by Hylton Smith
Chapter 35
The recovery of the robots in the collision had only taken four days but the repair took more than two months and this had caused slippage of the schedule. As close as they were now to the planned departure date they had to concede to a small deviation from expectation. The main construction was finished but the internal fitting out was behind, especially with the complex recycling plant. Phoenix was roughly barrel shaped. The two tapered ends were asymmetric. The fore section was not much less in diameter than the widest central girdle as it had to securely house the QSD units, which would exceed the girdle diameter. The aft was approximately sixty percent of the mid line girdle and was truncated to give the optimum configuration for spatial recovery behind the vessel. The artificial gravity was operated by revolution around an abstract central line passing through the centre of each barrel end. The main hatch was in the aft end and there were emergency ones around the rotating periphery. It wasn’t a beautiful sight but it wasn’t one to be ignored.
The other outposts were informed of the slight adjustment of departure and reported they were actually more behind plan than Mars, and could only make up some of the deficit. Gliese was six weeks off plan and Epsilon Eridani was over four months. They would have to recalculate QSD dropout consequences nearer the new target date.
Stella had recovered well from the procedure to take on the Pascal 2 code and had resumed work with the Symbiant. Sophia Scillacci had opted to rejoin Isaakson to further research on human cerebral conference. She retained copies of all the accumulated data on the Axis/MDV project, as it seemed unlikely that the Martians would need it again, because of the impending exodus across the galaxy. She felt a little demotivated that many years of work would just gather ‘computer archive dust’. Retirement in a couple of years had some appeal. Pascal 2 had insisted that the medical station aboard Phoenix was the last to be fitted out because of the possibility of damaging the essential equipment. Nielsen’s laboratory had similar ‘fragile’ status for the analytical stuff and was next to last. He had heard much about other naturally occurring materials on Nexus from the Axis. They had different analytical techniques, but comparing notes whetted his appetite, as they might at last understand the molecular structure of these extremely durable plastic construction constituents, if they had the starting material. He was also trying to weed out which Martian samples he would take as there was severely limited storage in the lab unit. He included some striated rocks which the Symbiants had collected from the fissure between Marineris and Utopia Planitia. If they had detoured from the bridge-building to pick up rocks he felt that made them worthy of investigation. To his constant frustration neither his nor the Axis equipment revealed anything of significance in the available results. He was hoping that the Epsilon or Gliese Axis had developed new equipment which would yield something meaningful.
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Kinsey considered another undercover operation but decided to go directly through official channels. The Chinese admitted that they took their foot off the gas with the legal route once they knew the crystal had disappeared. Kinsey politely enquired how and when they had come by this knowledge. “We didn’t know ourselves until relatively recently.”
The inscrutable committee on the opposite side of the table looked at one another in consternation. They finally conceded they knew from a Beijing journalist. Kinsey said that could not be the real source. “The archive video evidence shows that only a limited number of internal personnel were involved in the actual theft. There was perhaps one other involved for outside contact. Your journalist must have got the information from such a source. Why do you think he didn’t go to print with such an embarrassing scoop? It was even more tempting when you consider our chief technical people didn’t know it was gone.”
More eyeballing amongst the Mandarins produced an unusual response. “We demanded proof. We told him it was a very delicate situation since he had contacted us first. We wanted to know why. He did not elaborate. We told him he must inform Beijing as this would affect our country from both the Council and Government standpoints, in the eyes of the world. When we heard nothing more we assumed it was an unsubstantiated claim, but he was re-assigned to London. He is still there as far as we know but he has not contacted us again. It now seems a strange coincidence that we have been sent mail from him suggesting we contact a person in the security department of the Council for Human Exploration.” The name was the same one which Kinsey was given by the Melbourne duo. He instinctively pulled down the shutters and thanked them for their candour. He promised to get back to them when he solved the mystery.
