Austin stanice

  Austin stanice

Příběh nové začátky ....

By Kalin Ringkvist

Kapitola 1

Sareena, spíše než se soustředit na své domácí práce kalkulu, jako měla v úmyslu udělat, zjistila, že se díval ven obrovská okna, které lemovaly malé kavárně. V tuto denní dobu, na tomto konci nádraží, ona byla schopná dostat docela úžasný pohled na Zemi, planeta ještě nikdy v životě vkročil na. To je důvod, proč přišla sem každý den ve stejnou dobu jíst svůj oběd a studovat její matematický. Ale dnes, jak se zdálo, ona nebyla schopna soustředit se na jeden z těchto dvou. Ona prostě seděl a zíral z okna. Jak krásný svět vypadal ještě dnes! Přála si, aby mohl navštívit, tak nějak, ale ona by nikdy ve svém životě mohli dovolit cestu tam dole. Místo toho, ona přijala Austin stanice, jak ji domů. Byla spokojena s tím.

Odvrátila pohled prostě dostatečně rychlý, aby popadl ji tofu-burger a začít jíst. Ona roubíkem na první sousto a plivat ji zpátky na talíř. To bylo dost zabít náladu. Strčila talíř rychle pryč od ní, popadl ji za knihy a batoh a vyrazil na malebné malé kavárně. Ohlédla se na okamžik vidět droid okamžitě odstranění nepořádku udělala.

To bylo dvacet minut pěšky domů, a to prostřednictvím široké koridory plno lidí. Chodníky Zdálo se, že pomalu, takže šla na rychlé chůze vedle nich. To byl snadný způsob, jak se vyhnout davu. Ona potřebovala její výkon tak jako tak. Od té doby se pohyboval směrem ke středu stanice, dolů mluvil čtyři, byla země na záda a ona se nemohla dívat na to, jak ona byla chůze.

Austin stanice měla poměrně jednoduchý design, osm paprsky, sahající od centrální hub, a spojení s vnější kolo. Deváté vystoupili rozšířena z centra na kolmo k ostatním osm. Na konci, tam byl velký knoflík, který vypadal jako obrovský ocas. Knoflík umístěny umělé gravitace systémy pro celou stanici. Jak Sareena pokračoval směrem ke středu, blíže k deváté promluvil, cítila její váha zvyšuje. Mohla váží čtyřicet liber nyní, když tři minuty, v kavárně se jen vážil třicet.

Ve srovnání s jinými, novějšími, stanice na oběžné dráze kolem homeworld, Austin byl jeden z těch menších. Postaveno téměř sto let dříve, je umístěna méně než padesát tisíc lidí. Sareena však nebylo vidět to jako bytí vůbec malé. Stále ještě nebyla prozkoumána každá chodba, obchod, nebo kavárna, ale nikdy nebyla mimo stanici k ještě navštívit další. To byl její domov, a zatímco ona si viděla na jiných místech, neměla žádné plány na dovolenou. To bylo prostě příliš drahé.

Otočila se poslední zatáčce na cestě domů. Zastavila se u jejích dveří. Identi fikace systému zatroubil šťastně, jak to skenované její otisk palce. Dveře se otevřely se sotva slyšitelné hučení. Krokování dovnitř, první věc, kterou Sareena si všiml, byla podivná žena, stojící v kuchyni. To nebylo překvapení ji. Její otec byl neustále přinášet doma podivné ženy. Byla vysoká, blond, těžké hrudníkem. Přesný typ ženy, Sareena očekáváte od svého otce.

"Ahoj," řekla žena. "Předpokládám, že musíte být Sareena, správná?"

"To by bylo mě, ano," odpověděl Sareena. "A ty jsi Sarah právu?"

Žena se zmateně. "Co? Jsem Carol. Není tvůj otec ti o mně? "

"Nikdy se nezmínil o žádných Carol ke mně."

"On nebyl?"

"Ne."

"Takže, kdo je Sarah."

Sareena odmlčel. Mám jí říct?, Ptala se v duchu. Táta může dostat dost šílený. Ale on nikdy nezmínil o žádné osobě Carol se k ní. Neměla povinnost, aby mu pomohli udržet tajemství. Sareena řekl: "Ona je to dívka, kterou to už viděl za posledních pár týdnů."

Carol na ni zíral. "Jako holka?"

"To je to, co on říkal mi."

"Chápu."

Sareena sledoval s potlačenou pobavení Carol se rozhlédl po místnosti, jako by se právě probudil v místě, ještě nikdy předtím neviděl. "Myslím, že raději opustí hned," řekla Carol.

"Dobrá, to bylo hezké setkání s vámi," řekl v Sareena veselá, téměř posměšný hlas. "Je můj táta tady, na cestě?"

"Ne, ne. On tu není. Nevím, kde je. "A s tím, Carol rychle odešel z bytu, s tím, co vypadal jako omámený pohled na její tvář.

Sareena zasmál lehce k sobě, když ji nesl tašku do svého pokoje a hodil ji na postel. "Hudba," poručila, a domácí počítač okamžitě začal hrát náhodně vybraný mix svého předprogramovaných oblíbené skladby. "Hlasitosti tři," a zvuk byl snížen odpovídajícím způsobem. "Musím studovat," zamumlala si pro sebe.

Vzala kalkulu knihu z kabelky a listoval na stránku se snažil přečíst, než odešla z kavárny. Našla to trochu snazší soustředit se na její práci, sem tam, kde nejsou okna rozptýlit ji. Nicméně, ona byla ještě schopna smysl některé z problémů. Pokusila se o téměř půl hodiny, ale nakonec, to vzdal a šel na jiné úkoly.

Čtyřicet-pět minut později, ona byla provedena se vším, ale její kalkul. Nechtěla se vrátit k té znovu, tak se prostě seděl a poslouchal, jak hudbu a nakonec usnul.

Byla probudil její otec, když vpadl do jejího pokoje.

Nebyl velký ani ohrožující hledáte postavu. Bylo mu asi čtyřicet dva, a začíná plešatý. On byl krátký pro muže jeho věku, ale stále stála o několik centimetrů výše Sareena.

"Co jste řekl Carol dnes?" Zeptal se jí.

"Co? Co to povídáš? "Sareena zeptal se rychle.

"Ty víš, co myslím. Vy jste měli trochu chat s Carol. Co jste jí řekl? "

"Mluvil jsem s ní sotva dvě minuty."

"Ale co jsi jí řekla? Říkala jste něco o mně a Sarah, viď? "

"Jo, tak?" Sareena odpověděl.

"Řekl jste jí, že byla moje přítelkyně."

"Jo."

Odmlčel se a zadíval se na ni a vypadal zmateně. "Proč by to říkáš?"

"Je to pravda nebo ne?" Sareena řekl. "Řekl jsi mi sám na druhý den."

"Tak jakým právem si budete muset jít oznámila, že pro každého?"

"Zeptala se mě, kdo byl Sarah. Co jsem měla říct? "

Povzdechl si zlostně a zamračil se na ni, jak se zamračil se. "Music off," řekl.

Hudba, která se hraje po celé konverzace pokračovala.

"Music off!" Vykřikl.

Hudba pokračovala.

"Počítač, pozastavíte přehrávání hudby," řekl Sareena, a zvuku podle toho se zastavil. "Musíš se zabývat sami na to, když tam je jiná osoba v místnosti. Si opravdu měli vědět, že do nynějška. "

Podíval se na ni zlostně. "Drž hubu," řekl.

Zasmála se lehce, zvedla obočí na něj, a ukázal na dveře. "Vypadni," řekla, posměšný hlas.

Vzal nebezpečný krok směrem k ní. "Neříkej mi, co dělat v mém vlastním domě."

Pokrčila rameny v výsměšně omluvným způsobem.

"Máte vůbec představu, jaké problémy jsi mi způsobil dnes?" Napůl vykřikl. "Teď Carol říká, že nikdy nechce vidět mě znovu."

"Jo, no, zdá se mi, že to je více než vaše vina, že je moje."

A to je, když její otec vystoupil a udeřil Sareena, tvrdé, přes obličej.

______ ______ ______

"Yo, Peterman, nám to v první snímky Země."

Stanley Peterman, mírně překvapen z vtíravé hlas, podíval se nahoru, přes jeho kapesní počítač pad byl při čtení z. Estian, nevysoký muž v jeho střední k třicítce, práce údržby na spodní tři paluby lodi, stála více než Stanley, usmíval divoce, zřejmě opravdu nadšeni události.

"Jsou v už?" Stan zeptal se rychle.

"Ještě ne," odpověděl Estian ", ale jsou dovnitř, asi za deset minut. Jdeš dolů vidět em se zbytkem posádky? "

"Ano, určitě budu. Já bych nechtěl chybět vzrušení. "

"Pojďme."

Tyto dva odešli spolu, pěší svižně po dlouhých chodbách v kosmické lodi. Zasedací místnost na palubě čtyři byl na místo určení.

Galaxy Čtyři byl největší mezihvězdného plavidla vždy postavil, že téměř šest kilometrů. To mělo šestadvacet paluby, čtyři nepořádek haly, několik valné hromady oblastí, padesát nebo šedesát koupelny, a půl tuctu masivní "parky" nebo "zahrady", kompletní s trávou a stromy, ovoce a květin a vše, co mohl doufat v skutečný park na Zemi. Tam byl žádná okna na lodi. Devadesát-devět procent času, který posádka uvnitř bylo, když byla loď cestování rychlostí světla, a není vůbec nic vidět při rychlosti světla. I přes to velké velikosti, loď je veden pouze čtyřicet tři lidí, takže je to hal poněkud neúrodný a osamělá většinu času, ale dal každý člověk hodně volného prostoru, a dělal to jednoduché pro někoho být sám, když chtěli na. To bylo provádění těchto čtyřicet tři lidé za sedm let.

Trvalo to dva asi pět minut se dostanete na sál. Když se dostali tam, Stanley si všiml, že obří viewscreen byl postaven na opačném konci. Přelétl místnosti. Na první pohled se mu zdálo, jako by celá loď byla v návštěvnosti, a to i kapitán. Rozhlédl se kolem, pátrání po pohřešovaných tváře, ale všichni tady. Poté, co strávil sedm let a stejnou malá skupina lidí, naučíte se rozpoznat je všechny na první pohled, a může vždy říci přesný počet pohřešovaných z celkového počtu.

To bylo jistě není nutné schůzi. Fotky mohl právě jak snadno být viděn z jiné části lodi, ale zřejmě každý přál vidět všichni ostatní reakci na první letmý pohled něco, co oni neviděli více než půl desetiletí.

Všichni mluvili najednou. Stanley obrátil svou pozornost tam a zpět z několika různých rozhovorů slyšel, jak se posadil do neobydlených sedadle vedle Estian. Oni byli všichni mluví, v té či oné podobě, o tom, co oni byli brzy uvidíme, nebo o jejich cestě, která byla teď asi k tomu, aby blízko.

"To je skvělé, ne?" Estian řekl, jak jeho ruce zacukalo vzrušeně do klína. "Je to všechno bude během během několika dnů. I pro jednoho, jsem rád, že taky. Bez urážky, ale já začínám zatraceně špatně z vás lidi. "

Stanley, více se zajímají o události, než se mluvit s Estian, prostě zamumlal cosi nesrozumitelného, a díval se dopředu na přední viewscreen.

"Tak co je první věc, kterou budete dělat, až se dostaneme zpět na Zemi," Estian zeptal.

Stan se podíval na mladého muže. Myslel si, že o otázce. "Nevím," řekl. "Možná si zaplavat."

"Víš, co budu dělat? Chci jít do hor a jít snowboardu. Dělat, že může být to, co jsem vynechal většinu na této cestě. "

"Hm," odpověděl Stan, zíral opět směrem k přední části místnosti.

"Hej Peterman?"

Podíval se na Estian. Chlapec měl vážný výraz v jeho tváři. Zírali na sebe několik sekund, dokud Estian let, co byl očividně zcela umělé vzlyk. "Budu chybět muž," a on zabořil obličej do ramene Stanley. Po několika dlouhých sekundách vyzařují hlasité, falešný křik, Odtáhl se od Stan, usmál se na něj a zasmála divoce. "Co myslíš? Dobré? Jsem blázen co? "

Stanley zavrtěl hlavou, otrávený.

