Impact

by Brandon Q Morris

  “Maybe it was billions of years ago, and in the meantime the cryovolcano moved the rock around and left it where you found it,” Jenna said.

  “Yes, that’s the only solution that I can think of right now,” Geralt said. “I’d like to take it back home with us, though, and figure out how old it is.”

  “Then roll it on over to the rover,” Boris said, “and then let’s start working on this next layer.”

  “We’ve still got enough methane for half an hour,” Geralt said.

  “And oxygen for two hours,” Anna said.

  “I’m almost done here,” Boris said.

  The third layer had yet to produce a surprise. He took a deep breath. It was still too early to draw any conclusions. What was only 30 meters, when the potential location of what they were looking for was in an area of almost 200 meters?

  He pointed the flame back toward the ice. He had already melted the walls as much as possible. Only around the middle of the step was there still a large mountain of ice, which he now started to melt. The water flowed around it in streams, also contacting his feet. How far would it get before it refroze? The mountain of ice in the middle was starting to become discolored.

  “Anna, more oxygen.” The discoloration must’ve been soot. But it didn’t go away. “Anna, what’s going on? Is the oxygen already out?”

  “No, you should be getting even more than before.”

  Oh. Then the color wasn’t soot! “Geralt, Anna, turn off the gas.”

  The flame died. He set the torch down on the ground and approached the dark, spiked hill in the center of the step. Boris waded through a shallow puddle that was already freezing back into ice.

  He reached the discolored mound, leaned forward, and touched it. It was hot so he quickly pulled his hand back. Whatever it was had a high heat capacity.

  “Boris, what’s going on? Are we taking a break?” Geralt asked.

  “I think I’ve found something.”

  “What does it look like?” Jenna asked.

  Boris heard footsteps behind him, but he didn’t turn around. “It’s pointed and thin and made of metal,” he said.

  The footsteps got closer. He stood up and turned around. A barrel with two arms and two legs was running toward him. It was Jenna. She threw herself into his arms. “That’s got to be the tip of the spaceship!” she shouted.

  It was clear they had found the ship. The last of the methane had just run out. Jenna hadn’t missed her chance to do some of the work herself. The spaceship’s nose cone was now sticking about two meters out of the ice. Only about the first half of a meter was pointed—probably some type of antenna. Below that, the ship had a very compact shape. Where it was sticking out of the ice, it already measured 15 meters across, and they had not yet reached the full size of the ship’s hull.

  They wouldn’t get to that until tomorrow. Geralt had already retreated into the cabin and was reconfiguring the rover from there to produce more methane and oxygen. Hopefully, their stores of methane and oxygen would grow overnight so that they’d have enough to free the rest of the ship from the ice tomorrow. They wouldn’t have to melt away the entire ice ramp, just enough so that they could get the spaceship into the air with the help of its own engines.

  Jenna knelt in front of the part of the spaceship that had already been excavated. She put both hands on the ship. It looked as if she were caressing the metal.

  Boris’s stomach felt like it was in knots. Was that jealousy? He’d never had the feeling before.

  Now Jenna placed the side of her head against the steel hemisphere, as if she were listening to the ship.

  He walked up to her. “Do you hear something?” he asked.

  She straightened up. “Try it yourself,” she said. “Place yourself here like me and then put your ear against the outer wall. You should be able to hear even better than I can, because I’ve still got a helmet in the way.”

  “Oh, don’t underestimate your helmet. Their microphones are very good,” Boris said. “In comparison, my outer skin dampens sound waves.”

  “But don’t you have very good hearing?”

  “Yes, our hearing is increased genetically to make up for the dampening by the outer skin.”

  “Interesting. I hadn’t had much interaction with Snarushi before. It’s funny that we’re all equal according to the law, but then we all spend so much more time with our own kind.”

