SpacePorch

Mercury: Elisha Moyo

Elisha Moyo
Age: 28
Birthday: December 1st
Former Birthplace: Harare, Zimbabwe
Current Place: Mercury

Greetings. My name is Elisha Moyo and I was born in Harare, Zimbabwe to my mother, Zipporah, who was a software programmer at a well-known IT company, Moissanite, and my father, Goridhe, who was a curator at the Bulawayo Railway Museum of Zimbabwe. I'm the oldest of six siblings consisting of three girls, and three boys. Sophia, the second child, was in her senior year of high school, Josiah, the third child, was in his junior year, Zara, the fourth child, was in her sophomore year, Rufaro, the fifth child in his junior year, and Aneni the youngest, was in primary. I studied Computer Studies at the University of Zimbabwe with an IT degree and moved into a new apartment. Overall, we were a happy family, which brought me to why I reached to SpacePorch.

It all happened during a tumultuous time that greatly impacted our family. After graduation, I worked at a local IT company, Prism Corp, where I befriended three of my co-workers. Theodore "Theo" Siziba, my childhood friend and a fellow classmate who studied alongside me at the University of Zimbabwe, Bvumai Chigoya, a colleague a year older than me, whom I was assigned with to do a massive group project and later celebrated with at a local restaurant following our project's success, and Robert Tshuma, an IT trainer that I met on my first day working at Prism Corp who trained me on how things worked at the workplace. Robert also had a sister around my age, Rebecca Tshuma, a junior spaceship mechanic working at a spaceship mechanic company, Esther. She told stories regarding her job which included repairing actual spaceships for clients in Zimbabwe and abroad, though not everything.

For those who are curious, Zimbabwe and many other African countries have seen growth over the years and have been catching up with the rest of the world. For example, trains were introduced to the public to travel a long distance, buses have become more frequent, especially school buses mostly for students living far from school, streets and roads have seen its fair share of infrastructure and constructure, standard living and healthcare have become more accessible to both the urban and rural areas, more traffic lights have been enforced to reduce accidents, the vegetation of the environment is more present, more resources from farms have been provided, the fight against crime has become more stricter for the sake of the people, and the economies has been booming like ever before. Even more, jobs have been created for young folks, as to how Rebecca received a job right after studying abroad.

One day, when I was working at my cubicle, Theo approached me, with a huge grin on his face. "Is anything the matter"? I asked. "Elisha," smiled Theo. "I have some exciting news," I gained Theo's attention. "Go on," I prodded. "I was just getting files for the boss," resumed Theo. "when I overheard him on the phone regarding expanding our business,". Thinking about it, this was no surprise. Prism has been expanding across the globe recently and we've had many branches reaching. What I wanted to know was what got Theo all stoked. "I didn't get all of the information," resumed Theo. "but what I do know is that there's a meeting by the supervisors,". "Well, you better return to work or get a reprimand," I warned. Just then, the supervisor entered the room. "Greetings, everyone," announced the supervisor. In a split second, Theo immediately returned to his cubicle.

That afternoon, all the staff entered a meeting room and each took a seat around the table while supervisor Mutero sat on the left end, supervisor Nyika sat on the right end, and our boss, Mr. Muchemwa, sat between them. "Thank you everyone for your attendance," said Mr. Muchemwa. "We have gathered you all here because we have some exciting news,". "We received a call from an interplanetary organization called SpacePorch", explained Supervisor Nykia, clasped her hands on the table. "And they selected Prism to expand on the planet, Mercury,". The whole room exploded with chatter upon hearing this news. "SpacePorch?!" "For real,"? "This is some big news.," It was true that Prism is an international company, but to see it expand to another planet is a huge game changer, especially giving we're now partnered with SpacePorch. "And we'll be sending our best workers there next April," added supervisor Mutero.

The room roared with chatter again. This was an opportunity of a lifetime that anyone would take. But I wasn't sure if I needed such a transfer as I was already comfortable with my current job and had no intentions of a transfer, or so I thought at the time. After the meeting, the partnership between Prism was all the staff would talk about. Theo and Bvumai followed me outside the meeting room. "So, what do you think,"? asked Theo. Bvumai and I looked at each other, skeptical of how to react to news. "To be frank, I think that the whole idea of expanding to another planet is incredibly pointless, if not a waste of time and money," commented Bvumai. "I mean, aren't we across the globe?". Theo nodded his head. "That's true," said Theo. "But remember that SpacePorch provides an interplanetary trade program, if things work out smoothly,".

Suddenly, Robert approached us. "Having a conversation at work, are you three,"? scolded Robert. All three of us stood in silence. Normally, Robert was more genuine and out-going outside of work, but was strict when it came to the workplace. His stern demeanor was washed away with a burst of laughter. "You thought that because I'm the trainer, that I would be all the decisions in the workplace,". But on the other hand, it was just his work that he took seriously. "So, how do you think about the meeting,"? asked Robert. All three looked at each other. "It was alright, I guess," I shrugged. "A possible game changer," replied Theo. "A mixed bag for me,"! responded Bvumai. "Anyways, how are things going with Rebecca,"? "As a junior spaceship mechanic," boasted Robert. "my sister has been showing much potential according to her previous clients,". Giving Rebecca's field, it made sense.

As we close to the end of our shift, the four of us were on our way out the office door, when we were met with an orange van in front of us. "Good evening," called Rebecca in the driver's seat. "You all need a lift,"? "Good evening," greeted Robert. Bvumai, Theo, and I entered the backseat, while Robert entered the passenger's seat. "So, how was work,"? asked Rebecca. "Very good," explained Robert. "We just had a meeting regarding a partnership with Spaceship,". "How convenient," smiled Rebecca. "my company also just had a meeting regarding Spaceship, and they recently started a partnership that will be launching next March,". Then, Robert's face turned from joyful to sour. "We're launching our partnership next April, and you," grumbled Robert. All of us laughed upon witnessing Robert's jealously towards Rebecca's workplace launching with Spaceporch a month earlier. All of us were dropped off safely.

During Easter Saturday, my parents invited me for dinner. When I reached the front door of my childhood home, the first to open the door was my mother. "Welcome home, son," smiled my mother giving me a hug. "Happy Easter Saturday, everyone," I replied. "Likewise, my son," bubbled my father sitting at the dining table. I was met by all my five siblings sitting on the table. I removed my shoes before taking my seat. "So, how's work been going,"? asked Sophia. "Very good," I answered. "Flexible hours and good pay. How's school,"? "I'm recently doing a school project for next week" grumbled Sophia. "and tutoring these two specifically," She presented her hand to Josiah and Rufaro. "You don't have to tell him that," argued Josiah. "Yeah, our grades aren't that bad," added Rufaro. "So, how Aneni's Thyroid treatment,"? I asked. "With enough money, she'll be fine," said my father.

"There's a rumor that your company is partnering with SpacePorch, correct,"? asked my mother. "Yes, Mom," I answered. Everyone's eyes rose when hearing this. "SpacePorch"?! exclaimed Rufaro. "Yes," I confirmed. "and it's happening on Mercury next April, so our company will send their best workers," "Since Mercury is close to the Sun, it would be perfect to move there," said my mother. "And we might all live together," smiled my father. But that was partly true. My parents died in a car crash, leaving me with my siblings. At first, I was worried about raising the five on my own as we awaited our flight. But with the help of Robert, Bvumai, Theo and Rebecca, it was huge weight off my shoulders. Robert covered all costs, Theo and Bvumai helped with tutoring and Rebecca helped with transportation. All nine hopped on while Rebecca waited. Thank you all for listening.