by Colin Owen
Breakfast went as it should, except for Rufus not being there. Rufus was just too old to make this trip, so he'd been left behind with Jimmy and Shelley looking after him. It was only a small thing, but Steve could already see how things were changing for his family, and all the other Edenites. He knew that things would be very different when they returned from this trip, that's why he had been so keen for it to go ahead. It was one last chance for the Foresters to do their thing, and he intended to make the most of it.
After breakfast, Clare set off with great determination, and Steve dug out the geology kit, looking at Hope for a little reassurance. She just shrugged her shoulders and set about cleaning the dishes. "Thanks," he said, smiling at her, "I knew I could count on you for support."
He donned the kit and set off for a small rocky outcrop that was close by. "I'll be over there if you need me," he said pointing, and left the camp.
Hope cleaned up and sat down to read a book she had brought with her. She was quiet, a studious girl, unlike her sister Shelley, who could be the life and soul of the party when she wanted.
Hope knew she was special, in that she was the first human to be born on the Moon, but she also sensed that there was more than that. A sense of her own destiny had been implanted in her by her father, greatly supported by her mother. Hope knew there would come a time when she would play an important role in the life of the Edenite community, she just didn't know when.
She was only just a teenager, but already she was causing a stir amongst the young male population. Not only was she good looking, but she was also part of the first family, a real catch for someone. Right now, she was not too interested in boys, but nature would be sorting that out shortly. In the mean time, Hope was intent on helping her parents as much as she could. She too, sensed an impending end approaching, perhaps change would be a better word than end, but change so complete, that much that had gone before would indeed come to an end.
❧
Steve reached the outcrop and set to work with the kit. In much the same way as the water detector functioned, the geology kit used x-rays to penetrate the rock and measure its makeup. Output took the form of a graph on a small screen. The graph clearly showed the various known spikes that indicated the presence of common Earth minerals, but Steve was looking for other things. Kerasite was one, but he was hoping to find other alien substances also; who knows what else had been deposited here by all those asteroid hits. Steve worked intently, the excitement of the unknown driving him on, he also made careful notes for later study.
Clare was totally lost in her work as soon as she arrived at the patch of reddish coloured plants, growing close to the camp. Her initial inspection confirmed that they were alien and unknown to her. They don't belong to any species I've seen before, she wrote in her note book. She touched a petal, it felt like velvet. She smelled her fingers, the scent was pleasing but not strong. She noted the growth patterns and began making a sketch. It seemed that where these red flowers were growing, nothing else grew, not even grass. This struck her as odd, but not unduly so. Lastly, she took a specimen for later analysis. Clare stood up and stretched her back. It really had been a long time...
❧
John, Jimmy, and Eric had their heads together. Steve had left clear instructions for a theory he'd had prior to leaving. He wanted Jimmy to test it, so this meeting was to plan the strategy for doing so.
"How are we going to create that kind of heat?" Jimmy asked, "There's nothing here that can do it."
"True enough," Eric responded, "but there's lots of power down in Lark, so I suggest we head down there and see what we can cook up."
"Sounds like a plan," John said, so off they went.
The trio headed off to Lark. On reaching it, Eric went to look in the stores for something that would generate some real heat. He found it in an industrial laser that had been intended for mining use. With sufficient power it could generate several thousand degrees C, easily enough for their purposes. It took a few hours to hook it up to Lark's turbines, but eventually it was done. Jimmy mounted a small plate of Kerasite in a vice, and stood well back.
"All set here," he called to Eric, who was at the controls. The switch was thrown and the laser went to work on the plate. In no time at all, the entire place was filled with smoke, and a not too pleasant smell. Eric shut off the laser and waited till he could see. Jimmy, who was closest to the plate, spoke first.
"I don't believe it," he shouted excitedly. Eric and John came over to him. What they saw excited them too. The vice was gone, screws and all. Even the rock where the vice was mounted had suffered immense damage, but there, on the floor, shining as brightly as ever, was the Kerasite plate. It had no visible marks on it at all. It wasn't even warm to the touch.
"This is unreal," Jimmy said, "it should at least be warm. Let's try again with the narrowest beam the laser can generate. Perhaps a pin spot will get through."
"Ok," Eric said, "but my money's on the plate!"
They did it with the plate just resting against the rock face. The laser did its stuff but bounced off the plate's shiny surface searing the rock face on the opposite wall where it hit. They left the laser on until it began to seriously overheat then shut it off. By now, there was a deep hole in the wall where the laser had been deflected. Jimmy grabbed the plate -- it was stone cold and without even a blemish.
"I'd say that concludes the experiment guys," he said, handing the plate to John for inspection. "Steve's theory is proved."
"Agreed," said John, "I've never seen anything like this in all my years as an engineer. Remarkable!"
❧
Out at the Jeep, the radio crackled into life...
"This is John calling Steve, over."
Hope jumped, a little startled at the somewhat rude interruption, but quickly gathered herself together.
"This is Hope Mr. Hammond, dad is away from camp right now working on some rock tests, can I take a message, over."
