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THE SCHEDULING SYSTEM was confusing because the Titan civilisation broke up the day into a simple twenty-four hours. An actual day on Titan was made up of almost sixteen Earth days, making it difficult for my body to adjust. The bunker had a good artificial lighting system, which helped with keeping track of how many Earth days had passed, but it just didn’t feel the same. When I was on Mars, the facility was almost identical to Second Earth, so it was much easier to adapt to the new days there.
Libra had given me a pocket watch with a countdown timer of how long I had left until my nanobots exploded. She had set it forward two Earth hours so that I had time to exit Titan’s atmosphere. The clock showed seventy-two hours remaining, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to leave this incredible place. I had met some amazing people with talents from beyond this world, people that didn’t deserve to play in the Exogames but chose to do so because there were no other options available.
It wasn’t just the emotional connections that kept me on Titan. I wasn’t sure the shuttle was ready to fly again. I didn’t doubt Sage’s technical advice or Uilliam’s expertise in engineering, but I doubted my own. I feared that I would be the death of myself.
My father always came to collect me before we went to the workshop to make sure I was still alive. Sage and Uilliam worked overtime every day to ensure the shuttle would be up and running in time. They didn’t have to help me, and I knew Uilliam was slightly hesitant at first, but Sage was genuine from the beginning. Uilliam warmed up to me eventually; he was just reserved the same way Jayde was when I first met her.
“So, I’ve noticed you and Libra are pretty close,” I said to my father as we walked down the scaffolding.
“What?” he said shyly. “We are just co-leaders here. There’s nothing more to it.”
“Okay,” I teased. “Since Mum died, I know it’s been hard for you. Have you tried dating again?” I asked, hoping he would open up about his private life.
“I’m not sure this is a conversation we should be having.”
“I’m not twelve anymore. I think you should give it a go with Libra and see where it takes you. You never know; she may be waiting for you to ask her out,” I said as I shrugged my shoulders. “Did you work with her back on Second Earth?”
“Yes. But I never really spoke to her. She was too high up, and I was nervous when she came near me.”
“Like an excited nervous or a terrified you might die kind of nervous?”
“Your mother was really special to me, Fate, and I don’t know if I’m ready to jump into a relationship again,” he said softly, hinting that he didn’t want to speak about it anymore.
My mother died a very long time ago. It ate up my father for many years because it happened so quickly. He deserved better, everybody around him knew it, but he was the only one who didn’t see it.
By the time I became aware of my surroundings, we had arrived at the workshop door again.
“Hey, bestie,” Sage said with excitement as I walked in.
I laughed as I danced towards her. Sage and I grew very close instantly, and it was like we were the same person whenever we were together. Uilliam just smiled at me and didn’t join the group, but I dragged him into the dance huddle that Sage and I had started.
The shuttle we had all be working on was strung up in the very centre of the workshop. Some mechanics soldered metal pieces on the shuttle’s underbelly and others worked on the internals.
Once Sage, Uilliam and I had finished our little dance, we got back to work. Sage and I continued working on the technical aspects of the repair in a separate room where it was quieter, whilst Uilliam returned to the heavy lifting.
Every time we turned on the system, it took a while to reconnect to the shuttle. I hoped it wouldn’t take that long on my last day because I was already running out of time. While we waited for the connection to strengthen, Sage began a conversation.
“Is this what you had to deal with every day back on Second Earth?” she asked.
“Pretty much. I focused mainly on the software of the ships. I could never do any of the physical work,” I laughed.
“Me too,” Sage laughed as well. “I am not somebody who would do what they’re doing over there,” she said as she pointed to the mechanics working on the shuttle.
“What was your department back on Second Earth?” I asked as I wiped away tears of laughter.
“I was mechanics, level forty-four,” she answered after she regained her breath.
Sage never spoke to me about her past life on Second Earth. Perhaps she wanted to move away from it all. Most people on Titan did, especially after almost dying in the Exogames.
“Oh, so you would have worked with Jayde Edaj. She was in my alliance through the games,” I said.
“Not really,” she clarified. “The mechanics level was sort of split into two zones. I worked on all the software of the internal systems on Second Earth. Jayde’s section did all the physical stuff. I did get to work with her a few times, but I didn’t speak to her all that much. I was scared of her.”
