Chapter Thirty Two

Gage pulled on his pack back, with Iona inside, and headed into the Dahlcroft recycling plant with Heretic by his side.

“Do you have any money? I don’t have any money,” Heretic said to Gage as they went in the sliding doors.

“You’re expecting me to pay for your transport?” Gage asked with a sick groan.

“Don’t tell me you can’t. I tagged along with you because you got that great payout from the wreckers.”

Gage tightened his fists around the straps of his backpack. “I didn’t own the ship. I transferred the money to Sleeping Beauty Inc. It was their ship. I was just the pilot of it.”

“Do they still own you?”

“I dunno,” Gage said with an odd click of his tongue. “I’m going to claim breach of contract when I get back to civilization. This ship is going to Ganymede. I assume you want to come along. Are your kids there?”

“I don’t know where my kids are. I’ve been away from them for years, but Ganymede is where my banking is, so if I want to do anything I have to get to my money,” Heretic explained.

“Does that mean you’ll pay me back for your cryochamber on this ship?”

“Uh…” Heretic stuttered an excuse that was less interesting than the rattling of the machinery in the background.

They approached the front desk and Gage explained why they were there.

The receptionist was a stunning member of the Church of Voynich with her green hair in tiny braids. She wore a name tag with the name Chitta. She looked between the two men like it was her lucky day as she explained that the six available cryochambers about their ship were available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Gage and Heretic were lucky because no one else had claimed any of the available seats. After all, they only hauled passengers from Io because other kinds of vessels didn’t go to Io often.

“Can I have a cryochamber large enough for two people?” Gage asked Chitta.

“There is one,” she said hesitantly, looking between him and Heretic. “I’m not sure if it will accommodate two men of your size. They’re generally used for a parent and a child or a man and a woman.”

Heretic was huffing something in the background, but Gage was quick to explain. “It’s for me and my backpack. I don’t want to be separated from my backpack.”

Heretic wiped imaginary sweat from his face.

“I’ll pay for the oversized cryochamber for me and a single for him,” Gage said, being friendly.

“We’ll have to scan your backpack before we can allow you to have it in the cryochamber with you.”

“That’s fine,” Gage said, sticking a smile on his face. “I’m happy for you to scan it.” He heaved it up on the counter. “After all, you’re only looking for explosives, right?”

“Sometimes drugs,” she said, grabbing a scanning wand and running it over the backpack.

Gage knew exactly what sort of readings the wand was registering. There was a little x-ray screen on it, and he saw a glimpse of the receptionist staring weirdly at an outline of Iona’s skull.

She looked at Gage strangely because she absolutely knew that he had a human being in his backpack.

As casually as he could, he put a shushing finger over his lips and pointed his eyes at Heretic. “Would you like to look inside?” he offered.

Heretic was reading a poster. Apparently, he was less interested in Gage’s interchange with the receptionist once Gage had said he’d pay for his cryochamber.

The receptionist looked horrified as Gage unzipped the top. Undoubtedly, she was concerned he was trying to transport a dead body. But Gage gave her a winning smile in an attempt to mimic the grin the followers of Benediction found so appealing on their leader and she stepped forward.

Looking down into the backpack. Gage and the receptionist saw Iona with her knees crunched up to her chin. Iona blinked up at them cutely a few times before she silently handed the receptionist her pink Sleeping Beauty Inc. bracelet without raising her hand above the flap.

Happy to have something reasonable to do, the receptionist took the bracelet and scanned it. On the screen in front of her, the name Iona Stirling flashed. A few flicks of her eyelashes, and Gage knew exactly what she was thinking. Like all the other girls, Chitta was thrilled with the idea of Iona being removed from Io. Gage handed her his bracelet and she scanned it too.

“Take the payment from that bracelet,” he said, pleasantly. “Do you need any ID from him?” Gage asked, pointing toward his double.

Heretic came forward. “Benediction wrote me a letter,” he said, bringing forward a memory card that looked like a credit card issued by the Church of Voynich.

The receptionist passed back the two Sleeping Beauty Inc. bracelets to Gage with a sleight of hand that hid that there were two before taking Heretic’s card. She scanned that too. After she pressed a few buttons, she turned back to Gage. “Everything is in order,” she said with a pleasant smile. “The ship landed last week and they are almost finished filling it. It is our policy to wait until the scheduled liftoff time before departing unless we fill up early.”

“So if all your cryochambers fill up and you finish loading it, you tend to leave early?” Gage affirmed.

“Yes. It also means that you can get put to sleep now or you can wait until just before liftoff,” she explained.

