Casindra Lost

by Marti Ward

  Al had started to feed the kittens the same mix he’d used for Simba when she was pregnant, and yesterday Simba had pushed them all away every time they came looking for her disappearing milk. She was getting increasingly vigorous in doing so, but Al assured Sideris that it was necessary for the kittens to become independent. The girls were taking a little too long to learn the lesson…

  Sideris wondered if Simba would be interested in a day trip. Now was a good time for a real holiday.

  From the perspective of the Gate probe at PTL4, New Eden was heading into occlusion and Ardesco was heading out of occlusion, so there would be a few days of being out of radio contact with the Gate probe. This also meant that the present time was a good window for sending an EmProbe back to the Gate on a low cost bielliptic transfer. They had spent yesterday packing up most of their samples – retaining some of each type as insurance, and today they’d be sending back an EmProbe with two M-drones full of samples.

  The EmProbe could manage this faster and more reliably than trying to send MD11 on its own as they did with MD12 – which was still 12 weeks from arrival. With EMP-NE carrying MD10 and MD11 it would still take 25 weeks, allowing the usual 12-14 weeks between MD12 and MD11 to Sol in the absence of incoming drones from Sol, and giving them flexibility with MD10. The samples Al deemed most time sensitive were on MD10 and MD11, and those that he deemed most critical were duplicated on MD9 and retained with Casindra – and they would continue to add to those. Of course, if Solar Command or the Sol scientists wanted samples faster, they had only to send back some EmProbes and M-drones.

  As it was they only had one message drone at the Gate, the second one to come back from Sol – MD14 was prepped and ready to go. It was just waiting for the report on Al’s latest experiments, and the inventory details for the New Eden samples that were being sent off with EMP-NE, loaded onto MD10 and MD11. But it would have to wait till they were out of communication shadow.

  The drones included a variety of preparations that Al and his avatars had made during their laboratory analyses. Sideris had managed to get samples of a variety of small quasi arthropodal and mammalian type life forms using his baited trap approach, supplementing the mainly microbial life that had been collected by the Volcans. The work on the DNA and RNA relationships on fungi, plants and animals showed a phylogeny very similar to Earth’s, but with some notable dissimilarities as well. Yet while there was a huge amount of work to do in mapping their genomes, that was just not possible with their limited samples. They had not managed to catch a top predator, although they had seen IR hints of wolf and panther types – but no sign of primates or the like.

  While they were in occlusion, and given that they’d packed up all their samples and were finalizing reports, Sideris didn’t feel the same urgency to collect new samples for Al to analyze – and he was entitled to a weekend off occasionally. But he did think it would be interesting to see if cats could hunt on New Eden. He would feel uneasy about letting Samba go down, though he was sure it would be safe to let Simba explore with him… They had what seemed like an instinctual understanding of each other… She might be able to catch some of those elusive rat or marsupial like creatures.

  But that was for another day. Today there was another interesting coincidence – New Eden’s blue moon, Caeruleum, would eclipse Paradisi. Over the last few days, Al had been gradually adjusting their orbit to give them the best possible view. This would provide them the opportunity to study the sun’s corona, sunspots and solar flares, as well as other features of the inner solar system. It would comprise the final packet of data they included with MD14.

  Which reminded him – Al wanted him to read and sign off on the reports he was sending about New Eden biota. Although he had read Al’s copious daily logs, he now had to read and approve the final conclusions and executive summary – and perhaps he would have his own conclusions to add.

  Al had done the work of a whole research department over the last month and a half, scheduling it carefully across four labs and three biodomes. He’d woken the remaining animals, starting with the larger domestic animals in first generation cryonic freeze – whom he’d resuscitated, repaired and stabilized by the time they reached New Eden orbit. The experimental animals in second generation cryonic stasis had all been awoken too on arrival – with no evidence of any medical or behavioral problems, and no need for active repair of cell damage as with traditional cryonics.

  The early experiments, which they’d logged and transmitted to EMP-G on a daily basis, had investigated air and water samples for pathogens, and had also tested a wide range of antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal agents. The additional samples Sideris had brought back had supplemented the analyses transmitted from the Volcans and had allowed Al to initiate the animal model studies early, and develop vaccines for the few viruses and bacteria that looked like they could bring trouble. Mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits were exposed to the pathogens in minute quantities, while the exploding populations of mice and birds were tested in the air samples from different regions, as well as with samples of river water. Fresh water and salt water flora and fauna were also tested in samples of the appropriate provenance.

  Sideris didn’t understand half the experiments Al was performing though, or even the need for some of the experiments on interactions and hybridizations between Earth and New Eden microbiota.

  The mice and the rats had done well, only the occasional group showing so much as a temperature. The guinea pigs and the rabbits had suffered some losses in unvaccinated groups, but for every pathogen and species at least one of his vaccines had seemed efficacious, and the antibiotic agents were much more effective than on Earth – clearly there had been no opportunity to develop resistant variants. While he bred more guinea pigs and rabbits for a more thorough trial, he also tried the successful vaccines on the domestic pigs – with only one pair, he gave them slightly different cocktails and tried them with successive air samples, which they tolerated well.

