After Impact: After Impact Trilogy, Book 1 (2 page)

Her eyesight had vastly improved since first waking. She looked at Ilium. A head taller than her, his complexion was paler than her olive tone.

“May I see a mirror please?” she asked. She had to know what 100 years of cryosleep really did to a girl.

Ilium reached into a drawer and handed her a small mirror. Her cheekbones were still plump and sat high on her face. Her brown eyes still held that elusive dewy look of youth.

After she handed him the mirror, her gaze floated upwards towards a large digital wall clock. The bright red numbers it displayed were clearly counting down.

Avalon pointed to the clock. “What is that?”

“The countdown clock.”

“What is it counting down to?”

“Until we are ready to go outside again,” Ilium answered.

Avalon continued to stare at the bright red display. “That is pre-set, correct? Determined by an AI algorithmic formula?”

Ilium nodded.

“Not much longer till we go outside and walk the Earth again,” Avalon said. Although she knew the Earth they would return to would be nothing like the Earth she left. The one where she listened to the crunch of leaves underfoot in fall, or watched as deer grazed the land. No…it would be drastically different.

“No. Not at all. I would say you woke up in an exciting time. With nine months left on the countdown clock, there is a lot of preparation left to do. You will be of great assistance.”

Avalon nodded. Her eyes examined the room around her again, at all of the cryochambers still sealed away. Her nose scrunched and her eyes narrowed.

“What happened to the other’s whose cryochambers opened prematurely?”

The look in Ilium’s soft eyes revealed she wouldn’t like the answer.

Avalon reflected on the cutting-edge technology that mankind pinned its hopes upon to overcome certain extermination more than a century ago. Those who both chose and were selected to undergo this brave and perilous endeavor were thoroughly debriefed on the extensive risks and the odds that some of them might never wake up in the next century. Nonetheless, people took gambles all of the time on things with worse probability. In order to survive near certain annihilation, a fifty percent chance of never waking were pretty good odds.

“We all knew that there would be some casualties as this whole cryogenic and thawing process is still somewhat experimental, unfortunately,” Ilium said.

The word casualty brought up in Avalon’s mind all of the other casualties of the asteroid. Parents left behind. Children left behind. Friends. Pets too. Avalon was to spend the next nine months of her life in this place. Tears began to form in Avalon’s eyes when her concentration changed and her eyes widened as Ilium retrieved a 20 gauge needle from a recessed drawer in the metal walls.

“What in the world are you doing with
that
?” Avalon asked, her voice rising in pitch.

“Please don’t be alarmed,” he replied with amusement, “I forgot to administer your shot. Everyone has to have it. It helps prevent diseases amongst the population and also provides a year’s supply of Vitamin D.”

Avalon’s smartwatch beeped. Ilium grabbed her wrist and held it up to read it.

“Avalon, I need you to calm down. You had a perfect pulse of seventy five. Now it is one hundred and thirty.”

Avalon lowered her pulse by humming to some of her favorite songs. As her pulse settled down, Ilium grabbed a tablet.

“For verification purposes, your name is Avalon Adams, you are eighteen years old, five feet seven inches in height, and weigh 120 pounds, correct?”

“That is correct,” Avalon answered, never letting her eyes leave the needle in his right hand.

Ilium placed his tablet down on a metal table and prepped Avalon’s arm with an alcohol wipe. He scanned her arm with a tablet, illuminating the perfect vein. “Take a deep breath,” he instructed as he thumped the vein with his index finger to plump it up. Avalon turned her head away from the gleaming piece of metal about to pierce her skin.

“If that thing hurts me, I’m going to have to return the favor,” she joked.

“It’s over!” Ilium smiled no sooner than she finished speaking. He wore a handsome smile, one that reached his eyes and formed little creases.

Why in the heck do I care what his smile is like?

Avalon let out a sigh of relief. “Where’s the lollipop?” she managed to ask.