“If you could take us on board now, I think we’d appreciate that,” he said pleasantly, pulling his backpack back onto his shoulders.

“We have carts for luggage if you’d like one,” she offered Gage as she stepped out from behind the counter.

“Is it far?” he asked.

“Yeah. It’s all the way down that corridor and then all the way down the next one. Would you like me to show you, or do you think you can make it yourself?”

Gage had been to very few places in the last forty years that were not the Cannonball III, but the one place he was familiar with was launching pads. “I think I can make it without a guide, but I will take you up on your offer for a cart.”

The receptionist grabbed a flat piece of cardboard and placed it in the bottom of the steel-framed cart she provided him with. She did it so smoothly, Heretic didn’t seem to notice that the action was unusual, but it was clearly for Iona so that she had something mildly more comfortable to sit on than the frame. It was going to be a bumpy ride.

“Someone will meet you on the other end and show you to your cryochambers. Look for a man called Marker.” The receptionist pointed down the hall and repeated her instructions before giving them a little farewell wave.

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“I’m dying of curiosity,” Heretic said, bumping shoulders with Gage as they walked down the long corridor. “What’s in your backpack?”

“My merchandise,” Gage repeated.

“But what kind? I can’t think of what merchandise is worth paying for an extra seat in a cryochamber. You wouldn’t have had to pay anything extra if you’d just let them stuff it in the luggage compartment at the bottom.”

“Agreed. But this way, no one can lift the lid of my cryochamber to take it without waking me and I’m pretty into that. Don’t ask me any more questions. I’m a bit bushed after everything that’s happened. The last time I got to sleep was when I was at Sleeping Beauty Inc. and Benediction burst in. And being awake is so hard for me,” Gage yawned.

At the end of the second hallway, Gage saw the ship they were about to board. It was a Tank VII. Gage had never ridden in anything so massive. He’d always been on smaller vessels and he was very interested in it as they got closer. He stopped just inside the doors and looked at the map detailing the different sectors.

“Gage and Heretic,” a crew member with a name tag that read Marker greeted them. “I’m here to take you to your cryochambers. This way.”

They followed him.

“Unfortunately, this is not a pleasure vessel, so if you’re interested in eating or drinking before entering cryostasis, there are only vending machines in the cafeteria. Would you like to stop there before going to sleep?”

Gage yawned again. “I’d rather head to my cryochamber. I was thinking I’d get locked down and have a nap while I waited for your crew to finish preparations and lift off. Could your pilot fill my cryochamber with gas when you lift off?”

“I’m sure that could be arranged,” Marker agreed. He turned to Heretic for his preference.

“I ate at Benediction’s Tranquility Mansion. I’ll stay with Gage.”

Marker nodded and took them on an elevator and then down a corridor that led to a room that was nothing but cryochambers.

“Most of these are for the crew and some of them are broken, but there are these six available for travelers. I’ll put you two together.” He brought them to an oversized cryochamber at the end of the line with a smaller one next to it. “Would you like me to put you to sleep now, Heretic?” Marker offered.

“I want exactly what Gage is having. Lock me in, but let me get some sleep before you lift off.”

“Sure thing.”

“Wait. Can I unlock it myself if I need to?”

“I recommend going to the bathroom now if you think you’ll need to get out,” Marker advised. “There’s one right over there.”

Heretic looked at Gage with a ‘go to the bathroom with me?’ look on his face.

“I already used the bathroom at the Tranquility Mansion,” Gage reminded him. “Go without me.”

“But I’m scared,” Heretic said in a whiny tone.

“I can see the toilet from here. Nothing is going to happen that wouldn’t happen anyway,” Gage said firmly. “Be a man.”

Heretic gave Gage a sorry look before meandering toward the toilet.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Marker took a handheld machine out of his pocket. It was a white box with two red screens. “Chitta, the receptionist who booked you, got in touch with me and told me of your situation. Gage, I have to tell you that it is illegal to be shot into space in the same cryochamber as a person who is not legally a part of your family.”

Gage pulled the backpack out of the cart and set it on the floor. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that double wide cryochambers are reserved for parents and children and married couples. Due to legal restrictions and liability errors, you can’t ride double unless you’re legally wed.”

Gage was familiar with the regulation. It was because of the possibility that the chamber would have to be ejected. Most often, a collection of cryochambers that were ejected at once in the same direction did not all make it to the same crash site. All of that meant that priority for larger cryochambers was always given to families so they could stay together in case of an emergency. He’d just forgotten all about the regulation because it never applied to his work.

