Читать книгу Proxima B - Pulvirenti Giorgio - Страница 4

T

he day of the flight to Washington had finally come. Jerry was busy getting his small luggage prepared, but the excitement and the curiosity that had seized him that same morning since his awakening had led him to hesitate over what to take with him.

“Not this one… This one is too showy… Ah! This is the one I was looking for!” the boy cried out while picking the shirts to take with him. He chose a pair of trousers and his underwear. He filled up the small bag and took it near the front. He took up his belongings, his keys, his wallet and a thin and clear-glass device whose shape made it look like a credit card but that was actually something that served as a smartphone. He took a look around for the last time to check if he had all that he needed.

“Mom! Mom! I’m ready to go!” Jerry shouted. His mother left her bedroom. She was still wearing her nightgown.

“My little man is going to Washington! I’m proud of you! Give ‘em hell, honey!” Mrs. Vandcamp said. Then she added, “Come here, let me hug you!” And they hugged each other with love.

“Mom, I’ll be back soon. I’m not going to the moon!” her son cried out. He smiled, kissed her mother on her cheek and took his luggage and walked towards the taxi while his mother was staring at him with her watery eyes, since she was sad for her son. But he let her feel proud of him, too.

Michael had just got on the plane that would take him to Washington. It would take only few minutes. The plane had an elongated shape and its wings were relatively small. Two electric engines were ready to thrust it supersonically, which was usual at that time. The motto of the air carrier stood out on both sides: The world in less than one hour. He boarded the silver plane whose inside was white and Havana-brown and took his seat. Then he sat down in the lavish seat made of synthetic material, which does not mean poor quality, and thought.

“Why the hell am I doing this?” he wondered in a low tone of voice. The passenger who was sitting next to him was attracted by his voice.

“Is it your first time on a Jet Line?” he was asked by José, who was a man of Hispanic origin. Michael turned slowly towards the man who was in his fifties and slightly overweight.

“No, it isn’t the first time!” the man answered lazily.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m José! I hope I’ll enjoy my journey with you,” the man said to Michael, who stared at him for a few seconds.

“José, huh? I’m Michael. Let me tell you something. I haven’t slept for two nights or something. And to add insult to injury, they’ve run out of whiskey at the bar in the airport, I’ve got on board this plane even if I didn’t want to, and I’ve settled myself into this seat on a plane, and now I’m sitting next to a man I’ve never seen in my life and that is already unbearable to me. It’s going to be a nice trip, you’ll see...”

The ex-Marine turned to the porthole and cried out, “The fucking rudeness people have!”

Washington D.C.

Some hours later, Jerry got off the taxi. He had got on the taxi at the airport of Dulles and was dropped off a few hundred feet away from the seat of New NASA Corporate. The building was wonderful. The way it shone thanks to its large glass windows made it look like a crystal; after admiring it for a while, Jerry walked towards its entrance. Emily arrived unexpectedly. She was in her civilian clothes. She was wearing a black coat and a pair of dark blue trousers. They both came close to the entrance and were embarrassed as usual since they did not know who would go first. So, Jerry decided to let her go first.

“Please… ladies first,” the biologist said. Then he smiled.

“Oh, a gentleman! I thought they had died out,” Emily answered sarcastically. After an exchange of smiles and gazes, they entered the structure and everybody went their own ways.

Jerry glanced at Emily for a last time. She was going away. He pulled out his smartphone to see if any emails had been sent to him from his workplace. He walked without looking around and, even if he was walking slowly, he collided with a man, dropping his trolley and some belongings.

“Oops, I’m sorry. I’m terribly sorry! I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t paying attention,” Jerry mumbled quickly as he tried to pick up the man’s things.

“Obviously! Watch where you’re going, boy! You could hurt yourself or hurt other people!” Michael exclaimed. His tone was a bit harsh, but as soon as he saw how much the young biologist was awkward while picking up the things, especially the letter from NASA that had also fallen to the ground, he was impressed with how Jerry looked frozen to see that he was there to attend the lecture, too.

“Give it to me, boy! Are you here, too, because of that stupid farce, huh?” Michael asked him abruptly.

“How do you know that?” Jerry asked promptly.

“The way you’ve looked at that letter…,” the ex-pilot answered. Suddenly a voice from some glass sheets that served as speakers interrupted him and made them vibrate by one acoustically induced vibration.

“Guests are invited to the pavilion 3. The lecture starts in fifteen minutes. Thank you!” the female voice that sounded almost metallic informed.

“Did you hear? We have to go! Take your seat and… good luck!” Michael said, addressing a frozen Jerry that stood there for a while before coming round and walking towards the pavilion.

At the entrance of the pavilion, David met two stewards who asked for his invitation letter. The engineer from Montana slid his hand in his coat pocket, and then he pulled out the letter and handed it over to one of them.

“Please sit down. Your seat is number 1367. You’ll have to go that way to reach it,” the supervisor told him after scanning David’s letter and checking his seat.