The man was, according to De Santos, in the purchasing department for the technical arm of Beijing. He was a senior officer and as such had many overseas contacts. He travelled widely and frequently to suppliers and was used to being ‘entertained’ at their expense. There were lucrative contacts on offer and he had a big say in the commercial aspects of all certification approval. A check on his bank details unsurprisingly revealed nothing substantial in the way of deposits. A regular item was coded as interest payment, and although it topped up his monthly income, it was unremarkable except for one thing. The decoded reference was from an account in the Cayman Islands. Further tracing of this account revealed it held a serious level of capital, and this was mounting each dividend period from a dazzling array of stock investments. They needed to see how these large blocks of holdings had been acquired before they questioned him.
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Carvalho was watching the two boys sailing their model ships on the lake. They were powered by chips and controlled by remotes. He was reflecting on how Alexandra Vogel had managed to bring back the air of positive expectation to the human settlement on Mars. A firm but gentle grip on the problem areas had been the central plank, and now a brisk support for new social interaction was emerging. He was really pleased about this change as he had not wanted to leave the planet thinking it had all been for nothing.
His psychological condition was on the rise. He was, however, not feeling his normal energetic self. Lethargy was something he always said was his only allergy. He belatedly asked Stella to run some checks on him. She was livid when the results came through. “How long have you been having this tiredness?”
He was not a good liar and she scolded him for not responding to the symptoms earlier. “Ok Stella, you are the doctor, now what has got you so mad?”
“You have Angina, and it hasn’t just appeared.”
He squirmed. “Does this affect the trip?”
“Is that what you call it, a trip? It’s not a ride to Pandora’s Rift. It is a forty something year physical and mental challenge. You really must have more exploratory tests, but I would have advised a normal patient to withdraw. It can be treated in a number of ways up to and including transplant or implant assists, but we don’t really have time. The short recovery period could kill you. I believe we have no choice but to cancel.”
He sat down with head in hands and apologised. “I’ve had twinges for years; I thought it would pass as usual.” Stella said she wanted to ask Pascal 2 if he concurred with her recommendation.
The Symbiant said that it was a chance worth taking. Delivering nanoprobes into the bloodstream to target the accumulated swelling of the inside of the coronary artery might just relieve the pressure. If this could allow a significant increase in blood flow to the heart it could easily be repeated at intervals throughout the journey. “Then we can determine if a bypass is necessary and advisable.” Stella agreed. She knew it was not without risk but she trusted the Symbiant and Carvalho had set his mind on going.
She told him of the proposal and insisted he didn’t do anything strenuous between now and the completion of Pascal 2’s treatment. “And that includes playing with the boys. I’m finishing up my involvement with Echus Neurosciences anyway, and I’ve pulled that date forward to tomorrow. There’s no room for discussion Daniel.” She was conscious of this being the first time
she had bullied him.
He was quietly relieved but now more concerned about the time he may have with his family. He hadn’t forgotten the panic in Stella’s eyes when she first confronted him. He silently rebuked himself for not reporting it earlier.
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Kinsey was armed with the financial data when he went to Beijing. There was no confrontation. The target had taken accrued vacation time. His colleagues said he had taken a flight to San Diego and was to board a cruise liner for his Alaska dream holiday. Kinsey thought this had to be checked out immediately. His people came back with negative results; there was no biometric registration from his passport to say he had flown anywhere. The same was true of ports and land border checks. He was uneasy so he initiated re-checking his financial status. It was as he suspected; the bank accounts and stock portfolio had been liquidated. There must have been contact with Radmanov.
When he got to London again Korolev had passed away, and his body was in preparation for shipment back to his homeland. Kinsey asked respectfully to see the corpse and was satisfied. Radmanov had evaporated with no forwarding information. Apparently the UK operation was to be wound up and the remaining asset base transferred to Moscow for forensic financial analysis.
Kinsey accepted the trail had gone dead. The only realistic way to pursue the crystal now was to wait until replicants were reported. Failure did not sit well with Marvin Kinsey, but there would be a slip-up sometime and they had to stay alert for signs of it.
