Frontier: Book One - The Space Cadets Page 3

  She wondered how Mother felt, watching her shuttle rise slowly to the sky. As suddenly as they had begun, the rockets cut out, and there was another slight lurch as the inertia of the ship was stopped. She remembered the video training -- this was the scariest part of the trip, where the shuttle, under normal gravity, could fall back to Earth and kill everyone aboard.

  But it didn’t, and the force on the Space Elevator started pushing them skyward, with ever-increasing speed. The horizon began to spin also, and as they rose up, she watched the island recede. Before long they were high enough to see that the horizon was curved.

  This was it. This was for real. She was headed into space!

  Chapter 4

  Orbit

  It is so easy to get caught in the trap of looking at others, seeing what they have, or what they are, or what is available to them, and falling into angry despair. It’s not fair that some people are given the opportunities you aren’t. When that happens, remember what you have that others don’t, and make the best of what’s given to you. Everything passes in time. Don’t deny yourself. Don’t let life just pass you by...

  As the shuttle ascended, and Earth fell away, Aisha was surprised to find that she wasn’t weightless. She expected it to be like the movies where she would float around.

  “We’re still not far enough from the surface of the Earth,” Soo-Kyung said, seemingly reading her mind. “And the inertia from our upwards ascent is counteracting any effects of micro-gravity.”

  Aisha remembered her science classes, and realized that Soo-Kyung was right. “Astronauts don’t experience zero gravity anyway, do they? It’s more free-fall that makes it feel like they are weightless.”

  The Korean girl nodded. “And we aren’t falling, we’re climbing. But when we reach the end of the cable.”

  “Sounds like fun.”

  “I always wanted to lose weight. Now it looks like I’ll lose most of it.”

  “You don’t need to lose weight, you’re tiny,” said Aisha. She then stopped as Soo-Kyung blushed. The girl had grown up in a country that had been impoverished even before the bombs fell. She could have been subject to malnutrition, or worse.

  Outside the windows, Earth continued to recede. At some point Aisha felt that they must have crossed the psychological border into space. There was no real border -- the atmosphere got gradually thinner as they ascended, but she decided that the moment that light wasn’t coming from all around -- through atmospheric diffraction, and instead was coming from below, being reflected off the Earth’s surface, that they finally were in space.

  “We’re accelerating,” she said.

  “Yes,” said Soo-Kyung. “The higher we get, the thinner the atmosphere. The thinner the atmosphere, the less friction to slow us down.”

  They watched in silence as home slipped away, faster and faster. Somewhere along the way it stopped feeling like Earth was beneath them and they were rising up from it, and it just felt like they were moving away from it. They were told that once they were in space, and in free fall, that weightlessness would be confusing if they kept their old up-down orientation. When on the Earth, it was easy to think of down as being the ground, because gravity pulled you towards it, and up was the opposite direction -- towards the sky and the stars.

  But once in freefall, and weightless, thinking in that manner could confuse you, as there was no clear direction to call down.

  She had done the mental exercise many times, of taking a fixed point and thinking of it as down. A window in her bedroom. If that is down, then the door is up, the walls are east and west, with the floor and ceiling being north and south. While her body and instincts told her otherwise -- of course the floor was down -- she concentrated and concentrated until she could naturally envision it.

  Maybe all of that effort was helping her now. The acceleration still gave down towards the floor, and thus towards the Earth, but as she looked out the window, it was easy for her to visualize alternatively that down, instead of being the floor, was her back. She was lying instead of sitting, and the Earth was moving away from her feet. Then, she could change her orientation, so instead of lying down, she was hanging from the ceiling.

  The Earth filled less of the sky with every passing moment. The stars started to peek into view, having been mostly obscured by the reflected light of the planet below. The belt of Orion was instantly noticeable, its three bright stars forming a straight line. As they rotated, accelerating all the way, corkscrewing their way through the atmosphere, she could hear the oohs and aahs of delight as people saw the stars in a way that was impossible on the Earth.

