Earth Flight

  ‘There shouldn’t be since you’re both citizens of Earth,’ I said. ‘Would you be happy about getting adopted?’

  ‘I can cope with it so long as we’re not on the newzies.’ He glanced off to one side, obviously looking at Maeth. ‘I’d better go. Thanks, Jarra.’

  The lookup screen went blank. I gave a little shake of my head.

  Fian laughed. ‘There’s no need to look so shocked, Jarra. A lot of Betan clans are welcoming their Handicapped children as members now.’

  ‘I know,’ I said. ‘It’s nardle of me not to realize that one of my own friends might …’

  ‘This is Dig Site Command,’ said a voice on the comms broadcast channel that could be heard by everyone working on the California Rift. ‘We have five hours warning of an incoming solar storm. Solar Watch predicts Earth portal network will be in lockdown for approximately twelve hours. California Rift Dig Site is evacuating. I repeat: California Rift Dig Site is evacuating.’

  ‘Working teams retrieve your sensor spikes and pack up,’ said Playdon on team circuit. He came over to sit on our transport sled.

  ‘Evacuating the dig site means what exactly?’ asked Krath.

  ‘Evacuating means evacuating,’ said Playdon. ‘If dig teams stayed on the Land Raft when a solar storm shut down the Earth portal network, they’d have no way to escape an earthquake.’

  ‘Where will we evacuate to, sir?’ asked Raven. ‘There are security issues to consider.’

  ‘Dig Site Command usually arranges accommodation on another dig site, or at a University Earth America campus,’ said Playdon, ‘but I’m happy to take the class anywhere the Military suggest. It’ll only be for a day.’

  ‘I’ll call Colonel Leveque,’ said Raven.

  He made his call, and laughed. ‘Colonel Leveque says the established protocol is for Jarra to pick somewhere to hide.’

  Amalie giggled. ‘We’ll probably end up in Zoo America South. Jarra took us there earlier in the year.’

  ‘I’d prefer somewhere more inaccessible than a zoo,’ said Raven.

  ‘If you want somewhere inaccessible,’ I said, ‘I know the perfect place.’

  ‘Where?’ asked Krath.

  I grinned at him. ‘You’ll find out when we get there.’

  Fian shook his head. ‘It’ll be somewhere with cheese fluffle.’

  ‘Let’s get the sleds moving now,’ said Playdon. ‘When we’re back at the dome, I’ll give you exactly one hour to get out of your impact suits, shower, and pack a few things.’

  It took only a few minutes to drive back to the dome, and then there was a rush for the showers. Fian and I were among the first to finish packing our bags and arrive in the hall. Playdon checked off our names against the list on his lookup.

  ‘I hope there’s some privacy wherever we’re going,’ said Fian. ‘Given what day it is tomorrow …’

  I felt myself blush.

  When the rest of the class had arrived, Playdon turned to look at me. ‘Jarra, do you need to make any special arrangements before we portal?’

  ‘I’ve already called Colonel Leveque and … and someone else,’ I said. ‘I just need to enter the portal code now.’

  ‘Lead the way then,’ said Playdon.

  I was startled to find the whole of the Cassandra 2 team waiting in the corridor by the portal room. Rono grinned at me. ‘My team would hate to miss anything exciting, so we’d like to join the mystery trip. If there’s room for us of course.’

  I smiled. ‘There’s plenty of space where we’re going.’

  I went up to the portal, entered a code, went through, and hurriedly turned so I could watch the others arriving and enjoy seeing their puzzled expressions. Playdon was the last to appear. He glanced round the huge room, and frowned at the glass wall ahead.

  ‘It’s pitch dark outside, so we must have changed continent. Where are we, Jarra?’

  My smile widened. ‘Welcome to the main viewing gallery of Roof of the World. We’re in the Himalaya mountain range in Earth Asia, at the top of the highest mountain on Earth. It’s called Chomolungma, or Everest.’

  26

  Everyone moved towards the glass wall of the vast room and looked out.

  ‘Is the white out there snow?’ asked Rono. ‘It’s winter here?’

  ‘It’s always snowy and lethally cold this high up whatever the season,’ I said. ‘You can’t see much at the moment, but we’ll have an incredible view at dawn.’

