It was obvious that the station had been abandoned for some time. Its hull appeared to be covered in corrosion and some of the hull plates were visibly damaged or missing. The husk of a lifeboat floated in space nearby. Half of the craft was missing and its interior was open to the harsh and unforgiving vacuum of space.

Station 09 was a deep space research station that sat at the edge of the Tempest Nebula. Long ago, telescopes had imaged what appeared to be a wave-like behavior in the dusty clouds of the nebula. The station had been constructed in what was thought to be a safe zone, but now, it seems clear that this was not the case.

Without warning, wave after wave of cosmic dust and radiation had washed over the station. The corrosive gases ate away at the station’s hull and the seals that kept the crew’s precious air supply inside the station began to fail.

The order was given. Evacuate.

The station’s emergency beacon contained a message:

They came for us when we were at our weakest. They didn’t fire on the station, but they destroyed several of our lifeboats and captured the rest - the boats that held our children. I alone remained on board to send this message. Stay away! Don’t lead them home! SIGH - Their voices filled our channels, but they were unintelligible. There was no way to know what they were saying. No way to know what they wanted. There was one word they kept repeating. I can only assume it's what they call themselves: Xl’ti.

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Enormous chunks of ice flew past the canopy at incredible speed, making them appear like a solid sheet. The boredom of the last few hours clouding his judgement, Chuck rolled the craft over twice, ending the maneuver by pointing the canopy at the field of ice, and nudging the craft closer to the massive chunks that were silently flying past the canopy.

"Let's cut the hotdogging, Chuck!" said a disembodied voice within the cockpit. "Don't forget that this is a flight test, not a show."

With a sigh, Chuck rolled the craft back over to its previous position.

"Copy that. A roll is necessary prior to the return run."

"That's correct, but the test card states the roll is to occur at the beacon, not before. We don't rewrite the test cards mid-flight, Chuck."

At the moment, Chuck’s craft, the XLRS-11, was skirting a line on the planet’s icy rings that divided light from shadow. Eight hundred eighty six million miles away, the Sun cast its light toward Saturn. That light, after traveling through the vacuum of space for nearly an hour and a half, was now blocked by the gas giant.

A light on the instrument panel illuminated - a five minute warning before Chuck would reach the beacon that indicated the test-flight's half-way point. Suddenly, the ice was no longer a blur outside the canopy but a receding cliff, and the XLRS-11 was was in the empty space between Saturn and its rings. Chuck would be approaching the beacon in 3…2…1…

Chuck pulled on the stick to perform the prescribed roll while simultaneously firing the drive again. Only this time, the craft did not roll. There was no response from the flight controls and the XLRS-11 was now burning hard and fast straight down the barrel of the gas giant's gravity well.

Instantly awake and his heart in is throat, Chuck pulled at the stick in vain. The attitude jets were not responding. He reached forward and killed the engines.

“System reboot. Authorization Charley Bravo XP-86.” The lights in the cockpit went dark and the small craft continued to fall toward Saturn.

Chuck lifted a safety cover and flipped the power back to the “ON” position. The cockpit lit up again, but it took Chuck a moment to realize that the light was coming from outside the craft. His small spacecraft had begun to enter Saturn’s upper atmosphere and the friction was causing the outer skin of the craft to glow.

“Status report!” The voice from the radio again.

“I’m a little busy here!”

Chuck pulled on the stick gently, attempting to re-orient the craft so that it was descending into the clouds tail-first. He could feel the drag. It wanted to roll him over like he used to lie down and roll down the hill at his school when he was a boy. But this sort of uncontrolled roll was likely to rip his ship apart.

Without leaving time to talk himself out of it, he pulled hard on the stick, flipping the craft over nose to tail and jammed the throttle forward. At once, the engines ignited and his descent slowed.

A glance out the canopy provided a view unlike any Chuck had ever seen. The clouds were magnificent! They were enormous. The flames from his engines had ignited the cloud directly beneath him and fire danced away in the powerful winds.

As the craft began to climb out of the well, the sky darkened and the wall of ice loomed in front of him again.

“Let’s see what this baby can do.”

Chuck pressed the throttle the rest of the way forward, pushing the engines to their maximum capacity. Within moments, the ice wall flew past him and he was once again blazing a trail across the icy rings, the heat of his engines melting the ice as he passed, vapor rising up away from the rings and then slowing falling again like snow.

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The ball bounced off the concave disc in the center of the room's floor, the shape of the disc naturally returning the ball to play. Aaralyn Roth dove to the floor, her arm outstretched, and whacked the ball with her racquet, sending the ball up toward the concave disc on the ceiling. Aaralyn was teamed up with Lillian Evergreen, a tall fourteen-year-old girl with long blonde hair that had been pulled into a ponytail. Lillian circled the room with long sidelong steps, keeping low to the floor - well, as low as she could in the low gravity of the Taurus 1 station. The girls were opposed by sixteen-year-old twins Silas and Griffin Emberheart. Silas elbowed Lillian as he pushed toward the center of the room, positioning himself to return the next volley.

"Hey!" Lillian cried out in frustration.

"We're not going to let you and your little freak friend win again," said Silas. The ball bounced off the disc on the floor, and Griffin returned it with a backhanded strike that directed the ball back to Silas, who pounded it off the floor disc so hard that it nearly hit the ceiling disc. It just missed, however, and Aaralyn, who had anticipated the aggressive play by the twin brothers, had run to the back of the court, up the curved wall, and leapt back toward the center of the court as though she were jumping from a high dive into a pool. The racquet caught the ball just as it bounced off the ceiling, returning to the ceiling disc and bouncing off at an angle the boys could not hope to hit before it hit the far wall of the court.

"That's game!" said Aaralyn with a cheesy grin that she knew would irritate the two brothers.

"I don't know what you're so happy about." Griffin directed his comment at the girls who were high-fiving one another. "It's not like you'd be able to win if you weren't cheating."

"We didn't cheat!" Lillian shot back. "Just because you guys are too big and slow doesn't mean we're cheating."

"Every time you play with that freak on your team, you're cheating!" Silas was still trying to catch his breath from the match, and he wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel.

"Don't listen to them, Aaralyn," said Lillian. "They're just jealous that they'll never be able to beat us because of how awesome we are. Well, how awesome you are."

"Don't you need to, like, recharge your batteries or something?" Sarcasm dripped from Griffin almost as heavily as his sweat.

Coach Endo Kasumi opened a section of the transparent court wall. Coach Endo, a small woman from Japan, had moved to the Taurus Triplet to teach and coach the children of Aion Bio Robotics who live aboard the station. She was a master in several forms of martial arts, had experience in several sports, including baseball, soccer, and basketball, and could coach just about anything. And though she was a tiny woman, when she spoke, the students listened. Those who made the mistake of talking back or failed to follow her instructions found themselves sparring with her one-on-one - and no one ever beat Coach Endo - ever.

"OK, that's all for today. Hit the showers and go home," Coach Endo said, addressing the group of teens as she stepped into the 360 Ball court. Silas and Griffin stepped out first, heading for the boys' locker room.

"Good match today, Lillian." Coach's stern face didn't match the compliment, but Lillian knew that was just how Coach Endo was. She dipped her head in a short bow and stepped out of the court. Aaralyn was about to follow suit, but Coach put a hand out to stop her.

"I know those boys are giving you a tough time, but when you pull crazy stunts like you did today, you're simply giving them more to harass you about."

"Coach, I'm sorry that they are too immature to accept that I'm better at sports than they are. Well, actually, I've seen their grades. I seem to be better than them in a lot of areas."

"I understand, but you don't need to rub it in their faces. You'll never make friends that way."

"I'm not going to apologize for who I am. It's not like I chose this," Aaralyn said as she gestured with both hands, waving them down in front of her as though indicating she meant the whole of her body.

"I know, Aaralyn. I'm sorry about what happened to you but don't use your uniqueness as a weapon against others. You're going to have difficulties with people because of your physical differences. I'm telling you not to intentionally use your differences to inflame conflict."

"So you want me to tiptoe around everybody's feelings? You want me to hide what I am so people don't get upset? Is that what you're saying?"

"No, not at all."

"I have to go. I promised Aunt Naamah I'd be home on time today." Aaralyn turned sideways and stepped past the coach through the door, cutting the conversation short. "Carl is coming over for dinner." Aaralyn rolled her eyes. "I think they like each other, but you didn't hear that from me."

Aaralyn left Coach Endo in the 360 Ball court, exited the gym, and walked into the central corridor of Taurus 3, the residential and commercial level of the Taurus Triplet. She turned to the right and walked past the entrance to the locker rooms. Silas was standing in the doorway of the men's locker room with nothing but a towel around his waste. His hair was wet, indicating that he had likely just come from the shower, though Aaralyn knew he hadn't been gone long enough to take a real shower.

"Hey freak," Silas called out to her, not moving from the doorway. "Why don't you head back down to the lab where you belong, you freakin' lab rat!"

Aaralyn tried to ignore him, but this jerk, standing there without a shirt, had these chiseled abs that were impossible not to notice. How did he do it? Maintaining muscle mass on board the station was notoriously difficult, but Silas made it look easy. Wait. Why was she thinking about this? Sure, Silas had great abs, but the guy was a jerk. She kept walking, fully intending to ignore him completely.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Silas growled as he stepped away from the locker room door and grabbed her elbow.

"You should let go of me right now," said Aaralyn, keeping her voice low.

"Are you threatening me?!" Silas said too loudly for how close he was. It was like he wanted other people to hear him.

"Why don't you go put some clothes on!" Lillian called from the other side of the station's hall. Aaralyn looked in Lillian's direction and noticed her coming out of the small cafeteria next to the gym. She held a smoothie in each hand.

"I figured you would head straight to the showers after our match," Aaralyn said to Lillian.

"Yeah, well, I wanted to celebrate our 11th consecutive win by getting a smoothie. Here's one for you. It's strawberry banana, your favorite."

Aaralyn accepted the smoothie with her left hand. In one swift move, she brought her right hand around in a circular motion, first bringing her hand to the outside of Silas' arm, then pulling back, breaking his grip on her. Then her right hand shot out, palm open, hitting him in the sternum just hard enough that Silas stumbled back toward the locker room door.

"Don't touch me again," Aaralyn said as she whirled away and walked down the corridor with Lillian practically skipping beside her.

"What was that for?! You better watch your back, freak!"

"That was awesome!" said Lillian between sips of smoothie. "I wish I had moves like you. Those jerks would think twice before messing with me."

"You know, Griffin really isn't all that bad. He's just dumb and goes along with whatever his brother wants. I think he might actually be afraid of Silas." Aaralyn took a long sip of her smoothie. "Ah! Brain freeze!"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but is it even possible for you to get brain freeze?"

"Of course it is! I'm one hundred percent human from the shoulders up."

"That's right. I'm sorry."

"You've got nothing to be sorry about. What happened to me was awful, but I'm trying to make the best of it. Did you see that move today? I basically flew from the back wall to score that final point!"

"I know, it was awesome!"

The girls slowly walked past the entrance to West Hall and stepped up to the door of Naamah and Aaralyn's cabin, number 3114. The door slid open despite usually requiring the tap of a key card against the near field reader.

"How did you..." Lillian began.

Aaralyn's goofy grin betrayed her little secret. "I programmed the door to open when I wave my hand within six inches of the card reader. Watch this." Aaralyn waved her hand again, and the door closed. She waved once more and said, "Open sesame!" The door slid open.

"So cool!"

"I know, right?! I dissected my key card and attached the NFC chip to the inside of my palm."

They stepped inside the small, two-bedroom cabin, and lights turned on, a warm glow making the small space feel cozy and inviting.

Lillian plopped down on the small couch.

"Hey, remember, you haven't showered yet!"

"Oh, that's right. Sorry!" Lillian stood up and placed her empty smoothie cup in a trash receptacle in the wall near the cabin's door. "Hey, what's this?"

A message on a small whiteboard was attached to the wall outside Naamah's bedroom. The message read: 49 27 6C 6C 20 62 65 20 68 6F 6D 65 20 6C 61 74 65 2E.

"What do these numbers and letters mean?"

"That's a secret code my aunt uses when she leaves little messages for me. Well, it's not really a secret. It's just a text message converted from ASCII to hexadecimal."

"Hexa- what? Is that some magic spell?"

"It's math, silly!" Aaralyn glanced over at the message briefly. "It says, 'I'll be home late.' That's weird. I thought Carl was coming over. Thursday is usually game night."

"How did you do that?! You did that conversion in your head?" Lillian smirked. "OK, so I feel like I've been seeing Naamah and Carl together a lot lately. Do they have the hots for each other?"

"Eww! I don't want to think about that."

"You should spend the night at my place tonight. Give the love birds some space."

"Stop it! You know, I don't know about you, but I'm starving. I'm going to go down to the lab to see what's taking them so long. Come with me?"

"No, I better go get cleaned up. You guys have fun with game night." Lillian placed her palm against the door release plate, and the door slid open. "Let me know if you change your mind." The door slid closed again behind her.

After throwing on a clean pair of jeans and a fresh T-shirt, Aaralyn left the apartment, heading directly for one of the four hallways leading to the space elevator's central superstructure. Naamah and Aaralyn's living quarters were just a few compartments from North Hall, near the grocer and the school. Each of the main halls was like the spokes of a wheel, connecting Taurus 3 to the Elevator's main structure. A short ride down the lift, and Aaralyn was walking down the North Hall of Taurus 1, Level 1, where Aion Bio Robotics held their labs for classified projects.