“I was the same,” I said as I grasped her wrist. “I was so scared to talk to Jayde. But I warmed up to her after I got to know her. I wish she was here. I wish the others were here, too.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, how did she die? How did the others in your alliance die?”
Sage asked a question I didn’t want to answer. It was emotionally too much for me to handle. But I answered it because I wanted to stay on good terms with her.
“Thebe was the first in my alliance to die. She was killed in the second game. We were on Venus, and a wave of lava swept over her. Jayde was second; she drowned in the third game, and Jaaspar was the last of my alliance to go. His shuttle exploded on Jupiter,” I answered, and a few tears fell from my eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Fate. That must have been difficult seeing them die one after the other,” she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed my slim body. “We will make sure that doesn’t happen to your shuttle so you can live to tell the story to Second Earth.”
I didn’t want to repeat the story again, not when I returned to Second Earth, and not to anyone on Titan. Those memories were locked in a special part of my heart to which only I had the key. If anybody wanted to know who I played the games with, all they had to do was look in the hall of players.
The computer beeped as the connection regained its strength. Sage and I looked through the coded software to search for any corruption or incorrect formulas. I guessed the systems on the mechanics level of Second Earth were very different to aerospace because a lot of the time I couldn’t understand what Sage was looking at. She had changed the software to one that she understood because she was faster at coding than anyone in the workshop, myself included.
The ships that my department worked on used the systems that I managed. However, the systems on the internals of Second Earth would have been run from the mechanics department where Sage had worked.
“What got you sent to prison?” I asked Sage, knowing that the question was invasive.
“It’s a bit of a long story.”
“We’ve got time,” I lied as I checked the timer in my pocket.
“Well, alright then,” she joked before she continued. “I was working on a software update for the entirety of Second Earth, and I realised that there was a dangerous flaw in the system. To fix it, I had to reconfigure the system, which should have worked perfectly. I erased the old system and dug myself a deeper hole because I didn’t realise that it was impossible to update it. Luckily, my supervisor cancelled the process and restored it to its original firmware. I still faced a trial for almost destroying Second Earth,” she answered while working through the computer.
“Wow, you almost brought chaos upon all of us,” I laughed.
“It’s not my fault. I thought it was going to work.”
“At least someone was there to stop the system from being erased. Imagine if the High Judges couldn’t host their Exogames,” I mocked, and we both laughed at that thought.
“And the thing is that it wasn’t supposed to erase the entire system on Second Earth. It was only supposed to erase one section at a time.”
“Would there have been a way to permanently erase only specific systems?” I asked curiously.
“Yes,” she answered. “Each level has its own code system with its own identifier. Within that, there are codes for specific rooms. For instance, the room I worked in back on Second Earth was the seventeenth, so that number would be four-four-one-seven, the level and the room number.”
I was very confused, and my face definitely showed it because she tried to explain it again, with simpler terms this time.
“Above every door in small writing is a series of digits. That is the identifying number for the systems in that room. Does that make sense?”
“Sort of.”
“Were you taught nothing in your department? This is pretty much general knowledge for software workers. That’s you,” she emphasised.
I shook my head and contorted my mouth weirdly.
“Okay, say I wanted to erase the system for my room, four-four-one-seven. I would type in those numbers with a hash key between every digit and hold the delete button until the screen turned blank. The option to erase everything would appear, and it’s that simple.”
It was a bit too much information for me to have all at once, but when she explained the entire process, I understood that erasing an entire system wasn’t too difficult.
The hum of heavy machinery and tools stopped vibrating through the cracks in the door. Uilliam walked in after knocking twice and told us that the shuttle had been put together perfectly, and the physical aspects were all finalised. Sage and I just needed to test if the system was ready to handle flying again, especially folding spacetime.
“Okay,” I said softly. “This is really happening.”
For once since arriving on this barren moon, I saw the end of the Exogames. I didn’t expect it to come so quickly because I was still adjusting to my new life on Titan.
“Alright, let’s make sure this code is all correct,” I said excitedly, propping my face closer to the screen to the point where my eyes became irritated from the artificial light.
Sage laughed uncontrollably as she grabbed my arm. Her eyes narrowed as she giggled.
