Classical: MARS: Book 3 of MARS

by Matthew Ellis

  John said, “We have ways to retrieve them if you do that.”

  Scout said, “We don’t want any risks. We can negotiate a treaty with you while we deal with DeNoPE.”

  Wendy said, “I’m not sure that’s the best idea, either. If DeNoPE knows about our existence, they’ll come after us for harboring the fugitives.”

  John said, “I think our negotiations should remain secret until they’re gone. That also leaves the option of a rescue attempt open.”

  Kathy said, “I think that’s a very good idea.”

  Scout said, ‘So do I. Let’s get you out of sight before those people see you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Stress

  Kathy felt the baby kicking inside her body. It felt odd, not like the usual feeling of the baby kicking. It worried her, so she called Mark.

  Mark asked, “What’s wrong, Kathy?”

  Kathy replied, “How’d you know it was me?”

  Mark answered, “I have a video receiver on my end. You probably didn’t know about the camera on your phone.”

  Kathy sneered, “I’ll have to turn that off.”

  Mark asked again, “What’s wrong?”

  Kathy replied, “I feel something strange inside me. I think something’s wrong with the baby.”

  Mark asked, “Can you be a little more specific?”

  Kathy replied, “There’s extra kicking in my womb. I think there might be a second baby in there.”

  Mark said, “I assure you there’s only one baby in there. I was very thorough when I did your exam.”

  Kathy said, “Then it could be something wrong with the baby.”

  Mark said, “It very well could be, but we won’t know unless you get checked out.”

  Kathy asked, “So what should I do?”

  Mark said, “Come into the office, and I’ll do an exam. You won’t need to make an appointment, this could be an emergency.”

  Kathy thought, “Oh great; I need to put that damned suit on. And it wouldn’t be so bad if I had one designed for a pregnant woman’ but it isn’t. I need to talk to the suit makers about that.”

  Kathy hung up the phone, put her suit on, and went to her car. While she drove to the hospital, Mark continued his conference with a few other doctors.

  Mark said, “I think the time has come to have a fully functional simulator for all medical research.”

  Doctor Grant said, “We can’t have a simulator for everything. Some things are still radically new, and require traditional research methods.”

  Mark said, “I think we can do better than traditional research methods. Why do we have to make animals suffer and die for our benefit? What if we could put everything we know into a computer simulator, and then impart that into an android or some other artificial test subject?”

  Doctor grant slammed his hands on the table in protest. This was the most absurd thing ever presented to him.

  Grant replied, “No, we can’t. That would only tell us what we already know. We could introduce all kinds of simulations and known treatments into this thing, and it wouldn’t tell us a damned thing.”

  Mark snapped, “Yes, it would. You’re not seeing the big picture. We could put the whole of our medical knowledge into a single program to simulate any illness, disease or injury. Then we can take our known treatments and put them into a database in the same program. The android has synthetic organs, fluids, etcetera. Then the virus or bacteria get introduced into the android synthetically, and the androids’ synthetic antibodies follow their programming to ‘heal’ the android.”

  Grant protested, “But that won’t tell us anything new.”

  Mark yelled, “Will you let me finish my thought before you rush to judgement?”

  Grant said, “Go ahead.”

  Doctor Grant extended and waved his arms in a condescending fashion.

  Mark said, “Then we have the program run simulations on new ailments as they arise, and hopefully it can extrapolate treatments from the existing data.”

  Doctor Minkis, who was sitting quietly across from Mark, thought about the information Mark presented. He thought it had merit, but didn’t think it could be done.

  Dr. Minkis said, “Okay, we’ve heard you out, but who’s going to do this data entry? It’s a bit of a chore to enter the whole of our medical knowledge.”

  Mark replied, “A lot of the work is already done. The internet is a wonderful resource for this kind of database.”

  Both doctors across the table gasped at this suggestion.

  Dr. Minkis asked, “So you want us to copy and paste entire medical databases into your magical formula?”

  Mark said, “Something like that.”

  Doctor grant slammed his hands on the table again. He wasn’t angry, but this was absurd.

  Dr. Grant objected, “That’s a clear copyright violation, so it would violate the Treaty of Luna.”

  Mark said, “We’d ask for permission, first.”

  Doctor Minkis dropped his head. He knew this was going to be too hard.

  Dr. Minkis said, “I don’t think we’d get it,” sounding defeated.

  Mark said, “In that case, we’d have to do it the hard way, and people are going to need jobs when they get here.”

  Dr. Grant said, “Yea, but people are free to do the kind of work that suits them. No one wants to transcribe the whole of medical knowledge as a computer code.”

  Mark said, “I’m sure there are people who would love to do just that. “

  Doctor Grant rolled his eyes in condescension. Mark chose to ignore it.

  Dr. Grant said, “I still don’t think it would work even if we had the whole planet working on it nonstop forever. There are just too many variables within the human body.”

  Doctor Grant waved his arms while he talked. His gestures suggested shooing a nuisance. Mark chose to ignore him again.

  Mark said, “My vision actually goes beyond the human body. I’d like to write a separate, but connected veterinary version.”

