A Visitor to the Future - 10 - No Going Back, No Gravity
"It’s been a good while since I’ve seen one of those lectures - makes me miss University," said Tungsten.
"You went to University?"
"Yes, at Eru Ilúvatar Spinward. Two programmes in Cybernetics and Bioengineering! Though I suppose the question is who hasn’t been to University these days. Anyway - any thoughts or questions following that enthralling delivery?"
I mulled over my wording for a moment before responding. Any questions that I had on the content of the lecture were being overwhelmed by a rising feeling of dread, displacement - and nervousness. I felt a slight lump in my throat.
"Tungsten," I said, "What do the people in the Consortium think of people like me?"
"Like you?" he asked.
I nodded, "If even part of what I’ve been told about the Consortium is true, then I must seem like a relic - something from a distant and terrible age. Is there even a place for me here?"
Tungsten was still for a moment, no sound escaping his speaker. When he spoke up, his voice was gentle. "Oh, my dear human. Of course there is - just as there is for me, and Sarkona, and Anode. Just as there is for all the people on all the planets and moons. Just as there are for all the so-called relics out there - even the oldest military CIs now live peacefully in the Consortium. This can be your home too - if you want it to be. And I would remind you that the time of your birth was not within your control and no-one will judge you for it. Now correct me if I’m wrong but I rather suspect you’ve been distracting yourself from thinking about things, throwing yourself into one distraction after the next?"
I nodded slightly.
"Try not to feel that you need to bottle things up. Sarkona is here to help - plus quite literally thousands of people in the Consortium should you wish to let them - including me. Now," he said, giving the projection a two-fingered gesture - it turned off. "I would very much like to hear about you."
"Me?"
"Yes, if you’d like to talk. Or we can just sit here and enjoy the fire - whatever you would like."
"I could talk for a while." I said.
We talked for a long while about me and my past. I told him about my parents, my sister - even my dog that I’d had as a child. I told him about my illness, and how difficult life had been - transferring between one hospital and the next. I told him about my hometown - and things about it I’d never bothered to talk with anyone about - like how busy the traffic suddenly got in the early afternoon for no good reason. I told him about trivial nonsense - like how my neighbours seemed to hate each other. He listened carefully, asked the odd clarifying question, and ensured my teacup was never empty. And when I was finished, I simply sighed and said:
"They’re all gone, now."
"Yes," Tungsten said, "But they are clearly not forgotten. And if you ever feel like you want to recall those days again - just let me know. I can always brew another pot of tea."
We talked about some of our favourite older books for a brief time before the door opened. Tungsten suddenly jerked with what looked like a physical hit, and stood up sharply. I turned to face the door - to my surprise Sarkona was covered head to torso in what looked like soot. Tungsten advanced quickly, making a shooing motion. "Oh, no, no, no - not near this carpet. No, we’ve been quite alright without you - we can manage for another while until you clean up!"
Sarkona opened their mouth to object, thought better of it, then went out of the room once more. I couldn't help but laugh.
_
About ten minutes later they returned, clean as a whistle, and sat on the sofa next to me.
"Well?" Tungsten said.
"Oh, there was a breakthrough alright - a structural one." They fixed their hair slightly where a lock had fallen out of place. "Did you both have fun?"
"We had a good talk," I said. "I think I was bottling things up, and Tungsten was nice enough to listen."
Sarkona’s face immediately switched to one of concern. "Are you alright? I should have never left you - what was I thinking? Super stupid of me."
"Now, now," said Tungsten, "You may be the one who was assigned to adjustment - but we’re all here to support our new friend when needed. I think that’s an important adjustment lesson too."
They addressed me again. "Are you sure you’re alright?"
"Much better now."
"Are you feeling up to exploring some more of the ship?"
"I think so."
"Super - then we'll go."
We split up with Tungsten near the doorway to one of the labs - he gave me another handshake and waved goodbye to Sarkona. Sarkona led me into a small room which had floor-to-ceiling lockers and a prominent ladder in the center. I looked up the ladder shaft - it seemed like a very long way up.
"So, this will be your first introduction to no gravity spaces. We'll take things at whatever pace you want. You will need some of these - standard spec for anyone in no gravity." Sarkona went into one of the lockers and pulled out what looked like four large rings. I could see round holes and grills spaced throughout.
