EMPYREAN

The Coming Paradise

Narlo and Hannah return from space to find that many have transferred from our imperfect world to a virtual reality where experience can be whatever they want, where they can satisfy all their desires and fantasies. Narlo is excited by the prospect of a life that seems to be truly heaven on earth, but Hannahs view of our nature as humans makes it difficult for her to go that way. So Narlo is torn between staying with his life-long soul mate and transferring, leaving Hannah alone in a world where no one even speaks her language any more.

Technology will soon offer us immortality in a virtual world of total pleasure.

ISBN, Bar code, Price

David Ilsley

Dont dream it, be it. Frank N Furter

We will soon be able to reproduce the human brain electronically. Neurons are uite simple thin!s" simulatin! one neuron is easy. #he way the neurons are connected is what makes the brain comple$. %nce we can scan those connections, we will be able to replace a person&s brain with an electronic copy. I' we connect this to a computer which simulates the en(ironment like a total (irtual reality e$perience then the person can li(e in a world o' their choosin! a paradise. But would such a person be human) Would it be conscious) Would it be the person it was made 'rom) %nce the technolo!y is a(ailable, there will be people willin! to take the chance and try it. *t 'irst it mi!ht be +ust the terminally ill and seriously disabled. But i' the con(erts seem real enou!h, others mi!ht see bene'its in a li'e that really does seem to be hea(en on earth.

Chapter 1

Death ,I&m stoppin& &ere mate.& the dri(er said as he pulled up to let Narlo out. Narlo was hitchin! a ride to be with his mother who was in the 'inal sta!es o' lupus. #he disease was attackin! her ner(ous system, causin! episodes o' an$iety and depression as well as uite a bit o' pain. -i(in! by hersel', she wasn&t copin! well. Narlo had always had a so't spot 'or his mother she had been (ery !ood to him when he was youn! and he had decided to !i(e up his +ob on the coast so that he could be with her in her last days. In 'act, he had been hopin! to be with her that day, but it was !ettin! late and this last li't had taken him a route he didn&t know well, droppin! him at .urden, a small country town on a road with (ery little tra''ic. It was already startin! to !et dark. /e was !oin! to need somewhere to stay, but this town didn&t look like it would ha(e anywhere. It didn&t look like the sort o' place he would really want to stay in anyway. #he main road had a 'ew derelict shops and there were a 'ew e ually derelict houses scattered alon! the one or two back streets. #here wasn&t a person in si!ht, nothin! li(in! in 'act. *part 'rom the wind and the ban!in! o' a loose sheet o' corru!ated iron on a nearby buildin!, the only sound was o' the (ehicle that had dropped him o'' dri(in! up a dirt road into the hills as i' in a hurry to !et away 'rom the place. It was cold, the sky was o(ercast and the odd spot o' rain was blowin! into his 'ace as he !a0ed alon! the road. Narlo wasn1t 'eelin! the best either. *ll day, he had had a na!!in! 'eelin! that somethin! bad was !oin! to happen. No point in standin! around thou!h. /e decided to walk down to the other end o' the main street in case anyone was lea(in! town and headin! his way.
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/e passed the cemetery on his le't. %n the ri!ht was a wooden buildin!. #he si!n o(er the pa(ement read Mortice & Gunn, Funeral Directors. #hrou!h the dirty 'ront window he could see a dusty old timber desk and a pile o' co''ins. 3ust (isible in the back!round, han!in! 'rom a wooden beam was a noose. Noticin! the noose didn1t cheer him up at all. Ne$t was what seemed to be a 'lorist, but with +ust a 'ew hal'4 dead 'lowers. Pasted to the window was an old poster ad(ertisin! a play or somethin!, seemin!ly called Beware the Picts. #he title seemed in some way si!ni'icant to Narlo as i' it were a messa!e meant particularly 'or him. %pposite the 'lorist was a stone mason with !ra(e stones on display. Narlo hadn&t noticed the common theme here it sometimes took him a while to notice the ob(ious and the ob(ious still didn&t occur to him when, walkin! o(er a small brid!e, he saw a body lyin! in the mud below with its head hal' submer!ed in a puddle. It looked like a middle4a!ed man and, 'rom the way it was startin! to blend in with its surroundin!s, it seemed like it had been there 'or uite a while. 5espite still not bein! consciously aware o' the theme, Narlo had been !ettin! pro!ressi(ely more uneasy. *s he looked at the body, his unease crossed the line into panic and he broke into a sprint. /e ran as 'ar as the ne$t side street and hurried round the corner as i' to hide. But turnin! the corner brou!ht him 'ace to 'ace with 'our !i!antic hairy Scotsmen, dressed in kilts, each with a set o' ba!pipes. #hey stared at him an!rily 'or a moment, then one spoke. ,%ch laddie, ya meed a bad misteek comin& here.& ,I didn&t mean to.& Narlo answered ner(ously and apolo!etically, ,I +ust !ot . . .& ,6a di& na mean to)& interrupted another more loudly and leanin! down into Narlo&s 'ace. ,5id ya no see the si!n)& he continued, pointin! with one arm, his 'ace only inches 'rom Narlo&s. ,6our type are nay welcome in these parts.&
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By now all 'our had mo(ed closer and had Narlo surrounded. 8unnin! wasn&t an option. ,I don&t . . .& Narlo be!an, but, +ust as he started to speak, he 'elt a stabbin! pain in his side. %ne o' the men had thrust his blowpipe into Narlo&s ribs. #hen Narlo was picked up 'rom behind, turned upside down and stu''ed head4'irst into a blue plastic barrel. #he lid was screwed on and he was trapped, claustrophobic and in an uncom'ortable position, head down, with one ear pushed a!ainst the bottom o' the barrel, his arms s uashed in around his chest and his le!s somewhere where le!s don&t normally !o. #he barrel was picked up, dumped onto the back o' a (ehicle and dri(en o'' down what seemed like a (ery bumpy road. /e stru!!led, not because he thou!ht it would do any !ood more because he +ust couldn&t stop himsel'. Somehow he knew he would soon be dead like the man under the brid!e. #he barrel bounced about in the back 'or what 'elt like a mile or two be'ore the (ehicle came to a stop. /e could hear the mu''led, !ru'' Scottish (oices as the barrel was tipped onto the !round, rolled across the dirt, then pushed o'' a cli''. Narlo knew he had !one o'' a cli'', e(en thou!h he couldn1t see anythin! but a dim blue !low. Somehow he seemed to know it was comin! e(en be'ore he went o(er. %nce airborne, he was wei!htless with the sudden intense (isceral 'eelin! that somethin! is wron! that 'ree'all produces. /e knew the !round was comin! and, sure enou!h, it did. It came with a loud crash and Narlo responded with a yell somethin! between a shout 'or help and a scream o' terror. /e mana!ed a second yell and then a third. 9 9 9 /e made the third yell sittin! up in his bed. It now seemed that he wasn&t dyin!, but he couldn1t stop himsel' 'rom !i(in! a 'ourth uick one 'or !ood measure.
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* shaky hand scrambled 'rantically 'or the li!ht beside the bed, desperate to see 'or certain where he was and to put the dark to 'li!ht with all its horrors. * measure o' relie' did come with the li!ht. Now he could see what was around him and perhaps more importantly what wasn1t around him. /is heart still pounded in his chest, thou!h, and e(erythin! around him scared him. *s he slowly be!an to settle down, he noticed the clock :"27 a.m. What he needed more than anythin! else was some company, someone to put their arms around him and hold him ti!ht until all this was more com'ortably behind him. /e wanted to wake someone up that was assumin! he hadn1t done so already. But he knew better. #his had happened many times now. #he 'irst couple o' times, someone had come to see what the commotion was about, but this time he was on his own. Narlo had had dreams like this on and o'' 'or the past 1; years. #he dreams always had a theme o' death, usually accompanied by an ominous 'eelin! that somethin! aw'ul was !oin! to happen. #hey would end in his bein! killed, o'ten suddenly and une$pectedly, thou!h he would always wake up +ust as he died. /e knew why he had the dreams. 1; years earlier he had killed one o' the only three people in his li'e. /er body was still with him, strapped to the wall outside his room +ust a 'ew metres away 'rom where he slept. What he wasn&t sure about was to what e$tent the death dreams were a result o' !uilt and to what e$tent they resulted 'rom his apprehension about what would happen to him in +ust a 'ew days time when he would 'ace +ustice at the hands o' what mi!ht well be a completely alien le!al system. 9 9 9 * bit a'ter <, Narlo decided he wasn&t !oin! to !o back to sleep, so he !ot up, put on some clothes and went outside. /e walked care'ully down the stairs into the li(in! area, holdin! the rail to
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a(oid bein! thrown o'' balance by the in(isible 'orces that always accompanied such an action and made him 'eel not uite ri!ht in the head. #he li(in! area was a room about 1= metres by : metres. >nlike most li(in! rooms, thou!h, the 'loor was cur(ed so that both ends were hi!her than the middle where he was standin!. /e walked to one end o' the room, the room seemin! to roll as he went so that he was always at the lowest point. >nable to !o 'urther he turned round and walked back. /e did this a 'ew times. Somethin! inside him seemed to tell him he was achie(in! somethin!? thou!h somethin! else told him he was +ust wearin! out the carpet. /e sat down at a desk and pressed a 'ew keys on a keyboard, causin! a picture o' stars to appear on a monitor in 'ront o' him. /e then 0oomed in on one particular star which turned out to be a crescent, bluish white in colour. /e !a0ed at it 'or a 'ew minutes, 'ar away in wist'ul thou!ht. #his could ha(e been a time o' triumph and e$citement a time when he mi!ht be hailed as a hero. But any ideas o' heroism now !a(e way to the thou!ht that he mi!ht instead be recei(ed as a common criminal. 9 9 9 #he date was <th *pril 21<= and Narlo was nearly home a'ter a @<4year space +ourney. In 2; days time, the ship would be back in Aarth orbit. Narlo put his hands behind his head and leant back in the chair. /e swayed to and 'ro a couple o' times, then 'ell o(er backwards, landin! with a bit o' a crash on a small pile o' bo$es that someone had le't on the 'loor behind him.

