Frontier: Book One - The Space Cadets (3 page)

What would Father do in these
circumstances? She had always learned of how great and how wise he
was. Mother tried to pass down his teachings, but they were often
through her filters, and Aisha was left to parse what the man had
really been like, and what he would really do.

She remembered one phrase: Never
start the fight, but always finish it.

The path was clear. There was a
simple way to finish this fight. Composing herself as best she
could, she smiled, and stood. It still felt like everything was
moving in slow motion. Instead of exiting through the back, she
took the steps down from the stage towards the waiting press,
walking towards them.

Some began to get upset at her not
answering the question. That was the
news
they had come for,
and they smelled blood in the water. But she maintained her
composure, looking straight ahead and walking slowly, step-by-step,
as they parted before her.

Her path took her straight towards
the reporter that had asked the question. His skin was turning
redder now. Was it anger? Embarrassment? It didn
’
t matter. She met his gaze, held it for a moment. She
watched him prepare for whatever she was going to say, saw his eyes
dilate, his pallor flush.

She gave him a little half-smile,
and left the room to ever-increasing volume and
shouting.

She finished the fight.

***

Her insides burning, she wanted to
get as far away from the press room as possible. She had maintained
a calm composure, but the man
’
s words
bounced around her head, making her angrier with each passing
step.

But what if he was right? What if
she really was chosen for the reasons he had said? She had to admit
to herself that she had taken pride at being the first of her race
to be chosen. And with there being so many qualified boys, that the
first was a girl. Maybe she shouldn
’
t have
felt so proud. Maybe she shouldn
’
t have
let mother
’
s braggadocios attitude wear
off on her.

The truth of the matter was that
she
was
selected. That she
was
going to be a space
cadet. In a few hours, she would be in orbit: Working with the best
and brightest people in the world, learning how to fly spaceships,
and being part of the research team that was building ships that
would go to the stars.

This small-mindedness would be
left behind. Whether or not he was right, she was still going to be
part of that, and still going to have an opportunity to excel. Not
as an African-American. Not as a girl. But as
herself
.

***

Mother was unhappy at dinner.
Aisha wasn
’
t sure if it was because she
had cut the press conference short or if it was because of what the
man said. Not knowing her mother
’
s
feelings disturbed her even more. Finally, Mother spoke.

“
What you did,” she said.
“Reminded me of your father. It was like he was back there in the
room with me. I
’
ve never been more proud
of you.”

Aisha looked in her
mother
’
s eyes. They were reddening. “It
made me miss him all the more, and tonight you are leaving me too.
I just realized how much I
’
ll miss you.
It
’
ll be just me and your little brother
now.”

She stood up and walked round to
Mother
’
s side of the table, embracing her
warmly. She could feel Mother
’
s face on
her shoulder, and the heat of her tears. Holding ever tighter, she
felt the tears flow from her own face down Mother
’
s shoulder.

“
I don
’
t
have to go,” she said. “I can stay with you.”

Mother pushed her back. “No,” she
said. “You can
’
t deny yourself this. You
know your father fought hard so that we can enjoy our freedom, and
some day that will be impossible on this planet. I think that day
is coming sooner than we think. You are going to that station. You
are going to excel. And you are going to the stars, and taking
memories of me, and your father, and your brother with
you.”

She held Aisha tightly. “I just
wish I could be with you, so that
they
won
’
t attack you again.”

“
They won
’
t, Mother. And you
’
ll always
be with me.”

We should always reach for the
sky.

From the very beginning of
history, our ancestors were looking up and wondering what was
beyond their reach. The stars were calling them. They weaved
stories of gods and angels, but behind them all was the intense
desire to be out there. A desire born of an instinct for
survival.

It’s something we’ve forgotten as
we’ve become civilized. We’ve become comfortable in our homes, our
cities and our countries. We’ve defeated nature and haven’t had the
same worries that they had. But we lost something in that
complacency, I fear. And now, as our world gets overcrowded, as our
environment collapses under us, we need to rediscover it. We need
to look up, and not worry about tripping as we race towards a new
destiny. We will be those gods and angels if we want to. And you
can be one of them, if you just keep trying, and never give
up...

The Space Elevator
. Its
relatively simple name belied the sheer scale of it. Craning her
neck, Aisha looked up as it disappeared impossibly into the deep
blue sky. The
‘
shuttle
’
was a box-like structure that could easily pass for
another building, but for the rocket boosters placed on its
corners. These boosters would provide the initial
‘
launch
’
to get the craft
moving out of its gravitational inertia. After that, the rotation
of the Earth would take over and drive the shuttle up the cable
into orbit.

She was so glad for last
night
’
s dinner with Mother. Beforehand, it
had felt like there was a tension building between them.
Mother
’
s basking in her status had gotten
under Aisha
’
s skin, and she had been
worried that she might blow up at her before leaving. She was
worried that she might end up regretting it, but there was only so
long she could bite her tongue.

She almost
thanked the reporter for his rude question. It had brought them
closer together. She felt a pang of pride again at
Mother
’
s words
that she had done exactly what Father would have
done.

