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Greetings!
I bet you weren’t expecting a secret note to pop up on your tablet on your very first day up here. If you’re anything like I was, you don’t even know a soul on this station yet, much less someone cool enough to send you an encrypted message! Now to manage expectations, no this is not coming from that cute girl or guy from orientation that you made eyes with. I wasn’t even at your orientation, and not because I’m a slacker either (though I certainly can be a slacker on occasion, just not this time). No, I was the one who had the tablet you’re holding in your hands last year. And this year, I’ve got your back. That’s right you lucky devil, I’m here to give you the inside scoop on how to succeed in this pressure cooker called a school, free of charge. Consider me your first friend on the station.
Okay sure, it may be a bit of a one-sided relationship, what with you sitting there reading and me having buried secret messages within your tablet that will decrypt at optimal times as the year drags on. But trust me, you’re going to appreciate every word of it when you see each new message appear. I sure as hellfire wish that some upperclassman had shared all their insight with me, instead of laughing as I floundered around figuring it all out for myself (Ah… Adolescence…). But that’s not going to be you. I’m here to help you get ahead of the curve with all the other first years. Because that’s the whole point of this place, isn’t it? To be the best! And if you feel what I tell you is useful, then you too can choose to pass it on when you’ve made it through the first-year slog. We, the alumni of tablet TT-S849, have to stick together! Am I right?!?
So let’s get down to business since we have so much to talk about.
Important stuff first… No matter how sincere they may sound, no matter how congratulatory they might be to your face, don’t believe any staff member or instructor who tells you that you are the future, you are the best of the best, you are the cream of the crop, etcetera, etcetera, ad nauseam, ad vomit… DO NOT let the complements go to your head. You may have been great where you came from. Truly, you might be god’s gift to intelligence compared to the other 99.999999% of fifteen-year-olds back on the surface. I’ll bet at your Earthside school, you were a genius among mere mortals. If you’re anything like me, you barely had to think about any of your school work to ace it. You probably started on your semester project a couple hours before it was due and got the highest score in your level. But let’s be honest, all those other teenagers back home are now in that thing they call “high school” (AKA: failing to get laid and making wood clocks in shop class). You’re up here because you wanted more. Because you were the best.
But here’s the thing… Up here on this station, every single student is the best of the best… Which makes you just another smart kid. So if you intend to get ahead — hell, if you plan on just keeping up — you’re going to have to bust your ass like it has never been busted before. No matter how many times your instructors say that you are destined to be a great leader of the future, a unifier, a problem solver, a hero who will fight to make our world, and all the worlds that humans spread to, a better place… Take it with a grain of salt. Yes, they paid an exorbitant sum to fly you to the most advanced space station that humanity has ever constructed. But they did the exact same thing for everyone else here too. You may have been a big fish in the little pond where you came from, but up here you are a little fish in a vast ocean of talent. Assume that every other student is smarter than you so you don’t underestimate them. If you get complacent in an academy like this, you’re going to finish last. And no matter how many times they may say it’s not, trust me, it IS a competition. If you want destiny to smile on the beautiful butterfly that you are, you better – ahem – bust your ass like it has never been busted before. Do I hear an echo?
But enough about not letting your head get too big…
The second (and perhaps even more important) piece of advice is DO NOT TRUST ANYTHING THAT COMES OUT OF THE KITCHEN. Literally. Not a single thing. It will never taste like what your brain wants it to. Never ever. You think it looks like pasta, but it tastes like plastic. That tomato sauce doesn’t look too bad either, but it tastes like vinegar water. You might smell hot steaming cheese and think, “Yay! Pizza party!” Until you realize they basically put leather toppings on a decomposing cardboard box. Don’t eat it. Not even on a dare. If you trust me on anything, trust me on this. Your taste buds and bowels will thank me later. The only exception is the two or three days following a holiday food supply shuttle from Earthside. That’s the only time you can count on fresh ingredients that taste like what they’re supposed to. All the rest of the time, the kitchen is more like a science lab generating synthetic nothing that is specially designed to look like food. Decorative plastic fruit would probably keep you alive longer.
I know what you’re thinking… Oh great genius who cares enough about lil’ ole me to be my guidance counselor (So sweet of you to think that about me!), if I can’t eat the food, what am I supposed to eat? Well my friend, I’m sorry to tell you, but you better get used to the bonanza of flavors known as chocolate and vanilla, because that’s all the meal replacement drinks come in. Yes, they’re bland. Yes, they’re boring. Yes, they have the consistency of chalk. But they’re crammed full of protein and nutrients that will keep your brain working in overdrive and your muscles as strong as an ox (A mammal that went extinct a few decades ago. Look it up!). And as an added bonus, drinking all your food is a hell of a lot faster than chewing cardboard, so you’ll be saving time to boot, which will give you that much more of an edge.
Oh, you want to know what you should be doing with all that extra time? Use It! The staff recommends 20 minutes of physical activity a day… Triple it. Or else you’ll waste away into a shrively ghoul in the low gravity. For your workouts, stick to the outer ring where the centripetal force is strongest. Then go hard. Run sprints. Do pushups and pullups. Take the elective Cosmo-Fit classes. Now I can already hear you bellyaching about all this. But I’m telling ya, this will increase your brain power and decrease your stress, and counterbalancing those two elements is the key to surviving here.
One other suggestion for when you have a few minutes of free time or if you want a change of scenery when going for a run: EXPLORE. Explore everything. Explore every corridor that isn’t restricted and every room that isn’t locked. Just because it isn’t on the standard station map doesn’t mean you can’t go there. Get to know your way around. Figure out what’s what and where’s where. As long as it isn’t labeled as explicitly off-limits, then it’s on-limits!
On the note of exploration, there are ladders which cut through the center of the station that aren’t on the maps. Use them. It might take you a little while to get comfortable when you’re moving through the center and the gravity fades, but you’ll figure it out. Believe me, it’s much better to be comfortable in zero gravity than the opposite. Not to mention the fact that you’ll get places much faster than the others, and you know how I keep harping on saving time…
The third and final piece of advice I’ll give you is simple. Look out the windows. Seriously. You have pretty much the best view ever of Earth. No matter how ordinary the view begins to look after a few months, don’t allow yourself to forget that Earth is your home, and it always will be. Not some advanced orbital station flying circles around it. You are definitely here for a reason, but your time here will eventually come to an end.
Okay, I lied, one more thing… Wear shower sandals. No matter how squeaky clean the staff swears the showers are, wear the damn sandals. You’re welcome.
Feeling overwhelmed yet? You should be! But give it a few days and you’ll slide right into the routine. No matter how much advice I give you, these first days are going to be rough, but remember, they’re rough on everyone. Weather the initial storm, and then we’ll see what you’re really made of. More soon.
~ Your Friend & Compatriot
PS: The Earth puns… I’m soooo sorry about the Earth puns… The instructors never stop with them. “Where on Earth have you been?” “What on Earth are you doing?” “You’ve made it to the best place on Earth!” But we’re not ON Earth! Get it? GET IT?!?! Try not to flush yourself out an airlock to make them stop… Even after your ice cube of a body has cooled to absolute zero, they’ll still be echoing through your head. There’s no escape!
PPS: Get in on the zero-gravity training elective course because… Zero gravity training!!! I mean seriously, who doesn’t love flying?!?! Well I suppose the one kid in my class who missed a handhold and sailed off into the vacuum of space… But I digress. Take the course. You’ll live to thank me for it.
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Hello Again!
Will you look at that! I’m back! I bet you weren’t sure when the next message would appear, but the wait is finally over! I sure hope you listened to me about the shower sandals… I realized in hindsight that I probably should have said that was the most important thing of all, because let’s be serious… There isn’t anything worse than foot fungus, but I digress again…
So how ya doin? Feeling rested and at ease with the simplicity of classes?
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
Don’t worry, I wasn’t either at this point. But if you’re keeping that ego in check, I’m sure you’re holding up. I bet you’ve also figured out how I’m slipping you these messages by now. Heck, I bet you did within a few minutes of the first one vanishing from your tablet. I don’t have any empirical data to back it up, but I felt like every new class of students at the station was smarter than the last, so good chance you’re a lot smarter than me. I bet you’re sitting there saying, obviously it’s time-locked polymorphic encryption masking the notes within system files. And I would say, obviously you know what you’re talking about, because you earned a place up here. Admittedly it wasn’t very hard to accomplish because the staff has more important things to worry about than what’s on the students’ tablets. Nonetheless, they’d probably take these tablets a little more seriously if they knew that someone like me was giving someone like you insider info. So for the sake of your own advancement, I hope you’re keeping our little hint factory a secret.
