THE SPACE MERCHANTS
By Wendie Nordgren
Copyright © 2015 by Wendie Nordgren
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, places, and events are fictional and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental.
Cover design by Stephanie Tkach, Page Weaving Cover Designs
To Joe, Kenny, and Logan, the lights in my darkness.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter One
A noise woke me from the first sound sleep I had had in weeks. Trying to remain perfectly still and silent, I listened. Had someone tried to enter my sleeping unit? Claws scratched against the vent unit, slipping before gaining enough purchase to scramble up to the small roof that I called my own. "Stupid squirrel." Waking up afraid did not give me a great deal of optimism for my day. Through the small plastic window in the center of the wall opposite of my door, the first beams of sunlight had begun to reach the foot of my cot. Small dust motes floated around in the wan light above my blanket. I turned my head to the left, making sure the bar across my door remained secure. Sitting up and swinging my legs from the cot to the floor, I stood up, stretched, and walked the three steps to the sink. Washing my face, brushing my teeth, and then using the waste disposal unit occupied my first waking moments. Then, I grabbed a towel and my clothing, which I had stacked neatly on the shelf before going to sleep. I stepped into a pair of flip flops before lifting the bar from my door and stepping outside of my housing unit.
Forty other units, identical to my own, had been placed in tidy rows, with twenty on one side and twenty on the other under the old highway overpass. The small eight-by-eight-foot tan units were called home by those of us who would otherwise be homeless. Closing my door, I placed my hand on the reader pad. It scanned my hand. Then, I heard the locking mechanism click into place, and the bar sliding across the door on the other side. Towel and clothing in my grasp, I walked to the building located in the center of the rows of housing units. Though much larger and with doors at each end on each side, the building was made of the same plastic material and was of the same tan color as the housing units. Everything matched. The building contained a cafeteria, showers, and cleaning units. Placing my hand on the scanner, I waited for my palm to register. When the door opened, I walked to the showers.
People in our small community kept all different hours. Although it was early in the morning, some of my neighbors had already made use of the facilities and gone to work. Others slept. I entered the showers and no sounds greeted me. Relieved to have some privacy, I placed my towel and clothing on a bench inside of the first of ten shower stalls and closed the curtain. I removed my shirt and carefully slipped my pajama pants and undies down over my feet, keeping my flip flops on. Cleaning bots kept every surface sanitized, but still, these were, after all, communal showers. Stepping to the back wall, I stood directly under the shower nozzle and placed my hand on the scanner. Only we forty residents were keyed to use the facilities or even gain access to the building, with the exception of the enforcers, of course. Using the showers was not free. As my palm was scanned, a credit was deducted from my account. The shower activated. The recycled, treated water contained enzymes designed to clean a person without the use of any other chemical agents. While cost effective and better for the environment, the enzymes did not stimulate the economy. Fancy soaps and shampoos were imported to Earth. However, only the wealthy could afford such luxuries. Quickly scrubbing my scalp with my fingertips, I sighed when the water stopped flowing. I squeezed the water from my hair and walked over to grab my towel. Dry, I slipped on clean undies along with a tight tank bra and then stepped into my uniform. My flip flops fought me at every opportunity. Sitting on the bench, I carefully rolled my dirty clothes in my towel and pulled on clean socks and my boots. Combing my hair back with my fingers into a ponytail, I slipped the elastic band off of my wrist and secured my hair.
Picking up my towel roll and walking out of the showers, I headed into the next room, the one with the cleaning units. Again placing my palm against a scanner, and being charged another credit, I watched as the cleaning unit door slid open. There were ten cleaning units along the back walls just as there were ten shower stalls against the wall in my previous location. I dropped my bundle inside of the cleaning unit and pushed the blue button on the top of its frame. The door closed and the light changed from blue to red. Ten seconds later and the light changed to green, the door opened, and there in the cleaning unit, I saw my towel, pajama bottoms, top, undies, and flip flops all sanitized and neatly folded. I picked up my clean stack of laundry and went to the cafeteria. Unlike the other rooms, the cafeteria hosted a few living, breathing people. Here a few people sat eating breakfast at tables. Always present in the mornings were the two ladies who served breakfast in the line. Taking a tray and a spoon, I placed the tray on the metal bars and pushed it down the line, nodding to Ms. Reeves.
"Good morning, sugar," she said in a monotone that conveyed how much she did not really mean it.
"Good morning, Ms. Reeves," I replied trying to infuse my reply with some degree of perkiness. After all, so far today, Ms. Reeves had been my only human or alien contact.
"What are you having this morning?" Ms. Reeves asked.
"A cup of coffee and some yogurt with granola, please."
She gave me a look. The look was disapproving, but it was just too bad. I don't like breakfast. She poured strong black coffee into a cup and handed it to me. I placed it on the tray and then added the bowl of yogurt and granola she handed to me.
"Thank you, Ms. Reeves."
