The Imperative Chronicles, Books One and Two: The Mars Imperative & The Tesserene Imperative

by Mark Terence Chapman

  * * * *

  Once back inside the main building of Site 23, and sans EVA suits, Dr. Shallitt walked James to the maglev. Janice already waited there.

  “Take it easy, James. Have a nice trip home and try to enjoy yourself while you’re there,” Dr. Shallitt said. “I haven’t seen Earth in years. As much as I love being here, I still get homesick at times. Do me a favor, will you? Take some pictures and vids for me? I’ll buy you dinner and ply you with liquor when you get back and you can tell me all about your travels back home.”

  “You’ve got a deal, doc. Take care of yourself.” They shook hands and James boarded the train car with Janice. He waved to the doctor through the window beside his seat.

  Next stop, ODF Barsoom.

  * * * *

  Daniel Lim and Kim Cappelletti—who made a special trip in from Sagan Observatory—met James at the elevator gate. They were thrilled to finally meet Janice.

  “At last!” Kim crowed as she and Janice hugged. “It’s good to finally put a person behind the face on the v-mails.”

  “Same here,” Janice agreed. “With James it’s always Kim-this and Daniel-that. I was starting to get jealous and I didn’t really even know you two.”

  For the next ten minutes the two women chatted nonstop about—naturally—James McKie. Hearing them talking about him literally behind his back as they walked, James’ ears flushed bright red—much to the amusement of Daniel who was walking beside him.

  After the foursome checked into the Barsoom Overlook Hotel and dropped off their bags, James, Daniel and Kim decided to have a quick Crunchball match to whet their appetites. Janice didn’t play, so she served as a one-woman cheering section for James.

  Kim and Daniel had hoped to finally break the long-standing tie between them, from when they’d competed aboard the Ares Flyer all those months ago. Instead, James eked out a narrow victory, leaving the match less decided than ever with a three-way tie at twenty victories apiece.

  “Hey, I told you I’d win the next time we played.” James puffed out his chest in an exaggerated fashion.

  “Oh, please,” Kim said, with a dismissive wave of the hand, “you only won because I’ve been cooped up on Phobos with no opportunity to practice.”

  “What? And I’ve had plenty of practice the last few months? Maybe you haven’t been paying attention, but I’ve been pretty busy down there.”

  “Children, children!” Daniel jumped in as peacekeeper. “Don’t sweat it. It just means the next match will be the tie-breaker to see who’s the Grand Galactic Crunchball Champion of all time. Then we can start over from zero.”

  “Speaking of sweat,” Kim interjected, “shouldn’t we catch a shower before dinner?”

  The others agreed and the three repaired to their respective locker rooms while Janice went on ahead to make reservations. Twenty minutes later, they emerged and headed for Tony’s, their favorite restaurant on Barsoom.

  However, as tasty as the food was, none of the four really noticed.

  Daniel toyed listlessly with the pasta on his plate. “I can’t believe you’ll be gone for almost a year. That’s a long time between dinners together.”

  Janice was even more morose. “Forget dinner; that’s a long time between lots of things together!”

  Kim picked up the unspoken reference and nodded. “That’s rough. I only get to be with Daniel a few times a month. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to wait months for the next time.”

  James assumed a playful mien, trying to break up the mood. “Hey, when the crowned heads of Europe wanna meetcha, whatcha gonna do?” He grinned. “Besides, we can stay in touch via v-mail. It’s not like we’re together every day now as it is.”

  Kim pursed her lips before speaking. “True. Still it’s nice to be able to get together now and then for a few hours. I’ll miss that. It’s too bad you have to leave so soon.”

  “The ship leaves in the morning. I don’t have a lot of say in the matter. On the other hand, I’m here for the night, so let’s party!”

  Daniel raised a glass of wine in tribute.

  Janice cocked an eyebrow. “Let’s not party too late, lover. You and I have some unfinished business to attend to later.”

  “You heard the lady,” James said, acceding with a bow of his head. “I belong to the world for now, but later I belong to Janice exclusively.”

