Aspirations: A Near Future Sci-Fi Thriller

by Randal Sloan

  #

  After the evening meal, Julie checked her VR as usual. She had a message from Uncle Ted, telling her that he had found out from the Presidential Chief of Staff that there was indeed a current mission planned to Kinza and that they would be leaving in two days. She sent back a VR to her uncle requesting daily status updates and asking him to route them through Andrea. To make sure she got the updates, she called Andrea directly.

  When Andrea answered, Julie explained as best she could what was going on. “I’m going to be pretty busy here, but I’m planning to call every evening to get updates on my friend from Kinza. She appears to be on a covert team assigned to go back there. I’ve told my uncle to route them through you. At some point, I think I’m going to have to somehow get involved in the situation there. Hopefully the timing will work out about right. Or maybe I will be wrong and it will come out ok. I just don’t have a very good feeling about it.”

  Seeing the questions in Andrea’s eyes, she went on. “I am beginning to have premonitions about certain things. When I have them, they seem to be right on target. This is something I got from my mother. I don’t know how much you knew about her visions, but this appears to be related to those.”

  Andrea nodded. “I knew a little about it. I worked with her almost every day, and I couldn’t help but see she was different. Then there was the day she told me not to leave at my normal time because a storm was coming, even though the weather looked perfectly fine. A few minutes later, we had a severe storm pass through, right when I would have been driving.”

  Julie smiled a sad smile. “Yeah, I remember that day. You were complaining about it to me, right up until the time the storm came through. Most of what I get is nothing as good as that, just a strong feeling. But they are coming true enough that I don’t dare ignore them, and right now I feel very strongly that my friend is going to be in big trouble. I just don’t know when and what the details are. That’s why I need to get my daily updates. I really appreciate you doing that.”

  Andrea quickly assured her, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get them. Let me know if you need anything else.”

  Smiling in gratitude, Julie told her. “Ok, thanks. I will talk to you tomorrow.” She disconnected the call and sat there a few moments in thought. Maybe if she talked to Mama Kash about it, she could help.

  #

  For the next few days, Julie would follow her normal morning routine, but her afternoons were quite different. John would meet her after lunch, and escort her down to the cove to train. She had gotten to the point that by using her nanites, she was completely adapted to the cold. She was also able to swim for longer periods of time now, and she found a couple of areas in the cove where the current was pretty strong. She added extra laps in those areas for practice.

  Her evenings were spent in heavy duty studies with Loraine and Mama Kash. They talked about her premonitions, and Julie now understood that was just the first step in her developing talent. Julie could tell she was making progress, but time was getting extremely short. At the same time, she worried that Mama Kash was pushing herself too hard trying to help her. Julie could tell at the evening meal just how tired her mentor was getting to be.

  Julie found herself having to eat extra portions at all her meals. Loraine had added fish to their evening meals so that Julie could get extra protein. She needed it because of her swim training. But she wasn’t worried about the number of calories she was consuming. She was burning it off during those hours in the water.

  When she climbed out of the water the day before her attempt would take place, John looked at her with questions in his eyes. “Are you ready? You sure you don’t want to back out of this? I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “I’m as ready as I am going to be. I guess we will see tomorrow. But I’m not worried. You will be there and others will be there to look after me. Besides, I really think I can do it. I think I would have seen that in my vision if I couldn’t.”

  “Yes, but visions regarding ourselves are the hardest to deal with. Sometimes we don’t see everything, and sometimes I think it is blocked from us. Has not Mama Kash taught you so?”

  Julie nodded. Mama Kash had been quite emphatic about that. “I know, but I still have a good feeling about it. Thank you for all your help. I would not have accomplished all that I have without your help.”

  “You can thank me tomorrow when it is done and your are safe.”

  #

  The next day once again started like all the rest. The weather was absolutely beautiful and Julie enjoyed her meditation immensely. However, when she returned to the compound, many of the monks were making preparations, adding to Julie’s nervousness. The task Julie was attempting had only been accomplished a few times. Of the ones that had attempted the swim, only about half were successful. Julie was glad to hear them tell her that no one had died in the attempt, although that only made her feel a little better.

  Julie ate an early lunch and walked down to the Master’s garden to sit and let her food and her mind settle. Finally, Brother John came up, bowing to her, master teacher to student. He smiled, telling her. “Just think. If you are successful today, that is the last time I will be able to give you that bow.”

  Sitting on the grass feeling the energy flows, Julie smiled back at him. “No way. You will always be my teacher. I have much more to learn. They are ready?”

  When he nodded, she gracefully rose to her feet. “Then I guess we’d best be about it. Thanks again for all your help.”

  They went down to the shore together, Julie stopping to look at all their preparations. Strong ropes had been run across at both ends of the channel and were tied off on the rocks. They ran through a network of buoys that stretched across the channel. That would allow boats to go out and stay in position to assist if needed.

  John explained it to her, having to speak loudly for her to hear over the surf. “The boats are for your protection. If you get too close to the lines where the boats will be, you will be getting too close to the rocks, so they will pull you out as it is too dangerous. If at any point you have a problem and need to be rescued, all you have to do is stop swimming and wave for help. We will pull you out. I will be in the boat that will follow behind you, so I will be there the whole time for you. If you successfully complete the swim, we will pick you up on the little beach on the other side.”

