The Greenhouse

By MS Cooper

The Greenhouse is a snapshot of what can and will happen in the very near future, if not put in check. Because of what has been done in the past, and what is happening now, the earths future along with all mankind is at risk. It is story of four people who find out a terrible truth that is killing so many unnecessarily. It is their struggle with their own feelings about themselves and each other and a fight to stop a mad man before he inadvertently destroys all life on earth. It involves people caring about each other, and fighting to save millions of lives. It is also about greed and how some people are so blinded by their greed, they cannot see or want to believe what is happening right before their eyes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514486917

MS Cooper

Writing fiction to entertain while keeping a touch of truth and reality is her goal. She believes that people need a few moments of escape from the stresses and daily grind of their lives. Physical activity is important but exercising the brain along with escaping to another world where they have nothing invested in the outcome is also important. They can go along for the ride and unknowingly learn tidbits of factual information which adds to a conversation and surprises even themselves. It also makes life more interesting and intriguing. Being an avid reader all her life, her writing gives a view of the world from a different perspective which can be carried over to their own lives if and when necessary. Having a Degree in the Technical field and English Literature plus living 73 years gives her the background tools to write fiction filled not only with the past but also the present and with a glimpse towards the future.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

I T IS THE year 2050; and for the last two hundred years, man has systematically been killing all human life, plant life, and wildlife on earth. Meanwhile, the ozone layer has been deteriorating exponentially and is now putting the environment on a collision course with the destruction of the planet itself.

It all started with the industrial revolutions and gases emitted from the burning of fossil fuels and the industries built upon them. Then there’s the greed of the oil industries, along with a fossil fuel–addicted, fast-food-producing, throwaway society and the many environmental problems created by random and extreme deforestation all over the world. Add the bioengineered plants and animals, the destruction of the bees, and the poisoning of the oceans—and we are left with whole species of plants and most animal and marine wildlife that are or soon will be extinct. This never-ending change is creating tremendous breaks in the food chain and make starvation a real danger faced by all remaining living things on earth.

But there is an even greater danger from the consequences of our past actions, which have now caught up with us. The ozone layer has become so thin and has so many holes that there is barely anything left to protect the surface of the earth from the deadly UV rays of the sun, and this is causing a constant change in the earth’s surface and atmosphere at speeds never before seen. Further, it has placed a domino effect of such dangerous consequences on earth, forcing man to find ways of adapting to a hostile climate of unfiltered UV rays, extreme temperatures, an increasing number and high magnitude of earthquakes, stronger and more damaging storms as well as all kinds of weather patterns in all parts of the world, including melting ice caps, rising seas, and increasing droughts, fires, and floods.

Frantic attempts at restoring the ozone layer and a feeble semblance of regenerating a food chain are failing.

The threat that earth has become or soon will become uninhabitable is very real and is already happening in several locations around the globe. During the day, people are clustered in pockets of cities encased in UV reflective domes and an artificially produced atmosphere, daring to leave the domes only at night. To be caught outside in the sunlight, for even just minutes, means certain and painful death.

Because of the widespread ignorance of the general populace, a process of educating societies on human-caused climate change was put in place, and environmental laws were also put in place with punishment for those who put personal wealth and power over the well-being of the planet and all life inhabiting it. The punishment must be harsh for anyone or any company that breaks the laws or even tries to bend them.

However, it may be a little too late as the ozone layer now has so many holes and has become so thin that there is barely anything left to protect the earth’s surface from the deadly UV rays of the sun and the havoc this creates.

While we search for the secret of extended space travel to other planets that could sustain life as we know it, time is rapidly running out. Our only hope left is that climate scientists can somehow repair the ozone layer and restore earth to the life-sustaining planet it once was before all life is extinguished.

The situation has become so severe that world leaders have put wars and petty grievances aside and gathered teams from each country to combat the onslaught of these horrific disasters. The United States has two men, Bill Limstrom (head of the Global Environmental Restoration [GER] Agency) and Marc Stanton (head of the US Human Health and Safety Organization, which includes the powerful Environmental Military Force [EMF]), working with other world leaders to put in place these laws, guidelines, and punishments for any and all who do not adhere to these strict laws.

Each man has several teams of climate engineers with a full staff. Bill Limstrom and his team search for ways to reverse most of the damage and restore the ozone layer to a healthy state, safe for all life forms. Marc Stanton and his team are in charge of keeping the people of the United States safe from both human and environmental harm while the processes for restoring the ozone layer are taking place.

Using the powerful EMF, which supersedes any and all local law enforcement in each government complex and in all cities still habitable in the United States, Stanton has full authority over all laws and their enforcement from each state. It is his job to keep people from turning on one another in panicked terror over their own helplessness and to ensure all a safe and cloistered environment.

