Chapter 4
Mr. Kennedy could hardly contain the excitement in the class. Every two minutes he was slapping his plastic ruler on the desktop. He had a certain look of satisfaction, despite his feigned anger. He was rather enjoying this elated reaction he was receiving from the class.
“I wish you’d get this excited when I changed the dates of exams,” he said.
“Mr. Kennedy, is it true that we’re going up to one of the rigs?”
“Joshua, ‘rig’ is really a crude term for the liquid Llewellium extraction stations, otherwise referred to as ‘blue,’” Mr. Kennedy said. “These are highly advanced space stations designed to locate blue and extract it with precision.”
“That’s why my dad’s always up there fixing them,” whispered Caeden loudly.
“When you think about the amount of work done on those stations in a year, it’s no wonder they need regular upkeep, Mr. Llewellyn,” Mr. Kennedy said.
“Excuse me, Mr. Kennedy, but you didn’t answer my question,” Joshua Jacobs offered again.
“I know,” Mr. Kennedy said, and smiled. “Come, form up. It’s a ten minute walk out to the jump module.”
Caeden arose from his seat and turned to find Anita right next to him.
“Do you think you could forgive me enough to sit beside me on the jump?” she said.
“You bet,” Caeden said. “You scared?”
She looked around and then nodded furiously, biting her lip. Caeden leaned in close to her.
“Me too.”
He looked around and was comforted by the sight of a large crowd of scared kids around him. There was something comforting in not being the most scared kid on the trip. There were several of the younger kids who look most likely to start crying at any moment. Caeden winked at a frightened looking sophomore boy named James.
“Mr. Kennedy, did you bring any diapers, ‘cause I might be needing one,” Caeden said, this time as loudly as he could. The hallway erupted in laughter. Even James managed a smile.
“Nothing to fear, Mr. Llewellyn. It’s quick and painless. You’ll barely realize you’ve moved. Done it plenty of times,” he said, then quickly added, “Haven’t lost a student yet.”
There was an uneasy snicker amongst the students.
“Does the geology class always make a jump?”
“Once a year we try and sneak one in. It’s not part of the curriculum, but the teachers feel that it’s an important part of life on Callisto. Jumping is in the future for many of you. And, the opportunity to visit the rigs is unequaled. You’re going to get a rare glimpse at the material that’s made all of this possible. Who knows, this trip might change your future path. Maybe one of you will become an engineer someday, like Joshua’s father. A programmer, like Caeden’s father. An engineer who designs new rigs, like Maryanne’s father.”
Someone whispered behind Caeden, “Or a miner like Ted’s father,” which sent up a small roar of laughter from some of the younger kids. Caeden turned in the middle of the hallway, stopping the crowd behind him. He was a towering wall over some very frightened looking sophomore boys.
“Think you’re above a miner?” Caeden said.
The entire hallway froze. All eyes were on Caeden, and he returned the gazes before him, his cheeks flush, the vein at the side of his temple pulsing. His fists were clenched at his side. His own father’s words were echoing inside his head, “…ignorant…brat…”
“Think you could bust your ass day in day out mining blue? I know I couldn’t. But I’m glad someone can. Otherwise, my dad wouldn’t have a job.”
“Caeden,” Mr. Kennedy moved between him and Tim Reigal, a sophomore boy a good foot shorter than Caeden. “What’s going on here?”
“Sorry, Mr. Kennedy,” Caeden said.
“Well, there’s no need for stars to collide over this. We’ve got enough tension, I think. Don’t you?”
Caeden relaxed and turned away.
“Sorry, Tim,” he said.
“It’s alright, Cae. I was only jokin’. I didn’t mean nothing by it.”
“Yeah, I know you didn’t, but words have a funny way of hurting people you don’t mean to. Just watch what you say. I’ve said some stupid stuff myself and it’ll just get you in trouble.”
“You got it, Cae.”
Anita came to Caeden’s side again and they walked in silence the remainder of the way. They made their way through the jump module door in single file. He jumped when Anita’s hand brushed against his, before realizing she’d done it on purpose. He blushed fiercely.