“Excellent! Is this a concert? There are so many people!” he exclaimed while he was taking a look around one more time. He noticed that hundreds of people were taking their seats in what looked like an ancient semicircle-shaped theater with so many rings facing the stage over which a giant screen stood out.

At the same moment, behind the scenes, while the audience was taking its seat, two men were drinking what looked like excellent liquor, even if they were expensive.

“Here you are. Try this one, Matthew. I can assure you that it is the best scotch you’ve ever tasted,” Ferdinand Piquet said. He was the President of the United States of America at that time. While handing the glass with two drops of scotch, he leaned his other hand on a three-star General’s shoulder, that’s Lieutenant-General Matthew Ross, who took up the glass and drank a gulp. His expression proved that the liquor he was given by the President was to his satisfaction.

“What’s the matter with you, Matthew? All those wars fought and won… and now… is a lecture enough to leave you speechless? Come on, my friend! Don’t worry! Everything will be alright!” the head of the State exclaimed and he gave Matthew some pats on the back.

“Sir, the time has come! They all have taken their own seats. It’s time to go!” one of the members of the personnel said.

“I’ll come!” the President exclaimed.

“Matthew… you know… this is the dawn of a new era. Let it start in the best possible way!” Piquet kept on saying in a low tone of voice as if he were whispering close to Matthew. Then he went behind the stage. The Lieutenant-General was left alone with his own drink.

All the guests had taken their own seats. The lights in the hall dimmed and the spotlight turned on in the middle of the stage.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the President of the United States of America, Mr. Ferdinand Piquet that is going to introduce the lecture!” the speaker announced. So the President took his own place on stage behind a microphone.

“Good evening, everyone, and welcome!” he exclaimed. His words broke the silence and the guests applauded.

“First of all, I must thank you all for accepting our invitation. I must tell you that in our European branch in Copenhagen and in the Asian branch in Shanghai the same meeting is taking place. We are going to discuss a problem that has been affecting us for a long time.”

While the President was uttering these words, the audience’s gazes were getting more and more perplexed, even if there was some curiosity in them.

“You should already know that our planet has entered the zone that we have named ‘RED’, due to its serious threat to the whole terrestrial ecosystem. But before you get alarmed or become upset, I need to give the floor to the one who knows facts better than me and, therefore, is going to show you anything. Ladies and gentlemen please welcome Lieutenant-General Matthew Ross!” the American President said finally, and then he gave him the floor on stage.

“They are yours…,” he added by calling on Matthew and after giving him the last pat on the back, he faded away and made his final exit. Matthew took his place, took a deep breath, licked his dry lips and started to talk.

“Good evening, everyone. As you heard, you know who I am and you know why I am here today, too. As to all of us, you and I know the name of this planet…,” Matthew cried out by indicating the giant screen behind him where the images of the Earth were appearing.

“Well, fifty years ago or so our planet looked like this. As you can see, both poles were still covered with a thin layer of ice, the deserts covered one third of the current surface and the species of animals were fifteen percent more than today. But what mayn’t be relevant – which is actually not true – is the fact that we keep on multiplying exceedingly despite the strict laws that many states in the world have imposed. About twelve billions of human beings are now living on our planet. At this rate, there won’t be enough resources for the human population and its needs!”

These words were uttered by Matthew, who tried to catch somebody’s eye while he was scrolling through some other images of the Earth behind him. The planet was mauled by hunger, famine, out-of-control climate changes and pollution.

“That’s the fact, gentlemen: if nothing changes, the human race will die out itself. And it will take thousands of animal and plant species with it into the abyss,“ the Lieutenant-General kept on saying. While moving to the right, he added, “But fate, God or whoever you want has decided to help us.”

Each face in the audience revealed an increasing curiosity. The General kept on saying, “Four years ago our telescopes spotted this one!”

The image of a new planet appeared on the giant screen.

“What you are seeing behind me is Proxima B, an exoplanet that is a little more than four light-years from us!

It orbits around a red dwarf star and, as far as we know, it is the only planet where it is possible to live,” Matthew told us. In the meantime, he kept on scrolling through the images on the giant screen behind him.

“But what impressed us was the fact that you could see that star. It shouldn’t have been so, since our telescopes aimed at a point from which no exoplanet should have been visible… We racked our brains for a long time, but we couldn’t realize why it was exactly there! But in the end we got it…”

Matthew paused for a while, scrolled through the images on the screen again and let the audience know why that planet was exactly there.

“There it is, ladies and gentlemen! Yes, you got it right. It’s a black hole, a wormhole, whatever you want to call it. It allowed us not only to see the planet but also to shorten the route, according to our calculations, from four light-years to five and a half terrestrial years!”

After that, the General went in the middle of the stage again, and the pitch of his voice changed.

“So, the real reason why you are here is that all of you have been selected after an estimate by which you have been regarded as the best in your own field. Chemists, engineers, biologists, doctors, soldiers, physicists, you, essential members for any worthy human society. I’m going to give you one week to decide if you want to take part in this one-way travel to colonize this new planet! We know that many of you have their own families and children and we know yours may be a hard choice, but, please, know that once you’ve landed on Proxima B, on this second opportunity, your loved ones can join you thanks to a second travel in a short time. So, you can start to live again all together! This is the last chance to survive.”

