Virus-72 Hours to Live

by Ray Jay Perreault

  Sally slid her long legs into the seat next to her husband and pushed the coffee across the console. "What's up?" she asked while she put two feet up on the pressure monitoring console.

  "Same'o, same'o and take your feet off the furniture."

  She grumbled and moved her feet away from any sensitive switches, but left them on the console.

  Bill continued, "There are three crews doing exploration. One working on the dual rail launcher and we had a couple of breakdowns in Zone #2, nothing major. One of the helium extractors is acting up and I have a maintenance crew heading over to work on it. What's happening with you?"

  "My research with accelerated bacteria growth is going well. I'm getting some amazing replication rates and cell uniformity. I can almost make them dance, and hey; I actually had a medical issue about an hour ago. Dean hurt his hand and I had to bandage it."

  "Glad you got to use your MD and earn your keep up here."

  "Love you too," she said with a growl and she reached over and poked him in the ribs.

  After the lover's friendly dual, they just sat there looking through the window onto the lunar landscape and remained silent while they thought about the duties they had in front of them. The moon was either dark or light, black or gray. There were no other colors. There was no wind on the moon so the footprint put in the soil yesterday would be there tomorrow, next month, next year, and likely next decade. The outside picture didn't change much except when someone walked by the window.

  H-3 was evident in the moon regolith, or moon soil, in much higher concentrations than anywhere on Earth. It had a higher concentration in some areas than others, but it was everywhere on the surface. Extraction was a simple process, just collect the moon regolith and heat it to 600 degrees C. The heated regolith would outgas numerous gases including H-3 and other valuable gases like He-4, nitrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The outgassed mix was compressed and stored on the miner vehicle. On a daily, the vehicles would stop the mining process and a collection rover would connect automatically and extract the compressed gas. When the extraction rover was full, it would drive automatically back to the colony and unload the compressed gasses. Each site had at least four collection rovers assigned to support the mobile units.

  The complete process hadn't made it to full efficiency. To properly process and extract the gasses a lot of electricity was required. With the colonies current design they barely had enough power to heat the regolith to the required 600 degrees C. To further process the gasses to yield high concentration of H-3 or liquid H-3 it was necessary to follow a more detailed and expensive process. So the less efficient gas mix was launched to Oasis and ultimately to Earth where the finishing extraction and condensing occurred.

  In 2032, the permanent facilities at Shackleton crater were started and it took 10 years to reach adequate H-3 production rates. Each of the main financial backers focused on the H-3 production, but the facility was ideally suited for additional space research. Any nation could contribute to the operation and they would receive enough laboratory space to conduct their research. The consortium was allowed a certain amount of space, which was exclusively theirs where they could conduct corporate research. Like Oasis, the additional objectives were exploration, finding other rare materials, which were not available on Earth, and developing new techniques for pharmaceutical production and industrial process development. Many processes were found to be more effective in space. Some of them could be done only in space or on the low gravity of the moon.

  In 2045, an alternate site was started and under construction. Remote digging machines were working on building an underground facility near the equator in a zone where the H-3 was highly concentrated. Once the tunnels were complete, the consortium planned to install a fusion reactor so the full H-3 extraction process could be completed on site. While the tunneling was being done, they should able to mine the large deposits of ice. The ice was going to be stored in underground chambers and would be available when the site was functional. The new generation of ice scrappers was able to mine ice, which could be stored and used for many years. They were fully automated machines that could find the ice and return it to the site. They were much more efficient than the current models and many more were planned so the water supply wouldn't be a problem.

  The Shackleford site had many tunnels, but they weren't 100% reliable. There were the occasional blowouts, which made it exciting moving from one habitat to another. There were a couple of safe rooms for use if they had extended meteor showers or long radiation storms. The newer tunneling machines would make the tunnels at the equator much stronger. When the new site was activated, the tunnels were to be the main part of the facility for the people to live and work.

  Decreasing H-3 extraction, because of the day's breakdowns, wasn't a crisis if the problem with the extractor was fixed in a reasonable amount of time. After all, their only purpose on the moon was to find the helium, package it and send it back to Oasis. Falling behind on production would only mean they had to make sure to meet the next H-3 launch, which was due in 10 days.

  Beyond acting as the storage and distribution center for Red Dirt and Desert Beach, Oasis was its own little factory. There were a couple of medicines, which could only be produced in a weightless space environment. Some metals and manufacturing processes would work properly only in the same weightless environment. The crown and glory of Oasis was its additive manufacturing facility. It was the most sophisticated 4 D printing machine in space. The older 3D methods of additive machining always had its drawbacks, the material granularity wasn't consistent and the cell density wasn't adequate for any high strength parts. The complexity of the part was great, but the materials always had limitations.