  “Damn right,” she said with a crooked grin.

  The others smiled back.

  “You know,” Kim began, “when we were heading to Mars, the trip didn’t seem so long; but that’s because we were so busy with our training and our studies. And, of course, we had each other for company. What are you going to do to keep busy for that long all by yourself?”

  James shrugged. “If I know people, I’m sure I’ll have to tell the story of ‘How I discovered life on Mars’ at least a dozen times.’ And I’ll have a chance to work on my chess game. By the time I get back, I should be able to beat Daniel on a regular basis.”

  Daniel interrupted him with a snort. “Ha! You wish!”

  James continued. “If that’s not enough to keep me busy, there’s always my book.”

  “Book?” Kim repeated. “What book?”

  “Yes, James,” Janice said, with a mock-threatening voice, “what book? This is the first I’ve heard of it, too.”

  James broke out in a face-stretching grin. “Oh, didn’t I tell you? My agent worked out a book deal for my story. Here I am at the ripe old age of twenty-four, and someone wants me to write my memoirs! There’s even talk of a holo deal.” Here James momentarily assumed a deep announcer-like voice. “Lichen or Not: The James McKie Story, or some such tripe. Can you believe it?”

  Daniel chuckled. “I can’t believe you have an agent. Are you going Hollywood on us now?”

  “Please, no autographs! And be sure there is plenty of blue licorice in my dressing room. And I want bottled mineral water, hold the minerals.” James turned his head to the right. “And only shoot me from my best side!”

  Daniel sniped, “You’ll have to bend over for that!”

  Kim ignored Daniel and groaned at James’ remarks. “Now he’ll be more impossible to live with than usual! Imagine that.”

  Daniel picked up the hint. “How imsincere of him. How impolite!”

  Janice, having heard all the stories from James, jumped in. “Don’t you mean, ‘how immodest’? His Imperial Majesty King James is imposing his will on the impassive immigrants.”

  Daniel and Kim grinned and raised their glasses in silent tribute.

  James sniffed imperiously and assumed a French accent. “Imbéciles! I shall have you all immobilized immediately.”

  The four laughed at their collective silliness until they couldn’t catch their breath. Once again, Daniel raised his glass as he looked toward Janice. “As the founder and self-appointed Exalted Grand Poobah of the ‘im-crowd’, I hereby nominate Janice for membership into our exclusive club. All in favor, signify by raising your glasses in a toast.”

  Kim and James did so.

  “Very well then. By unanimous vote, Janice Keegan, you have been accepted for membership into this elite and prestigious organization, with all of the benefits and privileges appertaining thereto. Of course, as full membership is open only to those whose names end with ‘im’ the membership must be honorary.”

  Janice looked at him in all seriousness and archly said, “In that case, I must decline membership.”

  The others looked puzzled; after all this was merely something of a joke. Daniel spoke first. “Decline?”

  “Yes. You see, as my full name is Janice Imogene Keegan, I decline your offer of honorary membership. I insist that the rule be changed to also allow those whose names begin with ‘im”, and I demand full, hereditary membership.” She broke into an impish grin and her eyes twinkled at the trio’s momentary fluster.

  Daniel roared with laughter. “So amended! Welcome to the ‘im-crowd.’” The others joined in the laughte
r. The merriment continued late into the night as they laughed and cried and drank their wine and laughed some more. Their time together was fleeting; but, for the present, the new-and-improved “im-crowd” was assembled once more.

  For the moment, nothing else mattered.

  CHAPTER 27

  Space Travel—The average distance between the orbits of Earth and Mars is approximately eighty million kilometers. However, this distance fluctuates radically over time due to a number of factors, including the shapes of the orbits and the influence on Mars’ orbit by the gravitational pull of other celestial objects. (SolandJupiter, respectively, exert the greatest influences on the planet.)

  To illustrate how irregular the distances can be, consider that on August 27, 2003, Earth and Mars passed within 55,758,006 kilometers of one another—their closest transit in more than 60,000 years. (Aneven closer passage is expected on August 28, 2287.)

