Radiant deluge

(0)

How far can love reach? From one lip to another? From one corner of a room to the other? Between two cities? Can love traverse the vast emptiness that lies between the constellations? If that is the case, then why…

(1)

“..beacuse of this, the amount of radioactive waste has already exceeded the critical point, causing the second largest station in the orbit to be under threat. Even though the station was in Luna’s orbit majority of the crew’s nationality is—”

Tejayi was humming a song to herself. It was a holiday today, and there wasn’t much pressure from work. She had turned off the news that was playing softly on the home system and stood on the balcony with a cup of coffee in hand, gazing into the distant horizon framed by glass. Tejayi lived in a small two-story house in Bongotown, the largest crater in the South Settlement. The entire crater is covered with anti-radiation glass. Bongotown consists of about 200 houses and a few government hospitals. From the balcony, sometimes one can see the Earth in the pitch-black ocean. Vast. Bluish.

And every time Tejayi gazed at this bluish beauty, she remembered her beloved Nilo. No, that’s not right; Nilo hasn’t been embraced as her own yet, only in her thoughts. And as soon as the thoughts of Nilo begin a blue-shift in her heart, a red-shift of embarrassment starts to spread across her cheeks. Ugh!

Tejayi smiles. She loves Nilo. She doesn’t know what words to use to express the utmost love. Otherwise, she would have used that instead of “love”,

Today is the day to meet Nilo. Although they see each other a few times a month due to work, today’s meeting on a holiday feels different. No one will be in their uniforms today; instead of the factory’s bright white light, she will see Nilo in the dim orange light of the restaurant. Tejayi will discover what kind of drinks Nilo likes and what he will talk about while walking down the road, free from the busyness of work. Today, Tejayi will know everything! Uff!

Although, this isn’t really a date. Even on a holiday, they are essentially meeting to discuss the company’s project. Still, Tejayi knows very well that she will never get such an opportunity again.

I need to be honest with my feelings.

I have to tell Nilo that I love him!

I must tell Nilo that I love him.

There was a secret I wanted to share,

Friend, will you have the time?

Just hear it once and forget it,

But don’t tell anyone again.

Many walk around saying “I don’t love,”

Yet in their hearts, love resides.

For so long, one was ordinary, among many,

But today, one feels so different,

In the blue of heart’s darkness…

Tejayi started humming again.

(2)

“I’m Nilo Warda. From the Hydroponics team.”

Tejayi was taken aback that day, but she quickly composed herself. “I’m Tejayi Acharya, from the Lunar Soil Sampling, Researching, and Repurposing Department. I believe we’ll be working together?”

“That seems to be the case,” Nilo replied. “It’s a privilege to work directly with a scientist from the G-Lab. I hope the terraforming project progresses even faster.”

“Excuse me, G-Lab?” Tejayi raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Haha, don’t take it the wrong way,” Nilo said, raising both hands in a gesture of surrender. “It’s just that saying the full name of your department takes a while, so we shorten it to G-Lab.”

Tejayi chuckled softly. That was the beginning. After that, during breaks at work, she gradually started to understand Nilo through their conversations.

“I don’t exactly dislike the Pri, but I’m not satisfied with their central government, the actions of the UN. Even though Luna is technically independent, they seem unable to accept that in any way. And so, they keep looking for one excuse after another to take control of us.”

Luna freed itself from the dominance of Pri about thirty years ago. Yet, much of Luna's orbit is still filled with Pri’s satellites and space stations. In fact, ninety percent of the helium mined on Luna has to be exported to Pri, and at a nominal price.

Like Nilo, many Lunarians are understandably frustrated with Pri.

“My dream is to process Luna’s soil in a special way to make it suitable for farming. If we can become self-sufficient in food, we won’t have to live under Pri’s pressure anymore,” Nilo said.

“Nilo, I think you should be careful with your words,” Tejayi said anxiously. “You know what happened to Fa last year for speaking against Pri?”

“Exactly, Tejayi,” Nilo replied passionately. “And that’s why we should talk about this even more. I don’t exactly dislike Pri; rather, I hate them. One day, they will reap the consequences of their actions.”

Tejayi was gazing into Nilo’s determined eyes. Did Nilo know that Tejayi had fallen in love with him at that moment? Did Tejayi even realize it herself?

