Gladys was infinitely grateful to her mother, especially for lessons in wisdom, but she didn't want to live her life in poverty. One day, after she turned 14, she asked her teacher, who had become a second mother to her, a question.
"Mrs. Storfish," she carefully spoke, staring at her teacher with a confident expression on her face.
"Yes, my dear?"
"Do you think I'll ever make a career and become famous?"
"You?" Storfish asked, perplexed, obviously not expecting such a question from the modest Swift.
"Please don't think that I want glory. Mom says there's no more terrible sin than vanity," Gladys continued, stumbling, as though justifying herself.
"No, no, go on. I think I understand you."
"I want to ask if I'll be able to make enough to live on, and if my victories and successes will help me."
Mrs. Storfish mulled it over for a while, gazing out the huge rectangular window that provided a view of the sports village's central courtyard.
"I'll be honest with you," she walked to Gladys and fastened the upper button on her sports uniform. "There are two ways to success to achieve what you want. I'm just like you, but older. Right?”
"I don't know. You aren't old... at least not like my mom," Gladys responded, confused.
"Yes, indeed," Storfish chuckled. "The first way is to strike a single point as strongly as you can, and after some time success finds you before you completely ruin yourself. Many people do this. But success doesn't find all of them..."
Storfish fell silent for a moment, looking into Gladys' eyes and placing her hand on the collar of her sports uniform.
"But there's also a second way. Build something that you can do well somewhere you can get paid. Those who are smarter than the first group do this. And those who have a talent also do this. I think you could choose either way, but knowing you, I'd recommend you choose the second one."
"And where can I use acrobatics though?"
"Space," Storfish answered quickly and sharply.
"I don't get it. What does acrobatics have to do with space?"
"Go to the Space Academy. They need athletic, intelligent girls. And they pay pilots very well. Everyone's weak there, and there's a shortage now."
"But I'll barely pass the exams..."
"My dear, you've still got a whole year. Moreover..." she cut herself off, thinking, before glancing at Gladys. "Moreover, I know someone there. And this someone can recommend you."
Gladys' eyes lit up that day. It's not that she was eager to enter the Academy. On the contrary, it was that someone pointed out a clear way in life, a direction for her aspirations. Gladys was provided a goal and she resolved to achieve it whatever it took.
She used to tell Jack about her classes with Storfish many times, not forgetting to mention that critical conversation either. Until Storfish proposed a completely different option, Gladys had only seen herself going down the road of an athlete. When Jack smiled as he listened to his sweetheart's stories, she always emphasized that if it hadn't been for Storfish, they'd have never met. And then she added if it hadn't been for his smile, she would have never paid any attention. Then they would laugh, saying almost in unison, "Storfish plus smile, Storfish and a smile, smile and Storfish."
Replaying these scenes in his mind, Jack stared at the table and grinned. He had forgotten for an instant he was in a completely different world. Any longer and he would have run outside, imagining he was rushing along the painfully familiar streets in the Aeronaut City suburbs. A breathless Sam would be waiting for him somewhere in the distance. He'd shout, "Hey, sissy! Come on!" Then they'd cheerfully run to the third millennia technopark.
Abruptly, Jack snapped out of his daydream, his handing grazing the cool glass of the door. He stared at the front panorama panel. Outside, a weak wind was tossing up small columns of sand grains. A tiny animal like an anteater skittered along the edge of the rocky ridge, probably scouting for plants or prey between the hills.
Having recovered, Jack caught himself thinking that he had somehow started getting used to that semi-deserted greenish-blue, and sometimes blueish-green, landscape of Nereus. The quiet gust of alien wind deafened all sounds the moment the lieutenant exited his glassy shelter. Now the pavilion didn't seem lonely and dull. An uncompleted section of the second building stood next to him. It had a similar shape, but its base was narrower.
