Beyond the Providers

By P.G. Henck

In the 25th century, things are going pretty well for the human race. Most of the solar system has been explored and inhabited ushering in a peace between different peoples that has prevailed for centuries. Hunger, poverty, addictions, greed, lust, and the criminal activities associated with them are non-existent with 99.9% of the human population. It would be hard to give the credit for this Utopian society to any one of the many great advances over the last few centuries, such as unlimited energy, turning most planets and moons into Earth-like environments, the genetic improvement of all species, and mental communication. But there is one advancement that stands out among the others. About 80% of the human population is non-gendered, allowing that portion of the population to devote considerably more time to productive societal pursuits, rather than courtship and other self-centered activities that have distracted humankind in the preceding centuries.

As fate would have it, though, just when the Sol System society was becoming sound in its acceptance of this stable existence, a message from somewhere in the universe brought both incredible technology for quick space travel, but also the haunting question as to why these Providers had really sent it. Those champions and explorers called upon to test this new technology, and the rest of Sol society as it turned out, were about to enter a new period of unforeseen change for human society. A period where the fate of the whole human race would be carried on the backs of a few individuals as they explore many unknown worlds in search of a new home. Can the human race be saved, and will it ever be able to return to the Utopia it once was? These are the questions that go beyond what the Providers have brought, and the changes their legacy have created for humankind.

The author wishes to notify readers that Beyond the Providers does have adult intimate scenes depicted in it, so it may be found to be unsuitable for readers less than 18 years of age.

• Language: English
• Publisher: P.G. Henck
• Release date: Aug 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9781951251000

P.G. Henck

About P.G. HenckP.G. Henck has written several science fiction and fantasy stories with more on the way. His first novel, ‘Beyond The Providers’, was self published in 2019 after many years in development. His next two novels, ‘Elementary Science 101’ and ‘Elementary Science 201’, entered the humorous side of science fiction, where many of his works now reside. The ‘Deep Space Rescue 911’ series has begun with two novellas, and may end with a novel in order to complete the whole story. The ‘Captain Mike’ series will eventually consist of three novellas, each with a different set of circumstances and characters, except for Captain Mike of course. Both series are comedies and follow P.G.’s favorite storyline of an unusual group of individuals making their way through space. The published short stories ‘Distant Neighbors’ and ‘Alien Vacation Invasion’ had parts inspired by real events, which P.G. thinks can be pretty funny in themselves at times. The next short story, ‘Bigfoot Dance Party’, relies on characters from ‘Elementary Science 201’. Being published in the fall of 2021 are the fantasy / science fiction novellas ‘Bring it Alien B’ and ‘Super Absorption’. Both go for the funny bone as well as presenting new interesting characters. Additional short stories and novellas are planned in the next few years along with another novel called Time Minds, which is expected to give readers a heavy dose of fictionalized history made possible through science fiction.P.G. Henck was born in Michigan, and lived in the Great Lakes region for a good part of his life with his wife, the girl next door. The couple then moved to southern Utah to experience the spectacular scenery and endless trails it provides. Though he spent most of his career as an accountant and financial administrator, P.G. Henck’s outside interest lay heavily in the sciences, space exploration, and history. Also a lover of science fiction and fantasy over the years, he has gone out of his way to see every movie and TV show available, both good and bad. His many other interests besides writing include hiking, travel, photography, and website development, along with designing and producing his own book covers.Please go to the author’s website at www.pghenck.com for more information and special deals on purchasing his books.

Book preview

Chapter One - Starting a Life

I’ve been asked to describe my life, as I saw it. I suppose to better document my small place in history. Or maybe it is to better reacquaint humankind with me, now that I have been discovered again after so many centuries have passed. In any case, this endeavor is proving more difficult than I could have ever imagined. Most of my life moved so quickly that I had little time to think about its significance as it happened, and even less after the fact. I was just living a life, not building a legend as I now am told.

As each new experience was built from the ones that preceded it, the facts become intertwined with the joys and sorrows that accompanied them. Unfortunately, my memory was not carefully building a well-planned book of my experiences, each chapter being almost a complete work within itself. It was more like a huge box of jumbled independent note cards, each depicting an experience or random thought. Sometimes a note card was connected by a thin string to only a single card lying deeper in the box somewhere, sometimes connected to many others. No page numbers or sequenced codes to quickly piece the note cards together, only their thin strings going everywhere in the box. Each string needing to be carefully followed as it was found, so none of the other strings would be broken. I guess now that I have been faced with yet another impossible task, I’ll just do as I always have. Jump in like the hapless hero, and hope for the best.

