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Finite Life: Chapter One

The Albatross

By Lilly CooperPublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 21 min read
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Finite Life: Chapter One
Photo by jesse orrico on Unsplash

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.” Myra paced the stage of the auditorium with her graceful stride and gestured dramatically. “Space: the final frontier. Huston, we have a problem. One small step for for man: One giant step for mankind. And the fascination is not just for adults. Who hasn’t heard the nursery rhyme Twinkle twinkle little Star? How about Buzz Lightyear's To Infinity and Beyond? Our fascination with space is so ingrained in our identity, it’s impossible to know where it stared. Throughout history, every human culture has looked to the stars for answers. They have been used to navigate, to explain things we didn’t know at the time, to tell stories, to know the date, time and perhaps the most prevalent use of all, to tell our future!” Her audience laughed at the last inclusion, as did she. Horoscopes had fallen out of favour and were more the butt of a joke these days, but ask most people and they could still tell you their sign. It was amusing to think people actually used to believe the position of the small group of stars visible from Earth could tell you something about your personality or what sort of day you were going to have. Once the laughter died down, Myra moved on.

“As we developed technology and gained knowledge, our focus shifted to filling in the gaps. What didn’t we know? What could be just beyond our reach?” A pause. “Is there other life out there? What is the universe made of? How do we get there? Science Fiction, or Sci Fi, as a genre really hit its stride.”

She paused just off centre and looked at the students sitting in tiers all around. Behind her, the screen had been scrolling through antique images of Earth's astronauts suited up for their work with big black visors reflecting the pale hues of the distant earth or the surface of the moon, from NASA and the Hubble Telescope. Nostalgic images of a bygone era. Now the images changed to ones of the vintage pop culture she referenced now.

“A multitude of movies have been made giving life to the various theories of what might be out there..... With a strong dose of artistic licence, of course. Many of you will have attended vintage cinemas to see films such as Aliens. I will never forget the first time I saw the chest-bursting alien scene!" Students around the auditorium giggled or groaned, possibly remembering their friest experience of the cringeworthy but iconic scene. "How about the much loved Star Wars with the unpopular Ja Ja Binks? Apollo 11, Contact, Species, Starship Troopers, Avatar, Star Trek, Stargate... the list goes on. My personal favourites are Firefly and the follow up film Serenity. River Tam was an incredible character! And what little girl didn’t want to be a psychic warrior gallivanting around the universe with pirates?” A number of the students were now leaning in, caught up in the theatrics of the topic and what they knew was to come.

Myra did not disappoint them. “Besides space, these films all have one major thing in common. The human characters in these films are no different to what they always had been.” The screen showed scenes from the movies with the human stars in various iconic poses. Leia and Han embracing, River Tam poised ready for combat with her blades dripping thick black ooze, John Luke Picard standing of the bridge of the Enterprise. “It makes no difference how much knowledge they had, there is more they don’t know. No one could never have fully anticipated how the six billion people who left Earth thousands of years ago were going to cope with the new living environment in space: mentally, emotionally or physically. They thought they knew enough. They could never have known the gaps in their knowledge were as important as they were. Within the first half century, we lost nearly a third of our original number to disease, accidental death, homicide, suicide or attack from other humans. Entire settler ships were wiped out by other humans because of fear and greed. Diseases behaved differently, our bodies reacted in ways completely unanticipated and the most mind bending concept of it all: time impacts us differently. All of these things combined to result in massive evolutionary alterations to our species at a far accelerated rate. The average life span of a human that left Earth was 80 years. Now we live an average of 500 years..... an epic change. The birth rate was averaged at two offspring per woman. While there is no difference in the birth rate, our childbearing years have narrowed and our reproductive cycles changed. A topic we cover in this course. However, none of this is the single most notable difference between ourselves and our ancestors.” Myra had resumed her pacing, though the attitude of her posture had changed. It was commanding, like a demonstration, as the screen exhibited images and short videos of children playing, parents with their children, lovers kissing and sporting events.

“Our physical appearances are very different. Long limbs, sleek muscles in comparison to our predecessors as though we have been stretched. We look less like our ancestors and more like the alien species from Avatar, just not quite as tall or blue!”

