The one thing they all have in common is the sadness etched into their faces. I don’t have to know much about Volarian society to be able to tell that these people are in extreme poverty, and there are a lot of them. An elderly woman locks eyes with me and I break away from staring. I need to focus on our mission.
“Do you think that’s a way in?” I ask, pointing toward the small gap in the wall.
Another flash of purple and more motion sickness. I blink and see a vast city before me.
“You know, you can warn me. It’s really not that hard. Something like, ‘Let’s get through the guarded gate by traveling at super speed. We’ll go on the count of three.’”
I take a step and almost trip onto my face. Two high-speed trips in a row have done a number on my equilibrium.
Iris shrugs. “You agreed that time was of the essence.”
She walks away, and I struggle to find my footing to catch up to her. Inside the nondescript walls is a bustling city unlike any I’ve seen on Earth. Many of the buildings are completely transparent with no support. It’s as though they were poured from glass. Everything looks new and uniform. There are no remnants of older architecture anywhere in the skyline. The tallest buildings tower ten thousand feet high, dwarfing all skyscrapers on Earth. It’s hard to see the top of them.
Closer to the ground, the sidewalks are made of gleaming white concrete. They feel soft, like walking on a cloud. Planted alongside them are a variety of flora. Some resemble plants from back home, but many are more exotic. There are huge multicolored flowers with complex fractal-like patterns spread across their leaves. Shades of orange mix with vibrant blues and teals, and deep reds accentuate neon yellows. It’s all a bit surreal to take in.
Overhead are huge moving billboard advertisements. I have to rub my eyes to make sure I’m seeing correctly. They’re advertising television shows. As in, Earth television shows. The gigantic screens show commercials for Life in the Big City, Easy Come Easy Go, News Station, and others I don’t recognize. They’re all cheesy TV sitcoms from the eighties that I’ve only seen in reruns. How do they have the same TV shows here?
Of course, a city wouldn’t be a city without people, and there are lots of them. True to Midnight’s best guesses, they are all wearing ridiculously shiny silver outfits that make them look like walking burritos. Their appearance couldn’t be any different from the people I saw outside the wall.
“You should keep your jaw off the ground if you want to look like we belong here,” Iris says.
“I’m blending in.”
“You look like a tourist. At least keep your head down. People are noticing you gawking at the buildings.”
“No, they’re not.”
Iris has already walked away from me. Even on an alien planet, she’s embarrassed to be seen with me. I tilt my head down and jog to catch up with her.
“So, what are we looking for?” I ask.
“Anything, everything. Take in as much of it as you can. You never know what piece of information might be valuable. Like that, over there.” Iris gestures subtly to a building on our right.
It’s low to the ground, relative to the others, and maybe only ten stories tall. A long cable extends from the roof and into the sky farther than I can see it.
“Does that go all the way into space?” I ask.
“I think so,” Iris says and indicates a sign outside the building, which reads, Office of The New Empire, Department of Off-World Exploration.
I step toward the building and discreetly place my hand in my pocket to grab the magtonium disk. As soon as I’m touching it, I direct its attention to the building.
“Be careful,” Iris says as she glances down at the hand in my pocket.
“I am,” I murmur. “I’m running a full scan and grabbing all the information I can. We’ll have to wait to review it until after we’re back home, but let’s hope there’s something useful.”
After a few seconds, we begin walking again. Midnight taught me a long time ago that when you’re doing surveillance, it’s best to keep moving. You’d rarely notice somebody walking by your house, even if they did it a few times in a day, but you’d sure as heck notice if they were sitting outside for an hour.
We continue along the path and approach the first building that doesn’t look like it was built yesterday. Actually, it looks like something you’d find on Earth, with Roman-style columns and a large marble staircase leading to the front doors.
“Is that a museum?” I ask.
“I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that it looks like one,” Iris replies.
I spot a sign halfway up the stairs with the word MUSEUM printed on it in large type. I point at it with a big smile on my face.
Iris sighs. “Fine, I guess it is a museum.”
“Should we go inside?”
Iris looks around, fearful that someone could be listening or following us. “I don’t know if it’s such a good idea. We’re safer out in the open. Let’s keep walking for a little while to see what else we can find. We want to explore the city as much as possible before we run out of time.”
I don’t have a strong argument against that, so we continue walking until we come upon what looks like a drinking fountain made entirely of glass. As I approach, a stream of water gushes out from the center.
“Do you think I should?” I ask.
“I don’t think so, Connor. We’re a long way from home, and you have no idea what kind of bacteria exists here. There could be contaminants that the Volarians are adapted to that we can’t even imag—and you’re not listening to me and drinking the water anyway.”
I come up for air and turn to Iris with water dripping from my lips.
“Oh my God, Iris, you have to try this water.”
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”
I’m already greedily gulping down my second helping. I don’t care what Iris says, this is the best water I’ve ever had in my life. It tastes way too fresh and delicious to possibly contain a parasitic alien bacteria that will slowly eat my brain. I think.
