by Gentry Race
“Where ya going, sweetie?” the girl asked. He could almost hear the disappointment in her voice.
He shook his head. “You keep eating those paint chips.”
In the back of the transport, he saw a spiral staircase ascending to the upper deck. During takeoff, all passengers were required to stay in their seats. If one of the flight attendants saw him, he might be detained which could warrant a whole new inspection, complete with probing and scans. That might reveal he carried prohibited material.
As he climbed the staircase one level, he passed the second class and saw the blue sky outside the window turn to a deep blue. His adrenaline spiked as he began to panic. He needed to hurry, or everything would be ruined.
Jantzen reached the top level of the craft and saw a sign that read First Class. He would only have to stay there during the climb through the thermosphere where the particles were super charged. He looked down the long aisleway of seats and saw the pilot’s deck and a large, stout man behind the captain of the freighter ship.
Jantzen pulled himself behind the row of seats before him, trying to squeeze between them and the wall. He accidentally pressed against the seat, alerting the passenger in front of him. The passenger looked back over the seat directly at Jantzen
“Hey, what are you doing?” the passenger asked.
Jantzen made a motion for the passenger to be quiet. The man’s expression looked genuinely offended just before a ring sounded above. Without a doubt, Jantzen knew exactly what had happened. A stewardess’s shadow quickly fell upon him as he tried to move more inward behind the row of seats.
“Excuse me, sir, you are not supposed to be back there.”
Jantzen ignored them until he felt a larger shadow above him. This time, it was the stout man he saw standing behind the passengers. His left eye glowed with a hint of red while the other screamed straight menace.
Without a word, the stout man reached out and grabbed Jantzen by the arm, lifting him from his hiding spot. “You heard her. You’re not supposed to be here.”
“Alright! Alright! I’m going,” Jantzen fired back. He swallowed hard as he turned his back to the larger man. He didn’t want to go back to third-class. Not yet. It became crystal clear, however, that he didn’t have a choice. All thanks to some snobby passenger.
Thanks a lot, he scolded mentally.
Every few steps, the man behind him thrust a hand into his back to push him along faster. While it wasn’t terribly rough or even painful, it was annoying. Jantzen wasn’t a fan.
It wasn’t long before he was thrown back into a third-class seat by his number one fan. “Try it again, and you’ll be traveling down below deck,” he said before turning and walking away.
Jantzen looked outside to see the start of the light show. Compressed particles interacted with the ship’s hull as it passed through the layers of atmosphere, creating a dance of purples and greens.
Jess looked at Jantzen. “Honey, there’s more than one way to go down below here.”
Jantzen looked at her obsolete cyber legs once more and then at the lavatory in the back. “Say, those legs wouldn’t be lead-based, would they?”
Jess flashed a smile.
11
The large freighter ship sailed against the blackness of outer space, leaving behind the thermosphere of Earth on its way to Annulus Station. Charged, compressed particles danced in excitement in electrical arcs around the vessel as they interacted with the titanium carbon nanotube hull.
A general graphic logo glowed a vivid neon green with the inscription that read ENCONN. Enconn was the colossal corporation responsible for financing the large particle collider that discovered White Matter for humans to ultimately have their dreams realized through Naturalization.
A tall, brooding man walked behind the pilot and co-pilot’s seat after taking a wandering third-class passenger back to his proper seat. The man’s beard was medium length and accented his weathered face. His eye had a faint red glare in the light which give away his inner bionic enhancement. He wore seals of silver medal decor lined in thin, gray barcodes that crested a stocky green jumpsuit. This was General Malick.
“What was that?” the pilot asked.
“Third class passenger,” Malick responded.
“That’s the second one this week. I told Chellis we need doors on all the floors.”
“ETA, Captain?” Malick asked.
“Arriving on Annulus in ten minutes, sir,” the captain responded.
Malick’s bionic eye allowed him to view an enhanced scan that showed underlying schematics of the approaching circular station. Annulus’s blocky underside hull protected the inward underbelly of its human citizens from the hazardous radiation consistently sent from the burning hot sun.
Malick’s eyes reflected the curving structure and the white beacon of light that flashed brilliantly for the Annulusians. However, that light had been shut down recently, causing a debate among the elite.
Is Annulus safe? Malick balked at the thought of what they had done to their souls; leaving their bodies behind and taking the first step to a full digitization. Did they not know their body was the vessel that allows them to experience the essence of the soul?
Malick changed his tuned, however, as his company and his career moved toward this change. He knew he couldn’t hold onto beliefs of an old scripture any longer, but he could hold the values for himself and his family.
The freighter ship broke the atmosphere of Annulus, and Malick felt the counterfeit gravity pull on him. This always felt strange to him since he had only travelled from Earth once before. He braced himself as the ship hit pockets of turbulence, artificial air masses encircling the station’s atmosphere.
A soft landing onto a pair of docking cranes signaled the station’s loading door to hiss with hydraulic pressure. They opened to take in the large freighter ship.
Large galleys and what appeared to be freeway-like tunnels extended beyond and upward the curving station with dock workers loading shipments of various resources to be shipped back to Earth.
