Starship (The Outsider Series Book 2)

by Steven Oaks

  Whatever their reason I had to be away long enough to give them time to be loaded. So I made my way to my favorite used bookstore to look for collectibles or books I had not seen before.

  I did receive a few strange looks cruising down the main road in the area. Especially since my small bike did not look capable of pulling its trailer. The body suit I was wearing let me feel anonymous, and helped me with the anxiety I usually felt when I was out in public being looked at.

  Pulling into the parking lot of the store I had a momentary issue as to where I should park. Luckily I was able to maneuver my bike and its trailer into a single spot without sticking out into the rest of the parking lot.

  “Athene is it possible to make this suit look less like a motorcycle helmet and jacket, and maybe more like a hoodie when I pull off the helmet?” I said to Athene using the ever present earpiece.

  “Certainly Michael, just a moment,” she said. As she said this the suit changed texture and the helmet started to become limp, allowing me to pull it off my head to let it hang behind.

  “How is that?” she asked

  I could see my reflection in the window in front of me, and I looked like I was wearing black jeans with a black cotton hoodie. My hair had come free and was blowing in the afternoon breeze, and I felt alive with energy.

  “It looks good Athene. Now to grab some books,” I said excitedly. I have always enjoyed perusing new books. You never knew what you were going to find. Since I do not usually follow release dates for books, I was always surprised by a new novel by a favorite author.

  I walked to the entrance and pulled the glass doors open and allowed the warm air from the outside world to enter the cooler interior. As it swirled around me I smelled the lovely aroma of old books, musty and full of character.

  Stepping in I was surrounded in my type of heaven. Books lined all walls, and there were sections dedicated to a variety of interests. Now with the Internet we were no longer reliant on what was written down and bound to gain more knowledge, but there was something to be said for having a tangible copy right in front of you.

  I had always wanted a library full of books to surround me. While I did own around a thousand books, and Athene had provided a nice library for them, I was not completely satisfied. I wanted a massive room with all walls filled with large leather bound tomes. I had previously purchased special collectors editions of both the complete works of Sherlock Holmes, and Louis Carrol that were thick leather bound with spines printed in gold leaf. I already owned these works in a variety of formats including paper back, but when I felt like sitting down to read them again I always pulled the thick volumes. So much in fact the gold leaf was starting the wear off, and anytime I was finished reading after a long session I found my hands covered it flaky gold residue. Perhaps they were not the most well made version I could have gotten, but I had always been limited on funds, and they were the best I could afford at the time.

  I made my way around my favorite sections, the paperback and hardback science-fiction/fantasy area, and was saddened by the lack of anything I did not already have. So I proceeded to look through their vinyl record area. For whatever reason I still have a fondness for these black disks. While you could hear hissing and popping with some of the more used copies, if you could find yourself one that was not played too often you would get a rich full sound. With compact-disks and MP3's you could get a song, and it was really decent quality, however there is nothing like a recording pressed into vinyl for my taste. Thankfully I had held on to my old record player over the years, and it still did a fantastic job playing back my favorite albums. I had several copies of The Beatles, and my favorite band of all time The Electric Light Orchestra lead by the amazing Jeff Lynne.

  My first exposure to ELO was their science-fiction album known simply as TIME. I had listened to it so often that I had worn out the cassette that I had first purchased. Later I was able to find it on all mediums available including 8-track, record, CD, and even MP3, and I purchased them all. I never wanted to be away from those songs.

  That day I was looking to see if I could find something to add to my collection of vinyl. There were certainly some that caught my fancy. I almost purchased a copy of the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack just for a laugh, but I passed it over as I found a copy of Rush 2112. I have always been a fan of their work, but I think this album sums up why I liked them so much. In this record it tells the tale of a young man who finds a guitar behind a water fall and learns to play. As the world is already overtaken by a religious order he brings it before the elders and shows them the beauty of music, and how now everyone can make their own. But they tell him it is just a silly toy from the past and how it supposedly helped cause the downfall of man at the time. The boy is heartbroken and by the end of the track it seems as though he is committing suicide.

  It is a powerful tale, and it has always given me a chance to look at the world from different perspectives. The boy's certainly is the main focus of the tale, but it is interesting to try to see it from the elders viewpoint. They either consider the old world technology a poison on the minds of the youth, or they wish to control all things in order to stay in power. Most of what Rush creates deal with politics and even religion, so I think of them as something to go to when I want to think.

  Taking this album with me I found a cart and proceeded to pick through all they had. I gathered several records, and placed them into the small plastic cart I was pushing around. After an hour I gave up looking. I seemed to have exhausted their supply of classic rock, or at least the groups I was familiar with.

  I hoped I had spent enough time here, but I was finished looking around. I was getting tired of being surrounded by so many people. Even though it was a weekday it seemed I had come during everyone's lunch hour and they all wanted to come here. So I took what I wanted and waited in the growing line in front of the checkout counter.

