The First Ones

Elevator Ascension

 At the eighth degree Luci returned to the transit office as instructed. Random was already there, dressed in her traveling clothes. She was wearing a tanned brown coat with her case in one hand. Luci nodded to her and joined her in the seats provided. Minaro, behind his desk like always, was speaking to an image of Tra'nath on a holographic screen, which the grown adjusted from time to time with his fingers.

"We're supposed to wait," Random whispered to Luci after the youngers had sat in silence for a while.

When Minaro finished his conversation, he stood. "It's time, girls," he announced. "But before you leave, please share in this." He made a motion with his hand as if he were trying to ward off an insect, and in a flash a flask and two glasses had appeared on his desk as if conjured there by magic. "It's your local Armui beverage."

The youngers accepted a glass each. "Drink deep, Luci," Random quipped with a laugh. "Odds are we won't be tasting it again for a long time."

Luci tipped her head back and shivered as the frigid liquid gurgled down her throat. That pleasant cold, normally only experienced during cultural events, was meant for celebration. It felt strange to be drunk in farewell. "Hopefully not."

The youngers thanked Minaro very much, and the grown wished them an uneventful journey once again before bowing them from his office. The girls left the office and in no time at all had arrived at the ascension station at the base of the space tether. It was truly a monstrously-colossal structure, eerie in its grandeur and impossibly awesome in scale. The girls gave their tickets to a robotic assistant and it directed them to a room where Tra'nath was waiting. The grown looked very trim, dressed in an evergreen journeycoat.

"We'll ascend soon enough," she informed the youngers. "You can take a bite if you're hungry first." Random made for the refreshments and began choosing foodstuffs. For a while the two Armui youngers talked about each other and the lives they were leaving behind. Luci learnt that Random had three littler brothers, whom she loved very much. They had all clung onto their big sister and she had to physically separate herself during their goodbye. Luci told Random stories about Zeth.

"Is she lovely, like you?" Random asked through a mouthful of sweetcake.

"Probably more so," Luci said. "I wish I'd brought a picture for you."

"Worry not, Luci. Chances are we'll be home again and you could introduce me."

"Right," Tra'nath suddenly announced, with eyes on the clock. "It's time." She gripped her traveling case and beckonged to the two girls. "Follow me, youngers." The trio headed deep into the ascension terminal. Luci could feel a strange degree of excitement broiling in her. It was strong; it felt hungry and consuming, and she had to force herself to walk normally.

"Keep your heads, youngers," Tra'nath instructed, noting both of the girls' eagerness. "Enthusiasm is great, but control is always more important."

"This is just such a place!" piped Random. "Never been to anything like this."

"This is just Collifer," Tra'nath shrugged. "You haven't even left Seerin yet."

"I think she means just the elevator," Luci suggested. Tra'nath nodded.

"You see, girls," the Redani explained, "this complex is so large because it contains the terrestrial end of the tether." She stomped lightly on the floor. "The space elevator- that tremendous structure above us- is anchored deep in the crust of the planet, way beneath our feet." She winked over her shoulder. "I try not to think about it. It's the going up part that's exciting, not what's below."

The Redani and her Armui charges soon entered a large mobile ascension pod, one of the very many that traveled up and down the length of the elevator. This one, apparently was for the Redani cultural exchange, and it was privately owned by the Doverans and provided accomodation adequate for twenty. That night, only Tra'nath, Luci and Random would be ascending. The grown made the two youngers dinner while they waited to ascend. As they ate, Luci happened to glance out the window and was shocked speechless to discover that they were already several kilometers above the planet's surface. The pod soundlessly ascended the tether, all the way into high orbit where the docking station was.

Random came to join Luci at the window, similarly dumbstruck. "Wow," was all she could think to say.

Behind them, Tra'nath laughed and laughed. "You'll get used to it, youngers. By now we should be high enough to spot your villages. Soon we'll be able to see the entire planet."

"How long?" Luci asked.

"Our journey up the tether will take four days," Tra'nath answered. "In the meantime, there's plenty you can do here to entertain yourselves. Various media, enrichment activities, whatever."

Random turned to her fellow Armui. "Isn't this exciting?" she exclaimed. Without waiting for an answer she trotted off to her room. Luci rolled her eyes and moved to follow.

"Hold there, Luci," called Tra'nath. "I have something to give you." The grown beckoned Luci over and handed her a card on which was pressed the dream-chaser she had found two weeks previously. "Your father Harlebo sent this earlier today. From your family."

Luci accepted the gift with trembling fingers. Astride the flower were written messages of goodbye from her father and sister. She looked up at Tra'nath. "You left your home and culture for the human worlds, too," she said. "Was it worth it?"

"Yes and no." Tra'nath began clearing the dishes. "I was like you, Luci, some time ago. I longed for adventure. Out there, on Earth, far beyond the scope of the First Ones, I found freedom and excitement among the worlds of man." She looked at the Armui younger. "But everything comes at a cost, little one. I missed my loved ones, as you soon will." She glanced at the dream-chaser clutched in Luci's hand. "Perhaps you already do. And your newfound adventures will be promptly balanced by a deep yearning for home. It was unpleasant. But I chose it. And so did you." The grown put the cleaned dishes away. "That's why I'm now a guide for those going back and forth between the planets of the sects and the Celestial Confederacy. With each journey I visit both homes."

"What did you come to love about the humans?" Luci asked, her interest piqued.

Tra'nath looked out the window as well. "Many things, child. For one thing, it was their children. They are so expressive and creative. And precocious! My goodness, how aware they all were. You will get to see them soon, Luci. They love to play, love to learn and love to interact. The strange thing is how they grow quite slowly. You see, the humans age one year for every three Earth years, the result of some evolutionary breakthrough in their distant history. As a result they overtake us. We grow slightly quicker than they are. To put it in perspectives you'll understand, if a human and a First One was born at the same time, they would later die with the human having lived one-and-a-half times that of the one of the sect."

"They..." Luci began.

Tra'nath nodded. "It may appear that for all our evolutionary advantages, the humans have been able to rework their genomes to come out better. The Redan believe that it was a result of their social diversity. Making that kind of a transition, however, is nearly impossible right now with us. Tradition runs too deeply for the First Ones." The Redani laughed. "But I'll let you find this out for yourself, child. Now get some rest. It's a long way up the tether."