Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1)

by Gregory Gates

  “How are you going to move all that?” said Diane.

  Gabe smiled. “That’s a job for Amos and Andy. As you can see in the images of the hab modules and the Sabatier, they’re on wheels, and they have trailer hitches. The rovers can remotely hitch up to the loads and tow them to our final site.”

  “What’s a… Sabatier?”

  “That’s the chemical process plant to produce oxygen, fuel and water utilizing a catalytic process involving hydrogen, which we’ll bring with us as there’s very little on Mars, and carbon dioxide from Mars’ atmosphere, of which there is an abundance.”

  Diane nodded. “I see.”

  “But first, we had to pick a location for our base. After locating all our… stuff, Amos set about reconnoitering. We finally settled on a location about 20 kilometers south-southwest of the original target landing site, and about five kilometers west of Pathfinder’s location.”

  Jeff brought up the site map and a panorama of the site.

  “This site is a bit distant, but still well within range for the rovers. And the site is ideal. It appears very much like the MER rover sites, Spirit and Opportunity, in Gusev crater and on the Meridiani Planum. It’s very flat, level, generally sandy with small scattered rocks, some bedrock here and there, and a few sand dunes. The main difference is that this area is much more heavily cratered as this is, geologically speaking, a very old region, likely dating back to the late Noachian or early Hesperian periods, around 3.5 billion years ago. However, owing to their age, most of the craters show signs of significant erosion and shouldn’t pose a problem for us.

  “Now, as you can see, Amos has already moved most of the large items to the site. One of the habs didn’t make it, broke a wheel.”

  Diane gasped. “What are you going to do?”

  “When we get there we’ll just replace the wheel and move it on down. It’s a small matter. The wheels are very light weight and not very strong, as their sole purpose is just transporting the load to the site. This appears to have dropped into a hole, hit a rock and fractured the wheel rim. But, these are like mobile homes; once we get them in place we’ll remove the wheels and set them on the ground. We’ll get better floor insulation that way. So, we’ll have plenty of spare wheels. Replacing them is simple; jack it up, remove the entire wheel assembly, bolt on another one, and away we go.

  “The three habs that are there now are the kitchen, bathroom/laundry, and suit room, to which the airlock will be attached. If something catastrophic were to occur to our second cargo ship, Magellan, we could survive with just these and the mobile hab, which can dock on one side of the airlock. It wouldn’t be real comfortable, but survivable. There’s also already enough food on the surface to last us. We’d probably lose a few pounds, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

  Diane shook her head. “This is amazing.”

  Gabe grinned. “We think so too. Anyway, Brad, Amos’ work is pretty much done for the time being. It’s now just a couple weeks past the Autumnal Equinox in the southern hemisphere, so the days are getting shorter and it’s cooling down. Pretty soon, Amos will connect to a large array of solar panels to keep warm, and take a long winter’s nap – unless we come up with something else for him to do.”

  Brad nodded. “Gotcha. Gabe, what’s your living environment like on Mars? I mean, the whole thing.”

  “Ah, good question. Jeff, can you bring up the hab schematic?”

  “Yeah, sure. Here you go.”

  “Thank you. Brad, our habitat consists of nine living modules, tuna cans, each about twelve and a half feet in diameter and seven feet tall. As you can see, they’re arranged in a three by three square with cross-connects. The north row, from east to west, consists of our suit room and airlock, Jeff’s room, and Sue’s room. The center row has the utility room, which includes the bathroom and laundry, the commons, sort of our family room, and the kitchen. Also attached to the kitchen will be our greenhouse. And the south row contains the lab, my room, and Abby’s room.

  “Now, each of the module cross-connects function as an airlock, as there are airtight hatches on both sides. In the event of an air leak in any module, this allows us to isolate the affected module from the rest of the habitat.”

  Diane gasped. “What if there’s someone in it?”

