Hanson watched her leave, and his eyes followed her with gratitude for his new future. She dipped the diamonds into a sterile solution, and he called for her.
“Where should we go?” he asked.
Mara looked at him perplexed. “We?” she asked him.
Hanson nodded. “Where do you want to go? If you could take the Zephyr with me anywhere… anywhere in the Solar System, where would you want to take it?”
Mara was caught slightly off guard by his question, but she had a quick answer. “I want that enzyme,” she said. “We’ll need another sample if we want to keep up the work we’re doing.”
Hanson chuckled, but only as hard as his body would allow. He didn’t need to hear any validation for Mara’s request. His eyes stared into hers. “We have everything we need to do it,” he told her. “We can drill a new cavity and get EUNICE back down there for another sample. We’ll fuel up when we land and head home with the enzyme whenever you want.” He kept looking at her. “You sure you want to go back?” he asked.
“I’m not afraid of what’s under there,” she said to him. “We haven’t left orbit around Jupiter yet. Get some rest, then we’ll leave. Whenever you are ready.”
She walked back to him carrying several of the large diamonds. She set them on his chest where he could see them. “I’ll go check with Stenner and let them know what we plan to do. They’ll be wanting to leave for Earth soon,” she said.
Sol 20; Mission time - 10:14
“We can not thank you enough for the fuel and water,” Dr. Aman said. They were all standing at the airlock that separated the two vessels, preparing to say their goodbyes to Mara and Hanson.
Stenner also stood next to Mara as she departed. “This won’t be easy to explain to Mission Control,” he lamented.
“You can tell Nathan, I’m ready for that adventure,” she said. “He’ll know what I mean.” She picked up her things and walked them through the portal, nearly ready to close the latch.
“Luis,” Stenner mentioned. “Will be confined to his quarters until we decide what to do with him. We checked the transmission records, and he admitted he sent a message to Johan.”
Hanson nodded, unsurprised, and Mara remained quiet, choosing to move past the issue.
“There is one more thing, Mara,” Dr. Aman said. “We need to talk before you go,” he told her. “Both of you.”
“I ate a full breakfast, Aman…” she replied.
“That is not it,” the doctor answered. “We have your latest bloodwork to go over, I am afraid.”
“Afraid? You said we were clean; immune to any biology down there,” Mara reminded him.
“Yes, we did say that,” Dr. Aman replied. “But there is more to it.”
“You are always saying that.”
“And this is just as important. Look, your bloodwork is showing signs of influence from the foreign substances. I am not sure that is the most accurate explanation… You have both picked up the genetic benefits of the enzyme when your blood was exposed. It appears the enzyme did more than inoculate you from any pathogens on Europa. You currently have a completely clean bill of health, Mara. Both of you do. It is as if… well… your biological processes may have been reset.”
Mara let out a slight laugh. When she saw that the doctor remained serious, she tried to stop herself. “Reset?” she asked him, more seriously.
“Yes. It is not a joke. For one, both of you have completely regenerated your telomeres, among other things.”
“Telomeres?” Hanson repeated.
“Yes, the age-identifying part of your chromosomes. It is like you are brand new… Like you were just born. Let me ask you both. How are you feeling?”
They each remained silent, not sure how to answer the question under the circumstances.
“I feel great,” Hanson finally said. “Better than ever.”
Dr. Aman nodded, expecting such a response. He waited for Mara to answer him. She was quiet, searching for the correct words. He saw that she was reticent to speak about it in front of the others.
“I told you I felt something, remember?” she asked. “I had a sensation. At least that is what I’d call it. I was cured… and I knew it. I knew I was going to be safe from the infection. Somehow, I knew.”
Dr. Aman nodded as he listened. “I believe that enzyme went to work on the DNA within your cells,” he proposed. “I would also bet that the creatures were taking account of your DNA and incorporating it into their world. I am sure that is what they have done. They will carry your genetic information with them and spread it throughout their biosystem, sharing what they have learned with the rest of the creatures down there; your immunities, advantages, unique features… and not just of you, but all of mankind, all of human history up to this point, possibly even the entirety of Earth’s biology.”
“Whoa,” Mara said. She stopped for a moment. “All of Earth’s biology?” she repeated.
The doctor glanced at her quite seriously. “At least along your particular lineage,” he said. “Mara, our genealogy is nothing but a long story, filled with genetic experiments, trials and successes, and paths not taken. Did you know that most of the DNA in your body is not even used? It is just, extra… unusable junk. We carry the vestiges of our genetic past with us all the time, most of it is superfluous genetic material that we no longer even use. And now, that information is also a part of the world beneath us.”
Mara thought about what the doctor was telling her for a moment. “Well, that’s a shame, I have my mother’s ears, and now they do too,” she joked.
Dr. Aman tried not to laugh, and he did not want to appear to be taking the situation as funny. “I think that is what you were seeing when they were scrolling through all the colors, flashing their lights, and creating those new diamonds,” he said. “They have taken that knowledge with them below.” He stopped and waited for her reaction to the theory, but Mara had remained quiet.
