The Oceans of Emptiness

by Tiffany Weems

  “Are you calling everyone in here to tell them the plan, or just us?” Wilk asked.

  “Are you trying to change the subject?” Gerald asked.

  “Yeah, that was kind of the plan. Not that alien graffiti isn’t interesting, I would still prefer to talk about what’s here on Mars. Now, we’re the disappointment brothers, so this whole dynamic seems a bit off.”

  “The disappointment brothers?” Gerald asked. “Really? I mean, I can see it, but do you have to keep saying it.”

  “It’s who we are.”

  Wallis laughed. “I’m sure it is. You two have provided a great deal of insight into this endeavor. We will continue to filter through you important information for the trip and the remainder of this scientific experiment. Despite certain allegations from certain members of your crew, I find you both to be the most prolific in your standards.”

  “Well I appreciate that sentiment,” Gerald said. “Though, I’m certain that Luna would disagree with you. Probably Fenny and Sutton as well. They’re all complaining, aren’t they?”

  Wallis shrugged. “Does that matter? You’re here and they’re not. Let them complain.”

  “Can we see the space probe?” Wilk asked.

  Gerald smiled. “I’m with him. Can we go see the satellite? That’s here, tangible and a great scientific breakthrough into many questions asked by man for centuries.”

  “Of course,” Wallis said. “I need to make a trip over there myself. They ought to be getting close. If not, then maybe the appearance of the boss will speed things along just a little.”

  Gerald smirked as he stood up. He was the first to exit the stuffy office and the building. Then the three of them cut across the courtyard to the laboratories. Gerald had seen where they’d taken it before, he’d visited on numerous occasions, just glancing in the window, watching as the scientists took it apart piece by piece, scrutinizing every last detail. It was hard for him not to be directly involved. He’d found it. He’d brought it back. He’d made a massive discovery. And he was going to get absolutely no credit and he knew it.

  Wallis stopped Gerald and Wilk just outside the room. “Let’s let them work. We’ll go in when the moment comes.”

  Gerald sighed heavily. He pressed his face to the window like some little kid, watching as they took a small box out and placed it inside a high tech looking bigger box. Gerald thought it must be some sort of scanner. After a couple minutes of the scientists staring at their tablets, someone made a swiping motion and a holographic image filled the room. It danced off the pieces of the satellite that littered an examining table. It bounced off the tablet screens and the walls. It glittered off the four scientists and the cages around the room.

  It took just seconds before Gerald knew what he was looking at. He gasped.

  “What?” Wallis asked. “Do you recognize those symbols?”

  “They’re the ones from the gas station. That’s them.”

  Wallis smiled. He opened the door and the two boys slipped inside before it shut again. “Good afternoon, how’s the progress coming?”

  “We’ve found these imbedded deep inside the original code. The original message sent appears to have been altered slightly,” one of the scientists said. He had a scar, just above his right eye, that was almost a complete circle.

  “How much have you deciphered, Santin?” Wallis asked.

  Santin smiled. “A great deal sir. We’ve managed to pin point a location.”

  “A location?” Gerald asked. “To where?”

  “There will be time for questions later.” Wallis hushed Gerald and then turned back to the scientist. “Are there others?”

  “We’ve done what little scans we can at the moment, but unfortunately it has come up slightly empty. We will continue to search though.”

  “And what about these?” Wallis waved his hands around the room to the formulas that bounced around about them.

  “These we’ve just begun to look at, but I have a guess as to what they might be. There appears to be coordinates. Those over there, I would guess are our coordinates. That’s How they found us and came to us. These here...” He pointed to a small cluster of symbols near Gerald’s head. There were lines and squares, but there were swirls and dots and other things thrown in. “Those are a message of some sort. Something for us. If we can figure out their language, that message may give us the key to the very reason he travelled so far.”

  “Who’s working on that?” Wallis asked.

  “Who do you think?”

  “How long do you think it will take Siv to decipher this?”

  “This may be the hardest thing she’s ever had to solve and it will still probably only take her an hour, tops. She’s too good at her job.”

  “I need to be informed the moment she deciphers it. Do not waste a second.”

  “Sir, if you’d like, she’s in her office now. She might be better able to describe her progress than I could.”

  “Understood. Just the same, I think it best to let her work and come to us when she’s ready. You know how she can get.”

  Gerald looked at Wilk who just shrugged. He must not have known who they were talking about either.

  “I will go now, but remember, I need to know immediately.”

  “Yes sir.”

    

  Gerald sat with Wilk outside in the courtyard. There was man walking around giving away bugs that he had genetically enhanced and another man trying to learn to juggle, for whatever strange reason. But otherwise, they were alone. The day was nice, like every day in Capena.

  “I don’t think he’s coming back,” Gerald said.

  “Would you relax? Wallis had a communication that that Siv lady was done. He just went to check it out and said he’d be right back. Do you have someplace you need to be?”

  “Yeah, according to Jessica, I need to be in Second Earth. I should be helping my father.”

