Read Online Randoms by David Liss - Free Book Online Page B

done. The ones who are sure they’re the right person for the job end up making a mess of everything.”
    â€œThank you, sir,” I said.
    â€œI’ve made my office available to your mother,” he said. “If she needs anything while you’re gone, we’ll take care of it.”
    I let out a sigh of relief. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.”
    â€œIt’s the least we can do for you. She’ll have the best care possible while you’re away. And you’ll be in good hands as well. Ms. Price will do an excellent job.”
    â€œThank you, sir,” she said.
    He shook both our hands again. “Good luck,” he said. Then he broke into a huge grin. “You are the luckiest people alive,” he told us, and then walked back to his car.
    Ms. Price impatiently jabbed a finger toward the shuttle. That was her special way of telling me it was time to get on an alien craft, depart the planet of my birth, and leave everyone I knew and loved behind.
    â€¢Â Â Â â€¢Â Â Â â€¢
    Despite the shuttle’s buslike size, the interior portion was more like a minivan. I had to imagine that the bulk of it went to machinery and engines. Dr. Roop sat near the navigationalcontrols, which were numerous: switches and levers and screens and buttons. There were flashing readouts and rolling streams of data. I guessed I was copilot, because Dr. Roop invited me to sit beside him. Ms. Price sat three rows back, to better ignore us while she read through more papers. I presumed her phone was about to lose reception.
    There were no windows, glass possibly being a bad idea for a vehicle that traveled through the vacuum of space, but there were high-resolution video screens in the front and back, and on the sides, that acted as windows. I sat looking forward, and though I knew there was ten feet of shuttle on the other side of the screen, it sure looked like I was peering through glass.
    â€œThe other kids are on the ship already?” I asked.
    â€œYes,” he said. “I took them up yesterday.”
    For some reason, I didn’t like that they’d had a whole day on the spaceship without me, but I pushed the thought aside. “You do know how to drive this thing, right?” I asked Dr. Roop.
    â€œFor a simple trip like this, the navigational computer will handle the controls,” he said.
    â€œBut what if something goes wrong? Shouldn’t there be a pilot on board?”
    â€œThings don’t go wrong,” he assured me. “But even if, however improbably, something were to happen, the shuttle can be controlled from the main ship, and in an emergency I am able to operate it.”
    I didn’t love the idea of being flown around by a computer, but I knew I had to do things the Confederation way. You don’t get to be a galaxy-spanning civilization without knowing what you are doing. Or so I told myself.
    â€œIt will take about fifteen minutes to reach the ship,”Dr. Roop said. “The navigational computer provides a very smooth ride.”
    Everything was happening so quickly, I’d hardly had time to think about it. Now I was suddenly absolutely terrified. I was on a space shuttle of alien design, about to leave Earth and board a starship. This was nuts. I thought I might vomit or pass out or both.
    â€œI have seen enough of human physiology to tell you are anxious,” Dr. Roop said, “but I assure you there is no need for fear. You could not be safer. Now give me your hand.”
    I did. He took out one of the cylinders that Ms. Price had used to inject me with nanites, and he pressed it to the back of my hand.
    â€œSedative?” I asked.
    â€œCertainly not. These are more nanites.”
    â€œFor what?”
    Suddenly my vision grew fuzzy, but only for a second. I blinked a few times, and the blurring was gone, but things were now just a little different. Dr. Roop had a vague, transparent