Ætherglow #165

“I think the LuNats have some good points, the Moon would benefit from a unified state, a stronger cultural identity apart from Earth,” you say.

“Very LuNat of you,” Lexi says.

“Be careful with political movements, Aydan,” Synth says. “They can be little better than cults themselves. Especially for transfem people.”

“Oh Synth you think everything’s a cult,” Lexi says.

Synth moves on, walking in silence through the halfway abandoned neighborhood.

“Here we are,” Synth says, stopping at another ruin, a large concrete structure with the remains of ostentatious pillars and stone decorations, in front of a pile of glass shards of its large windows.

“A train station?” you say.

“Used to be.” They walk over the glass in their heavy boots. Lexi follows them. You are a bit less protected, and take long jumps between safer looking spots, taking advantage of your homeworld’s low gravity.

Inside, the walls are stripped bare of all wiring and anything else of value. Above you, a once-elaborate mural covers the ceiling, now halfway disintegrated leaving large patches of grey concrete. Synth leads you to the back, climbing over a barrier and through a gap in a chain fence, past a number of Danger signs.

Your terminal light shines your way through the dark, derelict labyrinth. You arrive in a large room full of scattered mechanical parts, some buried under layers of dust. A section of an old magnetic track runs through here, looking as dusty as everything else.

“Welcome to the graveyard.” Synth goes further in, finally stopping at a clearing where a small vehicle sits. It has a wide, flat metal frame and four wheels, a motor and battery, several seats, and little in between. Closer inspection shows different parts of it are welded together from several unrelated machines.

“Ooh, is that the machine you salvaged?” Lexi says.

“Yeah. Finished it over year end break, after recovery.” They climb into one of the seats, facing some rudimentary controls.

“We’re going somewhere in this?” you say.

Synth points down the track, into the darkness. “Trains won’t take us there.”

“Well this will be fun!” Lexi says.

You look down the path ahead. You’re going some distance away, somewhere your body guard can’t easily follow.