Calypso Outward Bound

by D G Hervey

  “It is to me,” agreed Lieutenant Ebesh. “Aren’t we primates, too?”

  “Yes,” agreed Wihem, “we are primates. But primates have several types of fat. The lemur has a type different from ours. The Calypso doctors have characterized the type of the fat in the lemur’s tail that provides the energy it uses during its time in dormancy. The doctors are now able to induce this dwarf-lemur state in bonobos, another primate. They have genetically modified the bonobo’s fat store to work like the dwarf lemur’s does.”

  Lieutenant Ebesh asked, “How does the research into the lemur’s ability to survive a drought translate to us?”

  “As of now, the doctors have not managed to translate all of the lemur’s ability to even a bonobo, much less a human,” answered Wihem. “There is only a minor reduction in the lemur’s body temperature. Relative to other hibernation-like induced states, the lemur’s retention of warmth is unusual, and it is accompanied by more electrical activity in its brain. It has long periods of REM-type of brain activity, like during normal sleep. These responses have not been achieved in the bonobo. Another problem is the atrophy of the bonobo’s muscles during its time at the reduced metabolic rate. Our muscles also atrophy with disuse.”

  “That is an explanation that I can understand,” responded Lieutenant Ebesh. “It sounds like you are very much into the understanding of the research and development project. How can they do without you?”

  Wihem responded, “There are two of us doing this job. We work different shifts. But, there really isn’t a need for both of us. Azita and I are on different timelines for insemination, about eighteen months apart. So, if we both volunteer for the space fleet, then the two of us can cover both jobs. One can be in the fleet while the other is functioning as a pregnant or lactating secretary-clerk to the reversible hypo metabolic stasis project. Then every eighteen months, we trade jobs. Furthermore, if one of us is assigned to patrol duty, the other can be responsible for the daughters of both of us.”

  Lieutenant Ebesh directed Wihem’s attention, “Here we are at the vice president’s office. It is nice. I hope that Jelena gets to be president after Agnieszka finishes her two terms. I like her.”

  “And Jelena’s here in Hidden,” Wihem responded. “It will be nice if we sort of take turns between Hidden and Subtle. Right now they have the president, the Admiral of the Fleet, and Captain Fran, the Taxers’ at-large member over there.”

  “I have no problem with that,” replied Lieutenant Ebesh. “In the meetings I’ve been in with them, all of the Subtle big wigs seem nice. Agnieszka was the boss here for ML, and she did a good job as far as I could tell. This transition into self-rule is bound to have its problems. But she seems to be sorting it out. It will take time. In any event, I expect that Hidden will get the Speaker of the Assembly. But, back to your co-worker, Arnaq, I don’t remember her requesting an interview.”

  “Well,” Wihem replied, “she’s recently inseminated. Admiral Simona’s announcement for volunteers did not seem to encourage her at this time.”

  Lieutenant Ebesh responded, “I can understand that, but tell her that the two of you as a package seems quite appealing to me.”

  “I’ll suggest that she contact you then,” agreed Wihem.

  Lieutenant Ebesh asked, “How much life extension do the doctors think their research might provide?”

  “They seem to think that it should not be tried on women who might still be able to bear children,” answered Wihem. “In that case, the initiation of metabolic manipulation would probably begin sometime between the ages of 42 and 50, about the age of the onset of menopause. All of Calypso’s citizens were selected by ML to have long life expectancy, say about 95 on average. If the control of metabolism were perfect, the average age at death for those put into a hibernation-like state would be about 139 years. They would be living normally for half a year and then sort of hibernating for the next half of a year. At least two percent of the time in hibernation-like state cannot be recovered in normal living. So someone under metabolic slowing would be living normally for about half of the time and using up something over the two percent of the time that they are in the hibernation-like state.”

  Lieutenant Ebesh remarked, “If that comes to pass, it may be that those brave enough to be put into that hibernation-like state could still be alive when Calypso reaches another star. That would be amazing.”

