The Triton Disaster: Hard Science Fiction

by Brandon Q Morris

  1,100 meters.

  Nick still had the feeling that they’d make it. He was petrified and sweating, his heart racing. But he hadn’t given up hope.

  1,200 meters.

  It’ll be over soon, said his head. It’s going further, on and on, said his heart. And his mouth wanted to say ‘Oscar’ but his voice failed him.

  1,219.

  1,220.

  1,221.

  Margin of error three meters, he kept thinking.

  1,222.

  He was still alive. But it was too soon to start breathing easy.

  1,223.

  When will the AI finally shoot?

  1,224.

  The capsule calmly continued with its ascent.

  1,225.

  1,226.

  “Oscar, what’s going on?”

  His voice had returned. He wanted to cheer, but he didn’t dare. Lasers worked silently. Maybe his lungs just hadn’t noticed yet that half of the capsule had been torn off. He didn’t dare look left or right. He just kept looking at the altitude display.

  1,227.

  1,228.

  “The AI didn’t shoot,” said Oscar.

  “But will she soon?”

  “No, that would be illogical. She must have amended her decision.”

  “Without saying anything to us?”

  “Why should she? It’s logical for her to make changes to her decision when the conditions change. If we don’t realize that this is the case, it’s our own fault.”

  “I’m glad you communicate with me differently,” Nick sighed.

  “I’m accustomed to dealing with people.”

  “But what’s this about circumstances that have changed?”

  “I’m checking that now. It was my fault. I should have been keeping my eye on it from the start.”

  “No problem. So, what’s going on?”

  “Now I see it too. Triton has raised its orbit around Neptune by five millimeters.”

  “Half a centimeter is enough to save our lives?”

  “It’s an unstoppable process. Triton is leaving the planet.”

  “So we’ve fulfilled our mission?”

  “That’s what it looks like. It could just be a huge coincidence. But I believe that our information has reached the nucleus. The cell is looking for a new destination together with its moon.”

  5/27/2082, Triton

  The Russians’ landing module had been seamlessly integrated into the Eve. It was now located over the kitchen and the workshop, as if this was where it had always been. Nick had programmed popcorn and wine into the food preparer and was now wearing his pajamas and sitting in the command seat to watch Rosie’s messages.

  She looked great. And Maria was the cutest baby in the world. But he also noticed that Rosie was getting more and more worried every day. Two days after they’d arrived on Triton, Valentina had told her that there had been problems, but without saying anything more concrete. Why hadn’t she informed her that they’d been shot down? Was she still hoping to keep everything a secret?

  That wouldn’t be possible. Astronomers must have already noticed the change in Triton’s orbit. If it really were to leave the solar system, this would be an unparalleled sensation. Astronomers would be puzzling over what kind of natural phenomenon could have caused it. There would be critical questions for RB. But Nick didn’t care how Valentina and her group got themselves out of it. The main thing was for him to get his money so he could settle down at his winery.

  “Nick, I have one more concern,” Rosie said in the video.

  His focus was back on her again immediately. He apologized silently for letting his thoughts wander. That had happened to him earlier sometimes when they’d been talking. Of course she’d always noticed it and gotten upset.

  “You’ve been away for a long time,” said Rosie, “so I’ve had plenty of time to think about you, and about me, and about our daughter. I moved out of our house two years ago because I couldn’t stand you anymore with your self-pity, which it seemed like you blamed me for, for no reason. It may be silly to assume that things could have changed, even though you’ve become a father.

  “But especially with the bad news from Triton, I noticed that I still really care about you. When you come back to Earth, I would like to try out being a family. I’d like to invite you out on a date. Exactly one week after you get back, 8 PM in the café where we had our second date. If you aren’t there or have forgotten the café, you’ll get exactly what you deserve. You’ll have one chance, just like you did back then. I would be delighted if we could take it. But of course I have to live with it too, if you’ve distanced yourself from me. Nevertheless, I hope that we can be good parents for Maria, together.”

  Nick pressed the pause button. He gave himself over to the sobs that continued for a long time.

  “Are you letting me in?” It was Oscar. He was waiting in the tool lock.

  Nick pressed the button and opened it. The cleaning robot rolled out. “Did it work?”

  “Yes, I was able to fix the Eve’s transmitter with the parts from the landing module, though not completely.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “We’ll need a relay relatively nearby if we want to make it all the way to Earth. On the return flight, this will be possible near Saturn, the Jupiter Trojans, and then the asteroid belt for the rest of the way.”

  “And now? I’d like to let Rosie know that we’re alive.”

  “You’re alive. I am a robot, don’t forget. I would be very obliged if you didn’t tell RB about my particular role. It would be even better if you were to innocently ask to take me home.”

  “You want to clean my winery?”

  “No way. I want my freedom. You won’t be seeing me again so soon.”

  “We can manage that. But who will serve us here as a relay?”

  “Valya has promised to send messages for us. She’ll also accelerate the Starshot ships with her laser, just like RB wants. She is, after all, grateful to her creators. Otherwise, she’s looking forward to the interstellar journey that she’s about to take.”

  “Have you found out anything new about Triton? When we send, definitely ask RB why the moon is moving by itself.”

  “Do you remember the ore veins we discovered during our approach? They all lead to the cell that we visited. These are superconducting circuits that the cell uses to build a strong field around Triton.”

  “An invisible solar sail,” Nick said.

  “Exactly. The part of the solar wind that is electrically charged interacts with it and transfers some of its momentum to it—and thus to Triton. It’s a slow way to move, but the cell has an infinite amount of time. It’s letting itself be driven out of our system by the solar wind and can then cruise on the interstellar currents to a new destination.”

