The Lover's Parable Through A Seven World Journey (23 page)

“Initiating manual launch in t-minus twenty seconds.”

“What did she say?” John shouted above the roar of the engines, looking about, confused and panicked, “Did she say, “
Manual
Launch
”?”

“That must’ve been what
ManLa
was. Oh, no. I can’t believe this is happening,” Sofia cried.

“This can’t be real. This just cannot be real,” John repeated to himself.

“T-minus ten seconds and counting,” the feminine voice announced, monotone and cold.

“We need to strap in,” he yelled, pulling her back towards the pilot’s chairs, “We’re about to take off.”

Climbing the short ladder, they rolled onto their backs and into the seats, crossing the restraining belts over their chests and across their laps. Thousands of pinpoint stars stared back at them through the window from the blackness of space. The pilot’s control panel was awash with needles moving across gauges and blinking lights. By the sound of it, the engines were reaching their maximum intensity, but the interior of the cabin was apparently insulated well enough to dampen the noise to a tolerable
level.

John could see Sofia staring at him from the corner of his eye. As he turned his head towards her he said, “I can’t believe I got us into this.”

“It’s okay,” she said with a half smile. “I just hope you don’t have to drive it, too.”

And with those final words, the thrust lifting the transporter into the sky pinned them to the backs of their chairs. Sofia’s high-pitched moans were all that she could express under the heaviness of the force being exerted upon her.

The spherical bulbs of vomit that hovered a meter above Sofia’s head slowly made their way to the nearest wall, attaching themselves to its surface. She and John had released their safety harnesses several hours ago. Beginning their egress from the pilot’s chairs, they floated down to the lower cabin where they found a little respite beside the bolted-down table that they used as their place of security.

Abandoning the pilots cabin had been their chief priority ever since the transporter had left the outer atmosphere of their home planet. After picking up a pre-programmed trajectory leading them along a path towards a distant sphere, the engines automatically cut power. The vessel continued upon its course, rotating along its lengthwise axis at a relatively high rate of speed. With the distant stars spinning uncontrollably around them, neither John nor Sofia was able to hold down the contents of their stomachs. The low gravity of space travel had never been a part of the
plan.

Their target planet was probably several thousand kilometers away, maybe more. But before they had left the cockpit, it was visible as a floating, dim orb reflecting off the Savior’s light in the shape of a half circle. Centered directly to the nose of the vessel’s conical head, it was the only object visible through the window that did not appear to be revolving around
them.

John could not talk. The disgusting taste in his mouth was making it difficult to ignore the nauseating feeling rumbling around in his gut. Holding on to the table’s leg he attempted to keep his mind in a neutral state, avoiding the connection of his thoughts with the current state of his body. Sofia was in no better shape than he. She had wrapped the sleeves of her shirt around another one of the table’s legs before tying it off at her ankle. Floating about with the muscles of her body as relaxed as she could possibly get them, she was kept in her current position suspended in the center of the room by her improvised tether. She did not dare to open her eyes for fear that the dry heaves would start up once
again.

For the next few hours they remained in their meditative frames of mind. Weary and physically broken down, they were like human shaped helium balloons, peacefully floating free.

Acclimating slowly to the novel environment after several hours of misery, John and Sofia were finally able to work their way down to the lowest storage area. There they were able to secure for themselves some juice and salt crackers from one of the many hundreds of crates, mostly marked with the words
Golden World
, with a few
Raw
and
Red
boxes at the distal areas from the bay door. After overcoming the initial queasiness under their encounter with zero gravity, the feelings of weightlessness had become something quite satisfying. With the ability to move from the lowest deck to the “table-room” with minimal effort on their part, they began playfully floating around, making a game out of their current circumstance despite the severity of their present situation. Tossing balls of juice from their straws towards one another was just one among several other forms of silliness that they were exhibiting. Killing time was not going to be a difficult objective to complete.

Periodically checking in on their relative position to the approaching planet, it appeared that they were making significant progress towards their unintended destination. Although it was still quite a ways off, it no longer appeared as just an insignificant ball floating in space. Their proximity to the strange new world allowed them to see that is was brown in color for the most part, with swathes of green covering approximately ten to twenty percent of the exposed portion of its visible face.

The pilot’s screen had not changed in appearance since they had left home. It still continued to display the countdown time to landing, which currently read,
47 hours 33 minutes 15 seconds
, and flashed in the upper corner,
Auto Pilot Engaged
. John had attempted on more than one occasion to obtain some usable data through the use of the handheld computer, but was unsuccessful in his endeavors. Tucking away the handheld into his pocket, he finally gave up trying.

With nearly two more days of travel left, it appeared that, overall, the entire course of their journey would not be ending anytime soon. The control of the situation was out their hands. Spinning a cracker in Sofia’s direction from across the room, John watched it as it whirled around like a falling leaf. The time would go by much too fast, he thought.

