The Attempt (The Martian Manifesto Book 1) (6 page)

Bonnie stopped in amazement as she entered her new lodging on the AB cycler. The whole room glittered in some sort of silvery metal. The apartment took up the entire end cap of the habitat, and had a large screen on the far wall which currently depicted a view of the surface of the asteroid. On her right was a padded wall with panels that opened. In front of her was a low silvery coffee table with candles and a fruit bowl. On her left, her daughters were performing slow motion jumps up and down on a couch.

“
Mom, isn’t this great?” her eldest daughter Jean laughed as she floated down for another jump. “I think we found the Taj Mahal!”

Bonnie was too amazed to scold her children about jumping on the furniture.
She walked over to the padded wall and pushed on some of the panels, which then popped open. One was a stocked snack bar. Another was a small area for food preparation, and a third was a small refrigerator. At one end, a long skinny panel opened into a private bathroom which also sparkled with some sort of metal finish.

As Bonnie slowly
took this all in, she felt strong arms hug her from behind. “See, Honey, didn’t I promise you an exciting adventure?” her husband Jeff whispered. “This is just the start of our new life together,” he said as he nuzzled her neck. “I got us the best room in the house!”

This was the Jeff that B
onnie had fallen in love with—strong, confident and caring.
“Perhaps,”
she thought
, “we can make a new beginning now. He’ll be his old self, since the stress of preparing for our journey is in the past.”

Behind her, Bonnie hears a loud voice.
“Wow,” Sue said, standing in the doorway. “This sure beats my place! I have a little cubby hole with a one-person bed, a skinny closet and a fake porthole that is totally dark.”

Jeff let go of Bonnie and turned around to face Sue. “You know the rules, Sue,” Jeff said with a frown. “You’re a Bronze. Your cabin befits your station. Perhaps if you had recruited more people and funds for our mission you would have received a better berth.”

“Yeah, yeah, Jeff, I know the rules. Don’t get your space diapers in a bunch,” Sue said wiggling her head. “I was just admiring the view. What kind of metal is this?” she asked, running her hand along the trim on the door.

“Planetary Resources has been mining asteroids for a w
hile, and has perfected the technique of extracting precious metals from them. As one of the companies commissioned to outfit this cycler, their robots extracted platinum for this room and Brother Jacob’s. They installed the metal in the two rooms so that they would be showcases for attracting more paying customers in the future.”

“Well, good luck falling asleep in all this glitter,” Sue said. Jeff frowned at this, but said nothing. He had more important things on his mind.

“Sue, you can come in here any time you want to visit and stretch your legs,” Bonnie said. “And I’ll sometimes need someone to watch these two. Girls! Please stop that jumping!” Bonnie said, exasperatedly.

Ding, ding, ding.

The
soft dinging sounds apparently came from some hidden speaker. Then, Bonnie heard Brother Jacobs’ voice. “Please gather now in the central module. All must attend. Commander Olstein will provide us with a briefing, and Jeff and I will be distributing work assignments. Please gather now in the central module. Attendance is mandatory.”

“C’mon girls, let’s go. Chop, chop!” Sue said as she clapped her hands and winked at Bonnie. “Let’s go learn more about our new home.”

“Let’s be first!” Jean shouted. She grabbed Julie’s hand and the two of them skipped down the corridor, diving through the tunnel at its end. Sue followed them down the hallway, and then struggled to get through the tunnel connecting the modules.

“Let’s go, Honey,” Jeff said, taking her hand. “We have lots to do
still.”

# # #

“Arghh! There’s only plain water down that hole!” mission biologist Charles Winston groaned. The analysis of the gas emitted from the hole by the rover’s laser had shown no organic elements. “I just don’t understand it. Where there’s water, there should be life. Underground here on Mars, any life would be protected from the harsh surface environment and should be thriving.”

“Don’t take it so personally, buddy,” Brad said. “We’ve got lots of exploring still to do. Why don’t you take a break and go check your messages from home. I’ll program the rover to head over to that crater where the meteorite landed and then I’ll exercise while keeping an eye on the monitor. Maybe we’ll find something interesting over there.”

