Singularities

By Edward May

Before she's murdered a young woman swallows her bracelet, knowing it will provide a clue to the identity of her killer.

A military outpost on an alien world becomes enmeshed in a bizarre and terrifying ecosystem.

Two pioneer families escape from a Sioux war party, only to find the horrors have just begun.

When a boy's sense of smell is enhanced subsequent to a head injury, he finds the experience to be both a blessing and a curse.

A young man with a phobia of underpasses finds the cure for his fear is ultimately worse than the disease.

Enter the world of Singularities. A world where conventional wisdom is rendered meaningless, where explanations can only be conjured from a fevered mind full of disturbing images. A world where 'normal' hasn't yet been invented or it's long since extinct. A world where sanity peels away like sunburned skin.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 2, 2005
• ISBN: 9780595810604

Edward May

Ed May is a graduate of the University of Colorado. Currently, he divides his time between teaching and writing. Always interested in the strange and unusual, his stories reflect these aspects of the world around us. He resides in Colorado with his wife and two sons.

Book preview

Seeds 

If you can look into the seeds of time, And say which grain will grow and which will not, Speak then to me.

—Shakespeare

Macbeth

Craig parted the curtains a few inches and peaked out discretely.

I’m telling you Louise, this guy’s up to something funny, he declared with conviction.

His wife blew gently over her morning cup of coffee.

Funny as in ha-ha or funny as in strange? she replied humorlessly.

Craig turned to stare at her.

You know what I mean, he scolded. Every day this guy sneaks…

Oh, come on Craig! He’s not sneaking. If he were sneaking he’d be going down there at two o’clock in the morning.

Nope, that’s where you’re wrong. See, if he goes down there in the dark he needs a flashlight. He starts using a flashlight and he makes himself obvious, that would be the same as wearing a neon sign around his neck saying, ‘Hey everybody, I’m up to something.’ You see what I mean?

Louise rolled her eyes and sipped her coffee. Craig returned to his vigil.

Every day he sneaks down into the canyon with a bucket of some kind and comes back about twenty minutes later. What’s he do down there? That’s what I want to know.

Louise shrugged.

Maybe he’s collecting something, like rocks.

No way. When he goes down you can tell the bucket’s got something in it and when he comes back you can tell it’s empty. I don’t think he’s collecting anything. I think he’s taking something down into the canyon and leaving it there. That’s what I think.

Yeah, like what?

Like body parts, Craig remarked matter-of-factly.

Unfortunately, Louise had just taken a sip of coffee and proceeded to spray it over the front page of the morning paper.

Body parts! she sputtered. You can’t be serious! At worst he’s dumping his trash down in the canyon.

Craig ignored the outburst.

Look, why don’t you just ask him what he’s doing? Louise suggested as she mopped up the mess.

Cause he might lie. I mean, think about it. If he is taking body parts down there is he really going to fess up to it? No, no, I’ve got a plan. The next time he comes out, which should be any minute now, I’m going to follow him and see for myself what he’s doing, Craig assured her.

I think…

Shhhhh! Here he comes, Craig hissed.

He watched as a slight, middle-aged, balding man exited his house and entered the canyon with bucket in hand.

What are you whispering for? He can’t hear us, Louise noted.

Craig ignored the comment and squeezed his considerable bulk out the side door. He waited until his neighbor was out of sight and then followed him down the footpath into the canyon. The opposite side of the canyon luxuriated in cool shadow while the side abutting Craig’s property was already beginning to soak up the heat. Craig shuffled along the path. The weeds, thistles and assorted scrub grew thick and high, obscuring his vision. He rounded a blind corner and found himself face to face with his neighbor. A more disparate pair, both intellectually and physically, one could not imagine.

Hello, the man said cheerily in a squeaky voice. Out for a morning constitutional?

Surprise, embarrassment and ignorance concerning the word ‘constitutional’ combined to render Craig speechless. Anxious to respond, but unsure what to say, he remained dumbstruck while the man bent and poured water out of a bucket around a patch of greenery sporting pretty yellow flowers.

This is certainly the time of day for it, the man assured Craig. Beat the heat and all that.

Yeah…that’s right, that’s just what I was thinking, Craig was quick to agree.

Calvin Pritchard, the man announced, extending his hand.

Craig Winston, Craig said as they shook hands.

Calvin carefully poured out the last of the water.

I think…that is…do you live in the house at the head of this path? Craig asked, feigning ignorance.

Yes, that’s right.

I guess that makes us neighbors.

Yes, I know. I’ve seen you out and about, just haven’t had the chance to come over and introduce myself. I’ve been admiring your landscaping, very nicely done.

