Proxima B. Pulvirenti Giorgio

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      “Hmm… you! Tell me!” Matthew said, calling a chemist in his own sector.

      “What is the conformation of this planet? And what temperature should we expect once we get there?” the chemist asked him. His voice came out of the speakers inside the hall.

      “It’s a rocky planet, or we wouldn’t have thought of establishing the colony right there. We mean to land on the intermediate zone, and precisely near the equator, where temperatures should be similar to the temperatures of the Earth…,” Matthew answered. He kept on looking for someone else who wanted to ask him other questions.

      “You, in the second row!” he said. The question was made by a physicist this time.

      “What kind of atmosphere are we going to find?” he asked him.

      “From the data that have emerged, according to our survey, we have assumed that Proxima B’s atmosphere is similar to the one of the Earth, since it is made of a mix of oxygen and nitrogen,” he answered.

      The hands among the armchairs were raised up almost with one voice one more time. Once again it was the General who decided to whom the microphone had to be handed.

      “The girl in the second row! Yes!” Matthew exclaimed as he pointed at Emily with his left hand.

      “How many of us are going to leave?” the beautiful soldier asked him.

      “In the first mission, thanks to which we will be able to establish the first colony, five hundred people – be they men or women – per mothership are involved. Those who have been selected, after an estimate by which they had been regarded as the best in their own fields, are being accommodated onboard the motherships. I’m honored to share this travel with those who are going to accept.”

      Suddenly one of the members of the personnel came forward from behind the scenes; he went closer to Matthew and whispered something in his ear. All of a sudden, the General kept on saying,

      “Unfortunately, my time is over. Those who are going to accept should report their availability in one week from today. If you accept, that will be fine. You’ll be informed of further directions; you’ll be trained for your travel. If you give up… well, in that case you’ll be replaced by other illustrious co-workers in their respective fields. And remember… For the benefit of all! Make your right choice! Always!”

      Finally he said, “Thank you all.” He walked towards the backstage, which stunned most of the guests who, after a few moments of silence, began to murmur.

      The President, who was holding his glass in his hands and was waiting for him behind the scenes, cried out, “Great job, first Lieutenant!”

      “Thank you, Sir!” Matthew answered. Then he retired in his dressing room.

      The sun was shining in Washington, even if it was really cold. Emily fled the seat of New NASA Corporate and looked for a bench under the sun to warm a little and meditate on what she had heard in the lecture. She gazed up at the sky and at the clouds through huge skyscrapers, the electric traffic noise with which the streets were filled, the buzzing of the passers-by or of those who were working nearby. The girl closed her eyes for a while and cut herself off. After a few minutes, on the street opposite the bench on which she was sitting, a taxi equipped with an automatic guidance system stopped. She had called for it before leaving the structure. The young Marine got into the taxi. “Washington-Dulles International Airport, please!” Emily exclaimed while fastening her seat belt.

      “Right away, lady. The arrival is scheduled in twenty-four minutes,” the artificial intelligence in the car answered, and it set off into traffic immediately. Emily was watching the sky above her once again; there, the space among the buildings was occupied by flying aircraft and bus drones equipped with an automatic guidance system that constituted the traffic in the sky; she glanced at her smartphone before grabbing her plastic card in order to pay for the race.

      After about fifteen minutes, the car came in front of the main entrance of Dulles Airport.

      “Here we are: Washington-Dulles International Airport. Thank you. Goodbye.”

      The robot’s voice came out of the car speakers and once Emily swiped his card, the remote power door locks were disabled and, finally, the girl could get off the vehicle.

      On the return flight to Arizona, Emily could not help thinking about what New NASA Corporate had proposed to her a couple of hours earlier. The fact of leaving her beloved Arizona, the place where she was born and had grown up, made her excited and sad at the same time. She had always been a determined person, but this time she was not even able to make a choice.

      Phoenix, Arizona.

      When Emily entered the barracks, she began to tidy her own belongings in her cupboard. She should have stayed in Washington one more day, but she had decided to come back to Phoenix one day earlier. So, after emptying her bag, she lay in her bed and thought. After about two minutes, a knock on the dormitory door was heard.

      “Miss Parker, Chief Master Sergeant Lucas Douglas is waiting for you in his office!” a soldier informed him before closing the door and going away.

      On Lucas Douglas’ office door, two knocks were heard; the Sergeant stopped doing anything and exclaimed, “Please, come in!”

      “Sir, did you want to talk with me?” Emily asked him, standing at attention in front of the entrance of the room.

      “Yes, I did, Miss Parker. Please, sit down,” he told her. He pointed to a chair in front of him.

      “How are you? How was it in Washington?” the Chief Master Sergeant asked her. He seemed to be smiling.

      “What did you know about this, Sir? I’m referring to the topic of that lecture…,” asked Emily, who was a bit surprised.

      “Just what it must be known… Sincerely, it was me who urged you to be applied for this project, Miss Parker!” the man clarified once more.

      “Why me, Sir? Many others are waiting for this thing and are better than me,” Emily said in a trembling voice.

      ”Emily, listen to me. This thing is not for trained people. Trust me. Nobody can be prepared for such a thing. This is a fact of right people. And you’re the right person. I know that,” Chief Master Sergeant said, staring at Emily’s eyes for a few seconds.

      “I can feel you. You feel disoriented. Probably, those who were with you feel disoriented, too. But trust me. One day you’ll understand everything,” he kept on saying.

      Emily’s gaze was resolute but it was seemingly resigned when she answered, “Okay, Sir. I’ve made my decision! I’m agreeing to take part in the mission!”

      “Well done, soldier! Great choice!” he exclaimed. After that, he burst out laughing. That was something redeeming.

      The man finally addressed Emily, who was about to quit her office, by saying, “I was forgetting that today is your day off!“

      “Thank you, Sir,” the young Marine answered. Then she closed the door behind her and walked towards her accommodation.

      Springfield, Missouri.

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