"These are safety thrusters - or Safeties for short. If you're going to collide with anything or if you go too fast, they'll kick in and help you out. You place one on each wrist and one on each ankle. The important thing to remember with them is not to cover them up - so no crossing your arms!" Sarkona mimed with their arms to demonstrate. "I'm heavier than you are, so I take two sets just to be safe." At that they put them on, and there was a slight rush of air as the cushion on the inside expanded - giving a nice, snug fit. I did the same.
"Right, now - the ladder. On this ship there are four supports for the gravity ring. Two have ladders, and two have elevators. Most people say ladders are the best for your first experience in no gravity, that's why we're here. Don't worry about how tall it is, you'll become more and more weightless the higher you climb. You should always keep one hand on the ladder - with me so far?"
I nodded, though I was a bit nervous.
"At the top, we'll come out in another room much like this one - you'll see another ladder and the elevator exits. Once we get there, wait, and I'll show you what to do next. Couldn't be simpler!"
We began our climb up the ladder, Sarkona behind me. It took about a thirty seconds before I began to notice a change in the gravity, but I was surprised to find that climbing the ladder didn't seem difficult - Sarkona's 'tune-up' of my body seemed to have left me physically fit. There was a brief moment when I thought I might regret my large breakfast, but I stopped my climb and it passed. Soon, all but the faintest grip of gravity was gone, and it almost felt like I was floating in a dream - with only the ladder to anchor me.
"You're doing good!" said Sarkona, "Nearly there."
I came to the end of the ladder, which opened up into a cylindrical room. At right angles on the curved sides were what appeared to be elevator doors. Directly across from me was another ladder which led back to the gravity ring. Arrows marked which of the elevators was used to head back to the gravity ring - it seemed like a one-way system was in use.
I was glad to see that there were plenty of gripping points along the walls - I let go of the ladder and slightly kicked myself off the wall toward one, gently floating over.
"Look at you!" said Sarkona, "You'll be doing gravity sports in no time at all." They kicked off the ladder and leaned forward, doing a mid-air forward roll before grabbing a grip at the other end. This was going to take some getting used to.
I looked around the rest of the room - one end of the cylinder I was in was just a flat wall, marked with a blurred mural of green and blue paints. As I looked at the other side, I was shocked to find there was no wall at all - and instead the room opened up into a huge, slowly spinning cylinder - which was the main body of the ship. Various rooms and constructions clung to the ship's huge interior - storage tanks, large mechanical arms, tall towers, transparent domes - there was even what appeared to be a large climbing wall. It looked like someone had taken a small town and rolled it up into a tube. I realized I must be looking at the inside of what I had seen from the canteen window of the ring - I was now inside it. My jaw hung open in awe.
And then I began to notice the humans and CIs moving about the interior surfaces - some used propellant packs, some didn't - they moved from one grip to another with an ease that made Sarkona's roll look amateurish - I audibly gasped as two humans pushed themselves off the outer wall, shared a few words and a hug, and then pushed off each other's feet in opposite directions. I was put in mind of Olympic swimmers springing off one side of the pool.
There was one CI that seemed to be using grapples to swing around the ship, like a monkey swinging through the jungle - but it all looked bizarre to me - I kept expecting gravity to kick in, but it never did.
"Alright," said Sarkona, "So there is a lot to take in in zero-G, but first things first - what can you tell me about the ship body in front of you?"
I was a bit slow to reply. "It's slowly spinning?"
They adjusted their position - hooking one foot under the grip they had been holding, they straightened up so they now looked to be standing on the wall. They were now looking straight up at me, and raised their hands to mime motions. "Easy first time mistake - the ship body is not spinning - we are! Remember, we were on a gravity ring which simulates gravity by spinning. We're still on an extension of that ring. If you imagine the wheel of an automobile, we're currently right at the centre of it. From their perspective, they are stationary, and we're spinning. Keep that in mind!"
"Got it."
"Which means that when we leave this room, we'll want to counteract that spin - otherwise we'll still be spinning as we arrive wherever we want to go on the ship! If it's alright with you, I'll get us both sorted this time, but watch what I do and the direction I kick off in for next time!"
I nodded and they moved over to me, wrapping an arm around my waist and placing the other on my shoulder, bringing us to the edge of the room. It seemed like a long way down - then I remembered that there was no 'down' here. This was really going to take some getting used to. Bending their knees, and kicking off, Sarkona launched us into the air.