By now you’ve probably got a good feeling for the routine around here. You know that Dr. Palepar is a snore, which makes his tests all the harder since you probably dozed off after about five minutes of his monotone voice. And Dr. Olmstead may sound dainty and quaint, but it’s an act. She’s sharp as a razorblade and fierce as a snake if you cross her in the slightest. Definitely not one to mess with. But there are a few others who aren’t standing in front of the classrooms who are worth having on your radar.
Keep an eye on Assistant Dean Turgenev. He will sit in on classes, and by all accounts, you might think that he is supervising the instructors to make sure they’re doing a bang-up job. The assistant principals definitely did that back at the schools that I came from on Earth. But that’s not the game up here. The instructors are all here for a reason, no matter how dull some of them might seem. So Turgenev is actually watching the students. Who is bored, who is taking copious notes, who is dozing off, who is super engaged, who is sitting at attention, who is slumping like a slug. It can all come back at you in myriad ways, so be aware of his presence…
Principal Staiger. Totally harmless. Incompetent political appointee. If you listen very carefully, you can hear the fly buzzing around in his head where his brain should be. Poor fly.
Then there’s Captain Korenic. This guy watches his security cameras like a hawk watches mice (Another mammal that went extinct. Didn’t you ever watch historical documentaries?!). With the help of his security guards, Korenic seems to have a good eye on most of the station. And just like any good ole fashion security apparatus, they don’t like it when the people (us) know our way around better than they do… Like all of those shortcuts and cut-throughs that take you through the center of the station. The best thing to do is stay out of their line of sights. And the best way to do that is to make yourself scarce on their cameras. Now that you have a good sense of your way around, start paying attention to where they’ve hidden all their annoying little cameras. You’ll soon discover that there are some gaps in their coverage. Take advantage of them. The more you stay out of their fields of view, the less obnoxious heckling you will have to deal with from power-tripping uniform junkies.
And if you’re particularly unlucky… You will see Morgana Faye walking these halls. That’s right… The architect, the mastermind, the legend herself lives in the very space station that she designed. You know all those stories you’ve heard about her? They’re true. Her authority supersedes useless Principal Staiger and everyone else who works up here, and lands somewhere near the top of the whole damn government. Aside from your initial orientation, she rarely, and I mean rarely, deals with the students. Unless… You do something extraordinarily good or exceptionally bad. Of course, I’ve only heard of the latter. Apparently, this student met her face to face… And then went straight to lockdown. Never saw or heard from him again. And you can bet the rumor mill ate that up. He’s still in there, wasting away. He died. He’s in a psych ward on one of Saturn’s moons. There’s no way to know what’s true. All I can tell you for certain is that you DO NOT want to find yourself in such deep shit that Morgana Faye gets involved. You may as well jettison yourself out an airlock into the solar system and take your chances with the asteroids.
I tell you all of this for a reason… A genius like you can tell by now that some of this advice encourages you to “bend” a couple of the rules. That word is key. Bend all you want. Hell, even break some of the smaller rules, no one’s going to do anything more than scold you for something super minor. But whatever you do, don’t find yourself across from Morgana Faye, unless you don’t care about your future at all. She’s a genius… But so was Satan.
On a lighter note, how’s the working out going? Centripetal force is a bitch, right? Seriously though, don’t slack. Go for an hour and a half if you can swing it. Cut into your sleep time if you have to. Instructors will say you’re working too hard, but trust me, you’re not. Do it!
One last thing… Why did you eat the pizza? I told you not to eat the pizza. I wanted you to be healthy and strong, and you had to go and eat cardboard. I guess I’ll forgive your lapse of intelligence this one time. Eating that pizza is pretty much a rite of passage around here. But as I’m sure you found out, human bowels on a space station sure ain’t as hearty as they were back at home on Earth. Eww…
Aside from that, keep up the great work! I know you’re a hard worker because if you weren’t, you wouldn’t have survived this long. Keep going!
~ Your Friend & Compatriot
P.S. Don’t eat the pizza again.
P.P.S. Seriously. Don’t eat the pizza again.
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Greetings Yet Again!
Still hanging in there in spite of everything they’re throwing at you, huh? You must be deserving of a spot on this great station! Of course, I wouldn’t expect anything less from someone of your intellectual prowess.
I bet the discussion “labs” are in full swing by now. “Share your thoughts…” “Share what you’ve learned…” “Show everyone how far you’ve advanced…” “Show your peers how wise you are…”
Participate in these discussions, but be very mindful of your words. Never forget that everything up here is a test. Delivering the right answer to the wrong question can actually be worse than giving the wrong answer to the right question. Not exactly taking my meaning? Then I suppose I’ll say, you best start paying extra special attention to the questions you’re being asked in labs. Especially relating to current affairs, politics, government, and the social sciences. If you start to show too much interest or knowledge in the wrong topics, you put yourself in a precarious position. For example, if you happen to have any opinions that run counter to the administration’s approach to governance, then you’d best keep them to yourself. A public forum isn’t the place, as much as instructors might encourage you to share and explore contrarian ideas and philosophies. We called them fishing expeditions, and you don’t want to be the fish that they reel in when they’re casting into uncharted waters to see what comes up on the hook. Because once you’re on the hook, you stay on the hook. And no one wants to be on the hook.
And if you haven’t already, it might be time to start asking yourself… Why…
Be smart. Be safe. Stay in shape.
~ Your Friend & Compatriot
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Hey there,
You’ve probably started your combat training by now. Yay kicking ass! But just remember… All the fancy military gadgets and gizmos they let you use will never match the power of your braaaaaainz. Don’t became reliant on the technology like everyone else does, become reliant on yourself. Yes, the exosuits are awesome and the cloaking devices are rad. Have fun with them and try not to get anyone killed (especially yourself!) in the process. But in the end, remember that an intelligent person with a rock can beat a moron with a natrix gun any day. Anyone can pull a trigger, but it takes wise (wo)man to know when to shoot, and even more importantly… Why to shoot.
Speaking of Why… You’ll find that it’s actually one of the most difficult questions in life… Especially when you start expanding the context of the question… Take for instance…
Why does this station exist?
Why do they need you to fight?
Why are contrarian philosophies so threatening to them?
Why do under performing students disappear?
Why are you really on this station?
You may find that pondering such questions will lead to more questions. Ponder those too. Even if the answers surprise you… Even if the answers scare you. When an instructor or staff member gives you an order, don’t question it. Not yet. But in your head, ask yourself… Why?
More to come.
~ Your Friend & Compatriot
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Hey There,
Crazy what asking one simple question like why will do to you, huh? Takes your mind in some wild directions, like into dark and scary places that most would rather avoid.
I know you’ve been waiting longer than normal for this next message, but I wanted to give you time to think about the answers to each and every one of those questions that crossed your mind. I wish I came with better tidings, but you see it now, don’t you… There’s something strange about this place. On the surface, it’s everything they told you. An incredible school, on the most advanced space station ever built, for the most amazing students from all over the world…
But for some reason, they don’t want you to think… They want you to recite. They want you to echo their words, no matter what they’re telling you, no matter how illogical it might be to your reasonable mind, no matter what it means for our home planet drifting by majestically below.
Almost makes you think they don’t want us to be the thinkers of tomorrow, but the repeaters of today… The ones who blindly fall in line behind them… The ones who say exactly what they want… The ones who continue to build their version of the world, full of all the same problems that have plagued us for generations… Instead of building our own world that is better than the past.
Almost makes you think they are personally profiting from the system that is bankrupting nearly everyone else…
Almost makes you think…
But they don’t want you to do that… They want you to answer, but never to question. And they certainly never want to be asked why.
So keep your eyes open, friend. Watch and listen. If you are aware of the ruse, you can’t be fooled by it. But for the time being, keep your thoughts to yourself. Stay in line. Recite their words. Fill in their blanks. Now is not the time to stand out. Be smart. Stay safe. Stay strong. Your time will come.
I’m sorry you’ve had to be brought into the fold, but it’s my responsibility.
~ Your One True Friend & Compatriot
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Happy Holidays!
Or not so happy in your case… Sorry about the staff canceling your holiday leave. I mean, who would possibly want to leave a space station to go home and spend time with their family and friends after busting their ass for the past four months to live up to their best-of-the-best status.
Wait… You couldn’t possibly be wondering how I knew holiday leave was canceled, could you? Though somehow, I bet you already know the answer to your own question… And you’re right. They canceled holiday leave my year too. Apparently, they cancel it every year. They lied to you. They were lying to you all along. As many times as they promised you, it was never going to happen.
