Dying Planet

by C. O. Amal

  “We will leave in the morning to Earth. It’s a long shot, but it’s all we have got.” Jess said.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 5

  A.D. 450, Planet Mars

  Karen and Ben and all other people in the air base waited hours in that dimly lit room. There was no news from the outside and there are hundred and twenty one people in this facility.

  “My nose is really itching.” Karen complained.

  “Don’t worry, we will soon leave.” Ben said.

  Ben and Karen miss their mom and dad. It is the first time Karen and Ben staying away from their parents. They wish their parents are at heaven and are looking at Karen and Ben, praying for the good days to come.

  A moment later a man in black suit came to the front.

  “Everyone, we are happy to announce that it is morning and we will leave to Earth in few minutes. Everyone please follow me.” The man in black suit led everyone to a hallway.

  Everyone slowly followed the man in black suit. After a long walk they reached a big stadium like room which lacks roof. And in the centre of the room rests a big ship named Mars Enteropeda.

  “Are we going in that?” Ben asked a man with guns.

  “Yes.” The man said.

  Karen and Ben held their hands together and they stared at the ship.

  “Mom and dad will be happier if they see us together like this.” Karen said.

  “Sure. I am sure that they will be watching us from the heavens.” Ben said.

  “Okay, everyone. Slowly enter inside the ship.” A man with mike said from the entrance of the ship.

  Everyone slowly entered inside the ship. The ship is huge. Surely it can support life for months. Everyone took seats in the ship and waited. Karen and Ben were the last to enter in to the ship. They spotted empty seats in the front row, near the window. They slowly passed Jess and Sam who were cheering up even though they had lost their kids to the plague.

  Finally Ben and Karen sat down in their seats. When everyone entered inside, one of the men with gun closed the boarding ramp and then he walked into another level of the ship. There are lots of empty seats in the front row. This ship must have carried hundreds of people.

  “Everyone, please put on your seat belts.” A man yelled from the front.

  Everyone quickly strapped on their seat belts.

  A moment later the ship slowly rose from the ground. Ben and Karen curiously looked outside through the window. They could see all the things from here. Ship quickly reached above the air base building.

  Karen and Ben and all others on the side of windows could see the infected outside the fence. They all are quite energetic when they heard the sound of ship’s engines. Within a few moments, ship reached the skies. Then it happened.

  Hundreds of missiles, probably nuclear, rained from the skies to the land below. Mars Enteropeda stayed out of reach of the missiles. A moment later mushroom clouds formed here and there on the land below. Ben’s heart pounded faster.

  Finally Mars Enteropeda punched through the Mars’ atmosphere and it reached outer space. Ship slowly accelerated forward. Ben and Karen watched the red planet with hungry eyes. They are not going to see it again.

  A moment later the ship started to glide through the inter-dimensional space at blazing speed to planet Earth.

  “So, do you think the humans on Earth are friendly?” Ben asked Karen.

  “According to what I had read, they are in the most primitive stage. Most probably fighting each other with spears and swords.” Karen said.

  “Do you think they will accept us?” Ben asked.

  “They probably won’t see us for that. Even if they did, we will be intermingled with them. They will not have any clue that we are from Mars. I am sure whoever leading us have a plan to be one of the humans on Earth. I also eavesdropped they are saying that, we are landing in an abandoned place so that we could build up a community alone.” Karen said.

  “I wish mom and dad were here.” Ben said.

  “Yeah, it would have been fun.” Karen said.

  A moment later the ship reached near Earth through a worm hole, and Mars Enteropeda slowly glided towards Earth. By this time all the passengers took off their masks. In front of the ship, floating in the space is the blue planet which is shining in the sun’s light.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 6

  A.D. 1950, Somewhere in Russia

  A snowy morning. Engineer Johnson slowly exited his car and he walked towards the construction site. It is a vast region devoid of trees and the site’s boundary is marked by small concrete towers constructed here and there. Some workers are digging in the middle of the region and a military officer is shooting commands at the workers.

  Johnson slowly walked towards the military officer. The military officer on seeing Johnson smiled.

  “Is this where you found the metal layer?” Johnson asked.

  “Yes.” The military officer said. “They have been working all night and we didn’t even found the boundary of the metal. Ultra sonic scanning indicated that, it is in fact a metal doom which covers this entire place.” He showed the size of it by moving his hands.

  “What about cutting out the piece of metal at the place where we need this to be removed?” Johnson asked.

  “No, no. We want to know all about this thing. It could be the remains of an unknown civilization. Look at that metal. It hasn’t eroded even for a little. This metal is all we need to raise our head among other nations. Johnson, think global. We can’t destroy this.”

  “Whatever you say, sir. I was just thinking about quickening the construction of this military bunker. I don’t care about the dead line, if you pay me well.” Johnson said peeking at the wide hole the workers had dug overnight.

  “You’re a funny guy. I have to be somewhere else now. Will you look after everything well?”

  “It’s my job, sir.” Johnson smiled.

