What the Desert Conjures Up: A Novel
Chapter One
A derelict Quantum 4 ship groaned in the winds of the Chihuahuan Desert. A pack of coyotes zigzagged through the openings of the wreckage. The Organ Mountains glistened pink and orange in the sunset. At the same time, Esteban conducted his routine checks for any low-grade elements that had decayed since the last time they were in orbit around Earth and downloaded some encrypted data from the mainframe. With a bit of work, the Quantum 4 ship would be flight-ready, but with the economy the way it is, spare parts would be difficult to come by. Maybe next Spring, thought Esteban.
Whipping up some dust, the wind howled through Esteban’s tent about a mile from the Quantum 4 ship. He was doing his checks of the degrading encrypted files and looking through some books that were older than the ship here. He fingered through the pages of the books, knowing that they might crumble with an ounce more of his strength. He feverishly took notes on old physics equations and diagrams of prototypes for the first interstellar spaceships. There was not much left of Earth’s spacefaring fleet. It had all been turned into scrap or sent into the sun so that no one could reach Ethrum without proper permission. Esteban always thought those procedures were a bit drastic.
There was an old television in his tent, given to him by his grandmother, with an amplifier to pick up old signals, so he could watch whatever sitcoms he could find from the past five hundred years. He heard some rustling in his tent, and he knew it was either a coyote or his grandmother.
“Esteban!” said his grandmother.
“I’m working on some encrypted files,” he resounded from the back of the tent.
“I have some menudo and tortillas for you,” said his grandmother.
She was always in the mood to provide for him. Esteban figured that Earth’s old ways were what gave her these characteristics. No one in the desert looked after one another. Some waited for a victim to pass by to rob, while others hoped to pick up scrap metal and other old devices like Esteban did. About a mile from them was a tent city called Xu, as old as Esteban, at least. In Xu, he had an uncle there named Hector who secretly dealt with all the latest news from the paradisiacal planet of Ethrum. Esteban never expressed his fascination with Ethrum aloud, for fear of upsetting his grandmother at the prospect of leaving the desert.
Although every day he passed by Xu, he would inquire with his uncle Hector to see if there was a fleet coming to Earth, even though everyone knew the last fleet from Earth had left a long time ago. Abandoned on Earth, communities of Earthlings sprang up worldwide to deal with shortages and various violent factions that had sprung up in the wake of a lack of central order.
This was all before Esteban had been born. He heard a gentle song coming in from the other side of the tent and knew his grandmother was thinking of the old Earth. She even played records, CDs, iPods, and generally anything she could keep her hands on to remind her of something permanent that had not betrayed her. Betrayal was the last emotion on Esteban’s mind. He had always felt suspicious of the life he was dealt. It never seemed to have added up to him.
He heard his grandmother pouring some dog food for her dachshund named Ajax. Ajax had been around his grandmother for years. He was taken in as a puppy when one of his grandmother’s friends passed away. Often in competition with the local coyotes, Ajax could handle himself. Earth had never been the same since a series of ecological disasters that ripped through it. Even though coyotes were abundant here in the desert, most wildlife had perished in the calamities that struck Earth, all within a span of 500 years. Esteban once heard of a company that wanted to bring extinct species back to life on Earth to balance ecosystems. He knew it was not the fauna that the Earth needed. Earth needed fewer humans, and the ecological disasters answered that for the past 500 years. Millions of towns and cities were abandoned for space. In the wake of such depopulation, nature had crept back into the cities. Trees began to grow; grass was plentiful, and flowers bloomed.
In the desert, Esteban could always tell when the seasons were passing not by whether the local cacti were dead or living, but by the howl of the winds from north, south, east, or west. He looked down at his computer and swiped through some more encrypted files. Some of the files were blinking red, others orange, and some green. The red ones are the ones he wanted. He had been doing this kind of work since he was 17. He took jobs like these after the passing of his parents in a horrible accident near the border with Mexico. A thief shot them while they were shopping. Esteban hurts every time he thinks of it. His grandmother and his uncle love him and only soothe him so much.
