The Settlers

by Jason Gurley

  These shuttle rides are nice, she says.

  They take a very long time, David replies. But then, I've nothing but time. So do you.

  Tasneem puts her arms behind her head and looks up at the ceiling. The panels there are transparent, but the only thing she can see is darkness.

  Sometimes I think that I just want to steer the shuttle off-course a little bit, she says. What sort of supplies does this thing carry?

  Not enough for you to go off the reservation, David says.

  I guess you're right, she says. Hey, are you nervous?

  That's one of the beauties of not having a body, David says. No nerves to get ous.

  She smiles. They're going to have a lot of questions for you, aren't they.

  You don't think they'll be distracted by the new station? People make a very big deal out of things that were built without their knowledge.

  Oh, they'll have plenty of years to gasp about Station Meili. Shiny new objects are only shiny and new for so long, though. No, I think they'll be much more interested in you, Tasneem says.

  I have a confession to make, David says.

  What's that?

  I am a little nervous.

  Don't be, she says. You're the smartest man in the fleet. And you're the man with the plan.

  I feel like I'm forgetting something, though.

  Well, she says. It'll come to you.

  I just have a strange feeling, he says again.

  It'll come to you, she says. You're David Dewbury.

  Yeah, he says.

  But he is uncertain.

  Tasneem has almost drifted into sleep when David speaks.

  Tasneem, he says. Do you ever think of Audra?

  Tasneem doesn't open her eyes. If you would just read my thoughts, you'd know the answer already.

  I don't like to invade your privacy that much, he says.

  Thank you.

  Do you?

  Almost every day, Tasneem says. Do you think of Heidi?

  I never stop thinking of Heidi.

  You and Audra made a lovely daughter, Tasneem says. If there's one thing I ever could have done, I think I would have had a daughter.

  Nothing is stopping you, David says.

  I'm stopping me.

  Did you ever love?

  Tasneem hesitates. Once, maybe.

  But you never did anything about it?

  I watched people distracted by love, she says. I watched my mother wither when she lost it. Maybe I never consciously decided to take a pass on romance, but I did, anyway.

  Do you ever regret it? David asks.

  Not generally, she says.

  But you're immortal, or close to it, David says. You don't miss companionship through the long, lonely years?

  I have you, Tasneem says.

  They're silent. Outside the shuttle the black passes by, always the same.

  I sometimes hate Heidi for her choice, David says at last.

  I know. She knew that, too.

  She was my daughter, David says. It pains me to outlive her.

  She made her choice, Tasneem says. For her, it was the right one. Soma was banned, so it wasn't like she could preserve her body forever, like we've done.

  She could have preserved her mind, though, David says. Her mind is what mattered. Eventually, we'd have been able to give her a new body. Just like one day I'll --

  He stops.

  Do you want a new body, David?

  He is silent for a moment. Then he says, I don't know. This arrangement, yours and mine, serves a great many purposes.

  But when we make the announcement, secrecy is less important, isn't it? Maybe you could work on a way to build a body then.

  I don't know.

  Tasneem looks outside. I think I can see the station. It's big.

  Tasneem, David says.

  Tasneem is quiet.

  Heidi has been dead for seventy-one years, he says. Audra has been dead for one hundred thirty-nine years.

  I miss them both, Tasneem says.

  I wish I could die, too, David says.

  Tasneem nods. But you can't.

  But I can't, he agrees. There are too many things to do. It sounds terrible to say, but --

  But mankind needs you, she finishes.

  But mankind needs me. Yes.

  Maybe one day they won't, David.

  I fear that day is very far away.

  Are you tired of being an eternal consciousness?

  When I became one, my mind was clean. Pure.

  And now?

  And now I have lost my loves.

  Tasneem wraps her arms around herself and squeezes tightly.

  David can feel it. It's nice, but it's not enough, he says.

  She relaxes her arms. I know.

  They fall into silence again and watch Station Meili as it grows in the viewport.

  Tasneem says, It's you and me, David. For as long as forever is.

  You and me, he says.

  But she can almost feel his sadness.

  Station Meili looks like something from a horror movie. It's an enormous sphere sliced into a hundred cross-sections. Each segment of the station rotates independently of the others, some at great speeds, some more slowly. The station is the first to be constructed as a complete universe unto itself, and nobody is quite sure how it was built in secret. It's far too large to have stayed secret for long.

  And yet for seventy-eight years, its secret was kept.

  Tasneem's shuttle is still hours away, but the station looms into view.

  Wow, she says. Do you see this?

  Well, David says, not in so many words, but yes, I understand what you're seeing.

  It is absolutely enormous, she says.

