Galileo (Battle of the Species) (11 page)

“Are you choosing not to block your thoughts or do you not know how?” Pyxis asked.

“Um…I…,” Renn stuttered, feeling his cheeks burning.

“How’s that possible?” Vela asked.

“I guess my human father forgot to give me that memo,” Renn said, trying to make a joke out of it, but then awkwardly excused himself and walked back to his roommates’ table. A feeling of dread began to take hold, wondering whether he was going to have to deal with the same prejudices he had to deal with in Camden. He had always assumed being a half-breed would be more accepted outside of Earth.

A bell chimed and the majority of the students cleared their tables. When Renn reached his friends, he put his tray back in the table’s compartment after watching the others do it. The compartments receded as a tiny bot jumped onto the table top, beginning its suctioning, wiping, and polishing.

“Where's Leo?” Renn asked, looking around while they walked down the hallway.

“He went back to the dorms to get something,” Dylan said. “He said he'd just meet us in the library.”

Renn looked further down the hall and saw three First Years walking towards them. The large one in the middle caught his eye because of the massive ebony wings folded behind his human body. He looked like a young version of the guy Renn had seen walking behind his mom in the photograph, and actually thought it was the same guy for a second. If he was human, Renn would have thought the Toran-doppelganger was from Puerto Rico, but Puerto Ricans didn't have wings, last time he checked.

Renn opened his mouth to say something to him while they passed, but was bumped by another guy in the group.

“Hey, what the hell?” Renn asked, turning around. The guy kept walking, but turned his head long enough for Renn to see the diamond pupils in his eyes, causing Renn to become speechless.

“What's up?” Dylan asked, looking at Renn. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

“Who were those guys?” Renn asked.

“The one who bumped you is Desh,” Dylan replied, taking a moment to glance back. “I don’t know much about him, just that there are a few Third and Fourth Years waiting to see him play BOTS. The guy with the wings is Kia Eber, Toran obviously, but some say he’s Desh’s bodyguard.”

“Bodyguard?” Rudy snickered. “What kind of fourteen year old needs a bodyguard?”

“Maybe he’s a prince or something,” Dylan surmised. “I heard another Mindeerian refer to him as ‘the heir’.”

“Do Mindeerians have royalty?” Rudy asked Renn.

“No, not that I’m aware of,” Renn replied. “What about the third guy? There was a mousy human with them.”

“That’s Etienne,” Dylan explained. “Rumor has it that he’s some kind of genius. Like Sensati-level genius.”

“Wait, that’s not possible,” Rudy interjected. “No way a human could be as smart as a Sensatus.”

“Look, I don’t know any of them; I’m just going by what I heard,” Dylan replied. He looked back at Renn. “Why do you ask?”

“That guy who bumped me…” Renn replied. “I had a dream about him cutting my head off!”

“Really?” Dylan asked. “You had a dream about getting killed by some pretty-boy you’ve never seen before?”

“’Pretty-boy’?” Renn repeated, trying not to laugh.

“Do you think he's pretty, Dylan?” Rudy chimed in.

“No, I don't think he's pretty. I think all Mindeerian guys look like a bunch of pretty-boys. I'm sorry, but you do,” Dylan said indignantly. “You all got these faces like you're about to pose for a picture or something…you know what, never mind,” Dylan said walking away in a huff.

Rudy and Renn were still laughing when they walked into the library. At least, it was called a “library,” but books printed on paper only existed on Temin. Everywhere else in the Federation, all forms of media were electronic, thereby sparing vital resources like trees.

They walked down rows and rows of computer tables, separated by dividers, where holograms projected the information pictorially for better retention.

Renn found an empty computer next to Dylan and tapped on the table, illuminating Ava, the hologram hostess, who was a beautiful Mindeerian female with blonde hair and blue eyes. Renn grinned and looked around, finding the Zorgre behind him talking to a Zorgre-Ava, and the Janiun talking to a Janiun-Ava.

“Hello, Renn. How can I help you today?” Ava asked.

“I need to sign up for classes,” he replied, trying to suppress the eerie feeling he got when Ava said his name.
Always watching
, he thought with a shiver.

Dylan leaned around the divider and looked at Renn. “Are you there yet?” he asked.

