The Cassini Code

by Dom Testa

  He paused for a few moments, allowing his words to sink in. He scanned the faces of the room, making eye contact, engaging their emotions. Triana sat still, leaning forward, her elbows on her knees. She was angry that Merit was doing this, turning the crew against her, against Dr. Zimmer, against their hope for survival.

  And yet, on another level, she found herself marveling at his motivational skills. His was a natural talent for persuasion, a talent that Triana felt she possessed, but at nowhere near the level she was observing. Merit Simms could sell, period.

  After his brief pause, he shook his head. “I have given this so much thought. I have considered not only our past experiences, but also studied, in depth, what lies before us. We have so far to go within the Kuiper Belt, and it’s more dangerous than you know. And then, what lies beyond that? What will we encounter in the void between the Belt and Eos? What do we know about empty space? Or, is it even really empty?

  “And more importantly: What happens when we arrive at Eos? Do I even need to point out to you the odds of survival on the new world?”

  With this comment there were several murmurs amongst the crew. Merit paused to allow them to express their own doubts. For an instant Triana wondered if the look on his face wasn’t a look of satisfaction. He knew what was happening.

  “But,” he said, raising his voice above the chatter. “But,” he said again, louder, until the room again fell silent. “But apparently questioning the plan is not allowed on this ship. Apparently our Council, which is supposed to represent us, does not allow lowly crew members like me, like you, to approach them with fears and concerns. Apparently we are at their mercy. Did you know that?”

  There was no verbal response to this, but the assembled crew members nervously looked at one another, aware that the majority of the Council sat quietly in the back of the room. Two or three of Merit’s personal entourage glanced back at Triana and smirked.

  “I know,” Merit said, “because I tried. I tried to visit with the Council, tried to express my fears, tried to recommend that they consider an alternative. I questioned them about the Cassini, a force more powerful than anything man has ever seen, a force that can either destroy…or assist.

  “The Cassini have now known for months about Bhaktul. What might have happened since we left Titan? What changes have possibly taken place on Earth in the last ninety days? How do we know that the Cassini haven’t used their awesome powers to repair our home? How do we know that we’re not risking our lives every single minute of every single day…when our families might be healing, and waiting for us to return?”

  Now Triana could see Gap clenching his fists. She knew that he was dying to stand up and speak, but he kept his composure. She bit her lip and remained still.

  “And do you want to know what happens when you actually try to talk to the Council today?” Merit paused, then pointed to the bandage on his lip. “This is what happens. You get attacked.”

  Another low murmur spread across the room. Merit lowered his hand and stood still, a victim on display.

  Finally he spoke again in a low voice, drawing his audience back in. “All I’m asking is to be heard. All I’m asking is that the will of the crew be honored. We are a ship in trouble. I believe we should turn for home, for the safety and security of our families. But I’m only one voice, a voice that has been beaten down. So tonight I’m asking you to join us, peacefully. With numbers we can finally be heard. If you join with us, we can choose life, together.”

  He paused again, before closing with a soft, “Thank you.” Immediately his cheering section stood and began applauding. They looked around at the tables near them, encouraging others to rise and join in. Slowly, several other crew members rose to their feet and began to clap. As Merit nodded his thanks, almost a third of the Dining Hall was cheering his speech. He waited for a few moments, made quick eye contact with Triana, the corners of his mouth barely turned up in a smile, then walked toward the door, shaking hands and offering personal thanks. A minute later he was gone.

  12

  I see that you’re about to eavesdrop on Lita in Sick House, so this is a good time to ask you something that I’ve wondered for a while.

  If one of your electronic devices breaks down, I’ve noticed that you won’t hesitate to either take it in to be repaired, or immediately order a new one. On Earth, if an automobile has a problem, you would immediately take it in to the shop. If your washing machine is acting up, you get a repairman out right away.

  But if your own body has a problem, you put it off, you ignore it, you pretend that everything is fine. Seems funny to me that your portable music device gets preferential treatment over your flesh and blood. You’re a very funny species.

