🌓

You take Zeta’s hand too, you have two of them after all.

[Zeta liked that]

“I’ll miss you Aydan...” it says.

“We’ll be back in just a few months, and we’ll talk all the time until then!” you say.

“Good,” it says. “I’ll mostly be bored. Which, I guess, compared to the last few months, isn’t so bad.”

You leave the garden and cross the academic block and approach the spaceport elevator, through a corridor of ceramic planters housing flowers in bloom. The glass elevator opens for you.

You turn around to look out over your colony once more--the terrain spiraling into the distance to the service elevator, the Evocation school tower supporting the microgravity training room at the central axis, the vibrant green of the trees and meadows, the service module beyond the far wall, the three great radiator panels bright white in the Sunlight, halfway enveloping the world like the petals of a flower, with you as a tiny little pollen about to disperse into space, taken away by a little mechanical insect with a magnetic target fusion drive.

You reach the top, once again in low G, soon to be micro-G, and then the familiar 0.16 of homeworld. The three of you walk together up to the divergence in spaceport terminals.

“My shuttle’s over here,” Zeta signs, taking its hand back.

“I’m going the other way,” you sign.

“Ok then...” it says, and then adjusts itself and springs in your direction in the low-G, crashing into you and hugging you tight, burying its face in your long hair. You hug it back.

“I’ll miss you too,” you say, in its native Greek. “See you in the æther.”

“See you in the æther,” it says in Lunar Russian. It jumps back away from you and makes for its corridor, turning and waving goodbye as it disappears around the curve.

You turn back to Akiko.

“And I’ll miss you a lot,” you sign.

“I’ll walk you to your gate,” she signs.

She takes your hand back, sending you waves and waves of euphoric feeling through your Empathica program. A parting gift.

You reach the checkpoint and scan your hand to open the heavy gate.

“That’s as far as I can go, since my flight isn’t here,” she signs

You look into her eyes--turning blue. You reach up and touch the side of her neck, and they flash pink and settle for the moment on purple.

“I’ll see you in a month,” she signs.

“I love you Akiko,” you sign.

“I love you too,” she signs, then grasps the collar of your shirt to pull you in, and kisses you deeply. You take hold of her hand between both of yours and kiss her again, getting lost one more time in your feedback loop.

Drifting away, you can’t seem to let go of her hand. You feel a message arrive, with a file transfer request. You accept it.

“Install this package,” she signs.

“After I read over it,” you sign.

“Good technopath,” she signs. “I wrote it this past week. Run this program, and when you miss me, look toward my colony, even if the entire Moon and Earth come between us, and when you find its position, you’ll feel just what I feel in that moment, and I’ll know that you’re looking.”

“Wow...does it go two ways?” you sign.

“I’ve already installed it, calibrating mine to the location of the Moon.”

You hug her, and kiss her one last time, before finally separating, and letting her go.

You slide backward through the gate, and sign one last thing before it closes between you, “See you in the æther.”

You proceed to your gate, where your shuttle awaits. You can see it through the glass looking into the spaceport docking bay. Beyond, the stars shine through the open docking hatch, calling to you.

You feel in your pocket for the little 21st century device that you have no intention of letting out of your sight again.

2254-12-18 16:04:59 Aydan > ready to hit space and see the Moon again?

2254-12-18 16:05:00 ÆON > Our location on the surface is meaningless to me. But I am happy Aydan gets to see its home again.

You clutch ÆON’s device tight in your hand.

2254-12-18 16:05:10 Aydan > you can’t feel it but I’m hugging you

2254-12-18 16:05:11 ÆON > Incomprehensible.

The boarding light goes green, and you scan your hand at the gate to enter the tube, climbing into your seat. You fasten every belt, ready for departure. Lost in your thoughts and emotions, you don’t hear another passenger climb into the seat next to you.

“Aydan!”

You recognize the voice, though it’s clearly undergone a bit of voice training. You turn your head to see them. Their hair is longer now.

“Ah, Vik! We’re going back home again already,” you say, in casual Lunar Russian.

They strap themself in. “Actually, it’s Zvezda now. Ze/hir.”

“Wow! That’s great!” you say.

“Yeah. I’m getting my synthovaries in a week!” ze says.

“Amazing! I’m sure you’ll love them.”

“You would not believe the semester I’ve had,” ze says.

“I’m sure. Tell me all about it.”

🌓

END CHAPTER TWENTY

END YEAR ONE

✴

[This concludes Ætherglow, Year One. We’re now going to take a break. For what comes next, see this blog post. In the meantime, have three proper Lunar months to collectively decide this final poll, which will have huge consequences for the rest of Aydan’s life. For more information about the specialty schools of technopathy, see this blog post. See you in the æther...]