Zero 'g' Read online

  Zero ‘g’:

  Earth Without Gravity

  By Srujan Joshi M

  Copyright © 2016 Srujan Joshi M

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 1530249562

  ISBN 13: 9781530249565

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2016905500

  LCCN Imprint Name: Irvine, California

  To Shri Aryabhata and Sir Isaac Newton, for their discoveries of zero and gravity, respectively. I also want to thank all of my family and friends who believed in me.

  Chapter One

  I was running late, and I hated being that person who walked into work late. It was just so unlike me. I had such a strong work ethic that the very thought of being tardy to work caused me to shudder involuntarily. I didn’t have to worry about getting in any trouble, though. The people at NASA, where I worked, were always good to me. I think they understood, or at least tried to, that being a single mother sometimes meant that you were going to be late, no matter how hard you tried not to be. Believe me—I tried. But sometimes finding a drop of honey on your sweater in the morning caused a whole wardrobe change.

  I dug around in my underwear drawer for a pair of socks, wishing badly that I had time to do the laundry. Hopping around on one foot, I managed to get both socks on without further issues. It’s amazing how the moment you realize you’re going to be late, you suddenly become even more of a klutz, causing further delay. I marched out into the living room, where my mother, Annette, was sitting with my daughter, Rose, bouncing her on her knee. That little girl was the apple of my eye, and she was currently trying to squirm her way out of Grandma’s arms to come and see me.

  “Oh, Rose, don’t go making your mother late. Come on now.” My mother was trying unsuccessfully to keep Rose on her lap.

  I giggled. “Well, one kiss won’t make me any later than I already am.”

  I bent down as my three-year-old daughter ran into my arms. I breathed in her sweet scent and squeezed her tight. I wanted more than anything to curl up on the couch with her and go back to sleep, breathing in her smell. She was the most precious thing to me in the whole world. As hard as it was being a single mom, I wouldn’t trade Motherhood for anything.

  I kissed the top of her head and wished for the millionth time that I didn’t have to go to work. I hated leaving her, and sometimes I felt as if I never saw her. Rose was with my mother all day long, and by the time I got home from work, I didn’t have much time to spend with her before she went to bed. Sometimes I was selfish and kept her up later so I could read her stories, but that wasn’t very often.

  My mother was a lifesaver; she was retired and a widow, so she had time to help me with Rose. I didn’t know what I would do without her. Having a child on my own had never been my plan, and the first year with Rose had been terribly hard. Although my mother was a great help to me, I longed for the day that I could allow her to have her life back. She should be enjoying her retirement, possibly traveling, not spending her days babysitting my child. I also happened to be a grown woman who was still living with her mother. It just wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. It was embarrassing, if I was going to be completely frank about it.

  Rose looked up at me, and I smiled down at her. “Mommy has to go, sweetheart.” She pouted her lips, and I felt that familiar pain in my chest that reminded me that I worked too much. I stood up and looked to my mother, who came to retrieve Rose. She scooped her up in her arms.

  “There you go, Rose. Grandma is here now. We have to let Mommy get to work. The sooner she leaves; the sooner she can come back. Isn’t that great?”

  I rolled my eyes, trying not to laugh. “No dream screen today, Mom. I’m warning you.”

  “Heavens, no, Carly. You know darn well that I don’t let her watch the dream screen. I only do that when she naps. I need to catch my shows, darling. You know that.”

  She had a twinkle in her eye.

  I snorted. “Yeah, sure, Mom. Whatever.”

  “I remember someone who loved to watch her soaps. All those dreamy men with their big muscles.”

  I laughed. The dream screen had been an incredible invention. I was too young to remember television in its infancy. I was never around to watch it on flat screens or the tube, as it was once called. I had a hard time even picturing an old-fashioned television until my grandfather showed me pictures of the one he had. The stories my grandfather used to tell, however, seemed so bizarre to me. To have something sitting in your living room like that was so awkward. The dream screen just made so much more sense. It brought you into your own dream world, and from there, you selected whichever movie or show you wanted to watch. It was an amazing tool that also allowed even the blind to see—that was my favorite part about it. I couldn’t imagine how limited TV had been back in my grandfather’s era.

  Even so, I was adamant that Rose was not allowed to watch the dream screen because her imagination often ran wild. I suspected that there were times my mother let her do it, anyway. Rose came up with some of the craziest conversations, and I bet they originated from the dream screen.

  I grabbed my purse off the counter and kissed my mother on the cheek. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll see you later. Have a good day.”

  “Have a good day at work, sweetheart. We'll be just fine here. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

  I smiled sadly and turned away from my little family.

  When I stepped outside into the warm sun, I took a moment to take a deep breath. My life was so hectic these days, and yet I was proud of what I had accomplished, despite my limitations. The year was 2074. I was blessed to have gotten a job as a janitor at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC. Some might say it was a lowly position, but I could do a lot worse than work for NASA, that was for sure. The agency treated its employees with respect, and the wages were far better than I would get anywhere else. It was only short-term, anyway. I had a plan, and it was only a matter of time before my life would be significantly better. That was all I wanted for myself and Rose.