The station’s jump module was surprisingly lacking the type of flair Caeden had expected for the base’s primary launch point. He hadn’t quite known what to expect, but he couldn’t hold back his disappointment in the rather low-key layout.
It was a drab gray color throughout, with the occasional flash of dark blue that only broke the complete monotony of the place. Mr. Kennedy led them past the main security desk and down a long wide corridor. About halfway down, they entered a doorway on their right that had a short hallway that sloped downward into a circular room. The size of the room seemed to magnify their tension. There were concentric rows of seating leading out from the center of the room. In the center, there was a low-lying table with computer screens on two sides.
A quick estimate told Caeden that there were approximately thirty seats in the room. They each had a four-point harness and a high-backed headrest. They were somewhat straightbacked, and not particularly comfortable looking. He wondered if this was perhaps just a staging room to familiarize themselves with the jump unit.
“Take a seat, ladies and gentlemen. Fill the first rows up and work your way out. C’mon, I don’t want to see any empty seats in the front,” Mr. Kennedy said.
“We have entered an exact replica of a jump ship. This one has been modified as a training vehicle for first jumpers. Take a good look around. Comments? Questions?”
There was still some general murmuring throughout the room. Caeden had settled in next to Anita in the second row. The high-backed seat seemed to dwarf her. He spoke up.
“Mr. Kennedy? If jumps are supposed to be void of gravity, why the harnesses?”
“Excellent question, Mr. Llewellyn. An excellent observation, with a relatively simple answer. Stuff happens.”
“Accidents?” Caeden said.
“Nothing is fool proof, Mr. Llewellyn.”
“My dad says there were a lot of accidents early on,” Tim Riegal said.
“Your father’s right, Mr. Riegal. There were some fairly terrible accidents. Most were because of a lack of knowledge.”
“Like the Chinese freighter incident?” Joshua piped up.
“Well, Joshua, that was an especially tragic incident. That was before the jump technology had been refined like it is today. The software was a lot weaker back then. They couldn’t have known that dwarf star had collapsed. But, what was learned was that particularly long jumps were risky. They also abandoned the idea of sending such a large number of people at the same time. Too many lives were lost.”
“How many, Mr. Kennedy?”
“Too many, Tim. Too many. Alright class, let’s focus on the present situation. Look around and take it in. This is it. Simple, no?”
“Is there a pilot, Mr. Kennedy?” Anita asked.
“Not exactly, Miss Turkovitch. There is an experienced engineer aboard for each jump. They know the navigation system inside and out.”
“Is there any form of propulsion on the ship, Mr. Kennedy?” A junior boy name Alfred asked.
“Each ship has basic maneuvering thrusters. They’re used to dock with the rigs or whatever other vehicle or station you might be jumping to.”
“Is this the same type of jump ship used for interstellar travel, Mr. Kennedy?” Anita asked.
“Similar structurally, though they can vary greatly in size and storage capacity. Ok, if you’ll look toward the center of the room, a short video will give you a brief review of Llewell
ium and how it works,” Mr. Kennedy said, then took a seat next to a less-than-thrilled looking sophomore girl in the last row. A man entered the room in a teal jump suit, leaned over to say something to Mr. Kennedy, then took the seat next to him. “Please pay attention to the video folks and follow any directions in might have for you.”
Caeden looked around the room. The room had a slight curve to it. There were panels that looked like covered windows that covered most of the ceiling. He turned when he heard a click at the door they had entered. There was a mild pressure in his ears. He looked around the room to Mr. Kennedy who had a peculiar, pleased look on his face. The class suddenly all moved at once, and Caeden was left to look at Anita quizzically.
“Buckle your seatbelt, Cae,” she whispered.
“This is it, Anita,” Caeden said.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, this isn’t some sort of training module. This is it. This is the jump ship. They’re going to send us without us knowing.”
“Cae, don’t say that. You’re scaring me.” She leaned against the harness so she was as close to him as possible.
“Keep watching the film,” he said.
