The Wizard from Earth by S.J. Ryan Read Free Book Online Page B

listen, but his attention was drawn to the prep team who were patiently waiting with their white coveralls and serious expressions.  Anyhow, Ivan was recording as always, and Matt could listen to the speech another day.  There would be plenty of days ahead on Tian when there would be nothing better to do. 
    Then his father finished talking and they tearfully hugged and his father patted him on the back and said the traditional words of fellow star-travellers to one of their elite number about embark on the great journey:  "See you at the other end!"
    This is really a great honor , Matt told himself as he padded after the prep team.
    Not too many kids my age get to travel to the stars , Matt told himself as the elevator doors sealed.
    Lucky both my parents were in Project management , Matt told himself as the elevator descended shafts and weaved through tunnels. 
    He thought of all the Interstellar Colonization classes he'd taken over the years.  Now all that knowledge would come to use.  Why, when he arrived on Tian, they'd be in the final stages of terraforming, and they could put him to work right away, helping to introduce terrestrial lifeforms to create viable ecosystems out of what had once been sterile ground.  If he did a good job and worked his way up, maybe someday he'd be in charge of guiding the ecological fate of an entire continent or ocean.
    The power is almost godlike , Matt told himself as the elevator doors opened. 
    I don't feel godlike , Matt told himself as he exited the elevator.
    “What do you feel like?” Ivan asked.
    “Was I subvocaling?  Sorry, meant that to be a private thought.  But to answer your question, I feel lost.”
    “I assume you mean metaphorically.”
    “Yes, metaphorically.” 
    The Pod Prep Team escorted Matt through a tunnel and into the Pod Prep Room.  They walked down the row of pods and stopped.  The oblong, coffin-like container had '3025H' printed on the side along with the Star Seed Project logo of a budding seed imposed against a backdrop of stars.
    Matt first entered the changing booth and stripped from his street clothes into a jumpsuit.  They let you choose the color, the last choice he would officially get to make on his journey.  He chose light blue.
    Dressed in his light blue jumpsuit and freshly-printed moccasins, he exited the changing booth and the pod prep team helped him climb into the pod.  They strapped him in, administered a sedative, and pointed hoses which filled the pod interior with thick, greenish bioprocess suspension gel (aka 'biogel').  Matt thought he would have a drowning-reaction panic when the biogel lapped over his face and permeated into his lungs, as had happened in training, but the sedative had kicked in and all was well.
    Electronic tentacles wafted from the pod interior walls and penetrated into the micro-orifices of Matt's suit and then into his skin.  Ivan greeted the pod AI, which declined his offer to be of assistance as it integrated Matt's biological systems with its internal electronics.  For the time being, Matt was no longer Matt but rather a composite being of himself and the pod.  It had to be that way, for the rigors of interstellar travel were too great for a frail human body to experience on its own. 
    The sedative made everything seem warmer and fuzzier, and the biogel commenced slowing his metabolism down to near-stasis and the pod AI initiated its brainwave regulation routines, and Matt was about to drift into his long star sleep – but then he had a thought.
    His vocal cords unusable, Matt subvocaled,  "Ivan, can you keep me conscious during the flight?"
    "I can revive you to a semiconscious state," Ivan replied.  "But only momentarily and it is likely to be uncomfortable.  Also, it is not recommended due to unknown psychological factors."
    "I know, but I want to experience this."  After all, he thought, unknown psychological factors are what make life worth living.  He wasn't sure if his father