I am pleased to present Part 1 of my new short story:
Copyright © 2018 by Gerold F. Eberl III
For those who prefer, a PDF version of the full story can be downloaded here:
May 7, 6303 Earth Standard
New Concord Colony
Only 52 hours to go. Michael Bannik looked at the clock and smiled with some satisfaction, soon he would be off of this world. All of his forms were filed, his interviews complete; all he had left to do was leave. He realized that meant he might never return, but he had come to terms with that long ago. His future on New Concord was a predictable dead end, but in the Colonial Confederation he could quite literally start a new life.
It had all began five years ago when his cousin Richard had died. Rick, as he preferred to be called, had been 14, just one year older than Michael, and they had been close growing up. He had appeared in good health before the seizures started; his health deteriorated quickly after that. It wasn’t that there was no treatment for Richard’s condition, just that it was illegal on New Concord. At the time Michael had just accepted it, but that acceptance didn’t last long. A few days later, at Richards’s funeral, he just went numb. Looking around he could see everyone in tears, people reciting the usual platitudes. That Richard was in a better place, that it was his time. All Michael could feel was anger.
His cousin, his friend, was dead, that was all that mattered, and he knew who was to blame. It started with everyone who had colonized this damned planet in the first place and everyone who had followed thereafter; a bunch of luddites who rejected certain aspects of modern medicine. Some because of religion, others out of simple moral objection; their animosity was primarily focused on human genetic augmentation, but that hadn’t stopped them from outlawing the neurological procedure that would have saved Richards life. After them, the blame fell on Richard’s parents, they could have taken him off world for treatment, but they didn’t. Whatever they professed as to their reasons, Michael couldn’t help but see it as an excuse for stupidity. That was when he made his decision. This world and its philosophies had murdered Richard; and he would not stay here.
At 13 years old Michael knew there was no way for him to leave New Concord, but that didn’t stop him from figuring out what he could do in the future. He knew he would need to keep this secret from his parents, their beliefs may not have been quite as fervent as some others in his family, but they would still do everything they could to stop him. At first he was nearly overwhelmed, he had made his decision, but he had no idea where to even begin, quickly he realized what his real obstacle would be, money. His family was not wealthy, even if he had their support the expense of a trip off world would be significant, on his own, it would be almost insurmountable. When he combined that with the expense of immigrating into the Colonial Confederation he almost gave up. Then he saw it, it was only a small ad but that was all it took, reading the marketing pitch aloud was like opening a door, “The Fleet of the Supreme Council of the Colonial Confederation, a force for all Humanity. Enlist today.”
It wasn’t what he had in mind, but joining the military would cut his costs, they would cover his room and board, and provide him with pay. Still that wouldn’t help him if he couldn’t get off world in the first place.
Michael remembered the day when everything finally came together, if he had known then what he knew today things would have gone smoother, but he couldn’t place too much fault on his 13 year old self. That day his parents and sister were away so he wasn’t concerned about them knowing what he was looking up, it also allowed him to use the vocal interface, “Computer, access the Council Network and look up immigration travel… reimbursement?”
He wasn’t sure what he would find, but there were innumerable results. A news report: The Crippling Cost of Immigration, “Tell me about it.” He just shook his head, amusing, but not what he was looking for.
A few items seemed closer to what he wanted, some companies paying the cost for new hires, some waivers and exemptions, still none of it applied to him. Then he found them, travel grants for higher education for students from outside the Colonial Confederation. Much like joining the military, a college or university wasn’t something he had ever given serious consideration; apprenticeships and perhaps some tech training were the norm in his family. The only one in his family who had attended a college was his great uncle, and he was sort of an outcast. Still, if there was a way he could combine this with a military career, at least then he might be able to afford it, “Computer, look up Colonial Confederation Military Academies.”
As the results displayed in front of him he knew what he wanted, “Council Fleet Academy…Admissions…Requirements.”
A feminine but professional looking AI appeared in his display, “Hello, I am the Academy Admissions Assistant, how may I help you?”
“I want to know if I will be eligible to attend.” Michael replied.