Ilium smirked. He possessed boyish charm. Of living in a world without parents, without siblings, without pets. Avalon wondered what the others looked like. If their faces showed the weariness and isolation of life in the habitat. How much faster they aged physically and emotionally outside of the safety of the sleep the cryochambers offered.

“I can walk now,” Avalon said, anxious to be away from the room with the needles and nauseous smells. “So, if you don’t mind, can I go to my room and take a shower?”

Ilium waved a small wand over Avalon which displayed a 3-D overlay image of her entire body— the heart beating, neurons firing, lungs inhaling and exhaling, and stomach digesting. Satisfied when the wand emitted a low beep, Ilium answered. “Sure, I will take you there.”

He continued, “Those cryosleep chemicals sometimes play with the mind. Some people take much longer to retrieve basic memories. I am quite impressed by how fast your neurons appear to be firing. Follow me,” he said grabbing her hand as they exited through the glass door. “I don’t want you to fall,” he stated somewhat sheepishly, but his cheeks turned a red hue at their sudden propinquity.

Walking down the rather roomy metallic corridor, he stepped through a glass door as they entered into one of the dormitories. Capsule beds like the ones more common to Japanese culture lined the walls. The rectangular beds featured a square metallic frame with glass in the middle and a handle for entering it on the right side. Beneath each bed was a black plate with etched in numbers. Her bed plate read AX97. A few steps were built on the left side of the capsule doors. The interior dimensions of each capsule were about four feet tall, four feet wide, and seven feet long and featured its own light switch.

“Six people are usually assigned to a room, three on each side. I know the rooms are less spacious than what you were probably accustomed to at home, and allow very little by way of privacy, but you are quite lucky. For now, due to your odd number, you currently live in this dorm alone.” he said. “To conserve water, the showers automatically shut off after ten minutes. Despite recycling water, it requires time to recycle, so conservation helps the process. If you need me for anything else, just tap the button on your smartwatch.”

Avalon smiled at him and watched as the door closed behind him before undressing.

Avalon entered the bathroom and turned on the shower head. The water temperature and pressure were preset and could not be regulated. Avalon closed her eyes as the water flowed over her. The sound of the water helped her to relax. As she relaxed, memories floated back of her entering the habitat.

“I will be with you in spirit,” her father said as he kissed Avalon on the cheek. Her father hugged her tightly. Hot tears streamed down Avalon’s face, but she bit the inside of her cheek to hold them back. The President double checked the list of names boarded. Russian, Chinese, African, and Latin American names were all called.

“Avalon Adams,” the President called.

Avalon’s stomach fell. She was supposed to move her feet and enter the habitat to become a human popsicle, but she could not move.

“Sweetheart, I have already discussed this. I am too old to go with you. You are the future and you have to go,” her father stated, placing his arms around her shoulders.

“I don’t have to go. I can stay here with you,” Avalon said folding her arms across her chest.

“Stay behind to do what? Die?” her father asked.

“It’s what you are doing!” Avalon cried.

“Please. Don’t make this any harder,” her father said.

Avalon hugged him one last time before she straightened her back and walked towards the habitat.

Her father gave her a personal effect—a necklace with a large sphere metallic bauble. Each person could only bring one personal effect with them into the HOPE habitat.

“I am sure this will give you great comfort and encouragement,” her father said.

She did not know how on Earth he figured a necklace would give her comfort, but she nodded and waved goodbye as she entered the habitat. Thankfully, the doctors sedated her and the other young adults as soon as they entered.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, the one minute warning timer sounded, as Avalon ran the small ration of shampoo and conditioner through her hair. She just managed to rinse it out before the water shut off. Stepping out of the shower, Avalon wrapped a towel around her body and a second one around her long brunette hair. Upon returning to her room, she placed on a clean pair of scrubs which were located in a drawer tucked into the wall next to her bed. Avalon looked on the wall, and then in some drawers for a blowdryer. Nothing.

How in the blue blazes am I going to style my hair without a blowdryer?

After screaming inwardly, Avalon accepted the fact that her hair would have to airdry, resulting in a frizzy disaster.

