“Not that many, actually. I only came out recently. People did it to me at first, so I took a couple hundred years off. Went to school.”
“After the militaries became more of a security service, he joined,” Lori said. “Became a hot-shot engineer.”
“Then retired. I know,” Cadence said. “He built the first major space station after the I.S.S.”
“Massive,” Marie said.
“I’d expect no less,” Ella said. “He was a good science officer.”
“And now we’re on to other projects,” Nate said.
“Might as well be,” Cadence said. “We’re in good shape, now. The wars of the 21st Century dissipated in the 22nd—”
“Once we got past that 1st Century thinking,” Ella said.
“They can be such a pain,” Marie said.
“Health and longevity—covered,” Cadence summarized. “Transmutation takes care of that. The economic chaos that followed resolved itself when we stopped using money, thank goodness. It’s hard to get along with people when you’re trying to be financially dominant. Religions—fused a bit?” Cadence said it as a question.
“There is a strong spiritual aspect to humanity,” Ella said. “Always has been, always will be.”
“Yes,” Cadence said. “And the best aspects of most religions were so similar beneath the details of the surface.”
Lori filled that in: “Know there’s something better for us all. Respect others. Respect yourself.”
“Don’t want to leave out that part,” Marie said.
Lori continued. “Don’t judge people. Think about what they’re going through… Like that.”
Cadence continued. “Hunger—a thing of the past.”
Nate went with it. “And with retention of our genius, we cured hunger, pollution, learned to balance the global climate, developed greater energy sources to power lev vehicles from cars to stars. Natural resource management has matured. People have been free to engage in procreation for the last 97.68 years. We have developed a dozen major stations in space, and hundreds of smaller ones. Moon stations have become plentiful, and there is no argument over what ‘country’ owns what. With age, nations see importance of similar goals, with responsibility there is less argument over how to achieve them, and with longevity, there is no avoidance over longer-term, even centuries-long goals. With it’s new magnetosphere, Mars terraform operations are proceeding according to plan.
“And,” Nate said, “we are just now getting ready to embark on the next phase in our expansion as a species.”
“What?” Cadence asked.
“Interstellar travel is a given, using Ahleth technology, re-engineered to Earth standards. I think our infrastructure will support a few bases in the Alpha Centauri system.
“Wow!” Cadence said.
Cadence looked around the table at the other four people there.
They sat calmly, smiling at Nate.
“Well, I’m just entering my 4th century, you all,” she said.
Ella smiled at her. “But you’re precocious.”
“Well, I was president of—” Cadence pointed out the window to Earth turning slowly beneath them. The western coast of Africa was coming into view off the eastern edge of the Atlantic. “Well, the U.S. It’ll be there in about 70 minutes.”
The council has approved the plan, largely due to the efforts of Nicki Hammil. Council President Carrie Combs got the final vote today.
“Good for her,” Cadence said.
“Alpha Centauri,” Marie dreamed. “That’s, like, four light years away. Where is it?” She looked out the dome, scanning the sky.
Nate pointed. “That way. 1.34 parsecs, to be exact. Or 4.37 light years, the closest star system to our own.”
“Couldn’t we park space stations just anywhere? Out in space? We don’t need to plant them near a star, do we?”
“Yes. And no,” Nate said. “But we humans like to live near a star, there are resources there, and it can make a stable place. Life is still early, there, in it’s evolution, so we will not be altering their course so much as adapting to it. Placing a station in deep space could involve position-keeping, which we could overcome, but—”
“There is one colony out there,” Ella said. “They went straight up.”
Nate nodded to her, knowingly. “It’s like building a cabin deep in the mountains. Some people like their solitude.”
The five of them stared at each other in mutual consideration of the topic.
“Oh, look!” Marie pointed out the dome to two figures floating into view, one from the left, the other from the right.
“Hello,” Gadin said from the left, via radio intercom to a speaker system at the table.
“Hi all,” Cory said from the right.
Their suits were minimal. Their helmets were globes that, in minimizing the brightness of the sun to them, cast a shadow over their eyes, which was partially corrected with internal illumination. Other tubes existed in the helmet for water and sustenance.
“Hi all!” Cadence said to them.
Everyone greeted them.
Gadin rotated his suit in an odd gyration. “I can’t get enough of this.”
“What are you two doing out there?” Lori asked.
A figure floated, inverted, down from above, carrying something in her arms, from above the dome to within thirty feet of Gadin and Cory.
“Hi Sheena,” Cory said in greeting.
“Sheena?” Marie exclaimed. “Oh!” Marie got up to stand closer to the dome. “I haven’t seen you since you switched.” Marie turned to everyone. “She was Putin until yesterday. She said she was going to switch, but I thought she was kidding me.”
“Sure made a turn around,” Ella said.
Cadence nodded to her. “Had to serve in the Peace Corps for 80 years before some people dropped their grudge. I guess she paid her penance as well as she could.”
“She’s been a servant of humanity ever since,” Gadin said.
Sheena waived to everyone. “You know,” she said, “this female thing isn’t bad. Probably if I’d done it earlier, I wouldn’t have been so frustrated— Well never mind.”
