The God Complex: The Book Of Alan, Destroyer Of Worlds

Chapter Fourteen

"BREAKING 'S NEWS' ALERT: Supreme Leader of the New World, President Abaddon has praised Training Commanders across the globe, referring to them as 'saintly' in their selfless pursuit to save the population. Sacrificing their time to guide and support the regular citizens of earth in preparation for the interstellar challenges ahead. President Abaddon said in a statement: 'Much like myself, the training commanders are the real heroes of Earth, without them the ordinary man would be no more than a passenger on this journey. We salute you'."

Gabe was in big trouble. His very future now lay in the hands of a man hell bent on destroying him. 'How was he still so angry after all these years?' Okay he killed the mission after five years of training, so sure be angry at him when he quit, but in leaving EDEN, Gabe only hurt himself.

Did Cain really care that much about the other crew members who couldn't go? After ten years how did he still feel that much hatred towards him, ten years! That takes dedication, in an age where it's difficult to still feel that angry about the world ending, how did he still feel angry about this? You have to really cultivate that anger, feed it, renew it. Gabe just didn't understand.

He was still pushing his bacon sandwich around his plate when Monkey and Jaibles sat down next to him.

'Alright Geezer. Tough morning, huh?'

'You could say that,' said Gabe, still staring at his sandwich. 'I don't get how he's still so pissed after all this time?'

'What happened back then?' Said Jaibles taking a big bite from his sandwich and placing it back neatly.

'You remember I told you I made it onto a crew first time around before some idiot ruined it by pulling out on the week before launch. Well I was that idiot.'

'Was that it?' Said Monkey smoothing out his beard. 'You should have seen it this morning Jaibles, I've never seen anyone get torn into like that, I genuinely thought he was going to go for you at one point.'

'What are you going to do, Gabe?' Said Jaibles wiping the ketchup from his face.

'What can I do?' Said Gabe sitting back in his chair in an attempt to stretch away the problem. 'Guess I just have to get my head down and not give him any more reasons to hate me. If I can prove I'm one of the best cadets they have then they'll have to give me a role on the flight deck, they need to take the pressure off the EDEN military personnel, remember. It's just three months, how bad can it be?'

'Guess we'll find out, Geezer. Come on, we need to get back. Can't risk being late twice in one day.'

The next four days consisted of lectures and demonstrations, morning and afternoon from the Eden mechanics who put the engine together. It was an intense learning curve and Commander Cain did his best to make people quit as it became more and more technical.

Each morning and afternoon Commander Cain found a reason to lay into Gabe and each time Gabe stayed quiet and kept his head down.

Monkey became his star pupil in that first week, showing such a grasp of the mechanics that even the EDEN guys were impressed. Gabe had to work a lot harder to keep up, the main shuttles were nothing like the smaller exploration shuttles he remembered the first time around.

When Commander Cain left the room, Monkey took it upon himself to help tutor Gabe, he could see how badly he wanted it, but it was just too much information to take on in such a short period of time. Gabe just hoped he'd taken in enough to get him through the simulator.

The simulator had come a long way since Gabe last set foot in it. The bad graphics and 2D animation were out and hyper-virtual reality was in.

The simulator placed you on the actual shuttle with full crew and passengers on board, deep in the vacuum of space, to practice everything from minor repairs and strategic adjustments to collisions, attacks, and the gravitational pull of a planet tearing your shuttle apart, all in real time with real destruction - you could feel it, you could smell it, it was so real.