Fractured Futures Page 12

  I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly as I start to adjust to the silence. Around the room, the Youli are taking their time coming back to consciousness. Gradually, they settle into their physical bodies.

  And when they do, almost every Youli’s eyes focus on me.

  14

  THEY’RE ALL STARING AT ME. All the Youli in the room.

  Wait a second.… Am I imagining things? Maybe it just feels like they’re looking at me because their eyes are so big. Maybe all of my pod mates feel the same way, like the Youli are looking at them.

  I sneak a glance at Addy. She’s staring at me, too. When she meets my gaze, her eyebrows raise. She wants to know what’s going on as much as me.

  I focus on Mira across the room and close our mental privacy curtain. Mira, why is everyone staring at me?

  She hears me. I know she does because I feel her mind shift as she starts to answer, but then she abruptly stops and throws open the curtain.

  The next thing I know, an unfamiliar voice rings through my mind. The tone is rich, uplifting, and reminiscent of Union Song.

  Young ones, we are most delighted to host you on our home world. The Travelers welcome you.

  The Youli’s chatter, which has come to feel like static at the edges of my mind, expands to fill almost all the space. In words of greeting, I recognize the voices of the Youli we met in the rift, Wind Chimes and friends. But it’s not only words that crowd my brain. It’s more like sensations. Honestly, it feels like fireworks are going off in my head.

  That’s quite a welcome, a sensory overload–inducing welcome.

  Cole is clutching his head with his hands. Lucy’s biting her lip. Even Addy and Marco look like they’re about to explode. I sympathize. After all, I’m at least used to brain-talk. They’re not.

  Given my pod mates’ current status and general inexperience with brain-talk, not to mention that I’m supposed to be the neutral spokesperson, I figure it’s up to me to reply. I take a deep breath and expand my mental reach as far as I can. Thank you. We are happy to be here on behalf of Earth. We look forward to learning more about your people before the Intragalactic Summit.

  One of the Youli crosses the room to stand before me. This Youli is small but radiates wisdom and serenity. I know at once that she’s the speaker. Welcome, Jasper Adams. We are glad to see you again. We hope you come with a willingness to learn, and that you will in turn impart lessons to your own people.

  The words have the ring of finality, like we’re being dismissed. It’s time to leave, Mira tells us, nodding at the golden doors.

  I stand and give an awkward wave. Thank you. My pod mates try their best to imitate me. Only Addy manages a fully formed thank you, but the sentiment is still there.

  When we’re at the door, Mira jerks to a stop. She turns around. The small Youli who spoke with us is looking at Mira. It’s clear they’re communicating, though it isn’t shared with me. Mira’s face falls. She gives a small nod, then turns to the doors.

  We follow Mira from the room. The pavilion where we spent the first half of Union Song is now empty, and the light is fading. The space is cavernous and cold without the warmth of the music and sunlight.

  “Was that a Youli leadership group?” Cole asks.

  In a way, she replies, leading us across the pavilion to the small mirrored alcove where we arrived.

  “What are Travelers?” Lucy asks.

  “How often do you sing?” Addy asks.

  “Can we do it again?” Marco asks.

  Mira doesn’t answer their questions. Later, she says. She sounds sad, but she’s probably just tired. I’m exhausted. Time to go.

  My pod mates’ questions are good ones. Mira must be planning to fill us in back in our pod room. I’m saving my questions to ask her privately. Why were all the Youli staring at me? And why did the small Youli say they were glad to see me again? More than any answer she can give me, though, what I really want is her time. There is nothing in the world I want more than time with Mira.

  We link hands so we can bound back to the pod room. Even though we know the location, we still need Mira’s help to navigate the security safeguards the Youli have in place.

  Once we arrive, I open my eyes. It’s just the five of us. Mira didn’t come.

  * * *

  The next morning, I wake to the smell of waffles. Mira’s VR game is definitely improving. It was probably a good thing that she didn’t hang out last night. We were all so tired from Union Song that we were in bed fifteen minutes after bounding back.

