by Sayuri Ueda
“How do you mean?”
“The Rounds have a different physiology and accordingly, they have different values. Disregarding the other is the most peaceful method of interaction,” Kline explained.
“But you all live on the same station.”
“This is the special district. It isn’t like the other parts of the station. You musn’t think of this place in the same way.”
Residential units were scattered throughout the garden. The yellowish-ochre modules bunched together resembled an insect’s nest.
“Those are the residential quarters,” Kline explained.
“Does each of the quarters house only one Round?”
“There are units that accommodate one, and larger units that house five or six.”
“Are they resistant to gunfire and explosions?”
“Not likely. Under fire they’d probably just fall into a heap in seconds.”
Shirosaki stared at the clusters of units as he continued to walk. There were residences scattered all throughout the district. Impossible for an intruder to take many hostages at once. Most of the residents should be able to escape.
Since the plan was to neutralize any threat of an attack at the docking bays, it was unlikely anyone would penetrate the station this far.
A Round family was peering at Shirosaki from the window of a residential unit. Shirosaki smiled and waved as he would to his own child, but neither the adult nor children registered any response. Turning away, they disappeared from the window. Shirosaki lowered his hand and asked Kline, “Were those children third-generation?”
“Yes.”
“They seem awfully big considering when these experiments began.”
“The Rounds mature at a much faster rate than we do. They reach adulthood three times faster.”
“Then they have a shorter life span?”
“Actually their rate of aging slows upon reaching adulthood. If you try to guess their age by our sensibilities, you’ll find yourself mistaken. The Rounds have a growth calendar uniquely their own. One Round year is different from one Monaural year.”
“How is that possible?”
“Through the miracle of space medicine, really,” Kline said. “One of the advances in biogerontology. Mars and Earth have also pursued it, but the research on Jupiter-I is the most advanced. The technology has to do with controlling the secretion of growth hormones and telomerase synthesis. Given the need for good people to work on the cosmic frontier now, all the better if they mature faster and live longer. There’s no need for a waiting period. We don’t have the luxury of waiting eighteen or nineteen years like on Earth or Mars.”
“So how are the Rounds different?”
“According to the Monaural growth calendar, our body secretes an enormous amount of growth hormones until we’re six and begins to secrete gonadotropins at seven until maturation. Once we reach adulthood, the body secretes less gonadotropins and begins to produce telomerase.”
Telomerase is an enzyme that acts upon a base sequence of DNA called telomeres, which limit the number of times the body’s cells can divide and replicate. The number of telomeres decreases as cell division is repeated. Once the telomeres are completely gone, the cells cannot reproduce. The telomerase essentially acts to replenish the telomeres as they erode so the cells can live longer. Theoretically, the body’s cells can go on replicating endlessly as long as the telomerase remains active. The body can continue to produce tissue, thereby slowing the aging process.
“The Rounds receive injections of telomerase genes, and T-antigen genes. Scientists also made modifications to the Rounds’ klotho genes, to mitigate the aging process as well as change the 5,178th base sequence of the mitochondrial DNA from cytosine to adenine. A nanomachine that replicates neurons is implanted in their brain. The Rounds are also much more resistant to cosmic radiation.”
“Do you mean to tell me that we have the technology to make us immortal?”
“Oh, no. There’s much more research to be done before we attain immortality. We may have succeeded in prolonging the life span of the Rounds, but the technology is far from perfect. We estimate the Rounds will continue to live healthy lives past two hundred, but the first generation has already begun to show signs of aging. Although they appear outwardly young, their blood test results tell another story.”
“Still, they’ll outlive us. Is that right?”
“Probably. Without ever experiencing senility or physical impairments.”
Kline’s gaze wandered and her face lit up. “Ah, we’re in luck,” she said. “That’s the leader of the Rounds over there. I’ll introduce you to em.”
The Round was picking fruit from the bioengineered plants. Ey was tall with eir long straight hair behind em. Ey appeared to be a little older than Dr. Tei.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Kline called out.
The Round turned around and looked at Shirosaki with placid eyes.
“This is Fortia, the superintendent of the special district,” said Kline.
Fortia bowed eir head slightly and said, “Welcome to the special district,” in fluent English. Ey spoke politely, but there was a chill in eir look. Unlike the other Rounds who’d remained expressionless, ey was clearly gazing at Shirosaki with a look of caution.
“Fortia is Latin for ‘strength,’” Kline explained. “All Round names are derived from Latin words. The Monaural names are gender-specific. Lucy is a woman’s name, Jim is a man’s name, and so on. Since names connoting gender distinctions aren’t appropriate for the Rounds, we decided to give them Latin names in the tradition of scientific names. The names come from nouns, verbs, and at times, adjectives. We came up with the names for how they sound, so please don’t read too much into their original meaning.”
Fortia twisted eir lip into a smile and asked Kline, “Is he part of the security staff?”
“There’s no need to be alarmed. Not everyone on the security team is like Commander Harding.”
Fortia appeared masculine to Shirosaki. Maybe it was eir build. Compared to Dr. Tei, ey was taller and had a much bonier physique.
