Taking Space

CONFLICT

Steven stood up, looking at three view screens and trying not to think much as he watched Alf moved around the droids.

After seeing the images, all of them had just stood there, not knowing what to say or do, until Alf appeared and said, “I can easily take care of things from here. All of you go get some rest.”

All the others had just left in a sort of lifeless daze, but Steven had decided to stay behind to make sure Alf didn’t do anything wrong.

The one screen displayed the male prison planet. The drone had finally traveled the full-length through the rift and come out where the two planets were, then used a very small gate that’s only about ten feet by ten feet wide to take the drone to the surface where the drone now flew along three feet above the ground. It was a beautiful planet, and there were signs of primitive dwellings littering the area Alf had the drone flying over, but they were overgrown and barely recognizable.

The other screen displayed a room that Alf had the droids cleaned out and laid dimensional metal tubing on the floor.

The last screen displayed the droids who had restrained and now carried the thirteenth criminal who were on the bridge. Steven watched Alf turned off the gravity on the ship to make it much easier for his droids to carry the prisoners towards the room he had prepared.

“What are you going to do with them?” Steven asked.

“To be honest, the normal protocol would call for their execution. However, I know this is not what you wish, sir, so they will all be dropped on the prison planet for life.”

“All of them? You sure they all deserve that?”

“I looked at the logs. None of them protested when they knew what their leader was up to. As such, in any form of law that makes every last one of them collaborators in this mass murder.”

Steven nodded. “Could you show me the time log?”

A fourth screen appeared, and the AI played the image and audio from the bridge when Allen had made his decision to change the gravity.

As it played, Steven swallowed hard. Alf was right. No one did protest, however one did mention them.

Steven paused the time log and brought up his fake police account and ran a face recognition on the guy.

In seconds it found the men in the database and brought up his record. Steven began to read over it and almost threw up again as the details of this man’s atrocities scrolled past. He reached out and quickly flicked it away.

“Who in the world would let that guy back out of prison?!” he barked angrily.

Of course, no one answered him, and they didn’t have to, because Steven already knew the answer from what he’d seen earlier that day.

Alf’s droids that were hauling the prisoners reached the room he had prepared.

One of the droids that had a firm hold on the man Steven had just checked up on stepped forward and shoved the men into the room.

The door closed and the man floated there as he curiously looked at the room. Then without warning, the dimensional door on the floor opened up to the prison world, and the gravity from it reached up through the dimensional door and grabbed the man, pulling him down.

The men screamed as he was pulled down through the door, then the door flickered off.

Steven’s eyes switched to the screen that’s showing the probe’s view. The probe was already flying away and carrying the hoop with him, but he could easily see the man rolled to his back and looked dazedly around. “Wow, that’s rather effective.” Steven mused out loud.

“Thank you. I thought of it myself,” the AI responded.

The door to the room slid back open, and all the twelve remaining criminals visibly shuddered at seeing the room empty. Panic began to take hold of them, and one of them shouted, “What are you doing with us!” As they uselessly struggled against the droids holding them.

The next man was ruthlessly shoved into the room. The door closed behind him, and the dimensional door flickered on, sucking him down through it as he let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Daniel walked in and walked up beside Steven as he examined the three screens.

The door came open, and the third man began to be pushed towards it.

Steven couldn’t help himself but to smile bitterly as he watched the man’s scream and struggle for all his worth.

Daniel saw Steven’s disturbing smile. A look of disapproval flashed across his face.

Steven turned away from the screen. “I know what you’re thinking, but I can’t help it a part of me wishes we were actually killing them for what they’ve done for what…”

Daniel swallowed hard but didn’t answer.

Steven clenched his fist, then opened them and his shoulders sagged. “I... I should’ve seen this coming! I should’ve thought of some way to stop something like this! I –”

Daniel reached out, grabbed him by his shoulders, and shook him. “No! Don’t you dare go blaming yourself for this! None of us thought something like this would happen and that’s because none of us could have. We don’t think like they do! And that’s a good thing, not a bad thing! Don’t you dare blame yourself for this!”

Steven’s eyes were moist as they met Daniel’s, but he managed to swallow and nod in understanding. “I know you’re right. I just… I just can’t help but think there was something I could have done to stop this.”

“I know… I know.”

They both fell into silence and watched as the fourth criminal was pushed into the room.

The metal tubing that formed the hoop to the dimensional door glowed slightly red from being flipped on and off so fast. The man pushed off the floor and pushed himself up against the roof as he stared down at the ring in horror.

The dimensional door flickered on, and the gravity instantly reached out for him. Without looking down the man spun around and clawed uselessly at the roof for a handheld.

The gravity took greater hold of him, and the man’s eyes became wide with horror as he was pulled downward. The man looked up at the camera and screamed with all his might as he fell through the dimensional door.

Daniel reached out and flicked the screen away. “Enough of this! Alf tell them they’re not being killed.”

