Enoch's Challenge

by Warren W Ward

  –––––––

  As the number of days dwindled down to the advertised launch date, tensions ran high. The modules had been assembled over and over to make sure all the astronauts could do it with their eyes closed. The only problem was that this was done in Earth's gravitational field.

  Normally there would be a mock-up that could be assembled under water to simulate zero-G. It was just not possible for this program in the time allowed. Time was running out, and the best the engineers could do was to use cranes that would hover the modules, along with the astronauts, thus leaving them all dangling in the air while the astronauts tied things together. This was far from an ideal situation.

  Finally, the Frodo astronaut corps had been sent back to Florida with the whole exercise labeled "training." The astronauts were blissfully unaware that they were training for a real mission.

  Three weeks before launch, Hotson, Kelly, and Dyer had been brought in and briefed on the mission–at least the part of the mission they needed to know at that time. They were told they would be assembling the three modules in space for real. Then they would disassemble the modules and return to Earth in Module A, which was designed as a re-entry module. There were raised eyebrows at this part of the plan, but they quickly dismissed it at the thought of actually going into space. Many of the astronaut corps would never actually get to go into space. The Frodo crew were excited that their time would be so soon. This was exhilarating news for them; it was every astronaut's dream.

  They were also told that this information was highly classified as a military exercise, and that it was not to leave the room.

  The truth of the matter was that the critical heat shielding tiles, normally placed on the re-entry module, would not be installed. The weight would be better used for additional fuel tanks. It would be a suicide mission if anything went wrong. If they tried to return to Earth, Module A would simply disintegrate and burn up. It would be a relatively painless death, except for the burning and disintegration part! No one liked to think about that.

  The real test came as Module B and Module C were set to launch. The units would be sent only days apart. This was the first time in the history of NASA that anything like this would be attempted. It usually took weeks to prepare the launch platform for a new launch. It would now be done in five days. That meant that the first launch would have to be on the 27th of March. Explaining this to the NASA personnel was not easy. They knew the procedures. They knew the rules. The men would know something unusual was up.

  "Well, Dr. Kranz, do we have our cover story in place?" Jerry Probert asked.

  "I hope so, Jerry. We cannot afford bad publicity at this point. Our people have to be 100% on board with this. They've been told that the government wants to know how rapidly we can refuel and re-launch in case we need to rescue astronauts in troubled situations. I think they bought it. It takes a day to move the Saturn V and module into the launch position. It takes two days to fuel. That means two days to make sure any bugs are worked out. Kranz pointed out, it would be embarrassing if a possum crept into the capsule undetected. He smiled at the absurdity.

  "Very good, Dr. Kranz. A lot of bugs. And roger on the possum, sir. Yet, I don’t think that will be our biggest problem, actually. So much can go wrong that we need to decide now which bugs would be critical to mission success and which ones we can ignore. Allison Thorpe and Tim Johnson have been working with that criteria, and they have a list. It is a long list, sir, and many of the categories fall into the mission critical category."

  "Well then, Jerry, I guess we need to do the best we can. Failure is not an option. We have come too far, made too many innovations, and spent too much money to fail now. What’s more, these three astronauts are putting their lives into our hands–even if there is no one there on Mars to rescue them. At lease we will be able to get them there safe and sound.

  "Well, Dr. Kranz, we'll see just how good our people are."

  "I'm betting on success,” Dr. Kranz said. “I can't consider the alternative. If our best can't do it, then we don't deserve to succeed in mankind's most important undertaking to date."

  Gene Kranz sat in his chair and sighed.

  –––––––

  3 April, 1968

  Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President of the United States was in his Oval Office. Surrounding him again were the Director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, Director of NASA, Dr. Gene Kranz, Director of the CIA Richard Helms, Dr. Donald Hornig, Chief Science Advisor to the president, plus Marvin Watson, Chief of Staff to the president.

  "Gentlemen," Johnson said, "we are at the precipice of the most significant adventure in the history of the world! We have made contact with an intelligent entity from another planet–the planet Mars. What their agenda is, we do not know. What their true motives are, we can only guess. The fact that they have asked permission to come to our planet instead of just showing up shows they are sensitive to how they might be received. The fact that they are asking for our candy bars shows they know something about us already. Somehow, they even know one of the astronauts by name. Tomorrow will be a moment in history few will know about, until we greet the aliens on our own soil–theoretically."

  Hoover said, "Mr. President, about that –"

  "Director Hoover, I appreciate your concerns for security. But we have at least eighteen months to worry about that. You know they must have already been here without our knowing it, since they know about Milky Way candy bars and M&Ms. I think if they meant us harm they would not be letting us to go to the Moon, much less Mars. I think we are a bit out of our league here."

  Hoover added, “It’s not M&Ms, sir, it is Skittles.”

  Johnson rolled his eyes and asked, “What the fiddle is a Skiddle, anyway?” Johnson smiled at his own pun.

