Colony

Colony

Or, how I left the Solar System behind forever!

By Donna Riordan

12 August, 2022

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.

Of course, ‘they’, have never been there. In space I mean.

What a lot of rot! Everyone on your frequency can hear you. And you’re always hooked up with someone. Only an idiot would go into space alone.

Okay, you guessed it. I’m one of those idiots.

I didn’t really intend it. It just kind of happened. Sort of.

Honestly, everyone knows you shouldn’t mix vodka and beer. But when you’ve had a few, vodkas I mean, you tend to forget those old axioms. And I got really plastered. I was so sick after I didn’t leave my bunk for three days except to throw up or pee into the toilet, which took all the waste on my little craft.

That was how I found myself in this predicament.

When I was finally well enough to notice I realized I was weightless. That was the first clue. When I looked out the porthole I knew I was in trouble.

I’d been docked at the station, waiting while Kip went down to the Venus station to try and negotiate with his girlfriend. And it’s boring at stations. Just the Master’s office, the diner arcade and lots of cargo space where trading takes place. And we weren’t here for trading, so I had even less to do than everyone else in this barren tin can.

However, I wasn't docked any more. In fact, I didn’t really know where I was. I’d been travelling for three days, I assumed, according to the chronometer. But where? And how fast?

I went to the other side of our small ship. The sight that greeted me made me need the toilet again. The sun filled the whole window. How was I going to get out of this one?

I wracked my brain, but only small snippets of memory came forth.

There was that mechanic who bragged he could fix any ship, no matter how old or banged up. The woman from Mars, tall and thin with a very large rib cage. I think she was carting water. And I seem to remember cards being involved somehow.

I felt even more sick. How much had I lost? Or maybe I'd won? I immediately dismissed that thought. Me and good luck have never crossed paths.

And what about Kip? He’d be back by now. And I wasn't there. Did I leave word with anyone? Did anyone know I’d left, or where to?

I pulled myself together.

First things first. I know I smelled like some cave bear, but the proximity of that rather large star on the port side had to be addressed. Urgently.

I knew I was too close for the radio to work. And the solar wind must be ripping all the little things on the hull to shreds. Only the engines were going to work here.

No radar. No radio. In fact, no sensors at all. Even if they were still intact.

No. I was on my own.

I was the idiot who got myself into this and I was the idiot who would have to get myself out.

I dragged myself over to the controls.

The autopilot wasn’t on. Neither were any of the engines. Did I have any fuel left at all? At least I was parallel to the Sun and not facing it directly.

Then I became aware of how hot it was in here. It was hard to get rid of heat at the best of times in space. This, obviously, was not one of those!

I peeled off my top and pants. That alleviated the direct smell somewhat. And gave me slight relief temperature wise.

Now. Fuel. And would the sensors in the fuel tanks work at this temperature? I had no idea. Kip took care of most of that stuff. I’d done some basic maintenance training, but I was a pilot.

I turned everything on. The readouts blinked on and off. In the time honoured fashion of coaxing things to work, I hit the console. Hard. I didn’t have time to muck around.

It was my lucky day (apart from the impending doom). The readouts settled down. The internal temperature was 47 ⁰, and rising. I didn’t need a readout to know that.

I seemed to have about half full tanks. I hoped that was true.

It was no good pointing directly away from the Sun. I’d never have the thrust to escape. A slingshot maneuver would be my only hope. Could the ship reach the required speed before all the fuel was gone?

And then what? Where would I be? Would I be close enough to any shipping lanes to get some help?

First things first.

I would have crossed my fingers, but I needed both hands at the controls. I held my breath instead.

A quick check of all systems, which seemed in the green as far as I could tell. I hoped the proximity to the Sun didn’t mean the readouts were lying to me.

I coaxed both engines at once while using the front thrusters to point me away from the coronasphere.

I didn’t have any external sensors, but I could easily determine which direction due to the large orange mass which loomed in the window. Just away would do.

The engines roared to life.

I gradually increased the speed and, I hoped, the altitude.

The Sun was really big. Really big. And my ship was small. We didn’t take cargo, but passengers. And usually no more than four, due to our limited life support and water.

I hoped my small mass would give me an advantage.

The ship was now shaking violently and the noise was really loud.

I’d never pushed it like this before.

Leaving a space station was not like this. And this ship had never been on a planet and was not designed to enter the atmosphere either. I had no idea if it, and I, would survive.

