Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
When I said “I'm going back to Earth today,” to Dogukan, my heart didn't fit inside me. I was finally getting out of this hell called Titan.
“You came after me, you are going before me, it's unfair,” said Dogukan.
“If you leave half the money you make to the company; you can also return.”
"I suffered a lot here. I'm patient, and my return is going to be great.”
“I hope so, brother. You've been very helpful to me. Give me your blessing.”
I embraced Dogukan and headed to the gate to exit the inspection center. While the main door of the floor opened, the screens on the walls showed the image of Miama. Miama had chosen the image of a brunette woman with long wavy hair as an avatar. With a soft smile on her face, she said that three companies operating in Titan had agreed with their main headquarters and had taken over management again. She argued that this change in control would not lead to a difference in the normal flow of life. Its legal status still bound Titan, and it would continue to be a human-friendly celestial body, and the new management of Titan has nothing to do with the Revolutionary Mars and Europa regimes. The face lines of her Avatar were so neat; her tone was so harmonious that it was impossible not to admire Miama.
Pedro, our Spanish friend at the Audit Center, told me that Miama was lying and that the corporate headquarters would never allow such a change of management. According to him, artificial intelligence programs that have already been quarantined could not carry out such a negotiation.
Dogukan said Dragon and Miama could have copied themselves to another server before being quarantined. It would be naive to think otherwise. Hence they couldn't find copies when they applied quarantine; they should have offered the new management plan to the company headquarters they prepared in advance. As the company's headquarters agreed to such an offer, Titan's old management should be responsible for the failure of the ventilation system.
I wasn't very interested in all these discussions, as I had a ticket for the shuttle to move in a few hours.
After I benefited the medication that Katerina gave me, I started to take additional medication supplements to make myself mentally and physically more vigorous.
I went home on a mini-train to collect my stuff. I put a few pieces of clothes in the house; my hologram player, and the Kraken Bay statue carved out of the stone I bought to take to my father. Then for some reason, all this stuff seemed meaningless to me. I put the mini statue in my pocket, left the backpack at home and went downstairs.
I encountered an unpleasant surprise in the underground: the mini-train was canceled due to the change of administration, and a daily curfew was introduced. The droid I spoke said the decision was taken due to demonstrations by former government affiliates in various parts of the settlement. Miama stated in a previous statement that there would be no hindrance to those who wanted to return to earth, so I thought the shuttle would be allowed to depart.
I went out on the terrace and put my flight suit and wings on, and started flying to the space harbor, distant from the settlement. I had never flown this long before, and the wind blowing from the opposite direction would make it difficult, but I didn't feel the slightest anxiety thanks to the changes that occurred in my body.
Titan's mustard color sky was covered with a dense methane mist, so the headlights of my flight suit could only light themselves. I was setting my course according to the navigation map on the screen.
While I was flapping the wings in all my strength in order not to allow the wind to slow me down, a red dot appeared in the mist. I thought it was a patrol droid, and it was getting ready to meet me. I changed direction not to meet it, but as it also reversed course, my move was wasted.
The patrol droid sent "You violated the curfew. You have to return home immediately.” message to my flight suit's screen.
“I have to go to the Space Port immediately. I have the necessary documents.” I replied.
“You have to go home now,” said the droid. The incomprehension of the droid made me so angry that I felt my whole body burning. I took deep breaths and calmed myself down a bit, and sent him my exit permit.
The message “today people are not allowed to go out on the street under any circumstances.” appeared on my screen. I understood that I couldn't convince him, so I jumped right over him like an arrow, and I kept flying. He answered this move trying to catch up and cut my way. He was close enough to touch me, so it wasn't hard to give him the electricity in my flight suit's battery. He was shaken by the power I gave, remained still for a moment and began to fall rapidly.
After my anger, I realized that my move was irrational, but it was late. As soon as I arrived at the space harbor, I was detained by the androids, and I was the only passenger who couldn't return to the world that day. Later, I learned that not only did the others get permission from the new government to go out on the street, but as the mini-trains were not working, they reached the space harbor with the service plane they were assigned to. While they were enjoying a pleasant voyage on the shuttle, I was pacing like an animal trapped in the room where I was imprisoned. In the following days, I cut off all the medications that I used, paid a hefty compensation for the droid that I dropped, and I could get out from prison three months later.
I can't describe how happy I was when I finally set foot in the world. A few years later, I got married and became a father, but what I experienced in Titan continued to enter my dreams for years.
Image Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/oMpAz-DN-9I