The man talked as if he had already faced such a mission, but actually he had spent most of his time during the last four years studying each single detail concerning Proxima B.

“Any questions?” Matthew asked as soon as he ended his speech; some boom operators began to move around in the audience while waiting for someone to ask for the floor. David raised his hand, and so did some other people belonging to several groups that had been asked to attend this lecture.

“Hmm… you! Tell me!” Matthew said, calling a chemist in his own sector.

“What is the conformation of this planet? And what temperature should we expect once we get there?” the chemist asked him. His voice came out of the speakers inside the hall.

“It’s a rocky planet, or we wouldn’t have thought of establishing the colony right there. We mean to land on the intermediate zone, and precisely near the equator, where temperatures should be similar to the temperatures of the Earth…,” Matthew answered. He kept on looking for someone else who wanted to ask him other questions.

“You, in the second row!” he said. The question was made by a physicist this time.

“What kind of atmosphere are we going to find?” he asked him.

“From the data that have emerged, according to our survey, we have assumed that Proxima B’s atmosphere is similar to the one of the Earth, since it is made of a mix of oxygen and nitrogen,” he answered.

The hands among the armchairs were raised up almost with one voice one more time. Once again it was the General who decided to whom the microphone had to be handed.

“The girl in the second row! Yes!” Matthew exclaimed as he pointed at Emily with his left hand.

“How many of us are going to leave?” the beautiful soldier asked him.

“In the first mission, thanks to which we will be able to establish the first colony, five hundred people – be they men or women – per mothership are involved. Those who have been selected, after an estimate by which they had been regarded as the best in their own fields, are being accommodated onboard the motherships. I’m honored to share this travel with those who are going to accept.”

Suddenly one of the members of the personnel came forward from behind the scenes; he went closer to Matthew and whispered something in his ear. All of a sudden, the General kept on saying,

“Unfortunately, my time is over. Those who are going to accept should report their availability in one week from today. If you accept, that will be fine. You’ll be informed of further directions; you’ll be trained for your travel. If you give up… well, in that case you’ll be replaced by other illustrious co-workers in their respective fields. And remember… For the benefit of all! Make your right choice! Always!”

Finally he said, “Thank you all.” He walked towards the backstage, which stunned most of the guests who, after a few moments of silence, began to murmur.

The President, who was holding his glass in his hands and was waiting for him behind the scenes, cried out, “Great job, first Lieutenant!”

“Thank you, Sir!” Matthew answered. Then he retired in his dressing room.

The sun was shining in Washington, even if it was really cold. Emily fled the seat of New NASA Corporate and looked for a bench under the sun to warm a little and meditate on what she had heard in the lecture. She gazed up at the sky and at the clouds through huge skyscrapers, the electric traffic noise with which the streets were filled, the buzzing of the passers-by or of those who were working nearby. The girl closed her eyes for a while and cut herself off. After a few minutes, on the street opposite the bench on which she was sitting, a taxi equipped with an automatic guidance system stopped. She had called for it before leaving the structure. The young Marine got into the taxi. “Washington-Dulles International Airport, please!” Emily exclaimed while fastening her seat belt.

“Right away, lady. The arrival is scheduled in twenty-four minutes,” the artificial intelligence in the car answered, and it set off into traffic immediately. Emily was watching the sky above her once again; there, the space among the buildings was occupied by flying aircraft and bus drones equipped with an automatic guidance system that constituted the traffic in the sky; she glanced at her smartphone before grabbing her plastic card in order to pay for the race.

After about fifteen minutes, the car came in front of the main entrance of Dulles Airport.

“Here we are: Washington-Dulles International Airport. Thank you. Goodbye.”

The robot’s voice came out of the car speakers and once Emily swiped his card, the remote power door locks were disabled and, finally, the girl could get off the vehicle.

On the return flight to Arizona, Emily could not help thinking about what New NASA Corporate had proposed to her a couple of hours earlier. The fact of leaving her beloved Arizona, the place where she was born and had grown up, made her excited and sad at the same time. She had always been a determined person, but this time she was not even able to make a choice.

Phoenix, Arizona.

When Emily entered the barracks, she began to tidy her own belongings in her cupboard. She should have stayed in Washington one more day, but she had decided to come back to Phoenix one day earlier. So, after emptying her bag, she lay in her bed and thought. After about two minutes, a knock on the dormitory door was heard.

“Miss Parker, Chief Master Sergeant Lucas Douglas is waiting for you in his office!” a soldier informed him before closing the door and going away.

On Lucas Douglas’ office door, two knocks were heard; the Sergeant stopped doing anything and exclaimed, “Please, come in!”

“Sir, did you want to talk with me?” Emily asked him, standing at attention in front of the entrance of the room.

“Yes, I did, Miss Parker. Please, sit down,” he told her. He pointed to a chair in front of him.