Craig smiled.

Yeah…well…that’s my line of work. I run a landscaping outfit.

Maybe you can give me a few tips. The previous owners of my house apparently felt landscaping was a low priority.

They weren’t big on it, that’s for sure. What have you got here? Craig directed his attention to the yellow flowers.

Ranunculus acris, better known as buttercups.

Craig nodded.

If you don’t mind my asking, what’s your line of work?

I’m a paleobotanist, Calvin informed him. Then, before Craig could ask what a paleobotanist was, I specialize in the study of fossil plants.

Hey, are you a professor?

Yes, I teach at the university.

Professor Pritchard, Craig announced merrily. That’s got a ring to it. There’s a word for that. What it’s called when, you know, when words begin with the same…

Alliteration, Calvin finished good-naturedly.

Yeah, that’s it. But if you specialize in fossil plants how come you’re growing buttercups?

Calvin ran the palm of his hand across his forehead then wiped the sweat on his shirt.

Do you mind if we talk about this in the shade? he asked.

Oh, yeah, it is getting a little warm.

The men trudged up the path and settled in a pair of deck chairs in Calvin’s backyard.

The university recently managed to acquire some vegetation from the late Pleistocene Era, Calvin explained. Among this treasure trove was a flower strongly resembling the contemporary ranunculus…uh, buttercup. So, I’m growing my own buttercups in order to compare them with the flower from the Pleistocene.

No kidding? How old is this vegetation?

About fifteen thousand years old.

So you just want to know if the buttercup that existed fifteen thousand years ago is the same kind we’ve got growing today?

There’s a little more to it, Calvin qualified, but essentially that’s correct.

And you can tell from a fossil…

Oh, it’s not a fossil, Calvin corrected.

Craig stared. He searched Calvin’s face for any sign the man might be joking. Craig decided Calvin wasn’t the joking type.

That’s quite a trick, Craig observed sardonically.

Calvin quickly noted Craig’s confusion.

It came from the stomach of a mammoth, Calvin clarified.

That’s still quite a trick. Wouldn’t a mammoth tend to rot after a few hundred years or so? Craig asked flippantly.

Maybe I should give you some background information, Calvin responded in a professorial tone.

Craig groaned inwardly. Anticipating a boring lecture, he immediately regretted the question.

About fifteen thousand years ago the last ice age came to an end. Although it took some time for the ice sheets to recede, the initial cause was anything but gradual. For some reason the temperature in those areas covered by ice sheets increased dramatically. It’s also well known the climate at both poles was not always the same as it is today. At one time forests existed in both the arctic and antarctic regions. Some enlightened individuals began wondering why a relatively warm area would suddenly turn frigid and an area covered by ice sheets should just as suddenly begin to warm. Theories emerged. Some believed the ice sheets became so thick at one end of the earth the weight of the ice forced the entire outer layer of the earth’s crust to move. Others theorized a comet or an asteroid hit the earth and changed its axial alignment. Either theory will account for a cold region suddenly thawing and a warm region suddenly icing up.

I just remembered an appointment… Craig muttered.

Calvin either didn’t hear the comment or chose to ignore it.

Intense volcanic activity and earthquakes were also associated with the change in climate. During this upheaval tens of thousands of animals died and were immediately buried by floods and mud-slides and then frozen when the warm zones were abruptly shifted to the arctic regions. Because this cataclysm happened so quickly we’ve been able to recover undigested food from the stomachs of mammoths.

Including buttercups, Craig concluded.

Right.

All that’s really interesting but like I said I’ve got an appointment…

Let me show you something, Calvin whispered conspiratorially as he grabbed Craig’s arm. It’ll only take a minute.

Craig allowed himself to be led into Calvin’s house.

Can you keep a secret? Calvin asked.

Uh…yeah, sure. I mean, as well as the next guy, I guess.

Calvin pointed out a potted plant in the corner of the room. About four feet tall, the plant was unusually thick-stemmed and possessed a number of tendrils as well. A dozen or so seed pods depended from various branches. Colored a drab green, with no flowers, it was unremarkable in appearance. Although unimpressed, Craig could see his neighbor was quite proud of the plant.

Nice plant, Craig managed to say.

It was grown from a seed I found inside a mammoth’s stomach, Calvin said breathlessly.

You got that out of a dinosaur’s gut?

No, it came from a mammoth. A mammoth is not a dinosaur, Calvin corrected.

Craig ignored him.

You’re kidding? You can do that?

