A Different Path for Humanity PT 1

‘Centuries ago, humanity over polluted Earth 1. Great wars covered the earth fighting for the remaining ‘clean’ resources but in the fighting even those resources were sullied. In the end, off-world colonies became humanities final hope. Mistakes were made and Earth 1 was made uninhabitable. Were those mistakes learned from or will they be made again to make new homes equally uninhabitable?’

‘Several of the colonies were destroyed by meteor bombardment. In response, FF Colonies were made and now humanity has several throughout the galaxy. Is Free-Floating better for a colony or not? Pros: Free from climate, predators, crime, and space debris. Cons: Isolated, hard for ships to locate, and fewer resources.’

‘Advances in Magnetism have changed human society. From all aspects of personal transportation to exploration to weaponry, all aspects of society have been changed. Yet are these changes necessarily good for society?’

Michelle set down her data tablet and yawned despite herself. She loved teaching history and she loved assigning and reading essays but she got the same ones over and over. It didn't help that she had stayed up late last night. Her glance passed from a half-eaten nutribar on her desk to the time at the corner of her tablet. 1730.

She snapped her body awake as she realized how late she was. Magtrain 7, the last one today, would be leaving the station soon and she had to be there. She recalled her PTU from its charger and swept her tablet and a few other supplies into her bag.

The PTU allowed Michelle, among many others, to have legs. Her natural set had been destroyed years ago in a 'industrial accident'. Inspired by natural legs, PTUs had a core of titanium rods with steel springs wrapped around them and magnetic charges passing through them. The coils did sort of look like muscles moving beneath taught pale skin but couldn't be seen through the loose slacks she had put over them this morning. Few knew she used the device, not even her students.

“Come on, Come on,” She coaxed, knowing that it wouldn’t do any good, as she swung on her blue dress jacket. When the PTUs walked over, she swung on top of them, slid the fabric harness over her sholders, under her jacket of course, and heard the soft click as the wireless network engaged. Her left hand slipped into the jacket’s pocket, her right scooped up her bag, and she piloted herself out of the room.

She had sewn the controller into her left jacket so to an observer would just see her hand in her pocket. However, inside her pocket, her hand was manipulating the controls fast and almost automatically. After ten years, controlling her PTU was so natural that she was downstairs and on the walk before she that about it.

Many years ago, she worked for Intersteller Co repairing their satellites until a ‘minor’ meteor had hit her. The meteor had just scraped the satelite but both her legs were broken in many places. So many places, the company rep had told her, that amputating and replacement was cheaper so Intersteller Co wouldn’t cover surgery. So Michelle had her legs replaced.

She had just paid the cashier and stepped on the train when the doors closed. She instinctively swung into a seat moments before the train’s initial lurch. She had seen these trains from the outside, the hover technology looked magic like the train rode on a cloud. The science, as several of the students had reported, was more mundane. Electromagnets under the train kept it a few feet above the tracks, the station electromagnetic launcher literally shot the train out of the station and, without friction from the track to slow it down, the train cruised along the track at hundreds of km/hour.

The car was mostly empty, just two more people in the back and a gentlemen across from her. There were benches lining the car. Dampeners softened the jolt but the jolt was still enough to send most people crashing to the ground if they were standing.

“So, are you a professor?” asked the gentleman across from her. His brown hair was cut short and slicked back. He wore a black business suit over a white shirt. She had worked at Interseller Co long enough to recognize him as an IG officer. He was safe to talk to.

“Um, yeah,” Michelle coughed out. She was still out of breath from her race here. She laughed a bit, mostly at herself. “Professor of science and history, that's me. Can you tell me what you do?”

The gentlemen chuckled a bit, “Is it that obvious? Yes, I work at with the Intergalactic Military. Research division though so I can’t really tell you more than that. So you teach Science and History, eh? What’s that like?”

“Well, I think the most complete way to view any history is through the technological breakthroughs that began and ended that era,” Michelle began, “That and the essays students write are pretty incredible. I get so lost in them sometimes I miss the train. Today I just made it.”

“You just came from the university? I'm impressed,” the gentleman replied. He was silent for a moment before the PA announced that stop 4 was next. The man sighed and looked out the window at the approaching station, “Well, its been nice talking to you. Do you have a business card or something so I can get in touch with you later?”

“Uh, yeah,” Michelle stammered as she began to root around in her bag. She remembered she had some in her right pocket and handed him one. He nodded his thanks and jumped out the door before they closed.