by Eric Swanson
With that, Wellen was gone and the door eased back into place.
Lahm let a breath go which he had held since just before Wellen’s goodbye. It rushed from him like a storm and a choked cry followed. More tears streamed freely down his face and Lahm collapsed onto the dirty floor, alone and wracked with sobs.
He cried alone, wordless and broken for more than twenty minutes. Lahm finally stood after the tears stopped, wiped his face, drew and let go a few deep breaths.
Finally composed, Lahm left the dank, brown room for the last time.
The Crew Assembles
1015 Hours
Sanballat and Tobiah walked together down a slate gray corridor. The oddly monochromatic halls of the Space Agency had taken some adjustment for both Cerans during their training. The SA building was a far cry from their opulent living quarters and both made no secret of their disdain for the sparse decorative motif in the building.
“We won’t see home for years after tomorrow, Sanballat.” Tobiah said without looking the Courtier’s direction.
“If all goes well, we won’t need to return, Tobiah.” Sanballat replied, eyes locked ahead of them. “Home will come to us.”
Sanballat and Tobiah had discussed their plan for the voyage to Earth and subsequent contact with Humans for months. The Barrister initially expressed reservations about the plan but Sanballat’s iron will and conviction eventually won him over.
According to the plan, their contributions to the mission would appear entirely normal until they reached the Terran star system. Once the ship passed into communications range of Earth, Sanballat and Tobiah would establish a dialogue with the Humans in leadership and install themselves as the primary contacts.
“So—” Tobiah began as the pair rounded a corner and came to a large gleaming steel door. Garreous stood at the door, back to his fellow Cerans as he typed a code into the door’s keypad.
“Hello, Tobiah.” Garreous recognized Tobiah’s voice and greeted the Barrister without turning. A few short tones later, the door clicked open and Garreous turned toward Tobiah. His face shifted just a bit from the smile meant for Tobiah once he saw Sanballat. “Sanballat.” Garreous nodded and turned to allow a path through the door for them. “Please.” The young Ceran gestured to the door.
They moved past Garreous and only Tobiah nodded to him. Sanballat kept his eyes forward, his disinterest in Garreous quite clear.
“Right.” Garreous whispered once they out of earshot.
“Garreous to the Command Center. Garreous to the Command Center.” Speakers all over the complex sent the same sound and Garreous perked at the sound of his name.
“Here we go…”
Garreous knew that the final technical walkthrough of the Virgalis and its systems would be a painfully lengthy affair. Somehow as the mission’s scientific lead, he’d also drawn the duties of ensuring that the ship was fit for long-term space travel in total.
When he learned of his pre-flight responsibilities, Garreous spent two nearly entire evenings discussing the assignment with King Artax and Queen Hanani. During those conversations, he stopped just short of declining his duties altogether.
“Leadership starts with tasks you’d rather fall to someone else, Garreous.” King Artax had said to him during their last conversation.
The months that followed saw Garreous take command of the preparation for the trip and build a tight core of Cerans and Hybrids around him he trusted with parts of the ship’s operation. He and Pollai quickly discovered that Meremoth not only had an interest in the science of faster than light travel but that her lack of formal training in the subject lead to creative theories and approaches to faster than light neither of them had considered.
Sanballat’s structured thought process and keen intellect made him an adept small-scale farmer. Though clearly dismayed by the ‘menial’ nature of his assignment, Sanballat attacked his job like someone who planned to outperform all expectations of him.
Wes and Aquis found quick connections as they worked to understand and maintain the water recycling systems of the training mock-up version of the Virgalis. The panels and buttons on the ship were nearly all back lit blue and the light from the controls danced in some of the crew’s eyes more than others. Gale was the first to notice that Micah and Aquis’s eyes lit up under the shine of the vehicle’s soft blue lighting scheme. Meremoth’s fair (almost albino) complexion made the brightness brought to her eyes by the lights even more pronounced.
