Ascension
Traveling Limousine, Brunei June 21, 2069 AD
"...all the sailors were marooned!"
"Thurgood...that is not funny."
"What? Come on Ja-fizzle, sure it is."
Jeff put his head in his hands. Thurgood was a forty-two year old man and yet he still acted like a college dropout working the night shift at a fast food joint. He invented annoying nicknames for Jeff, told bad jokes, didn't take anything seriously, and probably had an IQ somewhere around room temperature. Jeff despised Thurgood because despite all that, Jeff enjoyed the man's company and that irked him to no end. Logically, Jeff should not like being around Thurgood, yet they hung out, they did things together. They were...ugh, friends.
Thurgood and Jeff were in the back of a limo that was driving them to the finished space elevator, the Fountain of Paradise as Jeff had insisted it be named. The Collective had decided to construct the elevator in Brunei, because they more or less controlled the country's government and because it was close to the equator. This had upset the United States government, they wanted to elevator built somewhere closer to their sphere of influence. Jeff was actually quite pleased with the location. Not only was in it Collective controlled territory, but being so close to India, China, and Japan, allowed him to play the three countries off one another in exchange for favors and resources. Because of this, the whole project came in under-budget even though it took two years longer than initially estimated (though in retrospect Mecca was probably not the best location to open the Collective's Middle East Headquarters, too many protesters drained too much of the Collective's attention).
Jeff glanced out the window of the limo, ignoring whatever it was Thurgood was rambling on about, admiring the view of the Fountain. While the Collective had covered the structure in weather-resistant self-repairing paint, they had decided to only use one color: black. Jeff wasn't sure if it made the Fountain an eyesore or a masterpiece. Either way, it certainly stood out amongst all the scenery when glancing across the horizon. It stretched up and up, disappearing into the sky. It was just so big. The Collective had built a structure bigger than the Great Pyramid, bigger than the Great Wall of China, bigger than the annual GDP of some countries. Being the impressive specimen of a human being that he was, Jeff wasn't used to feeling insignificant, but staring up at this giant structure Jeff couldn't help but feel like a blip on the radar screen of time.
This was going to be a monumental day. Scientists, celebrities, and politicians from all over the planet had come to Brunei for the event. Today was the day the Collective would be turning on the Fountain. People could ride in it (though it was a rather long trip), cargo could be carried in it; the Fountain was gigantic with multiple cars. Building a lunar colony was suddenly economically feasible with the cost of getting off of Earth so low. Hmmm, did that mean Jeff could get a space station apartment? He would finally be away from all the idiotic people he had to deal with. Commute to work would probably set a new world record though. Dream about the future later, right now Jeff needed to mentally prepare himself for the speech he would be giving. Prior to writing the speech, a drone had told him they didn't care what he said since Thurgood would be giving a speech directly after Jeff. Jeff was free speak his mind since no matter how angry he got the crowd, Thurgood would defuse the situation with nonsensical tautologies and tangents. However, at some point during writing the speech Jeff had decided to try something totally different. This wasn't going to be like most of his press conferences, he was going to try to come off as likable as a personal challenge to himself. He wanted to see if he was as good at his job as the Collective seemed to think he was.
The limo slowed down as it turned and entered the property surrounding the Fountain. It would still be another five minutes before they actually reached the stage at the base of the elevator. The Fountain and the area surrounding it weren't designed for use by solely the Collective. The Collective planned for the Fountain to be a hub, an airport basically, for mankind to expand into space. According to the Collective's most recent uses of psychohistory, they were going to be the only ones with a space elevator for years to come. There would be attempts various governments but those would be sabotaged by rival countries. The Collective wasn't loyal to any country and was willing rent out space on the Fountain to whomever would pay (OK, technically it was an American company with a lot of contracts for the US military but that didn't mean the Collective was going to sit up and bark whenever the government wanted).
"Great Odin's raven! Jeff look! Isn't that Dixie Normus?" Thurgood suddenly shouted as he pressed himself up against the window to look out at a gathering of about a dozen people as the limo drove past.
"The porn star the first lady is having an affair with? Why should I care? And how did she end up with an invite to this event anyway?" Jeff asked.
