Mars Nation 2

by Brandon Q Morris

  “That’s out of the question,” Mike said. “I’d rather do without one of the Spaceliner models.”

  The drill started off and made a ninety-degree arc around the base. On the monitor, Ewa gazed at the loader still sitting where it was parked. It looked sad, as if it were afraid of being abandoned and left on its own. That’s probably because the shovel is resting on the ground, Ewa thought. This made the front of the vehicle look like a sad face.

  “Head east,” Sharon said, pointing at her tablet.

  Ewa nodded. She slightly increased the speed of the vehicle’s left side, so that it would adjust its course to the right. The wan sun wasn’t far above the horizon yet. She caught sight of a dust devil in the distance. She thought about the sample she had taken. If she could reach this dust devil, she could expand her database. What lousy luck that she didn’t have a second pole on board.

  “Can you imagine this landscape all in green?” asked Ewa. “Maybe even covered in big forests?”

  “That’s hard,” Mike said. “Even if things eventually reach that point, we won’t be here to see it.”

  “Isn’t that a shame?” Ewa asked. “I feel much freer here than I did on Earth. In twenty years, I bet that none of us will miss the color green anymore. We’ll have gotten used to its absence.”

  “That’s what I can’t imagine happening,” Sharon said. “The blue of the ocean and the sky are also missing. I sometimes dream about lying on a golden beach, with the wide, invincible sea stretching before me, the dense, green jungle at my back, and the deep blue sky above me. That image is saved deep inside me.”

  “You’ll wake up one day, and it’ll be gone,” Ewa said.

  “That would be terrible.”

  “No, you won’t even know that something’s been lost.”

  Sharon just shook her head.

  “How did you actually find the water layer?” Ewa asked.

  “It was Mike’s idea. Your crew had stolen our GPR, so we converted a radio into a ground-penetrating radar,” Sharon explained.

  “The data isn’t very reliable, though,” Mike said. “We couldn’t adequately calibrate the improvised gauge. So it might be that the water’s not at a depth of three hundred meters, but at five hundred meters. And something else other than a water level might have reflected the radio waves.”

  “That would be inauspicious for the expansion of the base,” Ewa declared.

  “At first glance, yes. But actually, the geologists theorized that there should be groundwater at this latitude. We’ll just have to keep searching until we find something,” Mike replied.

  “I hate to interrupt,” Sharon said, “but according to my data, we’re almost there. The base is now 9.4 kilometers away.”

  Mike pressed his face against the cab window. “I think I recognize this landscape,” he said. “Last time, we were here in the afternoon, and the shadows fell differently.”

  “Then we should just take a look,” Ewa suggested.

  “Oh no! I left the equipment back at the base,” Mike said, slapping his forehead.

  “I think we have everything we’ll need. The drill should be able to monitor its own functions. It has a GPR built into it, too,” Ewa said.

  “Yeah, of course,” Mike confirmed. “I should’ve thought about that. Do you know how to make it all work?”

  Ewa laughed. “How would I? I wasn’t trained on this machine, but we’ll figure it out together.”

  One tap with the finger, and the drill stopped.

  “Now what?” Mike asked.

  “Just a second, I’m reading about it now,” Ewa answered. She had found the vehicle’s manual and was reading it with growing excitement because it had been written in an understandable manner. You could tell that the author had taken joy in the idea that this text would one day be read by an astronaut on Mars. What might have happened to the author back on Earth?

  “We first have to set up the tower,” Ewa said.

  “Shouldn’t we first check to see if we’re at the right spot?” asked Mike.

  “That apparently won’t work, because the radar will only work as a control instrument for the drill. Whoever developed this machine assumed that we would already know where we’d need to drill and would verify that information ahead of time. But this isn’t really a problem. Setting up the tower will only cost us one hour, max.”

  “Got it,” Mike said. “What should we do? You give us the instructions.”

  “I need you outside,” Ewa explained. “This explanation assumes that we’ve brought along a few assistants in a rover. We have to prepare a few things beforehand.”

  “Good, then we all need to first get fully suited,” Mike said. “I can’t leave the cab otherwise.”

  “I’ll come with you. You might be able to use two more hands,” Sharon said. “There’s nothing for me to do in here, is there, Ewa?”

  Ewa shook her head. Only one person needed to stay in the cab.

  “Can you hear me?” Mike asked over his helmet radio.

  Ewa looked out the cab window. Two surprisingly small figures were standing on the Mars surface. One of them was waving. “Loud and clear,” she replied.

  “What should we do?”

  “Do you see the green marks—one between axles one and two, and the other between nine and ten? You need to remove all the rocks and dust from the ground at that height so that the stabilizers can stand solidly. You can find the tools you’ll need in the supply box next to axle six toward the tail end.”

  “Great, a cleaning job. I’m a highly qualified pilot and commander of a NASA mission,” Mike said.

  “Stop griping and grab a broom,” Sharon said. “I’ll go to the other side.”

  “This area is as clean as a baby’s bottom,” Mike reported fifteen minutes later.

  “A strange comparison,” Sharon said. “I’m done, too.”

