2120-2126

by Russell Fine

  The new botanist, Mark Jackson, asked, “What makes you think there may be humans on Procolt 2?”

  “Mark, you weren’t on our first mission here. Were you made aware of the skeleton we found near the lake during mission briefing?”

  “Yeah, it was a guy who was in the US Army during World War II.”

  “Well, we now have evidence some animals were brought here as well. We think perhaps the aliens who brought Mr. Brown and the animals here were attempting to start up a human settlement. So, if there’s a settlement we should try to find it.”

  Thomas, the ship’s exo-zoologist, asked, “Didn’t we scan for life forms when we arrived here the first time?”

  “Yes, we did. We looked for any living creature larger than fifty pounds. We didn’t find any. However, our scanners are ineffective inside caves, so if they were in a cave, we wouldn’t have been able to detect them. That’s why we’re looking for caves.”

  There were no more questions, so Jeffery concluded by saying, “Your assignments will be posted in your duty rosters by 0600 tomorrow morning.”

  That evening, Debbie finished the modifications to the scanner. It was late when she finished, so she decided to test it in the morning. Early the next morning, she went to the bridge and sat at the main scanner. She loaded the modified software and began scanning the areas near the shelter. The ship was in a stationary orbit above that area, so it would be easy to scan. She knew there were several caves in that area and in less than a minute the scanner located seven large caves. All of those caves had been explored, so she began looking for other caves near the equator. She programmed the scanner to look for caves within a five hundred-mile radius of the shelter and left the bridge to have breakfast. If the scanner located anything, the system would notify her.

  Just as she took her first sip of coffee, her com unit alarm sounded. She picked up the com unit and read the displayed message: Three caves found. She decided to finish her breakfast before going back to the bridge. By the time she finished, her com unit alarm sounded four more times. She went back to the bridge and looked at the results. So far, the system had located eleven caves in five different areas. Debbie gave the information to Mike, who promptly dispatched a team to the first group of caves located. The task would have been easier if they had another shuttle, but since they had only one, the team would check out all eleven caves before returning.

  It was necessary for the ship to move so Debbie could scan another area. Mike moved the ship one thousand miles east. Debbie began another five hundred-mile radius scan. The next scan found only six caves, all located in the same general area.

  After that scan completed, Debbie and Jeffery went to see Marcet in the medical office. She gave them both a fertility test and told them she would have the results in a few hours.

  Later that day, Marcet called Jeffery and said he and Debbie should come to the Medical office. When they arrived Marcet said, “The news is not all bad. Debbie shows no signs of infertility. However, Jeffery’s test was not as good. His sperm count is about half of what it should be. I do not know if that is the result of radiation exposure or not. However, if you two want to have children you should not wait.”

  “I have an implant to prevent pregnancy.” Concern filled her voice. “Would you remove it, Marcet?”

  “I think Frank would be better suited for that task as he is obviously much more familiar with human anatomy than I am.”

  “I’ll contact him immediately. Thank you for doing this for us. I did want to wait for a few more years before I got pregnant, but I guess we won’t wait now.”

  Jeffery had been silent through the whole conversation, but now all he said was, “I’m sorry.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry about. It’s not your fault. However, you better be prepared to have sex on demand until I get pregnant.”

  He chuckled. “I think I can deal with that.”

  They went back to their cabin and Debbie called Frank, telling him the test results and requesting her implant be removed. He told her he would do it in the morning and the procedure would only take fifteen minutes.

  As the sun was setting, the team reported no evidence of human habitation had been found in any of the caves. It was too late to send out another team that day.

  However, the lack of light didn’t affect the scanner, so the scanning process continued all through the night.

  By morning, twenty-three more caves had been located. That morning two teams were on the shuttle. In one of the areas they were searching there were four caves within two miles of each other, so the shuttle dropped off the first team there. The shuttle then took the second team to an area with two more caves.

  Also, that morning Frank removed Debbie’s implant and told her the effects of the implant would dissipate slowly over the next thirty days. After that she would be able to get pregnant. He also suggested since there was a possibility Jeffery’s condition was going to continue to deteriorate, they should consider putting some sperm in a sperm bank when they get back to Earth.

  Two hours after the first team was dropped off, they contacted the ship. They had found evidence of a human settlement including what looked like a diary. apparently written in French. They also found some clothing and evidence of fires that were built near the cave entrance. They didn’t find any humans, living or dead but they were anxious to continue searching the remaining caves in the area.

  No other evidence of human habitation was found that day, but the search would continue for a few more days. When the teams returned to the Star Rover, the first team leader brought Jeffery the diary.

  Jeffery, counting on his foreign language classes from college, opened the diary and began reading. After a few pages he offered some insights to the owner, “The person who wrote this was a French citizen. He was abducted around the same time as Gordon Brown. In fact, I would guess Gordon Brown was part of the same group. He indicated that when he was taken, he had this book and several pencils in his pocket. He also wrote that there were fourteen people on the ship. Eight of them were French, three of them were American soldiers, and three of them were German soldiers. All of the people were subjected to various medical tests, and after what he guessed was several months, they were put on a smaller ship which landed and they were all escorted off the ship. The ship left them here, stranded. They had no idea where they were. They initially thought they were still on Earth although they saw plants and animals they didn’t recognize. Eventually, they realized they weren’t on Earth anymore especially when they discovered the days were not twenty-four hours long.”

