The Fall of the Absolute

by Karen Page

Chapter 7

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Chapter 7

It was three months of gruelling work before Kelly and Hope completed their training. Dr Mike visited to make sure he had full body scans and that they were current with their inoculations. They would be based at the Rohastin Station, picking up things there, and hopefully Kelly would gain Level 5 certification. Going once a week had hindered her progress. She would be able to train daily from now on.

Theo was working away in London. He was working as a project assistant on the Covid-19 memorial. Ex-ministers and scientists who'd steered the country through the crisis were coming to the unveiling, alongside current officials. It was hoped this was prestigious enough to get an interview with Ambassador Harries.

What held up Jennifer finishing her training was learning more about human culture and products from around the world. She needed to have a basic understanding for her secondary role. This wasn't something quick to learn, and it was even longer to remember.

When she'd lived with her parents, she had been brought up in an environment of learning and science. The project was the sole focus. Travelling abroad and experiencing different cultures were not high on the list of activities. At Hayfield, she'd learnt about other Earth cultures and some alien cultures, but it was a drop in the ocean compared with what she was now discovering. Earth might now have a single government, but its citizens had a wide variety of ideas, thoughts, experiences, foods and cultures.

"I'm never going to get all this," Jennifer said, frustrated.

"You're doing well. You just need some experience. It is Theo's last day on his project. He also needs some rounding out. Both of you have time to immerse yourselves in human culture. You are going to go backpacking. It is something slightly less in vogue, but it will do the job."

"That's fantastic," Jennifer screamed. "You are full of such fantastic ideas. I'd never thought of a practical, immersive solution."

"This only works because you have knowledge that you will be able to relate to what you experience. It will help it sink in. And if someone asks you about the vineyards in Argentina, or the smell of the Serengeti, you will be able to answer with real experience."

Alex said, "Pack your items and go back to your home in London. You have finished here. Once you've finished your cultural experience, you will move to the Rohastin Station. The items for the shop will be ready on your return."

"A tip," Adelle said with a smile. "Spend a few days planning where you want to go. Prepare properly. And have fun."

Jennifer rushed across to the two mentors and hugged them tightly. "Thank you both for all you've done."

"Our pleasure," Alex said, returning the hug.

Packing her rucksack didn't take long. She'd not taken much with her, and she hadn't done any shopping locally. She grabbed a few items Theo had left and was ready.

As she left the house for the last time, she turned and hugged them again. "And good luck with your next investigation."

Jennifer didn't look back as she walked out of the gate. She didn't ask what they'd been preparing for, but she knew it was something and they'd done that while still mentoring them. As she made her way to the hopperport, she walked slowly through the town centre. There was a young woman with a pram outside the hardware store, and a few people talking and peering at the baby. It was probably Rhonda.

The town had a nice atmosphere. People seemed to have time for each other, and supported one another. It reminded her of school, where if anybody needed help, there would be a queue offering their time.

There was no queue at the hopperport. The commutes were strange. They staggered through the day depending on where people were heading, or what time their work shifts on Earth were. But that was no different from how life had been evolving on Earth. People who worked nights in America wanted to move to countries where they slept at night, had a bit of a morning, and then headed off to work. Night shifts no longer meant sleeping during the daytime.

The rotation of Scorpion was slightly longer than Earth's. Therefore, there was a gradual drift between the Earth time zone and New Toronto. It was the same when visiting the Rohastin Station. App developers had made it easy, and phones showed popular and less popular places for tracking time.

It might have been morning when she left New Toronto, but in London it was late afternoon. When she got home, the house was quiet. The fridge had a few items in it, and the bin had a few things in it. So, wherever Theo had been working, he'd been able to get home.

She sent him a simple message. Home.

After putting her rucksack upstairs, she started looking at gap year websites. It was late in the season, but backpackers went all year round. It was autumn now in the UK, so her thoughts were to start in the southern hemisphere. Late spring and early summer would be a good time to be there.

Her phone pinged with a response from Theo. A heart emoji. An hour later, he was home and they were in each other's arms.

"Why are you home?" Theo asked a bit later.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Jennifer asked, pretending to sound a bit miffed.

"I think you've just discovered how happy I am to see you," he responded, trying to hide his elated grin.

