The tunnel seems to rise and rise. We accelerate, still with the incredibly fast speed, until we come to a leveled ground. The car stops at what appears to be a door. It is a large, black metal brick like the inside of a dome. It opens up, like an agape mouth and the car passes through and screeches to a halt. But we are not at normal ground level yet. Everyone in the car steps out, and the floor begins to rise like a podium. I am blinded by the brightness that hits us. It is early afternoon and the light has begun to get fiercer. In 2070, a sort of filter had been invented for the sun's rays. It was a boundary wrapped around the stratosphere that prevented large amounts of UV rays from getting to the earth. It worked because the cancer rates all over the world drastically reduced. Less people died or came down with skin diseases. However, the light here seems a little too harsh. I wonder if it is because my eyes were already accustomed to the darkness of the underground. Perhaps what is being used here is an artificial sun. A lot of institutions have it. Not only does it provide light, it is modified to include so many benefits like anti aging properties. Some of the suns are used for healing. Mother's gym where yoga and meditation is practiced uses one of those healing suns. It works like old heaters. Firstly, the place is sealed up by a bubble like wrap. You cannot see it, or touch it, but it is there, and it is what prevents the artificial sun from spilling out into areas where it is not needed. There is a law that governs its use to prevent it from touching people in an unsolicited manner, no matter how much benefit it bestows. Afterwards, a central, glowing orb is placed in the highest point of the bubble, imitating the direction of the sun. It is so effectively done that people do not notice except you tell them, but one differentiating factor is the fact that it does not leave shadows, and it never goes off except it is handled by an operator. In some places, the operator gets to induce evening and night, simply with the help of a control button. By this time, a little shadow should be out now, but there is none. I conclude that it is artificial.

  The centre has a number of high rise buildings all connected to each other by bridges. But the bridges are not mere, solid bridges. They are transparent and they are adjustable. They criss cross across the bodies of the buildings, and they write, flare, and transform their bodies in a variety of ways. I had never seen anything like it. I stood, transfixed, holding my hands across my head to shield my eyes from the harsh sun. I witnessed how one of the bridges changed. A girl clad in black jumper tried to make her way from one building to the next, but she looked incredibly dissatisfied with the staircase on the bridges. She pressed a button and the bridge got converted into a slide immediately. And she went through, swooshing and releasing her body to be moved forward by the smoothness of the glass. She looked like a kid, carefree, her dark hair glistening having stolen some of the light from the sun. She held out her arms like a bird, and giggled. I was awed. I made a mental note to never do something like that. She looked free and happy, but I could not let myself go that far, as much as I wanted to. It frightened me.

  "Class of 2140, it is a pleasure to meet you."

  A speaker that seemed planted in the ground gave us a welcome. I looked around and found that the ten of us selected for the program were complete. There was a girl dressed in African prints, a Japanese boy with bangs, A French girl, a boy from Russia, and another boy who looked middle eastern. I was too overwhelmed to take note of all the faces. My head was spinning and I had to blink several times. I had never been around so many people before. The Japanese boy waved at me. Apparently, they had taken different trains from around the world, and the car sent by UNCF picked them up, just as Austin and I had been picked up. Eventually, we all converged at this point where the sun held us down in its stiff glare. I waved back at the boy, determined not to let any awkwardness get in my way here. My experience at the train station had already taught me a valuable lesson on human interaction. The boy flashed me a smile. Austin stood close to me. Beside him, the Russian girl was on her own, making no attempts to socialize like the rest of us had already begun to. Her hair was put up in a stringent bun. She wore a black body suit that clung to her skin and showed off her curves and edges. There was a stoic expression on her face, and I made no attempt to wave at her. Austin did however, and he was greeted with a withering stare. Xavier noticed my heart rate was going up, and she began playing some alpha waves to calm me down. This worked for a moment.

  After the introduction, we were shown to our various dormitories. It was a complex that had a number of rooms and bathrooms attached to the room, with a common hallway. Our luggage was taken by robots who led us to our assigned rooms. We were only going to be here for the duration of our training. After, we would be taken to another undisclosed location. My robot stopped in front of a door that was labeled with my name. Alas, the Russian girl was in the room next to mine.

  She paused in front of her room too just as I did. Our robots simultaneously spoke, stating that there was a button on the edge of our beds, much like an intercom, which we could press and state our needs into. Or to summon the robot.

  "Hi, I'm Alyonna." She said, in a husky voice that was disarming. I was surprised she had spoken at all.

  "I'm Emma."

  She smiled at me and nodded at my door. "I see we are almost roommates then."

  I smiled back stiffly. Unsure if I should warm up to her or not.

  "Alright then, see you!" She said suddenly and disappeared behind the thick wooden frame of her door, her luggage taking up the space behind her.

