Escaping the Cradle

by Karen Page

Part 52

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Part 52
DATE:FC+203

Thoughts of hitting the mall totally disappeared from Tina's mind as they made their way to Space Racer training. Like Ashleigh and Becky earlier, they also travelled via a transport device. But instead of taking them to a different floor, it took them to a small structure next to the station. This was a purpose-built structure located above the main station.

Once there, a clear wall looked out into the arena. There were several tracks, ranging from beginner level used for early training, to full competition level.

"Is gravity weaker here?" Luke asked the adult Reginaddes, as they walked past the viewing gallery to the racers they saw in the distance. Their daughter was busily chatting away with Jenny and Kelly.

"Only a little. This is about as light as the Rohastin station ever gets. Some areas have different gravity or atmosphere. If a species is staying here, it is only fair for them to have a comfortable area."

"It seems awfully quiet," Tina said. Then rather apologetically, "Have we woken you up in the middle of the night?"

"No. It is early. What you might regard as just before breakfast time. It made no difference. My daughter couldn't sleep last night; she was too excited to see Jenny again. It will get busy soon."

As they strolled along, a racer was seen entering and they rushed to the window to look into the arena. It entered the first tunnel in a wide arc to better attack the course at speed. It looked like a mixture of a racetrack and ski slalom. Gates they had to pass through, and some defined geometries, but it was wide open for racers to take whatever line suited them.

"Is that zero gravity?" James asked.

"Yes."

"It isn't recommended that human children spend time in zero gravity," James said, worried about disappointing Jenny and Kelly.

"The racers themselves have stable gravity generators inside them. The children will remain in normal gravity while they're piloting."

James breathed a sigh of relief. Not only would it be safe for the children, but it would also make things easier for all of them. Learning to pilot one of these racers was one thing, but also trying to do it in a different gravity would just complicate things, especially for Luke and Tina.

"On the beginner tracks, the computer won't allow a crash at all. Safety protocols are always active. The cockpit is made of a strong material that will withstand a crash, even in the competition tracks. And each cockpit is linked via a standby transport tunnel. If a crash does occur, the pilot is instantly extracted. There have been no deaths or injuries since my grandfather was a small child."

Two racers launched simultaneously and the group again crowded around the window to watch. The front one had an orange coating, and the one behind a bright blue. The racers dived into a track, but it wasn't like the single racer earlier. These weren't steady, but spinning, and there were blocking moves. The blue one did some type of manoeuvre where the ship was still going forward, but the front of the ship came up. It took the entrance to the tunnel at a shorter angle and shot forward into the lead.

James was the only human in the group that had flown in space. "I'm sorry, but I need to tell the others something that I don't know Hytuna for."

The Reginaddes nodded in acceptance.

In English, James said. "There is no atmosphere in the arena. So, no drag."

"Ah, Newton's law of inertia," Kelly said, remembering Liam's lesson.

Jenny added, "The racer will keep going forward until a thrust from the front slows it down?"

James beamed. He knew that Evan and Liam had been giving them extra lessons, but it was only now that he realised it had been sinking in. "In a car, if you take your foot off the accelerator, it slows down. In a racer, if you stop accelerating you just continue at your existing speed."

This wasn't just going to be novel for Jenny and Kelly, but also Sam, Luke and Tina. Sam's Hytuna was better than James's, so explained in Hytuna what had been said.

The orange and blue racers came out of a tunnel and they were side-by-side. The orange racer was trying to prepare for the turn, but the blue one kept getting in the way. Safety protocols denied the thrust with the other racer so close. After two failed attempts, the orange racer arched downward, surprising the blue racer, and completed its turn into the tunnel taking back the lead.

Jenny squealed with excitement and clapped her hands. Kelly jumped up and down. The two racers were putting on a show.

Tina suddenly jerked back in surprise, and everyone looked at her in alarm.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked in Hytuna, quickly moving to his wife's side.

