her chair and followed his gaze.
‘If you follow the line of the Veil to the end, the thin end?…the second bright star in is GL-5. The colonial marine planet, GL5-D orbits that,’ he said.
‘Catchy name.’
He laughed.
They sat in silence with only the distant sound of Ted’s quacking laughter and the rustling weeds.
‘You’re going to see and experience a lot of wonderful things,’ Ellie said, trying to keep her voice steady. Going for something that sounded less like tearsome-wallflower-rebuffed.
‘I know. I’m really lucky that I got a draft ticket.’
‘Is there anything you’ll miss here on Harpers Reach?’
‘What? You mean apart from coming over here and trying to get basic math to stick in that goopy head of yours?’
Ellie chuckled. Sean wasn’t going to miss her, but it was nice of him to crack that funny anyway.
‘Not much else that I’ll miss I guess. Maybe my folks. But I’ll tell you what. I’ve got to admit I’m not looking forward to being frozen. They say in cryo-suspension that you’re not really asleep, just kind of slowed down, so that everything outside your pod seems to happen incredibly quickly like a speeded up holo-film. I don’t like the idea that you’re aware of everything going on but can’t do anything. Like some insect trapped in amber. Know what I mean? You’re, like, stuck in this see-through shell and there’s these things going on outside.’
Ellie’s gaze drifted to the pale glow in the far away sky above New Haven.
Yeah, I know what you mean.
‘There was this guy in cryo who survived when his freighter blew up…asteroid impact or something. But he saw it all happen. Okay, he saw it happen in funky speed-o-vision, but he was aware of it all happening. The ship breaking up, explosions in the cargo hold, the hull ripping open…and then all of a sudden spinning in space. And he knew he was screwed, but just couldn’t do anything about it. Knowing that he would just carry on spinning until the power supply eventually ran dry. I think that was on the toob news a while back.’
‘And they found him?’
‘Yup, he was out floating around for several weeks. They thawed him out and the guy was okay but hysterical. Understandably.’
‘Scary.’
‘Uhuh…I think he sold the rights or something and they’re making a holo-film of it. I guess it turned out alright for him in the end.’
‘Do you think you’ll do any fighting?’
‘I don’t think so, Ellie. It’s mostly a peaceful universe out there. Nothing much to do. Most of the alien cultures in our universe seem to be happy to simply muddle along with ours and trade. If you’re not into fighting, it’s a great time to be a soldier.’
‘What about that new encounter? The one that happened last year?’
‘I dunno, it’s not been in the news much has it? Last I heard, they seemed to be very aloof, but not threatening. Just a very quiet and spiritual race, I guess. The army seems to be more like a police force these days…the occasional terrorist group, but mostly minding that everyone’s being good and not breaking any laws.’
‘Sean…it’s not fair. You’re so lucky to get away from this godforsaken place.’
He couldn’t find a reply that felt right. They sat in awkward silence for a while. Sean had something on his mind, the reason he’d decided to come out and speak to her in the first place.
‘Ellie?…When exactly were you planning on running away from home?’
Her chair creaked in the darkness. She said nothing.
‘Well?’
He could hear Ellie fidgeting uncomfortably.
‘How do you know?’ she asked eventually.
‘Just a lucky guess. And the fact you’ve been hoarding your chore-money haven’t you?’
By the faint light he saw her pull a face. Heard the soft thwack of a fist against a thigh.
‘Ellie? When were you planning to go?’
‘Soon. After my birthday.’
‘New Haven?’
‘Yes.’
She turned to face him. In the green glow of the lamp he could
‘If you follow the line of the Veil to the end, the thin end?…the second bright star in is GL-5. The colonial marine planet, GL5-D orbits that,’ he said.
‘Catchy name.’
He laughed.
They sat in silence with only the distant sound of Ted’s quacking laughter and the rustling weeds.
‘You’re going to see and experience a lot of wonderful things,’ Ellie said, trying to keep her voice steady. Going for something that sounded less like tearsome-wallflower-rebuffed.
‘I know. I’m really lucky that I got a draft ticket.’
‘Is there anything you’ll miss here on Harpers Reach?’
‘What? You mean apart from coming over here and trying to get basic math to stick in that goopy head of yours?’
Ellie chuckled. Sean wasn’t going to miss her, but it was nice of him to crack that funny anyway.
‘Not much else that I’ll miss I guess. Maybe my folks. But I’ll tell you what. I’ve got to admit I’m not looking forward to being frozen. They say in cryo-suspension that you’re not really asleep, just kind of slowed down, so that everything outside your pod seems to happen incredibly quickly like a speeded up holo-film. I don’t like the idea that you’re aware of everything going on but can’t do anything. Like some insect trapped in amber. Know what I mean? You’re, like, stuck in this see-through shell and there’s these things going on outside.’
Ellie’s gaze drifted to the pale glow in the far away sky above New Haven.
Yeah, I know what you mean.
‘There was this guy in cryo who survived when his freighter blew up…asteroid impact or something. But he saw it all happen. Okay, he saw it happen in funky speed-o-vision, but he was aware of it all happening. The ship breaking up, explosions in the cargo hold, the hull ripping open…and then all of a sudden spinning in space. And he knew he was screwed, but just couldn’t do anything about it. Knowing that he would just carry on spinning until the power supply eventually ran dry. I think that was on the toob news a while back.’
‘And they found him?’
‘Yup, he was out floating around for several weeks. They thawed him out and the guy was okay but hysterical. Understandably.’
‘Scary.’
‘Uhuh…I think he sold the rights or something and they’re making a holo-film of it. I guess it turned out alright for him in the end.’
‘Do you think you’ll do any fighting?’
‘I don’t think so, Ellie. It’s mostly a peaceful universe out there. Nothing much to do. Most of the alien cultures in our universe seem to be happy to simply muddle along with ours and trade. If you’re not into fighting, it’s a great time to be a soldier.’
‘What about that new encounter? The one that happened last year?’
‘I dunno, it’s not been in the news much has it? Last I heard, they seemed to be very aloof, but not threatening. Just a very quiet and spiritual race, I guess. The army seems to be more like a police force these days…the occasional terrorist group, but mostly minding that everyone’s being good and not breaking any laws.’
‘Sean…it’s not fair. You’re so lucky to get away from this godforsaken place.’
He couldn’t find a reply that felt right. They sat in awkward silence for a while. Sean had something on his mind, the reason he’d decided to come out and speak to her in the first place.
‘Ellie?…When exactly were you planning on running away from home?’
Her chair creaked in the darkness. She said nothing.
‘Well?’
He could hear Ellie fidgeting uncomfortably.
‘How do you know?’ she asked eventually.
‘Just a lucky guess. And the fact you’ve been hoarding your chore-money haven’t you?’
By the faint light he saw her pull a face. Heard the soft thwack of a fist against a thigh.
‘Ellie? When were you planning to go?’
‘Soon. After my birthday.’
‘New Haven?’
‘Yes.’
She turned to face him. In the green glow of the lamp he could
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