Singularity - Chapter 3: Artemis (Part 1)

Chapter 3: Artemis

Elliot’s alarm went off at 6:00, but he didn’t need it. He was already sitting at his kitchen table, dressed and ready to go. He had tried in vain to sleep, but gave up at 3:00, knowing it wasn’t worth trying. He was too excited, nervous, and anxious about the Artemis program, and what it would be like. He had emptied his fridge, the Artemis administrator had told him that he would be away from his apartment for at least two months, but he was not to pack a bag, they would provide issued clothing once they were at the training facility. He could bring a small bag of personal items, so he packed his shoulder bag with a picture of his dad and Cheslie, a notebook and pencil, a few keepsakes that made him happy, a deck of cards and a travel Scrabble set, just in case. He just sat there, staring out the window as the sun began to filter in through the gap in the cavern dome overhead. He decided to leave a little early before going to Sarah’s apartment to get her.

He got outside his building, and crossed the street to the Surface Studies building. He took the elevator to the roof, and walked out to the edge, facing north toward the Capitol. He loved the view from the roof of the SS building. He could see the Capitol dome reflecting the early morning rosy glow. He had seen true sunrises on the video monitors before, but for some reason, he liked the New Washington sunrise so much more. The video screens couldn’t fully capture the hues of the light that streamed through the ceiling gap, or the way the city became bathed in the pure sunlight. Beyond the dome, he could see New Union Station, and beyond that, a landscape of buildings stretched to the edge of the cavern, just barely visible in the dim morning light. To the left of the Capitol, he could see the Artemis building, looming where it sat at West Avenue and 1^st Ring Road. It was a huge black monolith, tall and thin, fourteen stories above the surface, and an unknown number below. The activities in that building were a mystery to most in the city, and until today, Elliot had counted himself as part of that number. This very morning, he would enter into the elite few that had been inside the building.

Elliot stood at the edge of that building that had been the place where he had learned everything he knew about how the world worked. He felt as if he stood literally at a cliff’s edge, and one foot hovered over the edge. Below the cliff was blackness, mystery, intrigue, the unknown. If he stepped back from the edge, he could run home to Cheslie and Bruck, live out his life in Inner-London, become a rail mechanic like his dad. He’d find a nice girl, maybe a school teacher, get married, have children, and completely forget what he had learned about the doomed planet, and the sliver of potential to reverse course. He could take that step back from the cliff, and never know what changes the future could bring. He could be near the ones he loved, with the only uncertainty being the future of the planet he calls home, and maybe he could train himself to forget. But he knew that if he took that step back, he would always wonder what might have been. He was determined to step from that cliff and fall into whatever his future brings. He knew this course could lead to his death, or separation from his family, but he knew that the cause was greater than one person, and he knew that he needed to heed the call of duty to his race. Mankind had destroyed this planet, and he was determined to see that mankind would fix it. He dreamed of a day where people could once again walk the surface, grow crops, and incubate the animal zygotes stored in cryostasis before they became extinct. That future lay ahead of him off the edge of the cliff.

He heard footsteps behind him. They were footsteps he recognized, and had heard many times before as he labored through the night in a lab, studying an air sample from the surface, or testing the reaction of extreme ultraviolet on certain grass hybrids. Those footsteps had woken him from dozens of naps while sitting at a worktable. The footsteps grew louder as the owner of the feet approached. “Hi Sarah, how did you know I was here?”

“I didn’t, apparently, I just had the same idea as you.”

“Did you sleep at all last night?”

“Not a wink, you?”

“I have been wondering for the past month what today would feel like. The day where I wake up, walk into that huge black building, and start a new chapter of my life.”

“So how does it feel?”

“Hard to say. I didn’t wake up, for starters. But other than that, I guess it just doesn’t feel real. Just now, I was watching the sunrise over the city, and I thought about how beautiful it is. I wondered whether this would be the last time I saw that. I keep getting these feelings of finality, like after today, nothing will ever be the same again. Like I’m going to walk through those doors, and disappear. I thought about running away, but then I thought that maybe things happen for a reason, and I was selected for this because I’m meant to do something to help save the planet. So I know that I have to stay, and I have to walk into that building. Well, we have to walk into that building. Sorry, I sometimes forget that you’re going through the same thing as me. It just doesn’t seem to faze you.”

Sarah leaned against the half-wall next to Elliot. Her blue eyes had a softer look to them in the dim morning light, not the piercing that Elliot had eventually grown accustomed to. She looked younger to him somehow in this moment. He had always seen her as being his mentor, and in his mind that made her so much older than he was. But now that they were both off to the same fate this day, he looked at her, and saw an equal. She was still his mentor, and he knew that he still had a lot to learn before he could come close to her knowledge. But today, they were both going to step off that cliff together, and it was that unknown abyss that brought them to equality. She was truly his friend and colleague, and he wasn’t sure at what point they had gone from student and teacher to friends.

She grimaced a little, as if thinking of a sour memory. “I wouldn’t say I’ve not had doubts about my decision. I’ve had plenty, but I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. There are so many bad memories for me here. I ran from Lower Chicago to get away from them, but no matter where I go, they chase me. They caught me in Boston, and they are on their way here too. I’m a nomad, Elliot, I need to keep moving, it’s just how I am. Sure, I could have gone to another city, but when you get the chance to do something really good, something that could make a difference for millions of people… Think about that, Elliot. I grew up feeling like dirt. I blamed myself for my parents’ divorce for the longest time. I never thought I was good enough. Sometimes that little girl inside me still doubts whether I can do anything right. But when this came along, I knew it was right. It was my chance to finally do something to prove, if only to myself, that I am an ok person.”

Sarah had let down her guard for a moment. It felt good. She hadn’t opened up to anyone like that before. At least not anyone who wouldn’t be sending a bill. But still there was a voice in her head telling her to be ashamed of her emotions, to hide them deep inside, to hide them behind a book, or a telescope, or computer. She felt sheepish for the thought. But for that moment, she could feel the emotion pushing up her throat, trying to find a way out. She forced a small smile at Elliot.

“Sorry for the speech.”

“Don’t be sorry, Sarah. I’m so glad to be sharing this with you. You’ve been such a wonderful mentor to me, and a true friend.”

“We should probably go.” Sarah said, trying to change the subject. She knew that if they sat there much longer, she might crack and fall crying on Elliot’s shoulder. She didn’t want to be the typical girl. She was too old for that, and too mature. She was the world’s foremost expert in atmospheric manipulation, a staff member on the Artemis project, and she was standing on top of the roof of the NWU Surface Studies building, ready to cry on a former student’s shoulder.