by Gary Martin
“So are you,” Ez says, her voice wavering.
“Your father said you’d died. He said you never came out of the coma,” I say.
“He said the same about you. He said your ship was found with all hands lost. When did you see him?”
“When he was torturing me on the Zeus.”
We stare at each other for a few seconds in silence. She runs over to me and hugs me; I hug her back. Everything feels perfect.
“I’ve got Warren,” I whisper in her ear.
“Who’s Warren?” she replies.
“Um, our son?”
Ez lets go of me and takes a step back.
“Impossible. My father had our son on the Zeus when it exploded.”
“Your father used him to taunt me while he was torturing me. I escaped with him.”
Ez’s eyes begin to water and a huge smile crosses her face.
“He ... he’s really alive?” she asks
“He really is and he’s wonderful,” I say and smile back.
“Who told you he was called Warren?” Ez asks.
“Your father.”
“That figures. He didn’t like it that I named him after you.”
“You named him John?” I say and my heart melts a little bit.
“Father said you were dead. I wanted to honour you. Where is he?”
“On the Utopia project with Flick,” I say, surprising myself that I told her that without any prompting.
“Who’s Flick?” she asks.
“She’s been tasked with looking after him,” I lie.
“I want him back. But I have a few questions first. I’m sorry about this. I trust you, but a lot has happened. You’re going to have to put this on,” she says and pulls a small silver bracelet from her pocket.
“I’ve had enough devices attached to me in the last few months, I’d prefer not to.”
“It’s a simple lie detector. It won’t hurt. It’ll convince people here that you’re not the enemy,” she says and attaches it to my wrist.
“Fire away.”
“Okay then. You say you escaped the Zeus. Why would you have wanted to escape? They rescued you from certain death. Everyone had to do their fair share but, from what I was told, it was a good place to be.”
“You’ve been told lies. For the crew it probably was a good place. Anyone rescued was used as disposable slave labour. Flick, she was forced into being a sex worker. If she had refused, they would have killed and recycled her. They turned our dead into a grey paste to feed us. But only us. Your father, the head of Skylark, was torturing me for no other reason than he wanted to.”
“You’re exaggerating. He wouldn’t do that. I’m sure it was more like questioning.”
“There were no questions. Just stabbing, cutting, and a device that stops you from passing out. Which also makes you relive your worst memories.”
Ez looks down at the bracelet. The light has stayed a steady green. She closes her eyes
“There’s no way you could have known about Rupert’s device without first-hand knowledge. I can’t believe my father would do that. I’m so sorry.”
I think about telling her that he also killed my parents but it would be salt in a freshly open wound.
“When the sun died and my father came out as the head of Skylark, I was shocked. But he was my father. I had to believe he got where he was by being a legitimate businessman. Deep down I knew something didn’t sit right. I worked for Skylark for years. I knew how ruthless they could be. But it was the end of the world. Billions were dead. I had more to think about. He made me his second in command. I didn’t want to do it, but I realised it put me in a position where I could help everyone left. I thought that’s what we were doing. The Utopia project was the enemy of peace. They were supposed to be the ones causing all the misery. But when I saw it, saw how small it was, I knew they weren’t a threat to anyone. Something was very wrong,” she sighs.
“It certainly isn’t the enemy of peace. But the man in charge may be. I was giving myself up to you of my own free will. I had no idea that the pod was set to self-destruct. He obviously didn’t trust that you’d keep your word and wanted insurance. That’s not what I would expect from a man of peace.”
“No. But these are difficult times.”
I hold out my hands and she takes them. We sit in silence for a minute or two.
“Did you see Jacob or Terrell before you were evacuated?”
She smiles. “I did. They were sat with me when I came out of the coma. Not the faces I would have expected to see but welcome ones. They helped me out for a while when I was released from hospital, but when it started to get cold, I didn’t see them again. They had no idea where you’d gone, until they saw Bruce in Sunspot waste’s carpark. They were a little sad and a little disappointed, I think.”
I feel bad about not telling them. But they would have talked me out of it and, at the time, I didn’t want to be talked out of it.
“I feel terrible about what I did. I have no excuse for just leaving like that,” I say.
“To be fair, it was a really shitty thing to do. But you would have been back after three months, and we may have been able to fix it. No one expected the sun to go out.”
“That was your friend Rupert’s fault. He killed my crew and killed the sun. Skylark had driven him completely mad. As crazy as it seems, I regret not being able to rescue him from the Zeus. He believed he could reignite the sun.”
“He’s here. But he’s going by the name Tim, now. Just in case. He was brought over when we docked with the Zeus. There’s no relighting the sun. It’s on the verge of going supernova. When it goes, the shockwave will wipe out everything in this solar system. When Rupert saw that I was now in charge, he promised he would help. He’s nearly finished the device.”
“A device to do what?”
“To fully kill the sun.”
“He really wants it dead, doesn’t he? How long until it blows?”
“A few days at most. Our best scientists had been working on a solution without success, but Rupert got everything on track. He’ll be setting off as soon as it’s ready.”
