Proxima Trilogy: Part 1-3: Hard Science Fiction

by Brandon Q Morris

  “Man, it is really cold,” Adam says. Clouds of vapor issue from his mouth and nose when he talks.

  “It’s only minus 15,” I hear Eve say from inside Valkyrie. “Don’t make such a fuss, sissy!”

  He laughs. I would never have been allowed to talk to Adam like this, but he doesn’t complain. “What’s the weather report for the coming days?” he asks me.

  “Mostly fair weather until tomorrow, with temperatures falling.”

  The planet is tidally locked in its motion around its sun, always facing it the same way, but this does not mean there is no weather. Messenger, high above us in orbit, keeps us up to date. It is predicting gale-force winds for the day after tomorrow. We are no longer in the storm zone, where the energy exchange between the light and the dark sides occurs, but particularly strong cyclonic winds also affect the adjacent areas.

  “After that it will get stormy, unfortunately,” I say.

  “How stormy?” asks Adam.

  “Very, if I can trust the Messenger data. I think we had better find shelter before then.”

  It doesn’t look too good for covering 200 kilometers per day, at least for the day after tomorrow.

  “Couldn’t this planet leave us alone with its storms?”

  “You’d be surprised, Adam. If the energy exchange between the two hemispheres didn’t exist, our destination would be as cold as outer space. You should be glad about any storm bringing some warmth we wouldn’t have otherwise.”

  “Can we go on now? My feet are falling asleep from standing around,” Eve calls from inside Valkyrie. Adam takes the next sack from her, passes it to me, and I place it on the sled. I inspect the cargo area and estimate that we can leave in half an hour.

  March 18, 19

  If something can go wrong, it will go wrong, Adam thinks. Can’t we catch a break? He fell into the hole of the alien spider, he got caught by Eve while communicating with the enemy, and now the storm is on time and as bad as Messenger’s forecast. Adam clings to the sled. Gusts of wind repeatedly hit the tarp of their tent, and the fact that Marchenko has increased his speed does not make the voyage any more comfortable. Marchenko has supposedly detected a cave in a low slope. However, as he avoided mountainous areas during route planning, the cave is significantly off our path, and it is doubtful whether we will reach it in time.

  “Can’t we just melt our own cave into the ice?” Adam asks via radio, the way they now must communicate between the tent and the robot.

  “We don’t have enough time for that. And look around, it’s all flat. Do you want to melt the cave into the ground?” replies Marchenko.

  “Why not?”

  “I thought we needed a cave, not a swimming pool.”

  Eve laughs at Adam.

  Of course—the ice would turn into water.

  “But thanks for your suggestion,” Marchenko adds, while the sled still flies across the ice.

  Adam imagines the mountain toward which they are heading. On the warm side of the planet the mountain might rise on an island, or actually form an island, if there was water there. Couldn’t these creatures have constructed their important building in the warm hemisphere? Here the ocean has a depth of several thousand meters. Measuring from the ocean floor, this mountain must be enormous. Perhaps a volcano?

  “Marchenko... are we approaching a volcano?” Adam asks. He does not receive an immediate answer. The AI is probably checking all the data first.

  Finally Adam hears, “I quickly downloaded the altitude profile from Messenger. You are apparently right. The slope seems to be part of a gigantic caldera surrounding the crater.”

  “Isn’t that somehow dangerous?” Adam asks.

  “It doesn’t look like the volcano has been active in recent times.”

  “Messenger’s measurement of the gravitational field did not detect it, did it?”

  “No,” Marchenko says and pauses. “You are right—that’s interesting. But it probably is not significant.”

  “Good,” Eve says.

  “I don’t want to worry you,” Marchenko says, “but it might be a close-run thing.”

  “How close?”

  “Very close, Adam. The storm is approaching at 180 km/h. I can see its edges already on the radar. It’s 20 kilometers away, I would say.”

  “That’s barely seven minutes. And how long will it take to reach the cave?” Adam asks.

  “At least ten minutes.”

