Beyond the Farthest Star: Chapter 4

It was just before sunset when Miles and Noel left the colony. Miles sat in the Raptor‘s cockpit and Noel sat beside him. The two said very little as the old man steered the tank back up the winding road and out onto the desert floor.

“When was the last time you were on the surface?” Miles asked.

“Not very long ago. In fact, I helped install that new air tower over there.”

“Oh, right! Of course. I should have know that. How did that go?”

“It went pretty well, considering! The hard part was getting approval to have it constructed. The mayor didn’t want to do it, but I finally convinced him that it had to be done.”

“How did you do that?” Miles asked. “It’s not like him to be proactive! Usually he waits until something catastrophic happens.”

“I just talked to a couple people at the Tikal News Network and showed them the numbers. They ran a special on how we were all about to suffocate. People started panicking, and that put a lot of pressure on the mayor to do something. He can actually be pretty responsive when angry mobs are pounding down the door to his office.”

Miles smiled. “I see you’ve learned a thing or two! I’m surprised TNN ran the story, though. They don’t usually broadcast anything that puts the administration in a bad light.”

“It’s all in how you phrase it,” Noel said. “If I had told them that the mayor was refusing to act then, sure, they probably wouldn’t have touched it. But a story on how the planet’s atmosphere is getting thinner and will eventually suffocate us – well, that’s an environmental story, and that’s different. There aren’t any politics in that.”

“Nice work,” Miles said approvingly.

Noel looked out the plastic cockpit window, squinting at something in the distance. High overhead he saw a point of light twinkling in the sky. “What’s that?” he asked.

Miles glanced at it. “Oh, it’s probably Jupiter. Looks too small to be Earth.”

“Huh,” Noel said. “Interesting. I’m usually not out at night, so I don’t get a chance to see the planets. They’re actually kind of pretty.”

“It’s really not much of a show – just a few points of light in an utterly black sky. A long time ago the sky used to be filled with stars. There were thousands of them! But they’re gone now.”

“Do you really believe that there used to be stars?” Noel asked. “Isn’t all that stuff about the Wall and the Emperor just a legend?”

“It’s all true,” Miles replied. “Every bit of it. There’s a whole galaxy out there, Noel – in fact, there are billions of galaxies. But the Wall separates us from what’s out there.”

“What a pity,” Noel replied. “If what you say is true then it sounds like we’re missing out.”

Miles shook his head. “I used to think that way too. That was before I realized the Wall works both ways. It keeps us from reaching the stars – and it keeps the stars from reaching us. It may be a prison but it’s also a defense.”

“A defense against what?” Noel asked.

“Against things so horrifying that they don’t even have a name. There are monsters lurking out there that make Lizzie seem utterly harmless by comparison. Imagine a giant cloud of micromachines that can consume planets, destroy colonies, eradicate–”

“If you say so,” Noel interrupted. “I don’t buy into all that, myself. But every man has a right to his own opinion. If he wants to believe in scary nonsense then I suppose he can do that.”

“Thanks,” Miles said dryly.

Noel heard a small beep. He glanced down at the scope and saw a small dot in its upper-right-hand corner. “What’s that?”

Miles checked the scope. He frowned, then pressed a button to get more information. “That’s odd! It looks like it’s a person.”

“All alone?” Noel asked incredulously.

“Looks that way. I don’t even see any vehicles around.”

“Do you think there’s an underground base around here somewhere?”

“I guess it’s possible,” Miles said slowly. “I’ve never run across one in that area, though, and I don’t know anyone who lives up that way. Most people don’t like being that close to Tikal. My guess it’s a prospector, looking for Don Elliott’s lost treasure.”

“That’s certainly possible,” Noel replied. “It wouldn’t be the first time some fool fell for that old legend.”

The scope beeped a second time and another dot appeared on the scope, this time to the south. This dot was far larger and was moving rapidly. An alarm began sounding.

Miles gasped. “It’s Lizzie!”

Noel paled. “Has she seen us?”

“I don’t think so. But she has seen that prospector – and she’s headed right for him!”

“We’ve got to get out of here!” Noel exclaimed. “Do you think we can make a run for it?”