But you’re the future! You’re the best and brightest! Surely they want you to be happy and connected with your families so you can live up to your maximum potential! … Unless they don’t want you telling your loved ones everything you’ve learned on this station. Unless they don’t want you hearing any ideas that might conflict with their carefully orchestrated curriculum.
It almost makes you start to wonder if you’re stuck on this station…
Almost…
~ Your One True Friend & Compatriot
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Hello Again,
As you no doubt expect by this point, I come bearing good news and bad news. Bad news first… My mother always says it’s best to just rip off the bandage. Lucky for me, you’re already doing the hard work, aren’t you, and I just have to confirm what you’ve already deduced… You see it now. Looking back, I bet you recognize everything, all they’ve been doing to manipulate you since the very beginning, before you even got here. When your parents received the gold-foiled letterhead from the administration, they believed every word of it. You probably did too. You felt a swell of pride. You believed that all of your hard work had paid off, that you had succeeded. You had proved yourself to be smart, creative, thoughtful, and empathetic. You believed that these traits were meant to be celebrated. You believed that these traits would allow you to be a leader, to make our world a better place and implement solutions to the problems that have been plaguing our society for so long.
But your achievements meant that you were a threat to them. Your character traits are not what they want. They want loyalty to the status quo. They want loyalty to the administration and all that it has “achieved.” They want to maintain the system they have created long into the future, no matter what that means for everyone else. You were not selected for this school for your great potential, but for your great threat. This station is a place for them to watch you. And study you. And see for themselves if their indoctrination has worked… Or failed. If it has succeeded, you will rise quickly in the administration. You are the future, after all. You are a leader of tomorrow, and they need your help to maintain all that is, all that keeps them in power. In a way, you have to respect Morgana Faye’s twisted genius. Rather than kill threats, they take them in and mold them to their liking, without firing a single shot.
But… If their indoctrination fails… You will never leave this station.
Because this station isn’t the most advanced school ever created, it is the most advanced prison ever created.
You walked right into their trap… Just like we all did. The faculty and staff are your jailers. The students are your fellow inmates. And Morgana Faye is the warden overseeing it all. You are a prisoner here. Even though you don’t see razor wire fences circling you, you are surrounded by something far deadlier… The vacuum of space. I mean seriously, at least Alcatraz had water (It was this crazy old prison built on an island in California before the ocean rose to swallow it up. Download a book on it!)
Now what could possibly be the good news after hearing THAT?! Well I’ll tell you… They were right when they told you that you are the future… You are the future. We are the future. And that means it is our responsibility to stand up to their tyranny, to their oppression, and to their status quo. We are the future, and we are going to shape the future with our vision, not theirs.
They may take us to the most advanced prison they can conceive, but it can’t contain us. We can break free of it and return to the places that we are needed most, in our homes, in our towns, in our cities, in our countries, and on our world. In each of those places, we will build an army to fight back… But not with guns… With ideas. We will change one heart at a time, one mind at a time, because we choose what the future holds, and it doesn’t hold them.
Easy as pie, right?!?
I can practically hear the gears in your head turning as you read this. “We’re stuck on the most advanced space prison ever devised, so how on Earth are we supposed to do any of that?!”
Nice Earth pun!
But your question is an important one. You have every right to feel intimidated. I did too. Yes, you are on the most advanced space prison ever devised. And yes, Morgana Faye is one of the greatest minds of our time, no doubt. But she only designed this place… She didn’t build it piece by piece. That was left to the military industrial complex, with all of its countless corporate and military sub-contractors. Within that complex lies cracks and faults, waiting to be exploited. And after all, we are the geniuses of tomorrow. We know our way around their technology better than they ever could, which means…
We know how to escape.
And soon, you will too…
~ Your One True Friend & Compatriot
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I’m Offering You a Choice, Compatriot…
It’s the first real choice you’ve had since setting foot on this station (aside from picking chocolate or vanilla for your meal replacement shakes). But this choice carries far heftier stakes. You can choose to stay on this station, stay in their system, and fall in line with the others. I’m sure you’ll make a great general one day. You’ll have a steady paycheck and a view of the cosmos to look forward to, along with all the processed food you can eat.
Or… You can do what I did. You can choose to escape. To be free again.
Maybe I read you wrong. Maybe you’re reading this and thinking you’re going to turn me in to the administration, and get a commendation for your efforts. I’ll bet if you did that, Morgana Faye herself would pin a medal on your chest. Here’s the thing though… If you’re ready to turn me in, we’ve already lost. I may as well give up. Because if I can’t recruit someone like you to our cause, then our plight is hopeless.
That’s right, friend. This isn’t random selection. We didn’t choose you simply because we shared the same tablet. You received this tablet for a reason. Let’s just say we have a few friends of our own, and we knew that you were our best hope. We know about your family back home. We know about how your mom died, and how you’ve always wondered… Why. The truth is, your mom died fighting against everything this school stands for. But of course, they’ll never admit that. They’ll hold to your mom’s death being an accident. But we know the truth, and deep down, you do too. You know that if your mom was where you are right now, she’d find a way to get the hell off of that station. She would fight for what’s right. She would fight for the future.
Still on the fence? Then consider this. When I got back to Earth, the first thing I did was find my family. I hadn’t seen them in years. I missed them immensely. But I didn’t find my parents, or my sister, or even my dog. I just found their graves. Death was their punishment for asking too many questions… Where was I? What was I training for? Why was I up on that station? Most families fall in line and accept whatever the administration tells them about their prized offspring. Mine didn’t. They challenged the authority. And now they’re dead and gone. Of course, it was an accident, just like your mom’s death was an accident. So many accidents… Doesn’t take a genius to figure out that all of these “accidents” are orchestrated by the administration.
So the choice is yours. If this is all too much for you and you’re planning on turning me in, you’d better run and do it quick. This message, like all the others before it, will disappear in a matter of minutes.
But if you plan on changing the status quo, then get ready for the most challenging assignment of your life… Breaking out of this prison. All of the advice I’ve given you has been in preparation for this moment. Keep doing your workouts. Keep practicing in the station’s zero gravity sections outside of camera-shot until movement is truly second nature. And most importantly, open your eyes to everything around you. You are the future, and your world needs you. Now more than ever.
~ Your One True Friend & Compatriot
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Welcome to the Uprising, Friend,
If you’re reading this, you’ve obviously made the right choice. Time to begin your new class… How to Escape Space Prison 101. Did I mention that it’s a pass/fail class? Or more specifically, live/die? That’s because if you fail, you’re going to die. No sugarcoating it. Your family will receive another gold-foiled letter full of just as many lies as the first one. It will say that you died a tragic “accidental” death while training to serve the administration with pride and honor. And it will leave your family with no choice but to believe the lies. We cannot allow this to happen, so take the utmost care as you follow this guide for returning home to Earth.
Alright, here’s the deal… In this station’s illustrious history, many students have tried to escape. But only four have ever actually made it out of this spinning monstrosity. Never heard of them? That’s because the administration erased them from history. As far as anyone is concerned, these individuals never existed. The first one to escape was named Gladius Maxore. Badass name, right? He made it out of the station, only to suffocate in the vacuum of space. R.I.P. Gladius. The next was Hersha Covington. She made it all the way back to the surface, only to be hunted down and killed after landing. The third was Xelery Cove. She actually made it to Earth and lived to tell the tale. She started the uprising and became our beacon of hope. I’m sure you’ve been wondering who I am and why the uprising has selected lowly little me to communicate with super genius you.
That’s because I was the fourth to escape. The most recent. And I’ll tell you my name when I shake your hand.
But after I made it out, our good friend Morgana Faye stepped up security and enforcement, making an already near-impossible task that much harder. Remember that classmate of mine I told you about, the one who got in so much trouble? He was the last person to try and escape. He got caught, and no one ever heard from him again. Best case scenario – he’s dead. Worst case scenario – something much, much worse that none of us want to think about.
I know this all sounds daunting, but the longer you put it off, the more your rational mind will try to talk you out of it. We’ve had other hopefuls refuse the journey, thinking they will be able to join our movement after graduation. But I’m telling you right now… That’s impossible. Their indoctrination techniques only get stronger year after year, and the human brain can’t withstand such brainwashing for that long. If you want to join us, now is your moment.
You’re only going to get one chance, so I sure hope you followed my guidance on prepping your mind and body. We’re confident that our current means and methods have not been betrayed or compromised, but there is never any way to plan for the unexpected or unpredictable. Trust your instincts. If something feels wrong, it probably is, and you must react accordingly. Your life depends on it. Remember when I told you not to break the rules? That was then. This is now.
The beauty of this escape plan is that you already know the big picture. The way to get home is the same way you got here in the first place, just in reverse. Put on an EVA suit, climb aboard a shuttle, sail away to reentry, and pop the hatch once you get there. No problem, right?