  “Marchenko, stop right away,” Adam exclaims. Eve looks at him. He realizes at once that she understands him.

  “Perhaps I can move somewhat faster.”

  “Marchenko, we really have to stop,” Eve now calls.

  The robot abruptly stops the sled.

  “No time for long discussions,” Adam says to Marchenko. “We turn the sled over and you lie on top of it. How much do you weigh?”

  “About one and a half tons. I would crush you.”

  “Nonsense. Take a look at the side walls of the sled. They can withstand a lot of pressure. It is a classic U-shaped profile.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Just something I recall. Turn the sled over. Now.”

  “What about the supplies?”

  “No matter. We can cram some of them under the sled, whatever fits. It is going to get rather tight. How long do we have to wait for the storm to move past us?”

  “The worst should be over in four or five hours, according to Messenger.”

  Adam puts a blanket on the ice. It is coated with metal foil. “Eve and I will lie down on that. You place the sled over us and plug all the holes with the sacks, so we won’t get any areas of low pressure in there.”

  “Are we going to have enough air to breathe?” Eve asks.

  “The volume should last for several hours. In case of emergency Marchenko would have to blow in fresh air from above,” Adam says.

  “Okay.” Eve is already lying down. Adam lies down next to her. He is briefly annoyed because he does not know how to place himself. He decides for the position in which his back faces Eve. Marchenko sweeps the supplies off the cargo area, turns the sled over, and carefully places it over Adam and Eve. He tries to put as many sacks as possible inside the shelter of the inverted sled, with help from Adam and Eve. They have the impression their surroundings are already getting darker, even though they can no longer see outside.

  “There isn’t enough space for everything. I hope I picked the most important things,” Marchenko finally says. By now, the roar of the storm can be clearly heard.

  “Then place yourself on top and we will see what happens,” Adam asks him.

  The roof of their little shelter lowers by one or two centimeters once Marchenko situates his robot body on top.

  “Best of luck down there,” he says.

  “We’re doing fine,” Eve replies.

  Adam’s heart is beating faster. He hopes this construction will withstand the storm. A gale can develop enormous force. He read a lot about natural disasters as a child and was fascinated by these primal forces that humans are powerless against. They would have to stay as low as possible and not give the wind a chance to create a low-pressure area.

  This seems to be working well. He can hardly feel any draft. It is almost as if they had voluntarily walled themselves up inside a crypt. What if Marchenko’s robot body fails for some reason and he won’t be able to get up after the storm? They would never manage to push away 1,500 kilos from down here. They would suffocate.

  Suddenly Adam jerks. Something soft is touching his back.

  “I feel cold,” Eve whispers as she moves closer to him, and then she places her left arm on his belly. He realizes he can feel her breasts against his back, in spite of the warm clothing they are wearing, and he is terrified. She does not know what he knows. He has to be careful so that she does not misunderstand him. And she will, if her hand accidentally moves any lower. Oh man, oh man, they are in great danger—a gale is raging that could kill them and very well might�
�and he has to worry about sporting an erection. What kind of strange and embarrassing reaction is this? For safety’s sake he moves her hand a bit higher. He starts feeling hot.

  Eve doesn’t seem to realize his problem, because ten minutes later he hears her snoring behind him. That’s unusual for her. Perhaps it’s caused by the lack of oxygen? While that is unlikely, he still wants to check the air with his universal device. He takes the device from his bag and activates the oxygen display. Everything is okay. They still have at least seven hours of safe breathing left. Humans don’t suffocate that quickly, as they can exhale and inhale the same air three or four times without any problem. And if the air supply gets tight, Marchenko can help them. Adam slowly calms down. Maybe he should try to sleep, too. But then he would miss the most precious moments of his life—and he won’t be able to spend another night in this pleasant, yet completely innocent, position for some time.

  The storm is howling above them. While Adam does not feel the slightest breeze down here in their crypt, forces rage not far away that not even Marchenko can stop. He hopes Marchenko calculated everything correctly. In the middle of these plains there is nothing to temper the fury of the storm. The sled protects them, but if the wind manages to reach underneath it with its strong arms... Adam does not want to think about it, but he can’t help imagining the scene. It is utterly impossible for me to sleep under these circumstances. How does Eve manage it?

