The Mayflower Gambit
What if you could put all the people you don't like onto a spaceship and send them to another planet?
Written for The Lunar Awards Season 11 Round 3. The government has found a new way to deal with dissenters.
Five hundred people lined up on the launch pad, waiting to board the Jefferson, the dull roar of the protesters serenading them. Those who glanced backwards saw, pressed against the glass of the departure lounge windows, “Crash And Burn!” and “Good Riddance!” scrawled on home-made signs. The Exiles were used to being hated. The false allegations. The wild accusations. The idea that nothing they did would ever be good enough in a world that demanded complete conformity.
At the top of the stairway, the door opened and the passengers climbed up, then took their seats.
Passengers are reminded to pay attention to the safety demonstration.
Sally zoned out as the steward tugged on an oxygen mask and mimed putting one on someone else. If the cabin pressure dropped in space, they were unlikely to survive. She checked Steve and Sue’s seatbelts. They were too small to understand much, and kept glancing around.
A dull thrumming filled the cabin, followed by the loud rumble of the engines firing up. While she was accustomed to the forward thrust of a terrestrial aircraft, the downward pressure of lift-off was a novel experience.
“Mommy!” Sue looked at her with wide blue eyes.
“We’re going to the Moon, Sue,” Sally soothed.
“I don’t like it!”
“We’re pulling four g’s,” Steve said, his smug grin annoying his mother as well as his sister.
“I don’t like it!”
“It’ll be over soon enough, Sue,” Sally said firmly. “Don’t make a fuss.” She squeezed her daughter’s hand, bearing the discomfort with her until the bright blue darkened into black and the white pinpricks that dotted it, untwinkling, shone bright and clear.
Passengers may purchase food and drinks from the trolley, which will be coming soon. It is now safe to undo your seatbelts.
Steve freed himself and went running down the aisle to find his father. Habit kept his mother’s eye on him until Dave had him in his arms.
Sue preferred her mother’s lap. She gazed out of the window, her small hand on the glass, as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. “Are we in space, Mommy?”
“Yes.” That word stabbed her heart. It confirmed what she still only half-believed; they were leaving Earth forever.
***
Passengers are advised that we are approaching the International Space Station. Passengers bound for the Moon should take the Green route to their connecting flight.
A dull ache unexpectedly pushed hope out of Sally’s heart. It seemed irrational to want to turn around and take the next flight back to Earth, but there it was. ‘But there’s no way back and nothing to return to,’ she reminded herself. ‘No home, no job, and no place where we’d be welcome.’ Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. They hadn’t emigrated. They’d been kicked out. She forced a smile onto her face. Attar Chaney had promised them a new life on a new world and they were on their way there.
The International Space Station loomed ahead of them, its two gravity rings spinning at either end of a huge tube from which a small network of extensions protruded. They headed for the side of the main section and docked.
Tired passengers trooped off the ship, many of them carrying sleeping or grizzling children, following a bright green line on the side of a wall, bouncing a little in the reduced gravity. The passageway led to a waiting room with three food service outlets, each of which offered ersatz versions of classic dishes.
Station staff looked at each other, then at the Exiles, and whispered to each other, keeping their distance as if they were afraid that even speaking to an Exile would contaminate them.
Passengers heading for the Moon are advised that the Pegasus is leaving at nineteen hundred hours. Clocks are at the base of the mezzanine level for your convenience.
When she looked up, Sally could see they had three and a half hours to wait. This group wasn’t the only one going to Apatey. ‘What a name for a planet.’ But this was going to be their new home.
***
“They should have called this ship the Mayflower,” Dave remarked, looking out of the porthole at the colossal vessel that orbited the Moon. “Why did Chaney call it Sarissa?”
“Shall we ask Alice?” Steve asked.
“Go on.”
The nine-year-old pushed the green bevelled button on the screen in front of him, then pressed the speaker icon. “Why did Mr. Chaney call the ship that’s going to Apatey ‘Sarissa?’
The ship taking the Exiles to start Earth’s first colony on Apatey is named ‘Sarissa’ after an ancient Greek spear.
Chaney himself appeared on the screen. “I chose the name because it represents innovation. The sarissa, in ancient Greece, was a Macedonian innovation, a long spear used in battle. My Sarissa is an innovation building on the work of Petrovich and Taneja. Its quantum drive engine is half the size of theirs, with twice the efficiency.”