As Garreous walked into the Command Center the clamor of the room hit him like a hard wind. The storm of conversation came from all corners of the room and a mix of participants crouched over displays and data pads were near evenly split between members of the science team and their military counterparts.
Most of the scientists wore close fitting light-blue tunics and matching pants. The tunics were open in shallow V’s on the men and open more like small bowls on the women. Their military counterparts wore dark gray tunics and similar matching pants. The members of the defense apparatus wore purple stripes at their shoulders which indicated rank.
“Garreous!” A woman cried from across the room. A slightly built red haired Lieutenant Second Class raised her hand to him and Garreous made his way over. The smile which crept across her face suggested that her pleasure in the young Ceran’s arrival extended beyond what he would surely contribute to the scientific discussion. Her green eyes, light in color and almost translucent, caught light from around the room as she smiled.
“Tam.” Garreous nodded to her with more formality than intended and she returned the stoic gesture with a teasing smile. “How are things progressing with the sonic dampener?”
“That’s why I called you, Gar…” She laid her hand on Garreous’s forearm and nodded toward a display to her right. “You were right.”
She pushed a button and a graphic representation of the Virgalis appeared on the screen. A few more button strokes later, the animated vehicle began to move through digital space, starstreaks passing by as the machine picked up simulated speed. “The speed of sound is nowhere near the speed of light, so we couldn’t use the sonic disruptors as they were originally designed.”
“Right.” Garreous nodded. He was about to see one of his more outlandish theories put into virtual practice.
The speedometer on the display climbed to hundreds of thousands then millions of standard units an hour but stopped their ascent and settled in at the ‘speed limit’ Garreous and Tam had found for the ship.
“So let’s see what happens if we don’t ask the sound to move…” Tam clicked a few buttons. “And simply generate the sonic disruption while the ship is moving?”
Wiggling lines surrounded the ship on-screen and wobbled outward from it. After a few seconds of many sets of lines emanating from the ship, the speedometer on the display began to move again. Tam turned to Garreous with a proud smile and he nearly leapt into the air as he bounced on the balls of his feet.
“Yes!” He pumped his fists and stepped toward Tam. He drew her into a celebratory embrace and they bounced about in their workstation for moment. Displays like this were typical of the pair and this one drew little attention, despite the fact that everyone knew these displays were usually due to a dramatic scientific breakthrough. They parted a bit and their eyes met for a moment. “I could kiss you, Tam!”
“Wouldn’t be the first time, Genius of the Pillar…” She said with a wink.
“I suppose not…” Garreous said more quietly, though he smiled still.
As happens sometimes when two young people of similar intellect and personalities work together closely for an extended period of time, Tam and Garreous had quietly begun a relationship. They both knew the relationship had a truncated shelf life due to Garreous’s impending departure and Tam’s likely assignment to an outpost in the opposite direction of Earth in deep space but those facts only bothered them in quieter, private moments.
Early in their working relationship and before rom
ance entered the equation, Tam had deduced Garreous’s feelings for Princess Susa. Mostly driven by the shift in tone whenever Susa, Peeksar or their coming nuptials were mentioned by anyone, Tam did the math. She knew (as most Cerans who followed the comings-and-goings at the Pillar) that Susa and Garreous were raised in close proximity and one night, over dinner, simply asked Garreous for the truth.
Without hesitation, he offered it. his vulnerability and forthrightness made him even more attractive to Tam.
To Garreous’s joy, when the Princess made an official Royal Visit to the lab shortly after their romance began, Susa and Tam met and bonded quickly. That joy was a bit muted when they bonded by mocking him somewhat mercilessly for nearly 30 minutes, but it remained. As Tam had previously, Susa figured out the connection between her best friend and one of the military’s brightest minds.
As she departed, Susa playfully raised an eyebrow at Garreous and mouthed “I like her!”.
Garreous joked with Micah and Wes that he thought he went a week before his feet actually touched the ground again.
Tam stepped back from Garreous and pointed at him with a smile. She spoke far louder now, gestured grandly then pointed at Garreous: “Genius of the Pillar right here, ladies and gentlemen! Genius of the Pillar!”
