Vonn came out smiling. Walked to Derees by the mixing chamber. “My friend, soon we shall think to our terminals! Director Pragate has server instructors writing progs.” His gray eyes studied Citsa and Ossy’s screens. They looked uncomfortable. With his right hand, he pulled at the left cuff of his neat deep blue onepiece, same as all men wore under lab coats.
Ryonne~ wore a medium blue one. His manner reminded me of a leader of men, not a common scientist like us. So polite. Surely that would impress Papa if he met him. Probably standing on our moon Ye~ and happy to be home.
His large golden eyes, like sunssets, rested on me, and my heart pounded. Such a handsome man, and what intelligence, to allow us to use our telepathy to work our servers. But he is Yeff, and Zheien are all geniuses. I shall never meet him. At 18, doomed because of my emotion—
“Oh, I am glad! Will we have upgrades for our equipment?”
“We have permission to trade for some—”
“How strong a containment field are you going to use with this set?” Citsa stared at my neat racks of dangers. Vonn and Derees followed her gaze to my counter. Tanda across from me peered at the compounds in colored cylinders. Their mixing was more routine.
“1000x. If you have concerns, I can move my operations out on the Barrens.” Clenched my jaw. Even the heat of that desert would be pleasant compared to Citsa’s and Ossy’s questions!
“You should!”
Ossy glared at her. “You know a 1000x field contains a photon dissolution reaction to 2 meters. Let Adia do her job.” Citsa whirled to her console, and Ossy grinned at me. An irritating habit. I felt as if the entire department saw me as a danger to everyone! Why is Ossy defending me?
Slowed my breathing. The irradiation chamber frightened me, but I could not make enough trade to replace it anytime soon, even after Ossy replaced my trade. He said the price was far higher than he thought. Did he lie about that, too?
Why did I listen to him? Will Vonn blame me for my foolishness, that I did not ask him to trade for it? Because I did not wish to cost our budget. Ran progs to check that daily. Breathe. Concentrate on work!
“Miss Wilnes, do you doubt Prog One? I helped Adia write her procedures for her experiments, and we review them monthly. When was the last time you submitted your policies for my approval?” Vonn’s gray eyes fixed on her display.
“I only work with safe substances—”
“Safe? We create fuels, Miss Wilnes, in the Department of Alternative Fuels. There is no safe chemical here. You and Mr. Koch are not exempt from our safety procedures, are you? I will check all your progs this afternoon. Derees, have you time to help me in this?”
Derees smiled. “I always have time for safety, Vonn. Just this morning, Tanda and I reviewed her procedures and I found them in order, as usual. She created a modified isotope that Adia is including in her experiment now, amiritkaln-8. Included five of her catalysts in my experiment, and seven of Adia’s. Look! My results are in!”
Today’s exciting presentation from that visiting scientist had my heart racing. Ryonne~ used a sim to demonstrate how a pilot thinking to his server escapes a Kajarian trying to capture him! I took several deep breaths and tried to calm myself. Work waits.
His discovery will make our doings easier. In Papa’s department, we volunteered to pilot, to test fuels. How I missed the feel of clicking under my feet from the engines. The freedom to enjoy full range of emotion, there in solitude as I made notes.
Reached into my pocket and stroked the smooth, white cube found on my last trip into the Barrens. If only I dared run progs to analyze it. Warmth to it surprised me. A crystal should feel cool to the touch.
Papa felt that use of pockets in my clothing former might bring scrutiny from our government. We are supposed to be austere and not waste resources. I mentioned Tanda’s lace and he stopped hinting about them. I make enough trade from my reports in the journals to have my pockets.
My father worries too much. Elshars use alt storage for terminals. Uncle Asha Lir is Elshar. A trader who taught me to put pockets in my clothing former. Who helped me with my trading classes in school, before he left Aunt Sia. Taught me enough telepathic Qvarn to describe my journal reports. Papa said mine traded for more than his, which surprised me, but my uncle is a master trader. He said descriptions make items trade.
It fascinated me, the way Uncle Asha’s blue eyes turned lighter if happy. Often wished my blue eyes could change like that. Until EDs came to our homes. Elshars come to Eicken oft to trade, and their blue traders’ robes are obvious.
Papa frowned at me when I asked one a question about trade. The man was very rude! Did he expect me to be rude to him as many Areonians are? Did they forget how much assistance Elshars gave us as a colony start, and how many are our ancestors? Uncle Asha taught me a lot my parents did not know about our history.
Now we are almost at end of year 222, the 10th month, the 95th day. On the 100th day Aunt Sia will enjoy a festival in Kleideu. How I wished to go! Years since we could gain permits for travel.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
My twin sister, Maia, works from home as an info scientist, here in Eicken. Surely she writes progs for the new interface.
Papa would not approve of my opinion of the Yeff, and neither would she, but what harm is it? I shall never meet him. If I did, I would ask him for help to figure out what my cube is. I will not tell my family about the handsome Otherworlder.
Every time I try to tell my family how much research on our moon Ye~ helps me find new catalysts, they refuse to listen. Papa warns me not to trade for their holos. But, I do. Every time I put a holo of mine on the Hub, they put a new discovery that helps me.
