The Cartographer Collection

5. Passing The First Test-1

The snaking corridors of the Cirrus confused me and I grew worried that their twisting halls would lead me somewhere I didn"t want to be. Fortunately, a passing crew member—a seven foot tall humanoid with bulging muscles, flowing blond hair, a birds nest of a beard and fierce azure eyes(later learned to be an Orgellian)—guided me to Calypso"s quarters.

I stared at the door, not sure how to alert Calypso of my presence, so I simply knocked. The Orgellian looked down at me, chuckled, and placed his thumb inside a recess next to the door. I heard the familiar melodic jingle come from the other side before Calypso opened the door. Thor (my clever nickname for the Good Samaritan) threw me a brief nod before departing down the hall, leaving me alone in the doorway.

Calypso opened the door and smiled. “I have been expecting you, Nathan. Please, come in.”

He moved to the lone window in the room and stared into space. The room was rather bland and surprisingly devoid of furnishings save for a couch and a table equipped with a Sustanant. I didn"t see a bed, but a closed door along the far wall caused me to assume he slept there, if he even needed sleep at all.

“You"ve been expecting me?”

He motioned me towards the couch and I plopped into its welcoming cushions. Calypso plopped down beside me.

“Yes, I assumed you would have questions for me.” He folded his hands but his smile did not waver.

I felt slightly uncomfortable under the gaze. I shook off my apprehension and decided to tread lightly to make sure I didn"t overstep my bounds or offend him. I wasn"t quite sure how he would take the news that I passed the test.

I shrugged. “Yes I do, but I wanted to thank you guys for making me feel at home.” I scanned the desolate room and wondered why I received such preferential treatment, but decided to leave that question for another day. “Thank you for making my room feel like home.”

“It was our pleasure, Nathan.” The smile faded. “But it appears something is bothering you.”

“Well,” I said before hesitating. “I came across something on my computer called "The Map", so I clicked on it.”

“Oh really,” he replied with a raised eyebrow. “What happened when you clicked on it?”

“It asked me some questions.”

“Oh?” He leaned forward and tossed me a curious look. “Did you answer them?” His interest level seemed strangely high.

“Yes, so do I win a prize?” I quipped.

His jaw dropped and his mouth formed a comical O. He shot up and walked over to an intercom mounted on the wall.

“Satou?”

“Yes?” Satou"s voice bellowed from the other side.

“Nathan passed the test!”

The line went dead and Calypso turned to me.

“Is that a big deal,” I asked.

Calypso"s smile widened. “You can say that again! I assume you caught a glimpse of the map?”

“Yes I did, although it was a lot of information to absorb to be honest,” I replied. “My head is still swimming.”

A confused look spread across his face. “How does a head swim?”

I chuckled. “It"s just a figure of speech on Earth. It means that I"m dizzy from all the information I had to process.”

Calypso matched my chuckle. “Yes, I suppose it is a lot of information to process.” He seemed to notice the confusion still etched on my face. “What"s wrong, Nathan?”

“Well, there was something else on my computer I found interesting. What is a Helios Protocol?”

His smile wavered for a split second and he cleared his throat. “It has been a long time since I heard that term.”

“Sorry for snooping,” I said nervously. “I was browsing through the games and came across it. It kind of popped out of the screen at me.”

Calypso quickly held up his hand. “No, I find your curiosity and thirst for knowledge refreshing. Especially for a human.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Pay no heed to my ramblings, but I will be happy to answer your question. Helios Protocol is an emergency evacuation procedure put in place generations ago to assist the Consortium with preserving interstellar life.”

“OK, can you repeat that in English?”

Calypso chuckled. “To summarize, Nathan, it is a set of protocols that we use in the event of total planetary loss. Think of it this way. On Earth, if you have an event like a flood or earthquake that causes catastrophic loss of life and property, your people have emergency procedures in place to evacuate the inhabitants to safe areas, correct?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“Well, we have the same thing, except on a galactic scale. A majority of planets throughout the universe eventually die. Whether it is through war, famine, astronomical events or disease, it is usually inevitable. Although there are exceptions to the rule, we like to have these contingency plans in place in order to preserve life. The Consortium regards life as sacred and it should have a chance to persevere no matter the circumstance.”

“OK now I get it,” I replied. “You guys are kinda like an Intergalactic Red Cross.”

Calypso c****d his head. “A what?”

“Never mind,” I sighed.

Satou burst through the door, interrupting our conversation. He bent over and put his hands on his knees, attempting to catch his breath.

