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The wind blew slowly over the field of tall grass. Bending the endless reeds to its will. Insects buzzed noisily around in search of a mate in the sea of growth and buzzing. Buds grew off every small stem giving color to the valley. The clouds almost touched land at the horizon they still had a pink tint from the setting sun. I had never witnessed such beauty, well earth’s beauty. I didn’t know such places still existed. That despite the age of knowledge and technology that some still found pleasure and refuge in tending to the fragile earth that they called home. As I looked around small hills rose up around me, some men where at work at one taking dirt from a hole dug into the side. As far as I could tell it was hard labor but they didn’t seem to mind, in fact they seem peaceful, contented, happy. How could they be happy? If I were doing such hard labouris work I would not be happy, I would not welcome it. But maybe it is because I have never been asked to do such things. “Suzi?” I turned at my name, “Yes, what is it,” I answered politely. “Would you like to sleep in the hut they are building? They said they would let us spend the night and help us get back to the spaceport in the morning.” I nodded “That would be fine mother,” I responded coolly accepting that it was not a question but an order. She smiled and went on her way. I turned back to the hill that was being dug out, the hill that would serve as our shelter tonight. “Hey Ship girl, how do you like it here on earth?” A boy asked rudely. “It is nothing like the hologram, it’s more…” I stopped for I didn’t know the proper word to answer. “Well ship girl a hologram cannot compare to the real thing, no fake thing could, and neither could a fake person.” He mocked; I ignored his shots and smiled. “I agree no fake things could compare to this, and no fake person.”
A shout came from over the hill “Jason look Billy and Bluto have the plane running,”
The boy jumped and ran toward the voice. I watched him for a moment before chasing after him, even if I was afraid. What could a plane be? I had never heard of such a thing. A buzzing noise rose above all other sounds to the exception of the whooping. I could see the boy running to see all the commotion his arms began to flail in the air, I didn’t realize that anyone these days would prance like he did. But as I began to see the reason for the commotion I saw things I had never seen before. The boy took a girl by the hands and swung her around in a rhythm. She seemed to understand it and began to flow like a white dove around him. Some of the others bounced about hand in hand shouting and yelling. For a moment I thought they were in some kind of earthly rage and I didn’t know if the boy was going to become violent as it was said that earthmen could. But after a moment I realized that they were far from rage but happy. Even though I did not understand all that was going on a smile emerged on my face. My eyes caught the boys his smile turned into a gawk. I only realized then that he was not actually looking at me at all. I turned to see a buzzing whirlwind come over me knocking me over. I rolled over to look at the others who were clapping as the strange metallic thing passed over them. “Way to go Billy!” one of them shouted to the person in the object. I clambered down to the rest of the group “What is that thing?” I inquired trying not to let my voice show my terror. “It’s only a plane scaredy-cat,”
“What is a plane?”
“People in space really don’t read about earth history.”
“No, it is forbidden.”
“Is it forbidden to have a sense of humor too?” The girl took a shot at me.
“It is not necessary for us to have an emotional response to everything that confronts us, the control of emotions is something we are very proud of.”
“Sounds really boring.” The boy mocked.
“Don’t you do anything exciting?” the girl teased,
“I don’t need to explain my culture to you.” I retorted with all the politeness I could muster.
“Suzi, enough chatter.” Mother seized control before my emotions got the better of me. I nodded and went to her side. “Come,” she said, “Let us go and eat dinner in the hut.”
“May I take a scan? To remember,” I inquired.
“Quickly, or the food will already be cold.”
