by Neely Dobbs
CHAPTER 18: InterSpace
The food they had been served before and after sleeping was quite good, although quite different than what they were accustomed to. After the first meal, ADIZ had efficiently cleared the dishes away and the trio had compared notes before sleeping. The sleep chairs had proven to be as restful as promised. ADIZ again returned to the cabin, cleared away the remains of their latest meal and indicated it was time to resume the pre-conditioning process.
“Next, you will be briefed by several specialists in specific facets of the Alliance’s culture, science, technology, history, and political structure. Since you lack any recollection of their identities, they will introduce themselves as they speak.”
For the next two hours, a parade of people, each briefly occupying the stage, brought the trio to as complete a level of understanding of the Kepren Cluster Alliance as could be reasonably expected while they were still masked.
They learned that Kepren’s central geographical position in the local star group was no coincidence. Although the Alliance had begun— as a union of only three worlds in just two stellar systems—almost a thousand years ago, the development of InterSpace travel had been the central driving force in the development and growth of the modern Alliance. Its application permitted the formation and maintenance of a united political force spanning the eighty-one light-year diameter of the cluster.
In an astute political move, the Cluster Alliance Council selected a sparsely populated— but centrally located— planet as the site of the new capitol. An entire city, Ganlon, was constructed on the planet Kepren to serve as both the hub and the focus of the united civilizations. Thus was born the existing name for the far-flung, unified government entity: The Kepren Cluster Alliance.
Once established as the capitol, Ganlon inevitably became the cluster's de facto center of commerce, requiring enhanced transportation capabilities. Although this provided Kepren with state-of-the-art facilities, astute planners realized the increasing traffic would quickly outstrip even the massive InterSpace support facilities that had been planned. Since the generation of a star tube included the capability of both ‘to' and ‘from’ modes, and since Kepren would be a target of so much travel, the solution was rather straightforward: outlying systems were required to furnish the “round trip” energy for a star tunnel whenever their target destination was Kepren. Thus, while Kepren became known as the “Crossroads of the Cluster,” its own energy requirements for interstellar travel plummeted to less than two percent of the original projections.
Following this long succession of cultural and political and military dignitaries, two young children stepped into view. Samantha’s eyes misted over in instant recognition and Jason held his breath.
“Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad! Hi, Uncle Kyell! It’s me, Gavin!” He was impishly interrupted by, “and me, Marlinyn!” Gavin continued. “They say you won’t remember us when you see this. But we don’t believe them— you couldn’t ever forget us!” Together they called out, “We love you!” As they began to return to their seats, the younger Marlinyn turned impulsively and pleaded, “Please hurry home and save the galaxy so we can wake up and give you hugs and kisses.”
"Oh... no... noooo!" Sabanda wailed as the children faded from view. "Jazon! How could we forget our own children?".
ADIZ paused the display and Kyle gently hugged Jason and Samantha as tears rolled freely down their cheeks. After a long silent minute, Samantha kissed Kyle appreciatively on the cheek, then Jason warmly on his moist lips. As she wiped the last of the cooling tears from her face, she whispered, “Jason, in spite of all of the wonders ADIZ showed us on the Earth, it was the thought of our children that made me believe it could be true. Now I’m sure…I know. Whatever we have to do to succeed in our mission, we will do it. We must make sure our children are safe.”
Jason nodded, unable to find words for his feelings. Finally, he said simply, “I love you... and we will.”
ADIZ had waited patiently during this exchange, and continued to do so as the trio regained their composure. When they appeared to have largely gathered themselves, he spoke softly. "It was anticipated that this specific aspect of the pre-conditioning would be a particularly difficult experience for you to process. Accordingly, there is a mandatory break called for at this point. We will resume in one hour."