  ‘Is it safe here?’ asked Playdon. ‘Once the Earth portal network goes into lockdown …’

  ‘Roof of the World is built in Earth’s most hostile environment,’ I said. ‘Oxygen levels in the air are far lower than normal, and the extreme cold can kill an unprotected person in minutes. It’s called the Death Zone.’

  Playdon looked extremely unhappy, but I grinned and continued. ‘Our visitors can, however, enjoy their visit in perfect safety. Roof of the World is built in three interconnected sections, each with its own independent environmental control system providing heat and air. It has two viewing galleries and a range of hospitality suites, which provide an unforgettable venue for wedding and other parties. To guarantee your safety, Roof of the World is anchored deep into the mountainside, has twenty portals, and its own emergency medical facilities.’

  ‘You sound like a tour guide,’ said Fian. ‘I suppose you came here on a school trip.’

  I laughed. ‘Schools don’t come to Roof of the World. The admission charges are far too high. If I sound like a tour guide, it’s because I was a tour guide here. We had to do two lots of work experience at school. The first was the compulsory two weeks in a Hospital Earth Nursery. We could choose what to do for the second, so I came here.’

  I glanced round at everyone. ‘Roof of the World evacuates the second there’s a solar storm warning, so we’re the only people up here. They’ve given us a free run of the whole place, including the refreshments, in exchange for the right to mention our visit in their publicity.’

  Krath laughed. ‘I can imagine it. Come to Roof of the World, where the famous Jarra Tell Morrath and Fian Eklund took refuge from assassins during a solar storm!’

  I giggled. ‘It’s nearly three o’clock in the morning here, Earth Asia time. Roof of the World portals are in amber safety mode now, so they won’t allow anyone else to portal in, and the Earth portal network will be going into lockdown just before dawn. I suggest everyone comes back to the main viewing gallery to watch the sunrise. It’s a sight you mustn’t miss.’

  ‘No one can portal in,’ said Raven, ‘but I’d better check no one is already here in hiding.’ He headed out of the door waving his hand sensor.

  ‘Before anyone else goes wandering around,’ said Playdon, ‘I want to make it perfectly clear that no one sets foot outside.’

  ‘Don’t worry, they can’t,’ I said. ‘Roof of the World Investment had an epic battle with Hospital Earth to get permission to build this place. They had to change the design a dozen times, and triple their budget, before they were finally allowed to fly in freight portals and start building. The safety systems are unbelievable. It takes a special code, palm prints from three authorized maintenance staff, and a remote confirmation, before you can open an external door.’

  ‘Possibly,’ said Playdon, ‘but I don’t want anyone even trying. I also don’t want anyone getting drunk, powered, damaging anything, or leaving a mess behind, and that particularly includes you, Rono!’

  Rono laughed. ‘The dreadful thing is that Playdon was already like this as a student. Stephan, do you remember the time when we were on our Foundation course, and borrowed a mobile dome?’

  ‘I just felt you should have asked the lecturer’s permission before taking a dig site mobile dome,’ said Playdon. ‘How would you feel if one of your students stole a mobile dome to camp out at a music festival?’

  Rono grinned. ‘It was a historical music festival, Dannel, and I don’t have any students. Not since a stuffy inspector turned up seven year
s ago, filed a scathingly bad report about my behaviour, and University Cassandra decided I wasn’t suited to holding a teaching position.’

  The rest of Cassandra 2 burst out laughing.

  ‘Everything I said in that report was perfectly true,’ said Keren.

  That was how Keren and Rono had first met? I exchanged grazzed looks with Fian.

  Krath went across to the refreshments area. ‘We can’t get drunk. The wine is locked up in cabinets.’

  ‘That’s extremely good news,’ said Playdon.

  We spent the next few hours exploring, raiding the refreshments, and lounging around on luxurious cushioned couches. As dawn approached, everybody drifted back into the main viewing gallery. The last few stragglers had just arrived when there was a chime from Playdon’s lookup. He glanced down at it.

  ‘Earth portal network is going into lockdown.’

  The faces around me showed instinctive fear. These people were all norms. They’d grown up secure in the knowledge that a functioning portal was always somewhere nearby, and any help they needed was just one step away through it. When one of their worlds had a freak solar storm that took out the portals for a couple of hours, it was a terrifying event remembered for decades afterwards.

