Free Parker Interstellar Travels 6: The Celaran Ruins by Michael McCloskey Page B

conclusions.
    Siobhan
caught herself enjoying the sunlight and the air of a real planet. Caden was
above on the tower. He waved down at her and she waved back. Even though they
could speak at any moment with their links, it felt happy to bridge the
distance that way.
    I
probably feel so good because it’s lighter gravity like home.
    “Do
you feel as good here as I do?” Siobhan said. “The weather’s nice after being
cooped up in that tiny ship.”
    “I
always feel good. One of the benefits of being Trilisk Special Forces.”
    I
guess someone finally said that in front of her.
    That
took some of the wind out of Siobhan’s sails. “It’s my mood, too,” Siobhan
said.
    “I
think about the past too much to be bright and cheery all the time,” Telisa
said. “I’m trying to focus on the work.”
    Change
the subject.
    “Speaking
of... well, unique origins,” Siobhan said. “Did you know Caden was a factie?”
    “Yes,
I uncovered that in his profile,” Telisa said. “I had to investigate the
current state of factory babies. It was rare to raise children away from home
when I was around. Vovokans went the same way.”
    Siobhan
had only found out on the voyage. Caden had been raised in a place where babies
were made from their parent’s gametes, then grown in tanks, birthed, and raised
by special machines which mimicked loving parents. Some believed as the birth
rate continued to drop, almost all Terran babies would eventually be produced
by this method.
    “He
didn’t arrive home until he was five,” Siobhan said. “It feels so strange. He
just said, when he was a kid, he didn’t know the robots didn’t really care
about him, and when he grew up, they told him, so he just left it behind with
all his other childhood beliefs like Cthulhu and the Flying Spaghetti Monster.”
    “Then
how do they drop them off?” Telisa asked. “Robot stork?”
    “He
met his parents early on. They selected a custom set of mores to have him
learn. His group of friends were from parents who had chosen for their child to
learn the same mores. His parents came to visit about every month. They were
already close by the time he was ready to leave.”
    “He’s
well adjusted and a hard worker,” Telisa said. “No doubt the effects of the
program. They probably had a few AIs behind that one.”
    “I’m
a bad influence on him, no doubt,” Siobhan said.
    Telisa
made no motions to go into the forest and collect critters with the others.
Siobhan figured Telisa was monitoring Imanol and Jason and decided they did not
need any help. She finally gave in to the urge to clamber up the tower after
her boyfriend.
    The
view was as amazing as she had hoped. The alien jungle all around formed a
surreal green and magenta canopy dotted with the tips of the white columns. She
found it to be more beautiful than the VRs they had run. She spent a few
minutes gazing around with Caden and forgot they were on a mission. Before long
they were planning which spots they would jump from when they rigged together
some gliding gear from ship’s supplies.
    An
hour later, Imanol and Jason emerged from the thick vine cover with a few
containers in tow.
    “What
did you guys find?” Siobhan asked through the link from her vantage point on
the tower.
    “A
whole lot of nothing in the tower,” Imanol said. “We got these specimens from
the vines, and a bunch more from a big cave. A cave which we made it out of
without incident,” he added, glancing at Jason who looked sheepish.
    “The
view is great from the tower,” Jason said. “We should make some gliders. It
would be amazing to coast around in this light gravity.”
    “We’re
way ahead of you!” Siobhan gushed, then she felt foolish.
    This
is serious business, and we have to get Magnus back.
    “That’s
a possibility,” Telisa said, surprising Siobhan. “We found clues as to what the
tower was for. Looks like they launched robots from it.”
    “For
what?”
    “The
building has a food processor