Goodness!

Irritated, she chose to slip under the covers of her bed and rest for a minute.

Her necklace began to unlock around the center, and a blue light shone.

What the heck?

About two feet from her face, a holographic message from her father played.

Hello, my sweet Avalon. I embedded this message into this necklace for you as a form of insurance. This message will auto-erase after being played once, so please listen closely.

Her father took a deep breath before continuing.
As I labored over the habitat’s extensive designs and complex computer systems, I noticed some changes were being made behind my back. My access to certain areas of the blueprints was slowly taken away. I don’t know what is happening in the habitat now, but my priority has always been and always will be your safety.

Her father closed his eyes briefly before reopening them.
His tone turned more serious.
I think something suspicious is going on. Rumors abound about what this habitat is really meant for, and if they are right, you must be careful who you trust. Your life may depend on it.

Avalon bolted up in bed as her heartbeat raced.

What is going on? What changes is he referring to?

Why was Dad so worried?

Avalon jumped out of her bed chamber and stood up in her room.

This is all too much. I am stuck here, buried underground without any family or friends. I didn’t fully trust this place before the message, but now I definitely can’t trust anyone.
Avalon’s head turned swiftly at the sound of a knock on the door. She allowed entry, and Ilium walked in.

“I thought you would want a tour of the place after your shower?”

Avalon nodded.
What is his angle? He is always so nice.

Avalon followed Ilium through her dorm door and into the main corridor.

“So this is the cafeteria. It is empty right now, by it being 1000 hours. Breakfast is served from 0800 to 0900, Lunch from 1200 to 1300, and Dinner from 1700 to 1800 sharp. No exceptions.”

Avalon took in a normal cafeteria setting with rows and rows of blue tables and benches. The walls were painted a standard cream color. The floors were made of white linoleum tiles. Large fluorescent lights lined the ceiling. A large analog clock which told military time hung in the center of the room while a countdown clock hung on the opposite side of the room.

Continuing their tour, Ilium led Avalon into a large room consisting of black walls, a black floor, and a black ceiling with plenty of people wearing Virtual Reality glasses. “This is our Recreation room with more than two million game programs to choose from. You can play against the computer or against another player.”

The next room on the tour was a gymnasium with a treadmill, elliptical, bikes, rowers, and a machine for pumping iron. “We are highly encouraged to exercise at least three times a day,” he said. Avalon glanced at a few girls utilizing the equipment already. They wore the same cropped black yoga pants and a loose fitting grey t-shirt. The shoes were still black combat boots, however.
Guess the budget didn’t have room for too many extras in the clothing department.

The tour continued with a walk through another set of glass doors which revealed a capacious spherical shaped room with a row of built in computer monitors lining the walls. Everyone used their hands to interface or spoke commands and code to the computer. “This is where the workstations are. It is where we work to help keep the habitat –- and us—alive. You will begin working with this group of computer scientists, programmers, and developers tomorrow morning at 0900 sharp,” Ilium said.

Avalon glanced at her team mates. A girl with porcelain skin and blue hair caught her eyes first. Large black rimmed glasses framed her petite face.

“Who is this new girl you brought here?” A large, tall guy said whose shirt strained to contain his muscles.

“I am Avalon. I just woke up.”

The tall guy with ginger hair laughed before saying, “The name is Brody. So you are the reason the sirens went off.”
His genteel southern accent and freckled cheeks were swoon worthy.
His chiseled face sported a five o’clock shadow.

Brody looked at Avalon, and tilted his head. “You’re Dr. Adams kid!”

Avalon nodded her head.

“You’re practically famous. If it wasn’t for your dad’s predictions, we wouldn’t even be here,” he said.

Ahh. My Dad’s’s predictions.

“It’s true,” Ilium said. “At the time, the idea of putting 5000 people into suspended animation for more than twenty years was preposterous. The longest anyone had been placed into such a state and survived was twenty years, but when he came to his brain had turned to mush. He did not remember his name, his family, where he lived, or even how to tie his shoe laces. Yet, somehow, your father helped figure out a way to make this all work.”