“I’ve already done it, Fate,” she said. “I just need to run a system software checker, and it will notify us if there are any faults within the system.”
“How long is that going to take?” I asked.
“A few hours. There’s a lot of code that the checker will have to go through. Why? Are you eager to leave Titan? You’re wanting to leave us all right now?” she laughed in a way that suggested she didn’t want an answer.
“I don’t want to leave at the last minute. The quicker I get off this moon, the safer I’ll be.”
“Second Earth isn’t the safest place to be. You’ll be much safer here,” she said.
“I know. But I can’t stay here or else my nanobots will explode.”
“Aw,” she said as her eyebrows lowered and pulled closer together. “I don’t want to you leave.” The corners of her mouth were drawn downwards. “I’ve had so much fun with you here.”
I knew exactly how she felt because I enjoyed working with her as well. I never had that much fun in aerospace; everyone back in my department was always so serious, except for the two troublemakers — Vesta and Juno.
“I’ll come visit once in a while, once it’s safe for me to do so. Who knows what’ll happen once I return to Second Earth?”
She didn’t say anything in response. Instead, she kept her sorrowful face on me before she began the software check.
* * *
THERE WERE TWELVE HOURS left to get off Titan. The software checker took longer than expected, but Sage made sure there were no faults within the system.
I made my way to Libra’s office, skipping a few steps on my way there. I no longer required anybody to escort me around Titan’s bunker. I was so used to the locations of all the rooms that it became like muscle memory.
Libra’s door was closed, so I knocked softly. There was no response, so I knocked again after a few seconds.
“Come in,” she called.
There was someone else in the office who I didn’t know the name of, but she looked familiar. Perhaps she played in one of the Exogames that I had watched before my father was arrested.
“Am I interrupting something important?” I asked slowly.
“Not at all, Fate. We were just finishing up here,” Libra answered.
The other woman exited the room and closed the door behind her for privacy.
“How are you liking Titan?” Libra asked.
“I’ve gotten to know some really amazing people, and I feel so safe here, maybe because my father is here too. I wish I could stay,” I answered as I pulled out the pocket watch to see the remaining time.
“The longer you stare at the time, the slower it will go.”
“I just don’t want to leave at the last minute in case the nanobots explode.”
“You don’t have to wait until the timer ends, you know. You were free to go as soon the shuttle was ready. Sage and Uilliam tell me the shuttle has been repaired. So, what’s stopping you from leaving?”
“No need to rush me out so fast,” I joked.
She took it well, cracking a smile and narrowing her eyes slightly.
“I’m not sure I’m ready to leave just yet. I have nothing to go back to. There’s nothing left for me on Second Earth. All my friends betrayed me, and my new friends died in the Exogames. I just got my father back, and if I say my goodbyes, I’m not sure I will ever see him again.”
“Don’t let it be goodbye,” she said.
I tried to believe it would be that easy, but the more the thought lingered in my mind, the more difficult it seemed.
“Shall I announce your departure to all of Titan?” Libra asked. “It will be a nice way to send you off.”
“No,” I said simply. “I would rather you announce it after I’ve left Titan. I don’t want to see everyone’s disappointment.”
“Alright, that isn’t a problem,” she said. “It’s been real nice having you around. Your father is so proud.”
“Thank you for letting me stay.”
I smiled with watery eyes and walked back out in the direction of the workshop. I crossed paths with Uilliam on the scaffold, who was leisurely walking upstairs.
“Uilliam, can you please find my father and bring him to the workshop?” I locked my eyes with his like some bizarre hypnotic spell, and I spoke very fast.
“He’s already there,” he responded. “Is everything alright?”
“I’m...” I hesitated to tell him. “I’m leaving now.”
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
Uilliam yelled out to everybody on the scaffold to stick to the edges so that he and I could have a clear path to the workshop. I followed him there, breathing quickly and smiling every few seconds.
The mechanics and engineers inside the workshop finished moving the shuttle into an airlock at the same time as we jogged inside.
“Why are you running?” my father asked me.
I ceased all movement immediately in front of him and didn’t say anything. My mouth quivered, and the words were about to come out, but I couldn’t speak. Instead, I threw my arms around his torso. He knew what was about to happen without me saying.
