The Cosmotix 2198

by Billy Purnell

  His mind was already picturing what kind of home she must have. She was born on Titan but had houses on a few planets. She was no Kika Jakker, but she carried a heavy hammer in the rocbiz, that was for certain. And the way she talked…he heard her singing voice as she talked. He recognized the characteristics that were familiar to him from her songs, her holos, her interviews.

  She had a bashful smile and a genuine innocence like the girl in the Lunalegs ads, and Corey could not help but stare as she spoke. She was reminiscing some old times with Ari. They had a few stories that were hard to follow, but Ari did his best to include the brothers. Corey thought Reena resembled a Cydonian queen, the way those two men sat on either side of her. They were big and obviously artimen, programmed for conversation only when needed. She could afford them, he thought.

  “Ari, Duk is in town right now, did you know?”

  “Yeah, I know, he and Jimmy hooked us up with our stage stuff. Hey, guess where they’re going on vacation next month?” Ari said.

  Reena shrugged.

  “Puerto Vallarta!” exclaimed Ari, which made Reena laugh since Duk had sworn to never even look at the ocean again after getting a leg bit in half by a shark a year ago.

  “That is hard smack!” laughed Reena.

  “He said his new leg is so much better than his real one, that he’s going to turn to the other side this time.”

  “So how much did he get from you for the stuff?” she said with a devious smile.

  “Um, free…don’t you know who I am?” replied Ari, and she grinned. The boys figured it was an inside joke.

  “Ok, who wants to get happy?” said Reena, and the rocstar produced a small green vial and set it on the table. Pel’s eyes lit up, and he was the first in line to receive a drop on the tongue.

  ‘You ready? Pel, right?” asked Reena, and Pel stepped to her.

  “Yes, that’s me,” said Pel in an exaggeratedly nervous voice. “So, I’ll just get a zing zing from Reena Coolie right now, no big deal, I’ll just do that…from THE Reena Coolie.” He went to an overly frightened face. “Yes, she’s a very nice girl and everything is normal, I belong here...” He started a fake run for the door.

  “Get over here, funny boy. So, I take it you’re the comic relief of the group?” Reena chuckled.

  “No one has actually used the word relief,” said Ari.

  “Hey I’m just teasing,” said Pel. “Sorry Reena Coolie, it’s just that hanging with you is pretty croink.”

  “It’s what?”

  “Croink, you know…”

  “Is that good?”

  Pel looked at Corey, who was looking at Ari and grinning.

  “Croink? Is that good?” Reena asked again. “It sounds good.”

  Corey and Ari busted out laughing, and Pel turned a few shades of red at the realization he had been taken. A high-powered punch to Ari’s chest was definitely coming.

  Corey felt a rush as he watched his brother stand only inches away from this goddess, but he couldn’t quite get a grasp on how he really felt about her being there. He wished he could be more at ease, but he felt like he was performing as he talked with her. He couldn’t get fully loose. Meeting a star of her caliber was a boon for his career, and to have her there in the club for the show was ridiculously lucky. Or was it luck?

  But she was a person, he knew, just a gifted and fortunate person, and Corey was aware that if he was going to be at the top level of the business, he was going to be meeting people like her regularly. People are people, not opportunities. Just love and respect them.

  It was Corey’s turn. She stood in front of him, and he felt her breath on his chest as she prepared the vial. Moons of Jupiter…

  He opened his mouth and savored the tingle on the tip of his tongue, and he knew it was good. Corey looked into her eyes to take in the moment, with the hope it would last a few months or so.

  “This should be illegal,” he whispered.

  “But that would kill the fun,” Reena smiled, looking right back into Corey’s eyes.

  Warmth spread through Corey’s neck, into his chest and belly and down to his legs in seconds, and a smile crowned his face. Ari took one, then Reena took hers, and they were all thinking the same thing.

  “Let’s jam!” Corey exclaimed. He was ready to play.

