The Corridor

There were three ways a spacer could get planetside.

First, win the lottery. Each week, one lucky ticket holder was given a choice: ten million credits, or a single seven-day planetside visa. Most chose the credits. There were nearly five billion spacers, and every one of them bought their weekly ticket. Aria knew it was impossible to win. She bought her ticket every week.

Second, be sponsored by a mega-corp. Supposedly sponsorship had once been a relatively standard clause in corp contracts. These days though you had to do a stint in the Kuiper belt. With a round trip of nearly three years, most K-belt contracts were a five year minimum. Do the time for the company, get a trip to Earth.

Finally, the E-11 visa. Skilled labour was always in demand on either side of the Kármán line, and any spacer with a bachelor's degree and work experience could apply for an E-11 visa and get a day pass on Earth. Just one day. Theoretically it was supposed to give you time to secure a contract and a work visa, but no one ever got that, except maybe the wealthy dodging immigration laws.

Aria had briefly considered sponsorship. She had even half-heartedly tried to talk Matías into it, though she wasn't that disappointed when he flatly rejected the idea. No one wanted to spend five years in the K-belt. And she needed to think of her career — Earth would be an amazing adventure, but her life was here, on station… "amongst the stars", as Matías would declare dramatically, wiggling his eyebrows. So she decided on the E-11.

Matías had asked once why she was so set on visiting Earth. She had given an impassioned prepared monologue about seeing the cradle of humanity, all without meeting his eye. He had just had just given her that look — the I know you're full of shit look — but didn't press her. She was glad. She couldn't tell him that she desperately wanted to see Earth because of a soap opera.

The Ladies of Devonshire was a mid-afternoon serial that even her grandmother wouldn't watch. Aria had been ten and sick with fever, and was mostly watching because she didn't have the energy to turn off the vid. Miss Wintermore, outrageous mistress of the local boarding school, had elected to take her tea down by the pond... in the middle of winter! The townsfolk had been talking about it, naturally. And then the camera panned to Miss Wintermore, and everything else seemed to fall away; the gossiping townsfolk, Aria's fever, even the screen. She sat on a small blanket, alone and serene, gazing out over the frozen pond. One gloved hand held a slice of lemon cake; the other, a steaming cup of Earl Grey tea.

Aria had slipped into a fever dream of snow and tea and sky, and when she woke up she had only one ambition.

It hadn't been easy. She never had any time or money; everything went towards getting planetside. There was school work, work experience, physical therapy classes to prepare her for gravity, prescriptions to increase her bone-density. And, of course, the fare itself. The E-11 gave you permission to be on Earth; it didn't get you a seat on the shuttle down.

Aria never asked for help. Even so, she had lost count of the number of times Matías had spotted her. Usually a meal here and there, but sometimes more. Once rent. What was worse, he never mentioned it. The first time her card had declined at a diner, Matías had just tapped his own card and walked out. No smug grin, no mocking comment, not even a raised eyebrow.

"I'll pay you back," she had finally burst out the last time, red in the face. "For all of it. I swear I'll pay you back one day."

Matías had just looked over his shoulder and shrugged.

"I know."

Aria narrowed her eyes. That wasn't a typical Matías-response. It was far too sincere, too understanding, too… nice.

"Or… maybe I won't bother," she said thoughtfully. "It's your fault my card declined anyway."

"How do you figure that?!" Matías had demanded indignantly, but it was his fault, sort of. When she had been choosing her degree, Matías had leaned over her shoulder and stuck his big fucking nose in her business.

"Nursing? Why nursing? Weren't we both going to become engineers?"

"Well, I can't really afford it. Nursing is half the price," she replied. Plus, nursing was the only three-year degree that qualified for the E-11.

"Hmm, yeah you're right. You couldn't hack it anyway. Remember that science test you failed in year six?" Matías had laughed and strolled away.

Aria had narrowed her eyes and changed her degree. The only thing that had been more satisfying than seeing Matías's shocked face when she had shown up to their first class, was seeing it again when she graduated summa cum laude four years later.

Well, it had cost her an extra year, but it had been worth it. She had done it. Ten years of saving. Four years of university. One year of work experience. Three days travelling down the pipe. Four excruciatingly boring hours in Customs submitting to tests to prove she could withstand the gravity. Now she stood at the end of a corridor, behind a glass door, a nurse irritatingly at her shoulder.

"You ready?" the nurse asked. She nodded impatiently. The doors opened…

Aria collapsed.

---

She tried three times to leave that corridor. Each time she had felt that same rush of elation and terror. Each time she blacked out. And each time she had woken up back inside on the stiff hospital bed.

The nurse said last time she had been screaming and struggling so much they had been forced to sedate her. She'd be under for three hours. She couldn't remember any of it.