Chapter 2

Rory and Misha >nlike Narlo, 8ory Pope had ne(er le't Aarth. 8ory was born in Appin! on the northern outskirts o' -ondon in 2=:@. /is mother wasn&t the most discernin! person in the world when it came to thin!s like decidin! who to ha(e se$ with and who not to. Bonse uently 8ory had been born when she was still too youn! and she had brou!ht him up on her own. 5espite this, she had lo(ed him and cared 'or him as much as any mother and had laid the 'oundations 'or an inner security. 8ory was in(ited to his 'riend Seth&s se(enth birthday party on a 'arm. /is mum dropped him o'' then came back a couple o' hours later to pick him up. /e ob(iously en+oyed the party and was keen to tell her all about it on the way home. ,5o you know what the sheep did)& 8ory asked. ,No& said .um, ,What did it do)& ,#hem there were lots o' them.& ,Sorry, what did they do)& ,Well, /arry ran o(er to them and they all ran away and they ran round and round the shed, chasin! each other.& ,Why did they chase each other)& ,I think ,cause they were scared.& ,What o')& ,/arry.& 8ory said as i' it should ha(e been ob(ious. .um lau!hed. ,So why did they run round and round the shed)& ,Bause they were all chasin! each other.& .um looked pu00led. ,So what was the one at the 'ront chasin!)& ,#he one at the back.& She thou!ht 'or another moment then said ,So the 'irst one cau!ht up with the last one)& ,6es.& said 8ory. ,So they made a circle ri!ht round the shed and they were all
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runnin! round and round 'ollowin! the one in 'ront)& ,6es.& said 8ory, pleased that she had 'inally !ot the picture. .um lau!hed. ,Sheep are stupid animals, aren&t they) #hey +ust 'ollow the one in 'ront without worryin! where it&s !oin!.& 8ory lau!hed too. ,*nd then Seth&s dad tried to stop them, but then they all ran inside the shed and the lady was makin! the 'ood in there and one o' them +umped on the 'airy bread and knocked it all on the 'loor and the others started eatin! it.& Both lau!hed and both looked at each other lau!hin!. It was in that moment o' distraction that his mum 'ailed to !i(e way at an intersection and hit a truck that was comin! across 'rom the ri!ht. Bein! short, 8ory didn&t see it comin!. /e remembered .um lookin! up a!ain and her lau!hter turnin! to a scream. /e remembered the dea'enin! crash, the shatterin! o' !lass and the !rindin! o' metal as the 'ront o' the car was torn apart. #hen there were the oran!e 'lames. 8ory was able to !et himsel' out o' the door which was open beside him and to 'all down on the road. But his mother +ust sat there in the 'lames, 'irst screamin!, then chokin!, then mo(in! her head and upper body uietly backwards and 'orwards, then !oin! still, +ust an amorphous dark 'orm behind the curtain o' oran!e. 8ory&s own in+uries and the heat stopped him 'rom !ettin! near his mum. /e yelled, he be!!ed her to !et out, thou!h his words were barely understandable. /e couldn&t understand why she +ust stayed there. 8escuers were on the scene uickly. #hey tried to mo(e 8ory away, but he +ust wanted to be with his mum and had to be 'orcibly carried. /is mother was trapped and died at the scene, her body charred beyond reco!nition. 9 9 9 8ory spent ; months in hospital. %ne side o' his 'ace and his +aw were smashed, his head and upper body were burnt and his ri!ht hip was crushed.
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Because he didn&t ha(e any money, he didn&t !et the best medical treatment a(ailable. 5espite the doctors& e''orts with reconstructi(e sur!ery and skin !ra'ts, he was le't uite dis'i!ured. /e could speak only with di''iculty and he walked with a limp. 8unnin! was out o' the uestion. /is mother had no relati(es capable o' lookin! a'ter him, so, when he came out o' hospital, 8ory was placed with a retired couple, .r and .rs Simmons, whom he had ne(er met be'ore. #hey treated him well, but they ne(er made up 'or his mother whom he missed terribly. /e missed so much about her. /e missed her so't warm body. /e missed her pretty 'ace and her reassurin! smile. /e missed the way she sat and talked to him i' he was upset as i' nothin! else in the world mattered. /e missed the thin!s they did to!ether cookin! treats, walks in the park. -i'e had been so !ood and it had ne(er occurred to him that all that could end. Now, when he pictured her 'ace, he 'ound it hard not to let the ima!e o' horror as it burned take o(er. .r and .rs Simmons didn&t spend a lot o' time with 8ory and, when they did, there was ne(er that closeness and real sharin! o' 'eelin!s that he had had with his mum. /e really needed that time and closeness to help him !row up, to help him !et o(er the trauma o' the accident and the loss o' his mother, to help him deal with his !ar!oyle looks and to help him cope with li'e as a 'reak and social outcast. *t C he had to deal with these thin!s lar!ely by himsel'. 9 9 9 * week a'ter comin! out o' hospital, 8ory started at a new school. /e started in No(ember, a couple o' months a'ter the be!innin! o' the school year, and uickly became that u!ly new kid that e(eryone talked about but tried to a(oid !oin! near. /e became timid and emotionally 'rail and 'ound it easier not to interact with others more than he could help. #his, o' course made
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him stran!e as well as u!ly in the eyes o' the other kids. *'ter a while, some o' the children be!an to accept him in a reser(ed way, but others seemed to 'eel it was their duty to make his li'e e(en more miserable than it already was. /e would 'inish many days by cryin! himsel' to sleep alone in his room. 9 9 9 But 8ory turned out to be !ood with his studies in no small part because he had plenty o' time to spend on them. /e was particularly !ood at lo!ical thinkin!, did (ery well at maths and science and had a !i't with computers. #his did earn him a certain respect 'rom some o' his peers. *s well as that, his interest in computers !a(e him somethin! to do and helped take his mind o'' the rest o' his li'e. %n his computer he could talk to people without them knowin! what he looked like. /e used a photo o' someone he didn&t know as his (irtual persona. 8ory 'inished school and did 'our years at uni(ersity, then !ot himsel' a +ob in computers a +ob where he could work with machines more than with people. 9 9 9 Bein! a loner, 8ory ne(er really learnt how to socialise what to do and say and what not to do and say. /e ne(er married, ne(er e(en had a !irl 'riend. /e li(ed his li'e alone in a -ondon apartment. /e did !et into his work thou!h he o'ten worked on pro+ects that were a bit o' a challen!e and on which he could produce some outstandin! results by himsel'. #hese would make him 'eel proud o' himsel'. I' he worked all the time and didn&t think about what else there could be in li'e, he didn&t really miss it. %ne time, at a work party when he was 2<, a youn! woman beside him was talkin! to someone else in a (ery animated way. /er arm wa(in! accidentally resulted in one o' her 'in!ers !oin!
