by J F Clayton
Peter nodded that he understood but seemed a little lost in his sadness.
As Europa left the room, he watched her walk out. She was so sure. She knew exactly what she wanted, and she wasn’t letting her fear stop her. He hadn’t asked her if she had any other plans. She’d only mentioned the Sputnik celebration. He looked in the mirror again and thought about his wife. He still missed her even after fifteen years. It occurred to him that he didn’t even know what she looked like. He’d already tried ageing her photo on the computer, but the resulting pictures never seemed real. He felt that they were more like a possible shadow of what she could become. He converted the mirror wall back into a picture and glanced at the clock. He was expecting someone else.
Steve was visibly upset when he walked in and started complaining immediately, “The offer for the contract extension isn’t good enough.”
Peter waited. He knew more was coming.
“And why isn’t there any chance of advancement. I’ve been in the same job for fifteen years.”
He stared intensively at Peter.
Peter thought quickly, “I need a deputy. I’ll put it in the captain’s logbook that you were promoted.”
Steve took a little step back and was visibly calmer. He even smiled and nodded. He liked the idea of working as a deputy, “Do I get a captain’s hat?”
Peter kept his expression serious and replied, “I think that’s appropriate. Shall I arrange that, or would you like to do it yourself?”
Steve was flattered and self-satisfied and said, “I’ll do it.”
Peter was relieved as he left but then he realised that he had a new deputy. He needed to tell Liam and Beatriz. He was sure Beatriz didn’t care, but he didn’t want to hurt Liam’s feelings.
Peter sat and waited a while, but no one else came for a private meeting. Peter stood up, laid his hands on the table and sighed. He checked that his uniform was in order, gathered his energy and went to Liam. He explained what he’d arranged with Steve. Steve wanted a promotion and it would be officially published in the captain’s log. There wasn’t much else to offer him.
Liam looked at the screen while Peter spoke and shrugged his shoulders when he finished and said, “I know. Steve was already here to show off.”
Peter looked apologetic, “I’m sorry.”
Liam turned and looked at Peter. He saw in his face that he meant it, “I don’t care. I understand why you did it, and also how little it changes my reality.” Liam thought briefly, “Actually, I do care. I mean, it’s a good thing, because it might make Steve act like a better person.”
Peter smiled. He liked Liam’s rational side.
Liam kept concentrating on his monitor and as Peter left, he said, “By the way, you’ve forgot your hat again.”
Peter laughed and went back to his office, when he got there he sat down slowly. The captain’s hat was on the table right in front of him. He stroked the hat gently and thought it means less and less to me. Then he called Beatriz and asked her if she wanted to take a break and talk to him. He sat back in his chair and wondered if he was happy, and was he doing with his life what he really wanted? He bit his lower lip and wondered if maybe a whisky would help.
Beatriz didn’t take long before she arrived. She smiled beautifully at him and asked Peter if everything had gone well.
Peter ignored her question, “Do you think the experiment with the air quality worked well?”
Beatriz smiled, now she knew what he wanted, “No one but Maria noticed that we tried anything at all.”
Peter was curious, “How did she know?”
Beatriz smiled and seemed relaxed, “She measures the air constantly to make sure her plants are doing well. She noticed on the first day.”
Peter nodded. It was obvious to Beatriz that he wanted to say something, and that the current topic wasn’t what he really wanted to talk about. She added as encouragement for him, “I think low levels of perfume to help people relax is a great idea.”
Peter asked, “Do you think it had an effect on Steve?”
Beatriz decided to treat the question seriously, “I’m not sure about that. He was pretty worked up today, but it seems to work well for the others.”
Peter seemed thoughtful.
Beatriz continued, “When the concentration of perfume gets too high, Patrick starts coughing. He seems particularly sensitive to perfume. I don’t know if it has anything to do with him only having ever breathed the pure Moon Base air. Perhaps he needs an exercise in unhealthier air quality before he returns.”
Peter laughed at Beatriz’s joke, but then asked seriously, “Can we increase the concentration to help people feel better?”
