Austin Station

  Austin Station

Een verhaal van een nieuw begin ....

Door Kalin Ringkvist

Hoofdstuk 1

Sareena, in plaats van zich te concentreren op haar huiswerk calculus zoals ze bedoeld had te doen, merkte dat ze staren op de grote ramen die het kleine cafe stonden. Op dit moment van de dag, op deze kant van het station, was ze in staat om een pretty amazing weergave van de aarde te krijgen, een planeet die ze nooit gehad in haar leven voet op. Dat is waarom ze hier kwam elke dag op hetzelfde tijdstip naar haar lunch op te eten en haar studie wiskunde. Maar vandaag de dag, zo leek het, ze was niet in staat zich te concentreren op een van deze twee. Ze blijven zitten en staarde uit het raam. Hoe mooi de wereld zag er vandaag nog! Ze wilde een of andere manier te bezoeken,, maar ze zou nooit in haar leven in staat zijn om een reis daar veroorloven. In plaats daarvan, ze accepteerde Austin Station als haar thuis. Ze was tevreden genoeg met dat.

Ze keek weg net snel genoeg om haar tofu-burger pakken en eten te beginnen. Ze mond gesnoerd op de eerste hap en spuugde het terug op haar bord. Dat was genoeg om de stemming te doden. Ze schoof de plaat al snel van haar af, pakte haar boeken en rugzak en liep van het schilderachtige kleine cafe. Ze keek achterom kort om een robot onmiddellijk verwijderen van de rotzooi die zij gedaan had te zien.

Het was een twintig minuten lopen naar huis, door de brede gangen volgepropt met mensen. De trottoirs leek langzaam te bewegen dus ging ze op een stevige wandeling naast hen. Dit was een makkelijke manier om de drukte te vermijden. Ze moest haar toch uit te oefenen. Omdat ze bewoog in de richting van het centrum van het station, naar beneden sprak vier, de aarde was om haar rug en kon ze niet zien als ze liep.

Austin Station was een vrij eenvoudige opzet, acht spaken, dat zich uitstrekt van een centrale hub, en het verbinden met een buitenste wiel. Een negende sprak uitgebreid van het centrum aan een loodrechte hoek naar de andere acht. Aan het eind was er een grote knop, dat er uitzag als een reusachtige lisdodde. De knop bevindt zich de kunstmatige zwaartekracht systemen voor het hele station. Zoals Sareena vervolg op de richting van het centrum, dichter bij de negende sprak, kon ze voelen dat ze het gewicht toeneemt. Ze zou nu weegt veertig pond, toen drie minuten geleden, in het cafe ze maar dertig gewogen.

In vergelijking met andere, nieuwere, stations in een baan rond de thuiswereld, Austin was een van de kleinere. bijna honderd jaar geleden gebouwd, minder dan vijftigduizend mensen gehuisvest. Sareena, echter, zag het niet als alle kleine. Ze had nog steeds niet verkend om de corridor, winkel of cafe, maar ze was nog nooit buiten het station om nog een bezoek anderen. Dit was haar huis, en terwijl ze wenste dat ze zouden andere plaatsen te zien, ze had geen plannen om te vertrekken. Het was gewoon te duur.

Ze draaide de laatste bocht op haar weg naar huis. Ze bleef bij haar deur. De identificering systeem piept gelukkig als hij bekeek haar duimafdruk. De deur gleed open met een nauwelijks hoorbaar gezoem. Stepping binnen, het eerste wat opviel was de Sareena vreemde vrouw in de keuken. Dat verbaasde haar niet. Haar vader was constant mee naar huis vreemde vrouwen. Ze was lang, blond, zwaar bovenlijf. Het exacte type van de vrouw Sareena zou verwachten van haar vader.

'Hallo,' zei de vrouw. "Ik ben ervan uitgegaan dat u moet Sareena, juist?"

"Dat zou mij, ja," antwoordde Sareena. 'En jij bent Sarah hè?'

De vrouw keek verward. "Wat? Ik ben Carol. Heeft je vader je verteld over mij? "

'Hij is nooit melding gemaakt van enige Carol voor mij. "

"Hij heeft het niet?"

"Nee."

"Dus wie Sarah."

Sareena onderbroken. Moet ik het haar vertellen?, Vroeg ze zich af. Papa kan knap gek. Maar hij had nooit iets gezegd over eventuele Carol persoon naar haar toe. Ze had geen enkele verplichting om hem te helpen bewaren van geheimen. Sareena zei: "Ze is dit meisje dat hij is al te zien voor de laatste paar weken."

Carol staarde haar aan. "Net als een vriendin? '

'Dat is wat hij is me vertelt. "

"Ik zie."

Sareena keek met verstikte geamuseerde Carol keek de kamer rond, alsof ze net wakker in een plek die ze nooit eerder had gezien. "Ik denk dat ik nu beter worden verlaten," zei Carol.

"Oke, het was leuk je te ontmoeten," zei Sareena in een vrolijke, bijna spottende stem. "Is mijn vader hier, door de manier?"

