"That's OK, Ben. I have experienced worse. Scanning autodoc?"
“Well,” Ben said, “Let’s just say we have a few devices your hospitals don’t have yet. I can tell you about it later. I bet you have experienced worse things, sir. I’ve seen the bullet holes in your back. War is tough, huh Captain?”
Jason just nodded.
“You went a long time without much food. And you are so far away from home!"
"Just where am I, Ben?” Jason asked.
Just as he asked that question another man entered the room. He looked about sixty years old, wearing a suit and tie. Suit and tie? Jason thought to himself. What kind of Martians are these?
"Captain Hotson. I am Bishop Brent Rhodes. I am so glad we got to you in time."
"Mr. Rhodes. I am, too."
Bishop Rhodes made no attempt to correct him. He knew this was new to him, and there was so much to talk about.
"Captain. We asked Earth to send you here because we needed to know more about your commitment as a people. We have been monitoring Earth for quite a while now, and we have been there many times and are quite familiar with your political system and technical capabilities. Overall, we are impressed!"
"Thank you, sir, but where am I?"
"Sorry, son. I forgot my manners. You are on the OLS Gilead. We will leave Mars orbit in a few months. We’re on patrol and have been assigned this sector. We have a restocking station on Mars, so we come here often. The reason we didn't contact you sooner is that we weren't here! As it stands, you were lucky to catch us at the right moment. We were on our way elsewhere when you called. We don't come here all that often, actually. And we are facing some trouble that will involve your planet. But we will talk about that in greater detail later."
"What does OLS stand for?" Jason asked.
"Oh, my apologies again, Captain. OLS stands for Our Lord's Ship. It is similar to your calling your Navy's ships USS, United States Ship–or the English, HMS, His or Her Majesty’s Ship. Tradition, you know."
"Well, sorry to be so blunt, but who are you? Where did you come from? Why did you call us?" Jason had so many questions!
"One thing at a time, Captain. Perhaps you would like to get some rest. Then get cleaned up, and I'll have someone bring you to my office when you are stronger. Our discussions could take a while. I know you have a lot of questions, but right now, you need to take some time to get stronger and to get back on your feet."
"Thank you, sir. That might not be a bad idea. It has been an interesting, but tiring, day."
"I'll tell you what. When you are up to it, have Dr. Vickie bring you to my office. I think you will need more time to recover than you might think. I'm sure the good doctor will give me some notice when you are ready. We have plenty of time. Our patrol assignment will take a while. Or you could have Ben bring you?" he suggested with a wry grin.
"Dr. Vickie will do, I'm sure. I hate to be a bother to Ben." Jason could also play this game.
"As you wish. Now get some rest, get yourself cleaned up, and enjoy some real food if the doctor is OK with it. I understand you can eat proper food soon," the Bishop said.
"Yes, sir. I look forward to that, again, I can't thank you enough for what you have done. You saved my life."
"No thanks necessary. After all, we invited you. I'm sorry about Colonel Kelly still being in the hospital ward. I'm sure he is a good man and will pull through just fine. Dr. Vickie is quite confident in his recovery. And, I’m sorry about Major Dyer. A real tragedy."
"Thank you, sir. It is Lt. Colonel Dyer. He was our friend. We went through a lot together."
"Oh, of course! Sorry. I’m not too familiar with your military designations.”
Jason said, “That’s OK. It can be somewhat confusing with all the different services and all.”
With a wave and a nod, the Bishop left the room.
As he left, Ben came back into the room. Jason was a little disappointed it wasn't Dr. Vickie, but he did want to get cleaned up before he saw her again.
"Captain Hotson, would you like to take a shower, sir?"
"That is music to my ears, Ben. And you can drop the ‘sir,’ if you don’t mind."
"OK. Let me take your arm to see how steady you are, and I will lead you to the loo."
"Loo? Are you from England?"
"Sorry, sir. I've been studying up on Earth customs and idioms, and I thought that was appropriate."
"Well, it's not inappropriate. It just applies to a different country than where I am from. We would just call it the bathroom, or Men's Room, or just say the shower. It isn't that complicated. In the navy we would call the men’s room the head."
"I'll be careful with my idioms until I know what is correct," Ben added.
"Don't bother. If you want, I'll correct you if you say something wrong. We all have to learn. Look at me! I have no idea where I am or what is expected of me, and I’m teaching English to a space alien from Mars. I am sure I will mess up a lot of things and will probably offend more than a few people before too long."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, Captain. We are a pretty easy-going crew on the Gilead."
Getting to his feet Jason said, "Well, maybe you better help me a little. I do feel a bit weak." Jason’s legs gave way and he almost collapsed to the floor.
“I think you better get back in bed, Captain. Maybe you need to take this a lot slower.”
Jason said, “I think you may be right, Ben.”