“Certainly, at the time of attendance will you be at least 18 but not over 50 years of age?” The AI inquired.
“Yes”
“Are you a citizen of the Colonial Confederation or will you have become a naturalized Citizen of the Colonial Confederation at the time of attendance?”
It wasn’t something Michael had anticipated, but he guessed he should have, “No.” He reluctantly answered.
“Because you will not be a Citizen of the Colonial Confederation you will be unable to attend the Council Fleet Academy unless you are from an independent colony for which a treaty exemption applies. Please indicate your current citizenship status.” The AI continued.
Michael was sure his idea was dead, New Concord’s relation with the Colonial Confederation had never been good and were all but nonexistent night now, he winced as he replied, “Citizen of New Concord.”
“An exemption applies under the Treaty of Jernon of 3409. You may attend as a provisional cadet if you meet all other requirements. Your continued attendance and graduation from the academy are contingent on your successfully completing the naturalization process while in attendance. If you fail to meet these requirements you may be expelled and forced to pay restitution.”
Michael Bannik was beyond stunned, he had heard of the Treaty of Jernon in his history classes but he had no idea it contained such a provision, or even that it still meant anything. It was signed thousands of years ago, shortly after the New Concord Colony was founded. He had always thought of it as ancient history, but not today.
The treaty was from an era before the Council had started implementing mandatory genetic augmentation laws in the Colonial Confederation. Those laws eventually led to a near total breakdown of relations. But to this day New Concord had no standing fleets of its own and remained under the protection of Council military forces. When the treaty was signed it was intended to allow individuals from New Concord to be able to attend military academies.
The remainder of the requirements he could meet, the only one that posed a hurdle was a diploma from an accredited secondary education institution, of which there had been none on New Concord for nearly a thousand years. It was a problem but, one that he could overcome. There were a number of online schools on the Colonial Communications Network. For the most part they were targeted at children growing up on spacefaring vessels, but not exclusively.
He would still need his parents’ permission, which they would never willingly give. However, they never actually took the time to read his normal school forms anyway; he could just bury the other attendance forms with those and a few retinal scans later he would be good to go. He had his plan, for the next five years he just had to make sure his grades would get him where he wanted to go.
Reminiscing, Michael Bannik was pleased with the decision he had made. Somehow he had managed to keep it a secret from his parents and everyone else for that entire time, but he was leaving in two days, tomorrow evening at dinner he would have to tell them.
Finally the time for dinner came. Many times he had tried to imagine how bad their reaction would be, now he was about to find out. Dinner with his parents and sister began very much like it always did, a thanks for the food, then his parents asking his sister about her school day, but the normalcy didn’t last.
Michael watched his father wash down his food with a gulp of water before turning to him, “Michael, I was talking to my boss, Nick Hammond today, he said one of those technician’s apprenticeships we were discussing was open, but you’d have to start at the end of next week. I realize it’s sooner than you were planning, but you should take it, it’s a good opportunity, and not something you can afford to pass up.”
It took a great deal of restraint for Michael not to frown, his father wouldn’t know a good opportunity if it crashed into him. This was it, it was time for him to speak his mind, “I’m not doing an apprenticeship.”
“What are you talking about?” His father asked perplexed, “Of course you are, we discussed this? Besides, it’s not like you have a lot of other options.”
“I’m attending a university.” Michael replied flatly.
Both Michael’s mother and father glanced at each other then let out a laugh before his father continued, “With your grades, that’s a good one. Look, an apprenticeship is nothing to be ashamed of; I got my start that way.”
It was true, Michael had let the grades from his normal school work suffer, simply because it was irrelevant, but his grades from his online school had been quite impressive. His parents simply assumed he was a typical rebellious teen when he disappeared for hours each evening, in reality he had been focusing on what really mattered to him, forsaking many friendships and relationships in the process, “I’ve been attending an online school, graduate with honors, I’ve already been accepted to a university.”
“What?” His mother said with a look of utter confusion, while his sister simply tried to avoid getting in the middle of things.
Michael’s father grew frustrated, “Enough with this, it’s not like you could attend a school in secret.”