She shook her head and looked at him questioningly.
He checked, “Isn’t there another way that we can do something?”
Beatriz cleared her throat and told him, “We’re taking fewer drugs than last year, it’s not that bad. However, everyone except Liam and Patrick are taking something for depression.”
Peter seemed to be listening, but he was somehow distracted when he asked, “Are you worried about getting old? I wonder what would happen if I broke a hip.”
Beatriz laughed briefly, “You know. We have a body part 3D printer. To be honest, I don’t know exactly how to use it, but it can’t be that difficult, and if it is, we can always ask Liam. He can handle any machine.”
Beatriz thought he looked worried and added, “Bone density is measured during the annual medicals, and everyone has very good values. Even you. Everyone has adhered to the regular training plan. I’m not worried about a broken hip.”
Peter seemed a little distracted to Beatriz. She wondered what he really wanted to say as he explained, “I sometimes worry about the intelligent surveillance system. Maybe we should shut it down.” Conspiratorially, he looked at her, “To protect our privacy.”
Beatriz was a bit surprised and assured him, “No one is watching. There’s no one here.”
Peter felt like he was confessing as he explained, “Maybe someone hacked the surveillance system and we are on a reality television show. They want to see how we react and they’re experimenting on us.”
Beatriz seemed concerned, “You’re getting paranoid. I’m sure no one has hacked into the system. We can check with Liam, if you want.”
With a deep voice he whispered, “He could be one of them.”
Beatriz sharply said, “Have you heard yourself?”
Peter suddenly looked very sad, “I’m trying to make sense of what’s happening.”
Beatriz changed the subject, “Let’s have a midday whisky.”
Peter poured two glasses of whisky and handed one to Beatriz. He smiled and seemed to be his normal self again.
Beatriz took a closer look at him, “You know we have an Intellitoilet in the infirmary.”
Peter nodded, sipping his drink.
Beatriz admitted, “It isn’t the only one. All toilets are intelligent.”
Peter dropped his head to one side and looked at her in surprise. Then he realised that his plan to hide how much alcohol he drank hadn’t worked.
Beatriz continued, “I get a report on the health of our employees most days. The toilets have a so-called artificial nose, the same type that we use as a safety locks and that checks breath for signs of disease, but in the toilet, they analyse farts.”
Peter laughed, he was hoping it wasn’t true.
Beatriz watched him very closely as she said, “We can even measure your rising intolerance to milk by the consistency of your farts.”
He looked at her and shook his head. He didn’t have any privacy.
Beatriz looked relaxed, relieved. She’d begun to confess her secrets and now wanted to tell him everything, “We do five medicals per year, but mostly we don’t need them because we already know what’s going on in each person’s body. The medicals serve to distract everyone and makes them feel safe and not think about the data collection methods. Who wants to really know about inte
lligent toilets?”
Peter shook his head, it can’t be true.
Beatriz continued, “The Smellaids can even predict mood pretty accurately, and whether someone is lying. They’re not just there to open doors easily. They are a very useful addition to the general surveillance.”
Peter pulled a face that showed his disbelief clearly, surely, he as Moon Major would have known about this.
Beatriz had more to confess, “That’s why I knew about Dervla’s budding bipolar disease last year. I could measure the lithium levels in her blood. Now she has a laboratory-on-a-chip on her Pulsera for easy and early identification of the necessary biomarkers. One single drop of blood is measured on a regular basis and the correct dose of medication is automatically dispensed.” Beatriz smiled reassuringly, “Of course, she also comes for a control examination from time to time.”
Peter had heard enough. He wanted to think about it later when he had time, so he changed the subject, “Can you remember the Internet before it was separated? I miss the freedom of pointless surfing. The commercials for the things that I’m supposed to desperately need, even though I don’t know what they are. The unverified content, the crazy theories, the old movies, I miss it. Sometimes I’d like to relive the freedom by surfing the Happynet.”
