Beyond (13 page)

Aimee recognized the approach to the main deck. The drone of activity was
like the subtle underscore of a cafeteria.
She climbed a set of sparkling stairs and reached the apex, staring into the pulse of the Horus.
So many silver-suited bodies.
An army of glittering ants.
Some had mechanisms attached to their ears. Some engaged in conversation with floating JOH's. And some charted a course on a digital overlay atop the vast expanse of windows. Beyond this
flurry
of activity was a vista so unique and grand you had to think that Heaven could not be far off in the distance.

Aimee hugged the periphery of the action and stepped up to the closest window, pressing her forehead against it to see if she could glimpse down beneath the ship. The glass was slightly cool against her skin. The view below held nothing new. If she craned her neck though, far off to the right was a green orb smothered in a yellow veil of smoke. She was so absorbed with the sight that she nearly missed the reflection in the glass as a figure approached from behind.

"Aimee."

The deep voice brought her to attention. She wanted to call him
Mr.
Vodu. Her mother always taught her to respect her elders with the use of their title, but
did titles apply here? The man had introduced himself as Vodu, and no matter how aristocratic he appeared in his tailored sparkling suit, she knew of no other way to address him.

She settled on, "Hello."

"I hear from JOH that you are learning things quickly around here."

"I am." She searched the rash of activity, curious over what the technicians with the transparent map were doing. The desire to master the mechanics of this ship clawed at her.
But that thirst for knowledge was ambushed by a sudden and harsh bout of homesickness. An image formed of her mother's troubled face as she sat at the kitchen table and whispered her daughter's name.

"I understand that time moves quickly up here," Aimee pushed the image aside for a time when she was alone and could surrender to the grief.
"How long until the Horus returns to Earth?"

Vodu laced his fingers together and nodded. His white hair gleamed.

"Time.
You equate that to a span of life." He swept his hand in the direction of a console with holograms atop it. A miniature replica of the green planet with yellow smoke hovered a few inches above a grid scored with lines and points. She watched the slow rotation of the orb as it progressed across the undulating grid beneath it. "We see time as a
unit of distance, or a measure of travel."

"I understand that," she offered. "A light year is a measure of time, not distance."

Vodu's eyes widened. "If you ever decide to stay on the Horus, you could be a great asset to this team."

The compliment made her feel good.

"This is not my world." Just saying those words made her throat restrict.

"I know." Vodu nodded. Age lines caged the corners of his lips.

He stepped over to the interactive grid and swiped his hand over it. Immediately, the green planet began to shrink in size and was flanked by a new series of globes, like someone had spilled a jar of marbles. Vodu's hand crooked again and these new planets diminished. The green orb was barely a spec as new bodies formed beneath his touch and then shrank. She started to understand what he was doing. He was reducing the universe or universes for a broader perspective—in effect, zooming out. A gasp escaped her lips when she thought she recognized the rings of Saturn, but none of the familiar planets from her solar system flanked it. Finally, Vodu lowered his hand.

"There," he said, tipping his head.

Aimee traced his glance and sucked in her breath.
Three bodies away from a bright flare—a swirling sapphire marble.
Such a beautiful vibrant shade of blue.
She recalled an image of Myrtle Beach and could almost feel the hot sand between her toes.

"I see you recognize your home." Vodu smiled. "We are here." The tip of his finger wiggled on the far left-side of the three-dimensional panorama.

"Of course we are," she whispered in defeat.

"Before you get dejected, watch this." He made a circular motion, and the miniature universe began to rotate in a slow arc. It was not a true circle, but planets that were close to her now advanced to the other side of the console. Earth approached her hand which was gripping the corner of the panel. She resisted the urge to reach out and touch it.

"Where are we?"

Vodu pointed at a spot close to him.

"So we're still just as far away, only the universe has flipped."

"The universe, as you call it, has rotated. It is in a constant state of rotation."

"What is it rotating around?" she asked. “There’s no big sun that the entire universe revolves around.”

"You are a smart one, Aimee." Vodu's white teeth flashed. "Even our scientists aren't clear on that answer. If you find yourself looking for something to do as you wait to return to your planet, I would love to see you work with them."

A job
.
More than a job.
A learning experience greater than anything she could achieve in college. Imagine returning to Earth with a degree in celestial rotation?
So much for intelligent life in outer space.
They had the same questions her scientists had back home.

"I might do that." She tried not to appear too enthusiastic.

"If it was simply what you call gravity,” he continued, “then the universe might be more like a solar system. Your solar system contains
8, well maybe 9 planets that revolve around one sun. But your solar system rotates as a disk.”

Aimee walked over to the hologram and pointed at the Horus’s location. "So how do you get from here—" she ran her finger in a straight line through the air, dissecting stars and planets and a host of cosmic clouds in her path until she touched the vibrant blue dot, "—to here?"

Vodu shifted his palm over the display and the planets altered again. This time she tried to pay close attention to their pattern.

"You notice that the universe does not rotate as a disk, where all the planets are lined up in a row. This rotation is up and down, sideways...it is haphazard, but it
is
moving, and it does possess a pattern that we've been able to rely on." He pinched his pointer and thumb together as if he was squeezing the universe. The spot that identified the Horus shifted closer to Earth.
"We will reach this position in nearly three of your years. For us that is slightly more than a half-rotation, or what we call a
renna
. A full rotation is a
ren
. It takes a
ren
to get back to your planet. It’s the span of our Lifequest."

