Gravitational Constantly: A Novella (6 page)

Sebastian laid out the details of Project Lens while we finished our dinner and had our drinks refreshed. The project was essentially a redesigned Mars Bridge with a working power supply and engine design able to bring the shuttle back from Mars orbit on propellant only. According to Sebastian, Futura had solved the power problem of the bridge, although he was hesitant on giving us the details of which … at first. Cara was pulling information out of a red faced, tipsy Sebastian Black with ease. She would o
oh
and
ahh
over each detail, placing her hand on his arm as if she were impressed with his accomplishments. His face was so smug as he fleshed out the details of the new bridge's power supply. The technical specs were way over my head, but Cara and Jayce both had concerned looks upon their faces.

“Have you already heard this, Jayce?” Cara asked in a low, demanding tone.

Jayce sat still as a rock and looked at Sebastian and me for a moment as he considered his answer. “We spoke briefly this afternoon when Sebastian arrived, but the council hasn't—”

“The council will never approve of using the master relay in conjunction with the gate! It is dangerous and irresponsible to even think about it!” Cara fumed.

“Cara, please keep your voice down,” Jayce said as he leaned in closer to the table. “Nothing is final yet.”

“Ha! You know damn well it is, Jayce. You think I'd come back here for another embarrassment if it wasn't?” Sebastian's eyes were wild now, and he looked as if someone had just dared to attack him. “The council has no choice but to say yes. They need the money too damn bad. We're going ahead with Lens, no matter what!”

I began to feel a chill creep up, as if some cold breeze had been gusting around Luna for years and had now settled back over this table … over Cara, Jayce, and Sebastian. There was history here, but no one had told me anything. Suddenly I felt like a child again, amidst his arguing parents out at a nice dinner. I wanted to slink away and head back down to the lower level bar where I could enjoy the rest of the evening in peace. However, my current involvement with Cara somehow kept me in a binding contract to stay.

Desperation gripped me. “Listen, Cara, why don't we leave this to Mr. Black and Jayce? They're the experts here. I may be Jayce's assistant, but let's face it, you and I are out of our league when it comes to this stuff.”

Sebastian sat up straight, as straight as he could. “Well, it looks like your gopher does have some brains after all, Jayce. I'm glad to see that you're at least fucking someone with common sense, Car.”

“Fuck you, Sebastian!” Cara said with fire in her eyes.

“Oh, but we've already done that,” Sebastian retorted.

Cara stood up so fast her chair nearly flipped over and the tablecloth pulled down to the floor on one side. Jayce was quick to his feet and already had an arm around Cara, the other holding her wrist. “That's enough. I think we better be going. Sebastian, I'll have them get you a shuttle ready to take you to your suite. Andy, will you be so kind to take Cara—”

Cara wrenched free of his grip. “I don't need anyone to take me home! I'll be just fine!”

She stormed off and was leaving Cosmos when Jayce started after her. “Good night, gentlemen.”

Sebastian sat, sipping the last of his gin and tonic, still as stone and just as cold. “She never told you about us? Well, there is not much to tell really. Beneath that warm beautiful skin, she is a cold woman.”

I sat in silence, my consciousness hovering a foot over my head, contemplating the ridiculous course of events and examining myself through the looking glass.

“She never told you that she worked for me either, huh? For Futura? She worked at Futura, but I used to think she was there for me. Hah! That woman only lives for herself and whatever the hell it is she is looking for.”

“Her parents. She's looking for her parents,” I said quietly as I stared at the remains of dinner.

That made Sebastian laugh. “Yes, her parents or fate or destiny or the music man …or some other bullshit like that. Well she's going to get her chance.”

“How do you mean?”

“Jayce said you were friends, but he left you in the dark too, huh? That cold, beautiful wench may have a screw loose or maybe not. Either way she is the most talented psychic on Luna.”

“Fortune-telling?”

Sebastian hiccupped. “Christ! Not fortune-telling, kid, something more special than that. Special indeed, she's special … she … she, ah hell…” Sebastian slammed his empty glass on the table and staggered up from his chair “…that's all the fun I can take for one night. See ya, kid.”

After Sebastian had staggered through the lobby, flailing and flagging down a busboy to get him a shuttle, I still sat at the disheveled table. The mess of dinner plates, cocktail glasses, silverware and napkins strewn about seemed a fitting picture to describe the evening. Despite the scene Cara and Sebastian made, Sebastian's rude comments toward Cara, and Cara and Jayce not telling me about her working at Futura, or her and Sebastian, I sat there totally indifferent to it all. The waiter came by once more to ask if I wanted anything else, but it was clear from his face that he was ready to rid himself of me and clean up the mess.

