guards.
“That man is cleared to go up, be we are not? He assaulted the chairman's son at the celebration banquette two nights ago!”
Wordless, the man that looked to be in charge glanced back at me with dull eyes. I made a 'crazy' gesture with my hand pointing to my head and gave him a puzzled look. That brought some light to the man's eyes and a fraction of a smile to his lips. Denying people of things made this man's job sweet, and he took pleasure in it. “Looks that way, fat man,” said the guard with a certain grin of satisfaction on his face.
I hit the button and the doors slid closed to the circus outside. The elevator began a labored climb to the control room, which loomed an impressive eighteen stories above ground on the Moon, an engineering feat in itself. There was no music playing in this elevator, only the sound of cold steel sliding over cold steel, cables stretched tight, the tension audible. As I neared my stop, I noticed my perspiration. I was about to enter the nest of the cosmic eagle that would spread her wings and glide on the solar winds.
The elevator came to a screeching halt. Just what I wanted, a noisy entrance, I thought. The doors came open, and I was again confronted with more security. This time there were only two guards standing post to the entrance to the control room. A large plexiglass partition and steel sliding door lay between the elevator and control room. The door had a badge scanner in which I was free to scan myself in at this point, it seemed. Neither guard made any gesture of acknowledging my presence. Through the window I could see into the control room. Atop the room stood Sebastian and a handful of engineers, and Jayce. With some effort I moved to the door and scanned my badge. The door slid open and the energy of the room became palpable. A dull roar of conversation was carrying on between technicians and engineers, and radio chatter could be heard from several stations. No one had even seemed to notice that I'd slipped in. I lingered in the back of the room, taking in the spectacle and being in awe of a moment that I knew I'd likely never be a part of again.
The control room was simple in its design, clearly nothing aesthetic to it like the rest of Futura; it was built for a purpose and its décor was spartan to say the least. It reminded me of every science fiction movie I had ever seen. I was in dazzled by its computer consoles and flickering lights, its giant view screens on every wall, and terrified by its cold, stainless-steel surfaces that seemed to speak to the part of me that remembered this place from my childhood. There were technicians and engineers sitting at every console. No seat remained empty. All hands were on deck, it seemed.
I hadn't been there for more than five minutes before Jayce noticed me. His facial expression gave away his surprise, which immediately dissolved in distress. He had hoped I wouldn't show , I thought. Jayce leaned over and whispered something into Sebastian's ear, who was huddled around a console with a group of specialists. Sebastian craned his head around to scowl at me then waved the lab coats away and muttered something to Jayce. I waited in the back of the room until Jayce came to greet me.
“I'm glad you could make it,” Jayce said as he offered a handshake.
I extended the courtesy and shook his hand. “I'm glad to be here. I was sure that my access had been removed, but I was pleasantly surprised. Do I have you to thank for that?”
Jayce took a spot on the wall beside me and leaned against the cold, dull stainless-steel. “Not me, sport, Cara. It was Cara who convinced Sebastian to let you keep your badge. Not so easily though.”
“How about you? Did she have to convince you too?” the question seemed to take Jayce back. “I saw how you looked at me when I came in.”
“Hey, of course I want you here, I just thought it might complicate things and God knows we don't need any complications
“That man is cleared to go up, be we are not? He assaulted the chairman's son at the celebration banquette two nights ago!”
Wordless, the man that looked to be in charge glanced back at me with dull eyes. I made a 'crazy' gesture with my hand pointing to my head and gave him a puzzled look. That brought some light to the man's eyes and a fraction of a smile to his lips. Denying people of things made this man's job sweet, and he took pleasure in it. “Looks that way, fat man,” said the guard with a certain grin of satisfaction on his face.
I hit the button and the doors slid closed to the circus outside. The elevator began a labored climb to the control room, which loomed an impressive eighteen stories above ground on the Moon, an engineering feat in itself. There was no music playing in this elevator, only the sound of cold steel sliding over cold steel, cables stretched tight, the tension audible. As I neared my stop, I noticed my perspiration. I was about to enter the nest of the cosmic eagle that would spread her wings and glide on the solar winds.
The elevator came to a screeching halt. Just what I wanted, a noisy entrance, I thought. The doors came open, and I was again confronted with more security. This time there were only two guards standing post to the entrance to the control room. A large plexiglass partition and steel sliding door lay between the elevator and control room. The door had a badge scanner in which I was free to scan myself in at this point, it seemed. Neither guard made any gesture of acknowledging my presence. Through the window I could see into the control room. Atop the room stood Sebastian and a handful of engineers, and Jayce. With some effort I moved to the door and scanned my badge. The door slid open and the energy of the room became palpable. A dull roar of conversation was carrying on between technicians and engineers, and radio chatter could be heard from several stations. No one had even seemed to notice that I'd slipped in. I lingered in the back of the room, taking in the spectacle and being in awe of a moment that I knew I'd likely never be a part of again.
The control room was simple in its design, clearly nothing aesthetic to it like the rest of Futura; it was built for a purpose and its décor was spartan to say the least. It reminded me of every science fiction movie I had ever seen. I was in dazzled by its computer consoles and flickering lights, its giant view screens on every wall, and terrified by its cold, stainless-steel surfaces that seemed to speak to the part of me that remembered this place from my childhood. There were technicians and engineers sitting at every console. No seat remained empty. All hands were on deck, it seemed.
I hadn't been there for more than five minutes before Jayce noticed me. His facial expression gave away his surprise, which immediately dissolved in distress. He had hoped I wouldn't show , I thought. Jayce leaned over and whispered something into Sebastian's ear, who was huddled around a console with a group of specialists. Sebastian craned his head around to scowl at me then waved the lab coats away and muttered something to Jayce. I waited in the back of the room until Jayce came to greet me.
“I'm glad you could make it,” Jayce said as he offered a handshake.
I extended the courtesy and shook his hand. “I'm glad to be here. I was sure that my access had been removed, but I was pleasantly surprised. Do I have you to thank for that?”
Jayce took a spot on the wall beside me and leaned against the cold, dull stainless-steel. “Not me, sport, Cara. It was Cara who convinced Sebastian to let you keep your badge. Not so easily though.”
“How about you? Did she have to convince you too?” the question seemed to take Jayce back. “I saw how you looked at me when I came in.”
“Hey, of course I want you here, I just thought it might complicate things and God knows we don't need any complications
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