"Nee, nee. Hij is hier niet. Ik weet niet waar hij is. "En met dat Carol snel verliet het appartement, met wat leek op een verdwaasde blik op haar gezicht.

Sareena grinnikte zachtjes aan zichzelf als ze droeg haar boek tas naar haar kamer en smeet hem op het bed. "Music", beval ze, en de computer thuis begon onmiddellijk met het spelen van een willekeurig gekozen mix van haar favoriete nummers voorgeprogrammeerd. "Volume omlaag drie," en het geluid werd dienovereenkomstig verlaagd. "Ik heb om te studeren," mompelde ze tegen zichzelf.

Ze nam haar Calculus boek uit haar tas en bladerde naar de pagina dat ze had geprobeerd te lezen voordat ze had verlaten het cafe. Ze vond het een beetje makkelijker te concentreren op haar werk, hier, waar er waren geen ramen om haar af te leiden. Ze was echter nog niet in staat aan te voelen van een van de problemen te maken. Ze probeerde voor bijna een half uur, maar uiteindelijk gaf het op en ging op andere huiswerk.

Vijfenveertig minuten later was ze klaar met alles, maar haar Calculus. Ze wilde niet terug naar die opnieuw, zodat ze gewoon zat en luisterde naar haar muziek en viel uiteindelijk in slaap.

Ze werd wakker door haar vader als hij barstte in haar kamer.

Hij was niet een grote bedreiging, noch op zoek figuur. Hij was ongeveer tweeënveertig, en begint te kaal. Hij was kort voor een man van zijn leeftijd, maar stond nog steeds een paar centimeter boven Sareena.

"Wat zeg je daar naar Carol vandaag?" Vroeg hij haar.

"Wat? Waar heb je het over? 'Sareena gevraagd snel.

"Weet je wat ik bedoel. Je had een praatje met Carol. Wat heb je haar verteld? "

"Ik sprak met haar voor nauwelijks twee minuten."

"Maar wat heb je tegen haar zeggen? U zei iets over mij en Sarah, hè? "

"Ja, dus?" Antwoordde Sareena.

'Heb je haar vertellen dat ze was mijn vriendin. "

"Ja."

Hij zweeg even en staarde haar aan, op zoek perplex. "Waarom zou je dat zeggen? '

"Het is waar dat is het niet?" Sareena gezegd. "Je hebt me verteld jezelf de andere dag."

"Tja, wat goed te doen moet u naar de aankondiging dat voor iedereen?"

"Ze vroeg me wie Sarah was. Wat moest ik zeggen? "

Hij zuchtte boos en keek naar haar terwijl ze keek terug. "Muziek uit", zei hij.

De muziek die gespeeld had in het gesprek, voortgezet.

"Muziek uit! 'Schreeuwde hij.

De muziek bleef.

"Computer, pauze muziek," zei Sareena, en het geluid hiervan gestopt. "Je moet jezelf adres te sturen als er een andere persoon in de kamer. Je moet echt dat nu weten. "

Hij keek haar boos. "Shut up", zei hij.

Ze grinnikte zachtjes, trok haar wenkbrauwen op hem, en wees naar de deur. "Wegwezen, 'zei ze, spottend zijn stem.

Hij nam een dreigende stap in haar richting. "Heb je me niet verteld wat te doen in mijn eigen huis."

Ze haalde in een spottend verontschuldigende manier.

"Heb je enig idee hoeveel u problemen heeft veroorzaakt me vandaag? 'Schreeuwde hij de helft. "Nu Carol zegt dat ze nooit wil zien me weer."

"Ja, nou, het lijkt mij dat dat is meer dan het jouw schuld is van mij."

En dat is wanneer haar vader naar voren stapte en sloeg Sareena, hard in het gezicht.

______ ______ ______

"Yo, Peterman, We krijgen in de eerste foto's van de Aarde."

Stanley Peterman, enigszins geschrokken van de opdringerige stem, keek omhoog, over zijn handheld computer pad hij had zitten lezen uit. Estian, een korte man van midden tot eind jaren twintig, werken onderhoud op de onderste drie dekken van het schip, stond boven Stanley, grijnzend wild, schijnbaar oprecht enthousiast over het evenement.

"Ze zitten in al?" Stan vroeg snel.

"Nog niet," antwoordde Estian, "maar ze zijn in de komende, in ongeveer tien minuten. Bent u naar beneden om em te zien met de rest van de bemanning? "

"Ja, zeker dat ik zal. Ik wil niet de opwinding missen. "

"Laten we gaan."

De twee gingen samen, een stevige wandeling door de lange gangen van het ruimteschip. De zaal op het dek vier was hun bestemming.

De Galaxy Vier was de grootste ooit gebouwd interstellaire ambachtelijke, bijna zes kilometer lang. Het was zesentwintig dekken, vier eetzalen, een aantal algemene vergadering gebieden, vijftig of zestig badkamers, en een half dozijn grote 'parken' of 'tuinen', compleet met gras en bomen en fruit en bloemen en alles wat je zou kunnen hopen te vinden in een echt park op aarde. Er waren geen ramen op het schip. Negenennegentig procent van de tijd besteed door de bemanning in het schip was toen was het reizen op de lichtsnelheid, en er is absoluut niets te zien op de lichtsnelheid. Ondanks de grote omvang, droeg het schip slechts drieënveertig personen, waardoor het de hallen in plaats van kale en eenzame meeste van de tijd, maar het gaf elke persoon een veel vrije ruimte, en maakte het gemakkelijk voor iemand om alleen te zijn, wanneer ze wilden op. Het was de uitvoering van deze drieënveertig mensen die nu zeven jaar.

