The dark wide barren room is silent. BIP, BIP, BIP. Caseli slowly raises his arm and throws the alarm clock at the wall. "When I finally sleep," He mutters. His body is still on the mattress and the mattress is still on the floor, the floor of a hollow room, bare but for a clock, a mattress, a suit and Caseli.
The windows' dark opaque color smoothly becomes transparent as the bluish morning light shines on his red skin. The five fingers on his left hand become slightly translucent against the hard light and the flow of black sap in his veins is noticeable up close; the light fuels his body. A mellow symphony starts playing and the smell of a rainy day in the woods fills the room. The smell resembles his ascendent's (father/mother) garden from his youth and it reaches all the micro-sensors on his naked head, for the segans do not have noses, ears or mouths, they have thousands of micro-holes in their heads doing those functions, so small that their skin seams smooth without imperfections. Caseli falls asleep.
"Sir." A voice and two knocks at the door. "Sir, it's time." More two knocks and a few seconds. "Sir…" I'm coming in."
"Wait." Caseli turns to the door and falls off the mattress. "I'm up." He raises one arm.
"Holly Tree." The trespasser sees Caseli without his suit and runs back out. "Sir, please put on your suit, the press conference is about to start."
"I know, I know." He stands. "Siane, I couldn't sleep, please get me something to level up. Anything, but not too strong." Caseli walks to the window of the 203th floor and looks outside with his right hand leaning against the wall with difficulty. The glossy skin with soft limbs and big dark triangular eyes stare at the skyscrapers of Segan, capital of the planet Segan, cradle of the segans. Although high and artificial, all buildings have vegetation integrated to their façades: brown trees with red leafs, tiny bushes of mixed colors and flowers big as a young segan. It would be a peaceful tall forest if not for the hundred billions of segans passing through on flying vehicles. A couple floors below, on flying platforms, a growing group protests with holosigns displaying: Let them be; Don't go chasing war; Segans above all; Don't destroy our peace; among others.
"Ok, sir. I'll leave a fume by the door and I'll be waiting downstairs." Siane scurrily moves away.
As all other segans, Caseli's body has a distinct skin pattern, his is of a darker shade of red while the most common are brighter red. These patterns are big and curvy with smooth edges. Elder superstition says the pattern in one's face is linked to their destiny. His face has a rare pattern: a thick line comes from behind the top right of his head and merges with another one in his chin. Another line mirrors the other almost perfectly on the left of his face and they form the outline of an upside down triangle..
Leaving the window he takes a glimpse at the parking bay of the hotel on the 185th floor. "The blue compact." He smirks speaking to himself. A blue compact worn-out car parks and a segan in a blue shaded suit hastily comes out. He bumps into someone and swiftly enters the hotel while the other segan complains.
"Play 'If I can root'," Caseli requests and the room starts playing the song.
"There must be photons sparkling brighter somewhere. Got to be water vaping higher in a sky more blue. If I can dream of a better soil. Where all our branches root together. Tell me why, oh why, oh why can't our dream come true?"
With the song playing, Caseli grabs his suit that lays by the mattress. It's a complex wearable-tech that is usually called cloak, some wear it just as the mandatory air filter while others with a bigger budget add features like armor, AI assistance, flying capability, among other dubious techs like invisibility platting. Caseli's cloak is matte black with a seamless and very dim hexagon pattern all over it. Its right arm is painted red and a bit thicker than the other.
He takes a last breath smelling the attention inducing fume Siane placed by the door and puts on his helmet. "Hello, Cage," He greets his cloak that replies with the voice of his favorite movie character. "Hello, Caseli." The cloak provides him with a custom user interface that displays important information and augmented reality holograms, such as the time until the fuel of the attention-inducing fume will run out and the number of the room at the door.