“Sure, Brad,” Charles said to the geologist. “But I’m starting to dread those messages from Terri. She always has something more for me to do. She doesn’t seem to understand how busy we are here. I have to go check on those plants in the greenhouse constantly and test the new strains for viability. Oh, well, call me when we reach the crater.”

Charles stood and went up the central ladder. At the top, he
walked over to his room and entered. There on his terminal it showed that he had five messages. Two were from his parents, and he checked those first. They were simple well wishes, asking him if he was eating properly and getting enough sleep. He made a short video for them. “See, folks. I’m doing fine,” he said as he spun his chair around. “Miss you both, but I’ll be back before you know it. We still haven’t found anything major here, but we’re still looking. Take care, and I love you!” He then pressed ‘Send.’ The message would be delivered to them in about ten minutes, given the speed of light and the current position of Earth.

He then checked the three messages from his fiancée Terri. He opened the first one. Terri popped up, looking beautiful as usual in a business suit and her long brown hair. “Charles,” she started. “I’m still waiting for you to prioritize the list of honeymoon locations that I sent to you yesterday. You know how long it takes to make these preparations, don’t you? I want you to research each one and write the benefits of each and why you would chose it, as well as any negatives.
Then I need for you to write a possible itinerary for each one. Please get this back to me right away.”

Charles groaned. Didn’t she realize that he would be back in two years, and there was plenty of time for this? He opened up the second message. “Charles,” she started again, this time with a frown. “I was checking your e-mails from last week, and you still haven’t sent to me a list of your grooms
men for the wedding, and whether they have girlfriends or wives. I have three single women as bridesmaids, and I want to match them up properly by height. If you haven’t contacted your friends yet, please do so immediately. Be sure to send to me the height, hair color and weight of each of them.”

“Oh my God,” Charles muttered. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He clicked on the third message with dread.

Terri started this video with, “Which do you think is better?”  She was holding up three swatches of cloth. “Should the bridesmaids be in pink, blue or green?” Well, this one was easier, at least, he thought. Terri had gorgeous green eyes, so green gowns would match nicely. He hesitated for a moment, trying to think about whether this was a trick question that would get him into trouble. After a minute of coming up with nothing, he captured another video to send. “Darling, you have such beautiful green eyes, you should pick green for the bridesmaids to match.” Hedging his bets, he added, “But no one will notice, especially me. I’ll only be looking at you the whole time.” Nodding in satisfaction, Charles pressed ‘Send.’

Charles got up and stretched.
“Well, I might as well check on the plants in the greenhouse,”
he thought
. “It will take a few hours for Brad to program the rover and for it to make its way over to that crater.”

As Bonnie entered the central habitat module, she noticed that almost everyone was already there and sitting on the floor, facing forward. Up front were Brother Jacobs and the two astronauts. Bonnie automatically seated herself at the rear of the group with the other Bronzes, while her husband Jeff walked up to the front. Bonnie’s girls were already sitting with the people in front of her.

“Welcome, my children,” Brother Jacobs said, holding both arms out wide. “We have completed the first steps of our journey, yet we still have much to accomplish. First, let us put our arms around each other and give thanks.”

Bonnie put her arms on the shoulders of each person to her left and right. They had performed similar rituals in the years leading up to this trip, and everyone knew what was expected.

“Thank you,
oh Great Consciousness, for leading your children away from the hotbed of strife that has been our home for so long,” Brother Jacobs intoned. “We have started our journey to you, and hope to find you in our new home. Hear us, and give us clues so that we may come directly to you in the months ahead. We have risen!” he shouted.

“We have risen!” the congregation moaned as they swayed left and right.

“We are flying!” Brother Jacobs shouted again.

“We are flying!” the group cried in response, as they all raised their hands in the air.

“We will arrive and merge!” Brother Jacobs screamed, and ran to the group, urging them all to stand up.

“We will arrive and merge!” they all yelled as they
jumped up and joined in a group hug, laughing from excitement and relief that the first part of their journey was completed. Although this last was a new line in their incantations, they all immediately understood its meaning. For many years, Brother Jacobs had told them that they would go on a great journey to merge with the ‘Galactic Consciousness’ and reach a higher plane of existence.

