Dadr'Ba (5 page)

The carcass of the crashed ship was found by accident years later by Mi’Nr’s surveying Dadr’Ba using ground penetrating radar to map Dadr’Ba’s density for structural integrity and the safety of future T’Bm operations. The discovery was kept secret, and a path to the ship was created, the ship and others like it were repaired enough to turn into a network resistance safe houses.

Su’Zi walked down what once was the ceiling and opened the command compartment hatch and stepped inside. It was as she remembered it, this was Su’Zi’s and her father’s special place. She hadn’t been there since she and Ba visited shortly before his capture and arrest by the CASS
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. She went over to the control panel and activated the command compartment auxiliary power and turned the lever, retracting the forward command compartment shield and the inky blackness of space opened beneath her feet.

The cold vacuum of space lay on the other side of a few centimeters of an optically transparent liquid metal specially molded and constructed to stand up to the extreme conditions of space. The super-cooled metal hydride retains its shape yet still acts like a fluid, virtually impervious to damage by electromagnetic radiation and self-healing even when punctured by micrometeorites.

After nearly two thousand years, the command compartment main viewport remained optically clear showing little damage from its exposure to the ravages of interstellar space, albeit most of that time it was physically protected by the much stronger and thicker outer cover the clear metallic liquid held the vacuum at bay.

Su’Zi took one of the thick mats that had been rolled up next to the bulkhead and laid it out at her feet, and slowly settled her nearly four times normal weight onto the mat and relaxed, staring out into space.

The view and the weight gave the illusion of floating outside the ship, held in the tight grip of an invisible hand. Su’Zi eyed the ocean of stars drifting past. Each time the vast river of the Milky Way passes, Su’Zi imagines the sensation of gravity pushing her toward it. Then as she rotates away, her back to the Milky Way, she faces the sparsely populated diamond studded inky blackness of intergalactic space.

Strangely, she feels comfort looking away from the crowded dust obscured center of our galaxy, while looking away, she gets the urge to turn on her side and curl up, wrapping herself in the blackness of space and sleep. She wonders if that is what death is like and if so, that it wouldn’t be such a bad thing at all, especially if Ba might be there.

She thinks about time, about traveling or going back in time, and then the thought struck her that she’s doing it now, by coming here. She laughs inside at the novelty of the thought, how at one time the whole of the scientific community thought that time travel was possible.

The fools confused the relative aspect of time; that of keeping track of the ordered movement of things in space, occurring in the present, with a person’s mental ability to record past events and predict future events, based on experience, blending the laws of physics with people’s perception.

A rational being, living in the present remembers or can record the events and motion of things and can “travel” in their mind anywhere along the time scale of their memory of the past and their imagined future that they choose.

Su’Zi’s memory of the last time she was here with Ba, allowed her to come here, resurrecting in her mind that past, when Ba was still alive, and they were there together. Coming here only assisted with that “memory” time travel.

True time travel would involve the travel of “all” elements involved. To stop time means to stop all the forces of nature responsible for the movement of matter and energy. To stop time means to stop gravity and momentum, the planets orbiting around the sun. To stop time means to stop electromagnetism, the strong and weak nuclear forces, to stop the sun from shining.

To reverse time or to go back, or to set it back, would mean reversing all the forces that control the movement of energy and matter. Turning back time means to rearrange all things back to a previous state. For scientists of all people to think that is possible to move the stars, planets, people and things back to a previous state is clear stupidity, but at the time it was sold to the public, and the scientists profited greatly. Having convinced even themselves.

The reality was, is and always will be, that time travel as once depicted is impossible. The closest that can be achieved is little more than what Su’Zi has already done, and that was to rearrange the present to reflect the way it was once in the past.

These thoughts tugged at Su’Zi making the pain of the loss deeper and more poignant because of the futility of ever getting Ba back. She imagined Ba there, as he once was pointing out the constellations as they flowed by like a repeating River. They made a game out of naming the constellations as they appeared. Su’Zi found herself playing the game with an imaginary Ba and the game becoming a chat or a mantra as she dosed off to sleep.

