Only the Lucky

I was raised to believe that winning the Grand New World Lottery was the ultimate prize. To be the one person chosen out of billions to live in Colony, the city built on the moon, was an honor. Every citizen on Earth knew they would most likely die before they ever heard their name and lottery number broadcasted world-wide. Every year, the various media outlets would all echo the same phrase after the announcement: only the lucky, and the rest of us—the unlucky—would sit in our homes and watch that person leave this world for someplace that was supposedly better.

The winner had one week to do whatever they pleased during their last days on Earth. Last year's winner was not much of a surprise, many weren’t, the rich and powerful always managed to buy their way onto the rocket. Vincent Buchannon had bribed his way in. A famous record producer for over two decades. His life had been adventurous, and filled with drugs, parties and music. He’d had scandals and love affairs, divorces and lawsuits. He was an elite, and had spent his final week on Earth throwing an epic music festival on a rented private island. He had broadcasted it live, and I remember thinking, is this luck? or is this money? as beautiful people mingled and danced to the music. There was a light show at the end, and Buchannon gave a fiery speech, listing his accomplishments, and insulting anyone he felt he hadn’t gotten to insult during his last days. He then thanked the mystery leaders of the Grand New World Project, put on the much coveted orange and grey spacesuit, and walked confidently up the ramp that led to the rocketship, GNW2.0. 

The world would not see the GNW2.0 until it landed in another 365 days. For maintenance, refueling, and to carry the next lucky one to the moon. When I was a child, I would watch in awe as the rocket shot across the sky before disappearing from the camera’s view, leaving a trail of crimson and white in its wake. I never dreamed someone like me could ever win.

Only the lucky get this opportunity.

If that were true, then why was I currently hiding in fear inside of a department store fitting room? I’d spent my last week on Earth at home with my houseplants, and gliding lazily down the rows of bookshelves at my favorite used bookstore, not buying anything because there was no need. I’d consumed at least twenty high-calorie drinks from commercial coffee shops, and I ate my fair share from the fast food chains I would be leaving behind. I finally watched Seinfeld, but didn’t get to finish. I skipped to the last episode,  but was left confused and dissatisfied, I obviously had missed a lot. At thirty-eight, I sadly had no family to say goodbye to, and the only time people ever claimed to be my friend, was the morning after my name and lottery number was announced across the world as the winner.

I was supposed to report to the Moon Station two hours ago, but on my walk to meet the limo, I’d lost my nerve, vomiting coffee and stomach bile onto the sidewalk. I walked in no direction in particular, twitching with the terror of the unknown, trapped in a daze. I ended up at the mall, and I haven’t left this fitting room since. I banged the back of my head against the changing room wall, catching my slightly distorted and pale reflection in the badly lit mirror. 

I was supposed to want this, but shouldn’t moving to the moon be a choice? I couldn’t go home because the media would still be there. I knew there was no escaping. “What did I have on this earth anyway?” I asked myself. Nothing. I was Sarah Dornell, I worked for an engineering company, I liked to be in bed by 9:15 p.m. and I still watched reality television.

Colony could be a fresh start, I should be grateful to get this opportunity. Countless celebrities and politicians had paid their way to the moon, but I won, I was one of the lucky. 

With my knees trembling, I finally stood and unlocked the changing room door. The retail store was quiet as I walked through it, everyone was at home and glued to their televisions, waiting for me to appear. They will watch me climb inside the rocket, and they will all be jealous of me for it. But there will also be relief, because they aren’t the ones having their lives ripped away. It didn’t matter how quiet of a life it was. 

So, I would smile and I would wave, and I would give them what they wanted to see on GNW2.0’s 56th annual launch. I told myself this over and over. I breathed in the smell of cloth, leather, and electronics. Was there a mall on the moon?

On a whim, I bought a warm pretzel. The girls working the counter were so distracted waiting for the launch to air on their phones, that they didn’t even notice the lucky one was standing in front of them. 

I exited the mall and I sat on a bench, eating my pretzel and watching the seagulls eat the trash that littered the parking lot. I opened my phone and found the correct number in my call history.

