Building New Canaan - The Complete Series - A Colonization and Exploration Space Adventure
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“As you can see,” Lindsey said to Martin, “this part of the park has been pretty much devastated.”
She was right. He couldn’t see any creatures around them or on the seabed, which was a smooth blanket of sand.
Lindsey continued, “We need to begin reseeding right away if we stand a chance of being ready in time for the opening,”
“Sure,” Martin replied. “But I haven’t seen any signs of construction. Aren’t the hotels and the rest of the facilities going to take the longest to put in place?”
“Oh, you don’t know yet,” asked Lindsey. “I had to skim over that part in the plans. The hotels and all the rest of the physical infrastructure are going to be the last and fastest stage of the project. Building all those things the regular way would be so boring, right? I didn’t want to be bothered with all that, so I asked for permission to use pico, and it was granted. We’ll grow the hotels right out of silica.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
STELLAR DATE: 04.12.8941 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Heliopolis, Ithaca
REGION: Troy, New Canaan System
“Cheer up,” Erin said as she and Isa walked through the entrance to the shooting range. “It’s only going to take until lunchtime, then it’ll all be over, and you’ll be free to do what you like.”
Isa had been looking doleful ever since they had settled Jude in at the daycare center. Their little boy’s sunny personality had ensured it hadn’t taken long before he was happily playing with new friends, so Erin guessed that the reason for Isa’s bad mood wasn’t due to worry about him.
“It’s OK for you,” Isa replied. “I’d much prefer to be checking out the building I want to use for my gallery. It’s empty and ready to view. I could be there now instead of practicing shooting people. I don’t enjoy this kind of thing like you do.”
“Me?” Erin asked. “What makes you think I enjoy this kind of thing?”
Isa threw her a look.
“OK,” said Erin. “I guess I do enjoy it. It’s fun.”
“And you’re good at it,” said Isa. “But I couldn’t hit a destroyer at twenty paces.”
“Now that’s an exaggeration.” But not much of one, Erin added to herself.
She’d seen Isa’s invasion drill reports. They were so bad, Erin had wondered if Isa had been missing the enemy soldiers on purpose.
They walked up to the front desk to check in for the session. At the same time, the entrance doors opened, and four women burst through the doorway, laughing and chatting loudly. They pushed past Erin and Isa to get to the desk first.
“Errr,” Erin said.
Isa shook her head, and Erin agreed their rudeness wasn’t worth arguing about. After a brief transaction, the four women disappeared down the passage that led to the range.
After checking in, Erin and Isa followed them. All the booths were taken except the one next to the group of women, who shot them glances as they took up their spot. Erin turned her back on their nosy neighbors.
The shooting range had been set up to mimic a variety of potential scenarios and enemies. The session playing at that moment featured an urban combat scenario.
“Do you want to go first?” Erin asked Isa.
“I don’t care,” she replied. “I’m going to be terrible at all of them.”
“Don’t be silly. That’s why we’re here, right? To get better.”
“That’s why I’m here. If I don’t score the minimum, I’ll have to do a repeat practice every week until I do.”
“Ugh,” said Erin. “I didn’t realize it was that bad.”
“Yeah,” Isa replied, picking up one of the weapons on the stand. “It’s that bad.”
Erin heard a titter behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw that the women had been eavesdropping on her and Isa’s conversation.
When they saw Erin looking at them, one of the women said, “Hi. Can I ask where you’re from?”
“We arrived from Carthage yesterday,” Isa replied, giving Erin an ‘It’s fine’ look.
“Right,” said the woman. “I thought you probably weren’t Trojan. You Carthaginians are a bit soft, aren’t you? Victorians, not Taranians. Here on Troy, we know how to shoot straight.”
Erin turned her back to the women again, surprised that colonists in New Canaan had brought along that old rivalry from the Kapteyn’s Star System.
Isa began to chuckle, which she hastily tried to control as the rude woman looked on angrily, obviously aware that Erin was making fun of her.
The woman’s features turned hard, and she aimed her weapon at the holo, which displayed enemy troops running toward them down city streets. The scene was one of the more difficult ones because there was plenty of cover for the troops, and local civilians would frequently pop into view.
The Trojan woman picked off three soldiers with ease. Erin glanced at her in time to see the smirk she threw at Isa.
Anger welled up in Erin. The Trojan’s rudeness and posturing were bad enough, but the last thing Isa needed was someone trying to make her feel even worse.
Her jaw set, Erin grasped the AC9CR, feeling its weight and adjusting her stance to compensate. Once she was comfortable, she toggled her round to start and fired the weapon’s electron beam, downing four troops while also avoiding hitting a child who ran across the field of fire.
“Not bad,” said the woman, adding, “for a Carthaginian. But let’s see what your friend can do.”
“My wife isn’t here to perform for you,” Erin retorted.
