Thumb Point

from the novel "Teen Girl From Mars 3: Sarah's Promise" by Jason Goldtrap

Chapter 11 Thumb point

September 22, 2191

Best friends Sarah Conrad and Emily Clementine, both sixteen, are on their first trip away from home. They are human and live in an agricultural dome on the planet Mars. They are on the first leg of a tour of the solar system. Each American student, if they have kept up with their studies and maintained good behavior, are given an unlimited travel pass in their senior year of high school.

Both girls grew up in the small town of Eagle Creek. To them, Eagle Creek is the most boring place on Mars. Nothing ever happens. There is nothing to do. The girls long for adventure and the chance to meet new people, especially boys.

For their first trip, they have opted to go to Earth. They have grown up seeing pictures of the beautiful green planet and they have longed to see it in person.

They are traveling on a massive circular space cruise ship. It is one mile in diameter and features an atrium complete a tropical lake, beaches, islands and villages. They are elated to be free of the cares and nonsense of small town life. They are now aboard a luxurious transport with thousands of other young people. Their two bedroom cabin is on the 15th deck of the ship overlooking the atrium.

Our story begins...

Sarah leaned against a brass railing of the balcony overlooking the promenade just above Lake Como on the Galaxy Express ship Bellano. She was at peace; mesmerized by the holographic sunset being projected a mile away on the north side of the rim, just beyond the red roofed hamlet of Varenna.

Above the placid waters an evening mist was creeping into place, tumbling down from the seven hilly islands. Except for the occasional playful splash of a dolphin and the distant din of the amusement park, all was still.

Just below them was the sandy beach. A couple of young lovers walked hand in hand, their bare feet splashing the meek surf. A lone schooner pierced the waves; its white sails seeking a gentle breeze. An occasional skiff, a small, automated, flying car used for interior travel, silently darted above the sea.

An evening shade of puce was slowing giving sway to a black starfield 1,000 feet above on the dome ceiling. At the apex, a handful of patrons in angel suits were enjoying one last drop for the night. If not for the soft white shimmer of their suits their tiny forms would have been lost against the fading light. They spiraled down like the seeds of a dandelion towards the landing spot. She briefly considered the notion that Emily was right; she should try an angel suit jump. Caution is a hallmark of wisdom but it should only be a governor of honest dangers rather than imagined ones. She briefly turned her attention to Emily standing next to her.

Emily said, “Penny for your thoughts.”

Sarah shrugged. “I’m not thinking about anything in particular, just taking in the beauty of the moment.” She yawned, “In 68 hours we’ll be orbiting Luna: 4 more after that we’ll be orbiting Earth, and then, whenever we can hitch a ride on a transport or an atmospheric elevator, we’ll be able to watch an actual sunset. I hope Terra firma is as beautiful as they say.”

Their scanners began beeping. They each touched the word answer on the screen. “Message: Thumb point in 5 minutes, South Observation Lounge.” A map of the ship was displayed showing their location with directions to the South Observation Lounge.

They looked to each other, turned around and headed to the ship’s interior ring. The South atrium was bustling with young people, mostly Martian Americans also on their first trip away from home. They crowded on to a large skiff, when capacity had been reached it shot up 10 floors to the South Observation Lounge.

The grand glass dome of the South Observation Lounge slightly sloped down; gravity was adjusted removing any strain on the legs or the stomach. It appeared as though they were standing in outer space.

Emily noticed that everyone was looking up toward the center of the dome. She and Sarah followed suit.

“Beautiful thump point,” said Emily.

“Um… yeah, it’s the best one I’ve seen all day.”

Emily slowly nodded. “You have no idea what a thumb point is either, do you?”

“Not a clue.”

Emily began to take out her scanner to search for a definition but a young man in a steward’s uniform stepped beside her and said, “The ship is reaching maximum acceleration.”

“Which to us would mean…?”

“You two are Country Girls?”

Emily curtseyed, “Biscuits for breakfast every morning. The long dresses gave us away?”

“Mostly the accent” he smirked. “You’ve got that certain, small town twang.” He pointed up. “What do you see?”

“I see a starfield,” she shrugged. “Like I’ve seen all my life.”

“You’ve never seen one like this. What you’ve seen in your home dome is a holographic projection built by man, but this one,” he motioned with his hand, “is painted by God.”

Sarah beamed a warm smile.

He pointed to a particular spot in the sky. “Hold out your right thumb in front of you.”

Emily obeyed, as did Sarah and everyone else in the lounge.

“Now use your thumb to block out that red star on the right.”

They did.

Emily asked, “What’s that?”

“Home,” he replied nostalgically. “That’s Mars. That’s your agricultural dome where you grew up. Mom, dad, brothers, sisters, grandma, grandpa, friends, neighbors, your third grade teacher, your first crush, your house, your cat, your dog, your bike, your empty bed and every sunrise and sunset you’ve ever seen, all of it is behind your thumb.”

Emily whispered, “But… it’s so small.”

Those in the front of the lounge began to put down their thumbs, Sarah and Emily did the same.

“Ah!” Sarah put her hand on her heart.

Emily was speechless.

He whispered, “And now it’s gone.”

Everyone was silent as they each pondered the moment.

The young steward comforted, “You’ll see it again in a couple of weeks. Now get some sleep so in the morning you can enjoy your vacation. Night-night Miss Biscuits.”

Emily turned to Sarah, they shared a content chuckle. When Emily turned back around, the young steward was gone. Emily could barely see him in the back of the room helping a group board a skiff for the journey down to the atrium floor. It quickly dropped from their sight.

Forgoing the crowded skiff they ambled down a hallway to a bank of elevators and then walked back to their room.

When they got to their room Sarah drew a warm bath, Emily stepped on to the balcony overlooking the lake. She stretched out on a velvet recliner and quickly surrendered to a fanciful dream.