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\u00a0There was a room at the back of the starship Acer 2<\/i>.\u00a0 It was a pleasant room, containing plants, a system to play music, snacks, and assorted beverages. The chair in the room was comfortable, almost an upright bed.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And in the chair sat a person; their only duty was to sit at and watch the core of the starship\u2019s engine.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rompke Spree entered the periphery of the room, \u201cShift change in one hour,\u201d he announced. \u201cAre you okay for the next sixty minutes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou ask every shift, and every shift I tell you I am fine,\u201d Jenny Runrig replied. She kept her eyes on the core of the engine. She could feel it churning, the particles\u2019 movements resonating in her body.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rompke observed her.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0She looked healthy. In his eyes, she was beautiful. Timelessly exquisite. Her eyes were almost white; when the light crossed her irises at certain angles, it looked like her eyes were devoid of any coloration at all.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In his admiration, though, her most striking feature was her overwhelming serenity in the solitude of her calling.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rompke doubted that anything could evoke an emotional reaction from her. She was not an epicenter of peace; she was an abyss unto herself.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He could not help himself but to stare into her.<\/p>\n
#<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rompke was surprised when Jenny approached him at the common dining hall. Usually, she and her cohorts kept to a private dining facility in their section of the ship.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He could not take his eyes of her.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cDon\u2019t stare,\u201d Jenny said, as she sat next to Rompke in the ship\u2019s dining facility. \u201cStaring is too open to interpretation. I feel like I am being critiqued when people stare at me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou fascinate me,\u201d he said \u201cI am not critiquing you. You help keep the ship moving. That you have such a personal role in that \u2013 it is incredible. Who would have guessed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m a Paratirit\u00eds,\u201d Jenny acknowledged. \u201cI have a job. I do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cParatirit\u00eds. It\u2019s a weird job title. It sounds somewhere between parasite and paradise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cParatirit\u00eds is the Greek word for \u2018Observer,\u2019\u201d Jenny told him. \u201cAnd we have the most boring job in the galaxy; although important. At least for the Acer ships.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThis is my first Acer ship,\u201d Rompke confessed. \u201cI\u2019m still learning the ropes here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAcer tech was licensed by Regnas Corp from the Mercurians. Faster than light speed travel. Something once thought impossible. Do you remember your onboarding lecture?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAcceleration after lightspeed, incorporating energy and the relativistic fundament, whatever that last thing is,\u201d Rompke recited. \u201cThe powers that be keep it proprietary. It should be publicly available knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOnly certain Mercurians and Regnas officials know,\u201d Jenny smiled. \u201cAnd of course, we Paratirit\u00eds know. More than anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhen did you find out you were a Paratirit\u00eds?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhen I was thirty-two,\u201d Jenny recounted. \u201cI was working in Intergalactic Compliance. Regnas came to our offices on Titan, with a box. It was very pretty. Lots of soft light weaving in intricate patterns. It was warm, but not hot. They took a selected group of us into a dark room, one by one. The box was on the table. A Regnas and a Mercurian were present. I figured the darkness was an accommodation to the Mercurian. They live underground on Mercury; they have different sight. Bright light offends them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAnd?\u201d Rompke asked. Her clear eyes seemed to sparkle as she told her story.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThey had me put my hands on the box. The light jumped. I was enshrouded in a soft, undulating illumination. Something in me loved that light. The Regnas Corporate Man and the Mercurian nodded. I was escorted out of the room, and immediately put on a transport. It was explained that I was needed, for Earth\u2019s space effort. For the good of all of Earth. That my family, my former work colleagues — they would have to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt sounds like the encounter escalated suddenly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cCubicle Dweller to Child of the Universe in an instant,\u201d Jenny nodded. \u201cI was sent to a small moon named Copenhagen. I remember it very vividly because the official paying business of the moon was swineherding. There were pig farms everywhere. Nice ones, I suppose, where the pigs roamed freely. I gather it was a good life for the pigs, right up to their slaughter. Which I was told was swift and compassionate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt was a gathering center for Paratirit\u00eds,\u201d Rompke guessed. Certain information had been told to the public; enough Paratirit\u00eds had been spirited away that their kidnapping had to be cast as species-critical recruitment. The existence of the gathering centers was one tidbit of limited permitted information.