Dr. Aman looked upon the two of them as they prepared to depart with a worried face.
Julian came into the docking chamber before they were to leave. He saw that they were boarding the Zephyr. “Bring some of them back, Mara. It is a small price to pay for such wisdom,” he said to her.
Mara smiled, then turned to Reese and hugged her. “EUNICE is in good hands,” she told her.
Reese tried valiantly to hide her sorrowful expression, but she was sad to see her baby go, and proud that she would help provide more cures. Then Mara turned to enter the Zephyr behind Hanson, who had just walked through the airlock. Reese waved as they walked through.
“Take care of her,” Stenner yelled at Hanson.
The latch door closed, and Mara and Hanson disappeared down the corridor. Stenner and Dr. Aman began walking toward the mess hall on board the Copernicus Orbiter. They started their breakfast over reports and debriefings from Mission Control. They heard the Zephyr detach from the orbiter and begin to fall away underneath them. The edges of the great rig were sliding by their window just outside, adjusting its orbit for Europa.
Stenner breathed a deep sigh when the larger rig had disengaged and fell from view. “I’m afraid for them,” he said to the doctor.
“Why? I am not sure anything could harm them right now,” he said.
“That’s what I am afraid of,” he continued, his eyes barely removed from his daily debriefing. “If they can’t age, or be injured… what happens to them as we all get older? What happens as the world around them ages away?”
Dr. Aman appeared amused at Commander Stenner’s concern. “It should be viewed as a blessing, not a curse,” he said. “In India, death is seen as a means to move the spirit from an old body into a new body,” he said. He looked away from his paper. “Perhaps this will simply… shorten that journey.”
Stenner gave a disapproving look. “I’m looking forward to your continued research, D
r. Aman,” he said. “If the enzyme does not begin to wear off, we will need to tell them,” he said. “A person should know if they are not aging.”
Dr. Aman sipped his tea, seemingly not worried. “I’m looking for a way to disengage the effects, but think about the long-term implications for space travel, interstellar voyages, not to mention the lives that will be saved back home.”
Stenner was silent, barely acknowledging the doctor with the slightest head nod. He read more of the reports, then looked back up at him. “How will this be treated when we get home?” he asked. “Who will control this knowledge?”
Dr. Aman had just finished another sip of his tea, patting his lips together as he usually did. “I think it should be like when we discovered penicillin,” he stated. “Instead of keeping it a secret, or hoarding it for one person, Sir Alexander Fleming shared his discovery with the world. He knew it was something that did not belong to any one person, or company, or nation… or even one species. He knew it should be shared, like what those creatures already do below us. If there is one lesson to be learned here, should it not be to share the wisdom we have for everyone’s benefit the way they do?”
Sol 29; Surface of Europa — 02:36
Mara walked into an empty drill chamber, still awake from a busy day. They had broken through the ice one more time. It was dark, and EUNICE hung silently above her, taunting the ocean below them one more time. The slush piles around the drill hole had been washed away from the rush of water, leaving a clean cavity. The heat exchangers and other tubes dangled through the hole and deep into the darkness. She stood over the cavity in the floor. She followed the tubes downward, looking into the darkness with her own eyes.
She reached into her shirt, and she pulled out the ring. Carefully she removed it from the necklace, and she held it in the palm of her hand. It reflected pinpoints of light at her from the sparse lighting within the chamber.
A flood of memories came back, but she remembered his spirit most of all. His was the spirit of adventure and curiosity, coupled with the humility to know that nobody can know all the answers, and would be foolish to ever believe so.
She recalled him saying the mission would be good for her. He had insisted that she go, not because she was an ideal candidate, but because he knew she would find the strength to stand up for what he believed; what they believed. He needed her there to defend their discoveries, whatever they were, and she knew that she had.
Mara looked down at the ring one more time, and she tilted her hand and let it slip into the cavity. In mere seconds it was gone. The diamond and the ring that bore it were a part of this moon now. He was a part of this moon.
CHAPTER 26
Fall; 2095 — Des Moines, Iowa
A crowd gathered in front of a large modern building. Glass and stone were set to a rhythmic pattern across the front façade, and intricate cornices formally adorned the building like they were calling it to official duty. The tall glass curtainwalls reflected sunlight down onto a plaza containing a stage with wires and microphones and a podium. A red ribbon and a bow dangled across the stage while a small gathering of dignitaries and politicians and doctors and administrators stood behind. A crisp sunny day sent leaves tussling in the lawn as a breeze stirred the seasons into action. A speaker in a gray suit stood before the podium and microphone. Several people stood to either side, looking over an audience gathered for a commencement address.
“Good afternoon,” the man in the gray suit said into the microphone. “Thank you for being here. We are fortunate to be able to present this new institution today for the benefit of all mankind. This institute would not have been possible if it were not for the tremendous courage and sacrifice of the astronauts of the Copernicus mission to Europa. Since the return of that mission, it has been this institute’s single goal to share with the world the knowledge and benefits of our solar system’s sister world.”
