//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 - A Breath of Fresh Air // Story: The Children of Planet Earth // by Chicago Ted //------------------------------// Elena started eating some jerky, while waiting for some chicken noodle soup to rehydrate in front of her. She sighed, and peered down at the revolving view of the planet below. She hadn’t heard from Adam since he gave the probe’s spectroscope a once-over at her request. The probe was still processing the radiation content of the soil sample, but atmospheric measurements – which she requested as well, just to be sure – came back in a matter of minutes: they were identical. She shrugged and came into the galley to fix herself a quick meal. She would need it – analyzing the probe’s unadulterated findings would take some power. She only hoped it wasn’t too much of a strain on Dr. Somerset, there on the surface, who did end up fixing the issue straightaway, even if he was propelled by nothing but rage. The planet came back into view, ever so briefly, and she kept eating her jerky. Behind her, she heard boots hit the ground. Turning around, she found Commander Darcy in the galley behind her. “Evening, Weiss,” he greeted. “I was wondering where you were, there’s something you need to know.” He pulled out a packet of ramen noodles. “Ja?” She checked on the packet of soup – it wasn’t ready yet. “After Dr. Somerset repaired the probe again, the Indigenous called him away – this time to a hospital in the other settlement.” He hooked the ramen packet to the red hydration gun, and injected a hundred milliliters of hot water. “They performed a medical examination on him – that meant him stepping out of the suit.” He sat down by Elena, setting the packet down to rehydrate on its own. “And he did not seek caution first?” she asked. “Apparently it was safe,” he said. “Cleanroom, hazmat suits, the whole nine yards. Contamination may be avoided yet. If not. . . .” He sighed. “If you meant talking to us first, he couldn’t – by the time he put two and two together, he found himself inside a Faraday cage – whole damned building was lined with one. – Thought that would be a lead for you, insofar as to their biology.” She finally turned her body away from the window and faced Commander Darcy completely. “To confess,” she said, “I had not considered the radio frequencies.” A pause. “But then, we should have seen radio signals from Rhysling. So why have we not?” “Good question,” he offered. “I don’t think the probe can detect anything in the radio spectrum – lest it obviously pick up its own emissions.” He rested his cheek in his hand, losing himself in thought – but only for a moment. “Wait. No – not by default. What if. . . we could simply interrupt the signals while searching out the radio frequencies?” “I’m certain that could be done,” she answered. “I could try programming and sending the new protocol from orbit, at least.” “And if it doesn’t work out,” he added, “well. . . we do have someone on the ground who could make it happen.” “No.” She gently placed her palm on the table, standing up. “That should not be necessary. We ran the diagnostics, we know all the systems of the probe correctly working are. Besides! – you saw how angry Dr. Somerset was when last we spoke to him. If he says the probe is fine, if the diagnostic says the probe is fine, then Gopfverdammi nomal, the probe is perfectly fine!” She caught her breath from her venting, and sat back down. “I’m sorry, sir. I should not have – ” “No, no, you were probably right.” Commander Darcy sighed. “As for other radiation types – can you at least tell me they’re within safe parameters?” “The last reading? Yes, it was safe.” She finished her jerky, and checked the packet of soup. Seeing it had finally finished, she picked it up and hovered it in front of her mouth. “Though that may change when I see the latest.” She started drinking the soup. “In any case, that lead you mentioned – I will investigate it first thing, thank you for bringing it to my attention.” “And thank you for being on top of it.” He prodded his ramen packet – it wasn’t ready just yet. “Though I still can’t get my mind off of that unexpected exam.” He set his gaze out the window. “I hope he’s just fine right now.” ·–·–· Adam was most certainly not fine right now. When Antir recognized the alarm as belonging to something vital to his survival, she leaped to her hooves and galloped to the head of the train. Whatever she told the engineer convinced him to speed things along; he felt the rail joints jolt him a lot more. It also meant that the