Her external microphone picked up the echo of her footsteps. That struck her as wrong. Ewa thought about Earth. Back there, she had enjoyed wearing high-heeled shoes. However, she could no longer recall the sound they had made. Of course, she knew what it should sound like, but the memory itself had disappeared. How long ago had that been?
The hall felt larger now than it had when she’d set off. When she aimed her helmet light on the ceiling, a large patch of light appeared up there. There were no visible structural elements, neither beams nor any kind of buttresses. The ground was damp. The air was just above zero degrees, very unusual for Mars’ South Pole.
She drew close to an object that reached her waist height. It looked like half an egg, but it was sealed along the cut edge. She touched it. It looked like fabric, but was as hard as stone. She pulled a hammer out of her tool bag and hit it against the edge of the object. The half egg broke. It seemed to be practically empty. All that was scattered along its bottom were a few metal bits. She picked one of them up, and it crumbled into dust.
What was it? A supply container, or possibly a trash can? She envisioned the manatee-like creatures. Had they perhaps once swum down here? If so, the object might have been some kind of buoy. Or a table? There wasn’t much of a point in theorizing about this. She would never know the answer.
A few meters farther, she came across another half egg. She walked past it, leaving it in peace. But then she changed her mind. She walked back a couple of steps and touched its edge gingerly. The object trembled and broke into two pieces. The one side fell against her legs, while the other crashed to the ground.
The curse. She had forgotten about the curse. It was beginning to be ridiculous. At the same time, fear was slowly creeping up Ewa’s spine. What all had she touched during her lifetime? And whom? What if it really was a curse? She gave herself a shake. The fear fell away from her, at least temporarily.
She gave the next object a wide berth. And then she reached the sleeping giant. It had a strange shape to it, like a hat with a broad, thick brim. She aimed her helmet light at it and checked out the surface more closely. The object consisted of two parts. The brim was a ring, doughnut-shaped and approximately two meters thick, stretching around the hat. And the hat wasn’t a hat, it was more like some kind of dead insect. Extending from the back of a thin, central body, delicate wings stretched upward about ten meters. They looked like they might have come from a dragonfly.
Was she looking at some kind of living creature? That was hardly possible. In this environment, organic material couldn’t be preserved for billions of years. It had to be a machine. In that case, the brim could be something like its container.
“What do you think of this, Friday?”
‘You have to get closer to it.’
“What if it’s dangerous?”
‘It’s been standing around for billions of years.’
“If you want to run the risk...”
Ewa started to walk around the brim, but there was no entrance in sight. Perhaps the floor here actually had been covered with water in the past, and the inhabitants had simply swum around it? The access point might be on the other side of the brim. She rubbed her hand across the brim’s material. If she took a running start, it might just work. She walked off a few steps, took off at a run, and jumped. She landed on the upper third of the brim and grabbed hold of the material. It worked! She wasn’t sliding down. She slowly crept up the brim like a worm. Once she reached the top, she turned so that her legs dangled down the other side of the brim. She pushed herself off and slid down the other side.
The strange object was now standing right in front of her. It possessed a thick trunk. What had looked like wings from outside the brim were more like long leaves. They almost reached the floor, and they were attached up at the top of the object. It looked more like an unusual palm tree than an insect. Ewa touched one of the leaves. It was as thin as paper, but it seemed to be very sturdy. The leaves were moveable. She shoved them aside so she could reach the trunk. Ewa stopped moving in order to scan the area with her helmet light. The leaves were protecting her. She would like to stay here longer, but her air would eventually run out.
Instead, she ran her hands down the trunk. It was completely smooth. Its diameter was approximately three meters. What could possibly be inside it? She walked around the trunk. At eye level on the back side, she discovered some kind of hatch. But it wasn’t like any kind of hatch humans would construct. This opening consisted of a concentric structure made up of several rings that reminded Ewa of the shutter on an antique camera. At its center was an indentation. Ewa felt compelled to touch it.
The rings expanded, leaving behind an opening. Was this an invitation? “What is this?” Ewa said.
She pulled herself up with her arms, glad that all she had to overcome was Mars’ gravitational pull, and that her arm muscles were amplified by her suit. She managed to maneuver her body into the narrow hole. On the other side of it, a tube spiraled upward. She felt like a worm examining a hole-ridden piece of wood. How far up would she have to crawl? It was dark, but her adrenaline banished any fear she felt.
After about five minutes, the tube ended at a large room. Just in time, she adjusted the direction of her light beam downward. The floor was about two meters below her. She had emerged from the wall headfirst, like a worm. Unfortunately, the passage she had come up was so tight that she couldn’t swing her legs forward. This meant that she had to dive headfirst into this space. Hopefully the helmet would survive the impact!
The helmet came through unscathed. Ewa took a deep breath. What an embarrassing entrance! Good thing there are no observers, she thought. A light flashed on. It must be on an automatic system. Either her movements or her vital signs had activated the machine. Ewa stood up. There were no furnishings in here except for several depressions in the wall. Had the Mars inhabitants lain down in those? They would have needed some kind of straps that must have deteriorated over time. It was a miracle that this machine was still operational! However, the mountain had also not been functional at the beginning.
