“Colleen,” Simon stopped her. “You have created quite an institution here, built something from nothing. Your father would be proud of you, I hope you know that.”
“My father would be happy that I am proud of myself Mr. Tehom, but thank you for saying so.” Colleen thought of her father often, it felt nice to know that she wasn’t the only one that remembered him.
“I’m putting your name in the lottery. It’s not a sure thing, but… I think you have earned it.”
“I am just a coffee shop girl, I would be a wasted spot. You don’t want me, pick up another doctor or lawyer… on second thought, leave the lawyers and politicians here to sit in their mess. But surely, there is someone better than me.”
“Better than a strong young woman in her prime, with drive and passion for hard work?” Simon shook his head, “That alone should guarantee you a spot, but we have to do this lottery to keep things fair for everyone. Even Eleanor has to do the lottery.”
“Really? I didn’t know that.”
“The crew and technicals are handpicked, they all have roles and no one else can do their job. Most of them have been on board for over a year now. The passenger manifest is randomized, who am I to say who goes and who stays? I will leave it to God and chance to decide.”
“The ship isn’t finished though. Is it?”
“Nearly, the biggest task is the capture of the KX2M1 Ice asteroid and getting the TOGS attached, but that is after launch. First we have to use the information from the survey probes to carve it up and get it down to a manageable size. Between that and the health and genetic testing for the lottery winners we are nearly ready. From here it’s all paperwork.” Simon shook his head at the mound of papers in front of him.
“Goodnight Mr. Tehom.” Colleen made her way upstairs, Simon didn’t answer.
With each of the twenty four steps from the ground floor of the shop to the front door of her apartment Colleen normally counted her vices, things that lead her into ruin in the past, the last step she always said aloud, “Father, I’m sorry.” Sometimes the words were for her own father, other times a prayer to God, but the words never changed. It had become a nightly ritual for the five years since she opened the little shop. Tonight however, her mind flooded with the possibility she would join the other thousands aboard the Tehom One, and the dread that she would fail the genetic and health screening. A fear echoed by tens of thousands.
Her apartment door opened and closed, and Colleen locked the door. Around her minimalistic décor and pressboard furniture scattered the two rooms. No heirlooms, nothing terribly nice, just the collection of accoutrements required for life. Her friends were her customers and she had totally shut off her romantic life.
Nothing is keeping me here, when they do launch… what happens to this place?
Where before she had never thought of joining the generational voyage to Tehom Prime, her obsessive personality soon took hold of the idea and wouldn’t let go. She even dreamed of floating through the stars.
Chapter Thirteen: Eleanor Tehom stands up
“I won’t do it Simon, I won’t let her go by herself!” Liberty was in tears, as expected the lottery had drawn her name.
“Lib, she is thirteen. The youngest child going is nine. She will be fine.” Simon grew tired of the nightly disturbance and same fight.
“She is just a little girl, I am her mother. She’s not going!”
“Do you think it will be better for her here? What do you think the Californians or the Chinese will do when they sweep in here after the place is abandoned? Capture her? Kill her? Turn her into a puppet like Oliver was? No way in hell, she’s going!” Simon dreaded what the world would be like under the curtain of red that was certain to fall.
“Simon, listen to me. I am not letting her go by herself, another face in a sea of kids. She still needs her mother. Why can’t we go? This is your company, your spaceship, your name is on the damned side of it in letters twelve foot high!”
“We are too old, we put a max age of thirty five, it wouldn’t be fair.” Simon shook his head.
“It’s your fucking ship Simon!”
It was the same argument he received from the board, they all wanted him to go on the journey too. Even the press lambasted him for the project and then lacking the courage to strap himself in. In truth, it wasn’t fear or courage that kept him from using his name and influences to break the rules, it was honor, honesty and pride in both.
“I don’t care if I have to sneak aboard in a seed bucket, you are not taking my daughter away from me.” Liberty Tehom had put her foot down, something that rarely happened. She had drawn a line, and her husband was dangerously close to it.
Simon opened his mouth to speak, as Eleanor walked around the corner the words faded within him.
“Did we wake you? We were just discussing…” Simon stammered.
“Discussing my life? Without me? Is that what you were about to say?” Eleanor brushed back her pin straight red hair that framed her face and neck, “Yes, I know.”
Eleanor Tehom although only thirteen was what many called an ‘Old Soul’, her constant analysis of the world and people around her was unwavering. At four years old she read her first book, at six she had mastered the violin and could make it sing to the hearts of hundreds, at thirteen she had graduated high school and begun her first college courses. Her brilliant mind was well known and celebrated within the remnants of the Republic of Texas, however only the Tehom Consortium knew of the little girl that quietly, calmly and constantly peered out from behind her stark grey eyes. Her brilliant mind was tempered by a kind and generous personality; she was not reclusive or stoic by any stretch. Eleanor Tehom looked upon the world with the mind of a Tehom and the heart of a Van Meter, adored by both of her parents.
“I am thirteen years old, I don’t need my mommy and daddy pushing me into one life or another. I am old enough to figure it out, besides you are keeping me awake with all the cussing and shouting…” She looked directly at her mother.