“That would be true, if you ever bothered to actually read my school forms.” Michael replied.
It was clear that his father still did not believe any of it, “Alright, then what university are you going to, hmm?” He mockingly demanded.
There was no stopping now, Michael knew from his father’s attitude that things were about to get very bad. Michael pulled out a small tablet that displayed his acceptance letter and tossed it onto the table, “I’ve been accepted to the Council Fleet Academy, on Earth. I applied and started the immigration process to the Colonial Confederation the day I turned eighteen.”
An uneasy lingering silence hung over the room, it probably only lasted a few seconds, but it felt much longer. Only ending when his father managed to voice his angry disapproval, “This better be some perverse joke.”
Michael’s mother picked up the tablet, hoping it was some kind of elaborate joke, but it immediately became clear it was not; as she read the letter her hands started shaking, “Michael… how could you…”
Michael didn’t give her the chance to finish, “I’ve been planning to get off this world ever since Richard died.”
“It was his time. Sometimes we just have to accept these things…” His mother tried to speak.
“No.” Michael snapped, “His condition was perfectly treatable, he died because of idiocy.”
“Treatable?” His father scoffed and stood up swinging his arms as he spoke, “If he wanted to have his brain mutilated then sure, I don’t know what would have come back from that operation but it sure as hell wouldn’t have been your cousin. And you know what you’d have to go through with what you’re thinking? You really want them to tear up your genetic code? To turn you into some sort of freak?”
“All pointless superstition.” Michael replied. Glancing to his right he could see how this whole thing was frightening his sister, unfortunate, but unavoidable. He stood up to confront his father who was trying to loom over him, “Maybe that argument had some merit a long time ago, when these treatments were in their infancy, but not anymore. The truth is this whole planet is a joke, the subject of galactic ridicule. The planet of a billion backwards fools who reject modern medicine and are lucky to live past a hundred and fifty. They let Rick die, and the way they let him die, Uncle Don should have just shot him himself, it would have been faster, and certainly less painful.”
Within a second his father’s fist slammed into the side of Michael’s face, nearly knocking him down and sending him stumbling into a wall. His mother grabbed his sister and sent her into the next room. With clenched fists his father glared down at him, “Now you listen you ungrateful shit, if you think we’re going to let you throw away your life you’re in for a rude awakening. I don’t know what that school polluted your mind with, but those people out there you want to join, they’re not human anymore they threw that away long ago, you want to throw that away too? There are some things you just don’t do, like defiling God’s creation.”
Michael had anticipated this, his parents were not deeply religious, but they fell back on it when they were under stress. He had planned in case things went this badly, standing up straight he glared back at his father, “I’m leaving; I’ll spend the night in the terminal.”
“No you’re not.” His father replied as he moved to block him, fists still balled up, “Don’t make me hit you again son.”
Michael ignored the warning, and his father followed through, this time Michael blocked the blow then shoved his father aside, knocking him to the floor. Without a word he grabbed the bag he had hidden behind a couch and headed for the door.
Suddenly his ten year old sister Jennifer ran towards him, “Don’t go.” She said with tears in her eyes.
She was the only one Michael would truly miss. Unfortunately she was too young to really grasp what had happened with Richard. At the time she had only been five, old enough to understand that he was dead, but not old enough to understand why and ask questions. She probably couldn’t comprehend why he was doing this. He stopped and looked at her, “I have to, but I’ll stay in touch.”
“You’ll do no such thing.” His father replied climbing to his feet, “I’ll not let you corrupt her too.”
“If you don’t hear from me, it’s because they won’t let me talk to you.” Michael told his sister. He knew it might be calloused to intentionally drive a wedge between her and their parents, but he hoped it might make her think before blindly listening to them, “Goodbye Jen. You should get off this planet too, the first chance you get, it’s no good for anyone.”
Jennifer wrapped her arms around him, “Please don’t go.”
He returned her hug and then tried to explain further before his mother grabbed Jennifer and pulled her away from him like he was some sort of plague bearer, “Not my son. Not my son.” His mother kept uttering as she shook her head.
