Orphans of Apollo - S1 E13
September 2055
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From the ashes of forgotten space dreams, a new era of exploration begins.
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Previously: after getting over the initial shock of her oldest friend’s new look, Lana finds herself on the receiving end of Jess’s barbed comments about the Foundation. Ed tries to smooth things over until Lana is abruptly called away.
“I don’t understand what this is all about,” said Logan, finally breaking the silence which had hung over the car since the Meyers had left their home ten minutes ago.
“None of us do honey,” said Ayako.
“I mean, how can there be such a threat to our safety that we all have to go back to the Foundation?” Logan continued.
“Son, some people don’t like what the Foundation does. Not everyone thinks we should use Earth’s resources for space settlement.”
“Sure, but there must be some fucking crazies out there for us to all get called back to the Foundation.”
“Logan. Please.”
“But seriously Mum, what have we ever done to harm anyone? We’re not using government money, so we’re not taking resources away from dealing with hunger or climate displacement or anything like that.”
Glenn looked at his phone. “We’re going to get company.”
“What do you mean Dad?” asked Lana.
“Apparently there are some security vehicles going to escort us on our journey back to the Foundation. I just got a message from Christian himself telling us not to worry if we see them.”
“Seriously!” said Logan.
“That’s what it says.”
The Meyer’s car was approaching an intersection. Down the on-ramp came two black SUVs. The second was following too close to have been on autodrive. When they joined the traffic instead of the smooth merge, which was typical of autodrive vehicles, they carved their way through the traffic straight to the outside lane, knowing the other vehicles would yield automatically. They left behind a disturbance which gradually smoothed out like a ripple fading in calm water, as the other vehicles all reestablished the correct following distances.
The SUVs accelerated in the outside lane until very soon they were alongside the Meyer’s car.
“This must be them,” said Glenn.
The rear SUV slotted in behind, forcing the vehicle which had been following to drop back. The second SUV drew alongside briefly, the men in the front waved and then slotted in front of them.
“Wow, this is crazy,” said Logan.
“I don’t like this,” said Lana. “Something else is going on for them to be this worried about us.”
The security vehicles stayed with the Meyer’s car all the way back to the Foundation, only leaving when they entered the car park at the FASS headquarters in Lompoc. As soon as the Meyers set foot inside the lobby, they saw Christian Larsson was waiting to meet them.
“I’m sorry if all the security theatre panicked you. I hoped there might be another way, but I was advised by our security service there wasn’t time to organise anything less crude.”
He paused as the sound of jet engines rapidly became louder. They all turned to look out the glass front of the lobby which facing the airfield. A business jet was just beginning its takeoff roll.
“I’m sending my jet to Africa to get Zawadi and Pieter. The international connections are a nightmare at short notice and we need to get all of you here as soon as possible. They are going to Nairobi first, then down to South Africa. All being well, they should be back here in a few days.”
Lana and Logan looked at each other. They both knew what the other was thinking. Something strange is happening. It’s unusual for Christian’s jet to be used when he is not on board.
“Still, I’m glad you are here now. Others will be joining us soon, but you are fortunate. You had the shortest distance to travel.”
“Can we just back things up a little,” said Logan. “You said our security service. You mean the Foundation has a security service?”
“Yes, we do. Until now we have been able to keep its operations practically invisible, so you could get on with your activities here.”
“Wow!”
“Hang on,” said Lana. “We are that much of a target that the Foundation has its own security service?”
“I know this is all a bit much to take in. It must be a little overwhelming.”
“Just a bit,” said Lana. “It doesn’t make any sense. I don’t understand what is going on here. People dislike what we are doing here enough they want to harm us?”
Larsson gently raised his hand in a calming motion but Lana continued.
“I know space colonisation can be a controversial subject sometimes, but it seems a bit extreme.”
“I’m going to address everyone once we are all back together here, but as I said, that will take a day or so.” Larsson motioned to the hallway which lead into the building. “We have some time now. I don’t think any of the others will arrive until the morning. How about we sit down and grab something to eat? It’s getting late. I’ll bring you up to speed on a few things at the Foundation you may not be aware of. The last thing I want is you working yourselves up.”