“Sorry…for…bursting in like this,” he wheezed. “I just could not believe it. I had to come see for myself.”

Calypso noticed my confused look and let out a hearty laugh. “Ah yes, Satou. Our new human companion is our new Cartographer.” He paused and grabbed my shoulder. “That is, if he wants the job.”

I yawned. “Can you wait for my answer until tomorrow? I"m tired.”

Satou roared with laughter and grabbed me in a bear hug. “Of course! We would not want to wear you out before you even start.”

“Satou, would you please escort Nathan to his room?” Calypso asked.

Satou accompanied me to my room. During the trip, he rambled on about how he was proud of me and how long it had been since they had a Cartographer and other such nonsense. I was so tired and unable to maintain any sort of serious conversation. By the time we returned to my room, I collapsed in the bed and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

My dreams were disturbed by visions of laser beams, spaceships and bodies falling from skyscrapers. I was on fire, trapped in a building, with no window or door to escape from. I struggled to breathe as the smoke overcame me.

I woke up breathing heavily, drenched in cold sweat, looking for a window that wasn"t there as the fragments of the dream still tugged at the back of my mind. I rubbed my eyes, fell back against the pillow and stared at the ceiling. Time escaped me in space so I had no idea how long I had been asleep.

I dragged myself out of bed and trudged to the Sustanant. A sea of icons stared back at me and I was afraid if I pushed the wrong button I would get a warm glass of motor oil or a steaming pile of feces. I eyed a button that had a picture of an empty glass and pressed it. A cursor blinked on the keypad and I typed in “milk” but nothing happened. I tried to lift the sliding door, but it wouldn"t budge. As I struggled with the door, a blinking icon flashed red next to the keypad. It was a switch that read “hot” on one side and “cold” on the other. Thinking that hot milk would be awful, I moved the switch to “cold”. The door slid up and I pulled out the glass of cold milk.

I took a swig, placed the glass on the table and returned to bed. The vividness of the dream tugged at my thoughts and I found it difficult to fall back asleep. I focused on the ceiling and counted imaginary sheep until my eyelids started growing heavy.

The doorbell prevented me from drifting back to sleep. I groaned as I got up and opened the door. Satou stood on the other side with a smile on his face.

“I hope you slept well. I wanted to let you know we will be docking within the hour,” he beamed.

“Docking?”

“Yes, we will be interfacing with the ISS Argus before resuming our journey home,” he replied.

“Well that was quick.”

“Quick?” Satou looked confused. “I am sorry but you have been asleep for over six hours.”

I rubbed my eyes wearily. “Great, I feel like poop.” I sat on the end of the bed and pulled on my boots. “Um, you mentioned home? Are we returning to Earth?”

Satou c****d his head. It was meant as a sign of puzzlement but for a guy with an octopus head, the gesture seemed absurd. “I am sorry but I meant Caelum, not Earth.”

I finished putting on my boots and dropped my head in my hands. “I"m sorry I forgot that I have a new home now.” I rubbed my eyes and looked up. “So what"s the problem with flying to Caelum on this ship? Does this thing get poor gas mileage or something?”

“The Cirrus is designed for short, interplanetary travel only. We are required to interface with an interstellar class vessel in order to make the trip across galaxies. Without getting into specifics, it is all a matter of engine design. ISS class vessels have warp capabilities but IPS vessels only have basic propulsion systems more suited for traveling from planet to planet.”

“But—” I interjected, but Satou stopped me.

“I know this is confusing but let me break it down to the basics. If we attempted to travel to Caelum in the Cirrus from our current location, it would take us a little over 40 years to get there at maximum speed. With the Argus, at maximum speed, it will take us about two weeks.”

“Oh,” I replied blandly, as if Satou just told me where to find the bathroom.

“The good news is once we arrive, Calypso will most likely call a meeting with the High Prince and recommend that you stay on board the Cirrus as the Cartographer.”

I shrugged. In honesty, my emotions were conflicted on the subject. Already resigned to the fact that I would have to remain among these strangers and remorseful that I would never see Sam or my family again, I was still attracted to the idea of discovering things that scientists on Earth only dreamed of.

Satou"s wristband beeped and Natronix"s voice boomed. “Satou, Calypso and Madoc, I need you all on the bridge as soon as possible.”

The urgency in Natronix"s voice interrupted my mental wrestling match. The captain seemed a strong and grizzled universal explorer with a gut of iron, but the voice that came across the com-watch (a name I made up) sounded rattled. Satou"s demeanor mirrored my feelings on the subject. He turned abruptly toward the exit.