  Again, Sideris hadn’t even tried to understand all the details regarding knockout models or alternate modes of transmission, but he could see that the vaccine and antibiotic results were excellent despite Al’s caveats and the obvious need for further work with larger groups of test subjects – and further species. Al seemed to think that the success with rabbits was the best indicator that the vaccines would also work with humans.

  In relation to the range of biomatter Sideris and the drones had sampled, Al had established the existence of the same DNA and RNA structure as Earth’s, and then analyzed the samples in detail to determine both toxicity and nutritional value. He had demonstrated that all the animals could survive on food synthesized to match a potential New Eden diet. But here too he was cautious, noting that they had only tested an extremely small fraction of an immense ecosystem.

  In summary, Al’s conclusion was that vaccinations could be developed that would allow introduction of a human population with its domestic animals and crops, and that a colony would also be able to use or adapt indigenous animals and vegetation as food sources, with due attention to selection of appropriate food and feed. Generally maximum efficacy was reached within one week of vaccination, and the duration of protection had not been explored but extrapolation suggested that a least a year’s coverage was achieved. Thus, vaccination on arrival in New Eden orbit or on release from cryostasis was recommended.

  Sideris added his own conclusions…

  “The preliminary biomedical analysis, and the geographical and climatological mapping, continue to support the feasibility of colonization of New Eden, although a multiyear survey of New Eden would be required to fully understand the climate and ecology. There is a central continental mass divided by a series of seas and straits, with a climate varying from equatorial to temperate, as well as central mountain ranges in both the northern and southern subcontinents. These subcontinents seemed to have similar flora and fauna based on littoral sampling and multispectral scans of adjacent forest or ot
her vegetation. Although no larger predators have been sighted, IR scans have detected what would appear to be wolf- and leopard-like animals. This central landmass would be a natural focus for an initial colony with four or five settlements.”

  The Volcans had helped them construct a world map for New Eden that was far more detailed and accurate than any of Earth prior to the 20th century. Sideris wasn’t sure how much commentary was needed, but after all his explorations he felt it was appropriate to make some comments and recommendations. He felt the central tropical landmasses were the best site for the initial colonies, but for those interested in temperate or arctic climates, there were other possibilities.

  “The largest connected landmass stretches in a crescent from the arctic to the antarctic but might be considered to be three separate subcontinents separated by isthmuses around 400km wide. It is separated from the central subcontinents by straits less than 400km wide to the northwest and the southeast. Due to the high proportion of rugged mountainous terrain in combination with the narrower and more widely distributed land area, our confidence that the surveys have detected all significant kinds of animal life is considerably lower for this continent. A second colonization mission, with the support of the first, and the mining planet resources, would find a variety of climates and natural resources in this encircling landmass which would be suitable for half a dozen further settlements.”

  Sideris paused, and reread what he had written, before getting up out of the command chair and pacing the bridge – stalking in that way that spacers used to half gravity developed, Simba stalking beside him and rubbing up against his legs as he stopped and turned. He reached down to scratch her neck, and she pushed her head into his hand. Maybe he should try to describe the animals and the habitats – but he didn’t really have the expertise for that and he couldn’t think what he could add to the Volcan logs and his video logs, or Al’s analyses. He would just draw together his conclusions in relation to the geography and let them draw their own conclusions in relation to the ecology – the biologists would want to explore each of the diverse environments. He sat back down and picked up the thread…

  “The three major contiguous landmasses thus connect the north and south polar regions as well as ringing the globe east-west, with the major regions separated by straits or isthmuses of 400km or less. There are three major ocean basins, southern, central and northern, bounded by the three major landmasses as well as a couple of significant islands in the arctic and subarctic. Each ocean shows evidence of significant aquatic life, but the larger lifeforms have not been captured or biopsied. My conclusion is that immediate settlement is feasible, and my recommendation is that a larger mission be assembled with a focus on the central landmass, providing the range of skills and specialties appropriate to setting up five settlements and completing surveys of the major land animals and the three bordering oceans.”

  Sideris closed the log and authorized finalization of their report on New Eden.

  But there was one further question that was weighing on him, “Al, how are you going to test the effectiveness of your vaccines for cats, or for humans?”

  Al

  7 May 2077 10:30

  Al noted with approval that the Captain had come back early from his morning coffee break. Instead of the Captain spending time with the cats in their space, Simba and Samba had both followed him back to the bridge – unusual for this time of the day which was one of their favorite siesta periods. It was what he would have expected and predicted – and he was starting to learn the subtle differences between the concepts in the context of human psychology. He expected that the Captain wasn’t back early for the eclipse, but to continue their discussion of vaccine for cats and humans. He was right…

  “Al, let me see if I’ve got this right: your development of vaccines has provided the needed protection across all the laboratory animals as well as the pigs. The success on the mice, rabbits and pigs, as some of the closest animal models for humans, means they should work on humans, but we have to wait for scientists back in Sol to confirm this because you don’t have the subjects here.”

