Colony One (6 page)

In the end, he went with the most direct approach. He casually made his way over to the table, pulled out his hand-held and gestured to the seat across from Jia, “Can I sit here?”

Jia looked up mid-fold and nodded after a moment of consideration. He sat and placed his glass device on the table, opened an application and started reading it with feigned interest. After a few minutes of silence between them, he looked up and took notice of the craft she was working on.

“Huh. Paper. You don’t see much of that these days.” Luca observed. She had been using the same piece to fold over many times, making some sort of creature shape with paper. Luca finally recognized it as a frog. All frogs had been extinct on Earth for a long time, but they were still in the database to search and learn about. “Did you bring it with you?”

Jia nodded again.

“Some sort of family tradition?”

She shook her head.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Luca was determined to get a verbal response out of her.

“Grade school,” She answered simply.

“Pretty fancy grade school to have paper!” Luca exclaimed. The fact she had gone to a school at all was impressive. Most children learned at home on the viewer, with confederation curriculum. Glass technology was so pervasive that no home – not even the poorest – went without a viewer. Another thing had surprised Luca – Jia was educated. Children were not sent to grade school just to stop there – it was often a track for graduate school, at minimum. On this point he had, along with many others, assumed Jia was just a simple girl. “So what did you do back at Earth?” He wondered aloud.

“If I tell you, will you share the coffee with me?” She asked, her gaze lifting from her project to give Luca a poignant look.

His cheeks flushed instantly. “S-sure,” he stammered, feeling like he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He should have known the woman was a good listener in the absence of speaking herself.

“I worked at a research lab.”

“Doing what?”

“Research,” she answered tersely but cracked the first smile Luca had seen throughout the entire journey thus far.

He smiled back, “I’m not sure if that will be enough to score us some coffee.”

“We’ll just have to risk it, then.” She said and turned her attention back to the frog and with careful precision, unfolded the paper creature.

Luca stayed a moment longer to see if she might have a change of heart but she remained silent, retreating back into herself as she had grown so known for doing. Finally, he left her to her devices. In his wake, Jia let her hands fold the paper from muscle memory as her mind reluctantly traveled back to the research lab.

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Jia had worked on the Colony One project since the very beginning – from the discovery of a habitable planet to the logistics and planning to get there. Manned space travel was already in practice – all they needed now was a level of certainty and a new class of ship to make the colonization concept a reality.

When their sponsor, World Corp, had learned of the initial discovery, they spared no expense in the research to find a way to travel there. It was a dream job for Jia – fulfilling in every way. The idea of being able to help establish a colony on a planet even better than Earth was one that kept her spirits high every day. Much of Earth’s population was buzzing with excitement and hope at what salvation planets Alpha and Beta could bring – and she could be a part of making it a reality.

For a year, her team worked on various phases of the project and Jia had expected at least half a decade would go by before they could confidently recommend sending fully equipped colonies to the planets that had been discovered. So, just one year into the project, it was beyond shocking to her when she discovered that World Corp was going forward with the construction of Colony One.

Instinctively, she sought an audience with the research director of her program. They had known each other for years – he being only a few years her senior. They attended many of the same schools, had a similar work ethic and the same thirst for knowledge. She felt no hesitation in going to him.

Dr. Ts’ai was a tall man with a thin frame and hair cropped short. He was beginning to see the first few grey hairs peppering his smooth, black hair. She had found him in his office, sitting at his desk, eyes darting from side to side as he worked. He locked the interface when she asked him for a moment of his time.

“I believe there may have been a miscommunication.” Jia spoke quickly, out of breath from the brisk walk to his office.

The man coupled his hands and placed them in his lap, fixing her with an evaluative look, “What do you mean, Dr. Li?”

“World Corp has ordered the construction of the first Colony ship. Sir, we haven’t even sent anything more than a probe yet. I believe they are getting ahead of themselves.”

Ts’ai arched an eyebrow, “World Corp is moving forward on my recommendations.” He explained.

Jia was stunned into momentary silence, mouth slightly agape. “Sir, is that wise?” She asked before she could stop herself.

His jaw set in stony displeasure, “Do you have doubts about our findings, Dr. Li?”

She shook her head, “Our findings, no, but there is so much we don’t know yet.”

“There is no room for doubt on a project like this, doctor.” Ts’ai adjusted his thick rimmed glasses. “I would remove all doubt from your mind and continue on the projects I assign. Let me worry about what World Corp does and does not do.”

Jia’s chest tightened like the air had been knocked out of her. She had worked with Doctor Ts’ai for so many years now, and he was always nothing but the most dedicated of scientists. She felt like she was looking at a completely different person. While she wanted to continue the discussion, to press him for his logic in the decision he had made, the look in his eyes warned against it. Instead, she straightened her back, bowed traditionally and closed the door to his office on the way out.

What she did next was the exact opposite of what Ts’ai had recommended. She began paying more attention to what World Corp was doing, and how her lab in particular was involved. She researched the company outside of work and found that World Corp had donated not just to this project, but many more at the research lab. Bonuses had been awarded to several key members of the facility. Not just her lab, either. Many other facilities were on the list.

Jia found the advertisements World Corp was making for Colony One – and images that she had never seen of the planets they had discovered were shown. They were remarkably authentic, but she knew without a shadow of a doubt that they were fakes.

