Tonight we continue with Part Four, Heroes and Scapegoats. A ray of hope comes in the form of a charming relationship developing between Ozzie Guerrero and Shamiso Kachote. They have become the subject of ship-wide gossip - everyone's all abuzz. It's not difficult to be in the loop, to be fair, in that the two space twins have lived out their entire young adulthood onboard. There's little in the way of juicy details that hasn't been passed around among crew members bored with their daily lives and looking for something interesting to talk about.
B.J. and Steinhart are also big fans of the pair. They follow their exploits as though Hollywood celebrities. Meanwhile, Young-Min Jo is starting to tire of his role as caretaker of the ship's hydroponic gardens. Biologically now twenty years old, it's like he's in charge of a bunch of teenage stoners.
Tonight we continue with Part Four, Heroes and Scapegoats. A ray of hope comes in the form of a charming relationship developing between Ozzie Guerrero and Shamiso Kachote. They have become the subject of ship-wide gossip - everyone's all abuzz. It's not difficult to be in the loop, to be fair, in that the two space twins have lived out their entire young adulthood onboard. There's little in the way of juicy details that hasn't been passed around among crew members bored with their daily lives and looking for something interesting to talk about.
B.J. and Steinhart are also big fans of the pair. They follow their exploits as though Hollywood celebrities. Meanwhile, Young-Min Jo is starting to tire of his role as caretaker of the ship's hydroponic gardens. Biologically now twenty years old, it's like he's in charge of a bunch of teenage stoners.
Hello, and welcome back to Twin Paradox. I'm King Everett Medlin and what you're hearing is a SciFi trilogy I wrote four years ago under the pseudonym Purple Hazel. Twin Paradox follows my first podcast series entitled Deathwalker Colony, which is now a full length novel available for purchase on Amazon. Go online and check it out! It's on sale today in E-book format, as well as the first two books in the Rijel 12 Series, The Rise of New Australia and Return of Anarchy.
Tonight we continue with Part Four, Heroes and Scapegoats. A ray of hope comes in the form of a charming relationship developing between Ozzie Guerrero and Shamiso Kachote. They have become the subject of shipwide gossip - everyone's all abuzz. It's not difficult to be in the loop, to be fair, in that the two space twins have lived out their entire young adulthood onboard. There's little in the way of juicy details that hasn't been passed around among crewmembers bored with their daily lives and looking for something interesting to talk about. B.J. and Steinhart are also big fans of the pair. They follow their exploits as though Hollywood celebrities. Meanwhile, Young-Min Jo is starting to tire of his role as caretaker of the ship's hydroponic gardens. Biologically now twenty years old, it's like he's in charge of a bunch of teenage stoners.
Twin Paradox is a SciFi series encompassing three full length novels; all of which will be read in their entirety during the coming weeks. You can go online and download the E-books ... or if you prefer, tune in and listen to me read them to you. So let's continue!
Ladies and Gentlemen, Twin Paradox, Part Four: Heroes and Scapegoats. Chapter Nineteen, Shah-zee....
“So … whaddya think we’re gonna do when we get back home, love?” asked Shamiso. She was floating in a weightless embrace with Ozzie inside the Virtual Reality Chamber - enjoying a zero-gravity space fantasy scenario that her lover had programmed into the computer just for them. As they’d just begun to make love, their bare bodies entwined, thoughts about their future as man and wife entered her mind.
“You mean Earth?” he asked with a grin.
“Yeah, crumpet! That’s where we’re goin’, remember?”
To this he snorted, “Oh yeah, I forgot … been out here so long I guess. Kinda forgot where we were headin'.”
He was only half-kidding. In Earth years they’d been exploring space for eighteen years – while aging half that many due to flying near the speed of light. Their birth certificates might have indicated they were pushing thirty; but their bodies and minds were that of 20 year olds. They'd still have many years together.
“Nice one … you’ve got that right," agreed Shamiso. "As it goes, I’m kinda wondering if we’ll ever get back. Not sure where in blazes we’ll go when we get there; how ‘bout you? Put much thought into it, have ya’?”
She was obviously testing him, the way women often do, but they’d been together so many years it didn’t faze the young man.
“Yeah, I suppose so,” replied Ozzie in his now-fading Texas accent. He’d been around so many Europeans and Asians – so many Brits and Middle Easterners and Brazilians – he had lost most of it by now. Only when he was completely relaxed did the accent come back.