Avalon did not want all of this star attention. Yes, her Dad helped plan the habitat, but he wasn’t here now. And he wouldn’t be again. So she wished everyone would stop talking about it.

A shorter guy with beautiful almond shaped eyes and thick spiky black hair threw a hand up as acknowledgment to her and continued to work.

Brody rolled his eyes and said, “That’s Xin Tu, but we call him Xin. He is the systems administrator.”

Avalon relished listening to the poetic melody of Brody’s voice. Then she glanced around the room. “Where will I be working?”

Brody pointed to a blue circle in the floor between his work station and the station of the girl with blue hair.

“Don’t worry. We will get you up to speed,” he said with a smile.

The girl with blue hair still hadn’t spoken to her, despite her stealing occasional glances at Avalon. Mustering up some courage, Avalon traipsed over to her and said, “Hi, my name is Avalon.”

“The name is Skylar,” the girl with blue hair said in a terse tone.

“Ok. You guys keep working. I am going to continue with the tour,” Ilium said as he ushered her out of the room and down the corridor again.

Ilium led Avalon to a large greenhouse room filled with plants and bright artificial LED lights. “This is where we grow our food and receive some of our oxygen. As you know, we use electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. We breathe the oxygen that is produced as well as given off by the plants during photosynthesis, and we utilize the hydrogen as a fuel source. There is lettuce, potatoes, and wheat and most of what we grow is grown aeroponically. So yeah, we are all vegetarians now. Of course, none of this is new to you since your father designed most of all of this,” Ilium said.

“Who is that guy in there with the purple scrubs?” Avalon asked, gazing at a boy with curly blonde locks. His back was turned, so she did not see his face.

“Oh, that has to be the President’s son,” Ilium said, but the light hearted notes in his voice from earlier vanished. “He is an Accipio.” The disdain with which he said the word Accipio was not lost on Avalon.

“What is he doing in there?” Avalon asked.

“He is probably conducting his monthly walk-through inspections.”

Ilium’s expression changed. “Speaking of, I must alert the President that you are here,” Ilium added. Pressing a button on his smartwatch, the holographic wall screen to the left lit up instantaneously and the President’s face appeared.

“Hello, Ilium. To what do I owe the pleasure?” the President asked.

“Sir, we have a new member awake. Meet Avalon Adams,” Ilium stated, while nudging Avalon towards the center of the screen.

“Welcome, Avalon! I am so glad to see we have another member awake in the habitat,” the President stated.

The President, who was the President of the United States of America, was forty five years old. Viggo, the geneticist, was thirty five years old and they were the two oldest members of the habitat, excluding the Council members.

“Thank you sir, it is good to be awake,” Avalon answered with a plastered smile she hoped he didn’t see through.

“You may not remember me, but I remember you. You are the spitting image of your father, the very man who helped save humanity so many years ago. ” he said.

“Thank you. Yes, I miss my father very much,” she said. She tried to hide her resentment over the fact her father was unable to enter the habitat as the resident scientist because in the months prior to entering the habitat a “spot” appeared on one of his X-rays of his lungs. Suspended animation with the costs and resources attached to it were deemed not expendable for someone not expected to live much longer. So, her father recommended Viggo in his stead.

The President continued on, “Yes, and I want you to know that we all owe your father a debt. A debt that could never be repaid. So I want you to know that you are very special in my eyes.”

Her father always called her special growing up, due in large part to her above average intelligence. As she began to reminiscence about life on the outside with her father, Avalon fought back tears by biting the inside of her cheek.

“Thank you, Mr. President,” Avalon said with a plastered smile.

“Carry on then!” The President said, ending the conversation as the wall screen returned to a simulated scene of marine life.

Ilium looked at Avalon.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“You know you don’t have to be so brave. It is scary for all of us. None of us have experience with waking up one hundred years in the future, struggling to repopulate and terraform what used to be Earth.”

