“Oh, hey, I invited Jayce to come. I hope you don't mind,” I said, finishing the last of my drink and sliding out of the booth.
She paused. “No, I don't mind … I just hope …” she trailed off as Jayce came striding down the steps, behind him a man I didn't recognize, but knew at once.
His suit, shirt, and tie, all black. His hair short, sharp, and black. His eyebrows were trim, tight, and black. His eyes were dark, bold, and bright. His face was very handsome, and his smile seemed to light up his dark visage, similar to how Jayce's did, but opposite completely. A comic book artist couldn't have drawn a better depiction of Sebastian Black. The very absurdity of it made me laugh.
“Stop that!” Cara scolded me as quietly as she could.
Jayce walked in front of Sebastian, his face hard as a stone. “I hope we're not late,” he said as he neared us. “Andy, this is the Chief of Operations, Sebastian Black. Andy is my assistant, and I believe you know Cara.”
“Of course,” Sebastian said as he lit up like an X-Ray photograph on a white light. He took her hand and kissed lightly at her fingertips, all the time never breaking eye contact with Cara. She pulled her hand back rather curtly.
“Sebastian … we're glad to have you,” she barely mustered.
He feigned a laugh and his face flickered for a moment. “I'm sure of it,” he said, looking to me, “Andy? Is that right? Nice to meet you.” His eyes gazed down and back up, quickly giving me a scan and showing no signs of particular interest.
With some queer bit of amusement over the situation, I smiled and plainly said, “Likewise.” This ordinary dinner date was about to turn very interesting, and I was suddenly glad I had showed up early to indulge myself.
We moved up to the top level where our table awaited us. It had been set for two, with a flowing white tablecloth, folded black napkins, white china dinner plates, and martini-style glasses. The glasses were surely Cara's doing. She loved to drink dry martinis with dinner, especially when having pasta. No sooner than we had pulled up two extra chairs, the waiter brought us two extra glasses and began to set the table for four.
Despite the martini glasses, I ordered another whiskey sour, and Sebastian a gin and tonic, or as he put it, “a gentleman's drink.” Jayce and Cara stuck to the plan and were soon both sipping dry martinis, Cara's with extra olives. Like the martinis, the conversation was dry at first. Sebastian never looked too far away from Cara while he made idle chitchat with Jayce about the current state of affairs on Earth. Apparently, he had been planet-side for the last three months, and both politics and economics seemed glum. I had kept my distance of all news from Earth over the past few months and still wasn’t the least bit interested now. The conversation went stale and turned into dead silence after a while. Sebastian started to look bored and those big dark eyes of his began to look pouty. It was then he finally noticed me.
“So, Andrew, tell me what it is you do for Jayce,” Sebastian said as he drained the last of his gin and tonic.
Jayce was quick to respond. “Andy's a good sport. He gets stuck with all the work that used to bog me down,” he said, laughing. “I'm sorry about that, Andy, I really am.”
“I'm just glad I can be of help,” I said, grinning a slightly silly grin.
“He has his uses.” Cara smiled at me and patted my hand on the table.
Sebastian's expression tightened, and he gave the two of us a quick glance, like he was putting it together in his head. “Oh, I get it. My caramel apple Cara has finally moved on. Well, I'm glad to see you haven't been too broken up about me.”
“I somehow find the strength to go on each day, Sab,” Cara said mockingly.
Sebastian's face was trying hard to hide his irritation. “So my Chief of Planning and Research's gopher and my ex, together on Luna. I've been away too long it seems. And, Jayce, you didn't even tell me! Now I thought we were old buddies?”
“I'm sorry, Sebastian. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, so I usually let the bad news bear itself,” Jayce said. “Besides, I never really asked Andy or Cara how serious things were, that way I could keep some level of plausible deniability.”
The arrival of our food made for a great escape from the uneasiness that lingered over our quaint little table. The food being served was fettuccine alfredo with hot buttered French bread and side salads of romaine lettuce, spinach, and radishes. Little was said while we ate, mainly compliments to the chef. My attention was drawn outside to the view of a massive freighter being maneuvered by three shuttles into a loading lane to dock at the space port. Its wing span was so wide it looked to be four or five times the size of the first space shuttles that went into space.