To keep this task from taking the rest of my limited time remaining, though, I’m only going to reflect on those parts of my past closest to me now. What brought me here to New World and those events leading up to it. My typical childhood in a loving gendered family, and my many victories and failures as a young man trying to find his place in the scheme of things will not be dealt with here. Quite frankly, at this point, I can’t imagine my story filling but just a few pages, though the memory boosters I just took should help fill in some missing details.

Before I begin, in order to help with your understanding the story to follow, I want to first go back to when I was a freshman in my advanced training program. It was the first time I was finally on my own, now able to pick any direction as I saw fit. Except of course for a few mandatory courses, with the Terrain History 1900 – 2400 course being one of the most dreaded by science students. But I figured it was a small price to pay for gaining almost full empowerment in my future, so I decided to get it out of the way quickly.

This also was my first exposure to a high speed mind dump, and I recall being a little anxious about that new experience. So it seemed like a good strategy to test it out on a course I didn’t care much about. After the initial session, however, I found the experience not only to be nothing to fear, but actually exhilarating. Each day I craved my dose of new knowledge and understanding of the recent past. Pushing my mind to its limits, I usually exceeded the required comprehension goals for that session, and ended up finishing the required course in record time. But instead of going on to one of my chosen courses, I took almost every supplemental course excursion offered. And there were many, far in excess of the original course as it turned out.

The more I was given, the more I wanted. The course started with the Industrial Revolution of the 20th Century and all the tremendous advances in mass production, global communication, transportation, metallurgy, chemistry, and electronics. This century set the stage for the next 400 years. During this time period humankind left the confines of Earth and began exploration of the Sol System.

Perhaps even more interesting than this leap forward in technology, was how the psychological outlook of individuals began an unprecedented revision. Humans were beginning to find that the new technological marvels they had created often taxed the human animal beyond its designed limits. The introduction of instant communication, fabricated visual events, and greatly increased mobility had exceeded many individuals’ mental capacities, sometimes leading to addictions, violence, and despair. For all these reasons, this century turned out to be my favorite. In fact, this initial experience led to my lifelong fascination with the 20th Century. I took time to learn new facts about it every chance I got in the years that followed. And eventually, I began celebrating this time period whenever I could with others who felt the same way. The fact that this 20th Century society, seemingly so hell bent on destroying itself, didn’t end up doing it, was alone a compelling enough reason for someone to want to study it further.

From there the course went on to the Twenty-first Century, which had been dubbed as the Knowledge Revolution for advancements happening mainly in the later half. Personal communication was brought to heights never before thought possible. Language barriers fell, and the five traditional human senses were added to for the first time, with the sense of thought. Pure ideas could now be moved electronically from mind to mind. Needless to say, the psychological adjustments necessary in the previous century continued at an even faster pace with this innovation. The individual, once truly alone, now was connected to the rest of humankind. In time, many other Earth life forms joined this circle, bringing forth a new awareness and cooperation among all living creatures never before imagined.

With the Twenty-second Century, the Genetic Revolution now dominated the scene. Humans began to physically change both themselves and their biological environment in earnest. From the early health-related applications of this technology in the previous two centuries, we dramatically altered and controlled the human animal, perfecting our genetic code to its ultimate potential. Society, once a mixed set of untried individuals, was now blended with experienced and experimental participants, achieving the highest possible societal efficiency and growth.

As with other animals, humans historically had devoted considerable time and energy to random procreation and the associated endeavors of courtship along with sexual gratification. Now with planned procreation, 80% of society was engineered as monogendered individuals, allowing this portion of the population to pursue more productive societal goals. The remaining gendered population, however, not only served as a reproductive safeguard for catastrophic change, but also provided society with a unique set of individuals possessing many of the capabilities and instincts that had guided our ancestors through their difficult past.

The Energy Revolution highlighted the Twenty-third Century. After shattering most biological barriers in the previous century, humankind took aim on those remaining in the physical sciences. In particular, mobile fusion and plasma control created a boom in applied technology almost as far-reaching as those experienced in the 20th Century. This technology spread in just a few decades from limited specific use to the routine use of fusion reactors in most energy-driven devices ranging from personal communicators to Super Transports. With the energy revolution, humankind was now able to finally remedy past abuses such as environmental pollution and inequitable distribution of life necessities. With limitless and mobile energy, humans began to reach out to the far corners of the Sol System as never before, and set the stage for the next century.

