Convergence

The smell assaulted Anya when she stepped off the transport onto the space station Convergence. It was acidic and bit at her nose, antiseptic cleansers, new carpet, a metallic tang. Man-made. Nothing like the rich smells of her backyard. Scratch that. Former backyard. She exhaled a breath, not realizing she had been holding it, and followed her older brother Tobias. They shuffled through the arrivals corridor with the other hundred or so new Landers in their transport.

Their parents were siphoned off to one side with the adults. Tobias and Anya were crammed in with the kids, about forty. They'd been quarantined during the transport up, so this was Anya's first chance to see the other people in their Landing group. She swept her eyes around, hungry for new faces, glad to have escaped the tedium of the tiny pod she'd had to share with both parents and her brother the last week. Tobias had decided to experiment with facial hair on the trip up, and she found the patchy hairs on his chin--she couldn't even begin to conceive of them as a beard--just gross. He was only sixteen and hadn't quite gotten there on the whole facial hair thing. She wondered if he'd notice if she shaved it all off while he slept. She had taken to tinkering with the pod's on-board computer on the ride up. Nothing that her parents or Tobias would notice, but little changes like better airflow wherever she was sitting, little brighter lighting, and a cool pink glow effect around the bathroom mirror, all tied to her Identity.

Her mom and dad, well, she was still pissed about the move to the space station. She wasn't sure when she'd be done hating them for uprooting the family and moving everyone to the space station, but maybe before the next century. Maybe. At fourteen, she'd finally found a group of kids to hang out with at school, friends. She was a star on the soccer team and otherwise feeling normal for the first time in her life. Of course that meant it was a good time to move off-planet. She hadn't even told her friends where they were moving at first. It was just too weird.

She let out a big sigh and looked around. Time to buck up, kiddo. She glanced at the other kids in the Lander group. There were littles as well as teens. At least she and Tobias weren't going to be the only new kids at Convergence High. She noticed a few girls and boys who looked her age, or at least her size. She made a mental note to try to be friendly. Just because she was determined to show her parents how much she hated it here didn't mean she had to act that way with potential allies.

Tobias poked her and pointed to the colored walls of the large gathering room they were in. Look sis, colors in space!

In spite of her best intentions to look grumpy for her parents' sake, she couldn't help the grin that escaped. In anticipation of their move to the Convergence, she and Tobias had pulled every science-fiction film they could off the net and watched them, snipping together their favorite clips into a highlights reel. From 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and STAR WARS to MINDSTORM OVERDRIVE and WAR WITH ALPHA CENTAURI, they discovered a universal truth. Living in space meant gray. Lots and lots of gray.

In front of her now was evidence that the movies were wrong. Each of the walls were covered with soft fabrics that shimmered and shone with different colors--pinks, greens, blues. Some of the fabrics were pleated and folded in intricate patterns. It was like being in the middle of a festive Middle Eastern bazaar. Or the Couch Emporium. She was close to an orange wall and dragged her hand across the folded fabric there, feeling the pleats ruffle in her fingers.

Nice, isn't it? Anya's mom, Madeline Bowden, was suddenly at her shoulder and Anya jerked her hand away from the wall as though it were electrified. Busted enjoying herself for a millisecond. She'd have to be more careful.

Whatever, mom. Anya rolled her eyes for her mom's benefit, and was rewarded with a tight smile.

You have your Identity, right? Her mom's smile pulled at the corners of her mouth and made her look pinched and much older.

A little part of Anya felt bad for torturing her mom, but only a little. Yes, I get it, don't let your Identity out of your sight, they've drilled that much into us. Anya felt at her throat for the silver disc that hung from a black satin cord. She had picked the icon carved into her Identity. It was only fair, since she and everyone else had to wear one at all times on the station.

Anya had selected an icon of an acacia tree. How appropriate, she thought when she chose it, an image of something rooted to earth when she was miles above all known dirt. It reminded her of the tree in her backyard at home. Former home. Their house and cars were gone now, sold to some suburban patsies who probably wouldn't even appreciate the house's proximity to the soccer fields three-eighths of a mile to the west. Anya could jog it in three minutes, two and a half if she sprinted. All their possessions were either packed into tiny crates for the move to Convergence or stored in long-term storage Earthside. Mail permanently stopped, if it couldn't be sent electronic they just weren't going to get it. In spite of all this, Anya still clung to the idea that at some point everyone was going to be so miserable in space that they'd get to move back home. Home. What a funny word.

Just then a man with a handheld the size of a clipboard came in. He had the look of someone who was in charge of something and used to being listened to. He cleared his throat and the general buzz of conversation calmed, then quieted as all eyes turned toward him.

Hello and welcome to the space station Convergence. I'm Captain Kipp. He paused for what looked like dramatic effect. You can call me Captain, or Sir. I'll be leading your orientation, so you may wish to call me God. If you don't follow my directions, you may find yourself on the wrong side of an airlock as it cycles out. He looked at the people in the room, a serious expression on his face.