She just gave me a smirk and said, "You need to eat more."
I smiled at her and pulled my tray to the end with my right hand, while trying to keep my laundry secure under my left arm. Sara met me at the payment counter, where she entered my items and gave me the total charge. The poor were charged reduced rates for food from dispensaries around town anyway, but here in our community cafeteria, the rates were even lower.
"That will be half a credit," Sara informed me.
Placing my hand on the scanner, the amount was deducted from my account. I have learned from experience that Sara is not as chatty as Ms. Reeves. Therefore, I simply lifted my tray with my right hand, used my left thumb to balance it, and walked away. Taking a seat at one of the tables scattered around the cafeteria, and putting my laundry down in the chair next to me, I took a large sip of coffee before quickly finishing my breakfast. I drank down the coffee, which would be the high point of my day, and took my tray to the corner behind Sara, sticking it in the cleaning unit. Walking back to my table, I picked up my laundry and exited the building. I looked up and saw the underside of the old overpass. Not the most scenic location for our neighborh
ood, but it did provide some protection from the summer sun. Walking back to my unit, I opened the door, took a step in, and placed my laundry on the shelf. A clattering and a thump told me the squirrel was still up there. Stepping back out, I closed and locked the door. Since I had already spent two and a half credits so far today, I figured I had better go to work.
Chapter Two
While I didn't have specific hours or days for my job, I did get paid by the bag. Leaving the shade of the overpass, I walked down to the sidewalk that ran the full length of the street. My boots crunched against the gritty mixture of broken concrete and dirt that the street sweeper bots never seemed to clean up in this part of the city. Not wanting to spend any more of my credits on transportation, I walked around the group of people who were waiting for the ground transport. Walking at this time of day would be safe enough. The trouble makers tended to come out from dusk until dawn when the patrol bots had a harder time of making positive face scans. Still, I picked up my pace and walked the two miles along West Avenue to my designated section of the city and my reclamation station located on the corner. Walking inside I grabbed a large light weight bag, placed its strap over my head, and pushed the bag over to my left hip. Trash collection and reclamation wasn't the most glamorous job, but then, I wasn't qualified for much. Everyone had to work to be allowed to reside in the city. Picking up trash was better than going back to the place where I grew up. It didn't deserve to be called home, and I had left a minute after midnight on my eighteenth birthday.
Even though I didn't have specific hours or days to work, if my four square miles consisting of forty blocks didn't pass the controller's weekly inspection, I could lose my job to someone else. Leaving the building with my bag, I headed down the street. I pulled on the pair of gloves I had taken from the dispenser on my way out. I bent over and picked up a paper bag that had fallen from the first trash bin on my route and placed it in my bag. Then, I dumped the trash from the bin in along with it. While emptying the bins and cleaning up litter, I was supposed to be as unobtrusive and invisible as possible so as not to offend the citizens who worked in the buildings and frequented the cafes along my route. So, I did my job without interacting with the populace. I was good at being unsociable. Growing up I was mostly alone. My mother had left when I was very young to get away from my dad, but she had escaped without me. I guess she didn't want any reminders. It seemed to me that he made my childhood hell just to get back at her. Well, I was an adult now, and I was free, not as free as the starship that ascended far in the distance at the land port, but free. I watched as the speck disappeared. I would die before I would ever go back. Lost in pointless memories, my bag had filled up. I made it back to my reclamation station and dumped the bag's contents into the collector. The collector automatically separated trash for recycling and incineration. With an empty bag, I went back to the street and finished clearing the bins in the affluent section of my route, so I could go work on the friendlier blocks. Each full bag that I emptied into the collector earned me a credit. I had earned twenty while in the business sector. The sun had risen along with the temperature by that time. My stomach growled at the same moment as a drop of sweat slid down my left temple. Hot, thirsty, and hungry, I entered one of the public restrooms. Inside, it was cool and very clean. Mary, one of my neighbors who lived near me in unit eight, had the job of keeping the public restrooms in our section clean. I envied her air-conditioned indoor job assignment.
I heard Mary in one of the stalls, as she cleaned the walls with spray disinfectant, and said, "Hey, Mary!" I removed my gloves and dropped them in my bag. I slipped my bag over my head and dropped it against the wall.
"I didn't see you at breakfast this morning, Teagan. What happened to you?" Most mornings Mary and I had breakfast together and walked downtown to work afterwards.
"A stupid squirrel woke me up earlier than usual, so I got started an hour ahead of schedule," I said. I went into a stall, appreciating how sparkling clean it was. After concluding my business, I left and walked to the sink, washing my hands and splashing cold water on my face.
"Do you want to go over to the Sun Palace for some lunch?" I asked.
"Sure," Mary agreed.
She handed me a clean pair of work gloves which I stuffed into a pocket of my jumper. Mary locked her cleaning supply cart and walked outside. Grabbing my bag, I joined Mary and regretted leaving the cool climate-controlled restroom. A roar of sound greeted us. Mary and I looked up. In the distance we saw a starship rising up above the horizon. Gradually, it became a speck in the sky and then disappeared from view.
