City of light...
Hidden deep in a valley rests the marvel of a technologically advanced world. The massive City of light offers a new life for the Robinsons. However for the first time they feel like primitive aliens, unable to understand the people or adjust to a future upon this world.
prologue
If the passengers could see the face of the pilot, they would have been terrifed. There was a grim tautness on his pale features , like a preknowledge of impending doom."We have exhausted all fuel and are in free fall", he gestured downward, "all that lays beneath us is snow. I can control our descent somewhat, but we are still going to crash into that..."
Below them lay a white wall of snow, seemingly endless. It was stark,and forbidding. Once they were down, they would have to find a way to survive in this land, and that was going to be tough.
First though they had to survive the crash. He tried every trick in the book to land the ship so it would not get ripped apart on impact. Though part of him wondered if a hard impact, that killed would be more merciful than freezing slowly.
But he could not let himself take that step, it would be failure. He gritted his teeth ,steadied his fatigued and trembling hands and took over control of the landing from the computer.
It was like trying to control a wild animal, who wanted to be free and not chained. The motions of the ship were frenzied . He touched button after button, quieting each storm of bucking wildness. His hands were turning a darker colour, as they were brusied from the constant pounding against the console. Even the pain of that, like a white buring fire, did not slow him down. That wall of white was coming closer, and the ship was finally beginning to behave.
"Impact in 1 minute", he warned . Below the others would be in crash position, their arms locked over their heads. They would probably be thinking of home and wishing they had never left.
That white wall, blinded him with its intensive glare. His eyes were closed as the ship went down. Snow plowed into the ship cascading over it. He hoped there were no jagged rocks in their path, as the ship slid along in the iciness.
On and on they slid, the ship was shaking like food in a blender and he knew it would not be long before the last meal he ate came out of his protesting stomach. Probably the others had already thrown up. His stomach was just a little more used to moments like this. As he began to cough and gag, the ship, almost in response slowed. The shaking died down as the ship finally came to a halt.
They had not been ripped apart. Though from the amount of alerts in front of him, it would be a huge miracle if this ship ever flew again. So this white wilderness was now their home.
He stood up and nearly fell over. His legs were like jelly. Inwardly he cursed his moment of weakness. The others would be relying on him to make a survey of their new home. They would have erect their sturdy tents until they could find building materials. "Stay on board until I investigate this world", he instructed.
Incasing himself in an awkward looking , yet extremely protective spacesuit. He opened the hatch. Snow billowed in and he imagined feeling the icy coldness of it upon his skin. The suit, of course prevented dangerous exposure to the elements. But they were a temporary solution.
His hand slid down his thigh to check on the presence of his gun. It was just a habit, as the weapon, was always there. He didn't think much could survive in this icy wasteland but it was always best to be cautious.
For a precaution he attached a long piece of steel rope to the side of the ship. The other end, was clicked onto his belt. He did not know how deep this snow was and there was a risk he'd simply disappear into its depths. Normally he would have used a vehicle for this type of exploration. But he could not risk damage to that vehicle. Their lives may very well depend on the use of the all terrain craft.
So he stepped off the ramp and into the snow. He did sink but not as far as he'd thought. Perhaps the stormy descent of their craft had pushed a lot of the snow out of the way.
Of he went across the white wilderness. It was hard going and he was puffing inside the suit. He turned to look back at the ship where it lay nose down, like a wounded bird unable to muster the energy for a final flight. Don't get sentimental he told himself as he surveyed the craft. Its is just a ship. Yes, its been a loyal home for a while now. But it was never meant to be permanent. Just be thankful we actually made it down in one piece.
He turned back to the relentless wall of snow in front of him. There was a small hill he could climb that would give him a better view of this landscape. Surely it all could not be snow and mountains. If it was they were probably doomed. He imagined at least one of their passengers would say that. So don't think it. Find a way, that is what we are good at, he told himself.
"How does it look out there", came the anxious voice from the craft. "White", was all he said. What else could he say, it was a factual statement."Be careful", came the advice. "Naturally", he replied calmly.
When he was actually going upward, the hill felt a lot higher. The snow threatened to drag him downward , and keep him within its icy depths. "I will not surrender", he stormed at the iciness. If it could make a sound then surely it would laugh, as it had the upper hand. He began to count , it was a way to keep his mind of the snow. Finally when he reached 2006 he reached the top of the hill. There he turned and looked around him.