  Hoover said, “It’s a candy, sir. And it’s Skittles, sir. Plural.”

  Johnson rolled his eyes again and shook his head.

  Donald Hornig took this opportunity to speak up. "Mr. President, mankind has been wondering about Skittles for millennia, er, I mean if there was life out there. We have all but confirmed it. Either this is one expensive hoax or, we are about to make history. I want to make sure we are on the right side of history, or our names will go down in flames–and possibly the Earth with it! I hope the consensus of the nations of the Earth is a peaceful recognition of our visitors, if and when they get here. I hope the United States won’t be the only country to welcome them with open arms."

  "Well said, Donald. That is why we have a lot of work to do after the Apollo 6 gets to Mars–if it gets to Mars. Dr. Kranz, what would you say our chances of success are? I understand this is a bigger project than NASA would ever have expected to do in such a short time frame. We thought we would go to the Moon first, and that was ambitious on its own. Maybe we would even have colonized it before we turned our attention to Mars. You know math. What are the odds?"

  "Well, Mr. President, and honored participants in this great experiment, our team has put a lot of time, money, and expertise into Project Frodo. We have had our best scientists and engineers working day and night to get where we are. It hasn't been easy and, honestly, there have been far more problems than we expected–and we expected a LOT of problems! But, all in all, we have accomplished a miracle. It is as if we were meant to do this mission by some Divine intervention. I have to say again, we have worked a miracle, or a miracle has been worked on us, sir."

  Johnson looked at Dr. Kranz with a furrowed brow and said, "So, honestly, what are the chances of success?"

  "Well, the Modules B and C are in their prescribed orbits. That went off without a hitch. Their orbits are stable and just waiting for the guys to meet up with them. So, if the Zero-Contained garden works as well as we hope, they will have food for a lot more than nine months. If the recycler works as planned, they will have water that will almost never run out. If the power sources do their job they will have electricity to spare. And if they successfully meet up with the other two module
s… and if they can put the whole jigsaw puzzle together properly… and if there are no accidents, then I believe they will end up on Mars. If anything goes wrong, even the slightest thing, then they might still be the first humans to visit Mars–human corpses that is."

  "Well then gentlemen, let's just hope it all goes well tomorrow. Dr. Kranz, I believe you are needed back in Florida. Air Force 2 is waiting for you," Johnson said.

  "Thank you, Mr. President. Gentlemen. Let’s pray for success." Dr. Kranz walked through the now-familiar door of the Oval Office.

  After Dr. Kranz left the meeting the discussion went on a bit longer.

  "My friends, we probably won't be in our positions when this whole thing goes down. I hope our posterity will remember what we have done in the most favorable light. Our actions must remain Top Secret until it is time for our visitors to come to us. If they have our technology, at least, then we are looking at eighteen months, minimum. Who knows what the world situation will be like in eighteen months? I only hope that what we have done will not bring about the end of the world as we know it."

  There were general sighs all around.

  "By the way," Johnson said as the Oval Office was being vacated, "For heaven’s sake, can anybody please tell me what a freaking Frodo is?"

  Chapter 7- Launch

  4 April, 1968

  The launch of Apollo 6 was only hours away. With Modules B and C already in orbit, the launch window was extremely narrow. Any significant setback now could mean massive delays for the whole mission. Tensions ran high at NASA’s Cape Kennedy Space Center. But, then again, tensions always ran high before and during every launch.

  The Saturn V was fueled, the astronauts John Dyer, Cris Kelly, and Jason Hotson were in the capsule taking care of last minute pre-launch details. The astronauts had been inserted in the capsule in the early morning while only authorized personnel were around. Their only communication with Earth was by radio on a secret government secure channel. The world would not know about this mission until the White House released it. Even then, that debate was still on-going.

  The call signs had been assigned. Frodo 1 would be the Mission Commander, Jason Hotson. Frodo 2 would be Cris Kelly, Mission Specialist. And Frodo 3 would be John Dyer, Mission Science Specialist. Their actual function was simple–Extra Vehicular Activity, EVA. Do lots of EVA and get to Mars alive.

  "Mission Control, this is Frodo 1, come in."

  "Frodo 1, this is Mission Control. We read you loud and clear."

  "All systems are go on this end."

  "Things look good here too, Frodo 1. Are you sure everything is buttoned down or duct taped together?"

  "Aye, aye, Mission Control. Thanks for the extra duct tape. It sure came in handy!"

  "Roger that, Frodo 1. By the way, there will be no delay at T-9. The window is tight and we need to get you boys out of here."

  "Roger, Mission Control. We are ready to go when you are. Don't forget to remove the umbilical cords or Florida will be going with us."

  "Don’t worry, Frodo 1. We want to stay here and watch you go on your own. I have a dinner appointment tonight."

  "OK, Mission Control. Let's light this thing up!"

  "Roger that, Frodo 1. Comms check to Frodo 2 and Frodo 3. Are you guys awake?"