  “I think that is the real goal,” acknowledged Wihem. “They want someone alive to remember what life on a planet can be like. The children may be shown pictures, but I doubt that any effort could adequately convey to Calypso-born children what life on a planet’s surface can be like.”

  Lieutenant Ebesh broached a new subject, “When I looked you up, I came across a term that I was unfamiliar with, tardigrade. I looked it up and learned that they are microscopic eight-legged animals. But why are the doctors messing with them?”

  “They are the gold standard for reversible hypo metabolic stasis,” answered Wihem. “They can withstand the vacuum of space, the radiation of space, the temperature range experienced in space, and desiccation of almost all of their water content. After that they still come back to life and reproduce. Tardigrades are astounding little creatures. People don’t have to do anything to help them through reversing from their state of hypo metabolic stasis. All they need is a natural re-hydration in livable conditions.”

  “I did not get all of that from my Parrot,” Lieutenant Ebesh responded. “Other than your job lacking sufficient demands on your time, why did you decide to volunteer for the fleet staff?”

  “For two reasons at least,” she replied. “I see it as an important job that needs to be done, one for which I should be well qualified since I am rather athletic and in good physical condition. Furthermore, I find it exciting, the idea of being in a much smaller spaceship with many fewer people, and I might even have a time in which I am in control of what transpires. I don’t shy away from responsibility.”

  “What,” Lieutenant Ebesh asked, “is your favorite sport in which you participated?”

  Wihem told her, “I played volleyball, basketball, and tennis. But my love is the individual sport, tennis.”

  “Well, here we are at the entry again,” Lieutenant Ebesh observed. “I enjoyed getting to talk with you privately and learn about you first hand. Thanks for volunteering. I find you to be interesting. I wouldn’t mind being on a Dui tour of duty with you. The final decision regarding who is accepted into the fleet is not mine to make, but I like you.”

  Lieutenant Ebesh picked up Wihem’s Parrot and, unexpectedly, tossed it to her. She caught it with ease. Lieutenant Ebesh thought, good, quick reflexes and quick recognition of what I was doing. She’d figured a way to do a test of two of Admiral Simona’s items at the same time, mental and physical quickness. As Wihem walked away, Lieutenant Ebesh turned back into the government offices to make her notes.

  -

  Next on Lieutenant Ebesh’s list to be interviewed came Olfan. In reviewing her information, Lieutenant Ebesh learned that Olfan was a gymnast and a flautist. After making her notes regarding Wihem, Lieutenant Ebesh met Olfan at the entry to the governmental offices of Hidden.

  “You are promptly on time,” Lieutenant Ebesh commended. “Please leave your Parrot here outside of the government’s offices. The government is functioning in the private mode at present, which seems to be the norm for them. I believe there are governmental discussions, such as ours, that benefit from the frankness that privacy may encourage. Our leaders’ discussions regarding the qualifications of those being considered for appointed positions should be private as well.”

  “I suppose that is the case,” responded Olfan.

  “I find you to be an unusual volunteer,” commented Lieutenant Ebesh. “You have a background which I might have expected would discourage you from considering joining the fleet. I’m surprised, with your emphasis on physical conditioning for gymnastics, that you can see your way clear to spend long peri
ods of time in the very low simulated gravity of our scout spaceships.”

  “I know that I’ll lose some conditioning,” replied Olfan, “but in reality I am on the old side for competitive gymnastics. Most of the girls are finished with competition by age twenty and participate only in exhibitions afterwards. After a tour in space, I suspect that it may take me a couple of weeks or more to regain sufficient muscle tone to be in an exhibition. There are no youngsters old enough to be in training yet, so there will be no opportunity for several years for me to go into coaching. I need more to do than practice gymnastics, play my flute, and go to orchestra rehearsals.”

  “I’ve heard you play your flute. I enjoyed it very much. I like flute music. When I happened to pass by Hidden’s winery where you were playing I just sat and listened for several songs in a row, before I went on with my activities. It was like being in a meadow of blooming flowers, but without the fragrance.”

