Frontier: Book One - The Space Cadets (16 page)

“
Well, Carter is the public face
because it keeps the sponsors happy,” said Higgins. “But,
I
’
m the real principal.”

“
Why would you hide that,
Sir?”

Carter interjected, “Have you seen
who sponsors this station and everything in it? They
’
re all whiter than I am.”

“
But, surely, it
’
s an international station, sanctioned by the
UN?”

“
Sanctioned
by them, but
not
paid for
by them,” said Higgins. “But you
’
re asking the wrong questions.”

She stopped for a moment. What did
he mean by
‘
The wrong
questions
’
? She looked at both men again.
Their eyes were piercing into hers, but it wasn
’
t quite an interrogative thing. There was almost
affection in them. Curious and curiouser.

But there was something
odd
in what they were saying. Why would the world
’
s billionaires invest in a station
that they would
send their kids to?
Surely, a much better investment would be
something that they could make more billions off of,
unless--

“
There
’
s
an opportunity here for them, isn
’
t
there?”

Higgins nodded kindly. “Go on,” he
said, gently prodding her.

“
Something that would even have
Sebastian
’
s family
making
him
return here after he iced out. Some kind of
opportunity?”

And then it dawned on her. The
interstellar travel. They were
close
. Maybe even closer than
Patrice had suspected.

“
Other worlds,
”
she said.
“
They
’
ll get their family here to claim
other worlds. When we landed on the moon we planted a flag claiming
it for the USA. They
’
re going to plant their family name here.
”

“
That was the agreement with the
UN,” said Higgins. “They
’
d get
permission
from the UN to build this station and the Space
Elevator and everything else, but in return--”

“
In return they
’
d
own
space,” she interrupted. “And everything
in it. Every new discovery. Every new world we might
find.”

“
Nations are already failing on
Earth. The concept is dying,” said Higgins. “The wars in Korea and
elsewhere proved that. It
’
s only a matter
of time.”

“
So they
’
re getting themselves in place for
the next phase of civilization.
”

“
Exactly,” said Higgins. “And to
make themselves the new royalty of humanity for the foreseeable
future. Maybe forever.”

“
So why did they allow open
enrollment, for people like
me
to come up here?”

“
That
’
s
an excellent question,” said Carter. “And the answer is simple.
They did it because I maneuvered them into it.”

“
How?”

“
What use is royalty without
vassals? Better to have their kids commanding the best that
humanity has to offer instead of just having each
other.”

“
That
’
s what Soo-Kyung thought. That
we
’
d be their
cannon fodder.
”

“
A remarkably perceptive young
woman,” nodded Higgins.

“
But why did you do it? Why did
you maneuver them into getting us up here?”

“
Because we thought
there
’
d be young people on Earth who
weren
’
t
born into privilege
but who would be much
better
at what we really need up here.
Who would be much better at exploring the galaxy in the name of
mankind.”

“
And are we?”

“
Jury is still out.”

He smiled, and she
couldn
’
t help but return it.

“
So,” he continued, “we are
growing something new up here. A new society, a new way of
thinking.
They
might think that because they paid for all of
this that they
own
it. In reality, they
’
ll still likely own
most
of it. But we want to
make sure that there
’
s a possibility for
freedom to continue as we take our first steps into
space.”

She heard the awe in her own
voice. “A new society?”

“
The concepts of governing peoples
on the surface of a planet will soon be out-of-date and irrelevant.
How do you have a
democracy
when people are light years
apart? How do you have
communism
when you don
’
t have closed communities? How do you ensure a
monarchy can thrive across great distances?”

“
So what are you
proposing?”

“
That good people figure it out by
living and breathing up here. It
’
s not
realistic that
everybody
gets a say, so what if we choose
people who are smart, compassionate and fair-minded. What if we
bring them up here and make
them
the first to go to the
stars? To give
them
exposure to what we might encounter out
there? And let them figure it out for themselves and tell
us
what civilization should look like?”

“
And you want
me
to be a
part of that?”

He
didn
’
t answer,
and instead his voice grew serious.
“
There
’
s one more
thing,
”
he said,
choosing his words carefully.
“
The people who do that have to be
able to leave behind the trappings of the past. You
can
’
t move
forward if you are dragged back by societal
baggage.
”

“
What do you mean?”

“
Well, look at you for an example.
When you first saw me you were shocked because I am
African-American. Because I am black.”

“
It
’
s
just that everyone made a big deal of me being the
first--”

“
Everyone is not here in this
room.
You
are.”

“
Sorry, I didn
’
t mean to--”

“
And what tipped you over the edge
in your encounter with Sebastian. In your own words, it was because
he used a word that should never be used.”

“
And it shouldn
’
t. He was wrong to--”

“
But he didn
’
t actually
say
it, did he?”

