The Genie and the Engineer 3: Ravages of War

by Glenn Michaels

  Daneel 1 picked up the narrative. “We are orbiting in the equatorial plane. As you know, Mom, Coprates Chasma is south of the equator, at 13.4 degrees latitude. Rather than shift orbital inclination to match, we’ll descend to the equator and once we are low and slow, change course toward Coprates Chasma. Any questions? No? Okay. Please standby.”

  “Transference starting…now!” Daneel 2 announced.

  The Sirius Effort began to slow from orbital speed, but the transference of kinetic energy was not without discernible effects. The ship shuddered noticeably and threatened to spin off in a random direction. However, the two Daneels worked in concert to keep the vessel on track, descending gradually on the intended path.

  “See, dear?” Paul said with feigned casualness. “The Daneels have the situation under control. ‘This is the captain. We have a little problem with our entry sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and then—explode.’”

  “Captain Malcolm Reynolds, the movie Serenity,” asserted Capie with a roll of her eyes. “Under the circumstances, not funny.”

  “No, not,” muttered the mirror woman, hands on hips and with a disapproving scowl.

  “It’ll be okay, I promise,” Paul reassure them. “This is far less of an effort for the Daneels than braking the ship down to orbital speed.”

  “Thank the Great Bird of the Galaxy for that!” Capie noted with a sarcastic twitch of one corner of her mouth.

  “Deorbit burn completed,” Daneel 1 declared. “Reorienting ship to re-entry attitude.”

  The view on the cockpit display rotated once more, returning to show the Martian surface again at the bottom of the screen.

  “Passengers, please note that along the way will we will be able to see the Amazonis Planitia, Olympus Mons and also several of the largest volcanoes on Mars,” Daneel 1 announced, enjoying playing the part of a tour guide. “Also visible will be Noctis Labyrinthus to our south. Those are a maze of canyons and valleys to the west of Valles Marineris.”

  “Guided tour, good one, love I,” declared Ariel-Leira, clearly admiring the view through Daneel’s holographic viewscreen. “World dirty one, though.”

  Capie reached out and created her own display on the table top in front of her, showing the external view outside the hull of the ship. “It really is an amazing sight. And we are the first people to see it up close and personal this way.” She sighed wistfully. “To be our home for the next few months. We’re like Christopher Columbus, Neil Armstrong, Lewis and Clark, Leif Ericson, Jacques Cousteau, Daneel Boone, Edmund Hillary—“

  Paul chuckled and smiled at her. “Please, dear. Not the whole list.”

  She frowned but continued to stare at the display. “Pixilated,” she muttered with an amused snort.

  Ω

  “The Tharsis Montes region is up ahead,” Capie breathed quietly. “I’m anxious to see it close up. On the left is Ascraeus Mons, followed by Pavonis Mons and Arsia Mons. I think Arsia Mons is just a little south of the equator.”

  Paul nodded. “Yes, I believe it is. We will pass between Pavonis which is 7.5 miles tall and Arsia which is 8.7 miles tall on our way to the Valles Marineris. It should be quite the view.”

  They flew over the huge volcano, Pavonis Mons, the rim of which stood 46,000 feet above topographic datum (the Martian equivalent of sea-level.) Not long after to the south could be seen the Noctis Labyrinthus (the Labyrinth of the Night), a patch-work area mish-mashed with fractures in the planet’s crust, some of them thrusting downward miles deep. On occasion, those canyons were covered by fog, a testament to the presence of water in the region.

  As the ship dropped lower in the thin Martian atmosphere, the vibrations in the ship’s hull actually decreased.

  Now the spacecraft’s speed fell below two thousand miles per hour. With the ship’s altitude at a mere five miles above the planet’s surface, Daneel 2 abandoned his post at the John Doe Mons and portaled aboard, taking station with Daneel 1 in the cockpit. The craft banked slowly to the right, passing over deep craters and valleys. Ahead, coming over the curve of the planet, was the first sight of Valles Marineris—or more specifically, the western edge of Candor Chasma.