"We invited her as part of a science experiment Dr. Borg," the limo driver said. "She is nine months pregnant and we were curious what childbirth in space would be like. She agreed to come provided we cover all of her travel and medical costs as well as pay child support since she doesn't know, or want to know, who the father is."
"And if something goes wrong and she or the kid die up there? Jeff asked skeptically. "I may be a genius but I'm not sure how to spin that kind of story."
"Oh, stop worrying J-rod. We can just tell people her vagina was haunted and the ghost scared her to death. Bing bang boom. People don't like talking about feminine stuff, especially scary feminine stuff, and nothing is scarier than ghosts, so that will end the story," Thurgood said as he turned around from the window and sat back in his seat.
Jeff wasn't sure what was worse, Thurgood's suggestion, or the fact that he could understand Thurgood's logic (if you could call it that). "As scary as ghosts are, let's consider that our plan B excuse and think up another one, just in case. I'm thinking something along the lines of a medical reason that would have happened regardless of gravity," Jeff responded.
"Bah. You're no fun Jeff. One of these days you will take a suggestion from me on how to spin a story and will be forced to admit that you aren't perfect, mark my words," Thurgood said as he shook a finger at Jeff.
"Thurgood, instead of trying to prove you can measure up to me, why not aim for more plausible goals? Like turning straw into gold?" Jeff asked.
"Huzzah! That was a burn. And a good one too! See J-dawg, this is why were friends. Because we get each other. I annoy you, you insult me. Its symbolic...cinambonic...symbiosis...its like a circle, our relationship. Wash rinse and repeat. That whole thing, you know." Thurgood said as he laughed.
Jeff didn't have a chance to respond as the limo pulled to a stop and the driver announced that they had arrived. Thurgood eagerly reached over and opened the door before the drive had even turned off the engine. By the time the driver had gotten out of the limo, so had Thurgood who was already wandering around chatting with the various people that had gathered nearby as they pulled in. The press conference didn't start for another half an hour so Jeff didn't see any harm in letting Thurgood go meet new people (why did he suddenly feel like a parent?). Jeff decided he would wait backstage and go over his notecards rather than waste time talking to a bunch of people that hated him as much as he did them.
Fountain of Paradise Spaceport, Brunei June 21, 2069 AD
Hakesh Patel did not like how this day was turning out. As the highest ranking member of the Indian government visiting Brunei, he expected better treatment than he was getting. After all, it wasn't like this elevator could have been built without his country's help. But no, it was like the Collective was actively trying to get rid of him. First, the Indian embassy had lost power due to the weather last night so breakfast had to be delivered from a local restaurant which hadn't put the right amount of spice into any of the food. Then his delivery motorcade had been towed TOWED, because it was in a no parking zone while it waited for him. Almost his entire escort had been arrested when they tried to stop the tow-truck driver. In any other country there wouldn't have been any trouble with the law but Brunei had done away with all forms of diplomatic immunity when the Collective took over. True, Hakesh had known that this could technically happen, but he didn't think it actually would! He had been provided with several relatively normal looking drones so that he had a properly sized escort while most of his men spent the rest of the day in jail. Then he had to ride in a beat up SUV because all the other limos in the entire city were being used. In addition to the horrible traffic, Hakesh had to endure lectures from the drones about how it was important to obey all laws while in Brunei because they don't give anyone special treatment. After all that, now he was forced to listen to one of the few non-implanted employees of the Collective prattle on about his clothing.
"For the last time NO! It isn't only worn by married women! And stop calling it a dot! It's a bindi!" Hakesh almost shouted at the man.
"Hey hey, it cool my man. No need to be upsetting your chi or whatever you fellows call it. I'm just feeling out your culture before we invade," the idiot coolly responded.
"Was that a threat?" Hakesh growled.
"You misunderstand me dude. I don't mean with armies, I mean with hammers. Are you prepared to accept Thor as your Lord and Savior? For he will bring down the lightning if you don't. He is a wrathful and jealous God... also a drunk one. Actually, you'd probably be pretty safe even if you didn't convert. Once he's started drinking Thor's aim with thunderbolts is terrible and let me tell you, he is always drinking."
"You mean to tell me this was all an attempt to spread your religion? I am an important visiting dignitary and you are wasting my time trying to convert me to the worship of your drunken hammer god of weather?" This time Hakesh was shouting. He could only tolerate so much in one day.