Several of the scientists around the pair clapped while their military counterparts glowered in the direction of the disruption of their work. The blue-clad technicians were keenly aware of the question Garreous and Tam worked to answer as well as the answer’s dramatic impact on the mission itself. They all knew Tam was gently teasing Garreous and were happy to contribute to the continued bonding of the young couple.
Head tilted down a bit and face flushed a little red, Garreous waved to the clapping parties all over the room. “Thanks, everyone.” He said as he tried to make eye contact with every member of his team. “Couldn’t do any of it without you guys. All of you.”
Tam flashed him a smile mixed with pride and a little whimsy. She knew how much Garreous loathed “Spotlight Moments” like that and enjoyed occasionally causing him great social discomfort. As the warm color began to leave his face, Garreous returned half of her smile and winked.
“Should we test it, Tam?” He asked, mischief splashed on his face.
“Thought you’d never ask…” Tam replied. Her light green eyes sparkled as Tam smiled back at Garreous before she stepped past him in a blink. She nearly skipped off in the direction of the mock-Virgalis and Garreous followed with a similar bounce in his step.
Building ANDI
1115 Hours
“That’s going to take some adjustment…” Micah said as he glanced around a white-walled room. Black monitors filled with orange text, mostly numbers, lined the wall nearest Micah at eye-level.
“It’s a name, Mike.” Wes said as he stepped to Micah’s side. Wes glanced at the same monitors for a beat. His face shifted as he realized none of the data made any sense to him. Wes shook his head lightly and turned away from the screens. “I think you’ll be ok.”
“ANDI…” Micah said as he paced around the room. He laughed lightly and shook his head as Wes had before. “They couldn’t have kept the name the same?”
Wes shrugged as the lab door clicked and slid open. Two technicians in white pants and matched tunic stepped into the room. Both had shaved heads and dark green eyes. High cheekbones and sharply angular features marked both exactly the same.
Micah recognized both as Hybrids, genetically engineered to fulfill their role in Ceran society: the maintenance and upkeep of the base-SAMI program. Over the course of their career these twins (far smaller and less intimidating than the twins Micah spent so much time with until a few months prior) named Kay and Ker found opportunities on almost a daily basis to improve the interactive subroutines to make the artificial seem more natural.
While they worked to build a program which could converse with them for hours, the twin’s communication was mostly non-verbal. They exchanged glances and gestures, facial expressions swapped for phrases, while they worked. Once their work stopped for the day, the pair typically began to converse almost immediately and scarcely stopped until both found their way home to their wives and children.
“Hello.” Both Kay and Ker spoke at the same moment and nodded to Micah and Wes in turn, in sync.
“Kay. Ker.” Wes returned their nod and quickly broke eye contact with them. Their quiet manner and shared look unnerved Wes to a degree he wasn’t comfortable admitting.
“How the project coming along, guys?” Micah asked, still unable to wrap his mind around a computer named something other than SAMI.
“Micah,” Ker replied as he sat at his workstation. “We’ve told you repeatedly that we can’t change the ANDI’s identification subroutine at this stage in the process.”
Kay sat down at the station to his brother’s right and entered the conversation with his eyes still locked on the monitors. “If you really want to, it may be possible to teach ANDI a new name in the early stages of the journey.”
“Kay.” Ker whispered sharply. The twins stared at each other for a brief moment and shared what appeared to be an intense glance-and-grunt conversation, which lasted about five seconds.
“My brother is correct, though.” Kay said. He showed no emotional reaction to the conversation with his sibling nor the fact that it appeared he’d lost whatever argument they’d had. “Several of the system’s most complex subroutines are augmented by the identification subroutine. If you ask ANDI to change it’s own code to suit your proclivities, those more complex subroutines could be compromised.”
“Understood.” Micah replied. “ANDI it is.”
“So…” Wes gestured toward the door.
“Right, we should go. Thanks, guys.”