"So true. Well, we need a bit of rounding out. Get some cultural experience. So, we're going backpacking."

"Cool. Like a gap year thing."

"Exactly, but not for a year. We have our job to get to."

Theo suggested, "How about starting in Peru. Go along the Inca trail? Isn't that something you've always wanted to do?"

"Yes, but it is a well-trodden trail. Will we get the real culture that way?"

"Perhaps not, but it will give us the experience of backpacking in a slightly more controlled way. We then will have a bit more experience to go off trail."

Jennifer nodded. "If we can get a permit. It's still restricted by numbers to limit impact. There is an alternative trek called Lares, which can also be done from Cusco. Perhaps we save Machu Picchu for another time, when we can plan properly and have a guide. We'll get more out of it that way. You can't just turn up to a place like that. Anyway, whatever we do, we'll need hiking boots and thick socks."

"Plus a first aid kit. I'm sure we will both get blisters. Have a look at the backpacking website. It probably has a good list."

There were several, but they all covered the same things. Lots of items they hadn't even dreamed of, but which, when mentioned, made perfect sense. Some they ordered online to go to a locker. The rest they'd get from the shops the following day.

After more discussion, they decided to forgo historic sites. It would be interesting personally, but they might not get as much culturally out of it. Going into small villages, stopping for a few days, gaining and sharing knowledge, and learning about local life would be more important than looking at ruins.

In the end, it was two days of planning and making sure they not only had what they needed, but knew how to use it. They hadn't put up a tent since they'd gone camping two years earlier as part of the Beta training with some of the younger Beta team.

They got a scheduled hopper to Lima, Peru, so they could legally enter the country. Then a request hopper to one of the smaller towns in the San Martin region.

Before the Interdimensional Drive and Aurora, this type of journey would have taken thirteen hours in the air to get from London to Lima. That wouldn't have included the two hours waiting at London before even setting off. Today, it was done in minutes. Planning your journey became more about making sure you knew the time at the destination and didn't turn up in the middle of the night, just because it was a good time when you set off.

There were two scheduled hoppers per hour at peak times. With a five-hour difference, they didn't start until 11 am UK time, arriving at 6 am in Lima. If you wanted something earlier, you used the request queue. They'd booked on a hopper to arrive at noon in Lima. It was pointless getting there too early, as the hotel they'd booked for the first night wouldn't check them in until the middle of the afternoon.

When hoppers were first introduced, the process was slower. People got in, got seated, the doors closed and only then did it hop. As people became more comfortable that there weren't any jolts, they didn't bother sitting. Half the seats were removed and the remaining were left just in case. The whole process became more streamlined. You waited for your vehicle. When the doors opened, you got in, the doors closed and it went. Unless there were people with movement difficulties, the whole process on small hoppers was often less than a minute.

It was the first time Jennifer and Theo had been in Peru. The first thing they noticed as they went out of the international arrival doors was the smell. Jennifer didn't know how it was different, just that the scent wasn't the same.

The hoppers within Peru were most frequent to the large cities and towns. Their destination wasn't listed as scheduled, so they registered for a request hopper. Hoppers worked the same in Lima as London, and they had no difficulty registering where they wanted to go. The only difference was that the interface defaulted to Spanish, whereas it was English in London. It even had a Hytuna version.

They only had a ten-minute wait and soon were stepping off into a small town in the middle of the Peruvian Amazon. The scent changed again as they exited on their first trip to nowhere.

"We did it," Theo said proudly, as they checked into the hotel.

"We did," Jennifer agreed, trying not to laugh at his earnest tone.

It hadn't been a difficult journey. Once you'd done one hopper flight, there was no difference. They'd done request hoppers before too. They'd been to hotels before. It suddenly dawned to Jennifer why it felt momentous. It was the first time they'd made the decision and booked everything. They'd decided on Peru, and they were in Peru. They would see what they could learn there, and if they decided to move to Thailand, or Vietnam, they would. It was their trip. It was their adventure. It was their learning experience.

"Bienvenido," he said automatically in Spanish as they approached the reception desk. Then, wondering if they would understand, he said in English, "Welcome."

"Hablamos Espanol," Theo responded, perfectly comfortable speaking Spanish.

The man beamed, pleased as his English wasn't that good. There wasn't that much demand for it in this provincial town.