The freighter’s double doors hissed this time as they opened. Malick felt the cool, crisp air hit his face as he saw a silver-haired man in white waiting for him.
Malick stood tall, his stature imposing against the bay windows overlooking Annulus. His shoulders seemed to stretch out forever, and his chest and torso were thick. A cluster of scars marred his forehead and reminded him of an accident long ago.
The uniformed guards that accompanied him and were fit and tailored, their clothing accented with a yellow sash reflecting their positions within the Enconn Corp.
“Is Annulus safe?” Malick asked. “That is the question, Chellis.”
“Of course, it’s safe,” Chellis replied incredulously.
Malick watched the rustling streets below and saw Mods lining to survey their Conscious for Naturalization. “Director, Annulus serves as the first step in a long process of full digitization. This is a view I disagree with.”
“Do not let your personal views cloud your judgement,” Chellis reminded him.
“My son came here against my wishes,” Malick’s said, his voice deep and regretful.
“I’m know, but,” Chellis began, pausing for a moment to choose his words wisely, “Aden has done very fine work as a Neopractioner—”
“Yes,” Malick said flatly, interrupting the other man. “The problem is existential. This memCaching drug was provided for Conscious subsiding. Old scripture says the Conscious shall be held free, not be obscured.”
Chellis shook his head as he made his way over to shut the door. “Don’t throw rhetoric scripture at me. I helped write the axioms. These souls are lost, and we need to do something.”
Chellis grabbed the cube charm from his desk, holding the device tightly.
“You have let Annulus flood with these rejects and refugees,” Malick interjected. “They should have waited off-station. Ever since the Flare, the Mods have begged for Naturalization, and you
can’t seem to succeed. Erratum are getting worse and far too many. Now they are even able to hide from detection.”
Chellis was surprised at the passion in Malick’s words. He stood overlooking the perfect paradise of Annulus. “You are right. The memCaching must be forcing souls to commit these travesties. We need to find the culprits, General.”
“The UN wants a committee to form an inquiry.”
“I’ve heard,” Chellis flatly.
“I will end this memCaching problem,” Malick said confidently.
“Where will you start?”
Malick snatched the cubed charm from Chellis’s hand and looked it over before locking eyes with Chellis. “I will start with the Mesons.”
12
A slight drizzle fell at the edge Annulus where it met the Upper Cruft. Long, tube-like structures extended out from a clean white station that was cast in blue from a sign that read Telecaster 1.
Solari swiped at her second skin, checking for access. The telecaster wouldn’t accept her projection image and turned off, an annoying rejection beep sounding out in response. Sighing, she stepped away and accepted she would have to walk.
Touching her worthless second skin with her hand, she began to come to terms with her suspension. She had no way to know it would happen, but the feeling of powerlessness and desolation swept over her all the same. She would have to go at it alone.
She contemplated how everything so far had played out. Who controlled the scrubbers? Were the Mesons real? Eradicates had never manipulated reality—the nanites that made them up. At least, never like this. With the intrusive thoughts came a rush of stressful emotions. Solari remembered the ancient proverb; worry can be the misuse of the imagination.
The farther into the Far Side she walked, the weaker her signal feed became. Slight interlacing lines pulsed along her body. I’ll need a landyte soon to increase my signal, she thought.
Approaching the expansive lake shoreline, it refilled slowly in her direction. A rainbow of colored organisms appeared darker in hue could be seen in the subtle Earthshine of dusk.
She remembered Elizabeth teaching her about the tidal charts and how the hotspots underneath the crust shifted the waters around. The ebb and flow of the water cycled on the hour. She could swim across, but she would need to move before the rest of the scalding water flowed back.
Solari stepped into the warm lakebed, the heat rising from below. She had spent many cycles exploring that region with her sister, fascinated by the topography. As she walked, she could see the many holes Arthur had drilled over the years. That man was destroying this beautiful region, pockmarking its surface for personal gain.
She felt the land beneath her feet begin to move. It shifted, and she heard groaning from below.
“Damn it, Arthur?!” she said, cursing his practices.
Solari felt a rush of water as it flowed toward her. She ran fast, heading toward the shoreline across from her. She had to make it before the hot water filled completely. A loud groan again came from a nearby fumarole, and Solari found herself in waist-high hot water.
She cut through the water slower than she thought, taking worried notice of how far she had gone and how much the water had shifted. She swam faster, watching the water along the bank as it reached the edge of the trees. Her time had drawn dangerously close to an end as the steaming water gushed toward her. She would reset to Med Bed if the pain were too much!
She fought the current as it pushed her downward. In a moment of clarity, she closed her eyes and the panic seemed to subside as if a dream had swept her away.
What is this feeling?
Unsure of how long the moment of peace lasted, she opened her eyes and felt the shoreline sand just beneath her tight grip. Her foggy eyes peered over to see a faint, distant light of Arthur and Elizabeth Biggleston’s makeshift tents. This was where she grew up and the place where she would find the answers she sought.
Is my family responsible for making the memCache?