“Do you trust him? When he killed the sun, he wanted to wipe everything out. How do you know that’s not what he’s planning now?”
“That doesn’t make sense, John. He only has to wait a few days and that’ll happen anyway. I truly believe he wants to help now.”
“I don’t trust him and I think you’re blinded by your old friendship,” I say.
“Maybe, but you just said you regretted not rescuing him.”
“That’s when I thought he was dead.”
“You never change, do you?”
“Nope. I’ve been through a lot, but I’m still basically an idiot,” I say and smile.
Ez hugs me again.
“I missed you,” she says. “Come on, I’ll take you to him and you can see for yourself.”
43
“Hello, John, my old friend,” Rupert says in a way that makes my skin crawl. He’s looking healthy and has put on a good deal of weight since the last time I saw him. He wheels up to me in an electric wheelchair that looks state of the art.
“I’ll leave the two of you alone for a bit. I have to make sure Ed doesn’t disobey my orders and shoot at the Utopians,” Ez says and leaves the room.
“She’s brilliant, isn’t she? I was so happy to find her in charge. Skylark finally has a conscience,” Rupert says.
“Do you really want to save everyone? Or is this a final push to wipe everything out?” I ask bluntly.
“There’s no way I can answer that in a way that will satisfy you. Just know this: I regret what I have done. I’m going to fix what I can. The device is being loaded into the only ship on the QE7 with a light drive as we speak.”
“I’m coming with you,” I say.
“Why would you want to do that?”
“Because I don’t trust you, and I want to make sure you do what you say you will.”
“If you must. But it’s going to be dangerous. The solar flares are out of control. It could be a very short trip, in both senses. When the ship hits light speed, it’ll be just under ten minutes before we get to the sun. No time for bonding or laughing about the past,” he says with a crooked smile.
The door opens and Ez walks back in before I can get out a suitably acerbic remark.
“Are you two getting on?” she asks nervously.
“Very nicely. John has said he wants to come along for the ride,” Rupert says.
Ez pulls a face of exasperation, then sighs. “I guess it’s the only way you’ll put your doubts behind you.”
A bad thought pops into my head.
“Ez, do you remember the first time we met?” I ask her.
“At the ball?”
“Do you remember the rumour you told me about him? The one I wouldn’t shut up about?”
Ez starts to look uncomfortable.
“Yes.”
“It’s true. Not just machines, though. It’s also …”
“This is not the time for a petty vendetta, John. Grow up,” Ez shouts.
“The device is ready and being installed. We should be ready to go in an hour,” Rupert says in a very professional way.
“Good. Get down there. We’ll meet you in a few minutes,” Ez replies.
With a tiny buzz, Rupert smoothly leaves the room.
“Ez, I’m sorry.”
“I know you’re hurting over your crew and your friends. I know Rupert turned into a monster and he’s responsible for everything. I genuinely don’t know what to do with him once this is over. But this has to happen or it’s the end of everything. You need to let it go.”
“I will. I promise. You may want to call the Utopia project and tell them that you’re not going to destroy them. They’re probably panicking right about now,”
“Fair point.”
“And when I get back, I’ll make arrangements to get our son brought across,” I say.
“That’ll be wonderful. We can finally be a family.”
The blood drains from my face. Flick. Fuck. I don’t want to think about it. I love her. But I’ve loved Ez for longer. Only when I thought Ez was gone did I allow myself to fall for Flick. Push it away. Deal with it when you get back.
“Absolutely,” I say.
44
The ship in the dock is tiny. Bigger than the escape pod I came in on but only just. It looks like a stumpy missile, with another missile attached to the top. I’ve never understood why the faster ships need to be so aerodynamically shaped. A box with the right engine would do the same job in space.
Rupert is waiting by its open hatch as Ez and I enter.
“This is what’s taking us to the sun?” I ask Ez.
“It’s a K-327. Only three were ever made. One of the QE7’s passengers is rich enough to own it. He wasn’t very happy that we’ve taken it off his hands, but there isn’t a faster ship. We need to get this done as quickly as possible. John, if you’re worried, you really don’t have to go,” Ez replies.
“I do. I hope he’ll do the right thing, but I’ve still got a bad feeling,” I say, knowing that the bad feeling is more about me running away again, rather than face a situation that I could have smoothed out if I had a spine. Instead, I’m going on a suicidal mission to the sun, with a man that I hate. I really am a fucking idiot.
“Are you coming?” Rupert shouts across the bay.
“In a minute,” I shout.
Ez looks me hard in the eyes. I forgot how piercing they were. Everything about her is beautiful.
“What if you don’t come back? I don’t think I could lose you again,” she says.
“I’ll be back. I’ve only fucked up one mission to the sun so far. We’ll say that was a trial. I’ll get it right this time, I promise,” I say.
She kisses me hard on the lips. I kiss back and it feels wonderful. I suddenly feel very guilty.
“Good luck,” she says.
“See you very soon.”
Rupert wheels up the ramp, and I follow him on board. He positions himself where the pilot’s seat used to be.