Steve pressed the buttons again. “How big is the Sarissa?”
The screen showed Chaney speaking again. “The Sarissa is 3.25 kilometres—a little over two miles long, and a kilometre and a half wide.”
“Does it have gravi…”
Dave pointed. “Look.”
Two large rings spun around the vessel at either end of the midsection.
“We’d be floating around in there if it didn’t.”
Passengers are advised that the Pegasus will dock with the Sarissa in T minus ten minutes. Please make sure you take everything with you. Anything you leave behind will be sold or destroyed. For your safety, please fasten your seatbelts.
Through the porthole, Dave could see smaller vessels darting past on their way to Lunar Colony One. Its yellow lights barely stood out against the stark white surface of the Moon. The urge to look out at the Earth took hold, but he had to remind himself that it was behind him in every way. He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat and fought back the tears that threatened to spill. There was nothing for him or his family on Earth. She had spat them out. At least they were spared the jeering of the hostile crowds that had waited for them at the Space Center. Would the crew of the Sarissa be any better than the people at the International Space Station?
Passengers are advised to remove their seatbelts and disembark through the middle doors.
One way to find out. He took his hand luggage and followed the other passengers onto the other ship.
Signs and lines. Dave followed the black line to the Atrium, where a cacophony of voices shouted in a variety of languages. People were jumping up and down, waving their arms.
“Dave!”
Sally and the children were standing against the hull wall, away from the pandemonium behind him. The jostling rippled through the crowd, and at that moment Dave realised with a jolt that there were no staff there at all.
The crowd surged towards the end of the chamber. Dave saw other fathers hold their families close, watching the proceedings till the heat of the rush had cooled.
A man came towards them, carrying a suitcase. “Mate,” he said, in a decidedly British accent, “yo’ luggage is dahn theh. They just dumped it dahn a chute.”
Dave nodded. “Thank you.” He made his way through the crowd, which was gathered in a densely-packed semicircle around a heap of bags and cases, digging through them to find their own. He took his belt off to tie his family’s cases together, then dragged them back to Sally, whose wide eyes and flared nostrils mirrored his own fear. Necessity injected optimism into his voice. “I’ve got our stuff. Come on, let’s find our berth.”
A tug on his trouser leg turned his gaze down.
Little Sue’s blue eyes were wide with wonder. “Daddy, are we having a baby?”
Chuckling, Dave replied, “No, honey. A berth is what they call a place to stay on a ship.”
“You’re silly, Sue.”
“That’s enough, Steve,” Dave said firmly. “She didn’t know. And I daresay you didn’t either.”
Sue stuck her tongue out at him.
Ignoring this…
“Dad!”
“I don’t care. We’re on level 36, number 103. Steve, with me. If you want to help, you can bring your own bag.”
***
Apatey is an M-class planet 1.3 times the size of Earth in the Gliese 785 system. Originally known as ‘E’, it is named after the ancient Greek goddess of deceit because it was hidden behind B and C by its orbit. Originally spelled ‘Apate,’ its discoverer, Paul Chaney, added the ‘y’ to aid pronunciation.
The rise and fall of the chirpy feminine voice began to grate on Sally’s ears after a while. She knew the group she’d travelled with was not the only one going to the new world, but it seemed to be taking forever for the others to arrive. Time was measured by meal alerts; three per day. Nine had come and gone already.
The door swished open to admit her husband.
“Hi, Sally. Hi, kids.”
She watched him stride into the bedroom, recognising the ‘making the best of it’ attitude in the droop of his shoulders and the flatness of his tone. “Good game?” she asked when he emerged.
“Caldwell clobbered me 21-15. What are you doing?”
“Educational videos. You carry on with this, kids. And do the quiz. I will check.” She stood up and turned to her husband. “What happened?”
“There’s no crew here. If there is, I can’t see them.” His eyes darkened. “Sally, I know you’ve been sneaking out to take a last look at Earth. I can’t blame you, I do it, too. But it’s not safe, honey. If you must go, take someone with you. Go as a group.”
“What are you saying?”
“You know what I’m saying, Sally,” he replied, a little louder than he’d meant to. “You just don’t want to believe it. Hell, I don’t want to believe it, but there’s nothing quite like being stuck in a giant tin can with a thousand other people and no law enforcement…”
She lifted a hand to his face. To the purplish mark on the other side of his jaw. Her lower lip wobbled.
