Pulvirenti Giorgio - Proxima B

PROXIMA B

Giorgio Pulvirenti

Marco Negrone

Copyright © 2018. All rights reserved.

Pictures: Bruno Francesco, Rao Martina

Translator: Federico Favaro

Index

Chapter 1 – For the benefit of all!

Chapter 2 – A new hope

Chapter 3 – The training

Chapter 4 – Last days on Earth

Chapter 5 – The upcoming tomorrow

Chapter 6 – Changes

Chapter 7 – Fresh air

Chapter 8 – Still alive

Chapter 9 – Still waters

Chapter 10 – Kin Tooh

Chapter 11 – The hostage

Chapter 12 – Misunderstandings

Chapter 13 – Kiiya ità

Chapter 14 – Dekee

Chapter 15 – Cameter’ii

Chapter 16 – Animal fury

Chapter 17 – Future

Proxima B. Around 12:00 AM.

Nothing seemed different from any other day. No cloud was in the rosy sky, no noise broke the silence of a cane thicket whose tops shifted softly as a feeble wind flew in. There a man went forth. He was about thirty and was wearing a gray uniform with some blue details and a crest on his epaulettes had a writing, ”New NASA Corporate”. He was holding an arm in his hands; it was an assault rifle. The farther he went into the thick vegetation, the darker and the more absorbed his expression grew. It looked like it was waiting for something dangerous and unknown that would grip him. His steps slowed down. Suddenly they stopped. Silence was all around them. The forest seemed to stop, too. Suddenly the man began to raise his rifle very slowly, as if he were about to aim. He looked impassive and so absorbed. He slid his finger over the trigger. He was about to shoot, but something moved very quickly. It emitted a tremendous cry, an incredible roar; it lay in wait behind him and was ready to attack him...

Missoula, Montana.

S

ome workers were busily carrying out their job. They were scrupulously coordinated within an area where another 14-story building that was situated in the new zone of Missoula began to take shape. Peculiar cranes with long automatic jibs were tracking the contour of the building under the management of authorized personnel wearing hard hats and uniforms of “Garcia Enterprise” – that is the name of the society where the workers were employed – and supervising everything from below by means of some computers. Other workers were in the establishment and were arranging some tubes or other materials that apparently were not so heavy. Another expansion of the residential areas of the city of the U.S. state of Montana had already started some years earlier and urban territories needed more space that rural areas, which had almost completely disappeared, were obliged to cede. It was about 10 o’ clock in the morning and that same old Friday Philippe the foreman looked away from his workers for a while. He had to answer the phone. After a few seconds, the conversation was over. He had just confirmed that the work was going on and there were no glitches.

About half an hour later, those who were there were attracted by a black sedan that was about to cross the threshold of the workplace. Philippe, who was there, too, came up to the car. He was ready to greet the person who was about to get out.

“Good morning, Mr. Garcia!” Philippe said. He presumably greeted his supervisor that answered with a hint of a smile, “Dear Philippe, a plan every eight hours. Finally, we shall go back to the schedule… Excellent!”

David Garcia, a respectable man in his forties, was a successful businessman as well as one of the most valued civil engineers from Montana. And much more. After graduating from Billings University, he came back to Missoula some year ago to keep on increasing his business; he aimed mainly at the tender to erect buildings for dwellings that have a low environmental impact. You could think it was a paradox, but the fact is that David did not really like living in the city; he did not even like the life in the city. That is why he had arranged to keep on living in his grandparents’ house in the countryside just outside of Missoula. That house had always been a basic element in David’s life. He loved to stay right there when he was free from any meeting or business travel to enjoy that peaceful and silent place together with his son Leo and his wife Gaia. David considered himself to be a lucky man, since his job had allowed him to manage that corner of paradise where he preserved most of his childhood memories with his parents, his two brothers and his grandparents. David acknowledged the important values of life thanks to them, who taught him to take care of any animal or vegetal living form. David himself had struggled against deforestation in his land, but he could not do so much as a single citizen. That is why he arranged to study engineering; he aimed to be one of those who erected buildings, but, at the same time, he would never omit to fulfill the principles that his family had transmitted to him; he would respect the environment as much as possible. This philosophy was what he wanted his son Leo to absorb, but Leo was a child who was born in a modern and innovative era where what was “essential” for life was surely something different from cultivation and breeding. David moved forward along the perimeter delimited by his plantation. What he had always struggled for was about to come to life one more time.

“Sir, there are four stories left. We think they will be ready within Monday.”

Philippe was one of the most important members of “Garcia Enterprise”; David trusted him blindly and it was to him that he entrusted the management of the work that he considered important, just like the current work in the west side of the city.

