Galileo (Battle of the Species)

by Meaghan Sinclair

  “I'm afraid it's mandatory,” Tom explained. “We can't risk students going days without sleeping until they get used to living in space. There isn't a species known to the Federation that can mentally survive sleep deprivation for too long. Here we are,” Tom said, stopping at a door.

  Renn looked down over the railing, realizing they were on the top floor. “Aren’t there elevators?” he asked.

  “Not in the dorms,” Tom replied. “Physical combat training doesn’t begin till the second year, so this will be the only exercise you’ll get this year. It’s important to keep moving. Now, place your hand on the door scanner and we'll get you registered for the dorms,” Tom said, motioning towards the scanner.

  Renn pressed his hand against the screen and the computer obliged by scanning.

  Tom lifted his right hand towards a small outlet beside the screen and ejected a thin chip from his finger.

  Renn's jaw dropped, not having realized Tom was an android. Tom inserted it into the outlet, but was interrupted by the computer.

  “Access granted,” a female voice said. Renn looked around for the speaker, recognizing it as computer generated, but couldn't tell where it came from. It seemed to come from all over. “Welcome to your new dorm room, Renn,” the computer said.

  “Oh,” Tom said, retracting the chip back into his finger. “You're already registered. I didn't realize you've been here before.”

  “I haven't,” Renn replied, looking at Tom.

  “I'm sorry, that doesn't make sense…” Tom replied.

  Renn just stood there staring at him, leaning in closer and closer to get a better look. Tom didn’t talk like a robot, Renn thought. Robots didn't usually say things like, “don't” or “can't,” instead of “do not” or “cannot.” Once Renn got past that, he had a hard time getting past how human Tom looked. Renn could see pores in his skin and hair on his arms. There was even a mole behind his left earlobe. The detail was fascinating.

  “You're an android?” Renn asked, leaving the possibility that he might be a cyborg.

  “Yes, I am,” Tom replied, as a smile crept across his face.

  “I've just never seen one look so…real before,” Renn said.

  “Thanks, Renn,” Tom said, beaming from ear to ear. “I'm a 3-90 Sigma from the Autobotica Corporation. They pride themselves on their realism. Shall we?” Tom said, motioning to the open door.

  “Oh. Yeah,” Renn said, following Tom into the room.

  There were five beds scattered around the room, with one made of pure ice, as a cooling system hummed away beneath it. Each bed had large white headboards that curved over into a canopy, creating a little privacy for the user. Situated beside the beds were small desks with chairs neatly tucked beneath them and mirrors behind them for dressing.

  Renn followed Tom to the bed in the back corner of the room, where Tom picked up a silver cuff that was lying on the top cover.

  “It’s your sleep regulator,” Tom said, handing it to Renn. “You put it on your ankle. It will automatically adjust to size.”

  Renn ran his finger over the smooth metal shell and the soft cushion inside. It was thin and light weight, and looked rather comfortable. On the outside, there were four small, flat circles ― one blue, one red, one green, and one yellow, in order to communicate with its user.

  “What happens if someone attacks the ship while I’m drugged?” Renn asked, concerned.

  “Everyone asleep receives a dose of adrenaline when an alarm is triggered and I haven’t seen a student be able to sleep through that yet.”

  Renn hesitated, but put the regulator on, nonetheless, and watched it tighten around his ankle, locking into place when it was snug. He felt around the device, finding no beginning or end.

  “Um…how do I take it off?” Renn asked.

  “You don’t. It stays on at all times, even during your first break off the ship. They’re timed to unlock when the school year is up and then you’ll put it back on when school begins again a couple weeks later,” Tom said.

  “Got it.”

  Renn looked to his right and saw the bed and desk next to Renn's, looked messy and disorganized. He could tell it was bothering the android by the way he kept glancing at it. Like Renn's father, Tom leaned down and picked things up to put them in their rightful place. Not so much to clean, rather to organize the room enough until he could stand to walk away from it.