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into 8ory&s eye. >nlike most people who would ha(e +ust apolo!ised and mo(ed away uickly, she was uite concerned that she mi!ht ha(e hurt him. ,%h, I&m sorry.& she said and she turned to 'ace him, put both hands on his 'ace, seemin!ly totally un'a0ed by his dis'i!urement, and looked at him closely to see i' he was ok. ,5id I !et you in the eye)& ,It&s ok.& 8ory said, e(en thou!h his eye was waterin! sli!htly. ,Sit down.& she said. She !ot him to sit on a nearby couch, then sat beside him hal' 'acin! him. 8ory couldn&t help noticin! that her le! was almost touchin! his. She was an attracti(e woman, probably in her early twenties and she was wearin! a (ery short skirt with black ti!hts and a low4cut top. 8ory wasn&t accustomed to this sort o' attention 'rom this sort o' !irl and it made him ner(ous, thou!h he had no desire to !et away. ,6ou&re 8ory Pope, aren&t you)& she asked in a (ery interested tone. ,6es.& he said. ,I&m -aura .illard. 6ou produced that brilliant work on the Ereenland Pro+ect, didn&t you)& ,I was in(ol(ed in it.& ,5on&t be modest.& she said. ,It wouldn&t ha(e been anythin! without you. 6ou must ha(e spent a lot o' time on it.& ,I did.& he said on a tone that su!!ested he thou!ht it was too much time. ,Were you in(ol(ed in the Pro+ect)& ,I was, but then I&m +ust an administrati(e assistant.& ,5o you work in the -ondon o''ice)& Narlo asked, tryin! to think o' thin!s to keep the con(ersation !oin!. ,No. I&m at the Brawley o''ice.& ,What&s that like)& he asked. ,I&(e ne(er been there.& ,Finda creepy.& she said in a li!ht4hearted tone. 8ory looked pu00led 'or a second until he saw intended pun. It was pretty bad, but he lau!hed anyway. #hey continued to chat. -aura talked a bit about the horse ridin! she did. She said she o'ten went on weekend ridin! trails in the
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5owns. Narlo thou!ht about how !reat it would be to be able to do somethin! like that with her, but ridin! would probably ha(e been beyond him. #hen they disco(ered a common interest in Godiac, a series o' books and mo(ies which combined a science 'iction plot with philosophical and romantic themes. %nce they !ot onto this topic, the con(ersation became a lot easier 'or 8ory. /e thorou!hly en+oyed their chat and -aura&s company and he had to try hard not to show his disappointment when, a'ter the best part o' an hour, she mentioned her partner who was workin! o(erseas and so wasn&t at the party. * bit later a collea!ue came o(er 'or a word with 8ory. -aura e$cused hersel' and went to talk to some other people. /al' hour a'ter that, she le't the party, thou!h she did come and say a uick ,bye& to 8ory and !a(e him a kiss on the cheek his !ood one. 9 9 9 #he ne$t day as he sat by himsel' in his windowless basement o''ice, 8ory couldn&t !et his mind o'' -aura and what li'e could be like i' he wasn&t the way he was. Suddenly, his work no lon!er interested him. /e !ot (ery little done. /e +ust !ot depressed and claustrophobic. #he 'ew times like these that he had some pleasurable social interaction o'ten +ust made him miserable a'terwards. /e would !et o(er them, but it would take a 'ew days. *lthou!h he really en+oyed the social interaction, he !radually learnt to a(oid it. #his helped him stay on a more e(en emotional le(el, which, in the lon! run, was easier to deal with than the ups and downs that people brou!ht. /e learnt to cope with li'e rather than to en+oy it. 8ory did ha(e some pleasures beside his work, thou!h. /e liked to !o 'or walks in the country. Because o' his di''iculty with walkin!, they were 'airly short, slow a''airs, but he deli!hted in the 'resh air, the open 'ields, the 'orests, the blue skies, the crisp
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'rosty mornin!s and, on rare occasions, the snow which trans'ormed the countryside into a ma!ical wonderland. Eettin! older ne(er dulled the beauty o' 'ields and trees co(ered with a so't white blanket o' snow. %n his walks he would see cotta!es tucked away pri(ately amon!st nature and he would 'antasise about ownin! such a place. 9 9 9 In 2=DC, 8ory started workin! 'or /arti!an Alectronics. /is new workplace was in central Wales, so he did 'inally !et his dream o' a cotta!e in the country. By this time, howe(er, he was su''erin! uite a bit 'rom arthritis, so he couldn&t !et out and en+oy the outdoors as much as he would ha(e liked. Instead, he had an e$tension built on the back o' his house. #he walls were made mostly o' !lass and it looked out across a meadow to a stream and the hills beyond. /e worked a lot 'rom home and he did most o' his work in the !lass room. Workin! in there 'elt a lot better than workin! in the basement in his earlier years. /e still didn&t ha(e a stunnin! social li'e, but by now he was !ood at !ettin! by without. 9 9 9 * 'ew years later, /arti!an +oined a consortium o' companies with the aim o' usin! electronics to !i(e people with dys'unctional bodies a chance o' a normal li'e. In 21=@ the consortium was lookin! 'or its 'irst !uinea pi!s. 8ory knew as well as anyone what was in(ol(ed. It would be a serious risk, but, i' it paid o'', the rewards would be phenomenal. /e decided that he had more to !ain than he had to lose and he (olunteered. #he operations were bein! per'ormed in *ustralia, so 8ory 'lew to *ustralia and went under the slicer. #his turned out to be the best thin! he e(er did. It 'reed him 'rom his mutilated body and totally chan!ed his li'e.
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9 9 9 In the same year .isha Erutowski, who was workin! 'or one o' the other consortium companies, made the same decision. Bompared to 8ory, .isha&s li'e had been 'airly normal. She had been brou!ht up near Bristol, the youn!est o' three children. She did a science de!ree at Bristol >ni(ersity, then trained to be a teacher and tau!ht science in secondary school. She 'ound her sub+ect more interestin! than the kids she tau!ht, lendin! credence to the ada!e ,primary teachers lo(e their kids? secondary teachers lo(e their sub+ect? and tertiary teachers lo(e themsel(es&. She had a serious boy'riend 'rom the a!e o' 22 to the a!e o' 2;. /is name was Fent and there was a time that she was hopin! to marry him, but later she chan!ed her mind. .isha had a lot o' direction and ambition in li'e, but Fent was much more laid back and directionless, o'ten dri'tin! 'rom +ob to +ob and spendin! periods unemployed. *s a result, .isha ended up puttin! more than her 'air share o' work into their li(es. *'ter Fent, she tried one or two other men, but none o' the relationships really worked out. She wasn&t outstandin!ly attracti(e, so didn&t ha(e the same choice in men that some women ha(e. *t 7:, still unmarried, .isha decided to do a Ph5 in neurolo!y. #his led to in(ol(ement in work on brain scannin! with Sybro#ech, an or!anisation that was e$perimentin! with the production o' arti'icial brains. She en+oyed this work and stayed with it until, at the a!e o' :C, she was dia!nosed with o(arian cancer. #he possibility that she would die was a serious blow, not so much because she was en+oyin! li'e so much, but because her work had become (ery interestin! and showed promise o' leadin! to e$citin! de(elopments in the ne$t 'ew years. >ntil the dia!nosis, she had assumed that she would see these de(elopments. #he tumour was remo(ed and she recei(ed therapy, but less than a year later it was 'ound to ha(e spread to se(eral other or!ans.
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She was !i(en two months to li(e. Fortunately 'or .isha, this happened at the time that the consortium was lookin! 'or !uinea pi!s. .isha had e(en less to lose than 8ory. 9 9 9 #hou!h the technolo!y was still 'airly new and e$perimental, both .isha&s and 8ory&s con(ersions were success'ul. #hey +oined a small colony o' other tro!s. It was only as tro!s that 8ory and .isha disco(ered one another.

