07-04-2003, 12:23 PM
Vous ne l'attendiez plus :LeLudwig: et pourtant il arrive enfin 
le numero 65
Attention, c'est carr?ment long
et j'ai peur que le style ait un peu perdu le niveau initial :ohoui: . Enfin on verra. Au fait si vous trouvez certaines choses obscures 
dite le moi :LeMarkSunstorm: !
65
The walls and ceiling automatically lit up as I closed the door between my room and the common area. My book was still on the grey table, next to the library under the bed on the opposite corner of the room. Kientol was really my favourite writer. How could a man have such imagination! I decided to have a good sonic shower, dress for the night and finish my book in bed. The green floor made almost no noise as I walked to the closet next to the bathroom. Casual clothes, sports wear and my writer uniform reminded me of what I may leave soon. I took a night suit and swiftly closed the door. It was no use thinking about that now; I?d better enjoy the night. Yet, standing in the light yellow sonic shower, trying to relax, I couldn?t help thinking about the chat I had just had. This mission really seemed to be - special. No, that was not the right word. There was something odd in all this. Well, maybe it was just my writer?s imagination that created this feeling. I finished cleaning myself and left the bathroom. The light adjusted as I climbed up to bed with my book, and eventually turned off five minutes after my getting asleep.
The ceiling light woke me up at 5 the next morning. I put my book on the shelf in the side of my bed, and climbed down to my desk between the bathroom and the library, eager to see if any message had arrived during my sleep. Among the mess of papers, pads and optical chips that covered it, I saw the blue glimmer that informed me a digital letter had arrived. I lifted a panel of the desk, went around it and sat in front of the desk. I closed the panel and moved all the stuff that covered the screen. It rose as I activated it and confirmed that the message came from the Explorations Office, whether it was good news or bad.
It was good news! I knew it! I had been chosen as an observer. Yet, it said I was to report to the Explorations Office in a little less than 1 hour. The letter had arrived at a quarter past 27, just after I got asleep. I dressed up in a hurry, got a quick breakfast and rushed into the nearest lift. I made it just in time. The man I was supposed to meet didn?t even look at me, he just told me with a cold voice that I had to pack up and inform my superiors I was leaving so they could find someone else to do my job. I was expected in Milrock?s star port at 22.
?What am I supposed to take with me?? I asked.
?I don?t know! Anyway, exploration is no galactic tourism and there is not much room in a ship! Don?t take your whole quarters with you, just take what is necessary.?
I stood looking at him from above without saying a word until he eventually stared at me and barked ?What are you waiting for??
?Well, I don?t know, something like ?congratulations? or ?may your feet bear you along colourful paths?. You remember, just a few polite words.?
?Congratulations! Now get out, I have work to do!?
This meeting left me in a very bad mood, so I decided to enjoy a good walk along the streets. How can people be so irritating, I wondered, still thinking of my last interview. This trip had not taken a good start. My path took me not far from my friend?s Senare quarters, so I decided to pay her an unplanned visit. What would she think of my going on an exploration tour? I entered the common area of her block but couldn?t go further. Her door was closed and she didn?t answer my calls. In addition, she lived in level three quarters so she had only one neighbour and he was absent so there was no way to know anything about her schedule. What was going on? She had not left her quarters for days and now she did not answer. Maybe she was asleep; maybe she eventually decided to go out for a walk; or maybe she didn?t want to see me but there was no reason. I suddenly thought there were some days when one should stay in bed. In the end, I decided to go to the Dokdoi pub where my friends often gathered. I wanted to give them some pieces of star before I left, which meant I wanted to say goodbye.
The pub was as quiet as usual and I immediately spotted my friends Telia and Jael. It was the end of the day for them since our cycles were very desynchronised. Yet, they seemed to be eager to talk to me.
?The morning light shine upon your soul Lian!?
??And your heart open to receive its blessing, Jael! How was your day?? I answered.
?Well, it was as boring as a whole day trying to debug a stupid program can be!?
Jael ordered three unsweetened balawe from the waiter.
?What about you, Lian?? asked Telia. ?Are you still working on the revolutionary plastics of the core during the 4th millennium??
?Actually, I was working on the rebellion of the plastic technicians of the aft sector in the year 4237.?
?And now you gave it up to have more time for your prehistoric fiction. You know that if it does not have the success you expect you could lose the advantages you earned with your Chronicles of Dellan moons, don?t you?? said Jael.
?I think you were right to give up such a theme and write your own stories,? quickly added Telia.