“How are you? How was it in Washington?” the Chief Master Sergeant asked her. He seemed to be smiling.

“What did you know about this, Sir? I’m referring to the topic of that lecture…,” asked Emily, who was a bit surprised.

“Just what it must be known… Sincerely, it was me who urged you to be applied for this project, Miss Parker!” the man clarified once more.

“Why me, Sir? Many others are waiting for this thing and are better than me,” Emily said in a trembling voice.

”Emily, listen to me. This thing is not for trained people. Trust me. Nobody can be prepared for such a thing. This is a fact of right people. And you’re the right person. I know that,” Chief Master Sergeant said, staring at Emily’s eyes for a few seconds.

“I can feel you. You feel disoriented. Probably, those who were with you feel disoriented, too. But trust me. One day you’ll understand everything,” he kept on saying.

Emily’s gaze was resolute but it was seemingly resigned when she answered, “Okay, Sir. I’ve made my decision! I’m agreeing to take part in the mission!”

“Well done, soldier! Great choice!” he exclaimed. After that, he burst out laughing. That was something redeeming.

The man finally addressed Emily, who was about to quit her office, by saying, “I was forgetting that today is your day off!“

“Thank you, Sir,” the young Marine answered. Then she closed the door behind her and walked towards her accommodation.

Springfield, Missouri.

Abigail lived in one of those terraced houses in the eastern residential area of Springfield. She and her husband had chosen quite a quiet area to live in. Her family spent its own life almost completely within that district. The University where she taught was in that district; the biochemical engineering laboratory of which she was in charge was in that district as well; the factory where her husband, Sam, worked was a few blocks away from the University; the school attended by their three children was nearby as well. You could say that particular structure was conceived for the whole city of Springfield as well as for many cities in the United States. The districts, or rather the areas, were built in order to meet the citizens’ needs; moreover, it would not be so worth moving over great distances due to the large number of inhabitants and the high volume of traffic.

The plane by which Abigail was traveling had just landed at Branson. It was approximately 2 o’ clock in the afternoon when the woman appeared from the sliding doors of the arrivals hall. She was very happy to see her husband, who had asked for a day off on this occasion, with their children.

“Mom!” her children shouted as soon as they saw her. Then they ran to her and hugged her. Their mother hugged them, too, of course, and then she said hello to his husband.

“Welcome back, my darling,” Sam told her, taking her luggage off her hand. After other fond greetings among the woman and her children, the whole family went out to their car. It was one of the latest models produced by the company where Sam worked at that time. It was an electric car that looked like a mid-sized space gray SUV with all optional equipment.

Once Sam was on his way home, he asked her wife for information about her travel.

“So? What was that travel you were talking about?”

Abigail waited a few seconds before answering.

“Would you mind if we talked later when we would be at home? I’m so tired…”

“All right,” Sam answered. They kept on traveling.

That same afternoon, after getting back home, Robert and Cody, the two eldest children, had gone at a friend’s house for studying while little Gwen had been brought to classic dance classes. Abigail had all the time she needed to relax and unpack her luggage until the front door opened.

“Darling, I’m back!” Sam said with his deep voice. From her bedroom, his wife, who was almost done with the arrangement of clothes in her wardrobe, told him something in response.

Then Sam added, “I’ve ordered some pizzas tonight.”

From the hallway he was getting closer and closer to the bedroom. Abigail locked the empty suitcase and left the bedroom to go to the sitting room while Sam was changing his T-shirt. The woman was in the sitting room in her flat; she was sitting on one of the sofas that were part of the furniture that was designed in a modern style when suddenly her husband joined her.

“So, tell me everything,” he proposed in a rather calm tone. Abigail did not hesitate and went straight to the point as she used to do.

“I’ve been selected to take part in a mission of colonization of a planet that is just beyond the solar system,” she said, looking straight into his husband’s eyes.

“What? A new planet?” he asked in amazement.

“Exactly!” she answered. Then she added, “I’ve been selected to take part in that mission as a chemist together with 1,499 people who are playing their own roles.”

Sam remained impassive at first. He tried to understand whether Abigail had something more to say. Then he began to nod, which made his wife suspicious.

“Sam, it’s a one-way travel, you know…” she added while the man was still silent.

“This is amazing!” Sam exclaimed suddenly. All of a sudden, he, who was sitting in front of the sofa where Abigail was sitting, got up from his sofa.

“Have you already decided to accept?” he kept on saying.

“Of course I haven’t,” she answered in a tone that was almost breezy. Then she added, “I’d like to know what you and our children think of it.”

Sam ran his hands through his hair, which was as black as pitch. Doubts were beginning to assail him.

“Wait…” Abigail said. She meant to break that embarrassing silence that had fallen all around for a few seconds. “We’ve been told that it will be possible for the first colonizers’ families to reach the planet thanks to a second travel that will take place a short time after the first one!” she exclaimed, intending to calm her husband down a bit. Some moments after hearing those words, he sat down again and met Abigail’s gaze again.