Each lab on this level was secured with heavy-looking bulkhead doors. None of the labs had windows that looked out into the hall, making the hallway feel narrow and claustrophobic. At least it was brightly illuminated. Aunt Naamah's lab was lab number three. Aaralyn approached the door and placed her hand on the card reader. When the light turned green, she leaned forward and allowed the biometric scanner to scan her retina. The door opened noiselessly, and the positive air pressure in the lab caused the air to rush around her as she entered.

Aaralyn would never forget her first moments in this lab, waking from the worst nightmare she could imagine. With a glance around the room, she noticed the lab appeared empty, but as she wound her way around high-backed lab benches full of expensive-looking equipment and robotic limbs, she saw that the light was on in Naamah's office. The office was one of two offices situated along the far wall of the lab. Through the window, Aaralyn could see Naamah and Carl sitting at Naamah's desk, their back turned to the window. A video file was pulled up on the screen, and Naamah had just pressed play. Aaralyn quietly approached the door and pressed the intercom button next to the door, careful not to let her breathing give away her presence.

"Why are we reviewing this footage again?" Carl asked as Naamah began playback of the footage captured after Aaralyn had been brought to the lab, her body broken and dying.

"I know it's hard to watch, but I just have this feeling that we've missed something," said Naamah, scrubbing through the footage of the medical staff trying desperately to stabilize her niece.

Two Aion Bio Robotics security personnel appeared on the video screen in the lab. Naamah slowed the video playback to normal speed.

"We'd like to ask her a few questions about what happened on board the elevator," said the first security officer. "As the only survivor of the incident, she may have information critical to our investigation."

"She won't be able to respond to questions for some time. Can't you see the condition she's in? The poor girl is barely alive." This was Naamah's voice. Her back was turned to the camera, but she could be seen gesturing to the girl who lay on the table, a blood-soaked sheet covering all but her face, which was mostly obscured with an oxygen mask.

Naamah scrubbed the video forward, watching at an accelerated speed as she and her team worked on the young girl. Large machines appeared on the screen next to Aaralyn. Countless tubes and wires were connected between the machines and the on-screen Aaralyn. It was immediately apparent that these machines were not only monitoring every electrical impulse in her body but were also keeping her alive by breathing for her and cycling her blood.

As the hours and days rushed past on the video screen, Aaralyn watched in horror as her body was slowly reconstructed from metal, plastic, and composites. She was thankful that Naamah was scrubbing through the video as quickly as she was. She didn't think she could hold her lunch in if the video were slow enough to show the detail of the trauma her body had experienced.

As the body of the on-screen Aaralyn came together, Naamah finally returned the video to normal speed.

The image showed Aaralyn lying on a table in this very lab. Her body now mainly constructed of robotic prosthetics. The only remaining organic part of the girl that was left appeared to be her head and neck. There was so little of her left! They had even shaved her head!

It's no wonder the other kids think I'm a freak. I am a freak! Am I even human anymore?

Aaralyn looked down at her hands, repeatedly turning them over and back - opening and closing her fingers. Tears began to stream down her face, and she placed a smooth, robotic hand over to her mouth to stifle a cry, ducking down out of the lab window and sitting with her back to the wall.

"Did you hear something?" Naamah asked Carl, turning to look out her office window at the empty lab.

"No, nothing."

Naamah turned back to the video screen and continued to scrub forward, stopping again when she appeared on the screen next to Aaralyn.

The on-screen Naamah pressed a small button where Aaralyn's sternum should be. The button made an audible click, and a twelve-centimeter long and six-centimeter wide roughly octagonal section of Aaralyn's chest popped up about one centimeter. Naamah slid the cover down, revealing a small toggle beneath an additional plastic cover. She lifted the cover and flipped the toggle. A blue light from within the small cavity in Aaralyn's chest illuminated Naamah's face. The blue light started to pulse throughout Aaralyn's body like blood pulsing through arteries. The pulsing increased in frequency over the next few seconds until becoming a network of solid, brightly illuminated lines. Naamah remembered this moment - waking Aaralyn from her sleep. The light shining from the young girl's body seemed unnatural but beautiful, almost alien or angelic. Then, the light faded until only one small blue light pulsed gently inside the recessed cavity in Aaralyn's chest. Naamah slid the cover back in place and pressed the cover down until it latched into place again.

"My sweet girl. I'm so sorry." This was the on-screen Naamah speaking to the girl on the table. Naamah placed her hands on Aaralyn's face, and the young girl's eyes fluttered open.

After a moment, Aaralyn's eyes seemed to focus. "Where am I?!" distress clear in the young girl's voice. "Where are my parents?"

When she heard her aunt's voice coming from the video, Aaralyn arranged herself to peek through the window again. What was Aunt Naamah looking for?

"Aaralyn, it's me, Aunt Naamah. You're safe now. You're aboard the Taurus Triplet station in one of Aion Bio Robotics' labs."

"Where is my mom?"

"I'm sorry, Aaralyn. Something terrible has happened."

"Is my dad here?"

"Aaralyn, listen to me. There's been an accident."

"I want to see my parents..."

"They..." Naamah's voice caught as she thought about the fate of her sister, Leah, her brother-in-law, Ted, and the other people on board the Elevator. All those people... dead. "There was an accident on board the elevator, and your parents didn't make it."

"Will they be here soon?"

"Aaralyn, there was an explosion on the Elevator. We found you in the elevator stairwell. You were badly injured, and... your parents... they died. I'm so sorry, Aaralyn."

"What do you mean, 'they died'? I was just with them a few minutes ago."

"Aaralyn, I know this is difficult to process, but the accident happened three months ago. Your body was so badly crushed that we couldn't salvage it. We placed your brain into stasis, kind of like a coma, while we built a replacement body for you. Once you were connected to your new body, we used a form of virtual reality to help teach your brain and your new body how to talk to one another. You lived in that dream-like state for about ten weeks but shouldn't remember any of it."

"I want my mom!"

"Oh, Aaralyn. I'm so sorry."

"Where is my mom?!"

With tears streaming down her face, Naamah scrubbed the video forward again.

"Why are you doing this to yourself?" Carl put an arm around Naamah's shoulders. "You've seen this before. Why keep going over it?"

"I just keep feeling like I missed something..." Naamah's voice faded as the video playback returned to normal speed. On the screen, a sleeping Aaralyn was still on the lab table, but another form moved through the shadows of the dark lab.

Naamah gasped when the shadowy figure came close to Aaralyn as she lay on the table, and the lights of the monitoring machines illuminated the man's face. She recognized the man as one of the security officers who had come to interrogate Aaralyn. He pressed the small button on Aaralyn's chest, causing the small compartment to pop up, then slid the cover down a few centimeters. He drew a small case from a breast pocket in his coat. Opening the small case, he removed a small disc-shaped object and used one finger to transfer it to the underside of Aaralyn's chest plate.

Naamah paused the playback. "What is that? What did he do?"

"I'm not sure, but the fact that he came in during the night would seem to indicate that he doesn't have Aaralyn's best interests at heart."

"Aaralyn! She's probably wondering where we are." As Naamah stood from her chair, Aaralyn scrambled as quietly as she could to hide in the shadow of a cabinet on the far side of the lab. Naamah and Carl left the office and made their way across the dark lab to the door, which opened when they approached.

Naamah stopped, turning to face the lab. In her mind's eye, she could see Aaralyn lying on the lab table, broken and helpless. "I knew I had missed something. I can't believe I didn't see that until now!"

"If that was a tracker he placed on her, she could be in danger." The servos in Carl's exosuit whined quietly as he stepped through the door and into the hallway.

"We need to find her." Naamah glanced at her wristwatch. "She should be home from school now."

As Naamah and Carl disappeared down the hall, Aaralyn stepped from the shadow and approached the table she had laid on for three months. She placed her hand on the cold metal. A tingle ran up her arm, and a deeply unsettling feeling washed over her. Was she being watched? Tracked? Was she in danger? If the security officer she had seen on the video had placed a tracker on her, were they trying to ensure she never left the station? As the only survivor of the incident on the Elevator, she was the only one who knew it wasn't an accident. She had already told station security everything she could remember about that day, though she didn't recognize either of the two men who had appeared in the security footage.

Aaralyn left the lab and opened the door to one of the emergency stairwells that connected the three rings of the Taurus triplet. Her augmented body and the low gravity made taking the stairs three at a time a trivial activity. Moments later, Aaralyn was walking through the door to the apartment where she and Naamah lived.

"Hey Aunt Naamah, hey Carl."

"You're home late..." said Naamah, trying very hard to act casually but failing to keep her concern out of her voice.

"Ready for game night, Kiddo?" Carl’s servos whined as he stood to his feet.

"Carl, I've asked you not to call me that. It's creepy." Aaralyn turned her attention to Naamah. "I'm going to wash up. Practice ran long tonight, and I'm sweating like a pig."

Naamah raised an eyebrow, knowing full well that Aaralyn's artificial body was not capable of producing sweat.

Aaralyn stepped into her bedroom and just stood there, alone, in the dark.

Quietly, she said, "Lilly, nightlight."

A dim light began to glow on the bedside table. She turned and faced the mirror on her bedroom wall.

Slowly, she lifted the hem of her shirt. The seam around the cover over her chest cavity was nearly imperceptible. She pressed gently against her sternum, and the small cover depressed and then sprung out, protruding slightly from her chest. She reached a finger under the cover and felt a round object adhered to the underside. As she lacked fingernails, she found a small ruler on her desk and used it to pry the object loose. As the object fell, she released her shirt and caught the small disc. It was about the size of a half-credit coin. She turned the object over in the palm of her hand and saw tiny engraved lettering on the adhesive side. She held the disc up in the dim light and could just make out the letters "ABR" and a nine-digit number - probably an item number or serial number.

ABR.

Aion Bio Robotics.

Aaralyn snapped the disc in two, letting the pieces fall to the floor.

⸻

"Sir, I think we have a problem."

"What is it?"

"The asset knows about the tracker."

"Understood. I think it's time to bring her in."

As the space elevator car rose into the sky, it gradually accelerated until it reached its maximum speed, a comfortable 700km per hour. The initial rate of acceleration was so gentle and so quiet that the passengers hardly noticed that they had left the terminal. The ground swiftly fell away, and it wasn’t long before clouds obscured the view from the windows located over each seat.

Aaralyn sat back in her reclined seat, headphones on, watching as the clouds passed by the window over her head. As the vapor around the elevator began to thin out, Aaralyn could see a storm rolling in today. Huge cumulonimbus clouds appeared in the distance - their massive forms reaching miles into the sky. The early morning sun cast a beautiful, golden glow over the ever-diminishing horizon onto the giant cloud formations.

I wish I were out there, flying among the clouds, Aaralyn thought to herself. I would fly up to the top of that cloud and pretend to jump down like jumping from a cliff, and at the last moment, I would burst through the billows at the bottom.

“What are you working on?” Aaralyn’s father, Ted Roth, was already reading a book. Her mother, Leah, was unpacking her laptop from her bag.

“I need to send Naamah that test data I promised to analyze for her,” said Leah.

“I’ve never had very good luck connecting to the internet from the elevator, but maybe these business-class compartments have a priority connection.”

“I should at least try. I know she’s waiting for the data, and I’d like to review it with her when we see her on board the station later today.”

“Good luck! I hope you can get through to her,” said Ted, returning to his book.

Leah glanced over at her daughter, who had her headphones on and eyes closed. “What are we going to do about Aaralyn’s outburst?” Leah directed the question to Ted, who replied with a simple, “Hmm?”

Aaralyn wasn’t listening to music, though. She was listening to see what else her parents might say while they thought she was distracted.

His eyes still focused on his book, Ted said, “Has Namaah made much progress with her neural connectivity tests?”

“You know I’m not supposed to talk about it,” said Leah.

“I was just curious, that’s all.”

“It really is very exciting!” Leah’s quiet voice dipped to nearly a whisper. “The data from the simulation I ran for her indicates that her new compound may allow neurons to connect directly to silicon-based technology without rejecting it. If that’s true, this is an incredible breakthrough!”

“What exactly does that mean for Aion?”

“It means we will be the front runner in providing human-machine interfaces for the next several decades. It’s going to revolutionize the field of prosthetics, and as much as this sounds like science fiction, it means we will be finding new ways to incorporate technology into the human body.” Leah’s enthusiasm for the topic was contagious.

“You mean, like cyborgs and that sort of thing?” asked Ted.

“Well, I don’t know that I would call it that, exactly. It will be a combination of the biological and the synthetic, so maybe we could call it bio-synthetic, or bio-synth for short.”

“You guys are putting me to sleep with all this boring stuff. I’m going to go find a bathroom so I can flush myself out into space,” Aaralyn said with characteristic sarcasm that only a teenage girl can muster. Aaralyn pulled her headphones down around her neck and stood up.

“I was able to connect to the Aion VPN, so I’m sending Naamah the data and my report,” said Leah, her fingers flying over the keyboard of her laptop.

“I’ll be back in a little bit,” said Aaralyn as she stepped into the aisle. She stood up and stretched her arms over her head. She raised up on her tiptoes, her fingers reaching for the ceiling, which she still couldn’t reach. The compartment must be more than two meters in height because her father, who often made good-natured jabs at how short she was, was just over two meters tall.

Aaralyn looked at her father, who was intently reading his book. Then she looked at her mother, who was furiously typing on her computer. It seemed like they always had so much going on. Did they really have time for her? Would they even notice if she were gone? Like, gone - gone? She rolled her eyes at the thought and started heading for the inner corridor where the lavatory was located.

