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They made their way back to the base
camp where they had a small analyzer and some other basic
lab equipment. Frank and Judy had taken a small tracked
vehicle to a nearby ice glacier to take measurements on the
oxygen contents to determine the best location for the
oxygen generators. The plan was to set up a small
oxygen/water generating station there to support the base
camp until a more permanent base could be established. They
were expected to be back to the base camp before dark.
"Run the specimen through the analyzer and let's see what we
have", said Joseph to Gloria. Meanwhile he was surfing
through the computer banks researching all the data bases
for ancient artifacts. Even though he couldn't identify the
material of the alien artifact, he felt as though he had
seen a similar artifact many years ago while working a dig
in a remote Central American jungle.
Bill and
Sue were busy constructing temporary living quarters from a
maze of plastic pipe and a special radiation blocking
plastic film that would cover the pipe Skelton. Bill
noticed that Joseph and Gloria had returned abruptly from
their scheduled all day dig a short distance from the base
camp. It was imperative that they completed the temporary
housing before sundown as the temperatures would be -100
degrees below zero in a few short hours. The success of the
entire expedition depended on Bill and Sue being able to
quickly construct the temp quarters. Eventually they
would carve out blocks of ice from the frozen permafrost to
build more permanent individual living quarters for the
entire team but for now the solar tents would have to keep
them warm and protect them from the dangerous radiation. The
moon Sierra did have a light atmosphere but would not
support humans without supplemental oxygen. The plan was to
pipe oxygen and water from the generators to the solar
tents. The process would take several days to complete.
"I hope everything is ok", Bill said
to Sue as he drew the plastic tarp tightly over the pipe
framing and secured it with special fasteners. "They
were not due back at the base camp for several hours. We're
almost finished with the solar tent. Maybe we should go back
to camp and see what's up". Bill said to Sue as she was
finishing up inside the solar tents installing a small
portable nuclear heater.
"Let's
finish up with the solar tent first." Sue replied. We're
going to have a real problem if the tent is not completed by
sundown." Sue continued the finishing touches inside
the tent without even glancing back at the base camp. Bill
also reconsidered after reflecting for a moment on the
projections the Earth scientists had made regarding the
night temperatures on Sierra.
Frank and Judy had just completed the initial setup of the
oxygen generators when they received a message from base
camp requesting that they return to the base camp
immediately. Although the oxygen generators were necessary
for their long term survival on this strange new world, it
was the solar tents that had to be completed before
nightfall. They had enough oxygen to make it for
several days. They figured Bill and Sue must be having a
problem with the newly designed solar tent so they headed
back to the base camp.
"Joseph.
Come look at this!" Gloria said with noticeable
excitement in her voice. Joseph was examining some images on
his laptop computer screen that resembled the alien
artifact.
"This
thing has an unidentified molecular structure. The
elements in this specimen are not native to this moon or
this solar system. I'm not sure what to make of it."
Gloria sounded to Joseph. "There's little chance of
contamination considering we're trillions of miles from
Earth." It had been Joseph and Gloria's lifetime dream
to discover a trace of alien life on a new world, but they
had expected to spend months, even years before uncovering
undeniable evidence. They had discovered this artifact
within a couple hours of landing for the first time.
In the years leading up to this
distant interplanetary expedition to the end of the solar
system, many artificial satellites had been sent from Earth
to orbit Sierra and build an extensive data base on the
moon's surface, mineral makeup, gases and possible landing
sites. Maybe one of the orbiting satellites had crash
landed on this barren world and through a unique combination
of heat and cold had changed the molecular composition on a
small piece of the craft that lay before them. Surely
intelligent life had not existed on this world before they
landed recently. Could this small artifact have come from
their own spaceship as it landed earlier that day? Did
the 3 year flight through the vacuum of space and time
somehow affect the molecular Chemistry of their own ship.
Its true this mission to the outer limits of their solar
system was the longest flight man had ever undertaken.
Earlier satellites sent into deep space had never returned
to Earth for analysis so no one really knew how space and
time could affect a ship on a interplanetary mission.
Scientists knew the effects of space travel on the human
body and had prepared them by injecting microscopic medical
robots into their bodies prior to the mission liftoff. The
bots would fight off and kill any disease at the molecular
level. They also had a very demanding daily workout routine
to offset muscle loss, but what about the spaceship.
Had anyone considered how the ship might be affected?
Nightfall was closing
in on this lonely world at the end of the solar system. The
temperature continued to drop as the Earth based scientists
had predicted. The six explorers were cuddled up in the
solar tent being warmed by the small atomic heater as they
looked at a night sky that had never looked so
beautiful before. Everyone pondered with questions about the
alien artifact but it would be hours before the
communications with the data they had send back to Earth
would be received. Many more hours before they would receive
a response. They wondered how the scientists back on earth
would evaluate the data they had forwarded them. Perhaps
they would have some reasonable explanations for the alien
artifact. They planned on doing a complete analysis of the
landing probe in the morning to see if their theory that
space and time had modified the spaceship's molecular
structure, but for now all was good. Tonight they were
warm, the night sky was intoxicating and they were with
friends.
Joseph and Gloria, also
known by Mat and Francis, Ken and Lynda, Fred and Marsha and
many other names looked at each other and grinned. Tonight
they would be joining their true friends and family. They
had spent decades looking for the alien artifact. They had
been sent to recover the alien artifact by the extragalactic
counsel almost 100 years ago. Now they had finally recovered
it and sent the data to their home race in another Galaxy.
Tonight their race would return to collect the alien
artifact and take them back home.
As the night grew
darker the Sierra landing team huddled in the solar tent,
excited at the idea they may have just discovered the first
remnants of intelligent life in the solar system. They were
unaware that they were about as close to alien intelligent
life at this moment in the solar tent as the human race
would be for centuries.
The End
Roy John Fuller - Biography
Another Science Fiction Short Story by
Roy John Fuller:
"Maldor
Prime, New Eden"
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