บท 2: Final Phase - Part Two
6th March
DELOS Offices, Old Settlement, Artemis
Chatting with Kyle brings back a lot of memories. Even if he sometimes gets on my nerve, or isn't as smart about things as he should be, he's still a good friend, and my oldest ally. We may have to talk in a roundabout way, to avoid any rats from understanding what we're saying, but it's still nice. Sadly, I'm too busy even for Kyle nowadays. There's always too much to do, and not even enough time to have a drink with an old friend.
"I have an appointment I need to leave for soon, Kyle," I say, "but there's something I'd like to ask you to do first."
This was the real reason I asked him to come here. Not to catch up, but because I had one last selfish request of him. And because I trust him at least more than anyone else I could ask to do it. As to whether he is the best choice for the job… I'm not so certain. But at least I can trust him.
"Anything, Frank. What do you need me to do?" he seems to believe that this has something to do with Project Artemis, and I suppose he isn't entirely wrong. But it certainly isn't as if it's a necessary part of the project. It's just my selfish request.
"Do you remember how many children I have?"
Kyle thought about it for a moment, "two, right? There's the boy who wears dresses, and the little girl."
I wince through that entire sentence. The boy who wears dresses, huh? Kyle doesn't seem to like that. But then again, most people think like that at least a little. They dislike things that are unordinary, or that they don't understand. So, they refuse to learn and accept, which leads to misinterpretation and prejudice. But that's a conversation I can have with him another time. That isn't what I need from him right now. I see that even he has forgotten.
"Do you remember that there was a boy back home? I had a son with… her. Before I left for the moon?"
"Oh right," Kyle suddenly remembers him.
Yes, the boy who was left behind. Alexander Acland. It was an unfortunate series of events that lead to him being left all alone back on Earth. When I made the journey to the moon, among the twenty who would become the first permanent settlers, I left behind my partner Aria, and our son Alexander. He was nine years old the last time I saw him. And it all would have been fine. Him and Aria were supposed to come up and join me on the moon once he was old enough, but things went wrong.
One day, Aria disappeared to who knows where. Anywhere on Earth, without a trace. And Alexander was left behind on his own. At the time, Artemis was still under construction, and I had no way of returning back to Earth, so I sent him to live with some relatives back in New Zealand. I regularly contacted him at first, but after a couple of years he started ignoring me. Who can blame him? From what it probably looks like to him, I abandoned him in favour of my job.
"I need you to find him for me," I say to Kyle. I feel both embarrassed and humiliated that I'm asking for a personal favour at this point in time. When there's already so many more important thinks in motion.
"I haven't heard from him in over a year, and with things going the way they are now… I need him here with me if I'm going to be able to continue working to the best of my ability."
The words that come out are an excuse, no doubt about that. The excuse of a weak man desperately trying to hide his flaws. I'm pretending that it will affect my capacity as Governor of Artemis if something were to happen to him, but I wonder. After all these years, I think I'm pretty desensitised. So, that just makes it a selfish request. Nonetheless, I see Kyle bow his head.
"Of course. I told you I will do anything for you, Frank. I want to see your dream come true."
I smile at this, "I don't think either of us will live to see my dream come true. We'll just have to do our best to let others follow in our footsteps. Thank you, Kyle."
After that I said goodbye to Kyle, and he told me he'll be off tomorrow back down to Earth. No rest for any of us, I suppose. I yawn as I walk through the streets. There are no cars or really any private forms of transport in Artemis. It helps to keep the city compact and allows more room for apartments, offices, labs, and embassies. Two years ago, a tram system was implemented on the main streets, but taking it is more trouble than it is worth most of the time. And besides, it barely moves faster than walking pace.
Artemis was built inside an ancient lava tube. A giant continuous cavern almost directly under the moon's meridian. Large enough to house two hundred thousand people, although that counts all the space that was instead converted into offices and labs. The space has been used in the most efficient way possible. Apartment blocks and office buildings reach up to the ceiling. Each has a central concrete pillar that helps to hold the roof, although they aren't really necessary. It is a natural cavern after all. It isn't likely to collapse on its' own.
Almost half of the city is made up of empty apartment blocks, or at least would be. At the far end of the city there is a large market that has taken over at least a dozen empty apartment blocks, perhaps even as many as twenty. You can find anything and everything there. Restaurants, laundromats, strip clubs, and internet cafes all right next to each other. The market and the surrounding area are referred to as 'New Singapore', as the residents of the area are predominantly Singaporean. The foreigners largely live closer to the business district of Yttrium Valley, in the apartment blocks of Diana or Malacca. The major exception being the Chinese. Every great city has its' Chinatown, I suppose.
I don't have to travel too far today. The DELOS offices are located in the Old Settlement, between Diana and Yttrium Valley. My destination is the Huesong offices, which are near the entrance to Yttrium Valley. The 'valley' is more just a slight depression when compared to its' terran namesake, but the name is more a reference to Silicon Valley. Some of the human race's brightest minds working in some of the most cutting-edge industries work here, hence the name.
Huesong itself is a huge reason for the name. Down on Earth, the Korean conglomerate is one of the largest electronics producers in the world. They came to the moon for the vast deposits of yttrium found here. Yttrium is used in the production of various electronic products. From lasers to red phosphors in television sets. They were one of the first major contributors to DELOS. In return for that, they got a large number of employees to Artemis early on, and from there were set to become a dominant power in the lunar business world. One of the five tigers, as they have become known as. Huesong also helped to set up the communications network in Artemis and the other lunar colonies. This is one of the reasons I have to be careful what I say in DELOS headquarters. Although, they are probably not the only ones listening. They also have large stakes in the mining of other minerals besides yttrium. There are also vast deposits of gold, and other rare earth resources on the moon. And helium-3. But they can't touch the helium.
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