Page 13

She rolled her eyes. “It hadn’t been invented yet. We’re a young species. Remember? Anyway. Eventually, Archimedes had to take a break, so he settled in to take a bath. As he submerged himself, he noticed that the water around him rose.”

“And he realized that the pure gold would be denser than silver and gold, which can be measured by the water,” Rylan said.

“Exactly.” She snapped her fingers and formed them into finger guns. “So, he shouts ‘Eureka! Eureka!’ which is ancient Greek for ‘I have it! I have it!’ And he jumps out of the bath and runs straight for the king to share his discovery, forgetting one crucial detail.”

Rylan leaned in closer. “What was it?”

She smirked. “In his excitement, he forgot to put on clothes before running from his house, through the streets, and finally to the king’s chamber. Moral of the story? If you have a major scientific breakthrough while in the bath, make sure to put on your clothes before announcing it to the world.”

Rylan threw his head back and laughed. “I’ll be sure to remember that.”

Chapter 5

Elena

“Have you heard of Milpas?” Elena asked, pushing her hover chair from her desk over to Rylan’s to peer over his shoulder at the results of the soil samples.

He picked up his head, glancing sidelong at her. “No. Is that an Earth snack?”

As if on cue, her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t had anything to eat or drink in hours. Often, when she found herself wrapped in her work, she would forget little things like eating, sleeping, and using the bathroom.

She giggled. “I think you’re thinking of Milkas.” The last time she’d visited Earth with her sisters, she stocked up on her favorite chocolate. She had brought that and some other Earth snacks with her to the base for some easy fuel while she worked.

She looked around. All the other scientists seemed to be on their lunch break, and she hadn’t even noticed. “But I would be happy to tell you all about it over lunch.”

Apparently, Rylan had the same habit of getting too wrapped up in his work because his stomach audibly grumbled at the mention of food. He flashed her an embarrassed smile. “Lunch sounds great.”

The cafeteria was mostly empty by the time they got there. Elena ordered the granis, a porridge with meat and spices, while Rylan got the plo’meek stew.

“So,” Elena said between mouthfuls of porridge. “Milpas is a farming technique from the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. It’s a form of companion planting, which leads to a higher crop yield without pesticide or fertilizers.”

Rylan set the spoon down and leaned in closer, his gaze fascinated and eager to learn. “How?”

She loved the way he looked at her. The Thryals on Arccoo’s planet seemed to think of her more as a kid who needed babysitting, but he truly listened to her and her ideas. The respect he felt for her was obvious and intoxicating.

“One of the best-known versions of it is the three sisters: maize, beans, and squash. The Mesoamericans would use the corn as a climbing trellis for the beans while said beans would enrich the nitrogen in the soil and stabilize the stalks of corn. Meanwhile, the wide leaves of the squash would keep the soil moist and cool and prevent weeds and predators from killing the corn and beans.”

His eyes lit up at this, and her stomach fluttered when he grinned at her. “So, what you’re saying is that, for us to keep the soil enriched after terraforming, we need to maintain a polyculture farmland rather than a monoculture?”

Elena snapped her fingers, turning them into a finger gun. “Bingo.”

At this, he furrowed his brows. “Bingo?”

“Earth phrase.” She waved a dismissive hand. “It just means that you got it right.”

“Bingo,” he repeated with a smile. “Your language is fascinating.” Out of anyone else, the words might have sounded sarcastic, but she knew he was being sincere.

Her cheeks warmed as she looked away, studying the bits of wheat in her granis. She never quite understood what her sisters meant when they said a sign of having a crush was feeling flustered at the smallest word of affection. Not until she met Rylan.

“Thanks.” She bit her lip. Now was not the time for a crush. She and Rylan had a terraforming project to save and a famine to prevent. “So, what do you think? Should we start looking into plants that can be combined to form symbiotic relationships? That way, we don’t have to keep adding nitrogen to the soil. It will start to naturally enrich itself.”

Her mind raced with ways to combine the properties of Thryal plants and create a more sustainable soil system.

Rylan scratched his cheek, his brows furrowing as he pondered her suggestion. “I think it’s worth looking into. But that assumes the soil itself is capable of sustaining life.” He said the last part sharply. It wasn’t exactly a rebuke, but it carried within it a warning for her to look before she leaped.

She hummed thoughtfully. The granis filled her mouth with a subtle warmth, like eating a jalapeno pepper. It distracted her from the heat in her cheeks. She thought she had the solution, but he made a very good point. “Right. I guess I got ahead of myself a little there.”

“No, no, it’s a great idea.” He flashed her a soft smile. “Even if it’s not the whole solution, I think you found a piece of the puzzle.”