by Greg Chase
“And you think if everyone has sex with each other, there’s no hidden agenda? Sounds a little naïve, my friend.” Sam had experienced more than his fair share of girlfriends who’d used sex to get what they wanted.
“You’re right, of course. But it’s one less obstacle. The goal is honesty in our meetings. If you’re hurt by a decision, express it; don’t hide it. Be aware of other people’s feelings, but don’t deny your own. It’s only been twenty years. We’ll get there eventually.”
“But it’s basically a democracy, right?” Sam had been to enough meetings to see how things worked, more or less.
“We don’t have a convenient term for our decision making. Mostly, it’s majority rule. We’re a small enough group that everyone can be heard. But not all voices are equal on all subjects. If a group of us decided they wanted all the trees to grow in the other direction, my say might veto their idea.”
Sam nodded. “I can see that. So someone who runs one of the groups, like you run building the structures, would have more power than someone like me who just works as a pair of hands.”
“Depends on the subject. If it were about how many hours can someone new to this line of work be expected to put in without a break, you’d have more of a say than I do.”
“Who decides? I’ve noticed Doc isn’t really in charge.” So many of the village meetings ended without Sam knowing what, if anything, had been resolved.
Yoshi finished tying off the top of the young tree against its neighbor. “We call Doc the facilitator. He does his best to keep everyone calm and focused, makes sure people are heard without dominating the conversation, and ultimately weighs the various sides and people to figure out our path forward. It’s not an enviable position. Each year, we keep reelecting him, even though I suspect he’d like a break.”
Sam drifted up from the trees and vines to inspect the work. The community was a beautiful patchwork of strengths and flexibilities, each adding to the other to create a living space for all. Physically, intellectually, and spiritually, he began to see how he too could be grafted into this idea of utopia.
He didn’t need to guess at the identity of the muscular individual who thrust out of the vegetation like a swimmer diving off the starting platform. Sam hadn’t been looking forward to a confrontation with Jonathan, but he had to admire his form. The man had the grace of a dolphin cutting through the water.
“I suppose you know who I am, but I thought it was past time we met formally. I’m Jonathan. Oh, and sorry about that wisteria vine. Not my most mature moment, I guess.”
Sam expected to feel anger, or fear, maybe even a little victory, but sympathy was a surprise. “I’d never have seen the far end of the pod if you hadn’t cut that cord.”
“It’s not such a bad place,” Jonathan said. “I’ve been known to head back there when I’ve got something on my mind. Been spending a fair amount of time back there lately,”
Sam wondered how long they’d dance around the subject of Jess. “Come to any conclusions?” Friend or foe?
“I’d like to say I only want what’s best for Jess,” Jonathan said. “But that’d only be partially true. She’s talked with me about you. She’s happy. And that needs to be enough for me. In time, hopefully, it will be. Just thought you should know. You don’t need to keep looking over your shoulder.”
“I appreciate that,” Sam said.
Jonathan looked toward the clear wall, through which a small, rapidly approaching dot of a planet was visible. “You know, once we land, maybe you could introduce me around the planet outpost. I think maybe I need to find someone who hasn’t known me all my life.”
10
Jess squeezed Sam’s hand as they floated out beyond the vegetation of the agro pod. They were out into the open between village life and the transparent wall that held them all from the vastness of space. They weren’t alone. All along the mile-long tube, others drifted out toward the curved wall, staring intently at the same minor planet orbiting under the ship. Chariklo.
Jess reached out a hand toward their new home. “I feel like I could touch it. Look at all that plant life.”
Vertigo threatened to make Sam close his eyes. But focusing on the work ahead helped. “Yoshi must be beside himself. I wonder if he had any idea how fast those plants grew. They must be twice the size of the ones we have here.”
Anna, a teenager who’d grown fond of Sam, drifted up beside Jess. “What’s falling off that rock wall?”
It took a moment for Sam to pick out the feature nestled in the dense growth. “That’s a waterfall. See down at the base? There’s a lake. And the field beside it wouldn’t make a bad site for the village.”
Jess hugged Sam tight to her side. “It’s all so beautiful. Do you know how to swim? Can you teach me?”
He watched light from the solar array shine off the deep-blue water. “It might be a little cold for swimming, but once the second set of solar arrays are in place, hopefully it’ll be more inviting.”
Doc sailed up to Sam. “I’m taking a small party down to check things out. Yoshi wants you to join us. Says you’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ll stop by the outpost first. Then the better part of the day will be spent scouting out the site for the main village.”
Jess turned to Doc, her eyes wide. “Please pick that field next to the waterfall.”
He laughed at his daughter’s request. “You’re not the first to mention that spot. It’s high on the list. But there are one or two others Yoshi wants to check out. Whatever we pick, I’m certain we’ll have some type of meeting area around that small lake. Don’t worry.”
The journey to the planet took only slightly longer than the run to the living pod on Leviathan. But this time, everyone watched from the agro pod as Sam and five others made the short trip down to the outpost. Sam stared beyond the cluster of half-round cylinders. Nothing about the outpost intrigued him, but out there, out over the ridge, he noticed sparkling light reflected between the trees. A glance at the others in the shuttle told Sam his weren’t the only eyes more interested in the horizon than in their landing spot.