  The search for more caves and additional evidence of human habitation continued until the day before they were scheduled to leave. They had searched seventy-one caves, but none of the other caves showed any further evidence of human habitation. Also, during their search they found no other animals they could absolutely be certain were originally from Earth.

  Jeffery and Debbie were disappointed with the results of the search. As Jeffery continued to read the diary, he hoped there were some names included. Unfortunately, the person who was writing the diary did not refer to anyone by name. It was basically just a list of their daily activities.

  The diary described their search for food and water. There were a few fruit trees and the fruit seemed edible, albeit not very tasty. They noticed animals eating seed pods from some of the trees, so they tried those. The seeds tasted a little like peanuts and everyone in the group seemed to enjoy them. The American soldiers also made bows and arrows for hunting. Since there were so few birds, they didn’t have a source for feathers, so the bows were only accurate for about fifteen feet. They did hunt some animals they described as looking like large rats. The diary said the meat was tough, but it tasted decent enough. Water was no problem. There were fresh water lakes all over the area, but there was no mention of fishing. Jeffery thought they probably lacked the equipment needed to fish. As the diary ended, they were looking for something to make new clothes
from, but hadn’t found any suitable material. The diary ended abruptly. There were still twenty blank pages in the book, but Jeffery speculated the author no longer had anything to write with.

  The night before the Star Rover was scheduled to leave, they had a party at the shelter. A special meal was prepared by the Star Rover cooks with several kinds of meat for the people and an assortment of cooked vegetables for both the squirrels and the people to share. All of the crew members of the Star Rover attended. They had to do it in shifts so the ship was not left unattended. As the party ended, Jeffery met with S1 and the people who were staying on the planet. He promised to return as soon as possible, but he thought it would be at least a few months before he would be back.

  The Star Rover left the next morning for the journey back to Earth. As the ship left the Procolt system behind, Jeffery thought about how nice it would be to have the new propulsion system so they could make the trip to Earth in only two days.

  During the trip, Jeffery and Debbie rehearsed how they were going to let Max know they were resigning. Jeffery also suggested Max might be expecting them to resign since by now he knew Garlut had left a starship on Earth for them.

  Earth

  June 2123

  Every member of the crew was elated to be home. As they approached the space station, Jeffery noticed there were several large ships nearby. Two of the ships were from Coplent, but four other ships had a design he didn’t recognize. After the Star Rover was securely moored, Jeffery contacted Max.

  Max answered almost immediately. “This is Max Hiller. How can I help you?”

  “Hi Max. We’re back.”

  “I was expecting your call. Did you have a good trip?”

  “Yes, we did. Max, I really need to meet with you as soon as possible. How soon can you fit me in?”

  “If you like I’ll meet you at the space station for dinner at 6:00.”

  “I think that would be perfect. Debbie and I’ll be there. We have a lot to talk about.”

  “I’m looking forward to it. See you later.”

  Jeffery and Debbie decided they would spend the night at the space station after dinner. All of the crew members were given two weeks’ leave. By the time Jeffery and Debbie had to leave, only Dean, Toby, and April were still aboard. Dean took Jeffery and Debbie over to the space station. He told them that he agreed to stay on the Star Rover for the next three days. Then, Mike was going to come back, so he could go down to the surface for a few days.

  When Jeffery and Debbie arrived at the restaurant, Max was waiting. As they approached the table, he stood to shake Jeffery’s hand and give Debbie a friendly hug.

  “It’s nice to see both of you again,” Max said as he sat. “Based on a conversation I had with Garlut several weeks ago and the visit by the Torblit representative, it appears your mission was a success.”

  Jeffery said, “Actually, you have no idea how successful it was. I know you have a Ph.D. in physics. I want you to look at something.” He handed Max the folder that contained the information on the new propulsion and communication systems.

  “What’s this?” Max asked, an expression of confusion on his face.

  “Please, look at it. I think it’s self-explanatory, but if there’s something you don’t understand, please ask.”

  Max took the folder and began looking at the material inside. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes. Then he closed the folder, looked at Jeffery and asked, “Is this for real?”

  “Absolutely. Toby spent several hours with the designers and was convinced it will work.”

  “Who are the designers?”

  “You probably won’t believe this. These systems were designed by the squirrels on Procolt 2.”

  “What? You’re kidding me, right? I don’t believe it! You are joking, aren’t you?” Max replied with a big grin on his face.