"Oh, sakra. Opravdu, ty jsi to-? ", Ale on byl uříznut jako kapitán postavil před dav a začal mluvit.

"Dámy a pánové," řekl. "Jak dobře víte, jsme asi dostat na první fotky z domova světa. Měly by být v nejbližší době na viewscreen za pár minut. Pojďme si jej zapnout teď, "-na obrazovce zablesklo na a byl naplněn řadou oslňující, vířící barvy-" a počkat, až uvidíme něco takového. "Kapitán, zdánlivě normální a klidný, usedl v první řadě, čelí obrovský displej, nad tím hlavou.

Dav ztichl jako názor změnil z vířící barvy na jasný pohled na holý hvězd. Tam byly stovky hvězd být viděn, tečkování v temnotě viewscreen. Všichni se pomalu pohybuje směrem k vnějším okrajům, a nahradil ve středu podle toho, co se objevil jako prázdné místo. A tam to bylo, v centru na místě. Byl to malý, nemožné rozeznat nic, ale je to celkový tvar, ale to stalo. Nízký šum šel do davu, ale zemřel tak, jak planeta rostla-dostatečně velký, aby se barvy, oceány, kontinenty. Po několika minutách šel, Země byla dostatečně velká na celou obrazovku. Pohled se zastavil zoom palců Někdo začal tleskat, a pak několik dalších. Tam byl jásot, který se pomalu začaly stoupat od masy lidí sedí v místnosti. Je i nadále stoupat, pomalu, dokud všichni přítomní byli na nohou a křičeli radostí. Stanley se rozhlédl po místnosti a viděl skutečné slzy na některé z tváře jeho crewmates.

Bylo to něco, co viděl stokrát, protože jejich odjezdu před sedmi lety. Často krát on šel do banky počítačových dat a získat obraz planety byl teď zíral, ale ty se prostě rekreace, umělé, fotografie. To byla živá. To byl skutečný svět přišel z. Toto bylo kde on šel domů. Ty staré fotky nikdy uskutečnit ho takhle.

Zvuk nakonec začal slábnout, a když to udělal, kapitán, znovu se zvedl a postavil se na jednu stranu obrazovce a přednesl projev. "Tak jo, lidi," řekl hlasitě, že to pro každého slyšet. "Mám určitý pokrok na zprávu: Začali jsme zpomalí. Nyní se pohybuje o trochu menší než rychlost světla. Do zítřejšího poledne, budeme se pohybují na poloviční sazba. Jsme nyní méně než čtyřicet osm hodin, od našeho cíle. V případě, že jste přemýšlel, budeme dokovací v malé kosmické stanice na oběžné dráze kolem planety. Můžete si to najít. Je to tzv. Austin. "

______ ______ ______

Jak tak stál a díval se na jeho tvář v zrcadle, by Tyson se ubránit pocitu, že hrozné bolesti v břiše. Zprvu si myslel, to bylo prostě způsobené extrémním kocovina byl trvalý, ale ne, to bolest nebylo něco, co by mohlo být podaná na prostou fyzickou nemoc. Ani náhodou. Byla to bolest viny. To byla úroveň bolesti, kterou nelze dosáhnout, ale jednou za život. Bylo to bolest, kterou cítíte, když si uvědomíte, že jste si vzali někoho život.

Podíval se na sebe, jeho krví podlité oči, zarudlé tváře. Události v noci předtím, než opět rozproudila. Pamatoval si všechno. Přál si, aby nemohl.

* * *

On byl ven pití v baru v centru města sportovní s několika svými přáteli v noci. Tam bylo pití soutěží mezi čtyři z nich. Oni hráli málo her a takové, klábosil s barman, pokusil se zvednout ženy. Stali se zajímají o bowling hra, která hrála na několik televizorů kolem baru. Jsou umístěny malé sázky na hráče. Tyson byl nejtěžší piják mezi nimi, ale to bylo hlavně kvůli tomu, že ostatní všichni museli jít do práce druhý den ráno. Jeho přátelé vyrazil brzy a Tyson byl ponechán sám sobě a jeho pití. Zůstal hodiny pár víc, pití více a více, bít na dámy sedící vedle něj, zpravidla baví. Poté, co byl sestřelen dobré dva tucty časů, a obdržel velké množství hrozeb z některých přítele žen, stal se frustrovaný a mám víc a víc nahlas a někdy i násilné. Barman nakonec ho kopl mimo provozovnu, krátce po tři hodiny ráno.

Pršelo teď tvrdě, jako Tyson pokusil o několik okamžiků se dostat zámek na jeho dveře auta otevřené. Nakonec, dostal v roce, důkladně nasáklé, posadil se a řekl, aby vozidlo vzít ho domů. Když se vůz nereagoval, trvalo Tyson další minutu nebo dvě na paměti, musel se obrátit se na prvním místě. Udělal to a řekl: "Vezměte mě na 2141 Východ Terasa. To je na jih odtud. "

Vůz se pomalu vytáhl z parkovacího místa na ulici a začal brát Tyson domů v přesně šedesát kilometrů za hodinu. "Můžete jít sakra hodně rychlejší než to. Není tu nikdo v cestě. "

"Omezení rychlosti na této silnici je šedesát kilometrů," odpověděl auto s počítačovým hlasem. "To je naše aktuální rychlost."

"Nezajímá mě, co naše rychlost je! Pojďme to! "

Tyson sledoval, jak digitální rychloměr šel šedesát-šedesát jedno, šedesát dva, šedesát tři, a nakonec se zastavil na pětašedesát.

"Rychleji!" Křičel Tyson.

"Omezení rychlosti na této silnici je šedesát kilometrů. Naše současná rychlost je šedesát pět. "

"Chci jít-sto deset. Zvýšit rychlost na sto deset. "

"To by bylo nebezpečné rychlosti. Doporučuji zvýšíme na sedmdesát kilometrů. "

"Ach, sakra," řekl si pro sebe. "K čertu s touto kecy. Vydání autodrive. "

Auto okamžitě reagovala. Volant vylezly z palubní desky, dvě malé kypí vynořil z podlahy, a vůz vybočil doleva, směrem k protijedoucí vozidla. Tyson popadl horečně za volantem a otočil se prudce zpátky na pravé straně. Cítil, jak se trhnutím za vůz narazil do obrubníku, a odrazil zpět do ulice. On pokračoval řídit dál, plynu rozprodávat na podlahu, tkaní a zpátky přes oba jízdní pruhy.

Občas se setkal s protijedoucí vozidla, ale autopilotů ve svých autech odborně se mu vyhýbali. Často časy jsou potřebné k uhnout z cesty úplně, ale nikdy se totiž nebezpečně blízko udeří ho. Vozy ve své pruhu dopravy podobně se mu vyhýbali a on snadno prošel všechny, když spěchal po dálnici na více než sto dvacet km za hodinu. Bylo to spíše zábavný zážitek-na chvíli. Neměl vlastně řízený vůz v mnoha měsíců.

Ale jeho zábava skončila rychle, když viděl mladé ženy kroku na ulici, dobré způsoby, jak před jeho vozidlem. Byla mladá, možná dvacet dva. Short, blond. Nesla malou kabelku v levé ruce.

Tyson reakce trvalo několik vteřin. Zabouchl nohu na brzdu a auto okamžitě začal do smyku. Věci se stal rozmazané, jak auto otočil divoce v celé jeho jízdního pruhu. Zachytil druhý rychlý pohled na ženu. Ona byla jediná věc, kterou mohl jasně vidět. Zuřivě se snažil, aby vůz pod kontrolou, ale byl úspěšný pouze při věci horší.

Viděl ji znovu, z řidiče boční okno. Mnohem blíž tentokrát. A pak tam byla, její tvář k oknu. Slyšel bouchnutí, když spojené s jeho vozidlem. Podíval se na ni. Měla modré oči, které jako by pohled na něj. Její dlouhé blond vlasy, tónovaná mírně krev červená, obklopen hlavu a přitiskl se proti jeho okno. Měla nejvíce dokonale tvarované obličej, jaký kdy viděl. Jasné pleti, dvě oddělené, dobře umístěné obočí a plné rty se jen náznakem růžové rtěnky. Krásnou tvář. Mohla by být vzorem, byl jen myslel, že.

Pak se auto otočil zpět kolem k levé a byl umístěn rovně, v souladu s vozovkou. Padla pryč, a okamžitě levé zadní části vozu prudce vzhůru najednou.

Auto nakonec prudce zastavil, umístěný bokem, přes centrum na dálnici. Ohlédl se a tam byla, ležel nehybně uprostřed silnice dobré vzdálenosti zpátky, a pohlédl na krev splattered přes levé okno a na levé straně čelního skla. Tvrdý déšť už začíná mýt to pryč.

Nikdy za vracet. On prostě řekl, auto, aby ho na jih, někde. Myslel si, že asi pojedu domů, ale prostě nedokázal říct vůz zastavit. On šel na celou noc, až asi do poledne následujícího dne, kdy se zastavil a dostal prostor v malém motelu někde v severní Kalifornii. Usnul okamžitě po ulehnutí do postele poté, co nejsou schopni se dostat ke spánku v autě. Spal na sedm hodin, a probudil právě před deseti minutami.

* * *

Díval se na sebe na pár vteřin víc, pak se obrátil na záchod a zvracel. Je čas odejít. Musel jít někam jinam. Neměl ponětí, jak daleko se dostal včera v noci, ale jak daleko to bylo, to nebylo dost daleko. Musel dostat ven ze země. Možná Mexiko.

Vyšel z koupelny, do hlavní oblasti svého hotelového pokoje. Zjistil, že jeho bankovní terminál do kapsy kabátu a kontrolovat ji vidět jeho současnou finanční prostředky. On měl několik tisíc dolarů na jeho jméno, ale to bylo v podobě elektronické měny. Měně, které bylo možné vysledovat. On by měl zastavit u bankomatu a vyměnit za hotovost a bude muset udělat brzy, dříve, než policie přišel na to, kdo to byl a dal tracer na jeho bankovní terminál. Doufejme, že oni to ještě neudělali.

Další věc, kterou by musel udělat, bylo najít počítač hacker, který by mohla dostat do databanky svého vozu a vymazat všechny stopy, co se stalo a kde byl, ale do té doby by musel být opatrný, aby se vždy řídit pod limit , a doufám, že nedostal vytáhl nad.

Při pohledu z okna, on byl překvapený, že vidí, že to bylo už začíná stmívat. Naštěstí neviděl žádný policejní auta, a poznal své auto zaparkované na protějším konci partie. Stále pocit hrozně špatně, posbíral své věci a šel dolů na check-out.

Trvalo Tyson asi patnáct minut jízdy po městě, než našel bankomatu. Ten zaparkoval na protější straně ulice a posadil se na několik okamžiků, se obávat, co se stane, když vloží svůj terminál do otvoru ve stroji. Viděl v jeho mysli, desítky policejních prasknutí odnikud, sirény řvaní, vrháním se na něm, jak se snažil dostat na jeho celoživotní úspory. Ten se zoufale snažil přinutit vidění z mysli, ale zjistil, že on nemohl.

Po dalších pár okamžicích, sbíral bude ignorovat myšlenky běží přes jeho mysl, otevřel dveře a odešel přes ulici. Podíval se na jeho pravou a levou aby se ujistil, nikdo ho pozoroval, než se vloží svůj terminál rychle do otvoru v boku přístroje. Přitiskl ruce k sobě a snažila se potlačit třes.

"Chci, aby stáhla všechny své peníze," řekl rychle, jakmile malé obrazovce počítače vybídl jej, vstoupit do jeho velení. "V hotovosti. Padesátých let. "

Čekal, alarmy, něco říkat jemu on byl ve vězení. On nejméně očekává, že budou říkal, že on nemohl stáhnout své peníze. Ale ne, nic takového. Jeho srdce poskočilo radostí jako malý zásobník ve spodní části stroje otevřel a svěží, nové padesát dolarové bankovky začaly vyléváním v úhledný malý zásobník. Počkal, až nervózně to bylo hotové, popadl hromadu do dvou rukou a podařilo se nacpat si ho do kapsy kabátu.