He found it hard to make much out of the man who greeted the small shuttle as they landed. The heavy neck-to-toe space jacket hid most of the man’s features. Only dull, humorless eyes could be seen under the mat of black hair that fell from the man’s head. “Nice to see the prodigal children finally found their way home.”
Doc smiled broadly at hearing the man’s voice. “It’s good to see you, Drystan. The trip took a little longer than we’d planned.”
The joke elicited a booming laugh that shook the stranger’s thick jacket. “Can’t say I’m going to miss this cold. Any chance you can get those solar arrays up and running first thing?”
Doc pointed overhead. “The ship’s crew is already working on it.”
Drystan directed the small party into the one-mile by one-mile outpost structure. Once inside, he unfastened his garment to reveal a slight man of roughly Sam’s height. “It’s not the cold so much. It’s that it never changes. Combined with the perpetual twilight, outside always feels like the depth of winter.”
As Doc and Drystan discussed the specifics of landing the village and the agro pod, Yoshi took Sam on a short tour of the outpost. “It’s been over twenty years, but it hasn’t changed much. The shops are new, but they would be. We only brought the basics in the way of commerce on that first trip. The original agro pod’s clear domes make up the center of the outpost. Things like restaurants and entertainment are handled there, where people can look up at the stars.”
People crowded the small shops inside the half-cylindrical, ancient pods. The structures were an odd assortment of old terraforming technologies and housed everything from street vendors selling fresh food to modern computer stores advertising the latest in outdated machines, the only computers available this far from Earth.
And between the rows of merchants were menacing, dark alleyways hinting at the available contraband the pirates had s
muggled in. Smells of burnt street food mixed with the clay dust kicked up from the dirt floor. The clientele displayed the variety of people who would find their way to such an outpost: miners, colonists from other centaur planets too small for such a marketplace, and dark figures who wished to be left to themselves.
Sam had to wonder if it was really busy or just seemed that way because he hadn’t been around so many people for so long. “How do you think our tribe will react to the outpost’s population? Seems as if all these new people will be a shock to the system.”
Yoshi shrugged his shoulders under the twenty-plus-year-old jacket. “Hard to say. But few of our people ever expressed any interest in the rest of Leviathan, so I’d doubt many would want to visit this level of human activity. And the plan is to land everyone at our chosen village site. No need to tempt them just yet.”
The smell of dust from various planets mixed with human odors. The indoor lighting reminded Sam of a cloud-covered day on Earth. After a year in the lush plant life of the agro pod—with its rich, clean smells and the inviting feeling of home—the outpost threatened to put Sam into a mild depression. Too much like Earth.
Doc sprang between Yoshi and Sam. “We’re all set. Feel like checking out some building sites?”
Sam shook the funk of the outpost off his shoulders as they returned to the small shuttle. “Will we have to deal with them often, Doc?”
“Shouldn’t think so. They are our connection to the outside solar system. So if something drastic happens, they’ll let us know. And if someone gets too claustrophobic from village life, there’s at least a source of escape. Other than that, our agreement has always been they keep to themselves and we’re free to run the rest of the planet as we see fit. But I did want you to see their community. That link you have with Lev should allow you to reach out from the outpost if you need to.”
Between the noise, the bustle of people, and the overstimulation of sights and smells, Sam hadn’t paid much attention to the network of computers buzzing in his head. That familiar technological eavesdropping had been in the background, letting him know all he had to do was ask a question and the answer would present itself via some nosy piece of connected hardware. But he’d been too busy to give it much of his attention. A cold shudder ran down his spine. At least people could keep their thoughts to themselves.
He longed for the mental quiet of village life. Even though the agro pod was connected to the space freighter, Doc had not let any terminals interfere with their sociological experiment. Sam could see the appeal of a society in which people connected directly without the help of technology.
Doc’s control of the shuttle left Sam on edge. It was unnerving enough to watch him maneuver the craft from one pod on Leviathan to the other with only produce, but with the uneven terrain of the planet so menacingly close below, Sam had to wonder at Doc’s credentials for operating a ship occupied by other people. The first building site was a large, open space on a mountain plateau. Yoshi vetoed it before they could even land the shuttle to take a look. It had the advantage of high ground for protection, and the lack of vegetation meant the plants they’d brought with them in the agro pod would have plenty of room. But with little else in the way of established trees, the site held little appeal.
Site two nestled along the banks of a deep river. Tall hardwood trees crowded out the light. Below the jungle canopy, small animals played among the ferns. Had it been a camping expedition, Sam thought they couldn’t have done better. But the lack of light and the heavily established trees would make for a long battle creating Yoshi’s living buildings. Still, Sam thought he’d have to remember the spot for when he and Jess wanted some alone time.
All eyes stared intently at the grassy landing field of site three as the five passengers stood by the shuttle. The waterfall that Anna had first spotted from space towered over the deep alpine lake. The mist filled the air with a natural cleanliness. The meadow was smaller than Sam had expected, but no one else seemed to care. Yoshi ran through the aspen forest that bordered the grassy field waving his arms like a kid discovering nature for the first time.