So, my brave warrior… Here it is. The plan designed specifically to embed, expunge, and ultimately extricate yourself from the most advanced prison humanity has ever constructed! You will only see this message for a short time before it vanishes into the ether, so commit it to memory with the utmost haste. You’re here for a reason. Time to prove it. Remember those faults and cracks I alluded to earlier? Time to start exploiting them.
STAGE 1 – HOSPITALITY HACKING
Let’s start by hailing modern conveniences, like systems integration! Why have two different computers, or five different computers, or ten different computers that control all of the independent systems throughout your space prison, when you could do everything with just one? Let me tell you why… Because it saves money. How Convenient! … For Us! You’d think they’d put the relatively low security student (prisoner) hospitality, scheduling, and navigation app servers within a system completely independent of the security apparatus. But alas… Government contractors. We don’t have complete control or anything that fancy – that would draw way too much attention – but we do have the ability to make small edits to minor text files… Which gives us the ability to modify system registries, tables, and logs. Chaa-Ching!
Step 1: Embed your biometric identification code into the security registry.
Step 2: Open any doors you want.
Step 3: Sweeper app chases your ID and deletes any record of you going through said doors in the logs.
Step 4: Win!
Here’s the twist: Every three hours, all registries are compared against Earthside databases (which we haven’t hacked) for about 15 minutes, meaning you have a maximum of 2 hours 45 minutes from go time to home time. If it takes you longer than that, you’re going to get caught, and they are going to kill you. But don’t stress, there’s a 15 minute buffer if absolutely everything goes according to plan. And nothing ever goes wrong during jail breaks!
Now before you can get the party started, you have to sync up your departure schedule with the supply shuttle departure schedule, and both of those with the registry comparison schedule. Fun, right? It will probably take you about 15 minutes to get to your exit door and suit up. You should give yourself at least 45 minutes to maneuver across the surface of the station to the shuttle. And you have to allow at least 90 minutes after the shuttle leaves for touchdown on Earth. Then squeeze all of that into a 2 hour and 45 minute window that starts at 12:15, 3:15, 6:15, etc. Just like one of everyone’s favorite aptitude test story problems! Seriously though, try to remain calm and BE PATIENT. It may take several days for all of the schedules to align properly. But you have to wait until the timing is perfect, or you won’t make it.
Then, when the time is just right, you will enter the following string into your tablet’s console command. MEMORIZE IT NOW, because you won’t see it again later.
///hosp_app.execute >>PartyTime=Now >>Embed=[Your ID # with no brackets] >>ChaserDelay=60
You will receive a confirmation of success. Then the clock is ticking. Move your butt.
STAGE 2 – SUPPLY & DEMAND
Remember that thing called space? Well, it blows, and not in the sense that it will fill you with life sustaining air. Quite the opposite really. You’ll need an EVA suit out there, and as you well know, we don’t exactly have any of them lying around as prisoners.
Fortunately, we’re not entirely alone in this fight for the future. Apparently we, the young, are not the only ones holding out hope for change. But just because our friends wish to help us, it doesn’t mean they wish to die in the process. It’s hard enough getting them into a position to infiltrate the staff and/or faculty up there, so if something goes wrong, under no circumstances can you allow yourself to take them down with you. Where did you get the EVA suit? Well obviously, you stole it from a survival locker. Because you’re a genius. Just run with that line to protect any future students – ahem – prisoners, who need to make the same hasty escape.
Now remember all those cameras you practiced avoiding? Time to put those skills to use. This escape epitomizes a stealth job. If they see you on camera and you vanish right after, they’re going to have a good idea where and when you got out. So be smart about it.
Now about that EVA suit… We’ve put a system in place that makes absolutely no sense. That’s why it makes sense. You’re going to take the last 3 digits of your ID # and add 274 to it. If the digit kicks over ten, don’t carry the one, just drop it. Meaning 384 would become 558. Now you’re going to the electrical panel with the number that matches your modified ID. Open it up with your complete embedded ID #, reach behind the panel’s main heat sink and pull out the EVA suit, conveniently in your size. If you’re lucky, our insider will have planted a natrix gun and some other goodies for you as well, just in case things get dicey (and let’s be honest, there’s a good chance things will get dicey). Just don’t take more than 60 seconds to open and close the panel or an alarm will sound.
STAGE 3 – THE GREAT ESCAPE
I bet you’ve been wondering why I was telling you to make friends with the zero gravity core of the station… Because now the real fun is about to begin. Conveniently, the majority of the station’s maintenance airlocks are around the core, making for easier exit and entrance. Good thing you’ve been practicing!
Even better, now is your big chance to make this escape your own. Just what you wanted! There are 5 airlocks, and you need to pick out the best one to make your exit. If there is any kind of activity around it, any tools nearby, any open panels, any warning signs, scratch it from the list. The last thing you want is to pop out into space and find yourself face to face with a maintenance worker. That would be the end of your story, so choose wisely…
Then get into the airlock with your ID, suit up, depressurize, get out of the lock with your ID, and get on your way as quickly as possible. Just don’t forget to hold on tight.
STAGE 4 – A WALK IN THE MOONLIGHT
Now for the simplest direction that is the most likely to get you killed.
It’s time to spacewalk across the exterior of the station to the daily supply transport… On the far end of the station. Good luck!
Okay, I guess I’ll add a few pro-tips:
Don’t forget the fact that the station’s centripetal force will constantly be fighting to throw you off. Sure, it will all be happening in slow motion, but in zero gravity, losing your grip by a millimeter is the same as losing your grip by a mile. It doesn’t matter. Dead is dead. So do not let go. Do not slip. Do not die.
You know what’s really big? Space. It can really freak out the mind, kind of like heights, only far worse. The trick is always keeping your eyes on the station. Don’t let them wander. And stay away from the windows. If you’re spotted… Well, you get it by now.
STAGE 5 – SAIL AWAY
As with everything in this little plan, timing is everything. Once you reach the daily supply shuttle, you have to wait until it’s fully unloaded, and then sneak your way inside before it departs on its journey back to Earth. To do that, you have about two minutes from the time offloading is complete until all the system checks are finished.
Your best bet is to lurk in the shadows near the lower airlock and watch the docking tunnel. The windows are small, so the chances of staff stopping and looking out are low, but be sure not to give them a reason to. Become one with the curves of the transport. The moment the transport’s engine compressors start to spin up (you’ll feel the vibration), it’s time for you to get inside. Same routine with the lower airlock, but keep your EVA suit on.
Once the lock is sealed, use the cargo netting to strap yourself to the wall. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
STAGE 6 – GTFO
For all of the astrophysics you’ve studied, your best bet is pretending you’re a rock at this point.
The supply shuttles weren’t designed for human cargo. What’s that mean? Depending on conditions, they may pull way more Gs than your body’s capable of withstanding before you pass out. If you feel everything going black, don’t try to fight it. It won’t matter. You’ll wake up in a minute or two either way… Because you’re going to hit the water.
And you’re going to hit it very hard.
Seriously, it’s going to hurt like a MFer. Scream and yell and curse all you want. Then get up off your ass as fast as you can. You have to, because they’re coming to pick up their valuable shuttle with the utmost haste. It doesn’t matter if your arm is broken, you’ve thrown up in your suit, and you can barely see straight… YOU HAVE TO GET OUT.
Go through the top airlock and seal it up behind you (or they’ll know you were there). Then get your bearings by the position of the sun or the moon, turn to the south, and jump into the water. You will be slightly buoyant in your EVA suit, so you have to swim as deep as you can as fast as you can. Just keep swimming away and don’t look back. Swim as if your life depends on it, because it does. When you are exhausted beyond belief and swear you’ve swam far enough, keep swimming. Swim until your body stops working. Then catch your breath and keep on swimming. Seriously, do you want to live or not?
Don’t let yourself surface until you pull yourself up on the south shore. We’ll be waiting for you there.
Easy. As. Pie.
ONE LAST THING…
Luck has nothing to do with your forthcoming success. You are the future. You are a leader of tomorrow who will change our world for the better. That is why you have to stand up. That is why you have to escape. That is why you have to fight. And that is why we will win.
No more goodbyes. Just see you on the other side, Friend.
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The message had long since faded from Kira Akuno’s tablet, but her eyes could still see the words as if they were burned into her retinas. Outside her window, the magnificent Earth beckoned. Home… So close, and yet so far away, separated by an ocean of space that she had to cross…
Her hand hovered over the “Enter” key, knowing that once pressed, her escape plan would be put in motion. But her hand wasn’t shaking. Her breathing was steady. She knew what she had to do.
She was the future. And her time had come.
