Star Road Read Online Free

if it ended, or— the big question —who the hell had created it.
     
    People on Earth referred to them simply as “The Builders,” but that answered nothing.
     
    The transport banked again, straightening out as it lost altitude, following the sharp curve of the tiny planet. The horizon looked impossibly close.
     
    Rodriguez took a moment and glanced around at the shadowy confines of the shuttle, at the dark figures of the dozen or so other passengers.
     
    Are they all getting onto the Road?
     
    Or are some cycling back for another stint on the terminal base on Pluto? Most sat quietly in their seats, some dozing, some lost in their own thoughts as they gazed at the amazing scene outside.
     
    Everyone, except for the young woman sitting across the aisle from Rodriguez.
     
    In the scant light, he caught her fiddling with the chip recorder implanted in the side of her head above her left ear. As the woman literally squirmed in her seat, her head moving all around the oval porthole, Rodriguez knew that the woman—almost a kid, really—was more than a “Chippie,” more than a user.
     
    She was in “record” mode, creating a new chip even now, capturing this moment for others on Earth to experience as if they were here.
     
    All the experience, none of the risk, none of the stress ... none of the expense or danger.
     
    None of the excitement, either.
     
    If this Chippie wanted to make an amazing chip, she probably couldn’t do better than a Road trip ... unless she went in for the kinky stuff.
     
    Scanning her face, her body ... Rodriguez imagined that she just might. She turned and caught Rodriguez staring at her. A bit of a smile. Then a taunt:
     
    “Some view, hmm?”
     
    Rodriguez nodded, still staring.
     
    “See anything you like?”
     
    “Sure,” Rodriguez replied.
     
    Then, he turned away. No doubt he wasn’t the only one on the shuttle who had secrets. Everyone has their secrets. But he was getting on the Road for a reason that no one—especially not a Chippie—could know about.
     
    On that point, his instructions were clear.
     
    And Rodriguez was nothing if not good at following instructions.
     
    He turned back to his porthole and stared blankly as the shuttle approached the terminal.
     
    ~ * ~
     
    The shuttle glided silently over the icy rocks that looked like the aged teeth of a mouth frozen in the act of arcing up to snap at the shuttle.
     
    Ahead, a bright glow.
     
    The transport base.
     
    Mobius Central.
     
    Named, Rodriguez guessed, because the first scientists who found it couldn’t figure out how the hell the Star Road—seemingly an actual structure—could somehow stretch its spidery strands throughout the galaxy ... and maybe beyond.
     
    Totally impossible.
     
    It beat all quantum physics into a pulp.
     
    What was it made of?
     
    What powered it?
     
    All unknown. Even after over a decade of using the Road, humans had unraveled only a small part of the mystery of this impossible structure.
     
    Impossible. Just like a Mobius strip.
     
    The process of building a road map was slow, a lot of trial and error. Especially error, at first. A lot of vessels ... and good men and women ... gone and never heard from again.
     
    A detailed map of the system could change everything.
     
    But so far, at least, no such map existed.
     
    Would Rodriguez’s mission yield some answers?
     
    He didn’t have a clue.
     
    ~ * ~
     
    The dome ahead started to fill the porthole view.
     
    A giant bubble of light revealing the people and areas inside. On one side, a row of airlocks; on the other, terminals to access the Road.
     
    A small beep sounded from the speaker above Rodriguez, and the holovid winked on, displaying the smiling face of a shuttle hostess.
     
    Then:
     
    “Attention travelers. Our shuttle is about to dock at the Mobius Central airlock. Please check to make sure your seat harness is firmly buckled and that you have no loose articles near you. We will be touching