All scientists contribute, and all advance science in general. Why should I not use their research? Few of our scientists explore such volatile catalysts, but our department. Vonn uses it. Their reports cost less than any from Areon or other worlds of our Hub, and are better quality. When our Lead Scientist began trading for their reports, Derees and Tanda did also. My stubborn father will not.
He fears government retaliation, and— I slowed my breathing.
I remembered the larger rotating fins of that cylindrical Emotion Detector by the Aud as we entered to hear Ryonne~’s presentation. Have they finished the refit? I will only have 5 secs to control my breathing, Ossy said. Gripped the meltedsand countertop and took a breath. Even now, an ED in our lab watches me. Think about the work!
When I let go of the counter, Ossy and Citsa faced me. Again?
“In five days, they have a festival in Kleideu. Vater might be able to get a pass so we can go. If we visit the Kleideu Science Council.”
“Oh, we will dance! Too bad for the others. What do they even study there? Cows? Aandats?” Ossy laughed.
My grandfather piloted ships in his work there. Does he not know where the majority of our compounds come from? Kleideu discovered techniques to convert mine wastes to useful materials, that we use here in Eicken. One was amiritkaln, which we use often.
Tanda waved to start her array. One finger played with a blond curl by her face. A holo of the Barrens showed rocks crumbling. All of her experiments took place there. The Barrens is part of Lilmerica, but Kleideu has mines very close to her site.
Scars on the land and piles of waste rock made Lilmerica’s side obvious. In the holo, Kleideu’s side appeared untouched. A mine entrance hid inside a cave.
Another cave to the south that I loved to visit, had interesting minerals. Where I found the cube in my pocket. None of them, unfortunately, helped our work. I had quite a collection of them at home in my room.
Once we could visit relatives in Kleideu with farms. I saw their research to increase yields and try to save our dwindling pool of animal and plant species. Farmers are smart. There is more research on biology on the Hub than geology. Fuels are a tiny portion of chemistry research. Yet, fuels provide 40% of our colony’s trade. Shipbuilding brings 55%. If only our salaries reflected our work’s importance.
Vonn and Derees traded on the Areon Hub for minerals we needed. Holos with descriptions appeared and vanished at each brisk wave of their hands. Trading there is all done with telepathy.
No sounds but my breathing. The slight sound of materials shifting in cylinders like sand in a cup. And my whispers to my terminal. Smells of reactions escape when I mix before the simulant’s arm sucks them away. Bitter nztz. Sweet amiritkaln. Sour alkalytes. The burnt smell of violent reactions. The salty smell of those that fail to react. Any harmful gases port away, but with experience, the stronger scents tell me how much reaction happened. Analysis tells me the rest.
I took careful verbal note of every step, every result. The irradiation chamber took a third of my workspace, a featureless bluemetal box with seams stained light blue from heavy use. On the surface of the rough beige countertop, a round simulant placed my measured cylinders of treated chemicals. The more detailed my notes, the better my results.
Containment cylinders and the mixing remained the pleasant part of my work. I hated speaking my steps to the server console. The system rechecked my predictions and calculated amounts of each chemical and irradiation factor depending on how well I described. So slow! Intense listing of each expected reaction, each anticipated outcome, wore on me.
Visual displays that appeared before my eyes whenever I spoke commands gave the sole evidence of my server. I felt I spoke to the meltedsand counters—or, to myself, as if insane.
As I measured and mixed each chemical, I breathed relief that it did not explode. Each step duplicated steps performed hundreds of times. Same ingredients with one difference to measure the reaction.
Vonn pointed to a scatter graph of his latest experiment. “Does this look like that star map Pragate showed us? Just imagine, teams of diplomats trying hard to end the War!”
Pragate said it. Most of the hundred in the Aud argued that this was impossible, especially Ossy and Citsa. Is it? All the species of the Six have needs and wants as we of the Seven. They noticed my lack of arguments.
Derees shifted in his seat. “Ah, I think they will find a solution. Emperor Ry’nao thinks trade will end it. If people have food and safe places to live, they do not need to fight. Zbbat have six arms and legs, but they still eat and make beautiful creations. They trade with us. Look at this table I got for Tasia.” A low table in their living room had a metallic sheen that moved like slow water. Colors rose and sank in it. Beautiful! “Donn loves to lie on it and watch.”
There is hope for our people.
“How is Tasia?”
He sighed. “She wants to move to D’sharr, but none of her relatives will recommend us to get started there. I am glad! Our boys would be miserable, living an Elshar life. But, would a healer improve her health?”
She needs a healer? I will mention my Aunt Sia to him. Papa says she is so skilled, healers all over Areon ask for her.
One mistake equals repetition of two weeks’ work. This experiment tells me if I am on a course worth expanding. My last run had promising results. Every muscle in me tensed.
I did not tell Vonn about a prog I wrote. If the irradiation chamber fails, I port to the Barrens with my experiment.
Two waves set my progs in motion. Loaded the containment fields into the irradiation chamber. Flooded it with my 583rd combination of radiants.