  Now, though, I’m ready to eat, explore the Youli planet, and spend time with Mira.

  Much to my very pleasant surprise, she’s already in the pod room when I head out from my bunk. Better yet, she’s battling Cole in Evolution. I had no clue Mira knew how to play, but she seems to be giving the game master a real battle.

  Good morning. Her words reach me before she sees me. Our brain connection is so strong here, she senses me. I’ve missed that. I watch them play. I make fun of Cole when Mira tricks his troops into an ambush during the American War for Independence. Just when I think she may actually take him out, he overpowers her for a grand victory.

  “Maybe the next gen of Evolution will be Earth versus Youli,” I say.

  “We’re here to resolve that conflict, remember?” Cole says. “Although I admit it would be cool, especially if we could use our gloves to play.”

  Marco vaults the couch and plops down beside me. “Gloves? Playtime? I’m in! Seriously, Mira, are the Youli going to teach us glove tricks today? That’s the main reason I agreed to come.”

  “No, it’s not,” Cole says. “You represent Earth on a diplomatic mission.”

  “Fine, Wiki, you’re factually correct, as usual. But glove fun is on the agenda today, right?”

  Mira confirms brain-to-brain.

  Marco covers his head with his hands. “I’m never going to get used to that.”

  “First on the agenda is food.” I hop up from the couch and head into the mini mess hall. Lucy is sitting at the table, painting her nails.

  “I didn’t know you were up,” I tell her as I pile my plate with virtual waffles.

  “Oh, I’ve been up for ages,” she says. “I need to make sure I look my best. We’re ambassadors for our planet, you know.”

  “There aren’t any cameras here, Lucy,” I say. “Don’t work too hard on your signature look.”

  She shoots me an evil glare, then goes back to applying the bright pink paint to her fingers.

  After breakfast, Mira gathers us together in the pod room to prepare for a bound. She won’t give us any details about where we’re headed other than to say you’ll see with enough sparkle that I know she’s excited and thinks we’re going to like it.

  Once we link, she bounds us out, and we land on some sort of open-air platform in the middle of the clouds. It’s kind of like the launch deck at the Americana East aeroport, but it’s even bigger—I’d say the size of four futbol fields at least—and it’s completely immersed in the clouds. Except the clouds curiously aren’t in the airspace directly above the platform. The result is that we have this totally private, hidden training deck.

  “Is this a contained atmosphere?” Cole asks.

  Something like that, Mira says. Come. She holds her gloved hands out in front of her and leaps into the air.

  My jaw drops. Mira is flying without a blast pack.

  How? I shout through our brain connection.

  Use your packs for now, she says. I’ll teach you.

  I loosen the sensor straps from the sides of my pack and take off. Marco and Addy are already airborne. It feels amazing. I haven’t had a chance to fly like this in way too long. I zoom across the platform, flying low to the ground, then looping up and nearly touching the cloud layer.

  Mira hovers at the other end. I squeeze the sensors and accelerate. When I reach her, she takes off, flying hard for the other end. We chase each other through a few more laps. When she finally lets me catch up, I’m out of breath. How are you doing that? Flying without a pack?

  She smiles. I’m manipulating matter, just like in bounding or controlling objects. Now I’m using my gloves to control the air particles all around me. They’re keeping me aloft and propelling me forward.

  Okay, I say, making sure our privacy curtain is closed, and how are you doing that?

  What?

  All that brain-talk. Before, you communicated with me, but more with pictures. Your words were limited. Now you won’t shut up!

  Mira’s laughter sparkles in my brain.

  Seriously, Mira, what changed?

  Her face hardens, and she doesn’t answer at first. Finally, she says, I’ve spent a lot of time with the Youli.

  And? I ask.

  The way I communicate with them has grown more complex. I guess it’s changed the way you experience my communication.

  What do you mean?

  She scrunches her face in thought. You say I’m using more words, but that’s not how it works in my mind. I think what I want you to know, and then you know.

  That’s a lot to get my head around. I don’t get it.

