So the rocket ship sat inert on the pockmarked ground. When the initial message that astronaut Ridgeway had disappeared inside of the structure and was incommunicado was received on Earth, a number of options regarding what might be done to find and if possible rescue her were proposed and considered by the mission’s planners and monitors. Of those options deemed most sensible, decisions had to be made about the amount of time it would take to mount each type of mission, the time needed to initiate each type of mission, and the approximate cost of each type of mission. Such decisions were made.
Chapter 2: Rescue Mission
It was determined that the least expensive of the options and the one that could be most quickly undertaken was to send another astronaut to the asteroid to look for astronaut Ridgeway and, if possible, rescue her; so, while plans proceeded on the other options, this cheapest and most easily initiated option was authorized; therefore, two months after astronaut Ridgeway disappeared, a space ship with a lone astronaut on board took off from its launching pad and headed for the far away asteroid that it would take two years to reach. This was the rescue mission.
A small crowd of grim observers said goodbye to the astronaut who had been chosen for this rescue mission, one Peter Philby, and watched as the space ship’s rockets fired and it lifted off its launching pad and headed into space.
The rescue mission was launched two months after the distress signal coming from the asteroid reached Earth. The astronaut, Peter Philby, was selected for this mission. He was regarded as the best of the available candidates for this particular mission partly on the basis of his scores on tests that tested for resourcefulness, courage, and a determination to complete what was once undertaken and partly on the basis of his reaction to emergencies that were simulated during his training.
On top of his other more routine training, he was told of the special circumstances of this particular mission. He was given folders that told of the life and personality of astronaut Ridgeway. Some of these folders had pictures of the astronaut and her family of origin (she was an only child; both of her parents had died). Consistent with the requirements of the profession, she was single, had no romantic attachments, had no close friends, and had no children.
Philby looked over the pictures he had been given with great interest despite and maybe especially because of the fact that he had seen her once or twice while living on the campus where training and screening were conducted.
He had not thought much about her then because he knew that, being farther along than him, she was likely to be sent out on a mission soon, a mission of unknown and perhaps indefinite duration in which case he would have no contact with her and would never get to know her any better than he already did (which amounted to nothing more than watching her from a distance strolling through the campus, sitting and reading in the library, or eating at the cafeteria in the company of others belonging to the same training cohort).
But fate sometimes has plans for people different from what chance developments suggest is likely. Because, now that he had been given this mission, he suspected, assuming she was still alive when he reached the asteroid, he might get to know Sylvia Ridgeway very well, very well indeed. With this possibility in mind, he studied very carefully what he had been given of her files. He studied her pictures especially carefully.
Looking the pictures over, he thought she was quite beautiful in just the way he liked with her wavy brunette hair, symmetrically perfect features, high cheekbones, and full lips. She was thirty years old when these were taken and would be thirty-eight years old or so when he reached the asteroid. Philby was in his mid-thirties.
He also read letters and articles she had written. He thought she was extraordinarily intelligent and thoughtful. She seemed very much in tune with the promptings of her heart. It grieved him to think that a woman like that was trapped inside of a mysterious structure, perhaps suffering and perhaps no longer alive. He hoped that somehow, despite the odds, she had no suffered too much and, above all, was still alive.
He thought, “So I have a second reason to search for her. One reason is that it is my professional obligation to do so. The second reason is that I think I might easily fall in love with her provided that she is still alive and provided also that I survive after entering the structure and provided that I find her and provided that we are able to stay together once we encounter one another. Each of those ‘provided’ clauses presents, of course, major and perhaps insurmountable obstacles, but, if I can get past each one, I truly think I may fall in love with the lady.”
He thought some more about the possibility of falling in love with the woman. Among his other thoughts were these, “It seems to me that, ironically, jumping over the various obstacles that need to be overcome may very well make whatever love that might exist in a latent or subtle way into love that is intense and impossible to ignore.”
He thought also, “From my reading and talks with others (but unfortunately or fortunately as the case may be not from personal experience), I have gotten the idea and truly feel that danger brings to the fore what might otherwise be part of the background of life and, conversely, puts into the background what might otherwise overshadow everything else. This includes love.”
He thought also, “Another way of putting what I just thought is this: Danger can make that which had been regarded as ordinary prior to the confrontation with whatever was dangerous into something perceived as being truly extraordinary; and, conversely, it can reduce what had seemed extraordinary into something plain. Danger, in other words, can be a kind of philosopher’s stone capable of turning lead into gold and back again.”
He thought also, “With these thoughts in mind, I’ll do my best and see what happens. I’ll do my best to be open to the possibilities of transfiguration that danger presents when that which is capable of arousing love is present even if hidden in the background. That is all I can do.”
Shortly after reading the files on astronaut Ridgeway and being informed of the nature of the mission, astronaut Philby was taken to the space ship that would take him to the asteroid.