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Chapter 3

The Shac Narlo picked himsel' up 'rom amon! the pile o' now sli!htly s uashed bo$es, strai!htened them out as best he could then sat himsel' back at the monitor, a!ain lookin! at that bluish crescent. 9 9 9 /e and the ship had spent the @< years !oin! to Point Geta and back. Point Geta was the name !i(en to a particular point in space about 'i'ty billion kilometres 'rom Aarth about D times as 'ar as Pluto. #here was nothin! at all at this point and there was absolutely nothin! interestin! about it other than the 'act that they had been there. #hou!h Point Geta was 'ar enou!h 'rom Aarth that the Sun was +ust a particularly bri!ht star, it was less than a hundredth o' the distance to the nearest other star. #he space cra't Narlo was tra(ellin! in was a''ectionately called The Shac , not so much because o' the way it was built, but more because it was named in honour o' Arnest Shackleton, *ntarctic e$ploration hero o' the early twentieth century. #he Shack was built as two modules one containin! the li(in! uarters, the other the en!ines and 'uel. #he modules were connected by a lon! sha't. #he whole ship rotated about a point part way alon! the connectin! sha't to pro(ide !ra(ity in the li(in! uarters. #he cur(ature o' the li(in! room 'loor ensured that !ra(ity was e(erywhere perpendicular to the 'loor so the 'urniture didn&t slide downhill. It was the Boriolis e''ect o' the rotation that produced the stran!e 'eelin!s when walkin! down the stairs. #he rotation o' the ship also made lookin! out 'rom the li(in! room somewhat unpleasant. #he desi!ners !ot around this problem by not puttin! any windows in the li(in! room. #o look out the astronauts could !o to the hub at the centre o' rotation.
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#he hub housed an obser(ation room and telescope as well as the propulsion +ets. *lternati(ely they could send ima!es 'rom the telescope to the li(in! room. 9 9 9 Narlo&s mission was part o' Pro+ect Aricsson. #he pro+ect was named a'ter the Hikin!, -ei' Aricsson, not the phone company. -ei' was the son o' Aric the 8ed who settled Ereenland. /e is belie(ed to ha(e established a settlement in New'oundland nearly <== years be'ore Bolumbus ,disco(ered& the new world #he ultimate aim o' Pro+ect Aricsson was to land people on planets o' other star systems. Narlo&s mission was part o' Phase 2 o' the pro+ect. Phase 1 consisted o' sendin! small unmanned probes to planets orbitin! other stars likely to host li'e. #he main aim o' Phase 2 was to road test two new technolo!ies that it was thou!ht would be needed in Phase 7 when people would be tra(ellin! to other star systems. #he 'irst technolo!y was the recyclin! o' 'ood, water and air. *ll the human waste was reprocessed, usin! ener!y 'rom the ship&s reactors. By now, the crew had eaten the same 'ood about ; times? they had drunk the water about 2= times and washed in it many more times than that. Nothin! was wasted. I' 'ood scraps 'ell on the 'loor, they were (acuumed up and recycled. .ind you, they had about two tonnes o' 'ood on board and e(en hal' a tonne o' 'ood scraps lyin! under the kitchen table would probably not ha(e !one unnoticed. #he second technolo!y was hibernation. For most o' the trip the crew o' the Shack had hibernated 'or all but 1< days out o' e(ery si$ months. #he trip would pro(ide in'ormation on how the human body copes with spendin! most o' @< years in hibernation. Without hibernation, all 'our o' the tra(ellers would ha(e been be dead be'ore they !ot back. #he only other option 'or ha(in! li(in! people in the ship 'or the whole +ourney was to breed in
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space. #his mi!ht ha(e been 'un in a way, but hibernation was considered to be less complicated. Besides, the crew didn&t really want to !et old and die in the ship. *nd what sort o' li'e would it be 'or the ne$t !eneration who would be born in the ship, spend their whole li(es without steppin! 'oot outside the 'ront door, then 'inally die in the ship, only to be eaten by their children) %ne could ar!ue that, not knowin! any di''erent, they wouldn&t mind, but the people on Aarth who make these decisions tend to be sentimental or at least don&t want to be criticised by others who are. In 'act, steps had been taken to make sure that the crew didn&t breed in space. Narlo had been doctored so that they couldn&t, and additi(es in the 'ood made sure than none o' them particularly 'elt like !oin! throu!h the motions anyway. It was sort o' ironic that, by the time they !ot back to Aarth with the results o' the trials, neither 'ood reprocessin! nor hibernation would be re uired any more. /umans would be able to send people on space +ourneys o' thousands o' years with no 'ood or water, no air and less li(in! space than you 'ind in an a(era!e co''in. *nd yet they would be 'ully conscious and alert within a second o' any incident that re uired their attention. 9 9 9 *t <"7= Narlo was still the only one up, so he went and had a wash. /is hair was !ettin! lon!. /e mi!ht ha(e to do somethin! about it be'ore they !ot back set 'ire to it maybe. /e cleaned his teeth and went back out to 'ind /annah sittin! in the kitchen with a co''ee. ,E&day& said Narlo. Narlo was 'rom *ustralia. ,E&day& said /annah. /annah wasn1t 'rom *ustralia. She was Irish. But she had learnt to say E&day. /annah was < 'oot :. /er 'lesh was white, smooth and so't4 lookin!, une$posed as it had been to the sun 'or the last @< years. /er 'eatures were roundish. She was not o(erwei!ht not by
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Narlo&s standards anyway more cutely baby4'aced. *t the start o' the mission she had been 2;, thou!h at the time she could ha(e passed 'or a teena!er. /er blonde hair had 'allen naturally to her shoulders in rin!lets. It was still blonde and was still cut 'airly much the same way. She was wearin! a white and pale blue knee4len!th skirt and a slee(eless top made o' the same material. #he material was so't and 'ell naturally to the shape o' the wearer like clothes that had been worn and washed 'or years which in 'act they were. /er 'eet were bare. Narlo had been attracted to /annah when they 'irst met. /e still was in 'act, thou!h, because they had !ot to know each other (ery well now, the physical attraction was more a backdrop to what he 'ound attracti(e in her personality and character. She now looked to be in her 'orties. /er shape hadn&t chan!ed much e$cept maybe 'or bein! a little so'ter. /annah was !enerally 'airly uiet, but Narlo had always 'ound her easy to talk to. /e 'elt rela$ed with her in a way which he hadn&t with many people he had met be'ore becomin! an astronaut. Narlo himsel' was 7 years older than /annah and +ust a couple o' inches taller. /e was thin with strai!ht hair darkish brown with hi!hli!hts o' !rey which he kept parted a bit to one side and cut to partly co(er his ears and 'orehead. /e had the sort o' 'ace that made him look open, 'riendly and trustable. #here was no trace o' male arro!ance in 'act uite the opposite he tended to be a little sel'4e''acin!. It was partly 'or this reason that /annah was so com'ortable with him. /e was wearin! a pair o' dark blue shorts about knee len!th and a red t4shirt. #he colours were clearly 'aded and his clothes too looked like they had !rown old with him and maybe on him. -ike /annah, his 'eet were bare. 9 9 9
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When they&d set o'', there had been 'our crew members. Aach had a primary area o' responsibility. /annah had a back!round in psycholo!y, counsellin! and human relations. /er role re'lected this. She was there to help the crew to remain sane and on speakin! terms, thou!h she hadn&t been completely success'ul with this. She was also responsible 'or keepin! records o' all aspects o' the trip, and 'or communication with Aarth, another responsibility she&d not been able to meet a'ter the 'irst 'ew years, thou!h this throu!h no 'ault o' her own. Narlo had a back!round in bein! a nerd, and his primary role was as an electronics and computer technician. 3olee, the third member o' the crew was responsible 'or lookin! a'ter 'ood production and !eneral ship operations and maintenance. Saphira, the 'ourth crew member had a medical back!round and this had been her area o' responsibility. It was Saphira whose body hun! outside Narlo&s bedroom. In addition to their primary roles, each crew member was !i(en a secondary back4up role in case another crew member became incapacitated. Narlo and 3olee were back4ups 'or each other, as were /annah and Saphira. #hey had spent uite a bit o' time in the early years o' the trip trainin! up their understudies. %' course, /annah hadn&t had a corpse to cut up or patients to practise on as Saphira had had at medical school, so her medical skills were considerably more restricted" anythin! beyond a tooth e$traction or a (ery simple operation would ha(e been beyond her. 9 9 9 In the early days, Narlo had been an outwardly cheer'ul character, thou!h, like /annah, not loud. /e&d ne(er considered himsel' witty and was sometimes a bit intimidated by others who were wittier and more e$tra(ert than him. It was partly 'or this reason that he was rela$ed with /annah. Since Saphira&s death,
2=

he was less sure o' himsel' and more reser(ed, but, more than e(er, he 'ound com'ort in /annah. 1Been up lon!)1 /annah asked. 1%h a while.1 replied Narlo, not (olunteerin! any details. /annah looked at him as i' waitin! 'or him to elaborate. 15id I wake you)1 he asked. 1%h I sort o' hal' woke up.1 1Sorry.1 1#hat1s %F. Bad dream) 16eh.1 ,/ow d1it happen this time)1 she said a little 'acetiously, but with a warmth that !a(e away !enuine concern and made him 'eel com'ortable about elaboratin!. ,Eot thrown o'' a cli'' by a bunch o' cra0ed Scotsmen.1 he said. /annah stopped hersel' 'rom lau!hin!, but not be'ore a uick one had !ot out. ,6ou should write these down. 6ou could probably sell them when we !et back . . . !""! #a$s to Die a %orrible Death by a psychotic astronaut. It would probably be a 'irst.& Narlo nodded thou!ht'ully. /e had actually thou!ht o' this. It had occurred to him that he displayed considerably more ima!ination in his dreams than he did in his wakin! li'e.

21

Chapter !

Dog"s #rea fast #hey didn1t ha(e a do! in the Shack. Whate(er dan!ers 'aced them, they weren1t e$pectin! to need a do!. #here wouldn1t ha(e been enou!h room 'or it to run around? it probably would ha(e 'allen down the stairs? and they wouldn1t be able to put it outside to !o to the toilet or i' it needed to bark all ni!ht. #hose who desi!ned the 'ood reprocessor, howe(er, seemed not to ha(e realised this. Break'ast e(ery mornin! looked like somethin! 'or the do!. #o be 'air, thou!h, it tasted okay and the crew had !otten used to it. In 'act they 'ound it hard to remember what real 'ood tasted like. 6esterday mornin! they had had brown thin!s in the shape o' rectan!ular slabs. #he brown thin!s didn1t ha(e a name apart 'rom brown thin&s. Hery little that they ate had a name, thou!h there was a bit o' (ariety" the pre(ious day1s break'ast had been !reen and the day be'ore it was oran!e. For lunch they o'ten had bread so they could make sandwiches with the paste that oo0ed out o' the dispenser. 5inner was usually a sort o' soupy or stewy stu''. What they ne(er !ot was anythin! crisp and crunchy like lettuce or apples. But they did !et leathery thin!s to !i(e their teeth a work4out, and they did !et pastries and chocolate uite !ood chocolate too thou!h not 'or break'ast. #he worst meal they had had was a black thin! with spikes. It was kind o' like eatin! a crow not +ust the meaty bits but the whole thin!. 9 9 9 While Narlo and /annah were sittin! there, 3olee, the other sur(i(in! member o' the crew, sta!!ered down the stairs, !roped her way to the table and sat down ne$t to /annah and dia!onally
22