The elevator cars were like train cars stacked on top of one another. Aaralyn and her family were in a relatively spacious compartment, seating twenty passengers. The seats were wide, and there seemed to be plenty of legroom, even for her father, who normally complained about being uncomfortably cramped on public transportation.

Curious about what the other decks looked like, Aaralyn slid open the door to the spiral stairwell that ran the length of the elevator car on the side of the car closest to the main structure of the elevator. In this small, enclosed space, the electrical hum of the vehicle was much more noticeable. She reached out a hand and placed it on the wall of the stairwell, and while she knew the elevator car did not make physical contact with the elevator’s superstructure, she could feel tiny vibrations in the wall resulting from the passing of air around the car.

Aaralyn climbed the stairs from the Business Class deck to the First Class deck. The door to the compartment was locked, so she cupped her hands against the small, circular glass window and then pressed her face to her hands, cutting out the reflection of the stairwell lights, making it so she could see into the compartment.

Her view wasn’t great from here, but she could immediately tell that this part of the elevator car was much nicer than Business Class. The ceiling looked like it was much higher. Aaralyn was fairly certain that her tall father wouldn’t even have to lean over to keep from bumping his head if he were to walk through this compartment. The Ceiling was dome-shaped, like half of a sphere. A ring of lights around its circumference slowly transitioned from one color to another, and currently, it was a very pleasing shade of green. There must also be fiber optics in the dome because she could just make out small pinpricks of light that looked like stars.

She couldn’t see any people because each passenger had a privacy partition around their seat. Just how rich do you have to be to afford this?

Aaralyn continued up the stairs and past a door marked Authorized Crew Members Only. She assumed it must be the cockpit. A few more stairs and the stairwell opened up to a compartment with the most incredible view she had ever seen. This compartment also had a domed ceiling, but instead of color-changing lights and fiber optics, this dome provided a crystal-clear view of the sky and elevator above. Her eyes were drawn first to the elevator itself, stretching out above her as far as she could see. For a moment, she felt disoriented as her brain tried to determine if she was still looking up or if the path they were on stretched out infinitely in front of her. If not for the acceleration of the elevator car and the decreasing but still present pull of Earth’s gravity, she may have toppled over. She reached out and grasped a handrail that circled the room's circumference and stepped onto the previously unoccupied observation deck. Eight tables were arranged symmetrically around the room, each with six chairs. A circular console occupied the center of the room - its displays provided information about the current speed and altitude of the elevator, and the number had just passed 85,000 meters. The screen indicated that the boundary separating Earth’s atmosphere from space was located at 100,000 meters. She guessed that they would reach space within the next couple of minutes due to the rate at which the numbers were increasing.

As she walked around the display console, a voice reached out to her from the direction of the stairwell.

“Good morning, young lady! What do you think of this view? Pretty incredible, isn’t it?” said a young man who had just stepped up onto the observation deck. While he spoke, he turned and inserted a key into a small panel on the wall just beneath a flap in the wall marked Trash.

“I just don’t get why the night shift never empties this trash receptacle. I mean, I guess people just don’t come up here that often anymore. Can you believe that anyone could get used to this view? Blows my mind.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome,” Aaralyn said as she continued to walk around the console, putting it between her and the man.

“Is this your first time riding the elevator?” asked the young man.

“Yes.” Aaralyn didn’t feel inclined to encourage conversation with the man, but she noticed his brown jumpsuit, and for a moment, he seemed familiar.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. My name is Colin. I’m a Utility Maintenance Engineer.”

“I’m Aaralyn.” She paused. “So, Utility Maintenance Engineer… is that just a fancy title for garbage man?”

A strained smile crossed Colin’s face. “I guess you could say that, but I’ll have you know that I do more than take out the trash. Well, I mean, I think I will. This is actually my first day working for Elevate Corp.”

Colin pressed a button in the small trash compartment he had just opened, and a quiet motor pulled all of the air out of the trash bag before heat-sealing it. The trash bag was simply a long plastic tube that would be sealed in intervals as the bag was filled. When it reached capacity, a signal was sent to Utility Maintenance, and someone would come to the unit, evacuate the air from the bag, and seal it off. Then, the unit would spool out another couple of feet of plastic, and a new trash bag was ready for use. As Aaralyn watched this process from across the room, she thought this unit was similar to the one in her family’s apartment, though this one was probably much nicer. Her family’s trash unit did not remove the air from the bag, and the heat seal function wasn’t nearly as good. The seal was often inconsistent, and it would drive her father crazy whenever the bottom of the bag would break open, spilling the contents of the bag all over the kitchen or the hallway on the way to the trash chute.

“Hey, um, I’m not telling you that you have to leave or anything, but are you sure your parents are OK with you being up here alone?”

“Yeah, they’re fine with it. I just needed some time to myself to think.”

“I get it. I used to get so upset when I thought my parents were getting all up in my business,” said Colin, attempting a youthful tone because he thought the young girl might feel less intimidated by his presence if he sounded younger. It’s not like he was really that old, but he guessed there was at least a ten-year gap between him and the girl.

“They just make me so mad! They want us to move to the Taurus stations and don’t care that they’re ruining my life!”

“I’m sure that’s not quite true. I’m sure they love you very much and value your opinion.”

“But they don’t! They’re already talking as though the move is a sure thing.”

“I know that big changes like a move can be difficult. You’ll miss your friends. You’ll have to get used to a new school. But sometimes change can be really good. Have you tried thinking about it from your parent’s perspective?”

“Not really. I mean, why would I? It’s not like they have friends they’re leaving behind.”

“Could it be that this move will result in really good things for your family? Maybe your parents will make more money, or it will open the door for future career opportunities. It will likely present you with opportunities that only a few other young people in the world have ever received.”

Just then, a young woman, probably in her late twenties or early thirties, appeared in the doorway of the stairwell.

“Ah, there you are, Colin. I was wondering if you could lend me a hand with something,” said the woman.

The young lady was very attractive. She wore a red jumpsuit that appeared to have been tailored to fit her perfectly. It wasn’t skin-tight or anything like that, it just looked like it was made specifically for her. As Aaralyn looked from the newcomer to Colin, she thought she spotted a bit of a blush creeping up in Colin’s cheeks.

“No worries, Sam! I was just about to head back down to the Engineering deck,” said Colin as he closed the door to the trash receptacle. “Sam, meet my new friend, Aaralyn. She’s traveling with her parents today to visit the Taurus stations.”

Aaralyn tried to look like she was studying the console displays in front of her, though she was watching the pair in her periphery.

“It’s nice to meet you, Aaralyn. I’m sure you’re going to love it up here. The Taurus stations are state-of-the-art. The research facilities are second to none, there are a ton of entertainment options, and there’s even a school for kids your age. I’m sure that’s the part you’re most excited about.”

Sam’s enthusiasm for the Taurus stations was infectious. Aaralyn wasn’t ready to show her excitement yet, but she had to admit, even if only to herself, that she was looking forward to an adventure. She would see and do things that her friends had only dreamed of. It’s not like she would never see her friends again. They could meet up virtually in NexusVR whenever they want.

Standing against the wall near the doorway, Sam said, “I need some help removing a wall panel so that I can change out an air scrubber. The panel isn’t heavy, it’s just large and awkward.”

“I think my job here is done. I’ll be right behind you,” said Colin who then turned and addressed Aaralyn once more. “Aaralyn, it was very nice meeting you this morning. I hope I gave you some things to think about.”

Aaralyn looked up and smiled sheepishly. She knew she was being selfish and that the way she had yelled at her parents earlier wasn’t right. She did her best to give Colin a smile and an ever-so-slight nod of her head.

Sam turned and started down the stairs, Colin following just a few steps behind her.

As Sam and Colin disappeared down the stairs, Aaralyn’s curiosity got the better of her, so she followed the pair into the stairwell. She waited for Colin to disappear around the corner and then followed slowly behind, descending the stairs on tiptoes so as not to be heard. With the spiral stairwell being only a meter wide, Aaralyn found that if she stayed toward the outside of the stairs, she didn’t get quite so dizzy.

Sam and Colin’s voices could be heard just ahead of her. It seemed they hadn’t noticed her following them down past the passenger compartments. The walls of the stairwell were a colored gradient that shifted from one primary color to another in a way that indicated that they likely corresponded with the compartment located on each level. She noticed that the color of the wall now shifted to a desaturated gray, which she took to mean that this area must be for crew only.

Upon reaching what she assumed was the bottom of the stairwell, she had to quickly reverse course a few steps to remain out of sight.

“I can’t believe they didn’t take care of this during the night shift,” said Sam with obvious irritation in her voice. “They always seem to leave the less desirable jobs for us to take care of. I mean, I’m supposed to be analyzing power consumption profiles, not changing air filters.”

“I think it’s something I’m supposed to do,” Colin said as he removed a small wrench from a pocket in his jumpsuit.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I wasn’t trying to say you aren’t doing your job.”

“No worries! With this being my first day on the job, I’m sure I could miss some things. I mean, the week-long training only ended yesterday, and it seemed like they spent a lot more time on policies than procedures.”

“I know what you mean. I’m not saying you’ll be like this, but the attrition rate for Utility Maintenance Engineers is pretty high, so I think they spend as little time and money on training for your role as possible.”

“I guess I get it, though. How hard is it to take out the trash?” Collin paused, a glint in his eye. “And change air filters…”

“Yeah, when I saw the air quality alarm for the Crew Deck, I thought I should come find you.”

They needed to remove a one-meter square panel from the wall. Sam was right - it was just large enough to be awkward for one person to handle alone. Colin removed the bolts from the bottom corners, and Sam stepped up and placed a hand against the panel, holding it in place as Colin then removed the bolts from the top. Once the panel was free, Sam and Colin each grabbed a side of it and carefully set it aside.

Immediately, smoke began to spill out of the top of the wall compartment they had just revealed. It wasn’t a lot, but smoke didn’t belong here, so there was obviously a problem.

“Here, put on this mask,” Sam said as she handed a ventilated face mask to Colin. She reached back and grabbed a second mask from where they hung on the wall behind her and secured it to her face.

Colin pulled a small, rectangular device from another pocket in his jumpsuit. He placed the device just inside the opening in the wall using its built-in magnets to adhere it to the wall. He triggered the device, and a small fan whirred to life. The smoke inside the small compartment immediately began to clear as it was pulled into the small box.

Aaralyn was having difficulty seeing what the two adults were up to, so she leaned over as far as she could, nearly lying on her side on the steps. She carefully gathered her hair so it wouldn’t spill down onto the next step and give her presence away. Some of the smoke had crept toward the stairwell and she stifled a cough.

“Did you hear something?” Colin asked Sam.

“No, nothing. Look, the smoke is clearing. What is that?!” Sam said as the smoke cleared, and she got her first look inside the compartment. A small plastic box could be seen inside the compartment. Not only did it appear to be the source of the smoke, but it obviously did not belong. The box had been adhered to a thick bundle of cables that ran vertically through the compartment. It had been pressed into what looked like expanding foam - like the type you spray from a can to fill a gap. The foam had expanded around the cables and the sides of the box, holding it in place, while excess foam had dripped messily around the compartment onto other components.

“Colin, I need to report this upstairs,” Sam said, pulling a radio from a belt at her waist. “Flight Deck, this Engineering. I have a priority message for the Flight Commander.”

“Go ahead, Engineering.”

“I have Utility Maintenance Engineer Colin here with me. We are doing a routine scrubber inspection, and we’ve located what appears to be a foreign object in the scrubber compartment on the Crew Deck. The device has been jury-rigged in place using foam, and smoke was found coming from the device.”

“Do what you can to contain the smoke. We will reduce climbing speed and contact Ground Control for further instructions.”

Aaralyn could feel the elevator car begin to slow beneath her. She felt light. Really light. Her hair started to float around her face, and she reached up to push it out of her eyes. As she tried to settle back into position so that she could continue to spy on Sam and Colin, her hand slipped off the edge of the stair she was on. The decreased gravity caused her to lose her balance, and she rolled forward down the stairs in what felt like slow motion.

Sam spotted her. “Young lady, I must ask you to return to your seat immediately. It’s not safe down here.” Her voice was muffled by the mask that covered her entire face.

Colin did not turn around. He had a plastic tool in his hand and was prying the cover off a small box in the wall. “I think I’ve just about got it,” Colin said, and the cover to the foreign device popped free. It floated out into the room and followed a lazy arc to the floor.

“Colin, we need to wait for instructions. We have no idea what that thing is.” The concern in Sam’s voice was undeniable.

“I think I see the problem,” said Colin. “This device looks like it was forcibly attached to these cables. I mean, the circuitry in the box is physically connected to the cables.”

Aaralyn picked herself up off the floor and tried to look around Colin to see what he was working on. “I think that foam stuff must have short-circuited the electronics in that Circuit Sprite. That must be what was causing the smoke.” Aaralyn had a thing for electronics. When she was little, she always asked for those wiring kits for her birthday, and recently, she started upgrading to building miniature computers. “I have several of those at home. I love to configure the…”

Sam cut her off. “Aaralyn, I need you to return to your seat now!” Her tone left no room for negotiation.