“Oh, I see,” the woman said in a condescending tone. “There’s no need for her to learn how to shoot while she has you around to defend her. Is that how it is? That’s really sweet.” She smiled at her friends.
“I’m sorry, you seem to be confusing me with someone who cares what you think,” Erin replied.
But all the Trojan women had stopped their own practice to watch Isa, and Erin didn’t want their scrutiny to make her aim badly again.
Isa chuckled, glancing at the rude Trojan.
She lifted her weapon and searched the holo for a target. She didn’t look confident, however, and Erin was sure she was going to miss again.
she said.
Isa gaped at her. Then her lips drew into a thin line, and she narrowed her eyes at the holo, firing off five rounds. Each was a perfect hit.
“One hundred percent!” Erin exclaimed. “Awesome…if you were a Trojan.” She threw the Trojans a wry look.
The rude woman’s expression became sour, and she turned away like she was trying to pretend that the conversation hadn’t taken place.
Erin said.
CHAPTER NINE
STELLAR DATE: 04.12.8941 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Heliopolis, Ithaca
REGION: Troy, New Canaan System
Isa applied the security access key that the letting agent had sent her, and the lock snicked open. She pushed on one of the heavy double doors, which swung inward, revealing a dim, dusty interior, lit only by beams of sunlight through rectangular windows high above. She stepped inside the building and saw for the first time the site of her new business endeavor.
As she closed the door, the bustle of the street quietened to a soft hum. Isa’s gaze roved the large, empty space. She’d chosen the building from vid advertisements because the place had seemed t
o fit her needs perfectly. And now that she was there, she saw she’d been right.
Isa walked to the center of the floor and looked upward. She could see all the way to the roof. On her right, a mezzanine jutted out at second-floor level, and on her left was another mezzanine at the level of the third floor. A stepped walkway linked the two, passing across the open space.
It was easy to see how the building had once functioned as a storage warehouse for Troy’s famous spices. Isa thought she could still detect the scents of cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, cloves, and pepper.
Excited anticipation coursed through her. She had read all about Troy’s valleys, plains, rainforests, and inland seas. She would hire an aircar to fly to all those places and record the sites as she had on Tyre. Then in her workroom at the new house, she could recreate all those amazing landscapes and add an imaginative spin, turning the recordings into psychological experiences.
Isa’s landlord had arrived, as they had arranged.
She opened the door and saw a slight, dark-haired, pale-skinned man.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Singh,” said Isa. She took a step backward to allow him to enter.
He ducked his head slightly as he walked through the doorway. “Pleased to meet you too.” He stopped just beyond the threshold in order to sweep the place with his gaze. “I have to confess it’s been a while since I was here. Is everything to your satisfaction?”
“I only arrived a minute ago myself,” Isa replied. “I underestimated how long it would take to travel here from the shooting range. I had to take part in training practice this morning. I haven’t had a chance to look around properly yet.”
“No problem. I can show you the place myself and answer any questions you might have. I suggest we start at the lower mezzanine. The elevator’s this way.”
Isa followed Singh as he led her toward a corner of the building.
“Do you mind if I ask if you’re a Trojan?” Singh asked as they reached the elevator. It was an open, no-door, step on, step off type that started up as they drew near it.
“No,” Isa replied, wondering why people kept asking her where she was from. “I’m from Carthage. I only arrived yesterday, in fact. This is the first time I’ve been to Troy.”
“I see,” said Singh. “I was Carthaginian too, but I’ve been here a while now and I plan to stay. I wish I’d come here sooner. I prefer life on Troy, and it’s easier to get ahead here. I’ve become quite prominent in the upper social circles, if I say so myself.”
An elevator floor appeared and they stepped onto it. Immediately, the machine’s mechanism sent out a low, grinding hum.
Isa looked questioningly at Singh, whose features creased with embarrassment.
“That noise isn’t anything to worry about,” he said. “This elevator hasn’t been used in a while, is all. But I’ll arrange for someone to take a look at it to be on the safe side.”
“How long has the building been empty?” Isa asked.
“About eighteen months. I bought it from the previous owner not long after I arrived, thinking I would be able to let the place quite easily. But yours was the first inquiry I received. I suppose it’s due to the building’s structure. It’s fairly unusual, right?”
“It is, but I think it suits my needs.”
They had reached the mezzanine, and they simultaneously stepped out.
“The owner put the place up for sale soon after the last tenant moved out,” Singh continued. “I believe it was because the company went out of business. Such a pity. I heard they supplied the best saffron in the system; you can’t buy it in Heliopolis now, you have to order it from the other side of the planet.”
“That is a pity,” Isa said.
