by Rishi Sriram
this.”
Nathan nodded and went off to find the two children. They were hiding
behind Nemiah, who was caught up answering to a reporter. Nathan smiled at
him, reassuring him that he would watch over the children. Nathan led them
back to his parents, and gestured awkwardly.
His mom and dad smiled softly, as if to say, you poor things. Nathan
explained the situation to the children, about how they were going to be taken
somewhere where they could get things sorted out. The children didn’t seem
fond but agreed—after all, what other choice did they have? It was their only
option. However, that didn’t mean he was going to take them there right then,
they had just gotten back from a hectic past week. The word “hectic” was an
understatement.
Nathan planned to let them stay at his place for the night, maybe longer,
until the children settled in and were relaxed. They were just kids, it was
horrible enough that they had been orphaned; they didn’t need any other
sudden changes.
In a rush, Emily brushed by and handed him a note, an eager look on her
face. The note read, “My aunt should still be home, we don’t live too far
away. I’ll contact you later when I get the chance.” That was understandable
to him; he could relate that feeling of sorely wanting to return home.
His heart thumped, he felt like he was forgetting something. Kara! He
scurried through the crowd, searching in haste, soon finding her around
where he had last seen her. He gazed at her, his eyes brimming with concern.
The children weren’t the only ones who had lost someone from their family;
she was just as heartbroken. It was safe to assume the worst; that her father
had been…killed.
He shuddered, not wanting to think about it. There was a loud holler
behind him. The police and government security had arrived to deal with The
Chancellor’s body. Nathan craned his head around; two officers carried the
body out of the shuttle and placed it in a large body bag. Nathan expected an
uproar, and an uproar he was given. Followers wept tears of sadness, and
others celebrated like never before. The Chancellor’s former enemies were
thriving in happiness, overflowing with joy now that their opposition had
been defeated. He was gone, and that’s all they needed to hear.
The police officers stood in the way of the obstacles, continuing to walk
through the crowd. Nathan realized that Kara was missing; he was so
absentminded, that he didn’t even notice the absence of her presence. Utterly
worried, he rushed back to the landing area. The crowd had cleared and there
were significantly fewer people, making it easier for him to find her. Her
back was faced away, and she was clutching someone in her arms tightly.
The man had black hair, a sharp nose, and—it was her father! He was there,
but where did he come from? Nathan ran to her with mixed emotions, asking,
“How?”
She grinned back at him, tears forming in her eyes, “Once the crowd had
left, the shuttle doors opened again, and he rushed out. He told me that he had
headed to the shuttle once the announcement was made, and tried to search
for me. He couldn’t find me, and, disappointed, he ended up returning to the
shuttle, hiding inside.”
Her father spoke, a little embarrassed. “There is a secret compartment
hidden in the cockpit for emergency purposes—it’s stored with food and
water reserves, which kept me alive.”
“Of course there is.” Nathan chuckled. “Sorry, go on.”
“And I managed to stay there for the most part, and planned on escaping
once the shuttle returned to Minneapolis. However, it didn’t, and I had to
wait there for the next week or so, until the shuttle started back home.
Sometime throughout the journey, I escaped the secret compartment, and
found myself a seat and strapped in. I didn’t want to alarm you on the shuttle,
so I thought I’d give you a gentle surprise once we landed.” He chuckled
nervously, as if he was hiding something, and then his expression was serious
again.
“I saw Kara seated on a nearby bench and decided to surprise her. Boy
did that give her a shock; she looked like she had seen a ghost.”
Kara gave her father a playful punch. “Who wouldn’t have been scared? I
thought you were dead, but at least you’re here now.”
Her father’s face was serious. “I can’t believe that The Chancellor, sorry
—Isaiah Crane—did all of this. He and I went back, we were good friends.
So much had changed since his son died, and I never did see him after that.
That must have been around the time he became The Chancellor. Whatever
the case, we need to sort things out, we can’t just get rid of the Mars
expedition, and we must do something.”
Nathan was wary; the story didn’t seem to quite click. It seemed like her
father was keeping something from them.
He wondered how it was possible that Mr. Schultz and The Chancellor
didn’t interact somehow on Mars, but he didn’t pry.
“I thought that we could still continue the whole thing,” Nathan said.
“You know, first clean out the camps, and revamp the security with live
monitoring. I could help with things, and we could slowly work towards
creating more colonies. It’ll take us some time to get it up and started again,
but we could do it.”
Her father smiled. “I like the idea, it sounds like it could work, but first
things first, go home and get some rest, we’ll handle this in the morning.”