?Well, actually that?s not what I have decided.? I answered. I made them wait for a few seconds before I added ?I?m joining the expedition as an observer. I?m leaving tonight.?
It took them some time to recover from the blow.
?You? you don?t mean you are giving up everything and going away from us for one year, do you?? asked Telia.
?I do! I think this is the best way to know what the meaning of life really is. Anyway I have no inspiration for my fiction and my historical document seems really pointless to me.?
?We?ll miss you, Lian. I assume that, in the end, everyone has to follow his own path,? said Jael. He was quiet and serious yet each gesture he made reflected his sadness.
?Actually, I am glad I have found you here. I wouldn?t have left without giving you your pieces of star. I?ll really miss you two.?
We drank our warm balawe slowly and silently. There were no need to talk to explain what we were feeling, nothing to say now that everyone knew it could be our last meeting, and no place for words in those deep silent instants. Each look, each movement was a long sentence, a cry, a memory.
?Well, this is it!? eventually sighted Telia. We all stood up and I looked at them deeply.
?Let the evening glow light your way until our next meeting.?
?May the wait not last,? answered Jael.
I was so lost in thought that I lost myself on my way back to my quarters. So I used the self-control we all learned when we were children, to calm down, empty my mind, focus on reality and try to expand my consciousness to my whole spirit. Then, I brought logic into my thoughts and the solutions came to me easily. I had turned left on Semilian street instead of going straight on. Then I had passed two streets and turned right and ? yes now I remembered my whole path. I just had to get back to my room and pack up.
I took my old grey bag in the closet and began to choose which clothes to take with me. I had been given this room for one year but I would easily obtain to keep it a little longer so there would be no need to move all my stuff. I took my digital pad on the desk and two optical chips among the mess. I tried to tidy my room but there was not enough time left so I gave up at twelve. I used my computer to book a seat in the HST to Milrock that left at a quarter past fifteen. Then I had lunch with Deena who had come back from her job to give me her pieces of star and some cookies she had made for me. I wrote some letters for my neighbours and the friends I had not met this day. Then I finished packing up and closed my door. I went to the Lantarlie station to take the high speed tube.
By chance, Milrock was just nine hundred kilometres away, so it just took me two and a half hours to get there. I arrived by seventeen and had plenty of time to visit the city and the star port. I had never be in a port of this importance. The whole Lantarlie forest couldn?t have filled the gigantic shipyard. One could walk for hours without retracing one?s steps. This was one of the three shipyards capable of assembling interstellar range spaceships. Yet, no such ship was in construction, there were only small range ships and a few planet range ships. I wondered where the Solar Wind was. Hundreds of people could work there, but there were just a few bees at work. This place probably looked like a hive when all technicians were at work in their black and yellow suits. The large shining machine tools at rest made me think of a frozen jungle of wonder trees with jewels shining along their delicate veins. As the roof, some hundred of meters above, was closed, the soft light came from the big floodlight people called shining trees. I spent all afternoon strolling around and I forgot to eat, so I went to the exploration centre tired and hungry.
?Your evening be pleasant. May I help you?? gently asked the woman at the information office.
?I am Lian Antekril. I am here to join the expedition as an observer.?
?Oh! Mr Antekril! You are the last to arrive but you are not late yet. You are expected in the briefing room BR12. Take the lift to the second floor. The briefing room is the second door on your right. Your feet bear you along colourful path.?
?And the stars shine in your eyes.?
I entered the room with my travel clothes and my back pack.
There were around fifteen men and women in the room.
?Terniel hopes our meeting will bring light,? the exploration officer greeted me from the rostrum on the opposite side of the room.
?Lian make sure it does,? I answered, ashamed of my appearance.
?Please, Mr Antekril, put your bag down near the door and come have a seat. The briefing is about to begin.?
I shot a quick look at the other observers. There were six men and five women. Two men were wearing their official clothes. One of them was a tribun, the other one was a judge.
The crew would be split into three shifts working ten hours a day. Of course, for important manoeuvres, two or all three shifts would have to work together. Each observer had to learn a new speciality chosen by the captain in order to help the crew. Four of us would be assigned to each shift. The Solar Wind would accelerate for one month, keep her speed for one month and decelerate for two months in reference time, which is Lonely Sun?s time. But because of the relativity effects due to the high speed of each ship, our trip would last less than three months to us. We were to study the planet, its two satellites and its star for four months in reference time, a little bit less than five months to us. Eventually, we would come back to Lonely Sun four months in reference time from then with a different acceleration/deceleration cycle which would be calculated according to the position of Lonely Sun and her course by the computer of the Solar Wind. This ship was currently taking her last test not far from our ship with her new crew. They would be back tomorrow morning, and, if she passed the test, Solar Wind would have her tanks refuelled and would be ready to go in two days.