"Yes. Sorry. I was just surprised having someone speak via the device. Ashleigh just contacted me. She's on her way to join us."

Jenny rushed to her aunt. "Is Ma okay?"

"Yes. The doctors are treating her. Your Ma won't be awake for six hours and they suggested Ashleigh leave them to it. Jenny, just tell your device you want to speak with your Mum. You can ask her things if you are worried."

"I'm good," Jenny said. "I asked my device where she is, and she'll be here in a few minutes. I like this device."

The blue racer wasn't happy at being overtaken and managed to inch ahead again. They were approaching the next gate, and the orange racer tried to surge forward. Not wanting to let the orange racer through, the blue racer angled upwards. This forced the orange racer to either rise as well or slow down. At the last second, the blue racer straightened up, making the gate. The orange racer missed.

"He's out," the young Reginadde said, her voice higher than normal.

"That was a dirty move," her mother fumed. "If that was a proper race, they would be disqualified. Teammates shouldn't do that to each other."

"Are you okay?" Tina asked Ashleigh when she caught up with them.

"Yes. Those doctors are miracle workers. What they are setting out to do is way beyond what she expected."

Tina gave a genuine smile. Ashleigh had been concerned that Tina might have been jealous, but that didn't appear to be the case.

"How does this work?" Luke asked as they got to the racer entrance.

"The system will know your racer preference and skill level. Since you've never raced before, your device will assist you in setup and instruction. If you have your own racer, like the three we saw earlier, you would be guided to them."

"I'm going to make a right fool of myself," Ashleigh muttered as she was assigned a racer.

"No more than me," Sam answered, heading to the one next to Ashleigh's.

The door was open, and Ashleigh climbed in. She swung into the single seat and turned to look at the front. She was surprised to see the area in front was plain with no visible controls.

"First time pilot," the device spoke inside her head. "What controls do you desire?"

"Sorry?"

A few images flashed through her thoughts. She realised the device was giving her options. She'd never really considered how she would steer something like this, so her mind jumped to films. A design came to her mind, and the ship acknowledged it. Rather like how the table had expanded when they'd eaten, or the subtle changes she'd seen to chairs, the plain dashboard started expanding, growing out to fit the design she'd provided.

She reached out and touched the new controls. Her hands fitted around them perfectly, like they were made for her.

She heard, "Racer ready for lesson."

Ashleigh thought she would spend time in a simulator, but as she was taught how to move, she realised they were floating, making their way slowly through the very most basic track. Her heart rate had spiked when she knew she was really moving the racer and stayed raised through the first section.

The map of the course was shown on the front window. She couldn't call it a windscreen or windshield. They were in space and there was no wind. It was purely a front window.

"Tilt the right control."

Ashleigh complied by moving it slightly.

"Tilt it more," the voice insisted.

She did and went around her first corner. She soon had to go the other way. At no stage did she speed up or slow down. Her sedate pace was slow enough that the corner was easily achieved.

After what seemed hours, she saw the racer entrance and breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't crashed and died.

"Track completed with no crash mitigations. But you didn't meet the time limit to move onto the next stage."

With a shuddered breath, she added more thrust. "Did anybody in my group complete the first track?"

"James and Kelly." The device then did something it hadn't done before. It encouraged. "You can do it. I suggest going faster on the straights and learning to slow down for the corners until you have more confidence in your lateral movement. Safety is on. You can't die."

"What do you mean, safety is on?" Ashleigh asked, as she added even more thrust.

"On the two training levels, the onboard computer will mitigate any crashes. If a crash is detected on any level, a tunnel extracts the pilot. There haven't been any fatalities since that safety feature was added."

She thought back to a racing game Jenny had been playing at Kelly's house. "On the course map, show me green arrows where I should go faster, yellow arrows when I'm at the right speed, and red arrows when I need to go slower."

"Pilot aid added. You will need to complete the track without the aid to progress."