  There are some rumbling sounds a few times, twice especially loud ones.

  “Everything is fine,” Marchenko just says. But Adam cannot hear any movement above him. Marchenko obviously is not even checking whether everything really is fine. Should he go and see for himself?

  After the second loud noise he cannot help but ask, “Is the luggage still there?”

  “Probably not,” Marchenko answers.

  “Don’t you want to check?”

  “Much too dangerous.”

  “And the crates with the supplies?”

  “What’s gone is gone.”

  Adam sighs. It would be best to fall asleep. He tries to do so, but just when he gets used to the howling of the storm, Eve starts to snore again.

  March 19, 19

  “Inventory,” a deep voice calls from outside.

  Adam opens his eyes and blinks as Eve shines her flashlight at him. “Get out of bed, sleepyhead,” she says.

  “I didn’t sleep at all,” Adam mumbles. But his eyes feel crusted over, so he realizes this isn’t true.

  “Watch out!” Marchenko calls. Eve pushes Adam’s head down. Marchenko lifts the sled and turns it back upright. “Wait, I am going to put up the tent in a moment.”

  Adam feels terribly cold. A moment ago the temperature was 10 degrees, now it is minus 80 degrees. His suit heater cannot adapt so quickly. Therefore Adam is very grateful when Marchenko finally finishes setting up the tent. “And what about our supplies?” he asks.

  “Well, to put it positively, we still have about half,” Marchenko says.

  “And that doesn’t bother you?”

  “No, Adam, I packed more than enough. And I still can produce most things.”

  “Maybe we should still look for those supplies?” Adam suggests.

  “You can forget about it. Whatever the wind swept off the sled has been carried many kilometers away. We will never find it in the darkness.”

  “Then we can be glad that Eve and I were not blown away.”

  “Indeed,” Marchenko says. “You would not have stood a chance all alone out there. I would never have found you. I’m glad you made me turn the sled into a shelter.”

  March 31, 19

  Lunch break. Marchenko has stopped the sled. The entrance to the tent is half open. Eve sees how the moist air from their shelter freezes immediately when it gets outside. Now and then the lamp at the tent entrance shines on metal. That is Marchenko, who is currently running a routine check of his robot body.

  “Well? Is everything okay?” Eve asks.

  “So far no failures.”

  Adam is ‘cooking.’ They still use this term, even though now it is more accurate to say ‘warming up’, and it is really related to chemistry. One mixes a few freeze-dried components with water according to Marchenko’s instructions and then adds energy. The results are underwhelming. Eve has to force herself to eat, but she knows she would kill herself if she does not act in a disciplined fashion. Her body needs carbohydrates, protein, fat, and so on. If they follow Marchenko’s instructions, they get nutritious meals. Taste is a secondary issue.

  Eve’s main problem is hygiene. During the first few days she forced herself to go outside and rub her body with snow. By now it is too cold for that. It’s not worth losing a small toe in order to get rid of body odor. I really would love to take a shower again! Eve remembers the spray of water that had covered her—like she imagined warm rain would feel— when she showered in the station. They will have to do without showers for at least three more months, and that is if everything goes smoothly.

  The problem gets worse, because the growing darkness makes all of their senses more acute, day by day. Sometimes Eve escapes the stuffy atmosphere of the tents for a few minutes. Then she sits at the front of the sled. A thick layer of clothing protects her body. She has completely wrapped up her head and face, and her eyes are protected by large goggles. Only a thin scarf covers her mouth, which lets a little of the icy air move through.

  By now she has learned to taste the air. Its flavor changes according to the weather and their surroundings. She concentrates on this for a while and then asks Marchenko for current data, which she predicts more accurately day by day. When there are clouds in the invisible sky, the air tastes saltier than usual. It also has a different consistency, like a very thin version of the cotton candy Marchenko once had fabricators make for them. When the stars shine, though, the air seems intoxicating. Eve looks up to the dark sky, in which an immense number of lights glitter.