  Because Earth orbits the sun nearly twice as quickly as Mars does, it speeds ahead of Mars approximately half of the time, and chases it from behind the other half. This and many other factors result in travel times between the two planets that may be dramatically different from one trip to the next.

  — Excerpt from Encyclopedia Solaris, 2176

  * * * *

  The long months of sailing the somewhat-charted seas of the solar system were made longer still by the knowledge that every day that passed sent James farther from Janice, Kim, and Daniel. The only compensation was knowing that each day also brought him closer to his parents and old friends at home. The time away also brought James and Janice closer together. Without the ability to do anything more than talk at a distance, they opened themselves up to one another more quickly and more deeply than perhaps they would have had they been together.

  At long last, James arrived on Earth and was greeted with the kind of media attention normally reserved for holo stars and teen idols: limo rides, dinners with the rich and famous, parades, interviews, photo sessions, speeches, and more. This was heady stuff for a twenty-four-year-old from Winnipeg. Within minutes of arriving, his head was spinning and it was hours before he caught his breath. His first night, put up in a luxury hotel, he v-mailed Janice to let her know he’d arrived safely.

  “Hi, Sweetheart. Well, I made it. Today I began my life as a celebrity. Tomorrow I meet with the CEO of MMR. I guess he wants to give me the key to the executive washroom, or something. And then there’s a major press conference. Believe me, I’m not looking forward to that. And then they’re going to ship me all over the world for more of the same: press conferences, speeches at various universities—that sort of thing.

  “I’m pretty beat, so I think I’ll just turn in. But I’ll try to v-mail you every day if I can. I love you.” He blew a kiss at the holocam. “James out.”

  He pressed the Send key and sighed, already thinking about the ordeal to come.

  * * * *

  “Go right in, Mr. McKie, Mr. Carnoustie is expecting you.” The receptionist pressed a button and the ornate, inlaid walnut and ivory door by her desk swung ponderously open.

  James stepped forward with hesitation. Don’t be silly! You’re not being called in front of the school principal for talking in class. You’re here to be honored!

  He squared his shoulders and strode into the cavernous office, where a large, distinguished man awaited, white hair impeccably coiffed and an expensive-smelling stogie clenched between straight white teeth. His suit reeked of money, as did his designer shoes. He could have been the poster boy for CEOs everywhere.

  To James, the cigar evoked memories of Jardin, which caused the smile on his face to freeze into a rictus.

  “James! Welcome back to Earth. It’s a pleasure to meet you at last.” He held out a huge tanned paw that engulfed James’ proffered pasty-white hand.

  “Please, have a seat, son, so we can get better acquainted.” He gestured, with the cigar now tucked between two fingers, toward a sitting area in one corner of the room. It consisted of a low table containing an urn of real coffee, judging by the scent, and various cold beverages and finger foods. The chairs surrounding the table were covered in rich burgundy leather. The furniture in the rest of the office was made of real wood.

  The effect clearly was intended to impress visitors with the success of the company and its chief executive officer. To James, mindful of worldwide shortages of necessities—let alone luxuries—the office and the cigar exuded greed and wastefulness. It made his skin crawl, as did its occupant.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “James, please call me Richard. After all you’ve done for this company, surely we can dispense with the formalities. We’re all in your debt.”

  “Thanks, Richard.”

  “Can I offer you anything to drink? Coffee, juice, scotch? Something to eat?”

  Scotch, at nine a.m.? Is this some sort of test, or is he an early drinker himself? “Uh, no thank you, si—, uh, Richard. I just finished breakfast before coming over here. I’m fine.”

  “Excellent! I hope you had a pleasant journey back from Mars.”

  The cigar smoke, though pleasantly scented, had already started to make James’ eyes water. After so long in space and on Mars, he was used to cleansed, filtered air. Even the air outside the building was polluted enough to cause sinus problems for him.