Ben helped Jason get back in bed and he immediately fell back asleep. Just getting up was too much for him. His muscles had essentially been used only for the first half of the trip with the exercises they had done, but in the second half, especially once food became scarce, they didn’t get much use at all!
Over the next week the physical therapist worked with Jason and really put him through the paces to recover his muscle tone. It was going slowly, but progress was being made. He noted that he only saw the cute doctor from time to time during the day. But she would stop by after work and sit with him and talk. He had Ben use scissors to trim as much of his beard off as he could. He couldn’t use a safety razor in his bed so easily. It was just too messy. He would have to wait for that.
They eventually moved his friend, Cris, into his room so that they could talk when Jason wasn’t sharing time with Vickie. Cris didn’t have much to say, as he had just started his physical therapy and hadn’t been conscious for as long as Jason had been. But it was good to see him looking so much better. The last time Jason had seen him was on the Apollo 6, and Cris was near death!
They were both still on soft foods, and it was becoming tiresome, guacamole–or not! There was some variety, eventually, but he was ready for more than that! Now!
Finally, it was time for Jason to clean up. He was tired of Ben having to clean him. Ben led Jason into the bathroom where he could see a toilet and something that could be a shower, of sorts.
"Just leave your clothes in that bin, er, basket there, I have already put some clothing choices for you to wear in those drawers. The shower is simple. Step inside and it turns on. Step out and it turns off. If you want it off in the middle of your shower, then tell it OFF. It will stop. Then tell it ON and it will turn back on. It is already programmed for English. The soap is for both head and body, and the dispenser is on the wall. Just push the side and the soap will come out. There is a scrub brush hanging on the wall, as well. You will find more personal grooming items on the shelves behind the mirror. There is a razor in the drawer. Before you shave, I recommend that you use electric clippers to get as much as you can with them before you use the razor. There are some electric trimmers in there, too, but the final job will be best done with the simple razor. We like the Gillette Razor M3 and N 4 TTO Techmatic around here."
"You’ve got to be kidding. The M3? Where in the world did you get those?" Jason asked.
,"I think you call it Woolworths," Ben said nonchalantly.
"You go to Woolworths?" Jason said quizzically
.
"Well, they do have good deals, sir."
"They have Woolworths in space?" Jason was more befuddled than ever!
"Oh no, sir. That would be strange. We usually go the one in Cleveland or Kansas City. It depends upon where we shop."
"I think I am confused. No, I KNOW I'm confused!"
"I am so sorry, Captain. I think the Bishop had better fill you in first. I’ve probably said too much already. This must be hard on you."
"You have no idea, Ben."
"Well, get cleaned up and I'll tell Dr. Vickie that you are ready to go. Unless you would rather lay down a while."
"Well, I am anxious to see the Bish…er, Mr. Rhodes, but I need to get to this shower first. And maybe get a little to eat as well?"
"Oh, of course, Captain. As soon as you are ready I'll bring in some food. You are still on a special diet, but I think you will like it. I think we have some milky shaking you might be used to. We all like it here on the Gilead. Our favorite comes from Dairy King."
"You mean Dairy Queen and they are called milk shakes. But that was close enough."
"Thank you Captain. I do want to get it right."
"Well, for now I’ll try to get this right, if you will close the door on your way out. I am really anxious to get rid of this beard, and this…” Smelling his armpit, Jason inhaled his own odor with disdain.” You did a good job, Ben, but I really could use a good, long shower!"
"Sure thing. Just push the red button near the door when you are dressed. And, by the way, any combination of clothes is appropriate. I know you don't want to be embarrassed, so I chose those that would always match."
"That was a good idea, Ben. I have no fashion sense. Thanks again, Ben. Everyone here is so nice."
"Thank you, Captain. We are all quite excited that you are here! And by the way, when you are finished I have a haircut lined up for you, if you are tired of looking like a homeless bum. If you want to stay looking this way, I think we could pick you up a grocery cart next time we visit a Kroger food store."
With that Ben closed the door and Jason was left on his own. He went to the vanity and found the objects he needed to start cleaning up. He was going to be incredibly happy to be clean and clean-shaven again. It seemed like it was a lifetime ago since he was. And, he admitted to himself, he was looking forward to seeing Dr. Vickie again looking like his normal self. It was only a professional interest, he told himself with a grin…
Yes. Only professional.
Chapter 15–Aliens!
NASA June, 1969
NASA was gearing up for Apollo 11 full bore. This would be the first mission to officially land humans on Earth's closest planetary neighbor–our own moon. Centuries of speculation was about to be confirmed or denied. Almost every household on Earth would be tuned in or watching Apollo 11 from the beginning until it returned. To say this was a spectacular event would not do it justice.
But there were some who had other concerns. NASA knew that man was no longer alone. They had received a message from Mars and rushed through a project to bring man there before going to the Moon, and they failed. What’s more, unfortunately, they could not tell the world about it. And they had lost all contact with Mars. Those brave men would be unsung heroes whose selfless acts would go unheralded. But they did not die in vain. So much was learned in the process of preparing for the Mars mission; many others would benefit from their sacrifice.
