“I thought testing wormholes was illegal,” Holland added.
“It is. I was just suggesting the theory is…anyway, don’t fire at it, and we should be okay,” Jade recommended.
“Fire at it? Isn’t this a Racer? Are weapons allowed?”
“Sure, but it has rudimentary plasma pulses,” Luther advised.
“What for? Asteroids?” I pictured the alien vessel I’d encountered, and the ice particles surrounding it.
“Asteroids, maybe space junk. You know how it goes. You can never be too careful.” I took Luther’s word on it.
We neared the Hub, which was little more than a huge rectangular box, with dozens of thrusters over the outer hull. Lights blinked along the edges, and I cringed as I considered the sheer energy withheld inside it. “How do we—”
Jade was one step ahead. She returned to her seat, and a minute later, the Hub flashed blue lights. It was twice the size of our ship, and I settled closer to it, knowing Jade had to sync us to the power source.
“This’ll take a few minutes, but when it’s complete, we can start the trial run,” Jade informed me.
“Back to the name,” I said. “We can’t keep calling her Racer. She needs a proper title. Something for the winner’s circle.”
Holland was the first to toss an idea out. “Winner. No, let’s say Victor.”
“I knew a Victor once. Big ugly guy with bad breath. I don’t think that’ll work,” Luther said. “I’ve always been partial to names that convey strength. Like Hercules.”
“Hercules? He did make it through the trials.” I laughed. “What about speed? Firebolt.” The second it was out, I regretted saying it.
“That’s worse than Hercules. She’s a beautiful craft, with grace and poise. I’d suggest a moniker along those lines,” Jade offered.
R11 surprised us all by walking over. He appeared thoughtful as he stared out the viewer. “CEO Kelley wants to expand, to seek out the next solar system for humanity. I suggest Pilgrim.”
I let the word settle over the cockpit. “Pilgrim. I like it.”
“R11 swoops in for the win,” Jade said, and R11 walked away, returning to his position.
The Hub stopped flashing its blue lights, and Jade told us Pilgrim was linked to the device. It was time to kick off our trial run of the Race. “Activate trial run. Fire up the Rings.”
The device hummed, sending shockwaves through space, and we shook slightly as a result. But a moment passed, and the first Ring appeared on the radar. The trial wouldn’t begin until we entered the initial checkpoint, and I glanced to the team. They were all seated, concentration lining their brows.
“This is the real test, team. Do we have any idea how far the track goes?” We hadn’t been given any information on the path from the network, only that the Hub was located here, and how to sync Pilgrim to it.
“This sector of space is vast enough the trail could continue for days, but that depends on how many switchbacks Bryson’s team created.” Luther’s voice was deep, focused.
I flew the ship closer to the glowing orange Ring and stared toward it. Once I went through, the time would begin, and we all knew Bryson would be keeping tabs. None of us wanted to fail him, not after hearing what the people really thought about our chances. Now it was personal.
“Ready?” I asked, and received four nods from the team. “Time to fly.” I shot into the Ring, and the timer began.
____________
Two days later, we were finished. The time passed quickly for the first day, with all of us equally invested in passing the checkpoints, until a particular stretch where the distance spread far out between two Rings. It took an hour to get through them. We looped around the region in all possible angles and directions, until some of us grew weary. Others getting cranky at the endless silence, we sat in the bridge without duties on hand.
We started sleeping in shifts, with me taking the breaks during the longest periods between Rings. Holland understood the controls, and he managed to not kill us while I sneaked endless catnaps. Luther mapped us out, alerting me of any anomalies in the patterns, or possible particles we needed to dodge.
Jade had the most difficult transition. She grew irritable, and I tasked her with attempting to find methods to improve processes. She spent much of her energy in the engineering room, adjusting calculations. By the time our trial had ended, she had engine speed up by one percent. Holland was dumbfounded that she’d been able to improve SeaTech’s advanced systems.
Two days, and it felt like weeks when we finished.
“How long is the real Race again?” I asked Holland.
“Under a week, all said and done,” he said. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
We were sitting in the kitchen, cramped around the table with coffees. With nothing to base it on, I had no concept if our performance on the track was horrible or remarkable.
“But there are stops?” Jade clinked her cup with a fingernail. She’d unzipped her SeaTech blue jumpsuit and wiped at a coffee stain on her white undershirt.
“We have two major events, and the last couple of Racers at each of those checkpoints will be eliminated.” Holland had explained it before, but the severity of the news hit me hard.
“You’re saying we could be cut in the first few days?” I sighed, shooting a deep breath from my lungs.
“We won’t be cut,” the young prodigy said with confidence.
“They announce the teams soon. So we should get some rest and return to Earth, if this was it,” I told them.
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Luther stretched and accidentally pushed the table, spilling my coffee over the cup’s brim.
“I’m calling it a night. Or morning. Whatever time it is,” I muttered. I hadn’t slept for more than a few straight hours in the last three days, and I was starting to feel it. I left them chatting and headed to the bunk room.
