Chapter 14

Dangerous Hide-And-Seek

Victoria’s Hypnos module. A hibernation device opened up with a “click”. As if opening a vacuum packing, a sound of wind blowing out was heard. Rei awoke. She breathed heavily as if she was rescued to a shore right before drowning. She coughed and a phlegmatic temperament came out with the cough. Although Rei opened her eyes, they were out of focus.

Mars landing spacecraft, the Victoria was nearing to its destination. An enormous space of silence had invaded the distance of 60 million kilometers. The God of War, Mars was near. Like a battlefield scattered with blood, the terrain was glowing in red. Due to gravity, Mars was drawing Victoria to its bosom, as if pulling a rope tied onto it.

“Year 2034, February 3rd, Universal Standard Time, 21:30. Good to see you, Rei!” It was Exi the assistant robot which was shaped like a half cut football. Rei inhaled deeply and exhaled again and again. Before departure, Rei had said at the interview that going into hibernation does not scare her at all. That was a downright lie. She was so worried that her life may end with the hibernation. She now felt relieved that she succeeded in waking up from the long sleep.

Hypnos module’s artificial gravity will go away in 5 minutes

The main computer sent the message. Rei opened to EMS exercise machine which prevents muscle loss. She then stripped off the ECG sensors one by one.

“How were things?” said Rei. Exi smiled onto the wall screen. “Things were fine. There was nobody making a hole on the buttocks," answered Exi. it was referring to the accident during the final selection test. “Haha, it’s a joke. It was a dull journey after all. If I had hands, then I would have knitted a red muffler to wear at Mars. It’s really cold down there,” said Exi. “Hey, you are not even gonna step out of the spacecraft,” said Rei.

Rei got up. As written in the manual, she moved her hands, arms and legs slowly. Her body did not feel like hers. It was a funny feeling. Even if a light artificial gravity occurred when Hypnos module did turns, her muscles would have decreased. However, things will get better. In fact, she will become stronger, because the gravity on Mars is only one-third compared to the Earth.

“Exi, please turn on the light,” ordered Rei. “You’re not alone. I can look at you,” said Exi. Rei looked down on her nearly naked body, and frowned, “Why do I need to care about you?”

Rei did a somersault to wake herself up. Rei looked inside the Hypnos where the hibernation devices were arranged along the inner surface of the cylinder. It’s difficult to deny that the hibernation device looks similar to a coffin. She went closer to the device no.2 where Stanley Hugh was sleeping in. On the display of the device was his name as well as the green light which signified that everything was normal. The other pilots will wake up in a week’s time. Now is the moment when the main engine should operate to reduce speed. Rei gently stroked with her hands, the angular part of the hibernation device, where Hugh was lying in. Beneath it, were his face and his body. She missed him.

“Rei, how about a riddle? Marduk, Mummu, Abju, Ea, Tiamat,” said Exi. “I don’t like riddles,” replied Rei with a sullen look. Right after waking up from a death-like deep sleep, Rei did not want to be disturbed. Exi repeated the same sentence again,“Listen carefully. Marduk, Mummu, Abju, Ea, Tiamat.” Incomprehensible words in repeat. Exi spoke even faster. Rei felt extremely nervous and edgy. Rei caught Exi with her hands, pulled it towards her face. An electric motor gave out a vibrating sound. It was like a small pet trying to let go of the grip. Rei made a scary face and said, “Why do you keep on disturbing me?”

It was good that Exi did not have arms or legs. If such a naughty machine malfunctioned or caused trouble all the time... it was disastrous. Rei remembered that according to the manual, Exi could only access the system to turn on and off the light. She tilted her head. She then thought. 'This is weird...' Rei asked while opening the hatch between Hypnos and Destiny,"Why are you next to me?” Exi did not reply, and as if it did not hear anything. Instead, it went fast ahead.

