If dared to look backward, you would see that the pathway leading here was neither straight nor flat.
Your journey started years ago with a single tick that was almost undiscernable in the static: t-minus some very large number (and counting).
From that point there were freefalls, skydives, weightlessness and enough artificial gravity to break bones.
And occasionally a distant ticking could be heard.
There were hours of running in place and lifting weights. You sweated gallons building muscle and endurance.
A soft, steady ticking underlying every move...
Stacks of paper to memorize: formulas, equations, theories. Lectures, classes, labs. Tests, essays, examinations.
t-minus... tick, tick,
And, most recently, practicing the locations of the controls, their functions and their proper sequences, over and over, until they can be performed unthinking, in the dark.
T-Minus... Tick, Tick,
All this time counting backwards, anticipating ignition.
T-MINUS... TICK, TICK,
And then there is no more.
Zero has arrived and for one moment there is silence.
The ticking has ended.
Then the world beneath you erupts in flame and walls around you are shaken by unseen gods angry at your attempts to break free from forces they impose. They hold you down even as you are propelled upward.
We are gravity, they scream as they push you down.
But the ship you have built, with knowledge and skill, propels you upward and out of their reach.
If you dared to look back you would see the world falling away and gods shaking angry heads and clenched fists.
Welcome, you are now on this side of zero.
Funny, I never bothered to check the heat shield.
It doesn't really matter though.
Heat shields are only used for reentry.
I have no plans for landing.
Get out of your way, Azimov. You have writing talent galore, my friend. Keep it up and note the date on my blog is correct today. Thanks.
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