₦airaland Forum

[B]6  -  Dust[/B]


May 9, 2373


Seth sits at his favorite table, watching his mother at the restaurant counter. She talks to Mark, ordering their pizza.

“Stop!”

Seth turns, as a man dressed in red runs past the restaurant, four police officers close behind. Seth recognizes the man. It was the man that got shot and killed at the top of the ramp last week.

As the man reaches the corner, he turns, firing at the officers. People nearby, crouch down or fall to the floor. The police return fire, and the man in red falls back against the railing. Another shot, and he bends back slowly, slipping over the railing and disappearing as he falls to the level below.

Seth wasn’t surprised to see the man in red again. A few months ago, the first time he saw someone get killed in the mall, his mother had talked to him. She told him about things called ‘clones’. Everybody, except poor people, had them. When you died, you could use one and just come back. He asked her if she had ever died. She told him that sometimes, she had to go to dangerous places for her work and yes, she had died and come back. He asked her if he had a clone. She told him he did, and never to worry. He asked her why his father didn’t come back. She told him that it was a ‘terrible accident’.

“You okay Seth?”

He turns to his mother, nods, and smiles. His mother puts the pizza and soda on the table and sits down. He looks across the mall, wondering if Tristan is coming to join them. As they eat their pizza and talk about TV1, Seth notices his mother, glancing around the mall. Perhaps she was watching for Tristan too.

“It won’t be a long visit to Pegasi, Seth. I just have to pick up one last thing from the apartment.”

Seth nods and clears the table. He smiles at Mark as he puts the used containers on the counter.

…

Seth steps from the travel node. His mother takes his hand, giving it a little squeeze as she looks around the apartment area.

Two police officers are sitting on the stairs, looking at them. Seth smiles at the officers. One of them gives a small wave. Three people are at the windows. Seth can’t see their badges.

He follows his mother to the apartment terminal.

…

As he enters the apartment, Seth’s eyes widen. He hears his mother take a short, quick breath. It’s dark. Only the glow of the travel gate illuminates the apartment. Enough light to see that everything is jumbled … broken … smashed.

He looks to his mother, wide eyed. She stares at the room, blankly. Her face is very white, her eyes, very dark.

Her pale face turns to him “Wait Seth.” She walks slowly, into the kitchen area.

Seth shivers, backing up into a corner of the room, looking at the dusty, overturned furniture, the bits of glass scattered across the floor, the carpet, pulled up and thrown against a wall …

His mother comes back into the room. He almost doesn’t recognize her … the utter despair in her face. She stands in the center of the room, her legs looking wobbly. She stares at the cluttered floor and speaks softly, to no one in particular. Her voice sounds far away.  Seth shivers again.

“No … we … I was so careful … how could … nobody knew the apartment number … nobody … just William and me … no clues … no way to know …” She stops speaking and stares at something in a dark corner of the room.

In the dead quiet of the apartment, Seth hears a low moan escape her lips. His wide eyes follow her gaze to the dark corner. A desk has been overturned. Beside it, sitting on its side, is the dark vid-screen. A name is written in the dust on the screen … ‘[I]Seth[/I]’.

He looks back to his mother, trying to understand her fear, and shivering with his.

His mother stands straight, taking a deep breath and wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. She walks to the corner where Seth stands, and crouches, pulling him into a hug. “It’s alright Seth. Don’t be afraid. I was just upset about my work. I shouldn’t have been so silly.” She kisses his cheek. “I’m sorry.”

She stands and takes his hand, giving it a little squeeze. “We have to hurry home now Seth.”

Seth nods, looking into her frightened eyes.

…

Seth steps into the apartment area. His mother takes a quick look around before putting a hand on his shoulder. “Alright Seth, I’ll race you to the travel terminals.”

He raises his arms, like wings, and fly’s up the stairs, his mother following, close behind. Their run to the terminals draws some glances, but he doesn’t see any of his mother’s friends.

…

Seth sits by the window of the main room, drinking a soda, and looking out. He looks over to his mother as she speaks a familiar name to the vid-screen.

“Tristan”

Tristan’s image is on the screen … “Naomi. Everything alright?”

“No. Can you come here? Now?”

“Of course I can.”

“I’ve changed the entry codes. I’ll send them to you.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can, Naomi.”

