Parting Gifts

by gerald hall

  As far as Deborah knew, Peter and her adoptive mother Cynthia were the only people who knew that Deborah possessed her father’s gift. Peter was the only person that knew that Deborah was responsible for the salvation of the Martian colony at Hebes Chasma. Deborah figured that Cynthia would have probably guessed who was responsible for the miracle on Mars though.

  “Deborah, do you think that SALI will be able to help us organize all of the tasks and resources that we will need to set all of this up?” Arthur asked.

  SALI was the Artificial Intelligence or AI that had been originally designed for the US Military. A copy of the AI source code had been sent to the Martian colony to help with the management of the various life support, energy and logistical systems. The most sophisticated AI ever developed by mankind had Asimov’s Laws of Robotics incorporated into its source code. This was in response to concerns that the AI would turn against its human creators.

  Everyone had quickly gotten used to SALI’s pleasant soft contralto voice within a couple of months of her arrival to the colony’s computer systems. The AI had quickly become as trusted a member of the colony as any flesh and blood colonist now as they worked together to consolidate and expand upon humanity’s foothold on the Red Planet.

  “I’m sure that she will already have a listing of available supplies and the 3-D printer files already waiting on us by the time that we get back inside. You know how proactive SALI always is.” Deborah laughed.

  “Well, we are going to have plenty for her to do after this. We will also have all of our #-D printers and induction furnaces running full time as well. You know, when all is said and done, we will have a real chance of terraforming Mars now that we have a planetary magnetosphere to work with.” Tim replied.

  “I wonder how many tons of water vapor and carbon dioxide are being pumped into the atmosphere from down there in the soil around that baby volcano. If enough of it is added to the existing air, it will cause even more heat to be trapped inside. That will melt a lot of the frozen water in the soil and make the atmosphere even thicker.” An excited Gloria mused.

  “NASA estimated before our first people got here that there was possibly as much as three million cubic kilometers of ice here in the mid-latitudes of Mars. It’s covered by several meters of dust though.” Deborah added.

  “That’s good. Hopefully, the rising temperatures will cause that ice to melt. The resulting fresh water would certainly help our sustainability here. But we are going to still need a lot more water for it to be possible for us to eventually walk out here on the surface and breathe without a pressure suit or oxygen mask.” Arthur cautioned.

  “SALI already is working on that problem, Arthur. She’s in communication with our probes working out around the asteroid belt. They are actively searching for more icy asteroids to nudge in our direction. But she’s also mentioned something else that we are going to need. If we are going to make this atmosphere breathable, we are also going to need a lot more nitrogen so we have a mix that is a lot closer to that of Earth. That will help growing our plants, not to mention our own personal needs. We are also going to need a lot of carbon added as well so that we can construct more organic compounds for agriculture and manufacturing. Frozen ammonia will go a long ways towards fulfilling those needs. Our initial scans by our probes indicate that they should be able to obtain decent amount of asteroids with frozen methane as well as water and various carbon compounds.

  Fortunately, we will be highly unlikely to accidentally induce a runaway greenhouse effect here. There just will not be enough water vapor or methane available. We also are too far away from the sun to get enough solar heating either.” Deborah said.

  “That’s going to mean a lot of incoming asteroids.” Tim noted.

  “Yes, but most of those are going to break up or evaporate once they hit the edge of our atmosphere. Those icy and C-class asteroids will be the only ones coming directly in. The C-class bodies will be broken up some in orbit before we let them reenter though. The probes are also redirecting a few M-class or metallic asteroids in our direction also. But they are going to be put into Martian orbit for us to mine and eventually convert into orbital installations for us.” Deborah explained.

  “Those big rocks are going to need those new probe designs with the fusion torch drives to move them around.” Arthur cautioned.

  “I know. The new probes will be coming to us from the Lockheed-Martin production facilities in Georgia in a few months. Then they will be lifted up into orbit via gravity shuttle. Once there, the probes will be fueled up for the trip to Mars. SALI wants to use the maiden flights of the fusion torch drives to push one of our interplanetary transports on a least time direct trajectory to Mars. This will test their ability to push large payloads and get us more of the most badly needed supplies at the same time.

  Arthur, I wish that we had more vessels available to go out and redirect more asteroids towards Mars for our various needs. Unfortunately, your gravity drive shuttles aren’t very suitable for deep space missions. Otherwise, we would be retasking them for asteroid capture. We are going to need many millions of tons of water and other materials if we are even remotely going to remake Mars in the image of old Earth.” Deborah explained with a shrug of her shoulders.

  “I guess that we could just relax and say that SALI knows best.” Gloria laughed.

  “That is really saying something considering the amount of brainpower that we have currently living at the colony now.” Arthur responded with a humorous tone in his voice.

  “Yes, but our polymaths don’t have instant access to our database, sensors and communications systems like SALI does.”

  “True. It’s a good thing that they are not jealous of SALI.” Gloria said.