  Gabe smiled. “Well, that all depends, it’s a bit complicated. The hab will be pressurized to 14.6 psi, about the same as sea level atmospheric pressure here on Earth, and our air will consist of 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen, also similar to that on Earth, less the rare gases, like argon, and our exhaled carbon dioxide. Each module is self-contained. If the air pressure in a module drops below 14 psi, a small computer will initiate a sequence of events. A very annoying alarm will sound; the lights will come on, if they’re not already on; the hatch, or a specific hatch, depending on which module is affected, will open, if it’s not already open; the adjoining hatch will close, if it’s not already closed, thus isolating the module; and the cross-connect will start flooding with oxygen from our emergency purge system, that in turn will flow into the module. If there is someone inside and they do not manually close the hatch in 30 seconds, it will close automatically via a pneumatic system, which will function even in the event of a power failure.

  “In the case of a catastrophic depressurization, someone inside would have about 15 seconds to get out. After that, they would lose consciousness, and be dead in two minutes. But the system is designed such that, anyone inside should be able to get into the cross-connect, slap the emergency hatch close button, and sit tight while the cross-connect continues to fill with oxygen until it reaches 14.6 psi. Then they open the other hatch, and we all sit down and figure out what happened. And we do have materials to patch leaks, both inside and out.

  “Obviously, if the leak is a result of something like a large meteorite strike, we’ll probably all be dead. But the odds of that happening are about the same as a large meteorite striking your house. So we’re not terribly concerned about that.”

  Jeff reached over and took Diane’s hand. “We don’t want to die up there. We have thought this through very thoroughly, and have every intention of coming back alive.”

  “I know. It’s just all so overwhelming.”

  Brad patted her shoulder. “Relax, honey. Gabe, what if you’re isolated from your suit room? How would you repair a leak?”

  “In addition to our four Mark III suits, and two spares, we also have four lightweight high-altitude suits, similar to the Navy Mark IV suits worn by the Mercury astronauts. They’re not suitable for lengthy surface operations because of their very limited thermal control, but they are adequate for a few minutes. Those suits are kept in our bedrooms and each module has a small emergency hatch. So in that case, one or more of us would suit up, depressurize a module, exit through the emergency hatch, walk around to the airlock, enter the suit room, change into Mark IIIs, exit and make repairs. If there was a problem with the suit room itself, we’d don the high-altitude suits, enter the suit room and effect temporary repairs from the inside.”

  “Huh. Nice redundancy.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “How does you ventilation work? This sounds like living in a submarine.”

  Gabe smiled and nodded. “That’s a pretty good analogy. We have an atmospheric processor plant that consists of a Sabatier reactor, a regenerative CO2 removal system, or RCRS, gas and electric heaters, and storage tanks. Fresh air is ducted into each module independently and exhausted from each of the cross-connects. All the ducting is outside and is insulated. If a hatch is closed and pressure in the module exceeds 14.6 psi, a spring-loaded valve in the hatch opens and vents into the cross-connect. CO2 is removed either directly by the Sabatier or, if it’s busy doing something else, the RCRS.

  “Our water supply also comes from the Sabatier, via a heated storage tank, and is piped into the kitchen and utility rooms, both of which have gas and electric water heaters that operate on demand. Wastewater and effluent are piped i
nto a mini-sewage treatment plant. The water is recycled and solid waste is either incinerated or, once we get the greenhouse set up, dumped into a compost pile. We’ll also be monitoring CO2 removal capacity by our garden in the greenhouse. But that’s just experimental, we’re not depending on it.”

  “That’s amazing. What if your Sabatier breaks?”

  “We have two of them, and ample spare parts. We also have a third unit in the Genesis, our mobile habitat, though it’s somewhat smaller.”

  Brad glanced at Jeff and shook his head. “This is incredible. And you’ve done all this in just three years?”

  Jeff smiled. “Uh huh.”

  “Why hasn’t NASA done this?”

  He shrugged. “Beats me. You’d have to ask them.”

  * * *

  Jeff finished piling charcoal in the barbeque then dumped a couple pounds of hickory chips in a bucket of water.

  “This is some barbeque,” said Brad.

  “Thanks. I had it built when we put in the pool, hot tub and deck. We don’t use it much. Mostly we just barbeque on the gas grill in the kitchen. It’s a lot easier, but this tastes better.”