As international guests, they still had to show their passports and have them scanned. Some processes hadn't caught up with the world shrinking. The receptionist couldn't remember the last international guest that had stayed. Government people sometimes stayed when they were going to be driving into the reservations or wilderness. But this couple had backpacks.

"You are aware this isn't the region for Machu Picchu?" he asked the two guests.

"We know," Theo responded, with a disarming smile. "We want to see the real Peru. We want to see the Peru of today, not ruins from five centuries ago."

"I have you here for just one night?" he asked, still confused about them.

"Yes," Jennifer said, and pulled up the map on her phone. "We plan to hike along this route."

"That is very wild," was his only response before he pulled out an old-fashioned key. The hotel only had three rooms. They were all wooden and very simple. There was a bed, and a toilet with a sink. There was no shower and no television. There were plugs, with working electricity, which was good. They wanted their phones to be nicely charged before setting off in the morning. They didn't want to rely on the powerpack so early in their journey.

After depositing their bags in their room, they set off to explore. It wasn't a big town, but it was larger than New Toronto. There was a garage that handled motorbikes, and another small garage. Carrying on, they found a small café. The plastic chairs and tables were all outside, under a corrugated overhang to protect people from the sudden downpours. They relaxed, watching a stray dog trot along the road, while drinking café pasado along with pan dulce provided by the surprised owner.

"This is nothing like anywhere we've been," Jennifer said to Theo. "It's certainly more humid, but certainly not as connected to the world."

In the distance, they could see the little hopperport. It was no more than two concrete stands with fences around them. Even New Toronto had a more sophisticated setup. It had the security needed to stop someone entering the pads, but that was about it.

During their time, they saw no hoppers, but there was a flurry of activity as a large crate appeared on one of the pads. It must have been big as it was visible from where they were. Four small vans appeared, and they quickly unloaded the boxes into the vans. The wooden crate was broken down and ten minutes later, the pad was again clear.

A bit later, one of the vans appeared at the café. The driver dumped the boxes destined for there under the shelter and was gone to make his next delivery. Jennifer and Theo jumped up to help the owner carry the boxes inside.

"Gracias," she said as she opened them up. It was a food delivery from a local warehouse. The easiest way to ship goods. Direct to the hopperport. No longer did lorries or vans need to deliver to the area. If trees blocked the road, the deliveries still got through.

"Your ma really did change the world," Theo said simply, as they decided to carry on their exploration.

"She really did," Jennifer agreed. This was nothing to do with First Contact or the creation of the world government. This was just a total change in how goods and people moved.

They'd been passing a small row of buildings that looked shut when a man came out and called, "Theo."

They stopped, surprised that someone knew their name. They turned around and approached the man.

"I'm Theo."

"You eat here tonight. Manuel at the hotel said you were staying there. Rosa, my wife cooks. You eat here tonight."

"We'd be honoured to," Theo said, with a genuine smile.

The man, who hadn't given his name, went back inside.

"Is this wise?" Jennifer asked Theo.

"He offered. Remember, when we go into the rainforest, we have rations, but we will be reliant on small villages as we go. There won't be shops or restaurants. It will be just what we are provided, or what we catch ourselves."

"You're right," Jennifer said after a moment's silence. "You're doing better than me. I just don't want to seem like I'm just taking."

"They offered. We didn't demand. And you saw this town is on the supply network. The hotel doesn't charge. The café we drank at doesn't charge. Unlimited energy and asteroid mining changed a lot. It even seems to have impacted small towns in Peru."

Jennifer still looked torn, so Theo continued. "It is a different culture. We're not doing this trip to impose our views, but to experience theirs. In some cultures, hospitality is a gift."

"How am I so open when I'm visiting different species, but on Earth I struggle?"

He shrugged. "I've no idea. Perhaps it's easier to accept differences with different species because we don't expect them to be the same. Here, they look like us, so it is harder to get our heads around it."

"I don't want to insult them or their beliefs."

Theo put his arm around her. "I know. You have such a heart. We will learn new things. We are young and haven't forgotten how to dance."

Jennifer laughed aloud. "I can't believe you worked that television quote into a conversation. Well almost quote. My shoes aren't too tight. Theo, what am I going to do with you?!"

