by T I WADE
To Ryan’s organized mind, all he saw was the most underdressed, and casual bunch of people one could find at any beach, or casual party in the world. He swallowed hard and suddenly his panicking brain realized that the Chinese Premier as also dressed in smart casual, and not wearing a suit.
“Mr. Richmond, I hope you can forgive me for flying in unannounced,” stated the Premier as he reached the ground and bowed to Ryan. Ryan tried to bow back but there was enough room to bow properly, so he took a step back and bowed. “I completely understand that you are all not prepared for me and my family, but we come as friends, and are not on an official visit. I do hope you don’t mind?”
“Of course not smiled Ryan,” slowly gathering his composure. “We are having a party tonight. As you see we have several official aircraft who have flown in guests. You are most welcome to join us Premier. We are having a retirement party for our chief astronaut, we don’t have fancy residences here, but I’m sure I can find you a comfortable apartment.”
“Not necessary Mr. Richmond. We have all my wife and I need onboard, but we would like to see where my son is going to stay. Our reason for our unannounced visit is to drop him off. We are on an official visit to Mexico in a few days’ time, and we have time before we need to leave.
The Premier, his wife and son were introduced to all in attendance. Even Jonesy found it possible to bow, and then was impressed when the Premier stretched out his hand to shake Jonesy’s western style.
“General John Jones, you attacked and fired on our country three times I believe,” stated the Premier smiling at the tall man.
“Actually four times, and I believe I only fired once. My wife fired on you once, and then my partner here, Lieutenant Noble fired on you twice. I was flying the shuttle the other three times. So I believe that once is the correct answer, sir,” stated Jonesy smiling back at the Premier, with Ryan looking up at the heavens this time.
“It’s a pity you are retiring General Jones. My son was looking forward to learning to fly with you,” stated the Premier’s wife.
“You guys certainly know more about me than I know about you,” replied Jonesy impressed.
“That is our job as leaders of a country, not a spaceship pilot, Air Force General Jones,” smiled the Premier and nodded to VIN who had just arrived.
“Yes, you can blame me, I shot at your country twice I believe,” stated VIN bowing to the family.
“I think it was two times as well Marine Lieutenant Noble now we were told Air Force Colonel Maggie Jones fired on us once,” replied the Premier.
The introductions were finally done, and by that time Ryan was fully composed, except for how much information the Chinese family knew about each of them, and the crowd headed back to the pool area.
Pluto Katherine and Lunar carried Jong Lee Jong’s two small suitcases, chatted to him like long lost friends and were impressed with his perfect English.
One everybody got used to the arrival of the first family, and that they were also partial to a spot or two of alcoholic beverages, the party got going and ended late into the next morning.
Everyone once again used to Earth’ gravity had worked out since reentry to regain their fitness, in exercise and other subjects, like swimming and beer.
At one time after midnight, Jonesy was drunkenly chatting to the Ryan and the Chinese Premier, who were both as equally drunk, and since Jonesy had flown over China so many times, could recite most of the country’s geography to the Premier, who was very impressed.
The next morning was a late start. There was no runway running, no early scientists arriving for work. Even breakfast turned into Brunch, and a day off was declared by all.
The aircraft departed over the next couple of days and young Jon Lee Jong, now nicknamed Lee, once he had said goodbye to his parents began his astronaut career under the watchful eyes of the Richmond daughters and the simulator instructors.
Jonesy and Maggie packed up their belongings. For once in his life, he was quiet and reserved. The couple had spent most of their life working with Astermine and the rest of the crew. It was weird, and due to the extended time of space travel, they had few friends outside the company.
Allen Saunders was promoted to Chief Astronaut and he laughed in the briefing three days after the party that he didn’t expect to be in his new position very long.
Both Allen and Michael Pitt, and with their wives put in for their retirements at the briefing, but Ryan pleaded with them for one more mission to Mars and back.
