Small Steps by Mark H. Jamieson

Author:Mark H. Jamieson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sci fi, space station, space action sci fi
Publisher: Mark H. Jamieson

Nashville, TN – Samuel Vees

Future Possibilities

Samuel wrapped his fingertips around the edge of the hinged windowpane and pulled. The window was not designed to resist focused force. The locking pins within the hinge popped loose and the window swung free. Samuel quickly glanced over his shoulder down the side of the house before pulling himself into the window. Entering over the kitchen sink he slid on his stomach over to the counter and then swung his legs around to pull himself into a sitting position. Reaching back over the sink Samuel closed the window.

Hopping down to the tile floor, Samuel placed his hands in his pockets, a habit that helped him avoid inadvertently touching anything unnecessary while exploring. Moving to the back door he bent slightly to move his eyes across the rack holding sets of keys. The last key chain had one key and a Tiffany heart charm. Without moving his eyes from the key Samuel pulled out his right hand and grabbed just the key with his fingers.

The back door had a dead bolt and a matching lock in the doorknob. Samuel opened the door to the backyard inward, bracing the door against his foot while he inserted the key into the outside lock. He slid the key into the tumblers in both of the locks. Quick twists confirmed a match for both locks. Samuel pocketed the silver key chain and moved on to explore the house.

Across the hall Samuel slid open a pocket door and entered Anne Manuela’s home office. Upon entering the room, one of the two monitors on the desk began to display her calendar program while the background noise of a waterfall began to play on the audio system. Samuel began scanning the calendar for the past month skipping backwards through the days. He paused on a day displaying Conference with Adam Trinh in bold letters at 7:30 a.m. Tapping on the item brought up a summary screen and a link to the recorded telephone conference. Tapping further started a recording of the videoconference on the screen showing both Anne Manuela and Adam Trinh on a split screen.

Trinh spoke first, “Thank you for taking the time to speak with me Dr. Manuela.”

“It’s the least that I could do,” replied Anne.

Samuel paused the video and pulled out his personal memory recorder. The LED light on the recorder blinked and then turned solid red as he un-paused the video on the screen. Trinh continued to talk, “I want you to join us at L5, Dr. Manuela. Our artificial birthing program up here could use your expertise.”

“Mr. Trinh, I owe you for your years of financial support, but I’ve never envisioned myself as living in space. That’s not what I consider living. No offense, but it’s not me.”

“I understand your reluctance, but understand the potential. You will be the effective mother for a new generation. When we have the resources we will need thousands of new colonists to establish a viable colony separate from Earth. We need to continue growing with a second generation to maintain our independence.

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