Holding svazek peněz v kapse s jednou rukou, on se rozběhl zpátky přes ulici a nastoupil do auta tak rychle, jak věděl, jak na to. "Jdi, teď," řekl. "Pospěš si. Jeďte rovně na této silnici. "

On pokračoval na jih, jako by měl v noci. Jak auto provádí ho po dálnici na sto dvacet km za hodinu, což je výrazně pod limitem, snažil se jít nad jeho možnosti. Bylo tolik věcí, že potřebuje zjistit, ale nemohla, protože by musel jít do počítače a dát jeho identifikaci. Potřeboval najít policejní zprávu, něco, co mu říct, jak vyšetřování šlo. Musel vědět, jestli se jim podařilo získat eyeflashes, obrázky vytáhl přímo z ženy mozek to poslední, co by jí viděl před svou smrtí. Pokud ano, oni by měli fotky svého vozu, možná dokonce i SPZ-nebo možná, bál i eyeflash fotografie ze sebe. On potřeboval vědět, ale to bylo nemožné zjistit. Myslel si, že by mohl říkat něco v rádiu o tom, ale listovala nepřetržitě přes stanici zjištěny žádné užitečné informace.

Nakonec si všiml dálnici znamení, dávat pokyny na místní letiště. On si myslel o tom. Měl dost peněz na letenku, ale někde by musel příkopu auto, které nebylo něco, co chtěl udělat, ale pokud to už bylo identifikováno, musel by se zbavit toho někdy. Čím déle řídil, on byl blíže k bytí chytil.

"Sejměte, další právo," řekl a dával pokyny k letišti.

Zaplatil osmnáct dolarů za parkování, zaparkoval, a svižně do hlavního terminálu, neustále se ohlédl přes rameno na každého, kdo prošel blízko něj. On putoval letiště dlouhou dobu, ptal sám sebe, kde to bylo přesně, že on chtěl jít. Zastavil se u počítačovým terminálem a požádala ji, aby se seznam všech odchozích letů v příštích osmačtyřicet hodin. Na obrazovce se objevilo, že obsahuje stovky různá čísla letů, destinace, a odpovídající ceny. Vzhůru do jedné straně viděl seznam letů do stanoviště světy. To upoutalo jeho pozornost. Přivezl ji. Tento seznam byl mnohem kratší, pouze devět položek. Podíval se do seznamu. Všichni byli z jeho cena být odstupňován-vše kromě jednoho. Letu 2131 do Austin Station. Čtyři tisíce tři sta dolarů za jednu jízdenku. On by měl právě dost zbude začít svůj život znovu.

Bez myšlenkou druhé myšlení, řekl počítač chtěl koupit jízdenku. Okamžitě začal tlačit padesátých let do otvoru v terminálu, který byl speciálně navržen pro vzácné příležitosti, když někdo chce něco koupit v hotovosti.

Kapitola 2

Bylo to několik dní před Stanley byl schopen se dostat pryč od skupiny, reportéři a všichni jeho rozhovorů, a putovat Austin stanice sám. Ve skutečnosti, on musel vytratit, když nikdo Zdálo se, že sledování.

Na místě byla obrovská. Kapitán říkal, že to byla malá stanice. Stanley nemohl ani začít si představit, co velký by byl rád. Bloudil bezcílně, často narážet do různých lidí, které nikdy předtím neviděl, a podařilo se udělat velký počet z nich naštvaný na něj. Co ho nejvíc překvapilo byla naprostá počet lidí napěchované do tak malého prostoru. On nakonec se stal klaustrofobní a utrácel všechny jeho energie, vyhýbali se vlevo a vpravo přes koridory, snaží se najít jeden, aniž by příliš mnoho lidí. Čekal, že tam bude více otevřený prostor zde, než byl na Galaxy Four, ale hal zde zřejmě ještě stísněný z nějakého důvodu.

On nakonec přišel v malé kavárně na jednom konci stanice, kde by mohl sednout. Tato oblast byla trochu méně navštěvovaný, ale i tak, on byl jen schopný najít jediný volný stůl. Sedl si a díval se na hvězdy pomocí obří obrázek okna, které lemovaly protější zdi a strop. Chtěl něco k jídlu. Podíval se na konzole na konec stolu, která by mu umožnila, aby něco chtěl, ale on měl žádné peníze, žádný způsob, jak platit za něco, co by mohl dostat. Tak on prostě seděl, odpočíval, poslouchal rozhovory jiných lidí, a díval se z okna.

Po několika minutách tohoto, uslyšel ženský hlas. "Nebude vám vadit, když sedím tady?"

Vzhlédl překvapeně. "Ne," řekl. "Jděte do toho."

"Díky," řekla, když spadl batoh na stůl a posadila se. "Neexistuje žádná jiná prázdná místa."

Pozoroval ji, jak studovala počítač konzole a vybrané vstup pro sebe a zaplatil za to handheld bankovní terminál. Byla mladá. Soudil možná osmnáct. Ona otevřela svou tašku a začal prohrabávat, ale pak jednoduše nastavit ji na zem pod její místo a začala rapu jí klouby na desku stolu.

Zdvořilý trochu droid vytáhl svůj talíř o pár minut později. Stanley na ni zíral večeři. Byl hladovější, než si myslel. Ale ona nepřijala žádné oznámení jeho pohled. Otočil se a pokračoval a díval se z okna.

"Vy nejste jíst něco?" Slyšel, jak se zeptat.

"Ne, já nejsem dostat nic," odvětil.

"Nemám hlad," řekla ústy plnými hamburger.

"Ne peníze."

"Žádné peníze?," Zeptala se překvapeně. "Co, Zapomněli jste terminál doma?"

"Nemám terminálu. Právě jsem dostal z lodi, vidíte, a já jsem se dostal asi na zjištění, jestli mám nějaké peníze, které zbyly z předtím, než jsem odešel. "

"Jak dávno jste odešel?" Zeptala se.

"Sedm let."

"Vy jste byl na lodi pro sedm let?"

"Přesně tak."

"Proč bys to měl dělat? Byl to jeden z těch drahých výletních lodí? Je to to, co jste vyhodil všechny své peníze na sobě? "

"Bylo to mezihvězdného plavidla, schopný rychlosti světla."

"To si děláte legraci!"

"Ne Byli jsme zkoumání hvězdném systému asi deset světelných let daleko. "

Podívala se na něj podezíravě. "Vy jste úplně vážně?"

"Samozřejmě."

"Wow, nikdy jsem nepotkal nikoho, kdo je skutečně opustí sluneční soustavu." Natáhla ruku. "Jsem Sareena."

"Stanley Peterman."

"Hele kámo," řekla, "Nezajímá mě, co mi řeknete, ale nejsem si koupit večeři. Myslel jsem, že bych vám měla říct, že v zájmu intice vás k pravdivosti. "

"Myslíš, že jsem lhal?"

"Ta myšlenka mě nenapadlo."

"No já nejsem," řekl. "A já nejsem, že hlad stejně."

"Tak co jste dělal na této lodi?"

"Byl jsem inženýr. Pomohli ujistěte se, že všechno, co běžel v pořádku. "

"Inženýr, co? Nejsou inženýři údajně zázemím v matematice?. "

"Nevím. Proč? "

Vezmeme kousek brambory klínu z off talíř, řekla: "Mám trochu problém v mém matiku,"

Dal trochu pohybu rukou. "Podívejme se na knihu."

Ona přinesla silnou modrou knihu Matematika od ní balení a jemně položil ji na stůl před něj. Vstala a chodil za ním a díval přes rameno. Sáhla dolů a vybrané stránky. "Přímo tady," řekla a ukázala na konkrétní problém. "Nemůžu na to přijít. Dostávám různé odpovědi. "

Podíval se na tento problém. "To je všechno?" Řekl sarkasticky. "Nemáte něco těžší, než že?"

Podívala se na něj rozzlobeně. "Věděl jsem to," řekla. "Nemáte ponětí, co?" Sáhla po knize, jako je ona si vezme zpět.

Popadl ji za ruku a držel ji zpět. "Ne, to udělat. Dejte mi chvilku. "Myslel si, že za pár vteřin o tom, jak tento problém. Jeho ruka ležela na ní, spočívající na desce stolu. "Fajn, tak tady je to, co dělat ..."

Trvalo deset minut, dokud ona pochopila pojem "první problém. Pak se vydali na další problémy. Posadila se vedle něj. Ty strávil téměř čtyřicet pět minut práce. Zdálo se, že si opravdu zájem předmět matematiky a ona byla zřejmě pochopení alespoň většina z toho, co on říkal jí. On byl vlastně docela hrdý sám na sebe. Měl bych být učitelem, pomyslel si.

Konečně to přišlo blízko. Očividně spokojen s její nově nalezené poznatky, Sareena uzavřena a dát pryč své knize. "Opravdu nemám hlad?" Řekla.

"Umírám hlady."

She smiled, pulled out her bank terminal, and inserted it into the slot at the end of the table. “What do you want?”

He found a nice, moderately priced pasta dinner and ordered it. “Thank you,” he said.

”I should be thanking you,” she said. “You have no idea how much you've helped me out today.”

He looked at her, smiled. “You have no idea how hungry I am.”

She laughed lightly.

Then she did something completely unexpected. She pulled herself closer to him. She leaned her face in towards his, pausing slightly before closing the gap and kissing him quickly on his lips. She pulled away again and looked down at the table top. His stunned gaze remained constant. She turned back to him. She looked strange, nervous, embarrassed, and Stanley could think of nothing to do to relieve her, but lean back and return the kiss. This one remained for longer. He felt her start to move her lips across his, he felt a little wetness, and finally, he felt a tiny tongue, burrowing it's way between his clenched teeth. He opened up and let her in but he looked upward, away from her and saw out of the giant windows, what he had been missing since he had been concentrating on her calculus. The view of the planet below now filled his entire line of sight. It was enormously, overpoweringly, beautiful, much bigger and fuller than he had seen on the Galaxy Four's computer screen and this time he knew he was looking directly at it.

”Holy shit!” he blurted.

She screamed and pulled away from him. She put her hand across her mouth. “What the hell do you think you're doing? You bit me!”

But he was still staring up at the Earth looming above him and her voice didn't quite reach his inner consciousness.

She pressed her tongue against the back of her hand for a few seconds then looked closely at her hand. “Owe, hell. That hurts. Now why'd you have to go and do that?”

Now he looked at her. “What?”

”I'm leaving,” she said, and grabbed her bag and slung it across her back.

Stanley looked back up at the windows. Then he realized what had just happened. “No! Wait!” He reached out for her but she was already beyond his grasp. At a last desperate attempt, he leapt from his seat, fell on his stomach flat on the floor but managed at least to grab a strap hanging down from her pack and hold her back. “Don't go. I'm sorry. It caught me off guard, that's all.” As he looked up at her, he noticed, on the edge of his vision, all the people in the cafe seated near them were now staring intently at him.

”You bit me,” she said softly enough so only he could hear.

”I didn't mean to,” he said.

”Get up,” she said. “You look like an idiot.”

He picked himself off the floor and they stared at each other, consciously aware of the dozens of people still watching. “Can we sit down now?” he asked her quietly.

They sat back down at their table and tried to look calm as they waited for everyone around them to lose interest. “I'm sorry,” Stanley finally said. “I've been away a long time.”

”It shows,” she replied.

”Next time we do this, ” he said, “do you think it would be possible to find someplace without so many people watching?”

She smiled. “I think that could be arranged.”

______   ______   ______

           Take-off was delayed six hours because of technical difficulties on the shuttle. This made Tyson a little uneasy. He had already had to wait nearly thirty hours. He didn't want to wait any more. It was as if he could sense the authorities getting closer and closer to his location with every minute he idly wasted.

He sat in the passenger lounge near his terminal for most of this time. The droids servicing the shops in that section of the airport got to know him rather intimately as he would pass through each one every couple hours, rarely buying anything. He did however, buy a short horror fiction novel to pass the time but was done with it within just a few hours. He thought about getting a second but decided it was necessary for him to save his money for when he finally got to Austin. If he ever would get there.

The car was still out in the lot. He had gotten a two day parking pass so they wouldn't have towed it yet. In a way he wished they would. The car was something that could be traced and if it wasn't in the same location he was, he would be a great deal safer. As he thought about his vehicle sitting alone out there in the parking garage, he became more and more worried that someone would find it and recognize it. He finally decided, as much as he feared going back, he would have to check to see if the car was okay.