Beatriz agreed, and hoped that he would soon get to the point, “It’s a pity we don’t have the Happynet here.”
“Did you play with the virtual reality dementia program?”
Beatriz didn’t look at him, “Yes, the result wasn’t clear, but neither was it ideal. I’m starting to get worried.”
Peter suggested, “Let’s have some whisky and then try the dementia program.” He laughed and poured two more glasses of whisky, and asked Beatriz, “Are you gaining weight? I’m putting on weight again.”
Beatriz rebuked him, “You should do more sport and drink less whisky. Otherwise you won’t fit in a spacesuit.” She laughed and said, “Although, that would solve one problem.”
He replied with a laugh and said, “You think I’m too fat to fly back, and I won’t fit in my spacesuit.”
With his fingers he felt how tight his belt was and thought he had to increase the maximum setting in his clothes again. Then he looked at her and finally admitted what he wanted to say when he blurted, “I promoted Steve.”
Moonday fourteen
Date: Thursday 2nd October 2155 – 09:45 CET
Location: Alpha 12 – Moon Base
Beatriz took a step back and looked up at Patrick. He was taller than she was, much taller. He’d shot up in the last year. She’d noticed but today at the start of his birthday medical it still came as a surprise. She smiled at him and said, “I’m very proud of you.”
His smile spread wide across his face, and he twisted his upper body in a way that was so clumsy that it looked painful. Beatriz looked at him frowning and smiling at the same time, obviously it wasn’t painful for him, otherwise he wouldn’t be smiling so broadly. She let her medical eye look him up and down, he didn’t look overweight, but with the weight measurement from the weighing chair she knew that he weighed above average for his height. His muscle and bone density had always been higher than normal and considering that he’d spent his whole life on the Moon, the values were impressive. The results supported Beatriz’s suspicion that Dervla had made some adjustments to improve Patrick’s DNA for a life in space. It annoyed her that without a genetic test, she couldn’t prove it. She did wonder, if it was just for the science why she wanted to know the results of the test, but there was also extra information in the test. She knew that Dervla had repeatedly refused a DNA test and would probably never allow it while Patrick was healthy. Beatriz smiled at Patrick and thought, the problems with his rheumatism seemed to have disappeared as he’d got older. Beatriz didn’t know exactly why and would like to. She knew she was curious about how far Dervla had gone with any DNA changes. She was sure Dervla had improved his muscle and bone strength and broadened his visual spectrum. She could only speculate about any other changes and who his father might be.
After Patrick had gone, Beatriz called Dervla, “I’d like to run a DNA test on Patrick.”
Dervla replied harshly, “No.”
Beatriz tried to keep the begging tone out of her voice, “I have some concerns about the results of his medical today.”
Dervla sounded disbelieving as she replied, “He has a right to his privacy.”
Beatriz felt annoyed with the refusal and tried to sound reasonable, “Nobody else here has DNA privacy. I have the DNA test results of everyone else on the Moon Base.”
Dervla’s thinning patience could be clearly heard in the tone of her reply, “We’ve discussed this topic several times, and you’ve already admitted that we don’t have any medical reason to do a test.”
Beatriz ended the call and slammed her fist on the table. She’d thought several times about doing the test secretly, but her conscience kept her from doing it. Then she realised that her conscience seemed to be bothering her less.
Patrick was sitting in the meeting room with Paul and Charlie. They were preparing for Patrick’s first camping trip. His birthday present this year was a four-day Moon excursion accompanied by Charlie and Paul and they needed to discuss and plan it. Patrick was looking excitedly between the two of them not really understanding what they were saying. He didn’t know where to look and didn’t want to miss anything. He wanted to know what the plan was.
Charlie stood up in front of the presentation stand and explained with authority, “We are here for the briefing for the camping expedition. First we are going to clarify the safety measures regarding our health and safety while we are on the road.” He looked hard at Patrick until Patrick nodded in agreement.
