Escaping the Cradle - Part 24

Escaping the Cradle

by Karen Page

Part 24

---

Part 24
DATE:FC+98

Weeks had passed. No more murders, kidnapping or explosions of anything linked to the aliens. All the investigations had led to dead ends. The group Earth Fist, the splinter group from Earth First had claimed responsibilities, but who they were was still a mystery. Their demands though were plainly announced. Stop all contact with the aliens. Stop expansion beyond Earth. The idea of stopping satellites from being launched was being quietly dropped. Too many people were put off by the idea of not having communications everywhere. It was a safety thing. If you were up a mountain, or in the middle of the desert, you should always be able to call for help if needed.

Instead of Jenny sometimes getting collected by Kelly's mother, it was now more the other way round. Kelly was being collected by Becky or Ashleigh, alongside Jenny. They would do their homework upstairs, supervised by Ashleigh. Afterwards, instead of Kelly going for private help with her science, the two scientists had offered to tutor. Not only was she being taught by two highly respected scientists, but she was also getting knowledge for what she wanted in the future.

"School will start teaching us Hytuna tomorrow," said Jenny as they came into the office to do their homework, after Becky had collected them.

"Oh dear," said Ashleigh. "I hope they realise that most of the students have probably been actively learning it themselves. It seems very popular. I've heard a few parents speaking it at the school gates while we wait. It's the latest craze. One set of parents wanted to do it as practice, and other parents soon joined in. They were doing quite well."

"You need to brush up yours," said Jenny.

"I know. I know. I try, but I'm not as good at languages as you."

As the two children did their homework, an email came through to Ashleigh, which greatly upset her. "Idiots."

"What's wrong?" asked Jenny. Kelly wondered too but didn't want to say anything. It took quite a lot to frustrate Miss Thompson.

"Our lawyers have responded about our satellite launch licence request."

"You need a licence for that?" asked Jenny, surprised.

"Yes, you have to provide details to the Civil Aviation Authority who issue the licence. Things have to be proved to be safe. They had questions, which we answered, and now they have more questions. They keep asking what will happen with the rocket and what the re-entry debris pattern will be. They don't seem to have grasped the fact we aren't using a rocket, but it seems they have boxes to fill in, and we aren't providing them with the data the form says they need."

"Didn't you have to do it for the teddy bear test?" asked Kelly, puzzled.

"We didn't know," said Ashleigh, guiltily. "We could have got in very big trouble for that, but nobody has asked that question. We still might get into trouble for it. I've no idea what the fine would be."

"Oh."

"Now we know, we are trying to do things right. We have a licence to operate Eos and Aurora. It's like they have forms and processes, and don't know how to vary from that. We have submitted via the novel method so we thought it might be cleaner, but it seems not. If they don't have a process or a form, they dither."

"What are you going to do?" asked Jenny.

"Our lawyers are going to arrange a meeting with the CAA Executive Board. Put the process to them. They need to sign off novel licences."

"There's nothing novel about it," said Jenny, indignantly.

Kelly smiled and continued her homework. She liked how Jenny saw the world.

"To them it is. It isn't like any other route to orbit. Also, don't forget the UK hasn't launched its own satellites since the 1970's. They are used to satellites, but not spaceships and putting things into orbit from the UK."

"Is there always so much paperwork in life?" asked Jenny.

"For some things. The rules are there to make sure we do it safely. There is enough debris in orbit without them letting others add to it. It's also an international thing. We don't want to be accidentally destroying someone else's satellite."

Henry had come up the stairs and heard the discussion. "Look up Kessler syndrome. That might help you understand why there is so much paperwork."

The two young girls did that, and then there was a heated discussion between them. Jenny drew a diagram and Kelly looked puzzled.

"What's wrong?" asked Ashleigh.

"Kelly understands gravity but not much more on physics. It's just not taught at school until we're older."

Henry said, "I'll tell Liam. Newton 101 coming up when you've finished your homework."

"It will be a good refresher," said Jenny, indicating she would sit in with Kelly. "But no dropping apples on my head this time."

"Huh?"

"Newton started work on gravity when he saw an apple fall in an orchard," explained Jenny. "It's probably one of those fake stories that it fell on his head. Makes it more memorable."

"Or the one about Archimedes working out theory of displacement when he got in the bath. That is true. Probably him running naked down the street, shouting 'Eureka!' isn't," laughed Ashleigh dryly.

"Yuck," said Kelly making a face.

The sound of laughter came from the hall. It was a type that Jenny and Ashleigh recognised, and they both jumped up. In came Tina.

