Hyperspace

The Beginning

Holden Taylor sat on the edge of his cot writing what he knew to be the last communication his parents would ever receive from him. He had covered the basics; he would miss them, he was scared, he knew he was doing the right thing, why had they named him after a pessimistic teenager who ends up in a mental hospital. Holden looked up from his writing and saw a row of boys, each addressing letters to their own parents.

Holden shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the rough fabric of his uniform was rubbing against his leg. Holden looked at the ceiling, then down at his letter. He knew he was doing the right thing --at least he thought he was. He was giving up his life, his future, so that his parents and his sister could have one. Holden remembered the video that he had seen so many times, telling him that there was no nobler cause than the one for which they had been selected to serve. Shaking himself of doubt, Holden looked up and down the narrow room.

The fluorescent lighting gave the room a prison feel. There were fifty cots lining the walls, one for each boy selected for the mission. The sheets of the cots were rough and the room smelled of metal and disinfectant. Across the facility was an identical room for the 50 girls who had been selected for the program.

Around the room, Holden heard the sound of the tablets buzzing to alert the boys of a new message. Simultaneously, the boys set down their letters and picked up their tablets. Reading the header, Holden knew exactly what was inside; it was the mission briefing and would detail the time and location of the launch, and what to bring with them. Holden looked at his suitcase and wondered what the other boys had brought to remind them of home.

Mentally unpacking his suitcase, Holden pulled out his leather jacket. He imagined breathing in the smell of motor grease and leather that the jacket always had, and daydreamed about pulling out the small bag of valuables his parents had given him -- his grandma's wedding ring, his grandpa's pocket watch, and a small music box that had been passed down for generations, his childhood best friend, Lambert, the stuffed goat, and at last he imagined pulling out the gift from his family. They had told him before he left that he wasn't allowed to open it until he was gone, and he had solemnly agreed.

Skimming the rest of the briefing, Holden saw nothing that he hadn't seen before. He read through his letter one last time, folded it into an envelope and put it into the slot in the wall. He sighed. It wasn't like his family would get his actual letter, someone in communications would open the envelope type out his letter and send it to his family, his family would write back and he would receive a printed copy as he boarded the ship.

Checking the time, Holden realized that there was less than 5 minutes until lights out. Holden hastily switched into his sleep uniform and stuffed his tablet into his bag. He lay down on his bed and counted down as the lights slowly dimmed. He heard someone sobbing into a pillow three cots down, and wanted more than anything to get and help him, but there were severe repercussions for being out of bed after dark.

His mind wandered around for a while before it settled on the first day of training.

It was 6 months ago and Holden had no idea what he'd signed up for, the world was ending that much he knew. He strode into base with the other 14 year olds, the 13 year olds stood nearby, the 12 year olds stood shyly by themselves, and the 15 year olds stood aside, obnoxiously believing they were above them. The Director told them how proud they should be of the sacrifice they were making, Holden simply wished that they would explain this sacrifice in greater detail.

Rather unfortunately, his wish was granted, The Director showed them a short film, Holden sat in disbelief as he learned that he was expected to board a spacecraft with 100 children all for the "good of humanity" never to return to Earth. They would send resources and samples to Earth in the hope of saving humanity, and when necessary they would locate a habitable planet form a colony and raise the next generation to continue the mission. As soon as the video ended a small 12 year old girl next to him burst out crying. Many were on the verge of tears and many more stood in disbelief.

Holden must have seemed intimidating to the group as he rose and wrapped his jacket around the girl. Though he was 14 years old, he looked to be at least 16. He spoke to her in a soothing voice and told her everything would be alright. Later that evening, he approached The Director demanding to know of a way to be transferred out of the program. When The Director claimed that there was no way, Holden said, "Now you look here sir, and no disrespect intended, but we signed up to help, not to leave our planet and never come back, now I'll stay if I have to but I want anyone who is unclear on the nature of this mission to be fully informed and allowed to make their decision."

Despite the compelling case, Holden was given detention and all current recruits would be in the program no matter what. For the next 6 months, his blood boiled as he watched 12 year olds being forced to grapple with the fact that they would never go home. It boiled as he watched a 15 year write to her boyfriend that she wasn't coming back. But it boiled most when he saw the lives that were being taken away, the boy who had dreamed of being on Broadway his whole life, the girl who sang like an angel, every kid who had ever wanted to be something was being sent off for "the greater good."

He snapped back to the present where he lay seething in darkness and people around him began to sob. Holden could feel steam rising off him as he drifted into a light, dreamless sleep. 

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A.N. Hello humans who for some reason have decided to read whatever this is, I wrote this 3 years ago and haven't really looked at it since. My friend has decided to edit it and put it on here, say hello friend;(hello). Anyway I make no promises that this will be good, or even finished, but I do promise that it will be here. If you have any interest in me my instagram is a_human_bean_, and my youtube is EMaze_. Ok we're done now.