  Renn sat down on his bed for a moment and saw a large computer screen at the foot of it. He tapped it on, accessing Cybernex’s public database for travel confirmations. He typed in his father’s information and saw that he had taken a portal to Temin, seconds after Renn had boarded the Galileo. At least he made it out, Renn thought. He typed in his mother’s information, which wouldn’t display without authorization. He placed his hand on the screen, not expecting it to work, but the screen read, “Access Granted,” delineating her current location as the Quintessence.

  “They both made it,” Renn said, relieved.

  “Excuse me?” Tom said.

  “Nothing,” Renn said, turning off the computer. He looked around and tried to give himself permission to relax, knowing his parents were alive. He had wanted to be in space most of his life, he just wished he didn’t still feel like he was going to throw up.

  He got up and walked around the room, seeing an open doorway. He walked through it to find a large bathroom with five sinks, five oddly shaped toilets, and five showerheads. It felt like he was about to have a very elaborate slumber party; he just didn't know any of the other guests yet.

  Renn heard the door slide open, and walked out of the bathroom, hoping to see his new roommates, but saw a ship-bot enter with a white cotton uniform instead. Renn took it, thanking the robot out of habit, unsure of whether it was customary to continue human etiquette with machines or not. But it seemed like the right thing to do.

  The robot left, but Tom stayed to clean the messy bunk. He stopped attempting to do it slyly, instead really going for it at that point.

  As anxious as Renn was getting to meet the guys he would be rooming with for the next year, he just wanted to be alone for a moment. Cleaning himself up first, thereby ridding him of the fish smell and splattered blood, seemed like a convenient reason at that point.

  Renn walked into the bathroom and took off his clothes, then stepped into the shower. He reached up to the wall, where one would have assumed a handle would be placed. Instead, he found nothing but a blank, slick wall. Renn looked around, up, down, to the side, behind him… “What the hell?” he muttered. “Hey, how do you turn the water on?” Renn asked, and then promptly received a blast of water in his face.

  Renn dodged the water, shouting, “Ayyyyyyyyy, too cold! Too cold!” and the water reversed to warm. Renn hesitated. “Water off,” he said, and the water stopped. “Water on,” and the water-pour resumed. He began cleaning, having figured out the system. “Soap?” he asked. The water became silky and aromatic, lathering when he rubbed his skin. He started with his blood-splattered arms, unable to stop the flashbacks of Frank dying. He scrubbed harder and harder as if the memory would disappear with the blood. The water turned back to a creamy white after a few minutes, but the vision of Frank’s horrified face continued to loom.

  He thought about his dad preparing for his own death, letting it sink in that he could have lost him. He put his hand against the wall, bracing himself, and muffled the sobs. After a few minutes, he focused on his breathing, in an attempt to calm himself down. He couldn’t get the screeching out of his ears and wished he could scrub his eyes to get the image of the Aranea and Eminites out of his mind. Dad’s on Temin, Mom’s on a ship, Max is at the fish market… Renn went over in his head. The ship flies through portals, Eminites and Aranea have no access to portals, the Galileo is the safest place I can be…

  After a few minutes of convincing himself that everything was going to be okay, the blue illumination faded from his palms. “Okay,” Renn said, looking at his hands once they began to a
ppear human again. He took a deep breath, pulling himself together.

  When he got out of the shower, he was hit with a startling blast of warm air from all directions, drying him in a matter of seconds. He climbed into his uniform and walked back to his bed to find the room was now immaculate. Renn smiled at Tom for resembling his father so much and marveled that the android had performed a task derived from a feeling rather than an order.

  “The room looks great, Tom,” Renn said.

  “Thanks, Renn!” Tom replied, beaming with pride.

  “Hey, is it possible to get towels instead of that blow-dry-thingy?” Renn asked.

  “Yeah, of course…”

  The door slid open once again, this time allowing his roommates to filter in. Renn had wondered if he would be able to recognize any of the species. He was a little disappointed when three humans walked in, but couldn't resist smiling when the last boy entered. Renn could only assume he was the one who would be taking the bed of ice. He was a Crystallian, tall and lanky, with short white hair and piercing blue eyes. He would have looked more or less human, had his body not been near transparent. Crystallians were cold-blooded and as far as Renn knew, never went off planet. The Crystallian made eye contact with Renn and smiled.