Anya was going to laugh at his serious expression, but the laugh died in her throat. She didn't need the cold reminder of the vacuum of space. Nothing quite like being trapped in a spinning mass of metal with only a few feet between her and blood-boiling airless nothingness.

I will be covering basic safety features in this first meeting. After that, you'll be shown to your quarters. Those who requested a cat or a frog will meet your pet in your quarters. These are the companion pets we've found do the best when raised in space. Other species don't adapt as well.

Anya perked up. Cats? In space? She hadn't had a cat since Milky Way died when she was eight. Come to think of it, her parents had been a little strange about her desire to get another cat all these years. Had they been planning this space station move since then? Anya turned this thought over in her head, renewing her anger at her parents.

Captain Kipp went on, Tomorrow we'll meet back up in the morning for more general information. In the afternoon, the children will meet with a teacher from their respective schools. Adults will do job-specific orientation. After that, you'll be on your own on the Convergence, but help is always a push of a button away. Here, he gestured in a vague way to an icon of the space station that was etched on the wall, a light gray outline against the bright orange fabric. Anya hadn't noticed it before. She didn't have time to look at it closely, though, because the Captain went on, Is everyone ready? Have your Identities on? Step through the membrane door here, the computer will calibrate your Identity as you enter.

People approached Captain Kipp, then stepped through the membrane door to the station. A soft voice said each person's name. Najaf, Evan. Mitsoko, Ohiro. Hankins, Connor.

Anya watched each person slip through the membrane, their bodies disappearing through the opaque barrier bit by bit, first a foot, a leg, one arm, a torso, last the trailing arm and wisps of hair. They membrane swallowed each person whole, like the belly of a jellyfish. Anya stifled a shudder. It would be her turn soon enough.

Her parents went next. Bowden, Madeline. Bowden, Zach, the door hushed.

Swallowing, Anya prepared to go through. She eyed the membrane warily, wondering if it was all just a ruse and if she was going to find herself swallowed whole by some gigantic space-beast. She hoped the digestive enzymes would kill her quickly. She sighed and stepped up as the last of her dad's brown hair disappeared.

She decided on a decisive stride, so the anxiety she felt wouldn't be so obvious to the other people waiting their turn to go through. She stepped forward with purpose, and as she tried to put her right leg through the membrane, the membrane stopped being porous and her leg bounced back at her, throwing her back into Tobias who was next in line.

Chapter 2: The porous membrane that wasn't

She fell into Tobias with an oof, the air knocking out of her lungs in a rush. She regained her footing as her brother pushed her from behind. She wheeled around to face him, thinking he had played a trick on her. Instead of finding a smile, his face was as confused as hers, and more than a little annoyed. She looked at Captain Kipp, whose forehead creased in a frown.

What is this? He looked from her to his handheld device. Who are you?

Anya Bowden. My parents just went through, Anya found herself pointing toward the membrane dumbly, her hand shook a little.

Anya Bowden, huh? I don't have you on the manifest. Captain Kipp scrolled his handheld, the crease in his forehead deepening.

Great, sis. What have you done now? Tobias hissed in her ear.

I didn't do anything!

Can I see your Identity?

Anya reached around behind her neck to unsnap the clasp on her acacia-tree Identity, aware of the stares of the other people waiting to pass through the membrane door.

You two related? Captain Kipp pointed from Anya to Tobias and back.

What, did the brown hair and matching freckle paint-job across their noses not give them away? Anya watched as Tobias thought about denying it, but his expression changed and he gave a brief nod to Captain Kipp.

Family, we stick together. He pitched his voice so only she could hear him, and she found herself slightly comforted by his allegiance.

Okay folks, little glitch, we'll get it figured out. Keep moving. Captain Kipp gestured toward the rest of the people still waiting to go through to the station. They began stepping around Anya and Tobias and sliding through the barrier. Nobody else had any issues, Anya noted.

Captain Kipp bent his head over his handheld, typing in different things. Anya shuffled her weight between her feet, feeling a hot flush creep up the neck of her sweater. She tried counting backwards from one hundred, but the flush persisted. She felt a prickle of sweat break out in the small of her back, she kept her eyes down and tried to breathe like a normal person. As if she were a normal person. She wondered briefly if all the tweaking she did of the pod computer could have caused a problem, but quickly discarded this thought. It was just a pod. And she had only done the barest of mods, simple changes in environmentals, nothing structural. Nothing core to the pod's operating system. She didn't think.

She clasped and unclasped her hands in front of her, which worked to keep her hands from grabbing at Captain Kipp's handheld. What on earth was he doing that he couldn't find her, with her perfectly good Identity in one of his hands. He slid the Identity disc into a slot on the handheld that Anya hadn't noticed before, then he turned to an icon on the wall that was clearly a depiction of the space station--a central tube with two large rings circled around it, like Saturn's rings but, you know, Convergence's. He fished a short very thin cable from his pocket and hooked the handheld to the space station icon.

Desperate to have a distraction from her flushed face, Anya spoke up, Um, excuse me. What are you doing?

