“So where is all the money we saved up over the years?”
Dad replied, “I used almost all of it to help build the spaceship. Your mother and I agreed that since we were not going to be able to use it on Earth, we might as well spend it on the ship. So, forget about money, forget about the allowance. Right now, you need to start thinking about the training all of you will have to go through before you board the ship. That starts tomorrow morning. Each one of you will be taking aptitude and physical tests. You will also be trying to select a career or job on the ship. Sam is going to be working with me, as we see his promise as a future officer and perhaps the commander of the vessel. No one will work until they reach sixteen years old, so Robert will be in school learning about everything that happens on the ship and trying to select his own career. Mom is going to work with the nurses and medical staff. It is possible that Sophie may want to do that also, but that will be her choice. Now get some sleep because tomorrow is going to be a busy day for all of us.”
I finished my meal thinking about money or rather about how there would be no money for the rest of my life. What a bummer. Now all we had to do was wake up tomorrow and start training. At least I would be motivated to be more like Edgar Mitchell than all the other people who had proven they weren’t worth looking up to.
Chapter 20 – Before We Got Our Assignments
Sam Burns, Rocky Mountains, CO
The following day, Dad and Mom woke us all up at 7 am in the morning. We showered and got dressed. Then we ate some breakfast. By 8 am, we were in the car, driving to a test center in an abandoned school building. Just about all of my classmates were also there.
I sat down next to my best friends, Sally and Jose. My sister and brother joined some friends they knew. It looked like everyone in the room was a little nervous, as we weren’t sure what to expect. In school, we always had time to study and prepare for tests, but today we had no idea what the test was going to be about.
I asked them how they were doing.
Sally said, “I’m going crazy thinking about this space trip. I had hoped to spend the summer hanging out and getting ready to attend college. I have no idea what we are going to do here.”
Jose said, “I am looking forward to doing this, but I am sure going to miss a hell of a lot of things on Earth. I have no idea what awaits us on this trip. Will I be bored to death? Who will I date? Someday I may want to have my own family. This stuff is freaking me out.”
I said, “Dad has been quiet about this up till now. I think he wanted us not to worry so much and just try to focus on having a normal life until he had to spill the beans.”
It was good to see Jose and Sally. I always felt comfortable with them and could talk about almost anything with those two.
We were all waiting to see who would be testing us. All of a sudden, our principal, Mrs. Smith, came out to greet us. She stood on a podium with a microphone with an all-white uniform on. Her hair was now in a ponytail.
“Hello, everyone. You did not think you were going to get rid of me just because school is out, did you?”
That brought a laugh from some of us.
Mrs. Smith then continued, “It is good to see you all again. I am going to supervise your testing. It is essential that you try your best regardless of what we ask you to do. Let’s get to the task at hand, shall we? There are thirty of you here. There may be others joining you in the future. The details are still being worked on. You will be divided into two groups. The testing will take about four hours and include physical as well as mental tasks, and you will be rated on each one. There is no pass or fail. You will all be making the trip regardless of how you do on the tests. We simply want to assess what your strengths and weaknesses are so we can assign you to do appropriate work on the ship. You will have plenty of time in space to improve your skills and learn many others. Just so you know, I will be the director of education on your travels.
“Now I want to introduce you to our two other testers today. First, I want you to meet Jose Cunningham. He is responsible for mental testing. When you meet with him, he will explain the tests you have to take. Jose graduated from Colorado University with a Ph.D. in psychology. He is considered to be an expert in solving problems mentally.”
Jose stepped forward and waved to everyone.
The students gave him a light clap. “Welcome, Jose.”
“Our next tester is Ms. Betsy Rosen. She recently graduated from Iowa University where she was a standout gymnast and volleyball player. She also served two years in the army.”
Ms. Rosen stood up and stepped forward. She was about 5’9”, and it looked like she was all muscle.
“Ms. Rosen will be testing your strength and agility skills. I am sure she will have some of you huffing and puffing by the end of the day. Both Jose and Betsy will also be joining us on our travels. Feel free to become familiar with them and ask them questions. Everyone on board will have to exercise, and Ms. Rosen will be responsible for that. Are there any questions before we begin?”
One of the students, Stacey Hill, raised her hand. She asked, “Will we be able to go to the bathroom if we need to? Also, are you planning on feeding us?”
Some of us started to giggle. Stacey was like a class clown and always asked about silly things.
Mrs. Smith did not laugh. She looked directly at Stacey, “When we tell you that you can go to the bathroom, you can do so, and, yes, you will be fed at the end of four hours of testing. I hope you ate your breakfast. You are going to need the energy. Are there any other questions?”
She did not wait to see if we had any more questions. Instead, she said, “We need to divide you into the two groups before we begin. We will have groups A and B. First, I will call group A. If your name is called, please line up in front of Jose Cunningham. If your name is not called, you are in group B and will line up in front of Ms. Rosen. When the tests are finished, we will all meet back here for some closing information. The results of today’s tests will be used to plan for more training before we leave this planet. You can expect training about one or two times a week. Now listen for your names: group A: Stacey Hill, Monica Boudreaux, Roger Chapman, June Honeycutt, Joseph Jones, Mary Nguyen, Jules Patrick, Bill Bryant, Felicia Gomez, Sophie Burns, Robert Burns, Tom Bell, Wayne Diaz, Lori Shah, Jose Williams, and Brent Lee. Please go with Jose now. Good luck.”
All these classmates stood up and followed Jose out to a classroom for their testing. That meant that I would be given the physical tests first. I felt relieved that my brother and sister were in the other group, although I wished that Jose was in my group. It was easy for me to compare myself to him. We could push each other to do better. My group included my girlfriend, Sally Benjamin, as well as Jackie Sands and Mark Lewis. Sally was close to me, and we shared a lot of secrets with each other. Mark was an outstanding athlete. He could run a hundred meters in around 10.6 seconds, which was much faster than any time I could do. Jackie was a great student and very friendly. Everyone liked her. She was always willing to help others.
Also, Jane Iris was in the group. Jane was in Robert’s class. She was short, and it seemed that my brother liked her a lot. Becky Strong was next in line. Her name was the exact opposite of her looks. Nancy Lee, who was in Sophie’s class, was next. She and my sister often went to the movies together. They liked to put on makeup and clothes that would tend to attract guys they wanted to meet. Mirabelle Jones followed Nancy. She was also an outstanding athlete. Orson Jackson, who was kind of heavy and short for his age, was next. I did not know much about him. The tallest person in the group, Lev Panko, was next. He was 6’3” tall and only sixteen years old. His parents were also tall. His dad was 6’6” tall, and his mom was 6’1” tall. I did not know the last few people. I knew their faces from school and around town but had not socialized with them yet. I expected that we would be meeting each other very soon.