Nathan reunited with his parents and told him about everything. They were
relieved. He told the children they were going home with him for the night
and they were extremely excited. He took them home and they slept nice and
sound, waiting for a busy day to follow.
CHAPTER 16
THE CONFERENCE
Fact: Mars is a cold planet. The average temperature on Mars stays
around minus-80 degrees Fahrenheit: below freezing.
Nathan woke up as normal; he brushed his teeth and walked outside his
room.
Everyone was seated at the dining table, eating breakfast. Parker and Max
fidgeted around a little, they didn’t want to leave. And Nathan wasn’t ready
for them to leave either. There was a small part of him that wished for the
two to stay with them, but he knew that wasn’t possible.
There was a rhythmic knock on the door. In abrasive movements, he
walked to the door and opened it. Behind the door, there was a man standing
cordially in a suit, a creased envelope in his hands. His voice was hoarse like
sandpaper: “This is for you, Nathan Shaw. It’s critical that you read it
immediately.” The man gave him a moment, waiting for him to open it, and
then walked away, back into a dark Bentley that slowly drove away from his
house.
Gently shutting the door, Nathan sat down at the table, setting the letter
down hesitantly. He ran his finger along the crease, and opened the letter
little by little. He wondered what could have been so important that a man in
a tuxedo who drove in a half-million-dollar car had to deliver to him upfront.
&nbs
p; The letter was written in-old fashioned cursive, similar to the writing in
historical documents. The letter was brief, and was more of a memo than the
former.
“Maximillian Henderson, Parker Morland, and the Shaw family are
cordially requested to attend a conference in the capitol building, today at
9:00 A.M. The conference will be followed by a celebration of utmost
importance.” He tossed the letter aside. What did that mean? What
celebration of utmost importance? He finished his breakfast and gulped down
a glass of water. Out of the corner of his eye, he subtly glanced at the two
children, who seemed entirely at home. They appeared comfortable and
surely weren’t happy that they would be leaving.
As his mother had once told him, parting was a sorrow, and it surely
wouldn’t be easy this time, for any of them. Hands stretched out, he yawned,
scratching the back of his head. He had almost forgotten what it was like to
have a peaceful night’s sleep, and he felt refreshed. Walking over to his
room, he changed his clothes, and glimpsed at his reflection in the mirror.
Overnight, the color had returned to his face, though he was still
underweight. It would take time for him to return to how he had been prior to
the expedition. It was hard for him to believe that a few days ago he had been
fighting for his life against enhanced humans on another planet. It felt great
to be back home, he had a strange sense that nothing could go wrong, which
he knew wasn’t true, but provided him some comfort.
He turned to check the time; he didn’t want to be late for the conference,
whatever it was. His eyes widened, the time was already eight twenty-seven,
which only left him a little over thirty minutes to be at the capitol. Life was
always a rush for him, never a dull moment. In haste, he hurriedly combed
his hair and washed his face. However many people were going to be present
in the conference, he didn’t want to look like a strange slob in front of them;
he had to make a clean appearance. He cupped his hands around his mouth
and yelled, “All of you get ready! We’re due at the capitol in half an hour and
we need to hurry.”
His parents were already awake, and were seated at the breakfast table.
Once they heard his words, they rushed to their rooms quickly, doing
whatever they could to appear neat and prepared. Nathan changed into a
denim shirt and dark jean, strapped on his watch, and set his glasses on the
bridge of his nose. He was ready, now there were two other people in his
house he had to help, Max and Parker. Nearly slipping on the wooden floor,
he hurried to his drawers, and searched for some of his older clothes. They
were buried in the bottom drawer under a stack of ruffled and unkempt shirts.
He handed Max a short-sleeved, red-pinstriped shirt and navy blue shorts,
and gestured him to the bathroom to change. Throwing out the shirts on top,
he found a pitch-black buttoned-down shirt, and light yellow-brown pants
that were cuffed at the ends. He tossed them into Parker’s arms and pointed
him toward another bathroom.
In fifteen minutes, everyone was ready to leave, and they headed out to
the car. Nathan’s father had chosen to wear semi-formal clothing, a clean
white shirt topped with a dark blazer, and black pants underneath. His mother
was wearing a flower-adorned dress, a golden-shaded bracelet, and her ruby
high heels. Off the countertop, Nathan’s mother grabbed her car keys and
unlocked the car. The doors slid over the top of the vehicle, allowing them to
walk inside the upgraded van. His mother was all about updating to the
modern technology.