opposite Narlo. ,.ornin!& said /annah. 3olee !a(e a !runt. It took her a little while to come !ood in the mornin!s. She sat at the table with her head in her hands. /annah put a cup o' co''ee in 'ront o' her. 3olee !a(e the impression o' ha(in! a han!o(er, but she didn1t. #hey could ha(e a bit to drink, but they were supposed to stay 'airly sober. Not that they were likely to crash the ship into a tree or !et breathalysed and booked 'or bein! drunk in char!e o' a space (ehicle and lose their licence, but drunken stupors weren&t considered 'ittin! 'or heroes o' space e$ploration. 3olee was *merican. She was a year older than /annah. She was about the same hei!ht as /annah, but thinner. >nlike the others who were uite white, 3olee was a mi$ture o' a 'ew races, predominantly /ispanic, but with de'inite *'rican !enes. /er hair was black, bushy and curly. She was wearin! old clothes too a pair o' cream4coloured shorts and a shirt that was probably once dark blue, but now 'aded and with a small hole e$posin! a bit o' skin +ust abo(e her shorts. 3olee had once been the most +o(ial o' the 'our. She had talked more than the other three put to!ether and she made a lot o' noise as she did it. For most o' the trip the crew had all !ot on well to!ether. Narlo and /annah had 'ormed a natural pair as had 3olee and Saphira. Since Saphira&s death, howe(er, 3olee had been a lot uieter. She had ne(er 'or!i(en Narlo and there was no +o(iality in the interaction between the two o' them. Narlo was 'airly sure that she would testi'y a!ainst him in relation to the death. In any case, the 'irst 2= minutes o' the mornin! had ne(er been 3olee&s best time. 1Break'ast1s ready.1 /annah said. She had started it when 3olee appeared. She put three plates on the table. #his mornin!, they !ot a mound o' 'lu''y yellow stu'' with red specks. ,*h, scrambled e!!s.& Narlo said. It tasted a bit like scrambled e!!s. #hey knew it would because
27

they&d had it about a hundred times be'ore. #hey used to ha(e a bit o' 'un makin! sarcastic comments about the 'ood, but they were o(er that now. #hey +ust ate it. Narlo went o(er and picked up three !lasses o' oran!e +uice oran!e in colour, that is, not necessarily bearin! any relation to the round 'ruit that !oes by the same name. #he se uence o' meals was pre4pro!rammed. It could be o(er4 ridden i' necessary Ias lon! as the re uired raw materials were a(ailable 'rom the reprocessin! plantJ, but on the whole they had taken what they !ot e$cept 'or the crow they deleted that 'rom the menu a'ter the 'irst ser(in!.

2:

Chapter $

% #it of Dirt When they set o'' 'rom Aarth, all 'our tra(ellers had en(isa!ed a heroes& welcome, should they return. Now e(en /annah and 3olee weren&t so sure. Si$ years into the +ourney they had come across a bit o' dirt. Passin! throu!h the Fuiper Belt, the Shack had hit an ob+ect about the si0e o' a lar!ish sand !rain or small pebble. Such a collision would be no bi! deal at low speed, but at 7< kilometres per second, it had been a deal o' considerable ma!nitude. #he !rain had punched a hole throu!h the outer metal wall o' the ship and throu!h the insulation layers inside. It had then sprayed the nearby electronic e uipment with hi!h4temperature plasma. #he momentary intense heatin! had rendered much o' the electronics inoperati(e. -uckily the crew weren&t in hibernation when it happened. #hey had, howe(er, been asleep 'or about two hours. #hey were woken by the sound sort o' reminiscent o' a cannon !oin! o'' in the ne$t room. #hen a 'ew seconds later, alarms sounded in response to the drop in air pressure in the a''ected compartment o' the ship. #hey dealt with the emer!ency well in 'act they had been surprised at how well. #he e uipment that was burnt wasn&t crucial to the runnin! o' the ship, but it was crucial to radio communication with Aarth. >p until then, messa!es had been recei(ed 'rom and sent to Aarth e(ery day. Since then there had been no contact. #hey tried (arious ways to replace the lost circuitry, but nothin! had been sensiti(e enou!h to pick up the si!nals o(er such a distance. #hey had mana!ed to ri! up a recei(er less sensiti(e than the ori!inal, one which should be able to work o(er a shorter distance like between Aarth and .ars. In the absence o' any in'ormation, they could only speculate about what Aarth mi!ht be like when they !ot back and what
2<

mi!ht happen to them. #hey could !et into orbit under their own steam, but had no way o' !ettin! down to the !round. /ope'ully, the or!anisation that sent them would still e$ist and would be e$pectin! them, a'ter all, they were returnin! at e$actly the time they were e$pected to. But political situations ha(e a way o' chan!in!. *nd it could e(en be that more than one !roup mi!ht be e$pectin! them and that neither wanted the other to !et their hands on them 'irst. In such a case, shootin! them down mi!ht be the most e$pedient reaction. In li!ht o' this, they had decided that the best course o' action mi!ht be not to transmit any messa!es until they had been in orbit 'or a 'ew days or until they recei(ed a messa!e indicatin! that a 'riendly reception awaited them.

2;

