“Are you two okay to jump after that?” asked Biyu.
“I understand the sight of Artemis rising over Scylla is breathtaking,” Nuku answered.
“Prax, how about you?”
“I’m not sure I have any preferences, although sunrise over Hermes might be something.”
“Can we get that close Saphira?”
“We can get closer, between the sun and Hermes, before the sun’s radiation becomes a problem.”
“Sounds fine to me. Artemis and Scylla first, then Hermes, and would it be safe to land on Ares?”
“Yes, but time is a consideration. Perhaps some other time?”
“Okay, then jump us to Artemis…”
And before she had finished speaking the image on their screen changed to the reds, oranges and yellow of the gas giant Artemis.
“Would you like to take manual control Biyu?” asked Saphira.
Biyu gulped. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I will respond to the same muscle movements used to fly a dart. You can navigate using the graphics on the screen. I won’t let you crash me.”
“Okay, relinquish control now. Do you trust me my friends?”
“You wouldn’t be in that pod if you weren’t the best,” said Prax, his mood lightened by their zero-g games.
Biyu stretched her arms to suggest acceleration and Saphira began to respond. As she turned her body and Saphira reacted by banking, she pressed forward even more and Saphira accelerated. Within just ten minutes Biyu had flown in behind Artemis’s biggest moon, the ice-world of Scylla. Again they were speechless as Biyu took Saphira in close to the surface and they watched Artemis rise over the blue-white horizon.
“Is it safe to jump?” asked Biyu when they had had their fill.
The image on their screens changed from ice to fire. Saphira had placed them in the shadow of Hermes.
“Clever girl,” Prax said approvingly. “A coronial sunrise…”
“What do you mean?” asked Nuku.
“If we back out of the shadow at exactly the right angle the sun will rise over the full three-sixty degrees of Hermes’s horizon. It should be spectacular.”
“Okay, well, you give the command,” said Biyu.
“Okay Saphira, jump when ready.”
Saphira backed out at a steady pace and again they were transfixed as they watched solar flares leap over the horizon of Hermes. The screen adjusted as the full light of the sun exploded over the horizon in uneven bursts as the rays cleared valleys and finally mountain ranges. When the light became too intense Saphira jumped again, this time to Ares, the twin world of Eden, closer to the sun and a planet of barren deserts and dramatic mountain ranges.
“We have enough time for a quick flyover, Biyu,” said Saphira.
“What about re-entry burn-up?” asked Prax.
“I will enter at a safe speed. The ceramic hull can withstand a re-entry speed of 35,000 kilometres per hour.”
“Yahoo!” Biyu yelled as she pushed Saphira down. The screen showed the red and orange glow of the hull as the jumper encountered the stratosphere. Biyu pulled-up as the surface of Ares seemed to loom perilously close. Then she took them across deserts and through the Deimos valley, the largest valley in the Edenoi solar system, banking and rolling, testing Saphira’s response time, gradually integrating it into her muscle memory. Behind her Prax and Nuku had called up their personal floating nano screens and were familiarising themselves with the diagnostics.
When Biyu was satisfied, she relaxed. “Okay girl, jump us home.”
69
Cynthia
She tossed the spear ahead of her onto the deck; its point carried a medium sized bladefish gradually losing its battle. She hauled herself up onto the low transom, untied the net of shellfish from her belt, tossed it beside the twitching bladefish and pulled her mask and respirator from her face. The sun was hot on her back. Aris surfaced and handed her a much larger bag filled with slug and various seaweeds. He hauled himself up and pulled off his mask.
“I’m sure I’m putting on weight,” he said as they pulled off their flippers.
“Yeah, we probably overdid it. It’ll be a shame to waste it.”
She stood unsteadily as the yacht rolled in the waves. It was on loan from one of Aris’s uncles. On the first day of her furlough he had taken her down to the marina, demanding that she keep her eyes closed. She had felt disoriented as he guided her onto the deck. She was a landlubber and the rocking sensation was unfamiliar. She gasped as she opened her eyes. It had long been a dream of hers to go sailing.
They had headed up the Turquoise Coast, hopping from island to island, mostly sleeping in the cabin but occasionally pitching a tent on some pristine beach when the winds picked up and the waters became too choppy. Aris could sleep through a storm but she still hadn’t found her sea legs.
It had been an idyllic trip. They had fucked, talked, hunted, foraged and slept. She was now so familiar with his mind and body that she was beginning to lose a sense of boundary. She never tired of fucking and they were still experimenting. They had just fucked underwater on the seabed amongst sea grass gently caressing their skins and even now the thought of it was turning her on. He seemed to be the perfect lover. He didn’t object when she discovered a biomechanical dildo in a box at the back of a closet. She had pushed him down and said she was going to fuck him and fuck him hard. She was half-joking but when he submitted she became instantly excited. It was a new model designed to reproduce the sensation of having a cock. You inserted a smaller probe into the vagina and a moulded cup attached itself to the pubic mound, creating a seal and sucking the clit into a specially formed recess. As the wearer became excited it gradually became erect, then, as the wearer began to thrust, the sensation was transferred to the clitoris and vagina. It even ejaculated when she came, just to make the sensation more realistic. She came again when he achieved climax, shaking uncontrollably under her as she thrust hard, stimulating his prostate. After that he had agreed that they would share fifty-fifty: he fucked her and she fucked him. Bodily, she was his and he was hers.