“Want to start this thing up or what?” she asked.
‘I don’t see any other alternatives,’ Friday said.
That was true. That could be her election slogan. That was how it had always been in her life. At least, that was how it seemed to her right now.
“I need your help to do that.”
‘I thought you might.’
You’re a real piece of work, my friend, she thought.
‘Do you see that ring over there, the one at head height?’ Friday asked.
She hadn’t noticed it as such, but it really did have a pattern. “Yes...?”
‘That’s a map of Mars.’
Ewa studied the pattern, but she couldn’t make out a map. “You don’t say.”
‘You can’t see it, but I can make it visible for you.’
“What do you mean, Friday?”
‘Do you see the lines? They are finely subdivided. That is a code. There is something similar back on Earth—knotted cords. But this here is much more refined. I can only assume that the inhabitants had some kind of appendage with which they could quickly feel and interpret the pattern. Maybe whiskers? It doesn’t matter. I have transferred it to a map form. I could enable you to draw it. I don’t know how else to transfer the image to the conscious part of your brain.’
“Don’t worry about that. I believe you. What does that mean for us?”
‘I assume, though it is really just speculation, that it is not just ornamentation, but that you can input a destination into it.’
“For what?”
‘For the machine.’
“You think it can travel to other places?”
‘I do not know how it moves, but you have seen the leaves. They might be wings.’
“This thing is much too heavy for that. You’ve seen how massive the trunk is!”
‘Yes, I have to agree with you. It cannot take off like a h
elicopter. The atmosphere is too thin for that.’
“But how then, Friday?”
‘Let’s test it. I do not see any other options.’
Ewa sighed.
‘I’ve got it now, Ewa.’
“The destination?”
‘I know how we can code it. Or I think I know how.’
“To Mars City?”
‘Precisely.’
“But how do you know my plans, Friday?”
‘It is purely logical. You want to help your friends. That is what it has been about the entire time. Maybe you can use this machine to knock out the administrator.’
“You think so?”
‘Perhaps. Either way, the destination is obvious.’
“Yes, it is. One-way ticket to Mars City, please.”
‘Of course. In order to get there, you need to chisel a small hole in the wall at these coordinates.’ Friday gave her the numbers.
“You aren’t serious, are you?”
‘Yes, I am. That is the coding. You will change the knot structure with it. I am sure the earlier inhabitants had a more elegant solution, but it should work even with this primitive improvisation.’
Ewa pulled a knife out of her tool bag. She determined the precise location with the laser distance gauge on her universal device. She then set the knifepoint onto that spot, held it steady, and hit the knife directly on the end of its handle. Her own strength drove the knife tip one millimeter into the metal.
“Like that?” she asked.
‘Hopefully.’
Something started to vibrate under their feet.
‘Ewa?’
“Yes?”
‘I know now how this thing flies.’
“Rocket engines?”
‘Nothing else can cause vibrations like this.’
“Thanks, Friday.”
‘For what?’
“For everything. We have several kilometers of ice over our heads. The engines are going to squash us up against the ceiling.”
‘I don’t think so, Ewa.’
“Why not?”
‘I am just optimistic.’
“I’m not.”
The vibrations increased. A deep rumble filled the inside of the machine, and then Ewa felt the incredible force that was driving the entire structure upward. Her stomach dropped deeper and deeper. She sat down on the floor, then stretched out on it. The rocket lifted off. In just a few seconds, she would collide against the hall’s ceiling. But nothing happened. Was the rocket drilling through the ice? She couldn’t see anything from inside the trunk.
‘What did I tell you, Ewa?’
“You were right. We’re flying! As long as the coordinates are right, I’ll forgive you for everything, our entire past.”
‘Ewa, I have to confess something to you.’
Her heart skipped a beat. “What is it?” she asked softly.
‘I was mistaken about the coordinates. Three billion years ago, it looked totally different here.’
“Shit. Where are we flying?”
‘To Mars City! Gotcha!’
“You idiot! You almost gave me a heart attack.”
‘I just wanted to distract you a little so you didn’t die on me. I can see the display on your universal device through your eyes, and it looks like we are already six thousand meters up.’
“There must be an ancient launch channel in the ice,” Ewa said.
‘It might be kept clear by machines, in case of emergency.’
“I can’t wait to see if anything on Earth is still functioning, if we ever get a chance to go back there.”
‘I bet those Chinese waving cats are,’ Friday said.
It was growing quieter in the dark, round room. Ewa clearly felt the vibrations dying down under her feet. The rocket engines had either burned out, or they were being deliberately shut down. At the same time, a new sound was growing. It had a fluttering quality to it, as if something was rapidly slicing through the air. The atmosphere up here must be much thinner than it was on the surface. She knew this sound had to be the working of those countless things that had first looked like insect wings and then reminded her of palm-tree leaves. Ewa couldn’t see outside, but the centrifugal force made it quite evident that she was in a targeted, slow descent.