Chapter &

The 'ew Rory and Misha %n <th *pril 21<=, 8ory and .isha were both still ali(e. #heir li(es were !ood beyond ima!ination. 8ory&s 'ace was 'i$ed in 'act he was now de(ilishly handsome. /e could walk properly and, unlike throu!h most o' his pre(ious li'e, he could run. /is arthritis was +ust a memory. %n top o' that, he was youn! a!ain and he would stay youn! maybe 'or hundreds o' years maybe lon!er. /e had a body to die 'or. /e was stron! and in per'ect health. A(en more importantly, he was lo(ed by the most wonder'ul woman he had e(er laid eyes upon. 8ory and .isha were made 'or each other. 9 9 9 It was late a'ternoon. 8ory was lyin! back on a beach loun!e under the shade o' a spreadin! tree. /e looked out towards the sea. It was calm like a lake almost, protected 'rom the swell by the surroundin! coral ree'. #he sur'ace was barely rippled by the !entle bree0e and the white sand beneath it !a(e the water a dappled tur uoise !low. 8ory heard .isha yell ,Shark&. /e looked around to see her runnin! up 'rom the beach towards him, still wet 'rom her swim. -ike 8ory, .isha appeared to be in her mid twenties. /er creamy4white bikini contrasted with her smooth tanned skin which co(ered a healthily plenti'ul, yet 'irm body. /er wa(y blonde hair hun! down o(er her shoulders 'ramin! a 'ace that was +ust per'ect. 8ory ran down the beach towards her. /e seemed to share the e$citement. ,Where)& he asked as they !ot close enou!h to talk com'ortably. ,3ust o(er there. It was about that 'ar 'rom me.& .isha replied, puttin! one hand in 'ront o' her 'ace and the other at arm&s len!th.
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,What sort)& ,5unno . . . !rey with lots o' small brown spots uite pretty really. 3ust looked at me 'or a while, then swam o''.& #he two looked at each other 'or a second in a way that said, without any words, ,Shall we)& #hen they both ran into the water. #he water was crystal clear. What&s more they could see per'ectly without !o!!les. #hey swam to!ether 'or a couple o' minutes headin! back to the place where .isha had spotted it. #here were plenty o' other 'ish thousands o' them in 'act, in a myriad o' bri!ht colours, some swimmin! peace'ully, others dartin! this way and that in shoals !lintin! the li!ht as they turned. Below them, coral o' many shapes and colours stood sentry in a 74 dimensional display, their so't parts wa(in! sli!htly in the !entle tidal 'low. #hey looked around 'or a 'ew moments. #hen .isha !rabbed 8ory&s arm and pointed towards an area where an o(erhan!in! 'rin!e o' coral 'ormed a sort o' !rotto. In the bottom o' the !rotto, lyin! almost motionless, was the shark. 8ory&s eyes widened. It was hu!e maybe ei!ht metres. #hey swam cautiously towards it keepin! close to!ether. When they !ot close enou!h, they could see it was watchin! them with one small cold eye. Its tail mo(ed sli!htly 'rom side to side and its !ills opened and closed in a slow deliberate rhythm. 8ory and .isha kept as still as they could, usin! +ust !entle mo(ements o' their le!s to !et closer. #he shark stayed put, suspended +ust abo(e the coral. #here were no other 'ish around it apart 'rom two remoras, one han!in! onto the shark&s underside, the other swimmin! nearby, but tryin! to stay out o' si!ht o' the humans. 8ory and .isha continued to mo(e in slowly until they were almost close enou!h to touch it. It opened its mouth sli!htly enou!h to see se(eral rows o' +a!!ed serrated teeth. *n instincti(e 'ear went throu!h the swimmers, but they held their !round. #he teeth and the small cold eye that 'ollowed them reminded them that this was a killer. But despite this, it was beauti'ul, its body sleek and streamlined. #he spots
2D

