The Settlers (36 page)

How what feels, exactly?
David asks.

How does it feel, knowing you've found a new Earth?
 

David is quiet for a moment.
 

He says,
I feel like a spirit guide.
The ghost of David past, leading mankind into its next stage.
 

Tasneem considers this.
Like a Sherpa.
 

Not like --

David, the spirit Sherpa.
 

More like --

Hi, I'm David.
I'll be your spirit Sherpa today.
Would you like to hear about our specials?
We've got two great options for you: charred Earth, very crispy, very yummy, or, if you prefer, we have juicy fresh Earth, nice and ripe and...

Tasneem trails off.
 

You're nervous, too, I see.

She nods.
Terribly.

Scared?

She indicates the station.
Wouldn't you be?
 

I am
, David says.
That feeling of having forgotten something is like an itch I can't scratch.

Tasneem looks back outside.
This thing almost looks like a military vessel, she says.
 

Military -- how?
 

Oh, there are all of these outer doors.
They're all closed, but they can't all be docks or airlocks, can they?
They remind me of torpedo doors on old submarines.
 

This is going to drive me crazy
, David says.
 

I'm sure you'll remember whatever it is.
 

I don't know
, he says.
This hasn't happened before.

The Great Hall reminds Tasneem of a palace.
A red carpet runs from the oversized ballroom doors to the marble stairs at the far end of the room.
Enormous columns are evenly placed throughout the hall, large red sashes draped about them.
Men in pale uniforms stand at each door, dark gray bands stretched across their chests.
They wear tall boots and stand erect as the guests make their way into the Hall.
 

It's like we've traveled back in time, Tasneem whispers.

You don't have to whisper
, David says.
I can hear you.

It's like we've traveled back in time, Tasneem thinks.

I heard you the first time.
 

The room is very crowded.
Thousands of dignitaries and guests have come to view Meili.
The media has described it as the great steel pearl of the fleet, but now that everybody has arrived, most can see it for what it really is: a home fit for a king.

This place worries me
, David says.
 

Me, too, Tasneem thinks.
But I can't figure out why.

It's too much
, David says.
This is the sort of thing that is built for a new dynasty, for a new heir, for a conquering king.
I have a bad feeling about it.

Me, too,
Tasneem thinks again.
Do you think that's what --

A voice interrupts, booming across the Great Hall.
 

Welcome!
it cries, and the crowd's chatter fades away.

Welcome to the Great Hall of Meili, the voice says.
 

The crowd applauds politely.

He didn't call it Station Meili
, David observes.
All stations are formally referred to first by their, well, station.

Tasneem squints and can barely make out a figure at the dais.
 

You've each been invited here today to witness not only the beauty of this grand palace, the voice begins.

Palace
, David says.
Not the word you want to hear right now.
Tasneem, we should go.

Tasneem turns around.
 

David, she thinks.
The doors.
They're closed and guarded.

To be certain, it is a grand palace, the host continues.
But you have been invited here on this historic day, each and every one of you, to witness the great rebirth of mankind.
As we are no longer bound by Earth, so are we no longer bound by Earth law.
We are a new humanity.
We are a new race.
We are men who fly, who journey.
We reach for the stars, and such reach must be accompanied by great power.
Think of what Christopher Columbus once accomplished -- would he have done so much without Isabella behind him?

Tasneem
, David says.
I can't get into their system.
 

The host pauses and absorbs the silence of the room.
Then he spreads his arms wide and says, Your fleet government is dissolved.
It is the rule of the Council.
Each person present tonight, you received a gift at the door.
A lockbox.
Please retrieve your boxes now.
 

How did I miss this?
David asks.
Tasneem, how did I miss this?
 

Tasneem takes a small silver case out of her bag.
She had examined it earlier, but had been unable to open it.
There are no markings on the object.
It is the most nondescript thing she has ever seen.

The host lifts his hand.
He is holding something small that Tasneem cannot see.

With great theatrics, he presses a button on the object.

Tasneem feels the box vibrate softly in her hand.
The other guests feel the same thing.
Some laugh at the sensation.
 

The host says, Now, please -- open your boxes!

Tasneem presses the lid of the box with her fingertip.
It opens, revealing a gray sleeve.
She tucks the box away, and studies the sleeve.
It also is free of markings.
 

A woman beside her gasps.
 

Tasneem glances over, and freezes.

The woman is holding an Onyx card.
 

I knew that Nathan's revolt would never be the end of this,
David says.
I knew turning Argus wouldn't be enough.

Tasneem shakes the sleeve into her hand, and a small charcoal-colored card falls into her palm.

Fuck, she thinks.
 

Forty years later, the card still looks the goddamn same
, David says.
Turn it over.

She turns the card over.
On the surface is a small rectangle.
She presses her thumb to it, and the card comes to life.
A photograph of her -- a very old one, before the streak of white had appeared in her hair -- swims into view, followed by:

Tasneem Anjali Kyoh

78925P72771-09188-XOS

H 5'4"
 
W 128

DOB 2075.06.11

SOMA
Expiration: N/A

David, she thinks.
David, I want to leave now.
 

Before the crowd can respond, the host raises his voice and says, Ladies, gentlemen, citizens of this great cosmos...

In the dramatic pause, David says -- and Tasneem thinks --
Oh, shit.

Allow me to present, the host finishes, the Grand Council, hereby the ruling body of our prized fleet.

There is silence as four men in rich red robes step forward.
Each wears a cap and sash of gold.
 

Tasneem feels as if she has just traveled a thousand years back in time.
 

She is speechless.

David is not.
 

Tasneem
, he says.
Did we just begin a new dark age?

The host steps to the dais again.
The Grand Council, he says, with a sweep of his arm.

Then he drops to one knee, and dips his head.
 

Around the Great Hall, at every door, the armed guards stomp in unison.
The threatening clatter echoes in the cavernous room, and Tasneem jumps.

All around her, slowly, people begin to sink to one knee.
 

To the future of our race, cries the host.
To the expression of our great dreams.
To the glory of the Council!
Welcome, new residents of Citadel Meili!

Citadel
, David says.
I knew it.
They've just declared sovereignty.
 

My god, Tasneem thinks.
David, I think I've just become a royal prisoner.
 

We have plans to make,
David says.
 

Tasneem can only nod.
 

The four robed men bow serenely, and the host gestures at the crowd to rise.

The people obey.

Thanks very much
for spending a couple of bucks -- and, more importantly, your time -- on my book,
The Settlers.
This book is quite special to me.
It's my own personal homage to
The Martian Chronicles
, Ray Bradbury's classic novel of man's colonization of the red planet.
I read
Chronicles
every year, finding something new to celebrate every time I open the pages, and I genuinely hope you enjoyed my book even a fraction as much.

The Settlers
is the first book in a trilogy about mankind's escape from a ruined Earth.
The second book,
The Colonists
, continues the story, and is available now.
The third book,
The Travelers
, will be available in 2014 (or possibly a little sooner -- I do like to under-promise).

This is a self-published book
.
This means that I depend greatly on readers to help me find a larger audience.
If you enjoyed reading this book, I hope you won't mind taking a small extra step to share it with another reader who you think might enjoy it, too.
Here are a few things you can do to spread the word:

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One of the best things about being an independent author is that I'm more accessible to readers than other authors are sometimes able to be.
If you bump into me online, say hello.
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Thanks so much for reading!

Jg