If Shirosaki stared long enough, ey might have even looked like a strapping middle-aged woman or a life-weary mother. And yet, Shirosaki sensed something very masculine about Fortia. He didn’t quite understand the standards by which he was projecting his own perceptions of masculinity and femininity onto the Round. Was it one’s outward appearance and attire? The timbre of the voice? Mannerisms? None were factors that definitively distinguished one sex from the other.
People whose gender identity was incongruous with their biological sex were no longer a rarity even in Shirosaki’s society. Sexuality was not determined by one’s physiology alone. Then by what standard was he intuiting Fortia’s sex? On what basis was he perceiving one sex more strongly than the other?
Fortia asked Kline, “Has something happened to prompt a visit from special security?”
“We’ve received word of a possible terrorist attack. We expect to contain the threat in the docking bays, but Commander Shirosaki is inspecting the layout of the facilities just in case.”
“We should go inside. This isn’t something we should be discussing here.” With that, Fortia turned around and made eir way down the path.
The exterior of Fortia’s residence was painted a light green, making it easier to pick out from among the others.
As soon as Shirosaki entered the room, he let out a cry of admiration. The interior was made of wood. For Shirosaki, who’d been born on Earth, it was nothing if not a nostalgic sight.
The polished boards were not poor imitations made of nonflammable synthetic materials or metals; they had been cut from real trees. From cedar and cypress trees no less. Where did they manage to procure this much wood? Wood panels covered the hall, ceiling, and the entire walls. The stairs leading up to the second floor were also made of cut logs. The rustic interior seemed entirely out of place on a space station responsible for developing the latest scien
tific technology.
“Does it interest you to see a house made of wood?” asked Fortia.
“More like nostalgia,” answered Shirosaki. “Homes like these exist only on Earth now, and not everyone can afford to build a home from such expensive materials as wood.”
“The materials here are from the trees grown in the special district. Wood is quite handy for maintaining the humidity and temperature.”
“How do you manage to grow cedars and cypress trees in this space?”
“They’re genetically engineered dwarf breeds, so they only grow to about six feet. The wood boards are laid over a framework built from synthetic materials.”
“Are all of the units like this?”
“They’re all designed a bit differently, but basically, yes. We Rounds don’t have any experience living on the planets, so I can’t speak to your feelings of nostalgia. We’re only using the wood because it’s a useful material. How nice you find it pleasing.”
They stepped inside the living room and found another Round. When ey looked up from whatever ey was doing, Shirosaki instantly recognized eir masculine qualities. Ey appeared to be younger than Fortia. A young man. When Fortia asked em to make them some tea, ey nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.
Fortia offered Kline and Shirosaki a seat on the sofa.
“My partner, Album. I suppose that makes us husband and wife in your society.”
Having assumed they were siblings, Shirosaki replied flatly, “I see.”
As estranged as the Rounds were from Monaural society, the interior and furnishings were completely Earth-inspired. Perhaps the Rounds had yet to come into their own in this aspect of culture or they simply accepted whatever tools were practical. Or perhaps they were deliberately being made to use these familiar items in order to minimize the differences between Rounds and Monaurals.
Shirosaki looked up at the ceiling. There was a skylight above the living room. He didn’t exactly know why a house would need a skylight in a place where no sky existed, but maybe this too was another cultural influence adopted from Monaural society. No doubt the skylight had been incorporated into the design more as a novelty than for its functionality.
Album returned and placed several sealed containers of tea on the table. Although eir bony fingers were in no way delicate, after having heard the two were husband and wife, Shirosaki couldn’t help but feel strangely attracted to them. He felt discomfited by the inescapable tendency to distinguish the Rounds by his own standards of gender. After thanking Album, he took one of the heated containers and opened the seal. He felt the warm tea go down his throat, along with the sensation that he had not quite caught up to the reality of the special district.
“Do you mind if Album joins us?” Fortia asked. “Ey is also an assistant superintendent of the special district.”
“Of course not,” Shirosaki replied. Then he proceeded to explain why the security staff was being doubled. How a terrorist group called the Vessel of Life was plotting to destroy the special district. How the terrorists would likely come in on one of the cargo vessels. How he and his security team were familiarizing themselves with the facilities in the event of a battle.
Fortia and Album listened without a hint of emotion.
Their non-reaction made Shirosaki uneasy. Isolated as they were in the special district, were they unable to understand how frightening a terrorist threat was? Perhaps they didn’t comprehend how violent the humans on Mars and Earth were.
After Shirosaki warned them of the possibility of a shoot-out inside the docking bays, Fortia turned to Kline. “Isn’t the construction of Apertio complete yet?”
“Not for another three years. There are also supplies to procure. We’re not anywhere near launching it.”
“It doesn’t matter where, as long as we can get far enough away from the Monaurals. Maybe the terrorists will give up if we can somehow get as far as Saturn.”
“Colonizing Saturn isn’t possible yet. There’s still so much data to collect and so many issues to resolve,” Kline reminded em.
“What about Venus or Mercury?”
“Their environments are too severe.”
“It’s been three generations. We can’t continue to depend on the Monaurals forever.”