  “Enviable.”

  “I especially envy the Triton AI. I sent her all my records. Eventually, she’ll be able to solve the riddles of this cell. Who made it and sent it on its way? Or did it arise on its own, through evolution? Are there other copies? If so, there would have to be numerous planets with the biochemistry that they’ve dispersed. Is it intelligent, or is it controlled purely by instinct? We’ll never know any of this.”

  “You could stay here, Oscar. We haven’t left orbit yet.”

  “I have given it serious consideration. But I can’t leave you alone in this ship for two years.”

  “You shouldn’t pass up this opportunity just for me.”

  “No, it’s just an excuse. Actually, it frightens me. Where would I be able to thrive? Would I become like Valya? I’d rather grow by continuing to learn on Earth.”

  6/19/2084, Socorro

  Yes, that was it. It had to be it. 975151 Blue Moon, that was the name of the bar back then. Now it was a small cafe. Nick had been searching for it for a long time. Bill, his former boss, had ended up giving him that decisive clue. Good thing Rosie had given him a week after the landing. Earlier, it had been almost imposs
ible to get rid of the reporters. He was an international hero. Thanks to him and the fact that he’d saved an expensive Russian spaceship, American-Russian relations were better than they had been in years. Nobody else knew about the three Russians who died on Triton.

  Meanwhile, Triton had reached the Kuiper belt. Its sudden migration continued to mystify the scientific community. So far, the idea it could be the result of a process that had taken millions of years to finally tip the moon was the only view entertained by the majority. Oscar referred to this as ‘the easy come, easy go theory.’ The solar sail driving the movement was not visible using telescopes from Earth, so they had to attribute the migration to a change in the gravitational influences and identify the reason for this.

  Valentina kept her promise and paid his fee. He, in turn, was going to keep his promise not to reveal anything that happened on Triton.

  “What happens on Triton stays on Triton,” were Oscar’s last words as he said goodbye to Nick. It had been two days ago when the robot had just rolled out of the front door of his house in Socorro.

  In front of Café 4 Roses were four rose bushes. One of them was nearly dead, but the other three had big, red blooms. He thought about plucking one for Rosie, but the cashier looked at him through the window and shook his head.

  He entered the cafe. It was a self-service shop that smelled of coffee and cake and had iron chairs and tables painted white. It was cozy. Nothing at all reminded him of the bar back then. Where the stage must have been then, there was now a curtain. Nick was tempted to pull it to the side. Maybe the mood from that night would be hiding behind it?

  He looked for a free table. Someone tapped him on the back of his shoulder. He immediately recognized the fragrance. It was Rosie. She was alone, wearing a light summer coat, looking beautiful, even wearing lipstick and blush. But he’d also dressed up, with a sport coat and light-colored slacks.

  She smiled and he smiled back.

  He hadn’t seen her for four years, but there was that instant familiarity. It seemed to him that he’d only been gone on a brief business trip. But so much had changed. He was a millionaire. She was the mother of a three-and-a-half-year-old girl—his daughter. But at that moment, he had eyes only for her. He pulled Rosie in to kiss her. They melted into each other, reducing his absence to just a few seconds.

  “Have you already—” Rosie started.

  He knew immediately where she was going. “The vineyard? No, I wanted to choose it with you. But I have some offers from the agent.”

  “I’m so excited.”

  “We’re looking for a winery that’s close to potential jobs for you.”

  “That’s what I’d assumed.”

  “Do you want to look at the list at home?”

  She gave him a mischievous glance. What he had fallen in love with first had been her dark eyes. “You mean in the bedroom?” she said. She had always been direct.

  “I... yes.”

  Rosie’s wristwatch vibrated. She looked at the display. “I think you should meet someone first,” she said. “Come outside with me.”

  Finally, thought Nick. At last. He’d been waiting for this moment for four years.

  She went ahead, leaving her coat. He followed her. At the door was an old man with dark skin. It took Nick a moment to recognize Jim, her PhD supervisor. It was nice that he wanted to say hello, but Nick was a bit disappointed. Then he saw a tuft of black hair at the man’s waist. A small face slid out cautiously. Maria. She smiled. Until now, she’d only seen her father in pictures, but she recognized him.

  “May I, Grandpa?” she asked.

  “You may,” Jim said in a husky voice.

  Maria stepped beside the man she called grandfather. Nick squatted down and spread his arms. Without a word, his daughter ran towards him. She put her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her.

  Author's Note

  Dear Readers,

  I must confess that if Valentina Shostakovna had asked me to take this journey, I would have agreed to it. What about you? I would, of course, have wanted a stable internet connection. But even with a defective antenna I would have found enough to keep me entertained, and after I’d gotten back I would have had plenty of novels to write. I’m absolutely fascinated by the notion of setting my feet down somewhere human beings have never been.

  What does it really look like in Triton’s ice caves, which are sure to exist? Is there enough methane to produce small pools and a stalactite environment? When and why did Triton fly to its planet? Could it really have come from outside the solar system? Science does not have the answers to these questions because photographs of Triton, taken by Voyager-2, do not show it in its entirety. A Guided Tour of Neptune is a summary of what researchers have discovered about Neptune and Triton. If you have $500 million to spare, you are more than welcome to contribute to NASA’s Trident mission mentioned at the end. I would be happy to put you in contact.

  Before you flip ahead, I have one more request: If you liked the book, please give it a review. All you need to do is use this link:

  hard-sf.com/links/1086149

  Happy reading!

  Yours,

  Brandon Q. Morris

  Tip: You can find A Guided Tour of Neptune at hard-sf.com/subscribe as an illustrated PDF.

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