He decided not to ride the high-speed subway that ran the entire length of the airport. It would kill time to walk, and he was not at all anxious to arrive at his destination anyway. It took Tyson nearly forty-five minutes to fight the crowds all the way back across the other side of the airport and into the massive, sixty-six story parking garage. When he arrived in front of the elevator that would take him up, he pulled out the little card his car had printed out for him to remind him where he had parked. He looked at it and read:

Lot: B

Level: 23

Blue Section

Row: 19

space # 63

When the lift hit the twenty-third floor, he stepped off slowly and cautiously, prepared to see masses of cops gathered around just waiting for him to return. He saw no police around, however, just a few stray people searching for their cars. He allowed himself to breath a quick sigh of relief before he continued on.

The big blue arrows painted on the walls pointed him in the right direction. He followed the numbers down the walkway, frequently glancing over his shoulder and around in any direction searching for any sign of someone that might be watching him.

He reached row nineteen and began cautiously walking down it, scanning in all directions and eventually he saw his car, nestled snugly between a large family station wagon and a full-sized pick-up truck. No one was in sight.

After walking around his car once he slipped into the drivers seat and relaxed. It was much more comfortable in here than it had been in the waiting area inside the airport. He allowed himself five minutes to rest and calm down, then he told the car to bring up the video log-book.

The little viewscreen built into the dashboard flashed on and Tyson saw a view of the parking garage, much how it looked if he simply looked out the window.

”Scan log,” he said. “Look for anything out of the ordinary.”

The screen blurred and another view of the surrounding parking lot came up, this one from a different angle. A man, possibly thirty years old, crossed in front of the screen and disappeared on the other side. The screen blurred again and Tyson watched and waited as he saw dozens of people walk past along the viewscreen, none of them ever looking in his direction and probably completely unaware of the fact that they were being recorded.

”When was this recorded?” he asked at one point.

The computer responded by putting up a readout on the screen, displaying the time when each significant event–if you could call them significant–happened.

At one point when the screen blurred, Tyson was greeted by an old woman with severely wrinkled and hanging skin and too much eye-shadow, staring directly at him. She turned away from him and yelled, “I think–I think I might have found it.” She looked back, squinted. “What?” she called out to someone obviously several rows away. “I think this is it. Co? Oh, you have it? Oh, okay.” She backed away, turned and was gone from view. “Why didn't you tell me you got a printout?” she said just before she was out of audio range.

”Forget this,” Tyson said. “There's nothing here. Cancel search.”

The screen obediently went blank again.

He thought about what he should do now. Would it be safe to leave the car here?, he wondered. He didn't like the thought of abandoning it. It was an expensive piece of machinery and to simply throw it away would be such a waste. And it provided for him a sense of security, that if anything happened to go wrong, he could just drive away. Without it he would be stuck. If he told it to leave, then the flight to Austin was canceled, he would be stuck here forever.

But he knew that the car was something that could be traced. As soon as the police found it, they would simply go through the list of outgoing flights and it would only be a matter of finding which one was paid for with cash. They would have him pinpointed, trapped on one of the puny habitat worlds.

I have to ditch the car, he decided. There's no getting around it.

He took a deep breath. “Okay, in three minutes I want you to pull out of this parking lot, head towards the freeway going east and travel in that direction until there's no you're out of gas.”

The vehicle made a little beep that meant it understood the directions. A map appeared on the computer screen and the route Tyson had just programmed was shown in red. He looked at it. “Yeah, that's good,” he said.

He got out slowly and walked back towards the elevator. Halfway down the row of cars, he stopped and watched his car pull easily out of it's space and drive off. It was like watching the last bit of his former life drifting away.

On his way back towards the waiting area, he noticed an unoccupied computer terminal. He thought about the danger of being caught. He knew almost nothing about the inner workings of a computer and had no idea how much information he could retrieve before someone caught on to who he was and what he had done. He didn't even know if he would be able to get any information. Any police report might be classified and not open to just anyone wanting to see it. However, he was simply too curious about the fate of that young woman to head off without finding out whether or not she was actually dead.

He slipped his bank terminal into the slot and watched in suspense as he logged on to the world-wide net. There were probably thousands, maybe millions of people logged onto computers in this area. It would probably be nearly impossible for someone to get a good lock in on his terminal. Just the same, Tyson wanted to get in, get the information and get out as quickly as possible.

”Show me the obituaries for Roseburg, Oregon.” That seemed like a good and safe place to start.

A list of names appeared on the screen. Too many of them.

”Exclude the males,” he told the computer.

The list shortened by about half.

”Exclude all that died of natural causes.”

The list was still too long.

”Exclude everyone that died in their home.”

Now the list was only six names long. Alphabetical order. He touched the first name. “Bring up this one,” he said.

The words “Auto Accident,” caught his attention. He read on, not paying much attention to the photo in the upper right corner of the screen. He thought he might have dreamed up what she looked like and couldn't trust a picture alone. He found that this woman had been driving a vehicle with faulty auto drive and had been dozing. The report said she had died instantly when her car crashed into a large pine tree at 190 kph.

           Tyson went on to the second obituary, an elderly woman who had been knifed to death by an anxious mugger.

The third woman had died of a drug overdose.

The fourth was a suicide.

Tyson was, by this time, growing a little less concerned. Perhaps he hadn't killed her. Maybe she was just fine, in a hospital somewhere, recovering slowly but surely.

He brought up the fifth one and was relieved to find she had died falling from the sixth floor of an office building.

With shaking fingers he touched the sixth name. The screen flashed, seemed to pause longer than it had on the previous names, and went clear again to reveal the last obituary.

And there she was.

He recognized the picture immediately: the young blond, clear complexion, perfectly shaped facial features as if they had been carved from stone. He read the words, “killed by drunk driver,” and nearly doubled over from the return of that terrible pain in his stomach.

He closed his eyes, tried to calm himself. “Oh, God.”

He read the caption. She had been a law student, home for the weekend. Her name was Anathene Ravanis. She had grown up in north-west Washington with her natural parents. They moved to Oregon to be closer to the rest of the family when Anathene was fourteen. She moved back to Washington state when she was barely into her twenties to study to become a lawyer. She was twenty-four when she was tragically run down in the middle of the street three days earlier. She was survived by her two parents, her husband of three years, and her six month old daughter.

”Exit out,” Tyson said quickly, now suddenly, not wanting to learn any more. “Turn it off.”

The screen changed to show him that it had charged him three dollars for the retrieval of the information. His bank terminal popped out of it's slot. He grabbed it and hurried off towards his shuttle, the tears just barely standing out in his eyes, the pain in his stomach spreading towards his chest and growing with every step he took.

______   ______   ______

Sareena decided to bring Stanley back to her apartment. When the two arrived, she was happy to find that her father was not home. They sat on the couch in the living room, listening to music, talking. Their conversation shifted from subject to subject, never sticking in one place too long. Stanley told her a good deal about life aboard a starship, and she told him bits and pieces of what it's like to live on Austin station. She mostly tried to avoid talking about herself though. She felt her life was small and meaningless when compared to his.

Eventually they became bored with talk and moved on to other things.

They started out small–little pecks on the cheek–but it did not take them long before they were into the long, deep, passionate kisses that Sareena enjoyed so much. She pulled herself close to him. As she felt his hand, slowly and cautiously, moving under her shirt, she thought to herself, perhaps things are moving a little too quickly. At first she had an urge to push his arm back, to tell him she wasn't ready, but she quickly rejected the idea. She was too into the moment.

Then, suddenly, she heard a low, almost silent, hiss as the front door slid open.

Her reactions were quick. She slammed her hand down on his arm, driving his hand out from under her clothing and at the same time leapt away from him. She turned, straitened herself on the sofa and looked towards the door as her father entered, looking somewhat tired out.

”Hello, Daddy,” she said, trying her best to sound calm.

”Hi,” he replied. He seemed to immediately notice Stanley, sitting next to Sareena “And who would this be?”

”This–” Sareena thought as quickly as she could to come up with a worthy lie. “This is my math tutor, Stanley Peterman.” That seemed believable enough. She paused. “Oh, and Stanley, this is Spanfell, my father.”

”It's nice to meet you.”

The two men shook hands.

Her father's eyes visibly narrowed. “Where's your math book, Sareena?”

”We haven't started studying yet,” she replied quickly. “We were just talking”

”Well then, I guess I'll leave you two alone,” He quietly left the room and headed towards the back of the apartment. Sareena saw him glance back over his shoulder at them once as if he suspected something.

”You live with your parents?” Stanley asked after Spanfell was completely out of earshot.

”Just my dad,” Sareena replied.

”I figured you lived by yourself. It's a little surprising to have someone burst in like that. What does your father do anyway?”

”He's a courier,” Sareena answered.

Stanley didn't seem to understand her meaning.

”He pressures people into giving him money so he can show them around Austin. He gets them hotel rooms but that's about it. They pay him pretty good money for it too–when he actually has a client. Most of the time he's just looking for newcomers who don't know their way around.”

”That sounds like fairly interesting work,” Stanley said.

”He seems to think so.”

Sareena looked at him. She wanted to restart what had been so rudely interrupted. She wanted to move in closer to him again but couldn't seem to bring herself to close the gap between them. It didn't seem appropriate anymore. They sat silently for a long while.

Finally, Stanley said, “They're probably missing me back at the docking bay and on the ship. I never told anyone I was leaving. I really ought to be getting back.”

”All right,” she said. “Are you coming back here sometime?”

”Sure. I'll stop by in a couple of days.”

”I guess I'll see you then,” she said as she watched him cross the room to the door.

”Thanks for the pasta,” he said, just before the door closed.

Sareena was left to herself. She contemplated what she was going to do for the rest of the day. She sat for a long while, thinking. It had been a strange day, one to remember. She didn't know what to make of it all.

Eventually she got up and went to her room.

Before she had settled in, her father entered. “Did your friend leave already?” he asked.

”He just left,” she said.

”Did you two get much studying done in that short time?”

”Some.”

They stared at each other for several seconds, not speaking. She tried her best to put on an innocent-looking face, but, while she could not see herself, she was unsatisfied with her attempts.

Spanfell sat down on the edge of Sareena's bed. “So who is he?”

”He's my Calculus tutor.”

”That's a likely story.”

”He is!”

”Why'd he have to take off so quickly after I got home?”

”He had to get back to his class.”

”Is he a student or a teacher?”

Sareena randomly chose one of the two options. “Teacher,” she replied.

”So why did he come here at all if he had to leave so early?”

”He didn't leave early,” she said. “We were studying for a couple hours before you got here.”

”You told me you hadn't started yet.”

”I said that?”

”Yes you did.”

”I don't remember saying anything like that. No, we studied for a long time before you came home. I had just put my book away.”

”What were you studying?”

”My math!” Her voice was raised to a high level now from the frustration of the conversation. “Don't you listen to anything I say?”

”I happen to listen very well,” he said, calmly. “I have very good ears. I also have very good eyes. I can see what's going on between you and that guy.”

”What makes you think anything is going on between us?”

”You're tongue down his throat was my first clue.”

Zastavila se, zamračila se na něj. He glared back, but in a sort of triumphant way, apparently proud of himself for discovering her lies.

”Well so what?” she said after a long while. “What does it matter to you anyway?”

”I'm your father, Sareena. I worry about you.”

”I'm sure you do but I think I can make my own decisions about who I spend my time with.”

”You don't seem to be making very sound choices, Sareena. He's too old for you.”

”That's for me to decide,” she said.

”So you're not going to obey your father?”

She thought about how to handle the situation. He seemed to be acting coolly. He seemed to be calm, rational–at least on the outside. He had probably planned out everything he was going to say to her.

”What do you want me to say?” she said.

”I want you to say you'll stop seeing him.”

”I'm not going to do that.”

She could see his anger rising. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a second. “He's no good for you, Sareena. What is he, twice your age?”

”I doubt the difference is that great,” she said.

He sighed. “So how long have you been seeing this guy anyway.”

”Oh, I'm not seeing him,” she said. “I've just been fucking him off and on. Surely you of all people would understand that.” She regretted saying the line even before the words had exited her mouth.

He stood quickly. “God damn it, Sareena! Can't you take anything seriously?”