Aaralyn was a little taken aback by the gruffness of the woman’s instructions. She closed her mouth and turned for the stairs. Her feet barely had to make contact with the floor now, and her whole body was propelled through the air. She raised her hands to guard her head from impacting the ceiling near the stairwell opening. She didn’t mean to, but she pushed off the ceiling and returned to the floor with a thud - the toes of one foot hitting the first step and twisting her foot. She could feel the strain in her ankle as her foot twisted unnaturally. She nearly lost her balance completely, but she caught the handrail and silently began to ascend the stairs. Despite her reduced weight, it was slow going with her now injured ankle.

Back on the Crew Deck, Colin was probing the insides of the little box. “I think she’s right. I’ve seen these little devices like this before. They are commercially available and completely configurable. I assume that, what did Aaralyn call it, a Circuit Sprite, must be a custom computer kit for kids.”

“Well, what’s it doing attached to our elevator?” Sam’s question was rhetorical. “I’ll be right back. I need to get something,” said Sam, and she disappeared down the stairwell into the Engineering Deck. She couldn’t have been gone more than thirty seconds when she reappeared with an AR headset. She pulled off the mask and put on the AR set. The device provided detailed schematics of every part of the elevator car, creating an information overlay that only the user could see. “I knew it. That thing definitely doesn’t belong there. It’s not on the schematics.”

“I think we’ve established that. What are these cables it’s attached to?”

“Those are flight control cables. There are three of them for redundancy.”

“Redundancy doesn’t matter if they all fail simultaneously!” Colin exclaimed. “I can’t believe they clustered all three cables together.”

“Well, in all fairness, the cables separate just above us and run up different sides of the elevator car so that if one side of the car is damaged, there are still two cables through which the flight control system can communicate,” Sam explained.

“Whoever put this here must have known that the cables all come together at this point.” Colin scraped a chunk of foam off one of the tiny circuit boards inside the box, and a piece of the electronic device broke off with the foam.

Immediately, the elevator car lurched as the emergency braking system was engaged. Despite the extremely thin atmosphere outside the car, a horrible screeching sound could be heard as the emergency brakes gripped the stabilizing track on the elevator.

Aaralyn favored her injured ankle, taking one step at a time with her good foot when the elevator car shuddered violently, throwing her to her hands and knees on the stairs. She could tell by the color gradient on the wall that she was approaching the business class level of the elevator. Just a little bit further, and she’d be able to strap into her seat. Then she would be safe.

A vibration rippled down through the elevator car, followed by a rush of air and the sound of an explosion somewhere up above. The change in air pressure must have triggered the bulkhead between each level to close because Aaralyn watched as her path forward, her path to safety, her path to her parents, was cut off by a huge, circular door that shut only a few feet above her head.

Suddenly, the floor dropped out from under Aaralyn, and she was violently thrown against the bulkhead that had just closed above her. What had been “up” a moment ago was now “down” as the elevator car plummeted back toward the Earth. A second and third explosion rocked the car. The walls began to buckle, the small, enclosed space of the stairwell getting smaller as the force of the explosions crushed the stairwell like an aluminum can.

The lights flickered out, leaving Aaralyn in complete darkness. She could feel blood running down her face from a cut somewhere on her head, and the pain in her nose and ears told her that the wetness she felt there was likely also blood.

Another explosion came from the Economy Deck's direction, and the blast's force smashed the stairwell against the elevator’s superstructure. Aaralyn tried to scream, but the pressure squeezed every last drop of air from her lungs, and her head smashed again into something immovable, knocking her mercifully unconscious.

Aaralyn’s chest and abdomen were pinned between compressed sections of the stairwell wall. Her arms were twisted and broken by uneven folds of the wall and stairs. The force of the blast was so great below her that the walls were flattened against one another, severing the young girl’s body at the waist, crushing her pelvis and lower third of her spine. Only the size and strength of the bulkhead had prevented her from being completely crushed. Her head was the only part of her body that remained unpinned.

Aaralyn opened her eyes. She could no longer feel the subtle vibrations of the elevator car, which meant the car must not be moving anymore. A red light pulsed slowly from the bulkhead behind her head. Breathing hurt, and she couldn’t feel her arms and legs. The dim light revealed only a tiny glimpse of the carnage. The wall of the stairway had been ripped from the wall and was pressing firmly against her body, pinning her to the opposite wall. She could see lights flashing through the gap where the wall used to be - sparks flying like tiny starbursts. Her hair floated freely around her head, threatening to drift into her eyes. She slowly turned her head and tried again to raise her arms so that she could brush the hair from her eyes and wipe the blood that ran from her nose and mouth.

The blinking lights in the compartment beyond revealed momentary flashes of the people who had occupied the seats on the other side of the wall

. The chairs were piled on top of one another as though a giant had knocked them all aside with a brush of a hand. Arms and legs protruded from the pile of seats. And the blood. There was so much blood. A wave of nausea overwhelmed Aaralyn, and she vomited. Unfortunately, with her arms pinned, she could not wipe the residue from her chin. She spat to clear her mouth and was surprised by the amount of blood that came out.

It hurt so much! Everything hurt. And why couldn’t she feel her arms and legs?! Her vision was fading - darkness closing in from the edges like the vignette of an old photograph. She tried once more to raise an arm, but the excruciating pain that shot through her pushed her back - into the black.

What to read next

It was too early in the morning. Thirteen-year-old Aaralyn did not enjoy getting up at two in the morning. The viewscreens in her room in her family’s apartment could simulate any time of the day or night or any scene from pretty much anywhere mankind had sent probes or people in our celestial neighborhood. Right now, Aaralyn’s walls were programmed to show a small cabin in the woods, with the early morning light casting the sun’s rays through the leaves and branches. It was a nice, warm view. Not a bad way to wake up really, but still… it was only two in the morning. Way too early.

“Hurry up, Aaralyn! We need to be going in a few minutes so we don’t miss the train to the elevator station,” said Leah, Aaralyn's mother, from the other side of her bedroom door.

“Uggh…” Aaralyn groaned as she flopped out of her bed onto the floor. “Lilly, dim the lights.” Lilly was the name Aaralyn had given her personal AI.

I’m sorry, Aaralyn, but your mother has already overridden that command this morning. You have 13.7 minutes remaining until the recommended time of departure, said Lilly.

“I hate you so much right now, Lilly,” said Aaralyn.

I’m sorry, Aaralyn, you’ll need to get dressed quickly so that you don’t cause your family to miss their departure time, Lilly said, sounding apologetic.

Aaralyn and her parents would take the elevator to Taurus 3, a low-gravity station that encircled the space elevator. Taurus 3 was primarily a laboratory space and contained, most notably, a large lab for Aion Bio Robotics. Aion used the low gravity lab for experiments they were doing with connecting human neural tissue to robotic devices.

Aaralyn’s parents, Ted and Leah Roth, were considering moving the family to Taurus 3 for three years. Her parents had both worked for Aion since before she was born. Her mother was a lab tech and had been nominated as a candidate for a special assignment aboard the sub-orbital station. Her father was a pilot and had been selected as a shuttle pilot for Aion, transferring employees and materials between the elevator-based stations. They said it was a great opportunity for them. The pay would be great, and the assignment was only supposed to last three years, and they would be able to return home after that.

Aaralyn didn’t buy it. They were going to force her to move away from her friends, her school, her clubs, and sports activities. Basically, they were ruining her life! She had no intention of going quietly.

The Roths hurried out the door of their apartment at exactly 2:15 am, rode the elevator to the ground floor of their building, and crossed the street, descending another two stories into the subway. The train ride lasted roughly an hour and a half due mostly to the frequent stops. By four in the morning, the train was pulling into the station at Elevate Corps’ Terminal C.

Despite her irritation at being dragged along on this sightseeing tour so early in the morning, Aaralyn couldn’t help but feel a bit of awe at the size of the terminal at the base of the space elevator. She’d seen it in net vids and on the news, but she’d never seen a structure so large in person before. This place was awesome!

Aaralyn pulled out her phone and took a selfie with the glass roof above her and the space elevator extending up and out of the image.

“I’ve got to send this to Jillian! She’s going to be so jealous!” said Aaralyn to herself.

“What’s that dear?” asked her mother.

“Nothing, Mom,” Aaralyn bit back. “I’m just taking a photo to make my friends jealous.”

Ted rolled his eyes and gave Leah a knowing look. “We need to keep moving if we’re going to make it through security in time,” he said as he continued to walk toward the security gate.

The lines were fairly short this morning, probably due in part to the early hour but also because scanning technology had come a long way in the last few years. Instead of having to pass through a security scanner one at a time, whole crowds of people could be scanned as they walked through an X-ray curtain. There was a line on the floor, a one-foot wide yellow line that marked where the curtain was located. The overhead announcements were continuously reminding passengers not to stop on the yellow line due to the risk of receiving too high a dose of X-rays. As long as you kept moving, you received a dose less than what you would getting an x-ray at the doctor’s office.

Aaralyn surveyed the large terminal, taking in the grandeur of the high glass ceiling and watching as thousands of people seemed to be heading for one of the elevator gates and just as many seemed to be moving toward the exits, heading back to their lives on the ground.

As her eyes traced the curve of the ceiling down to the floor, she saw a young man in a brown jumpsuit heading toward an employees-only security gate, and she wondered what it would be like to work on one of the massive elevators. She imagined it was similar to being a flight attendant.

After passing through the security zone, they climbed aboard yet another elevator. This one would take them up two stories to Gate 29. Aion had really pulled out all the stops for this little trip. Well, almost all the stops.  The tickets they purchased were for business class, not first class.

Aaralyn knew that her parents would never have spent the extra money for business class on their own, let alone first class. “I thought Aion wanted you to enjoy this trip,” she said to her parents. “Why didn’t they put us up top in first class? I really wanted to see the stars as we left the atmosphere.”

“Oh, I think you'll see more stars today than you've ever seen before,” said her father. “Just before the launch, our seats will recline back and you'll be able to look right out the window above you. You should have a great view as the atmosphere thins out.”

“Yeah, I knew that,” Aaralyn retorted. She wasn’t going to let her parents think that she was enjoying any part of this trip, though inwardly, she was struggling to contain her excitement. She didn’t want to leave her friends, but she knew that riding the elevator was something that most of her friends wanted to do, and here she was, boarding one of the elevators bound for low Earth orbit!

This is so cool, Aaralyn whispered to herself, careful not to let her parents hear.

Ted, Leah, and Aaralyn settled into their seats, which were several inches wider than the economy seats and provided ample legroom.

“I could get used to this,” said Ted, stretching his legs out in front of him and reclining his seat back so that he could look out the windows that wrapped up over their seats. The view wasn’t as good as it would have been in first class, but this wasn’t bad. The elevator car itself blocked much of the view of the elevator above them, but the view did allow them to see the sky above them.

While Aaralyn stowed her day pack under her seat and latched her harness, she looked around to see if there were any other kids in this compartment. It looked like she was the only one. Everyone else appeared to be either the same age as her parents or older. She couldn’t quite decide if that made her feel special or awkward.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the lab!” said Leah. “Carl has been working up there since last year, and he said he’s loving it. The low-G environment has made it really easy for him to get around the lab. In fact, he hasn’t used his wheelchair in something like six months.”

“It sounds like making the move was the right choice for him,” said Ted. “I’m actually really looking forward to cutting down my commute time. Not having to ride the elevator to the Taurus stations each day to get to the shuttle bay is going to give me a lot of family time back.”

Leah turned to Aaralyn, “Did I tell you about the theatre they have on Taurus 3? It holds about fifty people, and it’s got a screen that starts off as a window that looks out at the curvature of the Earth, and then they apply an electric charge, and it becomes opaque just before the show starts. Doesn’t that sound cool?”

Aaralyn could feel her temper flaring as she listened to her parents rambling about how awesome it was going to be to live on the Taurus stations.

“Can you please pretend for one second that you understand what I’m going through?” Aaralyn said a little louder than she had intended. “You’re talking as though the decision is already made. I thought we were going up there to see what it was like and to decide as a family what we thought was best?”

“Well, honey…” her dad started.

“I’m not finished! You’re tearing me away from everything and everyone I’ve ever known and loved. You’re forcing me to leave my friends and all my teams that I’ve worked so hard for. You’re being so selfish, and you don’t even care how this move will affect me. You haven’t thought about it at all! I hate you! I hate you for forcing us to move! Can’t I just live with Aunt Naamah?”

Heads were turning and looking in their direction - some with a shocked expression, others with clear distaste that a child would be allowed in this compartment.

“Honey. Aaralyn,” her father tried again.

“All you care about are your careers! You don’t even care that you’re ending my life. I hate you!”

“Sir. Ma’am. Is there a problem?” said a member of the flight crew who had approached their seats.

“No. No problem. Just a little misunderstanding,” said Leah.

“I have to ask you to keep your voices low inside the compartment out of respect for the other passengers,” the stewardess said.

“Yes, ma’am,” replied Ted.

Aaralyn let out a breathy “Humph” and turned her head away from her parents, crossing her arms dramatically across her body.

The lights dimmed twice, indicating that the launch would occur in one minute.

“Young lady, your attitude is unacceptable,” Ted’s voice was quiet but clearly showed how he felt about his daughter’s outburst. “We will continue this discussion when we can do so privately.”

There was no answer from Aaralyn. She had placed headphones over her ears and was intently staring out the window located just above her seat.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Today's launch is a non-stop to the Taurus Triplet. Our arrival time will be roughly 11 o'clock this morning, given that our maximum rate of ascent will be a gentle 700km per hour, and our destination is located at the Mars Gravity Center, which is right at about 4,000km above our heads. Now, just recline back and enjoy your ride into space with Elevate Corp."

