Exodus Read online

  Today Tessa mows over the stats she has prepared for the Chancellor, whom she has had the pleasure of getting to know over the past six months. These stats reveal the odds for success where the colony ships are concerned, as well as a separate set of stats for Raymond’s party retaining power under Jim Chopra’s leadership after the vote in two days. Both bode well. The incredible array of things which could go wrong during the interstellar flight to any one of the ships is astronomical, but Tessa has eliminated the vast majority due to the preparedness of the ships and teams involved. She reviewed every personality boarding the ships, every task to be completed over the eleven-year journey and the relationship hurdles between each person. Of course, this was also done by including the information into her smartwall, as a comparison against her results.

  Tessa stretches her arms over her head and stands from her chair, yawning. Her lean frame shudders as the stretch is completed. Too many times she has forgotten to stand and move around after hours at her smartwall. Her disability detaches her from the material world when in deep thought. Though Sol had only good things to say about her autism, she still considers it a disability, always feeling ostracized and alone in the world save her mother. She has determined that is why she began a relationship with Sol when he began to show interest in her. Now she is an honorary member of the UE council. A position of great responsibility. She rarely goes to the meetings, but her research and statistics would be read aloud in the office of the Chancellor of United Earth on the fortieth floor of UE headquarters. The thought still gives her a shock of excitement.

  She moves the information on to Chancellor Bellows via her embedded comm. He will be pleased with these latest odds on the colonists. Tessa’s next task is to explain to her mother that she will be boarding the colony ship to Tyson 4. She will be very sad, Tessa knows, but she has run the numbers and discovered something that intrigues her, commanding her to take the trip. This is where her purpose rests. United Earth is well on its way to becoming a greater civilization than before.

  Tessa checks herself in the mirror before presenting her plan to her mother, the leader of the Betaist movement, which is the largest religious faction in the UE. Her hair has grown out since the battle for Earth. Tight, black curls sit atop her head like a halo. Her large, brown eyes, taut dark skin, and pouty lips give her a sense of normalcy. She knows that she is beautiful by society’s standards, but her autism, and memories of Sol hitting her – the man who had claimed he loved her - keeps her unattached, romantically.

  In the atrium of their home, Tessa approaches her mother. Snow falls beyond the glassed-in room and gathers on the gardens which line the courtyard. Talia, Tessa’s mother, is happy to see her daughter no longer locked away for so many hours doing the chancellor’s work. Tessa falls into her mother’s waiting embrace and takes great comfort in the warmth there. She pulls away tentatively.

  “Mother,” Tessa starts, “I’ve made a decision based on factual evidence and -” She looks down at Talia’s hands as she holds them in hers. Anxiety creeps into her heart as she considers her next words. “M-mother, I-I -” She’s stuttering now. This happens from time to time. Sol used to calm her by putting on a song or tracing circles on her open palms with his long, thin fingers. Talia does this now. Tessa feels the wave of anxiety wash away in a manner of seconds. Her bright, yet distant eyes look up at her mother. She takes a deep, concentrated breath.

  “I have been offered a spot on the Tyson 4 colony ship by the council and intend to go,” she explains quickly, nodding emphatically at the end - setting her jaw. “I know you will miss me. I will miss you too.”

  Talia gently places the palm of one hand on her daughter’s cheek, offering a small smile, the smooth, dark skin of her kind face pushing up. “My dear girl,” she pauses, “promise me you’ll be safe. That’s all I need to hear.”

  “The odds favour the trip,” Tessa explains. “I will be more there. I will be more… me. More of who I am meant to be.” Tessa’s head tilts to the side and a quick smile makes an appearance on her full lips. Talia pulls her daughter into her and hugs her tightly. Tessa’s arms slowly react to the hug and return the sentiment. She loves her mother. She will miss her. There are no odds against that. The ParaCom will keep them in touch.

  “You’ll be on the same ship as Chancellor Bellows and Commander Tesla,” Talia tells her, having heard the news. “That’s also very encouraging.”