“Elle…”
“I wasn’t finished. Just because I’m thirteen doesn’t mean I’m too young to go on the TOGS, every kid in the world wants to do it. I’m not giving up my slot, it’s my name on the side of it too. I am going. You raised me to prepare for this my whole life, I’m prepared, and the decision is made. I WANT to go.” Eleanor turned to her father as her words made her mother burst into tears.
“You are being too mindful of what people think, or what the imaginary people in your head think. Do you even listen to what the REAL people around you want? The whole world wants you to go too, everyone, EVERYONE thinks it’s totally strange you aren’t going. How about this, you have fifteen hundred lottery slots that were disqualified after the health screening right?”
“One thousand three hundred and seven.” Simon crossed his arms trying in vain to one up the brilliant mind that was his daughter.
“Whatever. You did your lottery, you satisfied your honesty and your pride. Now step into your role as leader of this expedition and pick and choose those that didn’t make the cut but that will provide value. That includes yourself and Mama. You are not just stacking genetic profiles and diversity. You are determining the course of an entire segment of human history. Choose wisely, not randomly. I am going to bed.” Eleanor turned on her heel and walked out of the room without waiting for a response from either of her parents. The door slammed and the constant beat of her loud mixture of classical and electronica music flooded the bottom floor of the house in typical teenager fashion.
“I know better than to argue with that girl.” Simon stood and shook his head
“Good thing, she is smarter than you.” Liberty smiled and squeezed her husband’s arm. Both of them smiled proudly at the closed door their daughter had just walked through.
“I’ll tell the board in the morning, each of them gets ten slots, that’s one hundred out of the remaining after the health screen. Ill open a thousand up for a second lottery, I
ll choose the rest.” Simon shook his head, the weight of hand picking passengers was a responsibility he had not wanted, but in truth realized he had pushed away for too long. Eleanor was right, as usual.
“I love you Simon, even though you have such a thick head and are so damned stubborn.”
“You know I can’t tell that girl no, I would move a mountain for her. What’s worse… she knows it.” Simon sighed and sunk down into the couch and closed his eyes, he rarely fell asleep any more he was either awake or passed out. There was no middle ground and the bags under his eyes marked testimony of his long hours.
“Tired?” Liberty stood above him, he didn’t respond. “Too tired?” her nightgown dropped to the floor at her feet.
Simon’s eyes opened just a crack. His wife was near to forty, her battle scars of life and pregnancy only added to her beauty. Her tightly wound red curly hair had regained its natural curls after being straightened that morning, her daily routine. He cracked a smile, “Never that tired.”
Liberty raised an eyebrow, “Never?”
“Ok, almost never, certainly not tonight.”
Liberty turned, leaving her nightgown on the floor and walked to the base of the stairs. “Come and get it.” She said slapping herself on the butt and then ran upstairs on all fours.
“Oh you are gonna get it!” Simon raced up after her and they crashed together onto the floor at the top of the stairs in a mixture of wrestling and wet kisses.
Liberty gained the upper hand and rolled on top, pushing her husband’s shoulders down into the carpet, her nakedness sitting directly on his chest. She held both of his hands together at the wrist above his head and bent down and kissed him, biting him on the lip slightly as she crawled away over him into their bedroom, her heart shaped butt led the way and they closed the door behind them.
The night carried on and the forty two minutes of love making seemed like hours before the pair passed out still entangled with one another.
In the morning Simon awoke to a pair of blue jeans being tossed in his face.
“Get up, I’m holding you to what you said last night. You have a board meeting in an hour.” Liberty was already dressed and was slipping earrings into her ears while looking in the dresser mirror at him.
“I’m not getting out of this bed till I see another peek at that pretty ass of yours, you know I like watching you get dressed.” Simon sat up a bit wedging his elbows behind him.
“Didn’t you get enough last night?” Liberty stuck her tongue out at him.
“Never enough! Excelsior!” Simon laughed.
Liberty hiked her skirt up slightly and shook her bare ass at him for just a second, just enough to show him she wore no panties, “Now, get up! I’ll see you at the office.”
Simon walked to the office, taking time to smile and greet those that acknowledged him walking by. The board assembled, it was early and the yawns permeated a constant echo from person to person. He entered the room his fist over his mouth covering a yawn.
“Good morning everyone.” Simon spoke first to a mass of muted groans and tired greetings.
Liberty entered with a solid two dozen caffeinated drinks from Tea Rushes, a welcomed sight every morning. Quickly they were divided up among the board members, assistants and secretaries.
“Anything dramatic happen over night? Any fires that need to be put out?”
“In the green straight across Mr. Tehom. Uneventful night.” Gerald Baker answered on queue.
Simon looked at his wife and smiled slightly, she ignored him.
“We are going to shift policy a bit, my daughter has seen fit to point out and demand I correct the error of my ways.”
“How is Eleanor?” Tracy Armish spoke up, a kindly older woman who had been with the company for years. So long that many looked upon her as a collective grandmother.
“Bossy.” Liberty chimed in while passing out the daily status reports around the table, everyone laughed politely.
“What does our population look like? Full report.” Simon looked to Walt.