As he raised his hand, Sareena suddenly thought he was going to strike her again, like he had several days earlier. She flinched, put her arm up to block. But he didn't hit her. He clenched his fist tightly, as if he was trying desperately to hold himself back. Taking a deep breath, he looked away from her and walked quickly out of the room, pounding his fist into the door activator. A second later, it closed behind him.

She looked after him. She shook her head and sighed. Why do I do this?, she thought. Why can't I just think before I say things like that?

She sat for a long time, wondering what she should do. She didn't want to apologize to him for what she had said, but she also couldn't stand the idea of him staying mad at her for any long period of time. Why should I have to do this?, she thought. He's the unreasonable one. Why can't he just let me run my own life, and quit butting in? I can make my own decisions. Why doesn't he see that?

But she knew she was going to have to do it. She was going to have to go out and talk to him, but she waited a while longer and planned out exactly what she was going to say. Finally, she took a deep breath, got up, and went out towards the main room of the apartment.

She found him sitting at the kitchen table, silently, his head resting in his hands. She leaned up against the counter top, a few meters away and watched him, not saying anything. Eventually he looked up at her. They silently stared at each other for a while.

”Look,” she said finally, “I appreciate your concern in this matter, but really, it is not needed. I know what I'm doing. Besides, I'm not interested in Stanley. That kiss you saw was just a one time deal. It's not going anywhere between us, and he understands that. He's just a friend.” It was all a lie, of course, but he seemed to buy it.

”That was all I wanted to hear, Sareena.”

”I know it, but what if I did like this guy? I'd like to think that you wouldn't go blowing up on me if I brought home a guy you didn't approve of.”

”I'm sorry I got so mad at you,” he said. “It's just that I worry about you so much. I don't want to see you get involved with someone who's no good for you.”

”I understand that, but you can't decide that. I think I can decide for myself who I want to be dating. All right?”

”All right. From now on, I'm going to try to stop making your decisions for you, but if I see you making a poor one, I'm still going to tell you.”

”Just don't be too pushy about it, okay?”

”Sure.”

”Look,” she said, “I'm sorry about what I said to you earlier.”

”Don't worry about it,” he replied.

”So are we squared away now?”

”Yeah, we are.”

”Good. I'm glad.”

”So you're not going to be bringing Stanley by here anymore?” he asked.

”Well, yes, I am. He's still going to be helping me with my Calculus.”

”You weren't lying about that?”

”Of course not.” She grinned at him. “Have you ever known me to lie to you?”

______   ______   ______

He felt the cold rain of the roadway, soaking through his pants. He was dazed. He could barely stand. Every time he would try, he would get to a low squat, and the gravity would shift and he would topple to the ground. It was raining hard. He knew it was raining, but for some reason, the only dampness he could feel was coming from the road he was lying on. It was dark. Blackness was all around. Penetrating blackness, the kind that chills the soul, but for some reason he could see. He could see the buildings standing tall above him on both sides of the road, or perhaps he simply sensed that they were there. They were all dark and empty, as if they had been abandoned long ago. He looked all around him. The area was somehow familiar, but he couldn't remember when he had ever been here. He realized he was crying, but couldn't seem to remember why.

”Get out of the road,” someone said.

Tyson looked around, frantically searching for the source of the sound.

”Get out of the road.”

”Who are you?” Tyson shouted.

”Get out of the road.”

”I can't.”

He turned, and suddenly, standing high above him, was a man of great size with a wicked glare on his face and a long dark beard, hanging down to his chest.

”Get out of the road,” the man said.

”I can't. Can't you see I can't move?”

”You're blocking traffic.”

Tyson looked up and down the road. He could see no cars. “Who are you?” he asked.

”I'm here for you.”

Waves of fear crashed in on him. They had found him! They had finally found him. But who were they? And why were they looking for him?

”No!” Tyson screamed. He curled himself up, making himself as small as he possibly could, putting his arms over his face to block the view of the hulking figure. “No, please. Leave me. Leave me alone. Please!”

Then, everything was silent. He looked up and the man was gone. He got to his knees, and with a little bit of trouble was able to stand up. Looking down the road, he saw something lying there. It was a woman, face down. He slowly staggered over to her.

”Get out of the road,” he said.

She didn't respond.

”You're blocking traffic.”

After a moment she replied, “Please, leave me be.”

”Why?”

”Just leave me be. I beg of you.”

”You're going to get hurt.”

”That's my choice.”

”Very well.” He turned to walk away from her but her hand caught him by the back of his pantleg.

”I'm sorry,” she said.

”For what?”

”I'm sorry.”

”You didn't do anything.”

”Yes I did,” she said. “I hurt you. I made you this way. I didn't mean to do this to you. I didn't. I'm sorry.” She turned onto her back and looked up at Tyson. For the first time, he saw her face. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He knew immediately who she was.

”You're supposed to be dead.”

”I was,” she replied.

That confused him. He had always believed that a person could not be dead one moment then alive the next. He thought about that a long time, and finally concluded that he must have been mistaken on that point. A person could be alive one moment then dead the next, so why couldn't it work the other way around? He wasn't the type of person to question the way of the world anyway.

”Here,” she said. She took his hand and directed it towards her face. “Do I feel dead to you?”

”No,” he said as he ran his palm across her warm cheek.

           ”Everything comes back,” she said. “Did you know that? Things happen again and again and again. They're beyond our control. We live in a wheel. It goes round and round and around, and we can never get off. Never. It will spin around some day and this will come back to haunt you.”

He stared at her, barely comprehending her words. She was standing now and he was lying on the pavement again. “Who are you?”

”You know who I am.”

”You're supposed to be dead.”

”I've come back.”

”Have you come back to haunt me?”

”I've come back to show you things.”

”Like what?”

”Like what I just told you–how we live in a wheel. How things will come back for you. Like how this will come back for you.” She pointed down the road and Tyson saw a car coming towards him.

He looked at her, tried to move towards her but found himself immobile. She took a cautious step backward. “Help me,” he pleaded.

”I can't. It was meant to be. It's coming for you. They're coming for you. Deal with it.”

He tried desperately to move but found himself stuck to the roadway. He was strapped down, by some invisible harness. He watched the car speeding closer and closer, making no move to avoid him. Covering his head with his arms, he gave out one last frightful scream, a plea to the woman to help him, but she did not, and he finally felt the incredible impact of the car's bumper as it connected with his body.

*   *   *

He awoke with a start, drenched with sweat, the safety harness digging into his flesh. He breathed a deep sigh of relief realizing he was still on the shuttle. The people around him were all still sleeping. His sedative must have worn off early. He looked out one of the side windows and saw the earth, looming before him. He was escaping. In a few hours he would be on the station, a brand new world to him, and he would start a new life.

Chapter 3

Spanfell stared for a long while, through the glass wall that separated him from the shuttle's passengers that were now starting to come off. He searched the crowd, looking for one who seemed like he didn't know what he was doing or where he was going. It didn't take long to find one. That one, right there, he told himself. The one who's trying so desperately to blend into the crowd.

He watched as the new arrivals exited their shuttle. Where was this one from?, he wondered. Earth? One of the other habitat worlds? But it didn't matter where they were from as long as they had money and didn't know their way around.

He watched the young man he had selected, burned his face into his memory so he could pull him aside as soon as he exited the decontamination chamber. He walked along, keeping pace with him until the group of new arrivals were all herded into a side chamber where they would go through the process of decontamination.

Hurrying towards the gate where he knew his target would be coming from, Spanfell tried to get ahead of the rest of the masses of people, some of who were waiting to meet incoming family members, but most of who were couriers, like himself, out to make a buck off the tourists.

He made it to the main gate, stopped and waited. After a few moments, the doors opened and the people started piling out. He saw his target in the middle of the crowd, saw that no one was coming to meet him. Watching intently so as not to lose him, Spanfell plowed through the rest of the people and started walking close to the young man he had selected.

”Hello, my name is Spanfell. I'm here to give you a hand in finding your way around.”

The man stopped. “What?”

”My name's Spanfell. I'ma courier. I'm here to help. This is quite a large and confusing station, but I can guide you all through it–for a small fee of course.”

”A tour guide?”

”And much more. What do you say?”

”I don't think so buddy. Sorry.”

”Oh, now come on. I haven't told you what it is I can do for you.”

”What can you do for me?”

           ”I can get you hotel or restaurant reservations. I can hook you up with just about any type of person you'd want to meet here. If you're thinking of moving here, I can handle all it takes to get your citizenship. I can do basically anything you need done.”

”Can you get me a job?”

”I could do that. What kind are you looking for?”

”One that pays.”

”I think I can handle that. But first we need to get the business of my fee out of the way.”

”What is it that you charge?”

”I never caught your name,” Spanfell said.

”Tyson. How much do you charge?”

”I'll offer you a deal. Two hundred a week. You may actually save money by hiring me though, since I can get you the best deals on anything around. Anything you can possibly get on Austin Station. So is this your first visit to this fine habitat world?”

”Yes, it is,” Tyson said.

”Have you ever visited any other stations?”

”No.”

”Then you don't know much about station life do you?”

”I guess not.”

”Well, I can help you out there. I can teach you anything you need to know. Station life is pretty confusing you know, but I've got it down and I'll help you get it down too.”

Tyson pulled Spanfell aside, out of the stream of traffic and said to him, “Okay, I'm going to need a job, a place to stay, a citizenship here, and I need it all to be completely confidential. I don't want anything entered into the computers about my being here. Nothing that could get back to Earth.”

”I think I could pull that off. V pořádku. May I ask why it must be confidential though?”

”No you may not.”

”So am I hired?”

”Two hundred, you say?”

”Uh-huh.”

”I suppose I could handle that, assuming you find me a paying job real quick.”

”I'll get on it right away. Do you have a place to stay?”

”I'm expecting you to find me one. Not too much though. I'm rather short on funds right now.”

”You have enough for my fee though don't you?”

”Barely.”

”Well, let's say we get that out of the way right now, shall we?”

”How do I know you won't just run off with my money and leave me hanging?”

”You can trust me.”

Tyson shook his head. “No. I can't risk that. I can't afford to put all of my funds into something before I even have a job here. I'll pay you fifty now, and the rest when you find me a way for me to make some money.”

”That would be acceptable I suppose.” Spanfell pulled out his bank terminal and presented it to Tyson. “Fifty now, and I should be able to find you some sort of work within the next few days, but you can't take the job until you've paid me the other one-fifty.”

Tyson shook his head. “I don't have any electronic funds. You're going to have to accept cash.”

Cash? That was certainly odd. Who used cash these days?

Spanfell shrugged. What did it matter? Money is money. “Whatever you say.”

Tyson handed Spanfell a fifty dollar bill. Spanfell stared at it for several seconds. It had been a few years since he had seen actual money like this. I wonder if it's real, he thought. Going to have to check that out before I do anything big for this guy.

”All right,” Spanfell said, “you say you need a place to stay. Should I show you to a place I happen to know?”

”The cheapest you can find.”

”Of course.”

Spanfell led Tyson down the crowded halls of the station towards a small hotel that he often used for his clients. He wondered why this man was here. Probably running from someone. That was fairly obvious. He hadn't brought any baggage with him so it must have been a fairly hasty decision.

”So where are you from?” Spanfell asked.

”Earth.”

”I know that. Where on Earth?”

Tyson didn't answer, and Spanfell decided that it probably wasn'ta good idea to push the subject.

They soon arrived at their destination. Tyson checked in and paid for a room and Spanfell followed him up to it. Tyson gave a quick run around the small apartment, checking it all out, came back and sat down on the bed with Spanfell.

”Okay, What kind of a job do you think you can get me?”

”What are your qualifications? What did you do on Earth?”

”I was a salaryman for Microsoft.”

”What level?”

”Thirteen.”

”Hmm.” That probably wasn't going to help much. A thirteenth level salaryman wasn't too far up the corporate ladder, but it would probably put him at the top of the list for any menial, minimum wage job that happened to be open. “What we're going to need to do, is first of all, put your information down in the computer.” He went over to the desk sitting against a wall and flipped on the computer terminal.

Tyson went over and stood by the desk. “What sort of information do you mean?”

”Anything that would be relevant to prospective employers. Where exactly did you work before you came here?”

”Look, I don't know if I can do this.”

”What?”

”I'm not supposed to be here. I can't enter in anything that could pinpoint who I am.”

”Well now, that could be a problem. How am I supposed to find you work if I can't tell them about any of your past experience?”