“Ms. Dornell,” a curt female voice answered.

“I’m sorry I’m late...I got…”

“It’s fine, tell us your location and we will send a car. This is a very timed operation. We will have to skip the opening ceremony.”

The speech was out, I felt a flood of relief. “I’m at the entrance to the mall.” 

The woman hung up, and I was alone again with my thoughts. I only had to suit up, wave, smile, and climb onto the rocket ship.

I didn’t have to wait long before a black limo with darkened windows skidded to a stop in front of me. I was ushered into the back by the driver, and once inside, I was handed the gray and orange suit to slip over my clothes by a woman with a tight, blond bun.

“Nerves?” She asked, forcing a stiff smile.

“Yes, it’s a big change.”

“You’ll be fine.”

I’ll be fine. She didn’t know me, but her words were supposed to bring me comfort. I turned to gaze out the window. The scenery darkened by the window tint.

“Your resume is impressive, Ms. Dornell.”

I looked at the woman in surprise. My resume was not impressive.

“What made you get into cartography?” She spoke of my first passion.

“Art class mostly. I liked books with maps in them, and I began creating my own. I got a job in the illustration business, and then went to the engineering firm.” And that’s where I’ve been for ten years. I kept the last part to myself. Cubicles, rushed lunches, late nights. 

“Colony will be lucky to have you.”

We remained silent for the rest of the drive. Once we reached the launchpad, the going was slow. I’d never seen so many people in one place. Flags from every country were being waved in the air, some people were in costume, and almost everyone had their phones out.. 

“All you have to do is walk up the ramp and get into the rocket.” The blonde said as we slowed to a stop near the ramp’s entrance. It was like she had been reading my mind. Smile, wave, walk.

When the limo door was opened for me, I barely had time to think as the driver gently grabbed my elbow and guided me from my seat.

“I look forward to seeing you again, Ms. Dornell.” The blonde said quietly. I didn’t have time to remind her that she wouldn't be seeing me again. No one ever came back from Colony.

The flashing of camera lights was blinding, and the crowd’s cheers were deafening. I tried to smile and wave, not sure if I pulled it off. I caught the eye of a young girl wearing an “Only the Lucky” shirt, she had a small american flag tucked in her fist. I tried to show her I was happy and brave before being swept up the ramp. 

The announcer was saying something about me, but his words were cut short by the rocket door sliding closed behind me. My breath was loud in the new silence, and I took in the strange metallic surroundings around me. Two middle-aged pilots were in the front seats, both flashing dazzling white smiles. 

“Welcome aboard the GNW2.0, Ms. Dornell. I’m your pilot, Martin Forge, and this is my co-pilot, Drake Nicholson. Are you ready for the first day of your new life?”

There were no windows in the rocketship, and I already felt detached from Earth. My mouth was dry, but I managed to respond. “What is it like on the moon?” I asked.

“Not at all what you were told,” Forge said. “Now, let’s have Nicholson strap you in, we are behind schedule.”

I muttered an apology and sat in the seat directly behind him. Nicholson was friendly, trying to make small jokes as he strapped me in tightly. I had a moment to really take in the ship. I imagined it would look different. More messy, with controls and wires, flashing lights and high-tech computer systems. But it was smooth and clean—sterile. 

“We are really happy to have you aboard, Ms. Dornell. We are fans of your work,” he smiled, and placed a large helmet over my head before I could respond. 

My work? This had to be a mistake. My finest achievement in my career was a series of maps I illustrated for a semi-famous children's book author. It was called Mara’s Maps, about a girl who could jump into maps and visit anywhere in the world. I had received an award for that series. It was what landed me the job at the engineering company. Why would these people care about map making?

I was strapped in and so were Forge and Nicholson. There was no warning that we were starting, just an abrupt tilt, a deep rumble and a heavy vibration. Outside I’m sure the people were cheering, but all I could hear was the powerful roar of the engine beneath me. 