[B]5  -  Code[/B]


May 3, 2373


Seth takes another sip of soda. They were talking about records, records that had something to do with his father. He didn’t really understand what his mother and her friends were talking about, but he heard the urgency and excitement in their voices. He listens, fascinated …

[I]Telo[/I] … “So … a portable, local device is used?”

[I]Naomi[/I] … “Yes.” More paper shuffling. “These are the schematics.”

[I]Tristan[/I] … “Show them to Telo.”

Silence ,  Seth watches the last minute of the Terra Venture vid and touches the screen, starting it again.

[I]Telo[/I] … “A simple device with a hard coded protocol. No AI or fuzzy behaviors.”

[I]Tristan[/I] … “It doesn’t need to be complicated. Look at these reports showing sections of the GD master code, the highlighted sections. The function is hard coded, spread through the master code.”

[I]Telo[/I] … “But, how did …”

[I]Tristan[/I] … “Two hundred lines of code, hidden within the billions of lines that make up the GD master code. They’d never be noticed. Almost impossible to find, even if you had an idea what you were looking for.”

[I]Telo[/I] … “Yes, I understand that they would be impossible to find now, but, how did they get there in the first place. There is absolutely no way to alter or add to the master code without the changes being detected.”

[I]Naomi[/I] … “Look at the time stamp on those master code reports. That’s the alpha version.”

[I]Tristan’s voice grows soft[/I] … “No one had to add or alter anything … the function’s been there since the beginning, been there all along. How many times has it been used, and by whom?”

[I]Naomi[/I] … “These reports show the details of the interface, the device, and how the coded function works. The rest of the reports show details of the function being used … more than three-hundred times over the years.”

Seth hears the fear in his mother’s voice. He listens, trying to understand.

[I]Telo[/I] … “With these schematics, anyone could construct and use one of these devices.”

[I]Naomi[/I] … “Yes, anyone could, but the rest of the reports show that only one group knew about the device and used it. The corporation that created it. the Colonization and Mining Guild.”

Another silence.

[I]Tristan[/I] … “No wonder you didn’t want to go to our high ranks with this. I wonder how many know of it?”

[I]Naomi[/I] … “I don’t know. The last of the records show the device being used six years ago. A year before William died.”

[I]Tristan[/I] … “These records, are you going to keep them here?”

[I]Naomi[/I] … “Yes. I have a safe place.”

[I]Tristan[/I] … “Alright then. We’ll meet again when you have the rest of the records.”

Seth hears more paper shuffling.

[I]Tristan[/I] … “You two go ahead. I’m going to stay a few minutes.”

[I]James[/I] … “It might be better if we all left together, Tristan.”

[I]Tristan[/I] … “No one saw us come in. You go ahead.”

[I]Naomi[/I] … “See you guys tomorrow, and thank you.”

Silence, and then, two low ‘snaps’ from the Vortex node.

[I]Tristan[/I] … “Are you alright?”

[I]Naomi[/I] … “Yes. I just want to finish this.”

[I]Tristan speaks softly[/I] … “I know. Once you have the rest of the records, it’s finished for you. We’ll take the records and get the information to the right people. There’s no connection to you Naomi, or to William. You’ve done your part … you can go on with your life.”

[I]Naomi[/I] … “I’ll go back to Pegasi next Saturday, with Seth.”

[I]Tristan[/I] … “Speaking of Seth, I want to say goodbye.”

Seth hears them approaching. Tristan enters the bedroom. His mother stands behind her.

Tristan looks at the vid-screen and then to Seth, smiling. “I’m leaving now, Seth, and I wanted to say goodbye.” She moves to the side of the bed and crouches down. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to join you and your mom for pizza at the mall some Saturday.”

Saturday was [I]his[/I] day, [I]his[/I] day to spend alone with his mother. Normally, he wouldn’t like the idea of anyone else being there, but … he stares into Tristan’s sparkling, blue eyes, nodding and smiling. “Yes, please.”

Tristan laughs softly and reaches to touch the end of his nose with a fingertip. “Goodbye Seth. See you soon.”

Seth blinks and smiles. “Goodbye.”

…

Seth hears the ‘snap’ of the Vortex node. His mother comes back to his bedroom. She sits on his bed, beside him, and looks at the vid-screen.

