First

Bailen leaned back against the soft fabric that lined the bottom of his Personal Travel Device, or PTD. The top part of the sphere was transparent SpiriGlass, and he could see his other classmates floating in their own PTDs. Some were reading, and others were talking on the cosmophone. As he floated into the Education Space, an automated message informed Bailen, “You are entering the ES. Welcome!” His PTD docked at the Learning Pod (LP) port, and the top popped off so he could climb in. Educator Akiel once told Bailen that VACMs used to be called “computers,” and the acronym stood for “voice-activated communication module.” Bailen loved ancient history, so he thought that was fascinating. He sat down on the stool and a hidden speaker began transmitting the lesson to his LP. He heard Educator Akiel’s voice: “Hello, students! Are you ready to join me in the ES to broaden your neural pathways? We are going to start a unit on EarthWorld. Can anyone tell me what that is?” Four cameras in Educator Akiel’s Teaching pod took a live video of him on all four sides. Not only could Bailen see the Educator through the SpiriGlass, but the four screens in front of his stool also streamed the videos taken from Educator Akiel’s pod. Bailen could see and hear the Educator as if he was in the LP with him. “I would like to answer the question,” he told his VACM. The VACM transmitted a message instantly to his Educator’s VACM. “Great! I see that Nani, Bailen, Adrie, Louie, and Rio think they know the answer,” replied Educator Akiel. “Adrie? Can you tell us what you think EarthWorld is?” “Believe it or not, I was just reading a book this morning that mentioned EarthWorld!” Of course, Bailen thought. The only person in our class who knows more about Ancient History than me is Adrie. And she’s determined to keep it that way. I better read more history books. “So, what I understand is that there was this perfect amazing planet, and then they destroyed it and only a few people escaped in a cosmoship and we’re their ancestors.” “Yes, Adrie, that’s right,” said Educator Akiel. “Does anyone want to elaborate? Rio?” Rio replied, “Yeah, there were lots of different groups of people on the planet, and plants and animals grew wild. Some of the groups of people were democracies, like our ship, and some were not. Then, one group somehow got all the power and used it to threaten all the other little groups. One of the little groups got so scared that it took the beautiful EarthWorld for granted and blew it all up with a terrible bomb.” “However, Rio, that same group that blew up EarthWorld had been working on a state-of-the-art cosmoship to hold all the people in their group. Right before they blew up the EarthWorld, they escaped. Nani, do you know what our people think about that?” “Well, Educator Akiel, it was a really bad thing to blow up our paradise. I am ashamed of my ancestors.” “As you should be!” replied his Educator. “That was a terrible decision on their part.” The day continued, and Bailen and his classmates were shown a map of EarthWorld right before it was destroyed. They learned about how the cosmoship was constructed in secret, and how a group of very smart scientists made an amazing new piece of technology that nobody knew was possible: the gravitator. The gravitator charged the floor of the cosmoship with a strong gravitational pull similar to the one on EarthWorld. Things that Eliza Chun needed to float around, like PTDs, were equipped with a tiny anti-gravitator to counteract the gravitator. Bailen’s PTD was attached to his LP. The LP didn’t have an anti-gravitator. It was attached to the ceiling of the LS with a fibrocord, which always stayed taut because of the gravitator. The piece of fibrocord attached to the LP was about the same size as the one Bailen’s Dental Hygiene Machine stuck between his teeth every night before bed.

“Okay, everyone, here’s the agenda for the rest of our time together: First, we’ll have a quick meal, and then we’ll go on a trip to see the gravitator. Is everyone excited?” “Yes!” Bailen told his VACM. “Message delivered,” it replied. Educator Akiel exclaimed, “I see that Bailen, Nani, Adrie, Libby, and Ork are excited. Ari? What about Rio and Sudy? Are you excited too? Let’s see… Sudy said she’s excited, but a little scared. Don’t worry, the gravitator won’t hurt you! Rio and Ari don’t know. Alright everyone, let’s get food!” The side of the learning center doubled as the students’ own Meal Preparer. Bailen talked to his mom on the cosmophone during the short wait to get his meal. He ended the call when his PTD told him it was time to eat.

“You have arrived at the front of the line. Do you want to pick up your meal?” “Yes.” “The meal today is fresh from the aquaponic garden. There is a green salad with red pericarp and sweet pimento paste in a squeeze tube, along with orange juice and some nutgrain. This food fits all the requirements on your nutrition chart. Enjoy!” His PTD started to gently move around the ES as he ate. The movement was designed to promote digestion. He decided to start his Ancient History studies right then. “VACM, please read me a book about ancient history.” “Reading: Ancient History, by Brazi Democ. Long, long ago…” Bailen got lost in long-ago Earthworld, and didn’t notice when his PTD interrupted itself to say, “End of meal. Traveling back to the ES.” In fact, he didn’t notice where he was going until the PTD abruptly stopped reading and its top popped off. Disoriented, he climbed back into his LP. Just then, a deafening beeeeeeeep reverberated through the cosmoship. Bailen learned at a very young age that that sound signaled a ship-wide announcement. The announcement system was used for emergencies only.

Everyone froze. The only other time Bailen could remember hearing that beep was when there was a glitch in the gravitator’s Gravprodon system. Everyone had to evacuate for a few minutes. It ended up being a false alarm, though, and no one was hurt. They were just a little frazzled. The whole ship silently waited for the passive female voice to instruct them in what to do next. Twenty-three seconds passed. (Bailen knew exactly how many seconds because a couple hundred years prior, scientists on the cosmoship had figured out, by accident, how to insert an automatic time-telling function into the human DNA. They then proceeded to change the DNA of every inhabitant of the cosmoship. It made everyone’s lives a lot easier, and the genetic trait was passed on to their offspring.) Finally, the announcement started. “Hello, cosmoship residents! As you know, our ancestors once lived on EarthWorld. When it was blown up by a bomb, all of the residents died except for those who dropped the bomb. They escaped, and seven generations later, we’re still traveling aimlessly around in the universe. We’ve only come across one other planet in our time on the cosmoship, and it was uninhabitable and gaseous.” Ugh, Bailen thought. We don’t need a history lesson. What’s the emergency? “Another planet has recently been spotted by our awareness technology, and the autopilot is attempting to navigate closer. First, planet rovers are being deployed to make sure everything is safe for humans. Then, scientists will go out to see if the planet is fit for human life. After that, citizens will have the opportunity to step onto real land, which will most likely be the first and last time that they will be able to do so. First, students will go out with their educators. Then, if any adults would like to do so, they will travel to one of the portal receiving stations and be fitted up to go out by a scientist. Please stay quiet and calm in the Cosmoship Receiving Ports, and stay inside your PTDs. Educators, please instruct your students to travel in their PTDs to one of the Cosmoship Receiving Ports when you are notified. Adults, once the students have re-entered the cosmoship, you will be notified that you may travel toward one of the CRSs. Thank you.” Bailen couldn’t believe his luck. The