  “It’s probably more... practical,” Boris said. “But if you want to spend more time with a Snarushi, I’d gladly volunteer.” He said it very casually, even though it felt like his heart had been beating so loud that anyone could have heard it from anywhere in the patera.

  “Thank you. I would be delighted to accept your invitation,” Jenna said, “once we get back home.”

  Ha! She’d said ‘yes!’ It wasn’t a formal arrangement, and definitely not a date, but she also hadn’t flatly rejected him or used their work as an excuse to say ‘no,’ which is what he had expected. His face glowed. He set himself next to the ship’s nose cone and placed his head against it. It felt almost pleasant to press his cheeks against the ice-cold metal.

  He listened. At first, he only heard the loud drumming of his own heart. But, as it slowly calmed down again, he started to hear fainter sounds. There was a low, deep hum. It sounded like a generator. On top of the droning sound there seemed to also be a more subtle noise. He had to listen very carefully to distinguish it from the sound of his own blood.

  No, it wasn’t his imagination. Boris straightened up again.

  “So, what did you hear?” Jenna asked as she looked him straight in the eyes. He immediately started to feel warm again.

  “Humming and other noises. It reminded me of a generator and a life-support system.”

  “Thanks, Boris. That proves I didn’t just imagine it. Don’t you think that’s crazy? The ship’s been waiting there in eternal ice for more than five thousand orbital periods, and its systems and machines are still functional. And the whole time with nobody to service or repair them.”

  “Everything was probably designed with several layers of redundancy. And we don’t know how anything looks yet. It’s a time capsule that’s been closed for five thousand orbital periods. Who knows what we’ll find in there?”

  “Oh, that’s a fascinating idea, Boris,” Jenna said. “Do you know the fairy tale of ‘Sleeping Beauty?’ Maybe the founders had a garden room full of plants that have since taken over the entire ship.”

  “Yes, I remember that story—but nobody could get through the thorn bushes to get to Sleeping Beauty. I hope we have better luck.”

  “We’ve got better technology. Even the worst undergrowth is no match for a chainsaw.”

  “That’s true,” Boris said, “but I still don’t know if we’d really want a garden that’s been undisturbed for five thousand orbital periods. The ship’s interior would then have to be full of dead organic matter. It would take us weeks to be able to clean it all up.”

  He couldn’t believe it. Typically, he had a lot of trouble holding long conversations with people he didn’t know well, but he was managing without any problems at all with Jenna.

  “Maybe we could leave half the ship as a garden. The four of us wouldn’t need much room. I think I’d like to fly around with a garden onboard.”

  “I think I’d like that, too,” Boris said.

  Then he asked himself where his place would be in a garden like that. He would only be able to tolerate a climate that was good for plants for a short time. Then he’d have to climb out of the ship and continue the trip on the outer hull of the spaceship. At night he’d have to spend his time alone in his tank.

  Suddenly he was sad. He shook his head. He was different than Jenna. They could exchange ideas and have conversations, but nothing more.

  “Let’s get the ship uncovered first,” he said. “Then we’ll see.”

  4790.11

  He was a dwarf, really and truly a dwarf. Standing in front of the foun
ders’ ship, Boris felt extremely tiny. It projected higher than the most massive dunes, and it commanded more respect than Titan’s tallest peak. It shot straight up into the sky, while the mountain—beaten down by erosion—had comparatively gentle slopes. No storms or weather had any chance against this work of wonder. It had survived more than 5,000 orbital periods under the ice. The spaceship now probably shone brighter than it had on the day it had been placed in service, because rising water vapor was condensing on its cold metal surface and coating it with an uncountable number of ice crystals.

  This ship showed what humans were capable of. Boris believed it required skill and knowledge that had been lost on Titan. But it wasn’t a wistful thought—it was just a matter of fact. Those who had to fight for their survival rarely looked impressive, more likely appearing haggard and grim. They were all a little ragged on Titan, and he especially felt that way about himself. Otherwise he would have long since asked Jenna out on a real date.