“The first theme is which Moon vehicle.” He grinned. “We’ll travel in the Art Feldmann Antigrav Moon vehicle, which has a speed of up to 200km/h.” He showed a picture of the large, cylindrical vehicle and smiled, “The so-called Arty.” He pointed to the front of the picture of the vehicle, that hovered about half a metre above the ground, “The control area is at the front and in the rear part is the living area.”
Charlie grinned almost impossibly wider, “We’re going luxury camping, and in Arty we can spend the night asleep while Arty drives us with the autopilot.” He brought up another picture of Arty and a tourist. He looked more serious as he continued speaking, “For the tourists, we called it a Moon-campervan to make it clear that it resembles a motor home, but for us she remains Arty.” He smiled at Patrick, “Arty is much more than a motorhome and was built to travel very fast over the Moon’s surface, and with enough space for sufficient supplies to last for several days. To be fair, not only to survive, but to be able to live in luxury.”
He flipped to the next picture. It was the technical design of Arty with many controls marked on it. He explained, “The way Arty travels is more of a hover than a drive. Without floating above the surface, we are limited to a maximum speed of about 20 km/h. If we float above the uneven ground, we can achieve speeds of up to 200 km/h.” His eyes lit up when he mentioned the speed.
Patrick looked impressed and a little scared as he asked Charlie, “Will I be able to drive? I have my Moon license.”
Paul gently explained, “But your license only applies to the regular Moon vehicles, not to the antigrav vehicle.”
Patrick begged, “But I want to have a go and I can learn.”
Paul tried insisting, “I’m sorry, but...”
Charlie interrupted Paul, “He can try, why not.”
Paul glanced at Patrick, then looked at Charlie questioningly as he briefly considered his objections, Dervla wouldn’t be there. He looked at Patrick, “Okay, if you don’t drive too fast.”
Charlie added, “The safety system takes over if you do anything too crazy.” Then he laughed as he remembered an incident from his past.
Patrick watched as a new slide came into view showing the inside of Arty. Charlie explained, “Living condition
s aren’t the same as in the Moon Base. We’ll be outside the Art Feldmann’s field and gravity will only be one-sixth of Earth’s.”
Patrick was concentrating very hard. His eyes were wide open and his lips slightly apart, he looked spellbound.
Charlie continued, “The antigrav vehicle has a toilet, but it’s important to follow the instructions when using it.” He stared at Patrick to show he was serious, “Otherwise there could be bad consequences, and if the Sauberbots aren’t there, then you have to clean it up yourself, or we have to end the trip early.”
Patrick shook and nodded his head at the same time and promised to follow the instructions. He was so convincing that Charlie and Paul believed him and laughed at his seriousness.
The next picture was of the spacesuit, “Never take off your Moon Base outdoor uniform when you’re outside.”
Patrick nodded eagerly and squirmed excitedly.
Charlie showed a picture of the line between sunlight and shadow, “When you stand in the Sun, it will get very hot, but remember when you are in the shade, it will get very cold. This can mean that there is an extreme temperature difference between the two sides of your spacesuit. Try and avoid this.”
Charlie showed a picture of Arty with him in his Moon Base outdoor uniform stood next to it. He pointed to the picture and explained, “Just in case you can’t tell that’s me. To summarise, there is a toilet but no normal washing facility, and that means we don’t have to wash for four days.”
Patrick looked from Charlie to Paul, his mouth fell open. Paul started to laugh and the other two soon joined in. As they laughed Charlie flipped to the next slide and showed a Moon map with red markings on it. The red markings showed the landing sites of the Apollo missions from the 1960’s and 1970’s. Charlie explained, “The trip is going to take four to five days. And we’re going to travel about 8,000 kilometres in total. We are going to follow the route marked with the red dots.” Charlie checked to see if Patrick had understood, which was difficult to tell as he was just grinning madly. The next picture showed a radio. Charlie pointed at the picture and explained, “We need to talk about emergency procedures. Even though we don’t expect any problems. Europa has done a thorough search for meteoroids and asteroids and found nothing. Nothing untoward should happen, but we still need to prepare.”