“Impressive isn't she?” Sebastian's gaze was fixed on me. “That's the Leviathan. She's carrying a payload that will change the future.”
“I didn't even think it was possible to launch a ship that size from Earth,” I said as I gawked at the Leviathan, which was now executing a series of tight tail maneuvers to get its trajectory lined up.
“It wasn't possible,” Sebastian said with more than a hint of contempt in his voice, “until I made it so.” He looked at Cara and smiled through his glass. The ice cubes rattled around as he emptied the cup then motioned for the waiter to bring him another. His eyes fixated on the giant ship again. “She's the reason I'm here, to take a journey that will change the future … or at least see that someone does take the journey. My father won't risk his only son and heir on what he considers to be a 'long-shot.' Hmph!”
Jayce began to look ill. “Sebastian, perhaps we shouldn't talk about the project so soon,” and in a quieter voice he added, “and in public.”
“The whole world is going to know soon enough, Jayce, what's the matter? You're not scared are you?” Sebastian said, slurring his speech slightly.
Cara cut Jayce off before he could retort. “Where is it going, Sab?” Cara asked. “You haven't come all the way here for another publicity stunt, I hope.”
“Publicity stunt? The Mars bridge would have been a reality, if we had anyone decent working on the project!” Sebastian shot a quick glance at Jayce. “Present company excluded of course …” he said mockingly.
“You know we tried, Sebastian,” Jayce said curtly. “It just isn't possible with our current technology.”
I remembered hearing about the “Mars Bridge” about five years ago. It was going to be a jump point from the Moon's orbit to Mars orbit. The massive gate was going to use electromagnetic propulsion to speed up a specially built shuttle while also applying a magnetic field around the vessel to shield the craft from radiation bombardment from solar flares and other cosmic radiation. The quick acceleration would send the shuttle hurdling off toward Mars, where it would later be able to initiate its burn of traditional propellant to make the rest of the journey. There were two major flaws with this plan: The amount of energy needed to power the jump gate was astronomical, and not cost effective to produce even one jump. The other issue, well, it was a one-way ticket. There wasn't going to be a jump gate at the other end. No way to get back meant this would only be useful for terraforming projects, which had been on indefinite hold for years. Terraforming had become another alchemist's promise back on Earth.
“So, little Cara is still interested in our work, I see? Are you still lost and trying to find your way home?” Sebastian said as he laughed and looked very amused with himself.
Cara's face reddened and for a moment I thought she was going to hit him. “You're still an asshole, Sebastian. Nothing has changed.”
She threw her napkin on her plate and was about to get up from the table when Sebastian started fumbling for words. “Cara … I didn't … you know, I didn't mean to upset you. It was a joke. I'm sorry! Christ, I see you've all lost your sense of humor up here. Just wait, I'll tell you all about our new project. Project Lens.”
Jayce slunk down in his chair and his face was ominous. I couldn't help wondering why he was so distraught that Sebastian was spilling the beans. I
was his assistant and he would tell me eventually, or I would find out by reading his memos. Cara and I were close, as well as Cara and Jayce; she would find out as well. I couldn't imagine this new project being a bigger deal than the Mars Bridge. Mankind's exploration and colonization of space had been dismal after the settling of Luna. The Sol system only supports life on Earth. No other planet could easily be settled, and terraforming was out of the question. Luna's construction had been costly and took nearly a century to complete. A colony in orbit was the next logical step, but who would front that kind of money to start such a project, and how long would it take to build? As far as I could tell, we weren't going anywhere, no matter what Sebastian had brought up to us.