“Sir?”

“You heard me. Tell them they’re only being transported, not killed. Now!”

“Sir, in all honesty, we are too lenient on them already. Living on the planet is like a paradise and far better than what they deserve. If I had my way I would be sucking them out into space.”

“I don’t care, tell them.”

The AI made a sound much like a sigh, and one of the droids stepped in front of the door. “Lord Maddog insists I inform you that you are not being killed but rather transported to a prison world, so you can all stop your horrible panicking now.”

“Thank you,” Daniel said as he motioned with his hand to turn all the screens off. He took a deep breath. “Let’s go find the others.”

Steven nodded, and together they walked off the bridge.

***

They found Stephanie in the kitchen making supper.

“Hey, could you all help with making food tonight? I just don’t feel like doing it by myself.”

Daniel would normally argue about being asked to help with dinner, but this time he said, “I understand, I will get Catherine and be right back.”

“I’ll go get Mike,” Steven said.

***

Daniel found Catherine in her room, lying on their bed, picking her fingers as she read something on a tablet. Her eyes were moist, and she was shaking.

Daniel sat down on the bed beside her and hugged her. She threw the tablet aside and wrapped her arms around him.

She began crying, and Daniel held her head close to his chest.

For five minutes, neither of them said anything as she quietly sobbed.

Eventually, the crying subsided, and Daniel pulled away a little. “Stephanie wants us to help with dinner.”

Catherine nodded.

***

When they came into the kitchen, both Michael and Steven were already back. Steven was washing some dishes, and Michael was rinsing the lettuce.

Stephanie looked up from cutting vegetables. “Catherine, could you cut and marinate the meat? And Daniel, could you do the onions?”

“Sure,” Daniel said for both of them.

Catherine went to the fridge, and Daniel got out the onions and began to chop them.

For some time, no one said anything as they prepared dinner. But as Michael finished ripping up the lettuce, he said, “I’m going to self-destruct the Lab factory and put Alf back where we found him.”

Everyone stopped working, and the room fell into complete silence.

Daniel dropped his knife. “No, you can’t do that!”

“I can, and I will. Our ill-thought actions just cost the lives of one hundred and twenty-six slaves. We will not do that again!”

“Their deaths were not our fault! We could never anticipated that wicked man’s actions!” Daniel shouted back.

Stephanie stood up straight. “That’s just it, Daniel. We don’t know what we’re doing! We’re playing with lives as if they were games. We don’t have the right to do that. Michael’s right. If I have to, I will self-destruct Alf myself!”

Daniel’s chest puffed up, and he began to shout something back, but Catherine put her hand firmly on him, her face flaring with anger. “No Stephanie’s right. We are just playing a game! And that’s the problem! We do everything around here halfheartedly. There was just a big fight on the Tallinn colony, and someone brought a heavy weapon to it. A hole was blown in its outer shell, and fourteen people were killed when they were sucked out into space. Of the twelve others they were able to rescue before they died, three of them are brain-dead, and six are scheduled to have limbs amputated. We could’ve easily been there and stopped this! But we weren’t. And that’s because we’re lazy. Anytime a problem comes up we just say we will leave it in God’s hands. Well I have news for all of you, we are God’s body, and we are supposed to be his hands, and he is supposed to work his miracles through us. But all we ever do is keep our hands at our sides and watch the world around us go to hell in a handbasket!”

The kitchen fell into shocked silence at Catherine’s outburst.

Michael opened his mouth to say something but closed it again.

The silence continued until Steven rubbed the side of the glove on his right hand that he had fashioned into an advance communicator and started it to play an extremely ancient song.

But if we are the body

Why aren't His arms reaching?

Why aren't His hands healing?

Why aren't His words teaching?

And if we are the body

Why aren't His feet going?

Why is His love not showing them there is a way?

Steven let the chorus of the song play over and over again until Michael waved at him to turn it down.

As the music died away, Michael took a deep breath. “You’re right. We can’t just keep living in this half-alive state. We have lived in a cave mentality for far too long. God has given us this chance, all these abilities, and gifts. I was wrong for wanting to throw them away. From this time forward I’m going to give it my all. No longer will I waste my time randomly surfing the StarNet. How about you guys, will you join me in this?”

Daniel took a step forward. “I will.”

“That means no more games, Daniel, you can’t do this and have your mind preoccupied with some fantasy. If you still try, it will cost more lives just as we’ve done already.”

Daniel looked down at the floor. “Okay.”

Catherine stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Daniel. “Count me in as well. I’m tired of playing stupid puzzle games on my tablet anyway.”

Michael’s eyes drifted over to Stephanie. “Will you give up your dramas and home improvement programs?”

Stephanie looked back towards her room. “Yes… Yes, I will.”

Daniel looked at Steven. “How about you?”

Steven smiled. “I’m not turning back now.”