The small gardener returned to the group out of breath. “It’s perfect. The trees are easily bendable, and we can graft most of our existing structures just beyond the aspens.”
Doc nodded as he turned to another member of the group. “Food propagation?”
Serena, a woman only slightly older than Jess, smiled. “Jess would kill me if I said no. There’s plenty of space along the meadow for the vegetable garden. Hey, why didn’t you bring her?”
Doc grunted. “She’s got too much sway with Sam and me. I needed someone to analyze these sites logically, not based on some romantic notion of beauty.”
He was right. With a smile or excited burst of emotion from Jess, Sam would try hard to give her what she wanted, even if that wasn’t in the tribe’s best interest. And this would be the kind of place that would make her squeal like a ten-year-old. He had to think logically, but even logic could be bent to give her what he knew she’d want. Best to wait till the others had their say.
“So food and shelter are a go.” Doc spun slowly around the site. “Engineering, yeah I’d have to say it works for me too.” He turned to the small older gentleman. “Security?”
The man grumbled as his eyes surveyed the rock wall. “It’s not ideal. If a pirate raiding party were to ambush us, we’d be trapped. But you know my feelings.”
“I’ve always valued your opinion, Hamish.” Doc rested a hand on the man’s shoulders. “You’ve seen us through a number of rough patches. I didn’t include you on this little scouting trip for no reason.”
The man nodded his large head, accepting the compliment. “We could do worse than this spot. Give me a couple of days, and I’ll have a nice escape path to the top of that ridge. From up there, we ought to be able to contact the outpost if things get ugly.”
Doc turned to the scouting party’s remaining member—Jenifer, the reproductive specialist. “Families, kids, education—can you see it all happening here?”
“I share Hamish’s concern about its isolation.” The woman took her time walking along the edge of the small lake. “I’d prefer someplace where we could at least have a direct link to the outpost. Even better, to the solar system at large. But I know that’s a losing battle. Other than that, I think this spot will do nicely.”
“Good enough, and we’ll keep an eye out for how we can establish some type of computer connection without it becoming a distraction.” Doc turned to Sam. “And what about you?”
“What about me?” Sam looked around, hoping for some clarification on what he was supposed to say. He’d once woken up in the middle of a college class as all the students were staring at him, the professor clearly having just asked him a question. The memory came back crystal clear as the other leaders of the village gave him very similar looks.
“As village spiritual leader, would you say this site would work for our tribe? Or did you think I just brought you along for a sightseeing expedition?”
Sam knew Doc wasn’t really cross but was just having a little fun at his expense. “Feels pretty inspiring to me. I don’t know. What am I supposed to be looking for?” He couldn’t imagine how one site would be any different from another based on spirituality.
Doc scanned the meadow from the lakeshore to the edge of the forest. “You’ll need a meeting room, a place big enough for the whole tribe no matter how large we become. Probably a place to teach the practicalities of life in space versus functioning with the challenge of gravity. Think beyond the norm, past what we scientists think a village needs to what people will want. Ten years from now, what do you think this place will look like? Will this site work for that vision?”
Sam sat at the lake’s edge and let his mind play, seeing small structures grow into larger homes as children were born and people discovered new passions like cooking, swimming, and gravitational sex. He longed for the mature village he’d created in his
mind. Jess, too, would love that vision of the future.
Tears filled his eyes as he nodded.
Doc smiled. “It’s settled, then. This is to be our new home.”
Sam’s hands bled from the effort of preparing the twenty-one-year-old plants in the agro pod for transport down to the planet. His days were occupied with trimming stalks and vines, dislodging the dirt containers from their moorings, bundling up the smaller structures, and—worst of all—dismantling the largest rooms.
But then, he wasn’t alone. Everyone worked at a fevered pitch preparing for the big landing. He saw little of Jess except at night.
As he headed out for another day of preparing the plants and village for the grand transplant, Jess grabbed him by the hand. “I’ve been thinking. We never discussed our living arrangements. You moved in with me that first day, and neither of us ever said anything about you leaving. Once we land, I want to continue living with you if that’s what you’d like. I thought it might be better to figure that out now before we start building living structures.”
Sam smiled as he squeezed her hand. “I’d like that very much, Jess.”
The final landing of the pod itself had all tribe members, Sam included, holding their breath. With Chariklo’s low gravity, Leviathan orbited close to the planet’s surface, allowing everyone a clear view as the pod separated from the ship that had for so long been its home. Two shuttles, which looked like small insects, guided the mile-long tube to a landing field opposite the meadow at the edge of the lake. Light from the three solar-array satellites orbiting overhead reflected off the transparent shell and the mist from the waterfall. Rainbows stretched across their new home.
With his precious cargo of plants delivered, Yoshi became like a man possessed, pulling Sam from one tree to the next. Excited by the prospects, he fumed at the outpost colony for doing nothing to tend the plants that had been haphazardly dropped off so long ago, inspected trunks, vines, and leaves for building materials, and sought out areas for his prized space-born gardens.
