Chapter 8

HIRO

It has been six months since Hiro said 'yes' to joining the Planet Z team in order for the government to help his sister. Two months since he and Omi finally left Kenmore, the government-owned hospital Barney had taken them to the night of the apartment complex incident where she had been receiving treatments for the airborne particles in her system, for the last time.

The doctors had deemed her clear of the particles after four months of rigorous chemotherapy sessions. He had wondered why Kenmore hospital was restricted to public access and why only the people the government chose to save from dying due to the airborne particles were allowed to be treated in the hospital.

He felt that was extremely selfish on the government's part, even more selfish than the wall they built around the Central to separate it from the outlands eighteen years ago, because of all the people including his parents and the residents in his apartment complex that had died due to the airborne particles.

He didn't care anymore and stopped thinking about it after Omi survived.

The cops had caught the outlanders that attacked the apartment complex a couple of weeks after the incident. They had been charged with a lot of things and had been given death sentences which Hiro felt they deserved. They were the reason his little sister almost died and the reason he was currently separated from her.

He ran his hands over the words 'I'm missing you right now :( ... bring me something from Planet Z on your way back' which Omi had written on the page of the book he was currently reading. He let out a laugh at the last part.

"What am I going to get for her from the planet?" he muttered to himself as he read the sentence repeatedly.

He had been seeing different notes from her on every other page of the book in his hands and the ten books he already read. He was sure she had also left notes in the other four books which were in his bag. The notes from Omi, the music that was occasionally played from the overhead speaker and the video played on a section of the wall were the things that helped him hold on to his sanity.

He looked away from the book and at his surroundings. He was in a circular room that had light blue walls. A medium-sized bed which Hiro lay on was in the middle of the room and a bag that contained books, pens and pictures was next to it. A tube in the wall delivered different types of packaged food to the room at specific times and the room had two doors. One door led to the bathroom and toilet and the other door led to the hallway. He couldn't use the door that led to the hallway because he wasn't allowed to leave the room. None of them on the crew capsule were allowed to leave the room.

The crew capsule was transporting them to the main ship and the reason none of them could leave their rooms was because the ASM, Aeronautics and Space Management, agents wanted to be extra careful.

Even though everyone on the crew capsule had undergone different medical tests before they got in it, the agents were still worried that one of them could have a disease brewing in them and they didn't want the other people to get infected.

That was why they saw the two months journey to the main ship as a good thing because if anyone in the crew capsule had a disease, they'd be showing symptoms by now. And before anyone can leave their room when the capsule gets to the main ship, they'll undergo one last medical scan. If a person's condition is perfect, the door that leads out of their room opens and if a person has a disease, the door stays close.

The room was a form of solitary confinement. Being in an isolated and confined environment generates stress, interpersonal conflict and other mental and behavioural problems but however, natural scenery and messages from loved ones relaxed and lessened those effects.

Everyone on the capsule had undergone four months of physical and virtual training to familiarize them with the conditions they will encounter during all phases of flight. They also had training on experiments they will accomplish during their stay in space and some of them had undergone extra-vehicular activity training.

There were hundred people in the crew capsule. Forty five scientists, ten engineers, ten mechanics, five doctors and thirty astronauts – navigators and pilots.

And none of them knew each other.

The section of the wall that usually played videos of natural scenery or videos from loved ones suddenly lit up and Hiro quickly sat upright in the bed, hoping it was a video from Omi. He tilted his head and stared at the wall in confusion when words began to rapidly appear one after the other, like it was being typed, on the screen.

'Docking at Boundless in 5 minutes,' was what the screen showed before a timer began to count down.

Boundless. That was the name of the main ship that was orbiting Planet Z.

Hiro quickly got off the bed and shoved the book in his bag before he put on his shoes. When the timer got to zero, Hiro could hear clanging of metals and hissing for a couple of seconds before a loud beep came from the overhead speaker.

"Welcome to Boundless," a robotic female voice said. "Please step up to the door."

It didn't need to mention which door because Hiro knew the one it was talking about and he picked up his bag and walked up to the door that led to the hallway.

'Is this really happening?' he thought as he tried to calm his racing heart. It was the same thought he had when he was about to leave earth and after he left.

A blue light suddenly emanated from the wall next to the door and slowly swept over him.

"You're good to go!" the voice said cheerily before the door slowly slid open.