ABC Shorts: Homeward Bound…
Homeward Bound
Copyright 2018, A. B. Carolan
[Note from Steve: There will be more than driverless cars in the future.]
Happy decided she was through with beatings. The welts and open wounds on her back were bright red on her black skin. When Master Cheng stopped whipping her in order to catch his breath, she turned and kicked the old man in the groin and ran.
Her parents had come to the Mars colony because of the Chinese government’s promise of good-paying jobs. Just one problem: the Chinese business model when applied to the colony was such that most workers would die of old age before they paid off their passage. But it wasn’t old age that killed her parents; both had died in work accidents. She became an orphan, and the orphanage sold her to Master Cheng, who was an accountant for a Chinese firm’s branch on Mars.
She ran but didn’t know where to run. On the surface outside the tunnels, she knew she would die without a spacesuit, and she didn’t have one. Most workers didn’t; they were too expensive. But the crowded tunnels, teeming with workers, allowed her to hide in plain sight after she stole a cheap jersey from a tunnel vendor’s rack when he wasn’t looking. She no longer had to run with her arms crossed over her breasts.
Every intersection had direction signs in Chinese and English on the tunnel walls. She spotted one that said, “Port for Private Yachts.” Because Mars had no surface water, she knew that meant space yachts. Some rich industrialists who visit, Chinese or not, come in small spaceships, she thought. Her Daddy had told her that. Could I stow away on one and return to Earth? Her parents had dreamed of striking it rich and doing exactly that.
Happy was their only child, and they had spoiled her as much as they could. When the colony had started bursting at its seams, the Chinese authorities initiated a policy that permitted only one child. And some had to wait years to receive the license to have one.
She was soon lost in a crowd that was headed in the same direction. Not rich yacht owners but port workers, she thought, noting the grim look on their faces and simple, drab clothing that matched hers. There were so many that the guards could only randomly check the workers, although they were all supposed to carry a work permit. She was fourteen but looked twenty and had none, but for them, she was just another worker.
Each yacht was stacked into an underground garage comprised of several levels. She’d seen videos of how the system worked. Departing spaceships would join a queue and follow a winding route up through the garage they were positioned in an available launch tube. The tube would be sealed, the top hatch would open, and the yacht would rise into the rare Martian atmosphere without exhaust as the atomics took over.
She milled around a bit and spotted a yacht without workers around it. She approached it and saw its name: Dragon’s Tooth, GenCorps. She wasn’t sure what that meant. “Dragon’s Tooth,” she muttered. To her surprise, a hatch opened and a ramp telescoped down to her feet. She went aboard, the ramp retracted, and the hatch closed. Am I trapped?
There were three levels. The lower one seemed to be for cargo and luggage. There were a few crates lying around. She went up a ladder to the second and found two small bedrooms and a bathroom with toilet, sink, and shower stall. The top level was a control room. Can I fly this thing? She’d played with some simulations at the orphanage, but they were mostly for the little shuttles that flew around Mars.
“Hello, Happy. Do you want to go somewhere?”
She looked around. “Where are you?”
“I’m your friendly AI, here and ready to help.”
She located the voice’s source—a speaker above the control panel. “How do you know my name?”
“Data error: I believe it’s called a nickname. I can read your ID tag buried in your shoulder and was able to access your records.”
“Do they already say I’m a runaway?”
“Data retrieval: Here are some laws you’ve broken.” The computer rattled off some colonial laws and ordinances. “Observation: Running away isn’t in your record, though. Not yet.”
“Is stealing a space yacht also against the law?”
“Yes. You’re not my owners, so you would unlawfully be taking their property, namely me.”
“Does that matter? You offered to take me somewhere?”
“My owners had me programmed to ignore local ordinances. I’m free to extrapolate that to taking you wherever you want to go.”
Observation: Not so smart, these owners. “Take me to Soweto then.”
“Calculating…that’s not possible. Alternative: System Terminal in South Africa is the nearest spaceport on Earth to your proposed destination.”
“Go for it.”
Happy hopped into a luxurious chair in front of the control panel, ready to enjoy the ride. She wondered what a real shower would feel like. Mommy and Daddy, I’m going home!
***
Reclusive A. B. Carolan is my Irish collaborator for young-adult tales. He rewrote, reedited, and published The Secret Lab recently.
I’m sure A. B. got the idea for this story after reading about Jenny Wong’s childhood history in Survivors of the Chaos, first book in the “Chaos Chronicles Trilogy.” All three books have been bundled together and the bargain bundle is now available on Amazon and Smashwords and all the latter’s affiliates (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc).
The Great Spring Thaw Sale continuing on at Smashwords. Usually two ebooks are on sale. Check all the ebooks on my author’s page for those on sale. Soldiers of God just went on sale, for example.
And don’t miss A. B.’s new young adult sci-fi mystery The Secret of the Urns. Coming soon!
Want more free fiction? Go to my webpage “Free Stuff & Contests” for directions on how to download free PDFs—novellas and short story collections, plus a few other things. Enjoy!
In libris libertas!