were more like small circles !olden brown with a whitish ed!e inside and out, contrastin! with the !rey surroundin! skin. #hen it mo(ed not slowly this time, but with a sudden (iolent 'le$ure that seemed to sprin! load it in preparation 'or an e$plosion o' speed. It swam directly at .isha. But, almost be'ore they realised it was comin! 'or her, it had passed. Both 'elt the shock wa(e the sudden rush o' water that pushed a!ainst them almost (iolently enou!h to wind them. #hey turned and watched as the shark swam o'' into the distance. #he adrenalin peak came a'ter the shark had !one. #heir hearts thumped in their chests, but at the same time they 'elt no ur!ency to !et away. #hey looked at one another, at 'irst wide4eyed, then with e$pressions o' satis'action. #hen they turned and headed back to the beach. 9 9 9 #hey walked up the sand, 8ory&s arm around .isha&s shoulder. ,#hat !a(e me a bit o' a 'ri!ht.& 8ory said. ,It !a(e $ou a bit o' a 'ri!ht)& .isha replied. ,I thou!ht it was !oin! to eat me.& ,I would ha(e sa(ed you.& 8ory said, ob(iously ton!ue in cheek. ,6eh ri!ht.& .isha lau!hed. ,5o you know what sort it was)& ,Not o'' hand. We&ll ha(e to look it up.& #hey !ot back to where 8ory had been lyin! under the tree. ,I 'eel like a drink.& .isha said. ,%oh, look at thatK ,.m& 8ory replied in an interested tone. #he white 'eathered 'ront o' a storm cloud was ad(ancin! across the blue sky 'rom the west and was +ust be!innin! to so'ten the rays o' the a'ternoon sun. #hey sat back on the beach loun!e and talked 'or a while lon!er, then 8ory !ot up and went into the house more a beach shack really, thou!h a (ery taste'ully built one. #hree or 'our timber steps led up to a timber 'loor underneath a roo' which appeared, on the outside at least, to be
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made 'rom palm lea(es. In the hot tropical air, the shack looked in(itin!ly cool. #here was (ery little in the way o' walls +ust a timber balustrade in places. But then there wasn&t a !reat need 'or walls it was ne(er cold and i' the wind and rain !ot in, it was no e''ort to !et thin!s back into order a'terwards. Inside could be seen a wooden table and chairs to one side and a wood4'ramed bed to the other side. * 'ew minutes later, he was back with some drinks. #he two sat beside each other on the loun!e and took their 'irst sip, which sent e$pressions o' rapturous pleasure across their 'aces. #hey looked at each other and lau!hed, then took a second sip, then a third be'ore scullin! the rest and 'allin! back o'' the loun!e and onto the sand in apparent ecstasy. ,*h, they are so !ood.& .isha said. 9 9 9 *s they lay there, the 'irst rumbles o' distant thunder could be heard. ,#he storm will be here soon& she said. 8ory turned his head and looked to the west. #he sun was +ust a watery outline now throu!h the thickenin! curtain blowin! out 'rom the thunderhead. #he sky on the hori0on was black and 'orks o' li!htnin! 'lashed between the clouds and the darkenin! sea. #hey watched the li!htnin! 'or a while and listened to the e(er closer thunder. #hey both lo(ed storms the 'iercer the better and the e$citement was startin! to build. -ow dark clouds rolled abo(e them. #hen came an intense 'lash o' white li!ht accompanied by a thunderous crack as li!htnin! struck a tree +ust beside them, causin! it to e$plode in a shower o' sparks and 'lamin! 'ire balls which 'ell all around them. ,Far outK& said .isha as they both scrambled to a sittin! position. #hey watched the bla0e produced by what was le't o' the tree, seemin!ly uite entertained by the spectacle and showin!
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no si!ns o' concern either 'or their sa'ety or 'or the wel'are o' the tree. *s the cracklin! died down, they heard, despite the continuous thunder, the sound o' the rain 'ront mo(in! towards them across the island, rustlin! the lea(es as it came. #he torrent started almost instantaneously. *lmost as instantaneously, they were soaked. #hey looked at each other, lau!hed and lay back to!ether on the beach loun!e watchin! the rain comin! down into their 'aces, drops radiatin! 'rom a point in the sky the way stars 0oom past as one 'lies at impossible speed throu!h the !ala$y. #he rain was cool, but not cold and they lay there until it started to ease. ,5o you 'eel like dinner)& 8ory asked. ,What you !onna make me)& ,5unno, I&ll !o and see what&s on the slab.& /e !ot up and went into the house. * minute later, he was back with dinner an assortment o' bite4si0ed delicacies with a ran!e o' e$otic 'la(ours. #he rain continued while they ate. #he 'ood !ot a bit wet, but it was still !ood. #he sky was still dark with pendulous storm clouds. 8ainwater was runnin! in sheets o(er the !rass towards the sea carryin! lea(es and other debris. #he thunder still rolled, but now was comin! 'rom all directions. 9 9 9 5espite the back!round noise, 8ory noticed a dull rumblin! sound comin! 'rom the west, di''erent 'rom the thunder. /e looked o(er to see the dark rotatin! column o' a massi(e tornado, no more than hal' a mile away. #he top mer!ed with the dark swirlin! clouds abo(e? the bottom was surrounded by spray 'rom the sea that was bein! whipped up around it. ,/ey, look at that.& 8ory e$claimed e$citedly. .isha turned around and stared wide4eyed. *s they watched, the wind started to blow around them, 'irstly a couple o' !usts,