Sebastian laid out the details of Project Lens while we finished our dinner and had our drinks refreshed. The project was essentially a redesigned Mars Bridge with a working power supply and engine design able to bring the shuttle back from Mars orbit on propellant only. According to Sebastian, Futura had solved the power problem of the bridge, although he was hesitant on giving us the details of which … at first. Cara was pulling information out of a red faced, tipsy Sebastian Black with ease. She would ooh and ahh over each detail, placing her hand on his arm as if she were impressed with his accomplishments. His face was so smug as he fleshed out the details of the new bridge's power supply. The technical specs were way over my head, but Cara and Jayce both had concerned looks upon their faces.
“Have you already heard this, Jayce?” Cara asked in a low, demanding tone.
Jayce sat still as a rock and looked at Sebastian and me for a moment as he considered his answer. “We spoke briefly this afternoon when Sebastian arrived, but the council hasn't—”
“The council will never approve of using the master relay in conjunction with the gate! It is dangerous and irresponsible to even think about it!” Cara fumed.
“Cara, please keep your voice down,” Jayce said as he leaned in closer to the table. “Nothing is final yet.”
“Ha! You know damn well it is, Jayce. You think I'd come back here for another embarrassment if it wasn't?” Sebastian's eyes were wild now, and he looked as if someone had just dared to attack him. “The council has no choice but to say yes. They need the money too damn bad. We're going ahead with Lens, no matter what!”
I began to feel a chill creep up, as if some cold breeze had been gusting around Luna for years and had now settled back over this table … over Cara, Jayce, and Sebastian. There was history here, but no one had told me anything. Suddenly I felt like a child again, amidst his arguing parents out at a nice dinner. I wanted to slink away and head back down to the lower level bar where I could enjoy the rest of the evening in peace. However, my current involvement with Cara somehow kept me in a binding contract to stay.
Desperation gripped me. “Listen, Cara, why don't we leave this to Mr. Black and Jayce? They're the experts here. I may be Jayce's assistant, but let's face it, you and I are out of our league when it comes to this stuff.”
Sebastian sat up straight, as straight as he could. “Well, it looks like your gopher does have some brains after all, Jayce. I'm glad to see that you're at least fucking someone with common sense, Car.”
“Fuck you, Sebastian!” Cara said with fire in her eyes.
“Oh, but we've already done that,” Sebastian retorted.
Cara stood up so fast her chair nearly flipped over and the tablecloth pulled down to the floor on one side. Jayce was quick to his feet and already had an arm around Cara, the other holding her wrist. “That's enough. I think we better be going. Sebastian, I'll have them get you a shuttle ready to take you to your suite. Andy, will you be so kind to take Cara—”
Cara wrenched free of his grip. “I don't need anyone to take me home! I'll be just fine!”
She stormed off and was leaving Cosmos when Jayce started after her. “Good night, gentlemen.”
Sebastian sat, sipping the last of his gin and tonic, still as stone and just as cold. “She never told you about us? Well, there is not much to tell really. Beneath that warm beautiful skin, she is a cold woman.”
I sat in silence, my consciousness hovering a foot over my head, contemplating the ridiculous course of events and examining myself through the looking glass.
“She never told you that she worked for me either, huh? For Futura? She worked at Futura, but I used to think she was there for me. Hah! That woman only lives for herself and whatever the hell it is she is looking for.”
“Her parents. She's looking for her parents,” I said quietly as I stared at the remains of dinner.
That made Sebastian laugh. “Yes, her parents or fate or destiny or the music man …or some other bullshit like that. Well she's going to get her chance.”
“How do you mean?”
“Jayce said you were friends, but he left you in the dark too, huh? That cold, beautiful wench may have a screw loose or maybe not. Either way she is the most talented psychic on Luna.”
“Fortune-telling?”
Sebastian hiccupped. “Christ! Not fortune-telling, kid, something more special than that. Special indeed, she's special … she … she, ah hell…” Sebastian slammed his empty glass on the table and staggered up from his chair “…that's all the fun I can take for one night. See ya, kid.”