“Terra Venture.” she looks at him and smiles “Think that’s the next colony we should visit?”

He smiles, “Yes, please!”

“Tell you what. Next Saturday, we’ll make another visit to Pegasi. The Saturday after that, we’ll go to Terra Venture. Sound good?”

Seth’s smile grows and he looks at the vid-screen, thinking about flying ,  flying on TV1.

His mother’s eyes and voice grow distant. “Things are going to change Seth. Soon, when this business is finished, we’ll do a lot more traveling. There are so many places I’ve wanted to show you.” She blinks and turns to him, taking his hand and giving it a little squeeze.

[B]4  -  Visitors[/B]


May 3, 2373


Seth sits in the main room, watching the Terra Venture vid.

His mother comes from her bedroom. “Alright Seth, I’m ready to go.” She smiles, but her eyes look worried. “I should only be two hours, maybe three.” She takes his hand, giving it a little squeeze.

A tone comes from the vid-screen, indicating an incoming call. His mother turns and touches the screen. The Terra Venture vid disappears, replaced by the face of one of her friends. Seth knew her. It was Tristan.

His mother looks surprised “Tristan?”

Tristan smiles “Hello Naomi. I’ve been thinking that the mall might be busy today. Maybe we should just get together for a soda at your place.”

She hesitates a moment. “Oh … yes. Sure Tristan. Why don’t you drop by?”

“See you in a few minutes.” Tristan’s face disappears and Terra Venture returns.

Seth’s mother stares at the screen for a few moments before turning to him, giving him another worried smile. “Well Seth, it looks like I won’t be going out now. We’re going to have some visitors.”

Seth nods, smiling. He couldn’t remember ever having visitors two weeks in a row. No wonder his mother looked surprised. He turns his attention back to the vid-screen as his mother goes to her room to change her shoes.

…

Tristan steps from the gate, giving Seth’s mother a short embrace.

A low ‘snap’ and a tall, thin man steps from the gate. Seth looks at his badge … another of his mother’s friends. The man stands by Tristan’s side.

Another ‘snap’ ,  another man enters, wearing his mother’s badge. He has dark eyes and very big arms.

They exchange greetings with Seth’s mother. She turns to him. “Seth, these are my friends, James,” she gestures to the tall man, “and Telo.” she gestures to the man with big arms. “You’ve already met Tristan”.

Seth smiles and nods to each man, in turn. He turns his gaze to Tristan’s eyes … like stars. She notices his stare and winks at him, laughing softly. Seth blinks, feeling himself blush, and turns back to his mother.

His mother takes his hand, giving it a little squeeze. “We have to talk about some boring CMG business, Seth. It shouldn’t take too long.”

He nods. His mother smiles and goes to the kitchen area. The visitors take seats in the main room. His mother returns, handing him a cold soda. Seth blinks, surprised. He was never allowed to drink soda in the morning.

His mother smiles, but it’s a worried smile “Alright Seth, why don’t you watch the Terra Venture vid in your bedroom.”

James smiles, “Terra Venture One? That’s my favorite colony.”

Seth returns his smile, surprised that such a thin man could have such a rich, deep voice.

…

Seth sits on his bed. He sets his vid-screen volume to low. His mother hadn’t told him he shouldn’t listen to what she and her friends were talking about, just that it would be boring. Well, maybe it wouldn’t be boring.

He had often thought about his father’s work and how exciting it would be to be a police officer. Since he’d become interested in the sky, the stars, and the colony terra-forming vids, he realized how exciting the CMG was.

Seth takes a sip of soda, watching the screen, but focusing his attention on the conversation going on just around the corner from his open bedroom door.

[I]Tristan’s voice[/I] … “I know and I’m sorry Naomi. That’s why I kept my vid-screen call to you short. Something came up and we thought it was best to come here instead of meeting on TV1.”

[I]His mother’s voice[/I] … “What, what’s wrong?”

[I]James[/I] … “Did you pick up the records?”

[I]Naomi[/I] … “Yes.”

[I]James[/I] … “Yesterday? On Pegasi?”

A few moments of silence pass before Seth hears his mother’s voice. She sounds upset and afraid.

