The Accidental Explorer

by George Deeb

  “How did you know I ...” he started to say, as she turned to the computer and pointed to the screen. On a map of the local area was a blinking dot indicating the location where they – no, where HE was.

  “Your ring.” she said.

  Ramsdel looked at the ring on his finger.

  “That's how I knew when to send the reports. How else could I be sure you were in the office to receive them. I would have explained it all to you, but you always refused to meet with me for a briefing. I was very surprised to see your signal moving towards me today!”

  “But I thought this was only good for a few feet.” he said, looking at the ring, confused.

  “Well, yes, a few feet, unless you use a highly directional antenna. I can pick up the signal of a ring from a few hundred feet with one. Hi,” she said, standing up and extending her hand, “I'm Lorraine Lewis”.

  “Ransen Ramsdel.” he replied, as he shook her hand and then froze.

  Ramsdel stared at the most beautiful face he had ever seen, and random thoughts flooded his mind. 'How old am I? What have I done with my life? What have I accomplished?', and other such thoughts that come to a fifty-something year old man who is suddenly questioning his existence. Other questions and doubts followed, and repeated. All of it brought about by one look at one face. She was in her late thirties, no taller than five foot and a couple of inches, with curly chestnut hair. The freckles and facial features indicated an Irish background. Ramsdel stared at her lips – and they were absolutely perfect. She wore an absolutely perfect blue beret, that was tilted at an absolutely perfect angle. Her hand fit absolutely perfectly in his.

  “Are you alright?” asked Lorraine, looking a little worried. “Your mouth is open... and you're still holding my hand.”

  Ramsdel look down and saw that he was still holding her hand. He didn't want to let go, but thought that maybe he should.

  “Uh, yes, I'm OK. Just something that popped into my mind. Didn't want to lose the thought.”

  Ramsdel suddenly felt like there was a big hole in his life – No, not a hole – a cave, a massive, empty cave. Something very important was missing in it, and that realization hit him like the proverbial wall. The last 30 or so years of his life suddenly compressed together and gave him a mental body slam. She looked into his eyes, with a slight worried expression on her face.

  “What's the matter?”, Ramsdel asked her.

  “I'm just wondering if you're having one of those mini-strokes you hear about on the news.”

  Ramsdel let out a short laugh.

  “No,” he said, “God has more important things to do than bother with giving me one of those.”

  He paused to give her what he thought was a reassuring smile.

  “I just realized that I've been spending all my time overcoming the obstacles of this job without taking any time to live my life. After all these years, I've just realized why they had to have a volunteer to do this job. Only a volunteer would follow through with it. If it had been assigned to any sane person, they would have quit a long time ago.”

  “You realized that just now – just this second?”, she asked, puzzled. “What brought that on?”

  Ramsdel's expression changed and he suddenly felt like an embarrassed teenager talking to a pretty girl.

  “I didn't do anything stupid, like blow your cover or anything like that, did I? I mean, being here with me, out in the open, didn't break any rules you had to follow, or anything like that?”

  Lorraine smiled at his sudden thoughtfulness. 'A little too late,' she thought, 'but nice that you're worried about it.'

  “No.” she answered. “It probably doesn't matter anyway, since this is my last day. I go back to school next week. Finally going to finish that degree I've been putting off. For the next two years I'm going to be a college student again.”

  “Message receipt confirmed!” said the computer.

  They both looked at the laptop.

  “I assume you stored the message?” Lorraine said.

  “Yes.”

  She held three keys down with her left hand, and pressed four others in sequence with her right.

  “Battery power sufficient. Beginning Hard Wipe in three... two... - Goodbye.” said the computer, in a cheerful sounding voice.

  “What's a Hard Wipe?” asked Ramsdel.

  “That's one of the other things I would have explained to you at the briefing we never had.” she replied, with a mocking grin.

  The laptop's screen went dark, but the hard drive light remained lit indicating that it was continuing to be accessed. Lorraine closed the lid and placed the laptop in her bag.

  “Would you like to get some coffee?” Ramsdel asked. “You could give me that briefing I missed. Oh, wait – do have time? Are you supposed to do something else after this delivery? Maybe you can call your boss and see if you can take time for my briefing. Wait a minute – technically speaking, I'm your boss! – or at least one of them. So technically I can say it's OK to take the time. OK – good – as one of your bosses I authorize you to take the time to brief me.”

  She chuckled. “You're rambling.” she said. “Do you do that often.”

  “Uh... No,” he said as he took the bag from her, “but I seem to be making up for it today. My car is in the garage.” he said, pointing to the office building.

  “Mine's right here.” she said, walking over to the blue compact parked on the street.