These two teams have surrounded themselves with the best minds in the fields of climate engineering and global climate governance in conjunction with other world leaders and renowned scholars from around the world. Both men have had their word become law and their power almost limitless while working directly under the president of the United States and the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and their respective governments. One of the strictest laws prohibits anyone from being outside during the daylight hours, with the exception of the EMPs, certain climate engineers, and scholars and their aides, plus some medical personnel and government officials who have all been assigned ultraviolet reflector (UVR) suits.

The first men and women who started the process of bringing about positive climate change did so by creating and enforcing laws and regulations that put their lives and families in danger. Undeterred, they stopped the use of all fossil fuels, all fossil fuel–based technologies, and all infrastructures built upon fossil fuel–based technologies. They also established laws and regulations that started repairing the ozone layer, stopping ocean acidification, halting uncontrolled deforestation, and ending the overwhelming polluting of deep water beds and Mother Earth herself.

These brave individuals were attacked physically, with their findings and warnings discredited. Some were ridiculed into retirement while others lost their lives. Many persevered, and through their sacrifices, they have made it possible to someday have a safer world of thriving and healthier societies on a planet balanced in nature—if we don’t run out of time.

If things continue as they are, the cutoff date for reversing the damage will be missed; and earth will, in our grandchildren’s lifetime, become another dried-up rock hurling through space. With each passing day it becomes more of a very real possibility.

The laws that were created stated that all fossil fuel technologies were to be replaced with sea-, solar-, nuclear-, and wind energy–based technologies to name a few. They also stopped the reckless practice of random deforestation and set up a cycle where each tree cut had to have two planted to replace it. They also established building and infrastructure cycles with land clearing and land limits that allowed for growth to take place as habitats for wildlife were reestablished before the cycle could start again. These laws also required the manufacturing of only recyclable goods, thereby eliminating the vast amounts of waste products that were filling our oceans and seas and damaging the environment through dumping, burning, and burying of noxious wastes. Everything manufactured is being used over and over in different forms, with harsh punishment for anyone worldwide breaking or even bending the laws.

Finally, they brought a stigma on men and women who placed a higher value on personal wealth and power above global restoration and human growth in terms of cultural, intellectual, and social well-being. These unscrupulous men and women would and still will do anything to achieve their self-serving goals, including destroying the planet. It is these men and women who must be held accountable for the damage they have done, the damage they are still doing, and, unless stopped, the damage they will continue to do until there is nothing left.

There is one big caveat. Bill Limstrom does not believe the planet will or can die. He has his own plans for the future, and he is willing to do anything necessary to achieve his goals.

ONE

ROUTINE DISPOSAL

I N JUST A few decades, the earth’s surface had curled up; the sun was killing the planet unimpeded. Extreme weather had contributed to most of the earth’s surface becoming a wasteland. There was little or no vegetation or animal life left except under the slowly deteriorating solar domes of government complexes and disintegrating cities.

From the back of an ambulance parked several feet out into the wilderness among scattered and twisted trees and dried-up bushes and seen only by the waning moonlight casting long wavy shadows across a small knoll, the sounds of doors opening and heavy breathing interrupted the serenity of a quiet dawn. As two men each grabbed the ends of what appeared to be some sort of large sack, they pulled it out of the ambulance. With great effort on the part of the smaller man, they lumbered over the top of the knoll and out onto a walkway.

Looking around, the first man, dressed in what appeared to be black coveralls and cushioned shoe booties, loudly whispered, OK, the street is empty, and there are no cameras. This looks like a good spot, and he should be pretty easy to see. Let’s dump him here.

The second man, dressed the same, struggled to hold his end of the bag off the ground and heaved a sigh. OK by me. My back is killing me. He dropped his end of the bundle, and the body of a man rolled out onto the sidewalk facedown. Walking around to the side of the body, the larger man kicked the body into the gutter, causing it to swing its left arm and leg up on the edge of the sidewalk and land face up.

It is a man who was perhaps in his late thirties or early forties. In the glow of a nearby streetlight, they could see his face, so distorted by swelling and blisters that it was hard to tell his age or what he really looked like. His open eyes staring straight up at the stars were starting to disappear into the swelling of his flesh, giving his face a gruesome yet almost-comical look. Looking over the position of the body, the large man grimaced.

That sure is a hell of a way to die. Remind me not to cross them, he muttered to nobody in particular. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a partially filled bottle of vodka, wiped it off on his arm, and tossed it onto the ground next to the body. Suddenly, he gave a low growl and said through clenched teeth, What the hell, Carl? He still has his badge on. We were told to make it hard for them to ID him. Get rid of it.

What do you suggest I do with it, Kevin? the smaller man asked as he reached down and pulled a small white plastic badge with a large red bar code across the front of it from the dead man’s belt, then held it up. I don’t want it on me.