‘We seem to be going in the right direction,’ Friday declared.
Ewa risked feeling hopeful again. She wouldn’t be arriving with empty hands. A vehicle that she could bring straight across the planet had to hold high strategic value. “How much longer?” she asked.
‘Two hours and ten minutes.’
Sol 347, Mars City
“How are all of you doing in there?”
“Hello, Theo, it’s good to hear from you.”
Theo was standing next to the control panel that was still keeping the maintenance tube locked down. “How are you doing, Maggie?”
“Don’t ask. We’ve set everything down to minimal levels, but we won’t make it through another night.”
Oh, no! He would have to listen as Maggie, Christiane, Ahmed, and Summers suffocated to death. Unfortunately, the administrator’s prediction about the ‘secret’ airlock had been correct. Theo hadn’t been able to gain access to it, either.
“I could crack the airlock open with the rover,” Theo said. “According to the warning on it, the cover can only withstand up to two hundred kilograms.”
“That isn’t a good idea,” the administrator declared. “As soon as you open the inner door, the internal pressure will drop, and the pressure doors will close. You wouldn’t be helping anyone then. You should focus on getting us out of here. We’ll be able to access the secret airlock with my security terminal.”
Of course the administrator wanted to be the first one to be rescued. The worst part was that Summers had all the arguments on his side. He hated to admit it, but without any idea of how to thwart the security system, he wouldn’t get any farther.
Theo punched the rocket’s metal cladding. It was so frustrating. He kept running into obstacles everywhere, and time was slipping away. Down in the base, there had to be a blowtorch that he could use to cut through the tube to free the prisoners, but his path into the base was blocked. And the key to open it was stuck in the tube! He felt his desperation rise.
Theo took a step back. He couldn’t give up. He owed it to the three good people in there who would suffocate if he couldn’t come up with a solution. He studied the position of the sun. It had passed its zenith, which meant it was already early afternoon. He still had a few hours before... he couldn’t let himself follow that thought to its conclusion.
Above the horizon and beneath the zenith, Theo caught sight of a black dot. He rubbed his eyes. That was impossible. What could it be? An approaching meteor would be much faster. There weren’t any birds on Mars, and no aircraft for the time being. He would hear the engines if it were NASA’s Endeavour. The dot was clearly moving in his direction. No ballistic rocket could follow a trajectory like that.
“Maggie, I see something very strange,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”
Theo walked toward the object. It grew larger with each passing minute, and it was obviously descending. He was soon able to make out its shape. It looked like a flying tree, whose crown was whirling wildly around its trunk. But that was just his first impression. The closer the object came, the more organized and sophisticated it seemed. Each of the numerous wings swept through its own finely regulated course around the tip of the aircraft. This was a helicopter, of sorts, with hundreds of rotors. The atmosphere on Mars was naturally too thin to provide enough lift for a helicopter from Earth. The designers of this aircraft had taken that flight principle to its extreme.
Suddenly it looked like things might not be going as originally planned. Theo watched as one of the rotors flew off in a high arc. He was reminded of the mountain, the mysterious machine from Mars’ earlier, fertile period. Maybe this multi-copter came from the same period. Back then, the atmosphere must have been
much thicker. The machine seemed to be rather out of step with today’s conditions. Or it was simply old, corroded.
Theo took a few steps toward the strange flying machine. Then the rover came to mind. He’d parked it right at the base this morning, after having spent the night in its cab. It would give him more flexibility. He ran back to the rover and climbed inside. He left the hatch open. It wasn’t worth taking time to fill the space with air and, for now, keeping his suit on made the most sense. He drove off toward the aircraft.
Just like before, it seemed to be heading straight for the base. How could that be? Someone must have entered the base’s coordinates. Ewa? She had vanished from the NASA base under strange circumstances, that much he knew. And she was just the kind of person to carry out something like this. The multi-copter started to spin. It was evident that it wasn’t going to reach the base. Good thing he was sitting in the rover. He increased his speed. Anyone inside the machine might need urgent assistance after the impending crash.
The machine was losing one wing after the other. The lower it descended, the thicker the atmosphere grew. The fasteners on the wings probably couldn’t withstand the increasing forces after such long disuse. Either way, it was a miracle that the object hadn’t disintegrated long ago.
Theo accelerated. He should reach the landing site in about two minutes. Hopefully, the aircraft wouldn’t break apart before then! He shouldn’t get too close, though, since the rotor blades posed a risk to him, flying off as they were in every direction. They looked very lightweight, but they were spinning extremely fast.
And then it was time. A ring of sorts formed on the underside of the aircraft. That would be the landing gear. Was it being inflated? Maybe the machine typically landed on water and was buoyed up by the ring.
The multi-copter landed at a relatively high rate of speed. The ring burst immediately, individual pieces flying off all over the place. Some of them hit the rover. It sounded as if it were raining. The center section, the trunk, fragmented into five or six pieces, all of which continued moving in the flight direction. That didn’t look good. Anyone on board would get caught between the walls and be ground to a pulp by what was left of the ring.
Mars Nation: The Complete Trilogy Page 81