“There were two of them. I stopped it. Her name is Patty Mainz. She’s in 254. Get to know her, I’m sure she could use a friend right now.”
“We need to get the word out.”
“There is a social channel. It’s called SarSpeak.”
“Let’s take a look at it. I’ll use the bedroom screen to create an account.”
Sally Armstrong36103
“Dave, it’s put our berth number against my name.”
“Can’t you make your own username?”
“It won’t let me. I don’t like feeling exposed.”
“We might as well be back on Earth. You’ll have to watch what you say.”
“So will Patty Mainz.”
“She could block them.”
“She’d have to know who they are, and they’re unlikely to advertise themselves as rapists.”
Dave sucked his lips in. “Try joining a group.”
Sally chose Women, Family Stuff, Pets, and Arts And Crafts. “There she is. Oh, look, you can start your own chats.” Her mouth turned down when she saw the first few items in her feed.
Ivan Ratko96096
WARNING:
This woman is nuts!! She’s bad news!
An image of a wide-eyed wild-haired woman, her lips curled back from her teeth, glared at them.
She’s accusing men of assaulting her. Any man attempting to befriend her is at risk of having his reputation SHREDDED!
The comment had been liked and shared, with additions from other men who shared their negative experiences with ‘difficult’ women.
Some women had joined in, accusing her of being dramatic and linking to a post she had made describing her assault.
The few attempts Patty made to defend herself were dismissed as lies.
Shuddering, Sally turned to Dave. “People back home did the same thing to us. Now we’re heading for another planet.” Her breath hitched. “Where do Exiles go when they’ve been exiled from the Exiles?” She turned away and sobbed, her shoulders shaking. She could feel Dave’s strong arm around her, the tang of adrenaline-flavoured sweat mingling with a trace of aftershave. She pulled him close, soaking his shirt with her tears. When they were spent, she felt the tip of his finger lift her chin and tilt it at the screen.
Message after message of support came flooding in.
“It seems that some people saw the aftermath. Now we all know their names and where they live.”
Sally grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. “That’s only as good as the people willing to hold them to account. Dave, I thought they were only sending dissidents to Apatey.”
He thinned his lips. “I guess that depends on how ‘dissident’ is defined.”
Sally’s stomach dropped. “They’ve lumped us together with the scum of the Earth!”
Dave’s breath tickled her ear as he held her tight. “Or they thought they were regular dissidents and didn’t know about this.”
Sally pulled back and shook her head. “How the hell do they find each other so easily? I want to know how many men like this there are. We have the kids to think of!”
Dave sighed. “I guess the answer is in the posts accusing Patty.”
Sally scrolled through her feed. “I think that has occurred to them, Dave. Alice, can you make a list of the folks who made negative comments about Patty Mainz on SarSpeak?”
Thirty seven men and nine women made negative comments about Patty Mainz on SarSpeak.
“Copy to the My Stuff folder. Oh, crap! Dave, three of them are on our level.”
“Then we’d better link up with the people who defended Patty and only go out when they do.”
“My god, Dave, we have two months of this to get through.”
Dave grimaced. “We’ll get through it, Sally.”
***
Passengers are advised that the Sarissa will be leaving for Apatey in T minus two hours.
Patty raised her faux coffee. “At last.”
“Do you really think it will be better on Apatey?” Sally asked.
“More places to hide, I guess. I’m going stir crazy here. The unofficial curfew gives me fewer options for leisure. I’m on a cautionary leash.”
“Ditto.”
“You have Dave.”
“I can’t leave the kids, Patty.”
The door chime sounded.
Hairs rose on the back of Sally’s neck. “Alice, who is at the door?”
A smiling bearded face appeared on the screen. Victor Pruitt89103.
“Let him in.”
The door swished open.
“Ladies,” he said, “I come bearing gifts. Okay, it’s a board game. And I won’t be leaving it here, but still…”
The women chuckled.
Victor put the box on the table and laid out the pieces.
They didn’t realise how much time had passed until the usual low hum that barely registered became a dull thrum.
Victor looked up. “We’re moving.”
Dave came in. “We’re moving. Alice, show us the view from the flight deck on the big screen.”
The screen switched from an old oil painting of flowers in a vase to a starscape. The Moon filled the left-hand side of the screen for a while, then shrank out of sight.
“We’re going to slingshot around the Moon,” said Victor, his eyes gleaming.