John could hardly believe that their arrival at the new planet was already upon them. As he slid into the pilot’s chair he gave a glance to Sofia. She was in the same mental boat as he. The past couple of days had been so incredible that she hated to see them coming to an end.

Turned about on its central axis, the nose of the airship was now facing the direction from which they had launched nearly three days prior. The pilot’s screen was counting down from twelve minutes to destination. Entering into the planets atmosphere, the vibration of the vessel was intensifying under the returning
friction.

Buckling themselves in, the two of them could feel the reverse thrust of the vehicle as, once again, their bodies were crushed into the chairs, making it difficult, if not impossible, to verbalize their discomfort. Having to endure the strenuous pressure being exerted upon them made the short duration of the landing process feel much longer than it actually was.

As the color pallet outside began morphing from the deep blackness of space and starlight to the soft, baby blue of a familiar sky, the vehicle began to settle into a steady decline. The pressures upon their bodies assuaged. The cruel discomfort began to resolve.

The pilot’s screen now read
3 minutes 48 seconds
to landing. An entirely new world was just within reach. As they looked upon each other, John stretched his hand over the ladder between them, to which Sofia responded in like fashion. Taking each other by the hand, the uncertainty of the next few minutes were building up an anxious anticipation within their bowels as regards to what was in store for them when they made their exit from the airship.

The steadiness by which the transporter was falling felt slow and controlled. The vibratory response upon entering the new atmosphere had now completely ceased. The remaining time spent between heaven and soil culminated in a consistent, almost wave-like, liquid feeling that caused their stomachs to tingle.

Jarred back against the shock absorbing springs of the chairs, they could feel their vehicle touching down on the concrete pad. Unbuckling his harness as the engines began powering down, John lifted himself out of the chair and climbed down the ladder.

“Listen,” he said.

With her eyes moving about the cabin, Sofia tried to grasp at the sounds he was hearing, but everything was silent. Released from the restraints of the chair, she sat up, turning to the side and allowing her legs to hang over the edge of the seat.

“I don’t hear anything. What do you hear?” she whispered.

As the engines completely cut power, the pilot’s computer station went cold. The lights in the cabin blinked off. The Savior’s rays of light were filtering through the darkly tinted window, casting simple shadows along the walls.

“I don’t hear anything either. It seems too quiet,” he said in a low, soft voice.

After being assisted down from the chair, Sofia followed John to the doorway, where they opened it with cautious care. Making their way down the walkway and descending the ladder, the eerie silence was causing John to become more than mildly
concerned.

Opening the first of the three storage bay doors, they began to progress down the ladder. With normal gravity having been restored, both John and Sofia were feeling a bit unsteady due to the vertigo inducing height of the descent. The cabin was empty just as they expected, but there was still nothing but silence from the outside
world.

Descending the second and third storage areas resulted in the same soundless phenomena. Listening intently with their ears pressed against the final door, there were no vibrations pulsating throughout its metal composition, there were no screeches from the hydraulic systems of the forked vehicles unloading and loading the airship, everything was the same: silence. Carefully pulling back the door, John let it creep up just enough for Sofia to peek
inside.

“Do you see anything?” he asked.

“Open it just a little more.”

The space widened as John made just enough room for her to drop her upper torso through. With a cursory glance, she could see that the bay was untouched. There were no signs that anyone had entered in.

“There’s nobody here,” she said, drawing her head back out of the threshold.

“You’re kidding,” John retorted.

“No. I’m serious. Take a look.”

Retracting the door all the way back, John knelt down, peering through in amazement.

“They haven’t even opened the bay door yet,” he said.

Sitting back against the wall, he thought for a moment. The bay doors always seemed to open upon landing. Why was this any different?

“This doesn’t seem right, does it?” he whispered.

“It is rather strange, I think,” Sofia responded, not really sure of what to make of the situation.

Standing up and positioning himself behind the door, he said, “Stand back for a moment.”

Closing them off from the lower bay, John rotated the locking handle. Sitting back down once again, he placed his hand over
Sofia’s.

“Let’s just wait a little bit. I’m sure nobody knows we’re in here. But I just want to see what happens before we do anything else.”

“This is getting scary, John,” Sofia said, moving closer to his side.

“We’ll be alright. Don’t worry yourself over this,” he responded.

John kept his composure resolute in order to help Sofia remain calm, even though, he figured, he was probably more afraid than she, due the fact that he really did not have any control over their predicament.

It had been, perhaps, an hour or more since they had sealed themselves off from the deck below. With her head snuggled against John’s abdomen, Sofia had fallen into a restless sleep, intermittently twitching and mumbling, while using him as her pillow. Other than their movement, there had been no activity inside the airship. As far as John was able to discern, the outside seemed to be equally composed. He did not want to wake Sofia, but they could not remain in the transporter forever.

“Sofia,” John whispered, nudging her arm.

Readjusting her head, she rolled onto her side, continuing with her heavy breathing.

“Sofia, it’s time to wake up, girl,” he said a little louder.

