Welcome to Sealantis

chapter 10: TIME to get 4th dimensional

I freaking loved Edward and Jo's kids.

They were just like me, except cooler and funnier, if that's even possible. I found myself working harder in therapy so I could surprise them somehow, and I even started drawing again. My hand ached a lot more than I remembered before the incident, and my eyes got tired easily, but I was committed to ensuring my niblings could see themselves as the heroes I knew they were.

I practiced using various mobility aids to see which would help me most - crutches, wheelchairs, motorized wheelchairs, and walking machines. I worked to get my feeding tube removed so I could try new foods as the kids brought them in. I even asked my OT to give me homework for when she was on vacation, so I could continue making progress without her pestering me.

It was difficult, and I missed my independence. I wasn't able to walk very far without extreme fatigue setting in, and I seemed to get stiff and sore quicker than little Braxton could run around the room. But I refused to give up. Any time I got disappointed about my circumstances, I just closed my eyes and remembered:

This was my backstory.

I needed this to become the Starship Captain.

So when Harry mentioned that he was pioneering the first colonial spaceship to test his stones on Mars, I immediately offered to test his technology. After all, a flight to Mars would be very jarring. I figured if he could make his ship accessible and comfortable for an old lady on earth, he'd be set when it came to young people in space! 

And, I thought to myself, I might be able to live out my dreams in the stars!

Surprisingly, Harry agreed with no argument regarding my age or ability. I guess he figured I would be better off volunteering for earth stuff versus actual space action... but I tried not to think about that. Perhaps my involvement now would enable us to reach technological heights similar to that in the Starship Saga....

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"Right, so here's what I'm thinking." Harry's British accent was thick as he bounced up and down in excitement. "Teams 1 and 2 go with Anna as she explains the technological details. Go through the procedures and see if you can find anything amiss with our settings. This is a brand new ship, so there shouldn't be anything wrong, but we want everything to go perfectly."

A couple dozen people followed a tall woman with vibrantly colored hair down a brightly lit hallway on the side of the spaceship, leaving Harry, myself, and a couple other volunteers (also known as the Aetherion family) standing at the mouth of Project Gemstone, the world's first attempt at replicating the Starships.

"Team 3, you lot are with me, of course." Harry flashed a brilliant smile as Braxton wriggled in anticipation. "Uncle Harry's gonna bring you on a tour of all the cool stuff... and your job is to have fun. We've got to ensure that the child safety mechanisms are in place, that our seating is comfortable for all ages, and there's plenty of bathrooms throughout the ship. So if you need anything, let your Uncle Harry know, alright?"

We all nodded, and the tour began.

There were fifty levels to the spaceship, so Edward and his family took turns pushing my wheelchair. Harry mentioned something about an automated wheelchair system, but it required the user to have laser focus, and after forgetting to let go of the "Forward" nozzle on the Elite Brand wheelchair (causing me to run straight into a wall and have cuts and bruises for weeks), I wasn't exactly allowed to drive myself anywhere. As primitive as it seemed, I would be exploring the ship with a manual wheelchair.

Our first stop was the greenhouse. We oohed and aahed at all the different plants Harry was cultivating already. For some reason, there was an abundance of a cheery yellow flower with jagged green leaves that boasted of numerous health benefits. Bobbie, who was just tall enough to reach the lowest tier of plants and young enough to have little impulse control, triggered several safety mechanisms to Harry's delight. They screeched in surprise the first time the force field materialized, giving them the slightest shock... then proceeded to try and touch every other plant possible, just in case there was one they could touch.