Spaceport West (5 page)

“Status please Mr Finch?” asked Tiggy as she adjusted the pilot's seat.

“Prelaunch checklist complete. We’re good to go down here,” crackled the response through the monitors.

“Alan, are you monitoring our systems?”

“All looking good from where I’m sitting Science Officer. Which is nowhere, really.”

“I’m going to miss you Alan. Who knows, if your plan comes together, I might get to meet you in the flesh out in the Colony.”

“It’s a nice thought - a pipe dream really - but who knows, we all live in hope, right?”

“It’s what makes us truly human my friend. Okay I’ve engaged nav systems. We’re live for launch once you clear us, lunar base.”

“Safe travels, Tiggy. Enjoy the long sleep.”

“Farewell Alan, for now. Say goodbye to Wilder from me.”

“Will do.”

The chemical launch stage ignited and the Mars transporter
Quirinus
lifted easily off the surface.

An hour later

“Detroit?”

“Hi Tiggy.”

“Launch phase complete - if any of you guys want to join me on the flight deck, you’re more than welcome.”

“Roger that.”

A few minutes later, Detroit Finch and Truth Polanski emerged on deck and saluted.

“Officer!” barked Finch.

“At ease recruits. How do you like your first view of interplanetary space?”

“It’s so… dark!” gushed Truth.

“It’s beautiful. The stars are just incredibly bright and sharp,” noted Detroit.

“Not bad is it? Good thing is, we should get a similar view from Mars, at night that is.”

“Because the atmosphere is so thin?”

“Correct Truth. Get used to it - this is your new night sky. Now, can I leave you two to monitor these displays while I go and check on the others?” Tiggy knew there was little real damage the fresh-faced recruits could do as the nav system had a security lockdown enabled.

“Sure thing Tiggy.”

Officer Beauchamp made her way down to the sleep deck, where the remaining recruits were making preparations for frigosleep.

FRIGOSLEEP

Frigosleep
is a revolutionary new way to experience interplanetary travel without enduring long periods of intense boredom. It works by rapidly cooling the body to induce a form of reversible stasis, effectively slowing all metabolic and mental activity to the level of, say, a hibernating hedgehog. There are no known side effects upon reanimation, other than a little muscle stiffness and feeling slightly prickly for a few hours.

Prior to the invention of
frigosleep
, it was not uncommon for astronauts on long haul voyages to complain of severe mental trauma due to over-exposure to daytime TV, usually cheap imports from the US.

Interestingly, studies have shown that watching daytime TV has much the same effect on mental activity as
frigosleep
itself, with the main disadvantage being that of irreversibility.

UK Guide to Space, 2025 Edition

“How’s it all looking down here kids?” teased Tiggy.

“I
think
we’re nearly ready for the longest power nap in history,” said Jenna Sorensen.

“Good. Everyone clear about the procedure?”

“Officer Beauchamp?” came a nervous voice.

“Aster, are you okay?”

Aster Madly was sitting meekly next to her frigosleep pod, looking at it suspiciously. “I’m, just a little unsure. I mean, I know it’s perfectly safe and everything, but it is a bit
weird
.”

“Remember, it’s only for 30 days. Then, we all get up and begin our exercises.”

“Yeah I know, but…”

“What is it Aster?”

“Well, the thing is, I’ve always suffered from nightmares, ever since I was very young. What if I have one that lasts a month?”

Tiggy frowned. Why wasn’t this picked up in the psych screening?

“You’ll be fine. In fact, this will probably be the best night’s sleep you’ve ever had. The low temperature makes it impossible to experience anything at all. Before you know it, you’ll be waking up.”

“But - can you be sure? What if I’m different?”

“Look Aster - you see this headset? It’ll non-invasively monitor everything going on inside that pretty little head of yours, which will be even less than usual I can assure you. Anything untoward, such as even the hint of conscious or subconscious thought patterns, and you will be automatically revived in under a minute.”

“Really, simple as that?” Aster wasn’t looking entirely convinced.

“Tell you what, if you want, why not help me monitor the rest of the crew as they go under for the first 24 hours or so? Then, once you’re happy, you can join them. How’s that sound?”

“What about you Tiggy, aren’t you sleeping?”

“Of course, but I need to stay conscious for the first couple of days, just to keep an eye on everyone. Not really necessary, just protocol. I’ll be having some natural sleep in that time obviously.”