"Could it be an allergic reaction?" she asked numbly. The nurse smiled sympathetically. They both knew it wasn't an allergic reaction. There wasn't anything stopping her, nothing physical anyway. She just couldn't go outside.

"Sorry love. That's just how it is for some of the space-born," the nurse shrugged and went back to her rounds. Aria watched her go silently.

Aria had six more hours left planetside, but she didn't try to go outside again. She had wasted enough people's time. She walked around the shops instead. They were like caricatures of spacer shops; similar, but bizarrely different. They sold the same type of electronics, but nothing was secured behind a cabinet or mag-locked to a surface. They were just sitting on shelves, or hanging on hooks. Ordinarily she would have been fascinated by the little mundane minutiae of planet life, but now she just grabbed some cheap tourist trinkets, paid, and left.

She walked into the atrium, her gaze brushing over the small coffee kiosk in the centre. She felt her eyes come back into focus at the sight of it. Here at least was something she could still do.

"Do you do tea? Earl Grey?" she mumbled. She paid and waited, and it wasn't until the server had handed her a mug that she realised she had forgotten something. "Oh, and do you—" But the next customer had already bustled forward and she was left standing awkwardly to one side, holding her mug. Neither the server nor the other customer noticed her. She left. What were the chances they sold lemon cake anyway?

She sat by the huge multi-story glass windows and gazed longingly outside. There was a courtyard area beyond the window, centered around a large fountain. It wasn't quite a pond, but it would have to do. She rested her forehead against the cold glass. She wasn't going to get her frozen pond. She wasn't going to have her Devonshire moment. She felt the mug grow cool in her hands.

By the time she dragged her body back onto the shuttle she felt exhausted. It was an effort just to strap herself into her seat. The trip back was boring. She thought maybe it would feel gut-wrenching, returning home in defeat. But it didn't. She just felt tired. She thought idly of the kitschy tourist baubles stowed in her luggage and wondered what she'd say to Matías. She wouldn't tell him what had happened, of course. Maybe she'd say nothing. Or maybe she'd lie, tell him it was amazing, how he should have been there.

But as soon as she stepped off the shuttle, she knew she needn't bother. Matías was standing there waiting for her, and just looking at him she realised somehow he already knew. He didn't give her the same sad pathetic smile all the nurses had given her. He just punched her arm, took her bag, and marched her to the nearest bar.

That sat and drank in silence. She'd never tell him what happened. She'd never tell anyone. And she knew Matías would never ask, no matter how much he wanted to know, not if he knew she didn't want him to. He was good like that.

She lasted nearly her first beer before the whole pathetic story came tumbling out. The words just erupted out of her uncontrollably. The anticipation flying down, the boring videos, the stupid walking lessons. And then the corridor. The outside, the terror. The hospital where she woke up, again and again. Even the shitty Earl Grey tea.

Eventually, she fell silent. Matías had listened to it all in silence, watching her. She had stared down the whole time; she hadn't been able to meet his eye. The counter beneath her was now wet with tears. She hadn't even realised she'd been crying. For a moment, they sat like that in silence, until finally Matías thumped her softly on the back.

"Yeah, you fucked it up. Loser," he said, taking a swig of beer. Aria couldn't help it; she laughed. She wiped her tears, then punched him as she downed the last of her drink. Trust Matías to be able to make her laugh at a time like this. He signalled the bartender for another two beers.

"You fuck up. But you never fuck up twice," he said quietly. "You'll get it next time."

Aria shook her head slowly. It was the nicest thing Matías had ever said to her, but it was a lie. "There's no way I'm ever going to win the lottery. That was my chance. I blew it."

Matías was quiet for a moment, then slowly reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out three folded pieces of paper. Aria looked at him, confused. To print something out on paper... no spacer did that, except for maybe their wedding certificate or diploma. But Matías didn't say anything. He just carefully unfolded the three pages and placed them face down on the bar between them.

"Well there is one other way," he said, tapping the paper thoughtfully.

He opened his mouth to say more, but the bartender had returned. Matías turned away to accept the beers, leaving Aria to turn over the first piece of paper. Printed across the top was the logo of Tecevo, a mega-corp based out of their station. It was a standard job posting. She scanned it quickly. Two engineers required, five year contract, the K-belt. Food and board included of course, generous salary, and… planetside visa sponsorship, upon completion.

Aria felt her heart begin to pound. With shaking hands, she reached for the other two pages, turning both at the same time. Two application forms stared back at her. Matías had filled out the first, his name printed neatly in the applicant field. The other application form was blank.

Aria looked up at Matías in shock. He was looking back at her, watching her with that smug little smile. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

"Well, you probably couldn't hack it," he drawled.

Aria narrowed her eyes.