Second generation, p.24
Second Generation, page 24
He shrugged, “She loved me. She loved all of us.”
“Did she give you any special responsibilities? Hint at what may happen after she was gone?”
Timaeus looked over the rail into the void below, “She said we must look after ourselves. And… that I might think of myself as head of our family. It seemed odd to me. As if she were being old-fashioned. Hedistē and I make our decisions together. I never think of myself as head.”
“It’s possible she may have meant something else,” said Leo. “Come with me.”
They walked up the long ramp side by side in thoughtful silence. The favoured son shoulder to shoulder with the prodigal. They emerged from the hatch at the end into the lobby at the top of the winding stair. The hatch had been carefully concealed, made to look like another blank concrete panel. A shaft of daylight shone past the outer door and the two of them were drawn to it, pausing to sniff the sea air before descending back into the lab.
“The air here makes me feel alive,” said Leo. “Its all manufactured and recycled on Mars. This is so fresh. Salty.”
“I give thanks every time I surface and breath it,” said Timaeus.
“I thought you would take it for granted.”
“Leonie taught us never to take anything for granted. She told me my life is a miracle. Then she said she didn’t believe in miracles, but she believed in the miracle of life.”
Leo smiled and shook his head. Such wisdom. Even from one who found herself in the strangest of situations. Many of them created by her.
When they reached the AI tech room they found Ursula wrestling with code.
“Bloody thing won’t let me upload any of this,” she cursed.
“Timaeus,” said Leo in a clear voice, almost formal. “Do you give permission for Noah to take new instructions from Ursula?”
He looked at Leo, puzzled. “Sure.” Then he seemed to understand. “Yes. I do,” he added turning to the nearest comms console and speaking as loud and clear as his altered larynx would allow.
Ursula looked up at the two of them, then back at the projection field, manipulating it with her fingers again. The interface between her and the AI. She paused, holding her breath. “…And bulls-eye!” she beamed and punched the air.
“It worked?” asked Leo.
“It worked,” confirmed Ursula. “Noah has a new set of instructions telling it to cooperate with us and with the people in the village.”
“I prefer the pronoun ‘he’. He is more familiar and conducive to successful working relationships than it,” said Noah.
“Don’t get cocky,” growled Ursula.
Leo put his hand on her shoulder. “I think we’ll take that as a win. Thank you Ursula. Thank you Timaeus.” He was about to go when he remembered what Stef had been saying about Hal’s team and their findings. “Noah, have you any record of recent missions to Mars, other than those that sent us, the colonists?”
“No.”
“Or any at Earth’s South Pole, just before or since the impacts with Goliath?”
“The last of the Antarctic research stations was evacuated a few days before impact. No missions were made to the South Pole for three years before. There has been no activity there since that I know of. Why do you ask?”
Leo shook his head, unsure whether he could trust Noah’s answers yet. “Never mind.”
The Shuttle, Aleutian Peninsula, Earth – Leo Meier
Innik and Grigoriy were pushing split logs into pits dug under the shuttle. Katya, Plato and Ilya were heaping mud in a tall bank immediately behind its rear facing rocket motors. Feng and Chen were on their bellies, trying to poke mud out from the undercarriage wheels.
Leo smiled at the inter-human-species effort.
“Come to help?” asked Feng over his shoulder.
“I thought I’d just sit here and admire your hard work for a while,” he smiled.
“Might want to sit a bit further back,” said Feng, “You could get blow back from the rocket motors there.”
Leo shrugged and took a spade to help Katya’s team heap mud. It looked the least technical of the tasks. It took most of the afternoon, but by the time the light was fading, Feng called a halt and suggested they try shifting the shuttle. Katya climbed into the cockpit while the rest of them took a vantage point, a respectful distance up the beach.
“Go for it,” said Feng into his comms.
There was a woosh from the engines. Scorching blasts folded the air around the back of the shuttle and melted the top of the mud heap. The shuttle lurched up and onto the log ramps, wobbled, then sat back down in the pit.
“Give it more,” suggested Feng.
“Don’t want to break anything,” complained Katya.
“Not going anywhere unless we break something.”
“You asked for it.”
The engines roared. The mud heap was sprayed across the beach, some of it singed and smoking. The shuttle made another lurch forward, teetered on the ramps again, slowly trundled forward some more. Feng was clenching his fist, “Yes, yes, go on!”
The wheels reached the end of the logs and started slowly sinking back into the mud.
“Shit.”
“Mm,” agreed Leo.
“Back to the drawing board.”
“If we had a drawing board it might be wide enough to jam under the wheels and stop the bloody things sinking.”
Feng shrugged, “We’ll figure it out.”
Leo smiled. “Nothing gets you down, does it.”
“Life just keeps giving me more technical challenges.”
“That’s a good philosophy.”
Leo thought Stef looked tired when he linked up with her next. “You okay, Stef?”
“Frazzled. Don’t know what Pawel’s up to, daren’t ask him.”
“That’s not good. I don’t know how we can help; we’re still stuck on the mudflats here.”
“The good news for you is that Mission Control are ecstatic with your find. The Ark One repository is big news all over Mars. It’s like you found gold.”
