Nude in Space 2: A New World

By P.Z. Walker

In this sequel to "Nude In Space", a group of 'nudies' want to escape a dying Earth in search of CS 298.
Will they succeed? And what if they do? Will there be that planet which was once visited and that no one ever returned to? Follow Bradley, Trish, Joan, Jack and many others on their quest, in search of a new world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: P.Z. Walker
• Release date: Dec 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005526917

P.Z. Walker

Naturist activist and author, luring people into naturism one story at a time, using many genres, from mystery through history to fantasy.

Book preview

Earth is still breathing, but it's on life support.

Humanity is desperate for a new planet to live on.

1. Life isn't fun anymore

Life isn't fun anymore here, Trish, Bradley said as he came in. He closed the door of the short cleaning-tunnel behind him and took off the gas mask.

Trish, his wife, looked up from the couch. I know. It's not been fun for years, and we've been saying so for as many years, Brad. We need a way out of here and we need it soon. Trish put down the tablet on which she'd been reading the latest news and gossip. Lately the gossip was more interesting than the news. There are ships going out for a new planet almost every month. We should be the lucky ones to go on one of them.

Brad walked to the fridge and pulled out an often-used bottle. He needed some cold water. The outside temperature hadn't been below a hundred degrees in almost a year, and the pollution fogs were so dense they felt hard to walk through. They clung to people's skin and even the cleaning tunnel couldn't get all of it off, or so it felt by now. I doubt we'll be that lucky, Trish. He gestured to the wall, in the direction of the closed city. They'll be out of here first, leaving us outcasts here to rot in their crap. He refilled the bottle and put it back in the fridge.

At least there will be fewer of 'them' flying out, Trish said, holding up the tablet. This afternoon a subterranean dwelling collapsed, killing several hundred people.

Bradley hadn't heard about that yet. What happened, do they know?

Apparently the cooling systems were too damaging on the rock that the dwelling was carved into. The article I read was very technical. Had something to do with moisture and crumbling levels. And then the whole thing went down. She got up and started dinner. Fancy anything special tonight?

Do we have anything special?

Let me invent something, his wife said.

At that moment the doorbell sounded. Bradley checked the videocom. That's Jack and Joan. They both wore gas masks as well, but he recognized their body shapes. Quickly he opened the door for them.

What brought you here, he asked after the two had come in, handing them towels so they could wipe off any remaining grime from outside.

Our legs and a lot of determination, Jack replied. It's really stinky out there today. I wonder if they fired a few more ships into space. It sure feels like it.

I haven't heard anything, Bradley said. Could be, though. They've been building launching platforms like crazy. Maybe they should 3D-print those as well as their spaceships.

That's... Joan looked around as she slipped a battered bag from her shoulder. Can we talk?

Yes. This place is safe, Trish said, offering the two something to drink. Nudie City's too far out for the textile world to come and check. One of the few benefits, I guess.

Okay...

They all sat down before Jack and Joan talked about their visit.

We found a printed ship that's labeled as rejected. They dumped it out in the desert instead of fixing what's wrong. A few of us heard about it and went looking for the thing. It was wide open, dusty and dirty as crap inside, but the only thing they found wrong with it is some communication module that deals with satellites. The rest of the thing is fully functional, as far as we managed to get it to work. The actual cockpit is still a riddle, but we'll get round to that.

Right. And you want to take it up for trips around the Earth? Bradley grinned at the stupid idea.

No. I want to get some good people together and try to reach CX 298.

That made everyone fall silent.

CX 298. A planet that, a few dozen years ago, had seemed promising as a second Earth, until the last group of military surveyors had returned, announcing that the planet wasn't as friendly as every probe had thought it to be.

You're crazy, Trish said after finding back her voice. We all know about that place.

Joan nodded as she took a tablet from her bag. We all know about that place what the official sources told us. They forced my aunt Zoe into keeping silent about it, but as she got older and early dementia kicked in, she started talking about CX 298. And that turned into a whole different story.

What? Trish and Bradley hadn't expected that. They had heard the story of Joan's aunt being among the first to go out and visit several new planets, but everything about CX 298 had been shelved, together with many other planets that had been promising at first.

Joan nodded. She told us that a group of people stayed behind there. Nudists like us. Thirty or forty of them, I think. She was very unclear at that point, but she insisted that life was possible there. How clothes fell apart there, due to something in the air, so people had to be nude on the surface. And some nasty stuff happened, after which the spaceship returned to Earth with the message that CX 298 wasn't an option.

Get out of here, Bradley said. That's too wild. You don't even read such stuff in books.

Jack, however, claimed that he'd been there when Joan's aunt had spoken about that. We had agreed to keep this silent for as long as Zoe Clarks was alive, but she's gone for half a year now, and after we found that abandoned ship... He took a deep breath. Well, that gave me the idea to take that thing up and search for that planet. We have a general idea where we have to go, thanks to the old footage and information about that trip, so...