The seats in the compartment automatically reclined so that the passengers were nearly lying flat. This helped to reduce the stress on their spines during the first few minutes of acceleration.

With a whoosh, the elevator rose out of its cradle and lifted into the sky along the elevator’s central core.

What to read next

A link to Part III will be here soon!

Today was Colin's first day on the job with Elevate Corp, well, the first real day. He had gone through a weeklong training course to prepare for today, his first-day going solo. He queued up for the elevator that would take him to sub-level four, the level where his department called home. The fill-to-capacity elevator car was mostly silent this morning during the brief ride. The young lady standing in front of Colin wore a backpack that pressed uncomfortably into his gut.

On sub-level four, Colin followed the colored lines on the wall that led to the locker room. The lockers were small, only about 30cm wide and 90cm tall, and they were stacked two lockers high. His locker was #3087, an upper locker. No one else seemed to be in the large locker room. He supposed that was one of the benefits of his day starting so early in the morning - it was only 4:30 in the morning. His launch time was promptly at 5:00 am. Due to the nature of his work environment, he was highly motivated to be early for his shift. If he were late, he would be left behind.

After donning his dark brown jumpsuit, Colin walked the long hall, pressed open the door to the stairwell, and ascended to ground level. He exited the stairway to find himself in Terminal C. He looked up at the glass ceiling and caught his first glimpse of the elevator. Of course, he'd seen it before. You'd have to live in a cave not to have seen the elevator, but he'd never seen it from this angle before. It looked like a busy train station with tracks spaced out just far enough to allow the trains, or in this case, the elevators, to pass by one another. The tracks covered nearly the entire surface of the structure, which rose up into the sky as far as the eye could see.

Despite the early hour of the morning, there appeared to be thousands of people in the terminal, some waiting for their departure, others leaving the gates and heading for the garage or the tram that would return them to the city.

Colin followed the wall to an employee-only gate. He presented his badge to the woman at the turnstile, who waved the badge over a magnetic reader while giving him a bored look, her eyes only half-open.

"You're good to go," she said. "Have a nice day."

Her tone seemed to indicate that she didn't really mean what she said.

"Thanks," said Colin as he passed through the turnstile and headed toward Gate 26.

A loud whoosh overhead signaled an approaching elevator, and Colin looked up just in time to see the bullet train-like elevator descend into its cradle. Each elevator was composed of a single car, but that car was over three stories tall and lined up with five corresponding gates. The lowest gate was where low-level crew like Colin would board. That way, they could board the elevator without being hindered by the mass of passengers waiting for their turn to board. The middle three gates were for passengers, with the lowest and largest gates designated for economy passengers. The next gate was for business-class passengers, and the next was for first-class passengers. The final and highest gate was for the elevator's captain and "flight" crew.

Colin entered Gate 26 and approached the hatch that led to the lowest level of the elevator. He pressed his badge to the reader, eliciting a beep and green light from the small box, and the hatch hissed as it slid into the wall. The lower deck was dimly illuminated, but it was a warm light, easy on the eyes this early in the day. It was now 4:50 am. The launch was in ten minutes. Colin found his assigned seat and fastened the harness around him securely. He looked around but didn't see anyone else. Was he going to be the only lower-deck personnel on this flight? That seemed odd. Where were the engineers? Security?

As Colin settled in for the launch, a few crew members finally trickled it. A chime sounded, and the lights dimmed twice, warning that the launch would occur in one minute.

They are really cutting it close, thought Colin. He recognized the newcomers by the color of their jumpsuits. Gray for security, red for engineering. Colin's jumpsuit was brown, designating him as part of the Utility Maintenance crew.

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Colin pulled on the straps of his harness, tightening them once more. His training had been in a classroom and a simulator, so this was his first time riding the elevator, so his nerves were a bit on edge. He leaned his head back and took a deep breath. A young woman in a red jumpsuit harnessed herself into the seat next to him.

"First flight?" she asked.

"Yeah," Colin replied.

"I'm Sam," she said, reaching out a hand.

He accepted her hand and said, "It's nice to meet you, Sam. I'm Colin."

"There's nothing to worry about, Colin. You'll hardly feel a thing - after the first 15 minutes or so, that is. You'll feel like you weigh 200 kilograms for the first leg of the trip, but once we reach microgravity, we'll stop accelerating, and you'll be nearly weightless," Sam explained.

"Thanks," said Colin.

Colin hadn't been sure about taking this job with Elevate Corp at first. He really wanted to be an engineer, but the Elevate rep explained that the training program was currently at capacity, but she would put his name on the 18-month waiting list. He couldn't wait 18 months. He needed a job now. So he accepted the Utility Maintenance role, thinking that at least he'd have his foot in the door.

"Seriously, you look a little green. Do you need an anti-nausea patch? I have an extra you can have," said Sam.

Colin couldn't help but notice the absence of a ring on Sam's finger. Maybe being an elevator garbage man wasn't going to be as bad as he had thought.

Related:

The snow hitting the windshield of the car seemed to hold its shape for far too long - a testament to just how cold it was tonight. It was late, and the snow glistened in the car's headlights, making it difficult to see the road ahead. Eddie had driven this stretch of highway many times, but tonight, when visibility was near zero, he was especially thankful for the long stretches of straight highway.

"All I said was that I'd rather listen to Christmas music! We're on our way home from a Christmas party, and I kinda wanted to stay in the spirit of things by listening to Christmas music," Eddie replied, struggling to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"Well, I'm sorry. I'm just not in the mood for Christmas music right now." Aubrey's phone screen lit up as she unlocked it and scrolled to her podcast app.

"How can you not be in the mood?" Eddie said, his own voice climbing in pitch as he reached for the volume knob, hoping to crank it up just a little more. Maybe all she needed was a little more volume to get in the mood. Seriously though, when had that ever been the case?

Aubrey swatted his hand away from the volume controls and connected her phone's Bluetooth to the car's radio.

So much for Christmas spirit. Eddie could feel his frustration building. He didn't want to listen to Aubrey's podcast about the ethical ramifications of inserting neural implants in infants, which resumed playback mid-sentence.

...a lot we need to learn about the long-term consequences of altering a child's developing brain. Neural implants could have both positive and negative effects on cognitive development, personality, and behavior.

Eddie gave Aubrey a sidelong glance. He could feel his temper flaring and his temperature rising in spite of the freezing cold temperatures outside.

That's the thing. We just don't know yet. We need to conduct more research better to understand the risks and benefits of neural implants before they are used in infants.

"Can’t you just take a day off?" said Eddie. "Why are you insisting that we listen to this crap right now?"

"I already told you I have to give a presentation at work about this next week. I'm trying to stay familiar with the content," Aubrey said.

Eddie was looking at the reflection of Aubrey's phone in her eyes when his attention was suddenly redirected to the swirling snow in front of him as an air horn blared and a snowplow barreled past them on the highway. The truck's amber lights pulsed brightly as the truck moved into their lane, just at the edge of visibility, and as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared into the snowy maelstrom.

"Aubrey, I don't want to fight with you. It's just that you don't seem to know how to disconnect from work," said Eddie.

Eddie took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, regaining his composure. He reached over and put his hand on Aubrey's arm. "Please, Aubrey. You need to be able to take some time for yourself. Ever since Ezra..."

At the mention of their late infant son's name, Aubrey jerked her arm out of Eddie's reach.

"Don't be like that!" Eddie said, turning toward Aubrey, searching again for her eyes in the darkness.

The lights appeared out of nowhere. Eddie's gaze whipped back to the snowy scene in front of them, and he grasped the wheel with both hands, knuckles turning white with the strength of his grip. He twisted the wheel to the right in a vain attempt to swerve around the snowplow no more than three feet in front of them. The car lost its grip on the road with the sudden change in direction, and the vehicle began to spin, once... twice... three times. The spinning car slid across the right two lanes and plummeted down the embankment and into the snow-filled ditch, where it came to a wrenching halt.

Everything was silent. There were no horns blaring or sirens peeling. The car lay still, its front end firmly embedded in a snowbank. The headlights were completely obscured, so the only light came from the car's dashboard, and the red glow of the tail lights reflecting off the snow.

For several long minutes, neither Eddie nor Aubrey spoke. They simply sat, staring at the snowflakes that landed on the windshield.

Eddie forced his hands to release their grip on the steering wheel. His heart was pounding, and he could feel the adrenaline burning in his arms and legs.

"I... I didn't see... the plow must have... Are you OK?" said Eddie.

"What happened?" Aubrey asked as she raised her hand to her head, touching the spot where her head had impacted the window when the car started spinning. There wasn't any blood. That was good.

"Aubrey, I'm sorry," said Eddie.

"It's not your fault," said Aubrey.

"No. I'm sorry I called your podcast 'crap' I didn't mean it. You're really good at what you do, and it's because of the extra effort you put in," said Eddie. "It was selfish of me to insist that we listen to music instead."

"I was being selfish too," said Aubrey. "I guess I've just had a really hard time taking a break ever since Ezra passed. I feel like I always have to be busy because if I slow down for more than a minute, I just can’t stop thinking about him."

"I know. I’m sorry," said Eddie. "There isn't a day that goes by that I don’t wonder what our lives would be like if our little boy was still here with us." His voice was quiet - almost a whisper.

Aubrey turned in her seat to face Eddie and reached out her hand, which he took in his.

"I’m sorry for fighting with you," said Aubrey. "I realize now just how silly it was."

"You're right. I'm sorry too," said Eddie.

"Tonight has reminded me how precious our time together is because we don't know what tomorrow holds. Our lives could be snuffed out in an instant, and tonight, they almost were!" said Aubrey.

Silence enveloped the car once more. They sat in the cold car, hand in hand, both thinking about how insignificant their argument now seemed as they faced the reality of life's fragility. Neither could feel the cold, which might have been shock, but both felt warmed by a renewed sense of love toward one another. Until tonight, they hadn't admitted that they had been growing apart since the death of their infant son. But, with this second chance, Eddie and Aubrey realized that they still had so much to live for. They still had each other.

Eddie broke the silence. "GPS indicates that there's a gas station less than a mile down the road."

"Let's walk down there, warm up, and call for help," said Aubrey.

Eddie and Aubrey stepped out of the car into the pristine snow. The storm had cleared, and the night sky now sparkled with stars. They looked back at the way they had come. Snow was already covering the highway again. The tracks the car had made while spinning off the road, a reminder of the argument that nearly cost them their lives, had been erased by newly fallen snow.

Hand in hand, Eddie and Aubrey carefully ascended the embankment and began to walk down the dark road toward the safety of the gas station. As they walked, they agreed to leave their argument in the past and embrace the true spirit of the Christmas season: love, forgiveness, and the promise of a fresh start.

"Hey Alden, come join us at the party!" One classmate would say.

"Alden, join our club," another offered.

But he didn't know how to insert himself into the group whenever he arrived at these gatherings. It always seemed like the social order had already been set, and he wasn't a part of it. Alden would enter the room and sit at the back, careful not to make any noise for fear of disturbing the already hopping party or the deeply engaged conversation of the club meeting. He made himself small. He made himself invisible.

Later, his classmate would ask, "Hey, I didn't see you at the party. Did something come up?"

"No. No, I was there. It was great! I'm sorry I missed you." Alden's smile and cheerfulness were fake.

I was there. You didn't see me. You never came up to me or introduced me to your friends.

What Alden wasn't willing to admit was that he was afraid. He was scared of being rejected, so he never initiated a relationship by saying the first word or offering a handshake. He never introduced himself, thinking that letting others make the first move was better. And by doing so, he perpetuated his loneliness.

At the end of the day, he would return to his room and don his VR helmet. Alden had convinced himself that real people took no interest in him and that he could only be liked by his virtual friends.

Tonight's VR session began like all the others. The helmet's interior was dark, and then a thin line of light would blossom before his eyes into a realm of his imagination. He saw rolling hills and tall grasses blowing in the wind. In the distance, he could see the forest, whose trees were as tall as skyscrapers. The trunks of the trees were dotted with wicker basket-like homes, wooden stairways, and rope bridges. He looked down at his arms and saw the thin covering of fur and the porcupine-like bristles that started just behind his wrists.

About fifty yards before him, a group of young porcupine people were foraging for berries around a large bush containing the most delicious-looking purple berries.

I need to think of a better name for these people than 'porcupine-people,' Alden thought.

"Hello!" He called out to them, waving.

"Hello, friend!" Oliana called back. "Join us as we gather berries, and you can ride back to the village with us on our new winged contraption."

Isaak and Tavis stood apart from the group, holding long spears. They were clearly standing guard. They barely looked at him but kept surveying the grassland behind him, obviously wary of some unseen danger.

As Alden approached, he could see their "winged contraption" sitting in a clearing not far from the large berry-laden bushes. The craft was an intricately woven machine made of what appeared to be no more than sticks and leaves. Its wings were covered with translucent paper. The vessel was moored to the ground in several spots, and it was good that it was because it looked light enough to be easily blown away by the wind.

"Welcome back, Alden!" said Oliana as he drew near her. "It's so good to see you again."

"I'm happy to see you too, Oliana," Alden said. To himself, Alden wondered, Why is it so easy to talk to Oliana? Whenever I'm with her, I don't feel any of the anxiety and fear I usually do when interacting with others. What is it about her that makes me feel differently? Is it because Oliana isn't real? She can't reject me because she's just a computer game following her programming. Is that it?

He stood there watching his virtual friends gather baskets of berries when he had a sort of epiphany. It's because when I'm here, I take charge of my destiny. I accept that I am responsible for my actions and that nothing gets done without me having initiated things on my own. If only I could do the same in real life.

