The Clouds of Venus: Hard Science Fiction

by Brandon Q. Morris

  A communication unit descended from the ceiling to the level of his chest. Peter plugged in the glass memory stick and a text file opened.

  “A message from Katarina,” he said. “Should I read it to you?”

  Instead of answering, Maria shimmied in his direction and snuggled up to him. They read the message together.

  “A complete backup of her current state? You could turn any robot on Earth into Katarina with the data on the glass memory stick,” Maria said. She looked at him doubtfully.

  Peter brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “It doesn’t have to be an HDS model,” he said, winking at her. “A normal household robot will also suffice. I never used the S-function anyway, and a household robot is always useful.”

  “You’re right. I would have missed Katarina’s cooking talents.”

  “Yes, and I will equip the model with the latest defensive features. I would not want to be the victim of another attack.”

  He made a mental note to himself to read the relevant articles later. The Chinese competition had supposedly made significant progress in the meantime. He then noticed that Maria did not share his enthusiasm. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “The attack. They are still investigating me,” she said.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have information about that,” Marchenko reported.

  “Are you eavesdropping?” Peter asked.

  “Only for the few remaining hours in which you will be orbiting Venus. But there is good news, Maria. As you docked, I received a message from Valentina. The terror charges have turned out to be groundless, and for this reason the investigation regarding your alleged bootlegging has been referred back to Novosibirsk. Valentina has agreed with the FSB and the public prosecutor’s office to deduct a fine from your salary. The case is now closed. You are free!”

  Maria hugged Peter. “I can hardly wait to be back on Earth!”

  June 25, 2079, Strelka

  “Go ahead,” Charles said.

  Erik checked the safety line and then pushed off. His commander was already waiting on the other side in the hatch of the Russian ship, the Strelka, and beckoning him. The abyss he was crossing was only 30 meters wide, but infinitely deep. This was probably his last sojourn into space. He let go of the line, turned around, and hung from the safety rope, swinging.

  The sun shone white in the distance, while Venus—ever-enigmatic—lay below him. He needed to take in this panorama in all its glory. Would NASA let him fly into space again? They might have acted independently of NASA a bit too often during this expedition. The NASA ship, the Venus Air, hovered on his right, a shadow in space. It would fly back to Earth in automatic mode. Erik had been surprised at how painlessly Charles had separated from his ship. As hard as it was to believe, he probably saw it as only a machine.

  Venus lay below him, looking once again as mysterious as when they had arrived here, although they had been able to wrest some of its secrets from it. The life they had found, which had pounced on them, was the greatest of all enigmas. What was it capable of, if given a chance? What had it once been able to do when Venus had offered it better conditions? Was it purely programmed for growth and multiplication, or did it follow a plan?

  These were questions that future visitors would have to clarify. They would be better prepared. Maybe they would build big greenhouses, where the life form could develop freely. Or should they stop researching the life form and declare Venus a restricted zone? Fortunately, that was not something that he would have to decide.

  “Can’t stop admiring the view?” Ethan asked.

  “Let him enjoy it. We’re in no hurry,” Charles said.

  Erik ignored the comments. These were his last minutes looking at Venus, and nobody could take them from him. He would enter the ship only after he had gazed his fill. He moved his legs back and forth. He had wanted to swing, but there was no gravity, so he just wobbled. Erik smiled.

  This environment was not meant for humans—and yet here he was. How many people could claim at that moment to be floating freely through space? You could probably count them on one hand. Five people out of ten billion. That was enough to have made it worth his while to have come here.

  Two hours later, he was seated comfortably in the warmth of the Strelka’s command center on a surprisingly comfortable couch. Wasn’t there a saying that Russian spaceships were as uncomfortable as Russian cars and as cold as the boreal forest? Here too, there seemed to be the dawning of a new era.

  He delved into the pocket of his NASA uniform and felt a rectangular card. He took out an advertisement for a diner in Houston. Erik turned the card over. A telephone number was noted on it with a blue ballpoint pen. That was at least four months ago, although to him it had seemed like half a lifetime. But the return flight should only last 18 days.

  It would certainly be a good idea to call the number. Then he would have something to look forward to when he returned to his everyday life.

  Author's Note by Brandon Q. Morris

  Dear readers,

  The Strelka is on its way back to Earth. I hope you are as happy about that as I am.

  This book was new territory for me because it was a joint effort together with Ashton McLee. You don’t know him yet, but you’ve already benefited from his work because Ashton (that’s a pen name, of course) is a physicist, as am I, and has edited most of my novels as an expert, fact-checking the physics. Four eyes see more than two.

