“You’re right. There isn’t anything we can do for those we have lost. As team lead, you’re faced with deciding the best path forward for all of us.”

The words echoed in Sophie’s ears. She was well aware of her responsibilities, but hearing them from someone other than Emanuel caught her slightly by surprise. “What would you have me do?”

“That’s up to you, Sophie. You and only you can make that decision, but just remember, your mental health will affect your decisions, which in turn affect all of us.”

Sophie crouched down next to the pool again, peering deep into the clear water. For the first time she caught a glimpse of the bottom of the pond. Even with the state-of-the-art recycling system, they were slowly using up the last known freshwater source.

Fear overwhelmed her, and reality finally set in. Holly was right—as a leader she was going to have to make decisions that affected everyone on her team. And given the dwindling water, she was going to have to make one in the near future. The Biosphere wasn’t going to protect them forever.

“There’s something I need to do, Holly. Can we continue this later?”

The petite woman sighed but managed a smile. “Sure,” she replied. “Just remember what I said.”

“That’s just it, Holly. You’ve helped me realize what I need to do.” Sophie approached the door to leave but hesitated, catching a glimpse of sadness on Holly’s face. “It’s going to be okay,” Sophie said, embracing Holly before making her way to the command center.

“You must go—”

Sophie paused the video and then replayed it, studying Dr. Hoffman’s lips before the image faded and crackled away.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Winston, but with recent events I did not have time to discuss this with you earlier,” Alexia said.

Sophie ignored her. “So you think he meant either we must go to Secundo Casu or we must go on with the Biosphere mission?”

“Precisely. I ran the possibilities after uploading Dr. Hoffman’s personality profile, and these two are the most logical responses.”

Sophie sucked in a deep breath and exhaled. She turned to face the others in the control room. Overton, Bouma, and Emanuel stared back at her, waiting for her to lead.

“You guys are a lot of help,” she said, managing a smile.

“She’s the computer,” Bouma said. “If she can’t figure it out, how could we?”

“Artificial Intelligence,” Alexia corrected.

“Yeah, whatever. Either way, does it really matter what this Dr. Hoffman meant?” Bouma asked.

Overton stood and stretched his legs. “It matters now more than ever. He knew more about these Organics than anyone. If he told us to go somewhere or do something, we’d be fools not to listen.” He turned to Sophie, narrowed his eyebrows, and looked her directly in the eye. “So what the hell is Secundo Casu?”