  She smiles and touches my arm. You don’t need to. And don’t worry, I can still think in pictures. She sends me an image of me chasing her across the deck, both of us flying without a pack. Let’s go!

  Now that’s something I get, and I’m totally on board. I follow her to the center of the deck along with the others. Mira tells them what she explained to me about controlling the air.

  It sounds really hard, Lucy says.

  Mira injects positivity into our communication circle. I’ll show you. I don’t think you need to focus on flying without your packs right away. That can be a long-term goal. For now, I think you can concentrate on staying aloft and using a single glove. That leaves your other hand free to use as you choose.

  Marco nods. “So if we’re fighting or something, we can drop the straps of our packs, use one hand to stay in the air, and use another to attack or defend. Is that what you mean?”

  Something flickers behind Mira’s eyes. Let’s say we’re skill building. She smiles at Marco. Want to try first?

  We spend the next hour practicing with our gloves. I catch on fairly quickly, which is a relief. I figured I’d be decent since I’m overall pretty good with the gloves, but I’ll never be able to shake the humiliation I went through with the blast pack during our first tour of duty while we were still using the conventional straps. Regis never let me live it down.

  Regis. Thinking of him makes me lose focus, and I plummet toward the platform, catching myself with my gloves a split second before crashing. Maybe if we’d known how to fly and fight at the same time a few weeks ago, we could have pushed back Earth Force on Gulaga. Maybe Regis would still be alive.

  I shake off the memories and launch. Once I’m nearly at the clouds, I drop my straps. With my left hand, I stabilize my weight in the air around me. With my right, I focus all my attention on Cole. Sure enough, I’m able to freeze him midair.

  Hi, Cole, I say through the communication circle.

  “Let me go!” he shouts.

  Not until you say please, brain-to-brain.

  He struggles against my grasp, but I’ve got him good. My left hand keeps me aloft at the same time. “Jasper! Let me go!”

  Say please.

  Grumbles erupt in my mental link. Then Cole’s voice: Jasper! Now!

  Close enough, I say, letting go of Cole. He falls to the ground.

  A second later, he’s on his feet, then in the air and gunning for me. He chases me across the platform. He starts out mad, but as we dip and duck and spin and soar, I can sense the anger melting away. Flying is fun, and it’s hard to stay mad when you’re having a good time.

  Mira eventually calls us back to the center. I’m sweaty and out of breath by the time I touch down. From the look of the others, practice has gone well for everyone. Even Lucy looks like she had a good time.

  What’s next, sweetie? she asks Mira.

  Remember the Tundra Trials, when we raced against the other pods for one of the final tokens?

  How could I forget? Regis punched me in the face.

  Marco answers. You mean the time you used your magic powers to boost Jasper so our pod snagged the token?

  Mira flashes her palms at the ground and lifts into the air so that she’s hovering right above us. It wasn’t magic. I’m going to teach you how to do it.

  15

  BY LUNCHTIME, WE’VE GOT A solid handle on boosting. According to Mira, it’s the first step in learning how to pool our power. I’m able to send Marco somersaulting through the air the full width of the training deck. Cole has trouble sustaining a boost, but he can generate a whip-sharp surge. When he hits me with it, I bullet so high, I cross into the clouds. Luckily, I’m wearing my gloves, because Cole’s control fades, and I have to slow myself down to avoid landing like a pancake on the training deck.

  Mira takes us back to our room to eat. I beg her to stay, but she says she has to take care of some things before she sees us this afternoon. I don’t press her too hard because I’m starving and smell pizza.

  The five of us sit around the orange table filling up on slices and orange soda and talking about the training session.

  “This morning was awesome!” I say. “We learned more in a few hours than Earth Force could have taught us in a year.”

  Surprisingly, Cole agrees. “Before now, we had no idea of the scope of the glove technology.”

  Addy’s face is scrunched in confusion. “What I can’t figure out, though, is why the Youli didn’t train us?”

  “Why does that matter?” Cole asks.