  “Let’s do it!” smiled Reena. They all went running like little kids back to the stage. Only a handful of people were still partying in the club, guests of the employees. Jon was seated at the bar.

  “Jon, let’s roc!” yelled Ari, and they took their places on stage and broke into a medley of Burned Earth songs from the 2160s. It was easy stuff, and everyone’s favorite. Reena took the lead as she asked for requests, and they played for about a half-hour. Corey counted the thirteen and a half times his eyes met Reena’s as they sang together. He managed a wink on the last one but didn’t get one back.

  The boys had played a lot of gigs, but this was a milestone. New Year’s Eve on another world, meeting Reena Coolie and actually performing with her. An entertainment blogger was there, so the Cosmotix finally drew some attention outside of Tranquility. All the Saturn System newsplates carried the story…

  Reena Coolie Rocs the Hometown

  It went viro everywhere from Mars to the Outer Rim. It made it back to Earth/Moon, too, but was overshadowed by all the coverage of New Year’s Day and the Sky Bowl.

  The night wound down and the goodbyes were said. As Corey and Pel left the Rochaus they were met with the splendor of Saturn shining down from above, and they were both staring upward as they stepped on the hover to cross Robert Zubrin Avenue and get back to the hotel.

  Corey spent quite a bit of time on his back that night, staring at the ceiling and thinking thoughts of...well, of Reena. Pretty much only Reena.

  He slept very little that night.

  9

  REENA

  Artificial daylight streamed through Corey’s window and hit him right in the eyes. Last night. Wow. He couldn’t remember being so excited about a gig in his life, and now there was Reena. He couldn’t get his mind off her.

  Reena had exchanged swipes with him and Pel, a major coup as Pel described it, but Corey wasn’t about to call her. He would probably just drool on his wrist, he figured, and she would see his zombie face floating in front of her, unable to speak. It might not make the best impression. Instead, he and Pel spent a good part of the day helping return the borrowed equipment to Ari’s friend Duk, which gave the boys a chance to meet another famous playroc, spend some time and exchange swipes. They also caught the second half of the Sky Bowl at Duk’s house in Terran.

  Instead of the midnight New Year’s Eve start time, the boys went to the usual 22:00 start, and played for a venue that was less than half-full. Corey was freaked out about that at first but was assured by Jim that it was normal, and since tomorrow was Hater Day, there would be a full house again. Less people meant less pressure, and the guys tried out a few songs that they were considering putting into the setlist.

  Corey, Pel, and Ari had a beer together after the second set, but that was it for Corey. The deepsleep, New Year’s, the excitement, the work, they were all pounding away on his mind and body, and he just had to crash. He slept like a baby that night and didn’t dream at all.

  His bloodshot eyes quickly widened in the morning.

  “Corey, so hivol to meet you guys...thought about you being from Concordia, maybe you don’t know the latest? Call me.”

  Whoa. Call me. Yeah, that happens all the time, Reena Coolie leaves a private that says “call me.”

  Reena had an expensive service that could get com from anywhere in the solsys in real-time via the Singapore Relays, something the Jagger-Sevens could not afford. Shangri-La County media had a version of the same service, but it was actually less reliable, and besides, Corey had the Apple off. He felt sure mom and dad were ok. Call me. The butterflies were flapping away in his stomach.

  “Moons,” he said out loud, “let’s
do this.” He went to his wrist...

  …and decided to give it a few minutes. She’s so nuclear. Why would she even-

  “Don’t, Corey, you loser,” he said out loud to himself. “Don’t start with the ‘I’m not good enough’ routine. You said you were leaving that behind. How do you expect to even get close to making it in this business, in life, if you don’t think you belong?” He paced the floor, scraping his fingernails against his scalp, combing his hair back.

  “You’ve got this.” He lifted his wrist. Maybe after breakfast. He returned to scolding himself, “Tude, you strut the stage, you press the flesh, girls think you’re hot, and you have no idea how to talk to them. What is wrong with you? She’s a person. Just talk, like she’s a person. YOU’VE GOT THIS!”