Walt, expecting the question ran down the figures, “We have 698 crew members in residence aboard the TOGS, and we are expecting the remaining forty two crewmen to arrive aboard later in the week. That is seven hundred and forty bridge crew, engineers, doctors, maintenance and scientists. Of the 5,020 passenger slots allocated by lottery 3,713 have accepted and relocated. The DNA samples are successfully aboard and on ice, 165,000 individual samples. We have 1,307 empty slots to fill, and have plans for a second lottery to make up the difference. We are on target with the 3 to 1 ratio.”
“Many of you have been pressuring me about those empty slots; I have stood strong against that pressure even at the displeasure of my own wife. I believed that the strict age limit was a necessity, which I still believe it is. However, I am going to give all board members ten seats. No age limit, for yourselves, your families and friends who didn’t make the lottery etcetera. One thousand seats will be tossed to the next lottery and I am going to hand pick the remaining seats. That is, 207 seats I will hand pick on a case by case basis. People the lottery has missed.”
“I don’t envy you that task.” Gerald shook his head.
“Does that mean you have decided to go as well?”
“We have.” Simon reached out and took a hold of his wife’s hand. “I know I will get flack for changing course, but in a year it won’t matter.”
“I think I speak for all of us when I say, Simon… It’s about time! I don’t think you fully understand the increase in morale this will create among everyone in this project, passengers, crew and even those of us that will be staying behind.” The ancient Yoko Yuan smiled for the first time during a board meeting in recent memory.
The remainder of the meeting stretched on as normal, updates on the positioning of the ice asteroid KX2M1 and its closest approach to the L2 construction zone. Incoming observations of the constant study of Tehom Prime and the running debate of the effects of the time dilation phenomenon involved on the journey. It was well known that the trip would be one way, and there would be no contact with the earth once the outer ring of the Sol system was breeched, they would be on their own.
“Get your lists to Liberty by Friday, choose wisely.” Simon closed the meeting with those words his mind filled with the names of people he had known in his life, both with the company and externally. Good people who lived good honest lives, people that deserved a reprieve from the coming storm of red.
For the next few days every spare moment of time Simon made use of his computer and unlimited access to social media accounts, government records and collected data, stalking virtually and running his own version of a background check on each and every name he wrote down.
His list finally compete Simon picked up the phone and made the first phone call. A young woman he had met in Austin, a college student at the time she had been the one that turned Eleanor on to music as a young child. They had walked up and watched her busking for over an hour playing her guitar outside a restaurant, every time they tried to walk away Eleanor demanded they stay and watch. Eleanor at only age four watched the girl play for tips and tuition money, memorizing the movements and mannerisms of the girl.
“The guitar was my fathers. He played in a little band when I was a kid. I picked up a few things.” She had responded when Eleanor had asked her where she learned to play and looked stunned when the little four year old introduced herself as Eleanor Tehom.
Simon had paid her tuition for a year, and wrote the check, her name was Sandra Wright. He hadn’t seen nor heard of her in over nine years, but now he was calling to offer her a slot on the Tehom One.
The phone rang, and was answered.
“Hello?” a slightly familiar voice answered.
“Miss Wright? My name is Simon Tehom…”
Chapter Fourteen: The power of music
“I can’t do this anymore!” Sandra screamed across the apartment she shared with her live in boyfriend Isaac.
“What? Where are you gonna go? Look at you!” Isaac crossed his arms with a beer in his hand.
“It’s 7am, I have to get to work. You already made me late.”
“I’m not getting up to find your keys, you should quit that job anyway.” He turned toward the television and let out a loud belch.
“Does that mean you are gonna get a job? Cause I’d love to see that.” Sandra whispered under her breath.
“What? What did you say to me?!” Isaac stood and threw his beer at her, shattering the bottle on the wall next to her.
“Damn it Isaac! You got that shit all over my clothes!”
Isaac stumbled over and grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her screaming down the hall of the rented by the week two room apartment. In the bathroom he pushed her into the bathtub and turned on the cold faucet drenching her in ice cold water.
“There! Now you are all clean, you bitch!” Isaac shouted down at her as she covered her head and face with her arms.
“Fuck you Isaac!” She screamed in defiance.
Her further rebellion ignited rage within Isaac and he lashed out, his fist meeting her face right under the left eye and near the nose, the sound of her nose breaking echoed in her head as she was knocked unconscious.
Isaac spit on her and dried off his wet arms. As he left the little bathroom he threw the towel at her and grabbed his jacket, headed for the door. On the way out he stopped and took Sandra’s guitar out of its case. He knew it was her favorite thing, a valuable antique. Isaac hated it, a constant reminder of the life he had taken away from her. Isaac grabbed it by the neck and smashed it into the wall, the last object of her loving and wonderful family shattered into pieces with a distressed twang. Isaac walked down the street without regret.
The fighting and abuse had gone on for years, a youthful romance turned bad by alcohol, poverty and hopelessness. Isaac had once been a promising actor, a friend had gotten him to try drugs, and alcohol had always been a problem. There was no acting career after that, there was nothing after that.
Tehom: The Tehom Legacy Book One Page 11