She even found the drafted agreements that potential colonists would have to agree to in order to be selected. It was a complete waiver of any rights – in effect; it was excommunication without an exit clause if you suddenly changed your mind. Passengers would not be permitted to communicate with Earth once they stepped on the Colony ship, their rights as citizens of Earth were forfeited – including voting rights, legal protections and assets – provided there were any.

Despite all the warning signs, Jia tried to rationalize everything she uncovered. Was it so bad that her research facility was the object of such lavished attention? Advancements were being made at unheard of paces. The images were fake, yes, but it wasn’t uncommon to generate projections based on research findings of what a planet’s composition would be.

She spent many sleepless nights in her small high-rise apartment telling stories to herself about why she was probably making it all up in her head. The exercise exhausted her, but it allowed her to go to work every day without feeling the dread that she continuously pushed down.

She was able to keep up the façade, to herself and others, until one day she was reviewing the ship’s software configuration. At first, she was confused by what she had found, but the more she uncovered, the clearer the picture was in her mind. She stood over the console for what seemed like an eternity, reading and rereading what she had found.

Eventually she came to the conclusion that she could not remain silent given what she had discovered – if she was correct, it was simply unconscionable. Her head began to pound as she made the decision. She was about to lose the battle to remain quiet.

Once she made up her mind, however, she moved quickly. She scanned her right forearm and tapped in commands with her left hand, downloading the information to an encrypted drive she had created when she started to have doubts about the project.

Mere moments after initiating the download, one of the two lab doors opened. She deactivated the display of the station she was working at and began a brisk walk towards a second exit, away from whoever had just entered.

Just as she was reaching the door, it opened and filled with the outline of a research facility security officer. He wore dark glasses and spoke with a deep voice, “Doctor, you are going to have to come with us.” His arms rested at his sides – sleeves of his black athletic fit shirt bunched up at his elbows, revealing strong, muscular forearms.

Jia shook her head and smiled, “I’m sorry, but I’m very late for a meeting.” She tried to go around him, but he took the opportunity to grab her by the upper arm. “What are you doing?” She asked and repeated loudly as he began to walk with her in his grasp. “Where are you taking me?” No answer. She tried to pull away from his grip, but he only tightened it to the point of pain.

They were joined by another security officer – presumably the one who had flushed her out towards the back entrance. They led her to a nearby observation room and let her go. She rubbed her arm as they backed her up against a wall, “Empty your pockets, Doctor.” The one who had been holding her instructed. The other stepped away with his back towards them, making sure anyone who happened by would continue walking.

Jia gaped, “I… what? I haven’t done anything!”

“Now, Doctor.” He commanded, “Or I will have to do it for you.” She glared up at him, and while his eyes were hidden behind tinted glasses, she could see the slight illumination from the inside of the glass lens. There were readouts that only he could see – it was how he was receiving his orders.

Reluctantly, Jia turned over her personal hand held glass device. She carried nothing else. The man took it, pocketed it, and forced her inside the observation room. He locked the door from the outside and Jia found herself looking for another exit even when she knew there would be none. She was familiar with these rooms – there was nothing but an examination table and locked drawers and cabinets.

She paced the small room and looked knowingly at the mirror – she was fully aware that there was a room on the other side where they could see in, but she couldn’t see out. She crossed her arms and considered the weight of the situation. She had broken the lab’s protocol by copying classified information to another location. She had been sloppy and didn’t cover her efforts well enough. Only she thought she had, which was another troubling thought. She was hoping, desperately, this was simply a case of broken protocol and not what she had found. If it was about what she had found…

She pushed that thought out of her mind. She had to hope for the best, otherwise she was going to drive herself mad in record time. She waited for someone to retrieve her, to talk to her, to scold her… anything. But no one came. She found herself watching the digital clock display above the door. An hour passed, then another. She alternated between pacing and sitting on the examination table, keeping as calm an exterior as possible – just in case anyone was watching.

Finally, the faint noise of the audio system clicked on. “Ms. Li,” a voice spoke, filling the small space. “Explain why you were copying World Corp data.”

“Can we please speak face to face?” Jia asked, looking purposefully towards the mirror. A beat passed, and then a light switched on that allowed the mirror to be see-through. A white man she had never seen before was standing on the other side. He wore an expensive suit and had smooth, wrinkleless skin despite the white in his hair.

“Explain,” he prompted.

“I was trying to transfer it to another work station,” Jia lied.

The man stared at her, letting the silence weigh heavily between them. “We have been watching you, Ms. Li.” He finally said. “We know you are… curious.”

“I was just doing my job,” Jia insisted. “I obviously keyed in the wrong command by mistake.”

“Do you make many mistakes, Ms. Li?”

“I…” Jia shook her head, “No, but there is a first time for everything.”

“Yes, there is. If you do not tell us why you were copying that data, we will be forced to investigate using other methods.”

A chill went down Jia’s back. The file she was downloading was a large one – of course they didn’t know what, exactly, had caught her attention.

Despite knowing that, she had rapidly calculated that she was in big trouble. She decided it would be best to admit to a lesser evil, “I… I’ve been approached to provide details to the press about the ship. Everyone wants the scoop.” She explained, letting the nervousness in her bleed through, hoping it might garner her some sympathy.

Another stretch of silence followed as he stared at her with intense eyes.

“You’re lying,” he finally concluded.