With a light shaking of her shoulder, she sat up with a startle, speaking in a frightful, disoriented tone.

“What is it? Is someone coming?”

“No. No, it’s nothing,” he said, attempting to calm her fears while rubbing her back. “I was just trying to wake you up. It’s been quite a while now. I think we should go down there and see if we could find a way out.”

“You mean, go outside?” Her words were veiled in disbelief.

“Yes, why do you say it like that? There hasn’t been a single sound since we landed. I don’t think anybody’s out there,” he
commented.

“I don’t know about that, John. How do you know they’re not waiting for us? Maybe they want us to open the door and walk out so that they don’t have to take any chances of coming after us in here. We are armed, you know.”

“I know that. But, listen-”

“John,” Sofia interrupted him, “this whole thing’s getting too crazy. I don’t want to-,” she began to say, the corners of her eyes filling with tears.

“Sofia, it’s okay. Listen, dear. Just-”

“I don’t want to be here anymore. Really, I don’t.”

“Sofia, I think we’re the only ones here. There hasn’t been a single sound from outside.”

“You’re not listening to me again,” Sofia interrupted. “Will you please-”

“Look, Sofia, we’ve made it this far-”

“Take me home. I really want to go home, now. Just take me home.”

“Sofia, you need to listen to me. There’s no-”

“There’s no what?”

“No sound,” John repeated.

“What do you mean no sound? Of course there’s no sound. The Labor Security… they’re probably waiting outside for us. They never seem to make noise. They just sneak up on people.”

“No, girl. They’re not waiting for us. Just calm down and-”

“How do you expect me to be calm when-?”

“There hasn’t been a single transporter that’s taken off or-”

“A single what?”

“Transporter. There are no transporters taking off or landing. Just listen, okay. I think we’re the only ones here.”

As she buried her head into his chest, tearful and frightened, John ceased in his efforts to convince her of their safety. She needed the release. Their adventure was getting far beyond what he had promised her, and stepping out into the alien world, he feared, would throw her over the edge of the boundary of her own sanity. For all the troubles he brought to bear upon her, stepping aside while she vented her emotions was the least he could do.

Sofia had wept, stating her frustrations and anxieties, for, what felt to be, another hour before calming down. She had become apologetic for her outburst, and afterward she looked emotionally drained. John hated hearing the penitent words that fell from her mouth. He was the one that needed to be apologizing, not her, and he was well aware of that fact. But for some selfish reason, of which he could not comprehend at the time, he was unable, or more to the fact, unwilling, to ask for her forgiveness.

With the spiritually traumatic moment behind them, they finally left the upper storage bay behind, descending the ladder into the vessel’s crate-filled compartment below.

Placing a few bottles of water and some salt cracker packages into his thigh pocket, John led Sofia to the control panel. As they were not about to get into a firefight with the Labor Security, should they find themselves face to face with them once the door opened, they slid their rifles over their shoulders by the slings, hanging them across their backs.

The handheld computer’s connectors fit directly into the ports at the side of the airship’s towering metal door, bringing the menu screen upon its display. Unlike the vessel’s Pilot Control System, the icons were straightforward and obvious in their implication. Swiping his finger across the words
Panel Open
, the gears above them began to grind. Within seconds the wall of the transporter began to rise.

The thick, triangulated locking hubs that protruded from the bottom of the rising, bay door, like the teeth of a metallic beast, lifted from their sockets, giving way to hot gusts of swirling debris and dry, dirty air that reeked of rotting flesh. Gagging under the control of the stench, Sofia and John wrapped their face coverings around their noses and mouths. Although it did stifle the odor to some extent, it did little to remove the taste of death that had coated their tongues. Unlike the ash filled base that they had left behind, the dust passing through the threshold was brown and heavy, completely devoid of the gray-white soot that they should have been exposed to had the area been a base of heavy transporter activity.

The rising barrier of the hull had opened to an area approximately leveled with their knees. Kneeling down, they were able to gather in the first view of the mysterious world.

The light outside was quite dim despite the high position of the Savior in the sky, as it dispersed in a yellowish-beige glow, blanketing the parched, wind-swept station. The few warehouses that were visible from their point of view were similar to the metal structures back home, but they were completely unmanned and devoid of the stacks of crates that John and Sofia had expected to see.

Cautious to avoid stepping into a trap, they peeked around the edge of the opened bay with a controlled curiosity. The base was much smaller than they had expected it to be. And just as their first glance had suggested, there was not a soul to be seen. Unlike the busy system that they had experienced within Labor’s base, there were only a half dozen empty landing pads and sealed-off warehouses that made up the entire station. The thick bars of the surrounding fence created the relatively small arena in which they were enclosed.

As John and Sofia stepped out of the transporter and onto the ramp, they both felt an odd sense of being free, yet trapped. And although they both experienced the same emotions simultaneously, neither was aware of the others thoughts, as they had not the desires to share them with one another.