The Clouds of Venus: Hard Science Fiction

by Brandon Q. Morris

  “Then they could have just grown in the base, not in us!” Peter contradicted.

  “Maybe they are thermophilic single-celled organisms. Bacteria like that exist on Earth. They can withstand very high temperatures, but cannot multiply at temperatures that are either too high or too low. There is an optimal temperature at which they reproduce. Maybe the conditions in the base were good, but the temperature was too low. So they took us over because our body temperature is much higher.”

  “Hmmm,” Peter murmured. “The fact the ‘sulfur critters’ ran the calibration sequence when they took over our bodies—which included testing the temperature range our bodies can withstand—supports that theory. But, I still say they’re damned parasites!” he said, emphatically crossing his arms.

  “Can we agree on the term ‘facultative parasites’ for them?” Maria asked. “There are some creatures like that on Earth, too, by the way. Blowflies, for one example, whose larvae can, if necessary, live under the skin of mammals, although—”

  “Thanks, I’ve heard enough!” Peter said. “Perhaps you’ll tell me next that there are also unicellular organisms on Earth that survive for millions of years.”

  “They do exist!” Maria replied. “Some species of rod-shaped bacteria from the genus Bacillus survived inactive for 250 million years and then revived again.”

  “Anyway,” Peter said, “we are facing a big problem. As long as we cannot ensure our complete decontamination, we cannot return to Earth.”

  June 21, 2079, Venusian Atmosphere

  Charles was yelling into the microphone. “You left the AVs at the RB base?”

  Erik had never witnessed their commander so angry. But he understood him. The AVs were NASA’s pride and joy, and as the chief of mission, they would hold him responsible for their loss. If he was unlucky, he would never return to space, because NASA would assign him to some office job until he quit of his own accord.

  “It’s only for two days,” Nuria said. “If we had not stayed until the very last second, the two Russians would have died.”

  Charles didn’t answer. Meanwhile, no one else dared to say anything.

  “Okay, I suppose I might have done the same thing if I had been in your place. But was it necessary to even grant the Russian AI access to the AVs? Now they have all the data they need to recreate them.”

  “Yes, it was necessary. The nanofabricators were still synthesizing the antidote, and the victims needed someone to inject it,” Nuria said. “And the AI is only that—an AI. But I don’t think your superiors will give you a tough time.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “We found out that RB has been using nanofabricators that are not kept in a suspension. In return for our help, they have pledged to cease this practice.”

  “Oh, so you just prevented nanomachines from taking over the world.”

  “You could say that, Charles. And besides, Marchenko has offered us the opportunity to fly back to Earth on their ship, the Strelka. We can be home in a third of the time!”

  Charles didn’t answer. Erik had an inkling why. Would any commander like to give up his ship?

  “We do not have to give up Venus Air,” Nuria said. She had also guessed what was making Charles hesitate.

  “It can fly behind us in automatic mode. Without us it will fly even faster, because then it doesn’t have to take us into consideration when accelerating or decelerating.”

  “Yes, it’s going to leave us in the dust when we launch, my little ship,” Charles said, “although we will catch up with it.”

  “Does this mean you agree to our plan?” Erik asked. If Charles approved of the plan, they would have good cards in their hands when dealing with NASA.

  “Yes. But there is a problem. If I interpret your report correctly, an infection broke out down there,” Charles said. “Everything coming from below is thus potentially contaminated. If the danger is not safely eliminated, the two Russians will never be allowed to set foot on Earth again. I assume that we have complied with safety standards?”

  “Don’t worry, Charles,” Nuria said. “We came here to look for life. That’s why our equipment is BSL-4 certified.”

  “Yes, you’re right,” Charles replied. “That was what NASA had been particularly proud of—the first Biosafety Level 4 lab aboard a spaceship. I wonder how the Russians could be so naive.”

  “Oh, I was down there, Charles,” Erik said, “and I can tell you, there’s no grass growing at 460 degrees and over 90 bar. That’s the impression you get from your very first step on Venusian soil. I can’t blame RB for having thought that life couldn’t exist on the surface.”

  “Okay, I’ll finish my report for the bosses. How long will they need down there to fix their problems?”

  “No idea,” Nuria said. “We have no contact at the moment. I hope to know more tomorrow.”

  June 21, 2079, Venus Base

  Maria had retired to her quarters to lie down.

  Peter was tired, too, but he couldn’t sleep. Would they really need to spend the rest of their lives in this cave? Wouldn’t it be better to die a quick death? “Marchenko, how high is the probability that we will achieve complete decontamination?”

  “For you two personally, I think the probability is very high. But I’m not sure if we can decontaminate the base. Then there’s also the pressure suits that you have to wear until you reach the lander. They, too, must be completely clean. And then there’s Katarina, if you don’t want to leave her behind. All of this wouldn’t be a problem if this life form were big enough that you could see it with the naked eye, but it’s only a few dozen micrometers in diameter.”

  It was indeed a problem. They needed to nab every single cell.

  “We have a blacklight lamp in the workshop. Maybe the pathogens will shine in that light, and Katarina will be able to see them with her sensors?” he suggested.