  Eve sucks in the cold air like it’s a sparkling cocktail with a lot of ice. The smell seems to be more related to the environment. When they cross broad plains, she smells dry summer grass illuminated by a hot sun. When their ride gets bumpier, due to crevices and chunks of ice blocking the way, there is an aroma of moss and fungi in the air, mixed with the sharp smell of ozone after a thunderstorm. What came first, her imagination or the changes in her perception? Eve cannot tell, but whenever she compares her sensations with Marchenko’s data, she finds a surprisingly strong correspondence.

  Yesterday she tried to tell Adam about this, but he seemed totally uninterested. He doesn’t mind the smell inside the tent very much, and it is always Eve who insists on opening the tent flap. Then Adam just whines about being cold. She admits it gets very cold inside the tent quickly, but as long as they are wearing their LCVGs, the heated underwear, they can’t ever feel really ice-cold. Unless they run out of energy.

  When Eve is sitting out there all bundled up, the scarf can only keep the cold away for a few minutes. However, Marchenko adapted the helmets of their pressure suits so they can be directly connected to their LCVGs. When she puts on her helmet, Eve turns from a fascinated traveler into an omniscient researcher. She regrets this slightly, because the role of the traveler allows for a closer contact with the environment and herself. Adam would laugh about such ideas, but it is true—the helmet turns uncertainty into certainty. The inside of the faceplate shows her a radar scan of the surrounding area, based on Marchenko’s sensors. The eternal darkness disappears and is replaced by a constructed reality in which hard objects shine brightly, and soft ones more dimly, while potential dangers appear in red. While it is still the world they are moving through, it is also like a game world—a virtual reality—but with real dangers.

  “How dangerous are the things marked in red?” she asked Marchenko.

  “Once the system recognizes them as hazards they really aren’t dangerous anymore, as I move around them,” Marchenko answered.

  Afterward she
realized why the red markers seemed so unreal. She does not really have to be afraid of things appearing in red, but of anything without special markings. The next step or the one after that might reveal a hitherto unknown danger, such as a crevasse hidden from the radar below a thin layer of ice.

  Eve is glad the human mind is so adaptable. One cannot simply be afraid of every step one takes. The brain gets used to the warnings from the unconscious and quickly learns to ignore them. This is the only way Eve can so thoroughly enjoy the ride on the sled.

  April 6, 19

  The icy plain in front of them seems to stretch into infinity. They have been crossing this formation for three days, a giant, trough-shaped valley with an unusually smooth ice sheet. Perhaps a meteorite crashed here a long time ago. Its impact liquefied the ice, which then froze again. Of course this is only a somewhat dubious theory, because no crater could be detected from orbit—and the object might have completely destroyed itself during impact.

  The ridge surrounding the valley, approximately a thousand meters high, keeps clouds from getting here. For this reason there is hardly any snow in the area. In addition, it is significantly colder than outside the valley, as all warmth is lost into space. The smooth surface does have one advantage, though. It allows them to advance more quickly.

  Marchenko remembers the conversation with Eve about possible dangers. He did not tell her that the true threat did not come from the environment. They lost half of their supplies during the gale near the beginning of the expedition. Marchenko constantly worries about this. They certainly will not suffer from lack of air and water. The atmosphere will stay breathable, and they would never find cleaner fresh water than in the several-kilometers-thick ice sheet below them.

  Yet almost all other elements are missing. His nano-fabricators could produce almost anything from single atoms. But they don’t have the skills of an alchemist. They cannot change one element into another one, as that would require a nuclear reactor. Air and ice offer them hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and a few noble gases. But elements such as potassium, calcium, or magnesium, which the human body needs, are rare. He could extract some of it from his own robot body, iron for instance, but the longer the expedition goes on, the more Adam and Eve will develop signs of malnutrition. This will weaken them, their bodies will fail, and he won’t be able to help them.