“She said she thinks this flight to Nereus is her present. At first, I thought that she was stupid... But then I'm stupid too. Why the hell did I go? On the other hand, what would I do on Earth? What if everything collapses and it's the end? All in all, she seems to make right remarks. Only with an attitude like this can you set out on such a long journey. She didn't have many flights. Perhaps just one. She even had grandparents. I haven't met such people like her for a long time. Usually, they mostly only have parents. Sometimes they have some aunt from relatives." She fell silent for a while. "They're somehow different... those who grew up with grandparents.
“Okay, I'm thinking about the wrong stuff again. Our captain received an additional mission briefing today. More information was received by the probes. From the expedition that was nine years ago... no, already ten years ago, maybe a bit more. Today we were examining the planet's fauna. Mostly tiny specimens but there are also big animals. Many bipedal organisms. Some specimens look like the rhinos that used to inhabit Africa before the flood."
Jack remembered that he saw them in real life, flying above the pavilion. And he also recalled that the previous unmanned aircraft delivered probes eight years before their expedition. At first, they immediately sent signals through the teleportation broadcaster. And then something went wrong. They had to wait for the rest of the data for more than eight years. That's how long it took to receive the probes' signal. Why couldn't they wait until they had all the information? So many questions.
He turned Anne's monologue off because he didn't want to listen to her reasoning about the inhabitants of the planet. Now he knew much more about them than anyone on Earth.
Jack went to make tea. He rarely drank tea, but that night he desired a little taste of home comfort, coziness, and warmth, and a cup of tea seemed to embody that simplicity, sincerity, and humanity. Taking a sip, Jack reminisced about his conversation with Linda and how she mentioned additional sequences, which were used as a so-called universal currency. Money didn't exist in the world anymore. At least, not like the kind used before. People didn't use money in the physical world nor the virtual world.
Instead of money, sequence coefficients were assigned to people, which they used to pay for food, clothes, rest, and even life expectancy. Sequences, Jack recalled, had their origins in the history of genetic engineering, making him smile at the realization of his current situation. In the 21st century, biotechnologists discovered molecular clocks hidden in the cells' genome. Each cell division was accompanied by the reading of a full gene set, which is called a sequence of DNA nucleotides. Pieces of such DNA were easily labeled sequences.
Scientists managed to prove that the molecular clock is responsible for setting aging mechanisms of organs and systems in motion. Perhaps nature used to need them some time ago to control population sizes or remove individuals who had completed their reproductive requirements. In time, researchers managed to prevent the clock's ticking, and by doing this, they prolonged people's youth. Scientists also learned that some DNA fragments could be re-written while some were simply unnecessary.
This breakthrough technology inspired humanity so much that people started feeling absolutely powerful and immortal. A new branch of human development took place. Technological revolutions had happened many before, but this time that joy encompassed the whole of humanity. People celebrated, had fun, organized demonstrations, and got completely wasted. It seemed to everyone that death was over, and one could do anything they wanted. But soon it was discovered that the cheers were quite premature. People died as they had done before, although many of them succeeded in living much longer. The technology of chromosome prolongation and protein molecule marker reconstruction developed, allowing people to delay old age more and more.
Over time, governments and big corporations monopolized this technology, becoming the only legal providers of such services. In response to all this, a black market for life prolongation formed. Jack couldn't remember what happened after the cataclysms. There was not so much information left in the archives, nor in databases. That part of history remained a black spot on the canvas of human history. Later, when the power was in the hands of the military following natural disasters like the flooding of continents and shifting magnetic poles, laws were toughened. The government took another special care to reinforce control over technology, by equating DNA sequences to currency.
People started paying with their sequences. After each child's birth, their DNA was analyzed in order to calibrate their molecular clocks. The natural life span of the child was its reserve, putting the child at a balance of zero. It was given for free. Gradually, over time, each child or adult could earn a few more additional years, if not decades, of life. A single complete sequence, depending on the coefficient that was calculated for each kind of work, was equal to one to three years. For example, a person could lend someone life using a special molecular bank. Protein sets of molecular clocks took a single year of the donor's life away. At the same time, the person who received the year, in contrast, became younger at a cellular level.
In the very beginning, people were able to pay with sequences given from birth, thus shortening their lives, but after a spike in suicides and theft of others' sequences, the government put a veto on the zero balance, forbidding a person from giving up their original sequences. A person with a zero balance was provided the simplest job by the government, which paid in hundredths of a sequence, enough for a person to live on. Deleting sequences and leaving the limits of the zero balance was only allowed in event of a crime. In such cases, the guilty one had their DNA chain shortened through the elimination of sequences. People then started paying for their crimes with their own life span.
Some criminals were sent to solitary confinement or corrective hard labor. For the most heinous crimes, an individual would be deprived of all remaining sequences. It was a highly sophisticated molecular execution. The DNA itself, after having been shortened, lost its efficiency and killed the owner. Sequence fraud was included in the list of heinous crimes. This allowed the government to finally seize control of their entire field.