  “So the pool wasn’t here when you bought the place?”

  “No. I had all this done about two months after I moved in.”

  “It’s really spectacular. Is all this stonework – the deck, the pool stonework, the barbeque – native stone?”

  Jeff nodded. “Yeah. One of the great aspects of Hunt’s architecture with this house is that it almost seems to just grow out of the site’s rocky texture. So we tried to blend this addition into the house, as well as Olmsted’s landscaping, in the same manner. So, yeah, all the stone comes from a local quarry.”

  “It is incredible, and what a view.”

  “Thanks. Yeah, we sure enjoy it.”

  “So tell me, what’s it like living under the same roof with five very good looking women?”

  Jeff chuckled. “Well, it’s not what you think. I dunno, sometimes it’s like having five wives, other times like five sisters, and sometimes like five teenage daughters. All depends.”

  Brad laughed.

  “No, we all get along pretty well, we have to. There’s the occasional disagreement, and subsequent catfight, but those are pretty rare. After more than three years we all understand one another, and we all keep pretty busy. It’s a big job and there’s a lot to do. It keeps us busy seven-days-a-week and there’s not much time for a, uh, family life. We get out and kick up our heels now and then, but not nearly as often as we’d like.”

  “Cat fights?” Brad grinned. “What are those like?”

  “Oh, they’re nothing special. Usually just a glare and raised voice. But they’re brief and end peacefully. Everybody knows they’re non-productive. There was only one that I recall that got really ugly. And even it was pretty damn brief.”

  Brad chuckled. “What happened?”

  “Oh, it was about a year and a half ago. We’d been working way too hard, and too long without a break and, well, tempers flared. Abby got on Gabe about something. Crap, I don’t even remember what it was. But she seriously got in Gabe’s face and that was a bad idea. Abby’s not a small woman and she’s feisty and fit as hell, but she’s no match for Gabe. Gabe hauled off and decked her with a right cross that would’ve made George Foreman smile. Put her head through a wall and knocked her out cold.”

  “Jesus!”

  “Yeah, Gabe’s not only big, she’s strong. If you ever get a chance to see her in a bathing suit, take a look at her arms and shoulders. There is some serious strength there. I wouldn’t want to take her on. We all have individual training routines that Sue has designed for us to both keep us in shape and prepare us for the mission. And, the routines are a combination of things that we like to do and things that Sue feels each of us need. And as strange as it may seem, Gabe likes to lift weights.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Hell, she can bench press more than I can.” Jeff heard music coming from the great room and frowned. “Uh oh.”

  “What?”

  “Um, that music. It’s one of Abby’s favorite songs.”

  Brad shook his head. “I don’t recognize it.”

  “It’s Kiss from a Rose by Seal. I think Abby has every recording of it ever made. This one’s by an all-female horn quartet called Genghis Barbie. I like it but…”

  “What?”

  “It usually means she’s headed for the hot tub.”

  “And?”

  “I don’t think she owns a bathing suit.”

  Brad chuckled. “You’ve noticed.”

  Jeff glanced at him. “You too?”

  “Uh huh. The first time she went swimming at the villa, Diane and I were sitting in the pavilion and Abby just sauntered out, took off her robe, dropped it in a chair next to me, and stood there stark naked, sipping a glass of wine. Thought I was gonna have a heart attack.”

  Jeff laughed. “I know the feeling.”

  Brad shook his head. “Funny thing was, Diane was completely nonchalant about it. No big deal.”

  “Abby is a free spirit, that’s for sure.”

  “Yes she is.”

  At that moment Abby and Diane emerged from the back doors, wearing bathrobes, their hair tied up in buns, and headed for the hot tub, about twelve feet from the barbeque. Both dropped their bathrobes in chairs and stepped naked into the hot tub. Abby said, without looking at Jeff and Brad, “Don’t stare.”

  Jeff shook his head and swallowed hard. “Oh lord.”

  Brad said, “Who’s staring? We’re just admiring the view.”

  Diane grinned, sheepishly, and Abby rolled her eyes.

