Space City

Chapter 4 - Riagan Runs Afoul

Rois applauded, along with a handful of others. Riagan considered calling her a suck up, but his mouth was full.

The ideas were good, but putting them into real practice was a different story. Equality was fashionable on Earth. While most people agreed with the idea, they usually drew a line somewhere. Often the line appeared in regard to people who practiced different religions or followed a different political party. They would promote equality in some ways, but reject it in many others. Was it even possible to believe in absolute equality, regardless of how it was measured?

"Now that you know the importance of why you are here, here's a short movie with more details about Space City and the academy," Nez said.

The lights dimmed in the auditorium, and a video started to play on the wall behind Nez.

Folding his empty plastic plate, Riagan pointed it past Rois to the exit doors. "Let's leave the kids to their nap time and check out the sites."

"They wouldn't have this orientation if it wasn't important," Rois whispered.

She always followed the rules despite his best efforts, so Riagan appealed to Neil. "We haven't had a moment of freedom since our arrival. Ya saw the city during landing. We've got to explore this place. The details can wait."

Neil bit his lip and seemed to be weighing whether to go. He needed a nudge.

"C'mon, there's got to be some amazing things in the city," Riagan said. "Ya don't want to be afraid to live, do ya?"

That seemed to make up Neil's mind. "Lead the way."

"Are ye attention spans that short?" Rois asked before finishing her last bite of a sandwich. She had forgotten it during the speech.

"They only wanted ya anyway." Riagan rose, but not to full height where he'd draw attention. He hurried behind the last row of chairs toward the exit. Several students eyed them as they passed, but none said anything.

                                                               * * * * *

The exit doors led out to an empty hallway. Neil and Rois in tow, Riagan crossed to glass doors and pushed his way outside. Riagan knew Rois had only come to keep him out of trouble.

The paved courtyard at the center of campus was peppered with grassy areas and lilac trees, in addition to the four large oaks on the corners. Students and instructors hurried about their business, talked to friends, read wrist-comps on benches, or relaxed on the grassy areas. Most wore uniforms with light-blue, button-down shirts and dark slacks, but a few wore t-shirts and jeans.

Two flagpoles stood on the left side of the courtyard. Hanging from one pole like a banner was the Space City flag — gray background with the blue Earth, green Pangaea, and white SC. The second flag showed a griffin, wings spread wide, holding twin lightning bolts in its talons.

"Right, how do we get to the city?" Riagan asked.

"We can't leave the academy grounds without permission," Rois warned, arms crossed. "We need passes from an instructor, and they only hand them out on the weekend."

"How do ya know?"

Rois smiled. "A magician never reveals her secrets."

"Ya researched all this on the ship's computer during our flight here, didn't ya?" Riagan guessed.

Rois pursed her lips and eyes flashed annoyance. "One of us has to learn the rules to keep ya out of trouble."

"Great. Ya can fill me in later," Riagan replied.