"Five years," she whispered. "But they tell me that time moves quicker in space. That what feels like days to me is already—" she hesitated, "—what we call months."

"Yes."

Aimee's hands flattened on the panel. She leaned over and peered through the layers of celestial objects. The thrill of learning new things waned and the homesickness began to fester. Vodu must have read her expression.

"The Horus is a fast ship, Aimee. I acknowledge what a grievous mistake was made in taking you from your planet. I have made it my personal mission to get you back as soon as physically possible." He touched her shoulder, his warm palm curled around it in consolation. "Please try to be patient. In the mean time we will do our best to make your stay aboard the Horus a pleasant one. I had Raja prepare you your own quarters. I think you will find them comfortable."

A room?
Her own room?
Not the Bio Ward?
Suddenly sleep and a hot bath sounded euphoric. Did they even have baths on this ship?

"Really?"
Her voice croaked and she cleared it, adding,
"
Thank you. May I see it?"

"Of course."
He smiled and waved over a JOH which gravitated toward him.

"Take Aimee to her room," Vodu instructed.

JOH's blue face beamed.
"Certainly."

***

Aimee memorized the symbols along the trek to her quarters despite the distraction of JOH's relentless questions. It humored her to think JOH's data regarding Earth would all be quotes from her.

JOH halted and hovered.

"We are here."

Aimee looked at the wall. It was white. At first she thought it was locked, but she realized she had tensed up. She closed her eyes and opened them again and could see the soft contour of the door. The interior was murky, but she distinguished the outline of a bed and a wide window. She reached out with her hand and swiped the door from left to right. It opened.

"I didn't teach you that," JOH remarked in affront.

"No, you didn't. How come? Are you holding out on me,
JOH.
"

His mouth formed a thin black line. "You did not ask."

"Bah," Aimee scoffed as she walked through the portal and smiled.

It was like diving into the ocean. An underwater effect was produced by a rippling light behind vibrant blue walls—walls with no angles.
The floor and ceiling curved at the edges. On the far side sat a solid panel of glass. She felt like she was inside a fishbowl.

With JOH at her side, she walked up to that window.

"That view still staggers me."

"You like it?" JOH's voice sounded like he had inhaled helium. It was hard not to laugh at him.

Before answering, Aimee swung around and studied the interior. The bed
was high off the floor as was common on this ship. A thick silver comforter was draped across it, as well a
plush silver pillow at its top. Beside it were two spherical chairs of an opalescent shade that made them blend with the walls. Behind this, a partition of sturdy white columns clashed with the theme. These columns looked like they belonged on the steps of a Greek temple. Well, not that big, but they certainly were grand. She walked around to peer behind them and clapped her hands in delight.
This was the bathroom.
What caught her eye was the small pool, illuminated by underwater lights. She climbed the three steps to look
down into it. She could not achieve a full dive in this pool, but she could certainly relax up to her shoulders in it.

"Yes," she responded. "I like it."

He bounced twice contentedly.

"Now before you go," she hoped he took no offense at the implication.
Could computers take offense?
She saw the curve of his mouth flatten in expectation. "Could you show me how to lock the room so that no one can see in?"

Somewhat mollified that he could be of assistance, JOH's eager smile returned. He floated towards the portal.

"Wave your hand in the opposite direction from that which you used to open it."

"That’s it? Well, heck. I should have been able to figure that out."

"Who is heck?"

Aimee rested a hand on her hip. "You need to work on your translation program, and I need to get some sleep."

JOH opened the door.

"How did you do that?" She peered out into the empty corridor.

"I emanate a beam that simulates the movement of your arm."

"Oh.” She glanced out again. “Cool. Well, I'll see you later, JOH."

“Good night, Aimee. I will be working on my translator program.”

***

Finally alone, Aimee tested out JOH's instructions and swung her hand counterclockwise. The room dimmed. Other than that one small indication, she had no way of testing out the validity of JOH's instructions. She believed him though. He was a computer. It was his job to dole out accurate information. Besides, her barricade of temple columns protected her from the outside view, and it was to that
shimmering pool that she retreated. Removing her uniform, she saw a basin with running water mounted to the wall. No one told her otherwise, so she stuck the suit under that running water and washed it. She then climbed the few blue steps to the pool's ledge and swung her legs over the edge, dipping them into the water up to her knees. The temperature was perfect.
Slightly warm.
She submerged until she was sitting on a ledge inside, deep enough that only her shoulders and head were exposed. With her neck resting against the rim, she closed her eyes.

It was the first moment of relaxation since she had boarded this ship.

The room was beautiful. The pool was divine. The view of the stars was like no other.

But it was not home
.

Aimee woke with a start. She wanted to close her eyes and crawl back into her dream. In that dream, she was in her bed, the sound of the oscillating fan filling the window. Her blanket was tossed at her feet, and Ziggy's snoring could be heard from somewhere in that region. It was hot. Her parents did not turn on the air conditioning until it hit ninety. On the nightstand was a hardback book held open by a jar of pennies.
ENGINEERING FOR DUMMIES.
Even in her dreams she was a geek.