ARIA (33 page)

“I’d be willing to take the risk,” Antonio said. “Then of course, if I do get stuck...”

“There’d be one less to feed back at the centre,” Ryder said. They all laughed but Ryder meant it.

Dan and Antonio exchanged knowing looks.

“Antonio talked something over with me last night, Ryder,” said Dan. “He’s volunteering to open the case, alone. Equipped with enough provisions and comms for as long as we think necessary.”

Ryder looked at Antonio as if he’d not seen him before. There in front of him was the man making a play for Teresa, hence the lowest form of scum. Yet, he was volunteering for the most dangerous job left on the planet. The opened case could explode, but more likely emit fumes or a virus to complete the task of the disastrous ARIA.

“I’m astounded and incredibly impressed,” Ryder said, “but there are many technical issues to resolve.”

“I know,” Antonio said, “and some made more complicated because of this access point. For instance, how are we to ensure the contents of the case do not escape through this chimney—since that is what it would become?”

“And getting down there, if it is possible without dislocating all your bones, will be easier than the return journey,” Ryder said.

“Once down there and after exposing myself to the case, I could occupy myself—in between reporting to you—by clearing a horizontal route through the collapsed roof.”

“We might end up losing you under a fresh fall and we’d be back to square one,” said Ryder. “I know we couldn’t force you not to do what you want, but your health and safety wouldn’t be just about you.”

“Don’t insult me, Ryder. This is a magnanimous situation. With no family left alive and being a physician, I am best placed to help everyone here.”

Ryder didn’t feel inclined to apologise for his patronising warning. He was used to saying the obvious to some of the centre staff and erred on the side of caution, knowing some would be offended.

“Let’s sort out the details back at the centre,” he said, knowing Teresa would accuse him of engineering the situation. He could see her wagging finger whooshing through the air, her nagging voice accusing him of throwing her incipient lover down a well. And the joke was that Antonio had thrown himself down. But then maybe he’d been too hasty with the good doctor. After all, his own relationship with Teresa had been rocky for months, and it would have freed him to take up other opportunities. What was he thinking? There were only two other possibilities, Laurette, who had her talons into Gustav, and that crazy, yet mysterious sorceress, Jena.

Tuesday 22 September 2015:

Llwtymor Mountain mine.

A
T
THE
BASE
OF
THE
AIRSHAFT
, A
NTONIO
PEERED
INTO
THE
WEBCAM
. “Don’t forget the champagne on the next drop.”

Ryder frowned at Derek, who had been appointed full-time Antonio monitor.

“I think and hope that’s another of his jokes. I humour him, Ryder, more than I would you or any of the others because, by God, I wouldn’t want to do what he’s going to do.”

Ryder was pushed out of the way by Megan so she could lower a tightly-rolled sleeping bag, airbed and foot pump all in one bin bag.

Brian and Abdul had set up Antonio’s electrical supply, running both a cable from the centre and a car-battery backup trickle-charged by a small wind vane. Solar panels would be ineffective on this north-facing slope. Antonio insisted on a measure of short-term self-sufficiency in case of some disaster at the centre. Water was more difficult to organise. The centre had a filter system using local stream water, but it wouldn’t stand storing for weeks without the few bacteria becoming millions. Antonio needed piped water and his own filter along with purification tablets.

Megan trudged off to winch up another load from Teresa, who’d organised a pile of supplies at the base of the slope. From so high up, with so much vegetation and boulders in the line of sight, Ryder couldn’t see her. He wondered over her turmoil with her new friend shutting himself away for at least a month’s quarantine after the case exposure.

“Watch your back, Ryder,” Vlad said, carrying a space-age-looking aluminium cowl to go over the airshaft once they’d finished lowering provisions.

“Are you sure that will work?” Ryder said, fingering the louvers around the cubed piece of modern sculpture.

“No idea,” Vlad said.

“He’s kidding,” Gustav said. “It will prevent rain and animals getting in, let air in and our patent wet-filter system will, hopefully, strangle any alien virus that makes it to this point up the shaft.”

“Will it strangle Antonio, if he comes up the shaft?” Ryder said.

“It will be locked from above and below, but he could get out when he needs to via the winch and using tools he has.”

Ryder took the Ukrainian away from the shaft for a short walk. “Vlad, the acoustics in that shaft will let Antonio hear conversations at the top.”

“So?”

“I thought we laid down the specifications such that he wouldn’t just be able to winch himself up and get out without us letting him. There’s a danger he might become infected and contaminate us, otherwise.”

“Ryder, you have to allow him to get out in an emergency. Suppose after heavy rain, his bit of the mine gets flooded or we get ill and can’t get provisions to him? We can’t let him die down there.”

“The point of quarantine is that it’s us who decides when he’s to come out.” Ryder could feel his cheeks heating but hoped Vlad didn’t notice.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure he wouldn’t without our say so.” Vlad returned to fixing the cowl, leaving Ryder seething, then following, plotting another failsafe device. He could understand Vlad being reluctant to trap Antonio in the mine: he’d been with him in a spacecraft for so long. He was like family.

Ryder had to plan for the bigger picture and protect what was left of mankind. He would sort it out with Brian, but he could see where they could fasten the cowl to the grating so that Antonio could only emerge with help from the outside. Keeping it from the others shouldn’t be too difficult, and he had no problem letting Antonio out once a quarantine period was complete. If a disaster befell them at the centre, then Antonio would have a problem and might die, but he must have taken that into account when he volunteered. It would not make sense to let him contaminate them if he developed another version of ARIA.

