It was hotter out than usual. Ada rolled over, searching for a cold spot on her mattress. She’d woken up six times last night, drenched in sweat, with her blankets pushed to the foot of the bed.
A thin line of light came through her blinds and onto the space between Ada’s nose and mouth. At this, she jumped up and replaced the duct tape that held the slats tightly shut; she knew that the house would overheat if she didn’t. As she moved through the house, the only light came from the dim blue bulbs overhead. Ada made her way to the center console in the kitchen, powering it on with an electric hum that shook the walls and floor when it started up. Within a few seconds, the monitor turned on with a crackle. A hologram of a man with shaky-at-best camera skills appeared, and with a slightly garbled voice he started the speech that Ada knew by heart.
“Hi Ada dear, we don’t know if you’ll ever see this.” Her father wiped his eyes.
“We have to leave, it’s too dangerous to stay. We wanted to be here as long as possible in case you woke up…” he trailed off, staring at something beyond the lens.
“But the doctor says that odds are slim. If you see this, send a message. We’ll figure out how to get you back, I promise.”
Someone yelled for him off-camera.
“We love you, Ada. To the moon and beyond and back again.”
The first time she’d played the recording, she was confused. Why would they just…leave? How could they? The recording was dated a week before she woke up, but that was two and half years ago now.
When Ada was fifteen, she’d been in a near-fatal transporter accident. Thank god for modern medicine; had this been the 2010s, she would have been a lost cause. But the doctors were smart and put her on the best support system money could buy. She’d been on that system for a year. Her father couldn’t bear to let her go. The doctors kept saying she might wake up, and he held onto that possibility.
Then, in April of 2109, things took a turn for the worst. The planet was in critical condition. Many people had already left of their own accord, but those who were still here were left with a choice: leave everything behind and escape a dying planet or stay at home in an atmosphere that was getting hotter by the second.
According to her father’s logs, he had tried to get Ada’s mother to stay longer, but after a year of being told her daughter was a lost cause, that they should get out while they could, she had given up. Ada’s father said not to take it personally. Ada did.
When she woke up to an empty hospital, she was terrified. She sat there confused, alone, and warm, very warm. The monitor next to her bed was losing its mind and she was certain someone would have to come sooner rather than later to shut it off.
After a day, she realized she would need food, water if nothing else. When her machine turned off, Ada slowly began to feel stronger. What had they been giving her?
Ada walked home, a journey that she would never make again. Since before her accident, there were warnings issued to never be outside for more than ten minutes in direct sun. She was sure that time had been cut in half since then. At least.
The temperature had remained stable since she woke up. Not worsening, but not getting better either. In the two and a half years she’d been on her own, Ada had noticed little things coming back. Greenery had taken over; she could go outside at night.
Ada had tried desperately to reach her family, but after a year of not getting through, she’d started trying less and less. She had gotten used to her 3-D printed meals, her tasks that she busied herself with around the house. The isolation was intense, of course, and a part of her still resented them for leaving. She didn’t sleep for days when she first got home, obsessed with finding her family. But either she couldn’t reach them, or they didn’t want to be reached.
Ada switched off the hologram, she now tried to get through to her dad once a day. A log sat on the kitchen table reading 02/05/2111: no signal, 02/06/2111: faint dial tone, silence, and so on. She’d started to wonder if it would be better to call once every