  Soon, an almost eerie silence fell among the passengers as the reality that they were away from the cradle of life sank in. Now, all there was between them and the hostile environment of space was that large glass window. Aisha was glad she had taken a seat near the back, as she could partially feel the desire to shrink away from it, to bury herself somewhere safe. A single micrometeorite could penetrate that glass and kill them all. The odds were astronomically small, but that didn’t prevent the fear.

  It took almost three hours before the deceleration rockets fired, and lifting from her seat told her that they had almost reached their destination. In an instant, Soo-Kyung unbuckled and was out of her seat. Aisha laughed as she watched her lift ever so slowly, floating up.

  “I’m not completely weightless,” she said. “But this feels great!”

  Aisha’s stomach was already in her mouth. Despite being worried that she might throw up, something that wouldn’t be pretty in this environment, she figured that she may as well just go for it. She’d have to get used to weightless conditions in the Academy station anyway. She unbuckled and pushed herself out of her chair, trying to be gentle, but failed and launched too quickly.

  A fine netting stretched across the passenger area, and she bumped into it. It was loosely spread, absorbing the impact and propelling her gently downward. She hadn’t noticed it before, but was glad it was there now.

  “Makes sense to have that netting,” said Soo-Kyung. “They don’t want us bashing our brains out on the hardware.”

  Before long, a klaxon sounded, warning them of the impending end of the journey. Their shuttle would dock at the top of the cable, from where it would be disassembled into different pieces. Some would head toward the Academy space station, some to the moon base, and the rest to the end of the cable - 70,000 kilometers further - to act as a counter-weight to improve the efficiency of the Elevator.

  In response, the girls strapped themselves into their seats and awaited deceleration. It was smooth, they barely felt it, and their journey ended with a soft clunk. They exited their ship into the area affectionately called ‘the Lobby’, where they waited and watched in rapture as the shuttle’s deconstruction commenced.

  “It’s like Lego,” said a boy with an English accent.

  “You mean Legos?”

  “It’s actually called Lego,” he said. “Despite what you Americans say.”

  He sniffed a little and pushed his feet against the wall, causing him to float off, away from Aisha, ignoring her outstretched hand.

  Aisha rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

  “Seriously,” said Soo-Kyung. “That’s something you’re going to have to watch out for up here. I think there are many things you do differently in your country that the international community don’t understand or accept. Just little things that shouldn’t matter.” She nodded her head in the boy’s direction. “Like him.”

  Aisha nodded. “Yeah.” Looking into Soo-Kyung’s deep brown eyes she could see something within. The girl had more to say on the matter, but was holding back. Aisha made a mental note to ask her about it sometime. It was clearly personal, and Soo-Kyung had the discretion not to bring it up here.

  ***

  Before long, their transport was ready, and they boarded the flight to the space station containing the Academy. While it was made from various pieces that were recycled from the shuttles, i
t was clearly more functional, and definitely less luxurious than its predecessor. They boarded, and the passenger compartments more clearly resembled a typical terrestrial aircraft. They sat in rows, without assignment, so Soo-Kyung joined Aisha. There were no windows. Aisha turned, looking around the cabin, counting the passengers. There was an even thirty, including the smirking English boy from earlier.

  “Can’t risk micrometeorites or other space junk penetrating a window and killing us all,” said an attendant cheerfully as Aisha fumbled around, trying to find a view.

  “Better settle in,” he continued. “It’s going to take about an hour to an hour-and-a-half depending on traffic.”

  The Space Elevator was tethered in the waters just south of Hawaii, at the geosynchronous orbit distance. Because of this, it always stayed above the same spot, which it would do even if there was no tether. Anything other than geosynchronous orbit and the Elevator wouldn’t work, as the end of the cable would be moving independently around the Earth. It would eventually get wrapped around it like yarn in a ball.