  At some point, Ashton, too, wanted to contribute to the story. Can you guess which aspect of the story can be attributed to him? Email me your hunch. I am really interested to know what your answer is. Until one comes up with a joint writing routine—Ashton is not a full-time writer—it takes a while to mesh as a duo and complete a novel. That’s why this book took a bit longer to complete than my books usually do.

  If you enter your name here...

  hard-sf.com/subscribe/

  ... you will receive a message from me as soon as the next hard science fiction title is published. (I'm of course already working on the next manuscript). In addition, I will send you the colored PDF version of The Guide Tour of Venus, which is illustrated with fascinating photos (I’m not promising you too much).

  The guided tour follows. You will learn a lot about Venus that could not be revealed in the novel. Some of it could even provide material for a sequel—if you would like one.

  If you liked the book, tell other potential readers by writing a review. Just click on this link:

  hard-sf.com/links/1272750

  It only takes a few minutes and really helps me a lot.

  So what can you expect in the future? We will step back some years, into 2026 when scientists suddenly receive data from a long lost probe on comet 67/P. The Dark Spring is coming, and it will be available in summer. You can order it here:

  hard-sf.com/links/1358224

  Happy reading!

  Yours,

  Brandon Q. Morris

  Author's Note by Ashton McLee

  Dear readers,

  As Brandon already you informed in his afterword, we try to complement each other. Of course, only you decide whether we have succeeded in doing so, but, as Brandon wrote, your opinion interests us a lot. After all, one doesn’t write such a book (only) for oneself, but above all for one’s readers. So we hope that you enjoyed reading the book as much as we did writing it.

  As a physicist and engineer, I am, of course, interested in nature’s small and large phenomena, although I have focused more on the more minor aspects of nature until now, in my work with the transmission electron microscope and with the writing of children’s books. The fact that this book was delayed also had something to do with the latter. I had promised a librarian from Switzerland that I would complete the book, Goodnight Stories of a Little Apple Tree, (hard-sf.com/links/1354683). But my day, too, only has 24 hours, and my full-time job takes up a large part of it, as is to be expected.

  Even as a child, science fiction inspire
d me. I was a big fan of Stanisław Lem, and even now have not forgotten how to dream. I was thus very eager to edit Brandon’s books and immediately accepted his offer to write something like this as a joint effort. It was an exhilarating experience!

  I would like to repeat Brandon’s request. If you liked the book, please write a short review. It doesn’t need to be more than two or three sentences long. And if you would like to express yourself in more detail, to critique or criticize, that too is very welcome. Just send an email to the email address:

  AshtonMcLee@yahoo.com

  Did you know that there is history before the conflict between Anastasia and the RB Group? The story is already in my head—I just have to write it down. You will also learn something about the mysterious Shostakovich, who founded the RB Group. If you send me your email address, I’ll let you know when the book is finished (which is unlikely to be the case before the end of the year).

  I thank you for taking the time to read the book up to this point.

  With best regards,

  Ashton McLee

  Also by Brandon Q. Morris

  The Triton Disaster

  Nick Abrahams still holds the official world record for the number of space launches, but he’s bored stiff with his job hosting space tours. Only when his wife leaves him, however, does he try to change his life.

  He accepts a tempting offer from a Russian billionaire. In exchange for making a simple repair on Neptune’s moon Triton, he will return to Earth a multi-millionaire, enabling him to achieve his ‘impossible dream’ of buying his own California vineyard.

  The fact that Nick must travel alone during the four-year roundtrip doesn’t bother him at all, as he doesn’t particularly like people anyway. Once en route he learns his new boss left out some critical details in his job description—details that could cost him his life, and humankind its existence…

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  The Death of the Universe

  For many billions of years, humans—having conquered the curse of aging—spread throughout the entire Milky Way. They are able to live all their dreams, but to their great disappointment, no other intelligent species has ever been encountered. Now, humanity itself is on the brink of extinction because the universe is dying a protracted yet inevitable death.

  They have only one hope: The ‘Rescue Project’ was designed to feed the black hole in the center of the galaxy until it becomes a quasar, delivering much-needed energy to humankind during its last breaths. But then something happens that no one ever expected—and humanity is forced to look at itself and its existence in an entirely new way.

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  The Death of the Universe: Ghost Kingdom

  For many billions of years, humans—having conquered the curse of aging—spread throughout the entire Milky Way. They are able to live all their dreams, but to their great disappointment, no other intelligent species has ever been encountered. Now, humanity itself is on the brink of extinction because the universe is dying a protracted yet inevitable death.

  They have only one hope: The ‘Rescue Project’ was designed to feed the black hole in the center of the galaxy until it becomes a quasar, delivering much-needed energy to humankind during its last breaths. But then something happens that no one ever expected—and humanity is forced to look at itself and its existence in an entirely new way.