I grabbed my PersaTab, connecting to the network. I scanned for news, wondering what the channels were speculating about the Race, finding numerous hits. Since the news was funded by biased Corporations, most of it centered around their own teams’ chances. SeaTech showed no evidence of a statement, and when I explored further, I found Bryson didn’t even have a news channel. Why hadn’t I known this?
I searched through the headlines and saw something interesting. It was a trending video, but I didn’t recognize the sender. With a shrug, I tapped the icon.
A woman stood inside a room, clean and empty, with bright lighting. She was around sixty years old, with shoulder-length gray-speckled hair and a white uniform. I didn’t recognize the corporation.
“Hello, viewers. My name is Eclipse, with Liberty, and I have some information to share with you.” The tone of the video made me uneasy, and my pulse picked up speed as I awaited her message. “We are living in dangerous times. The Primary Corporations are colluding, the smaller ones are being dismantled as we speak, giving us no options as a people. The Board constructed the great Space Race as a diversion. While you’re watching the Race, they will be moving ahead with their plans. Before the end of the year, there will only be a single Corporation, and they will control everything. The Board will see to it. They are the ones who will benefit from such a change.
“We are humans. We have rights. Once the transition is complete, there will be no turning back. We must revolt.”
I almost dropped the Tab.
“I implore you to fight the Primaries, demand control of our own lives again, and realize that not everything is about transactions, material goods, and the bottom line. We are people, with love, honor, trust, and hope. Few of you may recall some of those emotions, but I assure you, they exist. Don’t keep the blindfolds on any longer. Join me. Seek Liberty, and you will find deliverance.”
The video ended, with record of over a billion views, and it had only been posted two hours ago. “What is this?” I muttered. Jade came in, yawning, and I shoved the Tab at her. “You have to watch this feed. A woman named Eclip
se is telling the people to revolt!” Gone were any signs of exhaustion as I tried to play the footage for Jade. She stared at the screen, and she settled to her bunk.
“What feed? There’s nothing to see,” she said. “Don’t lose it on us already, Arlo.”
“I swear, it was real.” I scrolled through, only to find a dated advertisement for Temeletron reducing couplings. Someone up top had wiped it clear, and I tried to locate any mentions of Eclipse or the revolt, but it came up blank. It was like she’d never posted it at all. But that wasn’t true.
I took solace that a billion seeds had been planted.
As Jade turned the lights off, I watched the wall, feeling the tendrils of roots take hold.
Ten
“How have you been doing, Arlo?” Bryson asked. His office was spread across the top floor of the building, and the view from either direction was equally stunning. On one side, there was nothing but the expansive ocean, with his underwater facility sticking up occasionally through the waves. On the other was a lush landscape, with the residential buildings for his people clustered in groups of ten or so, leaving most of the island intact.
“We’re fine, Bryson,” I said. Ever since hearing the news from Eclipse, I’d been on edge.
He pointed to a comfortable chair, and I avoided the supple leather, opting to stay standing near the windows that overlooked the topiary.
“Is there a problem?” He asked this when I’d been thinking the exact same thing. I was sure he’d found out about our little adventure, breaking into the shrine to his late wife.
I turned to him and assessed the CEO. He was fit, almost two decades older than me, and seemed so put together. His face held a permanent grin, like he knew something no one else did, and it was starting to bother me. This wasn’t the expression of a man about to chew me out.
I didn’t mince words. “There’s been talk of a revolt.”
Bryson walked across his hardwood floor to the bar and filled two glasses with his favorite drink. “I think I’ve underestimated your curiosity.”
He shoved a glass at me, and I took it as a few drops splashed on the floor. “She said the Primaries are colluding on it. That they’re planning to merge. Is that why you fought to enter the top ten?”
He laughed, his eyes burning a hole in mine beyond his glass. Bryson wasn’t put off in the slightest. He still had that damned grin. “Arlo, do I come across as someone to partake in rumors?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“I fought tooth and nail to bring SeaTech into the future. If there’s a conspiracy about this Primary coalition, believe me, no one has contacted me.”
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“Even if they were willing to set aside their petty differences for the sake of control, can you see Sage Industries working alongside their rivals? Luna Corp letting Orion use their facilities? The entire notion seems preposterous.”
It felt like he was laying it on a little thick for my liking. “If you’re asking my opinion, then here it is. Yes, I can see it. These bastards want power, and this would give them the opportunity to decimate the remaining thirty-seven minor corporations.”
“That’s where we differ, Arlo. You and the rest of the world see the non-Primary corps as minor, but we hold a lot more control than anyone imagines.” He smiled as he finished his drink and sat on the chair he’d offered me. “I’d like to see the Primaries try this coup. It’ll never work.”
“What about this group? Liberty.”
“I wish Liberty luck, but a handful of people using borrowed ships in an effort to hijack anything won’t work either,” he said.
“Why not?” I had to agree with him but wanted his opinion.
“I’d be shocked if this Eclipse even had ten vessels worth flying.”
“So you have heard of her?”
“We’ve all heard of her. That little video was concealed quickly, but she made them sweat for a couple of hours. I have someone ready to imprint any new feeds the moment they arrive,” he informed me.
