Chapter 8

Connie

‘High Earth Orbit’

I sat in awe, gaping at the screen like a fool at the image of my planet below us. It was beautiful.

None of the bullshit on the ground was visible from up here.

“Are you ready to leave?” Bob asked.

They had changed the color of their suits, to make it easier to tell them apart. Bob was in a green suit now, and Billy in the same blue one as before.

I shook my head. “Not yet,” I murmured.

I didn’t want to leave this image, to leave my home. Not just yet.

Of the hundreds of thoughts running through my mind, I settled on, “Can you access the music on my world? I really want to take it with me.”

“We will download it all for you. We will also leave a connection beacon in orbit around your world, so you can access your internet while you are away.

“It will be wise to keep up with current affairs while you are gone so that you do not face any problems when integrating back into your society.”

I turned to look at them.

“Internet? I will have internet everywhere we go? My internet? Earth’s internet? Are you serious?” I asked in utter disbelief.

The sideways glance I got from Billy and Bob was enough to ask the question I have heard all day. How did I feel?

Before they could ask, I rolled my eyes and spoke. “Disbelief. Confusion. Happiness. My race has a hard time getting internet access in some parts of the planet.

“We are going to travel billions of miles away and I will still be able to Google. That is amazing. I’m confused, because I don’t know how that is possible.

“And I’m happy that I will still have some contact with my own world,” I clarified for them.

“Would you like us to explain the technical details of how this is achieved?” Billy asked.

“Sure, why not? I probably won’t understand, but hey, we’re all here to learn,” I said.

“The beacon we will leave in orbit around your planet is a direct link to our ship. Just as we bend space to travel faster than light, we can transfer an electronic signal,” Bob explained.

That I actually did understand. Maybe I wasn’t as clueless as I thought about all this.

“I get it. This ship can bend space to travel vast distances in a short time. Is there anywhere interesting to go?” I asked, butterflies swarming in my stomach with excitement.

Billy turned to the screen and tapped on the clear glass panel in front of him. “There are many places in the universe of interest to someone of your limited knowledge,” he said.

“Hey, be nice. We all gotta start somewhere,” I said. “And before you ask, I’m annoyed. No need to go name-calling, we were just becoming friends,” I finished.

“Friendship is an unknown construct to our species. How do you know that we are your friends?”

~Oh man, how do I explain something like that to them?~

“Okay, um…. Well, take you two, for example. You live together, work together, and you get along.

“You like each other’s company, and you work well as a team. That’s the basis of friendship.

“We are friends because you kept your word, you are nice to me, and we are getting on so far. That is the start of a friendship.

“Friends take care of each other, they help each other, and they support each other.”

Billy looked over at Bob, and then at me. They both nodded slowly, and I rolled my eyes and turned back to the screen.

The ship began to turn away from the planet.

When I could no longer see it, and only stars were in front of me, Bob said, “We are leaving. The download you requested is complete.

“You should not feel pain, but your body may experience unexpected symptoms of wormhole travel. If you do not feel well, inform us.”

~Great. What is their idea of unexpected symptoms?~

~Am I going to get motion sickness, or am I going to sprout a third eye?~

As the white glow grew around the screen, I felt a tumbling in the pit of my stomach.

It started small, but as the light grew so did the feeling.

My body pulled forward, and with a bright flash, we were gone.

As soon as the light disappeared, I felt the contents of my stomach pushing up my throat.

I bolted out the room and ran for my bathroom, making it just in time to throw up into the bath.

When the heaving subsided, I looked at the mess in the tub and winced at the thought of now having to clean it all up.

“Gross,” I mumbled and stood to the sink. I rinsed my mouth out with water and splashed some on my face.

A few deep breaths settled my gut, and when I turned to look at the disgusting mess I had made in the bath, it was gone.

The tub was the pristine white color it should be.

“Okay…” I said, looking around.

“As we said before, the ship performs most tasks for us. As it will now do for you,” one of my new travel buddies said in my ear.

That brought a wide smile to my face. “Now this, I could get used to.”