“Is there a plan to move the Rounds?” Shirosaki cut in reluctantly. “And what is Apertio?”
“The Rounds are preparing to participate in experiments to establish settlements beyond Jupiter,” Kline answered. “As I explained earlier, the Rounds are, on the record, a race engineered for the express purpose of space exploration.”
“Do you mean to tell me they’re acting as human subjects in our place?”
“To put it bluntly, yes.”
“But they must be terrified,” Shirosaki said. “Or at least resistant.”
Fortia laughed. “I’m proud to be a Round. I will be venturing into uncharted space before any Monaural, testing the limits of my skills to gather valuable data. That data will serve as the foundation for when the Monaurals are ready to journey farther into space. I have been entrusted with a wonderful and rewarding job. We’re capable of doing the work no unmanned probe will be able to handle in your stead. We’ll die satisfied, even if it means cutting short our lives. Didn’t you Monaurals embark on space exploration with those same high aspirations all those many years ago? That’s what we Rounds are trying to do now. For all of humanity.”
Fortia spoke with unwavering conviction, eir voice revealing not even a hint of doubt.
Unlike Shirosaki, who’d return to Mars when his job here was done, the Rounds had only Jupiter-I and unexplored space. They had no home. They were like human probes, destined to travel deeper and deeper into space to gather data for as long as they lived.
“I’m willing to undergo any physical change to adapt to space. We may be nothing more than imitations of Monaurals now, but we don’t have to be human if that’s what it takes to adapt. A new being. I wouldn’t mind that at all.”
“The construction of a vessel is now under way on Asteroid City,” explained Kline. “A supership capable of towing the special district—that’s the Apertio.”
“The special district entirely?”
“Jupiter-I is shaped like a cored pineapple before it’s cut into round slices. The special district will be cut away from the rest of the space station, just like one of those slices, and will head for Saturn towed by the supership.”
“I see. So the special district was designed to be part of a long-term exploration vessel from the start.”
“One that can be cut loose by removing just a few screws. Or perhaps it’s more like cutting it away with an enormous knife,” Fortia said. “The current threat will not be the end of the Vessel of Life’s activities. Eventually we will have to leave the space station.”
“The people on Earth and Mars are afraid that the technology enabling us to become bigender will make its way into their societies,” Album said. “They’ll come after us as long as we’re within reach. That’s why we need to get out of here.”
“But I thought there were laws forbidding this technology from leaving the station.”
“The Monaurals don’t give a damn about that. All they feel is hate and repulsion. When I hear all of the horrible incidents happening on Earth and Mars, I can see there’s no negotiating with them.”
“If that were true, humanity would have perished long ago.”
“All Monaurals are good at is preserving the status quo,” Album said. “They only care about what’s in it for them; they’re not interested in discussing solutions.”
“That’s enough politics,” Fortia said severely. “You’re being rude to our guests.”
Smiling crookedly, Album leaned back on the sofa and said nothing more.
“The people on Earth and Mars are afraid their next generation will be injected with the double-I chromosomes,” said Kline. “With the inclusion of bigenders in their society, the old concepts of gender and sex will be co
mpletely destroyed. This is what the Vessel of Life fears most. The idea of one human possessing both sexes baffles them. At best, they may understand the concept of changing from one sex to another. To them, surgically transplanting sexual organs is nothing more than the act of a deviant, never mind switching XX and XY for double-I chromosomes.”
“Isn’t it your job to ensure that technology doesn’t get leaked?”
“Any information that exists will eventually be leaked, as long as there is someone coveting it.”
“Are you suggesting that people are after double-I for themselves even though the Vessel of Life opposes it?” Shirosaki asked.
“Naturally. Humans desire change even while they desire stasis. And generally speaking, they prefer to change physically before they do psychologically.”
“But you didn’t seem very shocked to see us, Commander Shirosaki,” Fortia noted.
“Shocked enough, I assure you. I’ve been trained to control my emotions.”
“Not everyone on the security team is like you.”
“Are you talking about Harding?”
“I’m not speaking only of him. Usually Monaurals react oddly when they first see us, like they don’t quite know where to look.” Fortia continued, “Tell me something. If you were able, would you choose to be transplanted with double-I? Would you choose to change your sex chromosomes?”
“Thank you, but no. I’m perfectly satisfied being a man,” Shirosaki said.
“It appears you’re someone we can trust,” Fortia said, smiling for the first time. “You’re not like Commander Harding. You’re not trying to understand us or seeking our friendship. And that’s just fine. We don’t need Monaurals to understand us. All you need to know is that we exist on Jupiter-I. We need you to protect us. There’s absolutely no need for any sort of human interaction between the Rounds and Monaurals.”
“What has Harding done? Why do you dislike him?”
“That’s none of your concern.” Fortia said nothing more.
Kline did not offer an answer. Album let slip a sneer.
Clearly something had happened that hadn’t been reported to Captain Hasukawa. As much as this troubled Shirosaki, he kept silent. That no report had been filed no doubt spelled some sort of scandal best kept private. Although Harding seemed to dislike Kline and the Rounds, the problem seemed to stem from him.