“Better than gold. You can’t eat gold.”
“They’re going to be debating the case for return missions from tomorrow.”
“Missions? Plural?”
“That’s what they said.”
“Wow.”
“Careful what you wish for. Hal’s team are pleading with me now. They’re desperate for you to go survey the south pole based on what they saw of your fly-by. They say the similarities with what they found on Mars are startling.”
“Can’t do it yet. Can’t even get this shuttle out the mud. It just wasn’t designed for a rough landing. That’s something we’ll have to solve for a return flight.”
“Hm. How’s the inventory of Ark One going?”
“Georgia reckons they’ll be down there for days. Even with a team of them at it, there are thousands, no, probably millions of entries.”
“Doesn’t Noah keep an inventory?”
“Good point. We’ve only just started getting his cooperation.”
Stef flicked another dark look over her shoulder, “Could do with some of that up here.”
Bunker, Aleutian Peninsula, Earth – Leo Meier
“What would you do with the inventory?” asked Noah.
“We’d give it to people on Mars who could work out a plan for repopulating Earth,” said Leo.
“I have a plan.”
“You do?”
“But I suspect it will have been superseded by the conditions above. A new one will be necessary.”
“I think a full survey of Earth will be necessary, but we’ve only just started that.”
“I could help.”
“One avatar droid, wandering the planet?”
“I have drones. They are kept in a chamber on the far side of the island. They can be flown across an area many thousands of kilometres from here.”
“Why didn’t you say before?”
“You did not have permission before.”
“Anything else we should know about?” asked Leo, a little frustration showing in his voice. “Any spare shuttles knocking about? A few extra repositories?”
“Ark Two is located at the Sea of Tranquillity on the Moon. It ceased communication with us shortly after the Goliath event.”
Leo almost fell off his chair. “There’s an Ark Two? On the Moon?”
“The survival planners initiated multiple projects. They understood that some would fail while others might succeed, even if not in the way they had originally intended.”
“Wait, multiple? Tell me how many projects there are.”
“You are successful proof of one of those projects. The Mars colony.”
“Of course. I remember Verena and Cathal telling me how their mission was brought forward. Dad was angry about it, said it stopped the teams from training together properly. Said it almost cost us our lives. But they found out why. Goliath.”
“Yes. The Goliath meteorite initiated four projects in total. Ark One and the Mars colony have seen successful. I have no contact with the Ark Two or Ark Three.”
“Ark Three!” Leo was standing now, leaning over the comms screen as if he were going to hug it or punch it, he didn’t know which. “Why the hell didn’t you lead with this?”
“Like I said, you didn’t have permission until now.”
“Where the hell is Ark Three? Neptune? The Moons of Saturn?”
“I believe it would have passed all of them many years ago.”
Leo tried to calm himself, collecting his thoughts. “Where was it going?”
“To the nearest habitable exoplanet.”
“Excuse me?”
“Gliese 667. Twenty-three-point-six light years from this solar system.”
“Holy shit!”
“Other nearer viable systems had been identified, but Gliese represented the highest chances of success. There are at least two exoplanets within the same system both capable of supporting life.”
“Another project that was brought forward by Goliath, like the Mars colony?”
“Exactly so.”
“So a DNA repository the same scale as Ark One was strapped to a rocket and fired into deep space?”
“It was redesigned as a module and added to a vessel similar to the Armstrong and Aldrin.”
“I suppose it had one of your cousins on board as well.”
“Yes. An even more advanced AI-avatar system.”
“God help them.”
“Excuse me?”
Leo sat back down in the chair and rubbed at the beard he’d been growing over the past few days. Georgia had said she liked it. He was thinking of keeping it, but he wasn’t thinking of that now. “Was there another doctor on board?” he asked, thinking of Rossier.
“Yes. Doctor Adam Law.”
“But… he’ll be dead by the time the ship reaches Gliese.”
“He will.”
“Then, what was the point of sending the poor man on a suicide mission.”
“It isn’t a suicide mission. It is a high-risk strategy, but arrangements have been made to maximise the chances of success.”
“What.. arrangements?”
“I am not able to tell you.”
“Because I don’t have permission?”
“No. I don’t.”
21
Slipping
The Shuttle, Aleutian Peninsula, Earth – Leo Meier
“What the fuck?” Stef almost spat at her vid screen.
“Four missions,” repeated Leo. “We’re part of a repurposed mission. The Mars mission switched from a scientific base to a survival colony.”
“I knew that much, it’s the other three that are messing with my head.”
“Noah said it lost contact with Ark Two on the Moon shorty after Goliath hit. Said it lost contact with Ark Three when it reached the outer edge of our solar system.”
“The Moon is a feasible future exploration. No way any of us will be chasing Ark Three, God help the poor bastard on that one. Adam Law you say? Sounds like the people who put that mission together were beyond desperate.”
“Noah seemed to think it had a high chance of success. Two habitable planets in the same binary star system.”
“When we reached Mars we had taken the longest flight any humans had ever endured. Travelling to a system many light years away is unimaginable.”
“Perhaps they were playing the long game? Though I don’t see how Doctor Law will survive the journey.”