”I have faith in you.”

Spanfell flipped the computer terminal off. “All right then. This may take a while. Shall I go now and start looking or is there anything else you're going to need tonight.”

”No. Go now. My money is running short already. I need a way I can get ahold of you though. Give me your ID number.”

Spanfell found a small piece of paper in his pocket and wrote out the eighteen digit code and gave it to Tyson. “Why don't you give me yours too.”

Tyson shook his head. “Can't do that. I'm going to have it changed soon anyway.”

”How do you plan on doing that?”

”I have no idea. I'm trusting you to find me a way. Go, now. Find me work. Hurry. You can call me here. I should be right here for the next couple days.”

As Spanfell was shooed out of the room, he thought to himself, Jesus Christ, this guy's going to be a real problem.

______   ______   ______

Stanley Peterman sat, waiting at the same table where he had first met Sareena. They had agreed to meet here. He was anxiously awaiting her arrival. Picking at his french fries absently with one hand, he stared up through the huge windows at the Earth that was just beginning to come into view.

”You came,” he heard Sareena say.

He looked at her as she took a seat across the table from him. “I told you I'd come,” he said. “I missed you the last couple days.”

”Me too.” She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss then began picking at his plate of fries.

”So what do you want to do?” he asked her. “Do you want to go back to your place?”

”Don't you have a place here yet? I don't really want to go to mine. I'm afraid my father's going to be there.”

”What is with him anyway? Do you fear him or something?”

”No,” she replied. “It's just that I don't want him to know what's going on here.”

”I don't understand why not.”

”I had a long talk with him just after you left the last time. He thinks your just my math tutor.”

”You know, Sareena, I think your life would be a lot easier if you were just honest with him. A lie can get quite complicated if you don't know how to control it.”

”I know how to control myself,” she said. “I have a great deal of practice with this.” Her voice softened as she said, “He can't handle the truth anyway. He wouldn't know how to deal with it. He still thinks of me as his little baby girl.”

Stanley shook his head. Sometimes he wondered about her. Was she a pathological liar or did she actually have good reasons for avoiding the truth when dealing with Spanfell? He wondered what kind of secrets she might someday start keeping from him.

”So should we go to your place?” she said.

”I suppose we could do that. No tak. I think I remember how to get there.”

           As they left, Stanley watched a human attendant come out and clear his half eaten plate of fries.

He led the way this time, through the crowded corridors, away from the little cafe. After a time, she took his hand in hers and they walked in that fashion for half an hour or so around the outer wheel of the station. Every once in a while, a window would open up along the roof of the hall they were walking through and they would both glance up at the planet above them.

After a time, Stanley said, “I'm going to be leaving here soon.”

Sareena stopped and turned to him. “What?”

”I'm scheduled to take a trip to Earth in three weeks.”

”You're leaving me?”

”I wasn't planning on it,” he said. “I'd like it if you came with me.”

”What? Jak? I don't have enough money to finance a shuttle trip.”

”I'll pay for you.”

”I thought you didn't have any money,” she replied. “I had to buy you lunch not too long ago because you were flat broke and starving.”

”I wasn't broke. I just didn't have a bank terminal at the time.”

”And you do now?”

He pulled it out and showed it to her.

”And you expect me to go with you down to the planet? Just like that? Not a second thought?”

”It doesn't have to be forever, Sareena. You can come back whenever you like.”

”Will you pay for my return too?”

”Of course.”

”I don't know if I can ask you to do that. We've only just met. Shuttle tickets are expensive.”

”They paid me well for taking the Galaxy Four trip.”

”But still–”

”Please, Sareena?”

”But what about my father?”

”Forget about him for the moment. Don't you want to see the world down there. You've never been there have you? I know I'm anxious to see it again.”

”We'll see,” she said. “We'll just have to wait and see.”

______   ______   ______

Spanfell wandered the station aimlessly, stopping here and there, asking if there were any employment opportunities for an inexperienced man who, for one reason or another, was unable to look for a job himself. He wasn't having much luck.

As he turned out of a small antique shop, he happened to notice his daughter some distance away, down the corridor. She was stopped, talking to someone. He started towards her, wanting to ask her to keep her eyes open for a possible job opportunity. But then, he saw who she was with. It was that guy–what's his name?–Stanley. Her math tutor, or so she says. Spanfell stopped in his tracks and watched them for a short while. They were just talking. He crept closer to them, making sure to blend in with the crowd. When he had gotten as close as he dared, he stopped and continued watching. It appeared as if they were simply having a discussion. Hopefully about her math, but it seemed a little too animated of a conversation to be about school work. Eventually they began walking again. Spanfell followed the two for a while.

Then he noticed something about them. They had started holding hands. So they were lovers. This enraged him. She had lied to him. He wanted to run up and throw Stanley to the ground and beat him, but he held himself back. He stopped, glared and watched them disappear into the crowd.

______   ______   ______

The prospect of finally seeing Earth firsthand was both exciting and frightening at the same time. This was something she had wanted–or thought she had wanted–for all her life, but now she wasn't sure if she wanted to leave her life on the station, even for a short while. She knew this place. This was her home. She knew her way around almost perfectly. On Earth, she wouldn't have the first clue how to get anywhere. She would be tiny, insignificant. Here she felt as if she was somebody, large, important in some way.

Sareena turned to Stanley. They were sitting close together on the couch in his apartment. “When would we leave?” she asked.

           ”Three weeks. There's still more work for me to do on the ship before we can go.”

”I'm not even sure I'll want to go,” she replied. “I don't know if I can just pack up and leave my home like that.”

”I'm not asking you to leave for good. Just a little vacation. You could come back at any time.”

”Would you come back with me?”

He waited a long while before answering, “I don't know if I could. I don't like it here. It's too crowded, feels as though the walls are closing in. I want to see the open sky again. I want to live out in the open like I did before I left on the Galaxy Four .”

”I want to too,” she said. “But–” and she stopped herself. How could she say no? This was something she had wanted all her life. To see the world up close. Could she ever live with herself if she let an opportunity like this slip through her fingers. How could she ever live with herself if she let him walk out of her life? “All right,” she said. “I'll go. I'll need to talk with my dad first though.”

”I wouldn't let you leave without telling him.”

”But he may not let me go,” she said. “I'm going to have to tell him about us. I may end up having to sneak away from here without his permission.”

”I figured you'd be up for something like that,” Stanley said.

______   ______   ______

Now that things had finally settled down for Tyson, he had a chance to finally sit and think to himself. Alone in his hotel room, he thought, for once, not about Anathene, but about his past life, the one he left behind down on Earth. He had been a salaryman for a large American company. Not a glamorous job, or an exciting one, or a well paying one, but it was better than he could ever hope to achieve on this tiny station. He wondered if his boss had found a replacement for him yet.

He missed his family, his friends, his coworkers. He wondered if he could ever see any of them again. It's strange, he thought, how one instant, one moment in time, one tiny decision can completely alter your life forever.

But he didn't want to get too tied down thinking about the past. What's done is done. There's no going back. What he had to do now was look toward the future. He had to make a new life for himself here on the station, and he had to do it quickly before his funds ran out. He needed to get in touch with Spanfell, see how the job search was going.

Tyson went over to the little computer on the desk against the wall and entered Spanfell's ID code, instructing it to seek out Spanfell and get in touch with him. He turned around, and began to wander the apartment, expecting the search to take several minutes, but instead, Spanfell's face appeared almost immediately on the small screen.

”Hello,” he said.

”I just called to see how the hunt is going. Have you found me anything yet?”

”Not yet,” Spanfell said. “I'm still working on it.”

Tyson noticed that Spanfell looked agitated, angry about something. “Is there something wrong?” he asked.

”Nothing wrong,” Spanfell replied. “Family troubles is all. Just sit tight. I'll find you work very soon.”

”Within the next couple days?”

”Very soon. Don't worry. I've done this before. I should go now, continue the search. Was there anything else you needed?”

”No. I just wanted to make sure you were out and looking. I'm rather desperate you know.”

”Don't worry. I'm doing a good job out here. I'll find you something.” And the screen went blank.

______   ______   ______

Instead of continuing his job hunt like he said he was going to, Spanfell went home. He sat for a long while at the kitchen table, trying to stifle his anger, waiting for his daughter to return home from wherever she was. He knew she would be here soon. Her book bag was here and she needed to be at school in less than an hour now.

Why am I making such a big deal out of this?, Spanfell asked himself. Why should I care? I should let Sareena make her own decisions.

           He couldn't understand why it mattered to him that Sareena was seeing someone who was so much older than she was. He had always believed that age shouldn't be a factor in a dating relationship–or thought he had.

It was because she had lied to him. That's all he cared about. He hated being lied to. If she had simply told him the truth from the beginning, instead of trying to hide it, he probably wouldn't have had a problem with her relationship with Stanley. It was a frustrating situation. He was frustrated because she had been so stupid to lie to him. It would have been so much easier for everyone if she had just been straight with him. Why didn't she understand that?

He wanted to just forget it all. He wished he could just let Sareena alone and allow her to live her life as she saw fit. She deserved to be able to do that. But, for some reason he knew, he would not be able to just leave it alone.

Sometimes, he thought, I just have no control over myself. This thought set his mind racing back to one of the most recent times where he had been unable to gain control over his own actions. He saw himself stepping forward, menacingly, towards his daughter, unthinkingly, raising his hand, striking her across her cheek. That one moment kept running through his mind, over and over again. One moment of weakness. He had just been so upset from being dumped by Carol that he was simply unable to control himself, but that was no excuse.

It doesn't matter, he tried to tell himself. She probably never even thinks of it. It probably never even mattered to her at all. It was just a little slap, barely worth mentioning. It never happened before. It'll never happen again.

It will never happen again, he told himself. Never. I won't do it again. I couldn't.             But for some reason he couldn't make himself believe that.

Spanfell shook his head wildly, trying to force the thoughts from his mind. He wished he could stop thinking about it all, for once, put it behind him. Burying his face in his hands, he began vigorously rubbing his eyebrows with his fingertips, as if he could physically force the unwanted thoughts from his mind.

Just then, he heard the front door open. Looking up, he saw Sareena come in. He had forgotten he was waiting for her. He wanted to talk to her on a subtle level, hinting at what he had found out about her and Stanley, but as soon as he saw her, he couldn't help blurting out, “You lied to me didn't you?”

”What?” she replied quickly.

”I saw you with that Stanley person today. You two were holding hands.”

”Oh, Jeez! Why do you have to do this? You were spying on me again weren't you?”
”No. I just happened to notice you two together, that's all.”

”Well what the hell should it matter to you anyway?” said Sareena.

”You lied to me.”

”I had to. You would have gone berserk if you knew the truth.”

”Do I look berserk to you Sareena?” Spanfell was sitting, his hands folded, calmly watching his daughter. But it was taking all he had to contain himself.

She shook her head. “I don't care. I don't care what you think. Just stay out of my life. Quit spying on me.” She said this as she was walking back towards her room. A moment later she returned, carrying her backpack across her right shoulder, and hurried towards the door.

”Sareena,” Spanfell said.

She stopped. "Co? What do you want?”

He paused. He decided it would perhaps be better if he let the subject drop for now. “My latest client is looking for a job. Could you keep your eyes open, look for any openings?”

”Sure, I suppose I could do that,” she said, heading for the door.

”Thank you,” Spanfell tried to tell her but she was already gone.

Chapter 4

Spanfell was becoming more and more worried that he would never be capable of finding Tyson a job. He had had no idea how difficult the search was going to be. The calls from Tyson were becoming more and more frequent. Apparently he was even more agitated about it than Spanfell.

Spanfell made a quick stop at his apartment for a meal break. He was there for fifteen minutes or so, and was just about ready to head out the door again and continue the job search when he heard the door chimes. He got up and opened it.

It was Stanley.

Spanfell hadn't seen Stanley since he had spied him and Sareena holding hands in the corridor several days earlier. Since then he had kept his distance from his daughter and had tried his best not to think about the subject. But now, the sight of this man enraged him. It was mostly the frustrations of job hunting that made him so angry but Stanley was his most immediate target.

”Is Sareena here?” said Stanley.

Spanfell lunged, driving his right fist hard into Stanley's jaw.

Stanley was forced backwards and landed five or six feet away on his back, but quickly rolled to his feet. He put a hand to his chin. Spanfell saw blood.