We received temporary quarters and had our basic space survival training completed with intensive lessons. I made friends with Cyrlaniel, a kind fair-haired brown-eyed girl with a bronzed skin and the typical accent of the far aft sector. She was a young sketcher. Yet she told me she already had an excellent style in her quick drawings. I also spent some time with Teebow Tery, a young ecology engineer who hoped his terra-forming skills would be useful to us. He seemed to be a really nice guy who was always smiling even when he had troubles doing the survival exercises.
We eventually met the crew. The captain was a tall, brown-haired, dark-eyed man. He probably was seventy-five years old so he was middle aged. He seemed strong and self-assured to me. On his right stood a calm brown-haired blue-eyed man, who probably was seventy. On his left was a charming mid-sized woman with dark eyes and dark hair. She was probably around fifty. All three were wearing deep purple suits. The captain addressed us.
?I am captain Thyl, in command of this expedition. This is my first officer Mael Peak,? he said, designating the man on his right, ?and this is my second officer Jael Kishin,? he said, designating the woman. ?Each of us will be in command of one shift. I expect you to obey quickly to any order of ours for the safety of the expedition. You have been selected for your skills, your health and your psychological stability, so I do hope our meeting will bring light. I am going to assign you to your shifts.?
A while later, we were three left with no assignment : Mr Utalubro, an old geologist, Cyrlaniel, and me.
?Mr Utalubro, I?d like you to join the second or the third shift, and you Miss Cyrlaniel you should join the first or the second shift, but I?m having trouble assigning Mr Antekril. You have an impressive range of skills for a writer. I have read you practise several sports, you won mental contests and that you?re interested in history. Yet we cannot teach you everything in so little time so I?d like you to choose a speciality among those : the advanced use of space armoured suits, the advanced use of computers or advanced mind and body co-ordination which is sometime very useful in exploration. So what do you prefer??
Space armoured suits go to 55
Computers go to 7
Mind and body co-ordination go to 33
He bien Nico, vers quelle voie vas tu t'orienter?
Allez, je planche d?j? sur la suite!
le numero 65
Attention, c'est carr?ment long
et j'ai peur que le style ait un peu perdu le niveau initial :ohoui: . Enfin on verra. Au fait si vous trouvez certaines choses obscures dite le moi :LeMarkSunstorm: !65
The walls and ceiling automatically lit up as I closed the door between my room and the common area. My book was still on the grey table, next to the library under the bed on the opposite corner of the room. Kientol was really my favourite writer. How could a man have such imagination! I decided to have a good sonic shower, dress for the night and finish my book in bed. The green floor made almost no noise as I walked to the closet next to the bathroom. Casual clothes, sports wear and my writer uniform reminded me of what I may leave soon. I took a night suit and swiftly closed the door. It was no use thinking about that now; I?d better enjoy the night. Yet, standing in the light yellow sonic shower, trying to relax, I couldn?t help thinking about the chat I had just had. This mission really seemed to be - special. No, that was not the right word. There was something odd in all this. Well, maybe it was just my writer?s imagination that created this feeling. I finished cleaning myself and left the bathroom. The light adjusted as I climbed up to bed with my book, and eventually turned off five minutes after my getting asleep.
The ceiling light woke me up at 5 the next morning. I put my book on the shelf in the side of my bed, and climbed down to my desk between the bathroom and the library, eager to see if any message had arrived during my sleep. Among the mess of papers, pads and optical chips that covered it, I saw the blue glimmer that informed me a digital letter had arrived. I lifted a panel of the desk, went around it and sat in front of the desk. I closed the panel and moved all the stuff that covered the screen. It rose as I activated it and confirmed that the message came from the Explorations Office, whether it was good news or bad.
It was good news! I knew it! I had been chosen as an observer. Yet, it said I was to report to the Explorations Office in a little less than 1 hour. The letter had arrived at a quarter past 27, just after I got asleep. I dressed up in a hurry, got a quick breakfast and rushed into the nearest lift. I made it just in time. The man I was supposed to meet didn?t even look at me, he just told me with a cold voice that I had to pack up and inform my superiors I was leaving so they could find someone else to do my job. I was expected in Milrock?s star port at 22.
?What am I supposed to take with me?? I asked.