I grabbed my jacket and made my way down to the lobby level of Cosmos. There was jazz music playing and people were on the dance floor, moving about one another, in and out of rhythm, coming close to collision and then separating, finding a partner and circling them once or twice before shuffling off to another. They swirled about each other with some unseen force driving them, moving them, spinning them, and all the while ignorant of its hold on them. The gravity between human hearts is a force that no one can predict or calculate. Too many coefficients and unknown variables. I slinked down to the lower level bar to run the numbers all the same.

The dream was so vivid and tactile, like none I'd had before. I was a boy again, walking across a hot blacktop parking lot, segmented by cracked and faded yellow parking space lines. It was bright and sunny, midday, and I was with my family. The air was humid and insufferable, just the way I liked it. Cicadas were whirring in a hypnotic rhythm, and my skin was soaking in the sweet radiation. There was no mistaking its glory; it was summer on Earth, something I'd been yearning for after months on Luna.

The place was Bramblevines Mall, our little city's smaller shopping mall. Bramblevines may have been the smaller of our two malls, but it was much more elegant than its larger successor. Its bright skylights let only a spectrum of white light on to the top and bottom floors. The lesser foot traffic made it easy to get around and also quiet enough to hear the soft music that played throughout. It was always a treat to go to Bramblevines. Every time I walked through the doors, an awesome wave of tranquility washed over me. I no longer had any cares or worries, save for the need to procure a soft pretzel and plan my weekly allowance purchase in one of the three stores that interested me. Occasionally, I had blown my allowance at the arcade, but that was rare. I had usually been in search of a rare find in the video game or comic book store. From time to time, I would give patronage to the music store, where my brother spent all his time reading magazines, listening to sample music, debating on new guitar straps, and analyzing different guitar strings.

Our family didn't get out much. We were no hermits, but a weekly trip to the shopping mall and grocery store was about as big as our summer plans ever got. That was okay with me. We were simple kids in a simple time. The hot nights and hotter days were ours while school was out. With our parents at work during the days, my brother and I had free rein on a countryside paradise. We'd go on bike rides that would span miles and miles, hours and hours. We tromped through the woods with our friends, up and over hills and hollows, and through pastures and creeks. You could not ask for a better place to grow up. It was a fine place for kids to enjoy all the things that are natural and beautiful on Earth.

My dream led me through the Bramblevines Mall with no particular direction. I saw the water fountain where I had tossed a hundred pennies and made a hundred wishes. The food court emanated the smell of hot pretzels. Cardboard comic cutouts lined the windows and entrance to my favorite comic store. There were other kids playing games in the video game store. They laughed and carried on just like they ought to. Older teens were going and coming from the music store, my brother included. Everything was just the way I remembered it.

The visit seemed to play out like it always did, and we were leaving with my parents, who had been shopping for clothes; my mom shopped and my dad sat and waited for her semi-patiently. We each had our wares and were content in some way. Each of us had fulfilled our need to see a bit of the outside world and bring a piece of it back home with us. Only on this occasion, in this dream, as we walked across a parking lot of hot, black asphalt with heat dancing as a mirage in the distance, a bright burst of light leapt out from the sky. A sunburst of all the colors of the rainbow spread out in all directions, like a giant lightbulb had popped, and sparks scattered to every corner of the sky. There was no sound, only a terrible feeling of dread as we watched the light spread across the stratosphere and dance on the tiny particles of ozone. It was all wrong, the time of year and my age in the dream, nevertheless I knew what I had just seen was the
Cheers of Jupiter
explosion. I awoke in a cold sweat in my dark room. Only one thing came to my mind as I tried to recall the dream … summer was over.

…

I almost slept through that entire next day, and I never made it to Futura. I didn't really care if Jayce would be upset or not. My job wasn't terribly important anyway; calls would go unreturned, mail unopened, and Jayce would have to do without his “idea man” for a day. Jayce's “idea man” was a twenty-eight-year-old, confused and lost boy living in a misguided adult world, on some
vacation
destination. The best idea I'd ever come up with was a new design on the company dossiers. We talked a lot about things that I vaguely understood, and Jayce would say that it gave him the mental kindling he needed, although I never knew if any of it came to fruition. He would jot things down when we sat in his office chatting, sipping afternoon tea together—or sometimes scotch—watching the shuttle traffic outside Luna and peering out into the void. Either way, he didn't need me there enough to warrant the struggle. I nursed my hangover and eventually made it out around dinner time.