The Planetary Revolution in the Twenty-fourth Century expanded the human influence to a scale never before attempted. We now had total control of planetary atmospheric and surface conditions. Once places to survive, exploit, and then leave, non-Earth planets and moons were reshaped to human design and permanent needs. Because of the advances in the previous centuries, society's expansion into the Sol System had also been orderly, and without the conflicts and jealousies that had plagued humankind for much of its existence on Earth. As a result, though dispersed throughout the solar system, humankind had become one society, committed to common values, perceptions, and goals shared equally by all. Except for a very small number, who refused to join the rest of society every time it was offered. No matter how hard a great society tries, there will always be some twisted individuals who refuse to be part of it, and put their own petty interests first every chance they get.

Finally, the course concluded with a brief summary of what had happened so far in the Twenty-fifth Century. To this day I can remember almost exactly word for word what the professor said: While no one can deny the startling achievements made so far in our current century, most scholars agree that the types of advances needed to match those of the previous five centuries have not transpired. I hate to dash the hopes of the Golden Millennium proponents, but with almost half of this century already completed, it now seems likely that the previous five centuries will stand as unique within themselves. So with this century, we seem to be entering a new phase of existence. There has already been much speculation on what the future will bring. Are we eventually to plummet into an age of missed opportunity and lost technology, or find a stable maturity with the existence we have created in the previous 500 years?

Most scholars agreed with this opinion that humankind’s sleigh ride of advancement was now over. I remember thinking both how lucky I was to not be subjected to constant change as humans had been before me, but also how sad that would be not experiencing the thrills of exploration and discovery that came along with it. Little did I know then that in a few more decades humankind, and my life, would be changed forever. And so, that story begins.

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Chapter Two - Home is Where

The last few days of my former life began as many more had before it. I got up religiously to conduct my day’s first business in my small dimly-lit living area. Every inch of this small room was loaded with devices, fixtures projecting from the walls, and mementoes. The soft pale yellow light of my favorite holiotube always flickered next to my sleeping chamber. Inside it was a sultry lady wearing a tight fitting gown blowing me a kiss. At least I thought that was what she was doing at the time. More on her later, no need to complicate things yet. Above this holiotube was my framed diploma from the Sol Transit Authority. It was another direction of mine that didn’t go very far. Then above my cleaning station was an event flag that said 1 in 5 - Keep Us Alive on it. I was fonder of the good time I had after that event than the gibberish they were promoting. But it was important to the holiotube lady to see it there in my quarters, so that is where it was at the time.

Next to the banner, were two items that did mean a lot to me. The first was a luminescent Swingtown sign, with their logo transposed over the rings of Saturn. It was my favorite place to re-find myself when I felt lost. Below that, was a child’s clock with 2474 broadly lit with the slogan, Another Very Good Year transcribed below the clock. This was called a life clock, and was a faddish gift I was given by my parents when they first got me. The clock only lights up when I am nearby, so it has probably remained dark for some time now. Both of these items were donated to the Hall of Records anonymously when my name was erased from the records. Maybe someday I will be able to get them back, maybe not.

While my living quarters may have looked like a small pig sty with all the clutter and quickly discarded items of clothing floating at ease in the weightless environment, to me it was home. It was my retreat from the bright light and pulsating noise that was always present in other parts of the ship. And now looking back, maybe it was also a retreat from the other things in my life that didn’t always go where I wanted them to. This mess was all mine, to leave or clean as I pleased. Besides, as my many space journeys accumulated, fresh clothes and personal hygiene seemed less important than just getting the job done.

The pilot’s cabin was where I spent most of my waking hours while on board, anyway. And it was even smaller than my living area, with just enough room for two humans to enter and sit. I always kept the pilot’s cabin free of clutter, though. Here, something out of place could cost you your life. And as for its small size, with all the info displays, large view port, and other animated equipment, it felt more like the vastness of space was surrounding me. It was always a thrill at first, sitting there in my custom fitted chair, cruising the heavens, controlling my own fate in life. But again as the trips began stack up, the empty chair next to me became a reminder of my growing loneliness.