train’s brakes started screeching sooner, louder, and for longer than he would have preferred – it was hard to concentrate on not crashing into a bench while concentrating on shallow breathing. Still, by the time they arrived, he had five percent of his scrubber left, and the alarm was getting on his nerves. Adam started to get up, but Antir was having none of it. He was swept off his feet, and he found himself floating in Antir’s telekinesis as she floated him out the door. If she can lift things as heavy as me, he imagined – then what would be her upper limit? The guards didn’t even bother following her – their duties apparently ended when the train arrived. He felt himself be hoisted higher, over the heads of passing equines. The monitor told him that capacity had dropped to four percent. As much as he was panicking internally, he knew he had to keep his breathing in check – don’t use up any more oxygen than you have to, he reminded himself. But what if you need to use more than you have!? Shut up, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Just relax and let Antir save your life. Would this mean indentured servitude? What would she put us through!? Too late to go back now, isn’t it? Just. Stop. Worrying. Right now. You damned. . . idiot! They left town not long after. She crossed the bridge when she got to it, with him gliding neatly over the water to the side. He checked the monitor – zero percent. He was literally running on fumes at this point, and the landing site was just in sight. This is it, he thought. This is the moment where I find out it’s the closest call of my life – or my last stand. He started coughing. She didn’t even give him a chance to climb up the ladder – nor could she himself. Adam felt some tingling coursing through his body – then he instinctively blinked as a violet flash of light enveloped his vision. When he opened his eyes again, he and Antir were on the lander’s scaffolding. He blinked – Wait, did I just teleport? He coughed again. Forget it, I need air! Antir practically slammed the life-support backpack into the suitport, and hit the sterilizer button with her hoof. These next two minutes were hell – not just because he was spoiled by the five-second flash the Indigenous had apparently developed, but also because he had hit zero percent three minutes ago. He kept coughing, sputtering, and gasping, as his body struggled to pull what little usable oxygen remained inside the suit. It didn’t help that it was re-sealed at a reduced pressure, and therefore he had less air to work with. Or did something get inside the scrubber back in the cleanroom? Through his watering eyes, he thought he saw Antir looking at him with genuine worry. He wanted to reässure her, tell her that human beings were hardier than he made them out to be – but that thought was quickly lost when he started coughing again. His eyes were completely shut, and he couldn’t read the timer on the display. [ɹiˈɣě ɑlɲɑˈmɯ] H’ryleeloofa had apparently flown in at one point, noticing the commotion at the lander. [eˈdem βɑˈlɑʒ ɑlɟɑˈmu] Antir replied. [mozuˈɹu pẽˈlẽs iɹˈsi l̩bɑzũɟɑˈmu] That was as much as Adam could make out before his coughing took up all his attention. And the amount of attention he had started dwindling as well – am I getting drowsy? he wondered. Oh no. . . no no no, God damn it! His only saving grace was that right at that precise moment the suit’s timer finally hit :00, and he felt the back hatch swing open. Cool oxygenated air rushed past his back, as the two pressures equalized, but it was not enough to alleviate his problem. He was barely able to get his arms out of the suit’s, and then he found he no longer had the strength to pull himself out, nor could he remember what he should do. He then twisted his torso from side to side in an attempt to slip out, but ended up only irritating his bruised hip. Like it or not, he was stuck here. He took a moment to use his freed hand to wipe his eyes clear, and to shake himself to a semblance of being awake – and when he did, he saw Antir’s telekinesis apparently working through the lander’s walls. She had found the knob for the window shutter, and hastily exposed the interior to her sight, letting in the golden rays of the alien sunset. She peered inside, looking for something – when she found Adam, she lit her horn and grabbed his back – he felt a warm tingling sensation on the skin, nothing painful – lifting him completely out of the suit and setting him face-up on the cot. She didn’t bother to strip off his garments – and Adam was still