“Ain’t too worried about it really. Figure I’ll go find my brother then look for a job somewhere ‘round Houston. I was thinkin’ Rodeo Clown. That sounds kinda fun. ‘N you?”
Now he was joking and Shamiso picked up on it. Yes, they’d be together when they returned to Earth (she knew it in her heart) and it was just a question of where Space Programme sent him next. She fully believed Ozzie would “go career” and follow Captain Stehter wherever his fortunes led him.
“Rubbish … you’re telling porkies,” scoffed Shamiso with a laugh; and her boyfriend smiled happily. Ozzie got a kick out of his girlfriend’s East London slang. Just one of the things about her he enjoyed. “You’re Captain Stehter’s diamond geezer and you know it, Love. Bet you’ll be on his staff one of these days. He’ll see to that, I should bloody well think.”
Ozzie had to agree. Half his young life had been spent on that giant, gleaming space vessel, and his loyalty to superiors, from Kelvin on up to Tommy Berwick - and now Captain Stehter - was unquestioned. Making a career out of Space Programme would be like a dream come true. Going back to Texas was more of a distant second on his list of destinations. As for the present, he felt like he needed to provide some bold assurances.
“Yep … yer right Meeso. I reckon when we git home we should probably go to London first and look up yer sister Rudo, don’t ya’ think? Bet she’s a pop music diva by now … ‘specially after hearin’ the news from Earth.”
He was referencing the brief mention of someone named “Rudo Love” during the transmission they’d heard from the message pod back in Kapteyn B’s orbit a few years prior. The computer program included a ten second sample of Rudo's international hit Kiss Kiss Love.
“Figger that was her we was listenin' to on that recording a while back. She must be famous. Now … how did it go?” He began imitating the catchy tune which Shamiso thought was so annoying. Shamiso rolled her eyes and groaned. Truth be told, it didn’t sound much like Rudo; not the way she remembered her sister’s voice that is, but then again they hadn’t spoken to one another since they were ten. Maybe it was her!
“Possible I guess. She was definitely the loud type back when we was kids,” admitted Shamiso. “But what about your brother Práxido? Ranger Guerrero? That sure sounds like ‘im, don’t it?” What if he’s some rich Megaballer by now? That’s a bit of alright don’t you think? Maybe we could go there and live – if you wanna bring a little bint like me back home with you to Texas, I mean.” To this Ozzie embraced her around the shoulders and hugged her tight. She was merely baiting him; pretending to be insecure about their relationship when it was by this point completely unnecessary. He’d pledged his love to her many, many times already.
“Oh yeah, that‘d be nice baby,” he replied, “An’ I ain’t goin’ nowhere without ya’, I promise ... just in case you're wonderin'. If we can't find yer sis’ up 'ere in London then most definitely, yes. We’ll go lookin’ for Práxido down in Texas. See if he’s got some big ‘ole mansion down around Katy … ‘r up in Dallas maybe.”
He chuckled at the thought, before kissing her on the forehead and caressing her chocolate brown skin. In the program he’d designed, it was an illusion of floating in infinite space. Sometimes in the darkness all he could see were her eyes and her teeth – or the silhouette of her Afro. It turned him on.
“Yep. We can make a real good life for ourselves down there,” he added. “You’ll like it. Pretty country. Lotsa pretty women too. Ain't nobody prettier ‘n the likes o’ you of course, but plenty o’ prospects for my brother that’s fer sher. Bet he’s gotten himself a wife and a few ankle-biters by now. A few horses maybe. Probably nearin’ retirement, come to think of it. Ain’t the kinda sport you can play for too many years ‘fore yer knees give out. But if he’s made a ton ‘o money then shit yeah … maybe we’ll just move into the guest house or sumpin’. I'll learn how to shoe horses, maybe.” He looked into her eyes to gauge her reaction, then sighed and looked away pretending to be satisfied with such a silly notion.
She didn’t believe that of course. Didn’t question his devotion to her; but didn’t for a moment imagine a bright young man like Ozzie Guerrero settling for such a menial existence. Tending horses on his brother’s ranch? Standing in his twin’s shadow – after all Ozzie had accomplished - and at such a young age? No. Shamiso foresaw much more for her dashing lover. He was big. Everywhere. He was tall. He was athletic. If that person mentioned in the Earth transmission really was his identical twin Práxido, well ... Ozzie would never accept playing second fiddle to anyone, let alone a sports celebrity. What’s more, Ozzie was much smarter than his twin – both Kelvin and B.J. had spoken of that years earlier. He’d proven them right time and again ever since departing Earth.