His breath sucked in a gasp, it was oh so beautiful, the mountains were all around him, so white and majestic. Yet they were also so deadly. As he turned in each direction he saw nothing more than that snow. He began to shake, this place was going to be their doom. Even the intensive glow was almost blinding him.
"What do you see", came the question. He did not answer. How do you tell people that their life will surely end upon this world. He closed his eyes for a second ,to shut out the glow and turned back to their fallen craft. His eyes opened again and he sighed. He should go back and tell them everything, rather than just blurt it out over the communication lines.
Blinking for a minute, he frowned, even though there was an equal amount of snow in front of him, it did not have that intensive glow of that behind him. He turned slightly again and looked. Was it his imagination, or did the glow actually not come directly from the snow. "Are you alright, report dammit", they were getting impatient.
If he stared directly at the snow, he noted that it definitely did not glow. So where did the light come from. It was only then that he looked in the direction he'd forgotten all about, down. "Oh my", he gasped.
"What, what, is it, are you alright", he must have made the sound of surprise with his comm switched on.
Silence was the response to that question. What he was looking at defied description.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
One hundred and fifty years later
When Donald West looked down at the mass of whiteness beneath him, he just shrugged, "Just one more thing to throw at us. Bring it on", he said.
"How does it look Don", asked his father in law . Don stared at the denseness of the snow, and how far it went into the horizon. It looked like a bleak ,miserable existence could possibly be awaiting them. Surprisingly telling his father and law about what awaited them, was not the worst news he had delivered.
That had happened 7 months ago. Don remembered sitting in his pilot's chair, seemingly staring out the window at the latest uninspiring rock they had landed upon. He'd told John he needed to speak with him earlier that day and was now waiting for him to arrive. Why did he feel like he was a school again, and sitting in the office waiting to speak to the principle about his most current misdemeanour. It was not his mistake alone, Judy was also guilty. But she had delegated responsibility for telling her father to him.
He went through the conversation in his head again, carefully laying out what he planned to say. This was not going to be easy, as he had broken a promise, an oath, and it felt like a betrayal.
"Is it that bad Don', he jumped when John spoke from behind him. He'd probably been standing there awhile and he'd been so focused on what he was going to say that he had not even noticed. Which was unusual, so John must already know he was going to tell him something important.
"Yes", Don whispered the words. He tried to go through his carefully prepared speech, "well John, its just that, that, ummm, as you know, umm..." Geez he sounded like he had no idea what he even wanted to say. John was now coming up to sit in the opposite chair, he had a frown upon his face as he stared at him.
It was probably the look of absolute terror in his eyes that prompted the next question. "What's wrong", John asked . His voice was so far steady, but there was already a hint of what could be shock beginning in his face. Oh John, its only going to get worse, Don thought. "Well John, umm...",Don tried again. He stopped, his practiced words were suddenly abandoned, "Oh shit", he said out loud...Then he just blurted it out, "you are going to be a grandfather".
Don had been an offical member of the family for 13 months, 3 days and 5 hours. He had promised faithfully on his wedding day ,that he and Judy would use the contraceptives and there would be zero possibility of a child. They needed a stable home and access to a proper medical services that included maternity and neonatal, before they could even consider bringing a child into the world.
It was simply too dangerous, out here, trying to survive on planets with harsh environments or unfriendly aliens.
He was aware of John's silence now. There was definite disappointment in his face. "I know I made a promise John. It was not planned, it just happened". The words sounded empty. Don could feel himself shaking. He put his head into his hands. Saying this had been far worse than he'd imagined.
There came a warm hand upon his back and surprisingly it was actually stroking him. "Don, please don't get that upset", John's voice was shaking. A firm hand pulled him upward and Don now saw tears in John's eyes. There was regret in his father and laws eyes now and his next words were said softly. "I never wanted either of you to think having a child was an awful thing Don. It is not". John's hand slid into his own, "we are going to do this together Don. It will be alright".
So he had survived that traumatic experience. The next one actually made both Judy and he pass out.
Maureen, had been making the first check on their child. Judy had her hand clasped around his own as both of them looked at the screen. They could hear the thumping heartbeat of the baby almost immediately and both of them smiled. "That is a strong ,healthy heart", Maureen told them both. "Yeah, it's loud and seems to almost echo", Don said. Judy agreed, "yes , you are right Don, that almost sounds like a second heartbeat".