“Excellent! I can tell our buyers that we’re going to have it ready in time,” David said. He was satisfied. He got nearer and nearer the building under construction.

“Let me know when the structure is ready so that I can inspect it,” the engineer told Philippe one more time, and Philippe made a signal in reply.

The two men said their goodbyes. One more time, David got into the same car by which he had got there.

David was inside a car that was traveling along a road in the countryside. There were several houses all around. They looked like ranches. They were completely different from the buildings in the city center of Missoula. When David could enjoy that rural panorama that he loved unopposedly, he did it, as if he were attached to those trees and those typical wheat fields. Past the first five dwellings, the car was about to cross the railings at the entrance. It delimited a path that led to David’s house.

The car stopped right in front of the front door and the engineer said goodbye to his autopilot.

“Thank you, Albert. See you next Monday. Have a nice weekend.”

An automated male voice came out of the car speaker, and when the owner of the car came out of it, it started to travel along the path in the opposite direction.

After a few seconds of nearly contemplation, David went up the few stairs to the front door of his house when suddenly he noticed a tennis ball rolling on the floor. A few instants before he had been right there. Suddenly a nice German shepherd that did not hesitate to bring the ball back; when it noticed that its owner was there, it began to bark with joy.

“Roth! Come here!” David uttered after leaning his overnight case on the floor and opening his arms to welcome his faithful friend. At the same moment, David noticed his son Leo appearing from the back.

“Daddy!” the boy screamed with joy as if he had not seen him for a long time. Leo began to run towards his father that moved away the dog for a while so that he could hug his son that cried out, “Finally you’ve come back! Till Monday we’ll be together!“

“Of course, my son!” his father answered serenely. Then he continued by asking, “Is your mother in?”

“Yes, she is in! She’s doing laundry!”

“Okay, let’s go inside, then,” the man finished. The two went in.

Gaia and David met when they were both about twenty-two years old during a mutual friend’s birthday party. They immediately got on well from the first moment they had met. They would never split up. The decision to have one baby only originated from an ancient tradition in David’s family and his wife finally accepted after some afterthoughts; she loved her husband and it was rationality that let her come to this decision.

The family was finally sitting at the country-styled kitchen table. They were all ready to taste a savory pie that Gaia’s hands had prepared with love after reciting a prayer to thank God for their food. When this ceremony was over, the three people began to eat.

“By the end of the month, you will succeed in delivering the building, won’t you?” his wife asked him. David did not hesitate and answered, “We will, darling. Philippe has assured me the plans of the flat are ready next Monday. So we should succeed in delivering the building in time.”

The woman did not say anything else.

“And what about you, little man? Have you cleaned the rabbit cages as you promised,” David asked the boy, who answered, “Of course, dad! When lunchtime is over, I’ll let you see what I’ve done!“

David showed Leo his approval and Leo kept on eating and smiled.

By the time the family had lunch, Leo was already standing; he was waiting with impatience for his father to see the result of the work that he himself had asked him to do. “Come on, Dad! I’m sure you’ll be satisfied!”

Leo could not wait any longer. David was about to stand up when suddenly Gaia stopped them before they could go out.

“David, I’ve received a letter for you this morning. I have leaned it on the piece of furniture at the doorway.”

“It’s the same old letter from IRS,” her husband said finally. He looked almost disappointed.

Leo had already gone out while David stood in front of the piece of furniture that his wife mentioned, the one upon which there was an envelope with two seals that caught his attention. The man grabbed it and began to look at it more carefully. He realized that it was not addressed the person that he had imagined. On the upper right side of the envelope there was the New NASA Corporate logo with its address; on the lower side there was a phrase, “For David Garcia. For the benefit of all!” At that point, David was devoured by curiosity as to the content of that envelope, when his son’s voice interrupted him once again, saying, “Dad! Are you coming, or what?”

David kept on staring at the envelope and tried to get rid of his son quickly.

“Go ahead, son! I’ll come in a minute…”

Leo did not add anything and went ahead, but his expression was unhappy due to what he was just told. Then David opened the envelope and its content was finally revealed. It was an official invitation from the U.S. government and New NASA Corporate to appear before the seat of Washington.

New York.

A man had just left a pub after an entire evening drinking whiskey and scotch. Former American Army corporal Michael Stateman was an excellent pilot on leave in his fifties, his hair was graying and his athletic silhouette was the result of a lot of time spent at the gym; when he was at home alone, he did not hesitate to drink and dwell on his wedding, which broke up due to his impetuous character. His long, dark coat and his typical hat used to protect him from the cold nights (night had come already) while he was going back home. The streetlights were lighting the sidewalk where the ex-corporal was walking. Suddenly he was stopped by an elegant man wearing a gray suit and a black coat who appeared behind a corner.