  Jeff turned to Brad. “Come on inside, I’ll buy you a drink.”

  “I could use one… and maybe a cold shower.”

  “Wuss.”

  “You need to cut me some slack, I only live with one woman.”

  Jeff laughed. “You need to work on your organizational skills.”

  At the door they encountered Chrissie, carrying a tray with two bottles of wine and half a dozen glasses; Susan, carrying a stack of towels; and Gabe and Heidi, all likewise attired in bathrobes, and apparently heading for the hot tub.

  Jeff and Brad stepped aside and watched them parade by. Jeff raised his eyebrows and gave Gabe a questioning smile.

  She smiled softly and shook her head. “You wish.”

  He wrinkled his nose in a grin. “Damn.”

  Inside, Brad said, “This is getting more interesting by the minute.”

  “Yeah.”

  “What was that about?”

  “Oh, Gabe’s modest, she’ll be wearing a swimsuit. Sue and Chrissie probably not. Heidi? I have no idea. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in the tub or pool here.”

  They both peeked out the door. Sue, Chrissie… and Heidi were all naked. Gabe, as expected, was wearing a bikini top and shorts.

  Brad sighed and shook his head. “Well, five out of six ain’t bad. And, uh, I see what you mean about Gabe. Damn.”

  Jeff chuckled. “Yeah. Sure beats watching baseball on TV, doesn’t it?”

  Brad stared, wide-eyed. “You can say that again. Wow. For such a diminutive little thing, Susan is quite the exotic beauty.”

  “Yeah, she sure is. I see Diane’s not particularly bashful.”

  “Nope. The first time Abby stripped down I instinctively glanced away and she told me to look at her. Said if I’d seen her mother, I’d pretty much seen her. She’s right. I guess Diane feels the reverse is true.”

  Jeff nodded. “They do look a lot alike… from head to toe.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Diane is also rather well toned.”

  “Uh huh, she swims for about an hour every day.”

  “Good for her.” Jeff headed for the main floor room in the east tower, and the bar. “What’ll you have to drink?”

  Brad took a seat at the bar and stared out the windows at the hot tub. “Oh, I don’t care, just so it’s highly f
lammable.”

  Jeff grinned and nodded. “Alright, coming right up.” He poured two tall glasses of Smithwick’s Irish red ale and two shots of Wild Turkey 101.

  Brad smiled. “Boilermakers. That’ll do.”

  Jeff dropped a shot glass in the ale and quickly downed about half. “Depth charge.”

  Brad chuckled and followed suit. “Ah, that’s better. So, Chateaubriand and… what was it?”

  “Lobster Thermidor.”

  “Wow. You guys always eat like this?”

  “No, but we do eat pretty well. Sue, Abby and Chrissie are all very good cooks. Gabe, uh, not so much.”

  “Abby has told us a little about her. Sounds very bright. She has a Ph.D. from Caltech?”

  Jeff nodded and sipped. “Yeah, so does Heidi.”

  “In what?”

  “Gabe’s is in Aeronautics with a minor in Applied Physics, Heidi’s is Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics. Gabe also has a masters from MIT in Nuclear Science and Engineering with an emphasis in applied plasma physics.”

  “Jesus! That is one incredible woman.”

  “Yeah. Makes you feel kind of stupid, doesn’t it?”

  “Sure does. And she plays the piano?”

  “Uh huh, very well. Could be a concert pianist if she wanted to be. If you close your eyes while listening to her play, you’d swear you were listening to an old recording of Rachmaninoff. She’s got large hands and, with that upper body strength, great power. And there’s more.”

  “What?”

  “She played competitive chess in college, and she’s pretty damn good.”

  Brad shook his head. “Good grief. What kind of mind does it take to do all that?”

  “Well, one like Gabe’s. She has an IQ of over 200 and eidetic memory, and she can do calculus in her head. In fact, her IQ is so high it can’t accurately be measured because she aces all the tests. On the other hand, she’s wound pretty tight. Not really surprising for someone like her, though she’s a lot better today than when she first came to work for me.”