“Yes, but … but how did you know?  I was very careful. There was no one at the apartment terminal when we entered or left and I …”

[I]Tristan[/I] … “Calm down, Naomi. We’re not sure that there’s a problem. We just didn’t want to take any chances until we could speak to you. No one knows anything about the records but us, so it’s probably nothing.”

[I]Naomi[/I] … “Carry! She saw us at the travel gate.”

[I]Tristan laughs[/I] …“Yes, little miss ‘smiles’ herself. Jennifer’s so called, lap-dog.”

[I]James[/I] … “I was visiting the club on Pegasi last night. Carry was there, at a table with two of our supervisors and an exec. I happened to overhear some of their conversation. Most of it was Carry, reciting CMG policy, trying her best to sound like Jennifer.”

Seth hears his mother’s friend’s laughter. He remembers one of his mother’s friends, whispering to her in the mall. He’d heard that name in the whisper. He wondered who Jennifer was.

[I]James[/I] … “Anyway, she also mentioned that she saw you and Seth on Pegasi earlier that day. I thought that it was rather strange that she would take the time to mention that to the high ranks.”

[I]Tristan[/I] … “That’s why we thought it would be best to meet with you here, just in case Carry has developed some sort of an interest in you and your travels. In any case, it doesn’t matter about Pegasi anymore. We have the records here now.”

[I]Naomi[/I] … “Not … not all of them.” No one speaks for a few moments. “William left me some instructions about the reports, instructions that I’ll honor. One of them was to retrieve the reports in two lots, not all at once. I have the first section here. The rest of the reports are still in the apartment.”

[I]James[/I] … “Well …”

[I]Naomi[/I] … “Tristan, William purchased the apartment a year before he died. He purchased it under a false name and used the LED network to mask the purchase file. The records are very well hidden and there’s nothing in there that would give any clues as to who owns it.”

[I]Tristan[/I] … “Alright Naomi. We just wanted to be sure.”

[I]Naomi[/I] … “Maybe I should pick up the rest of the records tomorrow night.”

[I]Tristan[/I] … “No, wait. There are more than eighteen hundred units in the Pegasi apartment complex. If a CMG team made an effort to search them all, it would take weeks. Why don’t you wait a week or so?  Much less suspicious, just in case Carry, or someone else, is watching.”

[I]Naomi[/I] … “Alright Tristan, you’re right.”

[I]James[/I] … “Okay, Naomi. Let’s see what you have.”

Seth hears papers being shuffled. Things go quiet for a few minutes.

[I]Tristan[/I] … “Wow.”

More quiet.

[I]James[/I] … “I can’t believe it. The interface, it’s so obvious! I’ve seen these hundreds of times.”

[I]Tristan[/I] … “We all have. We’ve just never thought about their purpose.”

[B]3  -  Pegasi 51[/B]


May 2, 2373


“Alright Seth. Time to go.”

Seth hears his mother’s voice and smiles, turning off his vid-screen. He walks to the main room. His mother looks anxious and worried.

She smiles, “I have a surprise for you today.” She takes his hand and gives it a little squeeze. “Let’s go to the mall.”

….

Seth flies down the mall’s ramp, stopping suddenly at the bottom. A man, dressed in red, runs in front of him. Seth turns, watching the man run up the ramp. Four police officers are following. One yells, “Stop!”   They raise their guns and fire. The man in red let’s out a grunt and falls to the ground as he reaches the top.

Seth feels a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright Seth. Let’s go to the restaurant.” his mother smiles, taking his hand. He follows, looking back at the officers as they stand around the man who fell down. He thinks about his father.

They walk past the crowded market terminals. Seth looks across to the restaurant. He frowns a little. Someone is sitting at his favorite table. He chooses another and sits down, anxious for pizza, and to find out what the surprise is.

…

Seth’s mother swallows a bite and gives him a curious look “Seth, why are you suddenly interested in Pegasi 51?”

He smiles “The volcanoes.”

His mother looks at him, silent for a few moments. She smiles softly. “Well, guess what?”

His eyes widen.

“That’s where we’re going!” She takes his hand, giving it a little squeeze. “No rush. Finish your pizza.”

He eats quickly, thinking about flying … flying over volcanoes.

…

Seth steps away from the travel node. His eyes widen, as he looks across at the windows, and out to Pegasi 51’s surface. He takes his mother’s hand and they cross the bridge.
He presses his hands to the huge window, looking out at the red glow… flying over volcanoes.