  In the far distance, they saw a crack develop in the very crust of the planet. Both Paul and Capie were mesmerized by the landscape below them. The terrain was rugged in the extreme, with features unlike any on Earth. Jagged tears in the planet’s crust converged on a protracted and fantastically huge crack in the globe. The scale was mind-boggling, making the Grand Canyon look like a small ditch in comparison.

  “It’s so big! And the color,” Capie noted with a pinched frown, crossing her arms over her chest. “The landscape is all browns and dark dull reds. No greens, no blues. It’s so…”

  “Monotonous,” Paul said, finishing her thought for her.

  “Yes, that’s the right word.”

  “Melas Chasma is over to the far right now,” volunteered Daneel 1 on the main display. “Ophir Planum is ahead, on the far left. And Coprates Chasma is coming over the horizon now. We should be able to land in just a few minutes.”

  “Are you sure about the new landing struts, CR?” Capie asked her husband with a serious look.

  “Pretty sure,” Paul answered with a nod and another reassuring smile. “If by some chance it doesn’t hold, Daneel 1 is wearing the chutzpah and he’ll keep the ship from falling over. Right, Daneel?”

  “Right, Papa-san,” came the reply.

  “Sights such awesome are,” said Ariel-Leira, clapping briefly. “Trip wonderful, what a!”

  “Touchdown coming up,” Daneel 2 called out. “Two minutes out…mark! Secure for landing.”

  Despite his assurances to his wife, Paul tensed as the display showed how close they were to the surface. He noted that Daneel 1 had picked a spot on the Ophir Planum well away from the edge of the Coprates Chasma, at least three hundred yards. He approved. The last thing they needed was to have the cliff edge collapse under them.

  “Ten seconds…five…three…two…one…touchdown! Houston, this bird is down!” Daneel 1 declared.

  With a knowing smile, Capie turned to face her husband.

  “Welcome home, honey.”

  Paul blinked and rubbed his chin with one hand. “Welcome home? This is Mars.”

  Her grin blossomed larger as he fell into her trap. “Exactly. Everyone always says that men are from Mars.”

  He snorted and gave her one of his patented looks.

  She chuckled. “Just saying. I knew you were from out of this world the moment I saw you.”

  “That…could be taken either of two ways, CB.”

  With a sly smile, she said. “Yes, dear.”

  FIVE

  Ophir Planum

  Just north of Coprates Chasma

  Mars

  Saturday 10:30 a.m. LMST (Local Mean Solar Time)

  November

  Day 1

  Without spacesuits, they remained on board to begin planning the design of the Gathol House. The two Daneels portaled out using the temporary airlock, heading off to perform geological surveys and prospecting for the minerals Paul needed to fabricate the spacesuits he had in mind.

  Disappointed that she could not go with the Scotties, Ariel-Leira retreated from view in the mirror. On such occasions, Paul knew not when they would see her again.

  “The Valles Marineris,” Capie noted, studying the display in front of her. The viewpoint was an overhead shot, from three hundred miles above them. “2,500 miles long and up to 60 miles wide. A tectonic crack with evidence of water flow. You think that there might be water deposits in the floor of the chasmas?”

  “That would be nice,” Paul concurred as he rubbed his chin with one hand. “We could supply our water from there, instead of importing it all the way from the poles. We’ll check it out after we get started on the house.”

  “Yes, the house!” mused Capie. “I have some ideas and preferences on the layout. I think I told you that we need to put it on
the precipice of the north cliff, right? Hmm, I’ll want windows all around, to get the best views, of course. Maybe a dome house, like the city in Stargate Atlantis or Logan’s Run.” She waved a virtual pencil and notepad into existence. “I’d better make a few notes.”

  Paul smiled as he considered how best to plan tasks for the next few days.

  “As soon as the suits are made,” he said, “we’ll go out and do a survey of the cliff itself. Make sure it is strong enough to support the house. Then we can begin gathering the construction materials.”

  Capie eyed Paul intently. “I know you are anxious to get started on your Scottie production line and making chutzpahs too. But I really want your help finishing the house first.”