“Absolutely not,” Miles replied firmly. He slammed the Raptor into high gear and abruptly changed its course. “We are not going to run away – we’re going to go help that person.”

“Help them!” Noel screamed. “Are you out of your mind? Do you know what Lizzie will do if she catches us? This tank isn’t going to protect us, you know!”

“And what about that prospector there? What if he’s lost or hurt? Do you think he has any chance at all? If we don’t do something he’s as good as dead – and I’m not going to just sit here and do nothing!”

Noel gulped and tightly gripped his seat as the tank sped across the desert sands. Miles had plotted a course that would take them straight to the prospector, but a glance at the scope told Noel that they weren’t moving fast enough. “We’re not going to make it!”

Miles nodded. “I know. We’re moving faster but Lizzie is much closer to the prospector than we are. This is going to be tricky.”

“Tricky? What do you mean, tricky? We don’t even have a chance!”

“Lizzie is unpredictable, Noel. She might not attack as soon as she gets there. If we can reach the scene before she attacks we might be able to distract her long enough for the prospector to get on board. Then we can make a run for it.”

“But she’ll chase us!”

“We can outrun her,” Miles said. “At least, I think we can. We’ve got to try – that prospector’s life is depending on it!”

By now they had covered much of the distance that separated them from the person that Lizzie was hunting. Even though the sky was growing dark they could just barely see a figure in the distance. Beyond the person was an enormous creature. In the dark it was hard to see, but Noel could make out countless legs, a cylindrical body, and many appendages. It had kicked up a huge dust cloud and was barreling toward the lone figure.

“Oh my goodness,” Noel gasped. “I – I’d never seen it before. It’s so huge! Do you think–”

In the distance the tiny figure stood up. A bright bolt of searing white light jumped from the person to the monster. The bolt struck Lizzie, knocking her over. As she struggled to her feet a second bolt struck her. This time the energy blew the monster apart, sending pieces flying across the desert.

Noel’s jaw dropped. “Did you just see that? Did that really just happen?”

“Apparently so,” Miles said. He continued to drive the Raptor as fast as she could go. “Our friend seems to have some rather powerful weaponry! I’d love to get a look at that technology. Let’s see who it is and offer them a ride home.”

As the tank drew close to the individual Miles slowed it down. He finally stopped the craft less than twenty feet away from the person. The headlights illuminated a teenage girl, who appeared to be in her early teens. She was tall and thin, with bronzed skin and straight black hair. The girl was wearing a long blue dress and was staring away from them, looking at the remains of the grotesque creature that she had just killed.

“She doesn’t have a spacesuit!” Noel exclaimed. “She’s going to die if we don’t get her in here immediately! There’s no air out there!”

Miles stood up and stared at the girl, a mixture of amazement and wonder on his face. “Could it be? Is it possible? Can it really be her?”

“What are you doing?” Noel shouted. “Get out there and get her!”

Miles walked to the back of the cabin and put on a helmet and air supply. He then exited the tank through its airlock and stepped out onto the Martian desert. By now the sun had set and it was dark outside, but the headlights of the Raptor lit up the surrounding area.

The old man walked over to the girl and stood in front of her. The teenager’s brown eyes shifted from the carcass in the desert to him. Miles saw that tears were running down her face. She was deeply upset.

I know who you are, Miles thought with a sense of elation. I recognize you, Amy Stryker, and I know why you are so upset. We share the same grief, little one. I, too, mourn the loss of your family.

Miles took her hand and gestured toward his vehicle. The girl hesitated, then nodded. Miles led her into the tank and through its airlock. As soon as they were inside Noel ran over to her. “Is she all right?”

“She will be, in time,” Miles said. He led her over to a chair and she sat down. The girl briefly glanced around the cabin but apparently saw nothing of interest. She turned her attention out the cockpit window and stared off at the horizon.

Noel walked over to her. “Are you all right? Is there anything I can get you?”

The girl looked at him and said something in a foreign language. Noel shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand you. Do you speak Martian?”

The teenager said something else and then turned her attention back outside. Noel turned to look at Miles. “Did you understand that?”