  I had always dreamed of working for NASA but had never anticipated it would be as a janitor. Before Rose came into my life, I was attending Georgetown University, working tirelessly on a degree in astronomy. I was dating the love of my life, my high school sweetheart, Antonio, and the sky seemed to be the limit for me. I dreamed of the future that we would have together after our graduation as we started our life together. I was living my own little dream, with big hopes for the future. Finding out I was pregnant with my darling Rose had come as a great shock to both Antonio and me, especially since natural pregnancies were a rare thing. People didn’t use sex to procreate anymore; that was so 2015. Sex was just for fun. When it came to planned pregnancies, babies were made in vitro fertilization. Everything was planned to a T, so there were never any mistakes. It was actually rare to have an unplanned pregnancy, though Antonio and I realized very quickly that it was still possible.

  To have a family, you simply went to the doctor and Arranged for a conception. Everyone wanted the smartest and most talented baby, and that could be made only by vitro fertilization.

  For the past fourteen years, vitro babies had been born with DNA chips inserted inside them. The DNA chips were programmed with any talent that the parents chose. The talent could be anything the parent longed for, whether sports, art, or higher intelligence. A parent essentially could create the child of his or her dreams. It was all the rage. The DNA chips could be inserted only into babies; adults were out of luck because their older brains were unable to accept the new technology. Research was being conducted in the hopes that one day scientists could insert the chips into adult brains, too.

  The downfall, if you could even call it that, of Rose being birthed naturally was that she didn’t have the advantage of having her future planned out fo
r her. She did not have the same DNA chip inserted in her brain as the vitro babies did. In fact, we had no idea how little Rose would excel. It was an odd thought. Most other children her age had their futures set in stone, their talents already decided for them. Everything was up in the air for Rose. I looked forward to what my daughter would be when she grew up, but not knowing also terrified me. She would be so different from the other children her age, and I worried she would suffer because of it. The abilities of the new vitro babies were certainly enthralling. It was all very fascinating, and I longed for the day that I too could be involved in the sciences. My love of astronomy was growing every day.

  Finding out I was pregnant had come as such a shock to both of us, mainly because we had always been so careful with birth control. Secondly, we had always believed that when the time came to start a family, we would have our own little vitro baby. Nevertheless, after the shock of finding out that I would be making a baby the old-fashioned way, I was thrilled about it. I always believed we would be one big happy family one day—so what if it came a little sooner that we had thought it would?

  Antonio, on the other hand, thought something else entirely. The news that I was pregnant actually horrified him. In the end, Antonio hadn’t been willing to commit to me and had left me before Rose was even born. I wasn’t sure where he had gone, but I never saw him after that. It had been a terrible breakup; I had been devastated by his departure. He didn’t feel as though he was ready for a family or a commitment of that degree. I had been lost after he left. I had no idea how to go on without Antonio, or even how to begin to understand how someone I had loved so much had just walked out of my life. I had been forced to raise Rose all on my own and move back home with my mother. I dropped out of school for two years, and that was when I took the job at NASA in the janitorial department. I had been in school for the past year taking night courses, slowly working toward the degree I so badly wanted. There wasn’t a day that went by, however, that I didn’t think about Antonio and where he had gone.

  Shaking my head, I tried to dislodge those thoughts from my brain. If there were a chip that allowed me to forget the pain that Antonio had caused, I would have had it inserted immediately. Remembering that I was late for work, I trotted down the steps and got into my car.

  I liked listening to the news on the way to work; it took my mind off of Rose and prepared me for the day. I pushed a silver button on the console that started the car. The car housed a small screen in the middle of the dashboard that could access just about anything you desired except for the nuclear launch codes. You could practically run your whole business from your car, if that was your desire. The car was my mother’s, but she let me use it since she was home all day with Rose. I longed to have one of my own, however; hopefully in the future, I could afford to buy not only a car of my own but a home, too.

  Every day, I traveled from my hometown in Maryland to Washington, DC. It didn’t take me too long to get to work, but the fact that it wasn’t close by just meant more time I had to spend away from Rose. I had to stay focused, however. I had a plan, and I knew that I was smart enough to accomplish anything in the world that I wanted; it was just a matter of time.

  Before backing my car out of the driveway, I clicked on the news link featured on the screen. I had to scroll through a few stations before I started listening to anything of interest. I wasn’t interested in the latest serial killer or what celebrity was on city that week. I wanted to know what was going on in the world of politics. It was hard to live in the DC area and not be interested in what was being decided at the White House. I stopped scrolling when I heard two political commentators arguing with each other. "I smiled" .I loved a good debate. The commentators were arguing about the disadvantages or advantages of spending huge amounts of money and energy on space exploration. They thought that space exploration was a waste of resources. What were we really going to find out there? one of the commentators asked. What was the point to it all?