But leaving Earth... Trish bit her lip. That's kind of drastic.

Jack agreed with her, but he pointed out that staying here wasn't going to make most people very happy either. The air quality is getting worse by the month, in case you didn't notice. Even the dressed-people accommodations are struggling to keep it clean, despite all their advanced filters. And after so many decades we're still the naked outcasts, Trish. What prospect do we have here? I'd rather go out into space and take my chances there, than stay here, work in an unhealthy environment and challenge my lungs on the way to work and back home every day.

Bradley pondered those words. They made an odd kind of sense. He too had to fight his way to work each day, and what a quality work it was. Going through all kinds of waste from the city, trying to find material they could reuse in their nudie town, or working in the improvised greenhouses in the hope to get some decent food on the table of everyone living here. How many people would be able to travel in that ship?

Bradley! Are you considering... Trish raised her eyebrows.

I'm curious, woman.

I think forty or fifty should fit. There should be plenty of cryo tubes although we didn't count them, Jack said.

Fifty wouldn't be enough for everyone here, Trish knew.

I doubt everyone would leave, Jack said, not with the possibility of ending up nowhere. Which is a risk we take. He sounded as if he'd already made up his mind about this. I do think we should ask everyone in Nudie City and give them the option. With the disclaimer that full is full.

In that case you should be certain of the number of tubes, Bradley said. And calculate that some might not work, perhaps.

We'd need at least four people to stay awake during the trip too, so we need food and water to keep them going during that time. Those folks need to know a bit about flying, and navigating would be a boon.

Fat chance, Jack. Flying perhaps; there are some people with low-level gliders around when the winds are down, but navigating? In space? We'll have to do better than that.

"We? Are we going?" Trish's voice sounded sharp.

Bradley slowly turned to his wife. For now you can take that as talking in the heat of the moment, sweetheart. But give it a thought. I already like the idea of getting away from here before we're the last ones standing. The dressed folks run off as fast as they can, to the planets they discovered, and they're not guaranteed a safe haven either. Lots of them are taking that option because staying here... A gust of wind made the walls shudder, as if to underline his words. And wasn't it you who said we need a way out of here soon? He winked.

*

Bradley was at work again, thinking about Jack's and Joan's words from the day before. He was in a relatively safe environment; a building with some machinery that created stuff for the city-folks and those underground. The automatic transporter was patiently waiting until its cargo hull was full enough, and then it would drive off to its delivery location.

He was glad the winds were down, so he could work without the gas mask. The heat was up, but he could handle that. Moving a bit slower did the trick already.

Six other people were there with him. Bradley checked the time. He wanted that break to start so he could drop the plan of leaving.

Guys! Break! It was a bit early, but Daniel's voice was convincing enough for everyone. They sat down in their corner, grabbing their bottles with water and some food. Bradley told them about the plan to escape from this planet as soon as there was a moment for it.

What? Are you mad? You would leave Terra Firma just because the textiles do?

"Terra? Look at what we're up against. Terror is a more apt name for this place now," Daniel said before Bradley could reply. Several others slowly nodded their agreement after his words had sunk in. Several of them stated they liked the idea of going somewhere else, but they would only go if that 'somewhere else' was better than Earth. All eyes were on Bradley after that.

We have no idea if it's going to be better. We don't even know if there is another place to live, because everything that people told us about CX 298, so long ago, was shrouded in mystery. If you want certainty, stay here. If you want to risk a better life, join the group.

And if you want to risk death, join too, someone huffed.

Daniel turned to the speaker. Death is guaranteed. You're not going to live forever in this place either, Martin.

At least here I'll know what I'll die of, Martin said, shrugging. His words made everyone laugh.

Yeah, your heart will stop beating, Daniel said to that. Guess what will happen out there in space if things go wrong. More laughter ensued, but Martin wasn't going to be swayed.

You go out into space all you want, he said, I'm going to live out my days here.

Bradley was glad he hadn't told anyone about the actual, discarded spaceship yet. No one knew it existed, or where it was. Well, he didn't know the latter either.

After the break he was convinced there were at least four people interested in 'leaving Earth', in whatever way. Two of them had wives, one had a girlfriend, so that might make seven. Not a bad number of people.

On the way home he planned to get in touch with Jack and Joan, and tell them about today.

2. Recruiting

If you keep recruiting people like that, we'll need several ships to get everyone away. Jack winked at Bradley from the other side of the screen. But seriously, it would be great if they are really interested in coming with us. Are you working tomorrow?

No. Why?

We plan on going to have another look at that ship. And this time a serious one. If we really want to get this plan up and running, we need to make sure the thing is safe. And up for the trip. Stuff like that.