Michaels father looked at him and fired off a last ditch attempt to dissuade his son, “If you go out that door you are never coming back!”
“I never intended to.” Michael replied as he turned and left.
As Michael sat on the tram heading to the transport terminal he thought about what had just happened. It wasn’t the worst case he had envisioned but it wasn’t far off. The only thing he remotely regretted was not being able to say a better goodbye to Jennifer, but he had planned for that as well. There was a message he had left her explaining everything, it would only play when she was alone, he didn’t want his parents to prevent her from seeing it. It was the best he could do under the circumstances.
As the tram raced into the city he looked out at the sunset, realizing it was probably the last time he would ever see it on this planet. For a moment it gave him pause, but then he thought about how his parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents lived; the truth was he wanted more than this world could ever offer, and he would never fit in here.
After switching a few tram lines Michael Bannik finally arrived at the passenger terminal. In reality it was just a part of a much larger freight terminal. Most major commercial carriers had stopped flights on and off New Concord many centuries ago. Scarcely anyone from the outside wanted to come here, and the very few who did never stayed long. The traffic on and off world was almost exclusively transport ships carrying a limited assortment of imports and exports. It was pretty much the only thing that really tied them to the rest of the galaxy.
It was on one of these transports that he had booked his flight. A small privately owned cargo ship; the first one he could get on to Mendel II with room for a limited number of passengers. He actually felt his heart racing out of a mix of fear and anticipation; this would be the first time he had ever been into space.
As he entered the terminal it looked abandoned with the sole exception of an active AI kiosk where he could check in. The tiny number of people that passed through meant that the area was extremely clean and well kept, something he was thankful for. He walked over to the kiosk which quickly scanned him and confirmed his flight; it was then a short walk to the departures. Except for him the terminal was empty, but at least it had a fantastic view of the landing area, illuminated as night fell; there was nothing for him to do but wait until his ship arrived and try to get some sleep.
When he awoke the next morning the terminal was still largely deserted with the exception of two other people who had entered while he was asleep. The fact that the area could hold hundreds if needed just further illustrated how little it was used. As he looked out the window he noticed that the berth where his ship was to dock was now occupied. Inspecting the ship closer he gulped and felt his pulse quicken, it was a little over a hundred meters long and bulky, but looked old, really old. This was what he had spent nearly all of his money on, he could only hope it kept him alive long enough to be reimbursed.
After two hours of watching cargo being loaded on and off the ship he heard the facility AI announce his departure. Picking up his bag he walked over to the door which led to docking berths, there he was met by a security guard.
“Michael Bannik?” The guard inquired.
“That’s right.” Bannik responded.
The guard just nodded, “If you’ll follow me I’ll escort you to your ship.”
Because of the limited number of passengers, almost all flights were treated as charters. It was easier just to escort people to their ships through the cargo terminal than to build a specialized docking area for passengers. The cargo zone was far more industrialized than Bannik’s home town, huge cargo skiffs were constantly entering and leaving; with the distractions around him Michael almost didn’t hear the guard talking to him.
“So going off world?” The guard asked in an attempt to make small talk, “Mendel II”
“Yeah.” Bannik responded regaining his composure.
“You’re not planning on coming back then.” The guard surmised.
It was surprising not to hear an edge of contempt in the guards voice, “You’re the first person who doesn’t seem to resent me for that.”
“I’ve been here for years, heard a lot of stories; some good, some bad.” The guard replied as they continued toward the ship, “In the end if you’re doing what you want to with your life, that’s your concern, not mine. Well, here we are, the Blue Sparrow. Best of luck wherever you end up.”
“Thanks.” Bannik replied as a woman walked over from the ship.
“Megan Vickers; you must be our passenger.” She said with a smile extending her hand, “We don’t get many on this run.”
Bannik shook her hand and nodded, “I’d imagine not.”
“Any other luggage?” She gestured to his bag.
“This is it.”
She quickly looked over his reservation and then waived him aboard, “Well then, let me show you to your cabin.”
Looking around the ship Michael realized the inside was better kept than the outside, but the age still showed, “If you don’t mind me asking, how old is this ship?”