  Eventually it was my turn, and I set all I wanted in front of the checkout attendant. Their eyes and smile grew wide at all that I gathered.

  “You like your vinyl don't you?” she asked.

  “Very much, the quality of audio just can't be beat, at least in my opinion,” I said, somewhat more quietly than I wanted.

  She continued to smile, but began ringing everything up. By the end the total was near a hundred dollars, and she had to give me a box to carry out all that I bought.

  Walking out to my bike once more, I tried to open the trailer, but I could not find a latch. “Athene, how do I open this thing?” I asked.

  “I made it so only I can get it to open, sorry. I just thought you would not want your things stolen,” she said, and the trailer popped open.

  I placed my purchases inside, making sure when I closed the lid it would not crush anything, and pushed the lid back down into place.

  “That's okay Athene, but I think I'm done here. I'll be heading back now,” I said as I pulled the apparent hoodie back over my head, and my suit once more morphed into that of a leather jacket and pants with a black helmet.

  “Where would you like to go after this?” Athene asked. This was code for me to know that she had completed her task, and that everyone was on board.

  “I think I would like to go out on a bike and decompress after being surrounded by people. Someplace with lots of trees,” I said.

  “Well you already did your exercise on your bike this morning. Will you be able to have a joyride without getting tired?” Athene asked. She knew I had a place in mind, we had planned this all out with Jennifer, and she had suggested the location.

  “Oh I should be fine. I won't push myself or anything. I just want to be out in nature for a bit before leaving Earth behind. It was hard enough not going stir crazy these last several months,” I said continuing to play along.

  “Well I think I have found the ideal location. It is a little place called the Great Glen Trails in New Hampshire. They have easy trails, as well as more difficult ones if you happened to feel adventurous. This is
all surrounded by wooded areas, and it is near Mt. Washington, the highest mountain in the northeast. You should be able to see the peak as you ride your bike,” she said sounding enthusiastic.

  “Sounds wonderful. I shall be back to you shortly,” I said as I mounted my trusty electric bike to make my way through traffic once more.

  I met no difficult obstacles save the traffic being slow for this time of day. When I finally made my way back to Athene I noticed the ramp was gone.

  Curious as to how I was to get back, I asked, “Athene, how do you suppose I am to return to you when the ramp is no longer here?”

  “Do not worry Michael, I simply put it away while you were gone. There was no reason to give people here any chance to climb up and poke and prod me,” she said as I saw part of her extend down to meet the road before me.

  It seemed to my eye that a large part of the surface of the ramp began as liquid, but when it dropped to the edge it would stiffen, and the next part of the sludge would run down and harden until it met the surface of the ground in front of me.

  When the it was complete I rode the bike forward until the front wheel touched the surface, and suddenly I was being dragged back up into Athene. As I reached the top her side irised open and I was pulled inside. As soon as I was in, the door closed suddenly.

  “Michael, you have a visitor. One of those we picked up refused to be frozen, and wished to speak with you,” Athene said.

  “What? Why?” I said, confused and more than a little mad. We had talked with Jennifer about this. This was the only way we could guarantee any kind of safety for them.

  “I do not know Michael. I thought it best to have them talk with you instead of forcing them into cold sleep. They are waiting for you in the library,” she said.

  “Jeez, fine. Could you please be so kind as to store away what I bought?” I asked.

  “Certainly Michael. Should you need anything I am of course always here,” she said.

  I was confused by her words. Of course she was always here. I shrugged my shoulders and headed to the library after pulling off the suit and laying it upon the chair near the entrance.

  When I walked in I saw an older man with white hair staring down at a book. I could not tell what he was reading, but I was a little upset at him pawing one of my precious books.

  When he looked up after noticing my entrance I grew even more angry. This was the person who had poisoned me my first day on the job. He was the facility manager at the Indiana dead depot, and had offered me coffee, and proceeded to break down in front of me about his concerns for his family.

  “Hello Michael,” he said simply, and stood up from the couch.

  I had to refrain from running over to him to punch his face into the back of his head. This man had nearly killed me. Without Athene's ministrations I would have sunk into sleep and never woken up.

  He must have seen the emotions contorting my face as he said, “Ah, I see you remember me. I am sorry for what I did. You must understand it was the only thing I could think to do at the time.”

  “Then you surely lack imagination Mr. Astor. And yes I remember you, it is hard to forget ones assassin,” I said, barely able to hold back the fury in my voice.

  “You must be wondering why I am here?” he said in a calm, even voice.

  “Of course. If you were to simply disappear one day don't you think that the Outsiders would investigate?” I asked.

  “No worry there, I quit a month ago after hearing from a friend that someone was willing to take some of us who were against the Outsiders influence,” he said, almost in a smug voice.

  “Oh, did you give two weeks notice, and then just disappear? And what about your family? Surely just quiting did not cease the problems,” I said with slightly more vehemence than I had intended.