She had been worried that without outside entertainment they might get bored with each other. He had said it was a perfect test and that he had planned it that way; that they needed to be in each other’s faces to see where the limits and frustrations were. For the most part it had been easy. They shared a similar sense of fun, enjoyed challenging each other at chess and could talk for hours about matters trivial and serious. They had argued. She discovered she had a temper. He had habits that annoyed her and she had habits that annoyed him. When they had a fight they retreated to different sections of the yacht to read, listen to music or just think. She had heard of the term ‘make-up sex’ and finally understood it. Sometimes it was painful to be apart and sometimes it was painful to be together.
She squatted on the deck and gutted, deboned and skinned the swimmers while Aris shucked shellfish and washed sea grass in fresh water. It was a moment of silence when nothing needed to be said. It was then that she began to think it was time for a change. Her furlough would be over in two days and she was beginning to look forward to it. She wasn’t bored with Aris. She wanted to take him with her on her adventures. It was just that she was getting bored with sun, sand, salt and sea. She had had her fill. She didn’t regret her decision. It had been a wonderful time, one that would be etched in her memory and one that she could return to, but maybe only a week or fortnight at a time. It had become monotonous.
When she finished she jumped off the side to wash away the blood and guts. She pissed in the ocean and climbed back on board. Aris silently handed her a bucket and she filled it with seawater to wash the deck.
“Any ideas on what to do with it?” he asked pointing at the filleted fish.
“Don’t we have some of those chin-chin berries from Atlantis Island?”
He nodded.
“There’s the scrub nettle and meg pepper from our little forage yesterday. I thought we’d
wrap it pindle leaves and bake it.”
“What about the orange beans?”
“Yeah, lightly sautéed, you can do that if you like, along with the shellfish.”
“Hmm, yes, with a touch of brandy.”
She nodded as she carried the fish into the galley. “Come here babe,” she said after she had placed it on a plate and slipped it into the fridge. He came over and she hugged him around the neck and kissed him.
“What was that for?” he asked.
“No reason.”
He pulled back a looked at her. He was learning how to read her. “Is something up?”
“You won’t be offended?”
He gave a small laugh. “Knew it.”
She gave a mock pout. “I think I want to go back a day early, catch a show or something.”
“Back to civilisation?”
She gave him a reassuring peck on his lips. “Yeah, paradise is okay, provided you can come and go as you like.”
He laughed. “Bored with paradise?”
She shrugged her shoulders and playfully reached for his cock, “but not bored by this.”
She kissed him on the mouth then dropped to her knees. She wondered if one day she would be bored by sex, bored with Aris.
As they came out of the straight between two islands, they hit a high wind and had to work hard to drop the mainsail and raise and trim the spinnaker. She liked this part: furiously working the winches, her arm muscles burning with the exertion; wrestling sails, pulling rigging tight, tying knots; the exhilaration as the yacht crashed through waves drenching her in sea spray. She was pleased because Aris was impressed. She was a quick learner and much stronger than he, and he said she made an excellent first mate.
When she had finished tightening the last rope, she made her way to the wheel where Aris was setting the course. She shivered as she got close.
“Here take the wheel,” said Aris. “Keep north, north-east. She’ll want to pull west but you have to fight her.” He handed her the wheel and ducked into the cabin. He was right about fighting the yacht but she enjoyed the challenge.
When he came on deck he tossed her a bright yellow weatherproof vest. “You have to be aware of wind chill. The wind is freshening; an hour of this and you could get hypothermia.”
She hadn’t worn a stitch for well over a month and it felt strange, even though she was glad of the warmth. She hadn’t been aware she was fighting the chill.
“Thanks,” she said but he didn’t respond, instead looking at the compass to check their direction. She looked about her. They were heading out to sea. The last island was just a vague shape on the horizon and the ocean was turning a dark, cobalt blue. He had plotted a course to take advantage of the prevailing winds, a shortcut by sailing standards.
“You’re unusually quiet,” she observed.
“Huh?” he asked distracted by his own thoughts.
“Have you thought about what you are going to do?”
“About what?”
“Enlisting.”
He took a deep breath. “What’s the point?” he asked angrily.
“What do you mean? To be closer to me.”
“And how would that work? My aptitudes would suggest gaming and strategy. A desk job.”
“Not necessarily.” She looked at him closely. The anger was turning to tears. She had dreaded this. She understood the theory. They were becoming emotionally attached. It had been sweet for the last week, now the mood was bitter, sad.
He turned to her, trying to be stoic. “You’ll be out in the field on whatever planet they send you to. My work may well determine where you go. Whatever happens you’ll be away for long periods.”
“But I’ll return. People have jobs that take them away all the time.”
“And people also turn them down. You know you can ask to leave.”