  “No…no, a little higher,” the girl said.

  Lita pushed two fingers against the slightly bruised skin. “Okay. What about here?”

  “Yeah, that’s…ouch!”

  Lita pulled her hand away. “Well, it’s at least a bruised rib. Maybe a crack. Seems to be a popular injury this week.”

  The girl, a fifteen-year-old from Egypt, blew out a sigh of disgust. “How long does that take to heal?”

  “Oh, that depends,” Lita said, walking over to a locked cabinet. She opened it and removed a small bottle of pills. “No more than six or eight months.”

  “What? Eight months?”

  Lita grinned as she poured six of the pills into a small envelope. “Relax, Ana, I’m kidding. You’ll be fine in just a few weeks.”

  “Don’t scare me like that. I don’t think I could go that long without soccer. My team needs me.”

  “It was soccer that did this to you in the first place,” Lita said, pointing to the bruise.

  “You guys are playing a little rough, aren’t you?”

  Ana returned Lita’s smile. “You have to be tough to win. I stayed in the game after this, you know. I even scored the winning goal.”

  “Yes, you told me already. In fact, I think you’ve mentioned it three times. Listen, take one of these now, another one tomorrow, and only take the other four if you really think you need them. If you’re as tough as you think you are, you can bring them back to me.”

  Ana slid off the examining table and winked at Lita. “You’ll get the other four back.”

  Lita nodded her head. “Uh-huh. Well, we’ll see how tough you are tonight when you try lying down for the first time with a cracked rib.” She placed the envelope in her latest patient’s hand. “One other piece of advice. If I were you I would try to stay away from funny people and pepper for the next few days.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’ll be wishing for another pill if you start laughing or sneezing,” Lita said. “Trust me.”

  Ana smiled and gave a quick wave goodbye. As she was walking out the door she passed Alexa, who was obviously doing her best to look better than she felt. Lita rushed over to greet her assistant.

  “How are you feeling today?”

  Alexa shrugged. “Ugh, I’ve felt better. But I’m not missing any more work, I can tell you that.”

  Lita stood in her path, arms crossed. “You know, there are only so many tough crew members I can tolerate in one day. What’s going on with you?”

  “I still feel a little queasy. Almost like I’m seasick or something. I don’t know if it’s better, or if I’m just getting used to it.”

  “Anything else, or just the stomach?”

  Alexa walked around Galahad’s Health Director and made her way over to her desk.

  “You are such a worry wart. I’m fine.”

  “C’mon, Alexa. What else?”

  “A little pain, okay? Nothing I can’t handle.”

  “Pain in your stomach? Pain and nausea?”

  “Yeah. So, what have I missed around here?”

  Lita’s face took on a scowl. “Dr. Zimmer not only found the brightest kids on the planet, I think he rounded up the most stubborn ones, too. Why won’t you let me help you?”

  “B
ecause it will go away. I’m telling you, it’s gotta be something I ate. Blame Bon, not me.”

  “Nobody else is sick. It’s not the food.”

  Alexa looked at her friend. “I’ll tell you what. If it’s not better in a couple of days you can poke and prod all you want, okay?”

  Lita shook her head. “No, if it’s not better tomorrow I’m going to poke and prod. And don’t lie to me, Alexa.”

  “Yes, Mother,” Alexa said, and turned her attention to the work that had piled up on her desk. The conversation was apparently over.

  Lita stared at her for another minute as a knot of concern began to grow in her own stomach.

  The high-intensity lights in Dome 2 had begun their daily afternoon fade, gradually ushering in the equivalent of an Earth dusk. One by one the flicker of starlight seeped through the clear panels of the dome, the familiar nighttime companions resuming their mute watch over the ship full of pilgrims streaking toward a new world. Workers on the late afternoon shift had chosen to bathe the farm domes in a pleasant background veil of sound. The piped-in music was a relaxing blend of deep tones, cascading synth pieces, and a rushing wind; the effect was almost tranquilizing.

