King's County

by James Carrick

  Clown fish, green lobsters, parrot fish, all kinds of fish, spotted eels in little caves, jellyfish hanging above - Deeper, we went straight out to sea, floating just above the coral garden.

  Deeper, the water darkened. Long strands of kelp stretched upward as we lost the bottom.

  "Bro, I'm telling you, bro, you don't know. That's all I got to say."

  Blue-black, beyond the reach of the sun, cool air fell down on me. Far in the distance ahead, a shimmering creature approached getting larger and accelerating, coming for us. It spread its huge, flowing, red burning wings to hover above, a dragon. Its eyes were fearless and intelligent. I bent backwards at the waist, staring up at him, absorbing the dragon’s energy.

  The display clicked off and the darkness returned. Alberto had finally shut up. A glowing pearlescent door appeared in front of us and the moving sidewalk slowed to stop at the entrance to the elevator.

  *

  MT 2066

  "I’ve seen this before. What is that insignia, some tech squadron?"

  "Oh, you must have seen one of the teams at your old base. Yeah, sort of."

  Colonel Thomas was one of the few people here that I could actually talk to as a human being. I was being given one of the many debriefings before launch. His tablet had the same symbol on it as the side of the Greek’s travel trailer, a horseshoe turned up like the letter U with two stars on each side.

  "What do they do?" I asked him.

  "What do they do?"

  "The unit, or team, what are they doing? The guys at the base were these crazy programmers or something."

  Colonel Thomas laughed hearing that. "It's an ongoing project. They’re building a system to analyze the combat data more closely. It's a new approach." He poured himself a glass of water from the carafe on the table. "That stuff is all going semi-automated."

  "Semi? We’ve always had the autopilot. What's the difference?"

  "It's a different kind of thing. Much faster, more complex - it's a secret as of now." He sighed and sat back on the sofa. "But I don't mind telling you this, seeing as how you’re going into space next week. Your squadron is getting decommissioned. Everybody’s getting reassigned, probably sometime this year. Sorry to tell you."

  "I don't care. It was all just fun and games, anyway. Couldn't last." I said to him. "Funny. Sneaky Greek bastards."

  *

  Ruth 2092

  "Your name, Lt. Waller?"

  I stood before the prim but welcoming hostess in the reception area,

  "My name? Can you explain what’s going on here? It's my first time."

  "Of course!" She smiled broadly and stared into me.

  The elevator to the Sky Lounge took us up 150 meters in about ten seconds – fast, but it didn't faze me. Alberto gasped and looked like he was going to puke. I laughed and teased him about it. He got angry and stormed out with his weird friend as soon as the doors opened, typical pussy move. At least I was rid of them.

  "Though we have your ID already from reading your card at the elevator, the lounge offers full confidentiality. We ask guests to leave a name in order for us to provide you the highest quality personalized service. You can, of course, use your real name if you wish." The hostess said and raised her carefully manicured eyebrows.

  "You approved the card, right? So it's not really confidential."

  "Yes, sir. But we keep no records of our guest’s ID once approved. Do you wish to leave a name?"

  "No record, sure. I don't want to leave a name or approve the card for anything. I'm really just looking for a friend. Can you see if he’s here?"

  "Sir, our guest’s activities are strictly confidential. If..."

  "I know. I just want to know if he’s here. He’s a little out of his element. Kind of a rube. Can you check?"

  Her face was a mask but she gave in, "What's his name?"

  "Geake, starting with G.E. Sergeant, what is it, Graham, I think."

  "Nobody's here with that name, Lieutenant. Sorry."

  I plopped down on their plush white sofa to figure out the next move. The hostess put up with having me here but I knew I’d be booted before long.

  "Ma’am, can you try the name Waller or Lt. Waller."

  She brightened, "Yes, we do have a Lt. Waller. Would you like to send him a message?"

  "So he’s back down that hallway? Yes, tell him that Geake, G.E.A.K.E., wants to see him immediately."

  She took down the message on a folded piece of thick, off-white stationary and summoned an assistant.

  "Take this to Lt. Waller in cloud suite number 3." She said. The assistant, a short, pink haired girl in spotless white overalls, scurried away. I watched her leave.

  "Hi, I think I'd like to get a room now." I said. The mask reappeared.

  "You want...a room?"

  "Yeah, can I get one with a kitchenette?"

  "I'm not sure what that is, sir, and I think you’re not being completely honest with me." Her mask tightened, but then cracked, and she gave in again.

  *

  EXO 2066

  We wore our space suits to the formal media party. They asked us preselected questions and we read our answers to them. Right afterward, we were shuffled off to a banquet in an old air traffic control tower that overlooked the launch pad. We stood near the buffet and ate crab claws and the writers and reporters kept their distance from us.