And I wasn’t used to pulling this many Gs.

And my head was still pounding from the worst hangover ever.

And I felt the need to throw up again.

I pushed the bile down and focused on saving myself.

It got worse and worse.

After nearly a minute of this, I was nearly ready to pass out.

Then, suddenly, nothing.

Silence.

And the weightlessness returned.

No more fuel then.

Had it been enough?

I looked out the window. Did the Sun look further away?

I couldn’t tell. It looked the same in every direction and I couldn’t even work out which way I was moving.

But I knew I was now coasting at a tremendous speed. Was it enough speed to escape?

With nothing more I could do at the console, I went and threw up again.

Then got some more water and had a small drink.

With nothing more I could do, I decided to lay down for a bit. If I was going to die, at least I could be comfortable.

The temperature seemed to keep rising.

I dragged myself to the water dispenser and got another drink.

I couldn’t be bothered dragging myself back to my bunk so I just hung there in front of the water dispenser. I knew I’d want it again soon, so why bother?

I closed my eyes and drifted off again (pun intended) for a bit, until I felt the need to drink again.

It could have been five minutes, or five hours. I didn’t really know.

But I got another drink. The last. The bulb only filled half way. No more water then. Where had it all gone? With only me on the ship there should have been plenty.

I suddenly felt even sicker. Something must have hit the tank. And all the water had boiled off into space.

Could things get any worse?

I drifted off again.

When I awoke next time I had to use the toilet again, for both ends. And I started seeing things. Kip was in front of me, chewing me out for my stupidity. Mum was offering me a cup of tea. I was swinging on that tyre on the big walnut tree in the back yard.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. And I was really thirsty. In my haze I tried the water dispenser again.

Nothing.

This went on for I don’t know how long.

But the last thing I remember after that was that I was on the floor.

And I thought I felt the ship moving. And bumping into something. Had I hit an asteroid? Was it just another dream?

No. The ship was definitely moving around. And I mean around. It felt a bit like one of those carnival rides I’d been on as a child.

I threw up again, with what little was left in my stomach. Bile I think. It lay on the floor next to me. The smell made it worse but I didn’t have the strength to turn away.

Then a figure appeared in the doorway. At least I think so. It was hard to tell reality from fantasy at this point.

I closed my eyes. Resigned to dying alone out here.

But I felt myself being lifted up. And carried. Where to?

When I came to next I was in a bed. In a semi-darkened room. With tubes hanging off me.

I didn’t feel sick or thirsty any more.

Relief flooded through me. Someone had found me! I wasn’t going to die! At least not today.

I seem to remember going back to sleep after that. For I don’t know how long.

Finally I awoke and the room was more lighted now.

The only thing in it was me and the bed, and various instruments to which I was attached in a variety of methods.

I sat up.

The headache was gone. And I was feeling quite hungry.

I looked around for a button to push. Without success.

Maybe someone would come to check on me soon?

And where was I?

Now that I looked, the design of the room was different to anything I’d seen before. There were no windows, just air vents. And the door had no handles. Must be automatic. A bit strange for a hospital. And there were no decorations on the walls, at all. In fact, there was nothing on the wall. No switches. No lights, that I could see. Just blank walls, as well as the ceiling.

I decided if the mountain wasn’t going to come to Mohammed …

First I’d have to get rid of all the stuff hanging off me.

The stick on things were okay. But I had two drips. One in each arm. Would they hurt if I pulled them out?

I checked. They weren't on wheels, but attached to the bed. So if I wanted to get to the door, they’d have to come out.

I’d seen it done a few times. Push down and pull it out in the same direction it went in. How hard could it be?

However, it would have to be one-handed. That might pose a problem. No pushing down then.

I did the left arm first, seeing as I am right handed. Pull off the tape. That stung a little as some hairs came off with it. But the needle part was now loose. I tugged a little on it to see. Okay. This was going to hurt.

Just like a bandaid.

Deep breath in. Close the eyes. And pull!

Not as bad as I thought. The anticipation was the worst. It was certainly easier when someone else did it. They never asked if you were ready!

Okay. Now the right arm. Same again. Take off the tape. Lose a few more hairs. And pull.

I breathed again.

Neither of my arms were bleeding. A good sign.

And no alarms had gone off after removing everything. At least not that I could hear.

I swung my legs around so I could get up.

This resulted in discovery of the catheter. And the bag was taped to the bed. I knew from experience you couldn’t just take them out.