"So I should take that as a no? Alright, let me know if you change your mind, I got to get onstage now. I've got a speech to give after the J-myster." And with that the strange man turned around and walked towards the stage, not the least bit bothered by Hakesh's outburst.
Hakesh glared daggers at the idiot as he climbed the stage and took a seat behind the podium next to the arrogant ass-of-man, Jeffery Borg. Hakesh had been forced to deal with Borg for most of his discussions with the Collective, whenever they were negotiating any kind of deal. Borg and the moron were quietly talking to each other, about what, Thor only knew...did he really just think that? That imbecile was rubbing off on him.
Dr. Borg stood up suddenly and walked to the podium. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention and the audience began heading towards their seats. Hakesh just glared at the man, who was calmly looking at a stack of note cards waiting for everyone to quiet down. Borg represented everything wrong with the world, he was a necessary evil. He insulted everyone he met, belittled those that tried to improve other's situations, was probably one of the most powerful men on the planet (he had the economic power of the Collective at his beck and call it seemed) and yet what did he do to better humanity? Nothing, that's what. Borg didn't help the downtrodden; it was almost as if he despised them for simply existing. Rather than helping the starving people of Africa, Borg thought up ways to assimilate them into the Collective. The only reason no one did anything was because no country could afford to piss of the Collective, they had too much power. While Hakesh desperately wanted to help his own starving people, he refused to allow the Collective to come in and start turning them into slaves. Instead he had been forced to barter raw materials for basic necessities, food and medical supplies, to the Collective so that they could construct their giant elevator. Hakesh still didn't understand the point of the whole thing. True, they could cheaply put satellites in orbit as well as get to the Moon, but that was about it. Hakesh wasn't a rocket scientists but he knew there wasn't an engine on the planet that could move a space ship around the solar system (let alone the galaxy) in any kind of timely manner.
Dr. Borg tapped one of the numerous microphones in front of him to quiet everyone down and began to speak. "Assembled simpletons, once again you find yourselves in a situation where your only real reaction should be to drop to your knees and thank God...for me. Because once again my creation, the Borg Collective, has brought to reality something that was previously thought to have only feasible in dreams and drunken stupors. I am, of course, referring to the Fountain of Paradise. For those of you that think halitosis is a Greek island (and I can tell from here that quite a couple of you believe that) let me explain. The Fountain of Paradiseis the rather large structure you see behind me. Before I truly get into my speech allow me to answer the question a great number of those gathered here will want to ask, that way you can focus on the content of my speech rather than bouncing from foot to foot waiting for me to call on you when I get to the question portion of this meeting. We at the Borg Collective are aware that it is an elevator and not, in fact, a fountain. Furthermore, you deserve to be castrated for wanting to ask me. I hope you never breed. Read a book."
That arrogant prick! Alright, Hakesh didn't know why the elevator was called the Fountain of Paradise but he was certainly aware that it was an elevator and not a fountain. Just because he didn't know as much as Dr. Borg did not mean he was a complete buffoon. Hakesh did earn a law degree at night while working to support himself and his family, he was damn proud of his education. How dare Borg assume that everyone in the audience had the intelligence of dog!
"Something for the younger folks to consider: I was born in 1995. I am seventy three years old and still hard at work at my job. Given current medical technology, that is not surprising. However, when I was born the average life span was seventy five years old. In my lifetime I've seen the rise of the Internet, the rise of social networking sites, medical advances that allow me to walk around despite the fact that my lower spine is completely mangled, countries join and then leave the United States, technology that allows for almost instance transmission of information directly between minds, as well as students no longer walking barefoot in the snow, uphill both ways to get to school. This is a breathtaking pace for society to advance, and such a pace cannot help but create new ills, new ignorance, new problems, new dangers. Surely the opening vistas of space promise high costs and hardships, as well as high reward."
Huh...this speech took an unusual turn. It almost sounds upbeat. Dr. Borg never gave uplifting speeches; he gave speeches about how grateful the world should be that the Collective existed and that the company was gracing the rest of humanity with their inventions. Hakesh wasn't sure if he should be pleased or worried at this change.
"So it is not surprising that some would have humanity stay where we are a little longer to rest, to wait. But western society was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. It was conquered by those who moved forward-and so will space."
Ah, here we go. Back to the egotistical Borg that Hakesh knew and loathed. Now here comes the segue into the Collective leading the charge to conquer space and then unite the Earth (or maybe it will be the other way around).
"William Bradford, speaking in 1630 of the founding of the Plymouth Bay Colony, said that all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage. If the study of history, as well as the changes I have seen in my lifetime, teach us anything, it is that man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred. The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation, no group, which expects to be the leader of others can expect to stay behind in the race for space."
That was sort of a declaration of the Collective's plans to dominate control over space...maybe? Hakesh was just more and more confused. It sounded like Dr. Borg assumed humans would eventually travel to space and that the Collective might as well be there to lead the way. Normally he would talk about how the Collective was altering human destiny and changing society forever, now they were simply the shepherds to lead people to the stars? What was Borg playing at? What was the man's motivation here?
"For too long, space has been a realm accessible only for governments and the extremely wealthy. Even with the enormous reductions in fuel cost that nuclear fusion has allowed, space travel is still really expensive. Not many people have been to space for any extended period of time. Those that take advantage of the Collective's space program tend to view it as a luxury vacation that is only done once, something to check off the bucket list. We do not make money taking people to space, but we do it anyway because it must be done. Humanity must expand past out planet's atmosphere. We must set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like my neural transceivers and all technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if we go to space can we decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war. The Collective is going into space. If you do not like the idea of space travel being dominated by drones then come join us, compete with us. The Collective is not greedy; there is plenty of space to go around."
Hakesh was surprised to hear that the Collective wasn't making money taking people into space. The company was made up of some of the smartest minds to walk the planet and could communicate with each other on a level that simply wasn't possible for normal people, and yet they couldn't figure out a pricing structure that allowed them to turn a profit? Surely there were accountants somewhere in the company to think things through. Unless they had an ulterior motive for space travel, which judging from what Borg just said seemed likely. They actually welcomed competition in space? They wanted humanity to expand simply because?
"We chose to build the Fountain. We choose to go to go to space and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too."
Something about what Borg said sounded annoyingly familiar. Had he lifted part of his speech from a movie?
"For ages untold, mankind has asked himself 'Why am I here? What is my purpose?' To this day, we still don't have an answer to either of those questions. The only way we can find an answer is to look for one. We have to learn, we have to acquire knowledge. The growth of our science and education will be enriched by new knowledge of our universe and environment, by new techniques of learning and mapping and observation, by new tools and computers for industry, medicine, the home as well as the school. Mankind has been in space for over one hundred years, and yet I would argue the space effort is still in its infancy. There is so much we have yet to do. Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, 'Because it is there.' Well, space is there, and we're going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, we set sail on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked. We will explore space, I hope to see you there. Now then, any questions?"
Hakesh was stunned, as was the rest of the audience. Dr. Borg had opened his speech with the usual arrogance everyone expected, but then he had transformed into this hopeful altruistic figure that only wanted what was best for humanity. Had Borg finally gotten a neural transceiver implanted? Hakesh's thoughts were cut short when Borg shrugged, turned around, and walked back to his seat. Damn it! Hakesh had wanted to ask him questions but had totally forgotten to ask them. He started to speak up when practically everyone else in the audience did the exact same thing. Borg promptly ignored everyone and was quietly talking to the nimrod seated next to him. After they exchanged a few sentences, the cretin stood up and walked to the podium. The man was probably older than Hakesh but he had this stupid grin on his face that reminded Hakesh of a mentally challenged child stuck in grade school. He seemed oblivious to the mood of people around him, he was going to say his piece and not care what everyone thought. Hakesh had been trying to remember the man's name ever since he had got on the stage. He was the only other PR guy that worked for the Collective and was known for always being on some kind of drug.
"Hello peoples of yesterday! I am Thurgood Jenkins and I'm here to tell you that today is now tomorrow because anyone can go into space...provided they can get to Brunei anyway because the Collective has finished construction on the Fountain of Paradise. Just look at that elevator. Isn't it impressive? I get a glowing feeling in my tummy just looking at all that has been accomplished...then again that might be from the plutonium I ate earlier, oh well, no matter, back on track now. You could build and send satellites up on our elevator. You could send building materials up, and build yourself a floating apartment and live in it...unless it wasn't up to code. Then it might vent atmosphere and kill you. Wow, that's depressing and killing my buzz. How about a joke? Did you hear about the ship carrying a cargo hold full of red paint that crashed into a ship carrying a cargo hold full of blue paint? Well-
"OH SHUT UP ALREADY!" Hakesh shouted. He couldn't stand it anymore. It was bad enough he had been forced to endure a conversation with this idiot earlier, he wasn't about to sit through a speech from him. "I have questions that I want answered and I insist Dr. Borg come forward and stop ignoring us!"
Thurgood glanced back at Borg who was in the middle of lighting a cigarette. Once he got the thing lit and took a puff, he waved his hand dismissively at Thurgood and leaned back in his chair to stare straight up at the sky. With a shrug Thurgood turned back around.
"Apparently, Dr. B doesn't care if you have questions. However, I will be happy to answer your questions since they seem so important to you. Though you should know this is highly irregular, normally I eat enough fiber so that these sort of explosions don't happen during press conferences. Must have been the prune juice I had on the plane ride over here," Thurgood explained.
Hakesh wasn't entirely sure what Thurgood had just said, but he understood the part where he said questions would be answered. "My country has donated numerous resources as well as provided laborers for the construction of this colossal...project." Hakesh decided that insulting the elevator his country had just spent years helping to build on international television would probably not be the smartest career move. "In exchange for the donations the Collective has been sending food and medical supplies to India. Now that construction is complete, what will the Collective do to help those in need or will you just abandon them to their fate now that you no longer need any help?"
Thurgood took a deep breath, whether it was to stall for time or because he had smoked something earlier and needed to inhale some more oxygen, Hakesh wasn't sure. "Hmmmm, that is a good question, a damn good question if I may say so. Will the Collective help the poor with food and medical supplies? Well, you see, it all comes down to who is willing to pass the peace pipe. I got to smoke with all sorts of dudes when we went to Africa. Congo, Nigeria, Libya, were all willing to sit down and take a hit of the gonja. Somalia seemed to think we were secretly ninjas and since that country is populated by pirates, an accord could not be reached. Hehe, accord. It's not often I get to use that word in a sentence. So anyway, since we don't like to trespass, we stayed out. When we started building the Fountain, China welcomed us with arms wide open, under the sunlight. They welcomed us to their place, and showed us evERY-thing. China is cool like that, they like us. I get the impression that India doesn't like us, you wouldn't let us in. So if you wouldn't let us in before when we helped you, why should we go in now to help you? I get the feeling you're just using us for our stuff, and that's not nice. Friends shouldn't do that to one another."
Thurgood had gotten sniffly at the end and seemed to be on the verge of crying when he finished speaking. Hakesh had been prepared for Thurgood's counterargument, he had not been prepared for a grown man to almost cry in the middle of a question and answer section in a professional press conference. Dr. Borg stood up and walked over to Thurgood and gently guided him back to his seat where they began speaking in hushed tones. When it became clear that neither of them was going to return to the podium, one of the security drones walked up.
According to India's intelligence gathering operatives, the Collective had stopped outfitting its drones with a mishmash of cybernetics and were instead developing several basic models. There was the solider, the tech, the laborer, and the diplomat.
This drone would be grouped in the solider category. All combat drones had their legs replaced for better mobility on the battlefield, this particle one had legs that bent backwards like a dog. Its head was mostly unaltered, but there was some kind of goggle overlay covering both of its eyes, probably night vision type technology. Its right arm was covered in what appeared to be some sort of metallic skin. Its left arm ended just past the elbow where a gun was attached. Hakesh didn't recognize the weapon (he didn't like guns) but he assumed it was a variation of the Collective's newest plasma weapon. Everyone knew about the Collective's plasma weapons, they seemed to be straight out of a science fiction movie. They were laser guns after all. Hakesh didn't have the slightest clue how they worked, all he knew was that they were a more powerful version of the guns the Collective had sold to law enforcement officers around the globe after that anti-Collective group tried to overthrow the United States government shortly before construction on the Fountainbegan.
The drone leaned down so that it was inches away from the microphones and said, "Because Mr. Jenkins is no longer in the right state of mind for public speaking and Dr. Borg does not want to read Mr. Jenkin's speech, we will direct the five of you that are going into space to the entrance of the Fountain of Paradise. We will activate the elevator in one hour and the ascension into space will commence."
Fountain of Paradise Passenger Section, Brunei June 21, 2069 AD
"You know J-man, considering you are in your seventies, shouldn't you quit smoking cigarettes?" Thurgood asked Jeff as they sat in their chairs, waiting for everyone else to arrive.
Being important employees of the Collective, they had been allowed on first while the other five passengers were still being checked by security (and they were also probably wasting time saying goodbye and milking the occasion for the cameras). The passenger section of the elevator was not big. There were two bedrooms (with all the bunk beds it reminded Jeff of a military barracks), one bathroom, a sitting area, and a dining area. There was a paste maker next to the dining table, so that meant the five guests had to survive the ten day round trip on paste. Even after ten years, the Collective hadn't figured out a way to make the past taste good. It certainly tasted better than it used to, but ten steps above putrid sea water was still crap. Never had Jeff been more glad that he had gotten the nutritional augmentation then he was right now; no paste for him, just nice, healthy power from the same outlet the drones charged from. Jeff didn't understand why the nutritional augmentation never caught on, he only ever ate when he felt like it which meant he didn't have to worry about overeating and getting fat. Seemed like it should be a really easy product to sell but people didn't want to buy it for some reason. Scared of what could happen if the world ended and they lose access to electrical power maybe?
"Because," Jeff answered, "I have a very stressful job and there is no way I can quit smoking and continue working here."
"What? When I was first hired I remember you were forced to quit because you thought you had lung cancer. I realize our bosses expanded our jobs as the Collective has expanded since then, but its still not that stressful a job."
"OK fine. I admit it's not the job that's stressful. It's dealing with my coworkers that makes me want to smoke. Besides, considering all the crap you put into your body, you don't have any right to say I should quit my drug habit," Jeff responded sharply.
"Come on dude, I may not be as young as I used to be, but I'm not old. You, on the other hand, are old. You even said so in your speech! I mean seriously, you were born when most people still connected to the Internet by dialing their phone! What happens if you die from lung cancer, huh? Then I'll be in charge of the Collective's PR and we both know that wouldn't be a good idea."
"Look," Jeff said, glaring at Thurgood. "My health is none of your concern! You may treat your body like a run-down Russian whore house but I am the result of four billion years of evolutionary success! I have survived inhaling damn tobacco since I started back when I graduated college which, if I may point out, was before you were even born!"
Right as Thurgood was opening his mouth to respond the door to the hallway opened and a drone stuck its head in. "Dr. Borg, Mr. Jenkins, pardon the interruption but all the guests are onboard and we will begin rising once they have made their way to the passenger section."
Thurgood was the first to speak after the drone closed the door. "Guess we'll have to discuss your health at another time Dr. B. Don't want to fight in front of the guests, they might think we're not one big happy family. Man, between that mean Indian and this argument, my buzz is completely gone. This sucks. Why wasn't I allowed to bring a joint with me?"
"The same reason I wasn't allowed to bring my cigarettes, the air in the elevator contains high levels of oxygen and the drones don't want any accidental fires," Jeff responded. "I forgot to ask the drones, besides the porn star, who are the people that got selected to go into space with us?"
"Pffft, like I know that answer to that. I don't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning, how am I supposed to remember that names of people I've never met or never seen naked?" Thurgood asked incredulously.
"Well you could...wait...you've watched Dixie's videos?"
"Dude, she's only the most famous porn star in the world, of course I've seen her videos. You mean you haven't?"
"There are better uses of my time than watching two bad actors have sex with each other while they pretend to enjoy it...like trying to discover faster than light speed travel or proving the existence of magical unicorns that fart rainbows," Jeff answered in a deadpan voice.
Thurgood had a thoughtful look on his face as he responded, "I thought you told me rainbows were illusions create by sunlight hitting water droplets. You said that's why there's never a pot of gold at the end of them. Those unicorns must have some seriously wet farts if they're making rainbows with them, guess that's why they're magical."
Jeff let out a long groan. This was going to be a long five days. Jeff was glad he had insisted on just taking a ship back down to Earth instead of the elevator. After he and Thurgood showed off the Zenith Space Station at the top of the Fountain he would hitch a ride while everyone else took the long way down. He suddenly felt the room gently lurch as the elevator began to rise, meaning the guests were almost here. No sooner had he thought that then the door opened and five people entered the room.
Dixie Normus waddled in first. Her stomach was extremely extended, if she had claimed to be carrying twins Jeff would not have been surprised. Because of how much plastic surgery that woman had had done over the years, the rest of her didn't look that pregnant. She hadn't gained any weight in her face, her breasts were already giant so any increase in size was unnoticeable, and her arms and legs looked like she had been exercising a lot. Jeff did find the fact that she had her long blond hair tied in pigtails rather odd. If she was going for the innocent school girl look, her bulging gut kind of killed the possibility of anyone buying it. Dixie was actually going to be staying up on the Zenith until she gave birth whereas everyone else would be leaving the same day they arrived.
The next person in was a tall, incredibly skinny, old man. He was dressed in some kind of military uniform but Jeff couldn't identify the country of origin. Credit where it was due, the man was about to travel into space even though he looked absolutely ancient. A strong breeze could have blown him over. If Jeff ever felt as old as this guy looked he would retire to Florida. The man walked slowly, his right hand almost looked like a claw because of the way it grasped his cane. He was over six feet tall but couldn't have weighed more than one hundred pounds. Jeff couldn't help but notice that while the man was bald (and had numerous scars across his head) he sported an impressive mustache that almost reached his ears. The fellow wobbled to the nearest chair (that Dixie hadn't already grabbed) and slowly lowered himself into it.
The third person to come in the room was an Asian man dressed in the most pristine suit Jeff had ever seen. There wasn't a thread out of place, everything was perfectly creased, his tie was straight down the middle of his chest. The only thing that looked out of place were the giant coke bottle glasses the man was wearing. The man walked up to where Thurgood and Jeff were seated and bowed to them, holding his body at a ninety degree angle for a full ten seconds before straightening back up. "Greetings Dr. Borg, Mr. Thurgood. I am Fred Cho and I am honored to have been selected by my government and your company to be one of the first people to ride the Fountain into space." Fred then bowed slightly and walked backwards to a chair. When he sat down, Fred folded his hands in his lap and stared straight ahead. Jeff had met drones that were more relaxed. Still, he couldn't exactly blame the guy. Judging from the very faint accent Jeff caught, Fred was from China and the government there took any sort of screw up by public officials as a severe problem. China had assigned a liaison to the Collective when Jeff had first approached them with the idea of getting assistance in the construction of the Fountain. Since that time eight years ago, twelve different people had rotated through that position. Jeff wasn't sure if Fred was going to be China's thirteenth liaison to the Collective or if he was filling some other position.
Jeff recognized the fourth person to enter the room, though her name escaped him (Jeff refereed to her as Canis Lupus Familiaris when talking with Thurgood or any drones). She was a reporter for...some news channel. The Collective always let her into press conferences specifically because she hated the Collective and would put a negative spin on everything she could. While her accusations annoyed Jeff, the drones did have a good point in allowing her to ask questions. Most people saw the Collective as positively normal when compared to this ranting muckraker, anyone that watched her broadcasts could immediately tell she was not impartial. She was dressed semi-formally with her hair up in a bun, but the thing that caught Jeff's eye was the shoulder mounted camera she was wearing. That hypocritical bitch! That was a Collective product designed to be used by reporters that didn't (or couldn't) rely on camera crews. Jeff decided he would make an effort to ignore her this entire trip (which wouldn't be easy considering how small the passenger section of the Fountain was). She sniffed disdainfully when their eyes met and she sat in the chair farthest from Jeff.
Jeff's soured mood did improve slightly when the last guest came in the room though. Kenji Nojima was the representative from Japan that Jeff had dealt with every since they began financing various aspects of this construction. Kenji wasn't an idiot, but he wasn't that smart either, and more importantly, he knew it. That simple aspect of his personality made him so much more tolerable than the vast majority of people Jeff had to interact with. Kenji knew his place, knew his limitations, and was content with his position in life. Whereas the guy from India treated the Collective like the devil incarnate, and the Chinese representative changed so much Jeff never really learned anything about them, Kenji was friendly and glad to be coordinating a project that would benefit both the Collective and his country. After glancing around the room Kenji walked over to Jeff and Thurgood to shake their hand. "Jeff, Thurgood, fancy seeing you fellows here."