Destiny module mainly consisted of freight bed and private sleeping space for pilots. There were various equipments needed for Mars exploration, wrapped with impact absorber. Rei pulled down the zipper for private sleeping area. It was the regulation that pilots should wear pressure suits inside the spacecraft, but Rei was only wearing a one layered dressing gown. She wanted to stay this way until the other pilots woke up, since pressure suit was uncomfortable to wear. Rei turned her head to the direction of the command module. She suddenly noticed that the hatch between Destiny and temporary air lock, which should be tightly closed, was wide open.

“Exi!” shouted Rei.

Rei looked around. Exi was nowhere to be seen. She remembered that during the back-briefing simulation or the manual, the encounter with Exi did not exist. The long distance journey to Mars was delicately planned. For verification, everything was simulated tens and hundreds of times. During Rei’s previous practices, she was to get out of her hibernation device, open the closed hatches one by one, and after she had arrived at the command module, she was to meet Exi there. Exi’s role was to do a briefing on the information it had received from the control center, quite the opposite from the jokes and riddles. The hatch between the temporary air lock and the command module was also open.

“Exi!” Rei’s voice became hoarse.

Her nerves were on edge. She looked down. The command module, Victoria was a small confined space : It originaly designed general-purpose return vessel to Earth. Dragonfly adapted the command module for deep space travel and installed an additional second parachute to unfold in Mars' sparse atmosphere.

“Wow...”

Rei froze. She was astonished at the scenery outside the trapezoidal observation window of the command module. The red planet was shining right before her eyes. She got goose bumps. It was like facing a living ghost. The scene was identical to that she had seen during countless simulations. But, it was different. She could feel an intense power no words could explain.

Rei put her face close to the observation window and came face to face with Mars. She even forgot the fact that she was looking for Exi. She could detect the deep scar across its surface, the Marineris Valley. Mars was that close. Humans were reaching out to Mars since 1960. 4 yours later, they succeeded in proximity pass and in 1971, they orbited Mars for the first time. After 4 years from then, in 1975, Viking 1, so called the “Big Stupid” arrived successfully at Chryse Planitia. However, the public’s interest about the moon project had faded away, and same applied to that of the Red Planet. As if the first 10 years of dynamic space race had been forgotten, after the Viking 1’s landing on Mars, for some 59 years of time, no human had set his foot on Mars.

There was no time to be immersed in emotion. Rei had a bad feeling, and thought that she had to be alert. First, she must find Exi. She wanted to find out why the little machine acts unlike the manual. She also wanted to know what messages were sent from the Earth’s control center. Maybe, these two might have a connection.

“There you are, Exi!” said Rei. Exi was hiding below the instrument panel of the command module. Exi was connecting the instrument terminal to the D-type link which was for data delivery and recharging. “What are you doing?” asked Rei. But Exi did not move. Rei shook Exi a little but it did not respond. “Is it discharged?” she wondered. Rei wanted to give it a kick like a football, but decided not to. There was no time. To check the messages manually, Rei operated the communication terminal.

Access denied ID.

“What?” said Rei. Rei repeatedly pressed the 8 number codes, but the result remained the same.

Alert! Access denied ID.

Communication terminal was a personalized equipment. Each pilot can receive personal messages such as private messages from their family members. Nevertheless, it was impossible that Rei cannot get accessed with her ID. Rei was the captain of Victoria. In case a secret message be sent to Victoria, only Rei out of the 4 pilots is allowed access.

Rei closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She remembered various alternative scenarios she experienced during simulation. However, this kind of scenario had not existed.

“The hell with the message. Be positive, Rei!” Rei spoke to herself and thumped her chest.

The air pressure is lower than normal.

“What the heck is this!” cried Rei. Somehow, strange things happened one after another. If the air pressure is going down, then she should wear the pressure suit first. Rei turned her head to the right side panel of the two instrument panels spreading from the central observation window. She had no intention of dying right in front of the destination. Luckily, the pressure rate was not falling abruptly. There is a leaking area among the four lump of modules, and this was likely to have happened during the hibernation.