Cheverry had been informed that Varanda Singh had been a godsend for Alexandra Vogel so he moved to part two of the plan. Wynyard was invited to his office and relentlessly flattered by the Council C.E. Being told he was literally being head-hunted by a new liaison section within the Beijing strategic planning operations, for the next phase of exploration, massaged his Jupiter class ego. “This is head in the singular, it is irregular to produce a short list of one prior to interviewing, but we are all of one mind. Heading up this venture comes with a weighty responsibility but the package is commensurate with the seniority. I realise it’s out of the blue but the plans are sensitive and we favour this approach. I hope you will consider this with some urgency as in the event of your acceptance, I know I will face a fight with Vogel to release you.”
Wynyard asked all the questions a supreme narcissist would, and could not contain his cerebral orgasm when the answers were those he wanted to hear. It was indeed a challenging and motivating remit. It would also be re-merged with the executive structure within two years and Wynyard would not last that long. Liaison is a word to beware in corporate or governmental structure; it should be listed in the rat-race dictionary as a synonym of ‘fall guy’.
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The handover programme of the entire industrial Axis infrastructure, including the nuclear power plants was almost ready for the final sign-off. This was to be the subject of an interesting discussion between Earth and Mars in the coming years, as the trade agreements would need review. The appearance, illegal or otherwise, of Terran Symbiants when there were none left on Mars could be a destabilising asymmetry. Alexandra Vogel had been informed by Cheverry in strict confidence that this could happen soon. She was disturbed sufficiently to ask Carvalho if he could use his fabled persuasive powers with Alex 2 to leave a small quantity behind if an emergency scenario developed. He had forgotten that she would not know about the retention quantities from the lab which were put into orbit during the previous times of threatened hostility. “I can do better than ask Alex 2. We provided such a cache some years ago. Very few people knew about it, and nobody from Earth has been told. One of your orbiting geothermal monitors does exactly what it is supposed to do. The other is identical in appearance but contains only red crystal. We are only taking the recovered haul from the domes. Consider this our special parting gift. I mean this seriously Alexandra, because I know your first thought may be about protection, but if you also think about what this planet was like when I first arrived, you now have the means to that very support. The Symbiants have been the major reason why you see what is here now. Think about it. Knowledge back on Earth that you have ‘retained’ Symbiants will induce respectful caution from them where it may not have been otherwise considered.”
She was relieved. “I really wish you were staying Commander. The people tell me every day what it was like when the Axis first arrived and the cooperative altruism which abounded. I will definitely bear in mind your advice. I don’t suppose there is any chance that you will change your mind?”
“You just referred to me as Commander and that in itself reminds me that it’s time to move on. However, I would not have wanted to miss those days – problems and all. It is important to me that the planet is in good hands and I can now rest easy on that score.”
Stella was fidgety with the notion that he was talking ‘business’ - and the Pascal 2 nanoprobes had not yet shown significant de-furring of his coronary artery. She wanted to avoid stress and politely interrupted to tell him that Pascal 2 was waiting for him. Vogel thanked him again and excused herself.
Carvalho said he had thought Pascal 2 was not scheduled until tomorrow. She nodded and said, “I didn’t want you to be drawn into things you can’t influence. It’s a classic way of building stress. I hope it didn’t sound rude.” He winked and replied, “No, she was about to leave, which was disappointing as she kept addressing me as Commander.”
The sarcastic response was, “Maybe she’s also attracted to men in uniform. That was how I first saw you, I noticed she was flushed.”
“Not much gets past you Stella. Just as well I wasn’t persuaded to stay.” She feigned a fist and walked back to the children.
Chapter 36
As the days were being chalked off they were entering countdown mode. Yamamoto and Rose were already in orbit checking the QSD interlocks. They had already been told by Jet that this had been done but it made no difference, they wanted their own measurement criteria and the subsequent evaluation. The assembled units were not shielded and posed a risk in mobility while wearing Hazmat suits. Jet complained, “The Symbiants did the assembly work and if they have signed off on the precision, I really can’t see why you need to do this.”