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThere was a small cohort of us. All had taken a glow to the box; or, more precisely, it had taken a glow to us. The relativistic fundament \u2013 the thing that makes beyond lightspeed travel possible \u2013 requires a Paratirit\u00eds. The fundament cannot be a standalone quantum system. They tried decoherence, where there would be a satisfactory system self-measurement to enable the Acer engines work, but those attempts were unsuccessful. The underlying quantum event that powers the beyond lightspeed engine, is in constant flux. It requires an external Paratirit\u00eds.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cCertain<\/i> external Paratirit\u00eds. Special people. Like you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cEarthlings like me \u2013 and it is only<\/i> Earthlings for some reason \u2013 resonate with the fundament,\u201d Jenny continued. She needed to figure out why Rompke stared so deeply into her.\u00a0 \u201cThere isn\u2019t any rhyme or reason to it. No genetic marker, no shared talent outside of being what we are. The Mercurians don\u2019t even have native Paratirit\u00eds \u2013 apparently, they have strayed genetically away from their Earthling origins to the point they don\u2019t have the whatever it is that the fundament requires. Enter Regnas with its plan to identify and gather the talented few. And Earth Gov backed Regnas because Earth Gov can\u2019t kidnap people. But they can license their dirty work to Regnas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou have a rare and vital gift.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThere are five of you aboard. You share a living sector, near the engines.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cMaybe the things that attracts the fundament to us attract us to one another,\u201d Jenny suggested. \u201cYou\u2019re an officer on board this ship. You know the subcultures.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWould you like to have dinner with me?\u201d Rompke asked. \u201cYou\u2019ve worked a bunch of double shifts lately. You could do with a break.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHiete Sranth, our senior Paratirit\u00eds, has been feeling tired lately. He has taken time away from the fundament. He says he is homesick.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cFor where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s the thing,\u201d Jenny remarked. \u201cOnce you are a Paratirit\u00eds, you have no home except a platform near a fundament. You spend your days staring into the reaction; integrated into it. Tangled in quantum events. But remembering nothing; time isn\u2019t even a construct when we are at work. Time disappears. Space and time \u2013 they mean nothing when I am on duty. It is almost a Zen thing. Being in the<\/i> moment so intensely that you aren\u2019t aware of any<\/i> moments. That\u2019s why they send you in to announce shift. Otherwise, I would never leave my post. I need that hour to pry myself away from the reaction; to feel one of my cohorts slip into the system. Knowing the fundament has perpetual companionship.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThat sounds kind of disturbing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat I do, Rompke \u2013 I am a mortal person who gets to be immortal,\u201d Jenny tried to explain. \u201cI am someone who can transcend my mortality. I can\u2019t explain it. It is a sensation, not something words can describe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou need a break.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou mean like take liberty at the next port?\u201d Jenny asked, her tone incredulous.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The expression in her almost clear eyes was like he had asked a god if they enjoyed the idea of going to a child\u2019s birthday party.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Gods need to go to children\u2019s birthday parties,<\/i> he thought to himself. They need to not be gods for a while<\/i>.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSince you mention it, you are at liberty when the ship is at port,\u201d he reminded her. \u201cThe shuttles can take you down planet-side.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI only take a day of liberty when we have it.\u00a0 And only because officer types like you force me to. I have seen planets, moons, asteroids,\u201d Jenny reassured him. \u201cI do enjoy the sights, believe me. There are some beautiful things in temporary places. But I can feel the fundament in my veins, in my soul. Calling me home to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe should have dinner,\u201d Rompke decided. \u201cTalk about other things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cLike what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cLike who you are, beyond the fundament.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re a ship\u2019s officer. You have access to my file. You can find out almost anything about me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYour file and you are different things,\u201d Rompke pointed out.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jenny breathed in and out. \u201cYou\u2019re going to insist, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI am,\u201d Rompke said firmly. \u201cFormal mess, tonight. Share a meal with a mere mortal. The worst I can do is amuse you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ll be there,\u201d Jenny promised, against her better judgment.<\/p>\n