“Almost,” Renn replied, watching Ava display a list of classes he would be studying that year: English, philosophy, topography, robotics, quantum physics, self-defense, species, and botany. They all sounded great to him.

Dylan began rattling off class times so he, Renn, and Rudy would get into the same classes. They occasionally glanced at the door, waiting for Leo, but Leo never showed. “Ava, can you send this to Leo and ask for approval to duplicate it so he’s in our classes?” Dylan asked.

            “Yes, Dylan,” a black-human-Ava said to Dylan.

“Your class schedule is complete. Would you like me to download the study material to your tablet?” Ava asked Renn.

“Yeah, thanks.”

“You’re welcome, Renn.”

“Would you mind not saying my name so often?  It’s kinda creepy.”

“I don’t mind at all,” she replied in a sweet voice. 

“Um...I thought I was going to be able to choose an elective,” Renn said.

“Your elective has been eliminated. You are to study the Mindeerian language and culture, marked “Mandatory” by Professor Paro.”

“Oh, I see,” Renn said, finding it utterly humiliating that he was enrolled in a class to learn about his own species, until he realized he didn’t seemed bothered to be in English class. 

“Would you like me to go over the syllabi with you?” Ava asked.

“Um...” Renn said, then realized he had Dylan and Rudy standing next to him, clearly ready to go. “No, thanks,” Renn replied. “Am I done then?”  

“Yes,” Ava replied. “Your first class will begin tomorrow at ten-hundred hours.”

“Okay, thanks,” Renn said, getting up.

“Good-bye,” she replied, before the hologram disappeared.

When they got back to their room, they found the room empty. Renn looked at Dylan and shrugged. “Where is he?”  Renn asked.

“Maybe he went back to the mess hall,” Dylan replied.

Just then, they heard a faint commotion in the restroom. The door slid open and Leo walked out, hiding something rather large and clumsy behind his back while he walked slowly towards the bed.

“Leo, you don’t look so good. Are you okay?” Renn asked.

“Yes,” Leo replied.

They all continued watching, trying to get a glimpse of what he was trying so hard to hide. He finally pulled open the drawer beneath his bed and crammed a temperature controlled flight suit in it as fast as he could.

“Leo, why don’t you wear the cooling suit the school gave you?” Dylan asked

“Because I’m trying to fit in, all right?” Leo grumbled.

“So, you’d rather get sick?” Renn asked.

“Yes,” Leo replied firmly. “As if being half invisible isn’t bad enough, I’m not going to walk around in some stupid space suit.”

Everyone stood there, staring at Leo, unsure of what to say.

“It’s my decision,” Leo said. “Just let it go.”

The door slid open again and a ship-bot walked in, carrying a large tin box. It stopped before Renn’s bed and held it up a little higher. “It's for you, Mr. Andreas,” the robot said, placing the box on Renn’s bed.

“Did my dad send this?” Renn asked, as he opened the box.

“Is your father's name Hollen?” the android asked.

“No, that's my mom!” Renn said, excited that she had sent something to him, thereby acknowledging his existence. He then reminded himself that she had risked her life for him the day before, and that according to his dad, she had not been in contact with him before then, in order to keep him safe.

“Will that be all, sir?” the robot asked.

Renn looked at the ship-bot, having forgotten it was there the moment he heard his mother’s name.

“You have to dismiss the bots after you assign them a task,” Dylan said, grinning.

“Oh!  Sorry. Yes, that's all…thank you,” Renn said, embarrassed at not knowing the protocol. He opened the box and found a small square piece of glass lying on a pile of clothes. “What is this?” Renn asked, holding it up.

“That’s a Federation message player. Just tap on it and it will play,” Dylan said.

Renn stared at it a moment while his mind raced. He had asked so many questions over the years, without any response. Answers that, over the years, he ended up making up in his head, imaging what she would be like. A message from his mom. It would be the first time he heard her voice. The first thing she would ever say to him. Reality obliterating the fictitious image he had created of her.

“Are you all right?” Leo asked.

Renn looked up and realized Leo and Dylan were both staring at him with rather concerned looks on their faces. “Yeah…I’m…I’ll be right back,” he replied nervously, and walked out the door.