  “Reena Coolie. Audio only.”

  “Telcom connected.”

  “Hey rocstar,” came her voice. Butterflies.

  “Hi, I got your private... what’s burning?” said Corey, putting a lilt in his voice.

  “Hi! Hey, it was great meeting you guys Sunday, you smacked it…”

  “Well technically it was Monday,” he said nervously, “but it was hivol meeting you, too. You’re even prettier in person than on com!” Excellent, Corey…see?

  “Aw, you’re sweet…hey, um, I just wanted to tell you what’s on Earth’s Telcom.” Her voice was sleepy; it sounded like she was in bed. Now the butterflies were going south and turning into something else.

  “What’s…what’s happening?”

  “You said you guys are from Concordia, right?”

  “Yeah. Our parents and a bunch of family live there.”

  “Well, yeah so they were Chinese warships that flew in formation over the wrong target; they weren’t supposed to be there. It caused quite an uproar, but it was just an exercise, so everything is ok. Sort of.”

  “Oh, wow, ok. You know I’ve been seeing that; they’re doing military exercises like everywhere these past few soldays. It’s like they’re planning something.”

  “Well, no one is complaining about the wrong target situation now.”

  “What do you mean, why not? That’s a pretty lovol mistake, Concordia is just an outreach village. I mean they don’t even-”

  “Corey, are you sitting down?”

  “You know what I mean, though? What are they saying-”

  “Are you sitting down?”

  “What? Well I’m still in bed, actually.” He lowered his voice, hoping that would give her a sexy image.

  “Ok, here we go…um,” she hesitated.

  “What?” said Corey.

  “Yeah…there is a giant armada of space ships heading toward Earth, and there is speculation we are going to be invaded. They say it’s the Foon,” Reena replied.

  “What? Uh…hey, I know we just met; I try to be funny but Pel is better. He’s always-”

  “I’m not being funny.”

  Silence. Corey had no idea what to say.

  “I’m not being funny...are you there?”

  “The Foon...they want their prisoners back?”

  “What I’m seeing is that they believe it’s the Foon because of something about how their ships are made. And they believe it may be an invasion because of how many ships there are.”

  “They’re coming here?” asked Corey.

  “Well yeah, they’re heading for Earth/Moon...some are saying maybe they want the trinitium.”

  “Maker Me, then they’re heading for Moon. This is all public?”

  “Yes, that’s why I called. And yes, it’s all public, but not by the government’s choice. It got leaked and now it’s going everywhere. They’ll release more details tomorrow. Make sure you turn on the Apple.”

  “Do we know when they will arrive?” asked Corey.

  “They’re saying three to six solmonths,” Reena replied. “Do you want me to swipe this stuff to you?”

  “Yes…no, I can’t decode your solsys feed, I’m on softcom.”

  “Oh yeah, I don’t know this tech stuff. Well, some of it is on the news. Hey, well…why don’t you come over and let’s check it together!”

  Butterflies.

  Well I really shouldn’t, my hair is a mess, I have nothing to wear, no I’ll just stay here, I have homework to do, oh that’s right I’m not in school, hmmm what’s on the Apple?

  “Come over there?” His voice cracked. Slobber. “Ok, I’ll be there in an hour, ok? Swipe me your address,” said Corey.

  “Moonies! You like killerfish?”

  “Sure, killerfish. I like.” Duhhhhhh…I wikey fishy fish…moons, Corey.

  “Ok, see you soon! Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  “Moonies?” Corey said out loud. Ok, moonies.

  * * *

  The Foon. Back in 2141, the first visitors from outer space entered Earth’s solar system. They were met with a greeting party from the newly formed United Earth Space Force, who gave them a sincere welcome. A basic algorithm that combined elements of Foon and Earth English was created, and a temporary language was born, allowing agreements to be made between the two races.