"System, pause program," said Alden, and the scene around him froze. He removed the helmet from his head and held it in his lap. The glow of several computer monitors was all that illuminated the real world around him.

Alden ran both hands through his hair and let out a sigh. "System, call Naamah Katz."

Calling Naamah Katz.

"Hi, Alden! I was just thinking about you." Naamah had always been kind to Alden. On several occasions, she had expressed an interest in participating in extracurriculars with Alden, and it seemed like he had always found a reason to decline politely. It wasn't that he didn't like her or didn't want to be around her. Quite the opposite. He'd been crushing on her for a while now, and he was afraid that if she got to know him, she wouldn't like him. He knew the time he spent in front of a computer could be off-putting. He knew that sometimes he got so wrapped up in creating his virtual worlds that he could forget his basic needs like eating or hygiene.

"I... I was wondering if your club was still meeting tomorrow after class." It was a shaky start, but he made sure to finish confidently.

"We are! We'll have a short meeting at 4:15 to discuss our goals for this week, and then it's heads-down as we work through coding needed to get our arm functioning," Naamah said with barely contained enthusiasm about her project.

Naamah's club was working on a robotic arm with a human-machine interface. They hoped to have several patents on the design of the arm and the code needed to translate neural signals into motor functions. There wasn't much she could share with him until he signed their non-disclosure agreement, but the little bit that she had shared hinted that they might be on the verge of a breakthrough in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. Her team of engineers had already won numerous awards in the field of robotics, and they had grand visions of bringing their technology to the field of prosthetics. The arm they were working on now would look nearly indistinguishable from a real human arm, but they needed help training it to respond to neural activity.

"Alden, your work with brain-computer interfaces would be a real asset to our project, but more than that, I think it would be great to have you on our team," said Naamah sincerely.

"I admit, I'm not great at working with a team," he confessed.

"Well, you can't stay cooped up in your room wearing that headset forever! It would make me really happy if you would work with us. Can I count on seeing you tomorrow afternoon?" Her voice was still kind and had a playfulness to it, but he could tell she wasn't just saying this - she really wanted him to be there.

"Let me think about... No. You can count on me. I'll be there." As their conversation ended and the call was terminated, Alden couldn't help but feel like he was turning a corner. The fear was still there, but he felt reassured knowing that Naamah wanted to include him in her work. Then, a strange thought crept into his mind: he looked forward to seeing her. He wanted to get to know her better. He knew about her scientific and engineering accomplishments, but he wanted to know her - as a person. As a friend.

Alden smiled and placed the VR helmet back on his head. He knew he had a lot of work to do to overcome his fears and to reduce his social awkwardness, but he was tired of playing the victim.

Tomorrow, he would embark on a new adventure. He wouldn't let fear keep him isolated in his apartment. He would become part of something that mattered. And most importantly, he would start this journey with a friend.

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I was inspired by this image that I found on Tumblr.

Nerd Stuff:

* Using Brain Waves to Control Computers and Machines

* Towards Brain-Computer Interface Control of a 6-Degree-of-Freedom Robotic Arm Using Dry EEG Electrodes

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The work that Aion was doing in the field of human-machine interfaces was precisely the type of work that Rowan needed to be involved in as he formulated an outline for his upcoming thesis. They were writing the book on the future of what it would look like to be human.

They had already successfully tested a neural implant in a chimpanzee that allowed it to learn English. They said it was reading and writing at a fifth-grade level and getting better daily.

Another division of the company was working with robotic hardware. They had already released prosthetics (arms and legs) nearly indistinguishable from the real thing in form, fit, and function.

Rowan's thoughts returned to today's class. At the end of the lecture, that jerk had taken his journal, which contained his notes, ideas, and sketches about how humans and machines might one day be merged into a bio-synthetic amalgamation.

He slumped down next to the bed, the sounds of Telomic playing in his headphones. The lights were off, but the city lights illuminated his room in a rhythmic pulse as vehicles passed by the brightly lit signs outside.

Rowan closed his eyes, and his music player slipped from his fingers onto the floor. As a glittering and persistent lightning bolt formed in the center of his vision, he knew a migraine was brewing. With a deep and calming breath, he imagined what it would be like to have a bio-synthetic body.

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One day, after a particularly lovely dinner, I walked Aaralyn home. It was a beautiful evening. The sun seemed to stop and rest right on the horizon, casting its warm glow over the city.

"I love this time of day," I said.

"So do I! I love the feel of the sun on my face," Aaralyn replied.

"Looks like we're almost to your apartment."

"Calix, would you come up for just a moment? I want to show you something."

Aaralyn and I had been going out for a few months now, and she had never invited me into her home. Actually, whenever the subject came up, I almost got the impression she was ashamed of where she lived. Of course, I knew that couldn't be the case when I found out which building she lived in. The Elysian Heights was one of the most desirable properties in the city, or at least it had been when I was growing up. I didn't really think about things like that anymore. I knew my financial limitations.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you, and it will be easier if I can just show you." Aaralyn squeezed my hand as we walked along the sidewalk. "It's not anything scandalous, I promise!"

When we arrived at her building, the doorman scanned our ID bracelets and allowed us to enter. We rode the elevator in silence. I have to admit, my heart was pounding out of my chest. I really didn't know what to expect. When we reached the thirty-sixth floor, we walked down the hall to her apartment. A bead of sweat formed on my temple.

"You're not going to kill me, are you?" I said with a nervous laugh. I really liked Aaralyn, but I realized at that moment that there was still a lot I didn't know about her.

Aaralyn led the way into a large room, and my eyes were immediately drawn to the enormous wall of windows that looked out over the city. The rest of the room was not at all what I envisioned. I imagined something clean and modern - everything in its place. What I saw instead looked more like a laboratory. There was a desk strewn with computers, papers, and coffee mugs. Wires were everywhere. Aaralyn shed her jacket and hopped up on her desk. She sat facing the large window, and the glow of the sun warmed her face.

Without any warning, she lifted her shirt over her head, and I immediately spun away, my cheeks turning bright red.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." I spluttered.

"It's OK," she interrupted. "This is what I wanted to show you."

I couldn't believe this was happening. I didn't think we were ready for this sort of thing.

"Turn around, Calix," she commanded softly.

I turned slowly, looking at the wires draped from the ceiling. I chose a blue wire and traced it with my eyes until its line curved away from the ceiling and toward the desk...

...where it was plugged into the base of Aaralyn's back. It appeared to connect directly to her spine! Her "skin" appeared to be made of a smooth, white plastic. Her chest and torso were composed of intricate pieces that allowed for flexibility.

"I'm not like the other girls, you know," she said quietly. "I was afraid to tell you because I wasn't sure how you would react. You're not freaking out, are you?"

To say that I was speechless was an understatement. It took me a few moments to understand what I was seeing. Aaralyn wasn't human. She was a Bio-Synth.

"You can come closer. I won't bite!" she said with a laugh.

I stepped closer and took her outstretched hand. She pulled me directly in front of her, and my shadow fell across her face, shielding her from the fading sun. As she looked at me, her irises began to glow a brilliant blue.

"Say something, Calix. Could you ever love a girl like me?" her voice was barely above a whisper.

In answer to her question, I slowly leaned forward and kissed her.

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Here is the prompt that generated the image above: A young Android woman sits on top of a table with her back turned to the viewer. A bundle of cables hangs from the ceiling and connects to the woman's neck. The room is cluttered with multiple desks that hold computers, a coffee pot, three mugs. The window looks out on a city at golden hour. The walls are cluttered with calendars, cork boards, diagrams of Android body parts.

I was inspired by this image that I found on Tumblr.

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The snow was falling in giant flakes that lazily drifted toward the street below. Their side-to-side motion was mesmerizing - almost hypnotic. The city lights had a particularly warm glow about them this evening, and having just come in from the cold, the warm feeling that rushed down over his body, from head to toe, was a welcome sensation. Apollo pulled the wooden chair from his desk, his finger brushing a spot of dust from the back of the chair.

He loved this chair - given to him by his grandfather some years ago. It was the chair his grandfather used to sit in as a young man, writing his stories on rough paper in a leather-bound book with a fountain pen given to him by his father before him. Apollo sat and picked up his grandfather's fountain pen from his desk. The weight of it in his hand was very satisfying.

He opened his journal and placed the pen on the page. The ink began to flow, but the words just wouldn't come out today.

So he wrote:

Cold snow. Warm lights. Warm thoughts. What else could I ask for?

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Music & SFX Attribution:

Winter Night - Sakura Girl https://soundcloud.com/sakuragirl_official, Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0, Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/3kGe3hP, Music promoted by Audio Library https://bit.ly/45ERdsR

Wheeled chair rolling.wav by jrhodesza: https://freesound.org/s/367144/ -- License: Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0

It's funny how you spend the whole day around food and somehow forget to eat. I guess I was just so wrapped up troubleshooting that piece of crap fridge unit that I lost track of time. Next thing I know, I'm handing the controls over to third shift.

It's not raining hard. Just a little more than a sprinkle, but I'm glad my umbrella wasn't stolen today. It took a week for the acid burns on my skin to clear up after the last rain.

Lenny looks bored. I don't think the guy ever leaves his stand.

"Hey, Lenny! How's business today?" I call across the street.

"Same." Lenny is a man of few words.

"The usual?" He offers.

"Yeah, that sounds great," I say as I make my way over.

A thought occurs to me as I cross the vacant street. It's been two years to the day since I last walked into Sakukido next door for a drink. I guess today isn't so bad after all.

I’d like to invite you to write your own piece of flash fiction based on this image. Set a timer for 10 minutes and see what you can come up with. Then, share a link to your story in the comments.

I sit with my back to the wall in a deserted doorway across the plaza, taking in this scene. I've been here for a few days now. I haven't anywhere else to go. Or any way to get there. I'm not certain that anyone has even taken notice of me.

I suppose it's time to find a new corner of this city to watch. I don't know. Maybe I'll stay here a while longer. I'll wait for the leaves to fall. I'll wait for the city to catch its breath.

OK, so this artist, Waneella, has some really cool pixel art. I originally discovered them on Tumblr, but you also find them on Instagram and YouTube (as well as a couple of other places). I did a cursory look through the YouTube channel, and it’s pretty cool. I definitely recommend subscribing if you like pixel art and eery music.

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I could only hear the sound of my own breathing and the beating of my heart. The batteries in my suit had failed, so the readouts on my wrist-mounted computer were no longer feeding me information about my location or my oxygen supply. I could feel exhaustion creeping in, clutching the back of my mind, dragging my eyelids closed. Footfall after heavy footfall, I plunged forward in search of my rover. Was it just around this next rock formation? Step. Breathe. Step. I laboriously lifted my eyes to the horizon. Were those men on horseback? How did I get here?

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He had arrived at the lookout earlier that afternoon so that he would have plenty of time to set up his equipment, and here it was dusk, and things still weren't working. Thankfully, the portable tokamak he had purchased at the discount shop was humming away at the edge of the clearing. The little device's power was more than enough to keep his gear working. In fact, he could power a small town with the small, trashcan-shaped object. If only he could get his telescope balanced!

Pete took a deep breath and stepped back, hoping that breathing in some of the fresh mountain air would help clear his mind and give him a new perspective on correcting his setup.

He looked up and could see the streaks of light racing across the sky. The meteor shower had already started. Pete breathed in deeply again and decided that rather than fight his gear through the whole event, he would sit back and take it all in.

Pete sat down in his creaky lawn chair and sipped from his tumbler-filled ice-cold sweet tea.

"Ahh! That's good stuff!" Pete said to no one in particular.

"Sometimes you just have to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show."

So, he sat back and looked up...

...as the stars began to fall.

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The light on the desk still pulsed gently, indicating an awaiting message that no one was likely ever to see. The screen on the surface of the desk still displayed the last message:

I don't know if you'll ever see this, but I wanted to at least try to say goodbye. That's right. I'm leaving you. You rarely come home, and when you do, it's like you're not even there. You don't see me. You don't talk to me. I can't live like this anymore. Goodbye, Mark. I loved you once. - Sandy

The melancholy message seemed right at home in this dreary place. The darkness in the corners of the office seemed tangible. The glow from the desk and the windows fought against that darkness, but they could not win. Darkness seemed to be taking over everything down here. And the rain... never stopped.

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I was working from home today, so I stepped to the window of my office. It’s not uncommon for the neighbor’s dogs to go a little haywire when they come outside, but this level of frenzy seemed unusual. My view from the office window wasn’t at quite the right angle, so I walked to the back door to investigate further.

To my surprise, it wasn’t the neighbor’s dog at all, but my own! Normally, she is so well-behaved!

I opened the door and stepped out into the backyard. I immediately noticed the long trench culminating in a large pile of dirt in the center of the yard where the dog was digging frantically.

Maybe she was chasing a groundhog? As I stepped to the edge of the hole, I could see that there was something in the hole, nearly covered by the soil. Its metal surface looked like a pipe of some sort, then I noticed the small window. The dog was trying desperately to excavate the object, and her paws seemed to be focused on the little window.

With some soothing, I was able to calm the poor animal and get her to back away from the object long enough for me to get a look at it. The space around the object was beginning to fill with water.

My mind just wasn’t putting the pieces together yet. In spite of the water bubbling up around the object, I could see a face in the tiny window. There were two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. This was not a human face, nor was it the face of any animal I had ever seen before.

As I stared on in disbelief, the creature began to gesture. Instinctively, I took it to mean, “Back away!”