#<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThat human, Rompke,\u201d Maria Louisa S\u2019burg said. \u201cHe has taken an interest in you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe are still human,\u201d Jenny smiled, hugging her fellow Paratirit\u00eds.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNot really,\u201d Maria Louisa reminded her. \u201cThey don\u2019t know what we aren\u2019t telling them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt is just a passing fancy on his part,\u201d Jenny assured. \u201cNo normal person could want to be with us in perpetuity. We spend too much time at our posts. We will never retire. There is no harm in spending an hour or two with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re probably killing him already,\u201d Maria Louisa stated. \u201cJust spending an hour or two with him is unadvisable. For his sake.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHe invited me to dinner. I must eat. There\u2019s no harm in multitasking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cDinner?\u201d Maria Louisa shook her head. \u201cWhy not just sprinkle some poison in his food? End it for him quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s not entirely fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cFair and true are not necessarily the same thing,\u201d Maria remarked.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s just a dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s what the disciples said at the Last Supper,\u201d Maria Louisa noted. \u201cWord of advice: keep it quick and don\u2019t make any promises you can\u2019t keep. Breaking bread with one of us is a perilous thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
#<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jenny arrived ten minutes before Rompke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He arrived about a minute early.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou got here before me,\u201d Rompke noted, sitting down.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cObviously,\u201d Jenny replied. \u201cI ordered a bottle of red wine. On my credit. I don\u2019t do well with social interactions. A glass or two of wine helps.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m not exceptionally skilled at social interactions, either. I go to therapy. Talking helps. Sometimes I build things up in my mind. When I say those things aloud, they don\u2019t sound so dire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t usually speak with people as freely as I do with you,\u201d Jenny responded. \u201cI\u2019m generally shy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThey say that Paratirit\u00edns have nothing in common, except that you are all introverts,\u201d Rompke said. \u201cWhich is probably good, given the isolation of your work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI thought we weren\u2019t going to talk about work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou are correct.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The wine showed up just in time to give him a moment to recoup.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThis is the third time I have been to the formal mess,\u201d Rompke stated. \u201cThe first time was to celebrate my onboarding. The second a birthday celebration. And now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI come here once a week,\u201d Jenny replied. \u201cBy myself. Paratirit\u00eds are the highest paid members of the crew. Of any spacefaring crew. You\u2019re not a gold digger, are you, Mr. Spree?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI am a crew manager, and an officer. I do okay for myself,\u201d he smiled. \u201cBut no offense taken. I must look odd, suddenly taking an interest in you. I\u2019m not a spy or a covert Regnas psych agent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou have an interest in me? That\u2019s unadvisable. Someone must have told you that by now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNo,\u201d Rompke replied. \u201cLet\u2019s start with an innocuous question: where do you come from?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBorn on Earth, Europa Sector. Genetic testing reveals that some of my ancestors were Nordic Viking. Intrepid explorers putting their back into the oar. Maybe that influenced my intention to spend my life spacefaring. I started out working on Titan. After I was identified, I was assigned here. And you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBorn in the Europa Sector. My family has lived by the Spree River for countless generations. Hence the surname. I always liked warmer climates, though. I spent a rotation on Mars. Regnas has made that planet a near tropical paradise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe reptilian features of the Martians are fascinating,\u201d Jenny remarked. \u201cI have a side hobby studying cosmic evolution. Trying to understand how space changes us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cMy side hobby is playing the piano,\u201d Rompke told her. \u201cI play well enough that I don\u2019t bother myself. A sophisticated audience would probably find many faults with my playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBut you enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThat is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cDo you play any instruments?\u201d Rompke asked.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIf you\u2019re looking to put a band together, you\u2019re looking in all the wrong places,\u201d Jenny told him. \u201cI wish I could play. But I have a form of dyslexia. I can\u2019t remember notes in order. I can read music and play, but not play anything from memory.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat instrument?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBass guitar,\u201d she smiled.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNow, that is something that is not<\/i> in your HR file.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cDid you check my file out before coming here?\u201d Jenny asked.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOf course not. Using that information for personal use would be highly noncompliant. And I am a Capricorn. The most trustworthy of the signs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou know, astrology doesn\u2019t mean much out here. We travel through the constellations, not assent to their dominion over our attributes,\u201d Jenny said.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m sensing some Cancer traits in you. You seem extremely practical. And the type to not expect anything from anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhen is Cancer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAbout June 22 to July 22.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cMy birthdate is June 24,\u201d Jenny said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSee. I called it.\u201d Rompke asked. \u201cAre you impressed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI am,\u201d Jenny admitted, knowing she shouldn\u2019t be encouraging him.<\/p>\n