  I went into my own room. It was sparsely furnished, made up to a desk and chair that faced the windows. There was a potted aloe vera plant on the window sill. I loved them. It was no surprise that they knew. They basically had all our data. I briefly panicked about my falsified certificate.

  I dropped my bags on the wooden floor board, and took a tour of the room. The bed was made with white sheets, the pillows were pumped. In the wardrobe, there was nothing but two colored jumpers, similar to the one the girl on the bridge had been wearing. Mine was Navy blue. On the inside of the collar, my name was printed in bold italics.

  I went to the bathroom, a small, cramped space with a drug cabinet, and another plant by the window. This one was artificial. The bathroom smelled of lavender.

  I was jolted as a speaker came to life in the room. The sound seems to come from the walls.

  "Participants of the space exploration program of the class of 2140, are advised to prepare for dinner which will commence exactly three hours from now. Thank you."

  I was so stunned by the sudden intrusion. I wondered if there were hidden cameras in the walls that watched over our every move. I suddenly felt self conscious, and I wrapped my arms around my body.

  I began to unpack, with a singular intensity. I began to make the room my own, putting bits and pieces of my essence in it. I arranged my clothes in the wardrobe exactly how I wanted. From first to last, they all followed a particular color gradient.

  When I touched the desk, it came alive. It lit up with an iridescent blue. And a series of bold texts were displayed. It was the rules and regulations of the establishment, a prospectus. It contained all we were to be doing at a certain time, what the curriculum would entail, who our teachers would be, and how we had to follow a certain routine. There was also a list of criteria to be fulfilled before we were to be considered graduates of the training. After that, the real exploration would begin. I could hardly wait.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Classes were to commence the next day, immediately. I looked forward to them. I showered quickly and changed into my dress for dinner. It was a silk dress with a lace tulle that ended in a flower embroidered pattern on my wrist. The jumpers were to be worn only for classes and training sessions.

  The dinner room was like a normal public high school cafeteria like I had seen in pictures, only smaller. It was buffet style, and we got in to choose whatever we wanted. I still had the feeling that we were being watched.

  I picked an Apple first. Then on a second note, I heard my stomach rumble. I had only eaten that sandwich the woman offered me at the train station all day. I piled up my plate with Quinoa, chicken and lentils. It seemed they only made healthy food available for us. There was no pizza, French fries, or hamburgers.

  I took my tray and sat next to the girl dressed in African prints.

  "Hi, I'm Emma."

  I was latching on well to the normal social etiquettes.

  She looked up and smiled at me. "Zuri."

  There was a small silence.

  "I know what you might ask next. I'm from Nairobi, Kenya. Zuri means beautiful."

  "That's a lovely name." I did not mention that I was not about to ask that. She was indeed beautiful. Her afro was styled in a high puff, like a pineapple with its green replaced by shiny curls.

  "Yes, I came from my home country. So, where did you attend?" She asks, and I freeze.

  "Actually, Uhm..."

  Thankfully, we are interrupted by Austin who slides his tray all the way to our table.

  "New friend?" He asks me, and looks at Zuri. "Hello, I'm Austin."

  "I'm Zuri."

  "Let me guess, that's the Swahili name for beautiful, right?"

  I wonder if this is how daily Austin makes friends all the time. He fits in easily to everything.

  Zuri cocks her head. "Why do you guys do this so much?"

  "Do what?" Austin asks, still smiling.

  Zuri glanced up and furrowed her brows like a person deep in thought. "Let me guess. Austin, Austin...hmmm. That's the English name derived from the middle ages, meaning Venerable or magic dignity, right?"

  Austin caught the sarcasm immediately. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry."

  Zuri folded her hands. "No one goes around asking English people the meaning of their names all the time. I've spent four hours in this academy and I've been asked by ten people. I'm not some exotic bird."

  She paused and sucked her teeth, while Stirring the gravy in front of her with a dismal nonchalance.

  Austin apologized, and charmed her with some promise. I could not hear the rest of their conversation because I was studying the outline on the vaulted ceilings.

  "Emma?" Someone called.

  It was Austin. He stood with Zuri and they were peering over me.

  "You didn't finish your food." He remarked casually.

  "Oh..." I said, staring down at it.

  "Come on, let's go. They just announced that we have a one hour tour of the facility." Zuri said.

  She still had some gravy on her plate, but Austin's was scraped clean. I could not remember what he ate, but I know the food was mountainous. It makes me chuckle a bit because I had been so hungry when I piled so much food on my plate, yet I had somehow gotten around to not eating any significant amount.

  I stood up, and the three of us made our way to the others.

  "Hey." Someone said from behind me. It was the Japanese boy from earlier.