  The chatter I've seen on the network says that each segment is a perfect capsule of human interest, David says. There's an agricultural segment, a waste management segment, an education segment. The most interesting level to me is the alternate reality deck. I imagine a person could spend their entire life plugged into that system.

  An alternate reality deck, Tasneem says. I didn't know those were real.

  This one is, he says. Program the system, let it build a false reality for you, plug in, and enjoy.

  That's going to be an interesting thing for someone to manage, Tasneem says. What else?

  Manufacturing level, many city levels, many residential levels, arboretums, gardens. There's an oceanic level. Entire thing is submerged.

  Wow, Tasneem says.

  There are a few levels that haven't been discussed yet, David says. I'm very curious about them, but there's not much information available on the network yet.

  And you have no idea how they kept this thing secret all this time?

  Well, they didn't, did they, he says. There were plenty of rumors about it as early as 2198.

  It's really, really big, she says.

  Yes, David says. They say it will be the first station capable of supporting one billion residents.

  It looks like it, Tasneem says. Jesus. One billion.

  The station is covered with scattered lights, many of them slowly moving as their respective segments rotate.

  How should we do this? Tasneem asks, nose still pressed to the window.

  There's a ribbon-cutting ceremony, David says. We can crash that.

  I don't want to crash anything, she says.

  No, I mean diplomatically. Find a journalist, and let the rest handle itself.

  I've never asked you how this feels.

  How what feels, exactly? David asks.

  How does it feel, knowing you've found a new Earth?

  David is quiet for a moment.

  He says, I feel like a spirit guide. The ghost of David past, leading mankind into its next stage.

  Tasneem considers this. Like a Sherpa.

  Not like --

  David, the spirit Sherpa.

  More like --

  Hi, I'm David. I'll be your spirit Sherpa today. Would you like to hear about
our specials? We've got two great options for you: charred Earth, very crispy, very yummy, or, if you prefer, we have juicy fresh Earth, nice and ripe and...

  Tasneem trails off.

  You're nervous, too, I see.

  She nods. Terribly.

  Scared?

  She indicates the station. Wouldn't you be?

  I am, David says. That feeling of having forgotten something is like an itch I can't scratch.

  Tasneem looks back outside. This thing almost looks like a military vessel, she says.

  Military -- how?

  Oh, there are all of these outer doors. They're all closed, but they can't all be docks or airlocks, can they? They remind me of torpedo doors on old submarines.

  This is going to drive me crazy, David says.

  I'm sure you'll remember whatever it is.

  I don't know, he says. This hasn't happened before.

  The Great Hall reminds Tasneem of a palace. A red carpet runs from the oversized ballroom doors to the marble stairs at the far end of the room. Enormous columns are evenly placed throughout the hall, large red sashes draped about them. Men in pale uniforms stand at each door, dark gray bands stretched across their chests. They wear tall boots and stand erect as the guests make their way into the Hall.

  It's like we've traveled back in time, Tasneem whispers.

  You don't have to whisper, David says. I can hear you.

  It's like we've traveled back in time, Tasneem thinks.

  I heard you the first time.

  The room is very crowded. Thousands of dignitaries and guests have come to view Meili. The media has described it as the great steel pearl of the fleet, but now that everybody has arrived, most can see it for what it really is: a home fit for a king.

  This place worries me, David says.

  Me, too, Tasneem thinks. But I can't figure out why.

  It's too much, David says. This is the sort of thing that is built for a new dynasty, for a new heir, for a conquering king. I have a bad feeling about it.

  Me, too, Tasneem thinks again. Do you think that's what --

  A voice interrupts, booming across the Great Hall.

  Welcome! it cries, and the crowd's chatter fades away.

  Welcome to the Great Hall of Meili, the voice says.

  The crowd applauds politely.

  He didn't call it Station Meili, David observes. All stations are formally referred to first by their, well, station.

  Tasneem squints and can barely make out a figure at the dais.

  You've each been invited here today to witness not only the beauty of this grand palace, the voice begins.

  Palace, David says. Not the word you want to hear right now. Tasneem, we should go.

  Tasneem turns around.

  David, she thinks. The doors. They're closed and guarded.

  To be certain, it is a grand palace, the host continues. But you have been invited here on this historic day, each and every one of you, to witness the great rebirth of mankind. As we are no longer bound by Earth, so are we no longer bound by Earth law. We are a new humanity. We are a new race. We are men who fly, who journey. We reach for the stars, and such reach must be accompanied by great power. Think of what Christopher Columbus once accomplished -- would he have done so much without Isabella behind him?

  Tasneem, David says. I can't get into their system.