”What the hell?” Stanley said.

”Stay away from my daughter.”

”What? I'm just her Calculus tutor. We had a study session scheduled.”

”Stay away! The next time you show up at this door, I'll kill you.”

”But–”

”Do you understand me? I'll kill you.”

Stanley said, “So I take it you know what's been going on between us.”

”Leave! Now! Jdi! I don't ever want to see you around here again.”

Stanley rubbed at his chin where Spanfell had struck him. “It's not really a good idea to go around hitting people,” he said as he turned to leave. “One of these days someone is gonna hit you back.”

______   ______   ______

After the unexpected encounter with Spanfell, Stanley decided to head home and call Sareena from there. It didn't take long for the computer to track her down. Fortunately she had not been at home. She was on her way home.

”I just had a rather interesting discussion with your dad,” he said to Sareena.

”Oh, what happened? What did you say?”

”We didn't say much, actually. He seemed kind of mad about something. Did you tell him about our plans to go to Earth?”

”I haven't found the right time yet,” she said.

”I'm beginning to think maybe you shouldn't tell him. Maybe we should just leave and you can call him when we get there.”

”What?” she replied. “Why do you say that? You were the one who was pushing me to always tell him everything about us.”

”I didn't realize what kind of a guy he really is.”

”What do you mean? What happened when you spoke to him today?”

”He hit me, Sareena. He attacked me.”

”You're kidding! Are you okay?”

”I'm fine. He doesn't hit that hard. It was just sort of stunning. What is his problem anyway?”

”Oh, I don't know,” she said. “He doesn't have a girlfriend. He's upset about that. And he has this client who needs him to find a job for him, but he can't come up with anything. He's been out looking every day for the past week. It seems like no one on the station is hiring these days.”

”What kind of job does this client want?”

”Just some menial job, I guess. Minimum wage. Look, do you want me to come over? I should be on my way to school right now but I could miss a day. I could come to your place and we could talk about this whole trip.”

”Hmm.” Stanley paused to think a moment. “No,” he said. “Go to school. You could drop by here afterwards if you want. We can talk then”

They said quick goodbyes and disconnected the phone link.

Stanley sat and thought for a few minutes, then got up and headed out the door. After about a half hour walk, he found himself at Sareena's door. He knew she wouldn't be home but he rang the bell anyway. After a few moments, the door slid open with a small hiss. Standing before him, was Spanfell. The two men glared at each other for a long while.

Spanfell spoke first: “Did you not hear what I said to you before?”

”I heard you.”

”Then why are you here? Are you stupid or something? Do you not really think I'll do what I said I would do?”

”I think you're overreacting a little, Spanfell.”

”I don't care what you think. I want you to leave, now. Leave. Do I have to smack you really hard this time?”

Stanley thought quickly about what he had come here to do. There was something else he wanted to do first though, but didn't know if he should. Why not?, he wondered. He deserved it. What could Spanfell do anyway? And with that little thought, Stanley took a quick step forward and gave Spanfell a hard right jab, just to the left side of his nose.

Spanfell staggered back, his hands to his face. “Oh, Jesus!” he said. He pulled his hands away slightly to reveal a great deal of blood, dripping from his nose. “You little bastard!” And he lunged at Stanley.

Stanley stepped aside, easily avoiding the attack. Spanfell stumbled past him and Stanley wrapped his arm around Spanfell's neck from behind in a kind of headlock, pulled him inside the apartment and threw him to the floor. The door slid closed automatically, giving the two men privacy. Stanley stood over Spanfell in triumph. He smiled down on him, and said, “I have a job opportunity for you.”

”What?” Spanfell said, still lying on the floor, still holding in the blood from his nose with his hands.

”Sareena tells me you need a job for some client of yours. I happen to know of an opening. I can get this guy in, if you're willing to do something for me.”

Spanfell staggered to his feet and moved away from Stanley. He went to the sink in the kitchen and washed the blood from his face. “What the hell are you trying to pull here buddy?” he said.

”I'm not pulling anything. We need people to help clear off all of the equipment from my ship. We're short handed and I heard you had someone looking for a job. It seems to me like it's perfect.”

Spanfell looked across the room at Stanley. “You hit me,” he said.

”You hit me too.”

”You deserved it.”

”So did you.”

”What are you trying to do here?” Spanfell asked.

”I'm trying to give you a hand. I want to help you out.”

”No you don't. You just want to get at my daughter.”

”I've already gotten at her. This has nothing to do with her. Nothing you say or do could change what is happening between us. What I am doing here, is trying to offer you something in return. You can take it or leave it. I suggest you take it because if you don't, you'll still need to be out looking for work and there's no guarantee that you could find this guy anything. Whether you take my offer or not, it won't change anything between me and your daughter. That's something you will need to learn to accept.”

There was a time of silence. Spanfell wiped more blood off his face and said, “This does not mean that we're friends now you understand.”

”I understand.”

”I still don't approve of you and Sareena.”

”I know.”

”You're too old for her.”

”That doesn't matter.”

”All right,” Spanfell said. “Let's go give this guy his job.”

______   ______   ______

Tyson was nearly in tears as he sat alone in his motel room. He was now completely out of money. He had spent it all, just living here. Station life was expensive. That was something he had not planned for. Now, he was without options. In another three days he would be kicked out of the motel, and would be forced to roam the station, homeless, looking for work. Eventually he would be picked up by the police and they would most definitely find out about what he had done. It was over. You can't hide from the world unless you have a good supply of cash to do it with, and he had none. He would have to turn himself in. That was his only option left. Coming here had been a grave mistake. Possibly the worst mistake of his life–besides switching off the auto drive.

The door bell rang. Tyson checked himself and got up to answer it. Standing just outside was Spanfell with a man Tyson did not recognize. They seemed to be smiling. “I found you something,” Spanfell said.

Tyson felt a surge of joy rising from within him. A job? A real job?, he thought.

           ”This is your new boss,” Spanfell said, indicating the man next to him. “This is Stanley Peterman.”

Tyson resisted the urge to grab Stanley in a tight embrace and smother him with kisses. “Hello,” he said. “I'm Tyson. Pleased to meet you.”

Tyson and Stanley shook hands.

”What exactly is it that I'll be doing?” Tyson asked

”Have you heard of the Galaxy Four , interstellar space craft that has been docked here?”

”No,” Tyson said.

”Well, it's here, and we need people to help get it ready for it's next voyage. You see, we don't have any androids programmed for work on this particular type of craft. Therefore, we need human workers. Do you think you can help us out?”

”Oh, yes. Does it pay well?”

”Minimum wage. It's only a temporary job, of course. It should take about a month and a half before we're finished, so you should have a job for about that long.”

”Great. When do I start?”

”Right now.”

”Let's go.”

______   ______   ______

This is it, Sareena told herself. It has to be now. Let's tell him and get it over with.

She opened the door to her home. Her father was sitting at the kitchen table. He seemed to be smiling. Good.

”Hello,” he said happily.

”Hey.”

She went back to her room and dropped her school bag on the floor and came back out. She sat down at the table, across from her father. He didn't pay much attention to her at first. He was eating a bowl of soup.

”I need to talk to you,” she said.

”Oh, what about?”

She thought about what the best way was to approach this, and finally decided to just say it. It probably wouldn't help much to tell him craftily. The meaning would be the same anyway. “Stanley is taking me down to the planet for awhile. We're leaving next week. You don't have to worry; I'm coming back. It's just a little vacation.”

She saw his smile fade into a deep glare. “You're leaving me?”

”Only for a little while,” she said.

He glared at her. The spoon he had been holding, dropped from his hand and clattered on the table top. He got up, threw his chair back, glared at her for another moment, then stormed out of the room. She heard him slam his fist into the door activator in the back bedroom.

She sighed. Was it really worth it to go back there and try to talk to him? No, she decided. Let him calm down first. I don't care anymore, she thought. Let him be like this. I'll just leave with Stanley. Forget about Spanfell. I'll just leave and never come back. I don't need him.

But how could she do that? This was her home, the only place she had ever known. How could she just leave without a second thought? It wasn't Spanfell that she was reluctant to abandon so much as it was the place, Austin Station. She had been here for so long that no other place could possibly feel like home.

But if she ever wanted to come back here, she would have to make peace with her father. She knew that was something she had to do or she would never feel comfortable visiting. He was just as much a part of this place as anything else.

But not now. Not right now.

She stood up slowly, and went to the front door. She glanced back. He was still locked in his bedroom.  And with that, she turned and walked out and headed towards Stanley's place on the other side of the Station.

Chapter 5

As far as Tyson could see, the job was working out fairly well. It consisted mostly of him pushing carts, piled with boxes of supplies, on and off the huge spacecraft. His job would vary from day to day. He would move around the ship, organizing the supplies needed for the Galaxy Four’s next voyage or removing supplies left over from the last one. He rarely had the same supervisor two days in a row, but everyone seemed impressed by his work performance. Growing up with Earth's gravity had given him more strength than most of the other workers and he was able to put them all to shame with his lifting ability.

The one problem with the job, however was that it was only temporary. In a month and a half, Tyson would have to be out again, looking for work, and this time he would have to do it himself. He had already paid off Spanfell and was no longer using his services. Tyson worried about what was to come, whether or not he would be able to find permanent employment. He still had not settled completely into station life, but he was getting used to it.

It was now more than a week since that night when he had had so much to drink and unintentionally run down that woman. He still thought about her all the time, but now, the pain in his stomach was gone. He was surprised at how quickly he seemed to get over accidentally killing someone. He was beginning to believe that he would never be caught. It's strange, he thought. You kill someone one day, then a week later you've forgotten all about it.

But he hadn't forgotten it. He only thought he had, wished he had. He kept seeing himself, in her place, standing in the middle of the road, watching as some unknown vehicle plowed into him.

Anathene was like an old girlfriend to him. That's how he thought of her. He felt as if he had known her intimately, and somehow hurt her and she had left him forever. Gone forever, but still alive. There was nothing he could do now. He couldn't change how things were. He could only change how he thought.

He knew he wasn't thinking clearly, but he couldn't find anything to do about that. He needed to get away. Farther. Leave everything behind. Not only Earth, but civilization entirely. Maybe then, he could finally be free of Anathene Ravanis, the girl that haunted his mind, day and night.

One day, as he was riding a gliding sidewalk to work, he stopped to look out a large picture window that was set into the side of one small corridor. He looked out at the stars, glittering the sky, wondering which one the Galaxy Four would be visiting on it's next trip. The perfect escape, he thought. He wondered if it would be possible to somehow sneak aboard the starship before it's departure and travel with it to that unknown solar system. He wondered what they would do with him if he somehow succeeded. Would they turn back and make him get off again or would they keep going, allowing him to tag along? He figured they would keep going. It was probably tremendously expensive to send a ship into light speed and they wouldn't wish to waste so much fuel for just one stowaway. They would be forced to deal with his presence.

But was it a good idea? Twelve years he would be gone. He thought, maybe, that would be going a little too far. And when he got back, he would almost certainly be charged with stowing away and they would probably be able to find out about the death of Anathene and would probably charge him with that. But that would be twelve years from now. That's nearly an eternity, he thought.

As he turned to continue on his way toward the docking bay where he worked, he began to formulate a plan.

______   ______   ______

”Why don't you show me your ship?” Sareena said to Stanley.

The two were sitting at a table in the cafe where they had met. They had just finished their evening meal and were getting ready to leave.

”You want to see it?” asked Stanley.

”It was your home for seven years, wasn't it? I feel as though I should at least see it once before it's gone. I want to know what it was like for you.”

”All right,” he said. “Right now?”

”Good a time as any,” she replied.

They arrived at the docking bay and Stanley proceeded to show Sareena all over the huge starship. They went first to his quarters and to the meeting hall where he had watched the first pictures of Earth coming in, only a couple weeks earlier. He showed her a few of the storage areas and cafeterias. She seemed to be fairly interested in it all, but he wasn't. It was all so familiar to him that it was nearly boring. He had spent so long here, but now that he was back in the middle of a huge civilization, it seemed as if those seven years had slipped by in a matter of hours.

As they were leaving again, they ran into Tyson. “Oh, hello, Mister Peterman,” he said.

”Please: Stanley.”

”I'd like to thank you again for getting me this job.”