Het kostte de twee ongeveer vijf minuten om naar de zaal. Toen ze daar aankwamen, Stanley zag dat de reus viewscreen was opgericht aan het eind. Hij keek de zaal. Op het eerste gezicht, het leek hem alsof het hele schip was in opkomst, zelfs de kapitein. Hij keek om zich heen, op zoek naar ontbrekende gezichten, maar iedereen hier was. Na een verblijf van zeven jaar met dezelfde kleine groep mensen, leer je ze allemaal herkennen in een oogopslag, en kan altijd vertellen het exacte aantal van het totaal ontbreken.

Dit was zeker niet een vereiste vergadering. De foto's kunnen net zo goed worden bekeken vanuit een ander deel van het schip, maar blijkbaar iedereen had willen zien iedereen anders reactie op de eerste glimp van iets dat ze niet had gezien voor meer dan een half decennium.

Iedereen was tegelijk te praten. Stanley ingeschakeld zijn aandacht heen en weer uit verschillende gesprekken die hij hoorde, toen hij ging zitten in een onbezette stoel naast Estian. Ze waren allemaal te praten, in een of andere vorm, over wat ze waren over om te zien of over hun reis, die nu op het punt stond te trekken op een af te sluiten.

"Dit is geweldig, niet?" Estian zei, zijn handen trillen opgewonden in zijn schoot. "Het is allemaal voorbij te zijn in een paar dagen. Ik, voor mij ben ook blij. Geen overtreding, maar ik krijg pretty damn ziek van je mensen. "

Stanley, meer geïnteresseerd in het evenement dan met het praten met Estian, gewoon mompelde iets onverstaanbaars, en staarde naar voren aan de voorzijde viewscreen.

"Dus wat is het eerste wat je gaat doen als we terug naar de aarde," Estian gevraagd.

Stan keek naar de jonge man. Hij dacht over de vraag. "Ik weet het niet, 'zei hij. "Misschien gaan zwemmen."

'Je weet wat ik ga doen? Ik wil omhoog te gaan in de bergen en snowboarden gaan. Doen die kunnen worden wat ik heb het meest gemist op deze reis. "

"Huh," antwoordde Stan, staarde weer naar de voorkant van de kamer.

"He Peterman?"

Hij keek naar Estian. De jongen had een ernstige blik op zijn gezicht. Ze staarden elkaar enkele seconden tot Estian laat wat was natuurlijk een volstrekt kunstmatig snik. "Ik ga je missen man," en hij begroef zijn gezicht in Stanleys schouder. Na enkele seconden lang van de uitstoot van luide, nep huilt, trok hij uit de buurt van Stan, grijnsde naar hem en giechelde wild. "Wat heb je denk? Goed? Heb ik je gek? "

Stanley schudde zijn hoofd, geërgerd.

"Oh, de hel. Echt, u didnt-? "Maar hij werd afgesneden als de kapitein stond in voor de menigte en begon te spreken.

"Dames en heren," zei hij. "Zoals u weet, zijn we ongeveer om de eerste foto's van het huis wereld te ontvangen. Ze moeten komen op de viewscreen in een ander paar minuten. Laten we het weer op nu, "-het scherm flitsten aan en was gevuld met een array van oogverblindende, wervelende kleuren-" en wachten tot we iets zien. "De kapitein, schijnbaar normaal en rustig, zitten op de voorste rij, met uitzicht op de groot scherm, dreigend boven het hoofd.

De menigte viel stil als het uitzicht veranderd van de wervelende kleuren om een duidelijk beeld van gewone sterren. Er waren honderden sterren te zien, stippelen over de zwartheid van de viewscreen. Ze waren allemaal langzaam naar de buitenste randen, en in het centrum vervangen door iets wat leek als een lege plek. En daar was hij, in het centrum van de vlek. Het was klein, onmogelijk te maken uit alles wat maar het is de algemene vorm, maar het groeide. Een lage gemompel ging in de menigte, maar stierf als de planeet steeds groter-groot genoeg te maken van kleuren, de oceanen, continenten. Na enkele minuten ging door, de aarde is groot genoeg om het hele scherm vullen. Het uitzicht gestopt inzoomen Iemand begon te klappen, en vervolgens een paar meer. Er was een gejuich dat langzaam begon te stijgen van de massa van de mensen zitten in de kamer. Het bleef langzaam stijgen, tot alle aanwezigen werden op hun voeten, gillend van vreugde. Stanley keek de kamer rond en zag de werkelijke tranen op sommige van de gezichten van zijn maats.