  Wilk scoffed. “You’re talking crazy now. Your father is fine. He managed to take care of himself long before you were born and he will continue to do so now. So how mad do you think Luna was when he told her we were going back for the research mission?”

  “On a scale of one to ten, probably a ten.”

  “More like an eleven. There’s no way she doesn’t fight this.”

  “And she’ll lose. Wallis is on our side. For whatever reason, he seems to like me.”

  “Yeah, I can’t figure that out,” Wilk said. “I mean I don’t even like you. I tolerate you, but like is a little extreme.”

  Gerald laughed. “I don’t like you either. That’s why we work so well together.” He looked up just in time to see Wallis half walking, half running across the courtyard. Gerald leapt up from the bench.

  “We need to get a move on. The last communication meeting begins in ten minutes and it will be the final time we’re able to communicate with the ship. There’s a lot we have to talk about.”

  “You want us to go?” Gerald asked.

  “Of course. You’re going to want to hear this.”

  Gerald looked to Wilk, who shrugged. The two of them had to almost run to keep up with Wallis as they approached the building used for Capena’s government. Once inside, Wallis led them to a board room where four people were seated around a table. On the wall was a screen showing another board room far from them. There were twelve people crammed around a small rectangular table with a single man at the head of the table. Over each of them was a floating box bearing their title and name. As Gerald took a seat among the people in the Martian room, he looked over his head just to see if he had a floating name box. There was nothing there.

  He looked at the people on the screen with curiosity. At the head of the table was Captain Creighton. Closest to the screen on the right hand side was John. Gerald didn’t need a name plate for him.

  “It’s about time you showed up,” Captain Creighton said.

  Gerald looked at Wallis, but he didn’t seem upset by the comment.

  �
��And it appears you’ve got a few new faces in the room. What’s the meaning of this?”

  “This is the last communication you will ever receive from us and it is by far the most important one we’ve had,” Wallis said. “As I’m sure you can read their names, I will keep their introductions short. Gerald and Wilk are here as a curtesy to me. They will observe and listen, but not engage. Siv has brought some new information to us within the last few minutes from a project we’ve been working on. I’m sure you’ll find it quite surprising.”

  “What does any of this have to do with our mission?” the captain asked.

  “Siv, if you don’t mind.”

  Gerald glanced around at the other four people, trying to find Siv. She was seated closest to the monitor and was by far the surliest person he had ever seen. It was as though she had a permanent scowl etched into her face. When she spoke, it was in a deep gravelly voice. “I was given a message found inside an old space probe sent beyond our solar system to discover what could be out there amongst the stars. It was guided back to Earth where it crash landed after the crisis had already begun. On board there was a tiny being that left behind clues. We have found where he was from and the message has now been decoded.”

  There were a lot of blank stares coming from the monitor. A woman, sitting just to the left of the captain, stood up. Above her head it read First Mate Troubalene. “There was a lot in that short speech. A bit too much. Could you please, slow down and back up a little? You found an alien inside a space probe?”

  Wallis smiled. “I understand there’s a lot to take in, but yes. Gerald here made the discovery. He brought the probe back to Capena for research and we have conducted several tests. The being appears to have been an intelligent, sentient one with something important to tell us. Siv?”

  Siv cleared her throat and began again. “The message was difficult for me to translate, but I managed. No one else would have been able to do it. He comes from a planet that we had not seen before on our maps. His people are looking for other lifeforms in the universe. They’ve begun to search neighboring planets. With a little research, we have found that they are in a cluster of solar systems with a few neighbors who may provide the correct qualities to harbor life. There was another part of the message, a second part that indicates some sort of danger from one of those neighboring solar systems. They appear to be looking for an ally of sorts.”

  Blank stares still accompanied the faces of all those on the other side of the screen. “What are you suggesting?” the captain finally asked.

  “I think what we’re suggesting is quite clear. You need to change your course,” Wallis said.

  That stirred them out of their stupefied states. “No, absolutely not,” Troubalene said. “We have set a course. To change that would disrupt more than just our destination. What about the crew? What about fuel and food? Will we be able to make it on what we have?”

  “Yes, in fact, it’s closer. Just by a little.”

  “Alright, but what about the planet itself? What are we supposed to do? Is there food there? Is there water? What if we’re not the ally they’re looking for? What if we’re food to them?”

  “I’ve seen these things. You wouldn’t be food to them. And though you do pose a few interesting questions, I assure you we have come at this from several angles. There is food there or they would not have been able to survive. And our scans show water on the planet. To not go seems like a missed opportunity on a scale that is grander than ourselves. This is something that we; that you, should really consider.”

  “If you’re wrong then we’ll have wasted this entire trip for nothing. We’ll die and Mars will still be the last hope of mankind.”

  “I do not deny this is your decision to make, I simply am providing you with all the tools and information you need. Besides, you’re wrong. We will not be the last hope of mankind here on Mars because we could easily send out another crew and they’d get there quicker than its taken you lot.”

