บท 16: Chapter 11: The Gravity Room
Dada, Professor Julian, and Professor Chenoa took me to the entrance of the space center. We narrowly avoided a large crowd of people who were leaving it, but after they passed, we could finally go in. Wow, I thought the space center was impressive on the outside, but it was insane on the inside! People were everywhere. Most of them discussed the PPMC Project.
Dad, Professor Chenoa, Professor Julian, and I found ourselves in the lobby. Model spaceships, shuttles, and planets hung from the ceiling, including an impressive model of the International Space Station. To the left of Dad, Professor Julian, Professor Chenoa, and I was a green screen that had a fancy space background. It had the Earth spinning on its axis with elliptical galaxies surrounding it. In front of it was a cutout of an astronaut.
On the right was a moonwalk simulator, and another green screen was behind it. That one showed the surface of the moon. In the corner of the lobby and next to another spiral staircase was a large model of PPMC. Its door was open, and people were able to explore it. There was so much to do. I had no idea where to start.
My eyes landed on the astronaut cutout. No longer was he alone. A family of three admired him. There was a young, red-haired girl in that family. She hurried to the astronaut and stood behind him.
"Look at me! I'm an astronaut!" she laughed.
Her mom and dad took her picture. Now they could treasure that moment forever.
After they left, I decided to check out the astronaut myself. I did that while Dada, Professor Chenoa, and Professor Julian spoke with the receptionist at the center's reception desk. Like the little girl, I ducked behind the astronaut cutout. Looking out of his helmet, I felt like a real astronaut. I started to play a random game.
"Let's go, crew!" I called. "'The black hole is getting close! We need to escape before it devours us!' 'But the gravity is so strong, Captain! The only way how we're going to survive is if we're somehow immune to spaghettification!' 'Well, if we survive, Commander, do you think we'll go time traveling?'"
Okay, I'm done. You're too old to be playing games anyway, Dan.
***
"Oh, here you are, Dan." The voice did not belong to Dada, nor Professor Chenoa, and nor Professor Julian. An old woman joined me at the green screen. She was the woman I met at Publix. She followed me there. Great, I had a stalker.
My eyes widened. "You! What are you doing here?" I hid behind the astronaut cutout.
Ms. Tyesha, who wore a pink shirt and a black skirt, brought her hands together. "I'm sorry, but I had no choice, Dan. My Rafael. You need to save my Rafael."
Rafael. Who on Earth was Rafael? "Ma'am, I think you have the wrong person," I gently told Ms. Tyesha.
"No, I don't," Ms. Tyesha said in a choked voice. "My Rafael never returned from 2022. He disappeared on our 30th anniversary. This was the last thing he gave me."
I stayed hidden behind the astronaut, too scared and weirded out to get close to Ms. Tyesha.
She stuck her hand into her handbag and pulled out a pink, silky handkerchief. She set it down at the cutout's feet. Sewn on the handkerchief were silvery letters that read:
To my dear, Margret... This is a reminder of everything we've been through–of 4992, if I shall not return. I love you with all my heart and will send you a mental postcard from 2022.
Yours truly,
Rafael
"Please," Ms. Tyesha begged again. And just like that, she left me.
I remained behind the cutout a little bit longer, so I could try to make sense of that weird encounter. Eventually, I stepped out, and I picked up the handkerchief Ms. Tyesha gave me. "2022." But this was the 5000s, unless–!
A sickening feeling sacked my gut. I felt like I was going to hurl, because I had a sudden intuition of what the PPMC Project entailed.
"Don't wander off, Dan! Come back!" I heard Dada call from the reception desk.
Before returning to him, Professor Chenoa, and Professor Julian, I stuffed Ms. Tyesha's handkerchief in my coat pocket. I tried to shake off the uneasy feeling, but it was a lot tougher than I thought it would be.
***
Dada, Julian, and Chenoa took me to the back of the lobby. We approached a black-framed, white door that had Employees Only on it.
"Oh, too bad. It says 'employees only'," I said in a nervous voice.
Dada grabbed me before I could sneak away.
Julian spent the next two minutes typing a password in a keypad next to the door. He did so at a rapid pace.
Hiss. The door slid open.
Julian, Chenoa, and Dada stepped inside.
Before I joined them, my eyes landed on Ms. Tyesha standing next to the moonwalk simulator. She nodded at me, and a chill ran up my spine.