Jack glanced at the construction made of high-technology alloys and covered with thin layers of panorama windows. Every nanometer of reinforcement and ultra-strong glass with thin inclusions of nano-composite strings had been precisely calculated by the Agency. If a single atom was in the wrong place, the construction would never start functioning. The developers of the pavilion deemed it better not to start operations at all than letting the entire expedition get ruined because of a tiny mistake in the calculations.
Much time had passed since the unsuccessful attempts to colonize Mars, and technology had taken leaps and bounds. But the meticulousness of engineers and Agency computers astonished even the most bureaucratic departments of Aeronaut City. An adjustment of the docking parts was measured not in millimeters but in micrometers, and sometimes even in nanometers. Frank Warple used to make jokes about the dogmatism of his colleagues on Earth during dinner when somebody needed to defuse the tension.
Suddenly recalling those funny and pleasant moments of their long journey across the endless dark expanse of space, Jack liked Frank not only as a person but also as a specialist. The young officer considered him to be a real master, an expert who was modest, moderately funny, and demanding of himself. Lieutenant Sallenge could have used a piece of sage advice from his old buddy Frank so badly right about then.
Instead of advice and hints, he had to acquire his own engineering experience, which was clumsy and sometimes utterly unsuccessful. The process of learning was annoying in its difficulty and yet for this reason, very valuable and useful. In moments of pure luck, Jack couldn't contain his joy. Each time when a part of reinforcement took the right place, Lieutenant Sallenge grinned broadly and fist-bumped Trape. He heard a few loud signals bleeps in response and saw colorful lights flash on the robot's frame.
Memories of their meals together also reminded Jack of one of the saddest conversations with Alan, which seemed prophetic to him now.
"We'll need to match electrons together," he said, shaking his head and winking nervously.
"What do you mean?" Jack asked, sitting across the table and washing a fruit cake down with juice.
"Well... while you're working with molecular chains, we'll need to build a dwelling," he chuckled, upsetting Jack.
Bright sparkling zigzags and right angles of the metallic structures immediately flashed in his mind.
He only saw the models of the reinforcement blocks that were used to build the pavilions, but it was enough to make his brain comprehend the necessary volumes and proportions.
"Alan, you think that something can go wrong?" Jack asked carefully, finishing off his juice.
Alan grinned maniacally. Jack wondered once more how such a person could get on board their spaceship. How could he go into space? But Alan was one of the few people who talked to him seriously. Jack suspected that such a high honor was bestowed upon him only because no one but him could endure Alan's natural fit of annoyance. But he tried not to think about it. Now, replaying this conversation in his mind, Jack grimaced with disgust. His own worthlessness raced in front of his eyes as if displaying important highlights on the memory screen. Alan wasn't the one to blame for this. Without knowing it, completely unintentionally, he vividly highlighted the pitiful state Jack was in during the voyage on the ship.
"We'll be dead before we even finish them!" he laughed angrily.
"Ehm, but the probe..."
"Okay, kid, nevermind," he stooped, patting Jack's shoulder.
"Damn, I should have listened to him back then..." Jack bit his lower lip. "But what could I do... And who even would have thou
ght... Now, I guess had expected something like this could have happened. And they were aware that they were taking a risk." Something began to unpleasantly ache in his stomach. Jack didn't want guilt to torture him and slowly undermine his ability to comprehend reality.
Now he was walking along another ridge, moving away from his home when he imagined how their joint trainings and conferences had gone on the Captain's bridge. The flow of memories didn't leave him in peace, and now Jack's mind pictured the cheerful and energetic captain before he was struck by his terrible disease. Then he saw an image of Anne.
The stern, precise, still healthy and cheerful woman with beautiful shining eyes, she had talked with Jack about the upcoming landing a couple of times. Was she doing it because of protocol, or did she just want Jack not to fail? Now he could only speculate. That annoying word "landing" immediately evoked the details of that fatal morning.
