A bell rings twice and then the engines start to roar. The sound coming from the engines increases until all I can do is clamp my hands on each side of my head. I try screaming but the only result is a sore throat, the only sound I hear comes from the engines as we drop toward Jasper’s World. And then there is complete silence. I relax in my container, happy to be alive. Doors open, hatchways slam, people in clunky work boots walk within inches of me. I hear the wide loading bay doors hit the concrete of the loading dock and lock into place. Equipment starts up. As on Earth the containers holding the fuel cells and the one holding me are unloaded first. The next part of my plan depends on the routine at this loading dock being the same as the routine on Earth. I feel myself being moved swiftly from the ship to the dock and then my container skids to a spot that is bound to be a temporary, just a spot for the containers to wait in before they are recharged. This temporary storage is important to my plans for two reasons; one, it means the containers remain in one level and not too close together and second, it means I will not be plugged into a recharge unit for a little while. One thing needs to happen before my container is plugged into a recharge unit – a work break. I hear men and women in a constant rush to remove the contents of the space barge and to start the process of preparing the vessel for its next shipment. The sound that worries me most comes after about an hour of sitting here on the dock. It is the sound of containers around me being moved into place in the recharge unit.
“That one needs relabeled,” a female voice shouts.
I feel my container sliding across the concrete, “They can’t have got a scan off of this thing on Earth.”
“You’re right Ned. It shows one override on my pad. Too lazy to do their jobs. Get it labeled after break.” As she says break the buzzer for break time sounds and every bit of equipment goes silent in seconds, just like on Earth. I count sixty seconds off in my head and then reach for the latches inside my fuel cell container. The lid opens about two inches and hits something beside me. I kick the side and push the lid up. As soon as I am out I peek around the containers around me. The sunlight is very bright and I need to blink a few times before I can see anything. The dock is completely empty. I gather up my mess and lock the container from the outside. I toss my old bags and bottles into a trash chute, stuff the still full bottles of water and packs of food into my pants and head for the far end of the dock, away from the buildings. I take a deep breath of the air I have read so much about, it stinks a little of rot, mold and a smell I cannot identify. In stories I have read others have made the same observation. Later they come to the conclusion that this is a normal smell for an agricultural planet. I take another breath and it seems to be acceptable to my lungs. I trot to the edge of the concrete and as I jump the four feet to the dark brown ground I hear talking. I quickly back into the four foot of concrete wall that forms the edge of the dock. I make my way slowly and quietly to the corner nearest the talking and look around the corner. About twenty workers sit around a couple of tables talking, eating and drinking. I pull my head back. That’s new. Nothing like that on Earth.
I make my way to the far corner and peek around, all clear in that direction so I make my run to the boundary fence only when I get to where the fence should be there is no fence. I step into a field of leafy plants almost as tall as I am. I carefully make my way into the field until when I look back I can no longer see the loading dock. I can still see the top of the space barge and the tops of the dock buildings but I am well hidden from the dock workers. I sit in the moist dirt next to the bases of plants breathing hard. Six days of doing nothing doesn’t do much to keep a person in shape. I’m here. Plans I’ve worked on forever are complete. What should I do next? I realize I never really thought I would get this far.
The ground around me smells a bit rotten but the plants smell good. The plants are leafy. Hidden in the leaves are flowers. They look like green roses. Cotton. As soon as my breath returns to normal I follow the path between rows of tall cotton plants avoiding muddy puddles here and there.
david blankenship 