“Do you realize what you’re asking me to do?” Sam asked her. He was almost upset.

“I didn’t ask you anything, Sam! If you don’t want me to accept, I won’t do it. But I want you to know that we’re doing this for the future of our children. Do you remember what we talked about at Ben’s party? Our planet is seriously in danger, and this is an important way of salvation, and we’ve been chosen to be saved…,” she answered.

After hearing these words, Sam started thinking. On the piece of furniture next to him, his eyes met a photograph of himself together with his wife and their three children…

Missoula, Montana.

David was sitting on his comfortable sofa. He had drawn his head back and his mind was filled with thousands of thoughts. The silence surrounding him was broken by Roth’s barking outside. Somebody was coming. The man stood up, pulled back the curtain and watched through the window. He noticed Gaia’s car. She was coming home from work. David repositioned the curtain almost in a huff and sat down on the sofa again. The front door opened. David’s wife came in. The dog, which kept on barking, was not let in. “Finally you’re back, darling!” the woman exclaimed. She was a bit tired. She put her bag and her coat on the other sofa. David stood up and came up to her; he hugged her and held her tight. His hug was tighter than usual.

“So? How was it?” Gaia asked her husband. He stood silent for a while. Then they looked straight into each other’s eyes.

“I just need to tell you about the lecture…” But there were something in his tone that did not fully convince her.

“What’s up?”The woman asked him. She was getting a bit worried.

“No big deal, actually. Don’t worry,” David told her. He meant to calm her down. Then he kept on saying, “We’ll talk about it in a while. Meanwhile, get ready. Your supper is in the oven.”

The woman followed her husband’s advice and after making sure Leo was sleeping in his bedroom, she went downstairs back to the kitchen, and there was David. He was sitting at the table while waiting for her. The same old prayer was recited. Then Gaia’s supper began. She used to eat legumes and bread.

“So? What was the matter?” the woman asked while she was putting her first spoonful of soup in her mouth. Once more, David did not answer her immediately; rather he waited a few seconds, which let her get more suspicious.

“Listen, Gaia, I’ll put it bluntly,” he said, and then he looked up, stared at his wife that gave up eating for a while. “The U.S. Government and New NASA Corporate need to carry out a mission of colonization of a new planet that is just beyond the solar system,” he resumed, “and they would like me to take part in this mission in my capacity as architectural engineer.”

She remained impassive after hearing these words. David lowered his face for a while; he did not know whether to go on talking and how to continue.

“They explained everything to us during the lecture. They’re recruiting the best pilots, soldiers, doctors, chemists and engineers of the world, and I’m part of this group. We must reach our decision within seven days. Then we must appear in Washington again. And I’m sure that the best choice is to say yes.”

It was hard for them to hear those words, especially for David’s wife, who was increasingly dumbfounded.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Gaia wondered. She leaned the spoon on the dish almost violently, and the tablecloth was spattered with some drops of soup.

“Listen to me, my dear…,” he said.

But he was abruptly interrupted by his wife, who asked him, “Are you aware of what you’ve just said?”

“Listen to me!” David tried to press her, who, however, would not listen to reason.

“Haven’t you thought of Leo and me? How long would it take to accomplish this mission?” she asked him.

“You got it! Actually, it’s a one-way travel! Once you’re gone, you can’t come back!”

Gaia opened her eyes wide as if she did not believe in what she had just heard. David made the most of his wife’s silence. So, he could finish his speech.

“Obviously, I saw to Leo and you, too. If the mission is successful at the first attempt, the spaceships will come back and other people, including the families of those who had left first, will be caught.”

Gaia’s expression changed for a moment.

“What do you mean?” she asked him. She was full of doubts.

“That’s so. Before leaving, we must sign a contract with the Government and New NASA Corporate that assures us that we shall live a new life on Proxima B!” David said finally with increasing certainty.

Gaia’s soup had gotten cold; moreover, she had lost her appetite due to the piece of news she had just heard.

What came out of her mouth were only the following words, “I don’t know what to say…”

“Listen, my dear. This mission aims to save the whole human race, and I feel compelled to be part of this project, sacrificing myself for my neighbor, just like I was taught by my parents and my grandparents,” her husband told her.

His words sounded differently from five minutes before, which made Gaia look less hesitant about the matter.

“We should talk about it with Leo, too,” the woman said, nearly forcing herself to speak.

“Of course. I’ll do it tomorrow morning,” the man added. Then he kissed her wife on the cheek; she stood up and leaned the dish, which was still half full, on the sink.

“I’ll go home. I’m exhausted,” she said.

“Okay. Tomorrow morning you’ll see this matter in a different light. Trust me,” David added, letting her get into bed. She deserved her own rest.

David sat down again and grabbed his tablet with both hands. On its monitor a document stood out. All information about the mission could be found there.

New York.

The noise of the cues hitting alternately the cue balls on the pool table was the background to country music and the soft murmur that resounded through the same old pub on the 44^th street where Michael used to go. He was a regular by now. It was about 11 o’ clock in the evening and the man was sitting on his usual wood swivel seat. He was ordering his same old glass of whiskey.

