The drive didn't take too long, stopping only briefly to relive his aging balder, that seemed to be more and more unpredictable as the years rolled on. Ian had made excellent time; with the roads being relatively empty despite the 3-day weekend being in full swing. All in all, it had only taken him three hours. Granted it hadn't felt that long, as Ian's mind was full with activity, and that seemed to make the time pass swiftly.
Thoughts about the previous evening's events had filled his head, things his wife had said, things he probably shouldn't of. The combination of these thoughts and the anticipation of what was to come had left him quite uneasy. The main issue that seemed to bounce around inside his head like a hyperactive fly was that he hadn't got the response from his wife he had expected. Considering just how exciting it was to be given a chance to work for the UPN, especially for a man of his inclination, Ian was a fair bit disappointed to see that his wife hadn't seemed to share in his excitement.
She had been concerned more than anything, about the prospect of him being sent into space, and the realities that came with that. It wasn't something he hadn't done before, interstellar travel being a relative norm, but that didn't seem to remove those creeping worry's. How long would he be gone? What would it do to him physically? Would she be able to keep in contact throughout? All fair questions, and Ian did understand the concerns, but he also realised these were questions that at the time, were unable to be answered.
Ian thought back at his attempts to reassure her, explaining how he didn't know precisely the nature of the job he would be doing, and that it might not even require him to go anywhere, but this did very little to calm his beloved's anxieties. Towards the end of the conversation Ian did regrettably become a little enraged. Ever since he was a boy, he had dreamed of one day joining the scientific away teams that sent to new uncharted areas of space to conduct their studies. To go where the stars gathered in unfiltered abundance, and bask in the universes size and mystery, without having to sit through the pains of commercial travel. It was also something that as a professor of astrophysics, made even more sense for him to one day achieve.
So to see the albeit understandable concerns coming from his wife, without any of the joy alongside it, did leave him in a very sour mood. Thankfully towards the end of the evening both had calmed down and came to an agreement that this was indeed a brilliant opportunity that he would be a fool to miss. So after a few final goodbye hugs, Ian left the following morning with a positive attitude hanging in the air. A positivity that could still be felt as he arrived at his destination.
Pulling up outside the UPN headquarters, Ian took great pleasure in stretching his legs upon stepping out into the hot wind. The building itself was quite a foreboding structure, that made no attempt to blend in with the natural backdrop, having tall concrete walls the shot up from the yellow rocks with an alarming abruptness. Additionally the car park itself was also a bit of a flat, featureless eye sore.
However placed at the top of one of the ugly walls, to Ian's delight, was a surprisingly elegant carving, that brought some warmth to an otherwise unfortunate view. It depicted a simple top down view of the original solar system, where all human endeavours began. Being more like a diagram than anything else, it showed all the planets and their orbits as a series of circles and rings surrounding the large Sun in the centre. Ian found it very pleasing despites it's obvious inaccuracies in scale and dimensions. The Sun was far too small, the planets were far too large and everything was extremely close together. If this depiction was accurate, Earth and indeed all the other planets beyond it, would be burnt to a crisp.
The sentiment was not lost on him however, and he appreciated the effort that went into making it. It was also a very fitting image for the building he was about to enter as the UPN (United Planetary Network) were the primary organisation responsible for all space travel, exploration and colonisation efforts throughout the civilised worlds.
Along with a collection of other much smaller independent organisations, UPN connected the few standalone colonies together through a series of shipping routes that had rather unoriginally been called "The Network". They also operated most of the commercial transport for passengers too, and this is where Ian had gained his limited past experience with space travel.
These transport and supply lanes, had become a lifeline for many distant planets and were still incredibly important for the happiness and well being of their inhabitants. Indeed the very wine Ian drank last night, couldn't have graced his pallet without such interstellar infrastructure.
Despite this, and other rather mundane jobs being the main bulk of UPN efforts, Ian suspected he hadn't been summoned to deal with such trivial matters. After all, why would they need a well established astrophysicist, an expert in his field, to look over matters of supply running? It would seem like an ill-placement of talents. No, Ian believed he had been called for something much more exciting.
Looking up at the big wooden door that was tucked nicely away at the far end of the car park, Ian realised for the first time just how nervous he was. The last time he had felt this anxious was when he had asked his wife for her hand in marriage, so it came as a bit of a shock, with his legs feeling so weak that he was scared they might snap under his own weight.
Taking the effort to lock his car, straighten his tie and regain a bit of composure, he headed confidently (or as confidently as he could) towards the dark brown formidable front doors.
Inside Ian found that the styling of the interior couldn't have been further from the exterior. The bold, rough and unforgiving building had become a display of elegance and sophistication the second he had stepped through the heavy front doors. Smooth grey walls, sharp corners, angular furniture and light fixings that looked as if they had been designed with flight as a secondary use.
Ian continued with his confident walk over towards the equally clean and well cut receptionist. The young man met his gaze as Ian drew near, something that seemed more personnel than normal, considering they were the only two people in this large open space.
"Ian Ludlow?" he asked before Ian had the chance to say anything.
"Indeed." The astrophysicist replied in a professional tone.
"Very good, if you could just follow me, you will be happy to hear they are ready for you, so you wont be waiting around." The receptionist replied as he made his way out from behind the dark grey counter top and began at a brisk pace towards a nearby archway.
"I'm not late am I?" Ian asked, speeding up slightly to catch up. Terrified that he had got his timings wrong. As far as he knew he had given himself a good hour of contingency time.
"No not at all. It's just due to the nature of this appointment; that other projects have been put on hold to allow full attention on this particular one. You're not late; everyone is just egger to get moving as quickly as possible, and since you are here nice and early, we may as well begin."
This only added to Ian's theory that he hadn't been called here for just any old job. But the question still remained, what had he been called here for?
"And what is the nature of this appointment? I'm afraid to say the contact I've had previously about it has been rather vague." Ian asked as the pair made their way through the carbon fibre archway out into a long, almost church like corridor, with various support beams hugging the sides of the metallic walls.
"I'm afraid I don't know the details. All I know is that it's something big enough to get full attention from the bored directors. However you will be getting a full briefing in just a second so any questions you have will hopefully be answered."
They both continued in silence from this point, as Ian was lead down a series of corridors that all held the same grandiose atmosphere. What took Ian by surprise was just how empty everything appeared to be. Apart from his guide, there appeared to be no other signs of life. As far as he could tell the building was completely abandoned.
Along with there being no visual activity, there was also no audio activity, as the steps from the receptionist and himself quickly became the only sounds to echo down the long hallways. Ian had never before stepped foot inside a UPN building, and he didn't know exactly what to expect, but this certainly wasn't it. Where were all the engineers? Scientists of various disciplines? Managerial and admin teams? Where was the life?
So the silence did come as a shock. Parts of him did, for the briefest of moments, consider if he had somehow made a mistake and ended up getting involved with some kind of underground crime syndicate who were planning to kidnap him and demand a ransom for his safe return. However he knew that was just his nervous brain talking so he immediately shrugged of the idea as ridiculous. Eventually the pair came to a stop just outside a thin metal door.