Embedded Files
The drive to the shuttle pickup was long and quiet with only the sound of grinding gravel and rattling to be heard. Nick drove extra carefully, since they had extra batteries, a full pickup bed, and a trailer. Nora occupied herself by looking out the window. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon which allowed her to make out the barren landscape they were driving through. The area they were in must have been a forest not too long ago as they were surrounded by a gallery of withered tree trunks. Every now and then Nora would spot a green tree thriving by itself although it was clearly of a different breed.
“Those are hyper-conifers,” said Nick, “trees that shed their needle leaves seasonally. They were engineered at your school a long time ago to help reverse the desertification of the United States. They’re also nitrogen fixing.”
“So they’re meant to revitalize the soil?” asked Nora, taking a moment to glance at her father.
“That’s right, they’ll spend the next few millennia working hard to prepare for the return of humanity.”
“That’s nice of them,” said Nora, “I wish I could see what this place would look like at that point.”
After a few hours of driving, Nora was able to see the shuttle port. Although backlit by the sun, blinking lights all over the ship gave a sense of its impressive size, dwarfing even the Clemson house. A powerful beam of light shot out the top of it creating a spire that could be seen for hundreds of kilometers. Following the rusted and faded signs, Nora and Nick drove alongside a vast parking lot for what seemed like dozens of kilometers.
“I guess I never really thought about the specifics of what happens when everyone leaves an area for good,” Nora sandwiched her hand between her head and the window, “these are the cars of everyone that’s left right?”
“Mhm,” said Nick, hunching over to better see the decrepit signs hanging over the road, “it’s a good thing the Americana Resettlement Department did think of it though. With not enough people to remove the cars, they move the shuttle landing spot so that the last people to leave don’t have to walk any further than the first ones to hop ship.”
Eventually they reached the lot marked “9th (Final) Exodus Loading Area.” No other cars were there so they just parked their truck right in front of the tent that was set up in front of the ramp. One of the shuttle crew motioned for them to drive closer. Nick rolled down his window as the crew approached.
“The loading process has changed,” she shouted over the drone of the shuttle, “you now just load your truck and trailer into a container.”
“Well that’s nice,” said Nick, “to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“New container size standard set by Intersyst,” she replied, “too little, too late, if you ask me. You should see the videos from the earlier Exoduses. Anyways, just take the stuff you want to have access to before we get to Altaria.”
Nora and Nick extracted a few suitcases from the pickup bed and, with some help from the crew, made their way to the white tent which was occupied by a mix of government officers and guards armed with sleek rifles.
“Dr. Nick Silverton from the North Americana Department of Atmospheric Monitoring or whatever it’s called now,” said Nora’s father, offering his ID to the man seated at the table.
“Nice to meet you,” he said, “check in has changed. Just give us your name and date of birth, with calendar system please. We’ll then look you up to see if anyone already relocated is waiting for you.”
“Well then, I guess that works,” said Nick.
“Sure does. If you don’t have anyone waiting for you, you can even choose a completely different name, I don’t care, we just want to know how you want to be known in the Human Federation.”
Nora blinked at the official’s nonchalant treatment of what seemed like a rebirth to her.
Both Nick and Nora stood for a hastily taken photograph and then waited for the check in officer to look up their names.
“Alright, it seems you’re both the husband and daughter of Dr. Stella Silverton?” he said looking up from his laptop.
“That’s right,” said Nick. Nora just stood and thought of what would happen if her mother’s name didn’t show up.
“Welcome to the Human Federation,” the officer stood up and shook both of their hands, “in you go. We’ll wait two more days and then you’ll be on your way.” He handed them each a deep blue tote bag with the letters “IX” embroidered on them, “these will help you get your new life started.”
Nick and Nora were introduced to their staterooms which were simultaneously sterile and cozy as Nora could just barely hold her arms out and spin. Having missed out on a good sleep, Nora flopped down on the bed without a word. As she sank into the soft fabric, she looked around the room. The room was blindingly white, the sheets, the walls, the plastic furniture all comprised a study in white, while a consistent hum infused the whole room. Nora considered herself a clean person but already she had tracked in dust and soot. She held the edge of the comforter over her nose and inhaled deeply trying to detect any trace of earth that she always smelled. She wondered how dirty her blue bedsheet at home really was.
