L4 Station - Chapter 4

 

Copyright © 2025 D.W. Patterson

All rights reserved.

First Printing – March 2025

Future Chron Publishing

Cover – Copyright © 2025 D.W. Patterson

Cover Image – ID 159616182 © limbitech | Dreamstime(dot)com

No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission, except in the case of brief quotations for the purpose of review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are products of the author's imagination and should not be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events and people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Hard Science Fiction – Old School

Human Generated Content

Chapter 4

It was some time before I heard anything. Then, through the door I heard my dad's voice and my mom's and Roger's! They were too muffled to make out, but it ended with my dad's chuckle. Something that defined my dad for me. There was a knock on the door.

“Ray, can I come in?” he asked.

“Yeah, dad,” I said, knowing it was a good sign that he knocked.

He opened the door and came in, I sat up.

“Well, I heard you had quite an adventure today,” he said.

“Yeah, it was intense,” I said.

He chuckled.

“Well, I just came from the infirmary. Taylor's hand is going to be all right, there's no broken bones,” he said.

“Dad, I didn't do it on purpose, it was an accident. Taylor just quit, all of a sudden, I had no warning,” I said.

“I know son, Roger and Taylor told me and Edgar everything,” he said. “You're in no trouble for that although your mom is still upset that you let Roger get out of your sight.”

“I'm sorry dad,” I said. “I was just stunned; Jack was telling Mr. Rice I had done it on purpose and when they all left, I was too numb to move.”

“Okay, son, but you need to tell your mother that,” he said. “So, why don't you get ready for dinner and come out and tell her.”

“Alright dad, thanks,” I said.

“No problem son,” he said.

I changed clothes and washed up for dinner. When I went into the living area mom was in the kitchen and dad and Roger were playing a game. I went up to mom and told her what I had told my dad and apologized for losing sight of Roger.

“That's okay son,” she said. “Do you want one or two hot dogs?”

“Two,” I said.

When you “cook” on a ship or station or even the Moon, you don't really cook. You only heat up precooked meals in a microwave. And even then, the microwave has a built in AI which prevents over-cooking or burning of the food. The last thing you want is a fire, smoke, or even strong smells in a closed environment.

So, any real cooking has to be done by approved personnel in a specially prepared kitchen which is almost like a vault. At home, food was just heated up and the odor was scrubbed before it could escape the microwave.

The following day the ship was supposed to get underway. We had to make sure that there was nothing loose that could fly around. You see, during the one-tenth Earth gravity acceleration and deceleration phases of a journey the wheel section would not be spinning, and the living quarters would be turned, like beads on a string, so that the applied force was in the proper direction.

This was a complex operation and during the startup especially, we would be strapped into flight chairs in the crew's conference room. The big wheel would spin down, which would take some time and the mechanical rotation of all compartments on our deck would take place. The halls wouldn't be available during the acceleration phase, which would last several hours, unless there was an emergency. And we would all be wearing our pressure suits; our spacesuits were already in the auditorium.

While we were confined, there was food and entertainment available and, of course, others to talk to. I had brought a book, The First Men In The Moon, by H.G. Wells. I had read it before but it was a hundred-seventy years old this month so I thought I would start it again.

I certainly didn't want to hang out with Jack or anyone that was hanging with him.

After preparing our apartment, we headed for the auditorium. It was already half full by the time we got there. I guessed there were fifty people already there. We took our seats and stowed our belongings we had brought beneath them. Mom made sure that Roger and I saw the emergency bag in case of motion sickness.

“If I barf, I'm doing it on you, dork,” said Roger.

“You are barf,” I shot back.

After a few minutes I heard a voice behind me that I thought I recognized. I turned and saw Cindy Rice there.

“Hi Cindy,” I said.

“Oh, Raymond,” she said before continuing to organize her belongings.

She didn't seem inclined to say any more, so, I turned around and pulled out my book. I hadn't read very far when one of the ship's officers stood up in front and asked for our attention.

“I'm Lieutenant Gallun,” he said. “I wanted to say a few words for those of you who have never experienced a trip aboard a fusion ship before. The Latinum is a new kind of fusion ship. The big wheel we are in is brand-new technology. Before, when a ship accelerated, you had the experience of one of the walls in your apartment becoming the floor. That is because the apartments could not be rotated ninety degrees.