#<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rompke entered the Paratirit\u00eds Suite in the engine room. It was different now that he had shared a meal with Jenny.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cShift change in one hour,\u201d he announced. \u201cAre you okay for the next sixty minutes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI am,\u201d she replied. \u201cMaria Louisa S\u2019burg is already at her platform, slipping into the system.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI was surprised to see you on this shift. You\u2019ve been working a lot lately. Is there a limit to how many shifts you can take?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAs many as needed. There are five Paratirit\u00eds on board and three shifts,\u201d she sighed. \u201cHiete is ill. We have allocated his shifts between us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou care for each other quite a bit,\u201d Rompke observed. \u201cThat\u2019s admirable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I can feel the darkness circling Hiete<\/i>, Jenny thought. Not just any darkness. A quantum darkness, something she could not explain, even if she wanted to. Maybe she could etch out equations to explain it, but people usually had a difficult time emotionally connecting to equations. They could read the numbers and symbols but could not feel<\/i> the power behind them. Not that it mattered to her, Maria Louisa, and the other Paratirit\u00eds on board. Including Hiete. We are cohort-bound to keep Hiete\u2019s secret, <\/i>she reminded herself.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI heard that Hiete Sranth is not recovering,\u201d Rompke said, trying to express sympathy. \u201cHe is confined to quarters. With a medical officer in constant attendance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThere isn\u2019t an unlimited supply of us,\u201d Jenny noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0She stared into the heart of the engine; a thin pane of smoky quartz separated her from the reaction core. It was unnecessary, but the Paratirit\u00eds didn\u2019t let the non-Paratirit\u00eds know. They wanted to craft ritual around them, something to remind the humans that Paratirit\u00eds were different. That they went places the humans could not enter.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ll be at Athacij in about fifty-two standard hours,\u201d Rompke assured her. \u201cThen we can all take a break. They have a fabulous music scene on Athacij. Some great bands play there. Some of the bands have good bass guitarists.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ll just stand there in awe,\u201d Jenny responded, her eyes never leaving the heart of the quantum system.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cMaybe you\u2019ll feel the rhythm and find yourself capable of memorizing something. I firmly believe that if you can feel the relativistic fundament, you can remember a solid bass line.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cA second date?\u201d Jenny remarked, a slight blush unintentionally flushing her cheeks. \u201cAre you beginning to like my company?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s that Cancer in you. You wear your emotions on your sleeve. One of your endearing qualities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cEndearing and burdensome are neighbors,\u201d she shrugged. \u201cDon\u2019t expect too much from me, Mr. Spree.\u201d<\/p>\n
#<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Forty-seven hours away from Athacij, Hiete Sranth\u2019s condition had worsened.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rompke Spree was called into an executive office.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSit down,\u201d the captain of the Acer 2<\/i>, a stout woman with graying red hair ordered.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYes, Captain Gritow,\u201d Rompke obeyed.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Julieth Gritow looked at him sternly. \u201cYou have spent off-duty time with a Paratirit\u00eds,\u201d she established. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI like her,\u201d Rompke answered.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou like her. As in romantically?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYes. That is allowed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe permissibility of the relationship is not at issue,\u201d Gritow stated firmly. \u201cThe advisability of the relationship is an issue. Life with a Paratirit\u00eds is not easy. It takes a toll on the non-Paratirit\u00eds partner. Every time. I\u2019m trying to save you from something unpleasant, Officer Spree.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cJenny seemed pleasant enough over lunch,\u201d Rompke mentioned. \u201cNo big red flags.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cShe is a walking red flag,\u201d Gritow frowned. \u201cYou have eaten with her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAt established ship\u2019s mess halls,\u201d he acknowledged. \u201cThe security footage will document our meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou have spent no time with her away from security surveillance?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNo, Captain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cFor the remainder of this voyage, keep it that way. And be warned that this is a very serious matter. Keep that brain of yours in charge of the rest of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYes, Captain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou are dismissed,\u201d Gritow announced. \u201cAnd heed my warning, Rompke. You are a good man. Let her go.\u201d<\/p>\n
