Parallax Rising by Christopher Hopper

Author:Christopher Hopper [Hopper, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9798985076349
Publisher: Christopher Hopper

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Sam

“Would you excuse me?” Dr. Samantha Collins said to the small group of scientists and engineers gathered in her shared workstation. “Bathroom break.” The team moved aside to let her pass. She thanked them while replying to Neon’s incoming V-cog request with a text message of Stand by.

Sam had been testing new code to expedite the repeated tasks of interpolating atomic sizes for three-dimensional printing templates. That, and monitoring the server loads on the simulations Evelyn was pushing hard to complete. She found the whole endeavor of unpacking, analyzing, converting, and preparing to build schematics for Parallax One exhilarating. Not only would the final proposal land itself in the scope of a legacy hab, in terms of an engineering feat, but it had the potential to unlock unimaginable potential for the human race. That is, if it were to ever be funded, let alone rendered. For even with all the lab’s cutting edge technology and the world’s greatest minds, there were still plenty of holes that would need filling… holes that Sam hoped would inevitably stall the entire project and keep it bound to the drawing room floor. At least enough to satisfy Neon. But how did Sam feel about purposely undermining the project? No, that was the wrong question. Sam would never consider such a thing. The real question was how Olivia Tomlinson felt about it?

Instead of turning left into the bathroom, Sam continued down the hall toward a supply closet. Since every square meter of space had been turned into communal living quarters, it was next to impossible to get alone time. Most people used V-cog for that. But there was no getting over the fact that humans needed physical distance from each other, not just cerebral. They also needed privacy, and she’d walked in on more than one couple with their clothes off. So she knocked twice before swiping the utility closet doors apart. And even once they were open, she kept her eyes down and asked, “Anyone here?” before entering.

Satisfied she was alone, Sam locked the closet from the inside—not an unusual thing to do to signify that someone wanted privacy, hello people—and stepped into V-cog. When she finally answered the call, Sam was transferred to one of Neon’s suites… one that whisked Sam away to a past she’d tried to forget.

“Hello, Olivia dear.”

Sam gave a half-hearted wave while looking around.

“What do you think?” Neon asked, nodding out the window to a breathtaking view of the icy landscape beyond the settlement’s iridescent laminar bubble. Etana Dome’s hospital faced Ganymede’s Grosjean mountain range, which always seemed to glow blue in the twilight hours. The ice sparkled like crystal perpetually cast in the light off Jupiter’s imposing southern hemisphere.

“Something the matter, dear?”

“No, I just…”

“Bad memories? Perhaps this was a poor choice.”

“It’s fine.”

“Mmmm.” Neon walked toward Sam. None of this was real. Just renders from memories. But Sam’s instincts still told her she was dying. Reminded her of a lack of medical care.

“How can I help you?” Sam asked.

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