The Millionth Week #2
Cleo yanked from his grip, straightening. She glared at him, but his amused expression didn’t change. Zavier’s long dark brown hair was loose. Normally it was braided. And he smelled… No. Not going there. And not going to think about his offer. She was driven and determined and he was… Not.
He sobered. “Something’s wrong with Inside. I felt it, but I can’t find it. Come in.” Stepping aside, he let her in.
The layout of the room was similar to hers except much smaller.
And while, she had little to no decorations, he had stuff everywhere.
Granted they were his artwork. Small statues created from broken parts he’d stolen from the recycling plant, and paintings on the square pieces of rusty metal.
He claimed the rust gave the pictures a three dimensional appearance.
He sat at the computer console. “All of Inside’s systems appear to be functioning within normal parameters.”
She debated how much to tell him. However, it was just a matter of time until he discovered the truth. Despite all their efforts to block non-authorized citizens from the command files and programs, Zavier managed to bypass them all.
“We’re slowing down.” She explained about the transmission. “Can you find any information in the historical files on why we would be slowing down?”
He swiveled in his chair and gave her a shrew look. “It’s going to cost you a favor.”
“A favor? Like you actually need a favor when you take what you need, you don’t show up for half of your work schedules, and you have no responsibilities.”
“I do get lonely.”
“I’m sure there are plenty of people who would enjoy spending time with you.”
“You mean the people who don’t care that I don’t have any ambition? That I don’t contribute to Inside? That I’d rather create art than anything else? Those people?”
She suppressed a sigh. It was an old argument that he just couldn’t let go. Everyone had to contribute to keeping Inside running. In her opinion art was a waste of time.
“One favor if it’s reasonable. I get to veto it if it isn’t. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Unease swirled in her chest. That was too easy.
“We might be slowing because we’re approaching the millionth week.”
Everyone knew about the millionth week, but it had always been an abstract concept. A legend in some cases. No one dared to believe it. To hope.
“That’s conjecture. Besides, we’re two hundred weeks out. Why slow now?”
“Think about it, Captain.”
If they actually reached Outside… Outside. Another abstract concept. However, there had been speculation that it was a bigger spaceship, traveling at the same speed. But what if it wasn’t traveling? What if it was stationary? Then Inside would need to slow down or it would fly right by Outside.
“Two hundred weeks is a long time to slow down,” she said.
“We’re going very fast and there’s nothing stopping us in Outer Space.”
She could blame her lack of sleep for not figuring it out sooner, but Zavier had always been quicker at putting two and two together. Which was why he had been training with Cleo to become a control room officer until he decided it was too much work.
“I need proof. No one is going to believe it.” She couldn’t believe it.
“Oh, you’re wrong. There are plenty of people who will. People who have been excitedly waiting, who’d made bets not only if we’ll arrive but what is waiting for us.”
“Bets? I haven’t—”
“Of course you haven’t heard. When’s the last time you came down from the command level to mingle with us lowly citizens? When’s the last time you ate a meal with someone not on your command team?”
She fisted her hands to keep them from wrapping around his throat. He had no idea what she’d been dealing with since being promoted to captain. “Regardless. I need proof. Can you find some for me?”
He returned to his computer.
“How long?” she asked.
Zavier shrugged. “Couple of hours. I’ll send the information I find to your computer.”
Which he shouldn’t have access to. “Also keep this to yourself for now.”
“Will do.”
“Thank you.”
She left and instead of taking the lift to the command level, she climbed the stairs to level two. Her thoughts whirled. Outside. Did it really exist? Could they be that close? Cleo clamped down on her building excitement.
As she walked through the sectors, worried people stopped her.
They sensed something was different but didn’t know what.
She reassured them that the command team was looking into it, and it wasn’t anything life threatening.
They relaxed and smiled. The tension buzzing in the air transforming into relief.
Taking the time and energy that she really didn’t have, she visited every level of Inside and talked to the citizens. Despite her aching legs and feet, she walked through every sector and quadrant.
Even though she hated to admit it, Zavier was right. Not that she would ever tell him.
By the time she reached her quarters, Zavier had sent her proof. Stunned, she sank into her chair. The news was going to turn their world inside out. They had to handle it just right. Cleo sent a message to the command team, calling for an emergency meeting.
