I.
“Now boarding first class, our iridium club members, and 1 AU frequent flyers.” Called out the automated PA system. Isaac looked at his PAD, checking his boarding group. Iridium club member, as always. He picked at the slight crack running through the “Quasar Devices” emblazoned on the back of the PAD, debating whether or not to board now to avoid the crowd or later and enjoy the fresh air a little longer. Taking a long breath of the fresh Terran air, he decided to linger a little longer. Group after group was called, gold club members, active military, class alpha, bravo, Charlie, then all groups.
“Final boarding. Calling final boarding.” The PA called out one last time. Isaac finally stood up, then slowly sauntered over to the lift.
“Please present your PAD. Please present your PAD. Plea-“ Isaac lightly bumped his PAD on the smudged up screen of the virtual attendant. “Thank you, Isaac Novak. Please step inside the lift.”
Soon after a few others shuffled into the lift, the door almost snapping the last passenger on the heel as they stepped aboard. Not wanting to make small talk, Isaac alternated between glancing at his PAD and looking through the glass walls of the lift. The grand shadow of the lunar bound ship shielding the lift from the rain. Isaac took a long last glance, enjoying the experience of a real atmosphere.
Awaiting Isaac at the top of the lift were no less than 20 human attendants, carrying his bags, refreshments, and even a bottle of genuine champagne on ice. The other passengers gave Isaac a variety of looks when they realized who the attendants were for. An old lady gave a rather sour grimace, a kid looked wide eyed at the reception, and man in a cheap suit side eyed the grand reception. The lead attendant silently gestured in the direction of the executive suites, avoiding eye contact.
Isaac, grabbing the entire bottle of champagne, rather flatly stated. “Not now, I’m gonna explore the ship a lil bit.”
The lead attendant nodded quietly, and the entourage headed towards the executive suites. Isaac took a swig and walked over to the map in the center of the ship plaza. Looking over it, he searched for a good place to watch the ship take off. Soon he fixated on the sunroom. Looking at his PAD, he thought: Where is the forward sunroom?
A slight impulse in the back of his mind then directed his attention to a corridor to the front of the ship. Following the gentle impulses, he soon found himself in the sunroom. The room was a large trapezoidal shaped room, the shorter parallel side towards the front with a large windshield gave a wide view of the top of the ship. In the center were rows of chairs all facing forwards like in an old timey theater. Along the sides were booths with tables, smaller porthole windows adorning the wall behind them. It was rather crowded, but Isaac didn’t mind. He found a relatively empty section of the chairs and sat down. Around him people were settling down for the 41-hour journey. Some claimed a row of chairs for their family to live out of, some crowded around a booth, others piled up their belongings in a corner and left a bored teen to watch the stuff while they explored the ship. Isaac took a swig and thought to himself: I’m glad dad isn’t so cheap.
An hour later the captain announced over the intercom that the ship would begin takeoff procedures, and that taking a seat was recommended. Minutes later the booming sounds of mooring clamps releasing could be heard echoing through the structure of the ship. A low rumble began to reverberate through the ship. The advanced vibration dampening systems and large mass of the ship kept the actual shaking small, but a low rocking motion like a ship at sea still managed to make it through. Isaac regretted drinking that entire bottle of champagne as he gripped the arm of the chair. The swooning action of the ship seemed to multiply as his stomach sloshed around.
Sometime later, the lead attendant that had greeted Isaac awoke him. He was gently brushing the vomit off Isaac’s face, as a cleaner bot furiously scrubbed and sanitized the fake leather chair in the row ahead of Isaac. A faint mist cloud emanated from the bot, releasing a sickly-sweet artificial smell, vaguely reminiscent of flowers. The attendant lightly nodded down and to his left when he noticed Isaac stirring. While not a word was spoken, the intended question was clear. “Would you like assistance getting to your state room, sir?”
“I’ll find it myself…” groaned Isaac. He felt shaky, but not queasy anymore. Glancing at his PAD he thought: Where is my stateroom?
Isaac slowly composed himself, then began to follow the impulses. Soon enough, he found himself at his room. The door swished open and he was greeted by two more attendants. Isaac gestured towards the bath and the attendants immediately understood. One began drawing a bath, the other began disrobing Isaac. The clothes were then placed aside to be laundered later. Once the bath was ready, both attendants disrobed themselves and began the process of scrubbing and cleaning Isaac. When cleaned, Isaac was led to the sauna by one of the attendants. To the other Isaac said, “Hey, get the red-head too, the one with blue eyes. Wait, just get both red heads, and that main attendant guy. But tell him to wear his suit and a mask.”
