438656855.edited

438656855.edited

EXODUS The blonde haired boy on top of the thick concrete dividing wall, his feet dangling seven meters above the ground. From here he had the best view at the steady stream of people, beast and wares moving toward the elevator. Every twenty minutes or so one of the Climber boxes, filled with passengers and freight, started its 96,000-kilometer trip up to Apex Station and an empty one came down on the other side of the carbon nanofiber double tape.

The boy was watching the operations of Earth to Orbit Space Elevator 4.

“Asmund, get down from there!” Yelled Astrid his mother. She waved at him from the other side, where she and his family were waiting for their turn.

He snapped back. “I can't see a thing from down there!”

“You get down there this minute, your father will be back any moment now.”

Alrik Olafson grinned as he watched the little exchange and said to the woman. “Let him be, good woman. Let him take as many memories of Earth along as he can, soon all this will be nothing but memories.”

The woman had an open face, long thick blonde braids falling on her ample chest stemmed her fists into her waist and said. “The sooner we leave the better. All this machinery and all this technology makes the very air foul and offends the gods! Besides I don't want him to break his neck before we arrive on Nilfeheim .”

Alrik agreed with a nod and kept on walking. He had just left the Gene Clinic where he received his last checkup. The doctors there told him that his sons and all his offspring would be able to swim in the water like fishes, without the need to come up for air. Something like this would certainly be a useful trait to have on a world that was almost completely covered with water.

Before him, spread out on the Concrete paved area of staging area C3 were the 1500 men women and children that soon would board one of the three waiting Colonist arks and carry them over an unimaginable distance of over 400 light years to a new world, called Nilfeheim.

He would be one of them.

How in Odin's name did it come to this? He must have asked this question to himself at least a thousand times in the last seven month.

There at the edge of the yellow marked staging area was the reason he made the decision to follow Lars Larsson and the rest of the new Vikings, a beautiful young woman, and her name was Hanna Trolle. She was everything a man could want and more, but she also was a firebrand and about as fanatic as Lars Larsson himself.

Alrik loved the re-enactments and he agreed with most of the arguments of Lars, but he still had second thoughts about leaving Earth forever behind.

Lars Larsson the leader of the Viking Movement was a bear of a man, big as can be, strong as an ox and hard headed. He was also easy to anger and had a vile temper, stood not far from Hanna, but the massive Norwegian had no eyes for the beautiful woman. He was shaking his hams sized fist at someone or something at staging area C 2.

Lars saw Alrik and yelled. “Come, Alrik Olafson, thy strong arm is needed!”

Alrik sighed but hurried anyway to answer the summon of the group's leader. The red-bearded founder of the Viking Movement put his heavy hand on Alrik's shoulder. “Over there my friend, Christians offend Thor and the Aseir.”

The large plaza surrounding the Space Elevator was divided into several hundred, so-called Staging areas. It was here the Colonists bound to other planets and colonies gathered, often for several days until they all were complete, all medical checks had been made and all required equipment was appropriated.

The members of the Viking movement bound to a new world called Nilfeheim were only one of many groups, that decided to accept the offer of the United Earth government to colonize a new planet.

In the case of the Neo Vikings, it was not entirely voluntary. Lars Gustav and his core group had committed a string of crimes and had the choice of voluntary resettlement or forceful relocation to a Prison Colony. Lars chose the first option and included all the members of his organization. No one really wanted to say no and look like a traitor and coward.

All this went through Alrik's mind as his eyes followed the pointing gesture of his insults yelling leader. A group of colonists at the neighboring staging area had gathered in neat rows before a man in a black dress, black hat, and white collar. Behind the man was a shipping crate decorated with two candles and a Crucifix. The man in the black hat was leading the ones before him in a religious service. Alrik could hear their voices singing a well known Hymn. A hymn he knew well. It was sung often in Church when he was taken there by his parents. He had renounced his faith and church membership as he heard of the Viking Movement. It was way cooler to sit around a fire, raise drinking horns to the name of Odin and Thor than sit in a boring church and listen to the same old stories about Jesus who never returned anyway.

But now he was older, while the values of Viking live still greatly appealed to him, he no longer was as fanatical as most of the others in his group.

Lars yelled. “Let's see if they sing their sickening hymns to offend our ears after we crushed a few bones and broken a few teeth.”

Lars Larsson loved his replica of a real Viking war hammer and started to move across the floor markings that served as dividers between the staging areas.