“What happens if there’s a fault in the system and we’re not revived?” interrupted Sky, who had been listening in.

“That’s extremely unlikely Ventura, but worst case scenario, we’d arrive at Mars having slept for the entire trip and they’d have to revive us when we got there. We’d be slightly worse for wear having not done our exercises but nothing drastic. Anyway, won’t happen.”

The recruits looked more or less convinced by her assurances, and one by one they clambered into the frigosleep pods.

“Aster, go and fetch Detroit and Truth would you, they need to go under now, and then it’ll just be us.”

For the next couple of days Tiggy and Aster amused themselves watching the stars, peering at their crew-mates beneath the frosty glass lids and catching up on some daytime TV. Eventually Aster, and then finally Tiggy went under.

🚀

Aster opened her eyes. She couldn’t immediately remember where she was. In front of her appeared to be a white fog. Something was scratching her forehead so she reached up and pulled off the neuro-headset. Looking at it, she remembered. She wiped her hand across the inside of the glass lid to clear the frost, then reached for the release button.

There was a gentle hissing as the warm air filled the pod and Aster tentatively sat up. She didn’t feel stiff, so she couldn’t have been under for very long, she reasoned. Sitting up, she looked around. The lights were dimmed and all the other pods still seemed occupied. Hurriedly, she tried to focus on her thoughts immediately before waking - had she been dreaming? That would be a first if she had. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a dream as opposed to a nightmare.

Then she remembered. She
had
been dreaming. She was young, perhaps nine or ten, playing in the garden at home, pushing her little brother on the swing. He was going higher and higher and as she looked up to follow the arc of his movement, the sun momentarily blinded her.

That was when she had decided to wake up.

Quietly, as if there was a danger of waking the others, she floated around the other pods, down the narrow corridor onto the flight deck. There were three empty seats by the instrument panel and she sat in one, nervously, almost guiltily, although she had done nothing wrong. For a long time she just watched the stars through the cockpit window. The stillness was almost unbearable, the quietest place Aster could ever remember. The quietest her thoughts had ever been, she reflected.

Suddenly she became aware of a whisper coming from the sleep deck. Ordinarily it would have been inaudible, but in this stillness it was unnaturally clear. It sounded like Freddie was chatting to someone, but Aster couldn’t hear another voice.

Even more quietly this time, she drifted back down the corridor and stopped at the entrance, hidden by the bulkhead.

“Thanks for waking me.”

“That’s okay Freddie.”

“You know I really wanted this time together.”

“I know, Freddie. How are you getting along with the rest of the crew?”

“Oh, they’re okay I suppose. One or two of them can be a bit irritating, but you get used to it.”

“But you are making friends, right? Remember we talked about how important that is.”

“Yeah, I remember. There’s one, Sian. I think she’s the brightest out of all of us. Seems to have the clearest idea of why she’s doing this. She’s quite lovely actually.”

“Should I be jealous?” Katy teased.

Freddie almost seemed defensive. “Katy, you know I love you!”

“I know Freddie, I was only joking. Will you forgive me?”

“Of course. Would you really mind though, if I did find someone else whilst I’m on this mission?”

“You know how it is between you and me. I’ll always be here for you, whatever happens.”

Aster heard everything. She was beginning to feel awkward about the situation so went back a short way and then re-entered the room noisily, feigning surprise at seeing Freddie awake.

“Oh, hi Freddie! Can’t you sleep either?”

Freddie jumped about a foot and covered his watch with his hand. Aster pretended not to notice.

“Aster, how long have you been there?”

She didn’t answer his question. “Oh, I’ve just been up on the flight deck, enjoying the view. How come you’re awake?”

“I, er, set an alarm. I wanted some quiet time, you know.”

“Absolutely, so peaceful, isn’t it? I don’t even know how long we’ve been under.”

“Two weeks. What woke you?”

“That’s the weird thing. Tiggy said we couldn’t possibly dream, right? Well I did. I’m not sure if the neuro-headset picked it up or not. And then, I just decided to wake up.”

“You’re right, that is weird! What are you, some kind of walking science freak? Sorry that didn’t come out right.” Freddie looked away shuffling his feet awkwardly.

“No, I don’t mind Freddie,” replied Aster with a shy smile. She found herself staring, fascinated, at Freddie, as if she’d never really noticed him before.