  “That would definitely be worth a try.”

  Peter went to the workshop. He found the blacklight lamp in a box and sat down with it at the microscope. “Marchenko, please turn the lights off.”

  It became pitch dark. Peter shone a special lamp into a dish with cultures and examined the result through the microscope. He saw nothing.

  “You can turn the light back on!”

  “And?” Marchenko asked.

  “Negative. What other options do we have? At what temperature do these critters break down?”

  “Our colleagues at NASA experimented with their samples before sending the AVs to us. The structures are destroyed at temperatures between 800 and 850 degrees. I can heat the base to 900 degrees. But we would have to pump out all the oxygen so that we don’t accidentally ignite a large fire. Besides, neither my quantum computer nor the nanofabricators would survive, and Katarina would probably be irreversibly destroyed as well.”

  “Dammit!”

  “You said it.”

  “And what if we use the nanofabricators to do the job?”

  “We could have them search for material combinations found only in the pathogens. That should work. However, we would be breaking our agreement with our NASA colleagues.”

  “Do we have a suitable suspension here, and are the nanofabricators already programmed to work only in such a fluid?”

  “No.”

  “Then we cannot implement the agreement. But the base is a minimal area in which the destructive sequence can reach all rooms with the necessary strength. Besides, Venus would ensure that the nanofabricators are destroyed. Therefore, we needn’t have a guilty conscience.”

  It was a good thing that he had come up with these compelling arguments so quickly. After all, whether he and Maria could still lead a life, or whether they were to be buried alive in this bunker until the end of their days, depended upon this decision.

  “You’re right, Peter. Besides, your life is more important than the agreement,” the AI said.

  Peter smiled. Nowadays, it seemed Marchenko could even read thoughts.

  “Rest fo
r a while, Peter. Meanwhile, I will find out which material combinations in the pathogens are suitable for our purposes.”

  Peter stretched. How long had he slept? He felt fit again. He placed his right foot down first, got out of bed, stood, and then went to take a shower. He carefully opened the valve and checked the temperature. It was perfect, but Peter made it a little warmer.

  “Hey, who repaired the shower?”

  Marchenko laughed. “Maria posed that question, too. But nobody changed anything. It was just that the parasites manipulated your perception. We will never know whether it was the water, or whether it was the dissolved oxygen in the water that they didn’t like. It’s nice that we soon won’t need to worry about that.”

  “That sounds promising. Does this mean you were successful?”

  “Yes, Peter. Take your shower first. Then we’ll talk about it.”

  Peter, in a good mood, showered leisurely. It looked like everything would turn out fine after all. That was definitely a reason to be happy!

  “Hello Maria, how are you feeling?”

  “Very well. And you, too, evidently?”

  Peter nodded and smiled, and Maria smiled back. He felt warmth spreading in his chest.

  “I found suitable compounds, and have programmed the nanofabricators to synthesize them,” Marchenko said. “For this reason, I can, unfortunately, neither assign them to food production nor to repairing Katarina. Even so, they will need two days to complete the task.”

  “Do we have enough food?” Peter asked.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “I’ll take care of Katarina,” Peter said. “After all, I broke her. I am so sorry. Has her shell already been decontaminated?”

  “Not completely, yet. The best thing would be for you two to stay in your rooms in the meantime. Otherwise you will just be whirling up the pathogens. Once Katarina and her surroundings are clean, I’ll bring her to you.”

  After an hour, there was a knock on Peter’s door. He got up and opened it. An AV was outside, carrying the body of the household robot in his arms. Peter beckoned him in and let him place Katarina on a table.

  After the AV had left the room, Peter took VR glasses out of a box, put them on, and switched on repair mode. “Let’s see what I did,” he murmured.

  The result of the analysis was sobering. Apparently, the internal computer was working again, but otherwise Peter received no information. He opened the robot and saw that some cables were torn. He had to smile. The nanofabricators had tried to make entirely new connections. That would take much longer, of course.

  Peter simply replaced the cables with new ones. It was satisfying work, and he could see the fruits of his labor. Finally, the repair mode only noted the dented chest area, but that should not affect the functioning of the robot.

  Peter closed the inspection openings and sat down on his bed. His hands were sweaty. What will Katarina say when she is switched back on? He smiled, noting his guilty conscience. It was a robot. And to be precise, it was not him, after all, who had done this to Katarina. He switched on the household robot.

  Katarina moved and performed a self-test. She then sat up. When she saw Peter, she jumped up, ran to the door and out into the corridor, slammed the door behind her, and locked it. Peter grinned. He had never seen a robot panic.

  “Stay here, Katarina! Marchenko, stop her and give her the report summarizing the last few days, please.”

  “Of course.”

  A minute later, the door opened, and Katarina re-entered his room.

  “Hello, Peter! It’s great that you are well again. I’m so sorry I failed.”

  “What do you mean, you failed?” Peter asked, astonished.

  “I didn’t manage to protect you. Maybe you should be looking for a better robot.”

  “You were great, Katarina, and I’m glad you’re in working order again,” he said, hugging his household robot. He felt the hard metal of her back under his fingers.

