The End of Eden (Water Worlds 1)

Chapter 7

7

The plane's pressure-door popped open and the hot, muggy air enveloped me. I was standing behind Father and Mother, holding Joo Chen's hand, waiting our turn to get off.

I confess, I got a little ill on the aging jumbo jet — it wasn't much better than a city bus, really — but as soon as the door opened, that warm, wet smell of the South refreshed me.

We walked down the jetway stairs to a brass band playing, and passed a line of soldiers smartly snapped to frozen attention on the tarmac. Officials were there to greet us. Father was famous! His two Fenghuang craft were to be launched from the Wenchang spaceport atop matching Long March 7 rockets on consecutive days.

Our whole family were special invited guests. It was an amazing experience for me, as a fifteen-year-old, and I'm sure for Joo Chen, at ten, as well.

Father had insisted on two separate rockets. Officials argued with him about the cost, he told me, but he just scolded them. He had to testify before the Central Committee for days and faced harsh critics. On the day of the decision, he reenacted for me the scene of his glorious victory. He was giddy with pride.

"I reminded them that two rockets didn't cost any more than one. We always make duplicates of every part. 'We have a duplicate launch vehicle already,' I told them. 'We just need to assemble it! And not only can we rid ourselves of tonnes more radioactive materials than we could with one launch alone, but two rockets are cheap insurance against catastrophic disaster. Who would want to be responsible for no back up,' I asked, 'should the first attempt fail?' No one in the assembly spoke. No one even breathed. The quiet was deathly. 'Time is running short!' I reminded them, my voice filling the hall. 'Decide!' And I strode out of the room. It was glorious, I tell you!"

In the end they all agreed and Father won his twin craft.

Although it was one of China's older facilities, Wenchang spaceport had been completely rebuilt. It took over a decade, and now it was the centerpiece of the Hainan Island Launch Center and Space Park.

Mother said that being near the equator was essential for most launches, since the spin of the Earth was greater there, and helped the engines throw the rocket into orbit. It seemed odd that the Earth would be spinning faster here but Mother knew a lot of things, and I had no reason to doubt her.

She said maybe we could go to nearby Sanya Beach after the second launch, if Father allowed. Joo Chen was practically beside himself with joy. This was a rare treat from Mother, who always remembered when we had very little in Korea, and could be, well, frugal is a kind word for what Mother could be.

I played the cool young teen, but I was just as excited as Joo Chen. Sanya was known for its magnificent food, warm seas and beautiful, wide beaches. And it'd be fun to experience the rides at the park or just lay in the sand. I looked forward to that promise all week long, even more than the launch.

The rails weren't big enough in Wenchang for the larger pieces of the Long March rockets, so they had to be brought in on massive barges and pieced together in the giant vehicle assembly building. The building towered over us, draped with an impossibly large national flag, and dwarfed the launch center. It took a few months of frenetic work, but now there they stood, on pads half a kilometer apart, ready for their journey into space.

Seeing, experiencing this launch in person; it was like nothing else. I'd been to many launches with Father. All types of launches, but this was like no other.

It started normally. Boring.

We waited for endless hours way, way off. They put us where we could barely see the rocket on the launch pad with the naked eye, so we used field glasses to get a closer look. I sat with Mother and Joo Chen in a large, air-conditioned glass booth on velvet-padded seats reserved for special guests.