This deeply quiet space is magical, Aster thought. They were the only two conscious souls for tens of millions of miles, which is an exceptionally unusual way to get to know someone. They seemed to be sharing an almost mystical connection, or so Aster thought. Indeed, Aster felt a warmth in her heart that she couldn’t remember experiencing before, although that might have been the residual effect of the antifreeze in her bloodstream, which conveniently she had forgotten about.

“Well, I think I’m going to get back in my pod now!” she announced, suddenly realising how oddly intense she was being.

“Good idea. I will as well, in a minute.”

🚀

After the first thirty day sleep, the entire crew were revived and prepared to set about their prescribed physical and mental exercises. Freddie and Aster didn’t mention their conversation to anyone, and as far as they knew, nobody had discovered that they had woken up. There wasn’t much in the way of privacy on board the
Quirinus
, so the two of them didn’t discuss what had happened. Aster wasn’t
entirely
sure what she would say to Freddie given the chance. And as for Freddie, he wouldn’t have had a clue where to start.

Naturally, everyone was ravenous and they ate the biggest breakfast imaginable. Aster found herself staring at Freddie more than once but always looked away when he noticed.

After breakfast, Tiggy refocussed everyone on the purpose of their awakening. “Okay crew, in 90 minute’s time, once we’ve had a chance to digest breakfast, we are going to start our exercises, beginning with some simple Tai Chi moves. Before then, everyone needs to record their video log and familiarise themselves with the
UK Guide to Space
.”

Tiggy started handing out copies of the
Guide
. It had been prepared by UK Space Command as a definitive introduction to life on the Red Planet and beyond. In terms of pure entertainment value, it ranked marginally above
The Ten Approved Ways a Communist Ties Their Laces in Zero Gravity
, a classic space text beloved of cosmonauts since Yuri Gagarin and only recently translated into English.

Freddie settled down with the
Guide
and found the following section, which seemed as good a place as any to start.

Mars Colonists will organise themselves into a pseudo-military structure, taking commands from the Governor or Acting Governor. Civilian colonists will be outranked by any actual military personnel present. This arrangement is necessary to prevent insurrection, ill-discipline or smarmy self-righteousness.

Freddie had a thought: who’s going to stop the officers feeling smarmy?

Due to the lengthy delays in communication between Earth and Mars, the colony will be semi-autonomous. The Governor will have the final say in all matters of conduct and discipline, although in exceptional circumstances, colonists may appeal to UK Space Command if they feel strongly enough about any given decision.

It is fully expected that core British Values be upheld at all times on the colony. Tolerance, freedom of speech, freedom of belief, the right to offend and the right to be offended are all central to the philosophical framework we are attempting to promulgate throughout the Solar System.

Therefore, be on your guard. If you notice a fellow colonist falling short of the high expectations of the British Government, it is your duty to report them to your commanding officer or line manager as appropriate. If you fail to do so, you are equally guilty of undermining our values, and have only yourself to blame if you find yourself indefinitely detained without charge on some forsaken prison asteroid out in the Oort Cloud.

Alarmed, he thumbed forward a few chapters.

Colonists will have a range of duties, including scientific investigations, food production and mineral mining operations. When off duty, a varied selection of leisure activities will be available (details to be confirmed). UK Space Command recommend colonists strive for a healthy diet and balanced lifestyle with multiple daytime and off-duty pursuits. This will help to distract any homesick recruits from getting any ideas about heading back to Earth. Cos that ain’t going to happen.

From day one, Mars is intended to be a classless, cash-free society. Means of production are the shared possession of the community at large, and the distribution of resources and labour will be based on the principle
from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.
It should be noted, however, that this is clearly an aspiration, and initially a more accurate description might be
from each according to his educational background, to each according to the perks agreed in his contract
.

Meanwhile, Aster had knuckled down to her first video log.

“Right, what have I learnt so far? I think I’ve learnt that frigosleep isn’t as bad as I had feared. I’ve also learnt that Mars is a very, very long way away. This kind of separation has never been attempted before, and it does beg the question, why do this to yourself? I’m not convinced everyone on this transport has necessarily thought through this question.

“As for me, I think the sense of adventure outweighs the personal sacrifice involved. Hopefully I am doing it for the right reasons. I wish I could say the same for my fellow travellers.”