Could I detach the bag? Or did I need to peel it off and take it with me?

The thought of having to carry a bag of pee, even if it was my own, didn’t fill me with delight.

I weighed up the pros and cons.

I judged I’d been awake for half an hour or so.

No one had come to check on me.

And I really was feeling very hungry.

Alright. Carry the bag.

I carefully peeled off the tape which was holding it to the bed. I really didn’t want to break it.

When it was free I held it gingerly by the corner.

It looked fairly robust. Funny. If it had been apple juice, like the sachets we carried on board, it wouldn’t have been a problem. We threw those things around all the time. And urine was the same colour, after all. But my brain knew this was one bag I didn’t want to drink!

Next.

Stand.

I gingerly placed my feet on the floor.

It was smooth. And not cold.

Now stand.

My head whirled a bit. But not too bad.

So, carrying my distasteful luggage I made my way over to the door.

It remained resolutely shut.

I couldn’t see a button or anything.

I stepped back and forth a few times, in case the sensor missed me.

Still nothing.

I looked around. Up. Down. No sensor visible. Just smooth wall and ceiling as far as I could see.

“Hello? Is anyone there? I’m awake now. And feeling a bit peckish. Any chance of some food? Please?”

I began to feel a bit annoyed. What kind of hospital was this?

I started banging on the door.

To no avail.

I gave up and went back to the bed.

This was turning into a not so pleasant dream after all.

I just lay there. Nothing else to do.

After I don’t know how long, the door opened.

Before I could see out, a box on wheels came in on its own. A robot of some sort.

With some relief I could see a glass of water and a plate with some food on it.

Although I wasn’t sure I would call this food. Was this some kind of joke? Were my friends out there laughing at me?

I checked the room again. I couldn’t see any cameras.

The plate had some kind of grey mush on it. With a spoon laying next to it.

Well. I was hungry. But was I hungry enough?

Maybe this was some new hospital food.

After all, I hadn’t seen the inside of a hospital for years.

And why the robot?

Didn’t anyone want to talk to me and ask what I’d been doing in the coronasphere of a star? Or at least to see how I was feeling after my ordeal?

Maybe the instruments had told them everything they needed to know.

My stomach brought me back to the present. It growled in protest of its emptiness.

Alright, alright!

I picked up the spoon and pushed it through the food a bit. It had the same consistency all the way through. Like baby food.

I put a little on the spoon and brought it to my lips.

It didn’t really have a smell.

I poked my tongue into it.

Not much of a taste either.

But my stomach was urging me on.

“Okay okay! Enough already!”

Just like with the drips. I took a deep breath and put the food in my mouth.

It was a bit of a let down all round. But I really was hungry by this time, so forced myself to eat it all. Whatever ‘it’ was.

The robot sat there patiently while I consumed my meal.

After I eating I washed down the remnants with the water and placed it back on the robot.

It must have had a weight sensor as it immediately started for the door again.

Right. My chance to get out of here.

I stood up, grabbed my bag of pee, and followed it over to the door, which opened for it.

I went to follow it out the door, but something stopped me. Some sort of invisible wall.

A forcefield? They were only in stories, surely?

Before I could gather my thoughts the door closed again.

I had managed to glance outside. An unremarkable corridor.

I muttered under my breath and went back to the bed.

The lights noticeably dimmed. I guessed they were telling me it was time to sleep again. Whoever ‘they’ were.

And I was starting to feel rather drowsy.

Had they drugged the food?

Too tired to care, I lay down and went back to sleep.

When I awoke, the lights were bright again and there was another meal waiting for me. The same as before.

And my catheter was gone.

Yep, they drugged me alright. That was something I would have noticed, had I been conscious.

Was this food drugged too? I poked it suspiciously. There was no way I could tell, of course. But once bitten, as they say.

But I was once again overruled by my stomach. I must have been asleep for quite a while. And I felt much better this time.

I finished off the food (and I use the term loosely) and washed it down with two glasses of water this time.

My thoughts turned to coffee. Or apple juice, as thoughts turned to my bag. This started me giggling.

Well, whatever was going on. I’d rather have been rescued, and not left to fry.

This time the robot didn’t hasten to leave.

And now, the interesting part of my story. Although I know you won’t think it half as interesting as I did at the time, given what was about to happen.

I was sitting there musing on my existence when the robot spoke. Or rather someone spoke through it.

