Space Race (Space Race 1) by Nathan Hystad (book recommendations for young adults .TXT) 📕

the rounded lines resembled the more delicate shapes Lotus preferred to use in their spacecraft.

But the language. That was what had me truly baffled. It was like nothing I’d ever seen, but I had no doubt some of these Corps were using coded text to suppress their secrets. I just needed to find someone to break the cipher.

I contemplated leaving the Coin on Capricious but ultimately decided I couldn’t trust SeaTech. Kelley might be aware of my recent discovery and send a team to dismantle my girl. Why else would the guy want to hire me out of the blue?

I stopped at the bathroom, checking my reflection in the mirror. I’d slept in my chair, and my clothing was wrinkled. I tried my best to straighten them out and splashed cold water on my face. Maybe I should have shaved again? I didn’t have time now. I scratched at my stubble and left my ship. The moment I set foot on the ground, the Pod arrived.

The door opened to pick me up, and I was startled to see a man inside it. “Greetings, Mr. Lewis.”

Bryson Kelley himself. “I didn’t expect you.”

“I’ve been anticipating this introduction, Mr. Lewis.”

“Call me Arlo.” I appraised him. He looked younger in person. His hair was perfectly styled, with gray flecks along the temples. His brown eyes were intense, but his smile friendly.

“Not Hawk?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as I climbed into the Pod.

“Arlo,” I mustered out.

“Fine by me, Arlo.”

“What’s this about, Mr. Kelley?”

“You can call me Bryson, since we’re being familiar.” He laughed, clearly evading my question.

The Pod rose, moving for the top of the dueling head office buildings. It didn’t lower; it just continued until we were once again over the ocean.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“To my office.” He grinned as the Pod adjusted trajectory, flying straight down. It breached the water, and I almost fell from my seat. It continued to sink underwater, and I appraised the manufacturing plants.

“Your office is in the ocean?” How eccentric of him.

“I prefer to keep a close eye on my operation. I’m a very hands-on CEO,” he told me.

“I can see that.” I stared at the long tubes, each twenty feet in diameter. There were ten of them stacked on top of one another, running in intricate patterns directly from the main island. Instead of asking him anything else, I sat in silence, enthralled with what I saw. Schools of brightly-colored fish zigged and zagged around the Pod, and a dolphin raced alongside us. I had no idea they still existed.

We finally slowed at a central hub where the tubes connected into the hull. A doorway opened, and the Pod entered. The door sealed again, and water drained from the room around us. The whole process only took two minutes, and I stared like a kid seeing snow for the first time.

“SeaTech does things a little differently from the others,” Bryson Kelley said as the Pod exits swung upward.

“You don’t say.” I stepped out, glancing below me to where thousands of drainage holes resided in the black rubbery floor.

Bryson walked farther into the room, standing by the entrance as a blue light rolled over him and we were permitted access. “Come. We have much to discuss.”

I followed, nervously peeking around. We were at least a kilometer below the surface, with nothing but water enveloping us. I felt a slight wave of nausea, and the pressure in my head built up into a constant throbbing.

“Don’t worry about that. Happens to all of us at the start.” He pressed his thumb to a container on the wall and pulled a small packet from the box. “Take this. It’ll calm you.”

I fumbled with the unmarked bag and tore it open. A small pink pill lingered in my palm. “My mother always told me not to take candy from a stranger.”

“Suit yourself, but it’s purely medicinal.” He looked away, as if granting me some privacy, and I took the pill, swallowing it dry.

The floors were a clean gray material, the walls molded and pleasing to the eyes. Kelley hadn’t spared any expense on this operation. We finally ran into someone, a woman wearing a blue uniform, the SeaTech logo on its upper arms. She smiled at her boss and continued on, a projection showing blueprints of a machine I didn’t understand on her PersaTab. He shared a few ideas, and she made notes before leaving us alone.

“I’ll show you to your room first,” Bryson said.

“Room? I thought we were having a meeting.”

“You’re going to want to stay a few days. If that’s all right?” he asked.

I had nowhere else to go, with zero prospects, so the answer was simple. “Sure.”

We walked by more people. Each of them seemed genuinely happy as they greeted their CEO. He didn’t introduce me to anyone, and I was fine with that. A few minutes later, we were in a residential wing, with crew quarters stretching as far as the eye could see.

“We like to ensure our citizens are taken care of when they’re working in the Tubes. They have their own rooms, unless their family is below with them. In that instance, they’re provided with a suite.” I heard a child laughing, and two little kids in SeaTech blue dashed by, chasing one another through the halls.

“You let families stay here?” I asked.

“Sure. Why would I split them up?” Bryson seemed to mean it, but my years of working for Primaries had left me jaded. None of the others accommodated their workers like this, so I was distrustful. “I’ve set you up in an empty suite. It’s in my private wing.”

We entered a clear lift and rose five stories. Out the rear of the elevator, I saw the dark depths of the ocean, with lights shining outward from the hull.

Bryson turned to me as the door opened, and set a hand on my shoulder. “Arlo, I want you to know that I appreciate you coming.”

“It’s not like I had much of a choice,”