Every morning I wake up in
the armpit of this alien world. For years,
all our leaders told us, “Sutaria is the future.” Some future this turned out
to be. Maybe in order to understand it,
I would have to go back into the past.
When I was a child in
school, I remembered reading about the wars, the depression, the diseases of
Old Earth. That is why my ancestors went to Mars. For centuries, there was
peace but then the Tharsis conflict occurred. My parents were the first to
leave.
Fearing for their lives,
they booked passage to the newly formed Orion colony on Gilese. That is where I
was born. I remember being happy. There was a time when I was carefree and not
so riddled with anxiety. Life was idyllic. Our society was thriving; peace was
the norm. It was as if for one moment in time, everything in the universe stood
still. It was glorious!
When I turned 21, it was
time for my mandatory service with the Gilesean Faction. I was excited. This
was my chance to do something, to make a name for myself. I had been
floundering but I felt that I now had a sense of purpose. My
service was uneventful for several months but then a coup occurred. Emissary Davis
was overthrown by the power mad Chancellor Warner. This was the beginning of
the end.
The government was at war;
our once peaceful existence was plagued with demonstrations and violence. Our
economy which was booming suddenly went bust. The staples of life became harder
and harder to obtain. I had been assigned to patrol the inner quadrants of the
Capital where the impact was devastating. Crime was rampant so a mandatory curfew was imposed.
For the most part, the citizens complied with the ruling and enforcement wasn’t
necessary.
Chancellor Warner had the
people believing that he would lead them to utopia. He claimed that he was the
voice of reason in the sea of unrest. His plan was to create a unified
federation. The idea was for Emissary Davis to build a colony on the shores of a
new planet, Sutaria. Sutaria was several million miles away and the journey
would be arduous. This was his vision of greatness that we would expand beyond
Gilese and Sutaria was the first step. Manifest destiny in space.
After numerous meetings and
negotiations, Warner and Davis emerged looking more like partners in love than
bitter rivals. Next came the barrages of Sutaria is the future campaign
slogans. With this newly tentative peace forged, it seemed as if we were poised
for greatness. Plans were being made,
our finest scientific minds were designing the colony and the ships that would
take us there.
I was assigned to Sutarian
detail. As much as I didn’t want to
leave home, it was my duty and I understood the oath that I had taken. My
parents were understandably upset to see me go but they supported the
government. My deployment was set. I
said my goodbyes and boarded a ship bound for the new frontier. As Gilease grew smaller and smaller, I could
feel my heart breaking. Another life chapter closed, another to be opened.
Months later, I found myself
on Sutarian soil. As I unpacked in my
habitat pod, I glanced out at a bright star in the distance. Tears formed in my
eyes. I didn’t know what the future
would hold but I did know the future would be here for now.
It is many years later and I
am still here. I have retired from my service in the Faction. It wasn’t easy
trying to maintain order. There were some uprisings, some threats from
outsiders but we managed to resolve matters with few casualties.
At night, when the world is
quiet, I lie awake and think of Gilese. I remember how it felt to be young and
full of promise and hope instead of being old and jaded. Every night I say a silent prayer to whomever
might be listening for I know when I sleep, I dream of Orion.
Wow. Really loved reading this one. I'm a big sci-fi fan and anything to do with space. I could feel the character's sadness. I know his story is complete. Hopefully there will be some other Sutarian stories. Nice one Susan :-)
ReplyDeleteThere might be in the future. I have another blog in mind for the future where I will be doing a serial with installments. Maybe that would be a good time to reintroduce Sutaria along with Callie. You never know. Thanks so much, Renza for reading and giving me your opinion. I value it. :)
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ReplyDeleteThat was a deeply moving piece for a such a short tale Susan! You have the knack for drawing us in and making the character come to life. Great story I loved it.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, Theresa! I am so glad to hear that this story was able to capture your attention. As always, I value the feedback.
DeleteWow, superbly written!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Mike. I appreciate you joining me in the basement. 😉
DeletePacked with allusion, perhaps? A sad and moving story - congratulations for telling it so well. Let's hope it's not prophetic.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind words, Ms. Rix. I appreciate you taking the time to visit my little world. I am grateful for the comments.
DeleteThis was great Susan. I'm afraid to tell you this but I'm not a big SciFi fan. Don't hate me! BUT I thought this was excellent so I guess there is hope for me yet.
ReplyDeleteWell, then it is a step in the right direction. Anything to further the cause, lol. Of course, I don't hate you! There are certain genres I am not a fan of either. I do appreciate your comments and for visiting me in my little hideout.
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