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Greetings!
I bet you weren’t expecting a secret note to pop up on your tablet on your very first day up here. If you’re anything like I was, you don’t even know a soul on this station yet, much less someone cool enough to send you an encrypted message! Now to manage expectations, no this is not coming from that cute girl or guy from orientation that you made eyes with. I wasn’t even at your orientation, and not because I’m a slacker either (though I certainly can be a slacker on occasion, just not this time). No, I was the one who had the tablet you’re holding in your hands last year. And this year, I’ve got your back. That’s right you lucky devil, I’m here to give you the inside scoop on how to succeed in this pressure cooker called a school, free of charge. Consider me your first friend on the station.
Okay sure, it may be a bit of a one-sided relationship, what with you sitting there reading and me having buried secret messages within your tablet that will decrypt at optimal times as the year drags on. But trust me, you’re going to appreciate every word of it when you see each new message appear. I sure as hellfire wish that some upperclassman had shared all their insight with me, instead of laughing as I floundered around figuring it all out for myself (Ah… Adolescence…). But that’s not going to be you. I’m here to help you get ahead of the curve with all the other first years. Because that’s the whole point of this place, isn’t it? To be the best! And if you feel what I tell you is useful, then you too can choose to pass it on when you’ve made it through the first-year slog. We, the alumni of tablet TT-S849, have to stick together! Am I right?!?
So let’s get down to business since we have so much to talk about.
Important stuff first… No matter how sincere they may sound, no matter how congratulatory they might be to your face, don’t believe any staff member or instructor who tells you that you are the future, you are the best of the best, you are the cream of the crop, etcetera, etcetera, ad nauseam, ad vomit… DO NOT let the complements go to your head. You may have been great where you came from. Truly, you might be god’s gift to intelligence compared to the other 99.999999% of fifteen-year-olds back on the surface. I’ll bet at your Earthside school, you were a genius among mere mortals. If you’re anything like me, you barely had to think about any of your school work to ace it. You probably started on your semester project a couple hours before it was due and got the highest score in your level. But let’s be honest, all those other teenagers back home are now in that thing they call “high school” (AKA: failing to get laid and making wood clocks in shop class). You’re up here because you wanted more. Because you were the best.
But here’s the thing… Up here on this station, every single student is the best of the best… Which makes you just another smart kid. So if you intend to get ahead — hell, if you plan on just keeping up — you’re going to have to bust your ass like it has never been busted before. No matter how many times your instructors say that you are destined to be a great leader of the future, a unifier, a problem solver, a hero who will fight to make our world, and all the worlds that humans spread to, a better place… Take it with a grain of salt. Yes, they paid an exorbitant sum to fly you to the most advanced space station that humanity has ever constructed. But they did the exact same thing for everyone else here too. You may have been a big fish in the little pond where you came from, but up here you are a little fish in a vast ocean of talent. Assume that every other student is smarter than you so you don’t underestimate them. If you get complacent in an academy like this, you’re going to finish last. And no matter how many times they may say it’s not, trust me, it IS a competition. If you want destiny to smile on the beautiful butterfly that you are, you better – ahem – bust your ass like it has never been busted before. Do I hear an echo?
But enough about not letting your head get too big…
The second (and perhaps even more important) piece of advice is DO NOT TRUST ANYTHING THAT COMES OUT OF THE KITCHEN. Literally. Not a single thing. It will never taste like what your brain wants it to. Never ever. You think it looks like pasta, but it tastes like plastic. That tomato sauce doesn’t look too bad either, but it tastes like vinegar water. You might smell hot steaming cheese and think, “Yay! Pizza party!” Until you realize they basically put leather toppings on a decomposing cardboard box. Don’t eat it. Not even on a dare. If you trust me on anything, trust me on this. Your taste buds and bowels will thank me later. The only exception is the two or three days following a holiday food supply shuttle from Earthside. That’s the only time you can count on fresh ingredients that taste like what they’re supposed to. All the rest of the time, the kitchen is more like a science lab generating synthetic nothing that is specially designed to look like food. Decorative plastic fruit would probably keep you alive longer.
I know what you’re thinking… Oh great genius who cares enough about lil’ ole me to be my guidance counselor (So sweet of you to think that about me!), if I can’t eat the food, what am I supposed to eat? Well my friend, I’m sorry to tell you, but you better get used to the bonanza of flavors known as chocolate and vanilla, because that’s all the meal replacement drinks come in. Yes, they’re bland. Yes, they’re boring. Yes, they have the consistency of chalk. But they’re crammed full of protein and nutrients that will keep your brain working in overdrive and your muscles as strong as an ox (A mammal that went extinct a few decades ago. Look it up!). And as an added bonus, drinking all your food is a hell of a lot faster than chewing cardboard, so you’ll be saving time to boot, which will give you that much more of an edge.
Oh, you want to know what you should be doing with all that extra time? Use It! The staff recommends 20 minutes of physical activity a day… Triple it. Or else you’ll waste away into a shrively ghoul in the low gravity. For your workouts, stick to the outer ring where the centripetal force is strongest. Then go hard. Run sprints. Do pushups and pullups. Take the elective Cosmo-Fit classes. Now I can already hear you bellyaching about all this. But I’m telling ya, this will increase your brain power and decrease your stress, and counterbalancing those two elements is the key to surviving here.
One other suggestion for when you have a few minutes of free time or if you want a change of scenery when going for a run: EXPLORE. Explore everything. Explore every corridor that isn’t restricted and every room that isn’t locked. Just because it isn’t on the standard station map doesn’t mean you can’t go there. Get to know your way around. Figure out what’s what and where’s where. As long as it isn’t labeled as explicitly off-limits, then it’s on-limits!
On the note of exploration, there are ladders which cut through the center of the station that aren’t on the maps. Use them. It might take you a little while to get comfortable when you’re moving through the center and the gravity fades, but you’ll figure it out. Believe me, it’s much better to be comfortable in zero gravity than the opposite. Not to mention the fact that you’ll get places much faster than the others, and you know how I keep harping on saving time…
The third and final piece of advice I’ll give you is simple. Look out the windows. Seriously. You have pretty much the best view ever of Earth. No matter how ordinary the view begins to look after a few months, don’t allow yourself to forget that Earth is your home, and it always will be. Not some advanced orbital station flying circles around it. You are definitely here for a reason, but your time here will eventually come to an end.
Okay, I lied, one more thing… Wear shower sandals. No matter how squeaky clean the staff swears the showers are, wear the damn sandals. You’re welcome.
Feeling overwhelmed yet? You should be! But give it a few days and you’ll slide right into the routine. No matter how much advice I give you, these first days are going to be rough, but remember, they’re rough on everyone. Weather the initial storm, and then we’ll see what you’re really made of. More soon.
~ Your Friend & Compatriot
PS: The Earth puns… I’m soooo sorry about the Earth puns… The instructors never stop with them. “Where on Earth have you been?” “What on Earth are you doing?” “You’ve made it to the best place on Earth!” But we’re not ON Earth! Get it? GET IT?!?! Try not to flush yourself out an airlock to make them stop… Even after your ice cube of a body has cooled to absolute zero, they’ll still be echoing through your head. There’s no escape!
PPS: Get in on the zero-gravity training elective course because… Zero gravity training!!! I mean seriously, who doesn’t love flying?!?! Well I suppose the one kid in my class who missed a handhold and sailed off into the vacuum of space… But I digress. Take the course. You’ll live to thank me for it.
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Hello Again!
Will you look at that! I’m back! I bet you weren’t sure when the next message would appear, but the wait is finally over! I sure hope you listened to me about the shower sandals… I realized in hindsight that I probably should have said that was the most important thing of all, because let’s be serious… There isn’t anything worse than foot fungus, but I digress again…
So how ya doin? Feeling rested and at ease with the simplicity of classes?
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
Don’t worry, I wasn’t either at this point. But if you’re keeping that ego in check, I’m sure you’re holding up. I bet you’ve also figured out how I’m slipping you these messages by now. Heck, I bet you did within a few minutes of the first one vanishing from your tablet. I don’t have any empirical data to back it up, but I felt like every new class of students at the station was smarter than the last, so good chance you’re a lot smarter than me. I bet you’re sitting there saying, obviously it’s time-locked polymorphic encryption masking the notes within system files. And I would say, obviously you know what you’re talking about, because you earned a place up here. Admittedly it wasn’t very hard to accomplish because the staff has more important things to worry about than what’s on the students’ tablets. Nonetheless, they’d probably take these tablets a little more seriously if they knew that someone like me was giving someone like you insider info. So for the sake of your own advancement, I hope you’re keeping our little hint factory a secret.