  “Hi. Are you rooming here?” the boy asked.

  “Yeah,” Renn said, trying not to stare. “I'm Renn.”

  “I'm Leo,” he replied, laying down on the bed of ice. “That's Dylan, Ivan, and Rudy,” he said, pointing to the other guys in the room.

  Each of them wore a white uniform, indicating they were First Years. Leo's uniform, however, seemed to be made of thin gauze, while the humans' were of thick cotton flannel.

  “Well, I'll be going now,” Tom said, taking one more glance around the room. “Goodnight, boys.”

  “Goodnight, Tom,” the boys replied.

  “Are you guys from Earth or Temin?” Renn asked.

  “Temin,” Rudy replied. “Why?”

  “No reason,” Renn replied, having expected Temians to be a little deformed from all the pollution and technology. At least, that was the danger involved when a society became too industrial, according to Earth’s constant public service announcements.

  Ivan was tall, muscular, and didn't look too bright. His blond hair was slicked back, making him look like he was trying a little too hard to look cool. Rudy had light brown curly hair, kept short and unruly. He was overweight, but wore a baggy uniform in a labored attempt to conceal it. Then there was Dylan. Dylan was black, of medium height with an athletic build, and appeared to be bursting with personality without having to say a word.

  “Are you from Mindeere?” Dylan asked.

  “No, Earth,” Renn said.

  “No kidding?” Ivan said. “I always thought Earthlings worked on farms and…I don't know, sat around chewing grass all day.”

  “Jeez, you make us sound like a bunch of cows,” Renn replied.

  “What the hell’s a cow?” Rudy interjected.

  Renn looked over to see Rudy turning his area of the room back into the mess Tom had just cleaned up. A faint squeaking could be heard as he pulled out a small, white furry creature, that wrapped its furry tail around Rudy’s hand like it was a common occurrence. The creature yawned and brushed its floppy ears out of its eyes with its soft paws, while clinging onto a sock. It looked around, trying to wake up.

  Renn smiled, recognizing it as a Fep. Feps had a bacterial strain throughout their bodies like fireflies, causing them to illuminate in the dark. It was a common pet for kids on Temin, replacing plug-in nightlights, but they were becoming popular on Earth because of how docile and cute they were.

  The Fep had climbed into Rudy’s drawer, beneath his bed, and snuggled into one of Rudy’s socks. Rudy tried to take the sock away, but the Fep whimpered and wouldn’t let go, designating it as his sock.

  “Yeah, all right,” Rudy said, releasing the garment.

  Rudy put the Fep back in its cage, sock and all, and began cooing at it as if it were a baby. Rudy rummaged through the drawer once again and found a tiny teddy bear, which he put into the cage. The Fep hugged it as if it were a long lost friend and sat down, nestling in the sock, as it snuggled the bear.

  “Is it just me or is this room getting darker?” Renn asked, looking up.

  “That's Ava,” Rudy said. “The lights darken right before the sleep regulators go off. I like it. It gives it a night time feel.”

  Renn could see how that would be helpful, when life continued just outside their door at all hours. Other species were just waking up, or had yet to go to bed, not requiring as much sleep as other species. This caused the classes to be ongoing, rotating in cycles to accommodate the myriad sleep patterns aboard the ship.

  “Who’s Ava?” Renn asked.

  “The ship’s computer. She’s always listening. Right, Ava?” Ivan asked looking up.

  “Right, Ivan,” Ava replied.

  “That’s kind of freaky,” Renn couldn’t help but say.

  “Okay, now you sound like an Earthling,” Dylan said, smiling.

  Renn made a mental note to avoid talking about how unnerving the amount of technology on the ship was. It would take some getting used to, that much he knew.

  All of the sleep regulators in the room emitted a quick beep, with a flash of blue light, and the boys began getting ready for bed.

  Renn realized he didn't even have a toothbrush to brush his teeth with or pajamas to change into. He took his shoes and climbed onto the bed, hoping that would suffice. He then turned on the monitor at the foot of his bed and pulled up the Federation News, scrolling through the articles, which updated at a steady pace.

