Bridger: a Dystopian Serial

Explorer of Worlds

Seth set down the comm and glanced at his patient.

Venn opened one eye.

"Ah," Seth sighed. "You are awake." He poured a glass of water and carried it over to Venn's bedside.

Venn gulped down the water. "Your water is good here," he said, his mouth dripping.

"So there is water in your world?"

"I haven't yet found a world where it was not," Venn said, "but in Kaa it tastes like..." he pressed his lips together and squinted into the distance. "There is no word for this. It is a—" he waved one long hand in the air "—a metallic element that has a strange taste."

Seth pulled a chair over and straddled it, facing Venn with his arms crossed over the chair back. "You do this a lot, then?"

With a perfectly straight face, Venn nodded. "It's what I have done since I was young."

"Why?"

Venn's face worked for a moment. Seth could imagine whatever his translation implant did going on behind his eyes.

"It is what my people do," Venn said slowly. "We explore other worlds."

"And do what?"

Venn lifted a hand. "We... study them and if they're inhabited by sentient species, and if they have resources that are useful, we try to create trade alliances."

Seth narrowed his eyes. "You colonize them?"

"We don't set up colonies. We set up exploration bases which become trade bases in time."

"Yeah, same diff," Seth muttered. "I'm sure Erwell will be all over that. New resources from other worlds? For sure." Seth slapped his hands on the top of the chair. "Get your story straight because she's going to grill you."

"Grill... me?" Venn sat up straighter. A faint flush came into his pale face, the first sign of emotion.

Seth turned his face, hiding a grin. "Question you. She's going to question you." He turned back. "If there is a portal, could you take people back through it?"

Venn's eyes narrowed. He regarded Seth for a few moments. "Yes."

"Prepare to be asked to test that, then."

"It is what my people do," Venn said slowly. "We explore other worlds."

"I don't need to test it," Venn said quietly. "It will work."

"Right," Seth said slowly. At any rate, Venn didn't seem to by lying on purpose. He might have to do some tests.

He picked up the comm. "Director? The patient is awake."

"Coming," Erwell replied within a second.

Seth punched in Char's code. "Cap... Char. Director Erwell is coming to interrogate Venn. Would you like to sit in?"

Her voice came over the comm, breathless and distorted by wind. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

Seth paused, holding the comm. He was beginning to get used to hearing her voice again, even starting to look forward to having her pop into the infirmary. Yesterday she'd slid into the bench across from him while he was eating dinner in the cafeteria. Sure, it was to ask for an update on Linc, but she'd voluntarily talked to him. Five years ago, she wouldn't even come to the door when he tried to apologize to her one more time.

God, I thought I was done being bitter.

Erwell breezed in the door, for once without smiling at him and trying to chat him up. She whipped back the curtain around Venn, only pausing once to glance at the handcuff locking one of Venn's wrists to the metal bed frame.