Gabatrix: The Magenta Racer

Chapter 7: Aphadus, Track 3

It had been at least four days. The world of Aphadus was like nothing that Neo had ever seen before. The planet of forever dawn was exactly what it was. Standing near the top peak plateau of Mount Nehru, he had a pleasant view of the dark forests. Beyond these dark plants were greenish lands and then desert. Being a tidally locked world, one side was always facing its sun. The red starlight was dim but not enough to make things dark. Being at the equilibrium of the hemisphere of the planet, the temperatures were generally nominal and comfortable. Weather patterns were typically calm at the moment as the planetary wobble still circulated the heat around. Near the end that was aimed towards the sun, the planet was scorching, with the other side in complete darkness and ice.

It was these polar opposites that were used to identify the people of this particular colony. The former inhabitants of North America and India had claimed this place as their own. Its large size was more than enough for the colonists, even if certain areas were limited to living space. Being a primarily mountainous world, there were numerous areas to climb and look upon the ground below.

Neo enjoyed the view for as long as he could. He noticed how little the oxygen content was. He had to avoid overexerting himself to face the threat of passing out. He gazed upon the nearest mountain peak ahead. Mount Wichita would leave a shadow behind itself, but the hot, scorching deserts would pervade beyond it. The lakes that existed here were the color of a deep purple due to the red dwarf star in the dawning horizon. In the distance, he could hear the dance music of Aphadus as it played in the speakers near the track line. It consisted of electro-Indian, and a mix of retro remixes of North American music made just before 2100 on former Earth.

"Beautiful," he tried to say as he could feel the lack of air was driving his lungs crazy.

"Have you taken your oxygen supplement?" Cordeina asked as she almost snuck behind him. Her hand pressed firmly against his shoulder.

He turned his head to look up at her. "Not yet....I just wanted to see how long I could last while enjoying all of this. It's amazing that the people have adapted to this."

"You should have my lungs or wear what Oluchi has," she happily told him. "You wouldn't have a problem."

"No....I just get a gimp leg instead. I heard that some of the best athletes come from this place. They are used to the poor air. I've been used to all the sea critters that supply the air on Oshun. Here....ugh..."

She patted his shoulder. "It's pretty. Purple lakes....I wonder what it would be like for Vala'rein and me to take a dip in them."

He turned his head to look at her. "After this race, I'll entertain the idea."

"Oh, you better be," she implied with some slyness. "I'll have a surprise for you.... something that you'll be able to feast upon when we go skinny dipping together." She pressed her hand to her breast to indicate to him what she meant. "I almost didn't even need to use the pregnancy test to know that you already accomplished it."

He put his hand to hers upon hearing it. "It makes me happy to hear that, but you already told me that you were pregnant a couple of days ago. I just wish....I wish that Vala'rein's cycle wasn't that far late."

Cordeina took his comment in mind as she seemed to think about it. She had a big smile develop on her face as she understood what he meant or had devised of something.

After Neo had finished looking at the scenery, he began to mark the racetrack. This was going to be a unique track indeed. He could see the great straightaway that led downward. Built on the side of Mount Nehru, it would perpetually lead down for what looked like kilometers upon kilometers of straight track. The straightaway even led through tunnels and ultimately a level area. Then, a series of turns would finally lead back up the mountain to go down the great straightaway again. He turned his head as he looked back upon the other racers in their respected workshop tents. A gathering of spectators was there, with most of them being native Aphadians. The low oxygen content never seemed to bother them as he could see the other non-natives that never lived there were moving around rather slowly. Not far was the racetrack starting line and the road that led up to this place.