  Everyone turned to look at the portal. I’d grown up on Earth, with its regular solar storms, but even I felt a shadow of nerves as the portal lights started flashing green. The lockdown sequence continued on to amber and then red. We were on top of the highest mountain on Earth, and there was no way to leave.

  ‘It’s nearly dawn,’ I said in a deliberately brisk voice. ‘I’ll dim the glows so we get the best effect.’

  Everyone found good seats and settled down to watch the sunrise. First there was a bright glowing line in the distance, which made everything else suddenly seem a lot darker, then the sun rose above the horizon and the light flooded out towards us like a wave rolling over a beach. As dawn shift tour guide, I’d seen this a dozen times before, so I didn’t watch the sunrise, I watched the look on Fian’s face instead. I smiled at his dazed expression and the way he caught his breath.

  ‘Amaz,’ said Dalmora, in a broken thread of a voice. ‘Just amaz.’

  ‘I’m right, aren’t I,’ said Fian. ‘Those fluffy things, way, way down there, really are clouds?’

  ‘Yes,’ I said.

  There was total silence for quite a while. Even Krath was too grazzed to babble pointlessly when looking down on a seemingly endless vision of clouds and jagged mountain tops, white areas of snow contrasting with the harsh black of rock.

  ‘Thank you for bringing us here, Jarra,’ said Rono. ‘I’ve visited a lot of worlds, but never seen anything like this.’

  ‘Of course not,’ I said. ‘Planet First choose nice tame worlds for you, and pick the kindest and blandest of their continents for you to live on. This is no carefully vetted colony world, this is Earth!’

  ‘This place is unique,’ said Lolmack. ‘We’re looking for a venue for our daughter’s clan presentation ceremony and this …’

  ‘This is by far the best we’ve seen,’ said Lolia, ‘and when we tell the clan that Jarra herself brought us here …’

  I frowned. ‘You can hire any of the hospitality suites, or even the smaller viewing gallery, for private parties, but the prices are shocking.’

  Lolmack tapped at his lookup for a moment. ‘Not a problem. We’ll hire the viewing gallery of course. Our clan’s involvement in the sex vid industry keeps us at the lowest social status, Jarra, but it also makes us extremely wealthy.’

  I’d always had the impression that Lolia and Lolmack had plenty of credits, but I hadn’t known they were that rich. ‘Well, if the price isn’t an issue, you can’t do better than Roof of the World.’

  My lookup chimed and I automatically glanced down at it. ‘General Torrek!’

  I answered the call and saw his face smiling at me. ‘Happy Birthday, Jarra. I’m delighted to inform you that your Military rank has been reinstated.’

  ‘It has? I’m not 18 until tomorrow, sir.’

  ‘Military regulations use interstellar standard Green Time, so it is tomorrow.’

  Of course it was. I’d been thinking in Earth America time still, and it was 19:00 hours there, but it was five hours later in Earth Europe, home of Green Time. I gave a startled laugh.

  ‘Your betrothal has been registered on Zeus under Military regulations section 14, subsection 3.9,’ continued General Torrek. ‘Congratulations and mutual joy to you both. You can expect to receive orders to return to Zulu base within the next few days.’

  ‘Thank you, sir,’ Fian and I chorused.

  The General ended the call, and Fian turned to Raven. ‘No one can possibly get up here to murder me or Jarra, so you can stop trailing round after us for a while.’

  ‘I suppose that’s true. I’ll just do one last check of the area.’ Raven headed out of the door, waving his hand sensor again.

  ‘Actually,’ I said, ‘records say some people did manage to climb this mountain back in the days before impact suits or portals.’

  Fian shook his head. ‘I don’t believe that.’

  Playdon tapped away at his lookup for a moment. ‘Jarra’s right. I’ve found a list of people who climbed this mountain.’

  ‘Data corruption,’ said Rono. ‘Must be.’

  ‘Whether it’s true or not,’ said Fian, ‘no one is to say a word about it to Raven. I’ve been finding things really frustrating lately, and I’m desperate for some privacy.’

  Rono laughed and gave us a suggestive wink. ‘I think we’ve all noticed and understood your frustration, Fian.’

  I blushed, and was grateful that Raven reappeared at this point.