It was moments later that Maureen said the words that made them both faint, 'that's because it is...,"oh my there are two babies. "
Twins, that put the risk factor of pregnancy up even higher. They were fraternal twins, Maureen noted. "That is so unexpected, as we have no incidents of multiple births in our family", Judy told him, once she had recovered. She had a look that was part wonder ,part terror in her eyes now. Her grip had tightened to being vice like.
Maureen cast a look at Don, who had turned, so unnaturally pale, that she was very concerned . Don had never mentioned any twins in his family. But since he normally did not pass out, she knew that there was something he was not saying. Judy, just thought that his reaction was shock. As she was looking at the monitor more than his face she did not see his expression.
Later on, Maureen sought him out and found out the truth. "Yes, we do have multiple births in our family Maureen. It is not something I have mentioned for a reason. "My mother went into labour early, and only one of the twins survived".
"There is a chance that Judy will also have an early labour", Don could feel tears threatening again. Maureen placed her hand upon his own. "We will face that ,if it happens Don", her voice shook .
Two very little babies, being born here, in a small ship, that had never been designed for long term occupation. There was barely adequate facilities for such a birth. So finding a suitable place to land for that event had become their number one goal.
The whiteness below, was just one of the many places, that were inadequate. However, when you have no choice you take what you can get.
It had been a few weeks ago, that Don had noticed some of the vital components of the Jupiter 2, were failing. It was simple wear and tear. They had never been meant to function this long. This was something that had happened before, and each time they had managed to engineer the parts to fix the problem.
The solution to this problem, had not been as simple. "I am sorry Will, it is the only way", John had told his son.
"No, no, there has to be another way", Will countered desperately . John was trying to be gentle, to take the sting out of what he was going to say. But there was never an easy way to tell a boy that their best friend, the robot, had to be sacrificed to keep the Jupiter flying.
Will had tried everything he knew to prevent the dismantling, even resorting to trying to hide the large lumbering robot. It just delayed the inevitable. Will had become very quiet, after the loss of the robot.
Don quickly checked his instruments. All of them were telling him that actually landing upon this white world was almost impossible. Crashing was the most likely outcome of entry onto the surface. He vowed to beat the odds. Because , he needed to help Judy get the best odds for a safe continuation of her pregnancy.
So he fought with the Jupiter as down they went, toward the whiteness.
He was alone at the controls, as the others were all secured below, in the safest part of the ship.
There was an advantage in being alone, he could use some very expressive swear words, that he would never dare say if the family were nearby. Verbally storming at the craft, was just a way to release the tension.
His most recent sentence had only had one word that was not a expletive . Since he had to say something to the others now, he stopped himself from using more colourful words and went with, "landing struts are down, we will reach the surface in approximately 5 minutes".
Hopefully the others would never know how hard it was to keep the Jupiter from flying apart. They were shaking a bit, but this was, so far not the worst landing they had ever made. Sweat, snaked down from his brow, plowing a warm path onto his shirt. He was beginning to feel sodden from all that sweat.
Don could feel nausea rising up, as the effects of their rapid uneven descent settled upon him. It was highly unusual for him to get sick like this. However it was simply because, he was making sure that the stress of landing was on this part of the Jupiter. They others would be less affected.
As the craft shakily made its way down, he held back the mass that threatened to spew from his mouth. His whole body was trembling violently, as he fought the 1 in 100 odds, of making a safe landing.
Letting himself smile as the struts kissed the surface, Don had to seconds later fall to his knees and let the mass of food and water come shooting from his mouth. He actually lay on the coldness of the floor, for a few seconds as disorientation hit him hard.
"Are you alright up there Don', came the worried query from John. "I will be fine", he managed to croak out.
Pulling himself upright, Don looked out at the white wilderness of their new home.
"I am suiting up now Don and will join you at the hatch", John told him.
Don knew he took a lot longer to get ready than was usual. Finally he joined John.
His father and law stared at him, for awhile. There was no doubt that he noticed his shakiness and his unnaturally pale face. "Maybe you should stay here and let Maureen check you over", John suggested calmly. "No, I am fine", Don lied. John made a little huffing sound, "you look like shit Don", he said bluntly. "Yeah, well I feel worse than shit John. But it does not matter, you can't explore out there on your own", Don told him firmly.