coughing. The effort his body was exerting to get enough oxygen was still as great as ever, and it didn’t seem to be letting up. The only thing that could save him was the oxygen tank mounted by the oxygenator. He tried to get up onto his feet, but his legs were too weak to support his weight. He essentially had to tumble himself out of the cot and start crawling to his salvation. But Antir was having none of it. She once again grabbed Adam and forced him back onto the cot, not allowing him to exert himself. Frantically, he started pointing at the oxygenator, at the tank mounted nearby. Unfortunately, it was just out of her view, as the back hatch did not swing open wide enough. She then apparently resolved to feeling it out – she prodded each part of the oxygenator, one by one, pushing here, tugging there, seeing which parts could be removed and which were bolted down. She was careful enough not to manipulate its controls. When her telekinesis wrapped around the oxygen tank, he nodded vigorously, and motioned for it. She tore it from the wall, snapping the metal mountings strap, and brought it into his hands. A clear plastic mask descended over his mouth and nose. He felt some tingling behind his head, then he felt it lifting up by itself – then a strap snapped on, securing the mask onto him. A hard yet precise twist of the valve later, he was finally breathing some fresh air. He leaned back onto the cot and tried to get himself to relax – despite the now sporadic coughing on his part. Let’s hope I don’t suffer any permanent damage. . . either from them, or from this – “Tango-1, this is Zulu-Alfa,” Louis announced over the radio. Son of a – let me rest, damn you! “Sensors have indicated that internal capsule pressure has just dropped. Is everything okay? Over.” Adam could not be bothered to get up – besides the fresh, cool oxygen flowing into his lungs, he knew Antir would forcefully and wordlessly insist that he stay on the cot. There was something else I needed to mention. . . what was it again? He couldn’t remember; like it or not, Louis would have to take a rain check on a response. “Tango-1, please respond,” he insisted all the same. “We’ve noticed that the capsule may have sprung a leak, can you please confirm? Over.” I really need to tell them something, but I’m drawing a blank. Dammit, I can’t leave them hanging. He absentmindedly started to get back onto his feet, but he felt a great pressure on his chest, which forced him back down. A violet-hued glow played over his chest – right where he noticed the same warm tingling as before. This feels nice, I can get used to this. . . but let me up already! Louis is my commander; I have to talk to him about. . . something. And then Antir did something else completely unexpected – she stepped away from the window, pressed her hoof on the radio button on the suit, and shouted loud enough for her voice to penetrate the titanium, “Edem. . . is. . . no well!” Surprised, Adam jerked his head up when he realized she spoke English, however broken it may have been. Zodiac-Altair was just as surprised, for Louis’s reply was swift and succinct: “Last person transmitting, identify yourself immediately!” But of course she couldn’t understand what he was saying just yet. “He not. . . he say ‘Eh! Eh! Eh!’” Onomatopoeia for coughing. “Not get air.” After a moment, Louis replied, “I think I know what is wrong. Did you hear a sound? Did it say ‘Ee-ee-ee’?” “Yes, ee-ee-ee.” No further words for Antir – either she didn’t know the words in English, or she didn’t care. But then, a moment later. “Edem have. . . thing. Get air with.” Adam heard Louis sigh audibly over the transmission – out of relief. “Okay, that is good. Keep him on it, yes?” “Yes!” Then Louis turned his attention to the human. “Adam, if you can hear this – do not move around. Get some rest. Explain the situation to me when you can, not any sooner. Zulu-Alfa out.” To Adam, that meant the line would go dead – but Antir did not understand. “What do?” she transmitted. Louis seemed to have turned around to reply a moment later. “You helped Adam. Thank you. Goodbye.” This prompted Antir to step away from the suit and back to the window. Adam translated the sense of the commander’s message by hoisting himself upright and holding a hand up to the glass. Antir returned the gesture – laying the hoof directly on the other side of the pane. This meant goodbye, for the time being, but she still looked rather concerned. I’ll be fine, Antir. I promise. Adam expected her to shut the shutter and be on her way back home – but she wasn’t