Page 6 of A Million Stars and Shadows

“Take me with you,” Sally said to me as I shed my suit. “You’ll need me to guide you around.”

“How?” I asked. It was the first time I had worn this suit, had even realized that one of the suits Mom left behind in the shelter had a built-in computer system named Sally in it.

“I pack neatly into a compact backpack,” Sally said. “Get out of the suit then press the button on the left chest pocket. It will automatically deflate the suit into a backpack. Wear the backpack, pull out the inner hoodie attached to the top of the backpack. Wear the hoodie as a cap. You can hear my voice through the sides of the cap. I will continue to work as your computing system. I will also monitor your body’s temperature and heartbeat.”

“Okay, Sally,” I said, glad Mom had thought of everything when she created Sally.

I followed her directions and was set. Then I headed to the elevators, which looked so much like the ones in the films and videos I have watched hundreds of times in the shelter. I pressed the button to the top floor, 12 floor, and waited for the elevator door to open. The lights of the elevator lit up as it descended to the 2nd floor, where I stood. I marveled at the engineering that went into the design of a simple elevator. I could imagine how a well-lit elevator would work in an underground shelter like mine.

In a matter of minutes, I was on the 12th floor. The elevator door opened, and I walked out with Sally on my back.

“Turn left,” Sally said. “Then right into the Captain’s Quarters.”

I walked in the direction of Sally’s instruction and reached a door. “How do I open this?” I asked Sally. “No, don’t tell me. I think I know.”

I made the hand symbol and touched the wall like the other times I needed to open a door. It opened.

“Bravo,” Sally said. “You’ve learned quickly.”

“Yes,” I said. “There is a logic to how things work around here.”

“You know who designed and engineered this system,” Sally said.

“Mom,” I nodded. “I’m beginning to understand how this ship works. Just like the shelter she built.”

“Yes,” Sally said, “You think like her. You have her DNA. Hence, Evie, your handprint opens all the doors on this ship.”

“What?” I asked. “I thought I had to do a special symbol with my hands.”

“That’s just for my amusement,” Sally said. “I was joking with you. Just your handprint is enough.”

“Unbelievable,” I shook my head. “Sally, you are such a prankster.”

“Enough joking,” Sally said. “Pay attention. There was a movement in here. Keep alert. My system could not pick up what it was exactly, but if there is some movement, it could be anything, including something that can be hostile.”

Hostile? I had trained in martial arts with Mom ever since I could walk. I knew how to fight and protect myself. If there was anything I had to fight inside that room, I was as prepared as I could be. “Okay, let’s go,” I said, opening the door with my hand.

In a blink, a door appeared, and I slowly walked into the room.

TWO

First, the splash of brilliant tiny lights nearly blinded me as I stepped into the room enveloped in a million stars and shadows.

“What room is this?” I asked out loud.

A woman’s voice answered me instead of Sally’s. “This is the Captain’s Room.” It was Mom’s voice.

I froze for a moment.

“Mom?” I called out. “Are you here? Where are you?”

“The Captain’s Room is where the captain and his team can map out and view the space ahead of him,” Mom’s voice continued. “Isn’t it lovely?”

The room looked like it was a part of space itself. The bluish-purple dotted with bright lights the colors of gold, silver, and cream.

“LED technology allowed us to transform every inch of this room into a projector screen,” Mom’s voice continued. “It is like a million stars and shadows.”

“That’s what I thought,” I said. “If I was to paint this, I picture it as a million stars and shadows.” I looked around. Where did her voice come from? In the room? “Mom? Mom? Where are you?”

---