“The Sparrow, oh my husband and I have been running her for nearly two centuries now, and she was nearly fifty years old when we got her so…” She noticed a look of apprehension on her passenger’s face, “Nothing to be concerned about, she may not look like new, but I can promise you she’ll get us where were going.”
While Bannik was concerned about being on a 250 year old ship, his thoughts had shifted to the woman he was talking to. She was over 200 years old. If she was from New Concord he would have guessed that she was maybe in her forties. She continued to lead him towards the top of the ship where he found a small corridor of cabins.
“Just pick one, you’re our only passenger.” Vickers told him, “Washroom’s around the corner to the left, and there’s a small lounge and galley to the right. Feel free to move around, just stay out of the cargo holds.”
“How long will it take to get to Mendel II?” Bannik inquired.
“About two and a half days. Your first time going into space, isn’t it?” She noticed the lingering unease on Bannik’s face as she replied, “Why don’t you come up to the cockpit when we depart, it’s the best view, and I’m sure my husband would like to meet you.”
“Thanks. I’ll take you up on that.” In truth Bannik just thought he might feel safer if he could see what was actually going on.
She stopped as she was about to walk away, “You sure you want to do this? I know how people on this planet are, you leave and I doubt they’ll welcome you back.”
“I’m sure.” He answered with what resolve he could muster. He gestured towards the bruise on the side of his face, “They weren’t exactly happy about my leaving.”
“Yeah, you might want to put something on that. There’s a med kit in the lounge.” She said pointing down the hall.
“Thanks.” He replied and did as she suggested. Fifteen minutes later his bruise was gone and he found himself entering the cockpit as they prepared to depart. The view from its panoramic window gave a clear look at the terminal and the city beyond. Megan Vickers was seated at a navigation console and sitting in the pilots chair was a man who spun around and extended his hand, “Nate Vickers, welcome aboard. Take a seat and we’ll get going.”
Michael looked at the chair Vickers had pointed to and noticed the lack of restraints, “Shouldn’t I be strapped in or something.”
“I love this kid.” Nate said with a laugh as he pressed a control. He could see the look of surprise on Bannik’s face as the artificial gravity activated, “So, not only have you never been to space before, you’ve never been in artificial gravity before. Where the hell are you from?”
“Smaller town, a few hundred kilometers outside the city.” Bannik replied with embarrassment as he quickly sat down, “Actually, I’ve only been in a big city a few times before.”
Megan turned to him, “You think this is a big city, wait until you see Mendel II. That you’re final destination by the way?”
“No. Eventually I’m supposed to go on to Earth.”
“Now that’s a planet with cities.” Nate commented as he completed the per-flight, “Wait until you see ten times the population of this planet in one urban area.”
Bannik wasn’t sure whether to be intrigued or disgusted by the thought of that many people stuffed into one area, but he could reserve judgment for the time being. Suddenly the ship started to move the Terminal AI had cleared them for departure. The ship slowly rose up out of the facility, affording an incredible view of the entire city. Once it was clear, it started to climb, quickly. Looking out the window Bannik caught a glimpse of his home town, they weren’t even out of the atmosphere but it already looked small. As they climbed the atmosphere slowly gave way from a cerulean blue to the abyssal starry black of space.
Nate saw Bannik looking down at his world, awestruck, “Never gets old. The look on someone’s face the first time they go into space.”
Bannik was too distracted to even hear him; this was by far the most exciting thing he had ever experienced. In fact it only served to convince him that his life up to this point had been isolated and boring.
The limited traffic around New Concord meant that they could go to FTL well within the system, something that otherwise required special clearance in systems with heavy ship traffic. Bannik had watched his planet grow small on a display as they pulled away but it was about to vanish.
“Alright, here we go.” Nate said as the ship moved to FTL.
Bannik watched as the stars outside became distorted by the drive envelope, it was almost surreal. Finally he was underway, whatever his life would hold New Concord would not be a part of it.
Part 2 is now Available – Click Here to Continue Reading
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, actual events, or locales is purely coincidental.
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