?I don?t know! Anyway, exploration is no galactic tourism and there is not much room in a ship! Don?t take your whole quarters with you, just take what is necessary.?
I stood looking at him from above without saying a word until he eventually stared at me and barked ?What are you waiting for??
?Well, I don?t know, something like ?congratulations? or ?may your feet bear you along colourful paths?. You remember, just a few polite words.?
?Congratulations! Now get out, I have work to do!?
This meeting left me in a very bad mood, so I decided to enjoy a good walk along the streets. How can people be so irritating, I wondered, still thinking of my last interview. This trip had not taken a good start. My path took me not far from my friend?s Senare quarters, so I decided to pay her an unplanned visit. What would she think of my going on an exploration tour? I entered the common area of her block but couldn?t go further. Her door was closed and she didn?t answer my calls. In addition, she lived in level three quarters so she had only one neighbour and he was absent so there was no way to know anything about her schedule. What was going on? She had not left her quarters for days and now she did not answer. Maybe she was asleep; maybe she eventually decided to go out for a walk; or maybe she didn?t want to see me but there was no reason. I suddenly thought there were some days when one should stay in bed. In the end, I decided to go to the Dokdoi pub where my friends often gathered. I wanted to give them some pieces of star before I left, which meant I wanted to say goodbye.
The pub was as quiet as usual and I immediately spotted my friends Telia and Jael. It was the end of the day for them since our cycles were very desynchronised. Yet, they seemed to be eager to talk to me.
?The morning light shine upon your soul Lian!?
??And your heart open to receive its blessing, Jael! How was your day?? I answered.
?Well, it was as boring as a whole day trying to debug a stupid program can be!?
Jael ordered three unsweetened balawe from the waiter.
?What about you, Lian?? asked Telia. ?Are you still working on the revolutionary plastics of the core during the 4th millennium??
?Actually, I was working on the rebellion of the plastic technicians of the aft sector in the year 4237.?
?And now you gave it up to have more time for your prehistoric fiction. You know that if it does not have the success you expect you could lose the advantages you earned with your Chronicles of Dellan moons, don?t you?? said Jael.
?I think you were right to give up such a theme and write your own stories,? quickly added Telia.
?Well, actually that?s not what I have decided.? I answered. I made them wait for a few seconds before I added ?I?m joining the expedition as an observer. I?m leaving tonight.?
It took them some time to recover from the blow.
?You? you don?t mean you are giving up everything and going away from us for one year, do you?? asked Telia.
?I do! I think this is the best way to know what the meaning of life really is. Anyway I have no inspiration for my fiction and my historical document seems really pointless to me.?
?We?ll miss you, Lian. I assume that, in the end, everyone has to follow his own path,? said Jael. He was quiet and serious yet each gesture he made reflected his sadness.
?Actually, I am glad I have found you here. I wouldn?t have left without giving you your pieces of star. I?ll really miss you two.?
We drank our warm balawe slowly and silently. There were no need to talk to explain what we were feeling, nothing to say now that everyone knew it could be our last meeting, and no place for words in those deep silent instants. Each look, each movement was a long sentence, a cry, a memory.
?Well, this is it!? eventually sighted Telia. We all stood up and I looked at them deeply.
?Let the evening glow light your way until our next meeting.?
?May the wait not last,? answered Jael.
I was so lost in thought that I lost myself on my way back to my quarters. So I used the self-control we all learned when we were children, to calm down, empty my mind, focus on reality and try to expand my consciousness to my whole spirit. Then, I brought logic into my thoughts and the solutions came to me easily. I had turned left on Semilian street instead of going straight on. Then I had passed two streets and turned right and ? yes now I remembered my whole path. I just had to get back to my room and pack up.
I took my old grey bag in the closet and began to choose which clothes to take with me. I had been given this room for one year but I would easily obtain to keep it a little longer so there would be no need to move all my stuff. I took my digital pad on the desk and two optical chips among the mess. I tried to tidy my room but there was not enough time left so I gave up at twelve. I used my computer to book a seat in the HST to Milrock that left at a quarter past fifteen. Then I had lunch with Deena who had come back from her job to give me her pieces of star and some cookies she had made for me. I wrote some letters for my neighbours and the friends I had not met this day. Then I finished packing up and closed my door. I went to the Lantarlie station to take the high speed tube.