  Lorraine opened the trunk, took the bag from Ramsdel and placed it inside.

  “You know,” said Ramsdel, “I've been trying to spot the person delivering these messages since just after we started using the secure printer. I know I've never seen you before, and certainly not sitting at this table.”

  “I usually transmit from my car. That is, the car I'm driving that day. It's a motor pool vehicle. Get a different one every time. But, since this was my last day, and the sun was shining, and it was a nice day, I decided to sit at the table.” she said, as she pressed the button on the key fob to unlock the doors.

  Ramsdel got in on the passenger side, and buckled his seat belt. As they drove, he realized that it really was a nice day.

  2

  It was two hours later, when Ramsdel pressed the PRINT button on the printer. As he waited for the printout he thought about the time at the coffee shop. Lorraine liked the sweet, fancier drinks the coffee shop sold, and she liked to chew on the stir stick as they talked. It was very easy to talk to her, and after the official briefing, which took about twenty minutes, they spent the rest of the time getting to know each other. He was especially happy that she gave him her number and said that she would like to go out with him.

  The printer beeped loudly to indicate it had finished printing, and Ramsdel picked up the papers and read them.

  From: OP361MBC

  To: OP361EBC

  Mission Status Update

  11Sep2011

  Brief Follows -

  On 10Sep2011 (yesterday) the NASA Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission launched successfully. We were unable to affect the mission in any manner as we had no personnel on the mission team. GRAIL's main mission consists of two satellites that will orbit the moon, mapping its gravity field strength. Although we generate our own gravity field, we believe it is too localized, and not strong enough to be detected by GRAIL. We will take precautions by intercepting the data streams from the satellites, and analyzing for exposure of the base. Since G have their own interest in remaining undetected, they have committed to take lead on this and will be using their instrumentation, which is faster and more capable than ours.

  Although we don't expect to be detected by gravity field measurements, GRAILS secondary mission (MoonKam) poses a more direct threat of exposure. The MoonKam phase of the mission will take detailed images of the moon's surface. The O is unlikely to be detected on these images as it is situated in a rille, covered with rocks and soil. Camouflage should protect surface structures from detection. However, while the
se images are in progress, transport to and from the base will have to be either suspended or curtailed. Depending on moon's rotation and position of satellites, this may mean several days of no transport activity each month. GRAIL mission is expected to last approx 2.5 months, with possible extension to 9 months. Normally, curtailing flight activity would pose no problem, but in case of an emergency there may be a risk of exposure. We are presently exploring ways to disable GRAIL without creating suspicion but having two separate satellites cease operation at the same time may draw too much attention. A possibility exists that we may be able to deceive the satellites with false images instead, but the G say this tampering might be detected under close examination.

  It is recommended that we look into ways to influence future exploration missions away from the moon – perhaps to Mars.

  Brief Ends -

  Ramsdel thought about what he had just read. With possible operational restrictions for the next two to nine months, supply deliveries to the base could become intermittent. He would institute a three-fold increase of on hand supplies at the base, so that they would not have to take any exposure risk because of the lack of necessities. Moon base would have to designate an unused section as a secondary storage facility for the extra supplies. 'Time to feed the dragon.' he thought, and he fed the papers into the shredder/incinerator/ash destroyer. 361 had used this type of device for years now, and it was still the best way to destroy hard copies of documents. Once the process was complete there was nothing left but powdered ash.

  Ramsdel scheduled a video conference with moon base for the next day, to work out the details of the new supply schedule. 361 had ships at its disposal that could travel much fast than the GRAIL satellites were moving, so there was plenty of time to get everything operational and in place. Now he was tired, and ready to go home. As he walked out of the office, wishing everyone a good night as he passed them, he thought of Lorraine Lewis. He didn't realize he had a big smile on his face. She had said to call after seven, and she would be home. He checked his watch. It was six-thirty. Seven seemed like such a long time away.

  Chapter 13

  Eckelberry Cove

  1

  February 2012

  “You named the test site 'Eckelberry Cove' ?” asked Farber-Chatwell, over the video link.

  “I didn't name it. Our people did. Or to be more precise, it just more or less happened.” replied Travellor. “The man is a legend up here. It's Eckelberry Cove did this, or Eckelberry Cove designed that, Or Eckelberry Cove said this is possible. The man is like a rock star here. People don't just read his papers, they study them, and talk about them. They even have pictures of him at the test site. Even the Ganaphe' find his work impressive. It was a natural play on words to name the test area Eckelberry Cove.”

  Farber-Chatwell started laughing, and Travellor soon followed.

  “That is too much.” said Farber-Chatwell. “But it's very understandable. He's a living legend here also. I could sell tickets to his next lecture, and it would be standing room only. Down here the saying is 'When Eckelberry speaks, everyone listens.' It's even stranger to watch his reaction to all of this attention. He just doesn't get it.”