  I nodded slowly as I listened. They were arguing that the energy and money would be better spent on making human life more useful. I had to agree with them, though I wasn’t sure how much further the advancements could really go. I mean, we were literally making our own dream babies. What more could we ask for?

  Chapter Two

  All the heads of state gathered in a large NASA conference room for a meeting. There was a buzz in the air as officials talked over one another. Judging by the chattering around the room, everyone was wondering what was going on. Their buzzing was in the annoyed fashion of people who believe they have better things to do. However, they knew that it had to be important, after all, for an emergency meeting to be called.

  President Louis Gates was in attendance and had asked that many other heads of state be included in the meeting. He had something important to share with the group that couldn’t wait. Monitors were set up all around the room and served as the only means of communication among the states on such short notice.

  He stood up and waited patiently for the chattering to stop. When it did, he took a look around the room. “I want to thank you all for meeting with me today on such short notice. I know you are all very busy.”

  Gates faced the monitors and nodded toward each one of them. On the monitors were the heads of state from prominent countries. These were the countries that were currently involved with the space program, and he would need their support. There were also various political members sitting around the conference table ready to offer their opinions. Gates could tell that they weren’t all happy to be there, even the ones there via video link. He had taken them away from busy business matters, and everyone was curious about why he had brought them all together. They would know soon enough. He couldn’t imagine they would be any happier than they had been when they had heard the most recent update on the space program.

  Prime Minister Ben Cameron of England spoke up. He was a descendant of David Cameron, who had held the same position many years ago. “President Gates, with all due respect, why have you called us all here? It’s the break of dawn for a lot of us, and I am surprised that you have called us all here when none of us have been briefed on the matter beforehand. It’s highly irregular.”

  Gates nodded. He knew that his methods of getting everyone together that morning were a little unorthodox, but time was of the essence. He had really just found out about everything himself. He hadn’t had a moment to brief anyone, much less give them time to consider the matter beforehand. Even so, he was a respected president, and some things just needed to be understood. He wasn’t foolhardy, and there should be a certain amount of trust from his colleagues toward him. He had everyone’s best interests at heart; in the end, that was all that mattered. They should already know that and trust that he must have an emergency to bring them together like this.

  He took a controlled breath before responding to Ben Cameron.

  “Yes, I understand the confusion, and I apologize. The matter at hand here was brought to my attention not long ago, and I had very little time to prepare myself. However, the reason I have brought all you here today is because I have news to discuss that could change the world forever.”

  The buzz in the air brought a whole new sense of excitement to the room.

  “What is this news?” asked Cameron.

  Gates knew he would probably have the most opposition from Cameron. His was a very curious mind, and he didn’t take unsolicited advice from anyone. He would want a lengthy explanation of everything before he was on board. It was both an admirable quality and an annoying one. Cameron had the habit of butting right into a conversation and demanding answers before an idea was fully explained.

  “The reason I have brought you all together today in such a manner is because I wanted to release some pertinent information that I discovered. I didn’t personally make the discovery, of course, but the matter has been brought to my attention. I wanted to be able to tell you all at the same time so that I need not have to deal with a
ccusations of favoritism on my part. As you all know, I respect you all equally,” he said with a smile on his face.

  There were chuckles all around the room, and the president was happy to lighten the mood. Things were about to get interesting, and there was no need to have angry heads of state in the room.

  “I want to introduce you all to Jim Iverson.” He motioned toward Jim, who sat to his right. “Jim is one of my project chiefs here at NASA, and he will also be the head of a project we will now refer to as Operation 47B. Mr. Iverson has been working really hard this year on the space program and has come across some great discoveries.”

  The buzz began around the room once again, as no one had ever heard about Operation 47B. That would all change today; soon enough.

  “Jim Iverson is a well-respected and invaluable member of the NASA team. I’m going to turn things over to him and let him explain our new discovery to you. Please explain, Jim.”

  Gates sat down, and all eyes turned to Iverson as he stood up. He was a tall man, over six feet tall, with a shocking shade of blond hair that was almost white. Anyone who didn’t know him well assumed offhand that he was a surfer. He had the build of one, and his hair sure didn’t help things. But he was incredibly sharp.

  There appeared to be sheen of sweat on his forehead. Gates knew how that felt. Standing in front of a crowd wasn’t the easiest thing to do, especially such as crowd as this. Iverson wasn’t used to speaking in front of large groups of people, especially heads of state. He much preferred to be in his lab working with his team of scientists. He loved the quiet of the lab, and the bustle around the room left him on edge.

  “Go ahead, Jim, the room is at your disposal. Wow them with your discoveries.”

  Iverson cleared his voice and started. “Thank you all for having me and giving me the opportunity to speak with you today.” He looked around the room until he was sure he had everyone’s attention.