Yes, he was going places, that boy. And with her by his side they’d have every reason to expect a long, fabulous career together in Space Programme. A true “power couple”. Famous astronauts, both of them. Political aspirations perhaps; some time in the not-too-distant future maybe? Why not? After all, they’d still be in their fifties when they retired. So many possibilities! A fancy upscale flat in Darmstadt until they finished their thirty-year service obligation? A vacation cottage in Scotland to go spend summers together? Maybe a condo on the beach down in the Caribbean or on the Gulf of Mexico for winter getaways? Holidays visiting the French Riviera? Touring the Greek Isles on a pleasure cruise with Steinhart and B.J.? Oh yes, that would be terribly nice. She could picture it already.
********
Ah! … Shamiso and Ozzie. Now that was a bright spot in the otherwise dreary existence on board Santa Maria. What an item they were. Gorgeous and perfect. Young and beautiful … practically everyone followed their every move and gossiped about them incessantly. “Shah-zee” they’d call them in a comical combination of their two names - like they were some celebrity couple one might read about on all those trashy macronet sites back on Earth.
They were apart only when on duty, and within mere moments of the end of their shifts they’d be off in a flash to find each other. They were “so stinkin’ cute,” as B.J. often called them, drawing obsessive, almost overbearing interest from other crew members. "But that's just 'cause of jealousy." Anyone would have wanted what they had. Nevertheless, it appeared to be achievable by them and them alone – for those who desired such a thing that is. Even if not, it was fun just to live vicariously through the pair.
They’d fight. They'd squabble. But that would only serve to fuel the rumor mill. "Keep the gossipers’ tongue’s a’ waggin’." And when they’d inevitably make up, their colleagues would be relieved – like they were watching some primetime reality show. Yet this was even better. Everyone was a potential participant in the ongoing drama.
Shamiso would confide in her colleagues at the cryogenics lab – then Ozzie would talk about the latest developments in their relationship with his cohorts in the pod-monitoring section. Folks knew everything there was to know about them: from the first time they’d “gone all the way”, to the blow-by-blow details from their latest argument. Even Steinhart followed their relationship just like a weekly broadcast of some late 20th century “Soap Opera”. B.J. kept him abreast of all the latest dirt she could find out about them; and he ate it up.
"So let me tell you the latest on Shah-zee," she'd typically say, while he was untying her, after they'd had raucous sex inside the Virch. In this case he'd had her hog-tied on top of a short table, paddling her bottom before mounting her. They'd just finished.
"Oh yes! Do!" he exclaimed. "Was passiert dann?" Then he helped her off so they could lie down together. "Give me the scoop."
It was a bit unfair to the young couple. But what could anyone do? People couldn’t help being interested. On top of that, Shamiso and Ozzie had no way of knowing the difference. To them this had simply been reality for the past 18-plus Earth years. Essentially everything they knew about relationships (and love and sex) they’d learned from their shipmates – plus a little private experimentation with each other along the way. Yet even that (all the intimate details) had become common knowledge to their crewmates on board – usually within a day or two.
"They finally tried it in the butt," continued B.J. "Tried; being the operative word. With Ozzie's big dick I can't imagine her takin' the whole thing; you know? But anyway, that's what I found out."
"My goodness," commented the good Captain.
Nonetheless, people respected it; the love between them, and encouraged the relationship in every way they could. In a sense, maybe they all needed Shamiso and Ozzie to be that happy, loving couple that people cherished as they blossomed and evolved together.
Despite all the debauchery going on, with crew members engaging in various forms of perversion at nearly every hour of the day - in at least one location aboard the ship if not several - truth was that what most everyone really, really wanted was to have what Shah-zee had. A love so pure and innocent. A love unspoiled by a corrupt and evil world like they themselves had endured in their teens. Ozzie and Shamiso longed for a return to Earth, just like the rest of them, but ask any one of those crewmembers, and they’d have gladly opined: they weren’t missing a thing:
Media bombarding them with 24-hour a day news reports about all the sadness and horror going on in the world? Corporate advertising portraying dazzling imagery of perfect people living perfect lives largely unattainable by common folk? Domestic violence tearing apart communities and families? Peer pressure from fellow students to try drugs and alcohol? Poverty eating away at the fabric of inner city societies? Financial pressures provoking conflict among young couples struggling to “make it”? Competition from rival lovers driving a wedge between them? Overbearing parents superimposing their own cultural prejudices onto their child’s way of seeing the world? Colleagues and acquaintances compelling them to be in all the right cliques and be seen at all the right parties?