leaving just yet. As he laid down on the cot, she used her telekinesis to rummage through the supplies, opening each crate in her sight through the window. What is she looking for? he wondered. She got me oxygen, she partially explained the situation to Darcy. What more does she want to do? She eventually found what she was looking for – the food packets. She couldn’t read the instructions, but apparently Rhysling had quite a few food analogues to Earth, because she picked out several items that did not require any rehydration. Though I’m still rather parched. . . how much water was left again? She thrust them onto the galley, but used too much force, and they tumbled onto the floor. Funny, he thought, she’s trying to feed me. Now what, will she get my pajamas on? Then with that idea, he started looking around for his nonexistent pajamas. He started getting up, but as usual she pushed him back down onto the cot with her telekinesis. Per Commander Darcy’s orders, he kept his mask on while breathing. Slowly and steadily, he started purging out the excess carbon dioxide from his bloodstream. And it was all thanks to that violet unicorn by the window, whose quick thinking saved his life. He arched his back, twisting himself from side to side, and felt his dorsal muscles strain and stretch out, and those nerves tingle. This made him breathe the tanked oxygen deeply – which helped alleviate his symptoms further. Antir appeared somewhat satisfied with the sight before her. She lit her horn and, in a flash of violet light, disappeared from the lander’s scaffold. She didn’t bother closing the window’s shutter first, despite having demonstrated she could actuate it from the outside. Maybe she wants me to enjoy the sunset? He shrugged, reached up to the tank’s valve, and twisted it shut. The life-giving air stopped flowing, but he felt somewhat fine now. Though I should take advantage of the rest order, he thought. I’ll try to remember today’s events. He got up from the cot, setting the oxygen tank aside, and started stripping away his garments so he could bathe off the sweat. What’s this bandage doing in my elbow? Even when completely bare, he still felt impossibly slick – perhaps hotboxing himself inside the Strauss with all that carbon dioxide wasn’t such a good idea, even if he didn’t intend it. Eh, forget it – this is Future Adam’s problem. He looked around still for his pajamas, but he could only be disappointed not to find them. Ugh, fine, guess I’ll have to sleep in the nude. Sighing in resignation, he laid back down on the cot. The last thing he could remember before he drifted off to sleep was possibly a pink-and-yellow equine observing him through the window. . . . –– Louis pushed his head into his hands – both to take his mind off his tobacco withdrawal and to try to wrap his head around the fact that he had just made contact with one of the Indigenous. If it said a name besides Adam’s, he didn’t catch it – if he had to guess, it was shouted through the suit’s walls into the internally-mounted microphones – but it sounded female, at least. But he couldn’t make such assumptions. All he knew for sure was that it helped Adam when he ran into some sort of trouble. The sensors indicated that internal pressure was now ninety-eight point seventy-five percent what it should be – as small a drop as it was, it still meant that biosegregation had been violated after all, and any Terrestrial germs, bacteria, and so forth could be populating and conquering Rhysling’s surface. He would expect Adam to explain everything once he was properly rested and recovered – but until then, he feared the worst. “Did you hear all of that, doctor?” he asked Dr. Weiss. “I have,” she returned. “I believe I have an answer on how the breach occurred.” Louis raised his eyebrows. “I’m listening.” “The probe has returned atmospheric data multiple times,” she started. “It is a consistent point ninety-five atmospheres, at least at this altitude. I suspect during his examination, when he first left the suit, the two atmospheres equalized to the average of ninety-seven point five percent. Once they were done, he resealed himself at that pressure. So naturally, when he reëntered the lander, the pressures equalized a second time – ” “And the pressure inside the lander would drop to ninety-eight point seven five percent,” he concluded. “Of course he would wing it with the air pressure from the start.” He shook his head and chuckled to himself, before going further. “Any progress on the new protocol?” “I am still working on the latter,” she said. “It