The passenger-seat area expanded, unraveling a ramp for Nathan’s father,
Rafael, who then rolled up and parked himself in the hinges on the floor of
the car, which latched onto his wheelchair. The back of his seat merged with
a layer of plush behind it, protecting his body from all sides. The children
were impressed; the looks in their eyes were evident of that enough, filled
with awe. His mother started the car and it auto drove en route to the capitol
building. They reached their destination at five minutes to nine. That meant
they were on time, although they arrived to an unpredicted crowd. There were
countless reporters, officials, TV stations, and celebrities lined up outside the
building to fire away with questions. From seemingly nowhere, two large
men in suits appeared out of the crowd, and led the five of them to their
designated seats inside the capitol building. Only select other people were
granted entrance, while others were halted thirty feet away from the door.
His parents were told to sit in the second row of seats, accompanied by
both Kara’s and Nemiah’s parents. Opposite of the seats was a slightly
elevated floor, and above it, a long regal-looking table. He wasn’t surprised
to see his friends, guessing as to what kind of conference was going to
commence. One of the men gestured for Nathan and the two children to seat
themselves next to their fellow friends. On an end, the children sat, and
between them and Kara sat Nathan. Behind their seating arrangement, and at
a higher elevation, was where the press was, shooting pictures of them,
stretching their cameras beyond the wooden railing. There was a similar setup
behind the long polished table, and there were important political media
channels seated at an even higher elevation, directing their cameras straight at
where Nathan and his friends sat.
He ignored the setting of the capitol, and was focused on how the others
had arrived so quickly if they had only been given the word thirty minutes
prior. Nearly reading his mind, his friends found it hard to laugh. Kara spoke
between chuckles: “Late. Again, if anyone can do it’s you.”
He didn’t protest, laughing back. He looked at the empty seats next to
Nemiah, there were two remaining, and he immediately understood who they
were for. At that very moment; Emily, Jessica and their aunt rushed in, each
step faster than the one before. They were all there, everyone involved with
the first expedition, and that included the pilot of the shuttle, Kara’s father.
From what he could tell, this seemed to be a press conference that involved
the seven of them and their families exclusively. After all, they were the only
surviving colonists in the room, as far as they could tell.
There was a series of continuous flashes in their direction, cameras
clicking and sputtering crazily. The entire media was attempting to take a
perfect shot of the colonists sitting in the front row of seats. It would headline
everything: “Survivors of the First Mars Expedition.” In a few seconds, the
words “Heroes of The Mars Expedition,” flashed on every screen, and they
were being streamed and recorded LIVE. He knew he had to act carefully,
everything he said and his every movement was being tracked, recorded, and
watched across the globe. It felt like when they had departed the shuttle,
although it was much more dignified; the reporters kept their composure.
A few reporters flashed him dirty looks as if to say, this is him, the main
flashes, and the actual movement of the people, no one could properly hear
anything. It grew even louder until a government representative arrived,
entering from the entrance to the back of Nathan. The crowd became silent
immediately under the commanding power of the official.
It was a member of the government board, Sam Perry. He recognized the
name from the headlines on numerous news channels; he commanded
immense respect and was a dignified member of the International Peace
Committee. Nathan remembered his name on the headlines of a news
channel. Underneath the command of the powerful Chancellor was a board of
directors who had the right to vote upon any decision or law The Chancellor
wanted to make. The directors were from several different countries,
representing different areas of the world. They were allotted the ability to
either pass or up vote whatever The Chancellor said or decided. In a sense,
that made them a group of the fifteen most powerful men in the entire world,
as powerful as The Chancellor himself. The crowd made way for the
important man, allowing him to seat himself among the fourteen other
directors in the elevated seats, opposite to the colonists. In front of each
director were a few holographic screens, two bottles of water, and a
microphone. The conference was a big deal.
Director Perry cleared his throat and tapped a button on a screen in front
of him; a list of questions had been prepared. “I welcome the survivors of the
first interplanetary expedition, and their surviving families.” There was a loud
applause, and Parker winced, looking away at the last few words he had said.
“The Board of Directors will commence the conference, and inquire these
seven heroes for a thorough understanding of the events that occurred on
Mars.” Nathan shook at how he pronounced the word “heroes,” as if they
were that and nothing more. He didn’t like Director Perry too much.
He continued speaking, “Before I continue, I would like to make it clear
that the colonization expedition has been halted. Whether that is temporary or
permanent will be decided sometime soon, though for now, no one is being
sent to colonize Mars. NASA has already coordinated a rover toward the