No. They’d been spared all these detriments to growing up as otherwise enlightened human beings; and saved from being vulnerable teenagers in an unforgiving society which pressured kids to be what they couldn’t be or tormented them with lofty achievements that were unrealistic for most youngsters. Shamiso and Ozzie had it good. They had what everyone else could only dream of having: untainted love, unaffected by the outside world, supported and encouraged by all, living day to day in a tight-knit community in which they were valued members.
True, most everyone very well should have desired to have what they had. It was terribly elusive, no matter what anyone did to remedy this malady, though many tried pursuing it at one time or another. Relationships did start up from time to time, usually based on sexual attraction and especially due to constant proximity to one another. Folks really tried emulating the young couple. But those relationships were doomed to failure, no matter how they tried keeping it together. One after the other they all fell apart - except for Steinhart and B.J. of course. They, like Ozzie and Shamiso, were madly in love with each other.
********
Same as with the Away Team, sex was not the only diversion that seemed to lend any form of release for those on the Return Team. Unfortunately, getting high on marijuana was also an option; and that problem grew and grew as the journey continued. Many among the crew began to resort to getting wasted. And that was precisely where Captain Stehter finally chose to draw the line.
He may have had to give in a little; when it came to all the sexual promiscuity as well as partial nudity in the hallways. He knew he couldn’t do much about that and still maintain his regular liaisons with B.J. But when it came to crewmembers abusing cannabis onboard, that’s where he knew he had to intervene. For the sake of the success of the mission, if not the preservation of the crew’s sanity, he endeavored to put a stop to it.
True, Lt. Young-Min Jo had tried once more to “relieve” the Return Team of their ills with his special contribution to the ship’s intricate food distribution system. Same as he’d done for Away Team, he and his staff grew vegetables and fruits in their hydroponic 'grow' system. Just like before they spliced roots, created brand new strains and varieties of cannabis-laced produce every few months or so, depending on what they were growing. Yet Steinhart, as opposed to Tommy Berwick, felt this was dangerous. To risk having crewmembers under the influence of marijuana while still on duty was a threat to crew efficiency, regardless of the “logic” that some tried clinging to. Sadly, it was quite a while before he began to learn the full scope of the problem with those among the crew who were abusing it.
He’d found out all about cannabis being made available in the food distribution system. He’d learned of it when he’d been re-activated from stasis and went through therapy sessions - only to find the food he was consuming contained THC. And to be fair, back then he’d appreciated the pain-killing aspects as well as the much-needed stress-reduction. It had been a relief to have this aiding him in his recovery. But now that things were different, now that he was commanding a galactic transport vessel hurtling through space, he saw marijuana consumption as a potential problem that had to be resolved.
Three years earlier, when they were establishing the new colony, one of Luigi Cadorna’s biggest gripes was crewmen being “high” while at work. There was no question they often were and no one could deny it. They’d work out an arrangement with Young-Min’s cronies in the garden center or select produce that contained heavier, more potent strains of cannabis indica – just to cope with the harsh life there. Hardly anyone blamed them. People found it a lot easier to get through the day when using it. Many found it to be a great relief when consumed on a regular basis. Others however found it to be a distraction, and detrimental to their concentration. Tommy Berwick had remained accepting as always. Patient and accommodating, right from the moment they touched down, Tommy felt that if it was not a direct threat to morale, he’d just let it go - despite Commander Cadorna’s regular demands that he administer punishments for those caught “under the influence” while at their posts.
Yes, Luigi was dead-set against marijuana being grown in the hydroponic garden center onboard Santa Maria. He felt that consuming substances to alter one’s mindset while working was disgraceful - tantamount to dereliction of duty. It was one of his common complaints, since Captain Berwick was permitting its consumption back at the mess hall on Santa Maria and folks could choose to go eat there if they preferred. Luigi wouldn’t allow it on or around B-lander and sought to stamp out its usage among his colonists.