“If you want to ride with a woman, you need to marry her.” Marker put the machine forward. “All the forms have already been filled out with the information you provided at the front desk. All you have to do is voluntarily put your thumb on this red pad, have her do it too and you’ll be married.”

Gage looked at him oddly. “This is such a regular occurrence that you carry a machine to do it on your body?”

Marker rolled his eyes. “No. I went and got it because Chitta called me. Look, this doesn’t have to be a big deal. We’re unlikely to need the doublewide cryochamber for this flight and we’re happy for you to take it. There’s a divorce kiosk at the landing zone on Ganymede if you don’t want to marry each other. And if you want to keep your girl a secret from the guy you’re traveling with, you’d better sign quickly before he gets out of the bathroom.”

Gage took the machine, bent down, and opened the backpack. “Did you hear all that?”

“Yes,” Iona said.

Gage looked into her honey eyes that peeked through the crack in the backpack. He swallowed and slid the machine into the opening.

A second later, she pushed it up through the crack and Gage took it.

She’d given her thumbprint on the bride’s side. He looked at the machine for a moment before putting his thumbprint down beside hers.

“Congratulations,” Marker said, his voice neither sarcastic nor celebratory. He probably didn’t know who Iona was or why Gage was smuggling her around in a backpack. He probably didn’t care. “Do you need me to lock you in or have you handled a cryochamber before?”

“I’m a pilot,” Gage said, handing the handheld chapel back to Marker. “I could fly this ship if needed.”

“That’s what they all say. Can I leave you to lock down your buddy?”

“Yeah,” Gage said and Marker walked away.

Gage leaned against the cryochamber and saw Iona still looking at him through the crack he’d left open in the backpack. “How are you hanging in there?”

“I’m a little excited,” she whispered back.

“I bet.”

“You won’t be able to divorce me on Ganymede.”

Gage scratched his chin. “I know. And you’ll never be able to sell yourself again because married women can’t sign those kinds of contracts.”

She gasped, having not thought of that angle. “I wasn’t going to.”

Gage chuckled.

Heretic came out of the bathroom. “Okay, there was nothing to worry about in there,” he said, waving his hands dry.

“Well, get in,” Gage said. “I’ll do the lock up for you.”

Heretic leaned in and lowered his voice. “You don’t think anything weird will happen when we’re asleep, do you?”

Gage clenched his jaw for a second and then said again, “If anything does happen, it would have happened anyway. If we get to Ganymede alright, wanna go get our noses done together? A little cosmetic surgery will probably lower everyone’s interest in us.”

“But I like my nose,” Heretic said.

Gage opened the cryochamber. “You could slip in the shower. The doctor operating on you could have a stroke. Someone could crash into you. One of your kids could decide to turn on you. Any number of things could go wrong at any minute. Don’t think about them. Think about how you are out of that hole and soon you’ll be among the stars, with me.”

Heretic got into the cryochamber. “Hey Gage, do you know the order we were born?”

“There wasn’t any order,” Gage said. “We all came out of our tubes at once.”

“That’s not true. There was an order. The scientists tried to have us all come out at the same time, but we didn’t.”

Gage leaned on the lid of the cryochamber. “Okay, I’ll play this game. Who was first?”

“No one. A bunch of us did come out at first. In fact, all of us did, except you. You came out seven hours and seventeen minutes later.”

Gage stared. “What do you think that means?”

“That you’re slow as fuck.”

Gage closed the lid on him.

***

If Heretic was looking out the glass lid of his cryochamber, he would have seen something odd. He would have seen Gage put his backpack in the bottom of his double-wide cryochamber before he got in himself. The lid came down. The locks clicked into place.

If he had looked through his window without fogging them up, he would have seen slim hands press pink palms into the glass of Gage’s chamber. He would have seen ankles and toes up in windows as Iona unfolded herself like a flower. A mass of pink tendrils would have appeared as a woman who was pink all over put her profile in view and showed the shadow of her upturned nose line against the glass, against the wall, making it look like there was more than one Iona. She stretched and stripped, sliding out of her sweater-jacket. In a moment, Gage’s outlines were mixed up with hers as body parts bumped the sides of the cryochamber.

If Heretic had got annoyed, or curious, and loomed over them to have a look, he wouldn’t have seen anything other than hazy dark shapes as the windows had entirely fogged up.

If he had been able to wipe the condensation clean, he would have seen their kiss that was still happening when the chamber filled with gas and they were frozen in that moment.

If Heretic had seen all that, he wouldn’t have stayed to see more.