The Space Spoon novel Chapter 19

A silver sky hovered over Sphitt, with shades of grey, orange, and cream lining its high-density rings. The three planetary rings were formed from dust, gas, and ice. I will let you guess which substance created each hue.

The Interplanetary Police Headquarters towered over the entire city of Hitarra and beyond. In fact, the building was a town all by itself. The one thousand floors housed all the branches of the police. Also, high-ranking officials lived there with their families and, thus, certain levels were designated for schools, parks, and shops. One could stay there for a lifetime without leaving the Headquarters. The admirals did. Perhaps this was why they were so disconnected from reality.

“Beautiful on the outside and wretched on the inside. Exactly like the people living here,” Tejeda whispered to himself as he reached the glass doors.

In the color of the Interplanetary Police, the walls were all metallic blue, so polished that Tejeda could see his reflection in high definition. Miniature anti-gravitational shuttles whooshed everywhere around the building, transporting people throughout the Headquarters.

One of these peculiar vehicles stopped in front of him. A door opened and Tejeda saw the driver. A woman in a yellow uniform waved at him, inviting him to enter. The Nubilae scanned her perfect face and body. Thus, an idea took root in his mind.

“Tejeda Hajar, welcome to the Interplanetary Police Headquarters. Please, come inside. I will drive you to the meeting. You are expected.”

He smiled because he was right. The expressionless voice with a clear patterned rhythm showed that she was not human. Now he did not doubt the matter. Tejeda took a seat next to her inside the cart as the door closed.

As the vehicle glided over the magnetic floor, he became utterly bored. Everything looked the same, the people wore the same uniforms but in different colors. Metallic blue walls and glass architecture on every floor and within every corridor.

Tejeda turned to his driver. “What is your name?”

“My designation is chauffeur C1313,” the woman responded with the same patterned tone.

Tejeda laughed. “Look at you! Being double unlucky thirteen all your life. How did you cope?”

“Unlucky variable is not declared within my algorithms. Please rephrase your question.”

Scratching his beard, Tejeda paused for a second to think about this problem. “Hmm, try to declare it yourself and see what happens.”

“Access denied. My parameters don’t allow me to alter my own code.”