“On the Latinum the apartments, this conference room and all the rooms, will rotate ninety degrees to the direction of motion. The hallways are also included but right now, since this is somewhat new, we are asking you to stay here so as to minimize any possible danger.

“You will eventually feel about one-tenth Earth gravity as the ship accelerates. You will be allowed at that time to stand up and stretch your legs. The acceleration is expected to last about four hours, so plan on getting something to eat and something to keep you busy while you wait.

“At the conclusion of the acceleration phase you will be asked to strap back into your seats and the opposite rotation will occur. The big wheel will then be brought up to speed as we coast to our destination over the next several days. Are there any questions?”

There were no questions.

“Alright everyone, secure your personal belongings and strap in, we start in ten minutes,” he said.

The Lieutenant left the room, and we busied ourselves stowing our belongings beneath the seats and strapping in. It hadn't been five minutes and Roger was getting fidgety.

I leaned down and said, “Stop it, Roger.”

“I can't,” he said. “I've got to go.”

“Can't you hold it?” I asked.

“No,” he said.

I turned and told mom. She turned and told dad. Dad used his Annie and called someone.

When he finished, he leaned over mom and said, “You two have five extra minutes to take care of the problem. Hurry.”

I jumped up and pulled Roger up and pushed him to get him going.

“Don't push me,” he said.

“Be quiet, we've got to hurry, move,” I said.

I felt the whole room staring at us and noticed Jack grinning. When we cleared the seats, I hurried Roger to the bathroom and waited outside the door. And waited.

I watched the clock on the far wall and after four minutes I called through the door.

“Roger, what's taking so long?” I asked.

“I can't go,” he said.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“I can't do anything,” he said.

“Okay,” I said, “time's up, we've got to get back.”

“Wait,” he said, “I think it's coming.”

It was then that I felt something. It was the wheel, it was slowing.

“Hurry up, Roger. The wheel's powering down.”

Unfortunately, it was another few minutes until I heard Roger unlock the door. By this time the wheel had almost stopped, and the artificial gravity was nothing. We were at least twenty feet from the chairs with no way to walk over.

I was holding Roger with one hand and onto the rail outside the bathroom door with the other. Somehow, we needed to float across to the chairs. I saw my dad had unbuckled and was up in his chair holding to it with one hand and motioning for us with the other.

“Okay,” I said to Roger. “You remember how we moved around aboard the LPL.”

“Yeah,” he said.

“Alright, when I say go, I want you to push off against the door and aim for dad.”

In the low gravity I positioned myself to launch across the room. I saw that Roger was ready too.

“Three, two, one, go.”

I pushed off, thankfully, in the right direction. So did Roger, except for one problem. He was just a bit later and slower than me. I hadn't thought about that.

We were flying through the air, but we were also starting to spin. I wouldn't let go of Roger who at first was scared and quiet but then started to enjoy this makeshift amusement park ride.

“Faster, Ray,” he said.

As I came around, I could see dad's face, he was less than impressed. And mom looked horrified. But Jack was laughing his head off.

We continued to spin like a propeller, but we were getting closer to the seats. Taller passenger members, the men usually, had their hands in the air to catch us. As I got close, I reached to grab an offered hand, we connected, but unfortunately, I acted like a pivot point and Roger went flying high over my head. I hung on with both hands.

Roger shrieked in happiness as he reached the highest point of the arc. As we continued around, I saw that he was aimed almost directly at dad, so, instead of both of us crashing down on the heads of the people below us, I let him go on a trajectory that took him to dad.

“Catch him dad,” I yelled as I came crashing into the laps of a couple of adults. I was able to raise my head enough to see dad deftly pluck Roger out of the air and halt his momentum without a crash. I was relieved but my arm and back hurt as Roger's mass had pulled me in ways that my body wasn't used to.

Then there was applause. That thankfully, relieved some of the tension in the room.

I slowly made my way to my chair passing close to Jack who just shook his head but wasn't laughing at me anymore.

Mom was probably the only person in the room that didn't look happy that Roger and I weren't still spinning. I think she was, she just didn't approve of anything that had happened the last ten minutes.

Note: Because L4 Station will be released in the Kindle Unlimited program, this is the last installment for now. If you wish to continue reading immediately the print version is available at Amazon and also others. The ebook will be released on March 20 on Amazon and August 20 elsewhere, see the previous links if you would like to pre-order.

Thank you for reading.