That evening, they made their way back to the house where they'd been invited. As they approached the door, it was the man that had rushed out to see them earlier.

"Come in," he said welcoming them into his home. "I realised I hadn't told you my name earlier. I'm Raul, one of the town elders. Welcome to our home."

"We are grateful for your invitation," Theo said, hoping it was polite. He'd no idea of the proper etiquette and Jennifer was being very quiet, letting him do most of the talking.

They all sat around a varnished wooden table. Being in the jungle area, it wasn't a surprise on how much wood was used. Even though it was evening, the weather was still hot. There was no air conditioning, but there was a fan on the ceiling which was circulating the air.

His wife, Rosa, brought plates of food across and joined them.

Raul said, "Manuel said you were from the United Kingdom. Your Spanish is very good."

"Our school taught us. It is important to know how to communicate clearly."

The food was a type of fish stew. Both the youngsters ate with relish.

Rosa spoke for the first time and surprised them all. She spoke slowly in Hytuna. "Do you know this?"

"We do," Jennifer said in Hytuna, surprised that it was taught out in what was rural Peru.

Seeing Manuel's blank face, Theo said in Spanish, "Rosa asked if we know Hytuna. Jennifer responded we did."

"Things have changed a lot over the last ten years," Raul said, keeping to Spanish. "There was the referendum. It sparked much debate in the town and even into the jungle. The small hopperport was built and things started to be delivered to the town that way. Some still think they are evil spirits. They just appear. You appeared on one."

Jennifer tried not to laugh. "I'm sure your grandparents thought electricity was magic. Light just appears without fire."

Raul nodded. "I was small when electricity came here. There was a lot of distrust, but we got used to it. Rosa has a computer. She has been using it to learn more about what is happening."

"Have you tried a hopper?" Theo asked.

"No. They come here rarely and then disappear. Food and tools arrive that way too. I don't think anybody has gone the other way."

"Would you like to try it? You can ask a hopper to go to a lot of places in Peru and further. We can show you and then you can show others in your town."

Raul frowned. "When I was younger, I once went to Lima. It took two days to get there."

"It is quicker in the hoppers. Much quicker."

"It would have to be," Rosa said. "I heard that people have gone to another world in them and returned. They must be really quick."

"Jennifer is a hopper expert," Theo said, and Jennifer kicked him under the table.

When they'd finished eating, Raul looked at his wife. "If these hoppers are like the change electricity brought to us, we should understand it. We can show others it is safe and how to use it. If you show us, do we need to bring anything with us?"

Rosa got up quickly, looking very excited. She rushed upstairs to grab something and was soon back. She seemed the more adventurous of the pair. Raul seemed more interested as an elder. He thought it was his responsibility to set an example to the town.

"No. Just yourselves. There will be less hopper traffic at this time, so we might get one quickly."

As they walked there, they went past the café where Jennifer and Theo had enjoyed a drink earlier. There were several people sitting outside. As they went by, someone asked what was happening.

"They're going to show us how to use the hoppers." Raul replied.

"It might eat you," someone called back.

That got the others interested, and soon they were following behind. It was unclear to Jennifer if this was because they wanted to know how to use it, or if they wanted to see if their elder would be eaten alive.

When they got to the hopperport, there were about thirty people who had tagged along.

Jennifer indicated that Theo should tell them. It was an area which seemed to treat male knowledge as better than female.

After wondering how to explain it, he said, "This is a request stop. You have to ask a hopper to come. At big cities there are scheduled stops."

They looked a bit confused at that. He thought it best to show. He indicated the panel. "Here you decide where you want to go. As an example, let's choose Lima."

Raul looked and saw the place. He touched it, and it asked him for the number of people. "Say three. Jennifer can stay here and you both can come with me."

Raul did and it changed to a timer showing how long before the hopper got there. It was less than a minute.

The hopper's sudden arrival startled some. Others laughed as they'd seen the food crates just turn up. The door swung open and Raul, with his wife holding his hand, followed Theo.

When the door closed and it disappeared, there were a few shrieks. Someone shouted that it had eaten them.

"Where are they?" someone demanded to Jennifer.

"Lima," she responded, not flinching as someone got close to her. "They will be back soon. It depends how busy the hopperport is in Lima."

"She's lying. They couldn't have got to Lima. It takes two days."