  Tessa hadn’t missed that fact either. She is comforted by the thought she will see Raymond’s face occasionally as they hurtle through space and time. She nods at her mother and breaks their bond. “I must pack what possessions I am allowed. The shuttles leave in two days.”

  Talia pensively watches her daughter shuffle out of the room, feeling the pain of separation setting in, realizing she has less than forty-eight hours left to spend with her daughter.

  ABOUT BEING MORE

  Tobias can’t imagine staying put now that he is free of the council. To remain on Earth when so much discovery is at hand leaves him breathless. The air is difficult to take in as his lungs seize against the action. This is similar to the events he suffers when he wakes from a sound sleep - visions of Allfather throwing rocks at his home, haunting his dreams. He practices his breathing. It’s one day until the vote and Ginny has not brought up the conversation about Tyson 4 since he first mentioned it. She’s taken Samantha with her to her mother’s house on the outskirts of First City overnight.

  There is nothing here for us, he thinks. His mind races to pull together all the pros of taking this trip. All council members and their families have been granted access. He feels like he’d be turning down a gift of immense importance should he be forced to turn it down on account of his wife’s decision. But he would not leave her and his daughter. Was I unencumbered… but he isn’t. He loves his family and acknowledges his responsibility to them. Perhaps it’s a foolish dream. An urge to punch the wall and give up on the whole thing forces a surge of adrenaline in his system. He paces the floor of his home. Last night was another sleepless one. He’s tired and desperate for change. His perceived future on Earth reminds him of why he became Chimera: the thousand shades of gray a utopian society guaranteed. Now that society was back, he wonders whether he can return to that life. He couldn’t manage it before the wars. The wars – they were exciting times. So much at stake. So many unknowns. That’s the way to live. The unknown unlocks infinite choices, infinite paths. Utopia suffocates them. He hears this running dialogue in his head and finds it difficult to question it. To remain on Earth, to leave the council and military, what’s left but to raise his daughter, walk her to school, pick her up and put her to bed, kiss his wife goodnight and do it all again? That might be enough for some, but it will grow old quickly in time. He selfishly decides he needs his journey to be about something more - the unknown, so he can exist as the man he is meant to be.

  ____________________________________________________________

  Ginny sits with her mother, feeding Samantha from her breast in the comfortable living space she remembers from her childhood. This was the same house where she first decided to become Chimera. From the basement room she called her own, she logged into the Shadow net and found Tobias. The rest is history. She smiles when she thinks of her husband’s burning desire to be more. She was seventeen when they first started talking. At eighteen she introduced her first dose of Nano-bots into her system. Then she added a cranial implant and then the strength enhancers and so on. Her family was frightened of the changes, which led her to leave and find Tobias and spark a revolution.

  “Tobias wants to take the colony ship to Tyson 4,” she finally admits to her mother, who nearly chokes on her tea. “I don’t know what to do. It’s so far away. I don’t want to deny him this, but I don’t know how to leave all of you.” A tear tracks down her pale cheek.

  “Surely he wouldn’t leave you both for some hairbrained trip like that!” Her mother doesn’t mince words. She never has. “Is he serious? The ships leave in less than thirty-four hours,” she checks her EC. “Why does he want to go?”

  “I think he needs the distraction,” Ginny finds herself explaining. “Since the revolution and the wars, he’s become addicted to a certain kind of life. I fear the quiet life isn’t something he will adjust to very easily. He hasn’t, in fact.”

  “Perhaps it will pass, Gin,” Her mother says with hopeful eyes on her and her grand daughter.

  “It won’t,” Ginny says knowingly, “he’s too caught up in the whirlwind of what’s happened. He still worries Allfather will return. He doesn’t sleep. He’s tired all the time now. We both are.” She looks down at her sleeping child and pulls her from her nipple, tugs her shirt down and walks the baby to a nearby safe-cube. “Tell me what to do, Mom,” Ginny pleads, standing over the baby.