By now you’ve probably got a good feeling for the routine around here. You know that Dr. Palepar is a snore, which makes his tests all the harder since you probably dozed off after about five minutes of his monotone voice. And Dr. Olmstead may sound dainty and quaint, but it’s an act. She’s sharp as a razorblade and fierce as a snake if you cross her in the slightest. Definitely not one to mess with. But there are a few others who aren’t standing in front of the classrooms who are worth having on your radar.
Keep an eye on Assistant Dean Turgenev. He will sit in on classes, and by all accounts, you might think that he is supervising the instructors to make sure they’re doing a bang-up job. The assistant principals definitely did that back at the schools that I came from on Earth. But that’s not the game up here. The instructors are all here for a reason, no matter how dull some of them might seem. So Turgenev is actually watching the students. Who is bored, who is taking copious notes, who is dozing off, who is super engaged, who is sitting at attention, who is slumping like a slug. It can all come back at you in myriad ways, so be aware of his presence…
Principal Staiger. Totally harmless. Incompetent political appointee. If you listen very carefully, you can hear the fly buzzing around in his head where his brain should be. Poor fly.
Then there’s Captain Korenic. This guy watches his security cameras like a hawk watches mice (Another mammal that went extinct. Didn’t you ever watch historical documentaries?!). With the help of his security guards, Korenic seems to have a good eye on most of the station. And just like any good ole fashion security apparatus, they don’t like it when the people (us) know our way around better than they do… Like all of those shortcuts and cut-throughs that take you through the center of the station. The best thing to do is stay out of their line of sights. And the best way to do that is to make yourself scarce on their cameras. Now that you have a good sense of your way around, start paying attention to where they’ve hidden all their annoying little cameras. You’ll soon discover that there are some gaps in their coverage. Take advantage of them. The more you stay out of their fields of view, the less obnoxious heckling you will have to deal with from power-tripping uniform junkies.
And if you’re particularly unlucky… You will see Morgana Faye walking these halls. That’s right… The architect, the mastermind, the legend herself lives in the very space station that she designed. You know all those stories you’ve heard about her? They’re true. Her authority supersedes useless Principal Staiger and everyone else who works up here, and lands somewhere near the top of the whole damn government. Aside from your initial orientation, she rarely, and I mean rarely, deals with the students. Unless… You do something extraordinarily good or exceptionally bad. Of course, I’ve only heard of the latter. Apparently, this student met her face to face… And then went straight to lockdown. Never saw or heard from him again. And you can bet the rumor mill ate that up. He’s still in there, wasting away. He died. He’s in a psych ward on one of Saturn’s moons. There’s no way to know what’s true. All I can tell you for certain is that you DO NOT want to find yourself in such deep shit that Morgana Faye gets involved. You may as well jettison yourself out an airlock into the solar system and take your chances with the asteroids.
I tell you all of this for a reason… A genius like you can tell by now that some of this advice encourages you to “bend” a couple of the rules. That word is key. Bend all you want. Hell, even break some of the smaller rules, no one’s going to do anything more than scold you for something super minor. But whatever you do, don’t find yourself across from Morgana Faye, unless you don’t care about your future at all. She’s a genius… But so was Satan.
On a lighter note, how’s the working out going? Centripetal force is a bitch, right? Seriously though, don’t slack. Go for an hour and a half if you can swing it. Cut into your sleep time if you have to. Instructors will say you’re working too hard, but trust me, you’re not. Do it!
One last thing… Why did you eat the pizza? I told you not to eat the pizza. I wanted you to be healthy and strong, and you had to go and eat cardboard. I guess I’ll forgive your lapse of intelligence this one time. Eating that pizza is pretty much a rite of passage around here. But as I’m sure you found out, human bowels on a space station sure ain’t as hearty as they were back at home on Earth. Eww…
Aside from that, keep up the great work! I know you’re a hard worker because if you weren’t, you wouldn’t have survived this long. Keep going!
~ Your Friend & Compatriot
P.S. Don’t eat the pizza again.
P.P.S. Seriously. Don’t eat the pizza again.
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Greetings Yet Again!
Still hanging in there in spite of everything they’re throwing at you, huh? You must be deserving of a spot on this great station! Of course, I wouldn’t expect anything less from someone of your intellectual prowess.
I bet the discussion “labs” are in full swing by now. “Share your thoughts…” “Share what you’ve learned…” “Show everyone how far you’ve advanced…” “Show your peers how wise you are…”
Participate in these discussions, but be very mindful of your words. Never forget that everything up here is a test. Delivering the right answer to the wrong question can actually be worse than giving the wrong answer to the right question. Not exactly taking my meaning? Then I suppose I’ll say, you best start paying extra special attention to the questions you’re being asked in labs. Especially relating to current affairs, politics, government, and the social sciences. If you start to show too much interest or knowledge in the wrong topics, you put yourself in a precarious position. For example, if you happen to have any opinions that run counter to the administration’s approach to governance, then you’d best keep them to yourself. A public forum isn’t the place, as much as instructors might encourage you to share and explore contrarian ideas and philosophies. We called them fishing expeditions, and you don’t want to be the fish that they reel in when they’re casting into uncharted waters to see what comes up on the hook. Because once you’re on the hook, you stay on the hook. And no one wants to be on the hook.
And if you haven’t already, it might be time to start asking yourself… Why…
Be smart. Be safe. Stay in shape.
~ Your Friend & Compatriot
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Hey there,
You’ve probably started your combat training by now. Yay kicking ass! But just remember… All the fancy military gadgets and gizmos they let you use will never match the power of your braaaaaainz. Don’t became reliant on the technology like everyone else does, become reliant on yourself. Yes, the exosuits are awesome and the cloaking devices are rad. Have fun with them and try not to get anyone killed (especially yourself!) in the process. But in the end, remember that an intelligent person with a rock can beat a moron with a natrix gun any day. Anyone can pull a trigger, but it takes wise (wo)man to know when to shoot, and even more importantly… Why to shoot.
Speaking of Why… You’ll find that it’s actually one of the most difficult questions in life… Especially when you start expanding the context of the question… Take for instance…
Why does this station exist?
Why do they need you to fight?
Why are contrarian philosophies so threatening to them?
Why do under performing students disappear?
Why are you really on this station?
You may find that pondering such questions will lead to more questions. Ponder those too. Even if the answers surprise you… Even if the answers scare you. When an instructor or staff member gives you an order, don’t question it. Not yet. But in your head, ask yourself… Why?
More to come.
~ Your Friend & Compatriot
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Hey There,
Crazy what asking one simple question like why will do to you, huh? Takes your mind in some wild directions, like into dark and scary places that most would rather avoid.
I know you’ve been waiting longer than normal for this next message, but I wanted to give you time to think about the answers to each and every one of those questions that crossed your mind. I wish I came with better tidings, but you see it now, don’t you… There’s something strange about this place. On the surface, it’s everything they told you. An incredible school, on the most advanced space station ever built, for the most amazing students from all over the world…
But for some reason, they don’t want you to think… They want you to recite. They want you to echo their words, no matter what they’re telling you, no matter how illogical it might be to your reasonable mind, no matter what it means for our home planet drifting by majestically below.
Almost makes you think they don’t want us to be the thinkers of tomorrow, but the repeaters of today… The ones who blindly fall in line behind them… The ones who say exactly what they want… The ones who continue to build their version of the world, full of all the same problems that have plagued us for generations… Instead of building our own world that is better than the past.
Almost makes you think they are personally profiting from the system that is bankrupting nearly everyone else…
Almost makes you think…
But they don’t want you to do that… They want you to answer, but never to question. And they certainly never want to be asked why.
So keep your eyes open, friend. Watch and listen. If you are aware of the ruse, you can’t be fooled by it. But for the time being, keep your thoughts to yourself. Stay in line. Recite their words. Fill in their blanks. Now is not the time to stand out. Be smart. Stay safe. Stay strong. Your time will come.
I’m sorry you’ve had to be brought into the fold, but it’s my responsibility.
~ Your One True Friend & Compatriot
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Happy Holidays!
Or not so happy in your case… Sorry about the staff canceling your holiday leave. I mean, who would possibly want to leave a space station to go home and spend time with their family and friends after busting their ass for the past four months to live up to their best-of-the-best status.
Wait… You couldn’t possibly be wondering how I knew holiday leave was canceled, could you? Though somehow, I bet you already know the answer to your own question… And you’re right. They canceled holiday leave my year too. Apparently, they cancel it every year. They lied to you. They were lying to you all along. As many times as they promised you, it was never going to happen.