He heads to the elevator which is informed by his cloak on which floor to stop. He enters and waits while it goes twenty floors down. Caseli notices a screw a bit loose on the wall and approaches it. From inside his right arm a screwdriver assembles and pulls out automatically tightening the screw and disassembling itself in a flash. When the elevator opens, he steps out into a large room filled with reporters. He walks past three large doors that lead to an enormous dome room and finally arrives at a service door that he unlocks with his cloak's authorization. This door leads him to a smaller room with approximately thirty other segans.
"Finally," Siane says as she approaches Caseli. "Hurry up, we're running late." She points to the narrow hallway that leads to the stage in the dome room. Three simple, dark green metallic chairs line the wall, and two segans are present - one sitting very still, the other eagerly peeking through the curtains that cover the entrance to the stage.
"The day has finally arrived, Captain." The seated segan stands up and greets Caseli by touching the back of his hand, a gesture similar to a human handshake. "Such a glorious day, frequently present in my meditations," He speaks faster than most, as if the words could not follow his thoughts. The segan's cloak is as stoic as the chairs, a similar dark green color with a yellow left arm. A small red pocketbook, adorned with golden lines and an isosceles triangle in the middle, hangs from his waist. It reads "Primordial Prays."
"Indeed. I barely slept." Caseli greets Anis, who is the tallest and slender of the trio, mostly because he is the oldest with one hundred and twenty Segan years or fourty human years. After maturing, a segan doesn't stop growing in height until he reunites with Segan.
"There will be plenty of time for that." The segan that still looks through the curtains asserts with a lazy deep voice and chuckles, at the same time he finishes uploading a photo of the event to his social media network. His cloak is the most intricate of the trio, made of black chrome and decorated with bright blue circles that interlock from his arms to the lower back. Seven wide stripes of translucent, glossy blue fabric hang from his waist, reaching to mid-thigh.
"Menth, are you looking for some groupies for a last night stand?" Caseli asks approaching Menth.
"Not my problem ya don't like to live, I mean, at least in this somewhat special unprecedented maybe never coming back voyage you could open yourself a bit. Now I just wanna get in those ompods and sleep this overfume away." Menth cheers ironically.
"Are you good enough to talk today? You seem more hyped than usual." Caseli friendly grabs Menth's left shoulder.
"I always deliver; fume has never diminished my eloquence, quite contrary it exponentiates it." Menth closes the curtains and turns to Caseli.
"Team, friends, calm your nerves, relax, let's steam down before facing the press." Anis approaches them.
"Not everyone can be as relaxed as one of you." Caseli tilts his head trowards Anis.
"You wouldn't need it if they did not force us into this." Menth mumbles and turns to Anis.
"Just remember our public relations training." Anis puts his hands on his back holding one hand by another.
"Here we go, you can go in now," Susan notifies them pointing towards the stage.
The three explorers, Anis, Caseli, and Menth, step onto the stage and take their seats at a large white table in the center. Caseli sits in the middle, on his right is Anis and on his left is Menth. The auditorium is a spacious dome room capable of seating up to three thousand spectators. In the front rows, journalists review their questions and press drones snap the first photos of the event. A holographic timer counts down from ten seconds, signaling for the audience to quiet down.
"My fellow segans, we thank you for coming today to this pre-mission press conference." Caseli starts the event just now noticing protesters on the central balcony of the auditorium holding banners with anti-expedition messages. "As some info about this mission leaked last week, we come here to clarify our goals and answer some inquiries. We do not want to cause social disorder. We do not want to raise fear in our society. We do not want to endanger our species. After the discovery of the object twenty years ago and the calamity it ensued in our society, also the deep impact in my family, I grew up with great interest in solving the mystery about the origins of the object. We have the right to know. This mission is also sponsored by our government, the primordials are sending one of their best scientists, PhD Anis Pimpinel, who will be our chief scientific officer." Caseli points to Anis that waves with a shaky hand to the audience. "As our chief of communication we have PhD Menth Mexia." Menth nods in acknowledgment. "Now we may proceed with the first question."