  “That’s because SALI makes it a point to help our people as quickly as possible. She also assigns the colony’s resources very efficiently. It is a rare thing for anyone to do without. Of course, our people are pretty reasonable in their requirements too. When we all work together and bear in mind the needs of the other colonists, things go pretty smoothly.” Deborah replied confidently.

  “It’s great to have ‘Big Sister’ watching over us. If I didn’t know better, I would have credited SALI with what happened here. But I guess someone else was responsible for it.” Arthur interjected.

  “Well, I’m sure that a lot of prayers were answered with what happened here. So, I thank the Lord for saving our lives here at Hebes Chasma.” Deborah cautiously replied, not wanting to reveal her role in the miraculous event.

  “Amen to that. I saw plenty of people praying in the corridors after we found out what was coming towards us.” Gloria solemnly added.

  “Prayer does work, doesn’t it?” Arthur replied with a smile.

  “That’s what my father told me all of the time.” Deborah answered with a smile of her own. The Methodist minister had adopted her preached at the church Deborah’s parents had attended before her birth. So Deborah heard every sermon that he gave for the better part of sixteen years before she left to go to college.

  “I’m sure that he did. From what I know about you, the lessons obviously took.” Arthur laughed. He had known Deborah for several years prior to his moving to Mars. He had been one of her best friends during her years after she left home for college, mostly through correspondence since they were not at the same university for most of the time but had met during an intercollegiate conference.

  “Why, thank you, Arthur.” Deborah pleasantly responded.

  “You are quite welcome, my friend.”

  “Well, folks. We probably should head back to the domes. Our brand new magnetosphere is deflecting a lot of the cosmic rays that had previously sterilized the Martian surface. But the atmosphere is still pretty thin. We should try to limit the amount of time on the surface for now. I’m sure that concern will be eliminated soon enough at this rate though, fortunately.” Tim told the others.

  “I’m sure that we have plenty of work to do, even with SALI’
s help. Space is getting a little tight with all of the refugees coming in. The new modules that are coming in with each arrival are helping. But we are going to have to do a lot more construction of domes using indigenous materials and even more underground tunneling if we are going to be able to handle our growing population.” Deborah commented with a grimace.

  “At least, our people in the Western Alliance, Israel and the Persian Republic are still being pretty selective of the people that they are sending us. We need people with skills and the willingness to use them to maintain and expand our facilities here. Our existence here is still tenuous enough that we can’t afford a lot of idle hands to feed around here.” Arthur reminded the others.

  “I wish that we could do more to help those people that we have left behind. The news from Earth has been pretty discouraging as of late. The good guys are losing ground every day to the jihadists, I’m afraid.” Deborah sadly noted.

  “Those nations are only doing what we had asked of them regarding the refugees. Their governments see us on Mars now as a sort of lifeboat for Western civilization now, I also wish that we could do something to help the people being left behind to fight. Sometimes I do feel a little guilty about leaving Earth behind to the barbarians.” Gloria said as the group turned and started to walk back to their buggy.

  “We on Mars have already intervened once, you know. We had arranged for a very small asteroid to be dropped on a jihadist stronghold in the Iraqi mountains to help the Persians out several years ago. But we kept our role in that incident pretty quiet. If we were to do that again, we could make ourselves a target. I know that it is unlikely. But we know that the Caliphate has access to nuclear weapons and also to the old inventory of Russian ballistic missiles. It is entirely possible that they could kludge together a launch vehicle with a nuke on it that would be capable of breaking orbit on a path towards Mars.

  A hit by a nuclear weapon here at Hebes Chasma could be catastrophic for us. We would probably not even see it coming in until it was too late because the warhead would be coming in completely ballistic until it makes its terminal trajectory burn. So we have to avoid being seen as a threat to the Caliphate for as long as possible. We need to be devoting our resources towards building habitats, not building bombs right now.” Arthur explained as he and the others walked.

  “Then we will have to do what we can to avoid being targeted before we are able to effectively defend ourselves. I, for one, have seen far too many good people die already. I really don’t want to see any more death if I can avoid it.” Deborah said as she thought about a certain young woman who had died in her arms less than a year earlier.

  “I think that we are all in agreement with that, Deborah.” Tim said as he started to get aboard the buggy. A few moments later, the little vehicle was on its way back to the main colony complex.

  Chapter Two:

  Mars Colony Worship Center

  Hebes Chasma Habitat, Mars

  November 15, 2040

  Deborah Marcum-Sorenson looked out a nearby window towards the changing Martian horizon. It had been a little over than a year since the dramatic event that saved the colonists on Mars from the danger of the massive coronal mass ejection and the restarting of the Martian magnetosphere. The sky was already changing from the thickening of the red planet’s atmosphere that began almost immediately after the event. There were even water vapor clouds forming in the sky and visible to the naked eye.

  The young mother of twins could also see several new domes being constructed on the surface to house some of the new arrivals. The accelerated dome construction was a consequence of the additional energy available from the newly-built geothermal power plant. That electricity was already being used to operate badly needed manufacturing equipment that had just arrived and been assembled. The geothermal plant was located adjacent to the point where the energy of the CME had been focused to punch through to the Martian planetary core. But the most dramatic changes were happening down in Mars’ deepest valleys.