But you’re the future! You’re the best and brightest! Surely they want you to be happy and connected with your families so you can live up to your maximum potential! … Unless they don’t want you telling your loved ones everything you’ve learned on this station. Unless they don’t want you hearing any ideas that might conflict with their carefully orchestrated curriculum.
It almost makes you start to wonder if you’re stuck on this station…
Almost…
~ Your One True Friend & Compatriot
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Hello Again,
As you no doubt expect by this point, I come bearing good news and bad news. Bad news first… My mother always says it’s best to just rip off the bandage. Lucky for me, you’re already doing the hard work, aren’t you, and I just have to confirm what you’ve already deduced… You see it now. Looking back, I bet you recognize everything, all they’ve been doing to manipulate you since the very beginning, before you even got here. When your parents received the gold-foiled letterhead from the administration, they believed every word of it. You probably did too. You felt a swell of pride. You believed that all of your hard work had paid off, that you had succeeded. You had proved yourself to be smart, creative, thoughtful, and empathetic. You believed that these traits were meant to be celebrated. You believed that these traits would allow you to be a leader, to make our world a better place and implement solutions to the problems that have been plaguing our society for so long.
But your achievements meant that you were a threat to them. Your character traits are not what they want. They want loyalty to the status quo. They want loyalty to the administration and all that it has “achieved.” They want to maintain the system they have created long into the future, no matter what that means for everyone else. You were not selected for this school for your great potential, but for your great threat. This station is a place for them to watch you. And study you. And see for themselves if their indoctrination has worked… Or failed. If it has succeeded, you will rise quickly in the administration. You are the future, after all. You are a leader of tomorrow, and they need your help to maintain all that is, all that keeps them in power. In a way, you have to respect Morgana Faye’s twisted genius. Rather than kill threats, they take them in and mold them to their liking, without firing a single shot.
But… If their indoctrination fails… You will never leave this station.
Because this station isn’t the most advanced school ever created, it is the most advanced prison ever created.
You walked right into their trap… Just like we all did. The faculty and staff are your jailers. The students are your fellow inmates. And Morgana Faye is the warden overseeing it all. You are a prisoner here. Even though you don’t see razor wire fences circling you, you are surrounded by something far deadlier… The vacuum of space. I mean seriously, at least Alcatraz had water (It was this crazy old prison built on an island in California before the ocean rose to swallow it up. Download a book on it!)
Now what could possibly be the good news after hearing THAT?! Well I’ll tell you… They were right when they told you that you are the future… You are the future. We are the future. And that means it is our responsibility to stand up to their tyranny, to their oppression, and to their status quo. We are the future, and we are going to shape the future with our vision, not theirs.
They may take us to the most advanced prison they can conceive, but it can’t contain us. We can break free of it and return to the places that we are needed most, in our homes, in our towns, in our cities, in our countries, and on our world. In each of those places, we will build an army to fight back… But not with guns… With ideas. We will change one heart at a time, one mind at a time, because we choose what the future holds, and it doesn’t hold them.
Easy as pie, right?!?
I can practically hear the gears in your head turning as you read this. “We’re stuck on the most advanced space prison ever devised, so how on Earth are we supposed to do any of that?!”
Nice Earth pun!
But your question is an important one. You have every right to feel intimidated. I did too. Yes, you are on the most advanced space prison ever devised. And yes, Morgana Faye is one of the greatest minds of our time, no doubt. But she only designed this place… She didn’t build it piece by piece. That was left to the military industrial complex, with all of its countless corporate and military sub-contractors. Within that complex lies cracks and faults, waiting to be exploited. And after all, we are the geniuses of tomorrow. We know our way around their technology better than they ever could, which means…
We know how to escape.
And soon, you will too…
~ Your One True Friend & Compatriot
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I’m Offering You a Choice, Compatriot…
It’s the first real choice you’ve had since setting foot on this station (aside from picking chocolate or vanilla for your meal replacement shakes). But this choice carries far heftier stakes. You can choose to stay on this station, stay in their system, and fall in line with the others. I’m sure you’ll make a great general one day. You’ll have a steady paycheck and a view of the cosmos to look forward to, along with all the processed food you can eat.
Or… You can do what I did. You can choose to escape. To be free again.
Maybe I read you wrong. Maybe you’re reading this and thinking you’re going to turn me in to the administration, and get a commendation for your efforts. I’ll bet if you did that, Morgana Faye herself would pin a medal on your chest. Here’s the thing though… If you’re ready to turn me in, we’ve already lost. I may as well give up. Because if I can’t recruit someone like you to our cause, then our plight is hopeless.
That’s right, friend. This isn’t random selection. We didn’t choose you simply because we shared the same tablet. You received this tablet for a reason. Let’s just say we have a few friends of our own, and we knew that you were our best hope. We know about your family back home. We know about how your mom died, and how you’ve always wondered… Why. The truth is, your mom died fighting against everything this school stands for. But of course, they’ll never admit that. They’ll hold to your mom’s death being an accident. But we know the truth, and deep down, you do too. You know that if your mom was where you are right now, she’d find a way to get the hell off of that station. She would fight for what’s right. She would fight for the future.
Still on the fence? Then consider this. When I got back to Earth, the first thing I did was find my family. I hadn’t seen them in years. I missed them immensely. But I didn’t find my parents, or my sister, or even my dog. I just found their graves. Death was their punishment for asking too many questions… Where was I? What was I training for? Why was I up on that station? Most families fall in line and accept whatever the administration tells them about their prized offspring. Mine didn’t. They challenged the authority. And now they’re dead and gone. Of course, it was an accident, just like your mom’s death was an accident. So many accidents… Doesn’t take a genius to figure out that all of these “accidents” are orchestrated by the administration.
So the choice is yours. If this is all too much for you and you’re planning on turning me in, you’d better run and do it quick. This message, like all the others before it, will disappear in a matter of minutes.
But if you plan on changing the status quo, then get ready for the most challenging assignment of your life… Breaking out of this prison. All of the advice I’ve given you has been in preparation for this moment. Keep doing your workouts. Keep practicing in the station’s zero gravity sections outside of camera-shot until movement is truly second nature. And most importantly, open your eyes to everything around you. You are the future, and your world needs you. Now more than ever.
~ Your One True Friend & Compatriot
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Welcome to the Uprising, Friend,
If you’re reading this, you’ve obviously made the right choice. Time to begin your new class… How to Escape Space Prison 101. Did I mention that it’s a pass/fail class? Or more specifically, live/die? That’s because if you fail, you’re going to die. No sugarcoating it. Your family will receive another gold-foiled letter full of just as many lies as the first one. It will say that you died a tragic “accidental” death while training to serve the administration with pride and honor. And it will leave your family with no choice but to believe the lies. We cannot allow this to happen, so take the utmost care as you follow this guide for returning home to Earth.
Alright, here’s the deal… In this station’s illustrious history, many students have tried to escape. But only four have ever actually made it out of this spinning monstrosity. Never heard of them? That’s because the administration erased them from history. As far as anyone is concerned, these individuals never existed. The first one to escape was named Gladius Maxore. Badass name, right? He made it out of the station, only to suffocate in the vacuum of space. R.I.P. Gladius. The next was Hersha Covington. She made it all the way back to the surface, only to be hunted down and killed after landing. The third was Xelery Cove. She actually made it to Earth and lived to tell the tale. She started the uprising and became our beacon of hope. I’m sure you’ve been wondering who I am and why the uprising has selected lowly little me to communicate with super genius you.
That’s because I was the fourth to escape. The most recent. And I’ll tell you my name when I shake your hand.
But after I made it out, our good friend Morgana Faye stepped up security and enforcement, making an already near-impossible task that much harder. Remember that classmate of mine I told you about, the one who got in so much trouble? He was the last person to try and escape. He got caught, and no one ever heard from him again. Best case scenario – he’s dead. Worst case scenario – something much, much worse that none of us want to think about.
I know this all sounds daunting, but the longer you put it off, the more your rational mind will try to talk you out of it. We’ve had other hopefuls refuse the journey, thinking they will be able to join our movement after graduation. But I’m telling you right now… That’s impossible. Their indoctrination techniques only get stronger year after year, and the human brain can’t withstand such brainwashing for that long. If you want to join us, now is your moment.
You’re only going to get one chance, so I sure hope you followed my guidance on prepping your mind and body. We’re confident that our current means and methods have not been betrayed or compromised, but there is never any way to plan for the unexpected or unpredictable. Trust your instincts. If something feels wrong, it probably is, and you must react accordingly. Your life depends on it. Remember when I told you not to break the rules? That was then. This is now.
The beauty of this escape plan is that you already know the big picture. The way to get home is the same way you got here in the first place, just in reverse. Put on an EVA suit, climb aboard a shuttle, sail away to reentry, and pop the hatch once you get there. No problem, right?
