Terradox Quadrilogy

by Craig A. Falconer

  “It will be,” Viola replied, but Peter’s tired body was out for the count before she finished saying it.

  She stayed awake for a while flicking through some news bulletins on the viewing wall, eventually settling on the only one she could find which wasn’t about Peter and Pavel’s bloody run-in with two foiled assassins the previous day. Its focus was hardly good news either, relaying a mass protest-turned-riot at a homeless encampment on the outskirts of New London.

  Viola could only shake her head; all it would take was political authorisation, and more than enough new homes could be built in no time.

  Holly wanted more humanitarian romotech on Earth, and Dimitar himself was equally keen. The only stumbling block, to everyone else’s frustration, came in the shape of the risk-averse and by-the-book government engineers who remained adamant that applying anything on Earth was a completely different kettle of fish than doing so in a controlled environment like Terradox.

  Safety-first was fair enough, Viola thought, but for these people it seemed to be safety-only. And safety for who?

  More applications would be authorised in time, the risk assessors insisted, but Viola wasn’t alone in starting to wonder just how much time was really necessary to give the go ahead for something as simple as a basic home-building program. She tried to put herself in the shoes of the poor who had spent the last two years hearing about a planet-sized world being fabricated in orbit while they spent their nights seeking shelter from the elements wherever they could find it.

  I would be rioting, she thought. I’d maybe even be buying into those goddamn conspiracy theories.

  From the ivory towers of political power, it was easy to say that the spread of beneficial romotech which would help Earth’s vast human population was coming “soon enough”.

  But on the ground in New London, where reasonable people demanding fewer restrictions were being pushed towards extremism by irresponsible politicians and where the most disenfranchised were being radicalised by militant anti-Arkadians and their insane conspiracy theories, it was a lot more difficult to sleep easily at night.

  Two weeks later

  twelve

  With his destination now mere minutes away, the hardest part of Chase Jackson’s journey to Arkadia had been the departure from Terradox.

  Convincing Nisha that there was no need to worry had been a walk in the park compared to saying goodbye to his mother Jillian, whose reluctance to let him go made Chase wonder what it was going to be like in a year’s time when he left for good rather than four short weeks.

  The journey itself had passed slowly, with very little to do and with the growing communications delay making live conversations with Nisha or anyone else on Terradox progressively more difficult.

  During the early stages, Chase had watched with interest as Robert Harrington took to Earth’s airwaves to announce the publication of Arkadia’s codified constitution. This document, intended to lay out a sensible framework within which its future elected officials would operate, proved uncontroversial and was generally received very well.

  Some questioned why Robert was delivering it rather than Viola, who had previously been the de-facto Earth-based spokesperson for Rusentra’s interest and the general Arkadia project. Robert addressed that point very openly, stating that she was understandably keen to keep a low profile while the security situation on Earth stabilised following a marked increase in threats and direct action by anti-Arkadian militants.

  Inevitably, the politicians in various regions who had come to define themselves in opposition to Arkadia picked holes in the constitution wherever they could and attempted to generate outrage over what were truly minor gripes.

  One piece of news used by some in an attempt to drum up discontent was that all successful applicants who had been selected for the one-way trip to Arkadia would be subject to a compulsory six-month ‘quarantine’ period.

  Officially termed as a ‘probationary adjustment period’, the six months immediately before departure would see all future Arkadians live together in regional adjustment centres. Once there they would be subject to intensive observation during cooperative tasks of all kinds as well as more overt physical and psychological tests. They would also have no contact with the outside world, which was a condition in place to weed out those who didn’t fully appreciate the isolation and finality of the one-way trip they were signing up for.

  Those who opted out prior to the adjustment period clearly didn’t have what it took and would have struggled to live harmoniously on Arkadia, and in that regard the six-month period had proven its worth before it even began.

  More difficult and sometimes highly uncomfortable decisions were required when it came to stipulating the physical and psychological requirements for would-be Arkadians, and the ruling out of anyone with a serious medical condition did not pass without criticism. Some went so far as to accuse the project’s planners of indulging in ‘backdoor eugenics’ claiming that in beginning a new society by excluding people with certain genes they were in effect excluding those genes from ever being present.

  The question of meaningful evolutionary divergence among the breakaway society was one which would have no bearing for many generations, and as such it was one which received very little attention. The same rules that were already in effect on Earth regarding non-medical genetic intervention were firmly codified in Arkadia’s constitution with a minimum effective period of eighty years. Only at that point, once Arkadia was a tremendous distance from Earth, would the relevant clauses be open to democratic alteration by its citizens.

  Another short clause regarding the protocols for dealing with persistently trouble-making citizens was also seized upon by anti-Arkadians, who had no problem stretching reality to the point of absurdity in claiming that the clause suggested such citizens could be placed in forced labour camps and imprisoned for life if they refused to do what they were told.

  The truth of this matter was nothing of the sort in either case, of course, and Robert once again took to the airwaves to make this point.

