Silverback

Happy Earth Day!

“The Future of Nature” is an Earth Day community writing project for fiction writers to explore the human-nature relationship in a short story or poem. It was organized by

Claudia Befu

and

Julie Gabrielli

, and supported with brilliant advice from scientists

Jonathan Tonkin

and

rebecca hooper

. The story you’re about to read is from this project. You can find all the stories as a special

Top In Fiction

Disruption edition, with thanks to publisher

Erica Drayton

.

I hung in a fetal position, relaxed into the supporting mesh of my pilot harness. The suspension isolated me from vibration with a gentle swaying, so I heard more than felt the thump of each footfall. The recycler tinged my air with volatiles, a blend of new plastics and old perspiration overlying the complex floral and rot scents of the jungle around me. I made a mental note to revisit the recycler's design, but more urgent business had called me out of my underground lab.

My encrypted radio crackled. "Mobile, Ranger Two. Over."

I keyed my mic. "Ranger Two, Mobile Actual. Sitrep? Over."

"Mobile, Ranger Two. Sensor net shows multiple intruders heading into the preserve. We are on their trail. Over."

I'd set aside the preserve for a troop of critically endangered western lowland gorillas. Even if the intruders were not poachers, humans could carry viruses lethal to the isolated primates. One sneeze from an infected visitor could wipe out the whole troop.

"Ranger Two, Mobile. On my way. Keep me posted. Over."

I'd discovered the gorilla troop, well outside the other preserves in the region, while surveying sites for a mass driver within my mining concession. My first view of the troop was overwhelming. The big silverback, the smaller adults, and wonder of wonders, the big-eyed infants and playful juveniles. I lost days (well, not lost, I consider them well-spent) following the troop at a distance until I was sure I had observed and logged all its members. Those recordings are still some of my most prized possessions.

My preceding decade in the region had made my concession a model for ethical development, with my solar monorail, sustainable extraction of forest fiber and chemicals, and zero-footprint mining, all using robot labor. Any risk of this species' extinction on my watch was simply not acceptable.