  The 4D process on Oasis solved all of that. It entailed adding one layer of material at a time and building a complex shape in a 4D environment. The advantage of doing it space allowed a couple of disciplines to come together. The chamber was filled with a metallic mist and each of the metal grains were heated by the laser and manipulated by magnetic fields. A massive computer would marshal each of the metal grains through the weightless environment while being heated by the laser. Then the magnetic field would deposit it in the exact position. This allowed unequaled grain consistency and material strength when compared to any process on Earth. Any given material manipulated through this process would yield a strength advantage over the same material manufactured on Earth by a factor of 2-3. The minimal variation in the material also meant that its properties were predictable within .005%, which was unheard of on Earth manufactured material.

  The 4-D machine on Oasis was the first industrial laboratory, functional on the space station. When the second ring was complete, a second unit would be operational.

  Launching compressed gas from the moon to Oasis was easy and automatic. The external mobile units loaded the gas containers into a module about the size of a small bus and it would become the anode for the dual rail system. The module was placed on skids between the two conductors, with rapidly changing electrical charges. The charges would cause electric fields to grow and collapse at very high rates, which shot the anode down the rails. Once the module reached sufficient velocity, it would use a rocket engine to continue accelerating. Then it would curve around the moon until the point in the orbit where it had the velocity to leave the moon's orbit and coast back to Earth. Upon reaching the Earth's orbit, a tug would pick it up and ferry it to Oasis where the load would be moved to a manufacturing location in the station or repackaged for transport to Earth.

  Creating a colony on the moon was the logical first step when man left Earth. In spite of the fact that the environment was difficult Earth's growing need for energy and ultimately Helium-3 as the primary Fusion reactor fuel was the prime motivator for risking so much for the colony.

  The moon had no atmosphere, which made the surface risky for human occupation, and the lack of a magnetic field allowed radiation to bombard the surface. The meteorites had nothi
ng to deflect them or burn them on entry, which added to the risk on the surface.

  Once the initial colonies were able to survive, going underground was the only logical solution. The mining machines were effective and after they had removed the moon regolith, the sides were sprayed with reprocessed materials from the surface. The tunnel top was sprayed then the tunnel was buried five feet below the surface. The coating made the tunnels almost airtight, but they were a key part of the design to reduce the radiation exposure and risk from meteorites.

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  Joan Herl's comm unit came alive, "Commander Herl, the computer onboard DB438 has completed its checks and we're ready to release it," said the station controller.

  "Ok, I'll be there in a minute." There was a lot going through Joan's mind. Aside from the virus, launching DB438 was important for the Desert Beach colony on the moon. It had supplies, which were critical, and regardless of her situation on Oasis, they needed support.

  Joan was down-rotation from the control center so she could move quickly up-rotation to the center. It took just a few moments to reach the control center. She always enjoyed moving in that direction more than going down-rotation and moving with the rotational forces. That was part of the reason everyone was anxious to complete the second ring.

  Joan entered the CC and said, "Ok Fred, are we ready to separate and send it on its way?"

  "We're all set and the onboard systems are all checked out."

  "Ok, go ahead and release her. Tom once she is released you're cleared to move in and pick her up with the tether."

  "Roger, preparing for separation, separation authorized," said Fred and then the station mission computer took over and released the mechanisms and disconnected the power and navigation umbilical.

  "Separation complete and clear," announced the station mission computer.

  "Separation acknowledge," responded the DB438 onboard computer.

  "Roger, I have control," responded Tom quickly as he maneuvered the craft further away from the station. Since a couple of unfortunate incidences early in the station history, it had become standard procedure for a pilot in a tug to maneuver any robotic craft within 100 meters of the station.

  Once the tethers had grappled the craft and moved DB438 outside the safe zone, Tom announced, "Safe zone clear, onboard navigation and thrust controlled authorized."

  "Roger, switching to onboard control. Switch to onboard navigation and thrust on my command; switch," said the duty officer.

  "Acknowledged," said the supply vessel onboard computer.

  Joan sat in the control center for a few moments until she saw indications that the onboard systems had indeed taken control. She could relax once the vessel was making the first actions necessary to move the craft into a higher orbit. It was programmed to fire its onboard rockets once it reached the higher orbit, for a relatively short 3-day journey to the moon.

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  "Commander Herl, this is Dr. Chevesky."

  Joan was in her quarters with Tom and doing her best to relax, even though, some very scary scenarios were going through her mind. "Yes Doc," Joan said as Tom realized something was up. His wife was tight as a wire, and he knew to give her space so he worked hard concentrating on his tablet.

  "I spoke to Dennis and Lloyd and I'm sorry to say this, but I think Dennis has the Hovarti Virus. I presume he was one of the spontaneous cases and didn't become infected by association. Lloyd isn't presenting symptoms yet, but he needs to stay under observation."

  "They came up just three weeks ago. They roomed together and they're best friends. I suppose that if one had it, the other would likely get it. Our containment protocol is to protect us from someone boarding that is ill. We hadn't thought much about suddenly having to separate everyone because of a contagious disease."

  "Commander if I may suggest, separate them from your crew. I can send a couple of our crew to their area and move Dennis into section A12 with us. We can tell him it is best for them and the rest of the crew. Right now, I have the most experience on board and I'm the logical one to treat him."