Het was iets dat hij had honderden keren gezien sinds hun vertrek zeven jaar geleden. Vaak was hij verdwenen in de computer databanken en haalde er een foto van de planeet was hij nu te staren, maar die had gewoon zijn recreatie, kunst, foto's. Dit was live. Dit was de echte wereld hij vandaan kwam. Dit was waar hij was thuis aan het gaan. Die oude foto's was nog nooit gedaan hem zo.

Het geluid uiteindelijk begon omlaag te sterven, en wanneer het heeft gedaan, de kapitein, weer opstond en stond aan de ene kant van de viewscreen en gaf een toespraak. "Oke, mensen, 'zei hij, luid genoeg voor iedereen om te horen. "Ik heb er enige vooruitgang te melden: We zijn begonnen met het vertragen. We zijn nu reizen op iets minder dan de lichtsnelheid. Tegen de middag morgen zullen we bewegen op de helft van dat percentage. We zijn nu minder dan achtenveertig uur van onze bestemming. In geval je je afvraagt, zullen we op een docking station kleine ruimte in een baan rond de planeet. U kunt opzoeken. Het heet Austin. "

______ ______ ______

Terwijl hij stond, kijkend naar zijn gezicht in de spiegel, kon het niet helpen Tyson gevoel dat vreselijke pijn in zijn maag. In eerste instantie had hij gedacht dat was gewoon veroorzaakt door de extreme kater was hij blijvend, maar nee, deze pijn is niet iets dat kon worden ingesteld door een eenvoudige fysieke kwaal. Niet eens in de buurt. Het was de pijn van schuld. Het was de mate van pijn die niet kan worden bereikt, maar once in a lifetime. Het was de pijn die je voelt wanneer je je realiseert dat je iemand het leven genomen.

Hij keek naar zichzelf, zijn bloeddoorlopen ogen, zijn gezicht rood. De gebeurtenissen van de afgelopen nacht kwam terug haasten. Hij herinnerde zich alles. Hij wilde dat hij dat niet kon.

* * *

Hij was dansen op een downtown sportbar met een paar van zijn vrienden gisteravond. Er had gedronken wedstrijden tussen de vier van hen. Ze speelden spelletjes en dergelijke, praatte met de barkeeper, probeerde op te pikken vrouwen. Ze raakte geïnteresseerd in een bowling game die werd afgespeeld op een paar van de televisietoestellen rond de bar. Zij kleine inzetten die op de spelers. Tyson was de zwaarste drinker tussen hen, maar dat was vooral te wijten aan het feit dat de anderen allemaal uit moesten gaan werken de volgende ochtend. Zijn vrienden namen vroeg af en Tyson werd overgelaten aan zichzelf en zijn drinken. Hij bleef een paar uur meer, drinken meer en meer te slaan op de dames zitten dicht bij hem, in het algemeen genieten van zichzelf. Nadat hij werd neergeschoten een goede twee dozijn keer, en kreeg een groot deel van de bedreigingen van sommige van de vrouwen vriendjes, werd hij gefrustreerd, en kreeg meer en meer luid en soms gewelddadig. De barman uiteindelijk schopte hem uit de inrichting, een weinig na drie uur in de ochtend.

Het regende hard nu, net als Tyson probeerde enkele momenten om het slot op de deur van zijn auto te krijgen open. Ten slotte, hij stapte in, goed doorweekt, ging zitten en vertelde het voertuig om hem mee naar huis nemen. Toen de auto reageerde niet, het duurde nog een minuut Tyson of twee om te onthouden moest hij het weer op het eerste. Hij deed dit en zei: "Breng me naar 2141 Oost Terras. Dat is ten zuiden van hier. "

De auto trok langzaam uit de parkeerplaats, de straat op en begon te Tyson huis te nemen om precies zestig kilometer per uur. "Je kunt een hel van een stuk sneller dan dit. Er is niemand in de weg. "

"Snelheidslimiet op deze snelweg is zestig kilometer", reageerde de auto met een computerstem. "Dat is onze huidige snelheid."

"Kan me niet schelen wat onze snelheid is! Let's Move it! "

Tyson keek toe hoe de digitale snelheidsmeter ging zestig-eenenzestig, tweeënzestig, zestig tot drie, en uiteindelijk stopte bij vijfenzestig.

"Sneller!" Tyson schreeuwde.

"Snelheidslimiet op deze snelweg is zestig kilometer. Onze huidige snelheid is vijfenzestig. "

"Ik wil naar een-honderd en tien. Verhoging snelheid tot honderd tien. "

"Dat zou een onveilige snelheid. Raden we verhogen tot zeventig kilometer. "

"Ah, de hel," zei hij bij zichzelf. "Naar de hel met deze onzin. Release autodrive. "

De auto reageerde onmiddellijk. Een stuur dook uit het dashboard, twee kleine roeispanen voortgekomen uit de vloer, en de auto zwenkte naar links, naar tegenliggers. Tyson greep verwoed aan het stuur en zwaaide hem heftig terug naar rechts. Hij voelde een schok als de auto knalde tegen de stoeprand, en stuiterde terug in de straat. Hij bleef rijden, het gas venten op de vloer, weven heen en weer over beide rijstroken.

