by Jack Webber
"Ok, I'll be right back." She ducked inside and returned a few minutes later with a plastic bag in her hand. "This should hold you for at least a few days. If they don't find your bag by then, come on back up. We've got plenty of everything; I think I packed for a month."
"Thank you." said Tania as the woman closed the door. She walked back towards the ladder and stepped out across the hole. Left foot, left hand, right foot.
Without realizing it, she released her grip on the bag, so she could grasp the ladder with her right hand. It drifted down to her waist before she realized what she had done. "The diapers." she thought as she lunged for the bag. Her aim would have been perfect on Earth, but on the ship, she overcompensated. Both hands clutched at thin air, just below the bag. It fell towards her hands and she caught it, but now she was leaning out from the ladder and her center of mass was falling.
One foot slipped off the ladder, and then the other as she fell through the hole in the floor. An adult would have grabbed the landing and stopped the descent, but Tania froze, clutching the diaper bag with both hands. After two seconds she was gliding past her own landing, as room 21 sailed by. After three seconds she had built up some speed. The floors ticked by once a second, tick tick tick, and she didn't think she could reach out and stop herself. She finally let out a scream that echoed up and down the corridor.
One hundred times a second the ship's computer divided thrust by acceleration to derive the inertial mass. This was the oldest formula in science, f ma. The quotient decreased steadily as the engines sent propellant streaming out the back, but the computer compensated for this. Then there were small variations as kids jumped from bed to bed. While the energetic child was airborne the apparent mass decreased, but two seconds later he was back on the floor and the inertial mass returned to normal. The computer monitored the mass of the ship, second by second, and for 3 seconds running, now 4, now 5, the ship was under budget by 87 pounds, the weight of a young girl in freefall. It signalled the alarm and cut the engines back to 0.001G, just enough to hold water in containers. Faucets closed shut and toilets slowly drained under the feeble gravity.
John woke with a startle. He recognized his daughter's scream and adrenaline coursed through his system. Legs and arms flew in all directions, but to no avail. He was floating above his bed and there was nothing to push against. He stretched one leg towards the floor and touched the side of the bed with his foot. A push sent him hurtling towards the door. "What happened to the gravity?" he shouted.
"I don't know." said Mellissa, who was already at the door. She opened it, along with 50 other curious passengers.
"Sh*t!" cursed Captain Mills as he saw the red indicator on his panel. "If he dropped another suitcase he's fired! I can just hear his lame excuses now."
"The lift was busy. I didn't want to wait. It was only three floors. Only two bags. I thought I could carry them both with one arm and climb the ladder. Only one tenth gravity; I thought I could do it."
"The last porter wasn't like this." muttered Captain Mills under his breath. "This guy's a real putz. Oh well, let's have the bad news."
Mellissa opened the door and held on to the knob for stability. She looked around the landing but didn't see a thing. It sounded like Tania was right outside her door. Then she realized what had happened. "John, come quick, I think she's fallen down the ladder."
Tick tick tick, the floors were going by at a steady rate, and Tania realized it was a steady rate. "I should be speeding up, but I'm not." Fusion reactors glowed red on either side, generating power for the ship and its engines. Other children wouldn't know what they were, but she had seen them before, at her father's work. The next hundred yards of shaft were featureless; no landings, no doorways, just the ladder and the elevator shaft. She was falling between two large tanks of propellant, used to provide the thrust. She could see the engines down below, and then the floor of the ship coming up fast.
Captain Mills activated the internal video and cursed. He zoomed in on the image, which was almost down to the floor. "What the heck was she doing on the ladder?" he grumbled. He pushed the shaft speaker button and keyed his mike.
"Little girl, listen up. You don't have any way to talk back to me, so just listen." His voice echoed up and down the metal walls of the vertical corridor. "Land on your feet, then tuck and roll. Spread the impact across your entire body. You aren't moving very fast, and the floor below you is padded. You should be fine. Once you land, call for the elevator and go back to your stateroom, and for skat's sakes stay off the ladder!"