Oh yes, it was very well preserved. But that’s not the most amazing thing about this plant. Calvin paused for effect. The worldwide cataclysm that killed off tens of thousands of mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses and saber-toothed tigers and ground sloths and cave bears, that same cataclysm apparently caused the extinction of this plant as well. This plant is the only one of its kind living in the world today. Aside from me, you’re the only person to see something that hasn’t existed for fifteen thousand years.

Craig whistled.

Say, that is something special, he said with all sincerity.

Well, I’ll let you go now, I know you have an appointment, but I suppose we’ll be seeing each other regularly.

Right. It was nice meeting you, Professor, Craig replied heartily as he slapped his host on the back, nearly knocking him over.

Oh, please, call me Calvin.

Sure thing, Calvin. See you around.

Craig left, walked across the yard and entered his own kitchen to find Louise at the table reading the paper.

Well? she asked.

Well what? he replied innocently.

So what was in the bucket?

I can’t stand here talking with you all day. I’ve got work to do.

Finishing the landscaping for a new golf course kept Craig busy for a solid week from dawn until dusk. He didn’t see his neighbor again until the following Friday. After completing the golf course job Craig returned home early in the afternoon. As he nosed his car into the driveway he was surprised to see Professor Pritchard waiting on his doorstep. Calvin, obviously in a dither about something, hurried over to the car and met Craig as he opened the door.

Hey, Calvin, what’s going on. You look worried.

I need your help, Calvin pleaded in a sorrowful tone. You remember the plant I showed you? The one I’ve got growing in my house?

You mean the one you pulled out of a dinosaur’s gut?

Calvin winced at Craig’s misuse of the word ‘dinosaur’ but chose to overlook the error.

Yes, yes, that’s the one. Shortly after you saw it I noticed it was beginning to wilt so I decided to put it out on the back porch. Apparently it doesn’t like artificial light because it started growing again when I put it in the sunlight. Anyway, the following day I was having my morning coffee when I accidentally spilled a full cup on the plant.

Killed it, huh? That’s tough, but listen maybe you can get some more seeds from…

No, that’s not the problem. After the hot coffee splashed on the plant every one of its pods opened up and released their contents. The breeze caught hold of the seeds and sent them floating down the canyon.

The hell you say, was the only comment Craig was able to muster, apparently unable to grasp the enormity of the problem.

Don’t you understand? There were dozens of seeds. They take root easily and they grow quickly with very little water. The effect on the native ecosystem could be catastrophic. I’m honor bound to try and track them down and eradicate them. I can’t do this alone, I’ll need your help.

I’ll do what I can, but why didn’t you come to me sooner? You said it happened a week ago.

I decided to wait until the seeds germinated. Fortunately it rained last week. We’ll find it’s much easier to spot the plant sprouting out of the ground than to try and find the seed itself.

Yeah, I see what you mean, Craig nodded in agreement. All right, here’s what we’ll do. I’ll have a work crew here in no time and…

No! No! No! Calvin interrupted, panic-stricken. This must be kept quiet. I’ve been grossly irresponsible. I’ve allowed what amounts to a foreign, and possibly hostile, flora into the native ecosystem. If word of this gets out not only would I lose my position at the university and find my reputation in tatters I could very well face criminal charges.

Craig nodded in understanding.

We’d better get to it, he suggested. Be nice if we could narrow down the search area somehow. There’s a lot of land out there.

That’s what I’ve been working on the past few days. I obtained a detailed weather report, including wind speed and direction, and fed the information into a computer model. I didn’t have any data for the seeds so I used the properties of dandelion seeds as an approximation. My calculations show they were scattered in a band about thirty feet wide and not less than a ninety-seven feet from my house while not more than two hundred and thirty-four feet from my house.

Craig stared.

Yeah, I’d say that narrows it down some, he said in admiration, awed by the little man’s resourcefulness.

There’s one or two things I should mention before we get started. These plants, as I found out the hard way, have a unique defense mechanism. It doesn’t help the individual plant survive it’s more of a group survival technique. If they sense any threat to their well being they immediately release their seeds.

What exactly do they consider a threat to their well being, Craig asked suspiciously.

Excess heat, such as hot coffee or fire. Herbicides would surely be considered a threat. Any type of disturbance of the soil it’s rooted in. Of course any damage to the portion of the plant above ground. Therefore, I’ve constructed one hundred nets made out of fine nylon mesh. As we find a plant we’ll place the net over the plant and then secure the net around the stalk just above ground level. The net will prevent any seed distribution while we dig out the entire root system. Then we can dig a pit, fill it with herbicide, and bury the plants.

You get the nets and I’ll get a couple of shovels, Craig urged. "We’ve still got about