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  The Death of the Universe: Rebirth

  In the 1980s, physicists at a lab in the Soviet Union find traces of strange data in the cosmic background radiation. Because powerful forces in the military believe these findings can be turned into a weapon for use in the cold war, the information gleaned by the physicists is kept under strictest secrecy.

  The scientists are limited to primitive 1980s’ technology, but what they find has roots in much, much older times. They finally try an experiment that they hope will win the world over for communism.

  But will they be able to maintain control over an enormous power that has its own, dangerous plans?

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  The Enceladus Mission (Ice Moon 1)

  In the year 2031, a robot probe detects traces of biological activity on Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons. This sensational discovery shows that there is indeed evidence of extraterrestrial life. Fifteen years later, a hurriedly built spacecraft sets out on the long journey to the ringed planet and its moon.

  The international crew is not just facing a difficult twenty-seven months: if the spacecraft manages to make it to Enceladus without incident it must use a drillship to penetrate the kilometer-thick sheet of ice that entombs the moon. If life does indeed exist on Enceladus, it could only be at the bottom of the salty, ice covered ocean, which formed billions of years ago.

  However, shortly after takeoff disaster strikes the mission, and the chances of the crew making it to Enceladus, let alone back home, look grim.

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  The Titan Probe (Ice Moon 2)

  In 2005, the robotic probe “Huygens” lands on Saturn’s moon Titan. 40 years later, a radio telescope receives signals from the far away moon that can only come from the long forgotten lander.

  At the same time, an expedition returns from neighbouring moon Enceladus. The crew lands on Titan and finds a dangerous secret that risks their return to Earth. Meanwhile, on Enceladus a deathly race has started that nobody thought was possible. And its outcome can only be decided by the

  astronauts that are stuck on Titan.

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  The Io Encounter (Ice Moon 3)

  Jupiter’s moon Io has an extremely hostile environment. There are hot lava streams, seas of boiling sulfur, and frequent volcanic eruptions straight from Dante’s Inferno, in addition to constant radiation bombardment and a surface temperature hovering at minus 180 degrees Celsius.

  Is it really home to a great danger that threatens all of humanity? That’s what a surprise message from the life form discovered on Enceladus seems to indicate.

  The crew of ILSE, the International Life Search Expedition, finally on their longed-for return to Earth, reluctantly chooses to accept a diversion to Io, only to discover that an enemy from within is about to destroy all their hopes of ever going home.

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  Return to Enceladus (Ice Moon 4)

  Russian billionaire Nikolai Shostakovitch makes an offer to the former crew of the spaceship ILSE. He will finance a return voyage to the icy moon Enceladus. The offer is too good to refuse—the expedition would give them the unique opportunity to recover the body of their doctor, Dimitri Marchenko.

  Everyone on board knows that their benefactor acts out of purely personal motivations… but the true interests of the tycoon and the dangers that he conjures up are beyond anyone’s imagination.

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  Ice Moon – The Boxset

  All four bestselling books of the Ice Moon series are now offered as a set, available only in e-book format.

  The Enceladus Mission: Is there really life on Saturn's moon Enceladus? ILSE, the International Life Search Expedition, makes its way to the icy world where an underground ocean is suspected to be home to primitive life forms.

  The Titan Probe: An old robotic NASA probe mysteriously awakens on the methane moon of Titan. The ILSE crew tries to solve the riddle—and discovers a dangerous secret.

  The Io Encounter: Finally bound for Earth, ILSE makes it as far as Jupiter when the crew receives a startling message. The volcanic moon Io may harbor a looming threat that could wipe out Earth as we know it.

  Return to Enceladus: The crew gets an offer to go back to Enceladus. Their mission—to recover the body of Dr. Marchenko, left for dead on the original expedition. Not everyone is working toward the same goal. Could it be their unwanted crew member?

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8

  Proxima Rising

  Late in the 21st century, Earth receives what looks like an urgent plea for help from planet Proxima Centauri b in the closest star system to the Sun. Astrophysicists suspect a massive solar flare is about to destroy this heretofore-unknown civilization. Earth’s space programs are unequipped to help, but an unscrupulous Russian billionaire launches a secret and highly-specialized spaceship to Proxima b, over four light-years away. The unusual crew faces a Herculean task—should they survive the journey. No one knows what to expect from this alien planet.

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  Proxima Dying

  An intelligent robot and two young people explore Proxima Centauri b, the planet orbiting our nearest star, Proxima Centauri. Their ideas about the mission quickly prove grossly naive as they venture about on this planet of extremes.

  Where are the senders of the call for help that lured them here? They find no one and no traces on the daylight side, so they place their hopes upon an expedition into the eternal ice on Proxima b's dark side. They not only face everlasting night, the team encounters grave dangers. A fateful decision will change the planet forever.

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  Proxima Dreaming