So, my brave warrior… Here it is. The plan designed specifically to embed, expunge, and ultimately extricate yourself from the most advanced prison humanity has ever constructed! You will only see this message for a short time before it vanishes into the ether, so commit it to memory with the utmost haste. You’re here for a reason. Time to prove it. Remember those faults and cracks I alluded to earlier? Time to start exploiting them.
STAGE 1 – HOSPITALITY HACKING
Let’s start by hailing modern conveniences, like systems integration! Why have two different computers, or five different computers, or ten different computers that control all of the independent systems throughout your space prison, when you could do everything with just one? Let me tell you why… Because it saves money. How Convenient! … For Us! You’d think they’d put the relatively low security student (prisoner) hospitality, scheduling, and navigation app servers within a system completely independent of the security apparatus. But alas… Government contractors. We don’t have complete control or anything that fancy – that would draw way too much attention – but we do have the ability to make small edits to minor text files… Which gives us the ability to modify system registries, tables, and logs. Chaa-Ching!
Step 1: Embed your biometric identification code into the security registry.
Step 2: Open any doors you want.
Step 3: Sweeper app chases your ID and deletes any record of you going through said doors in the logs.
Step 4: Win!
Here’s the twist: Every three hours, all registries are compared against Earthside databases (which we haven’t hacked) for about 15 minutes, meaning you have a maximum of 2 hours 45 minutes from go time to home time. If it takes you longer than that, you’re going to get caught, and they are going to kill you. But don’t stress, there’s a 15 minute buffer if absolutely everything goes according to plan. And nothing ever goes wrong during jail breaks!
Now before you can get the party started, you have to sync up your departure schedule with the supply shuttle departure schedule, and both of those with the registry comparison schedule. Fun, right? It will probably take you about 15 minutes to get to your exit door and suit up. You should give yourself at least 45 minutes to maneuver across the surface of the station to the shuttle. And you have to allow at least 90 minutes after the shuttle leaves for touchdown on Earth. Then squeeze all of that into a 2 hour and 45 minute window that starts at 12:15, 3:15, 6:15, etc. Just like one of everyone’s favorite aptitude test story problems! Seriously though, try to remain calm and BE PATIENT. It may take several days for all of the schedules to align properly. But you have to wait until the timing is perfect, or you won’t make it.
Then, when the time is just right, you will enter the following string into your tablet’s console command. MEMORIZE IT NOW, because you won’t see it again later.
///hosp_app.execute >>PartyTime=Now >>Embed=[Your ID # with no brackets] >>ChaserDelay=60
You will receive a confirmation of success. Then the clock is ticking. Move your butt.
STAGE 2 – SUPPLY & DEMAND
Remember that thing called space? Well, it blows, and not in the sense that it will fill you with life sustaining air. Quite the opposite really. You’ll need an EVA suit out there, and as you well know, we don’t exactly have any of them lying around as prisoners.
Fortunately, we’re not entirely alone in this fight for the future. Apparently we, the young, are not the only ones holding out hope for change. But just because our friends wish to help us, it doesn’t mean they wish to die in the process. It’s hard enough getting them into a position to infiltrate the staff and/or faculty up there, so if something goes wrong, under no circumstances can you allow yourself to take them down with you. Where did you get the EVA suit? Well obviously, you stole it from a survival locker. Because you’re a genius. Just run with that line to protect any future students – ahem – prisoners, who need to make the same hasty escape.
Now remember all those cameras you practiced avoiding? Time to put those skills to use. This escape epitomizes a stealth job. If they see you on camera and you vanish right after, they’re going to have a good idea where and when you got out. So be smart about it.
Now about that EVA suit… We’ve put a system in place that makes absolutely no sense. That’s why it makes sense. You’re going to take the last 3 digits of your ID # and add 274 to it. If the digit kicks over ten, don’t carry the one, just drop it. Meaning 384 would become 558. Now you’re going to the electrical panel with the number that matches your modified ID. Open it up with your complete embedded ID #, reach behind the panel’s main heat sink and pull out the EVA suit, conveniently in your size. If you’re lucky, our insider will have planted a natrix gun and some other goodies for you as well, just in case things get dicey (and let’s be honest, there’s a good chance things will get dicey). Just don’t take more than 60 seconds to open and close the panel or an alarm will sound.
STAGE 3 – THE GREAT ESCAPE
I bet you’ve been wondering why I was telling you to make friends with the zero gravity core of the station… Because now the real fun is about to begin. Conveniently, the majority of the station’s maintenance airlocks are around the core, making for easier exit and entrance. Good thing you’ve been practicing!
Even better, now is your big chance to make this escape your own. Just what you wanted! There are 5 airlocks, and you need to pick out the best one to make your exit. If there is any kind of activity around it, any tools nearby, any open panels, any warning signs, scratch it from the list. The last thing you want is to pop out into space and find yourself face to face with a maintenance worker. That would be the end of your story, so choose wisely…
Then get into the airlock with your ID, suit up, depressurize, get out of the lock with your ID, and get on your way as quickly as possible. Just don’t forget to hold on tight.
STAGE 4 – A WALK IN THE MOONLIGHT
Now for the simplest direction that is the most likely to get you killed.
It’s time to spacewalk across the exterior of the station to the daily supply transport… On the far end of the station. Good luck!
Okay, I guess I’ll add a few pro-tips:
Don’t forget the fact that the station’s centripetal force will constantly be fighting to throw you off. Sure, it will all be happening in slow motion, but in zero gravity, losing your grip by a millimeter is the same as losing your grip by a mile. It doesn’t matter. Dead is dead. So do not let go. Do not slip. Do not die.
You know what’s really big? Space. It can really freak out the mind, kind of like heights, only far worse. The trick is always keeping your eyes on the station. Don’t let them wander. And stay away from the windows. If you’re spotted… Well, you get it by now.
STAGE 5 – SAIL AWAY
As with everything in this little plan, timing is everything. Once you reach the daily supply shuttle, you have to wait until it’s fully unloaded, and then sneak your way inside before it departs on its journey back to Earth. To do that, you have about two minutes from the time offloading is complete until all the system checks are finished.
Your best bet is to lurk in the shadows near the lower airlock and watch the docking tunnel. The windows are small, so the chances of staff stopping and looking out are low, but be sure not to give them a reason to. Become one with the curves of the transport. The moment the transport’s engine compressors start to spin up (you’ll feel the vibration), it’s time for you to get inside. Same routine with the lower airlock, but keep your EVA suit on.
Once the lock is sealed, use the cargo netting to strap yourself to the wall. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
STAGE 6 – GTFO
For all of the astrophysics you’ve studied, your best bet is pretending you’re a rock at this point.
The supply shuttles weren’t designed for human cargo. What’s that mean? Depending on conditions, they may pull way more Gs than your body’s capable of withstanding before you pass out. If you feel everything going black, don’t try to fight it. It won’t matter. You’ll wake up in a minute or two either way… Because you’re going to hit the water.
And you’re going to hit it very hard.
Seriously, it’s going to hurt like a MFer. Scream and yell and curse all you want. Then get up off your ass as fast as you can. You have to, because they’re coming to pick up their valuable shuttle with the utmost haste. It doesn’t matter if your arm is broken, you’ve thrown up in your suit, and you can barely see straight… YOU HAVE TO GET OUT.
Go through the top airlock and seal it up behind you (or they’ll know you were there). Then get your bearings by the position of the sun or the moon, turn to the south, and jump into the water. You will be slightly buoyant in your EVA suit, so you have to swim as deep as you can as fast as you can. Just keep swimming away and don’t look back. Swim as if your life depends on it, because it does. When you are exhausted beyond belief and swear you’ve swam far enough, keep swimming. Swim until your body stops working. Then catch your breath and keep on swimming. Seriously, do you want to live or not?
Don’t let yourself surface until you pull yourself up on the south shore. We’ll be waiting for you there.
Easy. As. Pie.
ONE LAST THING…
Luck has nothing to do with your forthcoming success. You are the future. You are a leader of tomorrow who will change our world for the better. That is why you have to stand up. That is why you have to escape. That is why you have to fight. And that is why we will win.
No more goodbyes. Just see you on the other side, Friend.
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The message had long since faded from Kira Akuno’s tablet, but her eyes could still see the words as if they were burned into her retinas. Outside her window, the magnificent Earth beckoned. Home… So close, and yet so far away, separated by an ocean of space that she had to cross…
Her hand hovered over the “Enter” key, knowing that once pressed, her escape plan would be put in motion. But her hand wasn’t shaking. Her breathing was steady. She knew what she had to do.
She was the future. And her time had come.