Volume XIV, Issue III
Josiah
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2018, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved
Chapter 3: Survivors!
Survivors,” Ben-Gurion repeated thoughtfully. “How should we reach them?”
Indeed the presence of survivors presented an obligation to those who pondered it. Simply doing nothing seemed immoral at best but what to do seemed not so cut and dried. An unmanned landing might be best as there would be the ability to send a message without risking more lives. The initial lander could be configured to take back survivors if necessary. “How fast could we prepare a lander mission?” Hannah asked. Theoretically it could be ‘pulled from the shelf’ and launched within the month. It would take nine months to get to Mars. In the event it were necessary, Great Northern could be taken from its defense position and flown with additional landers to evacuate more people.
What if they don’t want to come ‘home?’” Abiyah asked. “Should we be prepared to resupply them?”
That is a good question.” said Hannah. “Since our last contact was aggressive on the colonist’s part, we need to think about this.”
Some of Cape Lisbon Space Center’s best minds were brought to bear to hash out the proper thing to do. There at Cape Lisbon’s linear induction launch canon, they called themselves the “Baltimore Gun Club,” since their device seemed similar to the one Jules Verne first wrote about in From the Earth to the Moon.
It was not a columbiad, as Verne predicted, but rather a linear induction track similar to the high speed transportation system being built to link the world via vacuum tubes. Massive use of fossil fuels was now replaced by electromagnetism. That electromagnetism was produced by tapping the geothermal energy of the earth itself. It was clean, efficient, did nothing to harm the environment and it was cheap!
Some sections of HYPERLOOP between large cities were already in operation and the entire system was going to open by 2059. It was going to usher in new economy in world transportation. The launch canon used the same electromagnetic propulsion as well and it presented the most economical means of sending a craft to Mars.
In the end, a hastily prepared lander was dispatched and flown remotely to the planet’s surface. A ‘rover’ was on board to move about and survey the colony. A message was composed to offer the surviving colonists an olive branch and a radio/video communication device was included. The ‘rover’ carried standard pressure suits and breathing packs. Every effort was made to offer the survivors a remotely piloted ‘ride home.’ The biggest problem was that they had to guess how many there might be.
The unmanned emissary was launched within the month. For nine months the controllers in Cape Lisbon and on SS/AC005 waited.
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The lander fired it’s descent engine and arced down to the Martian surface. The engine slowed it as it touched down next to the remains of the Martian colony. The rover was deployed and began its survey of the colony. It approached a door on one of the greenhouses and showed the controllers on Earth a lot of space-booted footprints coming in and out. The rover reduced power and waited.
Discovery was not long in coming. Two figures in space suits emerged from the greenhouse door and seemed to be in quite animated hand-gesture concerning the new ‘visitor.’ In the end they pulled the rover into a bay with a tractor for further examination. The bay was pressurized and the two figures removed their helmets, examining the rover further. They read the message of peace and discovered the camera/radio.
They said nothing loud enough to be heard, however and eventually one of them disappeared for a time. He returned with a third man who deliberately positioned himself in front of the camera and activated the communication device. Controllers on Earth held their breath as he began to speak.
My name is JOSIAH.”
(to be continued)
