BENEATH - A Novel (15 page)
Authors: Jeremy Robinson
"That is the danger of humankind," Choi said. "In the past we've sought to protect only ourselves from new environments. Not the other way around. The result was the loss of eighty-five percent of the world's plant and animal species."
Willard felt himself relax around Choi for the first time. She spoke passionately and he could swear a genuine smile was seeping onto her face.
It seems our second in command has a soft side after all
, Willard thought
, for germs.
"But what about the dangers to the crew? If we can infect other species with our germs, what about the other way around?" Willard asked.
"As I mentioned, the human race always protects itself first." Choi leaned against the door frame. "And we're no different. Unlike your typical unintelligent life-form, which develops defenses through millions of years of natural selection, we can prepare for the worst in advance."
Willard nodded.
"The electromagnetic shielding, the PMS suits, decontamination procedures… We're prepared to defend against microbial invaders."
"But how do we know it will work against something new?"
"In theory, we don't."
Willard opened his mouth to speak, but the protest he nearly raised was cut short.
"I designed the decon system myself," Choi said. "I guarantee you, nothing short of a human in a PMS could survive the process."
Willard shifted his weight. "You designed the decon?"
Choi appeared stymied for a moment. Willard wondered if her involvement in the decon system was supposed to be public knowledge.
"I uh, yes. I designed the system."
Willard became more curious. "Forgive me for asking, but what do you know about decontamination? Is that standard astronaut training?"
Choi looked at the floor and then sighed. She returned her eyes to Willard's and took a sudden casual demeanor. "I was with the CDC for a few years before moving to the GEC."
"CDC…" Willard said, letting his mind fill in the full phrase. "You were with the Center for Disease Control?" He didn't hide his rising apprehension.
"My history with the CDC had nothing to do with my qualifications for this mission," Choi said.
Willard wasn't sure whether to believe her or not, but he felt certain he wouldn't get an honest answer if there was more to the story. "A lucky bonus then?"
"Very lucky," Choi said, regaining her relaxed posture. "Their previous decon system had several flaws. The crew and the alien environments will be safer from contamination than ever before."
"How's that?"
"Decon consists of an alcohol solution spray down—three variants,
an O2 wash down, an anti-bacterial mist to kill anything that survived the alcohol, a second O2 wash and exposure to low level radiation and extreme heat at the end. We'll be comfortable in our PMS's the entire time. Won't feel a thing. And anything that survived would also have to withstand the vacuum of space. Nothing, microbe or otherwise, could survive. We pass through decon on the way out for the environment's protection and on the way in for ours."
Willard chewed through the information and came up with only one question. "What about the germs inside the suit? You can't decontaminate our bodies."
Choi's eyebrows rose. "Good for you, Mr. Willard. The solitary remaining risk of contamination lies in the rupture of our PMS suits or face masks. The decompression of the suit will pull air out of the suit, still protecting the suit's wearer from contamination, but exposing the environment to any germs the wearer might be carrying. So as far as crew safety goes, we're in no biologic danger."
Willard wasn't sure if he felt better or not, but she had answered his questions and then some. "Guess it would be bad if any of us had an infectious disease then, huh?"
Willard wasn't expecting the response he got to his off-hand comment. Choi's casual demeanor vanished and was replaced by a steely gaze. "Very bad," she said before turning and walking away.
Standing alone before the decon room, Willard now wondered how well the PMS would protect him.
If it can survive decon
, Willard thought,
it can handle space
. The light above the door flashed green, signaling that Connelly was through decon and the rest of the crew was now waiting on him before they descended to Europa's surface.
The door slid open, revealing a long, dimly lit hallway. A conveyor belt moved slowly forward, leading to four separate compartments separated by hanging sheets of plastic.
Like stepping into the throat of a whale.
"Please step forward," a voice commanded.
Willard had heard the voice several times as the rest of the crew went through decon before him, but it still made him jump. He stepped on to the belt and was pulled into the chamber. The hallway dimmed as the hatch sealed behind him. A loud spraying mist coated his body, killing everything it came into contact with.
*
*
*
*
*
Lander One's hatch craned up, revealing a bright white landscape that reminded Connelly of Antarctica. If it weren't for the way her body floated in Europa's low gravity, she would have felt right at home. Of course the luminous landscape mixed with a starry sky was something she had never seen before.
On earth, when the sun was shining, the sky was blue, but here, on a moon with the tiniest of atmospheres, the skyline was perpetually filled with stars.
After an anxious ride on the Lander, which looked like a cross between a Ferrari and a Winnebago, Connelly took her first step into a low gravity environment with a bit too much jump in her step. She soared seven feet out before landing.
Smiling wide, she turned around and looked back as the rest of the crew exited the silvery grey Lander.
Robert leaped out of the open hatch and landed next to Connelly. "Amazing." Robert bounced around Connelly, "So strange."
Willard, Peterson and Choi, exited the Lander and quickly adjusted to their low-grav legs. Choi spoke into her headset microphone, knowing that while on the surface, every one of them, and Harris, who was monitoring them from the Surveyor, could hear every word she said. "Everyone check out?"
Nods and yeses all around.
"Peterson and I will be collecting ice samples from the nearby red streak," Choi said. "Connelly, Samuels and Willard, you will begin the melting process. Check in every half hour. Meet back here in two."
"And if anything goes wrong?" Willard asked.
"Head back to Lander One ASAP and let us know on the way. We can evac and be back to the Surveyor quicker than most ambulance trips."