“Not really. I’m afraid that my command of ancient Martian is very poor. I can understand the written language fairly well but the spoken language is a different matter entirely. There just aren’t enough examples of it left to learn how to correctly pronounce the words.”

“Ancient Martian?” Noel asked incredulously. “Are you serious? No one has spoken that for thousands of years! Why would she be using it?”

“Because it’s Amy’s native tongue,” Miles explained. “That’s what was spoken here the last time she set foot on this planet. It might be the only language she knows.”

“What are you talking about? She’s a teenager! Why, she could be my daughter – if I was married, that is, and had kids, which I don’t. She’s not thousands of years old. Just look at her!”

“Appearances can be deceiving, Noel. Amy is a relic of a civilization that died out a long time ago. Haven’t you noticed how tall she is?”

“She is pretty tall for a child,” Noel admitted.

“There’s more to it than that. In our society full-grown adults are about four feet tall. Some are a bit taller and some a bit shorter, but it’s a good average. Amy, though, is already four feet six and she’s still young. By the time she’s fully grown she’ll be more than a foot taller than you, if not more.”

“But she’s shorter than you are,” Noel pointed out.

Miles smiled. “I’m a special case.”

Noel shook his head. “Well, you can believe all that if you want, but I prefer to stay grounded in reality. What I see is a poor girl who got lost in the desert and nearly killed by Lizzie. I think we need to take her some place safe, so she can get some rest.”

“I agree. I’ll drive us back to New Tikal. I’m sure there’s an abandoned apartment somewhere that she can use.”

Miles stood up, walked over to the pilot’s seat, and got the Raptor moving again. As he turned the vehicle around Noel called out to him. “You know, I can think of a couple apartments on the engineering level that are pretty nice. They’ve been abandoned since the layoff’s last year but they’re still in good repair.”

“I guess that would work,” Miles agreed.

As he drove the tank across the desert Noel noticed that the girl was staring out the window, looking at something in the distance. Noel followed her gaze and noticed that the sky was filled with twinkling dots of light.

“Hey, Miles,” Noel called out. “Just how many planets are there?”

“Oh, eight or nine, depending on how you count them,” Miles replied. “At one time there was a big debate over what a planet was, exactly, but I’m guessing that you don’t really care about that. You’re an engineer, not an astronomer. Why do you ask?”

“Because I see a lot more than eight or nine dots in the sky.”

Miles glanced up at the sky and gasped. He immediately stopped the tank. “Oh my goodness! I can’t believe it. She did it!”

“Who did what?” Noel asked, as he sat down in the chair beside Miles.

“Amy brought down the Wall. It’s gone, Noel. It’s gone at last! We’re free!”

“Do you mean those are stars?”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Miles said excitedly. “That’s why she’s here! It all makes sense now.”

“Those certainly do look like stars,” Noel agreed. “And you were right, too – they’re quite beautiful! I had no idea what we’d been missing for all those millennia. Maybe the old legend about the Wall really did have a grain of truth to it after all. As an engineer, I’d guess that whatever had been sustaining the Wall finally broke down. It just got old – like our ZPE.”

“Nope,” Miles replied. “Amy did it. She was there when it was first created, and now she’s returned to take it down. This is her doing. Do you think it’s just a coincidence that she appeared at the exact same time the stars did?”

“That’s silly!” Noel laughed. “We find a poor girl lost in the desert, about to die, without even a suitcase to her name, and you think that she’s somehow done something to a generator that’s billions of miles away! I think it’s lucky for her that we came this way; another minute or two and she would have suffocated. I’m sure if she could talk she would thank us for saving her.”

Miles shook his head. “I think, before it’s all over, we will thank her for saving us.”

“Believe what you will,” Noel replied. “But even so, stars or not, we do need to get her back to the colony. No matter where she’s from, she’s clearly tired and upset and needs a good night’s sleep.”

“Now that is something we can agree on,” Miles replied.

The old man drove the aging vehicle through the Martian deserts and back to the colony. But the entire time his focus was on the brilliant, beautiful stars that filled the night sky. They were so fantastic that they took his breath away. I never thought I would live to see this day, he thought. Maybe God has not forgotten about us after all.