Fall Getaway part 2
 |
| Fall Getaway part 2 |
At the staff meeting the next morning Alicia was pleased when Jinn said the Independents had booked a teleport to go exploring along the coast. After the meeting she sat down to do some administration.
The license for her teleport stations needed to be renewed. Staring at the files her mind drifted off. This planet had once been inhabited.
But it’s people had abandoned it after dematerializing most of the big structures. By the time the planet was discovered even the largest cities had been taken over by plants and wildlife. The Sintocor investment group had been able to buy the exploitation rights with virtually no opposition.
Everyone thought they were crazy for trying to create a holiday planet. Alicia had started with sixty hectares and two teleport stations. In those early days the land prices were cheap. Sintocor made most of its money selling teleportation licenses.
After twenty years Alicia wondered, could they really be sure the people of this planet would never return? Who abandons their planet like that anyway? She doubted they had all gone willingly. The landowners seldom spoke about it, but mass graves were often found during building activities. Could it be… her day planner played it's appointment tune. It was time to visit some of the VIP guests.
Alicia crossed the hall to the reception desk to tell Tom and Anne she’d be out of her office. It was a slow day in the reception cabin. There were only a few people browsing in the souvenir shop. Sunlight warmed Alicia’s face as she stepped off the veranda at the front. Teleport station two was just a few paces to the left.
Though you could use any station to get anywhere on this planet, Alicia liked to regulate the traffic in and around her resort. She used station one for guests who were checking in or out. Station two was primarily intended for travel between the reception area and other parts of her forest. Other than that the guests were free to use their nearest station to go anywhere they wanted.
Alicia got inside the violet box. The first editions had been black which had left people stranded at night. The second edition was green. Though it came with a night light, it was still rather hard to find in a dense forest. Ultimately a violet box trimmed with lights that switched on at dusk and during bad weather had been the best option.
Inside the box stood another, smaller box. There was a control panel mounted on a stand in front of it. Alicia identified herself with her fingerprint. She chose local travel and entered the number fifteen. The panel asked how many people were travelling. Alicia entered the number two. It was an unnecessary precaution.
After twenty years Alicia wondered, could they really be sure the people of this planet would never return? Who abandons their planet like that anyway? She doubted they had all gone willingly. The landowners seldom spoke about it, but mass graves were often found during building activities. Could it be… her day planner played it's appointment tune. It was time to visit some of the VIP guests.
Alicia crossed the hall to the reception desk to tell Tom and Anne she’d be out of her office. It was a slow day in the reception cabin. There were only a few people browsing in the souvenir shop. Sunlight warmed Alicia’s face as she stepped off the veranda at the front. Teleport station two was just a few paces to the left.
Though you could use any station to get anywhere on this planet, Alicia liked to regulate the traffic in and around her resort. She used station one for guests who were checking in or out. Station two was primarily intended for travel between the reception area and other parts of her forest. Other than that the guests were free to use their nearest station to go anywhere they wanted.
Alicia got inside the violet box. The first editions had been black which had left people stranded at night. The second edition was green. Though it came with a night light, it was still rather hard to find in a dense forest. Ultimately a violet box trimmed with lights that switched on at dusk and during bad weather had been the best option.
Inside the box stood another, smaller box. There was a control panel mounted on a stand in front of it. Alicia identified herself with her fingerprint. She chose local travel and entered the number fifteen. The panel asked how many people were travelling. Alicia entered the number two. It was an unnecessary precaution.
But after all these years she was still afraid that one day the wormhole tunnel would close to soon. The panel flashed ‘connecting with local station #15’. A voice told her the connection had been established and asked her to please enter the travel unit. Alicia got inside the smaller box.
She stepped onto a marked area and faced the back wall while hugging herself. The air in front of the wall shimmered and broke apart. Alicia could now see into the other station. She walked to the footprints marking the floor of station 15. A light went on beneath her feet. Behind her she felt a rush of wind and heard a popping sound as the universe readjusted itself.
And just like that she had crossed nearly 50 hectares of her resort. Station 15 stood at the heart of a four way crossing. Alicia went north along the path marked with a sign that read ‘Anona’. Five minutes later a small bend in the path brought her before a long yellowish cabin. Behind it the tree covered hills rose like a flaming carpet of orange, red and yellow.
A young looking girl opened the door for Alicia. She heard excited talking coming from inside. “Hi, I’m Alicia Mahoe, the manager of this resort. I’m stopping by to see if everything is according to your wishes?” “Oh hi, come on in, I’m Lisa, the nanny. Look mrs. Thybo, the manager is here to see you.”