Tania could see the ion engines on either side, though she didn't understand this technology. Grids, transformers, capacitors, and long vacuum chambers drifted by. The floor was clearly visible now, with its carpet of thick padding. Three, two, one, impact!
She let herself roll onto the floor. Aside from a mild sprain in her right wrist she felt fine. She tried to stand up, and rose high into the air, only to drift back down again like a leaf in the wind.
Captain Mills spoke again. "Well you look unharmed. You're having trouble standing up because the gravity is down to .001 G. The ship did that automatically for you, and I'm sure it saved your life. Now sit still and we'll return to one tenth G, then you can go back to your room."
One, two, three, four, five. The computer divided thrust by acceleration and found the expected mass for five seconds running. The engines throttled up over the next 50 seconds, until the gravity was once again 0.1 G.
Tania stood up without difficulty and called for the lift. It was at the top of the ship, and seemed to take forever coming down.
Suddenly she remembered the diapers. The bag was lying on the floor next to her, with half its contents scattered about.
She gathered everything together and stuffed it back into the bag, favouring her right wrist.
The elevator opened its doors and she stepped in. She pressed 21 and the doors closed.
Every parent knows the feeling. You want to paddle your daughter for being reckless, but you're so relieved that you just want to hold her in your arms. Mellissa was doing the latter. There would be time enough later for scolding.
"We were scared to death." said John.
"So was I." replied Tania, and perhaps that realization made any additional punishments unnecessary.
While the engines were shut down, Beth drifted around the room unattended and undressed, waiting for her diaper.
John, Mellissa and Mark were out on the landing, staring down at Tania below.
Now they were back in their room with the door closed, but where was Beth? Her cries of discontent revealed her location, in the middle of the kitchen floor.
Mellissa gave Tania one last kiss, then hopped over to the kitchen to retrieve the baby. She brought Beth back to the bed as Tania pulled a diaper from the bag.
"Here you go." She handed the diaper to her mother. "Next time maybe you can go ask for diapers. I'll stay here and watch cartoons."
"It's a deal." said Mellissa as she taped the flaps together. "Now how about some breakfast for all of us! You want to feed the baby?" She was trying to return to business as usual, and it seemed to work.
Tania handed Beth pieces of cereal, and both parties were happy and content.
Captain Mills kicked the door open and marched in, a piece of paper in his left hand. His right hand was at his side, touching the gun in its holster. But the weapon seemed unnecessary.
Captain Mills was a powerful man with biceps that were visible across the room. The monitor didn't do him justice. Now that he was here, in the flesh, he resembled Captain Larsen, from Jack London's "Sea Wolf".
John wondered if he could crush a raw potato in one hand. Even Beth seemed to stop and gaze at this awesome figure.
"I thought so." said Captain Mills, staring back at Beth. He turned towards Mark and Tania. "Shut off the TV." he demanded.
It was Mark's turn to hold the remote, so he pushed the off button.
"Now you must think we're stupid, not
to figure this out." His voice echoed through the silence of the stateroom. "The computer has tracked your refuse over the past few days. It is consistent with a smuggle case. Bits of metal and sand, we've seen it before. You're not the first to sneak something to Mars, and you won't be the last. So I ask myself, what are you smuggling? Something we could both get executed for? Are we going to be featured on the torture channel next month? Well as you can imagine, I wanted to find out."
Beth started to cry and Mellissa picked her up and whispered softly.
Captain Mills continued in a stern voice. "I reviewed the images of your flying stunt two days ago. What was in the bag? What did you spill all over the floor when you hit bottom? I magnified the images, and you were carrying diapers. Borrowing them from someone else I suppose. Forgot to pack your own? Maybe it's not your baby, so you're out of practice. Doesn't really matter to me. I've got the manifest, and..." He unfurled the paper in his left hand. "Room 21, John, Mellissa, Tania, Mark, two minors, ages 11 and 9. No baby! So I knew what I'd find, and there she is. Sorry, but Mars takes a dim view of stowaways. It's not a capital crime, but I could lose my job, and I like this job. It pays well. I'm sure you understand. So - hand her over."