“Another shot, Sten!”

The barman did not hesitate to satisfy Michael’s request.

“Hey, my friend, are you attempting to make up what you’ve missed lately?” Sten asked him almost ironically while pouring some other whiskey in Michael’s glass that he drank in one gulp.

“By the way, where have you been?” the man asked from behind the counter.

“It’s not your business!” Michael answered in his usual drunken man’s tone. Sten had known him for a long time and he could not take it out on him. Instead, he kept on insisting, regardless of him.

“Come on, my friend, admit it! You may have done some nice blonde girls!”

Michael glanced at him almost threateningly. Sten realized that he would rather give it a rest and devote himself to the wiping of some glasses with a tea towel before putting them back in place.

“Do you mind if I stay here a little longer?” the man asked him. His expression was getting sadder.

Sten looked at him carefully, and then he replied, “You know I’d never kick you off, Mr. Stateman… You’re my best customer!”

Michael outlined some kind of smile and raised his glass, which meant that he was asking for some more whiskey.

“Actually, I did meet a nice blonde…,” he said while he was looking for Sten’s gaze.

“Did you? Who was she?” the barman asked him.

“She was a doctor in Washington… I was there for a lecture,” he answered.

Sten started to look at Michael just like he used to do after his tenth glass.

“I was asked to be the pilot of a spaceship that is going to take part in a mission of colonization of another planet in order to save the Earth,” Michael confessed. His speech caught the attention of the five men playing pool. Sten laid the tea towel and approached the ex-pilot, pulling the glass off the counter.

“So, you should save the Earth, shouldn’t you? Very good, Mr. Stateman!” Stan said; he smiled almost mockingly at Michael while he was exchanging a few glances with the pool players that began to come towards the counter.

“I dare say that we already scored today…,” the counterman said finally while beginning to wash the glass in which the man had gulped down his whiskey.

“So, tell me: what’s with the mission, bro?”

One of the five men, a colored one, went next to Michael and put a hand on his shoulder, as if he, who did not believe anything he said either, wanted to mock him, especially given the condition in which the ex-Marine was.

“And to think that I was bothering about dying here on Earth while this hero is going to save us all!” a man mumbled snootily. He and other men were surrounding Michael, who was still sitting comfortably on his stool. Sten had already realized how things would go on, so he tried to handle the situation.

“Boys, let it alone!” he said, but another big guy motioned for silence.

“So, big man… If you can’t save yourself, how could you save mankind?”

As soon as the man uttered these words, Michael swung around abruptly, hitting him with his violent fist right in the face, which made him almost fall off the stool.

A fight broke out among the five men and Michael. Kick after kick, punch after punch, Michael could do nothing but watch that show that was nothing short of poor while the remaining people were about to leave that place hastily. Apparently, Michael was doomed, since he was fighting alone against five petty thugs. Instead, he made it. He hurled the stool at two of them, who were floored and left lying stunned on the ground. Then he floored two other men by hurling two glasses at them right in the face. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the four men that he had hit moving in front with difficulty towards the exit of the pub. There was still another man and that is the first who had hit him. Given that Michael was hardly lucid anymore, the man choked him out, which made his head slam against the counter, stunning him.

“Here is your mission!” he exclaimed. He was convinced that he had knocked Michael out. So, he could walk towards the exit and join his accomplices. But the ex-Marine got back to his feet, all of a sudden; he grabbed one of the wooden cues and used it to hit the man’s neck from behind. The man felt he was attacked, so he tried to set himself free by kicking back at Michael that was therefore obliged to ease the grip. As they faced each other, Michael used one of his knees to break the cue into two pieces, whose ends were now pointed.

“Let’s go, son of a bitch, come close!” Michael mumbled through split lips. He pointed the sharp cue at the colored man.

He was about to attack him, when the man stopped him.

“NO! DON’T MOVE! OKAY!”

He was still speaking when he beckoned the four other men to leave. Finally, he said, “Let’s quit… He’s mad…”

The five men left the place, leaving Michael, who was holding what remained of the cue in his hand, and Sten, who had watched everything without saying a word, alone. Michael threw the pieces of wood on the floor once they were alone. Then he turned to the counterman. Disorder was all around.

“Sorry, Sten, sorry…”

While he was trying to apologize for what he had done, he put one hundred dollars on the counter, trying to repair the damage done in the pub. They glanced at each other one more time, and then Michael left the premises.

San Diego, California.

Amelia was in her now familiar operating theater with her team. She was struggling with yet another case of acute myocarditis in a relatively young patient. Unfortunately, it was a rather widespread pathology caused by Polytected Heartimus virus that had been gripping the global population, especially the people aged between 20 and 35, for almost ten years. According to scientists, the strain of the virus came from inadequate hygiene in most of the citizens. Thankfully, this pathology could be treated with a heart surgery that, however, most of the times could not keep the virus from spreading. That morning it was more difficult than usual for the doctor to work due to lack of concentration.