I pressed the button on my necklace and scanned everything around me all the reeds bushes and hills. I scanned as I went along. I wanted to relive this place when I left. I stopped scanning when I got to the hut. As I entered I saw that the sides that had been dug out had been covered in a wrap that was covered by thin carpet. I did not like the feel of the carpet it was rough and scratchy. The hut itself was relatively spacious, a small dining and living area, two beds on either end of the hut separated by curtains and twin bedside tables. Closets had been dug out and covered with a simple metal rack attachment. In the dining area a lush layout of food had been prepared and presented. Smells of roasted beef and stemmed and buttered vegetables wafted about. Mother sat down first and I went to her side she took my hand and said a quiet grace to the food. I served her what she asked and poured a glass of water for good measure. She thanked me and bid me go away. I went to the bed and lay down as she ate. My eyes wondered the room but stayed far from the table where she sat, I noticed a small window had been shaped into the side of the hut. I saw movement in the window and saw two or three pairs of eyes peek inside. I sat up trying to get a better look at who was spying. It was the boy and girl the ones who had mocked me. They watched intently as mother ate slowly and silently. Some indiscernible whispers reached my ears and I guessed they wondered at the ritual of elders. One of them saw me watching them and warned the other. After that they seemed to disappear. “Your turn Suzi,” Mother stood and gestured it was my chance to eat. I sat down at the table while mother lay down. I ate quietly as to not disturb her sleep. When I finished I prayed and stood. “Take a walk Suzi,” mother said as I began to walk toward the empty bed. “Yes, mother.” I nodded. I stepped out of the hut and proceeded into the night path beyond. Night animals went about their business in search of a nibble. Their squeaks could be heard everywhere. I followed the path toward the strange light. Truly it wasn’t a light at all but an orange yellow glow, a flicker of warmness that also gave light. I noticed that it wasn’t a single light but four scattered randomly about, I take that back not really random but they were scattered around a large building, a shamble of wood and mud long since abandon. People surrounded the light, they were talking and moving and doing the thing I had seen before holding hands and moving. Such a thing would have never been permitted in space. And even though I knew there was something wrong about it, it still looked exciting. It was odd that they surrounded the building but never entered it. “What are YOU staring at?” A voice questioned. I turned to see the boy again. “I don’t know…” I answered honestly. He stared at me suspiciously then said, “You don’t know?”
“Yes, I don’t understand what’s happening, I saw you doing those things earlier but I still don’t know what it is. That and that light what is it? Where does it get the light? How did it get there? How is it made? Why is it warm?” I stopped before my imagination made me ask something outrageous.
“It’s a fire.” He answered. “It is heat, and light. I don’t know how to explain it. We made the fire with gasoline and wood.”
“Isn’t gasoline a banned substance?”
“Not on earth.”
“Oh, that is interesting.”
“And the thing they’re doing its called dancing,”
“Dancing, what is dancing?”
“Moving rhythmically to music following a sequence of steps.” Mothers voice interrupted. “Come Suzi its time for sleep.”
I nodded and made my way back up the path. “Suzi!” The boys voice called after me. “Come find me in the morning.”
I nodded and returned to the hut. I pondered the fire and dancing, how could people be so… without recourse without being corrected. In space such things would not have been allowed. If it was witnessed it would have been reported and the perpetrator given a mark. I barely slept that night as I pondered all the things I had seen. I woke to a morning animal singing a cheerful song. I rose from the bed and made my way toward the abandon building. The morning light gave the path a different feel; the morning was grey but still bright. The sun had not fully made it over the horizon. My mind returned from the clouds to the earth and the boy. “Morning Suzi,” his voice was cool but not like mothers. “Good morning,” I smiled and waved as I had been instructed.
“So as I thought space children do not learn about their ancestors. Do you know anything about earth?”
“No. I don’t know about much. I know there are animals, but I don’t know the names of the animals or what they do. I know about the sun and the earth the trees and earth human behavior. I have learned a lot about color and sound but it forbidden to listen to music.” I explained. He stared at me and said, “Have you heard the stories that earth people tell? Do space children make stories?”
“Stories? Like what?”
“Ghost stories of course stories of ghouls and zombies, vampires and werewolves.”
“What are those? They sound terrible.”
“They are the things of nightmares, but they don’t matter, what is space like?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” he began, “I don’t know.” He stopped and looked about gathering his thoughts. “Here on earth you can only look at the stars, you can learn of what they are made of, watch a hologram of one in supernova and see a star being born but it as I said before its fake,” he leaned back and let his head rest on his arms. His face looked upward toward the clouds and seemed to wander beyond. “Why are space children so different?”
“Well I wouldn’t say that. Earth children seem pretty strange to me. You seem so irrational, so foolish, even careless.”
“Space kids are snobby, polite, reasoned, PERFECT. And yet everyone I meet has been the most dull creature to ever roam the universe.”
“Earth people are wild”
“Space people are restricted.” We said together.
“I apologize I did not mean to interrupt you.”
“No its ok.”
I stopped and looked around and noticed the building again, I wondered what was in it. What it could be, if it was someone’s home or a meeting place. “Jason….” I began but stopped short. He cocked his head in my direction and I noticed for the first time his strange blue brown eyes. They reminded me of the clouds of blue purple clouds of dust in space. How they glistened and sparkled was truly similar. I paused and shook the thought off.
“What?”
“Do you…what is the word for it…admire…no that’s not it, umm oh envy. Do you envy people who live in space?”
He seemed perplexed by the question but answered. “Yeah, I am.”
“Why?”
“You get to live and work and sleep next to stars, and other galaxies. That is something we dream of.”
“Its not all that interesting. After a while you don’t notice it. You could see a star nova and never take it seriously.”
“Suzi.” He stopped me.