“What just happened?” Renn heard before the sliding doors closed behind him. He ran down the steps, speed-walked out of the common room, and raced down the corridor, with no idea where he was going. There had to be a place on the ship, even the smallest spot, where he could be alone.

He finally saw a pictogram of stairs on a door and opened it, finding himself in an empty stairway. He stared at the glass, while it fogged up from his breath. He backed up into the wall and slid down to the ground, then tapped the glass.

Hollen’s face illuminated on the glass with a soft smile that couldn’t hide her brows furrowed with worry.

“Renn,” Hollen began. “I’m so thankful that you made it out safely. You can’t imagine how difficult it’s been to be away from you. I want you to know that not a day went by when I didn’t think about you, wishing that we could be together. If there’s anything good that could possibly come of this, it’s that it means we no longer have to remain apart. Please know that I have always loved you and we’ll see each other soon.”

Hollen’s face froze when the message ended. Renn tapped on the glass again, replaying it over and over. Everyone talked about her as if she were a fierce warrior. He would agree with that description after the Searsmont police station, but from the message, all he saw was a mother. He tried to fight back the resentful thoughts gnawing at him as he looked at her face:
I wish you had found a way for us to be together. I’m your son ― how could you let me go
?
I wish you had tried harder.

            After a few minutes, he picked himself up and headed back to the dorms. He took a deep breath and turned the corner, walking right into the pretty brunette from the mess hall.

            “I’m so sorry!” Renn said, catching her before she fell.

            “It’s okay,” she replied laughing. “I’m sure it was me.” She finished composing herself, then looked up to make eye contact with Renn.
Oh my gawd,
the cute guy from the mess h…
Her face cringed in embarrassment.
Stop thinking, Meta!

            He couldn’t help but grin. “Hi, Meta,” he said.

            “Hi. Renn, right?” she replied.

            “Yeah…” Renn looked to her left and saw a First Year boy standing next to her. “Hi…”

            “Oh, I’m sorry,” Meta said. “Renn, this is Remi. Remi, this is Renn.”

            The two boys exchanged a “Hey” and a nod.

            Renn wanted to start a conversation with Meta, but all he could think to ask was:
Are you two together?

            “Were you crying, man?” Remi asked.

            Renn’s mouth dropped. “Uh…”

            “Oh, your eyes are a little red,” Meta said, looking worried.

            Renn averted his eyes as quickly as he could. “No…I…I was just…um, I gotta go,” he said, rushing down the hall. “I’ll see you guys around.”

            Renn wished there was a rock he could crawl under in the dorm common area, but there was none in sight.
Great
, he thought. The first impression of him to a pretty girl was him snorting water, and the second was him crying like a sniveling child who had just lost his mom.

            He slowly walked up the dorm steps and into his room, hoping his roommates wouldn’t ask about the red eyes. “I hope she sent a change of clothes,” Renn said, heading straight for the box, before either Dylan or Leo could speak.

            He pulled out the first white bundle of clothing, finding it to be the coolest uniform he had ever seen. He checked the label, noting that the garments were made on Mindeere. The quality rivaled Earth’s, but it was the style with the silver, magnetic snaps tracking over the shoulders and wraparound collar that made it so unique. He set it aside when something else in the box caught his eye. He pushed more uniforms aside and pulled out a pair of white sneakers. He held them for a moment as a grin streaked across his face.

“What?” Dylan asked.

“They’re auto-adjustable!” Renn said, refraining from kissing them. He yanked the tattered shoes off his feet and slid his right foot into one of the new shoes. The fabric tightened without prompting after the cushion in the sole conformed to the shape of his foot. He wiggled his toes, finding the available space to be an absolute novelty.

He continued digging through the box and found a clear tablet with a rubbery black frame. He turned it over and around, unsure of which side was right side up.

What’s he doing?
Renn heard and looked up to see Dylan and Leo still watching him.

“I don't know what half of this stuff is,” Renn said, staring at the tablet. “It kind of looks like a computer, but I’ve never seen one that’s clear before.”

“It’s a computer, but the screen’s clear so it can identify,” Dylan said.

Renn held it up and randomly pressed buttons on the frame.