At times, he wonders if a fleet from Ethrum will ever come back to Earth. They have technology that allows you to relive your moments with your loved ones, literally. The device is something like something out of the old movie called The Matrix. Esteban never understood why this technology was made legal. Now that Earth has gone through ecological calamity, a calamity caused by robots seems to be everyone’s least concern.
“Esteban, you’re missing your dinner now,” scolded his grandmother.
“I’ll be right there, abuela,” said Esteban.
He did not feel like eating. Today, he had lost his appetite thinking about his parents again. He moseyed his way over to the other side of the tent, where his grandmother had placed the food. It was the same grub — a thick soup made of some concoction of cactus and maybe a jackrabbit or two. He never complained about the food, but he knew plenty that did. Hector, his uncle, was one of those who complained. That is when he would speak with bitterness about the glories of Ethrum.
“What are you thinking about?” said his abuela as she sat down across from him.
Esteban remained silent. He knew where this conversation was going now. His abuela, Mercedes, was good at reading facial expressions. She was so good that he thought she was a witch at one point, but she was too kind and generous to be that evil. He placed his spoon on his lips and ate some of the soup.
Ajax began barking at something outside, and his grandmother hollered at him. The wind had kicked up, blowing dust into their meager tent. Dust was a natural part of living in this area, and he thought Ajax had gotten some in his brain. The dog kept barking, which finally made Esteban get up from where he was sitting and go outside the tent.
To Esteban’s surprise, a man was standing outside the tent with a scarf around his head. He looked like he had traveled from far away, as he did not recognize his style of clothing. Strangers were not generally seen this far from Xu. The stranger was brown skinned and had dull black eyes. He wore gloves and removed them to begin touching a computer pad.
“Are you Esteban Llana?” said the man.
“I am,” said Esteban.
He huffed and took off his scarf. When he took off his scarf, a jagged scarred face was revealed. Esteban surmised he had been through some rough times. Ajax was not taking a liking to him. The dog snarled and barked heavily at the man so much that Esteban had to restrain him.
“We thought you were dead,” said the man.
Esteban was taken aback at such abruptness. A comment like that was not the way of humans now. Other than the death of his parents, Esteban stayed away from shady figures. Maybe Ajax was right that this man was only bad news.
“Do you still deal with those encrypted files from the Quantum 4 ship just north of here?” said the man.
“I do. But, first, who am I talking to?” said Esteban.
The man let out a laugh so loud he looked like he was about to split a gut. He glared at Esteban for a moment and then went back to his computer pad. He cracked his knuckles.
“I am the best thing that has ever happened to you, Esteban. I am Ricardo,” said the man.
“Why are you here?” said Esteban defensively.
“I am here to take that old Quantum 4 ship off your hands,” said Ricardo.
“You can’t have it. It’s on my grandmother’s land,” said Esteban.
“Land is a scam. The technology is everything I want,” said Ricardo.
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“Esteban, who is it?” rang out his abuela’s voice from inside the tent.
“No one, abuela, just a random passerby looking for food. I gave him some rations,” said Esteban.
“You, sir, are a bad liar,” said Ricardo.
“You need to leave, please,” said Esteban.
Esteban noticed the man was riding a centuries-old motorcycle. It was not one of those flying ones from only a hundred years ago. He wondered where he got the fuel for something like that. Wasn’t it called gasoline? Esteban knew he might be a bad liar, but he still did not know where this man had come from. He came from seemingly nowhere.
The desert will do weird things to people, especially after worldwide ecological collapses. Some saw the desert as a refuge; others, a place to die. This man saw only his surroundings for profit, that was for sure. And, where there was profit, there were more motives and human pain than Esteban did not want to know.
“Who do you work with?” inquired Esteban.
“If I told you, I would no longer be known as a man who works alone in the desert,” said Ricardo.
“You are a liar, too. Everyone knows everyone in these parts of the desert. I have never seen you before,” said Esteban.
“I am not asking for much, Esteban. I only need the latest encrypted files salvaged from that Quantum 4 ship,” said Ricardo.