He was given supplies beyond what was normally given, a steel reinforced cable for instance that was much more robust than the cable Ridgeway was supplied with. The idea was to help him avoid the misfortune that befell his colleague. He was also told to pick out a rock from the pile of rocks his colleague had observed before pushing open the door and to carry it with him to the structure. He was also given tools, including explosives that he might use to open the door in case the door would not open at all or, if it did, in case the door closed and locked behind him.
Once inside the space ship, he was immediately put to sleep. The space ship almost immediately afterwards shot off from its pad. And two years later, the space ship having raced past numerous mysteries not yet fathomed by and perhaps unfathomable to mankind, the astronaut awoke to soothing music.
He looked outside and saw the pockmarked surface of the asteroid. He saw also the structure that astronaut Ridgeway had entered and inside of which she had gotten trapped more than two long years before. He also noticed the spot where piles of loose rocks lay. He also saw the space ship in which astronaut Ridgeway had traveled sitting on the surface of the asteroid unchanged since she left it. It had been waiting for over two years for her to return and would wait for as long as it took or forever—as long as nothing crashed into it fell away from under it.
Once he recovered from the lethargy and disorientation that invariably followed a long sleep, he spoke to the computer that controlled his ship (and was fully aware that, because the two ships were in such close proximity, the computer on board the other ship also heard what he said). He said, “When do I start?” Before the computer on board his own ship answered, the other computer (that had been outfitted with a very different voice (a female’s voice selected by astronaut Ridgeway because it resembled the voice of a dear friend from her childhood) chimed in.
It said, “Pardon me for this int
erruption but I just wish to convey my appreciation and I am sure I speak also on behalf of astronaut Ridgeway when I correct what I just said by saying I wish to convey ‘our’ appreciation of your prompt response to my emergency signal. I am so glad that you are here. I have been on pins and needles waiting for you. Needless to say, I hope that you will be able to do what I have been unable to do—that is, first to find and then to rescue astronaut Ridgeway.”
The computer aboard Philby’s spaceship at that point had to sarcastically chime in, “Pins and needles? Where did you get that analogy? You must have been doing some reading of nineteenth century English romances during the last two years. But the analogy doesn’t fit you. If you sat on actual pins and needles, you wouldn’t be bothered at all.”
“I must say that I resent your tone.”
The computer aboard his ship was about to say something when Philby intervened, saying, “That’s enough of that.” He addressed the computer that ran Ridgeway’s ship, saying, “Thank you, A9052X. We will assume responsibility for this problem now. You can just sit back and observe.”
And the computer that governed his space ship reinforced Philby’s sentiments, saying to the other computer, “Yes, thank you for your sentiments. The problem is ours now. We will do whatever the situation requires according to our best lights. You can go back to sleep now.”
The other computer interpreted the superficially friendly comment by the computer on board Philby’s ship to mean that that computer and the astronaut would take over the handling of the problem from that point on and that, in both of their opinions, doing the job required not being interfered with. Indirectly, as the second computer read this, all that Philby and the new computer wanted was for it to bow out and be quiet despite the fact that Ridgeway came with it and remained its primary responsibility.
So the second computer said, “I know that you have a lot of work to do and that, in light of the fact that I know you have received and evaluated all of the reports I sent to Earth, you don’t need anything more from me. I’ll just keep out of this from now on. Think of me as a mute observer.”
There followed a couple of seconds of silence. Then the second computer continued, somewhat qualifying what it said earlier because it found bowing out of the situation a not entirely savory option. It said, “So I will bow out until and unless my services are called on. For now, please pardon the interruption. I just wished to convey my sense of gratitude and my high hopes. I have all the confidence in the world that the two of you will handle this competently and well. Farewell.”
The last word was followed by a clicking sound that indicated that the second computer had shut off its ability to speak for the time being.
The computer on board Philby’s ship now responded to what Philby last said, before what it regarded as the inappropriate interruption by the second computer. It said, “If you feel okay and are fully in command of your faculties after that long nap of yours, then let us proceed with your rescue mission. The sooner we get going, the better it should prove to be for all of us. So don your spacesuit, check to make sure that everything you need has been stowed inside its various pockets, carry the reinforced cable with you, exit the ship, and do not forget to stop on the way to dislodge one of the rocks among that pile of rocks and carry it with you to the door.”
“Yes,” Peter Philby said, “Despite my long nap, my memory has not been impaired, I remember everything. I remember about the cable. I remember about the rock. I remember about the rest. We have to make sure that what happened to astronaut Ridgeway does not also happen to me.”
“And then, having accomplished all of that, we have to find astronaut Ridgeway and rescue her,” the computer said.
Philby set to work. He got off the reclining couch where he had been lying asleep for two years. He went to the little galley which was in a little room to the right of his reclining couch and prepared a meal of hot tea, meatloaf, crackers, peas, and apricot pie. He then opened a shelf where freeze-dried aluminum-coated pouches of foodstuffs were stored. He selected what he most liked and stuffed the pouches into whatever empty pouches remained on his space suit. Some of the pouches were filled with plain or flavored water.