For many people, a single sequence was a whole fortune. One could buy a decent house for 10 sequences, while 100 sequences could afford a luxurious mansion. The monthly stipend for the unemployed was about 0.005 sequences, while the average lunch of protein concentrate, vegetable mix, and dessert cost about 0.00031 sequences.
This money was not only enough for food. Some people even succeeded in saving for something else. Jack counted on 20 complete sequences for the mission. If they gave him five more, he wouldn't need to work at all for the next 30 years. He would be able to spend a part of this sum to prolong his life span, but now his young body was giving him hints that he had to think about some different things.
For now, Jack was seriously contemplating the additional years to his life. His energetic youth felt that life, full of its blooming splendor, stretched for miles, and the horizon of his old age was somewhere far away, hundreds of millions of light-years away. The rest of his tea was quickly cooling down in the cylindrical mug, giving off the aromatic smell of dried leaves.
The glass of the panoramic windows, as expected, darkened to the point of non-transparency. That meant it was time for bed. A dry shower with the gel substance, a shave using nanobots, and the standard procedure of mouth rinsing quickly tired out the mind of Lieutenant Sallenge, lulling him to sleep with their monotony. Falling asleep, he replayed Anne's recording in his mind. One thought wouldn't stop bothering him. "Why did she even come... Did Anne have some specific goal, or did she just really love captain that much?"
That night gifted Jack many strange dreams. In one of them, he sat in the armchair of the Space Agency's Director, listening to a report about work that had recently been completed. Standing in the official room, Linda Robore, with other colleagues present, was glancing at him with a guilty look on her face or looking about, in panic, for the support of those around.
Su
ddenly Sam entered the assembly hall and said, "How long will it last?"
Jack didn't understand what his friend meant, but he thought that Sam was reproaching him becoming a director who had fallen into the habit of reprimanding all employees.
Turning to his left in his dream, Jack heard Sam's voice again, "Jack, come on! Answer! How long are you going to sleep!? How did you get so lazy there!?"
53
Jack barely managed to open his drowsy eyes. His brain was still set on getting enough sleep for the day off that had been provided by Linda, and now he was hearing some strange sounds. They were whirling about his head.
"Something's wrong. Who's there?"
His eyelids started to close again, but another one of Sam's exclamations jolted Jack back to his senses.
"It's almost 10 a.m. local time. Jack, I've got very little time. Hi!" Sam complained, seeing Jack approaching the teleport, shaking a little.
"Hey, Sam," rubbing sleep from his bleary eyes, Lieutenant Sallenge sluggishly said. "Linda gave me the day off so I decided to hibernate."
"Ah, I get it," Sam smiled. "I've got something for you."
"Yes?" Jack asked surprisingly, still not yet alert.
He was tongue-tied and his mind refused to function. Despite his sleepiness, the part of his mind that was awake was grateful for the chance to talk to his childhood friend, understanding it was a rare occurrence. The reticular formation, which filled the entire base of his brain, strained hard to send impulses to the cerebral cortex to rouse Jack. It always did that when it needed to cheer up the officer, and its work was not in vain. After about another minute, Jack finally started processing what Sam was saying.
"I've got some food for you as well as some technical items."
"Thanks, buddy. Everything is appreciated." Finishing these words, Jack looked into the teleport's second compartment. Fortunately, it was already full of sand. They could begin a transport.
"Here are some batteries and shoes. I heard that shoes are... well, I mean that your shoes burn, like they're set on fire, when you go across the planet."
"Where did you heard that?" The officer decided to tease Sam a bit, smiling.
"From dad. We're following your messages too. Even though dad was given a different position, he still has some access to the mission info."
"Thank you, Sam. You can't even imagine how grateful I am to you."
"Don't worry about it!"
"I'm serious," His voice sounded mature. At that second, he was extremely glad, grateful from the bottom of his heart, that someone on Earth cared about him and watched out for his successes and failures.
"Jack, any friend would do the same if they were in my shoes." Having said this, Sam looked aside, confused as though someone invisible to Jack was hiding there.
"Yes, I know. I'd do the same... If only I had an opportunity."
"There's something of high..."
"Really? What's there?"
"Well, mom thought that the lack of culture is bad for you," he laughed, trying to twist his comment into a joke.
"Yes, I went absolutely wild here. No culture at all! I communicate with alien animals!" They both started laughing. At some point, Sam became confused again, glancing off to his side. Jack caught his look, but he had no time to ask anything.
"Anyway, there's some music and non-invasive reality simulations for the pavilion. They're from my dad. You can choose any topic and there'll be pictures, sounds, smells, and vibrations...and..."
"Thanks! It's so cool! There's so much variety already!"
"Aha... there are also books... All in all, there's a lot of stuff... I thought I needed to add something fresh to your dull days... But dad forbade me from sending you games... You could have killed so many monsters on Aldebaran!"
"I'd already forgotten about them! Thanks!" Jack replied, a smile written all over his face.
"Look, can you ask your dad why they don't send me the schematics... well, the instructions to build water purifiers. They could be extremely useful here!"