She couldn’t believe he was asking her to de-enlist. He knew she loved her work.
Her silence upset him further. “I’m going below. Do you want some lunch?”
“I can’t leave the wheel.”
“I’m not asking you to. Will a sandwich do?”
She wanted to follow him down to try and reassure him but it was clear he wanted to be alone. She was feeling teary herself. She didn’t know how to fix this. The sea was getting choppier as they headed further out. If she kept course she would see the outline of Indra Island. She hoped he would re-appear in time. When he had charted the course earlier he had pointed to a large reef and said that once they had cleared that, the prevailing winds were due to shift and they would turn and use the cross winds to tack back to land. The yacht crashed through a high wave and drenched her in sea spray then it plunged into an unexpected trough. A wave of nausea hit her but there was no sign of Aris.
His mood had recovered by the time they made land. To take their minds off her imminent departure they decided to clean up and head to a nightclub to dance. It had been a strange, disconnected evening. They hardly spoke and attempted to lose themselves in the rhythmic beats. Later that night they had made love with an edge of desperation. It was not physical lovemaking, it was emotional, each trying to reassure and calm the other.
She woke in the early morning, both moons full and bright. She tried to return to sleep but her mind was filled with contradictory thoughts. She flipped between imaginary scenarios on distant planets and a desire to stay with Aris. After about an hour of wakefulness she got up. She looked down at Aris, still fast asleep. He looked beautiful in the twin moonlight as it cast a strong blue light and a weaker pinkish light: an Adonis, his long blonde hair tousled around his head. She walked out onto the balcony of his family home, the surrounding trees alive with hundreds of fireflies. She thought a walk might help her return to sleep so she made her way down the path to the beach. The light of Eros was strong enough to help her see her way. She loved walking in the light of the twin full moons, the double shadows creating unexpected angles and visual effects.
It was on the beach that she made her decision. Perhaps it was cowardly but she just couldn’t face saying goodbye. She gave her guardian a message to give to Aris when he woke and then told it she didn’t wish to be contacted. If she started to walk now she would make it to the capital by sunrise. She would have a leisurely breakfast and then be ready to catch the assigned hover back to base. She looked up at the two moons. Earth had only had one moon and in the late twentieth Century they had even walked on it, but they had never returned. She wondered what it would be like under an alien moon, a moon nowhere near as bright as Eros, amongst humans that had apparently lost their way.
70
Prax and Nuku
“I thought you’d like to know that I’m pregnant.” He was looking at an image of Ana smiling proudly.
“Where are you?” he asked, unfamiliar with the background.
“My new office, a promotion if you like…”
“Oh? What as?”
“Research fellow: void physics and hyperspatial mathematics. Aren’t you pleased at the news?”
“Yes,” he said curtly.
She frowned. Her blond hair was tied behind in a ponytail just like his. He could have been looking in a mirror at his younger self. Her frown was identical to his and conveyed the same emotion. He knew what she was about to say. “Are you angry at me?”
“You might have said…”
“I couldn’t, you know that.”
“Still…”
She pursed her lips with disapproval. He could almost form the words himself. “So much for your training with the Spandas.”
“The father daughter bond is strong.”
“Which is why we were chosen. Why, do you regret fucking your daughter?” She stared down the camera at him. “I don’t regret it. I’d do it again. I still fantasise about it.”
“No, it’s not that.” He didn’t regret it. In fact he felt the same way she did.
“Then what?”
“You knew about Tshentso.”
�
�Yes.” She looked down for a moment, as if she were hiding a something.
He guessed what she was about to say. “You’re carrying both?”
“Yes. There was a complication with the intended surrogate, an illness, so I agreed.”
“And the modifications?”
“Bird-eyes, the latest cardio, strength, immune…”
He wondered if she had been told about the girls, about colour shifting and hermaphroditism. Caution suggested he not mention it.
“Now you’re not telling me something,” she complained.
“And what about Tshentso’s child?”
“Ah, I see. I assume a substantial leap in intelligence. I haven’t really been told, but I get the sense they’re hoping to improve on the mutation found in the Founder’s line. I’m guessing it’s a whole new order of cognitive ability, beyond meta-paradigmatic. I’ve heard the term trans-paradigmatic…”
“Trans?”
“If you ask me, just as a wild guess, such a mind will be able to transcend human thinking. If alien civilisations exist, they may be based on psychological and cultural systems beyond our current understanding. I think Tshentso knows this and may be preparing a new generation of ambassadors.”
He took a deep breath and leant back. It made sense. “Just as an hypothesis.”
“Just as an hypothesis.”
“And everything else is okay?”
“Both are doing well,” she patted her stomach.
“I may not be there for the birth,” he added.
“I know. You’ve done your part.”
He nodded. “I don’t know when I’ll see you next.”
“I know.” She nodded exactly the same way he did and then a small mischievous smile crossed her lips. “You know, I was wondering. I’m feeling kind of horny. I think it’s the hormones.”
He hadn’t seen this coming. Despite their genetic similarities, the gender differences still counted for something. “What are you suggesting?”
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