"Okay, so what's the news?" I breathed. "What's going on with my mom and sister? We didn't exactly part on good terms, if possible I would like to speak to them."
"Your sister studied to become a doctor and is now living on Mars as a part of the Mars Initiative Medical Association."
"Wait. Hold on! My sister is now on Mars?" I asked, shocked by the news. Before I left, she was still studying to be a doctor, and it always made me jealous that she could go to Mars if she wanted to. But for her to go? She never expressed wanting to leave Earth. "Good for her." I smiled. "I used to be so jealous of her, but now I guess there is nothing to be jealous of."
"Jealous?"
"Yeah…um…it's like envy…it's hard to describe without using an emotion to describe it."
"A feeling or showing envy of someone or their achievements and advantages. Envy is a negative feeling of wanting what someone else has, and resenting them for having it."
"Pretty much."
"You were not happy for your sister?"
"I was, but it was complicated."
"Did you wish to become a doctor?"
"No. That's why it's complicated. My mom and I had a rocky relationship. When I was a kid she kinda used me to make money on social media which made me a mini celebrity but not in a good way. Then after Dad died it just felt as if she blamed me for it because at the time I was driving."
"The classified accident that occurred on 2101-04-07 at 2200 hours. Survival on the driver's side was forty percent; on the passenger side, five percent."
"Damn, when you put it like that," I said somberly, not wanting to think about it any longer.
"David Storm, 45, was found deceased at the scene—"
"Wait a minute. Did you say classified accident?"
"Yes. My systems marked the accident as classified."
"Okay," I said, unsure. "Why?"
"I do not know why. Perhaps if I was on Earth I could look into this further," he mumbled, almost disappointed.
"Why would it be labeled classified if it was a regular car accident? Those happen every day. I can't remember much, but I was distracted by something flying overhead. I thought it was fireworks but it looked different. It crashed somewhere in the distance but for me, it was too late…I slammed into a tree."
He appeared to think about it. "That would make sense."
"So it could have been one of your pods that crashed on Earth?" I breathed and sat down. "That had to be it!"
"Do you need a sedative?"
"No!" I stood up and paced about to clear my head. Maybe I was reading too much into this, but why label the crash that way? There was nothing I could do with any of this information. "What about my mom? How is she right now?"
"She moved to California six months ago. She is now working for Galaxy Cruises. They will offer cruises to the Moon and Mars in three more years."
"I see…" I sighed. "As long as they're both happy."
"Perhaps you will have your chance to speak with them someday."
"I hope so. But there's a part of me that's afraid…no matter." I waved it all away. "I guess I should thank you for telling me this. What about my…pregnancy?"
"Yes you truly are pregnant, and for now it is fine. I would like to perform more tests."
"Will those tests stay secret…you won't send them to Earth?"
"Earth has not been informed of your condition. Consider this a debt repaid."