  Doctor Minkis imagined hundreds of animal replicas running simulators. He saw a centuries long project that might never be finished.

  Dr. Minkis asked, “Do you understand the amount of work that would have to be done to see this through?”

  Mark replied, “Of course I do. Part of the vision of Mars is being free to pursue impossible dreams.”

  Dr. Minkis said, “Why do you want to do this so badly?”

  Mark said, “I think it’s barbaric the way we experiment on animals to further our knowledge. There’s got to be a better way.”

  Dr. Grant said, “I’m sure there is, but I don’t think your idea is the answer.”

  Dr. Grant realized he was outnumbered. Both Mark and Doctor Minkis liked the idea, so he silently decided to give in to the will of the group

  Dr. Minkis said, “We should put this up to a vote among the populace of Mars.”

  Dr. Grant said, “There’s a whole process you have to go through to do that. It’s not worth the time and energy.”

  Mark was offended by Doctor Grant’s comments. He didn’t understand why he was so set against this idea.

  Mark said, “It most certainly is worth the time. It just might be the most important decision we’ll ever make as Martians.”

  Dr. Grant said, “Or we can just agree to let you have your way without bothering the Parliament.”

  Mark was relieved. He really thought he was going to have to fight tooth and nail with Doctor Grant.

  Mark said, “Thank you. I’m glad I was able to convince you to give my idea a chance.”

  Grant stood and started walking toward the door. As he reached the door, he stopped and glared at Mark.

  Dr. Grant said, “Just don’t let it interfere with your patients.”

  Mark felt the condescension, but ignored it again. He looked Grant in the eye and replied.

  Mark said, “No, sir. In fact, I have a patient arriving now.”

  Kathy arrived at the hospital an
d walked directly to Mark’s office. She took a seat in the examination chair and took off her suit. Mark walked into the room a few minutes later.

  Mark asked, “Are there any changes since you called me?”

  He was trying to ignore the resentment in his mind. Doctor Grant’s attitude was unprofessional at best and condescending at worst. He tried to focus on his patient, because she was more important.

  Kathy replied, “Not really. The baby’s kicking a lot more than usual, and I don’t know what’s wrong.”

  Mark said, “Let’s take a look.”

  He washed his hands and put gloves on them. Then he took the ultrasound machine over to the exam area.

  Kathy said, “I’m sure it’s probably nothing, but I just can’t help feeling worried. This is the future of Mars. If I screw it up, the whole society is doomed.”

  Mark missed the clues Kathy gave him. She needed comfort, but he was too distracted to see that. So he decided to take a purely logical approach.

  Mark said, “You’re being a little melodramatic. Mothers have always felt anxiety for their children even in the womb. What you’re feeling is perfectly normal, but you’re exaggerating it in your mind.”

  Kathy was already upset, and now Mark was insulting her. She got angry and snapped at Mark.

  Kathy asked, “How do you know what’s going on in my mind? I thought your wife was the psychiatrist.”

  Mark, still not understanding the situation, continued on his logical path. He defended his offensive statement.

  Mark said, “I assure you I’m aware of the workings of the human mind. My wife may have the degree in psychiatry, but I have years of dealing with people to know what’s normal and what’s not.”

  Mark noticed a change in Kathy’s demeanor. Kathy started crying for no apparent reason. She had no idea why she was crying, but she couldn’t stop. Mark had seen this many times before, and finally realized the situation’s requirements. He put the argument with Doctor Grant aside and tried to comfort this patient.

  Mark said, “You’re feeling a huge burden of responsibility, and it can be overwhelming sometimes. Try to focus on small things you know you’ll do well. That might help your anxiety.”

  Kathy said, “But what about all the things I have no idea how to do?”

  Mark said, “We can deal with those things when the time comes. It’s no good dwelling on things that may or may not even happen.”

  Kathy cried, “You mean I might not have the baby, don’t you?”

  Mark said, “No, I don’t. The baby’s perfectly healthy, so if you take care of yourself there’s no reason you won’t have a beautiful baby girl in a few weeks.”

  Mark turned the ultrasound screen to Kathy so she could see the baby. Everything was normal. The pictures comforted Kathy.

  Mark said, “Everything’s perfectly normal in there. You have a healthy baby growing inside you.”

  Kathy said, “So what was all the extra kicking about?”

  Mark replied, “It might just be fidgety, or anxious. Babies are very intuitive, even in the womb. They can pick up on your anxieties.”

  Kathy asked, “So this might be all my fault?”

  She started crying again. Mark needed to comfort her and not make things worse.

  Mark said, “I don’t think it’s your fault. You might be putting too much pressure on yourself, though.”

  Kathy asked, “So I should try and relax?”

  Mark replied, “I think that would be a good idea.”

  Kathy said, “Thank you, doctor. You’ve been a big help.”

  Mark said, “Glad I could be of some assistance.”

  Kathy replaced her clothes and her EV suit and went home. Mark started working on his great project.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  MFL

  Bob and Cindy Fink needed a break from negotiating the treaty. They were watching the Green Bay packers play the Chicago Bears. The NFL, along with several other professional sports leagues, made a deal with Mars to broadcast the games in exchange for tourism.