(3)

The moment was shattered by a deafening sound that seemed to split the sky, and Tejayi turned to look back from the balcony. She looked straight up and saw a massive object slowly descending towards Bongotown, its anti-radiation glass shattering as it approached the crater. The enormous metallic container was continuously releasing thick yellow gas.

As it touched the ground, the entire house trembled slightly. A radiation alert blared throughout the town. Tejayi rushed inside, closing all the windows and doors. Unable to find anything heavy to protect herself, she wrapped herself in aluminum foil. The yellow gas might contain beta particles, and in that case, aluminum would at least protect her skin. But the thought of gamma radiation sent chills down her spine.

She hid inside the closet, counting the moments. She kept the news server running on the home system.

“Due to a mechanical malfunction at the Hawking Space Station, there was a flaw in the cold fusion research. As a result, the B-wing of the station became filled with radioactive chemicals. Seeing the situation deteriorate, the entire B-wing was detached from the station and crashed into the dome of the lunar south settlement. The lives of over three hundred residents in the settlement are now in danger.”

Tejayi thinks of Nilo. They were supposed to meet today at a small restaurant in the uptown of the neighboring crater. Is Nilo there? Thank goodness! May God keep him safe.

(4)

The entire Bongotown was filled with putrid yellow gas. Despite the low lunar gravity, the gas clung to the ground. It swept away everything like a radioactive flood.

As a reeking smell hit her nose, Tejayi began to cough violently. It felt as if her lungs were on fire! She pressed a thick cloth tightly over her nose and mouth. Struggling to breathe, she felt weak. Meanwhile, she was sweating profusely and had to force her eyes shut.

Tejayi had no idea how long she had been in this state. It must have been several hours, maybe even a day. She had even dozed off at some point. The home system had shut down long ago. Overwhelmed by hunger, she crawled out of the closet, opened the refrigerator, grabbed a container, and hurried back into the closet.

Once inside, another worry began to gnaw at Tejayi. No, there was food in the box—two-day-old pasta. Along with it, a bottle of vitamin syrup. Red in color. But she was contemplating whether it was safe to consume.

Although the chance of gamma radiation penetrating the refrigerator was low, was it worth the risk? Her skin was already starting to burn. In this situation, would it be wise to put radioactive food into her stomach?

Driven by hunger, she couldn’t think of anything else. Why weren’t the rescue teams coming? Luna Rescue Team, come save me. Get me out of this sea of smoke, take me to the restaurant in uptown…

(5)

Nilo was running around like a madman. He had just reached the main gate of the crater. He had signed up alongside many volunteers for the rescue team. Meanwhile, the first four teams that had gone out had barely returned with their lives. This was not normal radiation. It had been reported much later from the Hawking Station that these were free-quark radiations. Whether it was a spacesuit or any other material, the quarks were penetrating through. They were destroying any machines and computers in their path. To enter, one would need to wear a specially coated protective suit.

The problem was that this special material was not available on Luna. It must be with Pri, but there had been no response from them.

Two spaceships from Mong were stationed in the asteroid belt, and they had immediately responded to Luna's call, bringing the special material.

Just a few more hours, and then Nilo would be able to go and rescue Tejayi. Stay alive, Tejayi. I have so much to tell you!

(6)

Tejayi held the glass of red vitamin syrup in her hand and thought for a moment. It was 95% water after all. One cannot survive without water. A young woman holding a glass of red liquid amidst the hazy smoke, like something out of a foolish AI-generated image. Ugh!

Gently, Tejayi took a sip from the glass.

 (7)

When Nilo broke down the door and entered Tejayi's home with the rescue team, her body was nearly lifeless. He carefully pulled her almost motionless form from the closet and wrapped her in a blanket made of the special material. However, by that time, her entire body was covered in dark blotches. Her open eyes, still lifeless, stared blankly at him, devoid of any spark. Nilo held her tight, his anguished cries filled the room.

(00)

How far does love reach? From one lip to another? From one corner of a room to the other? Between two cities? Can love traverse the vast emptiness that lies between the constellations? If that is the case, then why, even with  such a fervent embrace, even being so close, does my confession of love fail to reach Nilo's ears.

Monif Shah Chowdhury occasionally writes for Star Literature.