  Paul nodded in agreement, completely in sympathy with her request. “No problem. It should only take a few days at most to build a really great looking house. I think for the windows, we will need something stronger than glass. Perhaps transparent aluminum…”

  “Funny man,” Capie responded, with a bemused smile. “Scotty, in Star Trek IV, The Voyage Home. There be whales coming?”

  “Not from my side of the family!” he said, snickering in amusement. “Or, if you prefer, we could make them from diamond,” he added, a bit more seriously.

  “Diamond windows? Surely you’re still joking,” Capie assumed.

  Paul shook his head. “Not at all. Diamonds are just carbon, in a crystalline structure. Oh, sure, in nature, it takes tremendous heat and pressure to make a diamond. But with magic, we can line up the carbon atoms and link them together in batch lots. Making a diamond window should be no more difficult than making a glass window.” He paused thinking for a moment. “Of course, there are other options, such as graphene and a variety of plastics and of course different types of glass. But for us, diamond windows will be easier to make and structurally stronger.”

  “I never thought of that,” Capie admitted, then looked at him in approval. “I like the way you think. Diamond windows indeed. You’re kind of handy to have around.”

  “Anything to please my lady,” Paul said, bowing, delighted at how quickly she seemed to be adapting to Mars.

  He caught her eye. “And why limit it to just windows? Why not the roof as well?”

  “Ooh, that’s an interesting thought. To live in a totally transparent house, huh? Since we are the only people on Mars, why not?”

  “Well, we do have Ariel-Leira and the Scotties with us.”

  “The interior walls will not be transparent,” Capie added firmly.

  “I agree,” he responded, grinning.

  “Time’s a wastin’,” she declared. “Let’s get started with a design. You’re the engineer. You can be the one to put it on paper.”

  Ω

  The Daneels returned late that evening and reported to Paul that the prospecting expedition had been eminently successful, that they had found not one but two large graphite deposits, both of them in the Tharsis region.

  The selenium had been a bit more challenging. Chemically similar to sulfur, on Earth selenium was frequently found as selenide (Se2-) in sulfide ores. Using that information as a guide, the Scotties had found a rather substantial deposit of pyrite (FeS2) with trace amounts of Ferroselite (FeSe2) in the badlands of Ulysses Colles north of the Biblis Tholus volcano. Using a filter portal, they had been able to extra the selenium directly.

  By far, the hardest to locate was the palladium. Even on Earth, the rare metal was only found in conjunction with gold and platinum group metal ores such as polarite and cooperite, typically in the form of palladium sulfide. After a fairly intensive search, Daneel 2 had turned up scattered deposits not far from Alba Patera, a large volcano northeast of Olympus Mons. Using a filter portal, the Scotties had managed to extract a little over fifteen pounds of the extraordinary metal.

  Ω

  The next morning, after a modest breakfast of ham and eggs, Paul once again gathered everyone together at the small kitchen table, this time to talk about the manufacture of the two spacesuits. The mirror woman was still off somewhere, on her side of the mirror, and hadn’t been seen for more than a day.

  “Am I going to need a degree in physics, chemistry, or electrical engineering to understand this discussion?” Capie asked, with raised eyebrows. “Or could we just save time, cut to the chase, and let you just make them.”

  Paul frowned then shrugged with a wry grin. “Okay, I admit it. I get carried away sometimes with the science.”

  “Really, Dad?” asked Daneel 2, smirking. “Gee, what a surprise!”

  “Okay, okay, point taken,” Paul responded, waving a hand in surrender. “I’ll keep it short and simple, I promise. But I have to explain at least the basics to you because I need your help in making these suits. Otherwise, it will take me a couple of weeks to do them by myself.”

  “We understand. Go ahead,” Capie informed him, her voice tinged with a degree of reluctance.

  “Excellent!” Paul proclaimed, then waved a hand to create a midair holographic display. In it was a picture of an astronaut in full spacesuit gear, standing on the Moon, a golf club in one gloved hand.

  “Now, when most people think of a spacesuit, this is what they think of, correct?”

  “But you have something better in mind, right, Dad?” Daneel 1 asked with a chuckle.

  Paul snapped his fingers and the astronaut and the lunar background disappeared, to be replaced by a bare male mannequin, standing with its legs apart and its hands extended a few inches out to each side.