“Of course, Micah.” Key and Ker said at the same time. “Goodbye, Wes.” They spoke to Wes simultaneously as well.
“Bye, guys.” Wes said. He flashed Micah an uneasy look and nodded toward the door with more conviction. Wes led the way and the future travelers of the stars left the AI lab.
In silence, Micah and Wes walked down an all-white corridor. A black steel door awaited the pair at the end of the hallway and Micah averted his eyes from the dark metal as soon as he saw it. Wes saw his friend’s eyes fall to the floor while they walked.
“Hey.” Wes stopped just before the door and turned toward Micah.
Micah kept his gaze on the ground but turned his body toward Wes. The larger, muscled Hybrid laid a hand on Micah’s slumped shoulder.
“Hey.” Wes repeated while he angled his face lower, almost in line with Micah’s.
Slowly, Micah lifted his head and met Wes’s eyes.
“What if I can’t… do…” Micah stopped as fear stole his voice.
“Micah.” Wes said with more strength. “Listen to me… carefully.” Wes stepped closer and pressed forward. “You put this whole thing on your shoulders before anyone had an inkling of what this mission, your mission, would become.” Wes poked Micah in the chest, though not very hard. “You asked the most powerful person on this planet for more than you had any business requesting. He not only said yes, but gave you more than you asked for…”
Slowly, with each affirmed word from Wes, Micah’s back straightened and his head rose. Tears welled in his eyes as Micah’s breath left him. “I’m tired, Wes.”
Micah turned away from Wes and took a couple steps toward the white wall. He leaned his forehead against the wall and more tears slowly fell.
“Mike…” Wes moved toward the Mimic and put a hand on his dearest friend’s shoulder. “You’ve done so much…”
“Leading is…” Micah stopped as he turned back toward Wes. “I’m exhausted, Wes. We’re not even off Ceres yet and I don’t know how much I have left.”
“This mission, your cause, it was given to you.” Wes said with a hand on Micah’s shoulder again. “But that doesn’t mean you have to execute all of this alone. I mean, you did invite me to come along
…” Wes began with a sly smile. “But you didn’t invite any single, age-appropriate women.” Wes pointed at himself. “Still said yes.”
“I ---” Micah laughed as his sniffled away another set of tears.
“No.” Wes leaned into Micah’s face. “Mike. No women.” Wes again poked himself in the chest with each word. “Still. Said. Yes.” Wes stuck out his large hand and playfully nodded toward it. “Gesture of friendship, Mike.” He nodded toward his hand again. “You gotta…”
In a fit of laughter, Micah took Wes’s hand. The pair laughed together as Wes threw his arm around Micah and they moved toward the black steel door.
The door opened and small spots of light leapt out from an otherwise very dark room. Just before the door creaked closed after them, Wes spoke again.
“You sure we can’t add a couple ladies to the trip, Mike? I’ll pack light.”
More muted laughter came from behind the steel door as it shut with a whine and thud.
The Virtual Virgalis
1145 Hours
Tam and Garreous giggled like children as they playfully raced to the faux-Virgalis to test their sonic inertial dampeners. Both knew that the results of the simulation already run would roughly equal whatever the model of their ship would be, but there was a certain romance to the idea of sitting in the machine while their idea became action.
Garreous took two steps ahead of Tam and lightly seizes her waist in his hands. He stopped her forward progress as he moved further past her, but his lead in the race was short-lived. Tam’s military training had mostly been scientific, but self-defense and hand-to-hand combat were mandatory portions of her boot camp experience. In a few deft moves, Tam grabbed Garreous by the wrist, yanked him backward and stepped behind one of his feet. Her smaller leg tripped him and Garreous, still laughing in surprise, fell toward the floor, shoulder blades first.
Tam caught Garreous’s tunic in her hand at his sternum and his face shifted once the descent toward the ground stopped. Shock melted into an almost flirtatious smile. Tam returned the grin then let his shirt go and allowed him to fall the rest of the way.