Several minutes pass before his mother takes his hand, laughing softly. “Alright Seth, let’s look around.”

They walk through the colony, Seth’s eyes, wide, with wonder. His mother ends the tour at the apartment area. Two men stand at the bottom of the stairs, talking. Seth looks at their badges. They’re not police officers or mother’s friends. He runs to the windows, looking out. A few minutes pass and the men leave. His mother turns to him.

“Seth, I need to visit an apartment here. Come on.” She takes his hand and they walk quickly to the apartment terminal.

…

The apartment is small and dark. Seth couldn’t imagine living in a place without windows. No way to see the sky or the stars. Everything looked and smelled dusty. It looked like nobody had been here in a very long time.

“Wait here, Seth. I’m just going to pick up something for my work.” His mother disappears into the small kitchen area.

Seth turns to the vid-screen. It’s dark and dusty. He hears sounds of things being moved and slid around, coming from the kitchen. He reaches out with a finger, slowly writing his name in the dust on the screen. He turns back to the kitchen as his mother comes back into the room.

“Alright Seth, let’s go home.” She smiles.

Seth swallows, seeing the fear in her eyes again.

…

They step from the node, back into the apartment area. Seth’s mother looks around and takes his hand, heading up the stairs. He glances back at the windows, and the red glow beyond.

They walk quickly. Reaching the travel gates, his mother moves to the terminal to buy tickets.

“Naomi!”

Seth recognizes the voice, and turns to see one of his mother’s friends. It was the smiling woman who’d called out to his mother when they were at the mall, two weeks ago. She was still smiling.

His mother turns quickly. “Oh … hello Carry.”

Carry smiles at Seth. “Hello Seth!”

He nods, “Hello.”

“So, Naomi, what brings you to Pegasi on a Saturday?”

Seth’s mother smiles, “Seth decided that he was interested in volcanoes, so we came to have a look.”

“Ahhhhh.” Carry looks back to Seth, still smiling. “Did you enjoy yourself, Seth?”

Seth nods, wondering if her face ever got sore from smiling so big, for so long.

His mother speaks. “I’m sorry Carry, we’re in a bit of a hurry. I’ve got a late night at home, finishing up some reports.”

“Alright Naomi,” Carry steps back, smiling. “I’ll see you next week.”

…

Seth sits beside his mother in the main room of their flat, watching the vid-screen. They watch the Pegasi 51 vid, talking about the things they saw that day. He doesn’t know why his mother didn’t work on her reports, but he’s happy she didn’t.

She takes his hand and gives it a little squeeze. “Seth, I have to go to a CMG meeting for a couple of hour’s tomorrow morning. You’ll be alright here?”

Seth smiles and nods, wondering why his mother looks so worried. Perhaps it’s because she didn’t finish her reports.

[B]2  -  Visitor[/B]


April 24, 2373


Seth sits on his bed, looking out the window, looking up at the moon, and thinking about his visit to the moon base.

His mother sits down beside him, leaning over to give him a hug and a smile. “Seth, tomorrow morning, one of my friends from the CMG is going to drop by for a short visit.”

Seth’s eyes widen and his mother gives him another hug, laughing softly. “Don’t worry. I know that Saturday is [I]our[/I] day. I promise, just a short visit and then …” she gives him a little squeeze, “it’s pizza time!”


April 25, 2373


Seth looks out the window of the flat’s main room, looking up at the sky.

His mother sits on the couch. She glances at the flat’s gate and looks over at the time, displayed on the vid-screen. Looking at Seth, she smiles. “I’m sorry Seth. It shouldn’t be long now.” She gives him a wink as he turns from the window to face her. “Then, we’re off to the mall.”

Seth nods and returns her smile before turning back to the window. He didn’t mind waiting for the visitor. They never had many visitors. Seth could only remember a few times that some visitors had come to eat dinner. That was always on Sunday, in the evening. This was Saturday, in the morning.

He hears a familiar, low, “snap” sound, and turns to face the gate.

A woman with blue eyes and long, dark hair, steps from the gate. She wears Seth’s mother’s badge. Seth recognizes her. She was one of the friends that his mother met with at the market in the mall last Saturday.

The woman looks at Seth’s mother and smiles.  “Naomi.”