Af en toe kwam hij samen met tegemoetkomend verkeer, maar de automatische piloot in hun auto's vakkundig vermeden hem. Vaak moesten ze uitwijken van de weg volledig, maar ze kwam nooit gevaarlijk dicht bij hem te raken. De auto's in zijn eigen baan van het verkeer eveneens vermeden hem en hij haalde probleemloos ze allemaal, want hij vloog langs de snelweg bij ruim honderdtwintig kilometer per uur. Het was een vrij leuke ervaring-voor een tijdje. Hij had niet echt een auto gereden in vele maanden.

Maar zijn leuk eindigde al snel toen hij een jonge vrouw stap in de straat, een goede manier in de voorzijde van zijn voertuig zag. Ze was jong, misschien tweeëntwintig. Kort, blond. Ze had een kleine portemonnee in haar linkerhand.

Tyson reactie duurde een paar seconden. Hij sloeg met zijn voet op de rem en de auto onmiddellijk begon te slippen. Dingen werd wazig als de auto wilde gesponnen over zijn baan. Hij pakte een tweede snelle glimp van de vrouw. Ze was het enige wat hij duidelijk kon zien. Hij probeerde verwoed om de auto onder controle te brengen, maar werd alleen succesvol in het maken van dingen erger.

Hij zag haar weer, van de kant van de bestuurder venster. Veel dichter bij deze tijd. En toen ze er was, haar gezicht tegen het raam. Hij hoorde een doffe dreun als ze in verband met zijn voertuig. Hij keek haar aan. Ze had blauwe ogen, dat leek om terug te kijken naar hem. Haar lange blonde haar, getinte iets bloedrood, omgeven haar hoofd en drukte zich tegen zijn raam. Ze had de meest perfect gevormde gezicht dat hij ooit had gezien. Heldere teint, twee afzonderlijke, goed geplaatst wenkbrauwen en volle lippen met slechts een vleugje van roze lippenstift. Een prachtig gezicht. Ze kon een model worden, was de enige gedachte die hij had.

Dan is de auto terug draaide naar links en rechtdoor was geplaatst, in lijn met de weg. Ze viel weg, en direct links achter een deel van de auto schoot plotseling omhoog.

De auto gleed uiteindelijk tot stilstand, zijwaarts geplaatst, in het midden van de snelweg. Hij keek achterom en daar was ze, roerloos in het midden van de weg een goede afstand terug, en hij keek naar het bloed spatte in het linker venster en de linker kant van de voorruit. De harde regen was al begonnen om het weg te wassen.

Hij heeft nooit overwogen terug te gaan. Hij vertelde gewoon de auto naar het zuiden te nemen hem, ergens. Hij dacht over naar huis te gaan, maar gewoon kon het niet opbrengen om de auto te vertellen om te stoppen. Hij ging verder door de nacht, tot 's middags de volgende dag, toen hij stopte en kreeg een kamer in een klein motel ergens in het noorden van Californië. Hij viel meteen in slaap na het naar bed gaan na het niet kunnen krijgen om te slapen in de auto. Hij sliep voor zeven uur, en werd wakker op slechts tien minuten geleden.

* * *

Hij staarde zich gedurende een paar seconden meer, draaide zich toen om naar het toilet en braakte. Het was tijd om te vertrekken. Hij moest ergens anders heen te gaan. Hij had geen idee hoe ver hij gekomen was gisteravond, maar hoe ver het was, was het niet ver genoeg. Hij moest om eruit te komen van het land. Misschien Mexico.

Hij ging uit de badkamer, in de belangrijkste ruimte van zijn hotelkamer. Hij vond zijn bank-terminal in zijn jaszak en gecontroleerd aan zijn huidige middelen te zien. Hij had een paar duizend dollar op zijn naam staan, maar het was in de vorm van elektronische munt. Valuta die kon worden opgespoord. Hij zou zijn om te stoppen bij een bank machine en te ruilen voor contant geld en zou binnenkort doen, voordat de politie erachter wie hij was en legde een tracer op zijn bank terminal. Hopelijk hadden ze dat nog niet gedaan.

Een ander ding dat hij zou moeten doen is het vinden van een computer hacker, die kon krijgen in de databanken van zijn auto en wist alle sporen van wat er gebeurd was en waar hij was geweest, maar tot die tijd zou hij moeten oppassen om altijd onder de limiet rijden , en ik hoop dat hij niet te krijgen trok over.

Kijkend uit het raam, hij was verbaasd om te zien dat het al begon donker te worden. Gelukkig zag hij geen politie auto's, en hij herkende zijn eigen auto, geparkeerd aan het einde van de partij. Toch voelen verschrikkelijk ziek, verzamelde hij zijn spullen en ging naar beneden om te controleren.

Het duurde ongeveer vijftien minuten Tyson rijden rond de stad voordat hij vond een geldautomaat. Hij parkeerde de auto aan de overkant en ging voor verschillende momenten, omdat ze bang wat er zou gebeuren als hij zijn terminal in de sleuf in de machine. Hij zag in zijn geest, tientallen barsten van de politie uit het niets, sirenes schetterende, pouncing op hem toen hij probeerde te krijgen op zijn spaargeld. Hij probeerde wanhopig om de visie kracht van zijn geest, maar vond dat hij dat niet kon.