Coming to a stop in centre stage, Myra spread her long arms. “ Welcome to Term One of Human Anthropological Metamorphosis!” She dropped her hands and clasped them in front of her. All pictures had gone from the screen to be replaced with the acronym H.A.M. “I am Professor Myra Toi and I am Head of Department for H.A.M. I have more than 100 years under my belt, so believe me when I say, more than half of you sitting here today won’t see out the first term.” She paused to let that sink in.

Her field of expertise was much sort after, but as much as these students had been repeatedly told it was a difficult course, they all had the will and determination to prove everyone wrong. At least until after reality sank in and the first major assessment bought the world crashing down around their ears.

“This course of study covers all aspects of human development through the eras including elements of psychology, biology, physiology and literature to name a few. Those who see it through will have many career paths open to them, including working with government at all levels and private enterprise.” This was the place in her opening speech that the immensity of the task they faced started to sink in. Younglings who had leaned forward previously now sat back, contemplating the sheer amount of work ahead of them. She had no interest in breaking the spirits of students she did however believe in honesty. “H.A.M. is diverse and not for everyone. Tapping out of a course of study is not a failure. In fact, I myself tapped out of no less than 5 other majors before settling well into H.A.M. My Professor, Dr. Blackstone was convinced I wouldn’t make it through this course of study and now she comes to me to discuss theories. The important thing is to find the right path for the individual student. The diversity of topics is both friend and foe. It can be very difficult to have to make all elements come together. You may find however that an individual element speaks to you more than the others. I am more than happy to assist students who would like to segway into another major.”

Myra turned to the lectern and ended the visual aid program to replace it with a table detailing the schedule for the term. “This schedule is available on the study portal. You will see that there is a paper due each week for next four weeks. You are to select one of the four Primary Theorums by Dr Talbot each week, write a critique outlining your understanding of it, what might it be applied to, where you believe the theorem works and where it falls short. I suggest you each take the next 15 minutes to glance over them in your texts and I will answer answer questions after. Please feel free to talk amongst yourselves, but I do strongly suggest you take advantage of the Q and A.” The room filled with a quiet buzzing as the youngling students started skimming their texts and discussing the lecture.

Two men quietly detached themselves from the shadows at the back of the auditorium and make their way down to where Myra stood at the lectern preparing the program that would take a student’s spoken question and display it on the screen. It always made Q and A sessions easier. Unless a student was having a particularly dense moment, she never had to answer the same question twice. She had noticed the men enter the room not long after beginning her opening narration. They weren't students. They hadn’t taken seats, students were usually younglings not adults and while not in any sort of uniform, they did not dress like students.

They stopped a short distance from where she worked. “You may approach,” She said without looking up, “the microphone is not active.”

One of the men stepped forward slightly clearly taking charge of the situation and addressed her formally.

“Professor Toi, we were hoping you might be able to help us clarify some things if you have a moment.”

“Certainly. I have approximately ten minutes before my students will require my full attention again. What can I do to help a Union Security Officer?”

The man looked startled, though considering his particular job, he probably shouldn’t have shown so much emotion. Maybe he was a junior and not long in the position, she thought. Maybe being out of uniform had thrown him a little.

She smiled reassuringly. “I am one of the top H.A.M. scientists of the age Sir, I’ve thoroughly studied the telepathic ability you and your fellow officers are born with a propensity for and train to develop. A dead give away even dressed incognito as you are, is the way your partner and yourself move in unison, right down to breathing at the same rate and depth. It’s a fascinating development in human evolution.”

He smiled ruefully. “I suppose we should have realised you would be able to identify an Egis Agent regardless. I think our downfall was taking the legends of the famous Dr. Toi as exaggerated stories rather than fact.”

“Oh, always look at a legend or story, no matter how extreme as having the potential for an element of truth. The stories of myself are quite exaggerated, it doesn't mean they are completely false.”

“Sage advice we will remember Doctor.” The officer took a palm size device from his pocket and bought images up on the small screen. “Speaking of legends, you are aware of the story of the Albatross?”