Cleo scanned her command team and all the chiefs of Inside. They had assembled in the conference room in record time. They didn’t know why they were there, but like the citizens of Inside, they sensed something wasn’t quite right.
As the captain, all the responsibility rested on her shoulders.
At one point in their history, there had been an admiral and vice admiral overseeing everything.
However, their positions had been deemed redundant and eliminated.
Too bad as Cleo could use some guidance in how to handle this unprecedented situation.
Everyone was staring at Cleo, waiting for her to start the meeting.
Wasting no time, she said, “Inside is slowing down.” She held up a hand, stopping the outcries and demands for information.
“It is not a malfunction. We are decelerating on purpose. Because in two hundred weeks, we will reach Outside.” It took a few seconds for Cleo’s words to sink in.
“You mean, it’s real. And we’re actually going to arrive?” Commander Mazin asked in an awed tone.
“Yes.”
“What is Outside? Where it is?” Ofira asked.
“It’s a planet, whatever that is. We don’t know where. Those files were erased in the Trava takeover.”
“What do you know?” Ofira demanded.
“It’s going to take two hundred weeks to slow down and…” She scrolled through the information Zavier had sent. “And we need to do something called a slingshot around a sun to bleed off more speed before we can orbit Outside.”
“Do we have to do anything?” Mazin asked.
“No. The controllers programmed the maneuver, which is why the transmission automatically engaged.”
Disbelief soon turned to discussion. The conference room filled with excited and nervous chatter.
“This news is going to cause major problems,” Chief Peace Keeper Rawson said. “Not everyone will be happy.”
“Why not? Reaching Outside is our mission,” Ivette said. “Besides we’re running out of resources.”
“And our equipment is wearing out,” Ofira said.
Rawson shook his head. “People don’t like change. Remember when we had to move people from Sector F2 to make room for more air scrubbers? There were fights for weeks.”
“And we know nothing about Outside. What if their water is poisonous? What if we can’t breathe their air?” Geva, who was in charge of the waste-water treatment plant, asked.
“The controllers built Inside and ensured we’d have enough resources and space to last a million weeks,” Cleo said.
“We don’t know their reasons, and we don’t know what’s waiting for us.
But the controllers wouldn’t send us to Outside if it was toxic to us.
What would be the point? They could have poisoned us all the first week out.
We have to assume it’s a better place. A bigger place where you can have as many children as your heart desires. ”
Cleo met everyone’s gaze before she continued.
“We must put a positive spin on this. Outside will be better. It’s exciting news and we are privileged to be the generation that reached Outside.
To promote confidence there needs to be no doubt from anyone here.
We must present a united front. Understand? ”
The chorus of ‘yes, sirs’ was weak, but she’d take it.
“For now, don’t say anything to anyone, that’s an order.
Rawson, I want you to form a committee. Your group will try to anticipate the citizen’s various reactions.
I want to have answers ready and for us to be able to mitigate any problems once I make the announcement. ”
“Who should I include in this committee?” Rawson asked.
Cleo appointed her second in command, Commander Mazin. He shot her an unhappy look, but she ignored it. Then she gestured to the team. “Any volunteers?”
Chief Medic Adia raised her hand. “I have a pretty good insight into our citizens’ mental health.”
In the end, Rawson’s committee had seven members.
“When are you going to make the announcement?” Mazin asked her.
“Once the committee has a list of expected reactions and we have solutions, it’ll be time.”
“The sooner the better,” Ofira said. “My crew is going to need at least a hundred weeks to triple check the transport vehicles. And they need to be tested to ensure they don’t leak air when we’re in Outer Space.”
“How do you test them?” Adia asked.
“We open the hatch, which will suck all the air out and see if the ships lose internal air pressure.”
“Then you’ll have to repressurize the port. Do we have enough air for this test?” Mazin asked.
Ofira pressed her lips together for a moment. “I’ll check.”
“Triple check,” Cleo said. If they ran out of air, their mission failed, and the Outsiders would find a ship full of unrecycled bodies.
Two weeks later, Rawson’s committee had brainstormed various reactions. The command team and chiefs had assembled in the conference room to hear the results.