“The problem is, if you’re running a company that exports to other planets, it’s hard to compete with Carthaginian businesses. In most cases, they were the first to be set up after the Intrepid’s arrival, so they were always one step ahead. Licensing fees imposed by the New Canaan government don’t help, either. You would think the system-wide government would give the younger economies a break, wouldn’t you? But it doesn’t. Everything has to be ‘fair’.” Singh made quote marks with his fingers.
They were strolling across the mezzanine to the rail where they could overlook the first floor.
“What is it you’re planning to do here?” Singh asked. “I can’t remember if you told me. The commercial use restrictions on the section are fairly open, though you can’t live here.”
“I won’t be living here,” said Isa.
She went on to explain her installations, but Singh didn’t seem to understand.
“So you’re going to open an art gallery?”
“Yes, a kind of interactive gallery.”
One of Singh’s eyebrows lifted.
Isa said, “Clients participate in recordings—”
“You mean it’s going to be a sim center? Heliopolis already has several of those. I’m not sure if you’re aware.” Singh looked glum, as if he expected imminent loss of his rental income.
“No, not a sim center,” Isa said. “I guess the best way to describe it is as something halfway between a sim and a deeper psychological experience.”
“Right,” Singh nodded, clearly failing to understand what Isa had in mind.
“You can come to the opening,” she offered. “Take part in a session free of charge if you want.”
Singh’s features brightened. “I might take you up on that. And I have some friends in the art world I can introduce you to. Anyway, as you can see, everything here is in good condition. Let’s cross to the other side.”
They climbed the steep walkway to the second mezzanine.
“Will your visitors be walking around the place?” Singh asked as they stepped off the stairs.
“They could, but they don’t have to.”
When Singh looked confused again, Isa said, “It’s a new concept, but I’m confident there’s a market for it.”
“I certainly hope so,” said Singh. “I can’t afford to have this place sitting empty, business isn’t good. The Trojan economy is weak and getting weaker.” His tone had become more heated and his eyes danced with ire. He went on, “It’s all very well for the big shots in Landfall to fix things to protect their local market, but they don’t seem to think about the effect on the rest of New Canaan.” He paused, leaned toward her, and murmured, “If you ask me, the faster Troy secedes, the better.”
Isa blinked. She didn’t know how their innocent conversation had evolved into a political discussion, or rather, a diatribe.
“Did you know there’s a parliamentary election next week?” Singh asked. “I’ll be voting for the Independence Party. They’re new, but feelings are running high. They might just win. If the New Canaan government won’t help us out, I say we make it official and stand alone.”
“Um, OK,” said Isa.
“The days of colonization are over,” Singh almost yelled. “It’s time we decided our own destiny. Central government has stuck their noses in and dictated to us long enough!”
“Right,” Isa said.
Awkwardness forced her to walk to one of the slim, rectangular windows that ran along the front and back walls just below the ceiling. She peered out.
It didn’t seem to her that Troy’s economy wasn’t doing well. Heliopolis was bustling with life. Shuttles and drones criss-crossed the skies, and the streets were filled with vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
Singh joined her at the window.
“Did you notice that the building can also be accessed from the roof?” he asked in an even tone, as if he hadn’t been ranting only seconds previously.
Studying her landlord from the corners of her eyes, Isa asked, “It can?”
He pointed upward. A hatch was embedded into the ceiling directly above them.
“The roof can hold two or three aircars,” said Singh. “And t
his is private property, so no one else can land there. That’s what the previous owner told me anyway. I’ll find the details and send them to you.”
“Thanks,” Isa said.
The option to land her aircar on the roof would be convenient. All in all, she was pleased with her choice of building. Everything appeared to be going well for her new venture…with the possible exception of the mental health of her landlord.
CHAPTER TEN
STELLAR DATE: 04.12.8941 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Elevator Terminal, Heliopolis, Ithaca
REGION: Troy, New Canaan System
After parting from Isa at the shooting range, Erin took an autocab directly to Troy’s space elevator, which sat at the far eastern edge of Heliopolis.
Other than a few drones working on the terminal’s exterior façade, the structure was all but deserted, something that would change once the station above was completed and the majority of off-planet transportation moved from the spaceport on the far side of Heliopolis to the strand.
A flare of light to the east caught Erin’s eye, and she knew it was one of the support strands waiting to anchor additional sections of the station.
Messene Station was the first full-scale, low-orbit station to be built in the system, and Erin was filled with pride that Tanis and Earnest had entrusted her with its construction.
All prior stations she had built needed to be further out on the strand to generate enough centripetal force for comfortable gravity. Messene was different. At only five thousand kilometers above Troy’s surface, it was almost gravity neutral without the use of a-grav systems. A benefit was that construction was much simpler, but it also meant that Erin had to take extra steps to ensure that if the a-grav systems failed, the station and its occupants would be safe.
If the work on Messene went well, she’d take that expertise and begin to plan for an even larger station over Tyre.