Myra nodded slowly. Everyone knew the story. 50 years after the last of the huge ships left the vicinity of earth came the Rise of the Raveners. Groups of people unable to adjust to life in the confinement of the halls of the ships became hostile towards other people, convinced other ships had more room and better resources than they did themselves. Life in space was nothing like they thought it would be. First, they staged mutiny on their own ships, killing anyone who opposed them. Then, still not satisfied, they began attacking others. It was a terrifying time in history. Three hundred and fifty-seven thousand ships carried the hope for a better future for humans. The Raveners took nearly ten thousand ships before anyone could rally to offer resistance. The loss of life was massive. It was during this time, a ship named the Albatross went dark and were never heard from again. It was thought that the ship and its inhabitants had been taken by Raveners but the Captains of Ravener groups always publicly claimed their victims, adding to their reputations. No one ever claimed to have raided the Albatross. Scavenged parts from the ship had never surfaced.

“The only ship in history that disappeared without a trace, that was over two thousand years ago.” She met his eyes directly. “What have they found?”

Without a word, the officer handed over his device. The screen displayed various pictures of humans who looked almost like they were sleeping. All laying down, all with eyes shut. All of them unevolved. She had seen similar images in antique autopsy photos in her research, but these weren’t antique. They were too clear and crisp, taken with modern technology. The final image showed an evolved human in the background. Definitely not antique. And the Egis Union would not waste resources by sending Union Security Officers to show her fake photos.

“When were these taken?” She handed the device back.

The USO tapped it against his palm. “Unfortunately we can’t tell you much about them. I can tell you they are recent and the Egis would appreciate if you could shed some light on the situation. We would require a confidentiality agreement.”

This would not be her first time working with the government and knew she would never have been shown the images if she didn’t already have a high level clearance with them.

“Of course. Let me know where and when, I’d be more than happy to sign the confidentiality paperwork.”

“Thank you Professor Toi, we will be in touch.” The two officers took their leave and Myra turned her attention back to her class.

“Alright! Time is up! Does anyone have a question?”

- -

Dr Hazel Blackstone met her with an warm embrace after clearing the security point at the Egis Union Study Centre. Both women were approximately the same height and size, but similarities in appearance ended there. Toi’s skin was a pale pearlescent colour common in people born in the Tygier system that almost seemed to reflect light and shift colours when she moved. Her shoulder length hair was dead straight and a pretty violet with darker and lower tones. Hey eyes stood out from her other features, deep dark pools of purple, framed by lashes and eyebrows the same violet as her hair. Her face shape pointed at the chin in counterpoint to the widow’s peak like a love heart slightly elongated. Blackstone was like the living embodiment of a galaxy. Her velvety dark skin was a gorgeous midnight blue with speckles that looked like the diamonds of stars against the night sky. Her long curly black hair was shot through with striking silver and framed her round face perfectly. Her emerald eyes seemed to sparkle and see everything.

“How was the trip? I hope the inability to access communications wasn’t too inconvenient?” Blackstone smiled broadly at her old student.

“It was fine. I actually really enjoy being incommunicado. It’s nice to not have constant new message notifications! It was peaceful and I meditated. I haven’t just stopped like that in years.”

Her mentor chuckled softly and smiled. “You have not changed. It’s nice to have that constant in an ever evolving world.”

Myra smiled. It was a common thing to say to an old acquaintance and usually said politely without any real meaning behind it. But when Hazel Blackstone said it, she meant it. She opened her mouth to ask about what she had seen in the images the Egis Security Officer had shown her but was pulled up short by her friend raising her hand.

“Before you say anything, I know you have questions. And lots of them. But it will be more efficient to show you. Follow me, I’ll take you straight to the lab.” With that, she turned and headed off down the labyrinth of halls.

Myra fell into stride beside her, a fraction behind. These halls were felt familiar to her, having spent many years here on and off involved in various study pursuits. It was like returning to a childhood home after being absent for a long while. The clean smells, the efficient lighting that resulted in an absence of shadowy corners, white glossy work surfaces, comfortable chairs, the quiet hum of equipment interspersed with the occasional chatter of conversation. There were a few cheery waves from familiar old faces. Oh how she had missed this place.