”It was no problem.” Stanley looked down at Tyson and noticed he was carrying a blanket and pillow under one arm and a flashlight and paperback novel in the other hand. But they were in the food storage area. Why would he be taking those things here? Stanley shrugged off the question, assuming Tyson had some logical reason.

”I'd like to introduce you to Sareena,” Stanley said.

”Hello,” said Tyson. “You're Spanfell's daughter, correct?”

”That's right,” Sareena replied.

”He talks a lot about you.”

She smiled. “I'm sure he does.”

”Well I really ought to get back to work,” Tyson said. “I guess I'll see you later.”

”Actually, you probably won't,” Stanley said. “We're leaving for Earth in two days.”

”'We'?”

”Yeah, Sareena and I,” replied Stanley, placing a hand on her shoulder.

”All right then, I guess I should say, have a nice life–both of you.”

And they departed. Stanley looked over his shoulder once at Tyson and thought that he sensed something not quite right about the man, but he quickly forgot all about it as he walked out of the ship, his arm around Sareena's shoulders.

Chapter 6

Spanfell saw his daughter coming closer. She was carrying boxes of luggage.

”You're here,” she said when she got to where he stood. “I didn't think you'd come.”

”I had to see you off,” he replied. “I couldn't just let you leave like this, without saying goodbye.”

”Well, I'm glad you came. I couldn't stand the thought of leaving you without letting you know.”

”Are you sure I can't talk you out of this?”

”No, you can't,” she said. “I've made up my mind. It's my decision.”

”You're coming back right?”

”Of course I am.”

”When?”

”I don't know. A couple weeks. Months maybe. It depends on how I like Earth. But I will come back. I promise you, I will return. You know I wouldn't leave you for good. I couldn't do that to you.”

He smiled at her, looked into her eyes. “Yeah, I know.”

But he actually didn't. He did not know if she was ever coming back. He had lived with her for long enough that he knew she could lie right to his face, and did often. He hoped to God that she would return, but her promise did not convince him of that.

”I've got to go check in my baggage now,” she said. “Be back in a second.” She hurried off, lugging her bags along with her.

A few seconds later, Stanley showed up. “You're here,” he said, looking a little nervous.

”Of course. I couldn't let you two leave without saying good-bye.”

”Does this mean you're okay with all this?”

”No, of course not. But at least I know you a little. I know you'll take good care of my daughter.” The two men stared at each other for a moment. “You will, won't you?” Spanfell added.

Stanley shook his head. “No, I won't,” he said. “I think she can take care of herself. You should be trusting in her, not me. She's old enough to make her own decisions.”

Spanfell considered that. He smiled. “Maybe I should try thinking that way.”

A couple minutes later, Sareena returned, empty handed. “Are you all ready to go?” she asked Stanley.

”Yes, I am,” he replied.

The three sat down on a nearby bench in the waiting room of the docking bay, and waited for the boarding call that would announce Sareena and Stanley's shuttle.

           When the call finally came, neither Stanley or Sareena immediately got up to leave. After a few moments, Stanley stood and said, “I think I'll go find our seats. You can catch up with me.” He turned to Spanfell. “It's been nice knowing you,” he said, holding out his hand.

Spanfell took it. “You too.”

Stanley walked off, following the small crowd of people boarding the shuttle.

”I guess this is good-bye,” Spanfell said.

”Yeah, I suppose it is,” Sareena replied. “I'll be back before you know it.”

He hesitated in his response. “I know you will.”

”I'll miss you,” she said. “You'll call me right?”

He laughed. “Do you have any idea how expensive a call like that would be?”

”But you will won't you?”

”Of course I will.”

”All right then,” she said. “Good-bye”

”Bye.”

He watched her walk off, following the continuing crowd of people, heading towards the shuttle that would take her down to Earth and out of his life. After a while, he moved to a window to watch the departure. A long wait, and he finally heard the docking clamps disengage and he saw the little shuttle emerge from it's place in the side of the station. It moved quickly away and was soon out of sight.

Turning to leave, he noticed a tall, attractive, blond woman had been standing next to him, also watching the departure. He looked around. There was no one else in their immediate vicinity. What the hell, he thought.

He looked at her and said, “Somebody you know on the shuttle?”

She looked at him. “My parents. They were here visiting.”

”Did they like station life?”

She smiled. “They liked being able to jump higher than they could on Earth.”

Spanfell laughed. “That's always the first thing everyone notices about this place.”

She nodded. “That's probably true,” she said and turned back to look out the window.

”So are you married?”

She looked back at him and cocked her head, looking a little stunned. “What?”

He gave her an inquisitive look.

Laughing, she looked down at the floor, then back up at him. “No, I'm not,” she replied.

”So are you free for dinner tonight?”

She put her hand to her face. “I don't believe this,” she said. “You're trying to pick me up.”

”I'm making the attempt,” Spanfell replied.

She shook her head. “No, I don't have any plans for dinner.”

”Would you like to eat with me tonight?”

She nodded. “Yeah, sure. I'd love to.”

”I'm Spanfell.”

”Kelsey,” she said.

They turned for a moment, and looked out the window again. “So who was it that you knew on that shuttle?” Kelsey asked.

”My daughter.”

”She going on vacation?”

”She's going home,” he said.

______   ______   ______

The box he chose was a large gray plastic container about the length of a long coffin, but nearly three times as wide as an average coffin. That would provide him with enough room to move around comfortably. Tyson knew he would need to spend at least two and a half weeks in that box.

It was his last day of work. He got his final paycheck transferred to his account and said a few good-byes to his coworkers and went out, looking as though he was leaving the ship, but as soon as no one was looking, he turned back and headed quickly but quietly down the halls toward the food storage area. No one saw him.

He reached the door to the storage area. His anxiety rose as he placed his hand on the security panel. The door slid open and Tyson was relieved that they had not yet taken away his access.

The narrow aisleway was lined on either side with myriad forms of containers, stacked high to the ceiling which was nearly ten meters to the top. Creeping slowly, he found the section that held his selected container. There was a small ladder just to the right of the stack of coffin sized boxes. He began climbing it. His, was the third from the top. He thought now that perhaps he should have chosen the one at the very top, since he wanted to be as far away from anyone that might pass by as possible, but it was too late now. The top container was already stuffed full of–Tyson believed–crackers.

           Opening the door on the side of the container, Tyson peered inside. His stash of stuff was still there. His blanket and pillow; reading material and flashlight; scale, and of course, his three week supply of food and water. He crawled in and closed the door behind him.

Darkness.

He picked up his flashlight and flipped it on. The light illuminated his surroundings very well. He read the little readout on the side of the flashlight. It had three hundred hours worth of battery left. Perfect. Tyson did some calculation in his head and decided that he should keep the light turned off approximately half of the time, in order to conserve the energy and make it last for the duration of the time he would be in here. He didn't think the light would cause him any sort of problem since the hall outside was always brightly lit. It wouldn't tip anybody off to his presence.

Tyson sat cross legged in the middle of his new home, and set the scale he had brought, down on the floor. He weighed the first of the three novels he had brought along and recorded it's weight on the inside of it's front cover. He did this for the next two, concentrating hard, so he could get an exact reading, and recorded their weight on the inside covers. The only way he would be able to tell when the ship had left the station was when the gravity changed. It would probably be too slight for him to notice himself, without the aid of equipment. When the gravity changed, he knew it would be less than forty hours before they were completely out of the solar system and heading at full speed, towards the unknown destination.

It had been nearly three days since he had slept, not because of his anxiety about attempting something like this but because he hadn't allowed himself to sleep. He wanted to be able to rest as much as possible while in the crate. Adjusting his position, he laid his head on his pillow, wrapped the blanket around him, switched off the light and fell instantly into a deep sleep.

Chapter 7

The gravity had changed nearly two days ago. It was time to leave the crate. Taking a deep breath, Tyson kicked open the door, and crawled out. He grasped hold of the ladder to his left and climbed down.

It was like coming out of a cocoon. He was changed somehow, different, metamorphosized. He was starting a new life. Everything looked different to him for some reason even though nothing had actually changed. But in fact it had changed. The ship was no longer docked at Austin Station but was now traveling at some unimaginable speed towards some unimaginable destination. He looked around at his new surroundings and thought, I've made it. I finally escaped. Once and for all.

Tyson quickly left the storeroom, anxious to look over the ship.

At first, nobody he met seemed to pay much attention to him. They treated him as if he was just a part of the crew. Some gave friendly little nods or smiles. Tyson was beginning to think, after a while, that he would simply be able to blend in and nobody would ever find out that he wasn't supposed to be here.

Eventually he found himself entering one of the ships gardens. Somebody approached him. A large, clean shaven man. “Hello,” the man said, giving Tyson an odd sort of confused look. “Who would you be?” he asked.

”My name is Tyson.”

”Tyson? I don't remember anyone by that name on the crew roster. In fact, have I ever seen you before?”

Tyson shrugged.

”Who are you.”

”I told you.”

”What's your job here?”

”Don't have one.”

”You don't have one? You have to have one. Everyone has to have a job here.”

”I was loading some crates before.”

”You're not part of the crew, are you?”

”Nope.”

”Who are you?”

”I told you. Who are you?”

”I'm the captain. You're a stowaway, aren't you?”

”Yup.”

”Oh my God. Do you have any idea what you have done to yourself?”

”Pretty good idea,” Tyson replied.

           ”Why the hell would you want to stow away on this ship? What kind of an idiot are you?”

”An idiot who wanted to leave the world behind.”

”Yeah, well I guess you've certainly done that now haven't you? Didn't you think of all you're leaving behind. You're never going home, do you realize that?”

”What never? Twelve years isn't so long.”

”Twelve years?” the captain said.

”Twelve years till we come back home.”

”Who told you that?”

Tyson paused for a moment. “Stanley Peterman.”

The captain looked surprised. “You know Stanley?”

”Yes.”

”What exactly did he tell you about this trip?”

”He said it was going to take approximately twelve years. His trip took seven. This trip is going a little farther, so it's going to take twelve.”

”Wrong.”

”What?” Tyson replied.

”You're friend, Stan, was mistaken.”

”What?”

”You're not going home.”

”What?”

”This journey isn't twelve years long. It's as long as we make it. Our destination in unknown. We will go until we find an inhabitable planet somewhere out there, then we will stop. We won't be going back. Ne vůbec. And we can't turn back just for you.”

Oh, my God, Tyson thought. What have I gotten myself into?

”It looks like you just made a life changing decision, there buddy.”

”It was kind of a snap decision, I guess,” said Tyson.

”A snap decision can still change your life forever.”

”I know all about that,” Tyson said.

The captain smiled and shook his head. “Come on,” he said. “I'll introduce you to the rest of the crew. They're going to have to meet you sooner or later.”

______   ______   ______

The glass door slid quietly open. Sareena pushed her walker in front of her, out onto the porch of Stanley's house. The cold suddenly hit her and a shiver ran down through her body. That was something she would have to get used to. On Earth, the temperature is not always perfect. She ignored the chill and stepped outside. She let the door close automatically behind her.

Staring up at the night sky, she saw the stars. They were much dimmer here, than they had been when she looked at them from Austin Station. It was the atmosphere between her and them that was making them appear less bright. She thought about that. But there was nothing solid between her and the stars. There was no glass window separating them. Nothing. She felt as if she could reach out and touch one of them. Nothing would stop her.

She wondered if one of those tiny sparkles was actually the world she had left behind. Can you see the habitat worlds from the planet's surface? She liked to believe that you could. She liked to think that she could still look up at the night sky and see Austin Station there, somewhere.

She wasn't going home. She knew that now. How could she? She was happier now, than she had ever been in her life. Heavier–much, much heavier–so heavy, in fact, that she could barely stand straight without the help of her walker. But she knew that would pass. In a few months she would grow strong and be able to walk erect without any help at all.

Glancing at Stanley who was sound asleep in the bed, she thought about the life she had left behind. She thought about school, about her father, about what it had been like to wander aimlessly around the station. That world was gone, now. She missed it, but she knew that what lay ahead for her, here, would be much greater. Everything on this world was totally new, unexplored. There were myriad things to do, things to experience.

It had been a rash, snap decision to leave the station, but she knew it had been the right one. It was a decision made in an instant, but one that would affect her life more than any other decision she had ever made.

Quietly, she turned and walked back inside the house.

This was her home now.