  The host pauses and absorbs the silence of the room. Then he spreads his arms wide and says, Your fleet government is dissolved. It is the rule of the Council. Each person present tonight, you received a gift at the door. A lockbox. Please retrieve your boxes now.

  How did I miss this? David asks. Tasneem, how did I miss this?

  Tasneem takes a small silver case out of her bag. She had examined it earlier, but had been unable to open it. There are no markings on the object. It is the most nondescript thing she has ever seen.

  The host lifts his hand. He is holding something small that Tasneem cannot see.

  With great theatrics, he presses a button on the object.

  Tasneem feels the box vibrate softly in her hand. The other guests feel the same thing. Some laugh at the sensation.

  The host says, Now, please -- open your boxes!

  Tasneem presses the lid of the box with her fingertip. It opens, revealing a gray sleeve. She tucks the box away, and studies the sleeve. It also is free of markings.

  A woman beside her gasps.

  Tasneem glances over, and freezes.

  The woman is holding an Onyx card.

  I knew that Nathan's revolt would never be the end of this, David says. I knew turning Argus wouldn't be enough.

  Tasneem shakes the sleeve into her hand, and a small charcoal-colored card falls into her palm.

  Fuck, she thinks.

  Forty years later, the card still looks the goddamn same, David says. Turn it over.

  She turns the card over. On the surface is a small rectangle. She presses her thumb to it, and the card comes to life. A photograph of her -- a very old one, before the streak of white had appeared in her hair -- swims into view, followed by:

  Tasneem Anjali Kyoh

  78925P72771-09188-XOS

  H 5'4" W 128

  DOB 2075.06.11

  SOMA Expiration: N/A

  David, she thinks. David, I want to leave now.

  Before the crowd can respond, the host raises his voice and says, Ladies, gentlemen, citizens of this great cosmos...

  In the dramatic pause, David says -- and Tasneem thinks -- Oh, shit.

  Allow me to present, the host finishes, the Grand Council, hereby the ruling body of our prized fleet.

  There is silence as four men in rich red robes step forward. Each wears a cap and sash of gold.

  Tasneem feels as if she has just traveled a thousand years back in time.

  She is speechless.

  David is not.

  Tasneem, he says. Did we just begin a new dark age?

  The host steps to the dais again. The Grand Council, he says, with a sweep of his arm.

  Then he drops to one knee, and dips his head.

  Around the Great Hall, at every door, the armed guards stomp in unison. The threatening clatter echoes in the cavernous room, and Tasneem jumps.

  All around her, slowly, people begin to sink to one knee.

  To the future of our race, cries the host. To the expression of our great dreams. To the glory of the Council! Welcome, new residents of Citadel Meili!

  Citadel, David says. I knew it. They've just declared sovereignty.

  My god, Tasneem thinks. David, I think I've just become a royal prisoner.

  We have plans to make, David says.

  Tasneem can only nod.

  The four robed men bow serenely, and the host gestures at the crowd to rise.

  The people obey.

  Thanks very much for spending a couple of bucks -- and, more importantly, your time -- on my book, The Settlers. This book is quite special to me. It's my own personal homage to The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury's classic novel of man's colonization of the red planet. I read Chronicles every year, finding something new to celebrate every time I open the pages, and I genuinely hope you enjoyed my book even a fraction as much.

  The Settlers is the first book in a trilogy about mankind's escape from a ruined Earth. The second book, The Colonists, continues the story, and is available now. The third book, The Travelers, will be available in 2014 (or possibly a little sooner -- I do like to under-promise).

  This is a self-published book. This means that I depend greatly on readers to help me find a larger audience. If you enjoyed reading this book, I hope you won't mind taking a small extra step to share it with another reader who you think might enjoy it, too. Here are a few things you can do to spread the word:

  Rate and review the book on Amazon

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  Follow me on Twitter (twitter.com/jgurley)

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uthorjasongurley)

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  One of the best things about being an independent author is that I'm more accessible to readers than other authors are sometimes able to be. If you bump into me online, say hello. I'd love to hear from you!

  Thanks so much for reading!

  Jg

  Jason Gurley is the author of Greatfall, The Man Who Ended the World, The Settlers, The Colonists and Eleanor. Born in the squelchy bogs of Texas, then raised in the icy caves of Alaska, he relied on his imagination to keep him warm and dry. As a result, he firmly believes that Superman isn't Superman if he's not wearing red undies, and that Darryl Strawberry had the sweetest swing of all time. He may be the only man alive who believes both, and that's okay.

  Jason lives in Oregon with his family, and is a creative director in Portland. He can be found online at jasongurley.com and twitter.com/jgurley, and probably a few dozen other places, if you look hard enough.