It gave Ashleigh the confidence she needed. The training gave her a sense of how fast she could go. She felt a bit of a push as she accelerated, but she had no concept of speed. It took her two laps with the aid to reach the required time. The first lap without the aid she had a crash mitigation and hadn't died. That made her feel safe and gave her the confidence to push on.

"Track completed with no crash mitigations and within the time. You are authorised for track two."

Ashleigh felt thrilled. She'd done it.

The device then informed her, "You need sustenance. The onboard computer will take you back to the racer dock."

As the Space Racer made its way in, Ashleigh suddenly thought, "I've not needed the toilet while here. I don't remember using a toilet while I was here last time."

There was a small pause before the device informed her, "Onboard facilities are not compatible with humans. The station has removed your waste discreetly, so you weren't ill."

That wasn't something Ashleigh wanted to think about. It was strange how she'd not thought about it, nor others mention it. Perhaps because things were taken care of, the body really didn't let her know there was a need and it just passed them by.

"Is there any news on Becky?" she asked. She'd been so focused on the Space Racer that she'd not had the capacity to worry about Becky's treatment. Perhaps that is why it had been suggested.

"No issues have been raised. Medical treatment is protected from device access. Do you want me to connect you with one of the doctors treating her?"

"No. Are the others still on track?"

"Only James. I will guide you to the others."

She found them at a table. They were chatting away, most of them with a drink.

"Did you complete training?" Jenny asked, as Ashleigh sat down amongst her friends, taking an offered cup containing a warm liquid.

"I completed the first track. I had trouble finishing it quick enough."

Luke nodded. "I had the same. I was thinking that a car loses grip if you go too quickly into the corner. I was slowing down instead of changing the thrust."

"What's the other beginner track like?"

Luke slipped into human terms to make it easier. "It is the same as the first one, but you are at ninety degrees. Instead of turning left and right, you are moving up and down. It's the same track, but it just feels different."

Ashleigh looked alarmed and Kelly answered. "In space, there isn't any up or down. The racer gravity is still pushing you into your seat, so it doesn't feel like you're falling."

Tina laughed. "Kelly, I think you've blown her brain."

James arrived, his eyes sparkling with exhilaration. "Ashleigh, you won't have any trouble recruiting pilots from the space agencies. Let me bring them up here for an hour and they'll be paying you to join the company."

Ashleigh laughed. James was probably right, but the Rohastin Station was a working place, not a playground for human astronauts.

The Reginadde father said, "I'm sorry, but it is time for my daughter to go to school."

Kelly and Jenny shared a look. It was one of those instinctive glances from years of friendship. "Can we go too?" they said in unison.

He looked at his wife, who considered it for a moment before saying, "It is a cross-species school. It might be good for them to see humans."

He communicated with the school and responded, "The school leader has accepted having them sit in some lessons. They know you might not be there all day, but they are interested in what humans learn against what is taught here. These lessons are in Hytuna."

"You seemed surprised," Tina commented, as they started to get ready to go.

"I was surprised Jenny and Kelly asked. Most children would never ask to go to school. Is this a human thing?"

"No, it is more a Jenny thing and she has influenced Kelly. Most human children would never ask to go to school like that."

"You're a bad influence," Kelly teased, and the three children laughed. "What about food though?"

"The school feeds us," Kelly's new friend said, excited to show off her school.

The school was on the level above the hanger where they'd left Eos. By now, they'd all got the hang of using the device, so transport seemed almost second nature. They walked out of the transport room into a shop concourse.

Ashleigh was close to the two Reginadde adults, so asked, "How many shopping areas does this station have? And how does this one differ to the one near the Diplomatic level?"

"Three. The one you saw previously is more aimed at special occasions. If that translates for humans. This and the other are more everyday shops, food, entertainment and some services."

This reminded Ashleigh of her earlier worry about how this was paid for. There had been no sign of anybody paying for anything. Unsure, she silently asked her device. It was a computer, so she felt less embarrassed asking.