With a hum, the object began to rise out of the dirt.

Once the object was clear of the hole, water began to shoot out of the ground. The stream of water sprayed at least thirty feet into the air, and as if that wasn’t enough to occupy my attention, the little saucer that just popped out of the ground began to blink tiny lights around its circumference. I could only assume this was an attempt to communicate, but I didn’t have the first clue what it meant.

My dog gave a little whimper and began to back away, so naturally, I did the same. A small beam of light projected from the tiny craft pointed at the base of the geyser. Then the strangest thing started happening! A sphere of energy began to grow around the water, expanding like a water balloon until it was about four feet in diameter. The sphere now contained the water that was shooting up into the air!

As the remnants of the water that was in the air continued to rain down on us, the little saucer gave a friendly beep and started to playfully dart around the yard, projecting red laser lights on the fence. My dog was loving it! She chased those lights around, and the poor thing looked so confused when they would jump from one fence to another.

The fun ended abruptly when six tiny pyramids appeared out of thin air. They were about one foot long on a side and looked to be made of obsidian, with edges so sharp, they looked like they would cut you if you touched them.

Each craft made menacing sounds as though they were preparing to pounce. They surrounded me, the dog, and the little saucer, which now hovered only a few feet away from us. Our little friend surrounded the three of us with a sphere of energy, like the one containing the water, only larger so that we would fit within it. Not a moment too soon either, because the six little pyramids opened fire on the little saucer. There were laser beams and tiny rockets, and other projectiles, all of which were completely halted by the energy shield surrounding us. It was like something out of a movie, the laser beams didn’t reflect, they just hovered there.

A horn blast sounded directly overhead. It was a deep, almost guttural sound so that the waves of the sound were nearly visible in the air. It was a long, low blast, and the power of it shook the windows of all of the nearby houses to the point of shattering.

The six pyramid-looking spaceships needed no further warning, and they darted off in six different directions. As I watched them flee, I could see the wind pick up rather dramatically, but it looked as though the wind was blowing in every direction at once! A bright light shone from directly above us, and I shielded my eyes in an attempt to see its source.

An enormous saucer now occupied the sky above us! The light came from an opening in the center of the bottom of the craft, which presently was still opening like a camera’s shutter. Our little friend gave a series of genial-sounding tones, and I looked over to see the tiny creature waving to me through the window of his craft. The little ship began to float upward toward the huge spacecraft, and the dog jumped up and barked as if to say, “Don’t go!” It took only a few moments for the little guy to disappear into the bowels of the larger craft. The illuminated opening, irised closed, and the huge ship rose swiftly upward and out of sight.

I looked around the backyard as though, for the first time, surveying the damage. There was a hole in the back fence where presumably the small craft had passed through before hitting the ground, digging a long trench through my yard to the mound of dirt where the damage terminated.

…where there was a sphere of energy containing a swirling mass of water!

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Today’s story was written in response to Fictionistas June Flashy Fiction prompt. To read other great stories written by some of the best people on Substack, click the Read More button just below. You’ll find links to all of the stories in the comments section of that post.

The Prompt:

Your dog has dug a large hole in your backyard and is losing their mind about what’s inside. You look in the hole and know instantly that you will be on the news.

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P.S. It’s OK to laugh at the images in this story. Obviously, these are AI-generated, and they’re not very good. I spent about as much time trying to generate these images as I did writing the story! Some results had me scratching my head, and others were just hilarious.

Out here, everything is trying to kill you. The cold. The radiation. The vacuum. The lack of basic resources like air and water.

They say that water is the most important resource for sustaining life.

They’re right.

This is something you don’t truly have an appreciation for until you find yourself in an environment where water is nonexistent. That’s why Rex decided to become an ice hauler. Instead of going to university back on Luna like his mother wanted, he bought a one-way ticket to Mimas, one of Saturn's nearly one hundred moons.

So, here’s the thing. Mimas is entirely made of water. Unfortunately, the CEO of Keeler Ice Company, the governing body on Mimas, decided that harvesting water from the moon’s mass should be unlawful, which means water has to come from somewhere else. Lucky for us, not only are the rings of Saturn full of water, but so are many of its moons.

SOL SYSTEM NEWS:

Frozen Treasure Thieves: Pirates Steal Massive Ice Blocks for Mysterious Purpose

Swashbuckling Pirates Plunder Ice Supply, Leaving a Chilling Crisis

Chilling Crime Wave: Pirates Steal Tons of Precious Ice

“This is Tenacity, requesting permission for launch,” said Rex.

“Tenacity, you are go for launch.”

“Acknowledged.”

Rex engaged his thrusters and moved the Tenacity away from its docking berth. After three years of making ice runs between the tiny moon, Mimas, and the rings of Saturn, Rex was beginning to feel a bit restless - the monotony of the job was starting to wear on him. Of course, this job wasn’t without its challenges or its dangers. Ice haulers who ventured out without the proper training had been known to maneuver their ships into deadly places in an attempt to snag what appeared to be an easy target. Finding yourself stuck between two chunks of ice the size of habitats could result in you and your ship being flattened to an unrecognizable wafer.

“Tenacity, this is Samurai, come in.” Lucy was an excellent ice hauler. She had started the same day as Rex but was obviously the more skilled pilot.

“Samurai, I read you loud and clear. How’s the weather in your part of the neighborhood today?” A smile formed on Rex’s face every time he spoke with Lucy, which was almost every day since Lucy always volunteered to fly support for him. Rex tried not to make it too obvious, but he always looked for Lucy’s name on the job board and would sign up to fly support for her as well, as long as someone else hadn’t already snagged the spot. If Rex was honest with himself, he had a bit of a crush on Lucy, which made him think of the crushed-ice snack that was Lucy’s favorite. He thought she was crazy for enjoying crushed ice so much, especially seeing as she was surrounded by the stuff so much of her life. And then he thought about how, just last week, poor Carlos had been crushed by the very ice he was trying to haul back to the station. The smile faded from Rex’s face.

“The stars look beautiful as ever, Tenacity!” said Lucy.

Lucy loved being in space. She thought the stars looked like diamonds scattered on a black cloth. It reminded her of a piece of classical music that was popular back on Earth over one hundred years ago that was sung by a group of musicians - oh, what was their name? - it was some kind of insect…

The smile returned to Rex’s face as he thought about what Lucy liked to call “classical music.”

SOL SYSTEM NEWS:

Water Crisis Grips Asteroid Belt Settlements: Colonists Struggle for Survival

Asteroid Belt Settlers Held Hostage by Ice Price Inflation

Profit Over Life: Asteroid Belt Colonies Struggle as Ice Prices Skyrocket

After only a few hours journey, the Tenacity and Samurai reached the outermost rings of their host planet, Saturn. Despite flying this route hundreds of times, Rex still marveled at the view. The giant planet's rings extended like a vast plane, stretching more than 65,000km in front of him. This side of Saturn was currently illuminated by the sun, and the light cast filtering through the rings cast an incredible set of shadows across the planet.

“Tenacity, I think I see a candidate on the scopes. I’m going in for a closer look.” Lucy’s ship veered away from the Tenacity and shot like a bullet toward the chunks of ice that make up Saturn’s rings.

“Good hunting, Samurai. I’ll stay within a few hundred klicks of you.” Rex’s gaze drifted up from the rings to the planet, wondering what secrets were concealed within those clouds.

The job is relatively simple. Fly to the rings. Cut a 10-ton chunk of ice from a larger chunk of ice. Bring the ice back to the station on Mimas. Oh, and don’t die. And don’t get caught by pirates. That’s right. Ice Pirates. Rex thought the idea of Ice Pirates sounded like a bad science fiction movie. He'd seen other ships in his three years as an ice hauler, but they had always kept to themselves. He knew that the Keeler Ice Company had at least ten ships on mission at any one time. That helped provide a constant stream of ice, which was transported in-system to any number of stations in the asteroid belt.

“Samurai, I think I’ve spotted my target for today. I’m going to settle in and make the cut.” Rex maneuvered his ship in close to what looked like a 100-ton iceberg. The Tenacity was equipped with four manipulator arms, each with claw-like grips and a powerful laser. Rex used two of the arms to grab hold of the ice block while the other two arms started cutting a large chunk free from the rest of the body of ice. When the first two arms were finished with their cut, they would clamp onto the ice block, and the other two arms would make a similar cut, eventually breaking the block free.

“Tenacity, I think I might have a problem over here.”

“What’s going on, Samurai?”

“It might be nothing, but I thought I saw something on my scope. Wait, there it is again!” Rex could hear the stress creeping into Lucy’s voice.

“Samurai, I’m on my way,” Rex said as he hit the emergency release button, sending the ten-ton block of ice floating free. Thankfully, protocol calls for a marker to be placed on recently cut ice cubes so that they can quickly be relocated in the event they must be dropped when one pilot is required to assist another.

Rex engaged his thrusters and shot toward the Samurai with incredible speed.

“Tenacity! Rex, it’s scavengers!”

“I’m on my way, Lucy. Try to stay calm,” said Rex as he felt his heart trying to beat out of his chest. He had really grown fond of Lucy and was finally working up the courage to ask her out on a date. A real date - something more than shaved ice. He couldn’t let anything happen to her.

Rex could see the Samurai on the visible light scope now.

“Lucy, I’m 60 seconds out. What’s happening?!”

“Tenacity,” Lucy replied, her voice now calm, “he’s gone. I think I’m ok. He disappeared as quickly as he appeared.”

“I’m glad you’re ok,” Rex said, sighing a breath of relief.

Several loud clangs reverberated through the Tenacity, and the little ship shook violently from the impacts. Rex’s screens lit up in multiple places, indicating damage to the ship’s hull. He reached up and turned a small crown on his visor, quickly cycling through the exterior camera views.

When he saw the scavenger ship that had attached itself to the Tenacity, a mixture of emotions flashed through Rex’s mind in an instant: fear for himself and for Lucy, anger that these thieves would try to take what did not belong to them, betrayal - as it became clear what was happening.

“Don’t resist, Rex,” came Lucy’s calm voice through his comm. “We need the ice. Just let us have it. You can always cut more.”

We… Us…

Lucy is one of them! Rex couldn’t believe it. The girl he had trained with, worked with, and fallen in love with, had just betrayed him. For three years, he believed that she was his friend. He believed that they could become something more.

“Rex.” Lucy’s voice came through the comm again, but this time, instead of savoring the sound of it, her voice cut him, her betrayal slicing through his heart.

Rex’s chest hurt, and he was having difficulty breathing. As his vision tunneled, he continued to struggle with the controls, trying to break free from his captor.

“Rex, listen to me.”

“You led them here! Didn’t you?!” Rex exclaimed as the initial shock began to wear off. “You’re helping them steal the ice from us and putting Keeler pilots in danger.”

“Rex, we never intentionally hurt anyone. That’s just misinformation from the Keeler head office. I know this seems hard to believe right now, but we’re helping millions of people. Keeler is keeping ice prices low on Mimas so that we will think everything is okay. Meanwhile, they slap a 10,000% markup on all of the ice being sent inward to the asteroid colonies. Those people have so little to begin with, do you really think they can afford 1,000 credits per liter of water?” Lucy’s voice was at the same time gentle and passionate. Rex sensed that she really believed that she was doing the right thing.

“But, you’re stealing ice from the company,” Rex replied as his mind spun. You’re endangering the livelihood of all our pilots.”

“Rex, listen to me. I agree with you that stealing is wrong, but isn’t that akin to what Keeler is doing? They are lying to us by presenting us with a reasonable price and then gouging everyone else in the system. Keeler is actively endangering millions living in the asteroid belt.”

“So, you see yourselves as a type of Robin Hood? Stealing from the rich to feed the poor. Is that it?” Rex’s voice took on an unusually high pitch.

“Is it really stealing if you are liberating a *free* resource from someone who is using their access to that resource to control the lives of others?” Lucy said with some irritation creeping into her tone. Surely, Rex wasn’t that naive.

SOL SYSTEM NEWS:

Keeler Ice Company Accused of Predatory Pricing, Freezing Out Competitors

Public Outrage Grows as Keeler’s Predatory Pricing Grips the Market

Keeler Ice Company Faces Backlash for Unfair Pricing, Consumers Left Out in the Cold

The Samurai was now nearly nose-to-nose with the Tenacity, and Rex could see Lucy through the canopy. He wrenched on the controls once more, and with a loud scraping sound, the Tenacity broke free.

Alarms immediately sounded, indicating that the Tenacity was losing air pressure. As he reached for his helmet, Rex quickly scanned the outside of the ship through his canopy and saw the jet of air above him. The air acted as a thruster, pushing the Tenacity downward toward the vast field of ice.

Rex tried to regain control, but the damage that caused the air leak must also have damaged his attitude control jets. He needed to think fast. If he couldn’t stop the ship, it would take him into the ice field and into the path of the massive ice blocks. He did not want to end up like Carlos.

The alarms were very quiet now, which meant that his air was nearly gone.

The crash was silent due to the lack of air, but the impact was bone-jarring. At first, Rex couldn’t see what he’d hit, but the impact changed his trajectory, causing the Tenacity to spin. As the ship completed its first backflip, the giant block of ice came into view. Rex knew he had to act quickly. If the ship’s canopy smashed into the ice, it could irreparably damage his ejection capability.

Rex reached for the yellow and black striped handle between his legs and pulled with all of his strength. The canopy noiselessly exploded away from the ship, and suddenly, he was rocketing further into the ice field. Had he waited a fraction of a second longer, he would have ejected directly into the ice cube and to his certain death.