Lieutenant Sallenge reproached himself again that he still didn't manage to find the remains of Frank and Captain Graham. He should have buried them next to Anne so that he could, at least slightly, ease his remorse at being the only survivor after the catastrophe. Trying to somehow distract himself from such dismal thoughts, Jack replayed his conversation with Sam. Now the minutes of their conversation didn't seem so strange as before. On the contrary, they gave him some hope that everything might finish alright.
49
Jack had been working on the new mission tasks over the next couple days. He spent his evenings examining maps as a few remote routes were planned for upcoming tasks. Considering the peculiarities of the climatic zones, it was crucial he plan the flights well. During the probes' expedition, it was discovered that there were fewer time zones on Nereus that on Earth and that the time difference between two parts was a maximum of six Earth hours. Although there were fewer time zones, Jack still had to carefully examine how different time was in various parts of the planet, working off his camp as a starting point. Apart from that, he managed to determine the approximate boundaries between the climatic zones.
This data was the result of analyzing the information sent by the probes to Earth. Each transmission delivered new information and updated already existing datasets, but many details remained unclear. The equatorial belt of Nereus seemed to be disjointed and even lost somewhere, while no sub-equatorial belt could be distinguished. For some reason, the temperature of the planet's surface remained unchanged. Even Jack, who didn't possess any specialized knowledge on meteorology, knew that the star's rays were unevenly distributed on the planet's surface, meaning some areas should be warmer than others.
But something was wrong with Nereus. The whole planet was completely warm according to thermal imaging, like a pie that was recently removed from the oven. Only zones that were near the poles were marked blue, indicating areas with cool air currents. It seemed the maps didn't reflect the real situation. It didn't make the research officer happy. He had to go to unknown places with unpredictable climatic conditions. The only things that consoled Jack were his special thermosuit and loyal airbike, both of which could protect him from temperature drops, humidity, and pressure.
A few days later, the teleport received a request for the material dispatch. This time Jack had brought enough supply of sand. There was a big foundation pit that he used to accumulate sand. According to the officer's calculations, he had already used a few tons of greenish-blue sand and gravel. Jack's delight knew no bounds upon seeing the trapezoidal contours of a central robot segment between the teleport's frames. The Center was sending him a second Trape. That same day, he received a few hundred kilograms of reinforcement.
Both Trapes immediately started building the second pavilion. Jack finally managed to rid himself of having to be concerned with construction. The two Trapes successfully dealt better with any construction work without human interference.
He could endlessly adore the grace of the two robots, shining brightly under the sunlight, shifting, adjusting, and strengthening the thin parts of the frame. Now the officer could concentrate solely on his main objectives, which arrived each day. In order not to mix up the two robots, Jack etched "T1" and "T2" on them with a plasma engraver, designating the old Trape T1 and the new one T2.
The robots immediately learned how to react to their new call signs. Sometimes Amigo dropped by the pavilion, and it seemed to Jack that he was jealous of the two robots. He sniffed in an unfriendly way, glaring at them. Once he even tried to ram the claw of T1, but upon noticing Jack leaving the pavilion, he immediately jumped back. Jack regretted that he had no instrument kit to create a map of the intercellular connections of the creature's central nervous system. Based on the probes' data, it was known that many creatures of Nereus had something like a nervous system. Having examined its physiology, he would be able to better decode the inner signals of the neuropsychic processes in the creature's mind.
Nereus biological objects (Code: Nero-8). Xenobiology manual.
The main regularities of the physiological sensor systems and cephalo-like formations of bi- and tetra-pedal biological objects.
Cone-shaped cells of neural extensions inside the cranium were tightly adjoined to each other. On the apical edges of the cells (their narrowed part) thin protuberances that look like rhizoids were found. A protein-lipid membrane contained cavities which functioned as sheathes for the protuberances. Cells could bring the rhizoids inside them and by doing this, they adjoined more tightly to each other. Presumably, such an organization has remained since those times when cell membranes of ancestral organisms were tougher because of lignification and incrustation with suberin-like compounds. In favor of this hypothesis, data suggests the membranes' content has substances with a phenolic nature, whose structure is similar to lignin. The membranes of cells are capable of forming pseudopods in certain parts. With their help, they join the cells of brain tissue to form a syncytium. It provides quick information transmission between the closest cell elements.
