CANAISIS ∞ Chronicle One ∞ 3: A Shard Of Code

112 ∞ Unscheduled Visitor

Day 00013 Mission Nilex


Emotion clutched Ayla's throat. She had to swallow and start over. "I had a brother once. A little brother."

She drew a deep breath, her gaze seeking the sky as she continued.

"We first grew up in a ring habitat, spun for centrifugal gravity, since gravity is essential for children's development. And for adults' health. The ring provided a resting place for us employees between stints of mining asteroids. It was spoked with a central hub for docking, supplies, and storage, and always crowded with constant comings and goings.

"Living on a habitat is hard for children and parents both. But we've always been a close-knit community. Every adult shared the responsibility of watching out for the children, so we had many Aunts and Uncles help raise us. They taught us what's safe to touch, what's not. Where we're allowed to go and not. How to notice air pressure drops, locate the leak, and patch it. Before we'd even learned to speak full sentences, we were taught to don a pressure suit or get into an emergency bubble.

"As my little brother grew, it became my job to watch over him. Our mother would look over my shoulder as I taught him to get into his pressure suit correctly. As I took on more responsibilities, such as teaching him math or writing, Mother was required to resume her former duties. Everyone was a Nilex employee and required to work for the Corporation for the good of the People. To me, it was home and just the way things were.

"Our father, Imran, was our Leader then. Because of that, he had his own office, and my brother and I had our own room, as well. But Father and others came up with an ambitious project. They'd chosen a large asteroid on the outer edge of the asteroid belt, for its high iron and nickel content. It was moved out to a far Lagrange point orbit around Saturn. Once there, solar mirrors directed concentrated sunlight on it until its core reached the required high temperature. This took over a year. Then the asteroid was sent into a controlled spin while pressurized gas was introduced to its center. That took another year, but eventually it turned into a hollow sphere several times its original diameter. Father used to joke with us that he was blowing up a balloon.

"The asteroid was going to give us room to spare with a large habitat sphere in the center. Tunnels would be cut into the walls to create separate living quarters for everyone, along with all the space needed for manufacturing the essentials of a space-faring people.

"Father would tell my brother and me tales of how beautiful the interior bubble would be, filled with gardens and flowing streams. My imagination spun with dreams of running and playing without limits. There are only so many hiding places in a ring habitat, and soon everyone knows them. So I dreamed of winning every game of hide-and-seek in this new home that seemed as large as a planet to me. But it wouldn't be finished for several more years, and that's forever to a child. Father urged us patience and kept us from being discouraged by showing us every stage of its progress and telling tales of how nice it would be."

Ayla lifted the mug to her lips and took a sip of the steaming liquid. A fruity flavor danced across her tongue with hints of spices mixed in. But she was too deep into her memories to pay it even cursory attention. It warmed her all the way into her stomach and halted a sudden shiver in its tracks. That was all that mattered.

"The reason for choosing Saturn for the location of the habitat was its over hundred-and-fifty moons. Every resource imaginable, all within shallow gravity wells. Mother was a trained shuttle pilot and miner so she'd go to the moon Dione to harvest ice, often for a month at a time. Her absence was hard on my father with the demands of constructing the new habitat and us children. Even with the support of the rotating community. With her away, Father demanded more of me in caring for my brother. I did the best I could, but my brother was inquisitive, wanting to explore everywhere that was out of bounds to children."