“Doctor, is anything okay?” Sady asked her. Sady was the third member of her team.

“Yes, it is, Sady. I’m only a bit tired… We’re almost done. Open the fourth arm,” Amelia answered.

Jenny kept on looking at her friend. She knew her well and she knew that there was something odd about her.

After about fifteen minutes, the surgery was successful as usual. Amelia took off her surgical mask and left the room without saying anything beneath the gazes of the rest of the members of the team.

Once she was in the corridor, she heard someone calling her from behind.

“Wait, Amelia!”

It was Jenny, who was walking fast. Finally, she caught up with her.

“Is anything okay?” the woman asked her.

“Yes, everything is okay…,” Amelia answered in a tone that sounded anything but sincere.

“I know you too well not to see that there is something wrong with you,” the woman made it clear. Then she kept on saying, “What about going grabbing something tonight?”

Amelia waited a few seconds before answering. Then she said, “Well, I don’t know…” Her tone was a bit undecided.

“It’ll be good for you to go out for a while,” her friend kept on saying.

“That’s okay. I am picking you up at 9 o’ clock if you don’t mind,” she said.

“Very good! See you tonight!”

The two friends said their goodbyes. Amelia started to walk through the hallway to reach her room.

That same evening the two friends met at one of the most fashionable Chinese restaurants in San Diego. They were sitting facing each other while having sushi and spring rolls.

“…Many more young people than older people will be going under the knife,” Jenny said before sipping some white wine, and then she looked at Amelia. “You were telling me about the lecture,” she kept on saying.

The woman’s expression changed as soon as she heard her colleague utter that sentence and she, too, drank a little white wine to take the edge off.

“So, who is that famous doctor that should hold that lecture?” Jenny asked once again.

“Actually, I lied to you…,” Amelia answered.

“What do you mean?” her friend asked her straightaway.

“It wasn’t an Australian doctor’s lecture, but the lecture of the American government in collaboration with NASA!”

Jenny frowned.

“You lost me, Amelia…,” she said.

“In short, a mission to take some groups of people on another planet beyond the Solar System in order to colonize it,” Amelia said.

Once these words were uttered, Amelia felt like she had just set herself free from a burden. Jenny did not say anything for a few seconds.

“Many professionals are being recruited. I have been selected as surgeon in order to start a new medical center on Proxima B!” the doctor added while Jenny kept on looking at her.

“Well, hell, Amelia, this is a fantastic piece of news!” her friend exclaimed suddenly. Then she added, “That’s why you’ve been so mysterious in these last days… And why haven’t you said anything about it before?”

“Well, actually, only Mr. McKenzie knew about it. And now you know it too,” Amelia pointed out while starting eating some pieces of fish again. Her gaze was still a bit lost anyway.

“I don’t know what the problem is,” Jenny wondered.

“I still haven’t decided whether to accept or not, and I have to do that in four days from today,” Amelia revealed. “Then,” she concluded, “I’ll have to appear before the seat of New NASA Corporate in Washington again.”

Jenny stopped a little longer this time. The two women had been friends for a long time, and Jenny had always agreed to be Amelia’s vice without ever holding anything against her. However, this could be the right occasion to take over from Amelia as the person in charge of the head of the team, far be it from her to rub her friend’s nose in it.

“If I had such a chance, I wouldn’t let it pass me by, not at all,” Jenny pointed out almost sarcastically. Her tone caught Amelia’s attention.

“The fact is that you’ll have to change your life totally, you know… I shall leave Earth forever, I shall abandon…,” she answered.

Jenny interrupted her friend abruptly, asking him, “What? What should you abandon?”

“Don’t you know that we are like sisters and that I always tell you what I think in a heartbeat? It’s a unique chance, Amelia! You’ll be a woman that’ll make history! Your nearest and dearest are not so many, apart from me and Thomas.”

Amelia pondered those words for a while. Jenny put the glass of wine on the table and put her hand on her friend’s hand.

“I’ve always admired you, Amelia. For everything. And you know it. But you don’t know how much envious I am of you right now... but this feeling is overwhelmed by the fondness and the respect that lead me to tell you to just accept this mission. There’s a reason why you have been chosen: because you’re the best! You have to go! You should go!”

While Amelia was listening to Jenny’s words, she put her other hand on her friend’s hand and indulged in a sincere smile.

Chicago, Illinois.

It was late March and the evening in Chicago was pretty fresh for that period. Jerry was in his bedroom and, even though it was way after 9:00, he had not had his supper yet. His mother’s voice resounded through the corridor of the flat on the seventh floor of the building on Albany Ave, recalling his name.

“Mom, I told you I’m not hungry!” the boy answered, shouting at her for the umpteenth time, which rendered him almost impatient.