"Sure thing Hope, just tell him his theory has been proven, so we're going ahead as planned, over."
"Ok, will do, over and out."
Hope stood up on the jeep to see if she could see her dad. He was several hundred meters away, but she figured she needed the exercise, so set off to give him the message.
"Hi Treasure," Steve said, when she arrived. "what brings you all the way out here?"
"There's a message," she said, and relayed it to him.
Steve just smiled when he heard it, "I thought as much," he said, more to himself than Hope.
"What does it mean daddy?" she asked innocently.
"It means we can go ahead with our big plan, Treasure, we now have a material that will withstand re-entry."
Hope was bright, and knew what re-entry meant. "So how're the tests going then?" She asked him.
"Fine Sweetheart, I've discovered Kerasite all over the place, but not much else of interest. Any news from your mother?"
"Nope, nothing at all. I haven't seen her since breakfast."
It was now almost lunchtime, so Steve and Hope went back to the camp for a snack, looking for Clare as they went. They saw her far off on the other side of the camp, crouching down over something blue. They called, but she didn't hear them.
"Shall I go and take her some lunch daddy?"
"No Sweetheart, she'll be deep into something over there, I'd leave her to it if I were you. She'll come back to camp when she's ready."
❧
Jimmy arrived back from Lark and went to see Shelley.
"Hi Hun," he called as he entered the house.
"Hi Jims, I'm so glad you're back, I'm worried about Rufus. He's been whimpering for the last hour or so, I think he's sick."
Jimmy looked at him, "I think you're right Hun, I'll call Sam and see if he can do anything."
Jimmy called Sam, the doctor, who came straight over. He bent down to examine Rufus, but wasn't there long.
"There's nothing I can do I'm afraid, it's just old age." Sam suggested
calling Steve and Clare in case they wanted to be there at the end.
"How long do you think he's got?" Shelley asked.
"Hard to say, but a couple of days tops, better get that call in."
Shelley wasted no time, and got on the radio to her mum and dad straight away.
Steve and Hope had just arrived back at the camp when the call came through.
"Hi Shell, this is dad, what's up?"
By now, Shelley was in tears. "It's Rufus daddy, he's ill. Sam says he only has a couple of days left, I thought you would want to know, over."
"Yes, thanks Honey, I'll go and tell your mother right away, I'll let you know what we're doing later, over and out."
Steve and Hope set off straight away towards where Clare was working. Hope was in tears too by the time they reached her. Clare heard them coming and looked up to see two somewhat distraught faces.
"Whatever is the matter?" she asked, as they approached.
"It's Rufus mommy, he's ill, and they think he only has a couple of days left."
Without replying, Clare jumped up, grabbed her specimen bag, and joined them as they ran back towards the campsite.
"Leave everything where it is," she said, on reaching the Jeep.
They all jumped in and set off back to Eden. Clare lived up to Steve's prediction; she did get more than 40 out of it. More than 60 actually, but no one cared.
"I'm so glad we didn't go too far Hun," she said, after a few moments, "we should be back at Eden in less than an hour or so."
Her guess was about right, an hour later, they arrived at Jimmy and Shelley's house and rushed inside. Rufus was lying in his basket looking very sorry for himself. He managed a single wag of his tail when he saw them all arrive, but couldn't lift his head. Clare bent down to stroke him, tears running down her cheeks. He managed to lick her hand a few times, which was stained blue from the last specimen she had picked up.
"Better leave him Hun," Steve said, "rest might do him good."
They left him and went to the kitchen to make a drink. Clare washed her hands and the water turned deep blue as she did so. Noticing this, Steve asked what it was.
"I don't know yet," she replied, "but it comes from some berries I found in that last patch I was looking at. I think I'll run some analysis on them now. It'll keep my mind off Rufus."
"Ok Hun, I'll let you know if anything happens."
It was an hour or so later when Clare came back to the house.
"Steve," she said, calling him to one side. "I haven't had much luck with the berries, but look at this." She showed him her left hand.
"What's wrong with it Hun? I can't see anything."
"That's just it," she said, "this morning I cut my hand on something sharp, and it was quite a nasty cut, I forgot all about it in the rush to get back, but look, it's gone!"
Steve looked again where she was pointing but could see nothing, just healthy skin, very healthy skin. In fact, there were no spots or blemishes of any kind on either of her hands. Even the scar she had had ever since he had known her had gone.
"What do you make of it Hun?" she asked.
"I think we'd better take a closer look at those berries," he answered, and was about to say more when a cry came from the room where Rufus was. They both rushed in thinking the worst, but when they got there, Rufus was sitting up looking much better.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Clare asked Steve.
"I sure am," he replied, "let's crush one of those berries, and give it to him."
Clare took one from her bag and gave it to him whole. He snaffled it down and looked for more. "Just one for now old boy," she said, to him. Then they settled back to see what would happen.
About an hour later Sam came round to see how Rufus was doing. Rufus heard him coming a long way off and began to bark. This startled Steve and Clare, but not as much as when Rufus took off like a three year old out of the door to greet Sam as he arrived.
"What's this?" Sam called out as Rufus hit him at speed. "What on the Moon has happened to him?"