There was a new mystery flick playing at Starlight that night. Starlight was the only movie theatre on Luna. The entertainment industry had changed drastically over the last fifty years. Films were still made, but the volume of material being release had dwindled significantly, which was actually a good thing considering most of the garbage produced in the early 21
st
century. People did not go to the movies like they used to either. All new releases could be purchased and watched at home for the same price as a movie ticket. However, I personally had always felt a strong connection to the theatre. I loved the bright lights, smell of popcorn, anticipation during the coming attractions, and dirty floors covered with sticky soda, stale popcorn, and other assorted snacks. A trip to the movies is just what I needed after a dismal night and hungover afternoon. Anything seems possible at the movies; it's truly a place for dreams and imagination to come out and play.

After the film I went back to my room and tried to get some sleep. I had slept most of the day and found my efforts in vein. Around four o'clock in the morning, I rose and got ready for the day. I wanted to look good when I faced Jayce, and eventually Cara. I showered, shaved, and put on my best suit. There were several hours to kill before “work,” so I went to the space port to watch the ships come in and out.

Luna never truly slept. There were always people coming and going, and the space port traffic was never at a standstill. Even when ships weren't coming in or leaving, preparations had to be made to maneuver the crafts carefully about without damaging the fragile living space that had been created. I sat down at a table in the terminal and ate my breakfast while I watched several small tug ships position a larger freighter, a food transport most likely.

I was the first person to arrive at the office. The lights were on and dimmed low, as Jayce liked, and the coffee pot was just finishing its brew when he got off the elevator and came strolling down the hall. My desk was the first and only thing there was to find on the other side of the large glass wall and doors that opened into Jayce's office. I was pouring myself a cup of coffee and watching him watch me as he came in through the double doors. He showed no sign of emotion as he came over to my desk and sat his jacket and brief case down.

“Cup of coffee?”

Jayce's expressionless face melded into a smirk and he gave a nasal puff of amusement and exasperation. “You bastard.”

“Miss me?”

He took the cup from my hand and began stirring in his vanilla bean creamer. “That damn phone was ringing off the hook all day long.”

“Liar. I bet when I check the call log, there are three calls max!”

We both laughed and Jayce smiled that easy smile of his. “You know I hate phones.”

“Yeah, yeah you do. You hate phones, letters, and electronic correspondence. It's a good thing I do come in from time to time, or else no one would get to communicate with your brilliant mind.”

“Hey, now you're just being cruel, Andy.”

I sipped my coffee and watched Jayce through the rising steam that moistened my brow. “I know,” I said, “and I am sorry about yesterday. I should have called.”

“Don't give it another thought.” Jayce leaned against my desk and looked over at the phone. “You know I wouldn't have answered anyway.”

We both cracked up at that, and I sat down at my chair and we looked out the office window, past the plate enclosure, and out into the morning space dust—clear, crisp, and empty.

“You should have told me about Cara though.” I looked up at Jayce with a sideways glance that said, 'you know I'm right.'

“Yeah, yeah I should have. I'm sorry for that,” Jayce said as he stared through his toes and the floor he stood on. “I didn't think you'd want to hear about Cara's … lovers.”

“You're right, I didn't…” I chuckled “…but I already knew about you and her, and I never cared. Still don't. I really don't care about Sebastian either, although I can't say I really enjoy the thought, but what I do care about is why you never said one thing about her working here.”

“That's simple, she asked me not to. You're going to have to take that up with her, sport.”

I nodded my head and looked off toward the construction in the distance. Lights from cranes and other equipment blinked on and off, and spotlights moved about here and there. “Yeah, you can count on it. Just tell me one thing though, when Cara was here, was it for her parents?”

“Andy, Cara and I worked together, and have been …
good
friends for years, but I can't tell you why she did or why she does anything in her life. I'm not even sure if she can either, but you should know this, she is
special
.”

“Hah! Even a dolt like me knows that.”

“Yeah, she is a special woman, for sure … but, Andy, I mean she is
very special
.”

I looked back to Jayce to find him peering upward at the distant stars. “Yeah, so how special is she?”

He looked back to face me with a sullen expression. “I think we're all about to find out.”