Esteban searched for an answer. He was not aware of anything outside Xu or this area of the desert that required the encrypted files, other than his own interest. He once heard his dad speak of something called the black market, organized crime, and other underworld organizations and places. This seemed different, and Ricardo was not shying away. He said bluntly and to the point with confidence.
“None of my files are for sale, if that is what you want,” said Esteban.
“I do. And what if I tell you I’ll give you a share of my profits? Even better to keep you engaged with me, I’ll give you a stake in our mission,” said Ricardo.
Militaries had been disbanded on Earth for the past five hundred years. There were no missions anymore. The last mission of man was their journey to Ethrum. Esteban’s heart skipped a beat at the gravity of what the man was saying. A mission broke the unwritten law now on Earth. Missions and politics reminded everyone of what once was and the betrayal of their leaders, leaving them behind on Earth for Ethrum. That is what this man was, thought Esteban, he was politics.
“So, you’re saying you’re political,” said Esteban after he processed Ricardo’s statement.
Ricardo smiled widely and big. He went into his pocket and brought out another ancient artifact: a phone. It was one of those touch-screen ones Esteban had seen pictures of in some of the older, ruined buildings in the city.
“If you mean, I am this political. Then, yes, I am,” said Ricardo as he showed Esteban his screen.
Esteban looked at the screen. It was a map of Ethrum and the thoroughly mapped journey to it. Esteban had never seen such a thing. He had only heard rumors that maps of Ethrum were available. He grew curious as to this man’s further agenda.
“Why show me something which everyone has lost hope about?” said Ricardo.
“You want to go there?” said Ricardo.
Esteban’s nostrils flared. He only thought of his father and his final words. His father planned to go to Ethrum and start a new life with his family. It was taken from him. Esteban knew that what his father had been doing may have been on the bit rebellious side, and under the old order of Earth, it would have been called illegal. Somewhere within everyone, Esteban had met and knew there was still this craving for order and leadership.
This was a close call with some semblance of old Earth Esteban never knew. He thought of his grandmother and what the man could do for them if this offer proved true. Esteban did not mind the desert, but he did not call it home. He called Earth less of a home and only looked for some escape from its mayhem.
Esteban beckoned the man to step away from the tent. He did not want his abuela to hear. By this time, it was dusk; it never occurred to Esteban that no one left their homes at dusk.
“So, how do I pay you, or do you pay me? There is no money on Earth,” said Esteban.
“You don’t need to remind me,” said Ricardo.
Ricardo went through the backpack he had on and began searching it. He brought out a parcel and opened it. Metal that shone in the dimming sun fell from it. Esteban had never seen such a thing. He blushed. He was embarrassed at what the man could be offering. The money was from Ethrum.
A part of Esteban met with disgust at this visible reminder of Ethrum and its ways. Despite being a lowly person of Earth, Esteban took pride in having moved beyond ways that separated humans from one another. Money is the chief one. Ethrum was too alluring, though, to pass up this time around.
“Is that your offer? And, what am I supposed to do with money from Ethrum?” said Esteban.
“You’ll be a wealthy man there,” said Ricardo.
“Can I take my uncle and grandmother with me?” said Esteban.
“Of course, all you have to provide are the latest encrypted files from the Quantum 4 ship,” said Ricardo.
The wind was kicking up, and Ajax had begun to bark again. Esteban went into his pocket and brought out a small bag to place the money in for the time being. He began to sweat and worry about how he would tell his family. It was at the bottom of the money pile when Esteban saw it. It was crumpled, and Esteban recognized it as an old photo. He unfurled it, and his heart stopped. It was a picture of him, his mother, and his father from years ago.
“Where did you get this?” he questioned.
“I got it from my informant. He said whoever is in this picture, their lives ended as soon as Ethrum’s temptation reached them,” said Ricardo.
Esteban looked closer at the photo. His mother, father, and even he were wearing Earth’s Fleet uniforms. He was only four, maybe, in the photo. He had no idea how deep and how bad his father’s — and possibly his mother’s — story with Ethrum had gone. What he did know now was that the desert had conjured something up.
