Earth

“The weather looks great today.”

The corner of my lips twisted into a tight smirk, not wanting to give Ezra the satisfaction of a smile.

“Laughing won’t kill you,” he dimly pointed out, strapping his mask across his face.

I rolled my eyes and pulled the white straps of my mask behind my ears. I briefly glanced out the small, disk-shaped window and took in the luminous sight. 

Space was truly beautiful; a tenebrous canvas lite with beaming glows. Although space had no weather, it did provide gleaming views at every moment. My eyes darted away from the panorama to Ezra’s ocean-colored eyes. Of course I have never seen an ocean, but the ripples of azure seemed to match the photos in the Planetary room.

“Shall we be off?” Ezra called out, reaching for his woven sack of Aires.

“We shall,” I responded while following him into the hall.

The hall was fairly vacant for a Tuesday afternoon, although most people aged fourteen to sixty were probably at work somewhere along the vessel. On a typical weekday afternoon, Ezra and I would be at work, but we had saved our pass for today. Ezra is an extraordinary engineer, and also the first person under eighteen to work on the sixth floor. I was just a simple botanist, spending my days in the greenhouse studying plants. We got paid in the vessel’s currency, Aires, and received a pass once a month, permitting us to abandon our job for a few hours. We had secured our passes at the end of last month, so we could spend a few hours today in the Marketplace.

“Have you heard about floor six?” 

I shook my head, moving my mahogany-colored hair from my face.

“Well, I heard from Apollo that someone had attempted to steal a shipload box, one of the monthlies directly from Earth. Not sure what was inside, but they sure put up a fight. Enough to get them into the institution, anyways,” Ezra explained.

“Wow, they must have really wanted whatever was inside. Do you know which floor the box was being transported to?”

“I think maybe the second floor, probably some medical resources.”

Before I could respond, we had reached the flooring entryway. Ezra persistently pressed the orange button, observing the lethargic floor panel slowly drift towards us.

Once the panel stopped in front of our feet, we gently stepped on, holding onto the metal railing that enclosed the panel. Ezra typed in the code for the Marketplace, and the panel incrementally rose. A small map was projected onto the button screen, but we had the map memorized from the moment we were born. 

“Have you ever noticed that the map doesn’t show the launch and shipping platform,” Ezra pointed out.

“I’ve never really thought about it. Why would they?”

“I don’t know. I’m just curious.”

I peered at the glowing map, taking in the layout of the vessel. The vessel was seven floors; the Living floor, the Medical floor, the Botanical and Food Resources floor, the Engineering and Technology floor, the Marketplace, the Education floor, and the Navigation and Control floor. 

The Living floor is comprised of precisely 750 chambers, all composed of two bedrooms, a bathroom, and an entry room. None of the chambers provided a kitchen, as meals were served on the botanical and food resources floor. Each family was expected to have no more than two children, which enabled each chamber to fit a family of four.

The Medical floor holds two main sections; the surgical and the infirmary. Upon arrival to the medical floor, you are placed in a hospital room in the infirmary, unless the situation is deemed an emergency. In the case of an emergency, the patient would be whisked away to the surgical section. I’m not certain what the surgical section includes, as I have been to the medical floor only for routinely check-ups.

The Science and Food Resources was also crafted into two divisions, one that holds the greenhouse and scientific labs, and the other accommodates the cafeteria and kitchens. I work in the greenhouse, which is usually rather chilling and fresh-smelling. The cafeteria is very extensive, but only large enough to feed around 400 people at a time. Mealtimes are on a stringent schedule, and arriving late often means enduring an empty stomach until your next time slot. The kitchens appear big, but I have yet to see what they hold.

The Education floor is primarily for children aged three to fourteen, and holds several classrooms, a gym, and the Planetary room. The gym is rather meager, with only a few weights and some equipment, as no one has time to workout. The Planetary room holds exhibits and photos of our Solar System and all of its components. Most of the population has memorized the location of all the plants and interstellar objects, but it’s still fun to observe. After fourteen, children are sent to different floors to began working as apprentices to serve the vessel in various ways. I was sent to be a botanist, although I’m not sure why.