The pitch of the thrumming rose, and the stars began to move to either side. As the speed increased, a deep undertone grew louder. The white dots grew long and merged, then faded into a deep bluish purple.
“Quantum drive,” said Victor. “I’ve always wondered what it was like.”
Passengers are advised that we will arrive at our destination in approximately two Earth months. Time and seasons on Apatey differ greatly from Earth. The Sarissa’s chronometers will transition to Apatey time. Apatey has a 27.5 hour day compared to Earth.
The soft, chirpy feminine voice wrenched Sally’s psyche into a sensation of dream-like unreality, as if she was floating somewhere near her body. Competing thoughts tumbled in her mind as she fought to make sense of it. She fixed her gaze on Dave, then realised with a jolt what his stony eyes were telling her: there was no sense to be made of it. There was no way back for the disobedient. For the dissident. For those who dared to question the status quo.
Victor grinned. “I can’t wait to experience life on another planet.”
Patty glared at him. “Read the room, man!”
***
Passengers are advised that we will be entering the designated orbiting position at Apatey in T minus four hours.
“This’ll be fun,” Dave said grimly. “Is everything packed?”
“I’ve double-checked, Dave.”
The doorbell chimed. “Alice, who is at the door?”
Omobolanle Okafor237089. A broad grin lit up the bald man’s face on the screen.
“Let him in. Hi, big guy.”
“Wassup, my friend?”
“Time to go.”
The Armstrong family joined the five Okafors, Patty, Victor, and the others in the corridor and made their way down to the atrium, dragging their baggage.
“Any word on those nice gentlemen who threatened Patty?” Dave asked.
“They’ve been keeping their heads down since you exposed them,” Omobolanle replied, his voice low. “But men like this, they do not fade away. I know they are thinking about revenge. Such men always do.”
Patty put a hand on the big man’s shoulder. “Do you know which of the dropships they’ll be on?”
“They are from deck 96,” he replied. “It seems likely they will go with the other passengers from decks 96 to 100.”
“Unless they hang back and wait for us.”
“We shouldn’t let them go down to the planet,” Patty interjected. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, worrying about what they’ll do to me the first chance they get.”
“I’ve got my kids to think about,” Dave added.
“As do I,” Mr. Okafor said grimly, “but in case you haven’t noticed, we are being watched. Everything we say and do gets reported back to Earth, and they use it to justify sending us here.”
Patty put a hand on his shoulder. “How do you know, Omo?”
“Because I asked Alice.”
The others looked at him. “It did not put it in those terms, but I could read between the lines. It showed me the news reports and articles.”
Patty frowned. “I bet Ratko and Sutcliffe gave them something to chew on.”
“Actually, they divided roughly along the same lines as they did here,” Mr. Okafor replied, pouting. “And for the same reasons. I think they think they’ve got rid of the worst of the people, my sister. The truth is, we are no different to them, and they cannot accept this. They look at us and insist they are better. But those news reports and articles say so much more about them than they realize.”
“That we’re basically the same,” Sally said, her eyebrows raised. “I thought we had left Earth behind. It seems that we have brought it with us.”
Passengers are advised that the dropship for decks 100 to 105 is ready for boarding. Put your luggage on the conveyor belt and make your way to your seats.
As the group made its way to the gangway, they noticed a smaller group of mostly men surrounded by a hostile crowd. The names “Ratko” and “Sutcliffe” repeated.
“We have a right to get on that dropship,” the men shouted, but the crowd surged towards them every time they moved.
“Let us get aboard,” Mr. Okafor said.
Patty glanced at the crowd. “We should stay to stop those men from getting down there.”
“Then you’ll be stuck here, Patty,” Sally warned. “Those people are taking care of it. Let’s go.”
“What’ll happen if they get left behind on the Sarissa?” Patty asked.
“I guess we’ll find out what happens when you’re exiled from the Exiles,” Dave replied.
The End
Read the prequel: Apatey: A Solution To Social Cohesion Issues?
A Law And Order Committee White Paper on managing non-conformism and dissent.
"Exiled from the exiled" sounds so sinister and hopeless. This was a refreshing read, acknowledging that humans will be humans no matter which side of an issue you fall on. If more of us were capable of seeing each other as human beings, rather than just an enemy, the world would be a better place.
Wherever humans go, they will take their human problems with them. The science fiction elements in this were awesome! Sadly, I can see how this scenario would be possible...