  “Good,” Ewa replied. “Next, I’ll extend the stabilizers.” She touched the control interface on the screen. A green checkmark appeared. At that same moment, on both ends of either side of the vehicle, sturdy metal rails extended out from the drill’s frame. They had an upside-down, letter-U profile.

  A brief shudder ran down the length of the vehicle. The rails had apparently reached their maximum limit.

  “Okay, you two, now you need to release the feet. They are flipped up into the stabilizer’s profile and secured with bolts. The tool you need is in the same box.”

  “Already on it,” Sharon confirmed.

  “Something’s stuck on my side,” Mike said with a grunt.

  “There might be dust caught up in there. Try to leverage it free!” Ewa suggested.

  “Already trying that. I... Ha! It worked,” Mike called.

  “Everything’s ready on my side,” Sharon interjected.

  “Now you need to secure the feet so that they won’t fold up again. You should use the same bolts you removed earlier. Just push them into the joints attached to the feet.”

  “No problem,” Sharon replied a few moments later.

  “Same here,” Mike added.

  “Good, now that the base is standing, we can set up the tower,” Ewa said.

  “I can’t imagine how this is going to work without a crane,” Mike said.

  “No worries. It’s all pretty well-designed. You know those cars that can turn into robots?”

  “The Transformers? Of course,” Sharon replied. “My father gave me a few of them. I think he bought them for himself, but I refused to give them back to him.”

  “The drill reminds me of them,” Ewa said. “Watch out!”

  She pressed the start button to activate the transporter’s transformation. On the left and right sides, a hydraulic system lifted two metal stanchions upward, looking for all the world like long spoons. They were being raised by a hydraulic system. Above their heads, on one of the ‘spoon’ parts, the tip of the drilling tower was hanging from a crossbeam. Through this motion, the tower was gradually lifted from the hori
zontal to the perpendicular.

  “I’m impressed,” Mike said.

  Ewa felt her stomach drop as the cab was also lifted high by the two spoons. It was swivel-mounted at the center of the tower. She followed on the monitor as the structure got closer and closer to the ninety-degree mark.

  At its highest point, the cab with her in it was located at least ten meters above the surface, while the tower stretched another twenty meters above her. The tower, as well as the cab, swayed a little, because the tower’s feet weren’t yet firmly connected to the ground.

  “Now what?” Mike asked from outside. “It still looks rather unstable.”

  “Just a second,” Ewa replied.

  She checked to see if all the systems were functioning. If something was jammed somewhere, she should still be able to intervene. But everything was working optimally. The giant origami shape was now awaiting the final step.

  Ewa initiated it with the touch of one finger on the screen, and was startled when the cab slowly began to sink. The two spoons changed their length by telescoping their shafts a short distance into each other. They continued to do this until the drill tower was standing on the ground with all four legs. The image on the screen changed after three minutes. The systems’ symbols all glowed green. All Ewa still had to do was run a few tests, such as the one involving the spoons giving the tower a quick shake. Everything was confirmed as quite stable.

  “Looks good,” she said. “We’re reading to start.”

  “Aren’t we missing some kind of drill?” Sharon asked.

  Of course. Ewa looked up. The heavy drill bar was hanging right over her. If the chains broke right now... She pushed that thought aside and flipped open the manual again. To start drilling, she first had to tilt the cab to the side so that it no longer blocked the drill’s path. With her fingertips, she loosened the clamps on the one side. A pre-stressed spring turned the cab ninety degrees, so that it hung between the tower’s legs, about where knees were located on a human. As the cab completed this action, it leaned precariously toward the freely swinging side. But after ten seconds, it was all over.

  The drill pipe now had a clear path, but it was still too soon to start. First of all, they had to check to see if Mike and Sharon had really found anything. Their disappointment would be greater if they had been mistaken, which was why Ewa hoped that the drill’s GPR would soon report that it had found a water layer.

  “I’ll start measuring now,” Ewa announced. “Are you expecting any particular water quality?”

  “Doesn’t matter. It mainly needs to be wet,” Sharon said.

  “Considering how well the radio waves bounced back, I would sooner expect saltwater that contains lots of ions that function as charge carriers,” Mike chimed in. “But Sharon is right. Regardless of how crummy the muck is, it would be precious to us.”

  “Honestly, we’d be able to use a water deposit with lots of metal salts in it to meet other resource needs,” Sharon said.

  The measurement software beeped. An image appeared on the screen that showed the Mars surface beneath them down to a depth of about a thousand meters. The two of them had been right!

  Ewa smiled. “There really is something here. Your measurements were good!” she exclaimed. Through the cab window, she watched as Mike and Sharon hugged each other.

  “This is great news! Thank you so much,” Sharon said. “Can you tell us more about the deposit?”

  “It’s actually closer to the surface than you estimated,” Ewa said. “The software calculated a depth of one hundred eighty meters. The boundary layer apparently isn’t reflecting as strongly as you had assumed from your depth measurements.”

  “That means the water is cleaner than we thought,” Mike explained.

  “If it is water,” Ewa countered. “It’s still possible that there’s a boundary layer of some other kind underneath us. It’s probably for the best to keep our expectations relatively low.”