  “Right. The full-fledged suits worn by the Apollo astronauts, the A7L model, was eleven layers thick and weighed up to 200 pounds, including the backpack. Now, what I am planning on is a suit that weighs a lot less and is far more flexible.”

  The mannequin suddenly acquired a set of apparel: a black form fitting garment with a high collar, long sleeves and leggings that included footies.

  “A number of sci-fi books have used the concept of skin-tight spacesuits, including David Weber’s Honorverse series. NASA calls them Space Activity Suits (SAS). I’ll skip the details. Let’s just say that people have been working on this type of design for decades trying to overcome the problems involved. Yes, they have advantages. But they have disadvantages too.”

  He waved his hand again and the garb on the mannequin changed. And although this version of the ‘spacesuit’ was similar to the skin-tight suit, there were differences too.

  “That doesn’t look quite as snug as before,” commented Capie with a frown. “But I like the metallic silver color better than the black.”

  “Good eye, CB,” Paul remarked. “This suit does have a more relaxed fit, on purpose. It will be a bit stiffer to move around in than a SAS, once it is inflated, but it alleviates the technical problems too.”

  “What’s so special about this version?” Daneel 1 asked.

  “Good question,” Paul replied with a smile. “I’m so glad you asked. This version will be made of layers of graphene and a transition-metal dichalcogenide also called a TMDC, specifically palladium diselenide. That was why I asked for the palladium and selenium. Both the graphene and the palladium diselenide are single layer materials, both incredibly strong and both very flexible.”

  “Why use two types?” Daneel 1 asked, puzzled. “They both do the same thing, right?”

  Paul’s grin grew even larger. “Because carbon is the principle element in diamonds. Selenium is an element of earth and palladium is a precious metal.”

  The light bulb in Capie’s eyes clicked on. “You’re making a talisman! Precious stones, precious metals and an element of the earth! That’s clever!”

  “It’s why I really couldn’t make these on Earth,” Paul pointed out. “They would have immediately drawn the attention of Errabêlu. Once they are fabricated, I will let the Daneels take them outside and perform a talisman ceremony on them. As a talisman and a suit that covers your entire body, a simple spell is all you will need to keep the air inside from leaking out, to protect
you from injury and to keep you warm. They won’t be as powerful as McDougall’s or Hamadi’s talisman or even one of the Oni talismans. But they are, shall we say, tailor made for this specific purpose.”

  Capie snorted, studying the suit that the mannequin was wearing intently. “It needs a woman’s touch, obviously.”

  “What about helmets?” Daneel 1 asked. “Mom said you are planning to make diamond windows. Can you do diamond helmets as well?”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Paul informed him. “And of course, the suits need a source of oxygen as well. Back on Earth, I purchased two closed oxygen re-breathers like what skin divers use for underwater work. They’re in the storage hold.”

  “I saw them,” Capie admitted with sober look. “And wondered what they were for. You will give us a class on how to use them, right?”

  “That’s the plan,” Paul said, with a wry grin. “But first, I need to teach you how to make graphene and the palladium diselenide.”

  He waved the mannequin out of existence, replacing it with an image of a number of small black balls idly floating in space.

  “Now, assume that these are carbon atoms, which each have four valence electrons…”

  Ω

  It took three days of intensive work by all four of them to learn the proper fabrication techniques and then to make swaths of fabric for testing and fitting. Finally, when they had gained sufficient confidence, they took the appropriate physical measurements, produced several large sheets of the material and used them to put together two bona fide Lost in Space style spacesuits.

  After thorough testing, it was decided to put them to good use the very next day.

  Ω

  Paul and Capie bounce-walked in the light gravity, heading south away from the ship, the two Daneels floating along gracefully behind them. Since Ariel-Leira had shown up again, Paul had her in tow behind him, floating along a few feet off the ground, doing a slow rotation to let the mirror woman see all of the surrounding terrain.

  Capie keyed the microphone on her portable UHF Motorola radio with a small spell. “Oh! Oh!” she cried, coming to a sudden halt.