The Island of Dreams

by Gregory James Clark

  “You’ll never forget The Island though?”

  “Nobody ever forgets The Island,” she replied, knowing that the grapevine had told all of the setmates the news about The Prime Minister. “Once you have been there it becomes part of your life forever.”

  Joanie and the others continued to circulate as Gary rejoined his setmates who were ready to take their places for dinner. As on The Island the menu offered a combination of vegetarian and fish dishes.

  “What’s Moonfish?” asked Connie, glancing at the menu.

  “I’ve heard of that,” said Anne. “It’s not actually a fish at all, but specially cultivated fish flesh, apparently indistinguishable in taste and appearance from normal fish, other than by a culinary expert. There are several types of Moonfish so it will be interesting to see what kind they serve up. Odd isn’t it that the Moon already has its own food specialties before anyone has even properly lived there.”

  The service staff presently served the obligatory Two’s Company sparkling wine to accompany the three-course meal. As the Moonfish arrived it soon became apparent that there was not one specific type of Moonfish but several.

  “Looks like this has everything,” commented Lars. “Salmon, cod, swordfish, bream, even a taster of deep fried squid Moonbase style.”

  “The food tastes good, albeit with a style all of its own,” added Jose.

  “To be sure a five-star hotel wouldn’t present anything better,” asserted Claudia.

  After the meal, The Concierge rose from the top table and took to the stage where he prepared to give one more address.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, silencing the chattering. “Now that we have all sampled the culinary delights of Moonbase Alpha, I would like to have your attention for just one more time. It is interesting, I promise, as I’m going to show you some things in a moment that really are quite extraordinary. Before I do, however, I would like to welcome again the boys and girls of The Karaginsky School for their help in educating our new recruits. They are on the four sidetables either side of us. I think a round of applause is in order, both for them and for their headmaster Yuri Sentov, who hasn’t just received a red card from his school governors, but joins us on this special night for something which neither he nor his school will ever forget.”

  The bearded man, who was seated at the top table, stood up and bowed. The audience then clapped before the Concierge continued.

  “Tonight is a very special night for a number of reasons. It is special for, as in the past, our new recruits will soon be wedded as principals and secondaries and will henceforth become sets in their own right, before they take on their roles as skating stars for our four fine Kamchatskiy enterprises.

  Tonight is also special because our trusted friend who has governed us so well over the last six years, has, as of today, been promoted to the post of Commander-in-Chief of Moonbase Alpha, which, although is not due to be opened formally until next year, has actually been almost fully operational for nearly a year. I naturally refer to the one and only Joanie Carmichael. I think a round of applause is in order here also, for a woman of exceptional talents, who has achieved so much for us.”

  The audience applauded again.

  “She is, by the way, the first Prime Minister ever to be promoted in this way. In the past Prime Ministers have simply either resigned or retired. Never before has a higher post been either available or offered, but the post of Commander-in-Chief of a Moonbase has been ruled by Parliament to be such a post, requiring as it does the ultimate in technical and managerial expertise.

  The appointment is timely, of course, for another special reason, and is that as of today, Her Majesty has announced her engagement to her chosen Prince Regent, Aub Ryman, formally Australian Minister of Defence, who, in just over a year will be crowned as our new Island King.”

  The audience applauded again.

  “For these reasons alone tonight can be seen as a fine night of firsts, but there is more, and I mean much more. If you care to look at the screen behind me you will see some pictures of Moonbase Alpha, with its distinctive dark domes that allow light in, but not harmful cosmic rays. They are made of the same material as the atrium roof that you see above. I will now show you some pictures from Moonbase Alpha, and they are absolutely mindblowing.

  Over the past two decades, The Island has despatched several probes, some to the very outer limits of the solar system. These have been successful in just about every respect. The world of astronomy has never had it so good. I will now share some of the information with you, as well as presenting as a gift to The Karaginsky School, a set of downloads which will allow you, Mr. Sentov, and your school to receive information directly from Alpha, which for the first time allows continuous streams of images to be received from the probes, so you can view and study action from the planets more or less as it happens.