Rose seemed ready to agree but Yamamoto stuck to his request. “You forget that we have acquired much from the Pascal 2 procedure which entitles us to perform checks in a comparably accurate way to the Symbiants, yet dispassionately, as we have not had to adhere to their rigid assembly schedule. This unit array is the only component which can get us to Nexus, but if it makes you more understanding I’ll ask Red to give his input on our request.”
“I would appreciate you doing that.”
Red arrived, listened and then agreed with Yamamoto. “The ongoing checks while assembling will be sufficiently accurate for each neighbouring pair. It would be useful to compute the accumulated maximum tolerance repetition in multiple directions to see if the final diameter data reflects uniformity in each direction. The prototype was only one unit so we did not have this concern. Yamamoto is justified to see if there is any gain/correction pattern and whether adjustments are necessary. However, I also accept Jet’s worry about the risk of moving around in these clumsy suits. We will do the checks as Yamamoto and Rose have outlined. They should have been included in the design.” Yamamoto and Jet nodded in concert and the new delay this would cause was put down to correcting an oversight.
Pascal 2 had good news for the patient; the furring was receding and this, together with medication, had completely removed the symptoms. The nanoprobe dredging would continue until departure.
The interior of Phoenix was a spectacle. Unlike the feel it had before fitting out, the curvature of the ‘horizon’ had softened and didn’t convey such intense ‘hamster wheel’ imagery. The village was beginning to bloom. There were at least as many workers in orbit now as there were on the surface, and it gave some impression of how the populated barrel would look. For some, mostly human, the degree
of imagination and ambition in this project hit home, in a way that the plans or even the view from the surface could not capture. This new perspective also brought with it the full realisation of living almost half a century in a barrel, a kind of macro claustrophobia. When Carvalho informed Alex 2 of his gift to Vogel the Symbiant said, “I suppose we could say that is one benefit of stranded development.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well if they invoke replication, for reasons other than defence or purely construction potential, the new individual manifestations of the Continuance will have a fresh start. To use your own semantics they will not carry forward ‘baggage’ from those of us who will leave for new pastures. Promise will be evaluated again. They are not from crystal which has already been involved with humans and do not yet have all the data sources I do, to influence them. Having a second chance is not unusual for us. It is more a case of what your species will do with it. It is a beneficial situation for both those who are leaving and the ones who remain.” Carvalho smiled and could not resist a jibe. “I don’t know whether humans or Symbiants are ahead in adapting to one another’s logic.” Alex 2 said he would defer judgement for some time. “At the moment you must be well in front.”
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It had taken less time than expected. A privately funded American aeronautics conglomerate had struck a deal with a Venezuelan oil company. The deal had mutual benefit of moving asset wealth into new industry. The Venezuelan government had seen this as bringing their economy up a few notches and gave approval to the plan. Holidays on Mars would not require the stringent migration rules. A new space elevator was announced and was to begin construction very soon. A blip in Kinsey’s personal radar homed in on the finalisation date, and the first booking information would appear within six months. This had to be it. He would be interested to check out some of the workforce if the ludicrous targets were anywhere near being realised. His experience on Mars had given him some idea of what Symbiants could do. The financial funding would be transformed by free labour and technical capacity, let alone the concepts they would surrender to the transport crews. It would be a reasonable bet that Radmanov would be buried somewhere in this venture. Patience would be needed and he would keep this to himself for now. Trust could result in betrayal, and the quarry’s escape. His best weapon, he decided, was their Achilles’ heel – technobabble. It would require acquisition of some crystal for this purpose. He had to go back to Mars. He suggested to Cheverry that a final visit to see if Alexandra Vogel needed any further support would be prudent. “It would give her and the Martian population the comfort of knowing they are doing so well that we are pulling back, yet available when they need us. It is a timely morale booster which would not have the same impact by merely transmitting the sentiment. Walking amongst the communities would invigorate individuals – a personal pledge.”
