adult sponsor for a lot of things. You’ll be legally an adult yourself.’ He shrugged. ‘It’ll just make things a lot easier with city red tape if you’re no longer a minor.’
‘What’s red tape?’
Sean shook his head and smiled patronizingly at her. ‘You are so-o-o-o-o lucky to have me around to explain things. In New Haven you can’t even piss without having your ident card ready to show, swipe or have scanned. That’s ‘red tape’. I already have one since I’ve been there before. You’ll have to get one when you arrive, that means presenting your birth document, listing details of next of kin, which will lead to all sorts of awkward questions if you’re still only nineteen.’
‘I see.’
They sat in silence for a while listening to the subdued melancholic wailing of wind across the featureless rust landscape.
‘So, how are we getting there?’ asked Ellie.
‘Hmmm, it’s a bit of a haul I’m afraid. We’ll be taking a shuttle…’
‘I was assuming you’d drive us there in this,’ Ellie gestured towards the cat.
‘No. She’s only got a sixty-mile range between charges. We’ll need to head towards a shuttle stopover. The nearest one is actually fifty miles northwest…’
‘That’s taking us in the wrong direction!’
‘I know, I know, but that’s the way it is. There are none any closer to New Haven. So anyway, it’s a fifty mile drive and my Dad will be driving us.’
She looked alarmed. ‘He doesn’t know I’m going does he?’
‘Of course not. Which means I’m going to have to smuggle you into the luggage locker. A bit of an uncomfortable ride, I’m afraid, but it is sealed so you won’t have to wear a mask. The day we leave I’ll drive over here and pick you up; I’ll tell Dad I’ve come over to say ’bye to you guys. Then we head back to home, by the time we get back, you’ll be hidden in the locker and Dad should be ready to take us to the shuttle-stop.’
‘When exactly?’
‘We’ll go a week tomorrow.’
It was going to be the day after her birthday. All of a sudden, she now had a specific day she was leaving. Departure day. D-day. She leant forward on her elbows and puffed out some air. Her plastic O2 mask fogged.
‘You okay?’ asked Sean.
‘Just excited, a bit nervous maybe. I just can’t believe we’re going to do this.’
He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She shivered. Partly a small thrill from his touch, but mostly from the exhilaration she felt discussing the journey ahead of her.
‘We should arrange a time now, Ellie, since I probably won’t get a chance to see you again before then.’
‘Yay. No more math.’
‘Six o’clock okay? First light?’
‘I’ll be ready. Where?’
He looked around the almost featureless landscape.
‘Right up here looks the best bet, I reckon. It’s far enough away from your home that the cat’s engine won’t wake everyone up.’
‘Six o’clock right here, a week tomorrow?’
He nodded.
‘And Ellie, make sure you bring your birth document and study certificates. You’ll especially need the certificates if you want to find yourself a job.’
‘Okay.’
Ellie hadn’t given a great deal of thought to the type of job she would like. She was not at all sure what sort of jobs existed in New Haven. ‘What do people do in the city?’
‘You mean what work is there?’
She nodded.
‘Well, it depends on which area you want to live in I guess. Central One area is mainly commerce, which is data work as far as you’re concerned. How’s your psyc-typing?’
Ellie wrinkled her nose. ‘Not too good, my mind wanders.’
‘Fair enough. Near the space port, which is the east side, you’ll find jobs are more manual, cargo handling. But then they have gene-imps doing a lot of that kind of work.’
‘Those little monkey-like things?’
‘Yeah. They’re very strong. They call them jimps . I guess that’s short for ‘gene-imp’. The west end of town is more your service
‘What’s red tape?’
Sean shook his head and smiled patronizingly at her. ‘You are so-o-o-o-o lucky to have me around to explain things. In New Haven you can’t even piss without having your ident card ready to show, swipe or have scanned. That’s ‘red tape’. I already have one since I’ve been there before. You’ll have to get one when you arrive, that means presenting your birth document, listing details of next of kin, which will lead to all sorts of awkward questions if you’re still only nineteen.’
‘I see.’
They sat in silence for a while listening to the subdued melancholic wailing of wind across the featureless rust landscape.
‘So, how are we getting there?’ asked Ellie.
‘Hmmm, it’s a bit of a haul I’m afraid. We’ll be taking a shuttle…’
‘I was assuming you’d drive us there in this,’ Ellie gestured towards the cat.
‘No. She’s only got a sixty-mile range between charges. We’ll need to head towards a shuttle stopover. The nearest one is actually fifty miles northwest…’
‘That’s taking us in the wrong direction!’
‘I know, I know, but that’s the way it is. There are none any closer to New Haven. So anyway, it’s a fifty mile drive and my Dad will be driving us.’
She looked alarmed. ‘He doesn’t know I’m going does he?’
‘Of course not. Which means I’m going to have to smuggle you into the luggage locker. A bit of an uncomfortable ride, I’m afraid, but it is sealed so you won’t have to wear a mask. The day we leave I’ll drive over here and pick you up; I’ll tell Dad I’ve come over to say ’bye to you guys. Then we head back to home, by the time we get back, you’ll be hidden in the locker and Dad should be ready to take us to the shuttle-stop.’
‘When exactly?’
‘We’ll go a week tomorrow.’
It was going to be the day after her birthday. All of a sudden, she now had a specific day she was leaving. Departure day. D-day. She leant forward on her elbows and puffed out some air. Her plastic O2 mask fogged.
‘You okay?’ asked Sean.
‘Just excited, a bit nervous maybe. I just can’t believe we’re going to do this.’
He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She shivered. Partly a small thrill from his touch, but mostly from the exhilaration she felt discussing the journey ahead of her.
‘We should arrange a time now, Ellie, since I probably won’t get a chance to see you again before then.’
‘Yay. No more math.’
‘Six o’clock okay? First light?’
‘I’ll be ready. Where?’
He looked around the almost featureless landscape.
‘Right up here looks the best bet, I reckon. It’s far enough away from your home that the cat’s engine won’t wake everyone up.’
‘Six o’clock right here, a week tomorrow?’
He nodded.
‘And Ellie, make sure you bring your birth document and study certificates. You’ll especially need the certificates if you want to find yourself a job.’
‘Okay.’
Ellie hadn’t given a great deal of thought to the type of job she would like. She was not at all sure what sort of jobs existed in New Haven. ‘What do people do in the city?’
‘You mean what work is there?’
She nodded.
‘Well, it depends on which area you want to live in I guess. Central One area is mainly commerce, which is data work as far as you’re concerned. How’s your psyc-typing?’
Ellie wrinkled her nose. ‘Not too good, my mind wanders.’
‘Fair enough. Near the space port, which is the east side, you’ll find jobs are more manual, cargo handling. But then they have gene-imps doing a lot of that kind of work.’
‘Those little monkey-like things?’
‘Yeah. They’re very strong. They call them jimps . I guess that’s short for ‘gene-imp’. The west end of town is more your service
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