“No. Unless they had access to tech we know nothing of, that’s just cruel and insane.”
“And a little biblical.”
“Hm,” agreed Stef. She jumped suddenly and stared over her shoulder, “Got to go.”
Leo stared at the blank vid screen. He was seriously worried for Stef, and the rest of them for that matter. It wouldn’t matter if they succeeded in getting the shuttle off the ground again if they had no ride back to Mars.
Ark One, Aleutian Peninsula, Earth – Demetria Philippou
“I had a suspicion about this place,” whispered Timaeus. “That it would prove to be important beyond our own small part.”
Georgia, Phoebe and Demetria returned to the Ark with Timaeus and Hedistē. Now they had electronic copies of the inventory, their job was faster, ticking off what they found.
“You’re one of its chief guardians now,” said Demetria.
“One of them. Are you serious that you will come back to Earth?”
“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”
“I understand it is a very long way.”
“Hm. There is much to do here.”
“I’m worried. That relations between us and the people in the village may… slip. While you are gone.”
“Slip?” asked Demetria. “In that case you need a project to work on together.”
“A project?”
“Mum, Phoebe, where would you start with all this?” she waved her arm expansively at the Ark.
“Berries and bees,” said Georgia, firmly.
“Wow, you’ve been thinking about this a lot already, haven’t you?”
“Yes. It might not be the classic starting place, but we have a small population living among the woods. Rather than cutting down swathes of trees for agriculture, which this planet desperately needs for rebuilding its atmosphere, I think they should grow all kinds of fruit and keep hives of bees to pollinate them. Maybe some edible mushrooms and herbs. I’ll prepare guides. I think it would be a nice gesture to approach the people in the village with a proposal to help expand their diet. It’ll give you just the right project to unite everyone.”
“Will I like berries and bees?” asked Timaeus, unconvinced.
“You eat the honey that bees make, not the bees,” explained Demetria with a laugh, then frowned, “Though I’ve never had the opportunity myself.”
“Something to try on your return to Earth,” smiled Timaeus.
“We’ll have a grand plan worked out by then,” said Georgia enthusiastically. “Though it will be up to you and the others here to adapt it to your needs.”
“What if there are others?” asked Timaeus. “Beyond the village and these lands.”
“I think the chances are high that more have survived and banded together in other corners of the world,” said Georgia.
“Bit of a turn around from your original position,” smiled Demetria.
“I’ve adapted my thinking to what we found. The planet is more fecund than I could ever have imagined before. If we have survivors here then there will be others, I’m sure of it.”
“Might take time to find them,” said Demetria.
“We have time,” shrugged Timaeus. “Helen and Troy will have time.”
“If not this generation then the next,” nodded Georgia.
When they emerged at the head of the ramp the sun was sliding behind a bank of dark clouds. A few rays strayed across the island, making the stones glow.
“Oh! I have a message from Leo,” said Georgia, looking at her tablet.
“Asking if you’ll slip off into the woods with him again?” said Demetria with a sly nudge.
“You’re a fine one to talk. Surprised you’re here with us when you could be having fun with Chen.”
Demetria blushed and looked away.
“He’s a good man, Demetria. Don’t make him wait too long.”
She looked back at her mum, “Didn’t realise it was that obvious. Do you think he might be interested in me?”
“Even I can see that,” whispered Hedistē with a smirk. “And I’ve only known you all a few days.”
“What if… what if we break up?” Demetria asked, more of herself than anyone else. “It’s a long flight and a confined space on the way back to Mars. If we ever get the shuttle up again.”
“Seems we may have access to another shuttle,” said Georgia.
“What? How?”
The Shuttle, Aleutian Peninsula, Earth – Leo Meier
“Stef says Pawel talked to her at long last,” Leo explained to Georgia over the comms link. “He’d been ripping one shuttle apart so he could rebuild the other. Stef thought he’d taken parts from the Armstrong, which was why they had an argument and he refused to talk to her. Seems she misunderstood. He’d been taking parts from equipment on the Armstrong, not the ship itself. She says to keep the beach clear, they’ll attempt a sea landing as close to the shore as they can.”
“Attempt? Won’t they sink?” asked Georgia, worried. “Katya skimmed the sea to take speed off the shuttle but was forced to bring it onto the beach.”
“Apparently not. Not if Pawel’s adjustments work.”
“If? She doesn’t sound convinced. When are they arriving?”
“Tomorrow morning. Samaira says there should be clear skies. Good visibility.”
“I thought we were supposed to keep a couple of people in orbit?”
“We were. To help us if we got stuck. We’re stuck, so they’re coming to help.”
“Hope we don’t end up having to help them,” finished Georgia, unconvinced.
Leo gathered the rovers and dinghies together at the edge of the treeline, overlooking their stranded shuttle. It would be the most obvious landmark to help Stef navigate. Word spread quickly. Most of the village joined the Martians through the evening to wait for the new arrival. They had missed the previous landing and were keen to get the best seats for this one. Leo fretted, hoping Pawel’s adjustments would work. He had two teams ready to sail out if the shuttle started sinking. Timaeus and his family were on standby too.
