James Scotson - Planets Falling

“Why Verat? We have everything we need here. If we can get away, there are dozens of simulated worlds beneath our feet. As long as we make sure to follow protocol, we can visit them as often as we want.”

“For God’s sake, are you kidding me? Don’t you miss fresh air, real sunshine, a beach or a forest? What about other people? How about the excitement of meeting someone new? Nothing’s better than the anticipation of finding someone new, if you know what I mean.” He grinned and slurped at his cup.

“I happen to enjoy the company I have here.”

“Do you mean the frog or Commons? I keep mixing the two of them up. Such similar personalities have they. Oh, and then you have your friends, the computers. I’m sure you find lots of love in binary code. The digital conversations you have must be captivating.”

She threw a strawberry at him leaving a red stain on his cheek. “Verat, why are you such a complete buffoon? It’s hard enough living here in confinement. And then you slump around getting on everyone’s nerves. If it wasn’t for your pedigree, you would be scraping debris off of shuttles for a living.”

“I agree that I’m abrasive, honey child. But get your facts straight. You can check my records. I graduated second in my class, only behind Commons. Also, I want you to know that Commons requested me for this assignment. I’m not here because it is my first choice. It is as a favor to the closest thing I have to a brother. We’ve known each other all our lives. If both of us were so wound tight, the galaxy would collapse into a big black hole. Oh, and Iggy happens to look like a frog to me. Those eyes—”

Gorian inhaled deeply and resumed eating her delicious breakfast. The smell of the coffee was wonderful, although she hated the taste of it. She grew up on a planet where coffee was rare. The local hot drink was ground from an endemic root and steeped in hot milk from one of the local animals, genetically similar to goats from old earth. Her mind wandered to her meal last night with Grey.

“I know I’ll regret asking this. But what was Grey like as a child?”

Verat was giddy. “Do you have a bit of a crush on my dear boy?”

Gorian blushed and was angry at herself for it. “Forget it.”

“Seriously now. Grey’s a wonderful guy. I’m happy for you. Genuinely. As a kid, Grey was shy, quiet, and studious. No surprise there. What you don’t know is that he did, and does, have a dark sense of things. This is probably why we get along so well. Has he told you about the cave?”

“No. What happened?”

“Our home planet’s riddled with subterranean tunnels. Geologically, they’re magma tubes from ancient volcanic activity. Of course, the adults were terrified that children would wander in and get lost. So most of the entrances were blocked — physical barriers and force fields. But not all. Grey found an opening in a small meadow. It was well hidden under the roots of a large tree — kind of like an oak from old earth. Well, Grey decided that he’d start exploring it. He was already an insufferable geek at that point. He set up a whole network of directional beacons and had the whole tunnel system mapped out. I guess it was smart. If you got lost, that would be game over. You’d be nothing but a rotting carcass before they found you down there.

Now, there’s evidence that our planet was colonized by a small band of shipwrecked sentients thousands of years ago. They died off and their origin is unknown. But they left a lot of artifacts. A whole industry has been built around archeological exploration for trinkets — these people were great artisans and made these really funky statuettes. Worth some money, they are. I’ve pawned a few in my time. One day, Grey came to school and announced that he’d found a whole cache of these things plus bones underground. The kids could’ve cared less about the artifacts. But the old bones. That was pretty intriguing.

So, for some money, Grey would take you underground to see the bodies. He’d blindfold the kids before they got to the meadow so they wouldn’t know where they were. They would crawl into the hole, he’d take off the blindfold, and lead them to the pile. Before long, kids from the whole community — not just our school — were paying him to go underground. Funny thing is that the ancient sentients did not have bones. Rarely, a mummified carcass has been found in some grave, but these people rotted rapidly and left hardly a trace of their bodies — ideal composters. No way that there could be bones. But the kids — even the smart ones — didn’t know or didn’t seem to care. It was Grey Commons after all. His dad was already a legend. We all assumed the same of him.”

Gorian smiled. “So Grey was conning all of them?”

“I learned from the best.”

“What were the bones?”

“Some sort of resin he cooked up I suppose. Probably found the recipe in one of those technical science groups he always was joining. The whole thing was fabricated. Best part’s that I was the only one he told the truth to. I, of course, told him that I’d tell everyone if I didn’t get a cut of the action.”

“You extorted your own friend?”

“Sure did. We both bought a lot of candy that year.”

“And I suppose then that you’re planning to black-mail me about asking about Grey?”

“Sure am.”

“Go ahead and tell him. We’re not twelve anymore.”

“Speak for yourself.” With that, Verat turned and headed for the observatory. He was only ten minutes late for his shift.

Gorian went back to sipping her milk. Her stomach turned and her hunger waned.

Verat and Grey communed with the Institute leadership and were granted permission to visit Nine. However, the Institute Council insisted on sending a senior envoy to accompany them on the trip. They were standing in the cargo hold waiting for the Institute vessel to decompress and decontaminate. Grey looked trim in his Institute uniform. Verat was draped in a checkered robe with slippers peeking out. With a hiss, the door slid opened; with bushy, ashen eybrows, a stooped posture, and a springy step, Fen Commons appeared in the entryway.

“Uncle Fen?” Grey was both amazed and relieved. Fen would know what to do.

“Grey and Verat, my dear, dear boys. Like old times. I still expect to see you fighting over a toy, wrestling on the floor.” He chuckled. “I’m famished, let’s get a bite to eat.”

Over some fresh vegetables that Fen brought in from mars, Fen explained his involvement. “This planet, Nine, was your dad’s baby, Grey. He’d babble on for hours about how this one would be different from the rest. The Platform was so much smaller back in my day. I’m astonished how much it has changed since then.” He raised his hands in wonder.

“Different in what way?” Grey put down his cup of Verat’s strong tea and stirred in some sugar. He swore the spoon would corrode.

“Your father was cryptic about Nine. Something about it changing the way we interact with life in the galaxy. He was spending tremendous time on the Institute terminal sifting through dusty, musty archives in the history units. The man never slept more than a few hours at a time. He was particularly obsessed with the writings of Pinchot Ferris.”

Grey smirked. “Ferris? She went crazy didn’t she? Runs in the family, doesn’t it Verat?”

Verat crunched his spear of splendid asparagus while staring vacantly at the wall, thinking vaguely about his distant relative.

Fen continued. “We came out here and dropped the bacterial precursors on C9. It was one of the first cloud planets to be terraformed. High humidity makes it a bit of a challenge to monitor don’t you think? Now it seems that your dad may have left us a present on the surface.”