Bradley felt a strange excitement as he turned to his wife. Did you hear that?

I did. It sounds... good.

Trish, you can come and have a look as well, if you want, Jack said as he caught her words.

But I don't have the faintest clue about spaceships, Trish countered. I might know where to get in if the door is open and a sign points me to it.

But more eyes see more, Jack said. Sometimes not knowing anything about something is most helpful, so if you feel up to it, do come along.

Trish didn't look convinced, but the next morning she was the one pushing Bradley to hurry...

*

Are you finally done?

For Chrissake, woman, let up for a moment. Jack and Joan aren't here yet, so we can stay inside a bit longer. Bradley looked at the backpack he'd prepared for the trip. Food, water, spare gas masks and spare filters for the existing ones. And a small tablet, to write things down on and take some pictures, just in case. Just as he was done talking, the intercom sounded.

We're here. Are you ready?

See? Trish opened the door to the cleaning tunnel and looked impatiently at her husband, who flung the backpack over a shoulder and followed her. Going outside was much faster than coming inside, and soon the two were in the back of an old landcar that probably had seen more miles than the manufacturer had ever dared to dream possible.

A few more folks are on their way there, Jack said as he made the vehicle jolt forward. Keep your masks handy. The filters on this thing are okay for the usual fogs and such, but we'll be passing a few city exhausts and the filters aren't made for that kind of crap.

The landcar plowed on for almost an hour, in which the occupants had to resort to their masks several times, but once the city was far behind them and they had entered what was official wasteland, things looked a little better.

Jack maneuvered the car past several artificial mountains that consisted of garbage, most of it toxic, but it the car's filters could handle that. Behind those piles of worry lay their goal. Bradley and Trish spotted three large objects. Two of them were clearly incomplete; starts of spaceships that had gone wrong. One of them, however, looked brand new despite the layer of dirt that covered it.

The machine grew in size until Jack stopped the car next to a slightly newer version of his vehicle. No need for the masks here, he said, but keep them close. You never know when the winds change.

They left the car and met up with four others, who had already opened the spaceship.

Phil, John, Mary, Nick, these are Bradley and Trish, Joan said, taking care of introductions. They're very interested in this and Bradley has already made some folks curious. So, where are we with this?

The two newcomers were overwhelmed with a flow of facts and information they had never thought to be privy to. Nick then invited the two into the craft for a first tour. To their surprise, the first stop was the cockpit, from where the craft was directed.

We desperately need a few people to figure this stuff out, Nick said, waving a hand at the generous amount of equipment that seemed strewn around two comfortable chairs. And since you're new and you're interested, we hope you can spend time on that.

But we're not... Bradley started.

Nick cut him off, though. None of us aren't anything with this, except that we're dying to get away from here. We don't expect you to figure this out in a week or two. We found... The man leaned over and punched a few buttons, making a console come to life. ...this. It looks like a complete training schedule to get to know the cockpit and the stuff in it. Do you have a tablet with you?

Almost automatically, Bradley slipped the backpack from his shoulder and dug out the tablet. We do.

Nifty. Nick took it and put it on a small, open spot on the now live console. He pressed a button, and the tablet lit up as it started downloading information. I'm uploading the entire training into your tablet. Look at it. Study it. Pick up from it what you can. Let us know if you need to be in here, to check the real thing against what you know. We can always arrange that.

But...

Nick shook his head. "Yeah. Naked ones only; the kind you sit on. We all started with a but, and now more and more of us are getting proficient with the machinery and the systems. John, for instance, is learning about the cryo-tubes. Mary's looking into space navigation together with Phil, who also figures out the communication systems. And Jack, Joan and me are trying to learn as much as I can about the rest of the machine."

The tablet switched off. Nick handed it back. Questions?

Ehm...

Good. They'll come. Nick rubbed his beard. I know this goes a lot faster than you may have bargained for, but we need people. Smart people. Jack and Joan told us you're smart. You have to be, because you want to leave as well. He nodded at his own words.

Bradley held the tablet as if it had become dangerous. And, in a way, it had done so, he realized. It held knowledge that most people never got to know about, and Trish and he were going to take it home and absorb that knowledge. Only then he became aware of that thought and acknowledged that he was, indeed, going to do that. Become a part of the team that would take people away from here. To an uncertain future. Still he had to say something. You are aware that I work at a basic production plant, don't you?

Yes. I am. I also know that you did highly technical work at the textile city until they decided they didn't want us nudies in there anymore, even if we were dressed. You got the brains for this, Bradley. And you were kick-ass with computers in general, Nick said as he turned to Trish. Patricia Holmes-Collins, the very woman who hacked into the defense systems of the government and improved them. And I'm here talking to you.

Trish grinned. "That was long