“Are you sure you know how to fly this thing?” I ask, as I sit next to him at the co-pilot’s station.
“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me. You have only witnessed the bad, which, to be fair, has only really been since I’ve known you. I was a good man until Skylark killed my family. I’m sure that would have made you snap too.”
“Yeah, I probably would have. But killing billions of people wouldn’t have been my first plan of action. Anyway, can you fly this thing?” I say.
“I have a first-class pilot’s licence.”
“That’s more than I have,” I say.
“It’s a good job you’re not in charge, then. Hatches are closed, we’re ready to go. Are you ready?”
I strap myself into the seat and stare out of the forward viewport.
“I guess so,” I say.
Rupert presses a few buttons and pushes a lever forward. The ship lurches and my head hits the head-rest as we speed out of the dock.
The Utopia project is now in front of us in all its cobbled together glory but veers sharply to the left as the ship changes course and heads past the Moon, in a direct line with the blue sun.
“Light speed can make you feel very sick, John. Almost always the first time. I’m assuming this is your first time?”
“It obviously is. I’ll be fine. I have a strong stomach.” I lie.
“I won’t hold it against you if you don’t. Coordinates are set, let’s kill the sun.”
The second the stars elongate, my stomach turns. The straps are holding me in so tightly that I can’t lean over and vomit on the deck. I’m forced to do it sitting upright and manage to cover my shirt and lap. The nausea takes my mind away from what’s going on around me for a second, until I raise my left hand. Three or four other hands follow it, then all join together when I hold it still. I look away from it, but my vision does the same. My stomach starts to turn again, and I decide the best thing to do is close my eyes and pretend this isn’t happening.
“Are you … are, ARE you, you, YOU okay … you okay … okay, John, John OKAY, John?” Rupert asks, his voice repeating and overlapping itself at different volumes. As if three of him were whispering, speaking, and shouting over each other. It sounds nightmarish. I feel like I’ve taken all of a bad batch of hallucinogenic drugs. I try to reply, but I can’t get anything except jumbled nonsense out of my mouth.
A high-pitched whine cuts through my disorientation, which then descends into a deep rumbling as the ship slows from light speed. My stomach instantly settles, and my vision returns to normal.
The screen is completely filled with the angry blue sun, shooting tendrils of solar flares in every direction. I’ve been this close to the sun before, when I was dumping the Earth’s waste, but it was never this violent or terrifying.
“This is going to be harder that I thought. The sun looks like it’s already going into supernova. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep the ship still long enough to calculate the coordinates and fire the missile,” Rupert says and quickly turns the ship to avoid a solar flare.
“That was close,” I say.
He moves the lever again, veering us to the right as another flare shoots past.
“John, you’re going to have to pilot the ship while I make the computations. There’s no other way.”
“I’ll do the best I can, but we’ll probably die.”
“Just grab the two levers, if a flare comes towards us turn away from it,” he says.
“How long for?”
“Until I tell you. Are you really this stupid?”
A bubble of anger shoots through me, but I hold it down. It really would be stupid if I let it take hold.
“Yes. Now do what you have to do,” I shout.
The two levers move out of the console and I take hold of them.
“She’s all y
ours,” Rupert says, and wheels back to the missile controls. Shit. I’m now in control. The fate of what’s left of humanity is now literally in my hands. Fate is as much of a fucking idiot as I am.
I jerk the control levers to the right as a flare approaches; the ship moves away from it, but I’ve turned too far and into the path of another flare. I manage to pull above it, but the manoeuvre lines the ship up with another blue fire ball. I push the levers forward, with the hope of flying underneath it. Sparks and smoke fly out of the console as the flare hits us almost head on. A piercing alarm goes off and we’re spinning out of control.
“That flare has hit the missile and knocked out the release clamps. It’s going nowhere,” Rupert shouts.
“Have you got the targeting sorted out?” I shout.
“Yes, if we launch it, it will go where it needs to. But we can’t fire it unless we release the clamps.”
“Shit. What can we do?” I ask, knowing what I’m going to be asked to do.
Rupert wheels back into the pilot’s station, and easily regains control of the ship.
“Two options: We could fire it, but we’ll be dragged along with it to the sun, killing us both, but saving humanity.”
“Not ideal,” I say.
“Or, you go out in a space suit and manually release the clamps from the outside.”
There it is. Going outside in a space suit is not something that I want to do. Not this close to the sun. The memory of crawling over the massive hull of Sunspot Two with Kerry pops into my mind. She knew what she was doing and was fully in command of the situation and still got a huge dose of solar radiation.
I look at Rupert. I believe now that he is genuinely going to do his best to save everyone left. He looks back at me, his eyes wide, hoping I’m going to say yes to going outside. But those are the same eyes that stared at me as he calmly slit Kerry’s throat in cold blood.
“If I go outside and do this, the solar radiation will kill me in minutes,” I say.
“I can’t do it. My spine is snapped. It’s better that one of us survives. I can offer my vast scientific knowledge to the new world. You have nothing to offer. If you die saving everyone, your name will go down in history. You will be remembered as a hero; I’ll see to it.”