  Gap held onto Hannah’s hand as they slowly made their way along one of the paths. His grip was light, almost caressing. He stole an occasional glance at her face, taking in her soft eyes, the fall of her hair over the shoulder. Her laugh was easy and relaxed, comfortable at last in his company.

  The tension he felt around the Merit Simms trouble had melted away—for the time being, anyway. In the back of his mind he knew that it would come racing back to the forefront very soon, but for now he was content.

  Or…was it more than that? Was he happy?

  His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice that floated out from within a dense growth of corn stalks. He recognized one of Channy’s bright yellow t-shirts pushing through the green plants.

  “Hold up, lovebirds,” she said.

  Gap and Hannah stopped and watched the young Brit emerge, brushing small patches of dirt from her knees. Gap smiled at Channy and said, “Are you lost?”

  “Ugh, it wouldn’t be hard to do. I can’t believe how quickly these things have grown. They’re almost over my head.”

  “So what are you doing in there?” Gap said.

  Channy looked back and pointed at a small shape that was slinking onto the path about twenty feet away. “Babysitting, as usual. Iris definitely prefers Dome 2 over the other one.”

  Hannah raised her eyebrows. “So this is better territory for a cat to explore, is that it?”

  “Who knows?” Channy said. “They seem about the same to me, but maybe there’s just too much noise in Dome 1. It might spook her a bit. It took me fifteen minutes to track her down in the corn.” She turned her attention to the clasped hands of Gap and Hannah, a smile spreading across her face. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

  “What if I said yes?” Gap said.

  “Then I’d be forced to walk away, and then secretly stalk you from a distance. You could save me a lot of trouble if you just said no.”

  Hannah laughed. “We’re just taking a walk. Any spying that you did would be pretty boring for you.”

  Channy shrugged. “More exciting than anything I have planned tonight.” She looked up at Gap. “So…have you thought anymore about that garbage Merit was spilling last night?”

  Gap frowned. Apparently the break from tension was over. “It’s a tough situation,” he said. “The guy has every right to express himself, and people have every right to agree or disagree with him. It’s not like we can shut him up because we don’t like what he’s saying.”

  “Yeah, I know that,” Channy said. “But he’s so…so wrong. He’s filling peoples’ heads with a bunch of silly nonsense.”

  “Again, that’s for people to decide.”

  “Yes, but nobody is telling them that it’s nonsense. They’re only hearing one side.”

  She had a good point, Gap thought. So far the fight had been completely one-sided. Not counting Bon’s contribution, of course, but that had ended up benefiting Merit’s cause.

  Channy filled the silence between them. “Why doesn’t Tree hold her own meeting and respond?”

  “Well, at first I don’t think she wanted to give him the satisfaction, you know?” Gap said. “It was almost as if acknowledging his claims gave him some sort of credibility. But now…” He trailed off.

  “Right,” Channy said. “Now he seems to have a ton of credibility.” Hannah shifted uncomfortably. Gap wondered if she felt like she was intruding into a mini-Council meeting. He tightened his grip on her hand to let her know that everything was okay.

  “I was going to talk to Tree about this anyway,” he said to Channy. “Listen, she’s a great leader, we all know that. I’m sure she’s giving this as much thought—or more—as we are.”

  Channy seemed unmoved by this. Her gaze turned toward Iris, who had sprawled into a patch of dirt and was rolling onto her back. The light had faded considerably, and the starlight above was taking on a sharper set.

  Gap was about to add something to the conversation when the sound of voices caught his ear. Two boys in farming overalls came around the edge of the corn crop, tools slung over their shoulders, and intently talking about something until they realized they were not alone. They fell silent as they marched past, one of them acknowledging Gap, Hannah, and Channy with a brisk nod, while the other, a tall, slender boy with a shaved head, stared straight ahead.