Na een paar momenten, verzamelde hij zijn testament, het negeren van de gedachten door zijn hoofd loopt, opende de deur en liep over de straat. Hij controleerde zijn rechts en links om ervoor te zorgen dat niemand naar hem keek, voordat hij zijn terminal ingevoegd snel in de sleuf aan de zijkant van de machine. Hij drukte zijn handen strak tegen elkaar, proberen te onderdrukken het schudden.

"Ik wil al mijn geld op te nemen, 'zei hij snel, zodra de kleine computerscherm gevraagd hem naar zijn commando in te voeren. "In contanten. Fifties. "

Hij verwachtte alarmen, iets wat hem te vertellen dat hij onder arrest stond. Hij verwacht op zijn minst te worden verteld dat hij niet kon zijn geld terug te trekken. Maar nee, niets van dat alles. Zijn hart sprong van vreugde als de kleine lade aan de onderkant van de machine geopend en scherpe, nieuwe, vijftig dollarbiljetten begon uit te gieten in een keurige stapel. Hij wachtte zenuwachtig totdat hij klaar was, pakte de stapel in twee handen en slaagde erin om het spul in zijn jaszak.

Holding het wad van het geld in zijn zak met een hand, hij sprintte terug over de straat en stapte in de auto zo snel als hij wist hoe. "Ga nu," zei hij. 'Schiet op. Ga rechtdoor op deze weg. "

Hij bleef het zuiden, zoals hij had de avond tevoren. Als de auto bracht hem langs de snelweg bij honderdtwintig kilometer per uur, ruim onder de wettelijke limiet, probeerde hij te gaan over zijn opties. Er waren zoveel dingen die hij nodig had om uit te vinden, maar kon niet omdat hij zou moeten gaan in een computer en zijn identificatie te geven. Hij moest een politie rapport te vinden, om iets te vertellen hem hoe het onderzoek ging. Hij moest weten of ze in staat waren om eyeflashes ophalen, foto's trok direct uit de hersenen van de vrouw van de laatste wat ze zou hebben gezien voor haar dood. Als dat zo is, zouden ze foto's van zijn voertuig te hebben, misschien zelfs een nummer van de vergunning-of misschien, vreesde hij, zelfs een eyeflash foto van hemzelf. Hij moest weten, maar het was onmogelijk om uit te vinden. Hij dacht dat ze misschien iets op de radio over te zeggen, maar flipping continu door de stations toonden geen nuttige informatie.

Uiteindelijk zag hij een snelweg te ondertekenen, geeft aan de lokale luchthaven. Hij dacht erover na. Hij had genoeg geld om een ticket te kopen ergens, maar hij zou moeten stoppen de auto, die niet iets was wat hij wilde doen, maar als deze reeds was vastgesteld, zou hij ergens kwijt te raken. Hoe langer hij reed, hoe dichter hij was om betrapt te worden.

"Trek, volgende rechts," zei hij, en de aanwijzingen gaf aan de luchthaven.

Hij achttien dollars betaald voor parkeren, geparkeerd en liep snel naar de belangrijkste terminal, die voortdurend een blik over zijn schouder naar iedereen die voorbij de buurt van hem. Hij zwierf de luchthaven voor een lange tijd, zich af te vragen waar het was precies dat hij wilde gaan. Hij stopte bij een computer terminal, en verzocht zij om een lijst van alle uitgaande vluchten in de komende achtenveertig uur. Het scherm dat opgedoken bevat honderden verschillende vluchtnummers, bestemmingen en de bijbehorende prijzen. Uit aan de ene kant zag hij een lijst van vluchten naar de habitat werelden. Deze trok zijn aandacht. Hij bracht het op. Deze lijst is veel korter, slechts negen inzendingen. Hij controleerde de lijst. Allen waren uit zijn prijscategorie-alle behalve een. Vlucht 2131 naar Station Austin. Vier duizend, drie honderd dollar voor een enkele reis. Hij zou net genoeg overblijft om zijn leven opnieuw beginnen.

Zonder het idee te geven een tweede gedachte, vertelde hij de computer wilde hij het ticket te kopen. Onmiddellijk begon hij te duwen jaren vijftig in de sleuf in de terminal die speciaal is ontworpen voor het zeldzame geval wanneer iemand wilde iets met geld te kopen.

Hoofdstuk 2

Het was enkele dagen voordat Stanley in staat was om weg te komen uit de groep, de verslaggevers en al zijn interviews, en dwalen Austin Station door hemzelf. In feite is hij weg moest stiekem als niemand leek te kijken.

De plaats was enorm. De kapitein had gezegd dat het een klein station. Stanley kon niet eens beginnen met te stellen wat een een groot zou zijn. Hij liep doelloos rond, vaak crashen in de verschillende mensen die hij nooit eerder had gezien, en slaagde erin om een groot aantal van hen boos op hem te maken. Wat hem het meest verbaasde was het enorme aantal mensen gepropt in zo'n kleine ruimte. Hij werd uiteindelijk claustrofobisch en besteedde al zijn energie, ontwijkende bewegingen links en rechts in de gangen, proberen om er een te vinden zonder al te veel mensen. Hij had verwacht dat er meer open ruimtes dan was hier op de Galaxy vier, maar de zalen hier leek nog meer verkrampt om wat voor reden.