  “Seen enough yet?” Geralt asked by radio. “I could use you down here.”

  Boris pulled himself away from the massive rocket. What does it look like inside? They would find out later.

  Where was Geralt? “Where are you, and what do you need me for?” he asked.

  “I’m down here with the torch. Switch to infrared and you’ll see me. The oxygen hose is too short. I need you to move the rover so I can uncover the rest of the fins.”

  “The fins?”

  “Yes, we were all surprised. It’s got four of them at the back. I’m pretty sure they were used to stabilize its flight position while it was landing. Anna found them. The two women removed the ice from the first one by hand. I’m uncovering the second one now. They’re very thin and have mechanical-hydraulic linkages, so we didn’t want to get too close to them with the methane torch.”

  “Anna didn’t keep working while we took a break, did she? Her outer skin will be needing to recharge if she did.”

  “No, she got up a half-hour ago like the rest of us.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  The methane supply had run out again in the afternoon, so all of them, including Anna and himself, had agreed to take a break while the rover pulled new methane out of the atmosphere and liquified it.

  “If you could bring the rover closer to me—”

  “On my way.”

  Boris ran. He didn’t want to keep Geralt waiting any longer. He had slept half an hour longer than the others. But why hadn’t anyone awakened him before? He reached the rover, climbed inside, and got his bearings. The methane hose was still lying loosely on the ground, but the oxygen hose was pulled tight. He started the vehicle and moved it slowly in the direction of the hose. Then he saw Geralt holding the torch.

  “That’s enough,” his friend said.

  “Okay. You want me to take your place?”

  “No, that’s okay. But I’m almost done here. Then you can get the rest of the ice off using something else. There must be an ax in the tool chest. You could try that. Then I can start uncovering the other fins.”

  “Will the hoses reach?”

  Geralt looked around and pulled on both hoses. “Yes, I think so.”

  “If not, you’ll know where to find me.”

  Geralt disappeared with the torch, moving behind the fin. All that Boris could still see were the hoses, still moving like two snakes racing toward the same target. Don’t get eaten, Geralt.

  Boris climbed out and opened the tool chest on the side of the rover. Yes, there was an ax in there, its blade shining. He took it out and felt its weight in his hands—perfect, as if it had been made for him.

  Geralt had already uncovered the fin enough that he could see its shape. Boris lifted the ax forcefully and let the steel blade come crashing down on the ice, sending splinters to one side. A piece hit him, but it didn’t hurt. He hacked at the ice again. Slowly he found his rhythm, and the metallic fin increasingly regained its shape.

  It was satisfying work that he could get lost in and not have to think of anything or anyone else. He wouldn’t be judged on giving witty responses or his friendliness, but instead only on how cleanly he could restore the fin to its original shape, designed by some unknown human many thousands of orbital periods ago on a faraway planet.

  Suddenly he felt unbelievably connected to the Earth. After the jealousy that erupted in him yesterday, here was another feeling that he’d never before experienced. This little expedition was apparently gradually turning into the journey of his life.

  “This is where they all must’ve climbed down,” Anna said, pointing to a long ladder, “one foot after the other.”

  “Strictly speaking, it would have been at most two here,” Geralt corrected. “Almost certainly they landed the ship here only after completely unloading it somewhere else. I doubt all ninety-eight founders would have flown along to this place.”

  Typical Geralt. What if they had wanted one last flight to say goodbye to their ship? Boris mused.

  “Maybe the others would have wanted to say goodbye to their ship,” Jenna said.

  He looked at her and started feeling warm again. Now they were even having the same thoughts! But Jenna wouldn’t know about that, because he rarely expressed them.

  “Okay, fine,” Geralt said. “I’m picturing ninety-eight humans in spacesuits climbing down this ladder and then marching back to their base on foot. But certainly they would have also brought along ten cabin rovers so that they wouldn’t suffocate on their long hike back.”