  “They are here with me. I suppose I am lucky in many ways. It was you who picked us up, and that we actually were picked up at all. I had heard you would not be able to get all of us, but there was nowhere for us to go after leaving the Outsiders. I lost everything. My house, and the college fund for my daughter were all used to pay off the debt I had. I just wanted to say thank you,” he said in a formal voice. I half almost expected him to bow.

  “So instead of waiting until I was unloading you and your family, you decided that it would be best to confront me here, and risk being kicked out?” I asked.

  “I had hoped you would hold no grudge. You seemed sympathetic when we first talked. I am sorry I broke down so much in front of you as well,” he said with his hands out and gave a little shrug.

  “You do not go out and try to kill someone and then expect them to so easily forgive you even if your goals are similar,” I said, growing more angered, “And your breaking down in front of me caused me to leave early. Had I waited much longer I might not even be here now. That would leave you still working for them, and with no escape.”

  “All I can say is that it was the only way I had at the time to try to help everyone and myself,” he said.

  “What a self-centered view, and unthinking understanding of the world. Do you think the Outsiders would have simply said, 'Oh, one of our pilots seems to have died, we better stop.'?” I asked.

  “I thought it might slow them down at least. That would have given me time to think of something else,” he said, and I could see him growing upset.

  “A brilliant plan. Kill somebody right after you meet them, somebody who actually is sympathetic to your own ends. What a moral person you are. Now get back there and stay frozen, and hope I don't change my mind and release you into space while we are on our way to the colony,” I said heatedly, pointing to the door I was still standing in front of.

  He then hung his head in shame, and began walking towards me and the door. As he passed me he whispered, “I meant no harm.”

  “Jacob, if you meant no harm, then you should not have tried to kill me,” I growled under my breath while not looking him in the eye.

  He shuffled off down the hallway towards the entrance room, and as he reached it I saw a waiting tube. He walked up to it, and before he was dragged into the bowls of the ship I saw tears once more in his eyes. He looked at me, and simply mouthed the word sorry, and was gone.

  “I too am sorry to have put you through that, but I thought it best you knew he was on board before we left,” Athene said.

  “It's alright. Let's just hope he and his family can adapt to the hazards of a wild world,” I said, “Speaking of which, what do we know about this planet we are going to?”

  “Before we talk about that, should we go ahead and set course for New Hampshire?” Athene asked.

  “I figured you had already had us on our way. So yes, lets get this day over with,” I said growing weary. I hoped I was up to the scheduled bike ride.

  “We are on our way. As for the colonial planet, all I know is what everyone was told. It had been a large rocky planet near enough to a star in range for human life to survive if the world had water and atmosphere. Before making their way to Earth the Outsiders somehow knew enough about humans to make it habitable. They filled it with water and vegetation. Before the colonists will be unfrozen the ship that is taking them there will release animal life into the waters and land,” she said.

  “I could see them putting water down, but how did they know what atmosphere we had, and also what kind of vegetation we might need or want? They must have been down to visit us before. Who knows how long this 'second earth' has been made ready for us,” I said.

  “I show no record in my data base about the Outsiders interacting with humans before their initial contact with you last year,” Athene said.

  “There have been cases of demons and alien abduction for years. It's possible they are responsible for those stories,” I said.

  “Maybe, but I thought most of those cases have been shown to be related to sleep paralysis. In that partial sleep state you are unable to move, and the mind becomes paranoid and fills in reasons for being paralyzed. It was exp
lained away with demons and the like in the middle ages until the alien idea became more prevalent,” Athene said.

  “While that does seem true and logical, it doesn't mean all incidences are due to sleep paralysis. How would they have the seeds, or even the right plants if they never visited here?” I asked.

  “Perhaps they were able to monitor our transmissions and formulated likely plant life along with all other things needed to keep humans alive on another world,” she said, not sounding too convinced herself.

  “Not likely. What we know is limited, at least in so much as we transmit. We usually don't send out all knowledge into space about ourselves. The closest example of such a thing was with Voyager 1 and 2 on the golden records. They mostly had music and greetings encoded upon them, along with other simplistic things. So there would be nothing on how to reconstruct a livable space to any who encounter it,” I added.

  “Then logically they must have visited Earth. Who knows how long ago in the past it was. It would have been easy enough before the invention of radar and the like. It would be possible even after, as I am able to avoid detection most times even though I am a large vessel,” she said.

  “A comet or a meteor might have been a probe for all we know. They are able to manipulate matter at a basic level of energy conversion, so anything is possible. They might never have set foot on the ground, and left it simply to an exploratory drone,” I said, thinking about the possibilities.

  “I suppose it might mater how, but it also is obvious they did something to gain their knowledge of Earth. We shall see first hand when we arrive what they were able to do. If worse comes to worse we shall be there to transport away those who are not able to make it in this new environment,” she said.

  “Are they not keeping the transport ship around?” I asked.

  “As soon as they are unloaded it is returning to Earth to pick up the next wave. Though we can move very fast, it still will take months for another ship to arrive. If the plan to extend the human race out among the stars continues it will take years eventually to travel out to all these new planets,” she said.