           He eventually came across a little cafe at one end of the station where he could sit down. This area was a little less crowded but even so, he was only able to find a single unoccupied table. He sat down and looked out at the stars through the giant picture windows that lined the far wall and the ceiling. He wanted something to eat. He looked down at the console on the end of his table that would allow him to order anything he wanted, but he had no money, no way of paying for anything that he could get. So he simply sat, rested, listened to other people's conversations, and stared out the windows.

After a few minutes of this, he heard a woman's voice. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

He looked up, startled. “No,” he said. “Go right ahead.”

”Thanks,” she said as she dropped a backpack onto the table and sat down. “There's no other empty places.”

He watched her as she studied the computer console and selected an entree for herself and paid for it with a handheld banking terminal. She was young. He judged maybe eighteen. She opened her bag and began rummaging through it but then simply set it on the floor under her seat and began rapping her knuckles on the table top.

A polite little droid brought out her plate a few minutes later. Stanley stared at her dinner. He was hungrier than he had thought. But she didn't take any notice to his gaze. He turned and continued looking out the windows.

”Aren't you eating anything?” he heard her ask.

”No, I'm not getting anything,” he replied.

”Not hungry?” she said through a mouthful of hamburger.

”No money.”

”No money?,” she asked, startled. “What, did you forget your terminal at home?”

”I don't have a terminal. I just got off a ship, you see, and I haven't gotten around to finding out if I have any money left over from before I left.”

”How long ago did you leave?” she asked.

”Seven years.”

”You were on a spaceship for seven years?”

”That's right.”

”Why would you want to do that? Was this one of those expensive cruise ships? Is that what you blew all your money on?”

”It was an interstellar craft, capable of light speed.”

”You're kidding!”

”No. We were exploring a star system about ten light years away.”

She looked at him suspiciously. “Are you completely serious?”

”Of course.”

”Wow, I've never met anyone who's actually left the solar system.” She held out her hand. “I'm Sareena.”

”Stanley Peterman.”

”Look buddy,” she said, “I don't care what you tell me but I'm not buying you dinner. I thought I should tell you that in order to intice you towards truthfulness.”

”You think I'm lying?”

”The thought crossed my mind.”

”Well I'm not,” he said. “And I'm not that hungry anyway.”

”So what did you do on this ship?”

”I was an engineer. Helped make sure everything ran okay.”

”An engineer, huh? Aren't engineers supposed to have backgrounds in math?.”

”I do. Waarom? "

Taking a bite of a potato wedge from off her plate, she said, “I'm having a little trouble in my math class,”

He gave a little motion with his hand. “Let's see the book.”

She fetched a thick blue Calculus book from her pack and gently laid it on the table in front of him. She got up and walked around behind him and stood looking over his shoulder. She reached down and selected a page. “Right there,” she said, pointing to a particular problem. “I can't figure it out. I keep getting different answers.”

He looked at the problem. “That's it?” he said sarcastically. “Don't you have anything harder than that?”

She looked at him angrily. “I knew it,” she said. “You don't have a clue, do you?” She reached for the book like she was going to take it back.

He grabbed for her hand and held it back. “No, I can do this. Just give me a second.” He thought for a few seconds about how to do the problem. His hand was lying over hers, resting on the table top. “Okay, so here's what you do…”

           It took ten minutes or so until she had grasped the concept of the first problem. Then they went on to more problems. She sat down beside him. They spent nearly forty-five minutes working. She seemed to get truly interested in the subject of mathematics and she was obviously understanding at least most of what he was telling her. He was actually pretty proud of himself. I should be a teacher, he thought.

Finally, it came to a close. Apparently satisfied with her new found knowledge, Sareena closed and put away her book. “Are you really not hungry?” she said.

”I'm starving.”

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. "Wat?"

”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. Het spijt me. 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?”

Ze glimlachte. “I think that could be arranged.”

______   ______   ______

Take-off was zes uur vertraging wegens technische problemen op de shuttle. Dit maakte Tyson een beetje ongemakkelijk. Hij had al bijna dertig uur wachten. Hij wilde niet meer wachten. Het was alsof hij voelde dat de autoriteiten steeds dichter en dichter bij zijn locatie met elke minuut dat hij doelloos verspild.

Hij zat in de passagiershal de buurt van zijn terminal voor de meeste van deze tijd. De droids het onderhoud van de winkels in dat gedeelte van de luchthaven hebben hem leren kennen in plaats van goed als hij zou passeren ieder om de paar uur, maar zelden iets te kopen. Hij deed echter bij aankoop van een korte horror roman om de tijd te passeren, maar werd gedaan met het binnen een paar uur. Hij dacht over het krijgen van een tweede, maar besloten dat het noodzakelijk was voor hem om zijn geld te sparen voor als hij eindelijk naar Austin. Als hij ooit zou bereiken.