  Anna turned toward Geralt and gave him the evil eye, which Boris knew well. Geralt was right, of course. But the image of 98 founders dressed identically in spacesuits saying farewell to their ship had a certain degree of grandeur to it.

  “Well, Mr. Smarty-Pants, why don’t you tell us why there were ninety-eight and not exactly one hundred founders then?” Jenna said.

  “There’s no explanation for that in the archives,” Geralt replied.

  “Shall we take a look at the ship from the inside, then?” Boris asked.

  “Of course. I’ll follow the rest of you,” Jenna said.

  “No, the honor belongs to the expedition leader,” Boris pointed out.

  “Just go. Things like that aren’t important to me.”

  Anna and Geralt shook their heads almost in sync and crossed their arms in front of their stomachs as Boris had already done.

  “Okay, fine,” Jenna said. “If you all insist.”

  Jenna reached for the lowest rung but couldn’t quite catch it. The founders probably had a step at the bottom of their ladder. Boris jumped forward so that nobody could get to Jenna before him and lifted her up. Despite her spacesuit, she felt very light.

  “Thanks, Boris,” she said.

  He started feeling warm again. Damn hormones! His outer skin made them really annoying. It always had a delayed reaction to dissipating excess heat.

  Jenna carefully climbed up. The ladder led about 80 meters up to a large, half-rounded door. An airlock was probably behind that. After Jenna had climbed about ten meters, Anna began to follow her. As a Snarushi, Anna was considerably taller than Jenna, so she could reach the ladder herself.

  Geralt looked at Boris. “I’ll bring up the rear,” Boris assured him.

  The archeologist nodded and pointed to the ladder. Of course, he was also not much taller than Jenna. Boris lifted him up, waited until Geralt was a few meters above him, then started climbing up, too.

  “Okay, I’m going to open the outer door,” Jenna radioed.

  Boris stopped climbing and looked up but couldn’t see anything. Maybe one of them should’ve stayed below for monitoring? Perhaps he should go back down? He was already about 40 meters above the ground.

  “I’m in,” Jenna said.

  That was fast. The airlock hadn’t been locked. But why should the founders have locked it behind them? They wouldn’t have had to worry about uninvited guests on Titan.

  “What do you see? Is there breathable air?” asked Anna.
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  “I’m in the airlock and trying to figure out how to exit it. I’m afraid I’m going to have to wait until Geralt gets here. The airlock’s big enough for all of us.”

  “Almost there,” Geralt assured her.

  Boris hurried up. Maybe it would be smarter not to send all of them into the unknown at once, but if he wasn’t with Jenna, he also couldn’t protect her. Funny how he was no longer thinking of Anna. He trusted her to be able to take care of herself well enough.

  The airlock was surprisingly roomy. Supposedly it was the main exit for the human crew. But there must’ve been a cargo airlock, too. The outer door would have been much too narrow for any equipment the founders brought with them.

  Geralt was kneeling on the floor next to the inner door. He kept tapping on the back of his hand. He was probably trying to decipher the meanings of the symbols. It would have been nice if the founders had left behind some instructions. The new language that they had introduced on Titan, in order to leave everything to do with Earth behind, was based on Old English, Old Russian, Old Norwegian, Old Spanish, and Old German. Nobody was left who could still read the old texts, and for some reason the founders hadn’t left behind any dictionaries, either.

  “How’s it coming?” Boris asked.

  “It’d go faster if you stopped asking me every few seconds.”

  His friend Geralt was a typical scientist. He was, above all, thorough and careful. That was how you needed to proceed for scientific studies, but he didn’t think the tried-and-true method of trial and error could do any harm when it came to opening airlock doors. What could happen?

  Boris walked toward Geralt at the front. He put a hand on Anna’s shoulder, and she moved over to make room for him. The inner door’s control panel had been mounted surprisingly low. The founders must’ve been significantly shorter than modern Titanians.