In the Future . . .
A car hovered over the tarmac, the driver scanning for an open space. Traffic was thick as people maneuvered for parking spaces close to the observation dome. Finally, the car descended and settled into a spot, then disgorged a young girl and boy, and a dark-haired woman who took their hands.
As they entered the dome, the boy piped up. "Gee, mom, why'd you like to watch the Mars launch so much? These things go up all the time."
The dark-haired woman smiled. "It reminds me of when I was your age."
"Did you come watch the Mars shuttle with grandma and grandpa?"
"No, that was before humans had traveled to Mars. When I was young we watched the old space shuttles launching. Your uncle and I would sit in the family room with grandma and grandpa, watching the preflight countdown on the NASA channel . . ."
"What's nasa?" asked the girl.
"National Aeronautics and Space Administration. That was before President Obama helped create the WSA. We were living in Orlando then, near the place where NASA launched the shuttles. On television we could see the shuttle on its pad, and listen to the flight controllers do their preflight checks. Then when the countdown ended and the engines fired, we'd run outside and look up to the east. At night, the shuttle's engines would light up the sky, like a reverse shooting star. If there were any clouds, it almost looked like dawn was coming early. Our neighbors would come out too, and we'd all stand on the sidewalk and watch the glow from the engines dwindle as the shuttle moved over Europe. You could see it from thousands of miles away."
The girl looked doubtful. "The Mars shuttle isn't that bright."
"You're right. Its engines are much more efficient. Our technology has come a long way since then, but I miss the old rocket boosters. They sure put on a show."
The trio fell silent as the space vehicle on the pad outside lifted majestically off the ground and soared up into the dark sky, rapidly disappearing from view.
The children looked at their mother, feeling vaguely condescending about their parent's nostalgia for something so ordinary. The boy, being older, asked another question to show interest. "Mommy, is Europe far from Orlando?"
The woman looked up at the Earth as it hung in the sky above them. "Distance is relative, sweetheart."
FIN
(I started out to write pulp SF, from a prompt by desdenova, but this is a far cry from slavering aliens dragging a scantily-clad space vixen into the rainforests of Venus. This evening's shuttle launch was on my mind, and I wanted to write about that experience, so I imagined Gillian telling her kids about it. I ended up with something that is slightly reminiscent of a Heinlein juvenile story, but not really. BUT, it is set in the Future, there is a Flying Car, and a precocious kid says "Gee," therefore it is pulp SF.)
As they entered the dome, the boy piped up. "Gee, mom, why'd you like to watch the Mars launch so much? These things go up all the time."
The dark-haired woman smiled. "It reminds me of when I was your age."
"Did you come watch the Mars shuttle with grandma and grandpa?"
"No, that was before humans had traveled to Mars. When I was young we watched the old space shuttles launching. Your uncle and I would sit in the family room with grandma and grandpa, watching the preflight countdown on the NASA channel . . ."
"What's nasa?" asked the girl.
"National Aeronautics and Space Administration. That was before President Obama helped create the WSA. We were living in Orlando then, near the place where NASA launched the shuttles. On television we could see the shuttle on its pad, and listen to the flight controllers do their preflight checks. Then when the countdown ended and the engines fired, we'd run outside and look up to the east. At night, the shuttle's engines would light up the sky, like a reverse shooting star. If there were any clouds, it almost looked like dawn was coming early. Our neighbors would come out too, and we'd all stand on the sidewalk and watch the glow from the engines dwindle as the shuttle moved over Europe. You could see it from thousands of miles away."
The girl looked doubtful. "The Mars shuttle isn't that bright."
"You're right. Its engines are much more efficient. Our technology has come a long way since then, but I miss the old rocket boosters. They sure put on a show."
The trio fell silent as the space vehicle on the pad outside lifted majestically off the ground and soared up into the dark sky, rapidly disappearing from view.
The children looked at their mother, feeling vaguely condescending about their parent's nostalgia for something so ordinary. The boy, being older, asked another question to show interest. "Mommy, is Europe far from Orlando?"
The woman looked up at the Earth as it hung in the sky above them. "Distance is relative, sweetheart."
FIN
(I started out to write pulp SF, from a prompt by desdenova, but this is a far cry from slavering aliens dragging a scantily-clad space vixen into the rainforests of Venus. This evening's shuttle launch was on my mind, and I wanted to write about that experience, so I imagined Gillian telling her kids about it. I ended up with something that is slightly reminiscent of a Heinlein juvenile story, but not really. BUT, it is set in the Future, there is a Flying Car, and a precocious kid says "Gee," therefore it is pulp SF.)