He took two quick steps towards Mellissa, and she backed away, holding the baby out in front of her.
The Captain grabbed Beth with one hand and held her suspended by one leg. There was no danger in this manoeuvre, given the low gravity, but Beth knew she was in the hands of a tyrant, and she cried all the more.
"What's going to happen to her?" Mellissa asked, barely audible over Beth's cries.
"Well," Captain Mills began, "since she's not on the manifest, she was never here." He seemed to take delight in his next proclamation. "I don't even have to do any paperwork."
Mark and Tania stared at the Captain, with Beth dangling from one hand. As he turned towards the door Tania was poised, ready to attack. She was a mother defending her young, no matter the cost, no matter the odds. John could see it in her eyes, and he grabbed her arm. "It's ok Tania."
"Wise move Mr. Larse." Captain Mills saw everything, and noticed everything. "Between your little girl's fall and this baby, I've had quite enough of you people. Don't cause me any more trouble, and I won't be back."
He was about to open the door when his wristwatch beeped. He glanced at it, then tossed Beth and the manifest onto the nearest bed. His aim was perfect; he could adjust to any gravity between 0 and 1 in just a few minutes.
"Futsack!" he grumbled, as he pushed talk on his watch. "I'm kinda busy right now - what do you want."
"I know sir," replied a meek voice, "but I just received a dispatch from Mars. It concerns the Larse family, and well, I think you went to see them, didn't you?"
"Yes, I'm in their stateroom now. What about them - except that they're a pain in the liver."
"It's marked your eyes only, so I don't know. Shall I send it down to you?"
"Yes, transfer it; I'll read it here."
The Captain read the words through the tiny display on his watch, like reading a book through a keyhole. It took several minutes to read the dispatch, and his grin gradually turned into a frown, and then a scowl. He pushed the talk button again. "I got it. Over and out."
He picked up the manifest, folded it into quarters, and stuffed it into his pocket.
"Apparently Mars is eagerly awaiting your arrival. Your boss, Mr. Bruder, gave them the heads up."
Beth was still crying. "May I?" asked Mellissa as she moved towards the bed.
The Captain didn't respond, so she picked Beth up in her arms and the crying began to subside.
"Some kind of genius in the power industry. Funny, you don't look the part. Anyways, the Martian government says you are to be treated well, and I am to assure the safety of you and your family. Of course that baby isn't part of your family, or you would have brought diapers along. I'm not stupid you know. So I could probably shove her out the airlock and still meet the letter of the directive, but I suppose that would foster ill will." He seemed to be thinking out loud. "And I like my job. Ok, you can keep your stupid baby, on one condition." It was of course non-negotiable.
He looked straight at John. "When you get to Mars you tell them I want new fusion reactors, and the best technicians to install them. These things are practically 100 years old, and I can hardly buy replacement parts anymore."
"It's a deal." said John, realizing he might wind up as one of those expert technicians. He didn't want to work with Captain Mills ever again, but that was tomorrow's problem. For now, Beth was safe.
"Don't go back on your word," warned Captain Mills, "because I always remember, and I have friends in high places. For now, I've got paperwork to do, thanks to your subterfuge." He turned and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Tania clung to her mother and asked, "Will Beth be all right?"
"I think so." she replied. "Let's get her some lunch; she looks hungry."
The Larses ate their packaged meals, and Tania shared her mashed potatoes with Beth. They had bonded in just a few days, and it would be difficult to say goodbye when they reached Mars, and Beth was passed to her grandmother.
Mellissa thought Beth should have a younger sister, be it biological, foster, or adopted. While she was lost in thought, a sharp knock at the door startled her, and filled her heart with dread. Who was it this time? They stared at each other for a minute, until the visitor knocked again.
John stood up and opened the door, and Dr. Jarvis walked in. He looked around the room for a moment until he found the object of his search.