Rex became aware of a ringing in his ears, and as it faded, he realized that Lucy was still talking to him.

SOL SYSTEM NEWS:

Reginald Keeler III, Ice Industry Tycoon, Cries Foul Over False Price Gouging Allegations

Sensationalist Rumors: Reginald Keeler, Wealthy Businessman, Denies Crying Amidst Price Gouging Claims

Fake News Exposed: Reginald Keeler, a.k.a. the Iceman, Remains Resolute Amidst Baseless Price Gouging Accusations, No Tears Shed

“Try to stay calm, Rex. I’m on my way to get you!” Lucy’s voice was in his helmet - calm but with an edge of anxiety.

Rex felt like he was in a dream. One of those dreams where everything is surreal and beautiful until you realize that you’re about to die. Being out here, just above the ice field, but without a ship, was definitely a surreal feeling.

His thoughts lost in the ice, Rex was startled when the red wedge of Samurai’s nose crept into view just below him.

One of the Samurai’s manipulator arms extended and grabbed hold of the back of Rex’s ejection seat.

Rex breathed a sigh of relief. Death would have to wait for him a little longer.

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The Xl'ti were tall and powerful. Their skin glistened, making it look as though their bodies coursed with electricity. Sam spied around the corner, looking for any way to reach the ornate device in the center of the room that held more than a dozen, gleaming, red crystals. The two Xl'ti were standing next to the device. Their six-fingered hands tuned the crystals using what appeared to be glowing symbols in the air. Sam had never seen anything so beautiful in his life. But also knew the destructive power contained within the device.

In a crouch, Sam turned into the hotel's kitchen, searching the counters and shelves for a knife or other kitchen implements he could use as a weapon. He had a gun, but he knew that if he used it, he would attract every Xl'ti on the block to his location. If he did that, there was no way he would get out alive. It was critical to the Resistance that he secured as many of the crystals as possible. He didn't understand how they worked, but he knew that they were the key to defeating the demons.

A loud hum, like electricity burning the air, sounded in Sam's ears, and he knew that the device had been activated. The ground began to shake. The walls of the hotel vibrated, and the building groaned as though it was threatening to collapse. Pots and pans rattled in the kitchen and cutlery moved toward the edge of the counter until falling to the floor. Sam reached out and grabbed a large knife that had fallen to the floor next to him. He resumed his crouched positioned and made for the door at the far end of the kitchen.

The sounds of crying wafted in the air, barely audible over the sound of the device's hum. Sam's heart, already beating too fast, skipped a beat as he realized the Xl'ti must have children locked away in the rooms of the hotel. What could he do to help them? He was only one man! The realization that he could not save them made his stomach churn and he tasted bile.

He peered around the edge of the door, toward the hotel's lobby where the device sat. The crystals were glowing, energy pulsing outward from the device in spherical waves. One of the Xl'ti was walking down the hallway toward the sounds of the children. With one eye, he surveyed the rest of the room. Where was the other demon?

Knowing that this would be his only chance, Sam left the relative safety of the kitchen doorway and moved out into the lobby. As he approached the device, he could feel the waves of energy, pushing against him like a strong hand. Determined, he forced himself to get closer to the device until he could reach one of the crystals.

Sam snatched the crystal from its cradle in the device. Relaxing for a moment, the waves of energy now knocked him backward. He turned over to his hands and knees and used a pulse of energy from the device to help propel him forward. He took off at a run toward the stairwell. The hotel was only a modest three stories tall, and the waves from the alien device helped push him up the stairs, two at a time. As he rounded the second corner and began to ascend the second floor, he risked a glance back down the stairwell. One of the demons was passing through the doorway into the stairwell, slowly and calmly ascending the stairs, two of its six wings open behind it.

A burst of adrenaline urged Sam to bolt up the remaining stairs. He burst through the door at the rooftop and ran to the edge of the building. He struggled to wrap his mind around the scene he was seeing unfold before him.

The Xl'ti device generated a spherical globe of energy that cut an entire city block out of the ground. The hotel was located at the edge of the area that they were lifting into the sky. Sam was thinking that there must be other devices in buildings around the perimeter of the floating island when the demon reached the rooftop and proceeded toward Sam, a brass object in its hand. Sam turned to face the Xl'ti, his feet at the building's edge. He stole a glance down the side of the building again and this time he could see water gushing from pipes and sewer lines.

As the Xl'ti approached it activated the brass device and it became a sword of flame. It was close enough to Sam now that the heat of it brought beads of sweat to his brow. With a pang of guilt at not being able to rescue the children, Sam reached over his shoulder and released the crystal he still held in his hand. As though drawn by magnetism, the crystal seated itself in a cradle in the center of the pack Sam wore on his back. The fiery blade was now inches from Sam's face. Sam took a deep breath as though he were about to plunge into deep water, and stepped off the edge of the building, which was now a thousand feet from the ground.

The crystal in Sam's pack hummed to life. Waves of relief pulsed through Sam in time with the energy now pulsing from the pack down past his feet. The device he wore on his back acted against the pull of gravity and lowered him gently to the ground below as the island above continued to ascend.

Today’s story was written for Fictionista’s May “Let’s Write Together” prompt:

Your enemies have backed you against the edge of a cliff. Far below you is a treacherous torrent of water. What happens next?

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It’s been a year since the creatures arrived. We still don’t know what they call themselves since their language has yet to be deciphered. For lack of a better term, I call them demons because they look like angels, but they certainly have not come in peace.

The demons have technology that looks like magic to me. They have devices that gouge great swaths of land right out of the ground and lift them into the sky like floating islands. It’s from these islands that they stage attacks on nearby cities.

It’s difficult to say whether these creatures require any sleep because I can see them flying around their islands during the day. But at night, they swoop down into the city, their fiery swords blazing, and they wreak havoc. They seem to be able to see through walls, and their swords can cut through stone and metal, so no hiding place is safe. When they come, they damage homes and buildings, automobiles, and even lampposts and mailboxes. The carnage they caused seemed indiscriminate at first, but soon I realized that what they were really after was our children. They come at night to take our children.

I hop down from the tree branch from which I’ve been scouting the demon’s activity and return to the house. Nelson has left food out for me, for which I’m grateful. I wonder, though, if the milk he left out for me has begun to sour, as there’s a particularly ripe aroma emanating from its container.

I pad quietly from the kitchen, down the short hall, to the study where Nelson is seated at the desk, hunched over, head in his hands. Before him lay the plans for his latest invention. On top of the blueprints was a letter, which had obviously been crumpled and re-flattened. When I reached the corner of the desk, I saw the beginning of the letter.

Dear Dr. Daniels,

We regret to inform you that you have been dismissed from the laboratory, effective immediately. Unfortunately, it seems that your values no longer align with those of our distinguished, scientific community, and therefore the board has come to the unanimous conclusion that…

I didn’t need to read any further to know that this wasn’t good. Nelson is a good man and a better scientist. It’s not his fault that since the demons arrived, he has been seeing visions.

“Oh, Charlie. I didn’t hear you come in,” said Nelson as he lifted his face from his hands. “Has there been any change to the demon’s activity?”

None.

“I don’t suppose there has. I imagine they are preparing for their nightly raid. Last time I looked out the window, I’d swear those creatures had come nearly as far as Melrose and Maywood.”

Our little home sits just outside the township of Elmhurst, Illinois. Each night, as we look to the East, we can see the demons plunging down from their islands, flaming swords in hand. We can hear the gas line explosions and see the plumes of fire and smoke rise into the sky. When the wind is just right, we can hear the screams. That’s the worst part. You get numb to the destruction, but the screams pierce through to some inner part of you that doesn’t allow you to forget them.

“Why can’t I see the whole picture?! What good are these visions if they don’t give me everything,” exclaimed Nelson hoping his frustration might trigger another vision.

Last night, Nelson had one of his visions. They seem to be revealing to him the plans for some sort of device, but the images he sees in his mind’s eye are incomplete. As I lay nearby on the couch in the study, he had described the blind spot in his vision as the aura of a migraine. There was a blurry lightning-bolt-shaped and zebra-striped blockage in his vision directly ahead, so he had to carefully focus on what he could see around the blind spot. He has received eighty-three of these visions so far, and each time he has carefully sketched out what he could see. Unfortunately, there was a hole in the center of the sketch where the heart of the device was clearly missing.

A knock came at the front door of the house. I ran down the hall and leaped onto the back of the sofa to peer through the curtains. Though I strained, I couldn’t make out the man’s face.

Nelson arrived at the door and turned the latch.

“George. What’s going on? Have they made a move in this direction?” I could hear the concern in Nelson’s voice.

“Evening Professor,” said George. I realize now that I should have recognized him, if not for his face, for his build, since George’s walking route as our local mailman brought him to our doorstep every afternoon. I suppose it was the unusual lateness of the hour that prevented me from recognizing the man.

“Reports show that the demons are slowly moving in this direction. We expect that they will hit Elmhurst within the next two days.” George continued in a tone lacking his usual geniality.

“What can I do to help?” Nelson said as he motioned for the man to enter the house. “Would you care for anything to drink? I can offer you a glass of water.”

“That would be great. Thank you, Professor.”

The folks about town had come to know Dr. Nelson Daniels as the Professor because of his relationship with the University of Chicago and the work he had been doing in their lab.

“George, what brings you by at this hour?”

“I came to show you something. One of our scouts to Maywood found something that you’ve got to see to believe.” George pulled a satchel from his shoulder and laid it carefully on the dining room table. He opened the flap and gingerly pulled an object, wrapped all in paper, from the bag.

“What is it?” Nelson inquired as he accepted the object from George, who held the package in his outstretched hand.

“See for yourself.”

Nelson unwrapped the object, revealing a metal cylinder. It was nondescript, bearing no markings save one that appeared to be precisely engraved in one end of the cylinder.

“Is it from the Orient?” Asked George. “Do you suppose they’re working with the demons?”

“No. No, I don’t think so. This symbol isn’t like any Chinese symbol I’ve ever seen before,” said Nelson, turning the object in his hands. The smooth, metal object appeared to be nothing more than a piece of brass stock that might be obtained from a local hardware store, that is until Nelson’s thumb was pressed firmly upon the symbol merely by accident.

“Ouch!” Nelson exclaimed, dropping the object to the floor with a heavy thud. A drop of blood appeared in the center of his thumb. The object let off a soft, orange glow from the end that possessed the strange symbol, and then, without making so much as a whisper, the object changed its shape. In the blink of an eye, it went from being nothing more than a cylinder to a highly decorated and polished hilt. Yes, that’s what it looked like - the hilt of a sword!

“Do you like it?” George exclaimed excitedly. I told you that you wouldn’t believe it until you saw it. Sorry about not warning you about the prick to your thumb.”

“It’s quite alright. Where did you say you got this from?”

“Our scout found it in a Maywood alley, behind a small diner,” said George. “Apparently, it was dropped by a demon who had landed behind the diner to investigate some movement. You know by now that they’ve come for our children. Well, this one probably thought it was going to take home a prize, but instead, it received quite a surprise, if you ask me. The movement it had noticed was nothing more than an alley cat, and the cat, mistaking the demon for dinner, leaped from a nearby dumpster and made quick work of the demon’s wings. Imagine a cat climbing the curtains. It made quite a mess of the thing. So, while it was distracted, our scout snuck out of the shadows and shot the beast right between the eyes. Blew its head clean off! Electric blue blood spattered every which…”

“George! I think I’ve heard enough of the gory details. Tell me. Is this what I think it is?” Nelson said as he retrieved the hilt from the floor. As he picked up the device, he turned it over in his hands again, appreciating the fine handiwork of some unknown craftsman. This time, he noticed something new about the object. A red crystal, as red as any ruby from a fancy jewelry store, was embedded in the hilt. Nelson gripped the hilt as he would a sword and then, on a hunch, pressed the crystal with his thumb.

A tingle, like that of an electric shock, ran down Nelson’s arm, focusing on his thumb. He imagined that had his thumb been lifted from the crystal at that moment, he may have actually seen a spark pass from his body to the jewel. From the brass hilt, a flame shot outward, coming impossibly close to George’s face. The man recoiled from the sudden heat of the fiery blade with an undignified yelp.

“Did you know it was going to do that, George?”

“Of course not!” I had no idea it was anything other than a piece of brass. We suspected it was made by the demons, which is why I brought it to you to inspect.”

“I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

“No, not at all. Just startled me a bit, is all.”

Experimentally, Nelson tapped the crystal again, and the flame vanished. I watched all of this from the couch with great interest and some amusement at the mailman nearly losing half his mustache. I wish there were more I could do to help; as Nelson often says, I am his best assistant. But I’m no good at math, and my penmanship looks like something written by a stray cat.

“Ughh…” Nelson groaned.

“Are you all right, Professor?” George inquired - a look of concern washing over his face.

“I’ll be fine. It’s just these cursed migraines. I can feel another one coming on.”

“Is there anything that I can do to help?”

“No, I’ll be alright.”

“I’ll leave you to rest then. Stay safe, Professor.” And with that, George disappeared into the night.

Nelson walked over to the couch and sat down with a plop. He leaned back and reclined his head on the back of the sofa, his eyes tightly closed.

“It is starting to really hurt, Charlie,” Nelson said in my direction.

Is there anything I can do to help? I asked, but I could tell he was having vision number eighty-four. I hoped that this time he could see the missing part of the device that was being revealed to him in his visions.

To be continued…