‘High Earth Orbit’
The hangover from tequila was always a bitch, but the headache I woke up with the next morning was a hundred times worse. I lay in my bed, my eyes closed, and my mind racing.
I stretched my body and rubbed my face. I needed coffee—that was number one on my to-do list. Number two was a shower.
I could only imagine the black stains on the bottoms of my feet from walking home barefoot like an idiot last night.
I could have called a taxi, but no, Drunk Connie does things the hard way.
My nose caught a familiar, yet very out-of-place scent.
Vanilla.
My eyes burst open, and my heart sank at the sight of the bare white room, the plain desk in the far end, and the metal contraption in the corner.
I shot out of bed and looked at myself and at the white sheet still wrapped around me.
“No, no, no! This can’t be happening! It was a dream! Oh shit, please tell me that was all a dream! What person in their right mind agrees to this?”
I spun around, hoping to find a sign that would tell me I was still asleep. I saw my phone, laying on the edge of the table. I ran over to it and swiped it open.
The date read July 21.
“No way!” I checked it again to be sure, but the digits didn’t change.
“Four days? It’s been four days? How—?” I asked myself, as the door behind me opened.
The tall bluish suit came in, and I darted behind my bed.
“What are your emotions?” it asked.
The memories of the last thing I remembered came flooding back and I shook my head at my own madness.
“What? My emotions are pissed-off, scared, and confused. Why does my phone say I have been asleep for four days?”
“That is how long you have been on this ship. The procedure to adapt your lungs did not go as well as we hoped, and we needed to grow you a new set. This takes time.”
“New lungs? You did a lung transplant on me?” I shouted out as my hand instinctively went to my chest.
“Not a transplant. While you were in stasis, we grew new lungs inside you. There is no scarring on your form.
“However, the air on this ship will now be adapted to what your form can absorb. When on the ship, we will remain in our masks, with the exception of our private quarters.”
I pulled in a long, deep breath, as though taking my new lungs out for a test-drive and sighed at the relief of how good it felt.
As panic bubbled to the surface again, I asked, “Have we left yet?”
“No. We decided to wait until you awoke. Our deal was to show you the beauty of the Universe. This deal would not be upheld if you did not witness your world from above.”
Good, so we were still at home, in a way. I looked at the white sheet around my body, and then searched the room for any clothes.
“Am I going to be in this sheet for the next few years?”
I didn’t mean to be so sarcastic, but it was my go-to response in awkward and surreal situations.
“Only if you so desire. If you do not, however, the body form machine will make you any item of lining you wish.”
I looked at the five-pronged contraption in the corner of my room, and a flashback of the three sharp tools coming toward my face made me wince.
They had said I would not feel pain, and thinking back, I didn’t.
I remember the hand and then falling asleep. When I woke up, all I felt was my head hurting. But nothing else.
“Why does my head hurt?”
“An unforeseen side effect on your human body from the stasis. It will pass soon.”
My head was swimming with a million questions, yet I couldn’t focus on a single one. All I could think was that drunk me should never be allowed to make a decision again.
But she did have a point. If these guys were true to their word, then this could be the most amazing adventure of my life.
“Okay. I need some coffee. Do you have that?”
“Yes. We have collected samples of all the consumable matter in your home, for the ship to replicate. This will be your food source.”
Was this Billy, or Bob, I wondered, smiling at the ridiculous names drunk me gave them.
“What is your emotion?” he asked.
This was getting old.
“Humor. I was just thinking about the silly names I gave you guys last night.
“And you don’t need to ask me what my emotion is every time. Just a simple ‘how are you?’ or ‘you okay?’ will do.”
“You feel humor? Only a moment ago you felt fear and anger,” he said, confused.
“Yeah, that’s one of the marvels of human emotion. It can change in the blink of an eye.” I smiled.
“I understand. This is an interesting development.”
“Are you Billy or Bob?” I asked as the being began to walk out of the room.
“I am the one you named Bob,” he said.
“Do you have a real name? Just because I called you Bob in my tequila-clouded mind, doesn’t mean you have to stick with it.”
“Our race does not have names,” Bob said, and left my room. As the door closed, I looked around again, at the bareness of my room, and wondered what I should do now.
Having a shower and getting dressed might be a good idea. But getting dressed involved getting back into that machine thing.
I already agreed to go with them. I might as well get used to the life I am to live now.
I went to the small door in my room, and as it opened, I smiled at the sight of a bathroom much like the one back home in my cottage.
A large iron tub, a glass shower stall, and a toilet and basin. The only thing missing was the dark mold stain on my wall under the window and the overflowing laundry basket.
I opened the shower door and dropped the sheet to the floor. I turned the water on and waited for it to get warm.
As the steam filled the bathroom, I thought I was at home for a moment, and that all this was just a dream, a nightmare I woke up from. That faded when a voice called in my ear.
“We are ready to leave.”
I stuck my finger into my ear, but there was nothing there. I felt around just below my earlobe, and a hard ball rolled in my fingers, under the skin.
I took in a long, deep breath, and turned the water off.
As I stepped out of the shower, I looked around for a towel, but there wasn’t one. I grabbed the sheet off the floor and used it to dry myself.
I went to my room, and with the only thing I had to cover my body now soaking wet, I looked at the contraption in the corner.
“It won’t hurt. They promised it won’t hurt.” I squared my shoulders and slowly edged closer to the machine.
When I was within reach, the metal arms extended and lifted my body to face the roof like a naked pink starfish.
My heart raced in my chest as I watched the three arms branch out toward me.
The arms stopped a foot above me and waited.
“Hey, Billy, Bob, you there?”
“Yes.”
“Um, how does this body form machine work? How do I get it to make my clothes?” I asked.
“You must select your desired form or lining on the screen. Have you done this?”
“No. What screen?” I looked around, but there wasn’t a screen of any kind in sight.
“Touch the wall, next to your left hand.”
I looked at the wall and stretched my fingers out. As soon as I touched it, a small screen came to life.
“Now make your selection. We have designed the program in much the same way as your internet at home, for you to understand it easier.”
My eyes rolled around the room when I realized they must be able to see me. See me sprawled out, naked, and exposed.
“Can you see me?” I asked, really hoping the answer would be no.
“Yes. We will always watch you. That is the terms we agreed on.”
“We’re going to need to revisit that term in this deal,” I said angrily. I never liked being naked in front of anyone, let alone two strange aliens.
The quicker I get dressed the better. I tapped the screen, and a catalog of clothes appeared. I ran through the options and chose a pair of jeans, underwear, and a T-shirt.
I hit the select button, and the mechanical arms above me moved to my ankles.
I braced myself, shutting my eyes, and waiting for the pain to hit me, but a gentle tickling sensation crawled on my skin.
I looked down to find the arms stitching the fabric around my legs, like a printer.
A small smile crept on my face, then a voice in my ear asked, “What is this emotion?”
“Joy. Amazement. This is incredible.”
The fabric wove around my legs and into parts I would rather not mention, but by the time it was done, I was fully clothed.
The jeans felt like a normal pair of jeans. They fit perfectly.
I smiled wide and nodded as the machine placed me back on my feet.
“Come to the bridge. We will soon leave,” the voice said.
“I’m coming,” I said, tearing my eyes away from the seemingly endless catalog on the small screen.