The five of them headed off into the building towards the staff cafeteria. Ayako and Glenn hung back slightly as Logan and Lana walked with Larsson.
“So. Tell me what you got up to in your brief time at home. I am sorry to have to cut it short.”
Ayako touched Glenns’s hand to subtly attract his attention.
“He’s not going to tell them now, is he?” she whispered. “It was agreed the parents would be consulted about the timing, to make sure they are ready.”
“Relax, Christian wouldn’t do that,” he reassured her.
“I hope so.”
Lana looked over her shoulder. “Are you ok Mum?”
“Yes, I’m fine darling, it’s been a long day.”
It was late, and the cafe was deserted. They each grabbed a prepackaged meal from the cabinet and sat down.
Larsson turned to Lana and Logan. “Sitting here with you and your parents makes me so proud.”
Lana blushed and Logan shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“You really are the culmination of my life’s work and my dream.” He paused. “Well, I say my dream, but it is also the dream of everyone involved with the Foundation. I am just lucky I made my fortune early enough in life to be able to use it, to achieve the ambition of permanent human settlement throughout the solar system.”
“It’s a pleasure to be a part of it,” said Glenn.
Larsson nodded in acknowledgement. “However, we have reached a critical juncture. We all know the plan has been for you to finish college, then complete your astronaut training. By that time, the base we are remotely building on the moon will be finished and we can start sending crews. You, being in the most senior class, would be amongst the first to go.” Nobody had touched their meals yet. “As you know, with the way the world is these days, there are many people who don’t believe we should pursue these goals. They believe we should focus our effort here on earth and its many problems, not diverting precious resources to fanciful ideas. Others believe we are trying to build a place for the elites to escape to.”
“But that’s not what we are about. Is it?” said Lana, sounding unsure.
“Of course not. Humanity must expand outwards into the solar system and beyond. Our long-term survival depends on it. But there are some groups which have become increasingly radical in their opposition to this. One of these has made some credible threats against the staff and students here.”
“Who? I mean, what group?” asked Logan.
“I would rather not say right now. All you need to know is that you are safe here now.”
“Protected by our security service?”
“That’s right, it has actually existed since long before you were born. I always worried there might be a time it was needed, but hoped it would not eventuate. Lately however, there have been several harassment incidents against our people. That has caused me to rethink our schedule.”
“Do you think we should wait until some of this opposition dies down and we can convince people of the benefits?” asked Lana.
“Actually, quite the opposite Lana. We need to speed things up. Dramatically. I’m afraid you will not be finishing college, at least not for now. We are going to transition you to full astronaut training. The lunar analogue is going to be brought forward to next summer.”
“What?” Lana sounded astonished.
“It will be the culmination of your training. Not long after that, I want to start launching crews to the moon base.”
Nobody spoke for a moment.
“You mean no more college? And we will fly to space in less that two years?”
“That’s right Logan.”
“Alright! That’s what I’m talking about!”
“It’s too soon Christian, we won’t be ready,” protested Lana.
“You will be. I’m sure of it. I’ve seen how all of you have performed over years.”
Lana looked unconvinced. “And where is the lunar analogue going to be anyway?”
“Antarctica,” said Larsson.
“Awesome!” said Logan.
“Now we can only send six at a time as that’s all the space there is in the habitat. For crew dynamics, I would prefer not to have siblings there together, so you will go on separated expeditions.”
Lana and Logan looked at each other. “So who gets to—”
“Lana, I would like you to be the commander of the first expedition.”
If you know someone you think would enjoy “Orphans of Apollo” or any of the other writing in “Explorations” please share this publication with them.
I hope you enjoyed episode 13 of “Orphans of Apollo”. If you are wondering about what happens on an analogue mission, I have a behind-the-scenes post in the works which I hope to get out in the next couple of weeks. It’s the end of the school holidays here, so I should now be able to spend some more time on writing.
Over the last few days the Sun has been pretty active, so many of you may have seen the northern or southern lights, depending on your location. We took a drive up a local mountain and waited patiently with my almost eight-year-old daughter, no mean feat, but she did very well. Check out the pictures below.
Thanks for reading,
Alex