II.
The next morning Isaac awoke. His room pristine, not betraying the chaos it witnessed. Sitting up, he was immediately greeted by two attendants. They served him eggs benedict, smoked salmon quiches, coffee, and a small cup of “Hang-Over!” medicine. First, Isaac sucked down the medicine and immediately felt the headache dissipate and the groggy feeling clear. Then began to eat. After he finished, an attendant wordlessly bowed and presented Isaac with a gilded paper envelope. Inside was an invitation to lunch with the captain.
“Yeah, sure.” Isaac muttered reluctantly. The attendant nodded. Thinking to himself: Man. I’m really hope I can play off that thing in the sunroom as space sickness. Dad is gonna to be pissed the fuck off if he finds out I got wasted like that in public.
As Isaac finished breakfast, the attendants cleared the breakfast placements. They then dressed him as he got up, brushed his teeth, perfumed him, and lasered the scruff off his chin. Once made proper, Isaac glanced at his PAD and thought “How long until the lunch with the captain?” As if recalling something he forgot, he realized it would be two hours and seventeen minutes. He then thought idly: What should I do in the meantime? A flurry of different ideas then began washing over him before he shook his head to clear it, and then tapped a button on his PAD. Isaac left his room, going nowhere in particular.
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As Isaac walked, he remembered to take a deep breath and straighten himself. I’m no longer a faceless partier in Oregon. I am Isaac Farrow Novak, son of the esteemed Richard J. Novak. I shall not slouch in the presence of good society.
Entering the main plaza, Isaac looked around. His eyes glancing at the small shops and stalls. None looked appealing. He continued to walk around the ship, aimlessly, before stopping in the rear sunroom. This one was nearly empty as you could not see Sol, Luna, or Terra from here. Sitting down, Isaac stared blankly into the void for what felt like eternity.
Isaac awoke suddenly. Feeling a slight sense of dread, he looked at his PAD. Y-2375, D-074, T-13:27. The lunch was in 12 minutes. He had forgotten to reenable PAD impulse control. Jolting up he almost began to run, before remembering to compose himself. He began to walk as quickly as could while remaining dignified. His steps and composure conveying a sense of urgency, but control and intention behind his gait. As befitting a proper gentleman.
He barged into his room and looked at both attendants. They immediately began brushing his hair, refreshing the perfume, and fixing his clothes. In but a minute they had finished touching up Isaac, who immediately left the room and began walking towards the captain’s dining room.
An attendant greeted Isaac as he approached the dining room. One of the redheads. She silently gestured towards Isaac’s place, avoiding even looking directly at him. Isaac stood behind his place. Most of the other guests were there, barring the captain and a straggler or two. Soon after, the rest of the guests filed in. When the captain finally entered the room, the red-head pulled the chair back for Isaac. The other attendants did the same for their guests. The captain then sat down after the guests were seated, as traditionally done.
“Good afternoon gentlepeople. I take it your ride thus far has been pleasant?” Asked the captain. Most guests politely murmured yes or nodded their heads. Isaac remained silent.
“My name is Captain Quinten Ford.” Looking to his right. “May I have the pleasure of knowing your name, sir?”
The guests introduced themselves in order down the table. Family name first, then personal. Most of the family names were recognizable from their positions in society, such as Coalition of Earth party members, popular entertainers, wealthy business dynasties, and so on.
Isaac, sitting to the left of the captain, introduced himself last. “The Novak family. I am Isaac Farrow, sir.”
“Novak, ahhh. I knew you seemed familiar!” The captain exclaimed, “Your father and I were peers at the University of Tranquility. Why, he threw me across the room in judo once! He let go too early and sent me sailing!”
Tapping his hat he further explained, “Suppose you could say he’s the reason I’m in this job so to speak!”
This garnered a polite laugh from the table.
Politely, Isaac asked, “I am curious, sir, how does one become a captain? If you do not mind the question.”