Willard nodded.
"Make sure to switch your com over to your specific crew's frequency," Choi said as she moved to the rear of the lander. She punched a few buttons on a keypad built into the rear of the Lander. "Peterson and I are on Com 1, you three take Com 2. We don't want to hear everyone's conversations at the same time. If you have an emergency, switch to the emergency channel and everyone will hear you."
The rear hatch of the lander slowly opened. Two long tracks slid down to the ice. A large, thick wheeled ATV rolled gently down the tracks and stopped at the bottom. The small vehicle was sleek but sturdy—the SUV of moon rovers. A small, two-wheeled trailer was attached to the back of the ATV, designed to safely transport a wide variety of samples. It had freezers to keep ice frozen, dry tubs for soil samples, even sterile containment units for biological matter.
Connelly couldn't stand the anticipation anymore. She knew the answers they sought were still a long way away, but for the first time ever, she was going to see her creation, TES, in action. Even inside the temperature controlled PMS, she could feel her underarms beginning to perspire. She put her hand on Robert's shoulder. "Ready?"
"You kidding?" Robert said. Both of them turned and took a few steps toward TES, which could be seen as a black splotch on the
Choi took the driver's seat and Peterson climbed on behind her.
"Hey Kathy," Peterson said.
Connelly turned around as she bounced away. She could see Peterson's smiling face behind his PMS suit's mask. "Hope you find what you're looking for."
Connelly waived. "You too."
"I'm switching you off now. See you in two." Tires spun, launching the ATV forward. It cruised easily over the ice with its spiked tread.
Connelly did her best to hide her smile from Robert, who was looking at her with suspicious eyes. Using her right hand to work the control panel on her left wrist, Connelly switched from Com 1 to Com 2. "Can you hear me, Robert?"
"You two a thing now?" Robert asked, not amused.
"I'll take that as a yes." Connelly bounded forward in the low gravity, hoping to avoid the conversation. Luckily for her, Willard wasn't as interested as Robert.
Willard landed next to Connelly after taking a huge leap. "How come we don't get a speedy thingy?"
Robert chuckled. "Probably because you call it a speedy thingy."
It took the three of them ten minutes to bumble their way across the frozen surface of Europa. No one spoke much; they just looked around, admiring the never ending incredible view. Jupiter was directly in front of them. Connelly couldn't get over the planet's size. When Europa's rotation had them facing Jupiter, the king of the solar system took up the entire view. She recalled what it had been like seeing the
Of course, Connelly knew that for all of Jupiter's splendor, it also posed one of the greatest mission threats. If the electromagnetic shielding provided by Surveyor, the landers or TES gave out, they'd have six minutes to get the system back online or get six feet beneath the ice.
Connelly took her place behind the TES control panel. The sphere, which was clear on top and solid metal alloy on the bottom, was dangling over the exposed ice at the center of TES. Three cranes, attached to TES in between the three large panels, which now lay flat, held the sphere aloft and provided electricity, heat, air, pressurization and communications.
In addition, the cables also contained heating filaments, which kept the melted water from refreezing. Once a hole was melted in the ice, it would fill with water from the ocean beneath. If left alone, it would quickly refreeze and trap the TES sphere below.
Stepping away from the control panel, Connelly approached the sphere and reached out her hand, placing it on its smooth exterior. "Okay, baby, this is it. Show me what you got."
Connelly slid her hand off the sphere and took a jump back. She turned to Robert, who had taken her place at the control panel. "Heating coil status?"
Robert glanced at the screen. "A-Okay."
"Support cables?"
"Holding…" Robert smiled. "Kath, we're as ready as we're going to be."
Connelly moved behind the control panel with Robert and Willard. "Guys, I just wanted to say…"
"Boss," Willard said. "Quit stalling and hit the damn button."
Connelly laughed, put her thumb on a button labeled, ENGAGE, and pushed it down. Moments later, wavy distortions of heat could be seen streaming off the metallic bottom of the sphere. After thirty seconds of silence, the sphere began to lower toward the ice.
Watching with the eyes of a hawk, Connelly saw the top layer of ice begin to melt as the sphere descended. Moments later, the sphere made physical contact with the ice. A plume of steam launched into the air, propelled by the great heat of the sphere. Connelly's facemask clouded as the area fogged over.
The entire event was perfectly silent. In the vacuum of space, which they were exposed to on the moon's surface, sound could not exist. But she could hear the loud cheers of Robert, who raised his hands in victory. "There she goes!"
The steam, which had formed a cloud over a fifty foot radius began to cluster and refreeze. The gravity of the moon, while weak, was still strong enough to pull the ice crystals back to the surface. Connelly held her hands out as the newly formed snowflakes descended.
A chill suddenly shook her body when she realized that the snowflakes looked like the explosive charged particles that had nearly destroyed the Surveyor. She began to imagine what would have happened to the ship if they hadn't been able to clear the cloud. But before her mind could fully commit to the subject, her eyes transmitted new information that took precedence over every other thought in Connelly's mind. The snow and steam had cleared enough that she could see the area the TES sphere had been.
The sphere is gone!
she thought.
Connelly took a careful step forward, looking into the newly formed, ten foot wide hole in the ice. Inside was a pool of water, perhaps five feet deep, and below that, beneath the shimmering alien liquid, was the TES sphere, moving steadily downward.
She looked back at Robert and Willard, who wore smiles on their faces. "It's working. TES is working."