  Joan thought for a moment and looked across her quarters to where her husband Tom was reading and doing his best not to listen. She was the station commander, but she was also married and now she started to worry about Tom.

  "Dr. I agree that sounds logical, but I won't move Lloyd until he shows some symptoms. When that happens, we'll deal with it."

  "Your call," said the Doctor.

  "Ok, Dr. I'm going to make an announcement to my crew and tell them what is happening. Then we'll move Dennis to your area and I'll ask Lloyd to remain in his quarters. I'll call them and tell them personally."

  "Commander I think that is the best plan. Let me know when we're ready to move him."

  "Yes Doctor," was all Joan could say. She realized she might be committing the entire OS210 crew along with Dennis to a death sentence. That weighed heavy on her, but she also had the entire crew of Oasis to worry about.

  Joan just sat for a while thinking about the best way to handle everything. She looked at Tom and he finally got up and walked towards her. He knew it was serious and the decisions all fell on his wife. His job was to support her, not to tell her what to do.

  "Tom, this virus thing is getting serious. That was Dr. Chevesky. One of his crew members came on board ill and he checked with the med people at SC. They agreed with him, it looks like this mysterious virus that is sweeping the globe. So far, the survival numbers are piss poor. As you know, I separated them in section A12. The bad news is, one of our crew, Dennis Davis, is also having a hard time. His roommate Lloyd isn't sick yet, but I'm asking him to stay in his quarters until we know for sure. Remember they came up, on a supply ship about 3 weeks ago. If Dennis has the virus, then our entire crew is at risk. I've decided to move him into section A12 because Chevesky has the most experience and it will separate him from the rest of the crew. Given the close quarters we're under, this could go through us like wildfire."

  "Lovely..., what are you going to do?"

  "I'm shutting down the station until we have this under control. I'll have everyone remain in their quarters and we'll only do emergency work on the station. Most of the different disciplines are rooming together so if they stay together and don't socialize then maybe we can keep this under control. If we aren't able to control it, then we're in trouble. One thing in our favor is our environmental control system. It's designed to clear the air, so maybe it will help us to stay on top of this."

  "When are you going to make the announcement?"

  "Right after I talk to Lloyd and Dennis.

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  "Mr. President Admiral Hagerly is calling."

  "Thanks, Judy. Yes Admiral, I'm meeting with Nancy and Roberto, whatever you have to say I suspect they'll need to hear it too. If you don't object I'll put you on the conference center."

  "Yes, Sir."

  "Go ahead," the president said as the Admirals picture was coming up on the view screen.

  "Mr. President I just met with the chiefs and we reviewed our readiness. I can't contact the SECDEF; my office hasn't been able to contact him."

  "Yes, Nial. We haven't been able to contact him for the last couple of hours, what do you have?"

  "Sir, our readiness is decreasing by the hour. Virtually all of the bases in each of the services have large numbers of infected service men. I've ordered each of them to lock down and quarantine the sick, and I've asked each branch to consolidate the healthy and give us numbers of mission ready units. The bad news is, our estimates are about 40% readiness and it appears we're losing units every hour. From a numbers perspective, the Army is the highest hit because they have the most soldiers. Because they have so many units, they've been able to consolidate the most capable units. The majority of their soldiers are on base and they were in a better position to isolate them and provide medical support. The Air Force has a much lower percentage of servicemen on base and weren't
able to mobilize as well. There are scattered flying units, which have pilots available, but like the Army, the numbers are decreasing. The Navy has two issues; the bases are having a mix of problems similar to the Army and Air Force. For the same reasons they have been able to isolate some units and in other units, they are rapidly losing effectiveness. The seaborne units are doing better although they have just as many popup cases as the general population. They've been able to isolate the sick faster and even though we are losing effectiveness onboard many ships, we are able to consolidate on others. We're unclear what is happening in Honolulu. The 3rd Fleet was in port and it was hit hard. It's going to take a while to figure what status they'll end up with."

  "Admiral, take any units you can muster and consider them mobilized for a national emergency, we're under Martial Law. If you encounter, any functional National Guard units consider them part of the US Military and put them under your command. Until we locate the Secretary of Defense or find out his status from one of his subordinates, I'm placing you in charge of all military forces and reporting directly to me. Someone put the proper paperwork together, so that can happen."

  "Will do," said Eddy, who was in the back of the room.

  "Roberto, Admiral. Please work together and make sure the nuclear weapons are secured and under control. That also goes for our advanced weapon development programs. I don't want anything getting lose."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Sir, I've asked for 1 VTOL crew of volunteers to remain locked down at Quantico to provide transportation for you. At Andrews, we have a crew for Air Force-1. Some of the men have no families and have volunteered to be available."

  "Thank you, and thank them. At some point, we'll be moving to Camp David so have the Marine-1 crew stand by."

  "Nial do your best to keep the military functioning. We're having problems, but I think it might be naive to think our adversaries won't take advantage of us. I know they're likely having the same problems, but that might not stop them."

  "Yes, sir. I'll stay on top of it," assured the Admiral.