“Greetings. We hope you are feeling better now.”

At last. A voice. And someone to talk to.

“Er, yes I am. And thanks for saving my butt out there. I don’t mean to seem ungrateful, but when can I get out of here? And can I have some clothes please? I feel a bit funny being in this gown thingy.”

“Of course. In due time. But first, we had to determine your language. Next, we need to explain a few things to you.”

Like what? What they were doing so close to the Sun? How they found me? Who changed my clothes? Wait a minute. Determine my language? Who are these people?

“Okay. Go ahead. But why doesn’t someone just come in and talk to me? And why can’t I leave the room?”

“Well. Both good questions. But first, what is your name? How do we address you? My name is Arcon.”

A bit of a strange name. But there was lots of that these days.

“Right. Well. I’m Emma MacArthur. From Earth.”

“Hello Emma MacArthur. And where is Earth?”

Really? Must be a test to see if all my brain cells still worked.

“Er, you know, the third planet. And it’s just Emma, by the way.”

“Ah, I see. Well Emma, I have some news for you. Please remain seated while I explain.”

Remain seated? Okay, I’ll play along.

“Emma, you are on a very large ship. A colony actually. We spotted you with our sensors and sent a shuttle to pick you up. We have repaired your craft as best we can, although your technology is rather primitive.”

What? I was beginning to understand why they asked me to stay seated.

“Er, who exactly are you?”

“Our colony has no one species. We are many from many different star systems. We are in constant travel about this part of the galaxy and since we last visited your solar system your planet has completed about one thousand orbits of about your sun. We see you have made much progress since then.”

My brain was struggling to process this. And my heart was suddenly racing.

“Is this a joke? Are you filming me for one of those gag shows? Where are the cameras?”

“I assure you we are in earnest. But we wanted to warn you before you meet some of us.”

Things were starting to make sense, in a strange sort of way. But I really couldn’t bring myself to even think it.

“What about the food?”

“I hope it was satisfactory? It was the best we could do in a short space of time. We sampled your DNA in order to produce suitable nutrition. Now, I am coming with some clothes for you. And I want to warn you that I do not look like you. You are the first human any of us will have met.”

Okay. Now I could say it. Or, rather, think it. They were aliens!

And we thought we must be alone. And that aliens existed only in stories. But here I was about to meet one.

My heart hadn’t slowed down when the door opened again.

I knew in my head they didn’t mean me any harm, but that didn’t stop the adrenaline and that spike of fear of the unknown.

There in the doorway stood a living, breathing, being from another planet.

This must be Arcon. About my height. Two legs. Four arms. I suppressed the urge to hide under the bed.

A uniformly bulbous head. Two eyes. A mouth, I think.

One of the arms held a bundle of clothes.

“Greetings Emma from Earth. I am Arcon. I am speaking through a translator. I can assure you we mean you no harm. I have some clothes for you. We found them on your craft. I hope they will be suitable.”

He, she, it, laid the clothes on the bed next to me. A bit of vomit came up into my mouth. I forced it back down.

My hands were shaking so much it made it a bit difficult to dress.

The clothes were Kip’s. He was a bit bigger than me so they were a bit loose. But at least the pants had elastic, which held them up.

Arcon just stood there, watching me. I tried hard to calm down.

Failed.

My heart felt like it wanted to jump out of my chest.

“Now that you are dressed, would you like to come and see our colony? Of course, it is very large, but I can show you some of it.”

“Er, sure. And thanks again for rescuing me. I really am very grateful.”

Arcon gestured with one of its arms. “Come with me then. The forcefield has been lowered now. You can understand why we needed it. We didn’t want you panicking and harming yourself.”

In hindsight, I agreed wholeheartedly. I’d watched enough movies where this sort of thing ended badly. I pushed that thought aside. This wasn’t one of those stupid movies.

We went down a corridor and through an unremarkable foyer area. But the being behind the desk, different to Arcon, made it not that unremarkable. It looked a bit like a Michelin Man, but more gelatinous.

Once outside we were in a large open area, filled with people (I mean aliens, of course, but I really can’t call them that any more), and what looked like shops of various kinds.

It was quite hard to take it all in. And everyone was staring at me. Suddenly I was the alien, and I knew it.

In one instant my whole world view (or universe view, really) had been turned completely upside down.

“This area is for commerce, as you can see. We have a currency here but many also barter. Although every resident is guaranteed food and accommodation. The rest must be earned.”