  Julie nodded that she understood. She bowed to everyone the bow of thank you for the assistance of many. Slipping off her overgarment, she handed it to John, who would bring it across for her. She would need it at the end. They carefully descended the rest of the way to the water, the trip down not taking that long despite the difficulty presented by the wet rocks. No one tried to talk, since the combination of noise from the surf and wind made it practically impossible.

  John surprised her with a quick hug and then climbed into the center boat, taking his position in the bow. Already wet with spray from the waves, at least Julie was beginning to adjust to the cold. Standing there waiting while the guardian boats launched and moved out into the channels, it all suddenly became very real to her. Watching the oarsmen struggle to move the boats, she knew it was too late to back out, but seeing their efforts told her how bad it was. Finally they signaled that they were in position.

  With considerable trepidation, Julie slipped into the water. She gave her body just a moment to become accustomed to the cold, but it wasn’t an issue for her. So striking out from the tiny little beach, she started to swim across. As she knew it would, the current pulled strongly to the left, meaning that she had to swim to the right to manage the drift the current would give her, but not too much or she would spend all her energy fighting the current. The current was bad enough here close to the edge, she couldn’t imagine how bad it was going to be in the center of the channel. The only thing she could do was to just concentrate on moving through the water, stroke after stroke.

  The first leg of her swim wasn’t that bad, not that much mo
re difficult than when she had practiced in the cove, although the water was a little rougher. Julie tried to keep to a slow, steady pace so she would not tax herself early. As she got closer to the middle of the channel, it became very difficult, with a strong wind blowing that she had to fight against as well as the current. Although she tried to keep swimming to the right, the current here was so strong that she was being pulled along with it. Realizing that she was barely making headway, Julie stopped fighting so much and began to make a little more progress. Finally, she reached the mid point. At least, she was half way there.

  The current there was terribly strong, so that even the boats had to fight to get across, but somehow Julie made it across the center of the channel. The current had moved her a lot further down the channel, much more than she liked. She knew she needed to swim back once more to counteract her movement with the current. Luckily, as she continued to swim, she made it into a much quieter area and was able to make a little more headway. The wind even shifted to be in her favor. Once again, Julie tried to concentrate on just maintaining a steady, easy stroke. This was the third leg of the swim and appeared to be the easiest of the four. She suspected the fourth leg would be the hardest one of them all.

  It was difficult to tell, but she thought she could hear the surf from the little beach ahead. Hopefully that meant she was near the end goal, but she could not tell for sure. Knowing that she was beginning to tire fast, the uncertainty made it that much more difficult. All she could do was keep going.

  Suddenly the wind shifted against her again, and she almost floundered for a moment. But refusing to give up, she pressed onward, barely making headway but still moving. She had come too far to stop now, and there had to be a reason why this was so important that she had seen that vision. At this point, she was just going on by sheer will, but she persevered, one stroke after the other, certain that the sound of the surf was getting louder.

  Suddenly Julie brushed against the bottom of the beach, and she knew she was there. The water breaking over her, she struggled up on the shore, finally making it up high enough to drop down in exhaustion. It was a tiny little beach, more rocks than sand, not much of a beach at all, but to Julie it was beautiful. Beside her the boat ground on the beach, John and some of the others jumping out to help her and shouting for joy. Suddenly Julie was the hero to many among the monks, something she definitely was not accustomed to.

  Watching from the beach on the other shore, the Master smiled broadly. She only had one more task to overcome.

  #

  Caitlyn had been going by almost every day to see Zeke as she had promised Emily she would do. She stood there sadly watching and told him, “Miranda will be back soon. And a little later when you awaken, we will have a big party.”

  Not really paying much attention to her surroundings, Caitlyn was surprised when Joe, whom she knew was Zeke’s best friend, came into the room and she almost bumped into him. “Sorry,” Joe told her, holding his hands up. “I didn’t mean to disturb you. I just came by to see him for a little while.”

  “You’re a good friend to do that. Like I told Emily, I know it doesn’t do any good but I have to come by, too.”

  “Emily told me you had been coming by. She also told me you were trying to patch it up with Miranda, that is Julie, and I think that’s great. Especially with Emily back in school, she can’t get by as much as she wants. I’ll have to remember to send Emily a VR when I leave.”

  Suddenly Joe slapped himself in the head. “Sorry, I’m Joe Thomas. I of course have known about you, so I just assumed you knew me. Here I am talking to the soccer star from the Academy, and you probably don’t know me from Jack.”

  “I know who you are, silly. You are the one who was always hanging around Zeke and causing trouble. I’ll admit mostly the good kind, unlike me. But he couldn’t ask for a better friend, could he?”

  “I know he would have done it for me. Somebody has to report in to Emily, and I don’t mind. This is a good hospital and everyone has been really friendly and supportive to those of us coming to see Zeke.”

  “I guess I’m now officially reporting for Emily’s benefit too, so it looks like I will be here more often. I’ve only been coming by when I could sneak in. I wasn’t sure you guys would want me around here after all the trouble I caused with Miranda.”