Data was recorded that supports the theory a single cell is capable of storing a certain quantity of information received after a learning period. It happens due to the reconstruction of protein sets in rafts (special parts of the membrane on a lower cellular level). In order to provide plasticity of the nervous system and fast functions adjustment, many cells shift to different parts of the nervous system with the help of pseudopods. By doing this, the scheme of functional models is implemented. The cell that managed to learn something heads to the part of the nervous system where the demand for its information exists. It allows the nervous system of an animal to quickly adjust to changing conditions.
It is suggested that the nervous system has a skeleton (basic structure) made of immovable cells that store crucial information about a specimen and its self-identification in society. Probably, the centers responsible for hereditary programming realization are located in the same place, and they are formed during the evolutionary process. From ten to forty percent of the rest of cells (according to the data from different creatures) are capable of doing a flexible reconstruction of its membranes and shifting in the nervous system. This data indicates that the creatures have great potential to develop more sophisticated forms of behavior. An evolutionary vector towards the emergence of highly-organized forms of mental activity can't be excluded either.
50
One day, Amigo came to treat himself to some juicy fruit, but that day the lieutenant had nothing except his provisions from Earth. There were so many tasks now that adjusting his route to collect a few fruits was impossible. The wartstone came up to Jack and licked his neck with his thin tongue, and then tickled his cheek. The first lieutenant became confused by this, moving aside and stroking the spot on the animal's body where his flat head joined his round body.
Amigo was obviously waiting for a new treat, but Jack didn't hurry to indulge his friend. Petting it a few times on one of the big pentagonal warts, Jack went to the pavilion to fetch some water. On his way back, he grabbed some pressed carrot sticks. At first,
the wartstone wrinkled its nose at the orange treat, but then, after tasting it, cheerfully waved its short tail. The herbivore obviously enjoyed the sweet carrot fruits. The next half an hour Jack spent teasing Amigo by putting the carrot sticks on his muzzle and then suddenly hiding them behind his back. The wartstone tried to run around the officer but Jack was constantly turning, hiding the treat. Jack sincerely laughed. He was obviously amused by the naivety of his big, massive friend.
Finally exhausted from the impossibility to get the treat, Amigo sniffed and stamped his massive feet annoyingly. Small blue columns of sandy dust raised into the air and dispersed. The small inset eyes glared at Jack with reproach. Then he heard a sniff, one that was short, sad, and almost deprived of energy.
The wartstone turned around and slowly walked towards the rocky path to join its pack members. Jack realized Amigo was upset. Wanting to make amends for the situation, Sallenge dashed after. Reaching the animal, he extended the carrot sticks to Amigo, waiting for the wartstone's long tongue to reach out and take the orange treat.
Instead, Amigo glanced at Jack, and sniffed again, displeased, before continuing to walk away, abandoning the lieutenant with his hand outstretched. The officer decided that the wartstone felt humiliated. It was strange to even think that the animal's behavior indicated offense.
"I probably offended his proud nature. He considers himself a representative of local fauna and he isn't going to put up with being teased."
Slowly returning to the pavilion, Jack thought again how even animals on a different planet seemed to possess particular features that humans on Earth had.
51
At 11:13 local time, on the 137th day of Jack's stay on the planet, Linda Robore contacted him from the Center again.
She wore an austere satin gray suit. To be more precise, Jack could see only the upper part. Her hair was pulled back in a tight, sophisticated bun. She looked more cheerful than usual. The first words of Linda Robore were accompanied by a fake smile and narrowed eyes. At some moment, Jack imagined her face looked like a fairly skinny wartstone snout.
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