  These beings, spanning several generations and totaling over two thousand six hundred individuals, told Earth leaders that they were descendants of prisoners, those convicted of crime and political dissent from a planet in the system surrounding a low-profile star in the constellation Canis Major. After surviving what was calculated to be over one hundred fifty solyears in transit, they had finally arrived in a solar system that had a civilization capable of providing them shelter.

  The one thing they asked of humanity is that they be left alone. They had no desire to form a working relationship with humans. They only asked for sovereignty and privacy on a world they could call their own. Earth’s leaders were happy to oblige, craving knowledge of their alien world but realizing that a real relationship might take some time.

  They called themselves Foon, at least that’s how Earthlings heard it. When the aliens pronounced it, it sounded like blowing over the top of an ancient Coke bottle. To human ears, Foon language was a series of musical tones.

  It was decided that the man-made asteroid Ceres2 would be their new home. Developed and terraformed by the Sierra-Exxon alliance but never used, Ceres2 was a roamer, holding an elliptical orbit around the sun that went out as far as the planet Mars. It would be a perfect home for them, outside the shipping lanes for most of its solar orbit and already having the terraforming needed to house a group many times their size.

  The Foon were humanoid in appearance, shorter than humans on average but with two arms and two legs, and they walked upright. Their mouths and ears were the main difference, in that the mouth was much rounder, with a concentric closure and large lips, and their ears were a bit larger than man’s. They had exceptional hearing, and they had no hair. They breathed a mixture stronger in nitrogen than Earthlings, but could readily adapt to Earth’s air. They all had pretty much the same skin color and texture, at least among the visitors. It was an ashen skin tone compared to the light brown color of humans. Organs, reproductive and otherwise, were similar to the human race.

  Trinitium was not native to Earth. It was, however, the element that changed her destiny. When the asteroid was discovered and arrested back in 2087, only a handful of scientists could see the full range of what this element was capable of. It had a radiation discharge that could light an entire major Earth city for a year with one teaspoonful of product, and it was bigger than Mt. Everest. The discovery led to advancements in interplanetary transportation, wireless electricity, natural food production, long-range communication, medical devices... the list goes on. The average human lifetime doubled as a result of trinitium, and the solsys had been relying on it for over a century.

  Now humanity had to wonder. Why were these beings approaching, and might we have to fight an alien enemy to protect this precious resource?

  * * *

  After showering and prepping, Corey jumped up to slap the ceiling but stopped himself,
thinking about Pel. They were going to a holoshow together, and now he had to cancel it. He felt waves from Pel as he addressed his wrist.

  “Ugly man,” said Pel, breathing hard and lifting a water bottle to his mouth. He was at the gym on a leg cruncher.

  “Brother, I got a date, well sort of a date, with Reena.”

  Water spewed out of Pel’s mouth. “Really? What the- like, a date date?”

  “Well, I’m going over there for lunch. Brother, she’s saying the Foon have a bunch of ships coming to Earth/ Moon; it’s on the Apple. They think it’s an invasion or something and that’s why the military is doing all these-”

  “What? Corey? What the hell are you talking about?”

  “I have no idea what I’m talking about. Anyway, she knows stuff cuz she has smack com, so I’ll know more when I see you tonight.”

  “Are you mankin’ my nads? Cuz I thought the Foon-”

  “Hey, really, I don’t know. It could be total wango. I mean-”

  “But you’re going on a date? With Reena?”

  “Well, whatever you call it, I-”

  “As in, a personal meeting for the purpose of intimate but evasive self-serving conversation, resulting in frantic lip sucking and the probability of future disappointment?”

  Corey laughed. “Yeah, probably not like that…”

  “Are you freaking out?”

  “No, I’m good. It’s just lunch.”

  “Well if it gets really good, don’t forget you’re there to find out if we’re all gonna croak.”

  “I promise I will-”

  “Whoa, whoa, wait a minute! Wait a hacking minute! This is a Hater Day thing! You are so fulla sh-”

  “It is not a Hater Day thing! Turn on the Apple, you’ll see.”