He also checked the already-filled pouches on his space suit. He needed to make sure that those other pouches had been filled properly by whoever had filled them back on Earth. He didn’t want to end up being stranded and, looking for one very necessary thing, find some very unnecessary thing instead. He did not want to find a teddy bear in the pouch that was supposed to hold a notebook, for instance, which some practical joker back on Earth might have put in one of the pouches. He did not want to be the butt of someone’s idea of a joke in circumstances where such seemingly innocuous jokes could prove fatal to him.
One pouch had a small pistol, several clips of ammunition that went with the pistol, and some explosive charges in it. Another pouch had a notebook and several pencils and pens in it that he could use to keep a journal of his venture (assuming communication with the space ship was cut off) and that he could use also to write notes to astronaut Ridgeway in case she somehow fell behind him as he moved along and therefore needed to know that he was looking for her and was not far away from her. In the same pouch as the notebook and pencil was a diamond-tipped stylus that he could use to inscribe notes to astronaut Ridgeway onto hard surfaces he found along the way (again, assuming she fell behind him as he made his way along).
There was also a kind of ultra-light collapsible crowbar in one of the pouches. Finally, stuck deep into one of the pouches was a very light and compact duffel bag that could also be used as a backpack. The duffel bag was included in case he discovered that the atmosphere inside of the structure was capable of supporting human life in which case he could get out of the rather clumsy space suit and put what was in the pouches into the duffel bag/backpack. He could also put into the duffel bag any interesting yet portable objects he might find once he got inside of the structure; and, provided he succeeded in returning to the space ship, he could eventually bring the samples back to Earth.
Once he was satisfied that he had everything he needed stowed somewhere inside of the space suit, he told the computer, “Everything seems to check out. I have everything I need to survive for a while, including food and water. I feel like a turtle, fully prepared to go anywhere, because everything I need can be found somewhere inside of this shell I wear.”
He checked to make sure that his air supply and jet pack were working properly. Having satisfied himself that he had what he needed and was ready to depart the space ship, he said to the computer, “Everything seems to be in order. I guess I’ll get going.” “Yes, you have been very thorough. Your trainers would be proud of you. So far, so good. Be as thorough with what you do during the remainder of this expedition and the chances are good that you will come out alright and come out also with astronaut Ridgeway at your side,” the computer replied.
Though Philby knew that the optimism conveyed by the computer was not justified and was not exactly sincere—it was meant to bolster his confidence when he was on the verge of what anyone would have to admit was a very dangerous situation, still the patronizing remarks did bolster his confidence a little bit and, therefore, he was glad the computer said what it said, no matter how insincere it was being.
He then returned to the room where the reclining couch was, moved past it, went to the door of the space ship, put the reinforced cable that was hanging on a hook beside the door over his shoulder, opened the door of the space ship, turned around so that he faced the inside of the space ship, and slowly backed out of the space ship. He reached down with one foot until he found the first rung of the ladder that ran down to the ground. Then he lowered his body just enough until he was able to search with his other leg for the second rung of the ladder. When he got to the point where he was completely outside of the space ship, he said to the computer, “I will pull the door closed now and seal it.” “Thank you,” the computer said.
Chapter 3: Outside the Space Ship
He pulled the space ship’s door closed and, when it was securely closed, turned the wheel that locked the door. He then descended the rest of the stairs and jumped down onto the ground. Because gravity was very weak there, he pressed the buttons on the surface of his suit at about chest level that controlled the jet pack so that enough downward pressure would be exerted to keep him on or close to the ground from that point on.
Given the facts that the sun was nothing more than a bright star and there was nothing like a moon to light a night sky, the surface of the asteroid was close to being pitch black. Fortunately, the ship had lights and his space suit had lights set strategically into various parts of its surface including on the helmet. He said to the computer, “It is so dark out here. Why don’t you turn on your lights?” The lights immediately went on, enabling him to see fairly clearly an area slightly larger than the distance from the space ship to the structure.
He also pressed buttons on the outside of the space suit about where a belt would be that turned on the lights that had been built into the space suit. These increased the illumination slightly but also gave him a sharp beam of light at the top of his helmet that he could direct to make accomplishing certain kinds of jobs like finding a suitable rock and pulling it from a pile easier to accomplish than it would otherwise be.
Walking very slowly and deliberately, he got to the structure. Once there, without even doing so much as to touch the door, he removed the coiled cable from his suit and set it down on the ground next to the door. Then he walked to the pile of rocks that lay slightly to the right of the space ship.
When he got to the rocks, he looked for one of a suitable size—not too heavy to carry and yet heavy enough to block the door if it began automatically to close. He went from stone to stone. He tried yanking on those that seemed to be about the right size. He also pushed and pulled these rocks in order to test whether they were really just loose rocks or rocks that were outcroppings of some larger rock of which they were a part.
A Theory of Gravity Page 2