  Bob said, “I wish we had a league here on Mars.”

  Cindy said, “We only have two cities. That’s not enough for a league.”

  Bob said, “We have a baseball league.”

  Cindy said, “They only play ten games a year.”

  Bob said, “But there’s plans to build a bunch of new cities. Maybe we can put teams in those cities, too.”

  Cindy said, “We’d need at least four teams to have a real league. Then they’d play eight games plus a championship.”

  Bob said, “Well, I’m going to call Scout and put a plan forward.”

  Cindy asked, “Are you going to propose the new cities, or just a football league?”

  Bob answered, “Just the league. I kind of like not being in the spotlight.”

  Cindy said, “We were in the core of the group back on Earth. Now, no one even knows we’re here.”

  Bob said, “I’m in the Congress. I thought it was a pretty high profile position.”

  Cindy said, “You represent Freedom, and you’re not on any of the high-profile committees. Even within the Congress, you get lost in the crowd.”

  The game continued as the Packers threw a touchdown pass. They still trailed 24-17 in the third quarter. The crowd got excited and loud, so Bob turned down the television’s volume.

  Bob said, “I’m going to call Scout, excuse me.”

  He went into the kitchen and called Scout. He detailed his plan for a football league, and at first Scout was annoyed.

  Scout asked, “This is how you prepare for negotiations with the original colonists?”

  Bob said, “We needed a break, and I think the Martian Republic needs more entertainment than we currently offer.”

  Scout said, “We have more pressing priorities.”

  Bob said, “That doesn’t mean we can’t plan for the future when we won’t have such pressing priorities. In the future, our people will need to have distractions form the stress of our ‘pressing priorities’.”

  Scout asked, “So how do you propose to modify the game for Mars?”

  Bob said, “The same way baseball was modified. We’ll make the ball heavier, make all the fields indoors, control the environment, and make the players heavier.”

  Scout said, “I don’t think we’d need to make the players heavier. We’d have to make them three times heavier than they are. It’s too much. The ball is enough, although we could make the pads a little heavier.”

  Bob said, “Cindy thinks we need four cities before we can have a real league.”

  Scout said, “That’s probably a minimum number; the more, the better. Luckily, we have plans for five new cities in the near future.”

  Bob asked, “Do we have that many immigrants coming?”

  Scout replied, “Not yet, but we don’t need to wait for the immigrants to build the cities. We can be proactive.”

  Bob said, “The beauty of not using money.”

  Scout said, “Exactly.”

  Bob hung up the phone and returned to the living room. Cindy was still watching the game. The Packers were on the verge of tying the game.

  Bob said, “Scout likes the idea. We’ll have to wait until the cities are up and running, but we can start putting the league together now.”

  Cindy said, “Then let’s get started.”

  Bob asked, “Don’t you want to finish watching the game?”

  Cindy said, “We can do both. Besides, I’m really a Cowboys fan.”

  Bob said, “We might need to get divorced. The Cowboys are the source of my disdain.”

  Cindy said, “You knew my teams when you married me. Too late to get mad now.”

  Bob and Cindy spent the next four hours forming the Martian Football League. They put rules in place, named teams and drew blueprints for stadiums. The team in Freedom would be Martians, the team in Progress would be Reds, and the other two teams would be the Stars and the Fire. The stadiums were all going to be
exactly the same, so that no team would have an advantage in knowing the layout. The rules were nearly the same as the NFL, but with a few modifications to make the game work on Mars.

  Cindy asked, “So how do you propose we compensate the athletes? We don’t use money, so there might not be an incentive for the players to stay on Mars.”

  Bob replied, “It’s already written into the constitution. You can earn half of your work credits in entertainment, athletics, or arts. So, if they really love the game for the sake of the game, they’ll stay here.”

  Cindy said, “I see a lot of people jumping ship when they reach a level of success. They’ll have a comfortable life waiting for them on Earth.”

  Bob replied, “Then they probably don’t belong here in the first place. A lot of our society is dependent on people agreeing with us.”

  Cindy said, “I just hope we don’t end up a minor league for the sports leagues on Earth.”

  Bob said, “I don’t think that’ll happen. I’m hoping for a solar system class league right here.”

  Cindy said, “That brings up an interesting point, though. If we want to have professional sports leagues, we need to have a way to scout players.”

  Bob said, “Scout already has plans to have high school kids play baseball. I don’t see any barriers to extending that to other sports.”

  Cindy objected, “I really don’t like that. Schools should be places to learn, not training grounds for sports leagues. That was one of the problems I was glad to escape when we left Earth.”

  Bob said, “Maybe we’ll come up with something different; something more like Little League.”

  Cindy said, “That would be much better.”

  Bob and Cindy worked for the next two hours drafting a plan to develop players and scout them for the proposed leagues. They drafted several versions of the plan so it could be put to a vote.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Davids

  David Kidd and David Jamison met in the hotel. Jordan was opposed to putting the delegation from Earth in the same place as the potential immigrants, but Scout overruled him.