A large monitor by the door displayed updates in a language she didn’t recognize. Squinting she could see translations of the updates in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic talking about flight schedule and galley offerings.The room had a single circular window above the desk through which Nora could see the tent out front, the relocation officials milling about listlessly. Feeling that her body was tired, Nora tried to lay in bed but found herself becoming fidgety, and the computer on the desk beckoned to her.
Soon enough, Nora leapt out of bed and approached the desk. To her eyes, there was no clear way to turn on the computer. She was about to sit down to investigate and poke at it but was stopped when she noticed that her hand left a smudge on the chair back.
The computer would have to wait, she thought. Carefully, to avoid tracking more dust, she tiptoed her way to the bathroom. Nora shed her dusty clothes as she stepped into the shower, sealing the door. She selected “Deep Clean and Refresh” from the glowing screen. Having studied the graphic on the shower door, she was prepared when all of the nozzles embedded in the walls shot high pressure water and soap mixture at her. Despite becoming sparkling clean in under a minute, Nora hoped that her mother made sure to get a normal shower in their house on Altaria. Once the last bit of dusty water disappeared down the drain, several sluice gates opened in the walls of the tub which soon had it filled with perfectly heated water, complete with floral scents and epsom salts. Laying down in the tub, Nora could feel herself melting into the water as well as a great amount of tension, mental and physical, diffusing out of her. She lay in the tub like that for what felt like forever.
Nora felt a strange mix of satisfaction and horror as she dried herself off and inspected herself in the mirror. It was very evident that she had just achieved a new level of clean she had never seen in her life. Her hair was naturally a shade lighter than she thought it was. In hindsight, it shouldn't have surprised her that showering with well and dam water passing through aged filters and pipes might leave something on her skin even as it cleaned her. She touched her mouth as she thought of the fact that she drank that same water. In a bid to distract herself, she left the bathroom and went to inspect the tote bag given to her by the check-in officer.
In it was a slim device labeled “smartphone”, several guidebooks, a necklace with a glass vial, a pair of sweatpants, underwear, socks, and a T-shirt that read “Cohort of the 9th Exodus: Last But Not Least!” Despite being goofy in her eyes, Nora decided to wear the free clothes at least until she could wash her own clothes with the shuttle’s water. As she set about putting her Earth clothes into a plastic bag, it struck her that she would never have access to this dust again in her life. She took the glass vial out of the tote and, with a piece of paper, poured some dust into the vial and sealed it. Presumably, some of the dust from the Clemson farm was in that vial, she thought, holding it aloft. Suddenly, she wasn’t sure if she should treasure the vial or seal it away. For now she placed it on the desk as she sat down. As she looked out the window, she reserved the tiniest amount of hope in her heart that she would see the Clemson pickups and stakebed truck pull into the shuttle loading area in the next two days.
In no time, she had figured out how to turn on the computer, pair it with her phone, and pull up news feeds she had no context for. Looking around, she found a document titled “Primer for the New Citizen of the Combined Galaxies; 2nd edition.” In it she found articles about the youmen and purian races and their history and customs, shared technologies, and organization of their combined society. Before she got a chance to dig through the document, she heard a knock at her door. Opening it she found her father, who also was cleaner than she’d ever seen him.
“I see you also found the shower,” he said. “I am going to ask you what you think about all this so far, but,” he put his hands in his pockets and shrugged, “let me say it’s nice but feels kinda weird.”
“That’s exactly how I feel,” said Nora, relieved. “The room is nice but the whole experience is just… impersonal and lonely.”
“I think it would be a different experience if there were more people,” Nick looked at Nora, “do you miss them?”
“Yeah,” said Nora, meeting his gaze, “but in a more general sense. Like I miss the farm too now, and our house and its stupid batteries because I have the feeling I am never going to have something like them ever again. I don’t know why I miss the Clemsons and Pelletiers though, I just do.”
“That’s alright,” said Nick, “anyways, despite us being the only passengers on the shuttle right now, the galley is going to close in an hour so we should get something to eat from there soon.”