At least initially, this simple space-bound existence suited me just fine. It was actually a relief from the well-groomed ways of the Authority that I had been subjected to several years before. While my space journeys were common and mundane compared to those days, I was still the pilot in control, at least as much as any cargo jockey could be with the constant breakdowns and plan changes that were part of this life.

On this particular journey, though, Luna's bright glow captured my attention through the view port. I just gazed at it for a few selfish seconds and smiled. This beautiful scene meant my family was only minutes away, so it gave me a thrill no matter when I saw it. But on this flight, it seemed like nature’s painting of Luna was attempting to be one of the classics. Shadowy crater walls were fringed by slender arms of ejecta lacing across the lunar plains. This stark penetration of reflected sunlight filled me with a spiritual power only possible from space. Luna's subtle variation of form and light had been blessed by the ages long before humankind arrived, and luckily, we had done little to change that. Though tired, lonely, and a little stinky, I could not have been in any more of perfect place, approaching the only real home I had at that time.

But the rudeness of reality called me back to the critical task at hand, when the info displays and prompters seemed to explode with activity needing my attention. As I put on the headset, my mind was instantly connected to the ship and the many demands it was now making of me. At times it was hard to tell who was controlling who, with this back-and-forth between the ship’s instruments and my mind. It was almost like an unrehearsed dance at times, each partner spinning the other wildly, hoping to land brilliantly in the right place, while landing flat on your face was also a possibility.

I guess on these journeys you could say the ship was my only companion, though its interactions had no personality attached to it whatsoever. Just straight information transferred to me most of the time, except when I gave a side comment back in my reply. This usually confused the ship, and I admit sometimes I did it to just break the monotony. There was no witty exchange between man and computer, however, like the movies of past centuries had shown. While the capability to do such programing in a cerboid script was possible, long ago the Authority had made the present scripts mandatory, so I was stuck with them. After a while of this type of interaction, it made you quite thankful that you were asleep during most of your flight. So when my solitary journey was coming to an end, I was usually more than ready to have a conversation with someone made of flesh and blood. In fact, the landing ritual seemed to me to have all the joy and excitement of a huge parade working its way noisily though the crowded streets. Except no one was cheering me in this parade, just the terse comments and questions from my ship were all that I heard.

Outside, it was probably a different picture altogether. My small, barely visible ship was slowly creeping toward the huge crest of Luna. It was as insignificant as a moth drawn to a vast searchlight. To an onlooker, my glorious approach probably looked more like a bunch of space junk ready to smack into Luna’s side, rather than the glorious parade going on in my brain. The ship was roughly cylindrical in shape, with the pilot's cabin connected to one end, almost as an afterthought. Most of the ship’s volume was devoted to rows of old detachable canisters fixed onto a stationary core. Junk was probably too strong of a word, but the ship did look like most of its parts came from different places, and were now being held together as one against their will.

While my ship was not able to fly in most atmospheres, it was still sound in the void of space despite its ungainly appearance. Although the patches and parts of different origins did show its age, nothing was loose or truly out of place. My ship, like me, was a seasoned veteran of the cold and sometimes unforgiving ravages of space. We could always be trusted to do our job, as well as the fates would allow us.

Eventually my craft descended to Luna's surface, with each sub-orbit a little lower, and a little slower. Only on its final approach would my ship make a sustained firing of its main thrusters to produce a soft and accurate landing. Top-line cargo vessels approached the moon at flank speed, and then slowed their momentum for a safe landing just a few kilometers above the surface. However, for the small custom cargo runs that I obtained, such equipment and methods were usually just a dream.

Luna Base One hailing Solar Dust Buster, blasted over the audible communicator. We have you on our scopes, Semalon.

I usually had to recalibrate the volume since I was receiving it mentally, and it somehow always felt like my dad was shouting in my ear. This time I was in such a merry mood that I said in my best radio voice, The Dusty Bust reads you loud and clear Loony One. I waited with a smile on my face to see what my dad’s response would be.

But his reply was what it always was. We are initiating the landing sequencer. Go for linkup Semalon, on my mark, now.

So it appeared the parade was over as I was shoved back to my expected role by my dad. Linkup was successful, Luna Base One, we are now at your control, Dnaldim.

Affirmative, Solar Dust Buster, we will be awaiting your arrival, Dnaldim said with a professional voice that still carried the warm feelings of a father to my ears. Though we had been separated by countless miles of space for years now, our family bond still remained strong no matter how long my absences were.