I’d been sitting on an idea for a few days, and finally allowed myself to speak it out loud. The others on my team had worked for Primaries most of their lives, me included, so I couldn’t speak to their loyalty, especially since we still worked for one. Number ten in the ranks, but that made SeaTech a Primary. If Bryson was telling the truth, he was an outsider among them. “What if the rest of the corporations rose up? Aligned with Eclipse?”
Bryson’s demeanor shifted, and he finally lost his smirk. “What you’re saying is traitorous, Arlo.”
Sweat beaded along my back, and I felt flushed. I swallowed some of the orange beverage, hoping it would cool my nerves. “I’m not suggesting anything.”
Bryson sipped his drink. “The very idea of a merge is dangerous… and we are in the Primary, Arlo.”
“So you’re siding with the Primary Corps.”
“What did you think I’d do? Fight the very same system I’ve worked my entire life to join? That’s preposterous. And need I remind you, you’re with SeaTech. An employee of a Primary. Whatever you think is going on, it isn’t. Do I need to search for a replacement?”
I stared at him and considered his threat. He’d kick me to the curb so fast my head would spin. I had my future and my parents to think of. There was no stipulation in my contract about losing the Race. All I had to do was compete, and the terms would be met. “No, sir. I was just asking your opinion on it. We’re dedicated to winning the Race. I’m dedicated.”
“Good.” Bryson locked gazes with me, frowning. “I know you might question the validity of the Corps, and the Space Race, but the prize is very real. With Proxima, we can change everything, Arlo, and you’ll be a part of it. Your legacy will be in stone. A Lewis man making a huge impact.”
The use of my last name reminded me of something. “Did your father know my grandfather, Preston Lewis?”
Bryson grinned at the question. “They were once very close. I was a young man, learning the ropes from my dad. Preston always had great advice.”
“But Preston worked for Luna Corp. Wasn’t that a conflict?”
“Arlo, you have to stop thinking of the Corporations as enemies. Things aren’t always as you see them. Often we need to change perspectives. Look from another angle.” Bryson set his cup down and walked me toward the door.
“Where should I be looking?” I asked.
“Showing all your cards in the first round won’t get you to the finale. Go win the Race.”
I felt the weight of the Coin in my pocket and considered sharing the details of the alien ship I’d stumbled across with this man. But I wasn’t ready to divulge everything to a CEO, and a guy I barely knew.
“How’s my son?”
The change of topics was jarring, the thoughts of revolts and merges still racing through my mind. “He’s a good kid. Smart. Hard-working, and great with everyone,” I said.
“And the rest?”
He was eager for an update, so I decided to give him one. “Luther Payne is settling into his role well. We’ve found a balance within the team. The trials were solid, but fair.”
Bryson chuckled. “That was a test run. Expect things to be far different. The problem with a Race of this magnitude is that the playing field is quite even. You’ll have to rely on cunning and wit to defeat the various competitors. The track will be straightforward, but as you know, when you’re out there, competing against the best, things change.”
“Will the other teams have any advantages?”
“What is life, Arlo?”
“Life?” The conversation was strange. Every minute, we were farther from the finish line.
“Life is a series of obstacles. We’re born, and our parents strive to raise us properly. Some succeed, many fail, and each step, each year is full of impediments. And what is the finish line?”
“Death?”
“The finish line is success. When you find it, you can thrive in your victory until deat
h, but the obstacles slow down. They never disappear entirely, because with death, we’re all equal, regardless of stature. Believe me.”
“What does this have to do with the Race?” I asked.
“Everything, Arlo. Everything.”
I glanced at his drink, wondering how many of those he’d had, but it was still full. “Okay. Anything else?”
“Why did you quit?” he asked me.
“Sage?”
“No. The Pod Racing. You were the best… a shining star in a heavily competitive field.”
“You know about Preston. He left on an expedition to Proxima. My grandfather was my rock. He stood in my corner, guided me, led me to the success I saw. When he died… I couldn’t go on. I never raced again.”
Bryson’s hand landed on my shoulder, and he squeezed it gently. “Until now. You’ll show the world that Arlo Lewis never left. You’re going to make him proud.”
His words inspired me, and I turned, not wanting Bryson to see my vulnerable side. “Anything else you need?”
“Not for today. The team announcement is tomorrow. We’re leaving at first light, for Primary City,” he said.
Primary City. The home of the Board, and offices to every single Corporation. Their footprints depended on their rank, but they each had at least one representative. From what I’d read, the elite like Sage and Luna had a thousand people residing in the city.
“We’ll be ready.” I moved for the exit, and he cleared his throat.
“And…I hope I don’t need to tell you that what we discussed today is strictly confidential and between us. CEO to race captain.”
I hated leaving the team in the dark on something so serious, but what choice did I have? “Understood, sir.”
I was halfway out of the room when he caught me. “I almost forgot. We need to shoot an advertisement.”
“An ad?”
“Sure. SeaTech has an opportunity to prove what we have. With all eyes on the Race, every Corp will be pushing their wares to the rest of them,” Bryson said.
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