“
He intimated as much.”

“
And by hinting that he
might
say a word, he completely manipulated your reactions.
Engineered
you
into a situation where you might have gotten
seriously hurt, and Mister Patrice Smith is still in the
infirmary.”

“
Are you saying we should just
allow people to use that word, and not react?”

“
Millions of people on Earth use it every
day, in songs, in speech, online.
”

“
But they are--”

She stopped, and began to see what
he was getting at. If rules permitted a set of behavior acceptable
for one race but simultaneously intolerable for another (leading to
violence) then the baggage of society would prevent something
new
from emerging as humanity took its first steps out into
the stars.

“
So what are you
suggesting?”

“
I’
m
suggesting
that if you want to be a part of this that you
realize that there
’
s only
one
race:
The Human Race. I
’
m
suggesting
that
in order to go forward there
’
s a lot you
have to leave behind. Are you willing to do so?”

“
I think so. I just need to figure
out what a
‘
blank slate
’
looks like. We are, after all, a product of our
upbringing.”

“
Good,” he said, nodding. “You do
that.”

“
So,” Aisha continued. “Does that
mean I have to drop all the
‘
Sir, yes,
Sir
’
stuff? Because that
’
s a trapping of the militaristic past too, is it not?
Loyalty of vassals had to be continually demonstrated, as they
weren
’
t expected to have the intelligence
to grasp and understand a plan, and blind obedience was
preferable.”

Higgins laughed, and Carter smiled
a little before saying, “Don
’
t push
it.”

The Principal cast a glance
sidelong at Carter, who returned it. He nodded. “I think
she
’
s ready.”

“
Ready for what?”

“
Your young friend Seamus is very
good at hacking records, but not as good as he thinks.”

“
He told me my records were
locked.”

“
Yes, and he fell for the public
story about your roommate. I assume she has told you the truth by
now?”

Aisha wasn
’
t going to betray a secret or get lulled into doing
so. “I don
’
t know what you
’
re talking about.”

Carter said, “Of
course.”

He reached into his desk and
pulled out a paper envelope that appeared to be thickly stuffed
with a paper letter.

He continued with a mild,
sarcastic tone. “I suppose you don
’
t know
about your own records being locked and sealed deeper than
Satan
’
s belly button, either?”

She smiled, raised an eyebrow.
“Sir, no, Sir. Of course not, Sir.”

He threw the letter across the
table to her. When it landed, she could see her own name,
handwritten.

“
What is this?”

Higgins interjected. “We served in
Korea alongside a wonderful man by the name of Roman Parks. Your
father.”

She touched the letter tenderly.
“My father?”

The handwriting on the envelope
must be his. He had written it for her, but he had left it with
these people.

“
We made an agreement,” said
Higgins. “
S
hould anything ever happen to
us, that we would look after each other
’
s
children. When you were born, he knew you were special. And he knew
that all of
this
was going to happen.”

“
What?”

“
So we made sure that we got involved. That
we came here. He was a part of it too, in the early days. It
was
his
idea that
we try to give civilization a new face among the stars. His idea to
save the future of mankind by taking this opportunity to leave the
past behind.
”

Aisha couldn
’
t speak. She held the letter tenderly in her hands.
Brushed her fingers against the ink. He had touched this. He had
held it too.

“
He prayed that someday you could
be a part of this. That you would grow up to be able to come here
and thrive. And having spoken with you for the last few minutes, I
can see that you can. That you are as strong, smart and independent
as he was. He would be so proud of you, Aisha. Don
’
t ever forget that, and please help us continue the
work that he started.”

She felt the tears leap to her
eyes as she looked at him, and then looked back to the letter in
her hand.

“
You should go now,” he said,
gently. “And read it. We
’
ll talk again
soon.”

In a blur she
left his office and made her way back to her apartment, trying not
to make eye contact or speak with anyone. Mercifully, Soo-Kyung
wasn
’
t home, so
she flopped on her bed and turned on her window, showing scenes of
home.

She held the letter tenderly, and,
being careful not to tear or damage, it she opened it. She could
smell the paper, and a faint hint of cologne. His smell.

She brought the paper to her nose
and inhaled, trying to remember him, trying to connect with him
through the smell. Visions of warmth and love came to her mind. She
was much too young to have formed distinct memories. But the
instinct of being held by a parent, that safe feeling…

Opening her eyes, she unfolded the
paper and went to the first page. She was scared to read it, but
also determined to understand every little thing that her father
had had to say.

My Dearest Aisha:

I don’t even know how to begin
writing this letter. I look at you now, sleeping in your crib, so
small and so helpless, and I wish I could be there when you take
your first steps. I wish I could see it when you go to school for
the first time. I wish I could hold you when you come home crying
for the first time, realizing that the world is a bigger and badder
place than you could have ever imagined.