“Oh! Certainly! The key is simple: Sociability and etiquette! I joined initially as a junior officer post-graduation, but quickly rose through the ranks due the special attention I pay to our honored guests.” The captain excitedly explained, “You see, running the actual ship is rather secondary. Of course, most aspects of interplanetary flight are automated. Much like any job. Rather, my job is to ensure that the needs of our guests are met with the due diligence they deserve.”
Continuing on the captain explained, “Now, your standard service android is perfectly capable of handling complaints and issues. Perhaps better than many humans could. However, it is quite demeaning to rely on some faceless automaton to listen to you. Rather, you want a person that will actually hear you.”
“Thank you, sir.” Isaac replied, “I believe I understand. Is it not too different from having people as entertainers then?”
“Right you are!” The captain smirked, “Much like your father's line of work.”
Another guest exclaimed, “Oh! You’re Richard’s son! I love his style of presenting the news. Tell him Betty of the Stewart family loves the work he’s done for The Scope.”
“Thank you, mam.” Isaac politely responded, “I will make certain that I tell him when we land on Luna.”
A younger gentleman, perhaps only 3 or 4 years older than Isaac asked, “If the question isn’t too intrusive, sir, what were you visiting Terra for?”
“It is not intrusive, sir.” Reassured Isaac, “I was attending the Grass Touch Festival. These last two weeks were spring break for UT, and I have been wanting to visit Terra for a while now. A shame I could not stay longer.”
“So, you are a student then, sir?” The man asked, “What are you studying then?”
“Yes, sir.” Isaac explained, “I am studying psychology, with a minor in historical sociology. I am interested in how the minds and cultures of people evolved throughout time. Moreover, and please excuse the unpleasant topic, I am interested in why people and nations go to war.”
The gentleman raised his eyebrow and replied, “Interesting, sir, that is a fascinating and unique topic of study. Please let me know if you submit any publications. I should very much like to read them.” The gentlemen flicked a digital contact to Isaac’s PAD with a short memo reminding Isaac to send him any future writings.
The captain then interjected, asking the gentleman, “If I may ask sir, where do you work?”
“Oh, you see I work for…” Slowly the conversation turned away from Isaac. Breathing a sigh of relief, Isaac remained passive throughout the lunch. He did not want anyone to ask about the earlier mess.
The post lunch entertainment was amusing, in the proper and dignified manner that the occasion demanded. It was a modern re-imagination of Shakespear’s Macbeth, set in beginning the interwar period of the second and third Sino-Eurussian proxy wars. In an act of life imitating art, the play follows an account of how Generals Bratislava and Andrei succeeded Party Leader Andrea Lucia. While the finer details of how General Bratislava’s assassination of Andrea Lucia and then own death by General Andrei’s son are fictionalized in the play to closer match Macbeth, the general premise was somewhat true to life.
III.
Two hours after the lunch and live theater Isaac found himself boredly lounging in his state room, idly thinking about the blonde who was holding the champagne when he arrived on the ship.
Over the intercom the captain announced, “Good evening gentlepeople, I have been contacted by the COE navy voidship Agent of Chaos. They will be performing a routine inspection of the ship, including an ID check of crew and passengers. Please, have your PADs on your person until this inspection is over. I anticipate no delay in our arrival on Luna. Thank you, and I apologize for any inconvenience this interruption may cause.”
Isaac internally groaned. The last thing he wanted to do was to answer a bunch of obvious questions that a simple glance at his PAD would answer. His mind briefly flickered to the idea of pulling an attendant into bed with him just before they arrive so that they will have to question him while nude. The idea amused him, but Isaac pushed the intrusive thought aside. No way he would actually do that.
Before long the echoing boom of mooring clamps could be heard reverberating through the structure of the ship. Isaac waited and waited. He didn’t have anything in particular to do, but he hated waiting like this. Just as he was about to order the attendant to bring him dinner, a chime from the door sounded off. Reluctantly, Isaac stood and called out, “Enter.”
Two figures covered head to toe in voidship marine armor entered. The shorter one flatly stated, “Please present your PAD, sir.”
Begrudgingly, Isaac complied. The figure looked long and hard at the PAD. After a while Isaac grew a little uneasy. They weren’t asking the normal asinine questions, making awkward small talk, or even the usual glance and pass that most patrol guards do to technically do their job.
Just as Isaac was about to speak up, the shorter patrol guard spoke up, “Sir, please follow me.”