Toss it over there across the street! Bury it! I don’t care what the hell you do with it. Just get rid of it.

As Kevin gathered the bundle they used to carry the body in and started back across the knoll, he called out to Carl, still looking at the badge, I told you to get rid of it. Let’s get out of here. It’ll be daylight soon.

Carl looked up at him, started to say something, tossed the badge onto a narrow walkway across the street from the body, then ran to catch up with his partner.

Several hours later, with the sun nearly straight overhead, a bright blue and yellow ambulance with Sun Patrol in large black letters on a banner on the side pulled silently up to the curb. A man emerged wearing a yellow UVR (ultraviolet reflector) suit, which included a full head visor to keep all UV rays from hitting his skin, damaging his corneas, or causing melanoma of the eyeball or cataract or blindness. The man ran over to the body, then slowly shook his head and walked back to the van, saying to his partner, I can’t imagine drinking too much and trying to walk home even at night. Everyone should work with us for a few days. Then they wouldn’t even think of going outside day or night without a UVR suit. Where the hell were his friends? Have you called it in?

Yeah, someone should be here shortly. How many does this make this month? the other man asked without really expecting an answer. They became hardened to the image of bodies burned and swollen beyond recognition from the ultraviolet rays of the sun.

Within ten minutes, a small black car silently pulled up and parked behind the ambulance. Marc Stanton slowly stepped out of the car and, hesitating for only a second, walked over to the scene. It was grotesque. The body lay half on the sidewalk and half in the gutter. It was a man, possibly in his early thirties; but with his swollen face so distorted by all the blisters, it was hard to tell.

Marc closed his eyes and slowly turned away. Even with the swelling and blisters, Marc thought he recognized him. Damn it, he muttered to himself, Jeff was a good man. He didn’t deserve to die like this. Anger welled up in him, but he knew he had to keep his feelings hidden. Everyone accepted the fate of this poor bastard as being his own fault. He was caught outside after the sun was up and suffered the consequences. Only Marc knew better.

His thoughts went back to his meeting two nights ago with Bill Limstrom, which took place in Limstrom’s apartment in the more exclusive section of the city.

Marc, the president himself told me that our project would continue to be funded until we came up with a way to repair the ozone layer. Limstrom had laughed as he poured himself another drink of twenty-year-old Scotch. You? he asked as he held up his glass and the Scotch bottle.

No thanks, Marc answered as a look of disgust crossed his face.

We both know that could take years, Limstrom explained as he walked across the room. He was a small man, meticulous in his dress, with a preference for the finer things in life. He sat in a large overstuffed leather chair, then continued talking.

There is more money in this than you can imagine, just for the taking. And don’t forget, Marc, we are telling the president and the world what they can and can’t do. Think about it: what we say goes. Do you realize what we can do with that kind of power?

Staring at Limstrom, Marc asked, Are you out of your mind? What about all those people dying? Why are all those people dying?

Look, Marc, Limstrom said with forced patience, how do they know the environment will kill unless people die? We don’t want anyone walking outside during the day to check things out. As long as bodies are still found, people stay inside. It’s as simple as that.

Hearing a car door slam shut, Marc looked up as two men emerged from a van that had pulled up and parked behind Marc’s black car. They, also fully suited in UVR suits, got out and walked over to the body. While one had a camera attached to his visor and spoke into a microphone, the other one walked around the area, looking on the ground and out toward the building across the street. He stopped and, using narrow clamps, picked up the badge, held it up to show his partner, then put it into a small plastic bag and shoved it into one of the pockets of his jacket. Walking up to the body, he stopped again and picked up the vodka bottle; and again bringing notice to his partner, he put it into a second plastic bag. They spent another fifteen to twenty minutes going over the ground and collecting anything they deemed unusual, then told the ambulance driver the body was all his and drove off.

Two hours later, Marc Stanton—one of the country’s most respected climatologists and the head of the US Human Health and Safety Organization and the Environmental Military Force (EMF) who works alongside Bill Limstrom, the head of the Global Environmental Restoration (GER) Agency—stepped out of a dark blue US government limo that had just pulled into the morgue garage. He walked with an air of authority, and his expression was one of resigned impatience. As he walked up to the elevator and pushed a button, his thoughts went back to earlier that morning when Bill Limstrom had called him. He sounded upset and irritated.

Marc, I just found out there is a body that was found early this morning not far from my house, and I want to know if it was someone from the party last night. Would you go and identify it, if you can? See if you can stop any inquiries before they start. Know what I mean? Call me as soon as you find out. I appreciate it.

Hearing the elevator door open, he looked up and saw Tony Blackwell, the medical examiner, a tall thin man of about fifty, slightly stooped with a face that was heavy with lines and lack of sleep. Stepping up to meet him, Marc extended his hand.

