The Back of the Turtle

Dorian finally reveals what Gabriel wrote on the door of his rented house: “Kali Creek,” in reference to a disaster that occurred several years earlier while Domidion was building a pipeline through British Columbia. They encountered resistance from environmental groups, First Nations communities, and the thick flora in their way. Hoping to expedite the removal of the underbrush, someone at Domidion okayed the use of GreenSweep. Though the bacterium was designed to be diluted at a 1000:1 ratio, the GreenSweep used for the pipeline, never meant to leave Domidion’s laboratories, was only diluted at a 10:1 ratio.

The highly concentrated GreenSweep was dumped near the mouth of the Kali Creek and later washed into the creek by a rainstorm. The contaminated water carved out a path of destruction, killing every plant, animal, and human it touched. The creek eventually made its way into the Smoke River and then to Samaritan Bay, “[pushing] the kill zone out into the ocean some twenty kilometers” (324). Fortunately for Domidion, the Fukushima quake and subsequent nuclear meltdown occurred soon after, taking heat off of the company.

Mara borrows Crisp’s truck and loads up the contents of her rented house. She recalls how after graduating high school, she left for Toronto and fell in love with the city’s art scene.