John knew that was true. "Alright then, let's go", he said.
He stepped out into the whiteness. John had only walked a few steps then stopped, it was the first time he'd seen the full reality of this planet. This world was a frozen one and was not just upon the surface, it settled in his being as his legs simply would not carry him any further. Don just strode past him, "it's a nice day for a walk", he said calmly.
John spluttered, "a walk Don, in this, it's...", he could not find a word to describe his feelings of despair. "Yes, I know", Don whispered the reply. It did look bad.
"Lets go up that little rise and have a look", Don suggested. He forged ahead of John. It was hope, that drive him onward. There has to be something more here. He hardly knew why he thought that. After all he'd had the best view of this world as they had descending. It seemed to be a snow planet, with unrelenting whiteness. Some people would call it beautiful and yes it was certainly that. But snow could also kill.
It was a harsh environment where nothing seemed to survive. There had been no response to their many calls for help, so the odds were this world was avoided by all types of space faring life.
As he looked over the whiteness, he knew they'd be relying heavily upon the use of the chariot, to be able to explore more of the surface. Since fuel for that craft was low, they would have to make sure any exploration, led them to resources .They would need enough of these to get themselves off this world again .
Don was aware of the fact, that he'd been walking as fast as he'd been thinking and he'd left John far behind. He paced upward, until he reached the top of the small rise. John was still lumbering toward him.
Turning around in circles Don felt his hope fade, this world really was only just snow and mountains. He felt his nausea return then and once more fell to his knees. Even his knees would not hold him and he collapsed face down into the snow. Strangely from this position he got a totally different perspective of this world.
John hurried toward his fallen son in law. He should have let Don rest after the rigours of the descent. Wrapping his arms around Don, he hauled him partially upright. He was limp in his arms. Exhaustion had finally caught up with Don. John would need to wait until he recovered before they could make the journey back to the Jupiter.
"Oh my please tell me this world is not just snow", Maureen exclaimed over the comm lines .She must have finally made it to the flight deck and was now looking out at their new home.
John braced himself to tell her the worse. He found himself looking down at his son in law. Don was stirring. "Just take it easy Don", John told him. Don's throat felt dry and he had a most unpleasant taste in his mouth. He needed a nice soothing drink.
"This world has nothing to offer us", John said sadly to him. He was cradled gently in his father in laws arms, like a broken doll. Before, he'd had felt rather broken, yet now he did not. John's comment made him smile. "Don't you see it John", he said. Surely it had not been an illusion, or something conjured from his mind.
John knew Don desperately wanted a home and thus felt that it was not surprising that he was seeing something, in the whiteness. He'd take him back to the ship and get a warm drink inside him. Don's hand snaked up his arm and squeezed. Then his arm moved and his finger pointed, downward.
Following that finger John found his breath sucking out in a gasp. How could they have missed seeing that...
Maybe it was because it too was white... John gently lowered Don down onto the snow and moved forward so he could see downward . They were actually on the edge of a cliff face and below them was the most amazing thing he had ever seen.
"No, Maureen it's not all snow", he said . His wife would have heard the wonder in his voice. "What is it John", she asked.
How could he even start to describe what he saw below. It was a massive City, that stretched the entire length of the canyon below. The centre point of that city was a large tower, with a centre spire that almost rivalled the mountains in height. This city was unlike anything on Earth. It was a technological marvel from some obviously advanced race. Everything seemed to be glowing with an intense white light. It was that light that had camouflaged the city, making it blend into the snow.
Surely this amazing city could not be unpopulated. There had to be someone down there. John took a look at the buildings, even though they were obviously alien, they were not so different to Earth structures. So hopefully they could find some help upon this world. Almost as if Maureen had heard his thoughts, her voice came over the lines then, giving him the latest update.
"John, we are finally getting something over the comm lines. They send their apologies for not getting in contact earlier . It took awhile for their translation devices to decipher our language and formulate a reply. We are welcomed to the City of Light." Maureen told him. "If we all wait by the edge of rise ,a transportation device will be sent to retrieve us."
There was happiness in her voice. "Finally John, we have found people who can help Judy deliver our grandchildren".
John wondered what type of beings were going to greet them...