“
Sit, my children, sit,” Brother Jacobs said as he went back to the front of the module. “Commander Olstein will provide us a short briefing about our new abode, and then we will be handing out the work assignments. As the Commander speaks, perhaps some of you could go to the kitchen area and hand out our first supper to everyone. Our first meal has been provided in packages and needs no preparation other than heating.”

Bonnie and a few other Bronzes rose and walked over to the left wall. Since there were no doors to the multiple partitions, they would be able to hear the briefing while in the kitchen area.
On a counter were stacks of packages.

Old Sue walked up beside her. “Well, get a load of these choices: linguini with garlic and clam sauce, hot pastrami on rye and chicken a la king.
I hope there’s a fan in here because these will sure stink up the whole place.”

Bonnie laughed as she picked up two of the linguini packages, since
she figured that Sue was probably correct. In front of her were three heating compartments. She placed the packages in two of them and pressed ‘reheat’ while Sue selected one of the chicken packages for heating. As the electronics started with a low hum, they both turned around to listen to Commander Olstein.

Roy Olstein surveyed the group in front of him. They seemed to him to be doing much better than he had expected, given the uniqueness of the voyage and their lack of training.
“I guess they have their faith to sustain them,”
he thought.
“Personally I would prefer the training. I still can’t believe they didn’t brief us about this when we took the assignment. Well, I guess I’ll need to keep the explanations non-technical. But first, I’ll also need to make sure they don’t start out by being complacent.”

“Fellow astronauts,” Roy started. “It may seem nice and cozy in here
now, but you need to be aware at all times that space can kill you in a matter of moments. You need to start thinking like astronauts as of right now. That starts with understanding all the safety precautions, and knowing where the emergency equipment is located. This central module has fire suppression equipment next to the tunnels that connect to your residence modules. The equipment is behind each of these big red doors,” he said as he pointed at hatches in the walls at each end of the module. “There are to be no open fires at any time. Fire is one of the most dangerous things that can happen in space.”

Julie waved her six year old hand in the air. “
There are candles in my room. Why are they there if we can’t use them?”

“That’s v
ery astute of you to notice those, young lady,” Roy said, nodding. “Those are oxygen-generating candles, and there are some in every cabin. They are to be used only for emergencies, such as if we have a breach in the walls or there is a problem with the air. In the old days, they used to be packaged as ugly canisters, but now they are designed to look like real candles.” Roy avoided telling them that in the old days, the candles burned at 600 degrees, and on a submarine during an emergency one had even exploded. He wanted to make sure the members were cautious; he didn’t want them paralyzed in fear.

Roy
continued, “Remember, Pegasus is also your life boat. If there is an emergency, you will be told to evacuate up the ladder and back down the tunnel we all came through. Sit in the Pegasus with the door closed. I and those with spacesuits will handle the event. Make sure you have an emergency evacuation bag packed at all times with essentials, such as any medications.”

Bonnie made a mental note to herself to prepare a case with clothes and toiletries when she got back to
her room. She also thought that she might skip dinner, as the smell from the food packages was making her a bit queasy. She swallowed hard, and forced herself to pay attention to the Commander.

“Although much is recycled, water and air inevitably gets lost to space in these habitats, and so we will need to make periodic trips to the surface of the asteroid to collect water
,” Roy explained. “Pilot Tuttle and I, as well as those of you with spacesuits, will make excursions each month to check the mining machines and reload the hoppers that extract these vital resources. You may have noticed that some of the asteroid is covered in webbing. That is for safety. Every spacewalk will require those of us outside to clip to the webbing and use it as handholds.”

“I and the other Platinums are ready to assist, Commander
,” Jeff said.

“Thank you, sir. Please be aware that we will be instituting strict protocols for spacesuit safety,” Roy said. “You will
need someone that you trust completely help your don your suit as well as check its systems before and after every walk. Since the supply team was here recently, our first walk is a month away, and so we will have time to practice suit protocol before then. Pilot Tuttle and I will also need to check the three Mars supply ships that are docked near the nose of the asteroid.”