De auto was nog in de partij. Hij had gekregen een tweedaagse parkeerpas, zodat ze niet zou hebben gesleept het nog niet. In een manier die hij wilde dat ze zou doen. De auto was iets dat zou kunnen worden opgespoord en als het niet was in dezelfde plaats was hij, zou hij een veel veiliger worden. Als hij nadacht over zijn voertuig zit alleen daar in de parkeergarage, werd hij meer en meer zorgen dat er iemand zou vinden en herkennen. Hij besloot uiteindelijk, zo veel als hij vreesde terug te gaan, zou hij moeten controleren om te zien of de auto in orde was.

Hij besloot niet te hoge snelheid, dat de metro de hele lengte van de luchthaven liep rijden. Het zou doden de tijd om te lopen, en hij was helemaal niet bang om toch aankomt op zijn bestemming. Het duurde Tyson bijna vijfenveertig minuten om de drukte helemaal terug over de andere kant van de luchthaven en in de enorme, zesenzestig verhaal parkeergarage te bestrijden. Toen hij aankwam in voorkant van de lift die hem zou nemen, trok hij de kleine kaart zijn auto had gedrukte voor hem om hem, waar hij had geparkeerd herinneren. Hij keek ernaar en lees:

Lot: B

Level: 23

Blue afdeling

Rij: 19

ruimte # 63

Toen de lift de drieëntwintigste verdieping hit, stapte hij uit langzaam en voorzichtig, bereid zijn om massa's van de politie verzamelden zich rond gewoon te wachten voor hem om terug te keren te zien. Hij zag geen politie rond, echter, slechts een paar verdwaalde mensen op zoek naar hun auto. Hij liet zich snel adem zucht van opluchting, voordat hij verder op.

De grote blauwe pijlen geschilderd op de muren wees hem in de juiste richting. Hij volgde de nummers vaststelling van de loopbrug, die vaak een blik over zijn schouder en rond in een willekeurige richting op zoek naar enig teken van iemand die misschien wel naar hem te kijken.

Hij bereikte rij negentien en begon voorzichtig naar beneden te lopen, scannen in alle richtingen en uiteindelijk zag hij zijn auto, behaaglijk genesteld tussen een grote familie stationwagon en een full-sized pick-up truck. Niemand was in zicht.

Na het lopen rond zijn auto nadat hij uitgegleden in zitplaats van de bestuurder en ontspannen. Het was veel comfortabeler dan het hier was geweest in de wachtruimte in de luchthaven. Hij liet zich vijf minuten om te rusten en te kalmeren, dan zei hij tegen de auto aan om de video-log boek.

De kleine viewscreen ingebouwd in het dashboard flitsten aan en Tyson zag een beeld van de parkeergarage, veel hoe het eruit zag als hij gewoon uit het raam keek.

"Scan log", zei hij. "Kijk voor alles wat buiten het gewone."

Het scherm wazig en een ander uitzicht op de omliggende parking kwam, deze keer vanuit een andere hoek. Een man, mogelijk dertig jaar oud, gekruist voor het scherm en verdween aan de andere kant. Het scherm wazig weer en Tyson keek en wachtte toen hij zag tientallen mensen afgelopen wandeling langs de viewscreen, geen van hen ooit uit in zijn richting en waarschijnlijk volledig onbewust van het feit dat ze werden opgenomen.

"Wanneer werd deze opgenomen?" Vroeg hij op een punt.

De computer reageerde met opzetten van een uitlezing op het scherm, het tijdstip waarop elke belangrijke gebeurtenis-Als je zou kunnen noemen ze veelbetekenend is gebeurd.

Op een gegeven moment wanneer het scherm wazig, Tyson werd begroet door een oude vrouw met zwaar gerimpeld en opknoping huid en te veel oogschaduw, rechtstreeks naar hem staren. Ze draaide zich van hem weg en schreeuwde: "Ik denk dat-ik denk dat ik het zou hebben gevonden." Ze keek achterom, tuurde. "Wat?" Riep ze naar iemand uiteraard meerdere rijen weg. "Ik denk dat dit het is. Wat? Oh, je hebt het? Oh, oke. 'Ze deinsde achteruit, draaide zich om en weg was uit het zicht. 'Waarom heb je me niet verteld dat je een afdruk? "Zei ze vlak voordat ze uit het audio-bereik.

"Vergeet het", zei Tyson. "Er is hier niets. Annuleren zoeken. "

Het scherm ging gehoorzaam weer leeg.

Hij dacht na over wat hij nu moet doen. 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.”

           She stopped, glared at him. 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.

Hoofdstuk 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. "Wat?"

”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. Geen probleem. 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.

Ze kwamen al snel op hun bestemming. 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. Kom op. 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. "Wat?"

”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? Hoe? 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. Maak je geen zorgen. 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. "Wat? 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.

Hoofdstuk 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! Go! 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. Goede.

”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.

Ze zuchtte. 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.

Hoofdstuk 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.”

Ze glimlachte. “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?”

Ze glimlachte. “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. "Wat?"

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. Not ever. 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.