Jennifer hoped they would get back quickly and not want to go sightseeing. The crowd seemed upset that Raul and Rosa had disappeared. As the minutes progressed, they seemed to get more agitated.

Just as quickly as it had appeared the last time, the hopper suddenly appeared again, and Raul, Rosa and Theo stepped out. The doors closed and the hopper disappeared.

Raul and Rosa were surrounded. The first queries were if they were well and if it had taken them to Lima. That was followed by someone asking if it hurt going so fast.

"It is like magic," Raul responded. "One second I was here, the next I was in Lima. It was like I stood still and the world changed around me."

"Can it go to Cusco?" a young man at the back of the crowd asked.

"Yes," Raul answered, having seen it on the screen.

Three of them came forward, eager to have a go.

"Raul, you show them," Theo said, encouraging the leader. "I'll come with you just in case, but you've got this."

For the next hour, more and more places were visited. The hopperport had never seen this amount of activity. Only two of the thirty that had come along had refused to use the hopper.

Jennifer turned to Raul and Rosa. "Do you have a passport?"

Rosa nodded and pulled it out of her bag. "I got it when you said we would learn. I didn't know if I'd need it."

Raul didn't have one.

"Let me get mine," Jennifer said and rushed back to the small hotel. She grabbed it and a few other things she would need.

When she got back, the crowd had thinned. Jennifer didn't know if they'd hopped somewhere or if they'd gone home.

"Are you up for a double hop? We go to Lima and go elsewhere. We would be gone about thirty minutes. Perhaps a bit longer."

"Where are you be going?" Raul asked.

"I was going to show Rosa the longest jump you can do. The jump takes three seconds."

Theo understood but didn't say anything. Raul might have been reluctant for his wife to go off planet. It had been a big jump to experience the journey within his country.

"If Rosa wants to go. She went to Argentina once. We will wait here."

Rosa nodded.

"Okay. Our first hop is to Lima," Jennifer said. "You call the hopper."

If anybody had been monitoring the hopper activity in Peru, they would have been perplexed. A quiet, rural hopperport had suddenly had a huge spike in activity. Someone would be wondering what had happened.

Raul had done the hopper requests, so this was Rosa's first opportunity. She'd been paying attention and did it flawlessly.

"Good job," Jennifer said as they got off in Lima. "Now the new bit."

They went to a terminal and Jennifer said, "Find Rohastin Station."

Rosa gasped and her fingers trembled with excitement as she typed it in. Jennifer was impressed. Rosa didn't scare easily. She was prompted to scan her passport which was a new step. Then the hopper was booked.

"We can just go there?" Rosa said, a bit surprised at how easy it had been.

"Yes. The hop takes about three seconds and the first time it feels strange. It doesn't hurt or anything. So, sit down when we get on. When you've done it once, you will be okay for future. You might even get to use your Hytuna."

Their hopper arrived and Jennifer called aloud, "We will sit." The hopper waited until they were seated before setting off. Before Rosa could say anything, they'd arrived.

"What was that?" Rosa asked, as Jennifer got up.

"That is the magic of long-distance hops. Come on," Jennifer said. "The hopper needs to go back. Its work is never done."

Rosa laughed as they stepped off. "Are we really on the Rohastin Station?"

"Yes. Now, let's see how good your Hytuna is."

Rosa looked round in surprise at the different ships in the hangar. Where they'd been dropped off was at the front, where most species hoppers came in.

"Are there aliens here?" Rosa asked, still in Spanish. She sounded slightly nervous.

"Here, we are just as alien as they are. Have you seen images of them?"

"Yes, but I doubt that is the same as seeing them."

"True. Do you want to go straight back home, or explore for a few minutes?"

Rosa looked around and seemed to be fighting with herself. "You won't leave me?"

"I'll stay right by you. Now we do have one thing to do. At home, you used a screen to request the hopper. Here, the computer interface is a bit different." Jennifer got the Rohastin device out of her pocket. "You need one of these."

Rosa was puzzled. "There's no screen on it."

"It works differently. Let's go upstairs and get you one."

They walked up the ramp and into the small shopping mall. Rosa saw a non-human for the first time and stifled a scream. "There's so many different types."

