His voice sounded angry, and I knew he was going to continue berating me and arguing. I tried to reason with him.
“I do not want to argue with you, Steven. My dad was one of the first to realize we had to leave and that there is no turning back. Blaming my dad for years of mistakes and negligence by politicians and others is just wrong. I am sorry you will not be joining us. My dad has had to make some tough decisions. Try to be positive and enjoy your life.”
As soon as I said those last words, I knew I had made a mistake. This seemed to make Steven even angrier.
He screamed, “YOU LITTLE PRICK, YOUR DAD IS AN ASSHOLE. I AM GOING TO BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOU. THEN YOU CAN RUN HOME TO YOUR DADDY AND MOMMY, AND THEY CAN WIPE YOUR ASS. STEP OUTSIDE NOW!”
Everyone in the restaurant was shocked at what they had just heard.
What was I going to do? Of course, I was also getting angry. I was starting to get a severe rush of adrenaline. This was something that I had no control over. However, I was furious about what he had called my dad and me and belittling me.
I said, “Okay, that’s it. I am going outside now. You can meet me outside in five minutes, and we will resolve this dispute one way or another. Just make sure your friends don’t get involved in this.”
I knew I would not be able to fight five or six of his friends, not by myself.
We all went outside to a park nearby. My friends stood on one side, and Steven and his friends were across from us. They were all hollering and moving around, hoping to see us get started.
I turned to my sister and brother, “If I do not win, call mom. I may need an ambulance.”
My brother nodded. “Just beat him up and show him who the boss is.”
I asked him, “What happened to sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me?”
My brother shrugged. “Someone has to uphold the family honor, and it looks like you have to do it.”
I moved in to face Steven. Since I was a wrestler in high school, I knew how to fight. I was not sure about Steven. He was about the same size as me. Since he worked in manual labor, I assumed he was relatively strong. I put my hands out front, bent my knees and waited for him. He rushed me quickly. As he approached me, I punched him in the solar plexus, and he dropped to his knees, gasping for breath.
I knew he was not ready to give up and would attack again. I stood ready for his second approach. This time he was more careful about what he was going to do. He tried to get behind me and put me in a bear hug, but my wrestling skills took over. I put my arms under his shoulder and flipped him down. Then I got on top of him and made sure he could not get up. He tried hard to get me off of him, to no avail. I just had too much experience fighting for him to win.
Finally, while I still had him down, I said, “Steven, do you give up? This is not doing either of us any good. I do not want to fight you.”
At first, Steven refused, but after another few minutes of agony and the fact he was embarrassed, he gave up. I let him go. He got up, dusted himself off, and he and his friends left in a hurry.
I was exhausted. My brother and sister came over to me and gave me a high five. Then, my sister hugged me. My friends applauded a little. I told everyone that while I did win the fight, I really did not enjoy it at all and hoped it would not happen again. Then we all separated and went home.
When we got home, my brother was bragging to my mom about me taking care of the family honor. Of course, my mom was relieved I was all right, but she was also mad at me for taking the bait.
“Why didn’t you call me or just walk away?”
“Mom, I wanted to do that, but Steven was not going to let that happen.”
As usual, when a kid gets into a fight, parents called each other. My mother felt obligated to call a few other parents who verified my story. That seemed to be the end of it.
There were so many things to do before we left and so little time to get all of them done. I wasn’t even sure whether my emotions were ever going to let me calm down enough, but I certainly wasn’t going to believe that it was a worthless mission that didn’t care about the future of humanity. I figured that Steven had been completely irrational for denying that people explore all possibilities and it didn’t mean we were being exclusive. It meant that we were building on my dad’s dream and hoping to extend humanity’s chances. Maybe someday hundreds of years from now, the children from Steven’s family would be able to travel across the galaxy and meet our own descendants. Maybe.
Chapter 19 – What’s my Allowance?
Sam Burns, Glenwood Springs, CO
Days after the fight, my family was sitting at our dinner table. Mom had cooked some spaghetti and meatballs that we were all enjoying.
My brother asked, “Dad, how much money are we going to get for an allowance on this spaceship? Right now, you are giving me twenty dollars a week. We probably need more on the ship, right?”
Dad was about to reply when Sophie butted in, “Robert gets twenty, and I get thirty. I want more. I want a hundred dollars a week.”
Dad and Mom looked amused.
Mom said to me, “How much would you like, Sam?”
Sam replied, “Well, I will probably be working a lot, so you can pay me the going rate. I expect we will all make a lot of money, right?”
Dad then said, “All three of you seem very interested in becoming rich over the years. Exactly, what will you do with all this money in space? Do you plan to get a new car? Season football tickets? The latest high-tech recreation equipment? Perhaps a new cell phone?”
My brother replied, “We have football leagues in space? Will Sophie get a new car?”
Sophie said, “What stores are going to be on the ship?”
Dad sat there shaking his head and smiling.
“All three of you seem very close tonight. Okay, everybody, pay attention. The answer to all your questions is that there will be no need to have any money, and there will be no bank. Also, everyone on the ship will work without being paid.”
“What?” I said. “Who is going to work for no pay? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
Sophie said, “How am I going to pay for new clothes or go out on a date? You need money to do those things. I need money!”
Dad said, “Sophie, you can get new clothes when you need them for free. You can go out on a date anywhere on the ship for free. However, if you want to go on a date off the ship, that will be a problem. All food, movies, and recreation are free. One of the reasons this planet is in so much trouble is because some wealthy people think their money is more important than life on this planet. Greed is part of the reason for this situation.
“There is an old saying: ‘Money is the root of all evil.’
“Rich people are going to die on Earth. Their money will be useless. They will probably offer me a lot of money to take them on the trip, but my answer is going to be no. People on the ship will work and work hard every day. They will be motivated because they want to stay alive and find a new planet so we can live hopefully happily ever after. Everyone on the ship will be equally rich and poor with zero dollars.”
Robert protested. “But money motivates people to work too. What happens if they do not work or go on strike?”
“If they do not work or refuse to work, there will be an appropriate punishment. We can put people in the brig until they are ready to work again. We can also send them to the cryo unit, put them in a deep sleep and not wake them up until we reach a planet.”
Dad saw that each of us had a look of shock on our faces. “I mean, Dad—” I started to say.
“It’s a last resort of course, son. All the officers on the spaceship have agreed there is no need for money. However, if we do reach a new planet, perhaps, we will again have money. I hope not. If we travel for many years without the use of money, we probably will be fine without money on a new planet.”