Jerry was lying on his three-quarter bed while turning a letter over and over in his hand. It was a special letter for him. He had written it after the lecture in Washington and it had to be handed over to Isabel. When? How? He did not know it yet. He read it again, for the umpteenth time, looking for the slightest mistake, but his attention was seemingly distorted by other thoughts at that moment, namely the project called For the benefit of all! in which he had decided to take part. He still could not believe what had been proposed to him during the lecture. He had not showed any hesitation, since that mission was a chance that he or any other young biologist that was passionate about astronomy as well could not let pass by. There were two other issues to deal with, though, namely his mother and Isabel. He had not had the opportunity (or, rather, he had not been brave enough) to tell his mother, Francesca, about his decision; she thought that her son had gone in Washington for an internship that the University of Chicago had organized. His days were going by and maybe the time to broach the subject with his mother had come. As for Isabel, he had arranged to ask her on a date after work so that he could deliver the letter to her and tell her anything. Or at least that was his plan. But first he had to face his mother. Finally, he plucked up his courage and left his room. He knew that she used to take her seat in the armchair and watch one of her favorite TV series after suppertime. He walked through the tiny hallway and saw her sitting there. She was calm and relaxed. The right moment to tell her everything had come.

“Mother,” he said in a thin voice, as if he did not want to disturb her.

The woman did not even answer him at first, since she was focused on watching how the first episode of the TV series was going on, but Jerry did not give up.

“Mom!”

This time the woman could hear her name clearly; she turned to Jerry.

“Oh, finally you’re here! Your supper is in the microwave oven,” she said while she went back to watching the TV series on the Smart TV screen.

“Mom, I didn’t go out for lunch, but to tell you something important,” he said.

Jerry could barely speak, but that was the right moment to speak. The woman kept on not looking at him. She glimpsed in passing and she could only say, “When the episode is over we will talk about it. Okay?”

Jerry did not like to be ignored. He could not really bear it, especially if it was his mother that did it whenever they needed to talk about something important. And it was just then that Jerry did something that he had not done before. He picked up the TV remote control and turned off the television. The sudden silence in the sitting room was something strange. Seeing the monitor of the device overwhelmed his mother for a while. Jerry was still standing next to the sofa. The remote control was still in his hand. Suddenly his mother came round.

“Are you out of your mind? Turn on the TV immediately!” she yelled as if she were pretty hysterical.

“I can’t do that, mom. I need to speak to you!” Jerry tried to explain, but the woman got off her armchair in order to take over the remote control that he was holding.

“Give me that remote control!” she shouted at her son.

He took two steps back.

“MOM, LISTEN TO ME! I NEED TO SPEAK TO YOU!” he yelled back resolutely.

Those words made her stop suddenly. She stared at her son.

Jerry did the same and leaned the remote control on the sofa. He was sure he had succeeded in catching his mother’s attention.

“What’s so important, huh?” she asked him quite angrily.

“I need to tell you about my future,” Jerry answered. His tone was getting more and more resolute.

His mother did not say anything. She was ready to listen to her son’s words.

“I know that what I’m telling you may seem absurd to you, but you must believe me when I tell you that it is true,” he said to her.

Hearing these words, the woman began to get suspicious, but Jerry did not care about it too much and continued by confessing, “I lied to you when I told you about my trip to Washington. No internship was organized. No University had organized anything. Nobody said anything. What was organized was a special lecture by the U.S. Government in collaboration with NASA.”

“What are you…?”

“Please, mom, let me speak,” he interrupted her firmly. He meant to keep on talking. “I was offered a position as a biologist in their mission in order to colonize a new planet called Proxima B!”

The woman’s eyes got weird; they revealed fear and amazement.

“That means that I’ll have to leave. I can’t return to Earth anymore,” Jerry kept on saying.

Uttering those words made him feel like dying, but he had finally succeeded in telling her mother everything.

“Just so, mom,” he concluded, leaving her speechless. After a few seconds, she looked for some place to sit and could not say anything for some more time.

“Jerry, do you realize what you’re saying to me?” she asked him in a tone that was quite worried.

“Mom…,” Jerry tried to go on, but she resumed asking him, “Should I stay here all alone?”

“Mom, it’s not like that,” he tried to clear himself. Then he kept on saying, “If all goes as planned, a second voyage is already projected. On that occasion the first colonizers’ relatives are going to be taken there. So, you’re going to be there, too.”

Francesca looked straight into her son’s eyes. Jerry did not know how to interpret that gaze.

“As you know, life is expected to be not so good on Earth. There are too many people on this planet and I have to regard myself as lucky not to have caught any disease. We’re being offered the opportunity to change our lives completely, you know…” Jerry tried to insist, but his mother looked more and more upset by what she was hearing.

“It’s all so absurd… How shall we get through? How long will the voyage last? Who’ll let me know if you’re alive?”

Francesca, like any other mother, bothered about her son.

“I don’t know yet, but we’ll be told everything before leaving,” Jerry answered her, trying to reassure her. He approached her, put his hands on her cheeks as a token of his fondness and kept on saying to her,

“Mom, I’ve always done what I’d been told by you. I only ask that you let me do what feels right to me this time. I must accept this mission. It’s too much important for me.”

After hearing these words, she looked up and, after a few seconds, she hugged him and burst into tears.