  There was one final debriefing and then we took our suits off for the final medical. We re-suited and walked a long hallway to a reception area where Ed said goodbye to his parents and little sister. His mom cried a little. From there, we stepped out into a clear plastic tunnel to walk to the ship. Some lab coats were around to wave to us.

  The next part was pretty bad, depending on your perspective, uncomfortable to say the least. We were fitted into our seats in the module. It wasn’t at all painful, just sort of terrifying.

  We were to be in our seats for the entire trip. 26 years it ended up being; but they prepared for it to be up to 50 years, in case of any contingencies.

  We sat upright, legs bent from the hips at 45 degrees; knees bent slightly, our entire lower body locked into place. Our shoulders, arms and heads were free.

  The suits regulated the surface of our skin, the temperature and moisture. The white formula pills kept us from aging. The chip did the rest to keep us healthy. Waste came out through tubes and was recycled into all kinds of food and beverages. One tube went up the ass, another tube your cock fit into.

  The Exosphere Lifter was a short, squat black cylinder. Our module, a truck-sized misshapen gray egg, was perched on top. The whole thing looked more like a giant kitchen appliance than a space craft.

  The lifter was ingenious, but very simple in execution and purpose. Anything you could attach, it would carry up 800 to 1000 km away from the Earth. The lifter worked off of rapid magnetic inversion, which I can't explain but it was a huge improvement over the enormous, loud chemical rockets it replaced.

  Ed and I sat waiting for the liftoff with nothing to talk about. He reached into a vertical zipper pocket and withdrew a purple pill. They were another new technology. We both had dozens of them for the long voyage.

  "Too soon?" He said.

  "Don’t you want to see the liftoff?"

  "I'll see it, just... Ah, you're right." He put the pill back in his pocket. "Hey, let’s get this show on the road!"

  Control beeped on and spoke into our ears:

  "Artemis 1. Prepare for launch in approximately one minute."

  "We’re prepared, baby! Just chillin’ out in here." Ed said and drummed his palms on the pliant armrest.

  "Artemis 1. Prepare for launch."

  A minute passed.

  "Artemis 1, prepare to launch in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one - launching, launching, launching."

  We shot upward, slowed and dropped. For a couple seconds it felt like we were floating. Then the heaviness returned. The indicator passed 400kph, 500, 600, 700 and it stopped the
re. Through the huge front window all we saw was blue. After what felt like a few minutes, the sky began to darken. At the bottom of the window, I saw the curve of the Earth. I looked over at Ed. He winked – very slowly - and I knew he had taken the pill.

  *

  Ruth 2092

  "Lt. Waller! How nice to see you!"

  I found his room easily enough. As I searched the halls, one of the Colombian women Geake had left the bar with poked her head out of a doorway and looked at me kind of funnily before popping back inside. I got there quickly and stuck my boot in the threshold. She pushed back against the door pinching my foot. I roared, braced my hands on the sides and kicked it open, knocking her down on the thick white carpet.

  Geake was in bed lying on his back. The whole room, the walls and furniture were a pristine, pearly white. The ceiling was a hologram of fluffy white clouds.

  The bartender chick from earlier cradled Geake's head in her lap. Her legs wrapped around his chest and the snakes in her reddish brown braids curled around his and her neck flicking their little tongues. She stared venom at me and stroked Geake’s buzz cut hair.

  "Hey, Lieutenant, sir. Are you mad?" Geake said. But he wasn't getting up.

  "I'm not...mad? What are you five? I'm trying to keep you out of trouble." The Colombian chick on the floor dog-crawled across the carpet, brushing past my legs on her way out.

  "What did I do, sir? I'm sorry. This is all new to me." Snake lady stifled a laugh.

  "Fucking around with these people, you're gonna get us both in serious trouble, especially you!"

  "You already in trouble, boy!" It was Alberto and his friend. They barged in the room and surrounded me. In the light, I saw their thick arms and wrists. It occurred to me that I might need some help.

  "Sergeant, how about some reinforcements here." I said while backing against the wall behind me.

  "Sorry. I'm so sorry..." Geake said and started crying.

  "You fucked up, man. You picked the wrong room." Alberto’s companion spoke finally. He reached into his jacket pocket searching around for something.

  "Geake get up and help me now!"

  He cried louder and shook his head.

  Only one idea came to me. I rushed, trying to escape in the space between them. Their arms were on me but couldn't get a grip. I was free, almost at the door, and my legs froze and went out from beneath me.

  Alberto's friend held a plastic gun-type thing. He quickly put it back in his pocket. Neither of them were smiling.

  *

  Anderson Base

  "I want to hear it in your words, Lieutenant Waller. Please try to remember. It’s important."

  Colonel Jackson sat at his desk in camouflage pajamas. He was fit and alert with closely cropped salt and pepper hair. He leaned in at the waist awaiting my response.