Sage, who stood close by, began to tear up and sniffle as she realised the same thing.
“It’s time,” I whispered to both of them.
My father bolted to the mezzanine level where his shuttle was originally kept. I couldn’t look Sage in the eyes, not because I didn’t want to say goodbye, but because I couldn’t bear it.
“Promise me you’ll come back,” she demanded, croaking out the words.
Every time I made a promise, I could never keep it. It was too big of a request, but I lied to keep her happy.
“I promise,” I said, realising that she would hold onto my words until the day she died. It was an unfair white lie that ate me up inside.
“No. Say it like you mean it, Fate.”
“I promise,” I repeated in a more believable tone.
“You better mean it.” Uilliam came out from behind me and gently nudged my shoulder. “I want to see you again.”
“Well, since you asked nicely, now I have no choice.” I chuckled.
It was our last moment of fun before I was ripped back into reality. My father returned from the mezzanine holding a bundle of charcoal-grey nylon fabric. He shook it out and held it in front of him. It was a spacesuit, probably too big for me and too small for him. I took it out of his hands and held it against my body.
“I was going to wear it when I returned to Second Earth,” he began as he sniffled his way through his sentence. “It probably smells a bit; it hasn’t been washed in a while. But it should fit you. You will only need to wear it until you get back home.”
“Thank you,” I said genuinely. I’d completely forgotten that I needed bodily protection in outer space — it was too risky to go without, especially in an ancient shuttle we had repaired so quickly.
The four of them walked me to the airlock while the other mechanics in the workshop stood in a single row on either side of me. I didn’t expect a guard of honour because I was only here for a few Earth days, but it was a touching moment.
The spacesuit my father gave me was loose and baggy, but it was very comfortable. The mechanical door to the airlock opened, and the completed shuttle was the only thing inside, clean and repaired, as if it were a brand-new spacecraft.
“So, this is it,” I said.
“This is it,” my father repeated softly.
“I’m going to miss you, Dad.”
“Don’t forget what I asked of you when you get back,” he whispered into my ear as he hugged me one last time.
I hugged the three of them individually and stepped into the airlock. The door sealed in front of me, and all the noise from the workshop was cut off. I saw my father’s tears form in his eyes even though he tried to be strong. Sage bawled her eyes out and wiped her face with her entire palm. Uilliam smiled asymmetrically, and his eyebrows were miserably tilted towards each other.
The shuttle’s roof closed over my head, and the cabin darkened. The control panel was exactly the same as the training simulations, and the cyclic stick was similar to the shuttle in the fourth game.
When I pushed the button to fire up the shuttle, it shook and rattled. I hoped, prayed even, that I would make it to Second Earth safely. I didn’t care about the time anymore; I just wanted to get back home unharmed.
The other side of the airlock opened, and for the first time since I landed on Titan, I saw the outside again. I had forgotten what it looked like after all this time. My eyes adjusted to the orange tint of the air and the rocky surface. Saturn was still gracefully observable in the sky, claiming its territory.
The shuttle hovered off the ground and whizzed out of the mountainside. It took around three minutes to reach outer space, and Saturn looked much larger in full. The creamy gas giant occupied more space in our solar system than I ever imagined, and its thin rings spun around in an elegant dance.
Sage had preloaded the coordinates to Second Earth before the software check. All I had to do was push a green button whenever I was ready to go back home. But I hesitated. I wanted to stay.
The end of the Exogames was within reach — my freedom was within reach. I hoped the shuttle didn’t explode once I pushed the button. But if it did, it would be alright, because I had nothing left on Second Earth waiting for me. I had nobody to celebrate this win with.
I pushed the button a little too hard, hurting my finger, and sleeping gas filled the cabin. In less than ten seconds, my eyes shut, and I lost consciousness so that the shuttle could fold spacetime without destroying my brain.
When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t entirely sure if I was still alive. Saturn had disappeared from view, and all I could see was the moon, Earth’s moon, appear from behind the silhouette of an enormous structure hovering above the blue planet. Once my eyes adjusted, I recognised the entity as Second Earth.
The Exogames were over, and I was home. But deep down in my heart, it didn’t feel that way.