  Around his upper arm was a distinctive yellow armband with a black “R.T.E.” stenciled on it.

  No words were exchanged between either group, and within a few seconds the two farm workers had disappeared down the path. Channy balled her fists and seethed.

  “That’s the kind of stuff I’m talking about,” she said, pointing in the direction the boys had walked. “More and more of these people putting on those ridiculous armbands, walking around like they’re on a mission or something.”

  Gap forced a smile. “We’re all on a mission.”

  “You know what I mean,” Channy snapped at him.

  “Hey, calm down,” Gap said. “Don’t take it out on me.”

  “Well, I’m angry.”

  “I know you’re angry. But remember what happened when Bon let his anger get out of control.” Gap paused to let that sink in, and watched as Channy slowly relaxed and crossed her arms.

  “All I’m saying is don’t overreact,” he said. “There’s no reason they can’t wear whatever they want. I know it’s frustrating, but we have to keep our composure, right? That’s one good example that Triana is setting for the rest of us. She’s just as frustrated as you, believe me. But any confrontation right now is only fuel for the fire.”

  “So just how long are we going to take this?” Channy said. Gap ran his free hand through his hair. “Things are going to work out, okay? For the time being maybe we should be grateful that we’re getting a crash course on accepting other viewpoints.” He touched Channy’s arm to get her attention focused on him.

  “Hey, we have a long way to go. This is the kind of stuff that we need to learn how to deal with if we’re going to create a new world someday. We’re not all going to agree all the time, you know.”

  Channy stared at him for a minute, then dropped her gaze to the ground. She mumbled, “Yeah, you’re right.”

  Gap chuckled. “I think part of you is upset because other people have discovered yellow.”

  A smile inched its way across Channy’s face. She looked at Gap and nodded, then turned her attention to Hannah. “You’re not saying much. What do you think about all of this?”

  Hannah darted a glance at Gap, then back to Channy. “Well…uh…it’s a little uncomfortable, I know that. But…” She paused for a second. “But people approach a crisis in different ways. Some people get emotionally involved, and others tackle it from a more…well, a more logical angle.”

  Both Gap and Channy
stared at her, waiting for her to continue. She cleared her throat nervously and said, “I happen to disagree with Merit because of pure logic. It just makes no sense to attempt to turn around here in the Kuiper Belt, and to start a slow return trip to Earth. Especially since we have no evidence whatsoever that things are any better there than when we left.”

  “What would you recommend we do?” Channy said.

  Again Hannah took a quick look into Gap’s face. “Well, since so many people are wondering about the Cassini, I think it might make sense to talk to the one person who has had intimate contact with them.”

  Gap and Channy looked at each other. Then Gap nodded slowly. “That’s a really good idea.”

  Channy said, “Yeah, I hate to admit it, but Bon could know more about this situation than anyone.” She paused, glancing uncomfortably between Gap and Hannah. “Uh…so who’s going to be the one to try to drag it out of him?”

  There was silence again. Gap looked up through the dome into the star field that was now furiously blazing. He knew that a showdown was inevitable, and the possibility that Bon might hold the key—as he did during their encounter with Titan—was not the most comforting thought of the day.

  He gave Hannah’s hand another squeeze, and began to lead her down the path. “I’ll see you at the Council meeting in the morning,” he said to Channy, who had picked Iris up from the dirt.

  “Cheers,” Channy said, waving one of the cat’s paws at them. She held Iris up to her mouth and whispered, “Maybe you can talk to Bon.”

  13

  Things were chilly again on Level Six. Triana walked briskly through the curving corridor, rubbing her arms to help the circulation, wondering just how cold it was. She could only imagine the frustration that Gap was probably feeling right now. His pride told him that he could solve any technical problem, and to have a constant gremlin turn up in the heating system of the ship wore through his patience quickly. She had spoken with him moments earlier on the intercom, and asked him if he could break away for at least thirty minutes for the morning Council meeting.