  “But the likelihood that it’s water is much higher than for some yet unknown geological phenomenon,” Mike insisted.

  “That’s true. We won’t be sure until we can take a look at it.”

  “Then let’s begin drilling, Ewa.”

  “Are you certain then that you want me to start drilling here? If we hit water, I won’t be able to pull the drill back out again quickly and drive it somewhere else.”

  “Yes, now that we’re this far. I want to know for sure what’s down there,” Mike said.

  “Good. It’s your responsibility now.”

  Ewa pressed the button on her screen and activated the drill pipe to start excavating the Mars surface. The machinery passed quite close to her cab. She fleetingly saw the drill turbine, followed by tubes and flexible pipes. After one safety question, the drill turbine set to work.

  “The drilling has started,” she announced over the radio.

  “How long will it take?” Mike asked.

  “I don’t think you need to come back until tomorrow morning.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m sure you don’t want to spend the night with me in a tiny cab without any sanitary facilities. It’s ten kilometers back to your base. It’ll be a nice walk.”

  “Of course,” Mike said, “I had already suppressed that information. Are you sure you don’t need us? And you don’t want to come along?”

  “I’d prefer to monitor things from here.”

  “If you need us, we can reach you with the rover in thirty minutes,” Mike promised.

  “Sure, but nothing will happen. The drill is self-sustaining. I’ll be just fine,” Ewa assured him.

  “All right, well, goodnight,” Sharon said.

  It had just reached noon, so it was much too early to go to sleep. Once Mike and Sharon strode off, Ewa decided that she would also take a walk. She prepared to exit and then left the cab. Once she reached the hatch, however, she flinched. The cab was no longer floating right above the tires, but about ten meters above the Mars surface. She concentrated on the ladder and climbed down.

  She then walked around the drill tower. Thanks to the ten axles, the vehicle was still recognizable in spite of its transformation. The formerly horizontal tower now towered, proudly upright, into the air. At its feet, right between its legs, sat a shapeless block from which low-level vibrations were emanating. Ewa could feel it through her feet. The drill head was electrically powered. A mini nuclear power plant, which functioned similarly to the NASA KRUSTY, was producing the electricity. Since the power production was relatively low, the energy was being intermittently stored in large condensers and then released whenever the drill turbine was ready to eat away another piece of subsoil. Through this interval-activity process, they were spared the use of a more expensive energy source.

  Ewa stepped a little closer, still keeping a respectful distance. White steam swirled up from the block that was sitting on the ground and concealing the drill hole. The steam had to be the residue from the cooling liquid. The entire drilling process was proceeding in astonishing silence. She had to keep reminding herself that this was due to Mars’s thin atmosphere. At that moment, she felt strangely useless and lost. She was nothing more than a guest who had set the process in motion and could leave again if she pleased.

  9/22/2042, Spaceliner 1

  “Long time, no see,” Isaac said as he hugged first Chad, then Jean.

  “Yeah, it’s getting harder and harder to get away without being seen,” Chad said. “Thanks to the story we concocted with Terran, Summers has grown even more paranoid.”

  Someone knocked on the door. Jean and Isaac flinched as Chad chuckled.

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “That must be Terran. Since learning that Summers bugged his cabin, he’s on our side.”

  “Are you sure?” Jean asked.

  “Yes, I am,” Chad replied, opening the door.

  “It’s too late as it is,” Isaac said.

  “Too late for what?” Terran stepped into the small container, h
is bulk reducing its remaining space by half.

  “Hello, Terran,” said Chad. “I’d like to introduce you to my friends: Isaac from the science division and Jean, our former captain.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” Terran said with a smile. “I was never okay with your demotion, Jean. We couldn’t have wished for a better captain.”

  “Thanks,” Jean said as she shook his hand, “but it’s a ‘whatever’ at this point. What brings you to us now? Chad had recently told us that you preferred to stay out of the fray.”

  “Yes, that was my intention. But now that I know that Summers put a bug under my bed... He was my colleague early on, and I actually liked him. He was always very reserved, never pushy about anything. But then he was suddenly appointed administrator, and that made me really wonder.”

  “Do you have any idea why Ballantine did that?” Jean touched his arm encouragingly.

  “He’s got something on Ballantine. Maybe he also bugged his quarters and used what he heard against him. But the Senator is the only one who could give us the truth, and he’ll be damned before he does that.”

  “Then we’ll just have to keep gathering information,” Chad chimed in. “How is the mood among the crew and the colonists?”

  “Summers is very clever. He has won the majority to his side by inciting them against minority identities. One of my colleagues, for example, is not particularly skinny. She isn’t any less productive than anyone else, but he’s always making jokes about her. Of course, nobody contradicts him, and she’s now lost the self-confidence she always had. Since this started, she shows up less and less for her shift.”

  “Yeah, that’s also evident on the bridge,” Chad said. “We have enemies, but they’re far away. Our supply ship on Mars reported that someone had stolen two pieces of machinery. A woman from the MfE crew. The equipment was just sitting around anyway, but since then, he’s started calling the MfE people bandits and thieves. And most of the people agree with him that we need to be hard-nosed where they are concerned.”