“You’ve done a fine job with the moon, Sheena,” Nate said. “Glad to see you again.”
Sheena saluted Nate and tossed the end of a sign toward Cory and Gadin, who caught it easily.
Sheena backed up to pull it tight.
Cory read the sign: “Happy Birthday, Lori.”
Lori looked around confused.
Nate smiled at her. “We all got together and decided to give you a birthday.”
“You didn’t have one,” Cory said. “And we wanted you to, so—”
Lori looked confused yet pleased.
Everyone at the table pulled out a little card or gift for Lori.
“And here are theirs,” Marie said, handing over three more.
“She was our consipirator,” Sheena said.
Lori sat through her friends singing the birthday song to her, then relished their lively conversation. The three outside the dome played in their zero-g and pretended to fight like the Three Stooges.
Cadence held Ella’s hand.
Ella smiled at Cadence.
Nate gave Lori another kiss.
Marie teased Gadin through the dome.
Lori sat back in her chair and noticed her surroundings.
My friends—friends! I haven’t really had any in so long. Such loving, good people.
People, she reflected, respected differences among each other, worked together in peace for the betterment of all, and virtually everyone over the age of 40 was trans something—as well as many from a very early age, correcting gender issues.
The table next to them included two transgenders.
Beyond that sat three gay men talking with a fourth, obviously in an intelligent discussion on something having to do with chemistry.
The family two tables over erupted. A mother tried to help two children who fought over
a toy, the girl spilling a drink onto the table, dripping over the side onto the floor. She began to cry.
Ranell 5 went to help. “There, now. It’s alright—”
And Lori felt alright, herself, for the first time in three centuries.
I love you, John, she thought, feeling him begin to depart.
Do the best you can with our daughter, she felt him say.
I will. You know I will. Where will you go? Lori thought to him.
I think I don’t have to choose, she felt him say. I think I can just move into the hearts of men.
Lori felt a twinge of loss as she imagined him leaving, moving, his spirit distancing into space, somewhere here but there.
Marie looked to her mother.
Lori watched Marie reach out to hold Nate’s hand.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aimee Norin writes novels about trans person / transsexual / transgender experiences, in an effort to entertain, and also to illustrate lesser-known aspects of phenomena. People have different terminologies they prefer, so Aimee tries to use them all at one time or another, and ideologies vary, so in her books, characters experience lives and share views, which are all different. Usually, there are multiple views given within each novel, and some novels as a whole present views quite different from other Aimee Norin novels.
Her characters are normal in their humanity in that they also have issues in life with which they struggle while they search for love and respect.
Transgender lifestyles are not yet commonly accepted in most societies, and trans persons are usually heavily schachtered on an ongoing basis, with daily diminutions, or “daily dimunitions,” as they are sometimes felt. Prejudices and oppressions, soft and loud, misleading and painful, can exist for a trans person throughout life in more ways that can be known or counted—not just in larger, social exclusions but also in assumptions closer people make that also keep trans persons on the fringe. A person living in these lifestyles may have to deal with all that on a daily basis—while at the same time needing to wear a smile, interacting with those same, oppressive people at work, in public, or at home, in such a way as to downplay internal fear and pain: smiling while hurting.
Saying things seem fine when they’re not.
Aimee’s experience is that most people do not really understand trans persons and tend to keep them at arm’s length. People have opinions, and they may believe they understand—because they’ve treated patients, or known some trans persons elsewhere, or had one in the family. But those contacts are superficial and rare compared to a mutually interactive, decades-long, daily involvement, through situations good and bad, or even actually being a trans person in self.
Aimee believes if most people got to know trans persons more closely—if they gained enough trust to be admitted to inner thoughts and private experiences, if they were to show the courage to ask insightful questions, if they were open to new ideas as they emerged—a different, more human, more genuine reality could well emerge with reasons revealed for things that had, hitherto, seemed eccentric or even spurious. Instead of a trans person appearing to be someone who is unduly concerned about social rejections or prospects, real reasons may be revealed that indicate the trans person is dealing with issues of which others are unaware—still needing at the same time to function as the helpful co-worker, the friendly neighbor, the loving husband, the devoted wife, the inspiring parent, the loyal friend.
Being a trans person takes more courage and inner strength than most people begin to conceive.
As such, a greater effort is needed to peer into the heart of trans people—to see what is really there, what is really being dealt with, much of which is likely not shared—and to convey a greater and more sincere compassion than previously considered.
Finally, in order for these novels to be FREE, no editor is used, relying, instead, on feedback from people. Please email
[email protected] if you have comments or concerns.
CONTACT AIMEE NORIN
[email protected] https://aimeenorin.wordpress.com/
Because I have been offering these novels for free, I must schedule most of my time for other occupations, and hence, I cannot manage most correspondence as often as I’d prefer. As a consequence, I may find it best to respond to most concerns in the aggregate on my web log, or Facebook, or Twitter, and then, perhaps, intermittently. Sometimes I do return emails directly, though. Please do write, though, as I do read them. Your comments and feedback are most appreciated and valued.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends