"Jim Munroe - Angry Young Spaceman" - читать интересную книгу автора (Munroe Jim)

ANGRY YOUNG SPACEMAN

Jim Munroe


Copyright © 2000 by Jim Munroe.




***


Bubbles over Plangyo,
Where did you go?
—Octavian folk song


one

I had a massive suitcase dragging down one fist and my Speak-O-Matic
case in the other.
“Let me help you with that,” said Lisa. I pushed my suitcase at her, but
she reached around it to snatch the jet black translator.
I let go reluctantly. “Careful,” I said, lurching on with my suitcase.
She swung it jauntily as she walked, smirking back at me from under
her messy mop of brown curls. I set the suitcase down and picked it up
with my other hand.
“‘What do I need antigrav cells for, Lisa?’” Lisa said in her stupid-guy
voice as she watched me struggle. “‘What a total waste of money!’”
I looked at the spaceport ahead and picked up my pace. “You
deliberately parked the floater far away to —” A guy with a jetpack
touched down between Lisa and I, cutting me off. I scowled at him as I
walked through his purple exhaust, my nose burning from it.
 She watched me with a smidge of sympathy. “How’s your head?”
I shrugged. “Not bad, considering.”
“Yeah, it was quite a party,” she said with a crooked smile. “Were you
surprised with how many people showed up?”
I nodded. The rooftop had been packed, new people landing every
minute it seemed. I felt, again, a bubble of doubt rise, as I thought about
all the good friends I had on Earth. I could feel Lisa watching me. Ahead, a
rocket launched, its ignition-plume predictably lighting a burst of
excitement in my chest.
“It’s gonna be good,” I said, staring at it as it rose. I suddenly worried
about my boxes. They had been sent ahead and (hopefully) already sat in
the belly of my rocketship.
We reached the whisk-away and it slid us into the spaceport. I was able
to put the suitcase down for a minute and flex blood into my hand. We
passed through the field and stepped off near a bunch of shops.
Lisa checked her watch. I took my Speak-O-Matic back from her,