"Due to an abundance of resources, there is no currency used in most of the Rohastin members. Some species still use currency in home worlds, but there is none used on this station."

James, Sam, Tina and Luke were going to stay and look at the shops. It was pointless everyone going to the school.

Ashleigh was guided down a corridor off the main concourse and after walking for a few minutes, they came to the school. Parents were dropping off their children and leaving via various corridors. There were a few glances at the visitors, but nothing nasty. They just seemed curious. Humans were new and most had never seen one in person.

The school leader, as the Reginadde had called, was waiting by the entrance. This was new. She'd seen various forms of alien. This was the first with feathers. Clothes over feathers was an interesting combination. Jenny and Kelly didn't seem phased and did some type of greeting. Whatever it was, the school leader recognised it, or their attempt and laughed. It wasn't a bird style chirp, but a shrill gurgle.

Jenny and Kelly were led inside, and that was it. There was no interest in Ashleigh at all.

"Humans seem to go out of the way to integrate," commented the Reginadde father.

"We're not all like that. But our planet has lots of cultures. Each have different greetings. Just that small effort to show respect often goes a long way."

"Wise words. You seem to have fitted in here without issue. You know how to find your way around and your Hytuna is improving all the time. Why don't we leave you to explore without us holding you back. If you need us, you have our signs in your device."

Their signs. Ashleigh remembered the facial confirmation after naming her device. Perhaps that is their written contact information.

"Thank you for taking us on the Space Racers. It made me stop worrying about Becky."

When she got back to the others, they were surprised she was alone. They wandered slowly down the mall. Different clothes shops seemed to cater for different species. If that was deliberate, or just because different species had specific requirements or if it was a cultural thing, they couldn't decide. There was one design that Tina took a fancy to, and went in. She came out a few seconds later, disappointed.

The clothes shops might have been a disappointment, but the restaurant, wasn't. It was right next to the pilot lounge, which James earmarked for future visits. As they stepped over the threshold, Ashleigh got that same hunger that she got when she ate last on this space station.

"Oh. That's what Jenny meant," Tina muttered. At Ashleigh's enquiring look, she continued. "She said there was a magic force field that kept the smell and noise from leaking out."

"I suppose that's one way of putting it."

The food choices were different from the other restaurant, so they were at a loss what they would have. Before they could decide, the waiter brought sample dishes. Tina and Luke were a bit tentative, but soon found they had little to worry about. While they sampled, Ashleigh told them about Shinara and eggs.

"How does this compare to the human space station?" Luke asked James.

"I think we've a long way to go, but we've not been off planet as long as they have. They've also got technology that makes multispecies easier. The steering in the racers is a prime example. It adapts to what works for the person. The build of an Alphonian is different to a Reginadde. Humans are even stranger for them."

"The school leader, as they call the headmaster here, has feathers."

Tina shrugged. "As long as they can do their job, who cares."

Ashleigh nodded. "Yeah, but it is going to take some getting used to for some on Earth. Some are still racist, homophobic or transphobic."

"I'm sure I've come across some that are all three of them at the same time," Sam stated. "But at least those types of people won't come here. Or I hope not."

"I feel privileged to be here," Ashleigh said, with a contemplative sigh. "I'm sure there are a lot of people on Earth that would love to visit. We are curious species."

Luke smiled. "And there are some that don't like to explore and are perfectly happy going to Skegness each year for their holiday."

The food wasn't something to be rushed. They each chose what they wanted and enjoyed each other's company.

Ashleigh's device alerted her that Becky would be awake in thirty minutes. "Time for me to go and see Becky."

"We'll get Jenny and Kelly when they finish school," said Tina. "If you need to stay, let us know. Luke and I can return Kelly and look after Jenny."

This was the first time all day that she felt apprehensive. The doctors that had treated Becky were the best in this part of the galaxy, yet as she made her way to the medical room, she worried how Becky would be. All day she'd been entertained and distracted. Now she was alone, apprehensive and very, very scared.