Phanes: The Moons of Centopia, #1

By PB Fox

Mankind's colonization of the universe is expanding at a rate faster than ever before, but at what cost?
  A group of young people will battle for their own freedom as well as the freedom of countless others.
  Join Mike and his friends as their lives change forever on the Moons of Centopia.

• Language: English
• Publisher: PB Fox
• Release date: Mar 9, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224787036

Book preview

Off in a remote corner of the galaxy is a solar system with two planets: a habitable midsize planet with a population of a few billion people, known to its people simply as Home World, and a green gas giant by the name of Centopia, around which are three moons, pink volcanic Thesis, rainbow Typhon and blue Phanes with its single continent. In the vastness of the confederation, it would be entirely unremarkable, except that each of those moons produces something unique and more precious to humanity than almost anything else in the universe.

Chapter 1

They came in the middle of the night, dressed in black with masks over their faces, not to hide their identity but to increase the children’s fears. Bursting through the door without warning, they stormed into the house and went directly to the bedrooms. It wasn’t random; they knew exactly who they were after. The parents were quickly subdued and drugged to keep them from interfering. The kid, boy or girl, was not so lucky. Ruffly handed, bound, and tossed into the back of a truck.

Hours later, without food, water, or bathroom breaks, they were brought to the processing facility and separated by gender.

The boys were sent down a hallway with a sign that read Phanes. At the end of the hallway were large metal doors that opened into a shuttlecraft. Crammed three to a seat, crying and beyond frightened, the children waited; the smell of urine was strong even with the air scrubbers on.

Most had fallen asleep by the time the shuttle docked with the orbital station. It was a harvest year, and the station was a flurry of activity. Hundreds of shuttles were coming and going as soon as their cargo was unloaded to return to the planet for more. Two gigantic spaceships loomed nearby. Soon, they would be filled to capacity, one with boys, the other with girls.

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When we got to the ship, we entered through the cargo bay. I could never have imagined so many boys would be in one place, especially on a spaceship. I wasn’t the youngest; many kids looked a year or two younger, some a little older, but I didn't notice any teenagers.

Over a loudspeaker a man was shouting that we needed to move inside and remove our clothes. Most of us were confused and milled around until some men in white suits came out with stun rods. It didn't take long then before most of us undressed.

Next, we were herded into a chamber and sprayed with some kind of disinfectant, and given a shot in each arm and our butt. A door on the far side unsealed, and we exited into a separate part of the ship.

We were pushed forward into several lines. Each with a different bright colored banner overhead. I was in the green line. We were given green shorts from a pile that looked like they came from a second-chance thrift store. They were all different kinds, and none looked new; some boys got underwear, I did not. The first few boys started to get dressed until the men with the stun rods returned and made it clear that it wasn't time for that. They brought us into a smaller room. A man counted until we numbered one hundred, then closed the door.

Welcome to the Prince, now listen up. By this time, most of you are ready to give up. Curl up in a corner and hope some adult comes to help you out. It's not going to happen. If you want to survive, you better listen to me now! Because if you don’t, you will die. Look around you. You are now part, The man glanced down at a card in his hand, "of Green 2332. These other worthless worms are all you have to help you survive. In two months, you will arrive at Phanes.

Since I'm sure none of you have a clue what that is, I will enlighten you. I will only say this once, so listen up."

Even at 11 years old, I had heard that name. Phanes was a monster that ate little boys. Five years later, nothing has happened to change my mind. That's not what he said, of course.

Phanes is a special place. A planet that can change worms like you into Angels with wings...

He was half right. Phanes can give you wings, but none of us are angels.

Our introduction continued with a brief list of rules and what happens if you don't follow them. Finally, we were led to a large room with a sign that said green 2332. We stood inside, still holding our clothes, till someone shouted how stupid we all were that we couldn't even dress ourselves. There were a number of cubes scattered around. They were too tall to be chairs and not the right height for tables either. Off to one side was a single toilet and a stack of fifty blankets. We weren't given any instructions on how to make that work.