“What is that?” Elise asked, sitting across the room with her arms folded.
Jantzen let go a string of garbled words as the assistant forced his mouth open, inspecting his ruby tinted teeth.
“He did it all right,” the technical assistant dressed in plain scrubs said. He let go of Jantzen’s mouth. “He dispersed the gold into a set of glass teeth.”
The room was pristine white with accents of periwinkle blue in the shapes of decahedrons. Shelves of supplies and lab equipment filled the background in an almost obsessive-compulsive order, specific to Elise’s taste. Jantzen felt uneasy surrounded by the bland colors that contrasted against his loud, colorful attire.
“This was the only way I could get it past the scanners,” Jantzen said.
“And inside your teeth felt like a good idea?” Elise asked.
“All the kids are doing it these days.” He shrugged. “I thought it was a brilliant idea. Anyone can have a mouth full of jewels.”
“Except gold,” the tech assistant added.
Gold was the one element that could not be nPrinted on Earth due to the volatile repercussions it had on economical markets around the world. On Annulus, Elise could print as much gold as she wanted, but she needed organic gold from Earth—not the nPrinted stuff. More specifically, she needed gold chloride.
“You better not have compromised the gold,” Elise scolded.
“It’s fine, no thanks to you. My third-class ticket almost ruined the whole thing,” Jantzen complained.
Elise thought for a moment with caution. She assumed the fixers probably messed up the transfer. “Check the element.”
The tech assistant fitted a grinding bit onto a nearby drill and opened Jantzen’s mouth. The shrieking noise pierced Elise’s ears as a tiny sliver of the cranberry glass hit a Petri dish the assistant held below.
“Sample obtained,” the tech assistant said, turning off the drill.
“Royal water it is,” Elise said.
Elise made up a three-to-one mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acids known as aqua regia or ‘royal water.’ This was the only acid known to dissolve noble metals on the periodic table.
She’d learned about this powerful acid from her mother along with many other extensive scientific techniques. Even remembering that fact made her think more in depth about her mother. It filled her with a sense of longing. She missed her so much.
The red glass sliver dissolved soon after Elise dropped it into the acid mixture. Once that was done, she then placed it in a low heat furnace to precipitate a final sample.
Jantzen rubbed his jaw, which was sore from the assistant’s rough grip. “What’s the deal, Elise? Why did you need this stuff so bad?”
Her eyes didn’t wander from her work as she responded. “It’s only thing I have found that will serve as a catalyst for my work.”
“Work? What can you be doing up here that’s so secret?”
“The Dream Farms in the Lower Dregs,” Elise said.
Jantzen nodded, considering her words. “Dream Farms, eh? Heard they can be a powerful tool, but catalyst for what?”
“Something big,” Elise answered.
He looked at her incredulously. “Come on, Elise. How long have you known me? We go back at least ten years.”
Elise checked on the reaction, second guessing her initial response. “It’s a catalyst for a dirty bomb.”
“A dirty bomb? Now, that’s more like it.” Jantzen said with some degree of interest. “What’s the target?”
“Who,” the assistant corrected.
Jantzen looked at the assistant with obvious curiosity before turning back to Elise.
“Chellis,” Elise said.
“Chellis? As in director of the freaking Annulus Station, Chellis?” Jantzen asked, his voice growing louder as his eyes widened.
“Yes.”
“Well, you sure know how to pick em’. What’s the motive?” Jantzen asked.
“The Meson has shown me—”
A
loud bell rang, signaling the timer for the experiment had finished. Elise checked again and did a scan with her second skin. She smiled at what she saw. The results were positive.
“It’s good. It’s 99.9% pure gold chloride,” Elise said, signaling to the tech assistant.
“Are we good for my Naturalization?” Jantzen asked.
“There’s just one thing,” Elise said, picking up a set of pliers from the drawer. “We are going to need the gold first.”
13
The sand of Far Side capped the squat domes that were set up in circular arrangements. Several twisted wires and synthetic nPrinted tarps were set up, serving as the living quarters to the nomads Arthur and Elizabeth Biggleston.
Elizabeth’s delicate beauty reflected in the mirror before her while fiberoptic wires illuminated her from above. She loosened her hair, releasing curly locks onto her shoulders. Looking past her reflection, she watched Arthur fiddle with his latest project. He was reclined and wearing a headset with hundreds of wires stringing from it.
The headset was an ancient model from the Veality Corporation that Arthur used to work for. The device was popular on Earth for many years, but it was abandoned after the singularity, which ended Arthur’s career. It was essential for a human who had no access to Annulusian tech.
Elizabeth smiled at him as she reminisced about the day she met the wild-eyed crazy Arthur on Earth. Young, full of energy, and driven, he’d inspired her. It was Arthur’s determination to follow his creativity that kept Elizabeth intrigued. They might have lost everything on Earth to live there on Annulus, but she knew she gained everything she could have asked for.
Arthur’s hands were in the air now as he turned them around in the air and swiped to the right.
“Dang it!” Arthur said with disappointment.
“What’s the matter?” Elizabeth asked.
“It’s this power coupler. I just can’t—”