  "I'm Akio." He said through pants. It was as though he had been rushing to catch up with us.

  "Emma."

  "Austin."

  "Zuri."

  We all introduced ourselves one after the other, and Akio insisted on shaking out hands a little too enthusiastically.

  "Are we forming an alliance now, or something?" Austin said through curled lips. I could understand why he said that. Akio looked too eager. Later, I would find that this was completely wrong. He was a person who valued community because he was raised that way, but he was not interested in becoming part of a group of friends by wriggling or third wheeling his way through it. I did not know that we were a group just because we had shared dinner.

  "Actually, no." Akio said. He smoothed his bangs and clasped his hands in front of his crisp white shirt.

  "So what's with the hurry?" Austin shot.

  "Don't be rude." Zuri said, visibly irritated. "You know what? I think I'll just go on the tour by myself."

  "No, stay, actually." Akio said flatly. "I rushed all the way here to tell you three to return your utensils and trays to the kitchen area. You left it there." His tone slipped and became laced with a hint of disgust. "It would be considered filthy, if you don't mind."

  Austin laughed. I didn't understand what was funny. Akio left, impatiently, muttering that it wasn't her job and she never got to do it even in school.

  "That's right." Austin added when she left. "People literally get paid to do that job. Maximize your time on other important things. We are not here to do chores."

  "Time?" Akio asked, his face turning a beet red. "It only takes a few seconds."

  Austin took a few steps and hovered above Akio's frail frame.

  "Few seconds." He said with a snarl, making a mock imitation of Akio's accent. "Why don't you go do it, then?"

  "I'll come with you, Akio." I chipped in suddenly, moving over from Austin and going to stand with him. "I will clear it up."

  Austin sighed. Akio beamed at me proudly.

  "Okay, fine. I'll clean it up too. But seriously, it isn't our responsibility. What about the bots? It's their jobs. They make the food and clean up after." Austin said. He sounded like a grumbling toddler.

  "Just see it as an act of kindness." Akio advised.

  We stacked up the trays and handed it to the cleaning robots in the kitchen. They said an inflection less thank you, and showed a lot of hearts on their face screens.

  "See? That didn't hurt."

  Austin rolled his eyes.

  We all caught up with the tour team. We were being led by a man and a woman. The woman was dressed in black and white. Her skirt clung to her hips, and her white shirt had the first three buttons open. That was the style. When I looked closer, I discovered there were no buttons there at all. The man, meanwhile, was dressed in a baggy white jumper that was meant to be a makeshift space suit but without the heat and weight.

  "Hello. My name is Scarlett, and this is Thompson. We would be your tour guide for this session." I watched as her red lips moved. She was beautiful. Her legs were confident in the heels, and she punctuated every sentence she made with a dainty hand gesture. I noticed her high cheekbones, fiery auburn hair and emerald green eyes. Straight nose, small lips, neatly trimmed fingers. Thompson, on the other hand, could not be seen behind his big suit. His head was swallowed up by a helmet. He only managed to wave at us.

  "So, we don't have time, and we would have to do this really quickly. Your maps have been made as concise and understandable as possible, and you can always ask any of the robots for your location. Have you seen the maps? Everyone has it on their desk in the rooms. When it pops up, all you have to do is pinch your screen and a paper version materializes. Pretty cool." Scarlett said and did a little shimmy.

  "Okay, so I'll be handing out these jetpacks." Thompson pulled out a huge bag and began giving us jet packs that had our names emblazoned on it. I got a navy blue one.

  "Yes, we are going to be flying through the UNCF because it's just too damn large to go through on foot. Strap on!" Scarlett urged with a laugh.

  We were excited. I fumbled with mine, and Austin came over to help me. Before long, we were all suited up and propelling through the air like birds.

  The duo took us through the facilities. It was a really brief one because the entire facility covered 30,000 acres of land and we covered only half of it. I got to see the plants and animal species they had harvested from other planets. The organization had plans to return them back, but they were still under study.

  We ended the tour at exactly one hour. I showered again and got into my night dress. That night, Xavier and I read thoroughly, again. So much had happened in the space of one day, it hardly seemed real. I thought about my foster parents. Would they be sad that I had left? The welfare checks stopped coming in a year ago, and since then, they were never really concerned about my well being. Sneaking off to this program was also a way for me to assert my individuality. It was time for me to take care of myself even though I have already been doing that for years.

  The classes were not going to be the mere formal classroom procedures we were used to. They were preparing us for the final destination planet which was the Genus-8 in the Medusa Merger galaxy. We were going to have simulations of travel and of being on the planet. We were already sectioned into different categories. Austin was to be mainly in the military section, but we were all still going to go through a series of strength training.