  "We weren't, Mission Control, until you woke us up. Actually, do you think that with a million gallons of high explosives sitting a few feet from our butts and about to go off, that we could actually sleep?" Frodo 2 exclaimed.

  "Awe, don’t listen to him, Mission Control. He's always cranky when you wake him up," Frodo 3 replied.

  "Well, get over it kids, we have T-30 and counting."

  "We'll be passing control to Houston as soon as you're in orbit."

  "Roger that, Mission Control. See you in a few days," Frodo 1 added.

  If only…

  –––––––

  Back in Washington, D.C. the President of the United States sat in his easy chair watching a large screen video of the launch site. He was with his Directors of the FBI, CIA, NSA, and the Secretary of Defense. His Chief Science Advisor, Dr. Donald Hornig stood next to the video monitor ready to answer questions. The tension in the room was stifling!

  "Dr. Hornig," Johnson said, "What could go wrong at this stage?"

  "Well, Mr. President, just about anything. There could be a fuel leak, although the Saturn V has been a very reliable launch vehicle. There could be communications problems. Even a flock of birds could delay things if they get in the way. We just have to have faith in all of our hard, though rushed, work. The NASA team is the best of the best, sir. I have a lot of faith in the mission and, I might add, it looks like God has been on our side."

  "God or Satan, I don't care. As long everything goes as planned," Johnson said.

  No one responded to that.

  “Well, it is almost time," Hornig whispered.

  Everyone's eyes were fixed on the monitor.

  –––––––

  Dr. Gene Kranz was sitting in his Director of NASA office with his engineering staff, Dr. Jerry Probert, his chief engineer, Dr. Jocelyn Thomas, liquids specialist, Dr. Jennie Hower, materials expert, Dr. Robert Fendrich, load specialist, and Dr. Mischa Metal, mechanical engineer and world authority on capsule design. They were all glued to the launch camera monitor.

  "Jerry, are you ready for this?" Dr. Kranz asked.

  "I don't know, Dr. Kranz. I'm afraid I won't have anyone else to blame if something goes wrong. I'm kinda stuck with it."

  "Believe me, Jerry. If something goes wrong there will be a lot of blame to go around."

  Jerry said, "Well, we will find out in 10 seconds..."

  As the NASA clock wound down, and it was normally the most closely watched clock in the world when there was a launch, the engines fired. The cooling spray started.

  They had a special transceiver in Kranz's office that allowed them to communicate with the Apollo 6 crew. It was tuned to the communications link between Apollo 6 and Mission Control, for now.

  "Frodo 1, this is Mission Control. We have fire in the belly."

  "Roger that, Mission Control. We can feel the vibrations."

  "Frodo 1, the tower is away. We have lift off."

  The radio went silent as the shudder and vibrations consumed all of the Apollo 6 astronauts’ attention.

  Within 168 seconds was heard, "Mission Control, we have first stage separation."

  A cheer went up in the room–actually, in a lot of rooms!

  The Apollo 6 crew was busy with their assignments. As the second stage separated they were already in space. Gravity was minimal. The thrust of the rockets had temporarily kept an artificial gravity in the cabin.

  Stage two had gone without a hitch. The engines were off. The noise and vibration ceased. So far, so good! Gravity had disappeared.

  As stage three would eventually launch the Apollo 11 capsule into lunar orbit, it didn’t fire now, since theoretically, this capsule was going no further into space. Instead, there was dead silence. It was eerie, considering what they had just been through. The radio interrupted that solitude, "Frodo 1? Are you still there?"

  "Roger that, Mission Control. I’m just getting my bearings. I think we are all a little giddy after having everything go so well. I always experience a little nausea at this point when gravity says ‘bye-bye.’ I’ll be OK in a few minutes.”

  "Frodo 1, Mission Control. Roger that. We feel for you down here. I’ll make sure Tom in telemetry doesn’t mention that really greasy burger he is in the process of chewing right now, along with that slimy, okra milkshake he’s drinking. How are you doing otherwise?"

  "Mission Control, Frodo 3 here. Thanks for that visual image, guys. You know that we just took off in a rocket and we are in outer space, my commander is about to throw up in zero-G in a very small room that I can’t escape from, and both of us are avoiding the thought of food. What more do you need to know?"

  "Frodo 1, Mission Control. Let's cut the idle t
alk and give us a report. You have a lot of anxious people down here."

  "Mission Control, Frodo 1. Roger, Mission Control. But you started it! I guess the adrenalin is running a little high." Hotson mumbled softly, “I sure could use an antacid.”

  "That's too bad, Frodo 1, but we do need to get back to business."

  "Roger-Roger, Mission Control. All stats are good. Fuel, oxygen, and orbit all look good. We have Module B on the radar, and I suspect Module C won't be too far away."

  "Roger that, Frodo 1. How are Frodo 2 and Frodo 3 doing?"