Luiza Sauma [Sauma - Everything You Ever Wanted

Luiza Sauma was born in Rio de Janeiro and raised in London. Her first novel, Flesh and Bone and Water, received widespread critical acclaim and she was listed by the Telegraph as one of their ones to watch for 2017. Luiza worked at the Independent on Sunday for several years before becoming a novelist. She has an MA in Creative and Life Writing from Goldsmiths, University of London, where she won the Pat Kavanagh Award.

Emma Paterson, the best literary agent on this planet (or any other). My brilliant editor at Viking, Mary Mount, who pushed me further than I thought I could go. Rosanna Forte, for her hard work and insightful suggestions. My sister and first reader, Julia Sauma. My old pal Poonam Vidyarthi, who helped to name Ravinder and Kiran. The rest of my family and friends, for all their love and support. As ever, Tim Goalen for everything.

The premise of this book was partly inspired by Hostile Planet, an episode of the podcast Love + Radio. I highly recommend it.

Welcome, everyone; welcome to Nyx, said Norman into a microphone, over the hubbub of people entering the cafeteria, greeting each other. The room smelled clean and man-made, like a new pair of shoes. Norman was standing on a podium, wearing the same loose grey outfit as the other Nyxians, but looking a bit unreal, as celebrities often do, with his handsome face, silver hair and smooth, tanned skin that seemed incongruous for someone who had lived inside the Hub, away from the sun, for several years. Maybe it was natural good genes and charisma. He waved and smiled, showing his straight white teeth.

Iris had recognized him immediately. Most people would. He had been the face of the Life on Nyx recruitment programme, the star of its online content. He had been denounced by politicians, journalists and scientists all over the world. A prominent astrophysicist had described him as a modern-age pied piper, leading a hundred fantasists to their deaths. Iris was star-struck.

Please take a seat, he said, if you can find one, but I imagine that most of you are happy to stand, after your long trip from Earth.

The audience tittered in agreement. Some of them stretched their stiff necks and limbs. They had spent most of the journey lying down, strapped to their beds for an entire week. There were a hundred of them, not counting the old-timers who had been on Nyx for several years. The new arrivals kept glancing at the walls where large black cameras hung, transmitting to Earth.

My name is Norman Best, he said, and Im the director of the Hub, your new home.

Someone at the back whooped, then another, and then they all started clapping and shouting, a cheerful racket. Iris joined in. Her hair was still damp she had just showered, with several other women, in Annex 2s shining white bathroom. For the past hour or so, since arriving on Nyx, she had been smiling so hard that her jaw ached, but it was a good, blissful pain. The noise of the crowd bounced cleanly off the new walls. Everything was new: their home, their clothes, their white trainers, their electronic wristbands, their lives. They were new and Earth was old, and they would never see it again thank God.

There was a touch of impatience in Normans frown, his pale eyes, his hands running through his hair, but he covered it with a smile as the clapping died down.

Thank you, thank you. Im glad youre excited! I am, too, and I cant wait to get to know each and every one of you. My team is here for you. If you ever need anything, anything at all, you can send us a direct message through your tablets which will be issued to you later today.

There were a few excited whispers. The tablets would have no internet access, of course and therefore no news, no emails, no podcasts, no photos of exes on their wedding days, no videos of puppies running in the snow, no think-pieces about modern love but still, they were something to look forward to.

Soon youll be able to access our incredible e-book library and all of the music chosen by you.

At the training camp in California, everyone had chosen one piece of music to take to Nyx. Iris had picked Frank Oceans Pink + White, a song she thought she might never tire of. Then again, it had only been in her life for a few years.

On your tablet youll soon receive more information about your various jobs and activities. If youd like to run a class or a group, please do! Were here to learn from each other. Youll also be able to send messages to your fellow Nyxians, though this is quite a small place, so I dont think youll be doing as much messaging as you did on Earth.

Iris was standing at the back. She turned and smiled at her friends from Block G: Rav from Birmingham, Vitor from So Paulo and her roommate, Abby, from San Francisco. They smiled back. Abbys brown, freckled skin gleamed with joy. In California, the group had developed a giddy bond, like new best friends at summer camp. Iris didnt really know anyone else. They had been kept apart, so that viewers could watch them getting to know each other on Nyx. Everyone looked bright-eyed and attractive; they were from various countries, but most were American, and in their twenties and thirties, apart from a few of the old-timers, like Norman. There were no babies, no children, no old people, though that was bound to change. At some point they would age, they would procreate, they would spend the rest of their lives together.

This is an opportunity, said Norman, to leave all that behind: the emails, the messages, the notifications, the constant communication with people you hardly know. Instead, youre going to enjoy a closer connection with the people and the world around you. He spread his arms. People looked around at each other, nodding and smiling hello. Make no mistake: you are part of a great experiment, one of the greatest the world no, the universe has ever seen.

Iriss right hand went to her pocket. She was reaching, unconsciously, for her phone, but the pocket was empty, of course. She twisted the soft material with her fingers. Her phone was on Earth. It now belonged to a chambermaid in Los Angeles someone she had never met. A panicky emptiness came over her, a distancing from reality. The kind she felt whenever she gave up smoking. After a few months, when the distraction of longing reduced itself to a faint hum, she would pronounce herself cured and ask someone for a cigarette. That couldnt happen now.

This is history, said Norman, happening right now. He pointed at the ground. This! This moment. The first human colony on another planet. Did you imagine you would see that in your lifetime? And that you would be a part of it?

She would succeed. She was free. No more cigarettes. No more scrolling. She smiled. This was good. The emptiness was good a sign that a deeper, heavier emptiness would soon dissipate, for ever.

This is the culmination of a lifelong dream, said Norman. Since I was a little boy, Ive had my head in the stars. Most kids grow out of it, but I didnt. And neither did you!

Applause. More whooping. Norman had tears in his eyes. So did Iris. Her cheeks were burning, her whole body burned, hot and bright like a sparkler. Earth was watching. Now they know, she thought. Now they know why I came here.

Whatever happens, said Norman, remember that you are all brave, formidable souls. You will be remembered. This is history in the making!

The crowd responded with a hysterical roar. People were jostling, screaming, laughing, crying with happiness. Iris could feel their sweat seeping through their new clothes, into hers.