  “No, I’m not. Before you tell me they’re just animals, there are some things you should know. We stopped at Procolt 2 twice. When we first arrived, we discovered newborn squirrels inherit all of their parents’ knowledge. When we arrived the first time, the children were about five months old. They were already capable of speaking, reading, and writing English. During the time we were there, they learned algebra. They were able to solve word problems without difficulty. Before we left, Cathy asked me for some college level textbooks they could use to continue the squirrels’ education. We gave them copies of all of Peter’s textbooks. By the time we returned to Procolt 2, eight months later, they’d gone through every book they had. They decided that since they knew more than any of the people there to assist with their education, they would now use adult squirrels as teachers. Believe me when I tell you they’re significantly more intelligent than we are,” Jeffery’s face was dead serious as he spoke.

  “Okay, they’re obviously intelligent. I don’t know if I agree that they’re more intelligent than us. However, if this information is correct, I may be forced to agree with you.”

  “I think we should show this to Brandon,” Jeffery said.

  “I agree, but I don’t think we should tell him where it came from.” Max was looking over the paperwork again and thumbing through the designs one at a time.

  “Does he know about the squirrels?” Debbie intrigued.

  “No, I don’t think so. We haven’t kept it a secret, but it hasn’t been widely discussed either. In any case, talking animals are not in the same category as advanced physicists.”

  “I think there’s one more thing you should know about the squirrels. They’re not native to Procolt 2. They’re from Earth,” Jeffery said just before taking a long swallow of his water.

  Max’s jaw dropped open. Then he shut it with a snap and asked, “How is that possible?”

  “One of the people on Procolt 2 currently is a doctor from Coplent there to study the radiation on the planet’s surface. She’s also a geneticist. She checked the squirrels’ DNA. It’s not similar to any DNA found in other animals on Procolt 2. In fact, it’s over ninety percent identical to our DNA. She also believes there’s a possibility only Earth-type DNA is affected by the radiation. We think the squirrels were brought there at the same time as Gordon Brown, and other people from Earth, were taken to Procolt 2,” Jeffery continued.

  “What other people?” Max nearly choked on the words. “Did you find more human remains?”

  “No, but we found evidence of a group of humans living in a cave. There was even a diary.” Jeffery handed Max the book. “It’s written in French.”

  “You know French, don’t you? Did you read it?”

  “Yes, it says fourteen people were abducted from France shortly after the D-Day invasion. There were eight French civilians, three American soldiers, and three Germans. There are no dates. It mostly describes how they managed to survive. It ended rather abruptly. I assumed the author no longer had anything to write with, but that’s only a guess.”

  “That’s interesting. I’ll get this translated immediately. I’ll also set up a meeting with Brandon for tomorrow afternoon. Do you want to be there?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for anything. I think Toby should be there too.”

  “That’s a good idea. Now I have a very important question for you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Why did Garlut leave a starship at the space station for you?”

  “Oh, well . . . I was waiting for you to ask about that. Debbie and I, uh, I’m not sure how to say this.”

  Then Debbie said, “Jeffery, sometimes you’re such a coward. Max, we want to resign from NASA and go live on Procolt 2. We’re planning on building a resort there.”

  “Well,” he paused to contemplate his next words a moment. “I can’t say I’m surprised. I am, however, disappointed. I was hoping you’d be around for at least one more mission. The Star Explorer will be ready for testing in less than a month and I’d like to have you two in command during the testing phase. Please consider that.”

  “Okay, we’ll think about
it. I assume the testing would be less than a year.”

  “Actually, it will be only six months. After our meeting with Brandon tomorrow, I’ll take you on a tour.”

  “Thanks, I think we’d both like that.” Jeffery looked at Debbie, who nodded in agreement.

  After they finished dinner, Max left to catch a shuttle back to NASA headquarters and Jeffery and Debbie checked into their room. When they were inside, Debbie said, “I’m not sure how you feel, but I don’t think I want to spend six months testing the new ship. I want to go back to Procolt 2 now.”

  “I agree, but we owe it to Max to at least look at the new ship.”

  “Okay, we can look, but I don’t think it’ll change my mind.”

  The following morning, Jeffery received a message from Max asking him to be at his office at 2:00 p.m. for the meeting with Brandon. Jeffery called Toby and Toby said he would be able to attend as well.

  They arrived at Max’s office a few minutes early. Brandon had not arrived yet, but Toby was already there. After greeting Max and Toby, Jeffery and Debbie sat down across from Max. At that moment Brandon Simpson walked in.

  Max said, “Good afternoon Brandon. I’m sure you already know Jeffery, but I don’t think you’ve ever met his wife, Debbie.”

  Brandon said, “Hello Jeffery. It’s been a few years since we last met.” Then turning toward Debbie, he said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Debbie.”

  “It’s nice to meet you as well. I’ve heard a lot about you, and all of it is positive.”

  “Thank you,” Brandon said. Then he turned toward Toby, extended his hand and asked, “You are?”

  “Hello. I’m Lieutenant Toby Grayson, chief engineer on the Star Rover. It’s an honor to finally meet you, Doctor Simpson.”

  “Well, I appreciate that thought. But I’d rather be on a starship instead of designing them. And please, call me Brandon. We’re all friends here.”

  Max said, “Which brings us to the reason for this meeting. Jeffery brought this to me yesterday. I would like your thoughts on it.” He handed the folder to Brandon.