By chance, Milrock was just nine hundred kilometres away, so it just took me two and a half hours to get there. I arrived by seventeen and had plenty of time to visit the city and the star port. I had never be in a port of this importance. The whole Lantarlie forest couldn?t have filled the gigantic shipyard. One could walk for hours without retracing one?s steps. This was one of the three shipyards capable of assembling interstellar range spaceships. Yet, no such ship was in construction, there were only small range ships and a few planet range ships. I wondered where the Solar Wind was. Hundreds of people could work there, but there were just a few bees at work. This place probably looked like a hive when all technicians were at work in their black and yellow suits. The large shining machine tools at rest made me think of a frozen jungle of wonder trees with jewels shining along their delicate veins. As the roof, some hundred of meters above, was closed, the soft light came from the big floodlight people called shining trees. I spent all afternoon strolling around and I forgot to eat, so I went to the exploration centre tired and hungry.
?Your evening be pleasant. May I help you?? gently asked the woman at the information office.
?I am Lian Antekril. I am here to join the expedition as an observer.?
?Oh! Mr Antekril! You are the last to arrive but you are not late yet. You are expected in the briefing room BR12. Take the lift to the second floor. The briefing room is the second door on your right. Your feet bear you along colourful path.?
?And the stars shine in your eyes.?
I entered the room with my travel clothes and my back pack.
There were around fifteen men and women in the room.
?Terniel hopes our meeting will bring light,? the exploration officer greeted me from the rostrum on the opposite side of the room.
?Lian make sure it does,? I answered, ashamed of my appearance.
?Please, Mr Antekril, put your bag down near the door and come have a seat. The briefing is about to begin.?
I shot a quick look at the other observers. There were six men and five women. Two men were wearing their official clothes. One of them was a tribun, the other one was a judge.
The crew would be split into three shifts working ten hours a day. Of course, for important manoeuvres, two or all three shifts would have to work together. Each observer had to learn a new speciality chosen by the captain in order to help the crew. Four of us would be assigned to each shift. The Solar Wind would accelerate for one month, keep her speed for one month and decelerate for two months in reference time, which is Lonely Sun?s time. But because of the relativity effects due to the high speed of each ship, our trip would last less than three months to us. We were to study the planet, its two satellites and its star for four months in reference time, a little bit less than five months to us. Eventually, we would come back to Lonely Sun four months in reference time from then with a different acceleration/deceleration cycle which would be calculated according to the position of Lonely Sun and her course by the computer of the Solar Wind. This ship was currently taking her last test not far from our ship with her new crew. They would be back tomorrow morning, and, if she passed the test, Solar Wind would have her tanks refuelled and would be ready to go in two days.
We received temporary quarters and had our basic space survival training completed with intensive lessons. I made friends with Cyrlaniel, a kind fair-haired brown-eyed girl with a bronzed skin and the typical accent of the far aft sector. She was a young sketcher. Yet she told me she already had an excellent style in her quick drawings. I also spent some time with Teebow Tery, a young ecology engineer who hoped his terra-forming skills would be useful to us. He seemed to be a really nice guy who was always smiling even when he had troubles doing the survival exercises.
We eventually met the crew. The captain was a tall, brown-haired, dark-eyed man. He probably was seventy-five years old so he was middle aged. He seemed strong and self-assured to me. On his right stood a calm brown-haired blue-eyed man, who probably was seventy. On his left was a charming mid-sized woman with dark eyes and dark hair. She was probably around fifty. All three were wearing deep purple suits. The captain addressed us.
?I am captain Thyl, in command of this expedition. This is my first officer Mael Peak,? he said, designating the man on his right, ?and this is my second officer Jael Kishin,? he said, designating the woman. ?Each of us will be in command of one shift. I expect you to obey quickly to any order of ours for the safety of the expedition. You have been selected for your skills, your health and your psychological stability, so I do hope our meeting will bring light. I am going to assign you to your shifts.?
A while later, we were three left with no assignment : Mr Utalubro, an old geologist, Cyrlaniel, and me.
?Mr Utalubro, I?d like you to join the second or the third shift, and you Miss Cyrlaniel you should join the first or the second shift, but I?m having trouble assigning Mr Antekril. You have an impressive range of skills for a writer. I have read you practise several sports, you won mental contests and that you?re interested in history. Yet we cannot teach you everything in so little time so I?d like you to choose a speciality among those : the advanced use of space armoured suits, the advanced use of computers or advanced mind and body co-ordination which is sometime very useful in exploration. So what do you prefer??
Space armoured suits go to 55
Computers go to 7
Mind and body co-ordination go to 33
He bien Nico, vers quelle voie vas tu t'orienter?
Allez, je planche d?j? sur la suite!