  “Yes, they will culture the pathogens from our samples, and run carefully controlled trials on human subjects – perhaps even cat subjects,” Al responded.

  “But won’t this be a risk for those subjects, won’t it risk introducing the pathogens to Earth, wouldn’t trials normally involve thousands of subjects per pathogen, wouldn’t this normally take years or even decades – for each vaccine? I don’t see that we can afford any of this. If there is a risk, why should hundreds or thousands or millions or billions be at risk, rather than just me? Or my cats?”

  “Yes, but you are critical here in Paradisi – we can’t afford to lose you,” argued Al.

  “Really? There are plenty of LETOs and plenty of pilots who could replace me. If the mission in less than two years is going to send hundreds of people to settle on New Eden, then there’s no way these tests are going to be complete. I would hate to lose Simba or Samba, but we’ve already taken the big risk coming here. We’ve radioed back all the analyses and we’re sending back samples with triple redundancy – anything we do on New Eden now is in pure bonus territory.”

  “True! But the samples might not arrive,” responded Al. However, Sideris continued straight on ignoring the ‘but’ – which as far as he could see supported them doing the testing on Casindra.

  “Furthermore, we’ve only sampled a fraction of the pathogens. This would seem to make the reduction in risk negligible, however extensive the tests on Earth or elsewhere in Sol – and doing those tests there without a human trial here first would increase dramatically the number of human lives we are exposing.”

  “True! Although another aspect of the problem is the biota humans and other Earth species carry – what effect will that have on the New Eden ecosystems?” responded Al. But he left that as a rhetorical question and offered another, “What do you propose?”

  “Quarantine the main deck and vaccinate me – and the cats if you think it useful. Then expose Simba and me to one regional air sample and its pathogens for twelve hours and take blood samples at intervals. Then let us go down to the surface without masks for eight hours, monitor us through our environmental suits, take blood samples – and treat us as necessary either on the shuttle or on our return. The variation in the pathogens we are exposed to should be comparable to that on Earth. You’ve got a whole medicine chest at your disposal to treat us. And I know you’ve been exploring the effect of New Eden biota on our mice and rabbits, and Casindra’s biota on some of the critters we captured on New Eden.”

  “True! I haven’t as yet detected any ill effects from transfer of human or feline indigenous microbiota to our New Eden populations of flora and fauna; and yes, I will consider if and how your proposed regime might be implemented.” Al started diplomatically.

  “However, your idea of a pathogen is simplistic – biota that are harmful for one species may be commensal, beneficial or even essential for another, and I am already developing multistrain vaccines based on the New Eden microbiota – still we need to take it slowly in order to properly test the effects of the different vaccines. Thus I don’t think we would run all the cats and kittens as a single group.”

  Al saw the Captain nod and could tell he was about to follow up on the possibility of testing the vaccines in the wild on New Eden.

  “Signs of infectious agents and immune responses should normally be detectable by blood tests well within 12 hours, or else not produce severe symptoms for 24 hours. And the Valiants can be outfitted with an array of broad spectrum agents for initial treatment – I have been testing their effect on the New Eden biota. With the monitoring that the environmental suit performs, the two-hour trip back here would get you far faster treatment than people on Earth could generally expect – and that would generally be provided using far less sophisticated equipment than is on the Casindra or even the Valiants. However, the initial testing of regional micro
biota and vaccines needs to be done on the ship, so that we can test individual vaccines and the resulting immune responses under controlled conditions – and for this you and the cats would have to be confined to a biobed for proper monitoring.”

  “I’ve got things to do… If I can be monitored working on the ground, why not on the ship?”

  “Certainly, we can monitor you on the ship if you are prepared to wear an environmental suit all day. Though I don’t think we can get started quite that quickly – we would want to take it slow for at least the first time. And if you are serious about involving the cats, we will also need to fabricate an environmental suit for them… But the eclipse is about to begin.”

  “I’ve been working on some ideas for a cat suit… But yes, I want to watch the eclipse,” Sideris agreed.

  During the eclipse the ship was largely running off battery power, and Al had shut down some processors, as well as a few other systems that they didn’t need in orbit – it wasn’t a long enough period of darkness to warrant ramping up the thorium reactor, and for the batteries it was a blip that would take the solar panels only a day or so to make up. In any case, the batteries provided a clean stable power source for the delicate astronomical experiments he was running over the next two hours, and he’d decided to isolate the noisy PV inputs for the duration of the experiments.

  Al’s experiments during the eclipse were largely focused around the sun’s corona, and the specific locations of the sunspots he’d been tracking. He was however, still in continuous contact with the EmProbe at Ardesco, and had realigned some of the sensors to focus there. By association, the asteroids inside the orbit of Ardesco would also get some extra attention. They were assumed to be the remnant of a former planet that had presumably met its fate through a strike by a comet or other extra-system visitor. There was also the possibility that the other remnants of this putative collision included New Eden’s smaller moon Acerba, Tenebra’s moon Candeesi, and the remote planet Petra that they’d seeded with autonomous miners.