-out with security here,” I muttered.

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.

“Yeah, fair enough,” I muttered.

I glanced 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.

New Purchase: Class I Resonator Mark I-D X2
Points Reduced to… 1,414

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 placed 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 weren’t exactly subtle. There was a pile of safety glass next to a broken window. I shifted closer, placed 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 place 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 glanced over in the direction Gomorrah had gone in, and couldn’t help but notice the thick plumes of black smoke rising into the sky. I switched to the channel we still had open. “Hey Gom, you okay?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” she said with a pleased sort of purr that I decided not to question.

“Right, okay, just don’t burn the whole place down.”

“Noted.”

Shaking my head, I moved back to the first tower I’d 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 wasn’t 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 didn’t 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 they’d run out.

But then they might hide.

So, a bit of both?

“Myalis, I’m going to need a lot more of those resonators. I need a bigger model. More range. And… do we have nanites that can eat plant-matter without spreading too far? I don’t want to destroy all the towers here.”

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

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 plants within.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

The aliens hadn’t smashed in a window on this one. It looked like they’d slipped in through the front door. There were scratch marks on the edge of the door, cutting into the thick rubber seals and the glass front. I pulled the door open, then let it shut behind me.

The carbon dioxide levels in this room are bordering on lethal.

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