"Just… " Menth starts. "I want to comment on the reprisals I've seen online against this young segan." He stands and points to Caseli while Anis starts leg tapping. "He is one of the most courageous, dedicated and intelligent segan I've known. His endeavors are for all of us, he's risking everything he has. So show a little bit of respect, damn you." Menth gushes.
"Menth." Caseli hints.
"That's all for now." Menth finishes and seats.
"Thanks," Caseli whispers to Menth. "So proceeding with the first question," he announces.
System selects a reporter.
"What are the plans if you find the alien race and they are hostile?" A reporter inquires.
"We have protocols for many probable situations and probes to avoid unnecessary risks. Our first contact procedures were developed by sociology scholars and System," Caseli affirms.
System chooses another reporter.
"Who is funding this expedition?" Another reporter continues.
"The funding comes from the primordials, Dr. Mexia and me." Caseli replies.
"And how much did it cost the taxpayers?" The same reporter resumes.
"That I cannot disclose." Caseli explains.
"Good to know." The reporter mocks and the protestors on the balcony boo.
"Why come here if you cannot answer simple questions!?" one of the protestors shouts.
"Please keep in mind that there may be some questions we cannot answer, but let's discuss this in a calm and civilized manner," Anis states so fast that most segans do not understand what he said. Despite his words, the protests continue to boo, causing a disturbance. With his hand Menth signals Caseli to take some action. But System restores order by displaying a five-second countdown and at the end selecting a new reporter to ask a question.
"There are rumors that you'll be traveling through space at a record speed and within ten years you'll probably find the origin of the probe. What is this new technology?" the reporter asks.
Caseli and Menth look at Anis for the answer, but after his last words he went into a kind of catatonic state staring at the protestors. Anis' cloak AI speaks with him and repeats the question, after five awkward seconds he comes back.
"This will be the first mission using a zero mass space folder or ZMSF, thanks to the contributions of the Primordials Institute of Research…" Anis continued to explain and for the next three hours the conference had no major issues, besides some boos and countdowns.
After the conference the trio goes to a small room backstage with some fumes on a center table and eight comfortable red armchairs. Menth is the first to enter, quickly finding his way to the center table.
"This trip is my one way ticket if I have to come back to another one of those fuck-fest." Menth throws himself on an armchair and picks up his lighter.
"It didn't go that bad, yeah the start was messy, but fear does that to people." Anis starts walking in circles around the table.
"You," Menth says while inhaling. "You being all nervous despite all that meditation is what I'm really starting to fear. Does meditation mean another thing for primordials? Like a code for doing fumes?"
"Menth," Caseli intervenes. "Anis gets nervous when talking to a crowd."
"I really try, but yeah, I have my social limitations." Anis starts to get dizzy walking around the table and sits.
"Next time we'll bring the cloak and leave the segan." Menth leans back on his chair.
"Next time they will be welcoming us as heroes." Anis looks to the ceiling also leaning on his chair.
"That's a better mindset," Caseli replies and sits. Almost at the same time the door opens and a blue shaded segan enters the room.
"Is this the PTSD room? Cause wow, what a bomb." The newcomer walks in gesticulating arms wide open.
"Groupies not now, tonight, sure." Menth peeks the new comes with the corner of his eye.
"How did you pass…" Caseli mumbles.
"Your security is hands full with those protesters." Rosen approaches Caseli leaning his head until it touches his, a warmful greeting among segans. Caseli accepts and hears his telepathic message. I need to show you something at the park. They distance themselves.
"Who's the sprout?" Menth asks after noticing the intimate greeting.
"I'm a fan, a great fan." Rosen overgesticulates in a theatrical manner.
"And who isn't," Menth answers with a wry smile.
"Not of you, you dork. Of Caseli." Rosen continues.
"Ouch." Menth inhales a bit of fumes.
"He's joking, we're childhood friends." Caseli places his hand on Rosen's shoulder.