I have never been to the fourth or sixth floor, as I have never had to work in engineering, technology, navigation, or controls. Ezra says the fourth floor is dark, and his workspace is rather diminutive. The sixth floor is rumored to be the most elegant, as the majority of the officials reside and spend their days in Navigation and Controls. Ezra has worked on the wiring and radio systems several times on the sixth floor, but has never seen more than the electrical rooms. The shipments from Earth and Mars arrive on the sixth floor, although only officials and shipping workers handle the shiploads.

Each floor features a balcony that overlooks the center of the vessel, a colossal airway for the flooring panels. To enter or leave a floor, you simply call a panel, enter, and type in the floor code. The panel then descends or rises, depending on the desired location.

“Any idea what you want?” Ezra asked me as the panel rose past the fourth floor.

“No idea. Just browsing I guess. How about you?”

“I think I want an alien.”

“Really?”

“My parents seem alright with the idea of a pet, since I have no siblings.”

“Aliens are a lot of work. Do you want a breed alien, or are you adopting?”

“Adopting, for sure. I don’t have half 0f the amount of Aires needed to breed.”

Ezra’s family was comprised of him, his mother, and his father. Ezra and his father were both highly intelligent and innovative, which led them to be placed in Engineering. His mother worked in Education, teaching children aged five to six. All of their jobs are beneficial to the survival of the vessel, their compensation was is proportion to the significance. 

My mother and father both worked in medical, my mother being a nurse and my father being a surgeon. Although being a botanist isn’t exactly high-paying, medical careers unquestionably are. 

The panels abruptly stopped at the sixth floor balcony, and the gated entrance clicked open. Ezra mockingly held the gate open, and I gave him ridiculously curtsied before stepping onto the terrace. 

We approached the entrance to the Marketplace, a row of pillars serving as a divider between the balcony and the line of stands and shop entrances. I smelled all sorts of food scents; sugary, buttery, warm, savory, all coming from the series of stands. The Marketplace was fairly filled, bustling with movement and laughter. 

“Anywhere you want to check out?”

“No, lets go to the Alien Adoption center first.”

Ezra leisurely inched in front of me, as a tall, older man pushed a cart of jewelry past us.

“Rubies necklaces from the Earth continent Australia! Opal rings from the mines of Mars!” he bellowed. He held up a golden bracelet to my eyes and I swiftly shook my head. He emotionlessly drew his hand back and migrated towards his next target.

“Rubies from Australia? I’ve heard Australia is pretty nice,” Ezra commented when the jewelry cart was out of view.

“I saw a few pictures in the Planetary room, I heard there are animals called kangaroos,” I added. 

“Do you think you’ll ever go to Earth? Or Mars?”

“Maybe if I saved up my entire life. But I would never have enough Aires to go to Earth and come back, so I’m not sure.”

“If I ever live to be able to pay for a dropship to Earth, I’m going. No hesitation.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I want to see the ocean, and animals, and have night and day. I want to go swimming, or whatever it’s called, and I want to feel wind. I want to breathe fresh air and drive the mobiles.”

“Well we have night and day.”

“Not really. It’s always dark in space.”

We stopped in front of a kroton stand, fried krotons with caramel and chocolate. Krotons are native to Mars, and obtain a strange sweet yet warm taste.

“You hungry?” Ezra asked while pulling out some Aires.

“Always.”

We bought a small cardboard box with little, oily krotons. Ezra handed me a napkin and we silently ate our snack.

“Look at that black backpack hung up over there. I think I want something like that,” Ezra commented, pointing to a large, strong-looking bag in a store window.

“What would you even use it for? We aren’t in education anymore,” I acknowledged.

“No idea, maybe for engineering. I don’t know, I just like how it looks.”

Approaching the Alien Adoption storefront, we threw the greasy box in a circular trashcan. The mouth of the trashcan shut on the cardboard and instantly reopened, sending the trash to fourth floor, to be recycled or discarded. I’m not particularly sure were the trash goes, as I have never been fascinated with the cycle of discard.