"Aunt Tina!" screamed Jenny with joy, wrapping her arms around Tina.

Kelly watched on, bemused. She then realised who it was. "Mrs Poop?!"

"Hi Kelly," said Tina, breaking free from Jenny. "I hear you were very brave the other week."

"Mrs Poop is your aunt?" asked Kelly, puzzled and slightly put out.

"Ashleigh is my sister," explained Tina. "I worked at the school to protect Jenny when there were threats against the project."

"Another secret?" asked Kelly. "Jenny, is there anything else you've been hiding from me?"

"Yes, but they aren't my secrets to tell. Like I've not asked how you learnt to kick a kidnapper like that." Jenny turned to her aunt and asked nervously, "You're not here because I'm in danger again, are you?"

"No kiddo, I'm back from assignment and came to see you all. Luke and I are planning to see Caroline, but The Anchor was our first port of call. Now go learn about why apples fall on people's heads, while I have a chat with my sister."

"Where's Uncle Luke?"

"Downstairs. I was wondering if we could stop the night. He wants to cook something."

"Of course you can, " said Ashleigh pulling out her house key. "What's he making?"

"I've no idea and I didn't want to ask. A nice surprise. He's not been able to cook like this for months and I think he's missed it."

The two young girls went downstairs to have their lesson, leaving Ashleigh to talk with Tina in peace.

"I feel such a fool," muttered Kelly as they went downstairs.

"Why?" asked Jenny, perplexed.

"Because I didn't realise. You keep everything locked inside. I know you worry about saying some things, but I thought you might trust me."

"I do," said Jenny, not knowing what else to say.

Kelly gave a sharp huff and stalked downstairs leaving Jenny behind, not understanding what had upset Kelly. Surely, she must understand that she couldn't tell her everything.

When they got to the discussion area, Liam was chatting to Luke. Henry and Evan had moved into the lab to perform some tests.

"So, Newton," started Liam. "We're going back to the 1660's. He developed the basis of calculus, but today we're going to start talking about his laws of motion and gravity. This will take a several lessons."

Luke had seen the conflict between the two girls but watched as they seemed to put it to one side. Liam got their entire attention. Even when they did an exercise together, they got on with it, talking about what they saw.

After an hour, Liam drew the lesson to an end. "So, we've looked at forces and what they are. We've then looked at his first law of motion. His law of inertia."

"A body stays at rest, or in motion until some other force acts on it," said Kelly.

"Nearly," said Liam. "It stays in motion at a constant speed and direction until another force acts upon it. You got the stay at rest, which a lot of people forget. Well done."

"Let the force be with you," called Henry from the lab and everyone in the room groaned.

"Your mum is talking to Miss Thompson," said Luke to Kelly. "The weather is nice, so why don't you two go outside and talk about your argument."

"We weren't arguing," insisted Jenny. "We just had a disagreement."

Kelly looked like she was unsure if to laugh or cry. In the end she looked mortified.

"Let's go out back," said Luke again. "Let's see if we can talk this through."

"I don't know you," uttered Kelly, not budging.

"That's fair," said Luke. "My name is Mr Poop. I'm Tina's husband."

"I still don't know you," said Kelly. She looked at Jenny.

"I trust him," said Jenny. "And not because he's sort of related, but because of what he's done."

Kelly looked at him, "I'm having difficulty trusting people I don't know. Home and here is somewhere I feel safe. I still worry at school, even though it's more secure than it was."

"I'm glad you have places you feel safe. I have a friend called David. He told me it took a while to get over being kidnapped and he had been thirteen. Where would you like to talk? If you aren't comfortable outside, where is good for you?"

"The back is fenced in," reminded Jenny. "Nobody can get to us."

"Face my fear," said Kelly, almost to herself. She took a deep breath and seemed to stand up straighter. She grabbed Jenny's hand and pulled her along. "Come on then. Let's talk."

They went and sat on one of the picnic tables Jenny and Kelly on one side, and Luke on the other.

"So, catch me up," said Luke. "When I went away, Kelly didn't know what went on here. I come back and in my reintegration session I found out that you two had been taken at gun point."

"Didn't they tell you?" asked Jenny, puzzled.

"We didn't wait. We left the meeting and came straight here. I don't think Miss T will be pleased with us. We weren't away that long, but so much has changed."

Between them, Kelly and Jenny filled in the details of what happened. Luke just sat there impassive, watching them as much as listening to what they said. For someone who got scared, Kelly seemed to have spunk.

"How did you feel when you found out you were going back in Eos?" asked Luke.

