Welcome to the Frontier

The Calm

The ride to Proxima was one of the most extended trips in his life. He was still young by the standard of the Arcology. A mere 60 years old. All that time spent on a spacecraft drifting through Kuiper Belt. Since it was the safest place for him to be at because of what he was. Atlas had told him he would need to pick a name to go by while on the frontier. His mind still ruminated. 'I know I can't use a name that would allow me to be tracked down, but my name is a key part of myself.'

He slowly meandered through the narrow halls of soft yellow foam littered with hundreds of access panels. He had wandered these halls for so many decades now that he knew them like the back of his hand. Finally, having walked the entire length of the lonely ship, no sounds could be heard except those of the ship's own mechanisms and his own breathing. 'That means the speakers are out great' he thought.

"Hey Atlas, what's wrong with the speakers," he said to the empty hallway.

Then the quiet hall spoke with a deep and rumbling voice. "I turned off the music to tell you that we are currently 1 jump away from Proxima Centauri. I still must question why we are going to such a hostile system."

"We are going there for exactly that reason Atlas; it's so hostile, most of the people there have undergone genetic modification to adapt to the world. The world has been marked by local groups as a place to bio-form life too." His voice changed to a sorrowful tone. "Or at least that. That's what it is for now. Those purists seek to outlaw it even here. They somehow won a large portion of the Arcology. Over to their damned lies and you, I both know despite its harshness. The system is in the enforceable distance of the Arcology. Just a mere 3 months before messages or a "security force" can reach it."

"Calm yourself, Cyrus. They would be overstepping their authority to do that," Atlas began.

Cyrus interjected, "For now, you mean. I spent my entire life so far hiding from them. To them, I am an abomination made flesh."

"As I was saying, the Thunder group and Summit Micro-systems are the ones competing here. Not the "Gene Purists" that hold the majority in the Arcology." Atlas coolly continued through Cyrus's interruption.

"You said that about Makemake. Look where that got us there." Cyrus countered.

A slow, calm response came out of the hallway's speakers. "Makemake was my mistake. I thought so far out we would be safe, and you could meet others. On the bright side, our bounty is just a mere 3 million Yicli."

"The only thing that surprises me is that it is so low. After all, one would think spacing a colony habitat would result in a higher bounty," Cyrus responded.

The PA responded with a smug tone. "As far as the planet's authorities are concerned; the spacing was an unmitigated accident." His tone turned tired, "On the other hand, hate blinds people. Most groups would refuse to hunt you if they knew who made you."

"Gods help me. Let's not bring up my maker in all this," Cyrus began and then trailed away as his thought raced away from him. Shaking his head, he began his attempt to change the topic. "Just when do we arrive at Proxima Centauri?"

"That is why I contacted you. The drive has spooled enough for us to jump. Also, it goes against the safety regulations to be near a window when jumping," Atlas reported with a calm and stern tone.

Cyrus countered, "And you're attempting to enforce this, Why? We both know I can survive the radiation."

A fast and harsh response met Cyrus's counter. "Your eyes are not as resistant as the rest of your body. I will not let you go blind and then hear you whine about it until I get your eyes healed back up to the correct level."

"That's true. Can I look out the window for a little bit then we will jump?" Cyrus pleaded. Though he doubted it would move Atlas.

"You have 10 minutes before I trigger the jump. Hurry, Little one." Atlas responded with a tired voice. The hall then went dead quiet as Atlas stopped transmitting.

The door opened, and Cyrus walked through it into a room with trapezoid window panels that led to a central hexagonal one. The view out the windows was dark. Littered with small specks of light. He knew that each speck was a star most of them were giants. He turned and looked out the leftmost window seeing nothing but empty then a small blink of light and fast as it came it was gone again. 'That's it Proxima. I thought it would be brighter considering our distance. Then again I should not be able to see it at all, but I'm thankful for the little things like this. They help keep me sane.' A tired sigh left Cyrus's mouth as he turned and prepared to leave the window room.

"Hey Atlas, we are clear to jump," Cyrus once again spoke to the empty hall. He then walked through the hall of the ship to a ladder that leads toward the center of the vessel. As he ascended the ladder, he felt the gravity of the ship get weaker and weaker until he had fully ascended the ladder. He felt himself begin to float as he entered the center of the vessel. He reached down and threw himself toward the bridge.

'The only other time I've felt this much excitement and fear was before we went to Makemake. I can only hope that this time it goes better. Eh, screw it. I survived Makemake. I can survive Proxima.' These were the thoughts that plagued Cyrus as he floated. He looked down and grabbed at amulet that he kept. It was the only thing his maker had ever given him. It always hit him at times like this that his past was what made the world wish to see him erased. The past was something he dreaded. After all, he was chronological 60 years old, but he was physically 20 years old. Granted 60 is the new 20 in the eyes of the people of the Arcology.

He reached the hatch to the bridge and crawled inside.

"So, Cyrus are you ready to jump?" Atlas's cool voice questioned.

"Yes," was the simple response.