  “I’m sorry?” Captain Creighton said. “What do you mean by that?”

  “The being we found, one of the formulas he brought back with him was for space travel. It uses a more powerful fuel that would enhance the speed of the ship with the help of nuclear reactors. If we used it to build a ship today and launched it in a year, they’d get there about the same time as you, maybe earlier. You’re officially on a relic.”

  Gerald smiled.

  “Do what you want, but we are going to have to discuss our decision and it’s one that only we can make.”

  “No offense,” Wallis said. “I can see you’re getting antsy to end this communication, but we, here on Mars will need to hear an answer from you in case we send a second crew. We need to know.”

  Troubalene smiled. “Of course. We respect that and would never think of making a decision without telling you our answer. Just give us a moment to ourselves.”

    

  John turned away from the screen as it went black. He looked at the captain who was still avoiding eye contact with him even days after the incident. Then to Troubalene who was still standing. Around the room, personnel were exchanging small conversations about what they thought would be the most appropriate choice of action. Amateurs. None seemed to grasp the significance of the situation. Nor did they realize that only one opinion in the room was going to matter. Only one person was going to make that decision for everyone on board the ship. And John didn’t like that.

  “We have heard many facts about what they’ve found. Are there any comments, questions, or concerns that we should address before a final decision is made.”

  John raised his hand.

  “Tread lightly,” the captain said.

  John wanted to say the same thing back to the captain, but instead bit his tongue trying to hide the scowl on his face. “I feel that this momentous occurrence can bring about a new age, not to mention a society that has already foraged. It can only be beneficial to our situation. Whereas, the other planet is a gamble of unknowns with particularly low odds of a bunch of space bred youngsters determining the fate of mankind. It seems an obvious choice.”

  “Thank you Mister Meyer. I could not have put it better myself,” Troubalene said.

  Barney, the navigator, stood up. “I feel that if it is closer, then the gamble may be worth the extra risk. We’ll then have food to last us for a bit after we land. Also, fuel to explore the neighboring worlds that supposedly harbor life as well. This could be a better opportunity.”

  Tristo, the second mate, fake applauded as he stood. “I see a lot of optimism sprouting from the minds at this table, but none of you seem concerned about the second half of the message. They’re in danger and looking for a war partner, an ally. Are we really equipped for a space war?”

  “Captain, should we put it to a vote?” Troubalene asked, glaring at Tristo who had slowly retaken his seat.

  “No. I will make the decision on my own instead of leaving it up to the fates. This is my crew and my ship. I will not have it brought to its’ knees by a vote.”

  Troubalene took her seat.

  John sighed heavily. He stared at the table while waiting for an answer, one that he was sure wouldn’t come.

  “I have made up my mind,” the captain said.

  John lifted his head to see the screen up again. He could see the look of anticipation on Thomas’s son’s face. He wondered what the kid had done to earn himself such a prestigious place at the table of leaders in Capena. He also kept glancing at Peter who would smile at him. And then there was Philon. Why Philon hardly ever said anything when they had the communication meetings was beyond John. It seemed that maybe Wallis was of higher prestige somehow. There was another at the table that John didn’t know. A woman with the name Zalta floating above her head.

  “And what decision have you reached?” Wallis asked.

  John turned to the captain. He wanted to hear it just as bad as everyone else in that room, maybe worse.

  “I have
decided to make the journey to the planet. If you could send the coordinates to our navigator. We’ll be jumping soon, so you might want to put a rush on that.”

  Then the screen went black. That was the last time they were going to speak with Mars and, somehow, that relieved John a bit.

  “You are all dismissed. We will meet in the command center in exactly ten minutes. Be there, strapped in or don’t bother showing up for your jobs any longer.”

  John waited for the room to clear out until only he and Troubalene were left. “I’m actually surprised that’s the decision he made,” John said.

  “The captain is a man of many layers. I take it that’s not why you hung back.”

  “Any luck?”

  Troubalene glanced over John’s shoulder. He turned and looked at the door as he was sure she was doing. “That kid is smarter than half this crew. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to find it.”

  “I could help if you’d just tell me what it is he stole.”

  “I can’t. It’s better if you don’t know. Captain Creighton is convinced you helped your wife. If you knew what it was we were looking for, then he’d throw you in one of those cryogenic tubes as well. I can’t let him do that. For now, you stick with tracking Lance through surveillance and keeping him busy while I do random searches. We’ll clear her name.”

  “Soon, I hope. I fear who I might become in her absence. Or who might manifest.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” John turned and walked out the door. The command center was just one room over. He walked in, took his seat at a control panel where he basically did nothing during launches and meetings and swiveled to stare at those who had jobs. They all had things to do, commands to put in, information to process. He, on the other hand, had already completed all his tasks for the journey. He was at last at a point when he wouldn’t have to work all the time and he had no one to spend all the extra time with.

  The captain took his seat. “Inga, address the ship.”