  After a moment her mother presents a fact. “Your father and I encountered similar moments in our relationship, you know?” She starts. “He wanted to climb every mountain on Earth! It was exacerbating!”

  Ginny remembers how often her father would disappear for weeks at a time. “You let him though.”

  “Well, yes, but he always came back.” Her mother looks up at her sternly. “Do you think Tobias would come back if you let him go?”

  “If I let him go?” The question answers itself. “I wouldn’t let him go, Mom. If I decided it was the right thing for him, I would be deciding it was the right thing for all three of us.”

  “And is it?” Another pointed question from the person she could count on to drag the truth out of her whether she knew what that truth was or not. “Do you think it would be in your best interest to pick up and go to Tyson 4?”

  “The right thing is to stay together. I love him and he loves us,” she points down at her sleeping daughter, “he wouldn’t just go if I said no.”

  “I believe that. I’ve seen how he looks at both of you. But that look will fade with time, Ginny. It will fade as surely as the twinkle in his eye with each passing day he spends not pursuing his passion.”

  Ginny can’t deny Tobias would continue to fail stuck on a planet with no real challenges. It’s why they became Chimera. To go back isn’t the answer. He could never go back. Come to think of it, neither could she. A faint smile appears on her face. To deny her husband to be more is to deny herself and her child a father who loves them and who would give up his dream for them. It’s a big compromise, but considering life on Earth without him as the man she fell in love with is too much to bear.

  “I love you mom. I’ll call every day on the ParaCom,” she says, laughing and crying all at once. Her mother stands up and hugs her daughter.

  “I love you, baby. You don’t worry about me. You go live the life you deserve.” She pulls back to look her daughter in the eyes. “You do this for you and that darling little girl every bit as much as you do it for him.”

  Ginny nods and brings her mother in for another long hug.

  ____________________________________________________________

  Ginny’s face appears in holo form, hovering a few millimetres above Tobias’ EC. She’s been crying. His heart sinks. He’s gone too far in asking her to go off planet.

  “I love you, Tobias,” she begins, “let’s start packing when I get home.” His heart rebounds from the pit of his stomach. A sensation of warmth envelopes his face. Tears well in his eyes and he blinks them away.

  “You’re sure, babe?” His voice cracks as he wipes his face. She nods back enthusiastically. “I won’t let you down, either of you,” he promises. “It’s going to be an incredible life, Gin.”

  “I know,” she returns, “wherever we end up, I want us to be together.” She’s crying now and Tobias feels incredibly vulnerable. “Be back in an hour. Love you.” Her image flickers and disappears.

  Tobias is overcome and stumbles to find a seat where he places his head in his hands and breathes through great urges to weep with relief.

  ____________________________________________________________

  Day two and Manuel is feeling vulnerable. The night before he received uncomfortable looks from his platoon mates reminiscent of the same sideways glances he’s received as a Chimera. They don’t like him. They don’t even know me. A couple of the younger cadets went so far as to shove him after dinner tonight in the hallway from the mess hall. He put that to bed immediately, sequestering each in his turn, using learned guerilla tactics to let them know he wasn’t some push over. They both nodded emphatically that they understood his point as their arms were twisted at increasingly unnatural angles. Manuel wanted to break them, but remembered why he had joined the UE Military, and to be thrown out now would cost him years of waiting for another planet while his name cleared.

  At 28 he is one of the oldest in his platoon. Apparently the funniest too, according to Sergeant Winters. Private Joker. After being called out by his Sergeant to tell him a joke during a group run earlier, Winters didn’t laugh. This led to another three kilometres added to the platoon’s run followed by two-dozen push-ups and thirty burpees. No one was happy about that, least of all Manuel. He’d been assigned the role of scapegoat for his Sergeant’s cruel affections.