"I already asked," Sam nodded. "He says that after that mission to ESI-1, when the crew was out of contact due to teleport problems, they decided to block biomaterial transmission and a range of protocols."
"What happened?"
"Well, they apparently decided to clone themselves, and they say it was successful, but then a mess with official responsibilities started. The clones had the same synapses. And it turned out that they were complete copies of the expedition's crew members. Someone even killed someone else. But I don't know anything more. They made it confidential, so confidential that no one knows it."
"Interesting," Jack scratched the back of his head. "Captain Graham had the schemes to build the purifiers."
"Really?" Sam frowned.
"Yeah, that's what Warple said at least. We were in the galley and he told me that Graham insisted on those protocols. He told Norwell, well, your dad, that he wasn't going anywhere without them. But they were all in his shuttle."
"Damn it," Sam lamented, thinking. "If I could, I'd give it to you. Dad says he no longer has access to them now. He has no access to anything now."
"But you're still talking with me. You've got access to me," Jack winked.
"Huh, that's true, but it's a secret," Sam's lips were pulled in a smile.
"Come on. As long as there's a connection via teleport and something is sent to me, I'll hold."
Somewhere in the behind or near Sam, Jack heard a small shuffle.
"Well yes... Um... In order to cheer you up a little... I... I brought someone."
Jack's heart sank. He felt a sinking pit in his stomach for some reason. He realized at once whom his friend meant. He craned his neck and froze.
As soon as Gladys appeared, Jack understood why Sam had been confused.
"Damn! Pinch me, someone!" Jack couldn't hold himself back.
"We decided to surprise you," Sam tried to defuse tensions. "I'll leave you for a while so that you have some alone time."
With that, Sam got up and went off to some distant corner of the room, then completely disappeared. It was a narrow viewing angle so Jack couldn't see where Sam went, but he wasn't that interested already. He was staring at her big beautiful eyes, unable to completely believe he was seeing his loved one. He remembered each golden speck in her eyes, and there they were in front of him, painfully familiar and close.
"Hi," Gladys hardly managed to say before her tear began to tear.
"Glad, please," Jack tried to comfort her, barely keeping himself together.
"Jack... I've been in the dark for so long..."
"Me too..."
"I've been constantly thinking about you... those damned bastards were silent," she shook her head.
"I thought about you too, all the time," he couldn't say anymore. It was enough for him just to see her. There was no strength left for any other emotions.
"Jack, they said nothing. They were silent the entire time. I kept asking anyone I could reach about you," she covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hold in her frustrations. "Bastards. They were ready to claim you were all dead."
"I know, Glad. I thought about that... we lost contact, but it's not important now... I've always been thinking about you. I know you did everything you could... calm down... I'm here. Completely alive... I'm here."
"I felt you were still alive. And I believe you'll be back." She wiped her glistening cheek and, unable to control her emotions, burst into tears.
Jack observed her for a few seconds. He didn't see Gladys in such a state very often. The last time she had cried was when he was leaving to Nereus, but everything had been different back then. He had felt the warmth of her soft, gentle hands through his shirt. That was the last time they hugged. Right now, he could use such a warm and welcoming embrace, one that would warm his soul, which had been frozen in the cold of space. Looking at Gladys crying, he wondered that there was a chance he may never get to hug her again. That though stabbed him in th
e heart, leaving behind a massive weight in his chest. Fear made its way back into his heart, but it was fear for himself or his life.
For the first time in his life, Jack was terrified that his loved ones would be without his support in the event something horrible happened. How would she stay alone with her old mom? Who would take care of her? Who would be able to protect her?
"Glad, let's talk a little bit," he pleaded when her sobs subsided. "I'm here now. All safe and sound. It's too early to cry over me," Jack continued with a sad smile on his face.
"Yes, yes, I know it... I'm sorry... I'm too tearful... Just, you know, I still can't believe I'm seeing you here," she said, wiping her red face with her palms. "I don't believe it either... We're reading each other's thoughts."
"Glad, it's me, the real me. I want hug you so much but for now we can only talk. I'll definitely come back. I promised you that we'd see each other again."
"Yes, of course. It won't be any different. When Sam told me there was a chance..." she fell silent, glancing to the side as if someone were listening. "That there was a chance to talk to you, I thought he was teasing me. But he looked so serious. And now I'm here and I see you. Cheerful and alive. Jack, I'm so happy!"
"Me too, Gladys. Sam turned out to be nobody's fool!"
"They are real jerks! I want to kill them all so badly," Gladys shouted.
The next half an hour they spent talking in a more and more natural way. Jack briefly told her what happened. In the end, he disappointedly concluded that he'd have to stay for an indefinite period of time. Gladys listened carefully without interrupting aside from the occasional moments her eyes widened in shock. She knew should couldn't change the situation in any way, so the only option left for her was to listen and be happy Jack survived. They didn't want to just say nice things to one another, but at some point, they caught themselves realizing how they were being crushed in the powerlessness of a barrier billions of kilometers in size.
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