“Earth and Europa were forged from the same chaotic processes that built the planets, and we were destined by that very process to come into contact at some point and share the solar system together. Now that we have met our companions on Europa, countless afflictions, diseases, and genetic disorders have been written into the pages of history, thanks to the success of that single mission. With the information obtained from just one of the diamonds that were returned to Earth, we have saved the lives of thousands upon thousands of cancer patients, eradicated hundreds of diseases, and returned the use of life and limb.”
“The lessons we have learned from that mission and its discoveries will carry through as we study them and bring them to the world. It is now, and forever will be, our policy to share and distribute the knowledge gained here to the rest of the medical field without recompense or reward. May we strive to expand our newfound abilities with a good heart, a responsible sense of compassion, and the humility to understand its power.”
The man turned behind him and brought a woman standing nearby to the podium. A pair of large scissors were handed to the man, who then handed them to the woman. “We have with us a special guest who will officially open the building to the public today. I would like to present to you Dr. Mara Parrish, astronaut, and lead biologist of the Copernicus mission. Dr. Parrish has been back from that mission for several years and has been instrumental in working to make this institution a reality. Mara, will you please do the honors?” he asked.
Mara stepped to the man and the crowd gave a polite cheer as she was handed the large scissors. She smiled and held them to the oversized ribbon, opened them to pause for photographs, and then forced the blades down upon the cloth, clamping them together and severing it in two. The crowd cheered politely again.
“Now, those of you who would like may follow us into the building for the guided tour. Please form a line to my left here on the stairs. Faculty will organize you into groups. And thank you again for being here,” he said, walking away from the microphone.
The man approached Mara. “Are you ready?” he asked her. Mara nodded, then reached for the hand of her husband. She helped him to walk, his legs still growing accustomed to the gravity, and she held his arm to steady him up the stairs.
The man in the gray suit walked them into the building, passing the lines and the faculty and the disorganized crowd. Above them a large cornice suspended over the glass exterior read in granite: “The George Collinson Institute for Neurological and Regenerative Studies.” Mara felt a sense of pride as she walked beneath the heavy polished engraving.
They walked through the lobby and approached a small room leading into a display area. Two guards stood before a large set of steel doors, neatly concealed above and below. The room inside was dark. The walls were stained a rich wood finish and reached higher than usual. Cameras hung discretely in the corners and another pair of guards stood within the doors. Mara walked through the portal with her husband behind her.
A series of ropes sectioned off a portion of the room inside. In the middle, several feet beyond them, a pedestal stood with a glass case fixed atop. Lights were focused upon the display, and underneath them a beveled glass and stainless-steel container held a precious treasure.
Inside the display was a crystal the size of a man’s fist. The beams from several light fixtures converged upon the object, causing it to glisten like a prism in the morning light.
Mara looked at her husband and offered a satisfied smile.
He returned the gesture and looked upon their treasure. “Something good,” he said, clutching her hand within his.
The institute had been founded by this one precious sample, the one that had been in Hanson’s bio-suit. It had been studied and deciphered and information extracted from it for several years. The donations alone that had come into the institute since its possession had been overwhelming.
They gazed upon their artifact, reflecting on the lives that were given to it and friends that were lost. Hands were held tight, and
their arms interlocked.
“I’m sure he would be very proud,” Hanson said to her.
Mara nodded. She could sense George here. She could sense his spirit. This is what he would have wanted. It made her happy that she could do this for him.
They both took a few minutes to read the plaque behind the display. Mara saw her name at the bottom along with her friends, though there was only cursory mention of the miners, and nothing about the fate of the Zephyr. There was no mention of NASA policy to no longer rely on contracted services in space. No mention of the strict penalties for landing on Europa without international permission. There was no mention of the plan set in place by an international team of scientists to watch the light signals given by the creatures, or the seismic instruments in correlation with them, all designed to catch mining activity on the moon.
Mara took her time thinking about the sacrifices they had made to complete their mission. She spent silent minutes remembering and contemplating what they had gone through. But then she realized they needed to get going.
“How much time do we have?” she asked after a few minutes.
“We need to leave soon if we are going to make our flight.”
“Nervous?” she asked.
Hanson gave a restrained smile. “Not at all… Can’t wait.”
Mara pulled him out from in front of the display case and offered a teasing smile in return. “You are nervous,” she said. “Let’s get this over with. You’ll thank me.”
“I’m not nervous to be meeting my own brother,” he said, determined to deny it.
“Then what is it?” she asked. “My Mother?” she smiled, nearly laughing. “I thought you always wanted to go to a real beach,” she laughed.
“I do, it’s just…”
“What?”
“It’s the whole thing. The institute… Seeing my brother for the first time in forever. Meeting your Mother. It’s a lot. But in a good way,” he said reassuringly.
Diamond Moon Page 47