  I will begin with the most distant of the Island probes, and the oldest, Onegin 1, which currently orbits the planet Neptune. Downloads from it provide an insight into the density and exact composition of the atmosphere of Neptune, as well as radar maps of the planet’s surface thanks to an atmospheric probe unit or A.P.U. that lives in suspension some 200 kilometres inside the cloud decks of this intriguing gas giant. The downloads allow schoolchildren to listen directly to the sounds of the upper atmosphere and measure variations in wind speed with depth, as well as temperature and pressure fluctuations. From these you will then be able to make your own computer-generated maps and become Neptunian weather forecasters.

  Along with Onegin 1 comes Onegin 2, which last year was despatched from Onegin 1 to land on Neptune’s largest moon Triton. Here you can see for the first time from the surface the mist-covered peaks and liquid ammonia lakes of this remote but fascinating world. If we are lucky we might even get to watch an ammonia geyser shoot its plume high into the dull purple sky above. This is because underground heat sources exist on Triton, which, now and again, create hot spots on the surface that quickly vaporise any localised liquid ammonia.”

  There was a pause as the plume of hot gas shot out for about ten seconds before the serenity returned.

  “Moving in a bit closer, we have the Borodin probes which were launched to Saturn some fifteen years ago, and have now begun sending back high resolution images both of Saturn and of its largest moon, Titan. If you log on to Borodin 1 you will be able to view close-up images of Saturn and its spectacular ring system, about which we are learning new things all the time. Note the interesting braided ring, the F-ring, which defied scientific explanation for years. We now know that magnetic resonance plays a part in these formations and your pupils, Mr. Sentov, will soon be able to do their own calculations so as to explain just exactly why these rings are shaped as they are, and why the particles that comprise them display the remarkable patterns that they do. Small shepherd moons as they are called can also be seen meandering through the ring system creating interference effects that twist and bend the plane of the ring’s particles, distorting their positions from the normal. The study of these has been especially useful as they have provided us with the basic theory for the invention of the gravity unit, which allows us to create and maintain Earth gravity within a small radius, such as on this vessel.

  Logging on to Borodin 2 we see atmospheric probes that sit deep down, about 200 kilometres, in the atmosphere gathering measurements and producing images of vapour welling up from the interior as they race along propelled and energised by Saturn’s powerful wind belts. Borodin 2 lets you watch it with your own eyes from the comfort of an armchair with its high-resolution cameras and sunken buoys that go with the flow, withstanding some of the highest temperatures and pressures of any scientific instruments ever made, and transmit some fabulous images of this fascinating world.

  Borodin 3 lets you see the surface of Titan as it roams around in temperatures of around -170 degrees Centigrade, gathering and analysing samples of liquid ethane from its many rivers and lakes. These downloads will allow
pupils to compare and contrast the weathering and erosion phenomena of Titan with those on Earth. A lovely geography lesson, you have to agree.”

  Mr. Sentov smiled as the whole audience sat and gazed in wonder as the images unfolded on the screen.

  “For those who prefer to do a bit of touring, you could choose to log on to Borodin 4, which has an onboard camera that lets you observe close up the remaining satellites of Saturn. Note Iapetus, which is dark on one side and light on the other, as if someone has just thrown a paintball onto one side of it. Add to this Borodin 4a, which bores beneath the surface of the small icy moon Enceladus, seeking out water samples and examining them for signs of life. So far they have not been found here but of course they always might.

  Now we’re getting closer, and we’re coming to the daddy of them all, Jupiter. Here we have a set of probes known as the Alexis Suite and these are, in my opinion, the most interesting of all. Alexis 1 hovers above The Great Red Spot and allows readings to be taken, for example, of the angular velocity of this huge whirling mass of nitrogenous material that continues to be drawn up from lower down.