We did not always see things the same way, though. Since I left the Authority, I had lost sight of ever establishing a proper home. This would be needed for me to ever hope to raise a family like my parents wanted me to. Small quarters on space ships and short stays with others were all I could lay claim to. The responsibility and commitment of raising children, like my parents had done, just was not the way I saw my life going. My parents had struggled daily to provide me and my sister a secure, well-defined, and nurturing environment. It was their highest priority, and at times it seemed to me like it had consumed their very existence. I hadn’t figured out what my highest priority was yet, but stopping my search to raise a family, and then eventually just giving up on my quest, didn’t seem like a better path than the one I was currently on.

Even with our small differences over the years, though, Dnaldim and my mother were always there for me. They were my trainers, coaches, and fans, all in one. I greatly appreciated the important contribution my parents had made in giving me the ability to make my own decisions, even when they were contrary to what they would have chosen. I guess it’s one of the great ironies of parenting. You spend a major portion of your life giving your child every tool, gift, and belief you possess, only to have some of them thrown back in your face when your kids decide to do it their way. Luckily, my parents had a tenacious love that refused to yield to their self-pride and urge to dominate every situation. They always eventually gave me their acceptance when I went my own way. That was perhaps their greatest gift and legacy to me. Truth be told, they set the parent bar so high that the thought of trying to match it seemed very intimidating, if not impossible.

As my craft continued its slow descent to Luna Base One, I began to make out the blinking landing target. Eventually the whole base was visible, sprawling out from the opened landing port. From up above, it looked roughly like small pieces of several white circles, each connected to the center by corridors coming out to meet them. These were actually just the top part of the structures. Most of it had been buried in later years by lunar soil to shield the base from radiation and micrometeorites. Now, just in caretaker status, the once thriving research, mining, and transportation center was beginning to show its neglect, even though Luna still had no atmosphere. Sol’s constant radiation faded some of the exposed parts more than others, and the un-cleaned dust, stirred up from the few landings they got, was beginning to pool around the parts of the base still visible on the surface.

Luna Base One was the oldest such remaining facility on this moon, well over 200 years. Since it was the first permanent base beyond Earth, there had been some talk of turning it into a museum. But unfortunately the base’s ability to always reinvent itself over the years had taken it out of the running. The original equipment in its many labs and research facilities had been replaced several times over the years, and the small mining operation added on after about 75 years took away from its original pioneer charm. Luna Base 5 was eventually converted into the moon’s premier museum instead, since it better represented the early days of lunar habitation, not to mention being almost right on the original Apollo 11 landing site.

Perhaps as a last tribute, the Authority had designated Luna Base One as an emergency support facility. The first-class automated landing system I was using and the functional landing port were installed for this purpose. While these latest technological advances were expensive, they could easily be transferred to another outpost when this one was finally closed. So when the last sentimental strings fell by the wayside, only the obsolete and forgotten parts of a once-thriving base would be left behind.

Eventually someone might salvage the interior for parts, but the exterior would cost more to salvage than the profit. So unlike many of the ghost towns on Earth that eventually faded back into the landscape after only a hundred years or so, this one would just sit there for perhaps thousands of years, pretty much as it was left. Forever dark and silent inside, just a shell of the former lives it contained.

But for now this current thin thread of usefulness was all that allowed my father and sister to stay at the base. A few years earlier, when the base was still partially used, my mother had died. Her remains were now at Luna Base One. Dnaldim, once obedient to the frequent moving and changes expected of a Systems Manager, planned to stay where he and his wife last lived, no matter what the bureaucrats on Earth decided. Though seldom discussed, Dnaldim's resolve and anxiety over the constant threat of closure were expressed through his actions. Rather than enjoying the less demanding position of caretaker, he not only maintained the base in top condition as he had for years before, but had also embarked on an extensive repair and restoration program with material discarded from other bases or secured by his many friends in the Authority. I respected my father's feelings, but knew an old and loyal man's wishes would mean nothing to the Authority. Someday the inevitable would happen, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Eventually, the inside of the landing port became fully visible, and was clearly identified by a circle of lights around its perimeter. Until the first swirls of lunar dust brought up by my ship’s thruster engines began to block this view. I loved to watch the lunar dust dance around my ship as if it were alive, then fall away in the airless low gravity environment as quickly as it had come. Unlike the other Chartered planets and moons, Luna had been deliberately left more or less in its original state without an atmosphere. Whether it was a sense of nostalgia, or more suitable locations taking priority, past plans to make the moon more Earthlike eventually were dropped. So the dust of eons sat motionless, until disturbed by an outside force like my ship.