  ‘Everything seems secure,’ he said, ‘so I’m declaring myself off duty until the portal network comes back.’

  Fian grabbed my hand. ‘Zan! Jarra, let’s find a …’

  He broke off and groaned as every lookup in the room chimed at once. ‘Now what?’

  I stared at my message. ‘Hospital Earth wants everyone to watch Earth Rolling News.’

  Playdon frowned. ‘The top of the highest mountain on Earth could be a very bad place to be if this turns out to be another solar super storm.’

  ‘We’ve got radiation shielding,’ I said. ‘I told you the safety systems were unbelievable.’

  ‘Never mind radiation shielding, do we have a wall vid?’ asked Krath.

  ‘Of course we have a wall vid.’ I hit the switch that made the covers slide open to show a massive wall vid, and set it to Earth Rolling News. A close-up of a man’s face appeared.

  ‘Lucius Augustus Gordianus again!’ Fian shook his head. ‘Does the man never stop talking? I know he’s on our side, but …’

  Lucius Augustus Gordianus obviously wasn’t in a studio, because there was a shadowy tree and a glimpse of dark night sky behind him.

  ‘The debate on the issue of selecting worlds for the Handicapped still continues,’ he said. ‘People question the safety of a colony world that has solar storms and portal outages in the same way as Earth, and yet Earth was our first world. Earth was the world where humanity lived for hundreds of thousands of years. Earth was the world where ancient Rome and Greece flourished.’

  He paused. ‘A world with portal outages will cause additional problems for the Planet First teams, but the Military are prepared to face them. For those of us who are civilians, the situation is much simpler. We have the freedom not to go to such a world when there are many others to choose from. We have the freedom to go to such a world but leave if a solar storm is forecast. We have the freedom to stay on it during a solar storm, and discover it’s really no great problem to be without a portal for a few hours.’

  He smiled. ‘A solar storm has just hit Earth, and its portal network has entered a twelve hour lockdown. There was five hours warning of this event, which was ample time for those who wished to portal away from Earth. It was also ample time to portal here. I am speaking to you by live li
nk from the Spirit of Man monument in Earth Europe.’

  The vid image panned out to show two vast, floodlit figures against the black sky, probably the only landmark on Earth that even off-worlders would recognize.

  ‘You have to admit he’s good at this,’ said Rono. ‘Coming to Earth to make a speech during a solar storm was a brilliant move.’

  After giving his audience a moment to take in the view, Lucius Augustus Gordianus started speaking again. ‘I was not the only person to portal to Earth before the solar storm arrived. Here with me is Aadi Quilla Amarion, First Speaker of Alpha sector, who has an announcement to make.’

  The First Speaker of Alpha sector was here on Earth! What the nuke was happening? I took a step forward, staring at the screen as a woman with close-cropped silver hair stepped into view of the vid bees. She adjusted the folds of her flowing dark blue robe, and gave a formal nod of her head.

  ‘Thank you, Lucius Augustus Gordianus.’ She paused dramatically, while I waited in agonized suspense. ‘While other sectors responded rapidly to recent events, the Alpha Sector Parliament has been criticized for making no announcement. We could not do so until a decision had been reached, and that decision required much debate and consultation. The Alpha Sector Parliament held a vote eleven hours ago.’

  She paused again and the vid image zoomed in closer, focusing on her face. It was hard to judge the age of Lucius Augustus Gordianus, I could only guess it as about seventy, but this woman had skin that was delicately lined despite rejuvenation treatments so she must be approaching her hundredth.

  ‘Other sectors are passing reciprocal relationship agreements with Earth that will contain retrospective clauses to validate past contracts,’ she said. ‘Alpha sector has chosen not to do this.’

  ‘Chaos take you!’ Rono shouted the words. ‘You can’t leave people’s marriages broken and …’

  ‘Quiet, Rono,’ said Playdon. ‘The Aadi of Alpha sector wouldn’t come to Earth just to say that.’

  ‘The issue of marriages and other contracts is only one aspect of a much larger problem, and should be dealt with as such,’ said Quilla Amarion. ‘Alpha sector chooses not to patch a broken vessel, but to make it whole. The Alpha Sector Parliament has voted to offer membership to a new planet. Earth has always been in the physical centre of Alpha sector; it is now invited to be part of it politically.’