Just Out of Jupiter's Reach by Okorafor Nnedi

Author:Okorafor, Nnedi [Okorafor, Nnedi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure
ISBN: 9781662516788
Amazon: B0C4QR4SX7
Goodreads: 151908136
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Published: 2023-06-27T07:00:00+00:00

The next agreed “evening,” we all had dinner after touring Kisha’s, Gracious’s, and then my ship. After all everyone had seen, no one was that impressed with my ship. I was okay with this—less to explain. My Miri looked the most like what it had looked like when we left Earth. I liked the shrimp look. Five was a hit with everyone, though, especially Gracious. We had dinner on Kisha’s ship because she bragged so much about having a table that could fit everyone.

Anthony cooked a Trini feast of callaloo, which he’d grown plenty of, with dumplings made from periwinkle grass flour. Dawud brought a bottle of wine he’d made from grapes grown in what he called his “blocked vineyard,” which was, of course, shaped like a cube. And I baked a flourless yellow cake. Kisha made it a point to announce that she could not eat the dumplings or my cake.

As we ate, we shared stories of the last five years. Stories of discovery, ingenuity, awe, and of course loneliness.

“The first week, I was so full of regret,” Dawud said. “I’m not going to see my daughters for ten years. I’m in my sixties; it is a different thing for me than for you all. And my God, I didn’t realize how attached I was to the Earth until that moment after takeoff when everything settled and Kármán mission control stopped talking to me for a bit.”

“Yeah, I thought I’d kill myself,” Jamal said with a laugh. “I remember playing very loud rap music and looking through photos my boyfriend took just before we left.”

Dawud nodded. “What do you all think, now that we are halfway through and have seen what it is like? Was it worth it? Twenty million for ten years of your life?”

No one responded immediately. I didn’t know what I’d say or even how I felt.

“Definitely,” Kisha said. “I’ve seen things I never could have imagined, in a state of being that didn’t exist until now.”

“Depends on the day for me,” Anthony said. “Sometimes, I want to just go home; other times I feel like this epic explorer and I love what I see. I love Space Mango.” He laughed. “That’s my ship’s name. She’s family to me now. But it’s complicated.”

Gracious nodded and shrugged. “I made my decision, and I don’t look back.”

“I don’t know,” Jamal said. “I miss my boyfriend, my family. But they all agreed that I should go. I would make this huge mark for black people, for all of them, I’ll be able to give back . . . but damn, it’s hard. It’s looooong.”

“You ever think of just turning your Miri around and going back?” I asked him.

“And be a failure? And forfeit millions for my family? Not an option. I’d never live that down. I’ve gone too far now.”

We all agreed. We all had.

“I just want my full twenty million, with which I will do whatever I want,” Ravi said. “And that won’t include further space travel.”

“You don’t want to travel more on your Miri?” Kisha asked.

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