  The military officer patted Johnson’s shoulder and he walked away from the scene. Johnson stared at the leaving military officer, until the officer got inside his military car. The car quickly rushed outside the construction site. Johnson shifted his gaze to the hole the workers are digging.

  “Did you guys eat anything?” Johnson asked a nearby worker.

  “They gave us food early in the morning. We are good.” The worker said and he continued hauling the soil from the pit to a nearby place. Fifty workers are hauling the extra soil and other fifty are digging.

  Johnson slowly left the scene and he walked towards his makeshift camp. The makeshift camp is made up of a plastic sheet, and inside the camp there is a table, and the table is filled with blue prints of some sort of buildings. Johnson sat on the chair and analyzed the first blue print. It’s very difficult reading a blue print with all the measurements and stuffs like that. It’s even more difficult when trying to implement the blue print in actual practice.

  About an hour later he finished analyzing the first blue print and he moved to the next. A few minutes later a worker came inside the camp and he gave Johnson a cup of coffee and a loaf of bread. Then the worker left. A few minutes later another worker came to the camp.

  “Sir, you need to see the hole we had dug, immediately.” The worker said.

  “I am coming.” Johnson hurriedly finished his coffee and with the loaf of bread he followed the worker.

  Before long the hole came into view. It’s actually a big wide pit and workers had found the boundary of the metal layer. The overall metal structure is like an elongated doom.

  “Sir, it seemed to be a large cylinder.” A nearby worker said. “How do you want us to continue the work?”

  All workers stopped working and stared at Johnson.

  “I want this cylinder uncovered. And remove the soil in three meter or more distance from the metal boundary.” Johnson said.

  Workers quickly began their job.

  Johnson stared at the metal layer. Then he saw it. It’s not a cylinder. The boundary
of the metal layer still hasn’t reached at several positions. Workers slowly and carefully removed the soil. An hour quickly passed. Then Johnson saw it clearly. The metal layer is in fact in a circular form having an elevated metal layer in the middle. The elevated metal layer is what made the workers to think that it’s a cylinder. Actually it’s circular in shape.

  Time swiftly flowed. Before long, sun began to set in the horizon. Johnson positioned a worker to look after everything and then he left the scene to his rest house.

  In the morning when Johnson arrived at the site, he couldn’t believe what he is seeing in that hole. The workers actually removed all the soil around that metal layer. It’s like a huge metal architectural work built by joining two concave metal layers together.

  A few minutes later the military officer came to the scene. Behind the military officer’s car came two military trucks. One truck is filled with soldiers and the other truck is filled with people in white coat. The military officer came near Johnson and he stared at the new archaeological find with wonder.

  “Just as I guessed.” The military officer muttered.

  “What did you say?” Johnson asked.

  “Nothing.” He turned towards the workers. “Everyone, please exit that hole and you can leave this site. Your job in this place is over. The soldiers will give you the money for your valuable work.”

  Workers slowly began to exit the hole they had dug, and they moved towards the truck near the soldiers. Soldiers called everyone and all the workers stood in a line.

  “But we need them for rest of the works.” Johnson said.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  “Ahh ...”

  Gun shots echoed. Screams of workers came from nearby. Johnson had to close his ears using his hands due to the high pitch sound of gunshots. When Johnson looked the scene, it horrified him. Soldiers are shooting down the workers. Some workers managed to run but soldiers quickly shot them down.

  “What are you doing?” Johnson demanded.

  “They have seen enough. We can’t risk information going out. And you have seen enough.” The military officer drew out a pistol from his waist band and he trained the gun at Johnson’s head.

  “But ...” Panic began to crawl through Johnson’s legs.

  “You understand, this is a matter of national security.”

  Pop!

  Johnson’s limp body hit the ground with a loud thud.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 7

  A.D. 1951, Rostov, Russia

  Professor James climbed aboard the military helicopter and a soldier quickly handed him a head set. He quickly wore the head set. A moment later the rotors of the helicopter came alive with a loud sound. A few minutes later the helicopter rose from the ground and it flew away from the helipad.

  “When will we reach there?” James asked a nearby soldier.

  “Soon.” The soldier said.

  James shifted his gaze to the distant lands which can be seen through the window. Before long, a gigantic cylindrical building came into view.

  “Are we there?” James asked.

  “Yes. This is the Rostov research facility.” The nearby soldier said.

  The helicopter slowly landed in a helipad and James and the soldiers got outside. James for a moment stared at the gigantic building. There are five or more watch towers around the gigantic building.

  “This way, sir.” A soldier called James.

  Soldiers quickly led James to the gigantic building. There are five guards in the entrance, and once he is inside he saw many guards positioned at various places in the facility. The front entrance leads to a corridor and they slowly walked through the corridor. There are doors on both sides of the corridor which will lead to various parts of the building.

  A few minutes later the corridor ended, and in front of them there is a glass wall. The whole wall is made up of high quality glass and there is a glass door within this glass wall. James looked beyond the glass wall and to his surprise he saw a gigantic flying vessel.

