Interstellar Incident: An Alicia Jones Novel 02 by D. L. Harrison

Author:D. L. Harrison [Harrison, D. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Speculative
Published: 2016-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

When we arrived at Knomen, I had to admit I was curious. Who wouldn’t be? We slowed as we approached orbit, and I could see mega-cities from space, hundreds of miles wide, that dotted the landscape. Carl took the shuttle down quickly, and when we arrived it wasn’t at all what I’d expected. We weren’t in one of those cities. I looked out the viewport and there were rolling hills with dark green-blue grass. The bark on the trees were brown, but the leaves had that darker green tinged with blue.

I was curious if it was because of the properties of foliage, or if it was just a side effect of Knomen’s atmosphere.

I turned and looked at Carl, he was studying me and I did my best to keep a bland face, but I knew I didn’t fool him. I wanted to get out and take a deep breath of the air, I wondered what scents this world would have. The world I should have been born on, and was glad I hadn’t been, no matter how damn nice it looked.

Carl nodded as if he’d found what he was looking for, and said, “Follow me.”

I followed him out of the shuttle and through a path that led to a garden. I couldn’t help but move my eyes from flower to flower as I took in the scents of this world. It was… stimulating. I felt wide awake as well, my boredom left behind in the shuttle. When we reached the other side of the garden, there was a very large sprawling building. It had the square footage of a mansion, but it was all one level, and seemed designed to blend into the nature around it.

I was also confused, I’d been thinking I was under arrest and about to be processed somewhere. Not delivered to some paradise.

That’s when my grandmother came out the door.

“Elira? I hadn’t expected to see you.”

She smiled, “Welcome Alicia, even under these circumstances. Welcome to my home.”

She looked tentative for a moment, so I stepped forward and gave her a warm hug. My mind was also racing, how did my grandmother rate a house in the middle of a forest paradise, when surely most Knomen citizens lived in mega-cities.

I whispered, “So how much trouble am I in?”

She released me and squeezed my shoulders, “Come in, I’ll show you to your room,” she turned to Carl, “I’ll make sure she arrives in time tomorrow Facilitator.”

Carl just nodded without comment and turned around to leave.

When we got inside Elira sighed and spoke in a matter of fact voice, “You’ll be fined, and probably disowned, if not banished for your actions.”

I shook my head, “I don’t understand.”

Elira stopped, “He didn’t tell you?”

I frowned, “Tell me what?”

Elira shook her head, “Let’s get some tea, I can show you your rooms later, at least you’ll get a day’s use out of them,” she ended angrily.

“Are you mad at me?”

She shook her head, “A little disappointed you stayed on Earth, but I understand loyalty and I will come visit every once in a while, no matter what he decides.

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