He looked around, hoping to see some sign. Something that would cue their departure. He kept a close eye on Mr. Kennedy and the man who had sat next to him. This was obviously the experienced engineer. And, when it happened, Cae realized that he hadn’t needed a cue. In orbit, they would be free of the base station’s gravity field.
The girls were the first to react. Long flowing locks of hair were suddenly adrift before their eyes. The film had just declared that any loose objects should be secured and that the jump would occur in “3…2…1…launch.” Some of the kids had actually rolled their eyes at that point, ridiculing the simplistic nature of the video.
“Remain seated, please,” Mr. Kennedy called through the commotion from behind. “For those of you who haven’t realized my little joke, that was an actual launch and we are now in orbit over Jupiter. He pressed a button on the console of his armchair. The class grew quiet and looked up in unison. The panels on the ceiling were sliding back, revealing the awesome mass of Jupiter through every window.
Tears filled Caeden’s eyes. He had grown up with the planet as a constant, but this was something else. The surface teemed and swirled before him. He could see details he had only ever seen through a telescope at the observatory. Almost the entire ceiling was exposed by windows. To the far left, the deep amber hues of the great red spot churned. His palm was suddenly grasped by a small, warm hand. He turned and looked at Anita, who was crying with much more vigor than he. She laughed and smiled.
“I know,” Caeden said.
Mr. Kennedy seemed to understand the situation and allowed the class the opportunity to take it all in. He had told everyone that this was his favorite day of the year. That there was nothing better than seeing everyone’s first reaction to being in space.
Seeing him walk to the middle of the room/ship seemed to snap some of the students out of their reverie.
“What’s keeping you down, Mr. Kennedy?”
“Excellent question, Mr. Riegal. All of you will find, beneath your seats, a pair of these,” and he pointed to what looked a pair of thick slipper-like booties. “There is a small amount of magnetic material in the soles of these slipovers. The floor throughout the jump ship and the rig has an equal amount of material. It’s enough to make it so that you can walk relatively well. Just make sure you remain buckled in while you try to retrieve these. I don’t want to have to retrieve anyone from the ceiling. Francis, you let me know if you need to get sick. We have special bags.”
Everyone looked around at Francis Evanson. His face was a shade equal to that of the engineer’s teal jumpsuit. His present focus was the back of the chair in front of him. His eyes were glassy and he simply nodded in response to Mr. Kennedy’s remark, not realizing the entire class was staring at him.
“When you feel you are able,” Mr. Kennedy said, now addressing the entire class, “unhook your harness. For the moment, do not stray from your row. We need to make some maneuvers and I want everyone to be ready to strap back in, just in case.”
He turned and said something to the man next to him, then, as if he had just remembered his guest, he turned back to the class.
“By the way folks, this is Dan Henderson. He’s our engineer for the jump. Dan’s probably jumped more times from Callisto than anyone I know.” The man in the teal jump suit waved feebly, then returned to the terminal he had been working on.
Caeden looked around, amused at the way everyone’s hair had gone. He was glad his was short. It only floated slightly in the front. He looked at Anita. Her dark locks were all over the place. She saw him looking.
“Makes me wish I’d brought something to tie my hair up with,” she said, smiling at him. This was great, thought Caeden. He turned, hearing a familiar voice over his should.
“Of all the rigs to pick, Kennedy, you had to go and pick this one? Why didn’t the dock crew say anything?” It was clearly Caeden’s father’s voice.
“Must’ve slipped their mind. Jack, we’re in and out in five minutes, I promise.”
“That’s not the point, and you know it. Are you going to have to explain to any parents why their kids went up on a broken rig?” Mr. Kennedy reached over to the knob and turned down the volume and quickly scanned the room to see if anyone had heard that last comment. Caeden turned his head, pretending he hadn’t heard. He was certain he was the only one who had.
“You let me worry about that, Jack.”
“I’m sorry, Joe, I can’t let you on board.”