  “No one can take everything a society gives them and decide to opt out of giving anything back,” he said in one decisive TV appearance, which had since come to be seen as the point that he and everyone else involved in the Arkadia project decided to stop treating its detractors with kid gloves and start standing up for what they believed in. “And when I say this I want to be clear that we’re not talking about forcing people to work, we’re talking about requiring people to participate. Try not paying your taxes. What happens? If you try to fight it and don’t relent, you go to jail. There will be no taxes on Arkadia, just like on Terradox, but just like Terradox we are going to be very clear in stating that we won’t tolerate people trying to exploit the system and the hard work of those around them. The primary difference, of course, is that once we travel to Arkadia we will not be sending anyone back to Earth.

  “That’s why it’s crucial for people to know what they’re signing up for,” he went on, “and that’s why all future Arkadians will be placed in this intensive six-month preparation program. You can call it quarantine if you want, but that won’t stop people from signing up. And while we’re talking about things like tax… you might have noticed the obvious point that very few extremely wealthy individuals have signed up. The reason for that is simple: their money will be no good on Arkadia. Those who have signed up are essentially jettisoning their wealth and are clearly in it for the right reasons. I’ll also say that although necessities will be provided, as they are on Terradox, our social planners have borne in mind that necessity is the mother of invention and that humans do need incentives to push themselves to the limits of their abilities. The Arkadian economy will be very different from the monetary economy we’re used to on Earth and we could spend five full shows talking about it, but one thing to remember is that we haven’t sat down with the goal of designing a model society which will never change. What we have sat down to design is a cooperative society wh
ich rewards hard work and is capable of sustaining itself with the help of technologies which eliminate almost all logistical challenges and menial work. That’s what we’re shooting for, and that’s what our citizens are going to get.”

  Robert had also been tasked with addressing some significant philosophical and ethical concerns which had been raised, primarily around the issue of children who would be born on Arkadia and ‘trapped’ there having had no say in the matter. Assisted by a team of media advisors, he countered with the valid point that children didn’t ask to be born anywhere and that life on Arkadia would be measurably more comfortable than life in many regions of Earth.

  Evolutionary questions also arose, not related to issues of eugenics but rather issues regarding life extension, genetic screening, parthenogenesis and even transhumanism. These questions were raised by supporters of the project behind closed doors, but the topic was deemed to be sufficiently covered by the already agreed-upon eighty-year restriction on non-medical genetic interventions.

  Chase had paid a degree of attention to these developments on Earth, but his primary focus on Earthly news had always related to the physical safety of the Ospanovs and other families who would ultimately be joining him on the new world. The news there was good, with a high-profile attempt on Peter Ospanov’s life having instantly brought the issue of weaponised anti-Arkadian sentiment to mainstream attention. In a matter of mere weeks, an international crackdown on violent agitators had increased feelings of safety in and around New London.

  Politicians who had spent recent months inciting violence through the propagation of abominable conspiracy theories saw their support bases dwindle as those with moderate reservations about Arkadia reacted to the uncomfortable realisation that Viola Ospanov, a hero to many, felt unsafe in her own home. This alone was enough to usher in a rapid shift in the level of disdain felt for self-serving agitators, and before long anti-Arkadian groups were relegated to the true political fringes once more.

  In a long and pleasant voice conversation conducted during the stage of the journey when the Earth-to-Karrier communications delay was at it shortest, Robert had assured Chase that 99.9% of those who weren’t going to Arkadia had never given two hoots about any political or technical discussions surrounding it.

  “I think at this point a lot of them just want us to get up there soon so they can watch everything unfold on Arkadia Live!” Robert joked, referencing the famous Terradox Live TV show which had turned Chase from a promising astronaut to a household name.

  Viola, at her father’s side for the duration of the video call, interjected to broadly agree with Robert’s point while taking slight issue with his tone. “Yeah, but that’s only because people have got lives to get on with,” she said. “It’s not like the ‘average person’ is too stupid to think about this stuff… it’s more like the total opposite: they’re smart enough to get on with their lives instead of obsessing about the details of a life they’re never going to live. And there’s nothing wrong with that. If we hadn’t made it onto that Karrier and ended up crashing into Terradox — you know, if no one knew who I was — I’d be one of those average people tuning in at the end of my average day.”

  It had now been several hours since Chase last spoke to anyone on Earth, and the data on his Karrier’s primary screen confirmed that Arkadia was growing tantalisingly close. The thinking time provided by such a long and lonely journey had given him a chance, belatedly, to mentally process the sheer scale of both the project he was spearheading and of the new world he was about to encounter. These macro considerations had been somewhat drowned in a sea of minutia over the past seven years, lost among the heated decisions over highly specific issues of one kind or another.

  The welcome imminence of the Karrier’s arrival at its destination had also recently brought Rachel Berry, Chase’s only co-passenger, to the seat by his side. The two got along well but hadn’t grown particularly close in their two weeks alone together, with Rachel having been busy handling all of the high-level administrative tasks that had made her presence so crucial.