P’Ko looked up into Dan’Zu’s carefully made up eyes, his extra dark under eye makeup and sharp pointed eye arch, aside from saying, “I’m wealthy and can afford expensive makeup” succeeded in adding to Dan’Zu’s intimidation factor.

P’Ko shouldn’t have had to look up, being clones based on the same stock; they should have been the same height. It was blatantly obvious that Dan’Zu had had an illegal bio-mod
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. Dan’Zu’s family got away with it due to their status as D’En’s and paid someone off to accept a made up medical necessity or accident repair.

Dan’Zu had three of his cronies with him, had he not P’Ko thought he may have had a fighting chance, he’d been secretly practicing martial arts, on his own with imaginary foe’s, but it’s hard to tell what other unseen bio-mods or what training Dan’Zu might have.

P’Ko knew what Dan’Zu wanted; Dan’Zu wanted P’Ko to submit to Dan’Zu’s domination. Submit like the three cronies that were acting as his goons.

Dan’Zu was a D’En, one of only a few at school; most D’En’s are private schooled, home schooled or tutored. P’Ko knew that Dan’Zu must have done something wrong to get punished by getting sent to a public school. If Dan’Zu got into a fight and it was discovered Dan’Zu would be in even more trouble, but if someone picks a fight with Dan’Zu it wouldn’t be his fault.

P’Ko didn’t let the ten centimeters height difference intimidate him and while staring at Dan’Zu kept his focus on the surroundings watchful for an opening to escape.

“What’s the matter Bo’Ba?”
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Taunted Dan’Zu using the colloquial term for a baby, usually a friendly reference among family members to refer to a newborn, still in diapers and not yet toilet trained, Dan’Zu turned it into an insult.

P’Ko was almost ten and wore the ninth year, patterned school uniform; name tag, smock, short pants and slippers, marking him as a Ko’Ka
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or child, when he turns ten next week he’d be a To’Ta
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or a teenager, having made it to double digit age. The new school year would bring a new uniform.

Being called a Bo’Ba was an attempt to provoke him, P’Ko knew that this spot was in view of the camera at the top of the dome over town center and if he pushed or hit Dan’Zu it would appear that P’Ko instigated the altercation and Dan’Zu and his cronies would finish it, and avoid any blame.

P’Ko remained silent and after a slight pause Dan’Zu followed up with a “Ha! It’s as slow and defective as ever; I don’t know why his parents ever kept this piece of crap. They should have sent him back for another, or even better, recycled him as soon as he was born”. This was particularly hurtful because, though Dan’Zu had no way of knowing it, there was an element of truth to it. The birthing process is far from perfect. Some births fail, and the failed pre-born is either held back for another birthing attempt, or, if the failed birthing is determined to be from a damaged or corrupted pre-born, the pre-born is “recycled.” “Recycled” is a nicer, cleaner term for retired, reprocessed and reutilized.

There had been a few times P’Ko had walked in on his parents talking, only to witness an awkward pause and a subject change. He knew they were talking about him.

There was no doubt that his parents loved him. He could feel it psychically, and though they seem to favor his younger brother, P’Ko knew that they had taken a big risk keeping him. All this ran through P’Ko’s mind as he faced Dan’Zu and his goons. P’Ko’s emotions began to build, he was on the verge of a break down, or exploding.

Then, summoning all his will, P’Ko took a lunge toward Dan’Zu. Then at the last instant when Dan’Zu stepped back and started to block, P’Ko dodged past Dan’Zu’s left side to escape through the gap between Dan’Zu and the weakest looking crony and took off running as fast as he could.

Dan’Zu yelled some insults after P’Ko, then seeing the dumb looks from his cronies, shouted to them, “Don’t just stand there, let’s get him!” and they took off running after P’Ko.

P’Ko, puffing heavily, muscles aching ducked behind the service panel beneath the escalator servicing the stadium lower level. It was close; his pursuers were close enough that had he been a second or so slower they would’ve spotted him entering his refuge.

The kids chasing him were especially mean today, as soon as school had let out, they gathered near the alley he planned to use to get home. P’Ko tried to take a different route home each day, but this time, they got lucky.