“But you seem so cheerful. Or at least, adjusted.”

“Yeah. But remember, as a physician I have access to meds you don’t,” he said with a wink.

“Really?” Avalon raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, but I don’t really abuse them or anything. I just wanted to see you smile.”

She averted his tender gaze and then Ilium glanced at his watch. “It’s time to eat, if you are hungry?”

Avalon nodded, and the two strolled towards the cafeteria.

In the cafeteria, Avalon noticed that those who wore purple scrubs first in line, followed by those in brown scrubs, and last were those in grey scrubs.

Avalon looked confused. “Our scrub colors coordinate with our roles. Since you are a computer engineer, you wear brown which indicates that you are a member of the Fulcio. The Accipio class, which only consists of elected officials, wears purple. The janitors wear grey and are called Compatios,” Ilium explained.

Avalon furrowed her brow
.

Despite the fact that the Accipios were outnumbered by the Fulcios and Compatios, they received priority.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Avalon hissed to Ilium.

“I know, it isn’t the fairest thing, but at least we aren’t the Compatios,” he replied. “The Fulcios and Compatios receive less food and fewer credits than the Accipios for the jobs they perform. Fewer credits means the Compatios and Fulcios receive mush, while the Accipios consume synthetic meat.”

Avalon bit her tongue in order not to say anything. As the new kid it was best to lay low. Still, this place was more like a prison than a habitat.

“The trick is remembering that we are better off than the billions of people who perished outside,” Ilium said.

The billions who perished. Like her Dad. Her Dad who should have been inside with her. Instead, Viggo was allowed to go.

“So what were you like before becoming a popsicle anyways?” Ilium asked.

“I liked to swim, bake, and travel,” she answered while grabbing a tray. “What about you?”

“I like to draw and paint. I was learning a little bit of krav maga too before entering here,” Ilium said grabbing a tray and some silverware from behind her.

“That’s impressive,” Avalon said.

“You’re just being nice,” Ilium said, looking at her with piercing sky blue eyes. Avalon’s pulse quickened as her cheeks felt hot.

Avalon and Ilium placed their trays on the stainless steel counter. Avalon advanced through the line first. After swiping her wrist across a scanner, a female voice announced, “Avalon Adams.” The computer calculated her exact calorie expenditure and prepared a plate with a green salad, a baked potato, and a fruit smoothie. Avalon placed the items on her tray and waited for Ilium. Ilium received two boiled eggs, a protein bar, and a smoothie from the machine.

“Don’t worry. All of our food is perfectly portioned out. You won’t feel satiated, but you won’t starve either. You just feel like you wouldn’t mind having a snack,” Ilium said.

“Thanks for telling me,” Avalon said.

Scanning the crowd before selecting a spot to sit, Avalon noted all of the Accipios sat together and all of the Fulcios and Compatios sat together. As she passed by the others, people murmured and whispered. Some followed her movements with their eyes.

But then she noticed people weren’t only murmuring about her, that some of the Accipios were also sneering at Ilium.

Snobs.

One of her trio of computer teammates waved for Ilium and Avalon to sit by them. Avalon and Ilium accepted the proffered seats on the long bench seats, their trays making a small clink noise as they sat them down on the table.

Avalon leaned towards Ilium. “I know they are staring at me because I am the new kid. But they were also sneering at you. Is everything ok?”

Ilium grimaced before answering, “Yeah. Nothing you need to know about.”

Nothing I need to know about
.
I need to know everything about this place and the people in it.
Still, Avalon chose not to press the issue.

After Avalon greeted the rest of the gang, Skylar began to chat.

“I just can’t get over what happened to Dexter,” Skylar said to Ilium while taking a sip of her iced water.

“I agree.” Ilium stated while taking a bite of his boiled egg.

“Who is Dexter?” Avalon asked.

“He held your role in the computer lab group before you. He passed away right before you woke up. Fortunately, you arrived just in time to take his place,” Ilium answered.

Avalon took a bite of her green salad. “Do you know what he passed away from?”