His mother stands “Tristan”. They approach each other, embracing briefly. She turns to Seth and smiles. “Seth, this is my friend, Tristan.”

Tristan walks to the window and crouches down, taking Seth’s hand in hers and giving it a shake. “Hello Seth. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Seth stares for a few moments, looking at her long, black hair, her light, blue eyes … like stars in a dark sky. He nods. “Hello.”

Tristan smiles, touching Seth’s nose with the tip of a finger before standing, and turning back to his mother.

“Seth, I’m going to talk to Tristan before we go to the mall. How about you watch a vid in your room for a few minutes?”

Seth nods and walks to his room. He touches the screen. He had watched the moon base vid more than 20 times. Now he’d been there, and it was time to move on. With another touch, he brings up another vid, detailing the colonization of Pegasi 51. His eyes widen as he sees the volcanoes and glowing lava.

His thoughts are lost in the red glow, the conversation between his mother and Tristan, a soft buzz in the background. The minutes go by …

Then, he hears a word in the buzz … a name … his father’s name. His attention turns from the vid to the conversation. He hears his mother’s voice …

“… didn’t want me to know. For my sake … and Seth’s”

[I]Tristan’s voice[/I] … “Where are these records, Naomi? Do you have them here?”

Seth hears sadness in his mother’s voice … “No, Tristan, not here. It’s been five years. They’re somewhere safe.”

“Naomi, you know that we have to see them before we can do anything.”

“Yes, I know …”

The conversation goes quiet for a few moments. Seth moves a bit closer to the open door of his bedroom, listening …

[I]Tristan[/I] … “Don’t worry, Naomi. You’ve really handled this well. If even half of those records prove to be true …” A pause. “Take your time. As you say, it’s been five years. Only the four of us know anything about this, and at your rank …”, Tristan laughs, “I doubt that Jennifer even knows who you are.”

Seth’s mother laughs weakly. “I’m sure you’re right. It’s just that last Saturday, after you left the mall …” she sighs, her voice growing softer, “Sometimes I wish I hadn’t brought it back. After William died, I spent the next year trying to bury it … forget it … pretend it really didn’t matter … concentrate on my happy memories, my career … and Seth, especially Seth.”

“Naomi, it really [I]does[/I] matter. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. Let’s all meet next Sunday. I’ll bring the records.”

“Alright. Try not to worry. We’re here for you.”

“Thanks Tristan, I know. I’m glad that I decided to come to you first. I don’t mean to rush you out, but I promised Seth we’d have our day at the mall.”

“Of course, Naomi.”

Seth listens to his mother approaching. She stands in the open doorway, giving him a smile. Her eyes are a bit red. Had she been crying? She looks at his vid-screen and blinks, looking back to him, a combination of amusement and surprise in her eyes. “Pegasi 51?”

Seth smiles and nods.

She takes his hand, giving it a little squeeze. “Let’s say goodbye to Tristan, then we’ll go to the mall.”

Tristan stands by the gate, smiling. “Goodbye Seth. I’m sure we’ll meet again.” She gives him a wink. “Enjoy your pizza. I’ll see you at the marketing meeting, Monday morning, Naomi.”

“See you then, Tristan, and thank you.”

Seth smiles and nods “Bye.”

…

The mall isn’t as crowded as it usually is on a Saturday.

Seth takes another bite of pizza, listening to his mother talk. He always got to choose the topic of conversation. Today, he had lots of questions about volcanoes and lava.

[B]1  -  Mall[/B]


April 18, 2373


Seth squeezes his mother’s hand, looking up into her dark, green eyes as they step away from the travel node. He glances to the right, looks at the building and its huge symbol, looks back up at his mother’s badge, and smiles with anticipation as they walked through the entrance.

He loved the mall. Every Saturday, she would bring him here. They lived in Brooklyn, so it wasn’t necessary to use the gates. They could easily walk to the mall, but Seth was fascinated with gate travel, so they always took a route that involved two jumps.

They enter the crowded mall and walk down the crystal-clear ramp. Seth lets go of his mother’s hand, stretching his arms out to his sides, looking down as he walks, pretending he’s flying. Reaching the bottom of the ramp, he smiles and waves to a group of police officers.