Our meals were no different. A cart came with food that, on a good day, might have fed forty kids. There were no plates or anything to serve it with. Fighting started almost immediately. I'm sure that was part of the plan.

I managed to get hold of a blanket while everyone else was either fighting for food or watching the fight. Water was available from a fountain on a wall. One of the cubes was set close to a wall, making a little sheltered space between them. I took my blanket and went to the cube, only to find a boy a little smaller than me curled up crying, not yet dressed. He was using his new shorts to wipe the tears from his face. I probably could have shoved him away, but I didn’t have the heart. Instead, I sat down next to him and asked him his name. That was when I met Sammy, who would later be known as Toad. I stuffed the blanket behind us, hoping no one would notice until they all went to sleep. It didn’t work out that way.

Looks like you two found a sweet spot, and snagged a blanket too. The boy who had come over was a little bigger than me but appeared close to my age. He was looking down on us, and I was ready to run, shamefully going to abandon my new friend.

My name is Ralph; I think maybe we can make a deal. He said as I noticed now that he was holding food in his hand.

I’m Mike, and this guy that just wet himself is Sammy. What kind of deal? I asked him.

If you two let me share your spot and blanket, I’ll give you a little food, but you have to take Sammy to wash up first. He said while holding his nose.

I thought about it. If we both left, Ralph would have our spot and blanket, and we would have nothing. I could take the blanket, of course, or try to, but that wouldn’t guarantee that someone else wouldn’t take it from me. It was a leap of faith, but I gambled on Ralph being a good kid.

Ok, deal. How do we wash up?

Next to the toilet is a sink. You figure it out.

Taking a big breath, I stood and reached down for Sammy to take my hand, and we walked together to the sink. Waving your hand under the spout got water flowing. It took a while to find the right place to get the soap to spray onto his hands. I lifted him so he could sit on the edge of the sink. A couple boys made comments about it being gross, his butt in the sink, we ignored them. After he rinsed, I lifted him up and over to the motion activated dryer. It was at hand height, so I had to hold him off the floor and turn him around to dry both sides. To my surprise, Ralph let us back into our hideaway and had set aside two little lumps of food.

Sorry, it’s not much. I think it’s supposed to taste like meat of some kind. Ralph said as we moved behind the cube.

Thanks, I said. Sammy had the food in his face before he even sat down.

What do we do now? Sammy asked.

We’re a team now, so we need to make some plans, Ralph replied.

Plans, to do what? I asked.

How to work out the food for one thing. I think we should divide everyone into shifts; half of us get the first meal, and the other half eats the later one.

Eating once a day doesn’t sound like fun, I replied.

Better than not eating at all. If we don’t figure something out, some of these little kids are going to starve. No offense Sammy.

That’s ok, I know.

So, how do we get everyone to agree to your plan?

We don’t ask them to agree. We tell them that one of the men told us that we have to do it. Most kids will go along with something if they think an adult says to.

But there’s no one here except us kids?

We tell them that you were told on the way here. We were rushed along. No one will know for sure that it didn’t happen.

But it didn’t. That’s a lie.

You know that, but trust me, everyone in here wants somebody to tell them what to do. They need a leader.

Leader, I’m not a leader. You do it!

I can’t. A lot of the kids saw me fighting to get some food. I can’t say now that I knew about this before. Besides, if you don’t take charge, sooner or later, someone else will, and my dad always says those who want power are the ones that shouldn’t have it.

I don’t want power.

My point exactly. That’s why you have to do it. Don’t worry, Sammy, and I will back you up. We can say we saw one of the guards talking to you.

I didn’t see that. I didn’t even know Mike before he sat down. Sammy said.

Do you want to die of starvation? Ralph said to him.

Sammy looked up for a second, then at me. Yep, I saw him.

Good choice. Now Mike, how about it? You ready?

I don’t know.

Great, I’ll start. I will mix with the other kids, telling them what I heard from you. After a while, I will come back, and Sammy will go and repeat the same thing. You wait here, and if anybody comes over, just tell them what the guard told you.