At this point, I would usually sit back with my feet propped up, scanning the info displays more for enjoyment than to aid the landing process. It was all automatic now with my controls flickering messages of confirmation and intent without regard to what I was doing. Any emergency action was only a thought away by me anyway, although it had never happened yet in the ten years I had been in this ship. I used to call it better complacency through technology when trying to joke away my increasing boredom with each new job.

When I began as a Cargo Jockey, I referred to each trip as a mission, then I called them flights, but now they were just jobs. Each one was pretty much like the one before, with me sitting there in the pilot’s chair only to satisfy Authority regulations rather than serving any real purpose. Most of the real work I did came from managing my one man operation and maintaining the ship. This was far from the pilot I once aspired to be. The classic hero, who explored the outer reaches of the system by going to the brink of danger to achieve his goals. The only way I was going to get those experiences now, was to download a good story where some other fictional character experienced them.

Finally, my craft descended below the port's open rim, and settled with a small jolt on the floor several meters below Luna's surface. Through the view port I saw the figure of a thin, tall man of dark complexion waiting in the control bridge several stories above me. I waved and my father waved back, then quickly exited from view to join me.

Eager to begin my visit, I briskly went through the post-landing procedures. Before leaving, I took off the mind control head set and pushed the final button as though putting the last brush mark to a painting masterpiece. These trips may have turned mundane, but a little flair now and then tended to make them more tolerable. I then hastened to my airlock chamber which was opened to the air-filled landing port. The huge facility with its domed roof now back in place seemed to bear no relation at all to the small circle that was my target just a few minutes before. I then decided to take a quick climb down the descent ladder attached to the outside of the engine compartment, past smoking nozzles and landing legs groaning from the burden of gravity. Not the usual way for the modern pilot to exit his craft, but again, one of those flairs I could not resist.

As I hopped from the last ladder rung and turned around, my father’s open arms were waiting for me. He was an elderly man of mixed African descent, with a prideful smile only a father could give you. Even at his age, his face still showed the strength and warmth that had always been present for me over the years. Though he always let me know what his opinion was when he wanted to, we had a very good relationship that I always cherished, and still do.

Well Duke, I'm glad this tech trap got you home in one piece, Dnaldim said as he grabbed me with a fatherly embrace. And why didn’t you use the trans-corridor like everyone else? It sends chills down my spine every time I think of you using that ladder in a gravity environment.

Hi Dad, I said with a smirk. How's Nosam?

I'm sorry, Dnaldim said sheepishly, as he grabbed me for a second hug. I guess with a homecoming like this you will never want to come back again. It's just hard to sit back and see you take risks like that without bringing it up.

Dad, I'm a grown boy, and I don’t take needless risks. I always wear a fall protector in the ship, and I think you forgot about the biofloor they installed in this place. Without a word I quickly climbed up several rungs of the ladder, and leaped backwards to a half-somersault, landing almost vertically on my head. The floor instantly formed a large hole where my head was about to hit, as the surrounding material rose up to catch and brace the rest of my body. It not only instantly stopped my fall, but prevented any stress to my spinal column by extending support all the way up my back and legs, easing the normal pull of the moon’s gravity. With the situation now controlled, the flexible biofloor quickly rotated me to an upright position, and then retreated back to the flat floor surface, as though nothing had even happened.

I just can't get over how incredible those biomechanisms have become, I exclaimed with a child’s excitement as I straightened my clothing, now very pleased with the results of my demonstration.

You're right, Dnaldim said, though still seeming a little distressed with what I had just done. You know what you're doing, and sometimes I forget that. I guess I'm just too overprotective. You will always be my child, he said with a smile, while extending his arms for a last hug.

As I put my arm around my father's shoulders, I said from my heart. Well, keep on worrying, Dad, because sometimes I need it. Now, where is Nosam? I asked as we left the landing port through a doorway just created by the biodome.

We entered a well-lit, yet comfortable-looking lobby area. Sitting at a couch was my sister, a young woman mainly of Asian descent with long straight silky black hair and an extremely beautiful face, even from a distance. As we approached, a subtle smile came to her lips that would have aroused the heart of most men, except those who were part of her immediate family. Her slender figure was hidden in a one-piece garment decorated with exterior pockets and equipment clasps, terminating