Alrik did not really want to fight, but others of his group, all armed with working reproduced Viking weapons followed Lars Larsson with an ear-shattering war cry, and so he did too.”

But they did not reach their intended victims. A shimmering energy curtain shot up from the ground and Lars Gustav ran into it and tossing him back with a sizzling angry sounding electric sizzle. Smoke curled from the big Vikings beard.

It appeared he was unharmed otherwise, as the big man jumped to his feet and cursed obscene at the singing Christians while he slammed his hammer into the yellowish glowing curtain. “You foul cowards. Go worship that piss weak excuse for a God and hide behind Alien technology, we won't be stopped by this and then we rip you a new one!”

His hammer blows had no effect at all, and it felt and looked as if he hammered against a wall of rubber.

Most of the Vikings joined in the insulting chants. It did not take long and the authorities reacted. Dark Blue uniformed men of United Earth Police accompanied by a wheeled armored vehicle appeared.

Lars Gustav grinned and pointed his hammer at the Policemen. “Looks like we are going to bash a few skulls after all before we are leaving. Let's make them remember us!”

He turned direction and stomped towards the line of Police officers, again followed by most of the men of his Viking Movement.

Alrik was now certain that he did not want to go with these maniacs, he made up his mind. Even the love to a girl that didn't even know of his love, was worth leaving Earth.

“Citizen cease all hostile activities and return to your designated staging area.” An amplified voice thundered across the field.” Lars leaned back and threw his hammer with force. The heavy weapon arched over the raised crowd control shield of a Police officer and shattered the face plate, felling the man like a tree. Lars laughed. “You are pathetic weaklings!”

Before anything else could be said. A humming sound swelled up, like an angry swarm of Hornets and an almost invisible beam of glimmering air passed over Lars Gustav and everyone else. Men women and children of the Viking movement collapsed to the ground, paralyzed with twitching muscles. Alrik tried to curse, but he too was hit and turned into a helpless bundle of flesh, his muscles no longer reacting to his commands.

He was quite conscious but unable to speak or move when two policemen tied him up with plastic ties and tossed him into a container box, unceremoniously stacked like firewood, his face resting on the boots of another man, while he had the behind of another right above him.

He could not move but heard the policeman say. “We tried to be civil and give you a dignified send-off, and treat you like any other group of settlers, but you can't even play nice for your last days on Earth. Good riddance to you and your bunch, Mr. Gustavson. You are not a Viking, just an angry man using this as an excuse to attract others and commit acts of violence.”

The other cop said.”Don't waste your breath on that scum. The next time they can move they land on whatever planet they have chosen and they can fight themselves.”

Alrik wanted to yell and tell them that he did not want to go to Nilfeheim.

No one heard his muffled objection as forklift stacked this box onto a pallet and they were loaded into the Freight deck of the Space elevator Capsule.

--””--

Asmund the blonde boy and his family had escaped the paralysator ray as they were inside the Colony affairs office during the altercation and were allowed like a few others of the Neo Viking Movement to get into the so-called climber box on their own, while a forklift placed several open containers into the climber box freight compartment. The Viking men stacked in these boxes ., like live size dolls loaded like the rest of the commodities and the luggage of the Viking Movement group.

A tall man with an E-Pad in clipboard mode stood by the entrance and smiled at the boy while he said to the gathered adults. "Listen up, yes please quiet down and let me speak. Yes, thank you. No, I am not able to answer any questions right now. Please hold your questions till after my announcement."

He waited a few more moments till everyone was settled down. There was ample room in the large box-like contraption as most of the group was in suspended animation and in the freight bay.

He nodded and a man wearing the same blue coverall type uniform with the Space Elevator logo on chest and back closed the wide boarding doors with the push of a big button. The doors closed with a solid thud that somehow underlined how final their decision really was. Until now all talk, all the preparation, and all future plans were just activities. The realization that they were really leaving Earth was sinking in.

The man with the clipboard used the silence and said. "Welcome aboard Climber Box 23 of Space Elevator Two - Sahara Station. I am Rob Spiegler and I am your Box Operator for this trip. We will soon commence climbing operation and reach a travel speed of 200 miles an hour. Our estimated time of arrival is 12:30 am on the seventh of January 2158. Meaning we will arrive at Apex station in six days and 23 hours."

He made a short break and gestured to the floor to ceiling windows. The box was now slowly moving upward. Asmund and a few other kids were standing right at the transparent material and watched the ground terminal seemingly sink away. They could see the ring-shaped segmented staging areas and watched as a new group started to settle into the staging area they had just vacated. There had to be hundreds of these segments and perhaps half a million people along with animals, freight and luggage.