  Olfan responded, “I expect to practice my flute wherever I may be. Even on a spaceship on scout duty, I won’t be on duty all of the time. I’ll have time to play my flute so long as the others aboard are willing to listen. The customers in the winery are polite, but they seem to prefer more popular music and I am most fond of playing classical music.”

  “I think that most would find your music to be quite relaxing, refreshing, a nice change,” Lieutenant Ebesh commented. “If any on duty in Dui would prefer not to hear it sometimes, you could practice in your quarters with the hatch closed, and they could put on active noise canceling earphones. They do an excellent job of shutting out external sounds.”

  “That could work,” replied Olfan. “It is nicer, of course, when what I’m playing is appreciated by those around.”

  “How will the Hidden orchestra get along without you as its flautist?”

  Olfan answered, “There is another quite competent flautist on Subtle. Whenever I am on duty off of Calypso, she can be holographed in my place. There is no time lag with the short distance between Hidden and Subtle, so keeping the beat won’t be a problem. We’ve already had joint rehearsals and performances with Subtle musicians.”

  “With no men gymnasts onboard to compete against each other,” Lieutenant Ebesh asked, “are any women on Subtle working on the still rings, the pommel horse, the parallel bars, and the horizontal bar? These events are not included in the women’s competition. I just wonder if there is any incentive to keep such events alive until the eventual re-introduction of males in our society.”

  “As a matter of fact,” Olfan replied, “several of us have a gym set up at reduced simulated gravity of about 87.5 percent of G. The horizontal bar is not such a challenge and we do that at one G, but the still rings are tough. That is such a different discipline from those in women’s competition. The pommel horse is demanding as well. Both of those events require such arm strength. So I guess that we are keeping those disciplines alive and I expect that it should last until there are males to become interested. In the gym, we certainly compete with each other in those disciplines. When the gymnasts on Subtle learned that we had set up a lower G gym, they set one up, too.”

  “Good show,” Lieutenant Ebesh complimented, “being ahead of Subtle on that. But tell me, do you have much free time? What do you do when you are not practicing gymnastics or your flute?”

  Olfan answered, “I like to read, watch old movies, and keep up with the news from Earth.”

  Lieutenant Ebesh asked, “What genre do you focus on in your reading and movies?”

  “I like romantic movies,” Olfan responded. “My favorite is The Notebook. I like romantic comedy as well. I’m going to miss getting to have a husband and the sort of family I grew up with back in Sweden.”

  “So,” Lieutenant Ebesh questioned, “what does Olfan mean?”

  “Child of Ole who has some devilish or mischievous bent.”

  Lieutenant Ebesh asked, “Do you have a devilish bent?”

  “My mother used to call me a monkey,” she replied. “I know that was in part because of my gymnastic bounding around. But, as I recall, she did it when I was into a bit of mischief as well.”

  Lieutenant Ebesh asked, “Do you have anyone you’d call a friend outside of your pod, your gymnastics associates, and other instrumentalists?”

  “I have a number of acquaintances with whom I pass the day,” replied Olfan, “but no one outside of those groups with whom I pal around.”

  “Have you,” Lieutenant Ebesh asked, “watched the quilting activities of Marie on Subtle?”

  Olfan admitted, “I watched Marie once or twice. I am in the pod with Maria and Yon on Hidden, so I have access to the proper equipment. But, I’m not due for insemination for another twenty months. So, if I decide to make a quilt for a baby when I am about to have one, I’ll have plenty of time to accomplish that. Besides, I get to see the volunteers that Maria has organized to make quilts for the babies of Hidden mothers who are not inclined to make quilts. That is Maria’s doing in Hidden what she sees Marie doing in Subtle.”

  “So when you are pregnant,” Lieutenant Ebesh asked, “do you expect to take leave from the fleet and resume your prior activities?”

  “That will be a nice opportunity, if it is permitted,” Olfan responded.

  “I do not know about what may be permitted by the powers that be,” answered Lieutenant Ebesh. “But that may be the only way that they can succeed in acquiring the size staff that they believe to be needed. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

  Olfan suggested, “We could be sort of like the fleet reservists, only with longer, ensured times of active duty.”