Steve and Clare explained all about her hands and Rufus' miraculous recovery.
"Can I have a sample berry to run some tests on?" Sam asked after hearing it.
"Sure," Clare said, passing him one, "let me know what you find."
Sam didn't bother to look at Rufus, it would have been too much trouble to get him still enough, so he just left, scratching his head as he went. Rufus showed no sign of slowing down, and no sign of any ill effects, and Clare's hands remained pristine.
The next day at breakfast, Rufus went through his old routine.
"Funny how I've missed that," Steve said, when Rufus had calmed down.
"It's like he was young again," Clare observed, "if he had just been healed, he would still be old, but he seems to be young again, do you think its possible-"
"Anything is possible," Steve interrupted, not letting her finish. "Remember the two trees in the midst of the Bible's Eden? Well, we may have found one of them!"
It was after saying this that something struck Steve's thinking. He jumped up and ran out saying, "Had an idea, see you later."
Clare examined her hands, they were flawless, and young looking, could it really be that they had found the tree of life?
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter 4.
Kay
Sam was busy in his lab with the precious berry. He found it to be quite unremarkable in both appearance and makeup. All of his tests had so far turned up nothing out of the ordinary, and certainly nothing that would explain Rufus' seemingly miraculous recovery. Perplexed, he stared at his computer screen trying to figure out what he had missed. He'd done all the standard tests, and was now quite literally, stuck for a clue as to which way to go next. "Perhaps Clare has had more luck," he said, into the air, and he set off to find her. He was just about to leave when Steve walked in.
"Hi Sam, any news on the berry yet?"
Sam just shrugged his shoulders, "What can I say Steve, it's just a berry!"
"You didn't find anything then?"
"Well, I can tell you that it contains no toxins, is citrus, has vitamin C in abundance, and makes one hell of a blue die! Other than that..."
"Is it safe for humans?" Steve asked. "As houses," came the reply.
"Thanks Sam," Steve said, and left.
On his way back home he bumped into John who was also keen to find out just what was going on, and why Rufus was terrorising the dog population.
"Are the rumours true Steve, has Clare really found a miracle cure?"
"It looks that way John," Steve replied, "it has certainly given Rufus a new lease of life. I've just come from Sam's lab, he can't find anything out of the ordinary, and he says it's safe for humans too. Did you know that it healed a cut on Clare's hand, and removed an old scar that had been there for years? Her hands look twenty years younger...I think we need to share this with the whole community, let's schedule a meeting for tomorrow morning."
With that they parted, John off home, and Steve trying to catch Rufus.
When he finally made it home, with Rufus securely under his arm, he found Clare lost in thought.
"Penny for them," he said, as she looked up.
"I can't stop looking at my hands," she responded, "it's like a dream. They really are younger, not just in looks, but in feel and function."
She showed them to him, and he had to admit that she was right.
"I've called a meeting for tomorrow morning Sweetie, we need to share this with everyone. If there's anything you'd like to say..."
He stopped talking and held her hand against his cheek. She smiled and withdrew it, knowing that the dinner would burn if she didn't.
Over dinner, Steve told her about Sam's results. "He says it's just a berry, with nothing out of the ordinary in it at all."
"Beats me," she said, "I have nothing to add either, did he say it was safe for us to eat?"
"He said he'd give it to his granny--if he had one!
By the way, did you find many of them out there?"
"There were quite a few plants in the patch I was studying, but it should be easy enough to grow them..."
She stopped because she could see he had a thought about to erupt.
"We have near perfect growing conditions here on the Moon," he said, "but would it grow on Earth?"
"No reason why not," she responded, "so long as the radiation levels are not too high."
"It's the radiation I was thinking about, or more precisely, radiation sickness. There may be hundreds of thousands down there who could be helped by this berry. Something in me won't let go of that thought. If I ever had any doubt about the trip, I don't now. Let's see if we can get this stuff to grow."
It became late, and their bed called. Tomorrow promised to be another interesting day.
Morning came and everyone had assembled in the central meeting place. Conversation was buzzing when Steve and Clare arrived, so much so, that Steve had to whistle to get everyone's attention.
"Ok guys," he began, "I know you're all excited about Clare's discovery, and I know you know about Rufus!"
Hearty laughs went up.
"I wish we had some concrete evidence to present to you, but the simple truth is, we don't. Sam has tested the berry and found nothing out of the ordinary, neither has Clare, and yet-"
Rufus ran past chasing another dog.
"I rest my case," he said, hands in the air.
Clare stood to speak and Steve stepped back. "The juice from this berry healed a cut on my hand, and also removed an old scar that had been there for years."
She held her hands up for all to see, then continued,
"They are young again, the skin seems to have been rejuvenated, every blemish has gone."
She sat down to stunned silence. Steve stepped up again.
"We need to talk about how we handle this. Sam says it's safe to eat, but should we make it part of our every-day diet, or keep it for those who are sick?"
"We don't have anyone who is sick!" This was Katy speaking, and she was right. There had been no sickness in all the time they had been on the Moon.
