DECEMBER TWENTY-ONE
ZACHARIAS MATTEO
PLANET EARTH
YEAR 2115
Zach sometimes wished he had a hobby. Staring into a wall didn’t count.
He wished he had something like his father’s wine collection, or even Annie’s obsessive search for anything from the past.
Because he was definitely spending too much time staring into the wall.
“Annie Eileen O’Connor asks for permission to enter the room,” his Screen told him.
“Gorilla glass,” he ordered it. It obeyed and showed Annie’s ugly face on the other side of the door. She cried, something that did her already hideous face no good. “What the fuck do you want now?” he asked.
He had to be careful, he realised - too many old swear words would make people suspicious.
“It’s…” she did her best to collect herself enough to finish the sentence. “Your father.”
“Of course it is about my father,” he said. “Why did I even bother to ask?”
She stared at him. Well, not starred, since she couldn’t see him, but it felt like it.
“Zacharias,” she said, in nothing more than a whisper. “He says he’s dying.”
“Tell me something I don’t know! He’s been dying for months.”
“No…” she didn’t even look mad, rather… exhausted. “We got his doctor. He says that he’s got nothing but minutes left.”
This caught Zach’s attention.
He stopped his impulse to reply with finally, instead got up and made the door go two-way transparent.
“I swear Annie, if you’re lying to me-”
“I’m not.” She swallowed, like she was bout to add something, but the words got stuck in her throat. Or like she was about to cry.
Zach knew she was telling him the truth, Annie didn’t have brains enough to act.
He opened the door. Got out.
“Where is he?”
Annie led the way. He followed her, wished for her to walk faster, couldn’t wait to see his dying father’s face.
Who’s worthless now? Who’s too weak to even keep himself alive?
Annie stopped outside of Roger’s bedroom. Zach got in.
They were alone in the room. Just Zach and his dying father, laying in his bed, face red, breath catching. Zach stayed in the doorway. Waited.
“Zacharias,” Roger said. “My son.”
“You never treated me like a son.”
“You never treated my like your father.”
“You’ve always hated me.”
“You’ve never done anything to make me like you.”
Zach couldn’t argue. Instead he smiled, or rather smirked. “I won’t have to. As
soon as you drop dead, I’m rich.”
“I would give it all to Annie if that wouldn’t be against the family traditions.”
Zach didn’t even care to reply.
“But, as you - as you say - will soon be rich, you will also be the one responsible of a big part of NASA,” Roger carried on. “But you’re already aware of that?”
“Yes.”
Roger coghed. Zach wondered for a brief moment what was even wrong with him, but decided that he still didn’t care to ask.
“Then, as the future of NASA, there’s something you need to know.”
Zach took a few steps towards the bed, now interested.
“All speakers off,” Roger ordered his Screen, and Zach walked even closer. “Zacharias, as the future of NASA, as the son of a man on his deathbed; I have a last confession to make.”
Zach was now standing no more than a few centimeters from the bed.
“I was the one mainly responsible of The Evacuation. I came up with the idea. I got the idea through. I’m the man that made NASA rich. That will now make you rich.”
His voice was getting thinner, like it was trying to escape his body completely.
“But Mars… The civilization…” He let out a laugh, a oddly morbid one, far from the faked one Zach hated so much.
“What?” Zach demanded to know, aware that he sounded like an upset five-year-old.
“Well. The civilization…” he made a slight pause. Met Zach’s eyes. “There is no civilization. I lied.”
