Chapter 4: Off to School We Go
Many probes were sent out into space to study the galactic storm. But those probes were looking at more than ‘The Swarm’—the name given to the massive meteor field. The exploration of space led to the discovery of new planets beyond the Swarm’s path that were potentially reachable by the doomed population of Earth. Some of these planets held promise for habitation.
The first discoveries were two fraternal twins aptly nicknamed PLG and PHG. Translated: Planet with Low Gravity and Planet with High Gravity. PLG and PHG had almost everything that was required to support human life. PLG was smaller than Earth and had a much less dense core. As a result, it had lower gravity than Earth. PHG was the same approximate size as PLG but it had a very dense core and greater gravity.
Other discoveries soon followed. None were exactly like Earth, but twelve were close. All of the scientist’s best estimates predicted that they were ‘probably’ habitable. If humans wanted to survive long-term on any of these planets, the population would have to adapt. The people in charge decided to give the adaptations a head start.
“Thirteen. It is time to get up. Thirteen,” said Lucky. “Thirteen, please get up. It is time. You must get up now. We will be behind schedule if you do not get up. Thirteen?”
Jayne Wu opened her eyes. Despite her difficulty in waking up she felt fully rested and clear-headed. She had slept perfectly. She turned over on her back, feeling the mattress adjust around her new body position. She lay for a moment waiting for another prompt by Lucky. She did not have to wait long.
“Wu F 302875106592253, it is time to get up,” said a flat voice that did not sound like Lucky.
“Lucky, did your voice change?” asked Jayne, sitting up in bed.
“It was not me. If SYSTEM feels I am being ignored, it will…” Lucky paused and cautiously continued, “it will… intercede.”
“Oh,” said Jayne, sensing the hesitation in Lucky’s voice. She drew back the cover and sat up fully, her legs dangling over the edge. She wondered who or what SYSTEM was, but the first day was not a good time to ask. “What next?”
“That is very simple,” replied Lucky. “You follow the green arrow and respond to the green prompts. You avoid anything that is red.”
Jayne’s next question was answered by a ten centimetre green arrow that just appeared in the floor at her feet. It was pointing to the bathroom. Jayne got up and followed arrows and responded to the prompts. After about twenty minutes, she was clean, dressed, fed and standing at the door waiting for it to open.
“Thank you, Thirteen, for being so efficient on your first day. The prompts will appear less and less frequently as you learn the routine. Have a good day,” chirped Lucky.
With that, the door opened and Jayne stepped out, following a green flashing arrow in the floor that terminated down the hallway in a one-metre circle of green light indicating a PUT pad. She stood in the center and waited.
A few seconds later she appeared in an alcove with a 10-unit PUT array. She stepped off the pad and entered the adjoining room. She was standing in another, high-ceilinged room with twenty other apprentices being organized into four rows of five. The flashing arrow directed Jayne to the third row, third from the end. Position Thirteen. She never really understood why she was always somehow connected to the number thirteen, but it occurred too often in her life to be a simple coincidence. Lucky thirteen. A small man with graying hair walked up to each of the apprentices and handed them a rectangular badge. The only person she recognized in the group was the big-foot boy she met on the external PUT. She didn’t even know his name. He was standing one row ahead of her and two positions to the left. He didn’t seem to notice her. He towered over everyone else in the room. The small man handed Jayne a badge with a bright orange 13 printed on a dark background. She took it and waited.
After all the badges had been handed out, a woman walked up to the front of the group. She held a larger version of a standard VID in her hand. She stared down at her VID, never making eye contact with the group in front of her. “Place the ID marker you received into the small pocket on the left breast of your clothing unit,” she stated casually.
No one responded, though they all looked down at their shirts to find the pocket.
The woman finally looked up at them, seeming irritated at their inaction. “Now!” she commanded.
There was a rustling sound throughout the room as everyone slipped their ID marker into the small pocket on their chest. As the ID marker hit the bottom of the pocket, the material on Jayne’s shirt glowed, the marker disappeared and a number appeared on the front of the pocket.
The woman looked down again, resuming the inspection of her VID screen. Once she confirmed that all of the ID markers were inserted properly into pockets, she looked up at the group. “I had hoped that this day would be uneventful, but it appears I was wrong. It seems there are some VIP’s visiting the HUB today. Some scientists from HUB Central are being shown around and they requested to meet and inspect some of our newest fixer apprentices. Why, I cannot imagine. But who am I to question the reasoning of scientists?” she sighed in resignation, her tone changing quickly back to the sharp voice she previously used. She barked, “Stand sharp and answer all questions clearly!”
A group of five people entered from a small room that held the reserved PUT array. They all appeared to be quite old, at least from Jayne’s viewpoint. There were three men and two women. Each of them smiled and approached the group of apprentices.
One of the men spoke first. “We thought we would like to welcome you to HUB….” He paused and turned to the young man who was guiding the group.
“169,” the guide responded.
“Yes, 169. Welcome to HUB 169. I am sure all of you are more than competent and will excel in your chosen careers. My colleagues and I would like to talk to some of you. This is nothing formal so try to relax,” the man said with a smile on his face.
Moving into the group of apprentices, the scientists began to converse casually with several of them. The oldest woman in the group didn’t hesitate, but walked straight to Jayne. She had white hair and wrinkled skin. Jayne was surprised that she didn’t have to look up, but was able to look directly into the woman’s eyes. The scientist was, in fact, slightly shorter than Jayne. The eyes that gazed back at her made Jayne take a small step back in surprise. They were a sharp green color that shone so brightly that they seemed to contradict her first impression of the woman’s age. They were the eyes of a much younger person.
The woman stared at her in silence and Jayne began to feel uncomfortable under her silent gaze so she spoke first. “Hello,” she said.
The woman did not respond but continued to inspect Jayne like she was something to be purchased.
Jayne continued hesitantly, “My name is Jayne Wu….”
The woman finally acknowledged Jayne and spoke softly. “Yes, dear, I know who you are.” She reached out and touched the long braid that hung over Jayne’s shoulder. “You are very beautiful and so young.”
She smiled a wrinkled smile and reached out and lifted Jayne’s necklace. The silver star popped into view. “Yes. Good. Perfect.”
“Thank you. I’m not…” Jayne started to respond. She stopped and felt an inexplicable cramp accompanied by a hint of nausea in the pit of her stomach. Jayne’s face contorted with the pain.
An odd smile crept over the old woman’s face as if she were relishing in the pain Jayne was feeling. “Maybe we will meet again,” she said cryptically and abruptly turned and walked away, not talking to any of the other apprentices before rejoining the other scientists.
The nausea in Jayne’s stomach slowly faded as the guide spoke to their initial facilitator, “Thank you. You may continue.”
The group of scientists walked away and Jayne was left deeply unsettled and confused at the encounter.
Their facilitator also seemed confused at this unlikely encounter, but shrugged and resumed her stern lecture. ?
??I will now continue. Each day you will be required to insert a new ID marker into the pocket of your clothing unit. Once you have done this, you must step off the PUT pad and follow the indicators in the floor or wall displaying your number. These indicators will decrease in frequency as you learn where you have been assigned. They will increase in frequency if you go elsewhere. I strongly recommend that you do not stray from the designated path very often,” she said. “If your assigned location changes, a new set of indicators will redirect you. If this protocol is understood, please proceed.”
A series of small green arrows with numbers at the base appeared in front of each person. As each moved, his or her respective arrows reoriented themselves and pointed in the required direction of travel.