  “Well don't be surprised if you get a request from the Ganaphe' to be introduced to him, next time they're on planet. They have us all under their lens. They believe they are observing first hand Earth history being made. And there's something about his latest engine design that made them do a double-take. Munen and his Chief Engineer Plessa were suppressing smiles when they reviewed the diagrams, like it was something they recognized.”

  “Which diagrams?”

  “The Resonant Oscillation engine diagrams.” said Travellor.

  “Oh,... THAT!” said Farber-Chatwell, with a distasteful expression on his face. “I've had Cove explain that one to me three times already, and I still don't understand it. I hate feeling stupid.”

  “Join the club. I know it's not my field of expertise, but I just don't get the underlying physics involved. Three times? How did you get him to stand still that long. Whenever I have a question about one of his projects I have to put in a request and hope he calls me back.”

  “Privilege of rank. The man works for me, Commander. When I call, he answers. That always makes me feel a little better, when I'm feeling stupid.”

  They both laughed at the comment.

  “It's strange,” continued Farber-Chatwell, “but he and Ramsdel get along like brothers. I can't figure out what an engineering physicist and the man who runs 361's daily business operations can have in common so much. One talks science and the other finance, and they both seem to understand each other perfectly.”

  “It's the details.” replied Travellor. “They both deal in minute details that affect larger systems. Our brains aren't wired like that. We deal in the bigger picture of things.”

  “You might be right. I just don't like feeling that I need to go back to school, every time I talk to the man. By the way, being the generous person that I am, I'm going to share that feeling of stupidity with you. Cove will be on base for the testing of that engine. When your people are ready to go with the new ship, he wants to be there. Even as his boss, I can't deny him that. Keep it confidential until we're ready for the test.”

  “PHhhhh...” exhaled Travellor. “He's coming here? Oh boy. Well..., you can expect your efficiency report for that period to take a nose dive. Everybody is going to want some face time with him. Guess I should make it a formal event.”

  “That sounds like a plan, Commander. Alright – I've taken too much of your time. Sorry to disturb you in your quarters, but I thought you should know. I'll keep you informed when I have the details. Signing off.”

  The screen went blank. Travellor leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and rubbed his face with both hands.

  “ECKELBERRY COVE IS COMING HERE!”

  Travellor jumped in his chair at the loud and excited voice, and turned to face Mersuul. Her eyes were wide, as was her smile, in excitement.

  “You were not supposed to hear that.” he said. “You heard Farber-Chatwell. It's confidential. You will have to keep it a secret, just like me.”

  “He is coming here!” she reiterated, acting as if she hadn't heard him. “One of the most brilliant humans of your time is coming here – AND I WILL GET TO MEET HIM!”

  “Oh my God!” said Travellor, looking at the ecstatic expression on her face. “You remind me of the teenage girls when the Beatles came to the U.S. They lost their sanity too.”

  Mersuul walked over and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

  “You do not understand.” she said. “This is the making of history for your planet. This period in time is the beginning of your planet's introduction to the universe. On my world, the early space travel period can only be learned about in school or read about in historical records. Now is an important time for Earth. Eckelberry Cove is very likely to be the person who develops your space travel technology, and I will meet him. I was not alive to witness that time in Ganaphe' history, but I am able to witness it in yours. When I get back to my home I will be famous in scientific circles. Every cultural anthropologist who is interested in your planet will want to talk with me. Your planet will be big news for a long time, and I will be one of only a handful of Ganaphe' to witness it.”

  “And that would make you happy?” asked Travellor, smiling at her.

  “What is that expression you use – It won't stink!”

  Travellor chuckled. He always found it funny when she used colloquialisms. They never quite sounded right coming from her, and he enjoyed every time she did it. He slipped his arm under her legs and picked her up, carrying her to the bed where he slowly lowered her down.

  “Confidential! ” he said, quietly.

  “Confidential.” she replied, then pulled him closer and kissed him.

  2

  March 24, 2012

  “Bad news, Commander.” said Farber-Chatwell on the video link
. “GRAIL mission has been extended. To make it worse, the orbits of both satellites will be dropped closer to the surface. At some points they'll be as close as 4.3 miles AGL. Looks like our monitoring of the mission will have to take on greater importance. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll crash – I guess I shouldn't say that. I don't really wish ill on the GRAIL team. Until we find out what the new mission profile is we'll have to stop transport flights immediately. That will mean more work for you, Delfin. If you need more help for it, let the Commander know.”

  “Yes, sir.” said Jibble Delfin, as he monitored the equipment in the Communications Center.