“I believe our Martian Club Retreat will be attacked by the arriving Matt ships when they reach the red planet,” Ryan explained to the whole astronaut crew once he had thanked Jonesy and Maggie for their service to Astermine. “We are already losing two of our most experienced, and Allen, Jamie, Michael and Penny, I need age and experience when we go and challenge the Matts for our planet. I will ask the four of you to complete this next mission to Mars. When we return, I believe that we will have control of humanity’s second planet for habitation, and then I think that Kathy and I will join you in sunbathing, fishing and relaxing on our island. I think that once this mission is over, many of the OldGeners at Astermine will call it a day, and there will be room at the inn on our island for anybody who wishes to join us. Then I will hand over the control of our company back into the competent hands of our Nextgeners, and their children.”
There was a round of applause on that statement, and it was time to say goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Jones.
The Gulfstream jet was fuelled, and Martin’s Transport jet, with its valuable cargo were ready to head towards Tel Aviv.
Bob Mathews, Beth and Monica were passengers in the yellow Jones ride, and it was a good distance to their destination. All of the pilots had done this route a dozen times before, and Bob was happy to ride with Jonesy upfront for the first stint, while the girls chatted in the cabin.
Saturn was in tears as she said goodbye to her parents. She, Mars and the growing boys, both in astronaut school with Lee, said their goodbyes. This time it really felt like goodbye.
VIN was staying on for this one mission as Suzi was really excited to get back to Mattville. Her team of biologists had completed their research on the findings of air densities, temperature and pressure down in Mattville’s lake cavern, and Suzi and Dr. Smidt would be giving their reports the following day.
The ex-Marine was losing his partner, a partnership that had stretched all the way from that fateful day he and Jonesy had met in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Two men without a purpose, and destiny had given them one.
There were lots of hugs, and Jonesy waited patiently for Maggie to say her goodbyes. Jonesy was ready to go fishing, but had this one job to do for Martin first.
On a clear blue-skied day, the 30 year old Gulfstream left the base for Europe, Jonesy thinking that it was the last time he would see the place destiny had given him everything he had ever wanted. As usual he came around and from the west gave his old friends a fly by only feet above the runway at full throttle, wiggled his wings, and then headed skywards towards the east coast.
The meeting the next day was subdued and quiet. The space shark had left for good, and many of Astermine’s staff squeezed into the conference room for Suzi’s report on the new base on Mars. Her main topic was explaining chemosynthesis to the crew.
“Many microorganisms in dark regions of the oceans use chemosynthesis to produce biomass from single carbon molecules. Two categories can be distinguished. In the rare sites at which hydrogen molecules (H2) are available, the energy available from the reaction between CO2 and H2 (leading to production of methane, CH4) can be large enough to drive the production of biomass. Alternatively, in most oceanic environments, energy for chemosynthesis derives from reactions in which substances such as hydrogen sulfide or ammonia are oxidized. This may occur with or without the presence of oxygen.
Many chemosynthetic microorganisms are consumed by other organisms in the ocean, and symbiotic associations between ch
emosynthesizers and respiring heterotrophs are quite common. Large populations of animals can be supported by chemosynthetic secondary production at hydrothermal vents, methane clathrates, and even isolated cave water like we have on the red planet. We don’t believe chemosynthesis is any different underground on Mars, as we have deep in our Earth caves, or in the depths of our sea. It has long been hypothesized that chemosynthesis may support life below the surface of the red planet, Europa and many other planets.”
“You stated Europa?” interrupted Ryan. Suzi nodded. “Well, “continued Ryan” I will assume that this is why the Matts live on these two planets. They have somehow controlled this chemosynthetic system. How could they do that?”
“Easy,” replied Suzi. “Nanobots.” The astronauts looked at her in disbelief.
“Glad my father isn’t here,” added Saturn. “He would be asleep or telling us that these nanobots eat space sharks, or something stupid.”