  “I thought the whole point was that the Youli would help us train with the gloves as a gesture of welcome and good faith before the Intragalactic Summit,” Addy says. “So far, we’ve mostly interacted with Mira.”

  “There are Youli everywhere!” Marco says. “Are you forgetting Union Song?”

  “No,” Addy says. “It’s just—”

  I cut her off. “What’s your issue with Mira? The Youli obviously sent her because she can communicate with us the best. And she knows how to use the gloves!”

  “I don’t have an issue with Mira!” Her tone is sharp. She’s not happy I interrupted her. “She’s great, but she’s not a Youli!”

  Lucy turns to Addy with a patronizing smile. “Jasper’s right. Mira is teaching us on behalf of the Youli. It makes things far less… alien. And don’t you worry, I’m sure we’ll see plenty of Youli before the Intragalactic Summit.”

  “I’m not… forget it. I’m going to the bunk room to read.” She shoves back her chair and exits the mini mess hall.

  “Remember,” Lucy says once Addy has left the room. “She’s not part of our pod.”

  I’m about to defend my sister, but Lucy’s right, Addy wasn’t an original member of our pod. Plus, I don’t like her saying negative things about Mira, although I’m not sure she actually did. The truth is, I don’t want to think too hard about the fact that my gut says maybe Addy is onto something.

  I grab another slice of virtual pizza and decide not to worry about what’s real, at least not right now.

  * * *

  Not long after lunch, Mira arrives and bounds us to one of the large Youli halls, where Wind Chimes and his two Youli friends are waiting to give us a highlight tour of their home world. A smug I told you so feeling fills my chest, and I shoot Addy a triumphant smile. See? There’s no reason to be so skeptical.

  Once we’re assembled, something happens, I assume we bound, but it’s more than that. We’re no longer in the hall. We’re outside, floating in the air inside one of the bubbles like the one that encapsulated our tiny capsule when we first arrived.

  “Whoa!” Marco says.

  “That was unexpected,” Cole says.

  “How about a heads-up next time?” Lucy asks.

  My mind sparkles with laughter. It’s more than just Mira’s. In fact, it’s so loud that all of us Earth kids (except for Mira) cover our ears (as if that would help). That only brings on more sparkles from the Youli.

  Turn down the volume, I tell Mira.

  She smiles. As long as all of you promise to brain-talk. At least try.

  Our bubble starts to glide. As we slip past the first crystal tower, a swoop of purple flashes by our bubble. Then another, this one orange. And another, teal blue.

  Are those… birds? Addy asks.

  A swoop of yellow flies by. It kind of looks like a bird, but it doesn’t have any feathers. Instead, it has colorful, flat arms that extend to the sides like a hang glider, supporting a small, bulbous body in the center.

  Similar, Mira says. She sends us images: birds, bats, phosphorescent sea creatures from the ocean depths.

  Our bubble picks up speed, and we weave between crystal towers, tightly wound with semitranslucent green vines. They go on as far as the eye can see, like we’re floating amid a grand crystal forest in the sky. Everything pulses in time to the beating hearts in the Youli’s chests, even the small bulb bodies of the birdlike fliers.

  It’s like everything is alive! Addy says.

  The Youli radiate positive energy. Yes, child! Wind Chimes says. You’re beginning to understand. Everything is connected. Everything learns. Everything lives.

  I’m not sure how long we float, but soon I’m totally relaxed. Even though I’m standing, my body feels supported by the bubble. There’s a sense of something that’s hard to put into words. I start to feel… bigger… than I am. Broader. More expansive, like maybe I’m part of everyone in this bubble, everything on this planet, everything in the galaxy.

  Everything.

  It’s the same feeling I had the first time I used the gloves.

  What’s that? Marco asks, breaking my trance.

  Lucy grips my forearm. Addy gasps. I scan around me, searching for what they’ve spotted.

  Up ahead, there’s a trio of crystal towers that look different from the rest. The vines that circle their shafts are brown and leafless. The crystals pulse, but so faint it’s hard to tell. Where all around us there is life, these towers show decay.