The Flying Test BY SARA MATSON

Today is September 20,

3012. In top news this
morning, astronaut Willis
Everson returns to Earth
today. The famous aviator
recently led a five-year
expedition piloting Earth’s
first mission to Jupiter’s
moon Europa. Earlier in his
illustrious career, Captain
Everson established the
National Space Settlement
Program, commanding
multiple supply convoys to
Earth’s colony on Mars.
After twenty years of service,
he now looks forward to
spending more time with his
family. In an interview with
SPACENEWS magazine,
Everson said—

ANTRIK EVERSON SWITCHED off Mom’s forehead wrinkled. “Pass? I’m talk-
the cosmovision. He had to get ready for ing about Dad coming home. What are you
school. talking about?”
“Are you excited?” Mom asked as she “My flying test,” Antrik said. “It’s after
entered the kitchen. She took three eggs from school today, remember?”
the preserver and placed them in the Insta- “Oh stars, I completely forgot. Antrik,
Cook, then pressed SCRAMBLE and START. you can’t take your test today!”
“Yeah,” Antrik answered. “But nervous, “If I cancel it, I won’t be able to get
too. I sure hope I pass.” another appointment for at least six months,”

OH BOY! A STORY
FULL OF FUTURE AND SCRAMBLED EGGS!
TECHNOLOGY!
Illustrated by Mar tin Wickstrom 5
 Antrik protested. “Then I’d be thirteen before But even with the latest WarpWare 3000
I got my license. No one waits that long!” technology, it took nearly twenty minutes for
The Insta-Cook chimed. Mom took out messages to reach Jupiter; and with equipment
the now perfectly scrambled eggs and dished glitches and planetary interference, their real
them onto two plates. After a moment, she conversations had been few and far between.
said, “I suppose it’s OK. Dad has to debrief, What if Dad turned out to be like his friend
and then he has a news conference. We prob- Laron’s dad, who had yelled at Laron for an
ably won’t get a chance to really welcome him hour when he failed his flying test?
home until dinnertime, anyway.” Her eyes wid- “Are you OK, honey?” Mom asked.
ened. “I know! We’ll celebrate his homecoming Antrik nodded. Changing the subject, he
and your license! He’ll be so proud of you.” said, “So, what’s for dinner? After being gone
“If I pass,” Antrik said. As he ate his eggs, for five years, Dad should get something extra
he wondered what would happen if he failed good, shouldn’t he?”
the test. What would Dad think of him? Mom smiled. “Hamburgers! They’re his
Over the years, while Dad was deployed, they favorite, and there was no way to get one on the
had mostly connected through cosmovision. spaceship. Or on Mars or Jupiter, of course.”

IF I CAN GET IT STARTED. (SPUT-SPUT-SPUTTER)

WHOA! NICE HIGH-TECH FLYING MACHINE!
ARE YOU TAKING A FLYING TEST, TOO?
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 HEY! THANKS!
MAYBE A NICE LOW-TECH
PUSH, TO GET YOU STARTED.

“I didn’t know he likes hamburgers.” Just restored it, but if he did that during his test,
another thing to add to the list of things he he’d probably fail.
didn’t know about his dad. “Well, you can’t do worse than that kid
who killed his examiner,” Laron said.
AT SCHOOL T H AT day, everybody was talk- “What?”
ing about Willis Everson. The universal history “My brother told me about him. It hap-
teacher treated the class to a twenty-minute pened a long time ago, back when they used
lecture on the astronaut’s legacy, and the school human examiners instead of robots. The kid
administrator stopped Antrik in the hallway, was trying to aero park, and he crashed the
saying, “We’d be interested in having your test pod. His examiner died on the way to
father speak at a school assembly. Please men- the hospital.” Laron took a gulp of banapple
tion it to him.” In several of Antrik’s classes, juice, burped, and added, “I’ll bet that kid
various kids shoved slips of paper and moon- never got his license.”
ball caps and even a T-shirt at him, asking Antrik smiled. Feeling better, he grabbed
for his father to autograph them. Even Laron the pizza off his tray and jammed it into his
brought up the subject at lunch. mouth. Laron’s brother had probably made
“So, will you get to meet the World up that story. But whether it was true or not,
President, now that your dad’s back?” Antrik knew that he had to be a much better
Antrik scowled. “Why would I?” driver than that mythical kid. Even with his
Laron flicked an olive off his pizza slice. parking troubles.
“C’mon, your dad’s legendary. The WP will
definitely want to give him a medal or some- A F T ER SCHOOL LE T out, Antrik took
thing. Maybe she’ll invite your whole family the community aerobus to the testing center.
to The Mansion.” Once inside, he went through the retinal scan
“I doubt it.” Suddenly not hungry, Antrik and fingerprint identification. Then he sat
pushed his lunch tray away. “I don’t want to down to wait. The longer he waited, the
talk about my dad.” more nervous he got. The cosmovision in
“OK,” Laron said good-naturedly. “Let’s the waiting room didn’t help, either. Every
talk about your flying test, then. Did you few minutes, there was another announce-
practice aero parking?” ment about “famous flier Willis Everson.”
“That’s the only part I’m worried about,” “Everson?” intoned the receptionist.
Antrik admitted. Somehow, every time he “Antrik Everson?”
practiced aero parking, he ended up a few feet Antrik rode the conveyor belt into the test
too high or too low. Once, he’d even dented an hangar and entered the test pod. Once seated,
expensive sports flier parked beneath him. Of he wiped his sweaty hands on his jacket and
course, the flier’s auto-repair had immediately took a few deep breaths. Finally, an automated