"Surprised. I didn't think how my parents could have got there that quickly. I was just so glad to see them. But then I wasn't allowed to talk with Jenny until after everybody had asked questions."

"How many were about the kidnapping and how many were about how you felt?" asked Luke.

"They were all about the kidnapping, and a few about what I knew about the spaceship. None were really about me. Not until I got to chat with someone a week later. "

"That's—" words failed him.

"Dad's company arranged it," she said, giving a shrug of hopelessness. "It's so strange. They wouldn't let me talk to the police and then after, arranged all the follow-up. Mrs Head suggested someone that Jenny had talked to, but Dad said they had to go through theirs."

"Kelly was having extra lessons after school," explained Jenny. "Since we had experts here, and she knew what we were basically doing, Ma offered if Kelly could do her homework here."

"So, what were you two arguing about?"

"We just had a disagreement about secrets," said Kelly. "I thought we'd got past that, and it upset me."

Luke nodded and rubbed his chin as he contemplated what to say. "Sometimes secrets are a necessity and that can be a burden. Kelly, you have secrets about here, which you don't tell anybody else at school. Jenny, you have other secrets. Ones where you would find it hard to mention. For instance, about Ryan."

Jenny nodded, looking like she was about to cry. Kelly reached across and put her hand on Jenny's arm.

"It's not that I don't trust you. I wouldn't know how to tell you," said Jenny.

"Oh," said Kelly, not knowing what to say.

"Kelly, let me tell you some of my youth. I went to a music school. It wasn't just very good at music; it was very good at helping students be better than they would have been. We all did our exams early. But the time there was intense. We worked hard and played even harder. To stop us getting overwhelmed we were given a school buddy. You do nearly everything at the school together. They become someone you can depend on. Someone you can trust. The one person at school you should have no secrets from. The school encouraged that openness. Yet the whole basis of the school was shrouded in secrecy, even down to where the school was. Even the parents of the pupils didn't know where it was."

"And how does this relate to Jenny and me?" asked Kelly, sounding lost and bewildered.

"I'm saying that even where there is secrecy, there should be someone you trust. But one thing I do know, that doesn't happen overnight. It is something that crept up on you. Constantly doing everything together meant that they knew more about you than you realised."

"I bet you'd love to go there," said Kelly.

"It isn't a school you request to go to. It is a school where they choose the pupils. I wasn't a first choice. Someone else was chosen for my slot, but they died before the start of the year."

"Oh," said Kelly.

"Okay Jenny, why don't you tell Kelly something you've not told her."

Jenny considered, trying to think what she might tell Kelly. "I met two of the aliens."

Luke's mouth dropped open in surprise. Jenny had said it as if things like that happened all the time.

Kelly on the other hand squealed in delight. "What were they like? Which race? Did you use Hytuna?"

"It was only a hologram," sighed Jenny.

"There are only a dozen that have met them face to face," said Kelly. "There aren't many more that have even met them via holograms."

"There was an Alphorian and a Reginadde. I asked a few questions in Hytuna about what things were like, but they said we didn't have the vocabulary to understand their answer."

"Why didn't you say?" asked Kelly. "Was that a big secret?"

"It wasn't a secret," confirmed Jenny. "It's just something I didn't tell you. I got into trouble, so was too ashamed to mention it. When I heard there was an alien, I rushed back, even though I was told not to. One of the others had to run to try and stop me. The sight of the alien caused them to scream in fright."

"Why did you get into trouble?"

"Because I disobeyed them. Ma could have been running an experiment, and it could have been dangerous. It isn't often I'm told not to do something, and I ignored it. They're opening tunnels through other dimensions. It might seem fun, but it's real science and they're doing things that might go wrong."

"Does it?"

"I remember one of the first times they tried to open a tunnel. I was upstairs with Mum. We were filming where they hoped a tunnel would exit. It didn't work, and the unit caught fire. That's the worst I'm aware of."

Kelly turned to Luke. "Do you know why my mum was here?"

Luke nodded. "She was just checking on how you were doing. Part of the agreement of you coming here is you don't tell them what you see or learn. Your parents insisted as much as Mrs Head did."

"Dad was very weird about it," frowned Kelly. "He said he couldn't tell what he didn't know."

"That's very wise words," agreed Luke. "Perhaps remember that when you're trying to get Jenny to tell you more than she can."

---

Footnote:

CAA	The UK Civil Aviation Authority. While best known as the aviation regulator, it also licenses and oversees spaceflight and satellite launches under the UK Space Industry Act.