“I agree, Saturn,” Ryan stated. “Suzi tell us about nanobots.”
“Molecular nanotechnology, or MNT for short is a technology based on the ability to build structures to complex, atomic specifications by means of mechanosynthesis.”
“Wow! We are really getting a biology lesson today,” stated Lunar Richmond. Biology wasn’t her favorite subject. She was more of a physics person. Suzi smiled at Lunar. At about this time in her lectures about her subjects, the astronauts’ eyes usually glazed over.
“Mechanosynthesis is distinct from nanoscale materials but based on the ideas of one of my mentors, Richard Feynman, who had a vision of miniature factories using nanomachines to build complex products including nanobots. This advanced form of molecular manufacturing would make use of positionally-controlled mechanosynthesis guided by molecular machine systems. MNT would involve combining physical principles demonstrated by chemistry, other nanotechnologies, and the molecular machinery of life with the systems engineering principles found in modern factories. I will not go on about this fascinating topic, but I believe nanobots can change the way we live on the red planet, and here on Earth.”
“So what you are saying, is that from these microbes, we could make little robots to make things, and clean our air?” Ryan asked.
“A nanobot could separate nitrogen from the Mars air, and take care of the microbes that are adding to the basic atmosphere that is already in place. They could be made to help make food by keeping our plants alive, and lastly, they could be programmed to actually build stuff.
“Also, adding to Suzi’s description of nanobots, they could be programmed into weapons and defenses,” stated Dr. Smidt.
“So how did this cave become a cave in the first place?” asked Allen Saunders.
“I’m not a geologist, but from what I know from Earth, this cave was most probably a lava vent a billion or more years ago,” continued Suzi. “At one time, and before the planet lost its atmosphere, maybe a billion or so years ago, the hole to the planet’s atmosphere sealed, and the Martian atmosphere was caught in the cave before it disappeared on the surface. Since then possible microbes, or the simplest alien life form, survived in the caves, multiplied, and from any ammonia in the soil, excreted carbon dioxide and ammonia into the atmosphere. From this ammonia, nitrogen was added to what was already in the air inside the cave. We show a high nitrogen content in the air, 76 percent, 12.9 percent oxygen or 550 millibars, a very low level of carbon dioxide, with 1.5 percent argon and 2 percent helium. There is water vapor, although less than 1 percent volume which makes a very dry and stable atmosphere inside the cave. To change the recipe of gases in the cave we can setup large air distilleries inside the cave itself, electrolyze the water into oxygen and hydrogen, and manufacture carbon dioxide.”
“Since I did study Chemosynthesis in university, one of my many subjects,” added Dr. Smidt. “If we added light down there, we would not kill the current microbes, light won’t hurt them, and we will be able to grow green vegetables, grasses, trees, anything green and begin photosynthesis, which will produce their own oxygen, and since plants feed off carbon dioxide, we will need a good supply of it down there.
“So let’s get this straight. Whatever aliens are down there are nothing bigger than tiny microbes and hopefully no space sharks?” asked Lunar Richmond.
“With what we already have down there” suggested Ryan “we could make the underground cave habitable for humans with a little help from tiny nanobots. Then we use of the water to add more oxygen into the underground atmosphere while we breathe out the needed carbon dioxide, and turn the hydrogen made from the electrolysis into fuel?” Suzi and Dr. Smidt nodded. “Am I right, in one meeting here in Nevada, we could have solved all the red planet’s habitation problems, and also maybe here on earth?”
Ryan shook his head at what this crew were learning. This was mind blowing.
“Ja,” replied Suzi. “It could take a year, two or ten, but whatever is down there, and depending on the cave’s volume, we could one day feed an underground city with all that water.
“I don’t believe added air pressure or increased oxygen quantities will hurt the microbes down there either,” added Dr. Smidt.