"This is a chance to spend five days in a confined space with a porn star, I'd find a way onto this elevator ride even if I woke up this morning in a tub of ice with a scar on my back," Thurgood said. Judging from the way Dixie rolled her eyes at that statement, Thurgood was not going to get as lucky as he thought.
"So you going to introduce me to the rest of the people in the room or do I have to do it myself?" Kenji asked the two of them.
Thurgood laughed. "You probably know as much about everyone gathered here as we do. The other Asian dude introduced himself, but I was so mystified by how much he looks like my...'pharmacist' that I never heard a word he said." Fred glanced over when Thurgood said that, but quickly went back to looking straight ahead.
There was a very loud 'harumph' from the old man near the door. He took a deep breath as he said, "You are all weirdos. How can you agree to spend ten days with a group of people not knowing who they will be?"
"Well my fine Russian friend, why don't you handle the introductions?" Kenji suggested with a smile.
The man grumbled before noticing that everyone in the room was staring at him. Giving in with a sigh he began speaking, "I am Rex Smythe-Higgins, I work at the NBIC Center in the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow and specialize in nanotechnology, hence why I am here. You are Kenji Nojima, assigned to work with the Collective by the Japanese parliament, an odd assignment for a former intelligence operative when a diplomat would seem more appropriate for the job. The two men seated near you are Jeffery Borg and Thurgood Jenkins, employees of the Borg Collective. The pregnant woman next to me is Dixie Normous, real name Ariel Johnson. She was brought along because the Collective is curious what effects zero gravity will have on childbirth. The man sitting like he has a board up his rear end is Cho Ming, though he goes by Fred Cho around westerners. He is the latest in a long line of people assigned by the Chinese government to keep an eye on the Collective during their trade discussions. That just leaves the reporter, Ms. Jade Kheck. Regarded as the most anti-Collective person in the United States media, I admit I'm surprised you would want to come on this trip."
"Someone needs to cover this event without having their lips planted firmly on the Collective's collective backside, I'm the best person for the job," Jade responded.
"Well, let's see you try to spin this lady," Thurgood said. "Mr. Smith-Hoggins, I would like to congratulate you and and your country on creating your own Collective. I didn't think anyone besides Jeff and drones had the skills necessary to perform the surgeries for neural transceivers. Especially considering how much vodka you guys drink. Doesn't alcohol make your doctors' hands shake or are you all so used to it you might as well be drinking water?"
"Yes yes, Russians drink a lot. Very creative, I've never heard that joke before." Rex wheezed. "As to how we did it, we worked hard and figured it out. My country put the first object, first animal, and first man into space. I would like to think we could figure out some transmitter-receiver technology and semi-complicated brain surgery thirty years after someone else did. The same can't be said for the Chinese and the Collective that recently formed in Hong Kong however." As Rex finished speaking he turned to look at Fred.
Fred turned his head to address Rex without turning his body. "I have no idea what you are talking about. While there have been attacks against convoys from the Borg Collective, those were done by extremists and terrorists and were certainly not sanctioned by my government. Furthermore, China does not have its own Collective, nor would it. The fact that the Borg Collective broke awake from the United States government shows how foolish it would be to invest so much time and money into creating a Collective that does not maintain its loyalty."
Rex's laughter sounded like wind whistling through an old wooden house. "Whatever you say boy, though you should be aware that Jade will probably be recording everything we say so make sure you get your lies straight."
And indeed, Jeff noticed the light on Jade's camera was on, indicating she was recording the conversation. Deciding he had enough of these people for one day, Jeff got up, planning to just go to bed early. "Well, we have approximately 23,000 miles of travel ahead of us. The elevator's top speed is just under 200 miles per hour so we'll reach the Zenith Space Station in five days. I can see we are all going to get along oh so wonderfully." With that, Jeff walked into one of the bedrooms leaving the six other people in the room to talk amongst themselves.
Author's Note: To Verbosity (since you have private messaging disabled) I'm glad you like the slow development, when I started this story I was worried people would find it dragging out too long. I'm trying to keep the Borg in the middle between the two extremes, they are a gray morality. If you have nitpicks about the science, please let me know, ideally I'd like to keep the science in the story as plausible as possible.