Marijuana consumption was something Cadorna used to throw fits about.
“No svarione on my work sites!” he’d scream. It was about the only thing he and Lt. Kelvin ever seemed to agree on. B.J. for her part never went back to using it. Captain Stehter thought the idea to be absurd and wouldn’t even consider the notion. He was not surprisingly delighted to find B.J. had no interest in including THC edibles in her diet either.
Ozzie Guerrero and the other twins refused to do it too. First off Ozzie felt it was unhealthy, both for the mind and the spirit. So did Shamiso. And no one could have blamed them. Young-Min Jo would never get high – even though he was the one who found a way to override the food distribution system to include cannabis-laced produce in its processors.
“It makes you stupid,” he’d explain to his colleagues partaking of it; and they’d respect his opinions even if they didn’t agree. Nobody pressured him, even among his teammates in the hydroponic garden center. Therefore, none of the three twins would ever get high, regardless of how easy it was to obtain marijuana. What else would anyone expect from them? Ozzie and Shamiso and Young-Min had grown up together, endured puberty together, experienced their first sexual experiences at roughly the same time (though Young-Min had only experimented with heavy petting once and never went any further with the relationship). They’d been a part of the community and saw all that was going on around them. The difference was they made wiser decisions. Maybe they could see things their older crewmates refused to see. Sex with multiple partners for one thing: it was a dead end, and they all three seemed to sense how it could eventually erode their sanity.
Shamiso, Ozzie, and Young-Min had never really known life – adult life that is – outside of their time in space. They were living in a social vacuum and could see the pitfalls of relying on substances to deaden the pain of daily existence. All their human interactions as young teenagers and then young adults had happened right here – on the Santa Maria or out on the surface of Planet B. This was the only reality they’d known since living in squalid circumstances inside of an orphanage. Life on Santa Maria for that reason – even their struggles to survive intact back on Kapteyn B – had essentially been a vast improvement for the three space twins.
To put it bluntly, they couldn’t figure out what everyone was bitching about. Sure, the oppressive gravity on “Planet B” was daunting. The overbearing colony commander blowing up at subordinates (until B.J. got ahold of him and straightened him out) ... that was certainly a challenge. The constant cold outside – which they could regulate with their internal heating system within their pressure suits (but ever-present nevertheless) - that was obviously a detriment. The redundant food choices like soy hamburgers served with rehydrated French fries or frozen chicken patties accompanied by peas and carrots day after day after day … did in all honesty get a bit tiresome and that was something they could have taken issue with as well.
But … this life they had up in space was better; better than those terrible orphanages and bowls of bland oatmeal for breakfast only to be followed up with peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, and spaghetti pasta with runny marinara sauce for dinner. That’s all the three of them could remember getting to eat when they were little children.
No, this was better than a million days back on Earth working on some cleaning crew, like Shamiso would often have to do. More adventurous than a hundred Megaball games as far as Ozzie was concerned. And as far as Young-Min Jo saw things? How could he ask for more? He was physically only age 20 and already a junior officer in Space Programme!
College? Secondary School? He’d skipped past all of that. Strained his vast intelligence to the limits of his young mind, just to keep up with his brilliant colleagues. Yet he’d surpassed many of them via diligence and dedication to his role on the ship while others sat around and got high every day. Became Lieutenant Junior Grade while still (physically speaking) just a teenager. For Young-Min Jo, the memories of his childhood prior to B.J. and Kelvin walking into his life and delivering him from that horrid existence were all but a passing thought. This life he had here? It was all he could ever ask for.
And that’s eventually why he sought a transfer out of the Hydroponic Garden Center. Even though he’d accomplished so much there, by the third year he’d finally had enough.
This concludes tonight's podcast of Twin Paradox, Chapter Nineteen: Shah-zee. I hope you enjoyed it. Watch for episode twenty; which I'll be posting very soon.
Also, and don't forget, my latest full-length novel ... Deathwalker Colony ... is available right now in E-book format and can be downloaded today on Amazon.com ... along with the first two books in the Rijel 12 Series, The Rise of New Australia and Return of Anarchy.
A link to these can be found in the transcript for this episode.
Go online and check 'em out!
I'm King Everett Medlin. Thanks for tuning in.
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