Hi, Tony, you got another one this morning. Any idea who it is?

Shaking Marc’s hand, Tony said to him, Hi, Marc, looks like it’s going to be a busy day. Yeah, another one was found outside today. Poor bastard. They found a bottle of vodka lying next to him. Come on back. I’ll show him to you. Have to warn you, though—it’s not pretty.

None of them are, Marc replied dryly. The doors opened, and they walked to the morgue in silence.

Finally, Tony, who was lost in thought, said offhandedly, He must be someone special to have you come all the way down here to personally ID the body.

Marc didn’t answer.

Their footsteps echoed in the long hall leading to the autopsy room. They entered a small windowless room with a single overhead light that cast shadows around the room. There was a steel table in the center of the room with the outline of a covered body lying on top of it. Off to the side was a steel cart to take the body to the morgue once Tony finished his autopsy.

Tony slowly pulled the sheet covering the body down to past its chest, and Marc stepped up to get a better look; he was taken aback by what he saw. The swelling had completely closed over the eyes, and the blisters had started oozing. Most of the skin that had been fully exposed was swollen, pink, and in some places actually black, looking like charred meat that had split open and oozed fluids. Meanwhile, other exposed patches were solid red, making the man completely unrecognizable. It was hard for Marc to look at him again. He closed his eyes and slowly turned away.

Nodding toward the vodka bottle lying in a plastic bag in a bin next to the table, Tony declared, It looks like he got drunk and passed out.

Glancing down at the body, Marc replied thoughtfully, Yeah, that’s what it looks like. Then looking up at Tony, he asked, When will you know how long he’s been dead and what caused it if other than the obvious?

We’re still working on the two we found last Tuesday, so it’ll be a while before we can confirm it was just due to UV rays, and we can only guess at how long he’s been dead. We did run a blood alcohol/drug test on him. I have it over here. Tony walked to a desk in the corner, shuffled some papers, picked one, then turned to face Marc. From the looks of him, I’d say he was out there almost all day. But this is a strange one, Marc. It doesn’t make sense.

What’s so strange, Tony? Alcohol and drugs are the biggest killers we have because they cause people to get careless about being out past sunup.

No, Marc, it isn’t that. First, this man was found around noon. To be as badly burned as he is, he would have had to be out there for most of the day. Next, he doesn’t have any alcohol in his blood. And third, he has no ID, no badge, no wallet—nothing. They did find an ID badge, although it wasn’t with the body, but across the street from where they found him. It is a high official’s badge, which should make it easier to trace. And if it turns out to be his, that would make two high officials from the GER Agency in as many weeks who has died from overexposure to the sun. Doesn’t look too good, and the agency is going to look for something or someone beside the sun to blame it on. Tony handed the badge to Marc and stood quiet for several seconds. Then he said, Remember two weeks ago when we found Sam Durney? We thought it was overexposure to the sun. He looked almost as bad as this guy, but the fact is he died of an MI brought on by heat exhaustion, which is very plausible. But the strange part was he died sometime during the night. Now from what I understand, he was seen at Bill Limstrom’s house earlier in the evening, alive and healthy as far as anyone knows. As far as I can find out, he left sometime around 8:00 p.m.

Putting his hands on his hips, he looked up at Marc straight on and asked, Now maybe you can tell me how you can have heat stroke on a cool night so severe it brings on a heart attack and at the same time suffer some third-degree skin damage from UV rays yet have the time of death to be somewhere between 11:30 p.m. and around 4:00 a.m. That is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen some weird shit, believe me. I’ve checked and rechecked my data. It’s all accurate yet impossible.

Tony sighed, saying, Anyway, you can see this is a high-level ID badge from the GER Agency. And if it is his, then he must be a bigwig that is going to draw a lot of attention—sort of like you being the one to come all the way down here to ID the body.

Letting Tony’s last remark go past him, Marc glanced down at the badge. Instantly, he recognized the badge code and knew he was right when he first saw him. His name was Jeff Kyle, who also worked directly under Bill Limstrom. He was head of software maintenance of all government complexes in the state, and he was a complete health nut who wouldn’t touch alcohol. Marc had seen him last night at the dinner party given by Bill Limstrom. He told Marc he was leaving the party early because he wanted to meet with his department head about some irregularities in the data they came across while troubleshooting a data storage unit.

Marc knew everyone would accept this man’s death as being caused by his own stupidity. He got drunk and was outside after the sun came up and suffered the consequences. It happened all the time. Only Marc knew better; he knew the man, and this was no accident or stupid act. He turned and asked Tony, Did you talk to Limstrom this morning about this?

"No, you’re the only person besides the ambulance crew and environmental police who even know he’s dead. We can’t say anything until we notify the next of kin, and we can’t do that until we know who he is. The