#<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou look glum,\u201d Jenny said, as she sat across from Rompke at breakfast in the common dining hall.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Crew members were beginning to whisper about the Officer and the Paratirit\u00eds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cGritow ordered me to her personal office,\u201d Rompke revealed. \u201cRead me some riot act about not being alone with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cDo you want to be alone with me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOf course, I do,\u201d Rompke stated. He was flustered. \u201cI feel a connection to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI guess that Julieth is being protective.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re an important asset,\u201d Rompke recognized.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cShe is being protective of you<\/i>,\u201d Jenny replied.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI am taking you out on the town when we get to Athacij,\u201d Rompke resolved. \u201cGet us away from Gritow and the relativistic fundament and anything else that keeps us six feet apart.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI might have fundament maintenance sitting,\u201d Jenny reminded him. \u201cThey transport fundament sitters up to the ship when it is in port and not moving, so those of us serving on board can have some liberty. But they may not have enough to cover the shifts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe fundament system needs constant observation?\u201d Rompke asked.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt does.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBut you will have some liberty. Right?\u201d There was more pleading in his tone than he had intended.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOf course. All watching and no doing makes Jenny a dull girl.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI like the sound of that sentiment,\u201d he grinned.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI thought you might.\u201d<\/p>\n
#<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jenny was walking to her Observation Platform. Rompke walked beside her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow are you handling things?\u201d Rompke asked. Jenny had lost a cohort. Now there were only four Paratirit\u00eds to rotate the three shifts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHiete Sranth\u2019s death,\u201d she said, struggling to find the correct words. \u201cIt happened. I cannot undo that. You should not worry. The remaining four of us can comfortingly interface with the fundament.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe would be stranded in open space if we didn\u2019t have you and the others aboard and active at your posts,\u201d Rompke reckoned. \u201cWe would probably all die, waiting for someone \u2013 anyone \u2013 to get to us. It must be a tremendous burden, knowing that we all rely upon you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI just let the quantum event dance in me. I don\u2019t ask where the ship going or what the ship is carrying.\u201d Jenny squared her shoulders. \u201cI like what I do. I can\u2019t imagine ever not being a Paratirit\u00eds. I would do what I do with no one else on board.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rompke put his arms around her, holding her close. \u201cI have a personal reason for wanting you safe,\u201d he told her. \u201cAnd happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And then, against all predictability, they did something neither of them had projected: they kissed. A deep, lingering kiss that each felt reverberate within them.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cGritow will have my head on a stake,\u201d Rompke said, as they separated. \u201cShe\u2019ll say I\u2019m risking giving you some mouth-borne disease. But,\u201d he smiled. \u201cIt was well worth the risk. I can die happy now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBe careful what you wish for,\u201d Jenny observed.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ll stay outside the door,\u201d he promised her, as they got to her platform.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThat sounds very reassuring. And unnecessary. Go about your normal day, Rompke.\u201d She entered the doorway to her station, a dark peace flooding her being. \u201cFor now it is time to let the abyss stare into me.\u201d<\/p>\n
#<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Captain Julieth Gritow approached Rompke as he walked towards his quarters.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHow do you feel?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cFine,\u201d Rompke replied. \u201cMa\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cDon\u2019t \u2018ma\u2019am\u2019 me when you\u2019re sharing spit with a Paratirit\u00eds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt was ill advised,\u201d he confessed. \u201cI don\u2019t want to put her at any risk. I will be more careful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m more concerned about you,\u201d she replied. \u201cThey are different, Rompke. Not in a bad way, of course. We rely on them. But the non-Paratirit\u00eds who become personally involved with a Paratirit\u00eds — they do not last long.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe Paratirit\u00eds aren\u2019t that<\/i> difficult to get along with,\u201d Rompke objected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m not talking about getting along with them,\u201d Gritow stated flatly. \u201cTheir lovers die, Rompke.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe all die.