  Geake and I had awoke together on the bed in his room. We were both still paralyzed. The girls were gone. Alberto and his piece of shit accomplice were gone.

  A few meters away was a button built into the wall. The pictogram seemed to indicate that pressing it would summon an attendant. I had to think if that was what we actually wanted to do.

  It was wishful thinking at this point. My legs weren't numb. I could feel them but I couldn't move them at all. My arms were the same way but I could slightly shrug my shoulders and move my head around.

  "Anything to say for yourself, Sergeant? Got any ideas?"

  "I think she had a penis. I could feel it on my neck." Geake said.

  "You've got bigger problems right now. We’ve obviously been drugged."

  "It’ll wear off. Don't worry. Here, let me try."

  Geake grunted and twisted his body off the bed but crashed onto the carpet with a soft thump.

  "Nice. What about that button? Try and crawl to the button."

  "No! Don’t push it. Don't ever push it. We’ll be fine," he said.

  “To hell with that, I can't stand this. I'm going for it.”

  By concentrating, I could now move my arms a little but they were loose, like the bones had been removed.

  I was going to throw something at the button, hopefully to bring an attendant who could maybe administer a shot or something that would counteract the paralytic. They might have that sort of thing at a place like this. Then we’d make a quick exit out of the club and cab it over to the airport, concocting a cover story along the way. No problem, we'd probably be late returning to base but we hadn't really done anything that bad as far as I knew.

  I threw one of the pillows at it. Stupid. Not even close.

  Geake's arm came up and snatched the other pillow down to the floor,

  “Don't do it, sir. I'm begging you.”

  There was nothing left on the bed to throw. My legs were still useless. I checked my watch; we had been unconscious for a few hours. Or was it six hours? I couldn't think straight. It was three or six. My head started to spin in trying to comprehend the dial – however long, it was too long....an idea, definitely could work. The watch came off. I slid one finger along the side of the steel case and focused on the circle of white plastic.

  A hit! The watch ruptured. The insides flew out onto the floor like tiny metallic leaves. The button blinked red.

  "AH HA! Shit, goddamnit!"

  Geake pulled his upper body onto the bed and gawked at me.

  "What did you do?" He said.

  "That was my grandfather’s watch. I'm such an idiot. Jesus, what was I thinking?"

  I wiggled off the bed and tried scrapping up the watch parts from the carpet. Geake saw the blinking button and started moaning. He stood up, panicking, and began pacing around the room talking to himself.

  "Help me get the watch! That's an order!" The little gears were everywhere. My drugged-out pawing at them only pushed them further into the carpet.

  Then the door blew open at the hinges and a dozen MP’s in full combat armor flooded into the room.

  "What were the drugs you were trying to recover off the floor?" the Colonel asked me. He had a strictly formal but friendly sort of way about him. He projected intensity from across the desk.

  "There were no drugs, sir. It was a watch, my watch. I was trying to recover pieces of the mechanism."

  He nodded his head slowly after my answer like he had expected to hear it. I hadn't told him any real details at all about what had happened. I suspected he knew quite a bit anyway.

  The Colonel picked up a figure on his desk and quietly studied it. It was a rider on horseback brandishing a saber. Civil War, I think.

  "Well, you’re a bad influence." He said finally. "And your military career is now over." He looked directly at me as he said this and I saw the deep wrinkles hiding in his face.

  "This is a critical time for us, Waller. It's not 2060 anymore. You don't fit in here. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, and you’re right." I said to him.

  "Your military access card is now revoked. You’ll hand it in to the departure secretary and be assigned a placement officer. They’ll put you somewhere and then your access will be reevaluated. You will still retain privileges from your participation in the Artemis project but you’ll need your new card to be issued first. OK? That’s all. Now get out of here."

  **

  King’s County Ch.2, Seattle

  Earth, Moon 2066

  It seemed like there wasn't nothing else to do, and going military was as good or better than whatever might be coming down the pike later. That's everybody's reason. But this ain't living out here, sitting in this thing. There’s no fight in it. No fight in either of us. We ain't living or dying. If in your mind you can handle that then maybe it's better than just doing nothing and staying home. I’ve made my own peace already.

  - Major Edward Hart

  From orbit we swung once around the Earth to catch the right trajectory to hit the Moon base. Ed got a look around and decided to sleep most of the way there. The Earth and Sun and Moon were beautiful but you couldn't stare at them forever, I guess, even a
t high speed.

  I read books on the HUD, the heads-up-display. They could be switched from print to audio. I'd listen to one while reading another or while browsing images. Biology, archeology, paleontology, military history, art history, architecture, lots of photos, museums, biographies: everything was available. It was just up to me to find it. Why didn't I read this stuff in college? I started War and Peace but gave up on it. I finished half of Moby Dick and saved the rest for later. Some of the time I just stared out of the window into the nothingness, just thinking to myself. I hadn't yet taken a pill.