  “Yes. Thank you. The accommodations were very generous. But you didn’t have to go to all that trouble for me. I—”

  “Nonsense! Nothing but the best for our fair-haired boy, eh?” Carnoustie favored him with a big, insincere grin. “Which leads me to the reason you’re here. As you know, we booked you for a lengthy tour, all over the world. Partly it’s to reward you for your hard work and your exciting discovery.”

  If you really want to reward me, how about letting me lie on a sunny beach somewhere for a month, rather than schlepping me around the globe nonstop for six weeks with barely a moment to sit down in any one place?

  “And partly it’s to help promote the company. As a result of your discovery of life on Mars, there has been a tremendous upwelling of interest in that planet, and we have been inundated with job applications locally. Because of that, we’ve decided to step up our recruiting efforts around the world. We’re going to expand our operations on Mars, thanks to you.

  “As part of that effort, we’d like to take a few pix and holos of you to use in recruiting: billboards, holo advertising, online, you name it.”

  “Of course. Whatever I can do to help.”

  “Excellent! All you need to do is sign the release forms and we’ll make you a media celebrity. Here, let me get them for you.” He rose and walked to his desk, where he returned with a data tablet. He held it out to James, who took it and glanced at it.

  Page one of fifty-six? My God, what’s in this thing? His eyebrows arched skyward.

  “It’s just a standard media release, with the usual clauses.” Carnoustie held out a stylus with which James was supposed to sign or initial the form in the places marked. Something about the glint in Carnoustie’s eyes set James’ teeth on edge.

  James continued to flip through the pages of the contract, growing more concerned by the moment. I can’t let him get away with this crap. I’m not a wet-behind-the-ears rookie anymore.

  Carnoustie waited with growing impatience. The leather arm of his chair squeaked in protest where he gripped it tightly. “James—”

  “Mr. Carnoustie,” James interrupted, drawing his resolve around him like a suit of armor. “I’ll be happy to participate in this media circus you have planned for me, and I’ll gladly pose for holos and shake hands with royalty. But I won’t sign my life away.

  “I expect to be adequately compensated for the obscene amount of money you stand to make from my very central role in your recruiting efforts and my other publicity activities—not to mention your soaring stock price because of me. I’ve gone through this contract of yours and found many instances where I’m obligated to perform some sort of personal appearan
ce or other acts for the company. Nowhere do I see any sort of compensation other than my regular salary.”

  “Of course not!” Carnoustie’s face darkened with anger. “You’re here on company time and at great company expense, I might add. Why should we pay you anything extra simply to tour the world and shake a few hands instead of doing the work we’re paying you to do.”

  James’ voice grew hard with newfound confidence. “I’ll tell you why. Because you need me a helluva lot more than I need you. You need me to do all these things to make the company look good. If I do, you stand to make a lot of money because of it.

  “I would be happy to stay on Mars and do my job and work for the bonuses that come from doing a good job and making the company money by discovering ores that will become the foundation of new mines. All I’m asking is the same sort of incentive here: a bonus for doing a good job and helping the company make gobs of money. I want nothing less than my due. If that’s not acceptable to you, I’m sure I can find another mining company that would be willing to do the same.”

  “We have a contract!”

  “Yes we do. And contracts can be amended. Professional athletes renegotiate their contracts all the time.”

  Carnoustie’s eyes flashed and he stood to lean over James, threateningly. James stared him in the eye, refusing to back down. He knew he had the upper hand. The old James would have wilted under the glare Carnoustie gave him, but this was the new James—the not-to-be-screwed-around-with James. The James who’d survived perils in space and on Mars that few men had ever faced. The James who’d stood up to a gun-wielding maniac and lived to tell the tale.

  In the face of all that, Carnoustie’s ire was little more than a dust devil to James’ continent-devouring red-out dust storm. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly upward. There wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to back down.

  Carnoustie opened his mouth to retort, and then shut it. He stared back for a moment, before his lips curled upward and his facial tone returned to normal. Oddly, he began to chuckle, which turned into a full laugh. He dropped back into his seat.