7
 voice filled the pod: Antrik Everson, your flying He had just reached the aerobus station
test will now begin. Please perform a standard when his communication watch beeped with
safety check of your pod before igniting the engine. a message from the testing center.
TEST RESULT: FAIL. LICENSE
A N HOU R L AT ER, he exited the hangar DENIED.
feeling totally drained. Hovering had been No! Antrik stepped onto the bus and
easy, and he’d had no trouble linking onto slumped into the first empty seat. Now he
the commuter line or ascending and descend- wished he had postponed the test like Mom
ing the aerovator. However, parking hadn’t suggested. He could have used that extra six
gone so well. He hadn’t dented anything, but months to practice parking.
he had scratched the test pod while navigating Another beep. This message was from Mom.
into a narrow slot between a nine-person aero- DAD HOME. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE
van and one of those new rover hybrids that YOU. HURRY!
resembled a funny-looking octopus. He hoped Dad. Suddenly, Antrik felt like he’d eaten
that what he’d done correctly was enough to a kilo of moon dust. This was the worst thing
earn him a passing grade. that had ever happened to him! What if the

8
media heard about it? He pictured the head-
lines: Famous Flier Willis Everson Arrives Home
to Wife and Son, the Flying Failure. He pictured
his family at The Mansion, the WP saying she
bet Antrik was a chip off the old block, and his
dad replying, “Not really. Antrik didn’t get the
flying gene from me. In fact, I don’t think he’ll
ever get his license.”
After the bus let him off, he walked home
as slowly as possible. Once outside the apart-
ment, he hesitated. What if he just didn’t go
in? Maybe the library was still open.
Another beep.
WHERE ARE YOU?
There was no avoiding it. He slid his watch But Dad didn’t say anything sarcastic, like
under the scanner and unlocked the door. Laron’s dad might have. Instead, he shook his
“Antrik?” Mom called as he stepped head. “That pesky parking. It’s the curse of
inside. The entryway smelled like hamburgers the Eversons.”
and chocoberry pie. “What do you mean?” Antrik asked.
Antrik sighed. “Yep.” “Haven’t you heard about the guy who
He heard footsteps and then both his crashed his test pod and—”
parents were there, and Dad was hugging “Killed his examiner?”
him. In spite of how awful he felt—or maybe Dad blinked. “The examiner had to stay
because of it—the hug was pretty good. You in the hospital overnight. I didn’t kill him.”
couldn’t get hugs like that over cosmovision. “Wait, that was you?” Antrik said. “I
But then came the moment he’d been thought that was just a story.”
dreading. Dad pointed at himself and grinned.
“You’re late,” Mom said. “How did the “That was me, famous astronaut Willis
test go?” Everson, twelve years old.”
Antrik looked down. “I . . . well, I failed. “No way,” Antrik said, suddenly feeling
I messed up on parking.” as weightless as he had at his sixth birthday
Surprisingly, Dad laughed. OK, so he was party. (It had taken place in an antigravity
going to make fun of the situation. Laron’s dad chamber.)
did that sometimes. Antrik didn’t like being “It’s true,” Dad said, slinging his arm over
laughed at, but maybe it was better than a Antrik’s shoulder. “Come have a hamburger,
lecture. and I’ll tell you about it.”
LIFTOFF! WOO-HOO!
GO, TATER! GOOD
LUCK ON THE TEST! WATCH IT! RUNNING BUGGIES
OVER IS A FLUNKABLE OFFENSE! 9