  Alexis 2 sits in the atmosphere at a depth of about one hundred kilometres where it gathers and transmits information at a temperature of just over minus 100 degrees Centigrade. These parameters were selected following the destruction of the very first atmospheric probe into Jupiter’s atmosphere, which was launched from the Galileo Orbiter in July 1995 and succeeded in collecting data for 57 minutes.

  We now know that the surface is releasing heat, like heating a pan full of soup until it boils and we can watch bubbles of gas and solids swirl around in a sea of hydrogenous liquid, as opposed to Saturn, which is merely simmering by comparison. The images are computer-generated by the way, compiled from powerful radio emissions from the probe capsule that penetrate through tens of thousands of miles of dense vapour and liquid before being reflected back, just as you would use to assess plate margins and underwater contours on Earth.

  Above the boiling soup are dense, turbulent, dynamic wind and vapour belts, with thunder and lightening in the cloud decks that are thousands of times the strength of anything we can observe on Earth. You can see the flashes in the distance through the dense green fog that surrounds the suspended probe.

  Contaminants of all kinds swirl around in hydrogen-rich clouds controlled by massive convection currents that feed the wind belts above. Alexis 2 has detected silicon as a component of granules, which, very occasionally, reach very high altitudes. Alexis 1 and Alexis 2 are an absolute must for chemistry students.

  From the chemistry I will now turn to physics and Alexis 3, which focuses specifically on Jupiter’s enormous magnetic field. The sheer figures involved make this a worthy subject of study. There is a hell of a lot of power involved and if ever we wanted access to an infinite supply of renewable energy we need look no further than Jupiter’s magnetic field. A base on one of Jupiter’s moons could well be a worthwhile investment if ever we needed to consider serious energy provision in space. At the moment Moonbase Alpha uses pure solar energy, which is sufficient for the Moon, but may not be for other more remote ventures.

  For those interested in volcanoes I can recommend a log in to Alexis 4, which has been deployed on the surface of Io for the last three months. The Alexis Suite was launched seven years ago, but only now are these truly magnificent probes really showing us exactly what they are capable of. If you care to look at the screen you will be able to actually see the first ever volcanic eruption recorded from the surface of this, Jupiter’s most geologically unstable moon.”

  Captivated, the audience watched as the eight-minute-long recording was played back allowing all to view the plumes of hot sulphurous gas and dust being sprayed into the abyss above, with magma gushing from hillside vents and flowing into solidifying lakes beneath.

  “This probe can move about, using its finely tuned instruments both to measure seismic activity, and so predict when and where an eruption is likely to take place, and to look after its own safety. Logging in to Alexis 4 also allows students of geology to study the rock formations of Io, the stratification, and also the plate boundaries which are by far the most active anywhere in the solar system. With Alexis 4 we are much closer to understanding just exactly why this is so, and why this particular moon has proved to be so unlike any other.

  Now, I did say tonight was a night of spectacular firsts, but if you think Alexis 4 is spectacular, you really have to take a look at Alexis 5, for this beauty of a probe has completely surpassed expectations following its landing on Europa six weeks ago. Europa, as you know, is a smooth, icy moon of Jupiter. It looks a little like a billiard ball, except for the strange streaks that run across the moon’s surface. These we now understand to be long channels that have been cut as meteors have impacted on the smooth ice and sped across it for hundreds of miles before coming to rest. Beneath the surface, however, water, or what passes for it, has been found, and Alexis 5 has bored down through the mile thick ice cap into the murky depths underneath. There, what we have discovered with the aid of infrared photography has been absolutely stunning.

  Alexis 5 operates in near darkness under the surface of Europa. It is self-propelled and should have sufficient power to continue its work for about two years, gradually making its way like a tiny submarine beneath the moon’s surface. I will now show you one of the most fascinating things that I have ever seen. I can say that, apart from our elated scientists at our research station on Moonbase Alpha, we here are the first people ever to see these truly historic pictures. So, if you care to observe the screen I will do my best to explain what now seems to be almost certainly the first undisputed evidence ever uncovered of extraterrestial life.”