I really had nothing to say. Just taking it all in was enough.

After that there was a park with plants that, obviously, I didn’t recognise. Although, hang on, was that a rose bush?

Arcon saw me looking. “We collect samples from all the worlds we pass, if we can. This one is from your world. And very popular here.”

In the distance were buildings. And there was a river. I think. It really was huge.

There were clouds, and I couldn’t see walls, or a roof.

“Er, can I ask how many people live on this ship?”

Arcon thought for a few seconds. “At last count, seventy five thousand, two hundred and thirteen.”

At last, after another hour, we turned into an office area.

“Now. We have arranged for you to contact your authorities. And we would like to arrange a meeting with your leadership, now that you are advanced enough.”

The thought ‘take me to your leader’ flashed through my mind. I tried to suppress a giggle. But a little one slipped out. Thankfully, Arcon had no idea what it meant.

I had lost count of the number of different beings I had seen. And another one greeted us as we entered what was a communications room. This one looked like a large lizard. It even had a tail. Arcon and this one spoke together in a language I didn’t understand.

“Now, we are opening a channel to someone. We are not sure who it is, but just speak and they will hear you.”

There was a bit of crackling. “Hello? Venus Base here. Who am I speaking to?”

“Oh, hello. This is Emma MacArthur here. I’m calling to let you know I am okay.”

“Emma! It’s Dwayne here. You gave us quite a scare. What happened to you?”

“It’s a long story. But I was rescued. And my rescuers want to talk to the authorities. Is there someone there I can speak to about it?”

“Sure, give me a minute.”

I turned to Arcon. “Did you want a face to face meeting?”

“Affirmative. We will send a shuttle with you and your ship. And some representatives from our colony.”

“Can you turn on the video, so they can see us?”

Arcon gestured to the other alien and it turned on something.

Dwayne’s face appeared. He was talking to someone off camera.

He noticed we were there.

“Emma. Great to see you. Hang on, who is that?”

I could tell by the look on his face that he couldn’t really process it.

“Dwayne, meet Arcon. One of my rescuers. They saved me and nursed me back to health. They want to meet our authorities.”

“Is that … really… what I think…”

“Yes Dwayne, they are aliens. They are passing through our Solar System and found me by chance. They were last here in the Middle Ages but now we’ve grown up we are worth talking to.”

Dwayne opened and closed his mouth a few times.

At last he pulled himself together.

“Right. The Governor is on her way to talk to you. She was in a meeting, so is a bit peeved. But I’m guessing that will change.”

“Here she is now.”

Dwayne got up and the Governor sat down.

“Now, what is this all about?”

She sounded really annoyed. But once she looked at the screen she pulled herself up.

Then she frowned. “Is this a joke? You pulled me out of a meeting for this?”

She started getting up.

“Wait! Governor! Please! This is not a joke. These people rescued me. They want to meet the authorities, and you’re the closest one. We’ve made it to space since they were last here a thousand years ago. Please don’t hang up!”

Now it was her turn to hang her mouth open.

I could see the cogs turning in her brain.

“Are you serious?”

“Deadly. Governor, this is Arcon. Arcon, this is Governor Hinckley, who runs the Venus Station.”

Arcon waved an arm.

“I am very pleased to meet you Governor Hinckley. Is that the expression?”

Governor Hinckley sat with her mouth open for a full fifteen seconds. I counted. A record for her.

Then she closed and opened it a few times.

Arcon waited patiently. I found out later that she (she turned out to be a ‘she’) really didn’t know anything at all about humans and presumed this was normal.

I, of course, knew it wasn’t.

“Listen, they are sending me and my craft on a shuttle to the station. You can meet some of them then. But please get in touch with the higher authorities. I’m guessing some of them will want to be there.”

I turned to Arcon. “When will we reach the station?”

She waved an arm. “Any time. Just let us know when you want to leave.”

That was a thought. Did I want to leave? The greatest discovery in human history. And just walk away?

I turned back to the governor.

“How about we say a day? That will give you time to organise things.”

The Governor inclined her head, swallowing nervously.

“Very well. A day then. See you in twenty four hours.”

She nodded to Dwayne and he cut the transmission.

Suddenly, I wasn’t frightened any more.

More like fascinated.

I felt like a child going to the fair for the first time.

I had twenty four hours to explore this place. My only thought was to wonder if I could stay awake that long!