"There she is." he announced. "Bring her over to the bed and undress her." Mellissa obeyed.
"Now I want to know," he continued, "where was she, and why didn't you bring her to me?"
John made up a story in a flash. "She was in the far bed over there, asleep, under blankets."
"That takes care of the first question." grumbled the doctor as he pulled out his magnifying glass.
Mellissa fielded the second grounder. "Nobody wants to wake a sleeping baby. I thought maybe you could come back later."
"Course you didn't say anything about it." Dr. Jarvis turned Beth over. "No - this is just great. She wasn't here - she wasn't even on the manifest. But she's there now. Somebody's playing a game, and the Captain is in on it, so I'm going to keep my mouth shut. Still, he's not going to blame me for this one. It's not my fault. She wasn't here! And he better not put a reprimand in my file or this sh*t is going to hit the fan."
He felt for the central vein in Beth's arm. "No sir, not my problem. I'm not taking the fall for this one."
Beth cried in response to the jab. "Her hair's a little out of spec you know, but it's so thin I don't think there's a problem."
He gathered up his belongings and headed for the door.
"Thanks." said Mellissa. She felt she had to say something.
"Sure." replied the doctor as he left the room.
"Are we done with visitors for the day?" asked Tania.
"I certainly hope so." replied Mellissa. "Bring Beth over here and I'll try to settle her down. It hasn't been a pleasant day for her either."
SIXTEEN
Tania floated in front of the window and watched the cable approach from above. If she craned her neck she could trace the cable all the way up to its moorings, a floating barge in the only equatorial lake on Mars.
The end of the cable approached like the head of a snake. Magnetic locks grasped the ship, instantly changing its hyperbolic trajectory into a circular orbit. Gravity jumped from 0 to 0.37 and Tania fell to the floor with a thud.
"Captain Mills warned you about that." chuckled John; after he was sure she was all right. He was sitting on a chair at the kitchen table, but the abrupt change caught him off guard as well. He felt dizzy, and he leaned forward on the table, telling his heart to beat a little harder against the downward pull.
"We've got capture." announced Captain Mills through the TV screen. "We'l
l be descending the cable for the next two hours. Remember, you're going to experience a few more minutes of zero gravity at the midpoint, but once we're on the ground it's Martian gravity from here on out. Please remain in your staterooms. We'll process you one at a time, starting at the bottom and going up. If you're at the top, it may take the better part of a day. Sorry about that, but the Martian authorities don't take any chances. The process will go faster for everyone if you take as little as possible. Remember, you can always buy new. And don't waste your time with electronics, or anything else that can't stand up to 280 degrees. Take your clothes and your favourite stuffed animal, and that's about it. Well that's all for now. Hope you had a nice trip, and enjoy your stay on Mars."
"We're going to have to leave most of this stuff behind." declared Mellissa as she looked around the room. "A lot of these things won't survive the sterilizer."
"How about my bear?” asked Mark, holding it out for his mother to see. She took it and examined it.
"The sterilizer maintains an oxygen free environment, so the material won't burn, but I'm not sure about the eyes and nose. They're plastic, and they might melt."
"Give it a whirl." said John. "If they melt, that's no worse than if we'd left him here in the stateroom."
"And what about the buttons on our clothes?" asked Mellissa.
"They picked a temperature that most plastics can with stand." replied John. "I think our clothes will be all right." He turned back to Mark. "Put your bear in the pile on my bed."
They sorted their possessions and ate one last snack. The two hours went by quickly and soon the ship was locked in place just above the barge.
Tania stared out the window in amazement. The sea and the sky were a beautiful deep blue, like Earth, but somehow less menacing. The sun was smaller, cooler, and gentler. She couldn't wait to run out and feel it’s quiet rays against her skin. She wanted to swim in the sea for hours.
"It will be three or four hours before they get to us." estimated John. "What would you like to do to pass the time?" The kids decided on a game of Scrabble. Mellissa had to bow out, since Beth demanded her full attention.