Using her ID chip, Blackstone opened the outer door to Laboratory Twenty Three, the largest secure lab in the facility. The ESO in the antechamber scanned their DNA to verify their credentials and opened the inner door. The significance of increased security around this lab was not lost on Myra. Whatever questions the Egis Union wanted answers for had them worried.

The security door opened into a long hallway consisting of clear glass walls sectioning off brightly lit offices set up with transparent flat console screens for electronic data access, high powered precision microscopes and the best digital image displays available including holographic and laser displays that the researchers could manipulate to look at from all angles in 3D, zooming in and out if so desired. The cubicles were all occupied, some by a single person pouring over screens on their own while the odd cubicle housed collaborative groups of two or three people. One such cubical held Myra’s attention as they passed. Three projections glowed a soft magenta against a dark background, displaying 3D brain and spinal cord scans. One was from an evolved human brain that showed the physical changes a EUS Officer would exhibit. It was how they were chosen for the roles: those physical changes were what gave them their telepathic abilities that allowed them to connect and work so closely with their partners. The second scan was a composite of information taken from old human technology. It was very familiar. The first edition of this scan was what she had used when studying many years ago as a youngling student herself. The second edition these researchers were using was actually a version created after she spent many hours in her graduate year trawling through thousands of images and scans made with antique tech to tweak and improve the model of an un-evolved human brain. The third looked like a sixth or seventh edition of her work. There were advancements she had never seen before. The researcher swiped the evolved scan across so it superimposed over the new edition. The differences were amazing to see and lit up blue in contrast to the magenta. Myra’s pace had slowed and she turned back to Blackstone, her mouth held open in a little ‘o’, her eyes widened. This was all new. What in the Heavens did they find? This was not a recent technological advancement, she would have heard about it.... if she wasn’t involved in its development herself. Her friend gave her a knowing smile and gestured to her to follow.

Myra couldn’t contain her curiosity any more and words burst out under their own volition. “What did they find out there? That isn’t a composite of antique CT scans and the like. That is fully developed with our modern day technology!”

Blackstone didn’t respond or encourage her, she knew better than to try and hold back a torrent. She swiped her chip again, opening another security door as Myra continued.

“The image was seamless! I never thought I’d see..........” Following her old professor into a darkened lab viewing room, Myra fell silent. Through the one way glass in front of her, one of her previous students, Eli Elm, moved around a room making gross adjustments to Corporal Scan Devices used in diagnosis of disease and pathology before making minor adjustments with the control panels. He wore a full hazmat suit complete with respirator usually used when dealing with a person suffering highly contagious diseases. The only other person in the room was his patient. Laying supine on the examination table was a man stripped bare with a drape across his hips for modesty.

Blackstone spoke into the void Myra’s silence created. “They were found on the Albatross. All deceased. No outward sign of trauma or struggle. The people and the ship, all are fully intact. Just not functioning.”

People. Myra thought. Un-evolved humans. She had spent her life studying them knowing she would never see one in the flesh. Or so she had believed.

“They died out thousands of years ago. There is no decomposition. He looks like he could just be sleeping.” Myra looked to her friend. “How? How is this possible?”

“That, my dear girl is the million dollar question. One the Egis Union is very keen to get answers for. It’s why you are here. We are all hoping you might be able to provide at least a workable theory. Right now, we have nothing.”

She took a couple steps closer and watched the data and scans of the man on the table begin to appear on the screens. She folded her arms and frowned intently at the picture it created of the person’s life. He hadn’t had a hard life. A broken arm at approximately 12 years of age. A decent diet, though liver and blood vessel changes suggested he liked more than just the occasional alcoholic drink, possibly a diet a little high in salt and fat than was optimal. The usual bony changes associated with living away from earth’s gravity. His eye scan suggested he may have worn glasses, as did tissue change over the bridge of his nose. In general, the scans gave him a clean bill of health. Other than being deceased, of course. As fascinating as the human evolution was, she was glad they no longer had to dissect bodies for autopsies the way it had been done on earth. A very messy business that ultimately destroyed the tissues.

“How long ago was the Albatross found?”

“Two weeks. An Egis S.D.T. encountered it just outside of the Earth Preservation Station. Thank goodness. I shudder to think of the loss of information if Revengers or scavengers had found it first.”