is taking me longer than I anticipated – mostly because a few commands would not come to my mind. Still,” she added, “if it means I’ve discovered something – ” “And so what if you do?” he asked. “I’m a sailor, not a labcoat, but I would welcome the news that I had just rewritten conventional science. Wouldn’t you?” She didn’t say anything. “Put yourself in Darwin’s shoes,” he continued, unprompted. “He was ridiculed in his day, since his idea of evolution and survival of the fittest went against the idea that God created Heaven and Earth in seven days. But now? We see his principles pop up, again and again and again, everywhere we go, to the point that we can assume a new lifeform we discovered on Earth came from an ancestral species – assume with the all same fervor as the church assumed about divine creation. “If anyone can change the collective mind called science – ” he snapped his finger at her – “it’s you. I’m sure you’ll find the answer, no matter how unexpected it would be.” This put a smile on Elena’s face. “I’m sure you’re right, Commander,” she replied – then turned back to her work. Meanwhile, he noticed that Dr. Konstantinov had just come back up from his sleep, so he left to deliver the latest development – out of her earshot, so she wouldn’t be disturbed. Still, she couldn’t help but overhear the Russian exclaim, “He did what?” She chuckled at the remark, but at the same time, she reflected on Darcy’s words – and realized what a perfect parallel it was between her and Darwin. Both of them made their work while on a long voyage far from home, both of their work involved the nature of life – and at least one of them would revolutionize biology in his time. Could she, though? Could she do the impossible? Could she flip not only her own field, biology, on its head, but conventional physics as well? There was only one way to find out – the new analysis protocol. She only hoped that this mysterious force posed no threat to anyone involved in the mission – least of all Dr. Somerset, who as part of his role had the misfortune of being right at the source. Her sight glided over her terminal’s monitor. The instruments aboard the probe could only ascertain between alpha, beta, gamma, and X-rays – radio she would need to sift out manually by herself. Not to mention communications would have to black out during readings – but she set it for ten seconds at a time: long enough to get a good general look, but short enough that she would notice if something went wrong. Normally physics wasn’t her line of work, but what if they were right, that Rhyslinger lifeforms could emit energy? Well, other than heat or light, via bioluminescence. She was willing to buy a bioluminescent horn on the unicorn’s head, but if it truly was capable of telekinesis and even teleportation, all via the radio spectra. . . well! She would have her work cut out for her. ––· . . . what happened last night? Adam still felt a bit tired from the night before. He yawned, stretching himself out. As he did, he looked down into the crook of his left elbow, and found a bandage stuck there. Huh? He yanked it off – it stung, as he expected, but the pain somehow gave him a burst of energy, enabling him to concentrate on what had happened the day before. And then it hit him like a freight train – I went to a hospital in their capital city, stepped out of my suit but couldn’t tell them because of a Faraday cage, and they examined and sampled me! Then after I told the others, I ran my scrubber down to the barebones and Antir had to yank me out. . . . He ran his hands over his body, looking for any external effects – any marks, scars, burns, anything – but nothing obvious was showing up. That could’ve gone way worse. But then she was speaking English too! And I didn’t even try to teach her! I’ve got to get out and find her. He looked over to the now-coal-black scrubber still inside his suit. Still gotta replace that. As he looked away, he darted his eyes across the window. The morning light was streaming through, but he also saw Sulfoyarnǃa observing him. Did Antir set her up to watch me through the night? He waved at her. She waved back, enthusiastically and relieved at his condition. She spread her wings, taking flight from the scaffolding, likely to report back to Antir. He looked down and found himself still bare and coated in dried sweat. Alright, time to start the day. He found the oxygen tank, bundled it up with the mask, and stowed it under his cot. He looked down and found the food packets Antir had pulled out the previous day, and decided