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNot that so ahead of schedule,\u201d Gritow answered. \u201cThere is something about them. They interact with some damnable undefined thing in the engine system. The current guess is that they also interact on some sub-atomic level with us. Or cosmic level. Or some other godforsaken undefinable level. It has deleterious consequences for us. Being physically close to them causes organ failures, autoimmune diseases, cancers. They know that. That\u2019s why they quarantine themselves in their area.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI plan to spend time with her, off the ship,\u201d Rompke replied, \u201cI\u2019ve been counting down to Athacij. I\u2019m going to sit on the beach with Jenny and listen to music. Only six standard hours to go. We\u2019re nearly there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNearly there? Do you have any idea how far away from anything six hours means when you\u2019re traveling at faster than light speed?\u201d Gritow scoffed. \u201cMore than 4,017,600,000 miles. More than 6,480,000,000 kilometers. Six hours may not be much in your line of work, but in Jenny\u2019s it is lifetimes. Her very concept of time is different than yours. You may see her for an hour \u2013 who knows how long that feels to her. Your instant could be her lifetime. Her instant could cost you your lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSurely some significant others live a usual amount of time,\u201d Rompke stated. He wanted to understand what data Gritow was relying upon. The woman seemed genuinely concerned for him.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNone,\u201d Gritow replied. \u201cWe need the Paratirit\u00eds, Rompke. We give them these exalted positions, and they work their magic. But remember \u2013 physics chose them<\/i>. The abyss chose them. There is something fundamentally different about the fundament watchers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThey are still human,\u201d Rompke insisted. \u201cThere must be some glitch in whatever data you\u2019re referencing. Some invalid assumption.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe data is cut-and-dry,\u201d Gritow stated glumly. \u201cOne of things we do on these ships is keep an eye on the Paratirit\u00eds. They have a connection to the fundament, a connection to each other. You, no matter what she says, will always be outside of their system. A distant seer, not even in their frame of reference. They are a system unto themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou spy on them,\u201d Rompke understood. \u201cThey sense that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt is a dangerous thing we\u2019re doing here, making people into gods. I would have been happy sticking to wormhole riding and less than lightspeed travel. Not cultivating absolute power in human garments.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAbsolute power?\u201d Rompke scoffed. \u201cThat sounds overthought.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThey resonate with absolute power,\u201d Gritow responded. \u201cThey interface with it. They let it weave through their beings. That is their job; that is their identity This is the first generation of Paratirit\u00eds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s just their job. They have their own identities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cShe\u2019ll mess up your insides, Rompke,\u201d Gritow told him firmly. \u201cEvery moment you spend with her is many more moments stolen from your future. Take my advice: do not become romantically involved with a god. That rarely ends well for the mortal.\u201d<\/p>\n
#<\/p>\n
Two days later<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThis is fun,\u201d Jenny said, as she and Rompke sipped on cocktails as a resort next to a sparkling beach. \u201cI miss my post, but this is fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re very connected to your work,\u201d he said. \u201cDo any of you Paratirit\u00eds find time for personal relationships? I\u2019m asking for a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jenny sat in introspection for a moment. \u201cSome do. But there are issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cCommitment issues?\u201d Rompke did not want to hear about shortened lifespans. \u201cI understand you put in long hours and have a very demanding occupation. But your occupation isn\u2019t the first in human history to carry that baggage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t like this topic,\u201d Jenny responded, looking out over the horizon. \u201cThere are issues beyond the commitment of our time and our concentration.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSuch as?\u201d Please don\u2019t give any credence to Gritow\u2019s concerns<\/i>.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOur lovers \u2013 they die.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe all die eventually,\u201d Rompke stated.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOur partners die within five years,\u201d she informed him. \u201cSometimes less. You don\u2019t die eventually<\/i>. You die quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThat makes no sense,\u201d he responded. He did a quick inventory on himself. He felt fine. Perhaps a little tired, but there was a type of jet lag associated with going from the ship to a planet\u2019s surface. That explained the fatigue<\/i>, he convinced himself.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cParatirit\u00eds integrate with something that can\u2019t ever be precisely located, much less defined,\u201d Jenny shrugged. \u201cThe fundament isn\u2019t something we look at; it reflects into us. It uses us. It creates a complimentary fundament in us. We maintain an equilibrium with it. We pass that equilibrium between us. It isn\u2019t a wave; it isn\u2019t a particle. And the best definition of its location is that it is moving around somewhere in our 75,000 cubic centimeters of body volume. Give or take.\u00a0 Maybe that changes us. In some fundamental way that isn\u2019t compatible with non-Paratirit\u00eds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat about you and me? I really\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI can offer only death,\u201d Jenny told him, cutting him off before he said something she could not unhear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou could quit your job,\u201d Rompke offered hopefully. \u201cI make more than enough to support us both. We could settle down on one of these nice planets. Maybe once you were free of the fundament, I would be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI can\u2019t quit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re not a machine,\u201d Rompke objected. \u201cYou can find a balance within yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI am the balance,\u201d Jenny stated. \u201cAnd I am not the one for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