  Sitting on the edge of his bed after another march around the barracks, Manuel cleans his boots with a small brush and limited supply of polish. Everyone in the bunkhouse is doing likewise. Some discuss the day while others keep to themselves. Manuel is happy with the latter. Suddenly, someone laughs a boisterous laugh and when Manuel looks up instinctively, a large man of 21 years and 120 kilos is staring back at him three bunks down. Manuel stares back but doesn’t want to encourage a scene his Sergeant would likely blame on him. As if scripted, the large, dark man approaches Manuel’s bent over form. He looks up at the intruder.

  “Something funny?” Manuel asks the shirtless behemoth. “You here to share a joke with me?”

  “You’re the one with all the jokes,” says the cadet towering over him. “How about you come up with something that makes us all laugh.” He turns, appealing to the others.

  Manuel slowly places his boot and utensils beside him on the bed and stands to meet his platoon mate. This kid is bigger than he thought at a good 12 cm taller and 20 kilos heavier. Still, he is relatively confident he can drop the boy if required to do so. “You know anything about physics?”

  The kid shrugs and his arms fall heavy at his sides, an intense stare still focused on Manuel. “What’s to know?”

  “Well, you likely know that light travels faster than sound, right?” A slight smile plays across Manuel’s face.

  “Is this a joke?” The kid asks impatiently, Manuel noticing his meat hooks flexing into fists.

  “It is,” Manuel assures him, calmly. “You know, I’ve never heard you say anything until just now.” He steps closer to the kid and they are now toe to toe.

  “I’m not very vocal.” The boy seems confused. If Manuel’s right, he doesn’t like looking confused. The bunkhouse is silent, everyone’s listening in on their intense conversation.

  “No matter, I just found it inspiring for this particular joke.” Manuel maintains a stony stare at the giant. “I think I’ve set it up enough, so I’ll just get right into it. Back to the beginning; light travels faster than sound, right?” The boy nods once. “Well, this is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak!” Manuel reveals a playful smile.

  The bunkhouse lets out a nervous sigh and a few dark giggles, but the meathead still poised to pounce on Manuel seems stunned. Then he gets it. “That supposed to refer to me?”

  “Don’t take it badly. You inspired me!” Manuel sucks air forcefully through his nostrils letting the boy know that if he throws the first punch, he’ll regret it. He tilts his head keeping eyes locked on his muscular opponent. The kid is clearly embarrassed and turns his head slowly to his left. Manuel reads his body language and easily side steps a head butt. The cadet slams his forehead into the rail above Manuel’s cot and staggers back.

  “Had enough, Big Time?” Manuel is now a metre away from the boy and feeling overly confident in his abilities. The angst of this place and the anger he’s experiencing over being here and not enroute to an off-world carrier is feeding the fire in his belly. He wants a fight. He knew that when he insulted the kid with his joke. “I could have capitalized on your mistake, but I’m giving you a chance,” The kid’s right arm fires out from his side and Manuel ducks the shot placing one hand firmly on the forearm and driving a fist up to the bully’s elbow. A crack echoes throughout the bunkhouse. Manuel does not release the mangled arm, steps back to avoid a haphazard left hook from the raging boy and turns the wrist of the right arm attaining the desired affect. The boy falls to a knee grunting against the agony.

  “Fucking Chimera!” The kid yelps. “Fucking implants.”

  “Oh, I’m not wearing any implants, Big Time.” Manuel admits. “But my seven years on you add up to your ass kicked, and if you don’t say mercy, I’m going to show you what it’s really like to feel helpless.” He bends the arm again and the boy forfeits the fight. When Manuel releases him, the kid’s arm falls sloppily to the ground. Big Time picks it up with his other engorged limb and retreats to medical.

  Manuel looks around him at the stunned faces of the younger cadets. The older look on admiringly. He throws his arms up and laughs. “That was a funny one, right?!” The platoon nods unequivocally and quickly return to their tasks. Manuel straightens out his undershirt and returns to the edge of his bed.