to clean them up. He held back some dry cereal and collard greens, rehydrating the latter with seventy milliliters of cold water. Despite his ravenous hunger and lack of cleanliness, he sat down at the radio. This is it, Adam. You have to tell them. You have to. He grabbed the receiver. “Zulu-Alfa, this is Somerset,” he opened. He took a deep breath. “I have recovered from yesterday’s incident and am ready to report what had happened. Please acknowledge, over.” He set it back down, not expecting an immediate response. How is he going to take this report? he pondered. Most of what’s happened yesterday, I reported on the day of. Just need to cover the CO2 incident, including the pressure drop. “This is Zulu-Alfa,” Louis replied over the radio. “Dr. Weiss told me her working theory, so I wanted to check with you as well. Sound off, over.” Adam drew a breath. “I realize you’re going to call me an idiot, Commander, but bear with me,” he started. “After yesterday’s communication, I settled into the train ride back to the lander when my suit’s carbon dioxide scrubber fell below fifteen percent remaining capacity. I figured I had enough left to complete the trip and walk back, but apparently not. She had to help me finish the trip back.” “‘She?’” Louis interrupted. “Do you mean the same one you’ve been seeing all this time? Over.” “Affirmative,” Adam replied. “I suspect she went with me as an impromptu interpreter, someone both I and the others can trust. Anyway, once I arrived back here, my scrubber had reached zero percent remaining capacity. I. . . .” Oh boy. “I did not think to contact you at the time – I suspect the air was impairing my judgment. Over.” “That was another close call on your record, Somerset – a closer one than last time. You’ve simply got to be more careful with your air supply. I don’t know if either I or your Indigenous friend can save you next time when the pressure mounts. “Which brings me to my next topic,” he continued. “You gave me quite a scare with the lander’s pressure drop. What did you do to make that happen? Over.” “That was a mistake on my part,” Adam confessed. “I. . . noticed that their ‘normal’ atmospheric pressure was close to what we know from back home, ninety-five percent of Terrestrial sea level – ” “Aha!” Louis interrupted once again. And I was doing so well, too. . . . “You should have still asked for increased air pressure. So that was how pressure dropped in the capsule. Come to think of it, that may have been why you were suffocating inside your suit as well.” Really? Would they have a correlation? “We’ve lost air to Rhysling after all – yet somehow, assuming their contamination protocols are on par with ours, it shouldn’t worry us at all. Though that is a heavy assumption to make. . . . “Again, you had me frightened there, Somerset, so next time keep your good eye on your scrubber. As nice as it would be for them to learn about us – at the risk of learning our own vulnerabilities as well – we need to know more about them. For you, that means learning the Indigenous language – so don’t lose sight of that. “Oh, and before you go,” he added – “I’d like to get a look at the Indigenous. I’d like to know what we’re dealing with on the surface. Over.” Adam sighed – as much as he wanted to document their language and get the hell off of this green rock, something tells him that wasn’t going to be that easy. If he hasn’t seen Antir yet, he realized, God knows I’m in for some more yelling. Were they too busy to see her? “Ask Dr. Weiss,” he replied. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go to work. Somerset out.” Getting up, he was about to grab some breakfast when he remembered the packet of greens at the galley. No need to check – they were long ready, and since it said to use cold water, it was never hot to start. As he sat down to eat, a thought crossed his mind. He looked down at his naked chest, noting the pair of nipples and the pale skin without any discoloration, lacking contact from the light of either sun. He ran his hand across it, feeling the fine layer of hair along its surface, the steady pulse of his heart, and the stark contrast between his cold hand and his warm chest. But more, he started to realize, Antir’s telekinesis, and teleportation, doesn’t seem to affect me at all. Well, perhaps not the one time, his thoughts went next. I still don’t know if repeat jumps would be just as ineffective. Better not chance it, he resolved, not at least until I have completed my mission. . . . Crissake, spinach really doesn’t taste any better down here, does it?