  “James, it’s good to see you.” A military officer came from behind James.

  James turned towards the military officer and he smiled at the officer.

  “Is this the vessel?” James asked.

  “Yes.” The military officer said.

  “Well, there is lot of differences from that flying saucer we had found in the north.” James said.

  “Yes, there is. But that flying saucer provided us no information. This vessel on the other hand is a fountain of information. We even got access to the inside of this vessel.”

  “We could go inside this?” James asked surprised.

  “Aha. All the controls are in English. It will be a piece of cake to you. Go ahead and find out all you could.” The military officer patted James’ shoulder and he walked away from the scene.

  A soldier opened the glass door for James, and James quickly got inside the wide room in which the flying vessel lay. He slowly moved towards the vessel. A few moments later he saw the opened entryway to the inside of the vessel. The entry way is teaming with researchers of all sorts. There is a small office room made up of glass walls on the far corner and James walked towards that room.

  Before long he entered inside the office room and a soldier gave him a white coat. The room is filled with all sort of equipment. A moment later a soldier came with James’ bag. The soldier placed the bag on top of the table and he left.

  Before long James exited the office room, and with a note pad and pen, he walked towards the entryway of the vessel. Two soldiers are always on both sides of him. The soldiers led him inside the vessel. In the entry way, James noticed the name of the vessel written on the metal wall. It reads ‘Mars Enteropeda’

  The entryway leads directly to a corridor and the soldiers led him deeper into the vessel. A few minutes later they reached the end of the corridor and in the corner lay a staircase to the upper levels. James and soldiers climbed the staircase and in the second level they are welcomed with dozens of researchers. The second level is filled with chairs which are fixed on the floor. This level must be where the passengers sat.

  Soldiers led James to the control room which is near the second level. The control room is wide and controls of all sorts are present here and there, on the walls and tables. The tables are made up of metal and they are fixed on the floor. There were researchers present inside the control room when James got inside, but they quickly walked away from the room as soon as the soldiers gestured at them to go.

  James analyzed the room thoroughly and he immediately surmised the pilot’s position. He quickly analyzed the controls in front of him and he pressed a red switch.

  “WELCOME CAPTAIN.” An automated voice said. Then the whole control room got lit up with blue coloured light and all the controls began to glow.

  Suddenly the whole wall in front of him came alive, and graphic lines of all sorts began to appear on the wall.

  “Hello, future.” James mumbled with joy.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 8

  A.D. 1970, Somewhere in Russia

  A snowy morning. A small brown coloured car stopped in front of a huge building. Professor Joseph exited the car and he stood just in front of the front entrance of the building. He looked around and for a moment he stared at a rocket launching pad. There is a red coloured rocket in the launching pad. Then he looked at the sky. Snow is falling from the sky like a rain.

  There are two soldiers with AK-47 guns standing nearby and they slowly approached Joseph.

  “Do you need any help, sir?” One of the soldier asked.

  “I am new here. Coming straight from America. I am actually here on behalf of one Mister Pecinovsky. I don’t know the way.” Joseph said. “He said, he placed a man here to guide me. I am waiting for him.”

  “Oh, you must be Joseph. We have been told you were coming. Come on, I will lead you to your office.” One of the soldiers said.

  The soldier quickly led him inside the building and
they slowly started walking through a corridor.

  “I can’t believe that we have ourselves an American who hates his country.” The soldier said on the way.

  Joseph smiled at him.

  “I personally want to kill those damn Americans. Now you’re here, you must have a plan to hinder their growth, right?” The soldier asked.

  Joseph nodded.

  “So, are we really sending a man to Mars?” The soldier asked.

  Joseph said nothing. Soldier nodded and he led Joseph deeper into the corridor. There are many rooms on both sides of the corridor and each room is already filled with staff. Joseph admired the Russians. They actually work very hard. And they start their work early in the morning, even in these snowy days.

  Finally the soldier stopped near the end of the corridor. The wall in front of them is made up of glass and beyond the glass wall workers are working on a new space craft. Joseph for a moment stared at the space craft. Based on the looks, the space craft is in final stage. It looks like a miniature airplane. They have fixed the launch to tomorrow morning and Joseph is here to coordinate the launch.

  “Your office is there.” The soldier pointed at a room which lies in a corner, beyond this glass wall.

  “Okay, thanks.” Joseph said and the soldier after smiling walked away.

  Joseph pushed open the glass door in the glass wall and he entered into the wide room. Joseph slowly walked towards the room which is surrounded by glass walls. On the way a man stopped Joseph. The man in front of Joseph is in white lab coat and he wore spectacles in his eye.

  “You must be Joseph. I am Dominov, the head of this mission, now your assistant.” He put forward his hand towards Joseph.

  Joseph accepted Dominov’s hand and he shook.

  “So is everything ready?” Joseph asked.

  “Yes. We finished everything, except the signal blocker. Breaking the Americans’ signal layer is very difficult.” Dominov said.

  “Don’t worry about it, now that I am here.”

  Dominov smiled.