Book 1: The Year of Preparation

Chapter 1: Congratulations Are In Order

Jessica Brown bit into the hot-pink cake her mother had made for her, and everyone around the table clapped, cheered, and whistled. Or took her first bite as permission, and bit down on their own slice of the sweet strawberry cake. What was left of the pink quick-mix cake her mother had made held a message that still made her smile. “Congratulations and happy birthday!” With a little yellow smiley face in the shape of the old school emoji next to it. It wasn’t much, but it was what she had asked for and her mother had put the effort into making it herself.

“Look at you, I can’t believe you're all grown up!” Her uncle said, patting her back as she chewed. She swallowed and smiled at the tall, heavily muscled man. He had always been there for her. He was like her father in some ways. In other ways, he was like an older brother, teasing and getting her in trouble. “Graduating a week before your birthday. Valedictorian right?” Jessica shook her head.

“Salutatorian. That jerk Brandon Mathews took valedictorian. The committee liked his speech better or something.”

“Just like white people. Always got to give their kids just a biiit more than us, huh.” Her uncle shook his head sadly, but the smile on his face didn’t falter. Jessica fought from rolling her eyes. Her uncle had opinions. Lots of opinions, and most of them about white people.

“Don’t you go filling her head with none of that critical race nonsense. Jesus loves everyone, no matter the color of their skin.” Her mamma said as she passed the two of them. The plump woman reached a hand out and smacked her uncle’s shoulder with a heavy thwack. “If I hear you doing it again, you won’t get a burger. You hear me Jethro?” Her uncle winced as his elder sister swept by, delivering another pile of cooked burgers to the table.

“I better go, she’s going to think I’m converting you to devil worship next.” Jethro rolled his eyes before giving Jessica a winning smile and making a beeline for the food.

“I’m so proud of you, baby girl! Look at you, graduating, with good grades and all!” Her grandma wrapped her in a giant hug, and Jessica had to concentrate not to drop her cake. “And your mamma said something about you already having a college degree? Explain that.” Her grandma asked as she released her.

“Oh uh, well, I got my associate’s degree while in the honors program. The school has an agreement with the local community college and I earned free college credits while taking those extra hard classes. Sister Mary says that I can basically write my own full ride ticket to any college in the country now, with my grades and age. And you know, being black.”

“I don’t much care for those types of handouts.” Her grandpa said with a frown.

“It’s not a handout, our grand daughter earned her place at any of those schools and you know it. Don’t go talking like that. You’ll make her feel bad, you old brute.”

“Oh, well, of course she did! But she can do it on her own, she doesn’t need a committee of white folks telling her she got in because she’s black though. That’s just condescending. And racist.” Her grandma rolled her eyes, and Jessica had to fight from joining her. Jethro got most of his opinions from grandpa, usually by taking the opposite ones. Her grandma opened her mouth to say something else, when the world was filled with a loud trumpeting noise. Then, as if she were in some kind of video game or something, a text box appeared in front of her and a strange voice read it for all of them to hear.

Congratulations Earth! With the invention of the Warp Drive by scientist Joshua Zilldrin, your civilization has been deemed worthy of joining the Galaxy at large. Analysis shows that there are six major land masses in your world that contain a significant amount of sapient life. Each of these land masses will be gifted a pillar of connection through which the rest of the galaxy can communicate, visit, and be visited by the denizens of Earth. In exactly 1 year from today these Pillars of Connection will activate. Welcome to the System, Earthlings!