THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 24: THE JOURNEY

I didn't have a long-term destination, I thought I would just go with the flow wherever it took me, hoping for the colors to guide along the way. I knew I wanted to visit the Moon as my first destination to see how the colonies are doing, that would be my first rest stop. The second one was to visit my uncle Warren on Mars. This would be a longer journey, approximately four months. Just after two days of travelling, we reached the Moon, and everything went smoothly. Herbert assisted me in anything I needed, and Carl was settling down pretty well. The population had grown since the last time I visited. They had built smaller cities and had functional facilities, even restaurants and bars. The first biomes were flourishing and our Moon was set to become our second Earth. Space Riders had contributed a lot to this growth by creating vehicles and suits. I felt a sense of pride in what I had accomplished during my years at the company.

The journey to Mars also went well without any incidents. During the four months on board, I played many games with Herbie (yes, that's his new nickname now) and enjoyed a lot of playtime with Carl. I read a few books and finally had chance to continue writing my novel "Space Traveler". I haden't really made any progress since the deaths of Grace and Jo. I sent a message to Uncle Warren, letting him know that I shall be visiting soon, he was very excited to see me. Once we arrived, he prepared a big family dinner for all of us. He lived on Mars with his significantly younger girlfriend, her son, and their three dogs. After dinner, Uncle and I stayed up for a nightcap while the others went to bed.

"So kiddo, tell me, what brings you around here? How are things at home?"

I didn't want to share the whole truth.

"I needed a break from work, so I quit my job and I subleased the apartment to travel more. I had the feeling that I've done and seen pretty much everything on Earth. I needed a change of scenery."

"I see. Do you still have the girlfriend?"

"No, that didn't work out quite the way we hoped."

"Sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. It's the best for the both of us."

"And how are you doing? Since your mother is gone?"

"I miss her every day. Sometimes I still can't understand why she decided to turn off her switch."

"Me neither. But one thing I know about my sister is that she was always self-determined and had things her own way. It wasn't really a surprise."

"Yes, that's true. I just wished she had been around a bit longer."

"Mhm." He looked down at his drink, gave it a little spin, and took the last sip.

"I am gonna hit the hay, Marc. You can finish off the bottle if you like. Good night."

"Good night, Uncle Warren."

I was thinking about my next destination. There are still five more planets to pass before I reach the end of our solar system. I've always been fascinated by Neptune, the Blue Giant. This planet, the farthest from us, is invisible to the naked eye and sits a staggering 4.5 billion of kilometers away from the sun. Maybe I'll make a stop there to see what it's like. Of course, I can't go without my suit - its atmosphere is made up of molecular hydrogen, atomic helium, and a bit of methane. And it's cold, like -214 degrees Celsius cold. Not to mention the winds. The journey to Neptun will take approximately four years, and a sometime after that, I should reach the Oort Cloud, where vastness of the universe truly begins. What kind of colossal distances can I cross with my MSS and the Uransene? Alas, despite all this travel, I still haven't felt or seen any sign of the colors.