“Okay,” Nora followed her father, “first meal of my new life I guess.”
* * *
Nora awoke to unfamiliar surroundings. After surveilling her room from behind the covers, she realized that she was in the same stateroom she fell asleep in the night before. Something about the room gave her a weird feeling, she thought as she curled into a ball. Maybe it was the perfect temperature of the room which made curling into a ball just a little too warm. Reluctantly, she straightened out, missing the security she felt from that pose. Maybe it was the fact that the walls and ceiling were perfectly smooth and lacking any texture making the boundaries of the room ambiguous and fluid. Lying face down in her pillow, Nora considered whether the fact that the constant humming made it impossible to hear signs of other people outweighed the comfort it provided. At any rate, she didn’t want to stay in the room anymore. She took a step to her suitcase to change out of her pajamas but then realized that all of her clothes were still infused with dust and who-knows-what. She would need to wash her clothes after breakfast. She left her room to go get breakfast with her father.
There were quite a few crew members in the galley although the dining area was clearly built to handle a much larger crowd making it feel lonely and depopulated. Nora watched the kitchen robots work while she waited for a batch of muffins to slide into the pickup area. A hatch opened and several lines of muffins were pushed into the tray guided by telescoping rails. Nora took a blueberry muffin, adding it to her tray of toast and eggs. There were many other delicious offerings: bacon, sausages, croissants, and many things she didn’t recognize; however she wasn’t in the mood to eat food she hadn’t had in years let alone something from another planet. She joined her father in the middle of a very large array of tables.
“You didn’t decide to go for any of the new world goodies?” said Nick, nodding to her tray.
“Yeah,” Nora picked up the muffin and sniffed it dubiously. “There will be plenty of opportunities to get better food,” she mumbled, taking a bite, “I also want to compare the new world food to what I grew up with.”
“And how is it?”
“It tastes like a blueberry muffin,” said Nora, “I think Julie used more blueberries. Wait, actually—“ Nora looked at the muffin, then cut a slice of it. “It seems like the blueberries are in a cubic grid, which is… I don’t know.”
“It is kind of weird,” said Nick.
“Everything is perfect on this ship but is kind of off in some weird way I never knew possible.”
“I think this is more particular to space faring vessels,” said Nora’s father.
“I hope so.”
Nora pressed the washer dryer door until it clicked, as the guide said. She then selected the “heavy soil” option, as the guide recommended. The washer dryer beeped and started filling with water, like the guide said it would. Nora then stayed for a few minutes to make sure the machine wouldn’t break down, which the guide said nothing about.
Eventually satisfied, Nora returned to her room and sat down at the computer. In order to read the primer, she needed to change the language to English. Just as she was about to click the Americana Flag, Nora got the idea to study the new language. She quickly found a chapter labeled “new language learners” in multiple Earth languages. Opening it, she was greeted by an introductory passage:
“Universal Phonetic is the language of the Combined Galaxies. If you can speak it, you will be understood in Purian, Human, or Youmen company. Although developed from the ground up by the Federated Academies, it borrows elements from the most common languages of each species to make it easier to learn by all. Press continue when you are ready to truly become a part of the Combined Galaxies!”
Nora contemplated the splash page for a few moments before clicking the glowing button.
* * *
Fighting with herself, Nora finally managed to click the “save and exit” button. The language module disappeared leaving just the light blue desktop. Freed, Nora held her face in her hands. The software was extremely well designed as she found interacting with it frighteningly addictive. Every tidbit of information she learned coincided with a reward in some form or another that was part of an optimally paced series of psychological goodies. Nora could feel a headache developing. Never in her life had she learned so much in one sitting. Her thoughts swam in a flood of information, working furiously to organize and sequester the information, lowering the tide and freeing up room for contemplating things besides verb conjugations and words about food. Eventually Nora felt able to open her eyes again. She looked outside. Already the shadows had grown quite long and the shuttle flood lamps had turned on. She must have worked through lunch, maybe dinner too. She got the feeling that the language learning tool was not of human design.