"I've yet to meet one that eats humans," Jennifer responded and Rosa gave a nervous giggle. "Apparently we should be able to pick one up in the small café. If we're quick, we might have time for a drink."

"How did you find out?" Rosa asked as they made their way along the corridor. She'd calmed down a bit as none of the aliens had paid her any attention.

"I asked the station computer via my device. It talks directly with the brain."

"Don't tease me," Rosa scolded.

Jennifer didn't say anything, but they crossed the café threshold and the atmosphere changed. The almost sterile atmosphere of the corridor disappeared and there was the gentle hum of people chatting. There was the smell of food. It wasn't like the full restaurant, but it still made Jennifer want to eat.

Rosa stopped and looked confused. Jennifer remembered her first time and the surprise when crossing that hidden forcefield that kept the sound and smell inside.

"This is..." Rosa waved her arms around. She was lost for words.

After a few seconds, Jennifer steered her towards the counter where a Frotanian was looking at them. In Hytuna she said, "This is Rosa, her first time from Earth. Can you provide a device? She only speaks a little Hytuna."

"Welcome Rosa," he said slowly and handed her a device.

"Thank you," she responded also in Hytuna. She then realised she'd spoken with an alien and her thanking him had been instinctive.

After Jennifer ordered two drinks, the two of them went and sat down. Jennifer instructed Rosa on how to turn it on and then watched as Rosa set it up. The drinks arrived as Rosa was going through the setup process.

Rosa nodded, unsure what she thought about talking with the device. It only spoke Hytuna but understood she was a novice and took it slowly. "What can this device do?"

"That is like asking what a computer can do. I've no idea of the full capabilities. I find new things each time I come. It can guide you to where things are. You can call people on the station with it. You will use it to get the hopper."

"This drink is really nice. It is very warming."

When she was done, Jennifer said, "Let's go. I need to show you two more things. First, we will use it to go back to the hangar."

"How?"

"The important thing is a bit of new Hytuna," Jennifer said in Spanish. And then in Hytuna, "Hangar Two."

Rosa repeated the words. The 'two' was fine, but the 'hangar' came out garbled. Jennifer repeated it, and Rosa got better.

As they walked to the Transport Hub, Jennifer talked to the device mentioning that Rosa was a novice with Hytuna and where they were going. It told her she would make sure Rosa didn't get lost.

When they got there, she told Rosa, "Just ask the device for Hangar Two. When you get there, step out of the room so you don't block it."

Rosa nodded, slightly overwhelmed. So much had happened. Only twenty minutes previously she'd been in Peru. They stepped inside together and Jennifer waited for Rosa to vanish. When she did, Jennifer checked that Rosa had gone to the right place and followed.

"That was like the hopper without the hopper," Rosa said excitedly as they met up outside the Transport Hub.

"That just about sums it up," Jennifer agreed. "One last task. You need to get a hopper back to Lima, Peru, Earth."

"Ooh, I see a timer overlaying my vision," Rosa said when she'd managed to do it.

"Well done."

"It's ticking down strangely though. It is missing the eight and nine."

"Hytuna uses base-8 maths. Octal. It goes from seven to ten. It missed out eight and nine."

"I read something about that, but I didn't get it. I suppose it will come with experience. I need to polish my Hytuna though."

"There are websites and online practice groups that you will be able to do. Do you think you'll come again?" Jennifer asked.

Rosa nodded, and the hopper arrived. Five minutes later they'd gone through Lima and hopped back to Rosa's hometown. When the doors opened, she rushed out and into Raul's arms.

"How was it?" Raul asked, stroking his wife's back. Theo had told him where Jennifer had taken her.

"I talked in Hytuna ... to an alien," was all she could say. It had been a whirlwind, and she wondered if it had been real.

Rosa realised she was still clutching the alien device. She separated herself from her husband and offered it to Jennifer.

"No," Jennifer said firmly. "That is yours. It is tuned to your brain pattern and will only work for you when you're in the Rohastin Station. If you go back, you will be prepared. You might never want or need to. But if you do, you have it."

"But..."

"You might be the only person in Peru that has ever been to the Rohastin Station. If someone in your town ever needs to go there, you now have the skills to help them. Just like you both have the skills to teach others how to use the hoppers. Yesterday Lima was two days away. Now it is a hop away."