Arriving at the restaurant, Seth takes a seat at his favorite table, the one with the best view, and waits anxiously as his mother speaks to Mark, the man at the counter. He pulls his gaze from his mother, looking around at the mall. Such a great place, and so many people. He watches the people, walking, running, sitting, shopping … and he looks at their badges, seeing some of his mother’s friends. He looks back as his mother sits down, the smell of the pizza she puts on the table bringing a wide smile to his face.

…

As he takes a large bite of his second slice of pizza, Seth stops chewing, looking to his mother as one of her friends approaches and leans down to whisper to her. He swallows the pizza quickly, watching his mother’s eyes. Something appeared in them. It was deep inside, almost unseen, so unfamiliar … she was [I]afraid[/I].

The friend speaks quietly. Seth probably could have understood his words if he really concentrated, but the fear in his mother’s eyes draws all his attention. The friend’s message is short. As he finishes, and takes his mouth from his mother’s ear, Seth hears one word, a name … “Jennifer”.

A soft smile comes to his mother’s face. “Finish your pizza, Seth.” She takes one of his hands in hers, giving it a little squeeze. “I just have to pick something up at the market. I’ll be right back.” Another little squeeze and she stands, nodding to her friend as they walk toward the marketing terminals. She glances back at Seth, giving him a smile and a wave.

Seth sees his mother’s smiles, but in her eyes, he still sees the fear. He looks down at his unfinished pizza. He wasn’t hungry anymore.

He looks across the mall to the marketing terminals. His mother and her friend meet up with two more people. It’s hard to see their badges clearly from so far away, but it looks like they’re more of his mother’s friends.

He thinks about the badges, his mother’s, and his father’s. When he was old enough, he would have one. Which one? He didn’t want to hurt his mother’s feelings, but he really hoped he would have a badge like his father’s. The stories his mother had told him about his father’s work had always excited him. He would be a police officer, like his father had been.

He watches his mother and her friends talking. She glances in his direction from time to time. The three friends turn from her, walking past the terminals and up the ramp. She stands alone for a few moments, staring ahead. Seth is surprised as she turns and heads back toward the restaurant. She didn’t buy anything. Maybe she remembered that they already had some.

He watches her carefully as she sits back down … watching her eyes as she looks at the pizza and gives him a smile. “Not hungry Seth?”

He shakes his head slightly. “Nope.” He returns her smile, happy to see that she didn’t look scared anymore.

He always looked forward to the ‘after pizza’ time. They would sit and watch the people and he would listen to his mother talk about things, sometimes, about his father.

Seth always got to choose the topic of conversation. For the last couple of weeks, he had been looking up into the night sky, watching the moon and wondering. He had asked his mother about visiting, but she had told him it would be best to wait until he was a little older. Until then, he was happy to ask questions and listen to her talk about her visits there.

…

“  … and you can look right out into the stars. That’s where I was when I first met …”
Seth’s mother stops talking mid sentence, looking past him. He sees the fear return to her eyes and feels a shiver run through him. Before he can turn to look, she stands, taking his arm, guiding him up from his chair and putting her hands gently on his shoulders.

She smiles “How about a surprise, Seth? Let’s visit the moon.”

Seth beams a wide smile, nodding vigorously. “Yes! Please!” He moves to pick up the left-over pizza. It was always his job to clean up the table when they were finished.

“That’s alright Seth. Mark will clean up this time.” She takes his hand in hers, looking down at him and smiling. “Let’s go.”

Seth is happy to find that his mother is as anxious to visit the moon as he is.

They walk toward the ramp. Seth catches his mother taking a quick, worried glance back toward the restaurant. He turns, looking back, seeing a few people sitting, a few standing, and the cold pizza.

Seth raises his arms, ‘flying’ back up the ramp. As they reach the top, he hears someone call his mother’s name.

“Naomi!”

He stops, looking back. A smiling woman looks up from the bottom of the ramp. Seth looks at her badge … one of his mother’s friends. He looks away to find his mother ahead of him, entering the travel gate room. He races to catch up with her.

Seth smiles, watching some police officers while his mother purchases tickets. He feels a hand on his shoulder and looks up into his mother’s eyes.

“Next stop …” she smiles, giving his shoulder a little squeeze, “the moon!”

If the fear was still in her eyes, Seth didn’t notice it. His mind was full of thoughts of flying ,  flying on the moon.