  Her flight training, which had been completed fairly recently, was strongly encouraged by Holly since it enabled Rachel’s peerless expertise in craft management to be utilised in small-crew missions where basic competence in core disciplines was crucial. Chase had similarly studied engineering and particularly craft repair and maintenance over the last few years, making this two-person crew close to optimal. The addition of Nisha would have made it that much better in Chase’s eyes, while a communications prodigy like Bradley Reinhart and a rover expert like Bo Harrington could have filled out a five-person crew had the option been available. He sometimes liked to consider pie-in-the-sky missions alongside those friends and two more who could round out his dream-team: security supremo Peter Ospanov and of course the ultimate all-rounder in the shape of his better half, Viola.

  As the current bare-bones dream team of two sat side-by-side in a Karrier drawing ever closer to humanity’s new frontier, Chase couldn’t help but wish that many more people were there to experience it. In another sense, however, the lack of such numbers was what would make the imminent moment so special — only two people would pass through Arkadia’s cloak and see the new world before anyone else, and Chase Jackson was one of them.

  Although Rachel was fully flight trained and had earned her pilot certification without too many difficulties, she didn’t have anything like the experience Chase had amassed over the past seven years. Unlike his, her confidence wasn’t boosted by having flown through deliberately hellish conditions on Terradox for fun, and she was particularly unsettled by the imminent prospect of flying into an invisibility cloak and trusting that it would let their Karrier through.

  Cloak-crossing was nothing new to Chase and he knew that the environment he would come across on the other side was extremely tame in comparison to some areas of Terradox — a point confirmed by the live readings of many on-the-ground instruments already stationed on Arkadia — and he repeatedly made these points in an effort to soothe Rachel’s mind.

  Both knew there would be nothing to worry about on the ground since there were indeed sensors everywhere, all of which had been communicating with both Earth and Terradox for months and confirming that all was well.

  The cameras on the inside of the atmosphere-retaining cloak had meanwhile been delivering high quality footage of every inch of Arkadia’s surface, and although Chase and Rachel hadn’t been privy to this footage they knew everything had gone to plan. Their primary task was not therefore to touch down and check everything was okay, but was rather to be seen touching down and also to deliver some highly specialised cargo.

  Chase positively knew that everything was going to be fine — his faith ensured that he truly knew it — but he got the strong impression that Rachel didn’t share this confidence.

  “This is one of those moments…” he said, turning away from the apparent expanse of space to glance at Rachel. “Once it’s been, you’ll wish you had it back. Don’t waste it worrying about bad things that aren’t going to happen, just try to swallow your fear and enjoy it.”

  Rachel closed her eyes and breathed deeply, then nodded intently as she opened them.

  Chase looked briefly at a countdown timer on his control console and returned his gaze to Rachel almost immediately. He held his right hand out towards her, inviting her to take it. “Eleven seconds,” he said.

  Rachel turned back towards the front-facing window but grabbed Chase’s hand without hesitation.

  “Damn, your grip is up there with Grav’s!” Chase laughed, exaggerating more than a little but still feeling the effects of his post-graduation shake-off even two weeks after the fact.

  Rachel was too intently focused on the false emptiness of space up ahead to even hear these words. All being well, Arkadia would appear as if from nowhere in a matter of seconds, and it was as though all of her senses but sight shut down to maximise her eyes’ acuity.

  For his par
t, Chase wasn’t just acting relaxed; he truly did have no doubt that everything would go perfectly to plan. The best minds humanity had to offer had worked on every part of this project, and people had been flying through cloaks for over a decade with no major incidents.

  He saw this cloak as new rather than untested, a distinction he used when convincing Nisha that he would be okay, and he certainly felt calmer than he had during Hell Runs on Terradox when his lightweight Wasp had to navigate harsh conditions and cross invisibility cloaks that changed position each time and required absolute alertness.

  “Four,” he said, casually glancing at the timer.

  “Three,” Rachel replied, slightly more than a second later but apparently calm enough to hear him this time.

  “Two,” they announced together.

  A second later, Rachel’s was the only voice to complete the word ‘one’.

  Their slightly mistimed count ensured that the timer hit zero before the word was out, and Chase’s well-honed and instinctive visual reactivity had caused his hands to drop Rachel’s hand and grab hold of the manual controls as soon as the Karrier was through the cloak.

  He very quickly sat back in his chair as the widest smile of his life danced across his face and the most incredible thing he’d ever seen grew ever larger and ever closer.

  “We made it!” Rachel yelled, jumping to her feet in unadulterated joy.

  Chase sat speechless, gazing in awe at the immensely vast and picturesque plains of Arkadia. “And we made that,” he eventually said, feeling a pride in humanity that far exceeded any he’d thought possible. “Rachel… we made that. Look at it! It looks like paradise.”

  “And this is the empty part,” Rachel beamed. “Wait until we see the rest…”

  thirteen

  The Arkadian atmosphere was calm, allowing for an effortless landing in the shadow of an imposing building identified by familiar signage as Arkadia Central Station.