After Sebastian had staggered through the lobby, flailing and flagging down a busboy to get him a shuttle, I still sat at the disheveled table. The mess of dinner plates, cocktail glasses, silverware and napkins strewn about seemed a fitting picture to describe the evening. Despite the scene Cara and Sebastian made, Sebastian's rude comments toward Cara, and Cara and Jayce not telling me about her working at Futura, or her and Sebastian, I sat there totally indifferent to it all. The waiter came by once more to ask if I wanted anything else, but it was clear from his face that he was ready to rid himself of me and clean up the mess.
I grabbed my jacket and made my way down to the lobby level of Cosmos. There was jazz music playing and people were on the dance floor, moving about one another, in and out of rhythm, coming close to collision and then separating, finding a partner and circling them once or twice before shuffling off to another. They swirled about each other with some unseen force driving them, moving them, spinning them, and all the while ignorant of its hold on them. The gravity between human hearts is a force that no one can predict or calculate. Too many coefficients and unknown variables. I slinked down to the lower level bar to run the numbers all the same.
Chapter VIII
The dream was so vivid and tactile, like none I'd had before. I was a boy again, walking across a hot blacktop parking lot, segmented by cracked and faded yellow parking space lines. It was bright and sunny, midday, and I was with my family. The air was humid and insufferable, just the way I liked it. Cicadas were whirring in a hypnotic rhythm, and my skin was soaking in the sweet radiation. There was no mistaking its glory; it was summer on Earth, something I'd been yearning for after months on Luna.
The place was Bramblevines Mall, our little city's smaller shopping mall. Bramblevines may have been the smaller of our two malls, but it was much more elegant than its larger successor. Its bright skylights let only a spectrum of white light on to the top and bottom floors. The lesser foot traffic made it easy to get around and also quiet enough to hear the soft music that played throughout. It was always a treat to go to Bramblevines. Every time I walked through the doors, an awesome wave of tranquility washed over me. I no longer had any cares or worries, save for the need to procure a soft pretzel and plan my weekly allowance purchase in one of the three stores that interested me. Occasionally, I had blown my allowance at the arcade, but that was rare. I had usually been in search of a rare find in the video game or comic book store. From time to time, I would give patronage to the music store, where my brother spent all his time reading magazines, listening to sample music, debating on new guitar straps, and analyzing different guitar strings.
Our family didn't get out much. We were no hermits, but a we
ekly trip to the shopping mall and grocery store was about as big as our summer plans ever got. That was okay with me. We were simple kids in a simple time. The hot nights and hotter days were ours while school was out. With our parents at work during the days, my brother and I had free rein on a countryside paradise. We'd go on bike rides that would span miles and miles, hours and hours. We tromped through the woods with our friends, up and over hills and hollows, and through pastures and creeks. You could not ask for a better place to grow up. It was a fine place for kids to enjoy all the things that are natural and beautiful on Earth.
My dream led me through the Bramblevines Mall with no particular direction. I saw the water fountain where I had tossed a hundred pennies and made a hundred wishes. The food court emanated the smell of hot pretzels. Cardboard comic cutouts lined the windows and entrance to my favorite comic store. There were other kids playing games in the video game store. They laughed and carried on just like they ought to. Older teens were going and coming from the music store, my brother included. Everything was just the way I remembered it.
The visit seemed to play out like it always did, and we were leaving with my parents, who had been shopping for clothes; my mom shopped and my dad sat and waited for her semi-patiently. We each had our wares and were content in some way. Each of us had fulfilled our need to see a bit of the outside world and bring a piece of it back home with us. Only on this occasion, in this dream, as we walked across a parking lot of hot, black asphalt with heat dancing as a mirage in the distance, a bright burst of light leapt out from the sky. A sunburst of all the colors of the rainbow spread out in all directions, like a giant lightbulb had popped, and sparks scattered to every corner of the sky. There was no sound, only a terrible feeling of dread as we watched the light spread across the stratosphere and dance on the tiny particles of ozone. It was all wrong, the time of year and my age in the dream, nevertheless I knew what I had just seen was the Cheers of Jupiter explosion. I awoke in a cold sweat in my dark room. Only one thing came to my mind as I tried to recall the dream … summer was over.
Gravitational Constantly: A Novella Page 5