Nicholson held up a hand and began to drop each of his fingers in a countdown. The roar intensified and we were soon off the ground. My stomach dropped alarmingly. I could see the blue sky in the windshield, clouds getting closer and closer until we were cutting our way through them. Up and up and up. I waited for us to break into the stars, but it never happened. Instead the rocket ship began to slow. The pilots were now hitting multiple buttons and switches. Forge took the massive controls in his hands and smoothly brought us to a stop, then directed the rocket to nosedive. Now, it was a different kind of blue barreling toward us—the ocean. The nosedive was faster than the lift off. No longer did I hear the roar of the rocket. Neither of the pilots acted as though anything was wrong, like the three of us weren't plunging to our deaths. 

Of course, I would be the one to crash the GNW2.0.

I felt absurdly calm when the waves of water were only mere feet away. I kept my eyes open and waited. Instead of the hard impact that I had expected, the nose of the rocketship cut cleanly through the sea. We dove deeper into the ocean until we were so deep that sunlight couldn't penetrate the water. A set of high beams turned on, illuminating an ocean that was an unrecognizable world. 

Eventually, the rocketship stopped its descent, leveling out and traveling at normal speed. Both pilots took off their helmets and motioned for me to do the same.

I ripped mine off. “What the hell!” My outburst surprised even myself, but I was at the bottom of the ocean. The GNW2.0 wasn’t a rocket, it was some sort of submarine hybrid. 

“Ms. Dornell, I’m sure you have questions,” Nicholson said.

Only one at the moment. “Where is the damn moon?”

“There is no moon, there is no Colony,” Forge said seriously. “Everything you were raised to believe is a lie.”

“Grand New World Project is a lie?”

“No, the G.N.W. P. is not a lie, we are very real,” Nicholson smiled. “Ms. Dornell—”

“Call me Sarah…”

“Sarah,” he amended. “What if I told you that you are about to be part of something bigger than a city on the moon. The creation of a new society, the preservation of humanity. An entire world full of good people.”

“I would ask why me?”

Forge leveled her with a serious gaze. “Because you are a good person, Sarah, and talented. It’s not a hard concept. This society is still considered ‘new’ and we need historians, cartographers, writers. We need tradesmen who know how to build, we need farmers and herbalists.”

“And music producers, and politicians? Rappers and supermodels?” I asked. “That was already on Earth.” I’m still on earth, I realized. It was only a semi-comforting thought, because I wasn’t on Earth, I was inside of Earth 

The two pilots glanced at each other, then both brought their attention back to me. “Only the good make it this far, Sarah,” Forge said. “You can’t buy your way into Grand New World. People of status, celebrities, people of mass wealth, you won’t find those people here.”

“Then...where did they go? To the moon?”

“There is no moon,” Forge repeated, before turning back to the controls. 

“Don’t worry, Sarah, all of your questions will be answered. Once you see what we are creating, you will understand,” Nicholson said. He pointed to the ceiling, “up there, they are destroying each other, destroying the world. It’s hard, I know, but imagine a place where there is no corruption, where there is no hunger, no crime. Just one belief, that humanity can be good. When that world ends, the Grand New World will be there, ready to rebuild. You’re going to be part of that.” He smiled, and then shifted back to his seat beside Forge. 

It was a lot to take in, instead, I found myself thinking about Vincent Buchannon, and all the others who paid to live on the moon. They were the only launches I remembered. I didn't remember the others, the nobodys like me.

Only the lucky. 

No, only the good. I wish I could tell the little girl with the american flag that what was needed for real change, wasn’t that hard for an individual to achieve.

“Hey, Sara!” Nicholson yelled over his shoulders. “Come check this out, it’s the beginning of Grand New World!”

I climbed to the front, squatting between the pilots. At first I saw nothing but darkness beyond our lighting, But soon the world in front of me began to change. A large rock wall with a tunnel was illuminated before us. We traveled into the darkness, and when the tunnel ended and the water receded, Grand New World was sprawled in front of me.

Nicholson was correct, once you see, you do understand. And despite what I had just been told, and what I knew I should believe, that I was chosen to be here because I was good. I couldn’t help but once again think to myself, only the lucky...