  Similarly, the Academy’s space station was in geosynchronous orbit, so it wouldn’t appear to be above any particular country. It maintained its UN-mandated neutrality by orbiting above a point in the mid-Atlantic ocean, halfway between the Brazilian coast and the African country of Gabon.

  The nervous anxiety of the last few hours was catching up on them now. Soo-Kyung was already fast asleep, and Aisha realized that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a nap. Who knew what awaited them in the Academy? She’d certainly want to be awake to see it.

  Chapter 5

  Arrival

  There are many reasons why we fight in wars. Sometimes it is to defend our homes and our families. Sometimes it is to ensure that our way of life can continue. Sometimes it is to go to the bully and smash them in the mouth before they can hurt someone who is defenseless. With great power comes great responsibility, and we have been blessed with great power. The trick is in exercising our responsibility appropriately.

  This applies not just on the national level, but on the personal level. In everything you do, my dear daughter, you will exercise that responsibility. Be sure that you are wise in all things. And if you can’t be, find someone who is, and support them with all your might...

  The lights suddenly coming on woke Aisha from her reverie. Their transport had docked with the space station, and passengers had already begun disembarkation. She nudged Soo-Kyung, who woke instantly.

  “We’re here.”

  Still weightless, they pulled themselves out the airlock into a long corridor. It was featureless, but for the occasional blinking LED animation showing them the direction they should float.

  “As if there was any other way,” said the English boy snidely as he drifted past Aisha.

  “It’s to ensure we keep moving,” said Soo-Kyung, “so we don’t linger and block the corridor. Not to tell us the direction. That’s why it’s animated. Moving. Us. Like the lights.”

  The boy looked at her, hostility in his eyes. Then, realizing she was right, he defiantly acknowledged her. “Well, duh. Of course that’s what it means. You really feel you have to say it out, little girl?”

  Even weightless, he loomed over her. Soo-Kyung, her face as blank as could be, just looked him in the eye, saying nothing. He held her gaze for a moment, smirked and continued floating down the corridor.

  He was first to reach the airlock, and Aisha couldn’t help but smile as he struggled to open it. “It’s pressure locked,” the attendant said matter-of-factly. “It won’t open until we close the other end.”

  The boy blushed ear to ear, and instantly glanced towards Soo-Kyung. Instead of making him squirm further, she kept her neutral face.

  She was smart, that’s for sure. Aisha saw right through her. By ignoring his predicament, Soo-Kyung placed the boy much further beneath her than if she had rubbed his face in it. She could tell that he saw it too. When he glanced in Aisha’s direction, she saw menace.

  We’ll have to watch that one.

  What was it Mark Twain had said? “Never argue with a stupid person, because they’ll bring you down to their level, and then beat you with experience.”

  She smiled, recognizing the wisdom. She’d have to share that with Soo-Kyung later.

  Finally everyone had disembarked, and the door on the transport side was closed. Then the door to the station opened effortlessly, and they glided in.

  They were guided to the assembly room. Taking up an area on the outer wheel of the station, rotation gave it a reasonably-comfortable simulation of gravity. It took some trying to orient themselves correctly as they moved from weightlessness into the spinning sections, and more than a few of them fell over.

  “You’ll get used to it in time,” said a kindly-looking boy, maybe three years older. He wore a black uniform which was tight-fitting, almost like a bodysuit. It was highlighted with some red stripes. On his chest, his nameplate read ‘Smith’ and bore a Canadian flag. He nodded at Aisha as she wobbled on her feet, taking her first steps like a toddler, and smiled slightly. Her heart fluttered a little as she smiled back.

  “You’re blushing,” said Soo-Kyung. “Do you think he’s cute?”

  Aisha looked back to ensure he was out of earshot. “If I have a weakness, it’s for sweetness,” she whispered. “Don’t care for the looks as much as the heart, and sweetness is the taste of the heart.”

  “You’re such a poet!”

  Aisha smiled as they continued walking.

  The assembly room was very normal looking, a large area surrounding a raised dais.

