A Spatial Surprise

By Symthasree Sarojini Koganti

Life on Earth is struggling to continue. When a middle schooler, Sidra, is chosen to journey to the planet chosen for Earth’s repopulation, she learns that people-like beings already live there, including her new friend, Tara. The past between both civilizations is rekindled at the Earthlings’ arrival. The two girls, worried for both of their planets’ futures, take matters into their own hands.

A Spatial Surprise is an all-ages sci-fi novella about imagination, discovery, and big dreams. Written for middle grade readers, this tale, told by a 12-year-old author, holds just as much charm for adults or for families to read together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Atthis Arts LLC
• Release date: May 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9781945009433

Book preview

Introduction

On Earth:

It’s the year 2139. Matters are getting worse on Earth as the population increases and global warming takes effect. By the time Earth’s humans began trying to fix Earth’s problems, they had already spiraled out of control, so now they must find another planet to inhabit. TPF (Terrestrial Planet Finder) was a space project thought to have been canceled by the government. At least, that’s what the government told the public. In reality, that is incorrect. It continued to be funded by a private agency in secret, since they thought a certain planet looked promising. Their risk paid off, with the payment being a planet that’s smack in the Goldilocks Zone of the star, Pi Three Orionis. It’s just 26 light years away and is just the place for humans. Surprisingly this planet looks almost exactly like Earth. Perfect for repopulating, with no beings there, and with nothing planning to endanger it soon—the private agency has found the right match. Now they just must break it to the public.

Sidra is a girl, a typical middle schooler who goes to Westglen Academy. Her life takes place in Virginia. Her future doesn’t feel amazing at all. Her mother works as a biologist and her father is deceased. Money is a challenge to earn, and basic needs like food are being rationed. Life doesn’t hold much pleasure for her, since every day is a new and harder level of challenging. Living on Earth feels like living in a prison. Furthermore, Sidra doesn’t know anything about the secret project, so she believes there is no hope.

On Siri-I:

Meet a planet that, unknown to the Earthlings, actually does contain intelligent life. In addition, it looks almost like Earth, but it’s far from it (26 light years or so?), and that’s how the inhabitants of Siri-I prefer it to be. In every region, matters are getting tense between the council members. The council members are supposed to take care of the welfare of their region but they’re very occupied. They debate on whether to face Earth, because they’ve noticed that it’s in trouble. Their troubled past with Earth makes them unsure of whether to reinvite Earth into their lives. Earth is considered a polluted wasteland by the whole of Siri-I, but some believe it can be changed for the better. This has been discussed before, but now it’s getting worse. One of the council members of Fiar is Tara’s guardian, Ryker.

Tara has a near perfect life. After her parents perished when she was very young, Ryker, a council member of Fiar and a close friend of her family, became her legal guardian. Her life is peaceful, and she thinks it will never get worse. And you can’t blame her for the thought—it certainly never seemed like it would. Yet, after a rise comes a fall. When unexpected visitors arrive, her life takes a whole new turn.

CHAPTER 1

REALITY

Date: 7/7/2139

By: Sidra

10:00 PM

I wish I could touch the stars. They seem to hang in the night sky, just out of my reach, as if I stretched a little farther, my fingers could close around them. Yet I never can. Wishes can’t make reality the way you want it to be. I should know that. I’m Sidra, your average middle schooler. The grass is soft and dewy beneath me as I lie facing the sky above. The clouds are shades of periwinkle, and they look as puffy as cotton candy, as they slowly drift by. Crickets chirp a symphony in high notes. It’s peaceful.

I’ve snuck out of the house just to see the show. They said it was going to be around 10 PM today. I hope they weren’t wrong, but I’m starting to suspect they were. And there it is, showing up to contradict my words. Hurtling across the sky in shades of yellow, white, and tangerine, meteors streak from the east to the west. So they were right. Hmm.

It’s not really the meteors that I’m excited about. It’s the weather and the view. A once in a lifetime opportunity to get a view like this. Pollution, famine, and natural disasters have all wreaked havoc on society. You’re probably saying, It could never happen this quickly. And to that I say, Have you seen the 2040 and ‘50s? Most of the decline started there. Someone messed with tectonic plates, another with nuclear weapons—which caused a whole lot of Europe to become unstably radioactive, and yet another somehow fooled around with the economy. Mistakes stacked up on each other. Governments put up hollow lies to make everyone feel better. We believed it; not because we were fooled, but because we had to, to be encouraged to find a way to survive. Everyone just wanted to live normal lives, so they pretended it was normal. Simple enough, right? We ignored the signs of decay. Eventually, like now, it became too hard to shrug off. To make matters worse, no technology to fix the mess is available.

Putting all this aside, I never really told you about myself, did I? Like I said before, I’m Sidra. I go to Westglen Academy, located in Virginia. It’s a prestigious school, since you must pass an entrance test that is quite tough. If you want to recognize me, look for my rust colored hair and cerulean eyes. My mom is a biologist. My dad was an architect who designed new ways to build safer buildings. He’s dead now. One of his own buildings fell on him. Loose screws in the foundations brought it all down, maybe because of tired workers or simple mistakes. After his company heard that he was dead, its customers stopped pouring in. After the customers left, the company’s integrity deserted it. My mom and I live by ourselves in a small house now. Credits to my dad, who built it before he died. It’s shaped like a dome, and mostly made of aero graphite and graphene. A combination of safety and art in the form of a house.

Honestly, life had been great up until now, despite the struggle for resources. I might even say perfect. Then my father died, and the debts came in. We’ve got to pay thousands. I barely see my mom anymore because she’s swamped with work. I can’t put all the blame on her though. I’ve been busy with projects and homework, while she’s working late into the night. I’ve asked her what she’s doing, but she says it’s something revolutionary that can change the world. She’s so engrossed in her project that I’m worried about her health—mental and physical. I’m not sure what to think about that. If we had money to spare, I’d suggest she see a doctor. But these days, every penny counts.

The last meteor finally goes by. Fireflies take the stage, flashing and dancing in the crisp air. I get up and walk towards the house, enjoying this special night. I really do have to get in the house now.

See you another time. Good bye.

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CHAPTER 2

Flight

Date: 7/7/2139

By: Tara

10:00 AM

Greetings from the region of Fiar, on the planet of Siri-I. Tara here. Siri-I is a planet in a different solar system than Earth’s, in case you were wondering. The name of our planet is pronounced Siri-Eye, not Sirii with a stretched out I. A lot of people from other planets get the pronunciation wrong the first time they see it. Our planet looks almost exactly like yours. If you think that’s odd, I agree. I’m your average Sirieen. Just one of the many serene and peaceful inhabitants of Siri-I. I always did find that funny, as serene and Sirieen