  The audience watched, spellbound, as the lights were dimmed and an image emerged of a dark and mysterious underwater cavern in which a dark shadowy object apparently hung motionless. The exact outline was unclear, but appeared fish-like against its cold dark surroundings, the only light for which was provided by the dim and distant black smokers that slowly released heat from deep within the moon’s core. Slight movements of the object were evident with a trained eye. The image was continued for about two minutes before Patrick paused it.

  “So, boys and girls, what do you think it is? Hands up if you think it’s a fish.”

  The hands began to rise.

  “About two-thirds of you think it’s a fish. Okay, that boy at the front, what makes you sure that it’s a fish?”

  “Er, well, it sort of looks like a fish,” the boy replied.

  “But you’re not sure are you?”

  “Not 100 per cent.”

  “Not 100 per cent. No, neither are our experts. Hands up those who think it isn’t a fish.”

  A couple of hands rose.

  “Okay, why do you feel that it definitely isn’t?” The Concierge asked, pointing to one of the girls.

  “Because a fish would be swimming. That just looks like it could be a piece of dark matter in the water, maybe a rock or something, because it’s quite close to the seabed.”

  “Well, we’ll disprove that theory in a moment. The rest of you just don’t know one way or the other? So, I will now continue the film and show you what happens when Alexis 5 fires an electrical pulse at the object.”

  There was a streak of light, which prompted a reaction from the object.

  “As you can see the object jolted and moved unquestionably away from the probe, just as a fish would do under similar circumstances. For this reason our experts have concluded that this object has to be living. It could not possibly be a rock or other similar piece of inanimate material. They have therefore concluded that the object that we have witnessed is ‘a fish-like creature’, pictures of which will be sold by The Island to all of the world’s news agencies tomorrow.

  There are other things of interest too on Europa. The undersea vents, or black smokers, which erupt from time to time, are worth viewing. These provide a steady source of heat from the
moon’s interior, which is itself kept at an artificially high temperature due to the continual strains put upon it by that immense magnetic field of the parent planet, Jupiter.

  So to Mars, just a stone’s throw away really, and, of course the Leo probes, which continue to map the surface of the red planet, and to sift through layers of rock, sand and permafrost. The world was set alight a few years ago, as some of you may even have read and heard about well before you came here, when Leo 2, then to you a Russian probe that you would have been told was named after Leo Tolstoy, discovered what is almost certainly a fossil of some kind from a rock sample taken from close to the southern polar ice cap. The fossil is incomplete, but there is no doubting that it is indeed a fossil, indicating that at one time at least, there were primitive aquatic creatures there. The fossil itself is reminiscent of an ammonite, and has been dated at some two hundred million years, when the planet was undoubtedly warmer than today. Meanwhile the search continues for more and better examples.

  Water has been found to exist in large quantities on Mars. The only trouble is we have to dig deep for it, but Leo 2 can do this and is continually seeking out water accumulations and analysing them for impurities, including possible life forms such as single-celled organisms. We have a print here showing what is almost certainly a single-celled structure living in Martian water. Leo 2 can also measure seismic activity and a continuous stream of data is being fed to Alpha that will allow your school to produce graphs so that we can further understand the geological nature of Mars.

  Now, as some of you know there is a manned mission to Mars planned for launch next year from Moonbase Alpha. There have actually been plans for a manned mission to Mars for some years, but, until now, these have all been shelved, partly because of cost, and partly because of the huge logistical difficulties and risks involved. The construction of Moonbase Alpha has, however, revived interest in a manned mission, not least because the Moon is so much better a place to launch a spacecraft than the Earth. There are none of the problems associated with re-entry, and, with gravity only one-fifth what it is on Earth, a higher velocity can be achieved in a much shorter time, reducing the time taken to get to Mars from a minimum of six months to a minimum of two. This makes the whole concept so much more feasible than in the past.