Page 5 of Uprooted
“I’ll miss you too, Mom.”
“No one will be missing anyone if we don’t get going,” Dad says as he picks up my luggage. Using my bags, he nudges us out and into the round, reflective porter waiting for us on the street.
Everything outside blurs as the porter reaches full speed. I turn my head away from my parents to the window, giving myself a moment to rein in my tears. My breath fogs against the cold plexi. The glass reflects my dark shoulder-length bob and well-defined eyebrows. My dark brown eyes stare back, lingering on the smattering of freckles across my nose which have always made me look a bit younger than I actually am. My freckles are my favorite thing about my face. My mom always teased that she could map out constellations on them.
It’s not long before the astroport comes into view. In the distance I see the lander that will bring me to the shuttle where I’ll spend the next 6EMs. The porter makes a quick stop at the entrance to the terminal. I step out and take the last breath of unrecycled air I will have for a long time. I wonder what the atmosphere will be like once I get to j’Tilak. I can’t wait to breathe in the hydrogen-rich air.
My mom frets over my luggage, trying to hide her tears from me. My dad has a wistful look on his face, likely reliving his glory days.
We silently hug one last time. Right before I enter the terminal, I hear my dad call out, “Make us proud, Ellie!” I give one last smile and wave before I walk through the sliding doors and officially start the next chapter of my life.
I plunge into the moving crowd and weave my way through the bustling astroport. A group of Xandarans have gathered and blocked my path. I try to politely make my way though, uttering apologies when I brush up against their transparent jelly-like skin.
A Pyrrion couple cuts across my path as they chase after their toddler who’s running full speed away from them. The father scoops upthe small tentacled child and chides her in their garbled language. She sticks her tongue out and covers his face with spit.
I love the familiar feeling of being surrounded by so many different species and languages. Some things are so universal, like a group of tourists unaware of their surroundings, or a kid giving their parents a hard time. I never really got used to the homogenous student population at the University. I’ve never felt fully “human” since I wasn’t raised on Earth.
The crowd thins as I get to my boarding agent. We're separated by a transparent plexi with a bright yellow edge. Without waiting for instructions, I align my face with the hollow outline in the shape of a head to initiate the facial scan.
I can do this in my sleep. I remember my dad used to hoist me up for my facial scans when I was too little to reach. He'd tease me with a tickle under my arm to make me squirm and mess up the scan. Luckily, he was the one that would get the stern looks from the staff.
The agent helping me today stays focused on the screen, flipping through to verify all documentation is in order. She finally looks past the plexi and makes eye contact. I search for signs of humanity in her unnaturally symmetrical face. Sometimes it's hard to know if I’m talking to a living breathing person or if this is an upgraded AIBot. At some point in our history, beauty standards for humans started to mirror the immaculate expressionless faces of AIBots. It's a sort of “chicken and egg” situation. Which came first—the AIBot replicating the beautifully sculpted features of a human, or humans being inspired by the uniformity of bots?
“Thanks!” I wait for a response that doesn't come. She goes back to swiping at her screen. She's a bot—or a really tired and overworked human. Either possibility is just as likely. I’m still not entirely sure when I head towards my gate. My rule of thumb is to always assume human. They tend to take offense to being mistaken for a bot. Not a lesson I need to learn twice.
The sky bridge crowds as I make my way onto the lander. I follow the lights directing my way through the hallways to my assigned capsule. The flight crew is busy preparing for take-off. Every few feet they cluster around huge floor-to-ceiling monitors that are flush with the smooth white walls, furiously swiping and tapping away. I give them awide berth and try my best to stay out of their way. We exchange polite smiles as I pass by and I decline their kind offers to help me board. I know my way around a shuttle, and they have far more important things to do.
A door frame lights up, indicating I’ve reached my room. I duck in and drop my bag on the ground. Not too bad. This will be just fine. It’s nicer than other capsules I’ve been in. Sometimes it’s a glorified cargo bay with hard steel seats and fraying harnesses. I get a whole room with my own hydrogel bed.
Most of my belongings were loaded and unpacked days ago. I check the drawers to make sure everything is ready to go.
I’ve got everything tucked away and I’m comfortable on the bed when the first liftoff warning chimes.
“Welcome aboard, Elowen. Are your accommodations to your satisfaction?” a cheerful robotic female voice asks.
“Everything’s great.” I’m giddy with anticipation. I give a little eek and kick my feet in the air.
“Please indicate when you are prepared for liftoff,” she instructs.
“I’m ready.” I close my eyes and feel a faint shift in the air around me. A cool mist fills the room, and a metallic taste hits the back of my throat as I drift effortlessly into stasis.
The tips of my fingers brush over soft, fluffy wheat stalks as I wander through endless fields. Bright green rows stripe across the fields. Soon they will turn golden and be ready for harvest. I’m alone out here. A strange feeling of isolation takes hold of me. I turn around trying to figure out where I am. In the distance I see a tall slender building. My subconscious tells me I’m familiar with it, but I’ve never seen it before.
I walk towards the building feeling like that is where I should be. No matter how long I walk, I never get any closer. I try going faster. I run towards my goal. My legs feel heavy and slow. The harder I push the more resistance I feel against my body.
My vision grays at the edges, and suddenly I’m looking up at the night sky. I see a meteor shoot across the sky. “On Earth, they used to call those shooting stars!” I point out and reach for the person next to me. My hand lands on soft, cold grass. An empty space where I had expected to find someone.
Everything fades to black and I settle into a deep sleep.
04
Aro
“You know what time it is?!” I yell over the crowded briefing room. I get a handful of grumbles at my enthusiastic start. “I said, do you know what time it is?!” I ask again, this time more aggressively.
“Respectfully, sir, it’s too early for this shit,” Tai says, pinching the bridge of his nose. He taps his bionic fingers on the desk impatiently. The silver zirconite makes a loud ting with every strike.
“It’s time for post assignments, so if you’d like to do something other than stare at security streams, I’d suggest you fucking pay attention.”