Of course, the same reporter had
wrestled his way to the front of the audience, and was barking out
questions to the cadets as they boarded the shuttle. She was happy
she knew where he was, so she could actively ignore him as she
passed.

She gave Mother one final hug, and
turned and walked along the long ramp up to the shuttle. With every
step away from her, Aisha felt more and more alone. As the entrance
loomed toward her, she felt the urge to turn and run back to
Mother
’
s welcoming arms. Mother would hold
her and protect her, and to heck with anyone who would criticize
her for not going through with it. But she didn
’
t. She continued step-by-step. At the top of the
ramp, she turned for one more look back at the Earth. She caught
Mother
’
s eye as she waved frantically,
blowing kisses and smiling. “That
’
s my
little girl!”

She raised her hand to wave,
hearing cameras popping, and returned the smile before turning to
enter the shuttle. Her feet suddenly felt heavy. She was really
going through with this. She was really leaving home and going into
space. Each step seemed to be a chore, doubt and indecision
weighing on her more heavily than gravity ever could.

Step-by-step she continued
forward. The entrance lobby curved away from the door, and in a few
moments, the daylight was lost.

Words she had learned from history
came back to her.
Alea iacta est.
She smiled, thinking that
her Classics teacher would be proud of her.
The die is
cast
.

The interior of the shuttle was
clearly designed to impress and soothe its occupants. Instead of
the functional ships of yesteryear, it was all polished chrome and
intricately-designed surfaces. In the days of rocket travel to the
stars, every ounce of payload had to be carefully measured, with no
room for luxury, as propelling something into orbit required
enormous amounts of energy. The Space Elevator changed all that, so
designers of spacecraft were free to allow their occupants to be
comfortable with traveling into space. This was also an important
factor as many more people would leave the surface of the Earth --
and a good, comfortable experience made it more tolerable, and thus
less training was necessary. Indeed, Aisha had little more training
than a couple of video tutorials explaining how to deal with
weightlessness, and what to eat or not to eat prior to boarding. It
was also good advice to use the bathroom before getting on the
ship, for while facilities were available, using them in weightless
conditions wasn
’
t optimal.

She climbed stairs to the
observation deck where she would spend most of the journey. The
deck was a wide circle with multi-story windows, and acceleration
couches arranged facing outwards.

“
As we rise up the cable, the
shuttle will spin slowly,” she had remembered the tutorial video
telling her. “So pick any seat, and you
’
ll
still be able to see everything.”

The deck was terraced, so that
seats near the back would still have a great view, and their
occupants may not have the feeling of vertigo that those closer to
the front would encounter. She picked one in the back row, next to
an Asian girl who looked about Aisha
’
s
age. The girl was intensely reading a book on her tablet, and
didn
’
t look up as Aisha sat.

She suddenly spoke. “Aisha Parks,
celebrity.”

Aisha looked at her.
“I
’
m not sure about
that
.”

The girl looked up, and her
intense eyes searched Aisha
’
s. “Good to
know,” she said finally, reaching a hand out. “Soo-Kyung Kim,” she
said.

“
I don
’
t
need to tell you my name, I guess.”

Soo-Kyung smiled. Her plain face
lit up when she smiled. She was beautiful.

“
So where are you
from?”

Soo-Kyung smiled again. “You
haven
’
t heard of me? Good. I guess I am
not a celebrity, either.”

Such an odd answer, and from
Soo-Kyung
’
s reaction, it was clear that
Aisha
’
s confusion was written on her
face.

“
I think we are going to be good
friends,
”
said
Soo-Kyung.
“
I
like how you are straightforward. I am too, but that intimidates
some people.
”

“
So where are you
from?”

“
I am from a small village called
Sijungho,” continued Soo-Kyung. “There
’
s
not much to see there.”

“
Sounds Korean,” said Aisha. “You
from South Korea?”

“
North
Korea,” corrected
Soo-Kyung. “I
’
ve never even been to South
Korea.”

Aisha felt her insides go cold.
Against her will, she shuddered a little, and felt a sob begin to
escape from her throat. Her father had died as a result of
radiation sickness incurred in the second Korean War. And there was
a North Korean girl here with her. Going into
space
with
her.

She knew there was incredulity in
her voice, but she couldn
’
t mask it. “Are
you going to the Academy too?”

“
Yes,” said Soo-Kyung. “And
don
’
t worry, I
’
m
as surprised as you are.”

“
That
’
s
what you meant by celebrity?”

“
It seems the media made as big a
deal about me being the first North Korean as it did about you
being the first African-American to go through open enrollment.
It
’
s all a sham though, isn
’
t it?”

“
I’
m
beginning to gather that.”

“
I mean, when the Academy was
first built, it was apparent that it was for the Elites, most of
whom are from Western society, with a few Russians and Chinese
thrown in to get funding. Nobody really knows who the students
were, but it was typically those who would be in private elite
schools on the surface, so being in space made little
difference.”

Aisha thought about what Soo-Kyung
was saying, and realized that she was right. Amazing that she had
never thought of this herself.

The Korean girl continued. “Now
that they are all in place and established, it
’
s time to open it up to the rest of the world, so we
can get their proverbial
‘
sloppy
seconds
’
, I guess.”