E
VERYONE
STARED
AT
THE
LARGE
MONITOR
, watching Antonio’s progress. The camera was set up at an oblique angle to see both Antonio and the cage containing the case. He wore a bio-safety suit. Ryder wasn’t sure why he didn’t wear his space suit, or conversely, why wear any protection when he was there to be exposed?

“Idiot, we don’t know what’s in the case,” Teresa said. “We know he’s there as a guinea pig, but there’s no need for him to suffer incidental damage.”

Ryder could see her point, impressed really, but impatient to witness the events.

Antonio’s voice came over clearly. “It’s now or never.
Si
? Opening the padlock now. There’s dust covering the padded bag—
grazie
, Jena.”

Ryder looked round for her. She sat at a table, her hands propping up her chin. Their eyes met and she stuck out her tongue. He returned the compliment. He turned to find the image of Antonio unzipping the bag, revealing for the first time on Earth, the gleaming mirror-like surface of the case. Yet, not a case in that it had no handle, but small and light enough to be carried in outstretched arms.

“
Osservate
, the logo is flat to the case when viewed from the side, but as you move, it appears as a solid protruding object with a golden glow. A double chevron whereas for the first case, a single black chevron. Giving us hope
, signore e signori
, that this one is a second part to the first. I know what some of you think. That this is a final end to us all, but I believe this will undo the damage of the first. They are more advanced than us. This is to both rectify and move on to something wonderful.”

“Typical bloody Italian,” Brian said.

Antonio continued. “I believe the first case wouldn’t open if merely touched by remote control, but that is what I am going to try. I am placing the case, logo upwards, on the table, using the bag so I’m not actually touching it. This is an aluminium rod I am going to press on the logo.

“Nothing happened. The next stage is to try a probe made of an organic substance. So, here is a wooden probe I am to use.”

“Probe, my arse,” Bronwyn said, “it’s my long stirring spoon!” Everyone relief-laughed, including Antonio and Jena.

Antonio looked round at the camera. You could just see his eyes through the clear plastic headpiece. “Sorry, Bronwyn. Megan said it’d be all right. She said you didn’t need help stirring things.”

“I’ll want it back.”

Antonio pressed the wooden spoon down on the logo but nothing happened.

“The next step is to touch it myself. I’ll attempt it first with my bio-suit glove on. Here I go...nothing. I’ll try with more force. Note how the logo appears to show through the glove as if there is a holographic light source in the case exterior. Clever technology,
si
? I press hard and nothing changes.

“There is only one test left,
buona fortuna
to all, yes?”

Bronwyn called out, “Don’t, don’t, Antonio!” Then she pushed her chair back, stood, and rushed to the kitchen. “I can’t watch.”

Jena said, “Yeah, come back in, Antonio, have a cup of tea. Forget the case before you have no choice.”

Everyone else stayed mute, transfixed by what might be the greatest moment in human history—or the second greatest.

Antonio waited a moment then said, “I’m stepping back three metres. Now I’m removing the protective outer glove off my right hand. Now the latex under-glove. This may be
arrivederci
.

“Nothing has changed on the case. I’m reaching my hand out so that it is within two metres. Nothing. One. Nothing.

“I now hover my hand over the logo without touching it. Twenty centimetres above. Nothing. Ten. Ah—the logo has vanished. I hear a small, high-pitched buzz. I’m removing my hand and stepping back. There. The logo remains absent and the sound persists. See that bright blue light around the edge of the case? And the lid slowly opens as if there is a hinge opposite to me. I am stepping back another metre to let the camera zoom in and the sensors work.”

The camera showed six translucent blue bricks.

“Is the colour affected by the low light intensity in the mine?” Derek said. “Only, the first case had bricks of a funny lilac colour, didn’t it?”

Ryder said, “Yes, although they had a greenish tinge to them, like a badly-coloured toothpaste. We are seeing a difference in colour. Can you confirm their blue colour, Antonio?”

“I’d say they were a sky blue as if they had an internal light source.”

Antonio lowered a thin wire boom over the case and sat well back. Within minutes, Gustav had some results. “No change in background radiation. No change in temperature though light intensity has increased.”

Jena swivelled her stool to work at the computer near her. They’d set up a live link to Charlotte. The signal bounced around the satellites.

“Charlotte says, ‘Good luck to you, Antonio,’ silly mare,” Jena said.

Ryder walked over to her and spoke into the mike. “Hi, Charlotte, thanks for your good luck.” He glared at the pouting Jena. “And keep an eye on any unusual activity such as radio bursts from our visitors at Cassini. Cheers.”

Antonio manipulated a small Perspex tube over the case. “I’m running my gas analyzer, for what it’s worth.”

Ryder knew the same apparatus pulled in any viruses emitted from the case. Those could be passed over gel microscope plates and studied for unusual pathogens similar to the one Julia Tyndall found at Goddard.

“When I find something on the slide, I want it to be called Antonio’s Bug.”

“Still the funny man. No ill effects?” asked Abdul.

“No, and the gas analyser isn’t showing anything.
Un momento
.”

The next twenty minutes saw no change. Megan excused herself to help Bronwyn in the kitchen, and Brian left to check a loose connection on a gate.

Teresa’s computer sounded an incoming message alert.

“It’s Charlotte. She says the ISS is relaying a radio signal.”

Dan ran to the computer station controlling the ISS webserver.

“Yep, there is a 2.6 seconds-long repeated signal being picked up by the radio antennae pointed at the brown fuzzy ball.”

“Good God,” Ryder said. “Is it intelligible?”

“Actually it’s not beamed directly at the ISS but in this direction too,” Teresa said, passing on information from Charlotte.

Dan fiddled with a virtual connection to the ISS control panel. “It isn’t a ‘how are you doing’ message. Just garbage, but exactly the same garbage every 2.63 seconds. You know what I think?”