What do I say?

Ok, both of you, listen; I will tell you exactly what happened.

We paid close attention to the story Ralph told of exactly what never occurred. He had us repeat it back to him a few times, and Sammy actually had a couple of suggestions that made sense, so Ralph changed the story a little, and we kept telling it to each other so many times, I think I started to believe it was true. I was still nervous when Ralph left to start spreading the word. He was right, though; the kids seemed relieved to be told what to do, at least most of them. A few did come to ask me questions, and while most of them walked away satisfied, I could tell a couple of the bigger kids weren’t buying it.

The test came at what we thought of as morning, even though none of us knew what time or even day it was. The food came, and at first, no one moved, although a lot of kids looked over at me. I knew I had to say something quickly.

Everyone whose first name starts with A through L line up.

That caused a bit of a rush and a few moans from those who now had to wait for the next meal, but there was no fighting. One of the guards looked directly at me and said something into a COM device before removing the cart. Ralph came over to me. Why didn’t you start with the last half of the alphabet?

I thought it wouldn’t be fair for me to be in the first group.

Thanks a lot, Ralph said as he led Sammy back to our spot. I hadn’t even thought about the fact that my friends were also in the last half." That was my first lesson in leadership. Remember your friends.

It seemed like forever until the door opened again. We all stopped and watched, ready for the next cart of food. It’s amazing how quickly people adapt. We had been on the ship for a little more than a day, and already, we were set into a routine.

Except the cart remained just outside the room as three men entered. The man in the middle scanned the group and then pointed at me. The other two men walked directly to me. Ralph had been sitting a few feet away but stood up and moved to my side as they reached us. I’m not sure what he thought he could do to help me if I needed it, but I felt better with him at my side.

You, come with us. One of the men said as he reached out to take me by my arm.

What’s going on? Why do you want my friend? Ralph asked.

What’s your name, boy? The man asked.

Ralph.

Well, Ralph, your friend.

His name is Mike.

The second man cuffed Ralph in the back of his head and said, Don’t interrupt.

I thought for a second that Ralph was going to hit him back, but he held his anger in check. The first man continued. Mike here has a new job. Now come with us; the rest of these brats are hungry, move. He pulled my arm.

Can I come with him? Ralph asked.

The second man pulled back his arm, getting ready to hit Ralph again, but the first man shook his head and said, Fine.

I walked between the men with Ralph right behind me. Sammy followed a good twenty feet back. Everyone watched us as we were taken to the door and the man in charge. If Ralph coming with me wasn’t what he expected, he didn’t seem to care and ignored him completely as he focused his eyes on mine.

As soon as you are done seeing to the food distribution, you will accompany these men. Starting now and until we reach our destination, you will be responsible for getting the cart and returning it. Do you understand?

I really didn’t. I had no idea of where anything was. How was I supposed to get the food? Being too frightened to ask questions, I simply nodded yes.

At that, he turned and walked away. I was shown how to release the cart so it would move and brought it inside. The boys didn’t move until I said, M through Z, line up.

That brought on a rush. As I handed out the rations, many of the boys stared at me before walking back to eat. I handed some food to Ralph for him and Sammy. Sammy took his back to our spot, but Ralph ate his standing behind me. When the food was gone, the remaining two men waved to me, and I moved the cart into the hall. Ralph by my side.

When the door closed behind me, it felt strange, as if I was leaving home; again, I was thankful for Ralph’s presence.

As we walked down the hallway, I couldn’t make up my mind if we were walking uphill or downhill. I remember thinking that we should come to a wall, that a spaceship couldn’t be this long. Eventually, we stopped at a side door with a sign that read, level twenty-three, kitchen twelve.

One of the men placed his hand on a panel, and it turned green. Then he grabbed my hand and put it flat against the panel. It flashed blue and then green. As he took my hand away, Ralph took a half step forward; the man seemed to pause for a split second, then took Ralph’s hand and