  “I wonder if we’ll have a school play,” she heard someone say, and others snickered.

  When the final kid had entered, a man in a dark uniform similar to the one Smith had worn took his place on the stage.

  “Welcome to the International Space Academy,” he began, looking around the audience, making sure their eyes were on him. “You have been selected from the best and most suitable people on the planet to come here and to learn the skills you need for the next phase of mankind’s civilization.”

  He stopped, taking in the room. “Good, now that I have your attention, I want this to sink in. This is quite unlike any other school you might have been to, and quite unlike the videos used to tell people back home what we do. We don’t call it an Academy for nothing. It’s not a floating playground. Military-like discipline is enforced at all times, and you are expected to obey everything without question. Let me repeat that. Without question.”

  A few mutters went around the room, and eyes began to drift away from him as the murmurs increased.

  “If you don’t like it, you are welcome to go home,” he said firmly. “But realize that sending a shuttle back to Earth is far more expensive than bringing you up here on the Space Elevator. That makes it a one-way journey. Once you’re out, you never come back. Is that clear?”

  A few, including Aisha nodded.

  “I can’t hear you! I said, ‘Is that clear?’”

  Some shouted out ‘Yes’, but still the man wasn’t satisfied.

  “From now on, the first and last word out of your mouth when you address me is ‘Sir’. Now, I will ask one more time. Is that clear?”

  “Sir, yes, Sir!”

  “Better. Now let me help you understand one more thing. This Academy was built with discipline in mind. The first few years of students were handpicked from the greatest academies on the planet, and they fit right in. You, on the other hand, are a product of open enrollment, a process put in place by those liberal idiots in the U.N. who thought that space should be an opportunity that is open to all. Most of you have been molly coddled in your high schools. That ends now.”

  He looked around the room, nostrils flaring, disdain in every ounce of his being. “Someday space will be open to the average civilian, but that day is not today. So you are here, as the type of people I do not want. But I am stuck with you. So you will do what I order you to do in this place
. And you will succeed. Or, you can do things the namby-pamby way they do them back home, and you’ll find yourself on the next shuttle out of here. If you’re lucky.”

  His eye caught Aisha’s and his gaze dwelled on her. “You might think you’re special because you’re here. None of that counts now. It’s up to you to make yourself special from this moment onward. Understood?”

  Aisha felt herself shouting. “Sir, yes, Sir!”

  He nodded approvingly as his gaze continued to explore. It fell on Soo-Kyung, and his lip curled a little, almost like a snarl. “Your link is your life in this place. My assistants will issue them now. The link will show you the way to your quarters,” the last word dripped with sarcasm. “Follow them, and be ready for first classes at oh-six hundred hours.”

  Without another word, he turned to leave the stage.

  Aisha surprised herself as she shouted out, “Sir?”

  He turned and leered back at her. “What is it, Cadet?”

  “Sir, we didn’t get your name, Sir.”

  “I know.”

  “Sir, may I please ask it, Sir?”

  Did he smile just a little? “Initiative, eh?”

  “Sir, I think it’s important that I know my C.O., Sir.”

  The smile grew a little bit. His eyes met hers, searching a little.

  “Good. My name is Major Carter.”

  “Sir, thank you, Sir.”

  “And it’s good to know somebody in this group has a bit of a backbone.” He reached out a hand, and she grasped it, firmly, the way she had always been told to.

  “Good,” he smiled again. “Nice to meet you, Miss Parks.”

  He was gone before she could wonder, How did he know my name?

  Chapter 6

  Quarters

  A beginning is a very important time. It lays the groundwork for everything else that follows, so be sure that you get your beginning right. It’s much easier to course correct when the rails are taking you in generally the right direction. It’s easy, however, to get distracted at the start. There may be new and exciting things, or different places and people that divert you away from what is important. Don’t fall into that trap. Keep your eyes on the ball always, but doubly so right then. That way you set yourself up for success…