Ezra held the door open, and we stepped entered the lively store. Rows of cages with aliens lined the wall, with bright lights changing colors along the ceiling. Aliens with tails, one eye, seven eyes, horns, sharp tongues, and scaly backs stopped to inspect our arrival. The air smelled like mint, and a strange music was playing in the background. A short, middle-aged looking woman bustled over to us.

“Hello, hello! Welcome to the Alien Adoption store! I’m Mindy! What are you two looking for?” she cheerfully exclaimed. 

“Something small. Maybe purple or blue,” Ezra replied, taking in the foreground.

“A little vague, but I love open-mindedness! Let me show you what I’m thinking!”

She briskly led us to the back of the store, in a stride that was almost a skip. I glanced at Ezra’s wide-eyed expression, which was clearing trying to hold back a laugh. 

Mindy pulled back a curtain of beads, and we stepped into our new destination. The backroom was lite up with a luminescent, purple fog. 

“These are our smaller breeds, every color in the rainbow! Volcano-red to forest-green to sky-blue! Not that I’ve seen a volcano or a sky. Or a forest, for that matter,” Mindy awkwardly explained, as if confused with her own words.

Ezra starting trekking down the range of cages, peering into each one. He placed his finger through one of the grates in the cage, studying deeper into the alien inside.

“Where do you work? You are over fourteen, I presume,” Mindy directed at me.

“I am. Over fourteen I mean. I am studying to be a botanist in the greenhouse,” I replied.

“Plants? I like plants, not enough to spend all day with them though. Must be a shame that we’re on this giant ship and not Earth. I bet you would like to see a forest.”

“Maybe one day I’ll see Earth. I’m satisfied with this life though.”

“Really? I thought a girl like you would want to see what Earth or Mars had to offer,” Mindy paused, “I know I would trade this life just to see Earth or Mars.”

I wasn’t sure how to answer this inquiry, but Ezra luckily seemed to have a fascination with a particular alien.

“I like this alien a lot. The pink one.”

Mindy trotted over and squatted down to study the alien.

“This one? She’s rather feisty, but she sure makes good company,” Mindy stated, pulling down a leather necklace of keys. She placed a red-colored key in the keyhole, and gently lifted the alien out. 

The alien was bright pink with two cream-colored horns proportionately on each side of her head. She had three prominent, citrus eyes and a scaly, brass belly. She sharply glared at me, before smiling at Ezra. 

“I think I really like this one,” Ezra finalized.

“Her, she’s a her,” Mindy protectively replied.

“I like her. How much is she?”

“125 Aires. She comes with a carrier cage, a cotton bed, kibble, and a plush toy.”

Ezra’s cerulean eyes widened, and I could tell his reaction was more than shock. Mindy didn’t seem to notice, and strode over to a shelf with carriers.

“Aura, I don’t have that much. I needed to save some and I only brought 60 Aires,” he softly whispered to me.

“I got the 65 Aires,” I murmured back.

“No you don’t. That’s more than I’ll be paying.”

“Than we can share the alien.”

“You are not paying 65 Aires,” he insisted.

“My gift.”

Before he could respond, Mindy handed us the alien in a green carrier cage. Ezra hesitantly followed her to the front, where she grabbed a paper bag. She handed the bag to me, and stepped to the front counter. I inconspicuously handed Ezra a stack of crinkled Aires, which he falteringly took. He placed the stack and his sack of Aires on the counter, which Mindy pulled towards her. The period of Mindy’s counting was silent and awkward, but she finally nodded.

“There we go! Make sure to bring her to visit every now and then! Have a good day!” Mindy exclaimed and waved us off.

After leaving the premise, Ezra immediately turned to me.

“On Friday I get paid, and I’ll have the 65 Aires. I promise.”

“Ezra, it’s really alright. Besides, we can choose a name now.”

“No Aura, I’ll have it by then alright?”

“Alright. Now let’s select a name.”

Ezra seemed to give up with persistence and looked up at the glass ceiling encasing the marketplace.

“Let’s name her Earth.”