“There’s no way a place this clean will have dirty water, Iris. Just try it.”
“You’re just dehydrated. That’s why it tastes so good to you.”
“Do you really want to wonder for the rest of your life if you passed up a golden opportunity to taste the best drinking water the galaxy has to offer just because you were scared of getting a little sick? Diarrhea’s never killed anyone.”
“Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of death.”
“Wow, really?”
“Yes.”
“Oh. I’m sure this is fine, though, right?” I ask, suddenly nervous.
“Sure, worst-case scenario, you get a case of space diarrhea.”
“Why would you call it space diarrhea? You know that adding the word space in front of anything instantly makes it cooler-slash-scarier.”
“In the case of diarrhea, I would say scarier. I’m not sure there is such a thing as cool diarrhea.”
Iris stares at me stone-faced as the implications of drinking the unknown water hits me. I wipe the wetness from my lips and wipe my hands against my shiny silver pants. I’ll feel like a real moron if after risking my life almost every day as a superhero I wind up dying from drinking from an alien water fountain. I open my mouth to ask Iris what she thinks we should do, because I’m now terrified, but then she bursts out laughing.
“What … what are you laughing at? What’s so funny? This isn’t funny, Iris. I could die!”
She’s doubled over and having a hard time catching her breath. I’ve never seen her laugh this hard. She finally catches her breath and straightens, wiping tears from her eyes.
“The look on your face,” she says. “I wish I had a camera. I was just messing with you.”
She gently pushes me out of the way and bends over to drink from the fountain. She has a hard time because she’s still giggling.
“That wasn’t funny, you know.”
“Yes, it was.”
“Excuse me,” a voice says.
A pair of life-size holograms appear in front of us. Much like the hologram April used, these are realistic enough to startle me. A young, good-looking Volarian man and woman, each wearing broad smiles, look me and Iris right in the eye.
“Have you booked your trip to Earth yet?” the female avatar asks.
Iris and I look at each other, not sure if it’s waiting for us to answer.
“Um, no?” I say, looking to break the awkward silence.
“Then you’re in luck, because there’s never been a better time to book your trip,” the holographic man says. “There are luxury cryopods still available, starting at just ten billion credits. Bookings are selling fast, so don’t delay. Would you like to make an appointment with one of our sales agents this afternoon?”
“No,” Iris deadpans. She walks straight through the holograms, causing them to distort.
“Aww, are you sure?” the female hologram asks me.
“Sorry, she’s the boss,” I answer.
I walk around the hologram, feeling like it’s maybe rude to walk through them. I only make it a few steps before an idea occurs to me, and I whip around just as the holograms begin fading.
“Actually, that does sound interesting. Do you have an appointment available right now?”
Twenty-Eight
“There you are! Come right this way!”
The same Volarian woman we saw as a hologram beckons us into an open-air storefront. Inside are a dizzying number of holographic displays, which overwhelm my senses. Many are tucked into alcoves that resemble the dioramas I remember seeing a few years ago at the Natural History Museum. Instead of showing Neanderthals and wooly mammoths, these ones show people windsurfing, climbing snow-capped mountains, and hiking through rainforests.
“I’m so glad you could make it in today,” the woman says to us. “My name is Lelo. And you are?”
“Iris.”
“Conn…o,” I stammer, quickly improvising a Volarian-sounding name based on the only one I’ve ever heard.
“Those are interesting names,” Lelo says.
“I had eccentric parents,” Iris says impassively.
Lelo smiles awkwardly. “Anyway… welcome to Destination Earth, the premiere Earth colony relocation service. You’ve arrived at a wonderful time. Bookings for our maiden voyage are still available, meaning you could be among the first Volarians to step foot on Earth and explore its wild beauty.”
“First? Isn’t there already a ship there?” I ask.
Iris restrains herself from elbowing me in the stomach, but her eyes shoot daggers. Right. Probably shouldn’t mention stuff like that in case it isn’t public knowledge here.
“Yes, of course. A pre-arrival ship is on Earth making preparations for the first passenger ship.”
“Ah, right. That’s where my confusion was.”
“As I was saying, bookings are still available for the initial voyage if you are interested.”
She’s giving us the hard sell.
“We’ll think about it,” Iris says.
“Do you have a pamphlet or anything we could maybe take with us?” I ask.
Pamphlet. What an idiot. This is a highly advanced species potentially looking to conquer Earth, they wouldn’t have pamphlets about it.
“Of course. Here you are,” Lelo says as she hands me a pamphlet.
I take it and do my best to hide my amazement. While it physically resembles a paper pamphlet, the images on it are moving. When I open it up, a hologram of Earth is projected a few inches above the fold. This pamphlet has some of the coolest technology I’ve ever seen, and it’s disposable.
Another person walks into the store and interacts with a wall display. Lelo glances over at him and then back at us. It looks like she’s the only person working and has realized we’re not looking to book today. Glad to see that salespeople are the same no matter which planet you’re on.