Nora wondered if she missed anyone boarding the shuttle that day. Leaning over her desk, she brought her face closer to the porthole to see the loading area better. Judging from the lack of any tire tracks besides those of her pickup, it seemed they got no new passengers. She was about to sit down when she saw the shadow of a sedan pull up. Now pressing her face against the window, she could see the relocation officials waving furiously to the car, upset at its unconventional approach under the shuttle. A family of four stumbled out of the vehicle.
The shuttle could not have come any later for them. All of them, but especially the parents looked haggard and malnourished. One of the officials offered each of the family members a white juicebox emblazoned with a red cross. All four instantly inhaled the nutrient and sugar laden liquid. They still looked worse for wear but they were at least steadier on their feet. Another official gestured to their car and then the container but the parents shook their heads as if to say that it wasn’t worth bringing. The officials quickly took their names and pictures and the family was then led up the ramp by a pair of crew members. To Nora, it seemed like that family barely made it to the shuttle. She felt a pain in her heart as she wondered how many families wouldn't be able to survive the journey or even wait for the shuttle’s landing.
Nora was awoken by a deep vibration followed by a low pitched whine. Bolting upright, she saw that the screen by the door was flashing with universal phonetic script. She was able to read enough of the message to gather that the shuttle was exiting idle mode and that some noise would be normal. All of the sudden, the prospect of leaving Earth felt more real. Nora’s heart started to race thinking about the irreversibility of what would happen that day. The thought to run out of the shuttle crossed her mind. She shook her head and began to think. There wasn’t even enough charge left in their truck to drive back home. She made her irreversible decision two days ago without realizing it, the shuttle takeoff was a superfluous ceremony in comparison. For all her dedication to avoiding short term thinking, Nora realized she still had a long way to go.
Nora looked back at the screen. The ramp would be lifted in four hours and the shuttle would depart for the Arkship an hour after that. A knock came from the door.
“Nora, when you’re ready come to the observation deck,” said Nick’s muffled voice.
The observation deck was a glass bubble protruding from the underside of the shuttle. As she sat on one of the benches next to her father, she got vertigo from looking down through the almost invisible glass. Although quiet, the hard surfaces of the room amplified even the smallest scuff. The room had very little lighting except from that which came through the glass floor making it hard to see the boundaries of the space.
“Where is the other family?” asked Nora.
“In the infirmary I’ve been told,” said Nick.
“Are we going to be the only ones here?”
“Seems that way,” he leaned back on the bench, “most of the crew have seen a lot of planets; to them Earth is unremarkable.”
“I see,” Nora looked through the glass walls at the loading area.
The relocation officials walked around aimlessly, their hands plugged into their vest pockets. They seemed to be in higher spirits as they chatted with each other.
Nora directed her gaze beyond the tent to the vacant parking lot. As she stared at the barren lot, she let her mind wander.
An hour passed. No one showed up at the loading area in that time. Clunking signaled that the ramp had been raised. Now there was only another hour before The Event of her life. This was the time she had looked forward to, dreaded, feared, and dreamed about. She no longer knew if it was any one thing anymore, all she knew was that it was significant; and that it was going to happen soon.
“Why fight it then?”, she thought.
Despite her strong feelings, their almost symmetric opposition meant she was overall neutral about what was about to happen. Given the certainty of her departure, her current feelings were about as close to a best case scenario as she could hope for she thought.
Her thoughts were interrupted by an unusual jolt. It was as if every part of her body was grabbed, on the outside and inside, all moved an impossibly identical amount. Then she noticed that the ground was starting to recede.
Nora had nearly forgotten about wielding machines. Incredible devices that could sooth pain, levitate objects, or freeze the air. She had only seen them in action a few times as a child. As she got older, the lack of advanced manufacturing made the maintenance of these delicate machines impossible and they quickly became the stuff of legend.
The shuttle started to rise faster as well as pick up forward speed. For a brief moment, Nora could make out the glint of her home’s solar panels and then the blue of the Clemsons’ reservoir. Then they were gone, disappeared under the cloud layer and then surrounded by the inky blackness of space. As the Earth shrank from view, Nora could feel that everything that she shared with the Clemsons and Pelletiers, with Dawn, and with Soren, was coming to an end, there would be no new memories with those people she did truly love despite all that had happened. However, Nora found herself okay with that prospect, nothing lasts forever after all.
End of Book 2
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