“Jack,” and Mr. Kennedy’s voice lowered to near a whisper, “I’ve got a bunch of wide-eyed kids up here that want to see what the inside of a rig looks like. You’re going to make me disappoint them?”
“Jesus, Joe. Hold on. You know this is a real pain in the ass. I’ve got a skeleton crew here. Give me a couple minutes. Tell Dan to use bay three…”
“Mr. Kennedy? Is that the rig? Everyone turned to the windows and saw where Joshua was pointing. Out at the edges of view was a tall thin structure that seemed to have a line running down into the planet’s atmosphere. The entire unit looked like a tiny straw in a giant drink. There was a small ring toward the top of the straw.
“That is a rig, Joshua,” Mr. Kennedy said, standing up and walking toward the center of the ship. And, you see that shaft that’s much closer? That’s the blue shaft of the rig we’re going to. Take a good look. You won’t be able to see it while we’re docking. That’ll take us a few minutes.”
“Is everything alright, Mr. Kennedy?” Caeden said, a smile at the crook of his mouth. “Sounds like my dad’s a little ticked off.” Mr. Kennedy shook his head and frowned.
“No problems, Caeden. Your dad and I go way back.” A statement which Caeden knew to be only half true. His father had known Mr. Kennedy a long time, but he never mentioned anything about liking him. “Joe Kennedy thinks that being a teacher gives him the right to think he’s better than a lot of people. Those that can, do, those that can’t, teach. You remember that, Cae, when Joe Kennedy’s walking tall. I don’t think he’s a mean-spirited man. I just think he’s got some doubts about his scat stinking.”
Caeden figured it best not to relay these considerations to Mr. Kennedy at this point in time. The class had donned their magnabooties and, after permission from Mr. Kennedy, unstrapped themselves from their chairs and began to move about. It was awkward for most at first. Anita and Caeden had some fun between them as they tried out their new feet. They crossed the room from one side to the other, trying to get a better view of Jupiter through the ceiling windows. It was indescribably immense. As much as it had ever dominated their lives, and almost any view from a window on Callisto, there was something fresh about this new level of awe. Caeden felt as alive as he had ever been. Being up there made him feel like he could do anything.
“Folks, we’re going to be
maneuvering to dock. You might feel a little strange as the ship moves. It’s probably best to remain where you are until we’re done,” Mr. Kennedy said.
Caeden and Anita stood near the middle of the room, close to where Dan stood over a computer terminal, watching a collage of screens. One showed a live feed from the outside of the ship. Another showed a graphical depiction of where the ship was in relation to the rig. Caeden watched with a mix of curiosity and familiarity.
“Excuse me, Mr. Henderson, is that based on a Softmax operating system? It reminds me a bit of the residential computer system,” asked Caeden.
“It is a Softmax system, Mr. Llewellyn. A little more complicated than the residential unit systems, but same basic architecture,” he said.
“No voice interaction?”
“Not on this model. We don’t want it getting a stutter when we need it most,” he said, and smiled at Caeden.
“You work with my father, sir?”
“That I do. He’s a good man, and a great engineer. Half these rigs would have pitched in if it weren’t for Jack Llewellyn.”
“That’s nice to hear,” Caeden said. Anita tugged on Caeden’s arm.
“Is that home?” she asked, pointing through the now shifting view through the windows.
“Amazing how small it looks from here,” Caeden said, then looked for Mr. Kennedy. “Mr. Kennedy, how many miles up are we?”
“Excellent question, Mr. Llewellyn. We are approximately three hundred and forty miles above the upper most layer of the planet’s atmosphere. This was determined to be the closest safe distance. Any closer and the radiation would slow-cook the rig occupants. If it wasn’t for the Llewellium-reinforced structure, we couldn’t get half as close. As it is, miners are still limited to a maximum of six hours a day on the rig itself. All the other time is spent on freighters or the repair stations.”
Dan Henderson interrupted.
“Hold still everyone, there might be a slight bump.”
There was a jerk, like they had bumped a cushioned wall, followed by the sound of metal clamps against the ships walls.
“We’re here!” Mr. Kennedy said.