“Why don’t I set you up with one of our demonstration experiences, and then if you have any questions, you can let me know?” she asks.
“That sounds gr—”
“Okay, follow me.”
She walks us to the back of the store, where there’s a small, empty black room, and instructs us to step inside. She presses a button on a panel outside and scurries off to greet the next customer.
“Earth, a land of mystery, intrigue, and endless beauty,” a voiceover says. Whirling holograms of imagery from Earth simultaneously appear around us. “Once a place to be feared, it can now be your personal paradise. Catch the latest in Earth entertainment, a full forty years before it’s available on Volaris.”
What the heck does that mean? I squint at Iris. She shrugs.
The preprogrammed hologram continues. “Have your every whim and fantasy catered to. Earthlings are already lining up to serve. We offer servant packages starting with one personal butler, all the way up to your own private army.”
“Um, I don’t remember anything about servant packages in April’s pitch about their refugee status, do you?” I ask Iris.
She shushes me, intently watching the holographic movie play out.
“Cryosleep is now a thing of the past thanks to advancements in wormhole technology, meaning you’ll arrive on Earth within hours of leaving Volaris.”
The hologram displays an impossibly large hangar surrounded by large empty fields. Strange machines are arranged in a circle that is hundreds, if not thousands of feet high. Inside the circle is what looks like outer space, but it’s distorted. The stars curve in on themselves. A Volarian ship, much larger than the one on Earth, is dwarfed by the wormhole. It vanishes into the portal. The hologram disappears, then reappears on the opposite side of the room as the ship emerges.
“So, that’s how they’ll get from Volaris to Earth so fast. They’re using a wormhole,” I whisper to Iris.
“Due to recent breakthroughs in quantum crystal energy extraction technology, we can now propel our society farther than we’ve ever dreamed before.”
The hologram zooms into the large wormhole structure and focuses on one of the strange machines. Up close, it looks incredibly complex, with hundreds of small moving parts made of a variety of different materials. Inside the machine, a clear rock hovers. The rock emits waves of light, which are absorbed by the surrounding machinery.
“For those concerned about how Volarians will be treated on Earth, we’ve kept the best surprise for last.”
The image changes to display a man wearing typical Volarian clothing. The man stands alone in a grassy field, holding his arms out to his sides. He slowly rises from the ground.
“Thanks to the differences in Volarian biology and the unique physical properties of Earth, all colonists will unlock strange and exciting abilities, often within days of arriving on Earth. And things just get better from there. The longer you are on Earth, the stronger your powers will grow.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” I whisper.
“No. No, it doesn’t,” Iris says.
“As we speak, the people of Earth are gathering to welcome you. You will have your pick of willing Earth servants, eager to bend to your every whim to ensure your time on Earth is worry-free and luxurious.”
“How are we doing over here?” Lelo asks, sneaking up on us and scaring the living daylights out of me. Iris remains calm.
“Sorry about that. A little jumpy, aren’t we?” Lelo asks.
“Yeah, too much coffee this morning, I think.”
Lelo gives me a curious look while Iris gives me an angry one. Right. Coffee. Why did I mention coffee, something that’s surely only an Earth thing?
“Well, this was very informative. We have a lot to think about,” Iris says as she looks for a way out.
Lelo steps in to block Iris’s path to the exit. “It’s a big decision, but we do have many people interested in booking, so we’d need a deposit if you wanted to secure your spot on our list. Otherwi
se, you could miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
I was prepared to deal with the unexpected on Volaris. I didn’t imagine I’d be up against a heavy-handed sales person.
“We’ll discuss it tonight, and if we decide to do it, we’ll be back first thing in the morning,” I try.
“It might be too late by then,” Lelo counters.
“Well, if it’s too late, it’s too late, and I guess we weren’t meant to go,” Iris says, getting frustrated.
The salesperson picks up on it and brings it down a notch, no doubt worried she might screw up a sale. “I’ll tell you what. I like you both. I’ll take your biometric signatures to make sure you don’t lose your place in line. That way, when you come back tomorrow, I can guarantee your spot.”
“Huh?”
“That really won’t be necessary,” Iris says.
“I insist. Don’t worry, I won’t even need a deposit.”
Before either of us can object further, Lelo raises a small handheld device and taps a button. A small, dull light flashes on our faces and then turns off.
Lelo looks at her device, confused. “Huh, that’s never happened before. It says neither of you are in the database, but that’s impossible. Let me try that again. Sorry about this.”
But it’s too late. She’s already aimed the device and tried again. Judging by the look on her face, and the knowledge that I’m definitely not listed in any Volarian database, I gather that the second scan went as poorly as the first.
“We’ll be back first thing in the morning,” Iris says.
Iris is done screwing around. She grabs my arm and pulls me out the store. I hazard a glance back at Lelo. She still has a look of total confusion on her face as she taps the screen of her device. Right before we turn a corner, Lelo looks up at us, scared.
“We have to get out of the city,” Iris says.
Meta (Book 5): New Empire Page 11