Dr. Gene Kranz, Director of NASA, was at his desk knee-deep in Apollo 11 details. He didn't seem to have time these days to deal with the Apollo 6 operation, not that it would do any good. Since they had lost contact with Apollo 6, it was assumed that the capsule was lost. The possibility of a follow-on mission to Mars was all but over. It seemed to have fallen out of favor politically, and the reality of the original signals from Mars was being questioned. After all, there had been no further communication from Mars or Apollo 6 for nearly six months. The possibility of the whole thing being a hoax was batted about constantly. It’s as if the people of Mars had died with the crew of Apollo 6.
There was a delicate knock on the door. "Dr. Kranz?"
Looking up Gene saw a familiar face. "Yes, Jerry. Come on in."
"Dr. Kranz, you know our team has been working hard on a return mission to Mars, but it seems more and more difficult to get the resources we need. Computer time is almost nonexistent. Slide rules are great, but they can't possibly give the accuracy we need. The team is getting discouraged."
"I know, Jerry, but I'm afraid we are the only ones left who care. Mars is off the table for the foreseeable future. Our work on this project will certainly help future missions. I am positive that after we go to the Moon, we will quickly set up a permanent facility there. Then the next logical thing for NASA to do is a mission to Mars. There is talk about some silly Space Shuttle program and maybe even an Earth-orbiting “space station,” but you know it’s just talk. NASA is commissioned to go into space. I think it is only a decade or so before we are truly ready to go to Mars. I wish it were now, but it isn't, Jerry. I think it is about time we disassembled the team and went to work on the mission at hand. You guys and gals have done an amazing job. I am sure Apollo 6 was just a Mars crash landing or an historic flyby. What we did was an unprecedented first. It’s too bad the world can't know. Since the deaths on Apollo 1, the world, and Congress, won't put up with more lives lost.
Pause.
Dr. Kranz took a deep breath and said, “Have your team meet me in my office tomorrow morning at 0900 for reassignments! I'm sorry, Jerry. I should have done this months ago."
Jerry replied softly, "I was afraid this time would come. You know how disappointed and abandoned we will feel, Dr. Kranz.”
"I know, Jerry. I know. I feel the same way, but my hands are tied. We did our best and we failed. This failure is hard to take for all of us, but I am so proud of all the work your team did. Future space travel is safer because of your efforts. The follow-on Apollo missions are so much better-off now with what we learned. Of course, it’s horrible that good men had to die to find these things out. There is an old saying. We stood on the shoulders of giants, and it is true. Despite what we did to them, the Apollo 6 crew was brave and dedicated. They did everything they could in the face of unbelievable adversity, but it just wasn't enough. We failed them, Jerry. We did our best, but we still failed them. We performed miracles, my friend, but we needed more miracles. Probably a lot more! We will undoubtedly never know what happened in the end, but feel proud that we gave them the best we had!"
"Thank you for your support, Dr. Kranz. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Have a good evening, Jerry."
With that Gene was left alone in his office. He called his secretary, Mildred, on the intercom and told her to cancel all of his appointments and calls for the rest of the day. He needed to be alone for a while. He locked his door, closed his blinds, and he went back to his desk. Dr. Gene Kranz, head of the whole NASA space program, put his head down on his desk, and wept bitterly.
–––––––
OLS Gilead
Jason came out of the bathroom a new man. The beard was gone, the smell was gone (he hoped), and the clothes fit very nicely.
I'll have to get the name of his tailor, he said to himself. He was surprised at what he saw when he looked in the mirror after using the electric clippers to remove most of his beard. He was even more surprised after he had shaved. He looked like a teenaged, but gaunt, version of himself, except for the wrinkles. He had lost a third of his body weight. He admitted to himself that he looked better when he had a bit more meat on his bones, but he knew that would come. Maybe now he would continue eating healthy things. He had developed some pretty bad eating habits before the mission–too many hamburgers, hot dogs, fish tacos, chimichangas, and NASA cafeteria food!
Jason remembered to push the red button, and shortly the door opened.
"Captain Hotson. You look great, sir," exclaimed an enthusiastic Ben.
"You are kin
d Ben, I feel like a new man. How about that haircut?”
"Dr. Vickie is busy in her office. If you are ready I can take you to get a haircut and something to eat, and then we can see if she is ready."
"Sounds like a good plan, Ben. Let's do it!"
As they walked down the corridor together, Jason had the impression that he was going to be the center of attention for a while. Although he knew they had been to Earth, he was pretty sure he was the first Earthling to be on the ship. As he walked down the hall there weren't a lot of people, but those he passed often stopped him to introduce themselves and to shake his hand. But he wasn't flattered–he was self-conscious! He was aware of his shaggy hair. More than once he caught himself blushing.
Enoch's Challenge Page 15