“Going back to what VIN and Mars Noble, and you Ryan recorded on your suit readouts while down in the cave, the only real problem in the cave is oxygen pressure and zero carbon dioxide,” stated Igor who had listened intently and been deep in thought for some time. “Since the water temperature is above freezing, the only other problem for human and animal habitation is enough pressure to breathe in oxygen. If not we will end up with altitude pulmonary edema, or high altitude high cerebral edema. You all know this, it is one of our first subjects for astronaut training. All the suit’s readouts recorded 549 to 550 millibars of oxygen down there. Depending on how much more oxygen we can produce down there, and the cave’s volume, we could increase the oxygen quantity for humans and animals to breathe and control it pretty quickly. We just need to increase the atmospheric oxygen from 550 millibars to at least 750 millibars for our survival down there.”
“Humans have survived as low as 475 millibars for up to two years,” interrupted Boris “which is equivalent to living at a 19,500 foot altitude here on Earth. Anything below 400 millibars means zero food digestion in humans, zero sleep and early death. Of course a sea level pressure of over 1,000 millibars would be perfect for habitation.”
“One thing I cannot understand,” asked Ryan. “Roo said that one of the kids actually went down there, how did they manage to build the stairs?” Ryan asked.
“The Matts have lived in space for thousands of years. I believe they can handle different variations of gases than we can,” replied Suzi. “I talked this over with Dr. Nancy before she left for the island. “Bad air will kill us in a few minutes. The Matts enjoy higher amounts of helium and argon, three times as much as we are used to, so that young man must have been dizzy at those levels, but remember their door to the underground cave opened for us to enter. Although dangerous, the Matt system doesn’t consider those amounts deadly. As far as getting those steps built, all I can reply to that, was it was a long time ago, thousands of years ago, and there must have been more oxygen at that time.”
“I watched the water drain from the river into the hole in the floor to the lake below,” stated Mars Noble. “Even though it flowed slower than here on Earth, it ran down into the hole with air from the chamber. If this has happened for thousands of years, then much of the atmosphere below can be attributed to being from the base above, and the Matt air producers and cleaners.”
“Yes, an excellent statement, son,” stated Suzi. “We added this equation into our numbers, thanks to your report and suit readouts. What surprised us was the lack of perfect air down there after so much time. The air wasn’t being breathed down there, by humans or animals, low carbon dioxide. I’m sure the microbes got used to the slight changes over time, but our results showed us that thousands of years of air leakage mean only one thing: there is a very large cavern down there.
“This is really getting interesting,” stated Ryan excitedly.
“Depending on what area of dry ground there is down there, we might have found Mars’ Atlantis,” Suzi added.
Chapter 13
Israel, Mars Attacked and New Engines
The test flight of Martin’s new spaceship didn’t go as planned. Nor did Jonesy’s life after the launch.
Jonesy and Maggie, with Martin in the cockpit launched Martin’s new craft 24 hours after arriving in Tel Aviv. The weather wasn’t an issue. With bright blue skies, and zero wind, it was perfect weather for a maiden flight.
Ryan had loaned Martin three of Astermine’s spacesuits for the flight. Nevada base was about to test its new suits, which had new helmet clasps instead of screwing them on, more protection against cosmic radiation, and a seven hour power pack instead of the old suit’s four.
Jonesy, Maggie and Martin Brusk were wearing them as Jonesy lit up the thrusters, and the noisy craft compared to the silent Astermine ships in the shields, launched vertically. The three astronauts inside couldn’t hear the outside noise, but the different vibrations inside the cockpit did get Jonesy’s attention.
“Martin, you have flown this ship all 23 times in atmospheric conditions in the last three years?” Jonesy asked as they rose vertically through 5,000 feet.
“All 23 times as pilot,” Martin replied.
“Do the ship’s vibrations feel the same to you?” Jonesy asked the man sitting on one of the ship’s rear cockpit jump seats.
“Heading through 10,000 feet, thrusters on 97 percent power,” stated Maggie from the right-side co-pilot’s seat.