Solar Umbrella (Book 1)

Chapter 11: 10-9-8

THE GROUP MET up at the train station together. They had agreed to say their goodbyes to friends and families at home, and make this a trip for just the four of them. They were off early and on their way to the launchpad just outside Colorado Springs where representatives were waiting for them. They had been told that the group from Russia had been there for a few days already. They would all undergo some basic training and then make their way up. The ship would have the eight of them, Johansson and a few other SpaceOne employees as well as the crew. Along with two pilots, the ship had four other crew members to help with any guests or other issues. The ship usually brought up around 100 tourists per compartment, but would be mostly empty today. They were using the rest of the room on the ship to bring up some stuff for the hotel apparently.

They arrived at the launchpad and were excited beyond words. Parker was taking in everything he could see. He had watched a few launches from here on the Internet, but the screen didn't do it justice. It was absolutely enormous and people and small machines moved about everywhere. To him, the idea you could be standing on the ground here right now and be literally in space in eight and a half minutes was astounding. Their guide and all the employees didn't seem to have the same level of excitement. They were focused and getting around quickly, but there was a routine to their movements that Parker recognized. To them, this was a job. They clocked in, accomplished their tasks and went home to their real lives. Few, if any, would ever be able to travel to space for leisure. At that moment, it hit him like a gut punch. Here they were, entering contests to try and make the world livable for everyone, yet they were already doing something that almost no one ever could. He felt uneasy about it—this mixture of pride at his accomplishment and shame at his...excess. He decided to keep the feelings to himself rather than spoil the time for his friends. Taking a minute to look at their faces told him they were enjoying every minute and taking in a feast with their eyes.

The safety and instructional portion of their mission was done with the same professional but industrial routine he had seen elsewhere on the base. Ultimately, most of the procedures were taken directly from air flight and didn't require much explanation. Sit back, tough out the liftoff and let the professionals do their thing. You can take off your belt when you're out of the atmosphere and eat some god awful "food". It could take up to 16 hours to get to the moon, and each person had their own cabin to sleep and rest in. By cabin, they meant that you could fold in chairs against each other and thanks to some Tetris level engineering, have enough room to lie down and sleep. The representative said most people didn't sleep, and if they did it occurred much later than it would on Earth. A combination of nerves, adrenaline and the lack of an obvious day and night in space left everything out of sync. The obvious difference from a regular plane was the emergency procedures. For basic emergencies like a computer failure or communication error, the ship could be split into compartments and each could break off from the fuel and transport sections. Each component had enough of everything to independently support life for several days, which was more than enough time to complete a rescue operation, which wasn't much different than being picked up by a tow truck and taken to either LunaOne or back to Earth depending on where you were. Even in the case of a fire or breach in one part of the ship, it could be emptied into another and support twice or three times as many people. It wasn't said in so many words, but the jist of it that Parker got was that there were certain emergencies where, "you're pretty much fucked". The representative was careful to mention they had never had a ship that was even late for landing in their history, let alone anything more serious. She mentioned it several times. The fact of it was, spaceflight like this had become as routine as air travel had for a hundred years. They had found ways to carry more weight with less fuel, allowing for more auxiliary safety features—everything was backed up two or three times. Sure, there were small issues here and there and even the odd catastrophe in some less regulated areas of the space industry, but things here were absolutely smooth.

Finally, everything was set for liftoff and they were taken to a waiting room that resembled an airport waiting room, but much more luxurious. SpaceOne was a commercial operation after all—one that targeted the ultrawealthy. For now, it was just the four of them and a representative from the company. They enjoyed a breathtaking view of the platform with their ship sitting on it. People below them looked like ants working around the ant hill, coming and going, loading things, doing whatever it was they did. Parker was enjoying the view and trying to puzzle out what each person was up to when the door behind them opened. It was funny. The backdrop was these beautiful mountains, shaped with all sorts of natural curves and bends. And then, juxtaposed against it, the clean lines of the SpaceOne ship. It was grey and straight lines and precision and clearly a thing of man, yet it still felt like it...fit.

"Greetings Americans!" a huge voice boomed.

Paker turned to see a gigantic human enter the room. He was at least six foot five with a blonde crew cut. His shoulders looked wide enough that Parker wasn't sure if he had to turn sideways to fit through the door. Despite his colossal size, he still had the remnants of baby fat on his face and bright red cheeks. Parker tried to place the accent, but couldn't. It sounded vaguely European. Whoever this was, he had a huge smile on his face, and he extended his expansive arms for a hug. Parker was closest, so he went in for the embrace—why not? "Heyyyy buddy! Uh, thanks for the warm greetings," Parker said as he felt the life squeezed out of his body with his breath.

The man, boy, whatever, went around to embrace each of the group and even had one for the SpaceOne representative who politely declined.

"Your loss baby bird," he chirped with a laugh. "Greetings from Russia my new friends! I'm Alexander Euguene and I'm delighted to meet you!" He took a look at each one of the group for a second. "So, you are the geniuses who won the other half of this competition, huh? You look exactly as I expected." He laughed at what he seemed to think was the greatest joke ever told.

"Oh, okay," Kate replied slowly, trying to find her bearings.

Parker was able to place the accent now, but it sounded more Scandinavian than Russian. He wondered if perhaps Alexander had spent time outside of Russia. No matter now. Wherever he was from, Alexander looked like he had been grown in a lab rather than born from a pair of human beings. The guy could be used to sell Russian vodka or something. If his brain matched the work they had seen so far, he would make for one hell of a formidable human.

"Your work was very sophisticated, Alexander. We took a look at a bit of it. You should be very proud of what you accomplished. Your victory was well earned," Kate recovered, smiling.

The other three added their agreement and took their turns shaking Alexander's hand. Alexander seemed delighted with them. At first Parker had felt like he did when he started high school—like the big Russian was almost toying with him. A god sent from above just putting in his time with a measly human before returning to Olympus to drink ambrosia and rule the universe. After a little time, he recognized the feeling better. Alexander was just as impressed with them as they were with him. He seemed like someone who had finally met his people.

"I am very excited to be taking this trip up to the moon. I've always wanted to travel in space and I did everything I could to make sure my group and I would have this opportunity," Alexander added. "To meet the lot of you makes my heart sing! I can't wait to spend this time with you, picking your brain on your designs. And the coding!" He put his hands over his heart and bent his head back, as if his body was being flooded with ecstasy, "simply...divine! In Russian, I am Alexander Eugeune. Please. Here, and in space, I want to be Alex. Oh, and on the moon as well!"

The others nodded along as he spoke. His positivity and excitement was infectious. Parker generally tried to play it cool, stay back and assess the situation before getting involved—especially when meeting new people. With Alex though, he just sucked you into his world like gravity. Alex was able to crack Parker's shell easily, and he had the group all talking excitedly about the trip and the competition.

"Where's the rest of your group Alex?" Ibrahim asked all of a sudden, realizing it had been a few minutes and no one had joined Alex yet.

"Oh, they're a few minutes behind still. Don't tell them I told you, but they're obsessed with the vending machines! All this tech in one place and they're spending time comparing our candy!" Alex shook his head, but the wry smile gave away his true feelings.