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then a more steady bree0e which built up to a !ale and made it di''icult 'or them to stand their !round. #he rain !ot hea(ier a!ain and they 'ound it impossible to keep their eyes open lookin! into it the drops seemed to drill themsel(es into their eyeballs. #he column was mo(in! towards the island. When it hit land, the !rey became noticeably !reen as it stripped the lea(es 'rom trees in its path. #hen it turned and headed strai!ht towards 8ory and .isha. #here was nowhere to !o, nothin! they could do. #heir shack would be no protection. 8unnin! would +ust as likely take them into the path as out o' it. 8ory stood behind .isha, put his arms around her and told her to sit down. #hey sat there to!ether 'acin! the enemy, 8ory&s arms ti!htly around .isha, one le! either side o' her. *nd they waited. #he column contained and was orbited by 'lyin! debris it had picked up 'rom the !round and 'rom the trees that it was demolishin! in its path. * strike 'rom any one o' these would be the end. #he 'irst sheet o' roo'in! le't their shack and 'lew across in 'ront o' them. #his was uickly 'ollowed by two more pieces, then most o' what was le't. #he last piece, alon! with the walls, the 'loor and all the contents became airborne +ust as the column be!an to en!ul' it. %nce airborne, the pieces, some o' them se(eral metres across swirled around and around the column, sometimes comin! 'ri!htenin!ly close to the couple. 5espite the wind, they had mana!ed to remain where they were. But then a small branch hit 8ory on the arm and sent the two rollin! across the !round. .isha screamed. 8ory didn&t let !o. #hey stabilised themsel(es a!ain lyin! to!ether on the !round. #he column was about to en!ul' them, but neither could open their eyes to see what was !oin! on. * !ust picked the two o' them up. #his time they didn&t mana!e to hold onto each other. 8ory landed in the water a second or two later. /e tried to hold his head abo(e the water to see what was happenin!, but the water was too rou!h and too many thin!s were 'lyin! past. /e !a(e up
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and sank to the sandy sea 'loor. It was calmer there and he had had enou!h e$citement 'or the moment at least. /e decided to swim around and see i' he could 'ind .isha. %nce the worst was o(er, he came back to the sur'ace. .isha was standin! in water up to her waist about 7= metres away. ,.ish& 8ory called. .isha turned towards him, smiled then started to wade wearily towards where he was in the deeper water. #hey met, 'ell into each other&s arms and held each other 'or a while be'ore walkin! back out onto the beach a!ain. #hey both lo(ed storms the 'iercer the better. 9 9 9 *s the wind died down and the rain stopped, the last rays o' the e(enin! sun be!an to shine across the island, bathin! the sea and their land in a shimmerin! !olden li!ht. #heir tree was now a smoulderin! black stump surrounded by bits o' wet ash. #heir home was +ust a 'ew wooden stumps and some scattered debris. But, by dark, they had the 'loor rebuilt and a new bed a dry one. #hey lay on the bed lookin! up at the sky. ,#he stars are !reat toni!ht.& .isha said. ,Who needs a roo')& 8ory responded. #here were thousands maybe millions o' stars. #hey twinkled in beauti'ul iridescent colours like the sparkles o' li!ht on a dewy lawn in the early mornin! sun. Some were mo(in! (isibly. #here were planets too not +ust points o' white li!ht, but bodies so close that they could see their sur'ace 'eatures. Some had beauti'ul rin! systems. %ne o' the stars e$ploded while they were lookin! at it. #he initial 'lash o' li!ht was 'ollowed by the si!ht o' a spherical shell o' multi4coloured !lowin! !as which e$panded away 'rom the e$plosion site. #hey watched it spread. * 'ew minutes later, the shell reached the Aarth, sparkin! the most da00lin! auroral display +oined shortly a'terwards by a shower o' a million shootin! stars.
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,WowK& 8ory said. .isha snu!!led closer to him. ,What shall we do tomorrow)& she asked as they lay watchin! the shimmerin! curtains o' li!ht 'rom the aurora. ,.mm . . .& was the initial reply. #hey had a week o'' work. #hey had been on the island 'or a couple o' days. #he pre(ious ni!ht they had taken the +et skis across the la!oon to the mainland to !o to a concert. #hey had had seats ri!ht in 'ront o' the band. #he music was !reat and the li!ht show was out o' this world. *t one point, thousands o' 'ireworks went o'' all around them, not at a sa'e 'ew hundred metres, but so close that they were actually within the halos o' coloured sparks. #hey made an awesome noise that 'ormed part o' the music. 8ory and .isha 'elt the heat and the 'orce o' the e$plosions on their 'aces and chests. It was almost scary at times but then they liked to scare themsel(es. *'ter the concert, they had drinks with some 'riends, then returned to the island. ,Feel like skiin!)& 8ory su!!ested. ,.m . . . ok& #he two o' them had a ski lod!e in the Swiss *lps. It was at the top o' an enormous network o' runs which they still hadn&t 'inished e$plorin!. #hey both lo(ed skiin!. #he snow was always !reat 'resh powder and !roomed 'ast runs. #hey lo(ed the aprLs4ski parties which happened e(ery ni!ht too, thou!h sometimes they pre'erred to stay in the lod!e and sit by the open 'ire by themsel(es or with some !ood company or maybe to ha(e a hot spa under the stars or in the 'allin! snow. ,*lri!ht, !et up at < so we can be on the slope 'or sunrise)& ,Sounds !ood& ,5one.& 9 9 9 #hey had a lot o' di''erent places they could stay. *mon! their
7:

'a(ourites were a penthouse apartment on :2 nd Street in .anhattan and a lo! cabin in arctic Banada. #hey ne(er had to worry about any o' these placed bein! booked up. In 'act no one else was e(er in them and no one had e(er messed them up be'ore they !ot there. 8ory and .isha weren&t part o' any elite. #hey hadn&t won the lottery. #hey hadn&t made a 'ortune in business or been the bene'iciaries o' any inheritance. In 'act about a billion o' the world&s 11 billion people now li(ed the way 8ory and .isha did. *nd did the other 1= billion work to pay 'or their e$tra(a!ant li'estyles) Not at all. .any o' the 1= billion were better o'' 'or the e$istence o' the one billion, and no one really was worse o''. #he one billion used 'ar less o' the Aarth&s resources per capita than did the 1= billion. #heir e$istence was truly sustainable. -i'e 'or the con(erted wasn&t all leisure, thou!h. 8ory and .isha did work about 2= to 7= hours a week on a(era!e, but they en+oyed their work, so it wasn&t a chore. 8ory worked in relations between the con(erted and the uncon(erted. .isha was an educator. #hey had a special assi!nment comin! up. #hey would be spendin! a 'ew weeks welcomin! and inductin! some space tra(ellers who it was hoped would be returnin! in a 'ew days time. #hey !ot the +ob in no small part because they could speak An!lish.

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