Alicia walked in on a busy scene. Darragh, the VIP service agent responsible for station 15, was standing in the middle of the room with three kids grabbing onto him. He was holding a number of colourful packets in his hands. Mrs. Thybo had been standing by rubbing her hands and almost jumping herself. When the nanny called she hurried over to Alicia.
“Isn’t it wonderful miss Mahoe? There’s a storm along the coast that is going to turn into a shower when it gets here! The kids have never seen rain before! They were born on Crossing station, you know how it is, nothing around for light-years. All our holidays up until now have been to Corridor, ‘cause we didn’t want to go too far away on account of them being small, you know, so anyway this is the first time they’ve ever been on a planet. It’s all so very exciting for them!”
Just then mister Thybo came from the kitchen with a beer in his hands. “All this fuss about walking in the rain. It’s like taking a shower only with your clothes on and no hot water tap.”, he said. “You’ll have to excuse my husband, like our children he’s a space station native. He has no sense of the adventure of playing in the rain and jumping up and down in puddles.”, mrs. Thybo said.
Alicia had seen enough. She asked if there was anything more the family needed before taking leave. She was on her way to visit the fourth VIP cabin at station 15 when she felt the first few drops landing on her head. She put on her hood and regretted not having her umbrella.
She stepped onto a marked area and faced the back wall while hugging herself. The air in front of the wall shimmered and broke apart. Alicia could now see into the other station. She walked to the footprints marking the floor of station 15. A light went on beneath her feet. Behind her she felt a rush of wind and heard a popping sound as the universe readjusted itself.
And just like that she had crossed nearly 50 hectares of her resort. Station 15 stood at the heart of a four way crossing. Alicia went north along the path marked with a sign that read ‘Anona’. Five minutes later a small bend in the path brought her before a long yellowish cabin. Behind it the tree covered hills rose like a flaming carpet of orange, red and yellow.
A young looking girl opened the door for Alicia. She heard excited talking coming from inside. “Hi, I’m Alicia Mahoe, the manager of this resort. I’m stopping by to see if everything is according to your wishes?” “Oh hi, come on in, I’m Lisa, the nanny. Look mrs. Thybo, the manager is here to see you.”
Alicia walked in on a busy scene. Darragh, the VIP service agent responsible for station 15, was standing in the middle of the room with three kids grabbing onto him. He was holding a number of colourful packets in his hands. Mrs. Thybo had been standing by rubbing her hands and almost jumping herself. When the nanny called she hurried over to Alicia.
“Isn’t it wonderful miss Mahoe? There’s a storm along the coast that is going to turn into a shower when it gets here! The kids have never seen rain before! They were born on Crossing station, you know how it is, nothing around for light-years. All our holidays up until now have been to Corridor, ‘cause we didn’t want to go too far away on account of them being small, you know, so anyway this is the first time they’ve ever been on a planet. It’s all so very exciting for them!”
Just then mister Thybo came from the kitchen with a beer in his hands. “All this fuss about walking in the rain. It’s like taking a shower only with your clothes on and no hot water tap.”, he said. “You’ll have to excuse my husband, like our children he’s a space station native. He has no sense of the adventure of playing in the rain and jumping up and down in puddles.”, mrs. Thybo said.
Alicia had seen enough. She asked if there was anything more the family needed before taking leave. She was on her way to visit the fourth VIP cabin at station 15 when she felt the first few drops landing on her head. She put on her hood and regretted not having her umbrella.
By the time she got back to the office her shoes and coat were soaked. She kicked her shoes off under the desk and went to finish her paper work with a steaming mug of honeyed milk. Alicia was contemplating an offer from the Evergreen company who wanted to expand one of its restaurants in her commercial hub, when the spacecom signalled an urgent call.
She felt dazed as she stood behind the emergency teleport station staring at the police tape surrounding station 20. Sheriff Talwar was there along with deputy Hersisdóttir. The sheriff was trying to explain something while deputy Hersisdóttir was talking to Jinn.
Jinn sat on a gurney with a blanket around her shoulders. Her face was pale and her eyes had lost their usual focus. There were paramedics standing by. “I’m sorry what did you say?”, Alicia turned to the sheriff.
Sheriff Talwar sighed and started to repeat his story. Alicia noticed four of the Independents standing about within earshot. They seemed lost without their handler.
Reacties
Een reactie posten