"I wonder where it is going." Mary said.
I didn't care where it was going. I just wanted to go with it. We walked down a block to the Sun Palace where fast and affordable Chinese food awaited us. The smell of orange chicken wafted toward us on the hot breeze making my mouth water. Mary and I were greeted first by blissfully cool air and secondly by Mr. Lee.
"Good afternoon, ladies. May I offer you a table?"
We smiled at Mr. Lee and sat where he indicated, which was the same place where he always put us, under one of the cooling vents. Bless him. Mr. Lee produced two tall glasses full of ice and water, putting them down on the table in front of us. I downed mine. I closed my eyes as the cold water slid down my dry throat and enjoyed the cold as it spread down toward my empty stomach. Mr. Lee refilled my glass from a pitcher.
"Thank you, sir." I said.
"Are you ready to order or do you need a few moments?" Mr. Lee asked us.
"I'll have my usual," I said.
Mary responded to him in the same way. Mr. Lee walked away to fill our orders. I drank half of the refilled glass of water.
"Well, where do you think that ship was going?" Mary asked.
"I have no idea, but I wish I were on it. I can't imagine anything better. There are so many planets being colonized and explored. There are other races of humanoids being discovered, and some of them have even visited our city. They might even still be here for all I know. Seeing the aliens on the vid-screen is one thing, but I want to see them in person. If I could just walk on another planet, just once, I would die happy."
Mary smiled at me. "Oh, Teagan. You're gonna need to fill that bag up a lot more if you're planning to save up enough credits for fare on a starship. The last I heard, it cost ten thousand credits to get off world passage on a ship."
My dreams crashed back down, and my eyes returned to the table.
"You're right. That is a lot of bags of trash."
Mr. Lee placed a bowl of rice and a large platter of orange chicken and broccoli in the center of the table. Then, he placed a plate in front of each of us along with napkins and sets of chopsticks. After a few minutes, my stomach and I were again on friendly terms. Mary and I thanked Mr. Lee, who deducted two credits from each of us, and we left the Sun Palace. Mary and I had hours of work to complete until we were able to return to our housing community.
A couple of bags later, I was about to empty the next trash bin, when I heard a male voice yell, "Hey, garbage girl!"
With a sigh I turned my head enough to see Henry. Like Mary, Henry had been working in the city longer than me and had a better job, a much better job. Henry and many of the other city workers came to this section for the food.
A few months ago Henry and I had met for the first time one evening. That night after working all day, I was about to head home. I had heard some men arguing. I turned a corner and saw Henry and some of the troublemakers, who came out in the evenings like mosquitoes, getting into it. Henry had earned some actual currency, and the other men were trying to take it from him. Instead of hiding I kept walking toward home and them. I yelled out asking what the problem was. At the same time that they saw me, a patrol bot rounded the corner, no doubt attracted by the noise. The other men split up and ran off leaving Henry alone with a bloody nose, a busted lip, and eyes that promised revenge. Henry had looked up at me and stood up of his own volition. We introduced ourselves.
I gave him a tissue for his nose, and he walked me home to insure my safety. Henry stood at about five feet and seven inches which wasn't very tall for a man, and he weighed only about a hundred and thirty pounds. Henry earned appreciative looks from the occasional woman, not so much for his brown hair and eyes, but for the dimples in his cheeks when he smiled. I thought that I must look very short and dumpy next to him. Henry was nice to me whenever we ran into each other, but he didn't have any romantic interest in me.
"Hello, Henry. How are you?" I asked in a pleasant tone even though the garbage girl nickname irritated me. I always let it go because Henry often redeemed himself to me with descriptions of the starships he got to see up close, along with the people who came and went at the land port where he worked.
"Teagan, you are looking at the man who is about to make all of your dreams come true." Henry winked while giving me a huge grin.
"But, Henry," I said, "I thought your feelings for me were strictly platonic."
Henry rolled his eyes at me. "Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day at the land port. Along with the usual military and company ships landing to refuel and supply, three off world ships will be docking. My supervisor handed me an extra work pass and asked me to get one of my buddies to come help with the cargo. And I thought to myself, Henry, who do you know who would love to come see these big spaceships? And I answered, Teagan Green would love to see these big spaceships," Henry said.
My mouth was hanging open, and my eyes were about to fall out of my head. Henry handed me the work pass, a pass that would grant me access to a part of the city where I had never been allowed to go. I hadn't even been allowed near the check point. I stared at the work pass in my hand, and tears started falling from my eyes. Embarrassed, I couldn't make myself stop.
Henry smiled at me and in a soft voice said, "Meet me at the Coffee Counter on East Avenue at sunrise, and we'll go through security together, and I'll put you to work. Do a good job and you'll make a hundred credits."
The Space Merchants Page 1