  “Well, that’s all in the past. If Emily says you are ok, what do the rest of us have to say about it? And you really do seem to be different now. I kind of like the new you.”

  “You do? This is now me, so get used to it.”

  “You promise? Because I always wanted to try to get to know you, but I was a little afraid to approach you. You seemed so intense, like the moth to the flame, I figured I would get burned.

  “Not me now. Why don’t you give me a chance to show you? We could go get pizza or something. I always missed out on that at home because my folks thought for it to be Italian, it had to come from a fancy restaurant. Believe me, what they call pizza isn’t pizza.”

  “Ok, you’re on. I know the perfect little pizza spot. It’s not too far from here. And I promise you it’s not a fancy restaurant, but they make the best pizza in town.” Smiling, Joe turned back toward Zeke. “Hey, let me tell Zeke here. If he really can hear us, he won’t believe it. Zeke, buddy, I’m going on a date with Caitlyn. We’ll have to talk about that when you wake up, and I’ll see if you remember it.” He clasped Zeke’s arm and the two turned to leave.

  Then Joe remembered something else. His smile got bigger. “Hey, Caitlyn, you still drive that BMW? I’ve never ridden in one of them, although I always thought I might want one if I could afford it.”

  “Of course. I may be different but I’m not stupid. I still go with the best when I can.” She gave him a big smile. “But finally, someone who appreciates a good car. I’m already starting to like you.”

  As they left the room, Joe asked Caitlyn, “Hey, I didn’t want to talk about it in there just in case he can hear us. I’ve been wondering about Zeke. Do you think he is going to be like Julie, even smarter than before and like Superboy?”

  Caitlyn’s eyes lit up. “That would be kinda cool, wouldn’t it? I would think so. I wonder if they’ll be able to have some kind of connection. Like Julie will know where he is without looking.”

  Joe couldn’t help but laugh. “Hah, my mom already has that with my dad. I think that is just a female thing. Now if Zeke could know where Julie is, that would be special.”

  “Just think what the two of them will be able to do. Julie is so smart now it’s amazing. And if Zeke is too…”

  Joe gave a groan. “Ohhh! He was already smarter than me. That is going to make it even tougher for me.”

  “Don’t fight it like the idiot I was. If only I had been her friend then, who knows what I could have done.”

  Tapping on his VR, Joe smiled. “Yeah, he already had me beat anyway. Here are the VR directions. Get ready for the best pizza you’ve ever had.”

  #

  Julie was so wound up after completing her swim, she found it impossible to sleep. She decided she needed something to take her mind off it all. Looking once more at the information on her father’s ship, suddenly she had an idea. If they “warped” out of normal space, they should have left residual traces behind that would stay there for months. Traces that they just might be able to detect if she could put together a field detector. Wow, we’ve got to go look as soon as we can! It was so obvious now. Immediately, Julie sent a VR to Uncle Ted telling him to have them a ship ready to go in one week. She also sent the specs to Space Tech manufacturing to build the detector that she envisioned.

  If it works, this will give me the first real lead on finding my father. But that settles it, one more week here at the most. I need to talk to the Master in the morning. I haven’t talked to him about it, but I think I need to try to complete the cycle and get to the top level. If I can even win against him.

  That also means I’ve got to go all out from now on. N
o more holding back that tiny bit I have done until now. Smiling, the decision made, Julie was finally able to relax and go to sleep.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Surprises

  The next day after her meditation, Julie went to see the Master. She had a feeling that he would be waiting for her in his little garden, so she wasn’t at all surprised to find him there. Bowing, student to master, she told him, “I need to try for the highest level. Not because I want to be something special, but because I think I have to do it. Something keeps telling me that it is going to be important in the future. I have no idea why or how I can even do it.”

  “It is your other sight. I have already seen this too, but it was not for me to decide.”

  “Well, there’s one more thing. I believe I have a week or less to do it, or it will not happen. I have places that I have to be. One of them I think is in Kinza, Africa. I feel quite strongly about that, and that I only have a few days before that has to happen.”

  The Master nodded, but he didn’t comment, so she went on, “I always knew I had to get back no later than a couple of weeks from now, but I also have to get to space to look for signs of my father as soon as I can. Oh, and I have to make a stop in Hong Kong to get my new knives. I’m afraid I am going to need them soon, a matter of life and death. So a lot of stuff says I don’t have long.”

  “Your sight is becoming stronger. You are opening your mind, and that is letting you be able to see other things better. It won’t be long now before you will begin to have full visions, like your mother had.” The Master just sat there, staring at her for a moment, causing Julie to once again wonder at what he saw.

  Finally, the Master went on, “But for now, let’s talk about what you need to do to train. For this last match, I will not be able to train you. I will have the four you have trained with before work with you. You must train very hard. I believe in two days you will be ready. It is all the time we have. I don’t think you will be able to have your week. I’m sorry, dear child. I would like to keep you here much longer. You have brought much joy into my life.” He bowed to her, master to young master. “Please wait here. I will send Master John and the others to begin your training.”