“One day I’ll get to space, whether its forbidden or not! I have to.”
I laughed; all I could do was laugh. Anyone who was from space rarely ever stepped foot on earth, and likewise with people from earth. After the last Great War and fallout of regular governments some had chosen to make the new frontier of space home. They believed complete separation from conflict would help the human race better survive anything. So since the day they launched the colony we have been a separate but complete nation. As it seemed that complete separation starts with children. As a child you are taught that space is a welcoming beautiful place, a place of survival through peace. We are taught of earth but not what it is about, We do not learn earths history, culture, or languages, but one thing is made very clear; that we could never return to living on earth and earth people could never adjust to living is space. It was implied that we were different from earth humans that we had changed or evolved perhaps to live in space. But I did not see any difference between Space people and Earth people, infect as far as I could tell the only major difference was upbringing and free emotions.
“Suzi its time to leave.” Mother voice interrupted.
“Hey, Ship-girl.” I turned back to him. He stuffed something in my hand got up and ran away. It was an odd rumple of something I’d heard about but never seen…something called paper. Written on the paper were twelve digits: (786) 498-254-183 and “PM me sometime.”
Mother put her hand on my shoulder and escorted me to the hut where some men and women waited in a vehicle. They took us to the spaceport in the nearby city and bid us a safe journey. As we boarded the pod I told mother I would take the window seat and would take a scan of us returning home. As the pod rose out of the atmosphere I watched and wondered if there was someone like Jason looking up at the sky and thinking about space people. I watch as the small blue plant shrunk into the distance and the Highwind-257 came into view.
“Mother,” I asked as we exited the pod and returned to our ship.
“Yes, Suzanna.”
“When will we visit Earth again?”
“I don’t think we ever will.”
“Why not?”
“Jupiter has commanded the Highwind and the Falcon to make a special exploration trip to the Black whole that has developed at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.”
“I see,” So that was the reason why we had gone to Earth in the first place I determined I would not try to pry out the reason why mother didn’t refuse she was after all the captain of the Highwind-257 she could have easily refused.
As if reading my mind she said mechanically “All of Jupiter’s commands must be obeyed, anyway it is only an exploration mission. There will be nothing there to endanger my passengers. So do not fret. Now I must go to the command deck can you take the bags back to our cabin and then go check-in to the doctor.”
With that she went to the transport room and slid her card into the slot. The computer turned on and said, “Welcome back Captain Marcov, did you have a peaceful and relaxing trip?”
“Yes computer, no unexpected events.”
“Good!”
“Status Report, and crew behavior.”
“Systems remain unchanged…” the door closed. The ship was exactly the same as it had been when I left. Still the same white metal walls, transparent walkways and the thousand cabins that lined the walls nothing had changed. The passageways were filled with people in the usual garments I stood out with the wine colored tunic. The color of the tunic symbolized the status of a person, most thought it would create a division between the classes but no one was thought down on because of the status of their family. Anyway I could people watch no longer. I meandered down the first and second corridor and the entered the staff housing.
I went back to mothers cabin and dropped off her stuff, then threw my stuff in my cabin. I made my way to the medical bay and slid my card into the check- in slot. The automated doctor immediately came out and said “Welcome Suzanna. I hope you find our remodeled facilities to your liking. I nodded and took a seat in the examination chair. The chair took a quick scan and ran a blood test. “Reading is all clear, no earth based diseases or illnesses are present but there is something odd.’
The Automated doctor began but was cut off by Doctor Shyling. “Enough Auto. Return to your station.” She commanded. Auto straightened and hustled back to the desk. “Hello Suzanna. How was earth?”
“It was very beautiful. I didn’t know places of such immense beauty still existed.”
“Well that external beauty holds a menacing side as well.”
“What do you mean Doctor I saw nothing menacing what so ever.”
“That is forbidden. Suzanna even for you.”
“Are you implying that I am somehow different from the rest of space people.”
“Yes you are, but I cannot tell you why. Jupiter has forbidden it.”
I pondered for a moment what she meant but let it pass.
“I wish I could have stayed on earth.”
Her expression suddenly became stern and resembled earth anger.
“Do not ever say that again Suzanna, especially in front of your mother.”
“Why?”
“Your mother and I have lost a lot in our deciding to become space people. But we fought hard to be here while there was an opportunity. And now here we are happy and safe and at peace.” She began. “Suzanna one day you will become Captain of the ship as your mother before you. And by then you will understand what I have said, but for now live for your remaining childhood in peace and harmony alike that of your peers. Now go on your way for my office is closed.”
The automated doctor escorted me out and waved goodbye. I turned and looked out the window and wondered if Jason was still dreaming of space.