Picking on P’Ko was a game to them, but it was terrorizing to P’Ko because when they caught him, they always made sure they outnumbered him and P’Ko wouldn’t have been the first to get beaten up by Dan’Zu and his gang.

Getting into a fight meant the instigator and his family would have to pay for the medical treatment to repair the damage for everyone involved, which can be costly, because being GLC’s cuts, scrapes and bruises don’t heal but have to be repaired by special medical treatments. Dan’Zu was always very careful to make it appear that “the other guy” started the fight.

A few years ago P’Ko had gotten into a ‘friendly’ hand slap contest with one of the older members of the gang pursuing him today; it wasn’t even Dan’Zu. P’Ko got beat terribly, and it took weeks for the skin repair lotion P’Ko snuck from his mother to mend his damaged hands.

Dan’Zu was a new arrival, this being only his first year, but he’s been making good use of his time. Dan’Zu took over the hand-slappers gang and expanded it.

P’Ko’s teachers weren’t very sympathetic, most of them being D’En, only a couple teachers’ aides were U’Te and P’Ko has never seen or heard of a Mi’Nr being a teacher. He had been slow learning to talk and read, so much so that his Yng’Gr began speaking and reading before him.

This wasn’t the first time he’d been called a Bo’Ba, other kids when he was younger called him Bo’Ba too when the teachers were out of earshot and even sometimes when P’Ko thought the teachers should have been able to hear.

In a society of clones, uniqueness is prized above just about everything else, but being unique by being labeled below standard is a curse. How can a clone like P’Ko be less than the norm when physically and genetically everyone is identical?

When P’Ko started school, aside from being slow learning to talk and read, when he got older he’d get ridiculed for asking “inappropriate” questions according to the teachers, “dumb questions,” according to his classmates.

Questions “like what is good?” and “what is bad?” The questioning, coming from a child, is excusable and perhaps even expected. But when the answer given to P’Ko by his teachers was “the CA is good.” and “Anything that brings Dadr’Ba closer to O’M is good.” “Bad is anything against the CA.” and “Anything that interferes with Dadr’Ba getting closer to O’M is bad.” The children are then expected to let it go at that
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.

What got P’Ko into trouble was his refusal to accept the first answer and go no further, P’Ko then asked: “why is the CA good?” The frustrated teacher replied, “because the CA brings us order, but most importantly the CA is bringing us O’M.” P’Ko’s naive counter of “it’s not the CA but the ship and the crew that is carrying us O’M” got P’Ko suspended from school, grounded at home and one of those father-son talks about not questioning authority. In this talk, his father cautioned P’Ko not to draw attention to himself; the CA could open an investigation into what might be wrong with P’Ko, trying to discover why he’s asking ‘inappropriate’ questions. If the CA found out about his birth touch, they wouldn’t hesitate to move in to punish the adults involved with hiding a birth touch and take P’Ko way for “study.”

Still hiding in the service space, P’Ko’s allowed his eyes to get used to the darkness; turning on a service light might tip his pursuers to his hiding spot.

P’Ko’s eyes were genetically identical to those of his pursuers, but he had trained himself to see or sense better in the dark, allowing him to navigate in these tight spaces and avoid bumps, bruises and most importantly not get caught in the machinery, which could easily sever a limb.

The crews genetically modified skin was tough, and gene locked to resist radiation and age, but it meant that self or natural healing is out of the question. Healing means going to a MedTech or in severe cases, such as those dealing with the loss of function of an organ, limb, joint, or muscle, a doctor is seen.

Minor cuts and scrapes can be treated with special Nano-bot lotions or salves, but these are strictly controlled and limited, especially among U’Te’s like P’Ko. There should be no need for a U’Te to have or need such a thing, the repair lotion P’Ko pilfered from his mother was authorized since she was a tailor making and altering the clothes and uniforms the crew wears. She sometimes injuries or wears down her fingers handling the sewing machines and needles they use.

If the injury is not normal wear and tear or due to an accident caused by one’s negligence, the person or his family will be charged for the repair and possibly fined, to discourage the risky behavior that brought about the injury.