“Exi!” shouted Rei. Exi which was leaning on the main computer link just before, has disappeared once again. “Exi! Exi!” That tiny semi-circle robot was a headache. She wondered if the robot was by any chance hiding something. However, an independent stand-alone AI, which is not even connected to the network, cannot deceive a human; it was impossible.

There was no time to hang back. If there is a leaking area, then it should be fixed; and if it cannot be fixed, then, the module should be closed down. This was essential since it might cause a fatal result as Victoria enters Mars’s orbit. The reason why the spacecraft, Columbia exploded on its way back to Earth was because one piece of fiberglass plate titled on the lower side of the shuttle had been broken.

“This is Victoria. Rei Choi reporting. Class 1 alert situation. I repeat. Class 1 alert. Message access is being denied. The ship’s air pressure is low. Have to decide if this is system malfunction or not. Will check every measuring equipment on each module manually. Over,”

she sent the message but could not get any reply back right away. From Mars to Earth, it takes 20 minutes to travel at speed of light. No existing device can be faster than light.

Rei closed Victoria’s hatch and locked it. She skillfully changed the instrument panel manually and inspected the change of air pressure. "30, 29, 28..." She looked at the panel and counted 30 seconds. “Checked. All clear!”

It seemed that there was no problem at the command module which was to land the pilots on Mars. If the landing ship cannot be trusted for withstanding high temperature and high pressure, landing itself was suicidal. Not landing was also near to suicidal, because it will rotate around the Mars continuously until life ends. This is one the reasons why professionals who were well aware of the specifics called the Mars Two Project the “Suicide Mission”. Even if a rescue team comes from Earth, the preparation will take at least a couple of months.

“30, 29, 28...” It was now time to check the air lock connected to the command module. “Checked, all clear!” Rei held the hand rail. She moved to open the door of the hatch connected to Destiny.

She glanced at the exterior space suit holder. There were only 3 space suits on it. 1 was missing. At the time of departure, there were 4 space suits. There must be 4 of them. “What the...what is going on? Exi, Exi!!” Since it is not easy to wear exterior space suits alone, the regulation is that 2 people team up. Rei was in panic. “Exi! Exi!“ Now, everything did not look normal. Yet, checking the air pressure was also urgent.

“30, 29, 28.." This time, it’s Destiny. “Checked, all clear!”

Rei looke around to find Exi. She got her flashlight out and looked into every corners of Destiny. Dust was shining upon the flashlight. In the dust, Rei found something. It was a incomparably bigger particle than a dust; large and dark a dot, Rei reached out her hand and held it with her first and second fingers. She got a hunch. She sweated. She stopped for a second, but soon brought it near her nose. It was faint but smelled, yes, like a drop of blood. It had hardened in state of microgravity. It was a shape of an aspirin pill. It meant that one of the pilot had bled. Rei became alert, “No, no! It can’t be!”

Automatic course correction, auxiliary engine on for 2 minutes.

Rei held the hand rail. In order to enter into the Mars’s orbit, the main computer of Victoria was changing the route slightly. The main computer was heading its way, as if it did not care about Rei’s feelings. Rei quickly went back to the shelf of decompression clothing. If something terrible had happened to the other pilots, then Rei’s safety cannot be assured. She wore the exterior space suit. She was sweating all over. Rei breathed deeply and went over to Destiny. She held the hatch connected to Hypnos, as she wanted to check the hibernation device once again.

“Thump”

Shock detected on spacecraft

A bumping sound onto something. The sound wasn’t sharp, it was a dull and heavy sound. Rei let go of the hand rail, walked, got down and opened the shield of the cupola observation window at the Destiny floor. She could have gone back to the command module and looked at the screen, but there was not enough time. Outside, there was a white object. It went afar and came close again. As the object neared, she could recognize its shape.

“Ugh...!!” cried Rei.

It was a human wearing a space suit. On the left shoulder was a name tag. It read 'Stanly Hugh'. Rei turned her face. She didn’t have the courage to look at Hugh’s mummy-like dried up face.