  The heating of the surface from the increased geothermal activity within Mars had freed up substantial amounts of water vapor and other gases. At the same time, robotic probes equipped with powerful nuclear engines had been harvesting ice and frozen methane and sending this material on trajectories that continually bombarded Mars and further thickening its atmosphere. Other redirected C-Type or carbonaceous asteroids brought in badly needed carbon and other minerals needed to sustain agriculture and recombine with the hydrogen and oxygen to create other useful materials.

  On the Martian surface, the atmosphere was still unbreathable without a pressure suit and some sort of oxygen compressor. But down in the deep valleys, the atmosphere was now just about thick enough for humans to breathe unaided. The Martian colonists were even beginning to grow vegetation along bodies of water that had started to form in the deeper chasms.

  The colony had perennially suffered from power shortages up to this point. The new geothermal power station would exploit the energy now available from within Mars to fuel a substantial expansion of the colony and its facilities. This power source would prove to be a Godsend for the colony and all of its inhabitants. Everyone in the colony soon realized though that there could never be too much power generation capacity with what was happening now.

  A growing number of people were coming to Mars as refugees to escape the wars that were raging on Earth. Western civilization was rapidly failing and the barbarians of the new Caliphate were sweeping across the Earth. These refugees needed a place of safety to call home after the horrors that they faced back on Earth.

  As Deborah stood there, staring out the window, a young man wearing the white cloak of a Jesuit priest walked into the Worship Center. He had brown hair, hazel eyes and a short, well-trimmed beard that accented the warm smile on his face. Surprisingly, he also had a severe limp. Most of the people living at Hebes Chasma seemed to all be in virtually perfect health, much like the first astronauts of the American space program.

  “Hello, there. I’m Father Paul Martin. What’s your name?” The Jesuit priest asked after Deborah walked him. His accent was clearly from somewhere in New England. The priest seemed rather young, but had a look of wisdom beyond his years.

  “I’m Deborah.”

  “That’s a nice name. If I remember correctly, Deborah was a leader of the Israelites who helped form and lead an Army with Barak serving as its general to protect Israel against the Canaanites.”

  “Well, I did serve in the US Navy as a fighter pilot before I came to Mars.” Deborah admitted.

  “I have to admit, you seem pretty humble for a fighter pilot. My dad flew transports in the Air Force and always talked about how cocky the fighter jocks were.”

  “Yes, that does seem to be almost a requirement to be a fighter pilot, doesn’t it?” Deborah managed to chuckle.

  This priest was very good at getting people to relax, Deborah thought. But, she was still scared. She didn’t know for sure whom she could openly talk to. Of course, her husband Peter knew what she had done. Her adoptive mom Cynthia would certainly have realized who was responsible for the miraculous event on Mars. But Deborah still worried about what would happen if more people learned about what she could do with her gift. Would they embrace her or would they be absolutely terrified of her as though she were a ticking time bomb, just waiting to go off? Even worse, would there be people out there waiting to try to use her for some evil scheme of their own once they discovered her identity?”

  “So what is troubling you, Deborah? I see that you have a wedding band on. Are you having problems at home? Living on Mars can be pretty stressful under the best of times. Lately, the times here have been very ‘interesting’ as in the Chinese sense of the word.” Paul said with a comforting smile.

  “Oh, no. Everything is going quite well in my husband. In fact, we recently learned that we are going to have twins. I needed someone to talk to about another matter though. I did something recently that was very desperate in
nature in order to save some friends of mine. I am afraid that what I learned I was capable of doing might lead me to do something terrible later, Father.” Deborah admitted with a great deal of trepidation.

  “First, I want to congratulate you on your pregnancy. This world is certainly going to need more people in it, even with all of the new people arriving with each incoming ship. But, do you want to tell me what you did exactly that has you so concerned, Deborah?” Paul asked. He tried very hard not to sound threatening in any way when asking his question.

  “I know this might sound impossible, but I am the one responsible for stopping the coronal mass ejection from hitting our colony. You see, I have a gift that I inherited from my parents, especially my father. This ‘gift’ enabled me to do things that no one else can do with matter and energy.”

  “Are you also responsible for Mars regaining its magnetosphere too, Deborah?” A very curious sounding Paul then asked.

  “Yes, Father. I used my gift to focus the energy of the CME onto a very small point on the Martian surface. That energy then penetrated deep into the planetary core, heating it up and restarting the electromagnetic ‘engine’ that generates the Martian magnetosphere’s electromagnetic field.

  The point where the focused energy struck is now where the new geothermal power plant is being constructed.”

  “It sounds as though you have most certainly been using your gifts for good, Deborah. Why are you so troubled then?”

  “Because I am afraid that I might use this gift to do horrible things instead. My father had this gift too, though I think that he was not able to use it fully until he met my mother. There was something special about her too, I believe. They were like two pieces that together were greater than the sum of their parts. You might say that my parents were responsible for the first two Events that occurred in what is now the Eastern Alliance. In any event, I guess that I actually inherited gifts from both of my parents.