S.D.T. stood for Short Distance Transport and did not travel far from larger ships or stations. The Albatross must have been found very close to the Preservation Station on the outskirts of the solar system Earth is located in. “Two weeks and no signs of decay?”

Blackstone stayed silent a moment. “None what so ever.”

“And there are no preservation techniques used?”

“The first few bodies removed had the Pa-Li preservation applied. But instead of preserving them, they decomposed at a shocking rate. They tried three different techniques before they stopped trying. Each one failed.”

Myra hummed. No wonder the Egis were nervous. There were many more questions here than answers and the technology society relied so heavily upon seemed almost useless.

“Have the records been retrieved from the ship's system?”

“Some have, not all unfortunately. Some are damaged. They are still trying to determine the cause of the damage. We have our best experts working on a resolution now, though I doubt they will be able to recover all the data.”

“What about the medical records and identification profiles for inhabitants? I’d imagine the Egis went straight for the black box rather than medical data.”

Her friend smiled. “You are correct. The Black box was their main focus until I arrived five days ago and requested the information on the passengers. They had someone looking for passenger IDs but neglected the medical records. There has been a delay in opening the system, but we should have it this afternoon or tomorrow morning.”

“I wonder who he is, his role on the ship, what his life was like?” Myra mused out loud. Short and stocky, this man would have barely reached her shoulders standing up. She lent both hands against the sill and tilted her head this way and that, as if a different angle might give her information she didn’t have before.

“How many of them were there?”

Blackstone frowned, “Approximately ten thousand bodies have been recovered, a mix of both genders. According to original passenger manifests, there are nearly five thousand unaccounted for, not including deaths registered up until the ship went missing.”

Five thousand..... something about that number gnawed at her thoughts.

“Were there any children recovered?”

Her former Professor blinked, her dark eyes opening wide. “There has been no mention of children! How did I miss that?”

“Their size. Its possible no one thought about it because if this man is average, any smaller bodies may have been mistaken for juveniles.” Turning to one of the touchscreens, she rapidly searched the database for height, weight and body mass of individuals recovered so far from the mysterious Albatross. “We will have to wait until we have the medical records, but the details entered so far indicate to me that there are no young in all the retrieved bodies.”

“Statistically, that makes no sense. There should be a range of young among the deceased. Either we are missing something or....”

Myra nodded. “Or the children are all absent from the ship.”

The silence felt heavy in the room. As Eli ran new scans, the two scientists watched without seeing, both lost in thought.

Myra mused out loud the question at the centre of the storm of thoughts:

“Where the hell are the children?”

Series
9

About the Creator

Lilly Cooper

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Very well written. Keep up the good work!

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  1. Heartfelt and relatable

    The story invoked strong personal emotions

  2. Compelling and original writing

    Creative use of language & vocab

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    Well-structured & engaging content

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Comments (9)

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  • Test2 years ago

    I quite liked this. Myra is already a well-realized character, and you set up a really fascinating mystery. I also think it would be very interesting to explore how the extension of human life has impacted society. Good work!

  • Kat Thorne2 years ago

    That was such a unique and captivating story, great work!

  • This comment has been deleted

  • C.D. Hoyle2 years ago

    I love the anthropological slant. Good read! Good luck! ❤

  • Made in DNA2 years ago

    Oooooooooh, I dare say this has a touch of Bruce Sterling's Schizmatrix in it! I'm not accusing you, of course. I actually just started reading it again and I may have been a bit tainted. LOVE THE MYSTERY! I hope there's more coming! NOVEL!

  • Joe Patterson2 years ago

    This is a very good start to a great sci-fi/mystery/thriller. I would say just go back and be mindful of small grammatical errors, but other than that this is a great story with a clever build up.

  • Michele Jones2 years ago

    This is a good start. You should continue the story.

  • Jori T. Sheppard2 years ago

    Awesome story I, I loved reading it. It’s so creative and well written. Glad you are honing your talent on this site.

  • Call Me Les2 years ago

    I love the multidisciplinary approach of the science. It always tugs at the heartstrings when children get involved so that definitely upped the emotional component for me and I like when that happens. Good job!

  • I think this one could be a contender.

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