Dadr’Ba society is based largely on equality, at least superficially, which children like P’Ko often see through in an instant. There are inequalities throughout all of Dadr’Ba society; between the Mi’Nr’s and the U’Te’s and between the U’Te’s and the D’En’s.

Mi’Nr children don’t go to the same schools or day care as the U’Te’s, they home school or have community volunteer centers where parents take turns working extra to run it. Mi’Nr’s don’t even live in the same neighborhoods as the U’Te’s; their homes are almost always in Ol’Tn or below, or in mobile housing camps near where the mining operations are.

There are even inequities within races. P’Ko knows little of the inner workings of the Mi’Nr’s or D’En society but having observed much of U’Te society noted that laborers, like sanitation and food service workers, are treated below that of the knowledge workers, like power and foundry technicians. Mechanics like P’Ko’s father and tailors like P’Ko’s mother are somewhere in the middle. The kids picking on P’Ko are from the knowledge worker class.

The stratification of Dadr’Ba society is obvious to P’Ko even at age ten and because it’s necessary to maintain zero population growth and only enough crew to run Dadr’Ba - families tend to be tied to a job class for generation after generation.

In history class, P’Ko learned of an equal job rights protest that forced the CA to allow for job mobility within and between races. A job application selection and assignment process had been implemented. But it was nothing but show.

The D’En’s still held the upper-level management, engineering, scientific and education jobs. The U’Te’s were still the utility workers doing the broad-spectrum the utility work needed to run the ship, and the Mi’Nr’s worked the mines.

If Dadr’Ba were a living being, the D’En’s would be the brain, the U’Te’s, the body and the Mi’Nr’s, the gut, processing the fuel needed to support the rest. P’Ko admired the Mi’Nr’s greatly, of all the crew members of Dadr’Ba P’Ko, felt the Mi’Nr’s deserve the most credit for the advancement toward O’M they’ve made so far and the ultimate success when they reach O’M, yet Mi’Nr’s are the most looked down upon segment of society.

P’Ko made his way through the darkness using only his memory and his practiced night vision to guide him. He made his way up many levels climbing access ladders and structural braces. Feeling the artificial gravity lessen as he made his way up to one of his favorite spots; it lay in the upper tiers of the stadium shielded from the view of the gigapixel panoramic security camera that P’Ko knew to be at the apex of the dome over Nu’Tn
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center invisible to the naked eye.

P’Ko’s spot provided a view over most of Nu’Tn and allowed P’Ko to watch Dan’Zu and his gang search for him. The stadium, a multi-tiered oval with seating for the entire population of sector three, (over five thousand people), provided a spot for P’Ko to enjoy un-surveilled freedom and solitude and a view of most of the dome covered Nu’Tn center.

The buildings around the stadium are comprised of mostly of light pastel-colored, prefabricated structures, arranged in a regular pattern around the town center’s two distinctive, key features, the Church, and the stadium. Distinctive in that these are the only structures under the Nu’Tn dome without square angles.

The Church, a large white steep-sided dome, whose sides are covered with Penitentes, tall, thin blades of ice, closely spaced with the blades oriented upward toward star twinkling at the dome’s peak. The star above the Church is dazzlingly bright but small enough that it’s actually pleasing and inviting to look at.

P’Ko watched as several people walked through the tall arched entrance to the Church. The stadium, constructed by the CA looks to P’Ko like a large shallow cradle, peaked on either end and sloping down toward the middle with gated entry ways in the middle and both ends. Four enormous rear panel transparent displays arranged at each quarter provided universal viewing.

From his vantage point, P’Ko could clearly see Nu’Tn’s curved deck arching up on both ends, the inside surface of a cylinder two hundred meters from Dadr’Ba’s core, the location of Dadr’Ba’s fusion engine heart. P’Ko watched for a moment as people came and went through the portals around the town center towards “capsule flats” the apartments at the domes edge, repurposed and renovated from old fuel excavation tunnels.

P’Ko’s gaze drifted up, nearly level with his vantage point to the balconies of high-class apartments. P’Ko wondered what they look like inside; each separate balcony stretched the length of the flat that he shared with his parents and brother. P’Ko Looked up at the higher class balconies, several large and small balconies grouped together with a rib providing privacy from their neighbors.