#<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI hear that Rompke Spree transferred to another ship,\u201d Maria Louisa said, as Jenny met her in Maria Louisa\u2019s private quarters \u201cA non-Acer ship. A worm-hole hopper. They are so slow<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNo one but us stays signed on to Acer ship for long,\u201d Jenny noted. \u201cWe frighten them, I think. Gritow has said this will be her last voyage on the Acer 2<\/i>. She lasted three voyages longer than most of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cRegnas says they will send us our new brother at our next port,\u201d Maria Louisa commented. \u201cTo take Hiete\u2019s shifts. Hiete made an odd choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHiete made his decision,\u201d Jenny pondered. \u201cHe was the longest serving of any of us. Twenty years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe humans would say it was suicide,\u201d Maria Louisa commented. \u201cThey would point out that Hiete took himself away from the fundament, and the separation unraveled his physical body. Everything shut down. His organs, his brain. All of it. And that he knew physical demise that would be the consequence of leaving his platform.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHe had to dispense with this human form,\u201d Jenny remarked. \u201cTo join the fundament. He is part of the system now. We may never find him again, but we know where he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cRompke wasn\u2019t so eager to die,\u201d Maria Louisa observed. \u201cYou did the right thing by him, urging to him to walk away. That was very mortal human of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cPerhaps one day he will realize why I pushed him away,\u201d Jenny hoped. \u201cI\u2019m glad he transferred. It is best for all of us. I suppose that is love.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou spared him from your slaughter. What greater love is there than that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cRompke would say something about love itself, probably,\u201d Jenny thought. \u201cThat love conquers all. That love is eternal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBeing eternal and being human are not the same,\u201d Maria Louisa reminded her. \u201cThat is the dark distinction all us gods have known forever. He could never have understood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAre we gods?\u201d Jenny queried. \u201cOr just the adopted children of a dispassionate god.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNo one gets to choose to be a god,\u201d Maria Louisa stated. \u201cYou either are, or you aren\u2019t. I don\u2019t know why you worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cMaybe because I feel it should be a choice,\u201d Jenny replied.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSelf-heresy,\u201d Maria Louisa smiled. \u201cThe worst kind of heresy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI suppose you\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOf course, I am. And you know it, too. You let go of love; you know the truth. You just don\u2019t like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE END<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”rgba(31,215,224,0.21)” width=”60%” module_alignment=”center” border_radii=”on|15px|15px|15px|15px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text module_class=”noindent” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” width=”80%” module_alignment=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Laura Campbell<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9saW5rX3VybF9wYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsicG9zdF9pZCI6IjM3OCJ9fQ==@” button_text=”Astraportus” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _dynamic_attributes=”button_url” _module_preset=”default” animation_style=”zoom” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9saW5rX3VybF9wYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsicG9zdF9pZCI6IjMwOSJ9fQ==@” button_text=”Table of Contents” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _dynamic_attributes=”button_url” _module_preset=”default” animation_style=”zoom” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9saW5rX3VybF9wYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsicG9zdF9pZCI6IjQyOCJ9fQ==@” button_text=”The Bowl and the Hands” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _dynamic_attributes=”button_url” _module_preset=”default” animation_style=”zoom” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Godsent by Laura Campbell Illustrated by Paul Lee\u00a0There was a room at the back of the starship Acer 2.\u00a0 It was a pleasant room, containing plants, a system to play music, snacks, and assorted beverages. The chair in the room was comfortable, almost an upright bed. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And in the chair sat a person; their only […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":328,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"iawp_total_views":14,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-322","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n