  While looking over her shoulder, he saw Maria leave the bathroom. “Maria?”

  “Yes?”

  “What do you think of making the nanofabricators’ job easier?”

  “How?”

  “If you sleep in my room, they can decontaminate yours. I can sleep on the floor.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” Maria said with a smile.

  June 22, 2079, Venusian Atmosphere

  “There is good news and bad news,” Charles said.

  “Did you get a notice of dismissal?”

  “Haha, Ethan, that’s not funny. I think they were seriously considering that.”

  “Sorry, Chuck. Really?”

  “They listed all the guidelines we’ve violated, and as commander, I’m held responsible for everything. But the business with the unconfined nanofabricators, that changed everything. Nuria and Erik, I don’t know who came up with the idea, but you saved all our asses with it.”

  “Thank you, Charles,” Nuria said. “It was our joint idea.”

  “One for all, and all for one, I like that,” Charles said. “I sincerely hope we can fly a mission together again. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical at the beginning. But you did extremely well for two newbies.”

  “Thanks,” Erik said.

  “You don’t have to thank me, it was based on your own merit,” Charles said.

  “I assume that was the good news,” Ethan said. “And what’s the bad news?”

  “Our return flight on the Russian ship, the Strelka, is only permitted if they can guarantee that it is germ-free.”

  “All right,” Ethan said. “That was to be expected. How are we supposed to verify that?”

  “With the AVs. They’re still in the Russian base. If they detect even one alien cell, we cannot transfer to the Strelka.”

  “In that case, we’ll just undertake a lengthier journey. We’ll get through that, too,” Erik said.

  “True. Our problem would not be a big one. But the Russians would then have to stay here permanently. The Security Council has clearly spoken in favor of that. Even the Chinese have agreed.”

  “The Security Council met to discuss us?” Nuria asked. “That’s exciting.”

  “Oh, our faces are in every news broadcast,” Charles said. “Especially yours, Nuria, as you can imagine.”

  Erik was calm. If all cameras were focused on his colleague, he would continue to have peace and quiet.

  “I can’t really imagine that,” Nuria said.

  “You can stay with the Russians. They’ll be happy to have company,” Ethan said.

  “Ethan, once again, that’s not particularly funny,” Charles said. “Imagine spending the rest of your life in a cave on Venus.”

  “Yes, I apologize. You’re right, of course. Nuria and Erik could turn a blind eye when they perform the inspection with the AVs.”

  “So the parasites can come to Earth?” Nuria asked, a vertical crease forming on her forehead.

  “Everything the AVs record will be analyzed by a special commission of the Security Council. The RB astronauts can only return if the commission gives them clearance,” Charles explained. “By the way, the AVs are staying there, too.”

  Oh. Erik sank back into his seat. I’m supposed to leave my AV on Venus? What will happen to me? He had become so used to his ‘body double,’ which had given him a second self as ‘Superman.’ He could barely imagine a life as only himself. What special skills did he have, anyway?

  Nuria placed her hand on his arm. “I, too, can hardly imagine saying goodbye to my AV.”

  June 22, 2079, Venus Base

  The door to Peter’s bedroom opened suddenly. Peter sat upright in bed, startled, and Maria instinctively pulled the blanket up to her neck.

  “Breakfast!” Katarina exclaimed. The robot placed food and drinks on the table. “Bon appétit!”

  “I guess I’ll have to make some changes to the sensitivity and tact module,” Peter drowsily murmured after Katarina had left the room.

  “I
t’s just a robot,” Maria said. She stood up and wrapped herself in the blanket. “Let’s have breakfast before the tea gets cold.”

  “Hey!” Peter exclaimed, laughing as he suddenly found himself sitting on the bed in his birthday suit.

  Maria turned around. “Oh, wait a moment.” She brought the blanket back to the bed, gave Peter a kiss, and walked naked to the table. “That’s better,” she said, placing the second chair next to the first one. “Can you bring the blanket with you?”

  Peter laid the blanket over both chairs. Shortly thereafter, they were both sitting side by side, wrapped in the warm blanket. Peter enjoyed feeling Maria’s body so close to his.

  “Delicious,” Maria said. Then she placed the rest of her blini in Peter’s mouth. “I could get used to the household robot. Are we keeping it?”

  “I think so,” Peter replied, who still vividly remembered the expression on Maria’s face when he had hugged the robot.

  “I’m going to take a shower,” Maria said.

  Peter held her hand and looked at her. She was stunning. “I...” Words failed him.

  “I know,” she said, caressing his hair.

  Peter stood up. The blanket slipped down. He embraced Maria and they kissed.

  Peter could hear the water running a short time later. He continued to eat till he was satiated, lost in thought.

  “Can I clear the leftovers?” Katarina asked.

  Peter was startled by her. He had not heard her coming. “Of course!”

  “It was about time, too, with you two,” Katarina said. “It was unbearable how you two crept around each other. You humans urgently need to improve upon interpersonal communication.”

  “Getting tips on my love life from a robot is unusual,” Peter said with a hearty laugh. “By the way, Maria is impressed by your cooking skills.”