Chapter 19: Starman

“There’s’ a starman waiting in the sky! He like to come and meet us

But he thinks he'd blow our minds! Sing it Vlady!” Gaia yelled out as David Bowe blasted through the ship’s speakers.

“There’s a starman waiting in the sky! He told us not to blow it, cause he knows it’s all worthwhile told me” The Russian cosmonaut sang in a deep voice.

“let the children blows it, let the children use it, let all the children who get!” The British and Chinese astronauts Dr Lane and Dr Fen finished the chorus.

After Noah’s ship had returned to Earth, they were soon contacted by Gary and Susan about their whereabouts. When Gaia cheerfully told them they were busy fighting a dragon in a world of elves, their expressions were priceless. So priceless, Gaia snapped a photo of it. After elaborating somewhat, the conversation shifted to the rejuvenating gel.

The leading figures on Earth, under significant public pressure by women across the globe, had decided to allow for limited sale of the gel as a test run, though people would have to sign a waiver in order to join the early access program. Despite the added bureaucracy, the website set up for applications crashed after only thirty seconds. Initially Noah was worried he would not be able to provide enough gel for the demand, however he was loaned a large warehouse on a private island in the pacific. Apparently, this was a way of compromise between the US and China, as they were both prepared to Veto any UN bill should Noah set up shop on either of their lands.

Before Noah could visit his new manufacturing island, he was asked if he could spare some time returning the astronauts back to the ISS, as they still had their duties on board. Also, Jason Miles, the American astronaut was feeling left out after the group had so readily abandoned him for a spaceship joyride. After bidding Gary and Susan farewell, Noah returned to his ship with the astronauts and some extra supplies which were usually too expensive to bring into space due to weight restrictions.

And then… Gaia handed Vladymir the aux chord.

“You know, you’ve got some pipes on you Vlady. Ever thought of getting into opera after your stint as a cosmonaut?” Gaia asked as the song ended.

“Oh you flatter me miss Gaia. My mother always wanted me to join the opera, but alas, I just couldn’t make the cut!” He said in an overly dramatic manner.

“I thought you got kicked out of the conservatorium for sleeping with your instructor, who was married.” Dr Fen said as she sent an elbow into Vladymir’s ribcage.

“Oh you think so little of me Dr Fen. I would never.” Vladymir responded, a not-so-subtle smirk on his rustic face.

“Attention passengers, we’ve arrived at your destination, the International Space Station, please make sure to take all your belongings, I hope you’ve enjoyed your flight aboard air Pip” Noah imitated an air hostess as the ship positioned itself alongside the ISS.

“5 stars, will fly again”

“Excellent service”

“Tasty snacks… Oh speaking of, can I take this cheese board with me?”

The two female astronauts gave Vladymir ‘the look’, which he responded with a shrug and put the cheese board down, not before putting a few blocks in the pocket of his suit.

Once everyone was ready, Noah depressurised the cargo bay and attached the string of bags carrying the extra cargo to a utility belt. He jumped out into the vacuum of space, his wings emerged from his back, the flecks of golden energy flying behind him like a comet, his halo shining bright in the darkness of space. The talkative crew became silent at the sight of, from their point of view, a literal angel. Jason Miles, who was watching from inside the ISS, took out his camera and snapped a photo. A photo that one day would become very valuable.

“Holy shit. He actually does have wings.” Dr Lane commented on the open channel, breaking everyone out of their stupor. Noah just gave an awkward chuckle, wanting to avoid too much explaining.

After they had all re-entered the ISS, Noah shook hands with Jason. “It’s only been a few days but I’m glad everyone’s back and ready for work. Thanks for going out of your way to bring everyone back up Noah, you’ve saved the taxpayer a lot of money haha.” Jason was joking, but the reality was NASA was reluctant to request extra funding for another launch to return the astronauts.

“That’s no problem, it was only a 5-minute flight anyway. Vladymir made excellent use of my ship’s speakers. Starman is certainly an appropriate in-flight song don’t you think?” Noah responded before reaching into his storage and taking out a handful of seeds. Seeds the size of fat ants.

“Oh, I got these from my friend when I visited her world. They’re supposed to be extremely effective in removing stuff like carbon monoxide, dioxide, methane, sulfur dioxide etc and turning it into oxygen and rejuvenating soil with the excess minerals. We already planted some on Venus to see if they would grow, but I figured a few of these could help sustain oxygen levels on the station in the event the oxygen recycling systems stop working. I call it the purification tree.” Jason and the other astronauts gave Noah weird looks. They were still processing the rejuvenating gel and now they were given a plant that had the potential to solve climate change or terraform planets with hostile environments.

“Oh, thanks, I’m not sure how legal it is to start planting trees on Venus, but since you’re an alien, I guess you’re exempted from all those space treaties.” Jason scratched his head.

“We’ll be happy to do some studies on them! Besides, if they are as effective as advertised, I doubt anyone will raise many serious objections. I’ve heard you’ve got your work cut out for you with the production of rejuvenating gel huh Noah. Don’t forget to save some for me.” Dr Lane gave Noah a motherly peck on the cheek. However, her newfound youthful beauty from the gel made Noah’s face tinge red in embarrassment.

They talked for another half hour before Noah left. Leaping through space with ease as his wings ensured his trajectory right into his ship’s cargo bay.

After Noah’s ship had left, the group aboard the ISS floated together in the dining room.

“So, another weird alien thing. Do we have enough room in the greenhouse for it?” Jason asked the crew.

“Yeah, there should be two spots left after we ate that lettuce. I’m not sure how big it will grow, but if it feeds of greenhouse gasses then it will probably remain small considering the station is already equipped with carbon scrubbers. Vladymir, lets wind down modules 1 and 2 so we can see how this tree grows with a little more food in the air. There’s still plenty of air to breathe with the other filters so this should work.” Dr Fen instructed and everyone began preparing for the experiment.

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Noah stood on a beautiful tropical beach in the south Pacific. It was technically a nature reserve, where no humans were allowed to enter in order to protect the local wildlife and endangered species. Though, apparently the legal loophole allowed Noah to set up shop there because the UN didn’t consider him human. Noah was sure there would be endless legal battles to be had on this subject in the future.

The warehouse he had been granted was originally built to help with the breeding of a species of freshwater frog endemic to the island but had since gone extinct due to disease. So luckily for Noah, it already had large pools which could be filled with gel. The only things he needed were sugar and a way to automatically package his gel. Though, Noah had decided it was less work to just go the wholesale route and supply his gel in large quantities to other companies. When he communicated this idea with the UN, they were extremely relieved as this would ensure local economies would get a slice of the alien pie as well. After all, Noah’s goal wasn’t to become super rich, though he probably would as a by-product, but to support the growth of Earth’s civilisation.

The warm tropical breeze ruffled the palm trees lining the shore. Noah turned to the right where he saw Gaia walking towards him in a two-piece green bikini, holding Pip who was plonked into a floaty ring on her head.

“You coming for a swim Noah? C’mon there’s no rush to start making gel. Last time I checked there were only 600,000 reservations… wait, 610,000 now. Anyway, let’s enjoy the water!” Gaia ran past Noah and jumped into the crystal-clear tropical waters, Pip squealing in joy as she was pushed in front of a small wave, surfing it to the shore.

Noah smiled and ran over, throwing his shirt aside, picking up Pip and setting her on another wave. Her happy squeals filling the quit beach with laughter.