Tobias shot her a dark glare that seemed to say, Shut up and let the adults do their thing. Well, that had never been how Anya operated, so tough luck to Tobias. She squinted her eyes back at him.

I'm reinitializing your Identity. Something went wrong when it was setup on the transport. It'll be done in a few minutes and you can go on your way.

Oh, that's okay, I can just head back to earth, then. Anya hooked her thumb over her shoulder back to where they had come in. A big part of her hoped that he was going to tell her to go ahead and get back on the transport that had taken her and her family up to the Convergence. A very small part of her pointed out that she'd miss her family, but for the moment she ignored that little part of her.

At this, Captain Kipp looked up from the handheld and seemed to see something in Anya's face. Sorry, no chance of that. The shuttles that brought you up here are already depressurized and being loaded with Convergence cargo for a run to the Space Station Artemis. The only way back to earth now would be in one of the escape shuttles. Emergency use only. His mouth was set in a thin line.

Anya watched the trickle of people going past her and Tobias through the membrane door. As she glanced around, her eyes found the thin cable connecting Captain Kipp's handheld to the wall again. Unable to control her curiosity, she asked, What's with the cables? No wireless? She drew a circle in the air with her finger.

There's a limit to the wireless use on the space station. We've got a lot of metal, a lot of interference. Your Identities are read wirelessly, and some basic information can be sent wireless, but for most heavy-duty work you need a tethered connection. For instance, these handhelds have to be tethered to send and receive information from the central computer. He flicked the handheld up in such a way that the thin cable connecting it to the space station icon on the wall danced up and down.

This is a connection point to the central computer then? Anya said, reaching over to trace the outline of the space station icon on the wall with her finger.

Yes, that's one way we connect. There are also terminals in desks, at workplaces and labs, in your school. Your handhelds will connect with those terminals, too.

We get handhelds? Cool. Anya nudged Tobias, who was still giving her a dark look. You'll love that, Tobey. You'll have to hook one up to your chucka. Tobias was never without his tiny recording device that he wore on his palm.

They'll be authenticated through your Identities, another reason why you need a working one. That and the fact that the central computer won't let you onto the space station without a working Identity. Captain Kipp cracked a wry grin and Anya grinned as well, in spite of herself. Crime rates have gone down to almost zero with the use of Identities on all the space stations.

Almost zero? Anya found herself wondering what kinds of crooks were left in that almost.

Just then, the handheld made a very slight noise, but Anya, who was attuned to the noises machines make, heard it and looked up at Captain Kipp.

Ah, here we go. This should work now. Captain Kipp handed Anya her acacia tree Identity disc.

Anya took it, turning it over in her hands. It looked exactly the same. A boy with dark hair and eyebrows looked over at her on his way past, a curious expression on his face. She fumbled with the clasp, feeling her flush return as the last of the Landers slipped through the membrane. It was just her, Tobias, and Captain Kipp now. She took a breath and tried the clasp again, getting it this time.

Okay, think it will work this time? Anya said, not sure if she wanted it to work or have her be denied entry to the Convergence again, in case it let her go back to earth.

Yes, should be fine, please proceed, Captain Kipp gestured for her to go through the membrane.

Anya looked back at Tobias, her mouth quirked to the side, hoping he'd offer to go through first. He didn't. She was going to have to do this herself one way or another. She tried not to bring back to mind the image of the space beast's gaping maw. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, then reached out with just her left foot, intentionally choosing her non-shooting foot just in case she got hurt. To her surprise, her toe slipped through the membrane, then the rest of her leg, and soon she was propelled forward with a slight push in the back from Tobias. The membrane door enveloped her, and suddenly she was through to the other side. She heard the same computer-generated voice from before say, Bowden, Anya.

She looked back at the opaque shimmering door in surprise. Thanks! she exclaimed, before she could remember to lower her voice. Thanking mechanical and electronic objects was one of her admittedly many oddities, and one that Tobias really hated.

You're welcome, the computer-generated voice responded. Anya did a double-take, looking at the membrane door more closely. She thought she noticed a slight pink hue to the space station icon that was on one side of the door.

Just then Tobias slid through the membrane. As he popped through, the voice said, Bowden, Tobias. The space station icon glowed green for a heartbeat, then stopped glowing entirely and returned to the dull gray it had started at. Captain Kipp passed through next, and Anya didn't have time to examine the space station icon more closely, as he hurried them down the corridor and into a large auditorium.

Chapter 3: Her first earthview

They slipped into the auditorium, Anya's cheeks burning as she felt every eye in the room on her. The Landers who had preceded her through the membrane door were clearly being filled in on her door-plant by those who had been behind her. She ducked her head and took a seat with Tobias next to their parents on one aisle. Her mom shot her a quizzical glance, but Anya just shook her head, not wanting to meet her mom's eyes. Too many things to think about, she didn't even remember to scowl.

Captain Kipp began to recite an overview of the Convergence. They had heard this same speech a hundred times in the last week through the required training programs they had to do while en route.