  Wars were happening all over the Federation, new inventions were created in a steady stream, and new solar systems were discovered on a daily basis.

  Renn typed in “Camden, Maine, Earth” into the searcher, bringing up the local news for the small farming town. The feature news article was about the Eminite attack, listing the death toll at the Searsmont Police Station as forty five Earthlings, with five more humans that had been bitten by Aranea and were to be euthanized. To the right of the article was a broadcast video, waiting to be played. Renn looked around the screen and found a compartment housing wireless earplugs. He put them in his ears and tapped the screen to play.

  A beautiful human female spoke earnestly, “There are firelighters torching the location, igniting not only the dead Aranea and Eminites, but searching for Aranean eggs. This wouldn't be the first time the Aranea had planted eggs before losing a battle, to have the eggs hatch a year later, devouring their enemy by surprise.”

  Renn paused the broadcast when a picture next to it caught his eye. It was of a tall Mindeerian female walking in front of two men, one with large wings behind his back, and the other clearly human. He stared at the photograph, realizing it was the first time he had ever seen his mother's face up close. She had battle scars on her face that seemed to accentuate her beauty rather than detract from it. She had light blue eyes, with a furrow between her brows, making Renn wonder what she was thinking about and whether the thoughts were ever about him.

  Beneath the photograph read, “Hollen, captain of the Quintessence, Schepp Eber, 1st lieutenant (left) and Micah Callor, sergeant (right).”

  Renn looked around the room and found a clear memory stick in his desk. He tapped it on the computer screen, uploading the photograph to the stick, and then transferred the picture to an empty picture frame by his bed. He turned off the computer screen and lay back, staring at the picture of his mother.

  His stomach growled and he considered running to find the mess hall before bed, but his sleep regulator let out another two beeps, blinking two blue lights. Renn settled in his bed, more concerned about what the device was about to do to him than his deprived stomach.

  He crawled under the covers and tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable. He tugged at the blanket near his side and thought about his dog, Max. It was the first time he had gone t
o bed without him since he was eight and it felt awful. Renn took his pillow and rested it against his legs, taking comfort in the familiar weight. After a few minutes, his anklet gave another beep, flashing a green light through his blanket. He felt his eyes grow heavy and gave a big yawn, before drifting into a deep sleep.

  CHAPTER 6

  Simulation

  The next morning, Renn took another shower for good measure, worried that he might still be plagued with a fish smell, and put on his white uniform. The outfit he was given looked like shapeless pajamas made of thin cotton and was two sizes too large, heavily wrinkled from having been slept in the night before.

  He ran his hand over his arm, where the skin was raw from scratching in his sleep. Inside the sleeve, he found a coarse label that read, “Human. One size fits all. Made on Temin.” It explained the dismal quality of the uniform, Renn thought. His Temian roommates’ uniforms, however, were designed with intricate patterns and made of soft, durable material.

  Renn picked up one of Rudy’s thick, fitted thermals from off the floor, reading the label, “Made on Earth” — a label distinguishing the rich humans on Temin, who could afford to buy durable clothes from Earth, as opposed to the poor humans, who could only afford to buy mass-manufactured and chemically corrupted garments.

  The only uniformity of the student body’s clothes was the color, leaving the style up to the individual for fit and self-expression. Unfortunately for Renn, his style currently screamed, “Poor industrial lemming, right here!” He cringed, hoping his dad would send clothes from Earth, preferably soon.

  They left for the mess hall, leaving Ivan in the bathroom so he could spend extra time on his hair, making sure every hair was perfectly in place and up to his standards, or so he said.

  Renn’s stomach growled while they made their way down the ship’s corridors.

  They passed another hologram sign, advertising Battle of the Species, announcing the games for First Years would begin on the 34th, and Renn just about ran into a wall, unable to keep his eyes off of it. The sign displayed a boy in battle gear, standing on a rocky mountain planet with a scoreboard hovering in the sky. The scoreboard counted down from five, four, three, two, one. On “one,” a large, black beast with three eyes and four limbs, jumped out from behind a large hill of rocks and began an intense battle with the fighter.