  “Well Olfan, I’ve enjoyed our talk. It is nice to have an opportunity to get to know a wider variety of the citizens on Calypso.” Lieutenant Ebesh thought she did not need to test the reflexes of a gymnast.

  “Lieutenant Ebesh, I’ve enjoyed talking with you as well.”

  -

  Lieutenant Ebesh’s last interview of the morning was with a woman slated to become a school teacher when children were old enough for her to teach them. She was presently working as a research assistant, looking up information from the database that might be of assistance to the principal investigators. Finished with her notes about Olfan, Lieutenant Ebesh went to the entry to the government’s offices to meet Delphine.

  Delphine, already instructed by the receptionist, had removed her Parrot. She was seated in the reception area.

  Lieutenant Ebesh asked, “You are Delphine?”

  Delphine replied, “I am.”

  “Have you toured the government’s offices since Vice President Jelena was sworn in?” asked Lieutenant Ebesh.

  “As a matter of fact,” Delphine replied, “I accompanied the principal investigator of our helpful-virus research project to a meeting here. So I have seen some of the meeting rooms, but not the vice president’s office.”

  “Then,” Lieutenant Ebesh suggested, “let us wander past the vice president’s office. I saw that Jelena was in earlier. If she is still, we’ll just go past her secretary’s door.”

  Delphine assented, “Okay.”

  “So,” Lieutenant Ebesh stated, “you are the librarian, or information technology assistant, for the group researching, what did you call it, helpful-virus research? What an odd sounding term, helpful-virus? That sounds oxymoronic. In what way are the viruses helpful? I use the plural because, I assume, that there are more than one of them that may be helpful?”

  Delphine answered, “The researchers are seeking any virus that may be helpful in combating cancer, any form of cancer. And yes, there are several that are already proven to be useful agents to fight some cancers.”

  “What,” asked Lieutenant Ebesh “are some of them and what do they help to combat?”

  “Imlygic is a genetically-modified, live herpes virus that preferentially infects and kills melanoma cells,” replied Delphine. “It is injected into lesions that cannot be completely removed surgically. There it replicates inside the cancer cells, caus
es them to rupture and die. This has been done for a long time. A different modification of a herpes virus has been used to fight glioblastoma in the brain.”

  Lieutenant Ebesh asked, “And there are others?”

  They walked by the vice president’s office; the secretary waved for them to keep on moving past, so they did.

  Delphine replied, “Yes, several. The cancer fighting viruses are termed oncolytic viruses. They include coxsackievirus, a cold causing virus, and a reovirus that naturally causes respiratory illnesses. Cancers combated by oncolytic viruses include those of the liver, breast, prostate, brain, and pancreas.”

  “Well,” jokingly concluded Lieutenant Ebesh, “I believe at present there is not much of an opportunity to test them on human prostates here on Calypso.”

  “Quite right,” smiling, Delphine replied. “But, back to your question, modified polioviruses have been manipulated to combat cancerous tumors in the brain and in the breast. They induce the body’s immune system to fight the cancers and may attack some cancers directly.”

  Lieutenant Ebesh reasoned, “There should be more opportunity to make use of that in the lives of the women now aboard Calypso.”

  “I expect so,” replied Delphine. “Still, responding to your initial question further, for adults, zika virus has been modified to combat glioblastoma, a tumor in the brain. It is an alternate possible treatment for this condition. The modified adenovirus, a cold virus, has also been used to fight the same brain cancer. If one doesn’t work, some combination of the possible treatments may effect remission.”

  Lieutenant Ebesh responded, “I understand the concern for breast cancer and brain cancers with our population and environment, especially the cosmic rays.”

  “There are even designer viruses that are directly oncolytic, cancer fighting,” informed Delphine. “That is what the Hidden group really hopes to accomplish. They are trying to create a family of designer viruses with very high rates of successful treatment for various different cancers. They expect to improve on the success rates which have already been achieved.”