Behind the doorway was a long, white, undecorated hallway that had two double doors at the end of it. Professor Julian pointed at them. "That's where the control room is," he said.
I stayed behind him, Chenoa, and Dada so I could examine my surroundings. Halfway down the hall, I stumbled upon a unique-looking, black door that had Gravity Room on it.
"'Gravity Room'. Huh, I wonder," I whispered. Excitement overtook my nervousness. I had a good feeling about the Gravity Room. Opening the door, I slipped inside and shut it behind me.
I stood in a plain white, square-shaped room. A red lever stuck out of the wall at the end of it, but nothing else. Slightly disappointed, I said, "Aw, I thought this was an anti-gravity room." My feet took me over to the lever. On my way there, I brushed my palm against the room's smooth walls. They felt like marble. I stopped in front of the lever and added, "Hm, I wonder what will happen if I pull this." This was my impulsive, teenage self at its finest right here. Without a second thought, I pulled up the switch.
Nothing happened. The room remained quiet.
"Bollix!" I complained.
That was when the lights started to flicker, and it wasn't long until they went out altogether.
Crap! I broke the Gravity Room! I thought.
I tried to find my way to the exit, but I tripped over my own foot and fell.
A female, robotic voice spoke from the ceiling. "Space simulation booting up. Please remain calm."
Space simulation? I looked up to the pitch-blackness. All at once, stars, planets, galaxies, gas clouds, and other celestial objects appeared on the ceiling, floor, and every wall of the room. It was a simulation of space! "Whoa! Insane!" I yelled.
Around me, gravity lightened up. I felt my backside lifting from the floor, and I floated up towards the room's ceiling. "Yikes! What's happening?" I yelped. My head touched the ceiling. It took me a moment to realize that I was floating in zero gravity. When I did, my entire face brightened. I floated to the right, towards a pinkish, purplish galaxy.
"I'm floating in zero gravity! Yes!" I cheered. This was a dream come true! I held my arms out to my sides and said, "I can fly! Yahoo! I bet no one else can do gymnastics in the air!" I did midair somersaults and cartwheels. It's official, the Gravity Room was the best room in the space center.
I floated past stars, gas clouds, and even planets, twirling all over the place. It was as if I were dancing ballet in zero gravity, but my Happy Hour did not last for long.
"Hey! What are you doing in here, kid?" an angry voice asked a few minutes later. The lights turned back on, temporarily blinding me.
Eventually, I regained my vision, and I saw a young, brown-headed scientist floating next to the anti-gravity switch.
"Get down here!" he demanded.
"Sir, I kind of can't. We're floating in zero gravity," I explained.
"Fine," replied the scientist, and he pulled the lever down. Immediately, the space simulation vanished, and gravity returned to normal.
"Uh oh," I said. I started to fall.
The scientist's eyes widened. He quickly pulled the switch halfway up. That eased my fall so I wouldn't crash. Landing gently on my feet, I said, "Whew. Thank goodness."
The scientist was not happy with me. He pulled the switch all the way down and glared at me. "How did you get in here, kid? This room is for authorized personnel only."
"Well, ya see–!"
Luckily, another voice came to my rescue. "Ahem!" It belonged to Professor Chenoa. She, Dada, and Professor Julian finally noticed I was missing. I saw that Dada had his hand at his face. He was clearly a little embarrassed.
"Professor Chenoa!" said the scientist. "Forgive me, ma'am, but I found this kid snooping around in here. I say we kick him out and call the police!"
"The police?" I yelped. "Oh no, I'm too young to go to jail."
"Daniel," Dada growled from behind his hand.
For a long while, Chenoa said nothing. Then, she clenched her fists and announced in an excited voice, "Oh, Professor Austin! Do you not even realize who this is? This is Daniel Matton, star of the PPMC Project!"
"Star? Daniel Matton?" Professor Austin shockingly asked.
I placed one hand on my hip and lifted the index finger of my free one. "Yeah, that's right. I'm the man."
Dada glared at me.
Chenoa grabbed hold of my wrist. She started to drag me out of the Gravity Room. "Forgive us, but we're off to the control room to give him his mission. The boy's just so impulsive, Professor Austin, but that's why I love him!"
Love me? What was this? Was Chenoa playing the fangirl act?
She, Dad, and Julian lugged me out of the room and back into the hallway. We left a very bewildered Professor Austin behind.
Now, to the control room where Dada and the scientists introduced me to my suicide mission into space... the PPMC Project.
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