Spiegler continued. "There are bunked accommodations for everyone and there is plenty of room as most of your group decided to make the ascent in suspended animation. There are of course bathroom facilities, a restaurant and two snack bars. Meals are provided free of cost, Snack bar services are not, but very affordable. You might as well spend your money as you don't need anywhere you go."

He made a short pause looked at his Pad. "I want to stress that if you do not behave; cause any trouble or endanger the operation of the lift. We have the authority to stun or even terminate you. The ascent cannot be stopped for any reason. So please refer from making open fires, roasting meats or start fights."

They simply stared at him so he went to the next part of his address. "For safety reasons you are asked to wear the provided emergency spacesuits once we reach stratosphere height. In the case of decompression, you are asked to attach these yellow and black marked safety hooks to the belts of your suits. Parents are asked to assist their children. Please pay attention to the following video presentation."

The man stepped back and a large screen unfolded from the ceiling and a video started to visualize the safety procedures.

Asmund paid little attention even though there was a cartoon character on the kid screens explaining the same info in a supposed kid-friendly way.

He started out the viewport. by now the large lush green region around the spaceport was visible as a circular feature surrounded by the eternal sands of the Sahara desert. He remembered there was a big argument at the United Earth Assembly. One side wanted to green the Sahara and the other side want to keep it as the desert it was famous for.

Asmund had been raised by his parents to be a real Viking, but while he was on Earth he had to go to school and he actually always liked learning and loved to read. He was now 12 years old and he knew he would celebrate his 14th naming day celebration on a new planet.

Now the elevator passed a thin layer of clouds and the safety presentation was complete, The Box operator said to Asmund. “if you want you can come with me to the control stand. Not that there is much to do but you can see the jumpers getting off and that is fun to see.”

Asmund followed the man who entered a small elevator. The man laughed. “I bet that is the only elevator inside an elevator in the entire Galaxy,” Asmund asked. “What did you mean by jumpers, Sir?” “Orbital parachutes, they ride outside to the stratosphere and then jump with glide suits. It is all the rage now. Never heard of it?”

Asmund frowned. “We are Vikings, we reject technology and we didn't have a television in our home.” His answer sounded rehearsed but not convincing.”

Rob sighed. “I guess the adults have a choice, the children never have. Would you rather stay?”

The elevator had reached its destination and released them onto a small command deck with a single seat and a console with status screens and a few touch buttons and blinking lights. All lights blinked green.

Asmund also noticed a group of about twenty men and women sitting in colorful full helmeted suits and black visors outside dangling their feet over the edge of the moving space elevator car. He said, answering the man's question. “No, I don't want to stay. My mother and father and many of my friends are going to Nilfeheim. My dad says we will have a chance to grow up like real men, Hunt, fish, work and make fire. We won't be packed in plastic helmets and only allowed to play with soft plastic toys that two hundred lawyers and left-wing do-gooders deemed safe for a child.” Again he repeated what his father told him many times. This was the part he did look forward too but having no electronics, no tech at all was something he could not really fathom.

Rob sat down in the black chair and shrugged. “they sure did a number brainwashing you guys, but then I too think about going with a Colony ship and start new on a new world. Not as far as you guys, of course, I was thinking about Mars.”

Asmund looked over the simple console and asked. “What is it you need to do here?” “Nothing at all, it's all Computer..I mean computronic operated. I am here to make sure the passenger behave, find their way to the bathrooms and get fed. In case of an emergency, I can, of course, detonate the drive bolts and cut us loose. The Box then descends on a big parachute, but that never happened and was never necessary.” He sounded almost a little disappointed and Asmund said. “You don't like your job then?” “I love it, but the days of the Space Elevators are already numbered and you are among the last passengers using it. Arti Grav becomes cheaper by the day and soon we lift everything with Arti Grav fields. No need for tether tech or Space elevators.”

The colorful group of men and women started to move and then jumped one by one spreading their arms and unfolding bat-like wings. Asmund got closer to the window and said, “This looks like great fun.”

“You could pay me a million Terra Bucks and I would not do that.” He pointed at a red box. “And we have emergency jumpsuits.”

Asmund watched as the last jumper disappeared. “I would have tried it for that much money.” “What would you do with that money on that world of yours?”

The boy shrugged., not knowing an answer.

--””--