One of the ‘Called’ members raised his hand. “Excuse me, Commander. How did the supply team get
all of these modules set up?”

Roy decided that having discussed emergency preparedness, he could safely
move on to a brief description of the asteroid cycler. “We call this asteroid the Aldrin-Bigelow Mars Cycler, or AB Cycler for short. It is named in honor of Buzz Aldrin, the second person to step on the Moon. Most people do not know that Buzz had a Ph.D. from MIT and was accepted as an astronaut due to his work on how to perform an orbital rendezvous. Then, many years after leaving NASA, Buzz came up with the initial idea for orbits that allow a space station to go around the Earth and Mars, going back and forth like a shuttle bus, without needing any fuel. It takes six months for the cycler to reach Mars.”

Jean interrupted the astronaut. “But then why isn’t Earth at the top and Mars at the bottom of that big clock
on the wall?” she asked. “Mars looks to be at about four o’clock.”

Pilot Sam Tuttle stepped in. “Think of Earth and Mars as moving around the Sun as if they are on a large racetrack. Earth is on the inside, and moving much faster. By the time we reach Mars, the Earth will have passed Mars by, and so it will take the cycler another twenty months to catch up. We all need to get off at Mars, because it’s a long time going
back! Thus the clock is showing the six months to Mars, but the twenty months back to Earth. We hope to create another cycler at some time in the future that takes twenty months to get to Mars, but only six months to get back to Earth. Then people going to Mars will catch this cycler that we are on, sort of like an ‘up elevator’ and take that other one as the ‘down elevator’ when they wish to get quickly back to Earth.”

“
And the actual orbit the cycler makes is a bit more complicated,” Roy said. “It does a sort of ‘dosey doe’ with the Earth three times before heading to Mars. Planetary Resources used the first pass to dig out the space for the modules and set up the mining equipment. The second pass was used by Bigelow Aerospace to install the living modules. You might remember that Bigelow has a number of inflatable space hotels orbiting Earth, and these here are similar. Thus the cycler’s name: the Aldrin-Bigelow Cycler. The third pass the asteroid made with Earth was where we joined the cycler. The Mars orbit actually looks like a pretzel, and the cycler passes Mars twice before heading back to Earth. The clock here shows the times of last approach to each planet, which are the last chances to join or exit the cycler.”

Bonnie wasn’t sure she was following all of this. The smell of the food was definitely making her stomach do flip flops
and her head was starting to hurt.

“Thank you
for that summary,” Bonnie’s husband Jeff Chiswick said as he strode forward and faced the seated members of the group. “Now, although we all were successful in helping Brother Jacobs acquire the funding for our trip, we also had to perform some creative bargaining. You’ll probably have noticed that most of your cabins have no power. As part of the contract for our ride on this asteroid, we need to complete some of the module construction.” Jeff pointed up with one hand at the wires hanging down from the holes in the ceiling, and then held up a stack of papers that he was holding in the other hand. “I have here a list of assignments. Most of the men will be involved with the wiring and creating doors for the partitions in this room. The women will be assigned food preparation. We could also use some decorating of these bare walls and a play area for the children. The youngsters will be charged with creating pens for the animals and laying down dirt that others will bring in from the asteroid, as well as cleaning up after the animals.”

Old Sue turned to Bonnie. “Are you alright, Hon?” she said. “You’re looking awfully pale.”

Bonnie was definitely not alright. She was dizzy and about to throw up. She frantically looked around. There were too many people in the kitchen area, and she didn’t dare interrupt Jeff’s discussion, so she ran back in the direction of her cabin. As she crawled through the tunnel, she knew that she wouldn’t make it back in time.
“I can’t throw up here in the tunnel!”
she thought.
“Jeff will be so mad.”
As she emerged, she remembered the door labeled ‘Head’ that was there on her left, and quickly entered, just in time. She bent over and proceeded to retch into the bowl. Nothing but a bit of spit emerged, but the dry heaves continued a while. When the worst was over, Bonnie turned on the fan, closed the lid, kneeled down and laid her cheek on the cool commode.