First Steps (Founding of the Federation) (33 page)

"Once
begun the greenhouse effect will begin to taper off unless we can
sustain it with other terraforming methods," he explained. He
pulled up a chart. "We have several options available, including
more rocks." Several people tittered at this. "Once no
signs of life past or present are detected, we will go forward with
the second stage, releasing lichens, bacterium, and algae in hot
pockets to help accelerate the change. This can be augmented with
releases of greenhouse gases or orbital mirrors." He clicked the
remote.

"Within
fifty to one hundred years we can have free flowing water on Mars
again," he said proudly. The Mars planet slowly morphed into an
Earth looking one.

"Won't
the base be under water?" someone asked.

Luigi
chuckled. "Yes, situated in the north as it is, the base will
have to be abandoned and new cities will have to be built on higher
ground." He waved as several people raised their hands.

"Just
a moment folks. Two more questions then we will continue with the
presentation," he said. He looked around then pointed to a woman
in the back.

"Doctor
Irons, what about the ferry craft? Wont their impacts spread
radioactive debris?" the woman asked.

Doctor
Zubrin shook his head and stood. "The Nina and Pinta will undock
days prior to the event and we will nudge them so they pass Mars and
go on into the void. We would like to reuse them, but we lack the
fuel to brake them unfortunately," Bob replied then sat down.
Luigi nodded.

"Sir,
isn't this unethical? Shouldn't we wait for the teams to report on
any findings of life past or present? And shouldn't the terraforming
of Mars be a government decision?" another reporter demanded.

Luigi
chuckled. "I believe Bob and Chris McKay have been debating the
ethics of terraforming for over a decade or two now." He looked
to Doctor Zubrin who smiled and nodded.

"Let’s
say we find evidence of past life... that only proves that the planet
was
once
a better world, we all know this. Now, let's say
there is
present
life. By warming and thickening the
atmosphere we are giving any present life a greater chance to grow
and be discovered. If we find evidence of present life, then the
whole ethics question will have to be thoroughly debated before
further steps are initiated.
But,
" He held up his hand as
the group began to murmur. "But, that is a lot of Ifs," he
smiled.

"Now,
as to your second question, I haven't found a single ruling by any of
the national governments, nor the United Nations regarding
terraforming unless it applies to Earth herself. Therefore, with some
wrangling with the legal eagles..." He bowed to a pair in the
front row and gave a wry smile that drew a chuckle from the audience.

"We
have concluded that it is better to ask for forgiveness then
permission," he finished with a diffident shrug. Several laughed
outright at that. They were fairly certain many members on the hill
were ready to strangle Luigi right about now.

"Folks,
we have a golden opportunity. One that may not strike in our life
time or our children's. A chance to shepard mankind out into the
solar system and beyond. I think all of you are interested in that."
He looked around challenging them. Several nodded. "All right,
we’re going to take a break for a few minutes while I get my
oil changed..." He pointed to the door. Several chuckled. "And
then dig into the math of the terraforming theory and build a model."
He waved. "Be back in thirty folks." He nodded and sat
down. Bob started murmuring to MacKay next to him.

...*...*...*...*...

"What
about Ceres? Drop that or Phobos or Diemos on Mars and it will not
only wake it up, add mass to it, but the heat generated will
definitely kick start the terraforming," a young scientist
suggested.

Another
sniffed. "Get real, do that and we will lose all habitation on
Mars for a century or two! It will take that long before the planet
cools, and it we goof up and it hits just wrong! Blamo! We have one
hell of a mess on our hands." She shook her head.

"No,
the best bet is Phobos. It is a carbonaceous C-type asteroid, so it
is reasonably soft and will break up on impact. There is some
speculation that it has a great deal of water locked within it. But
the regolith is what we want, sprayed all over the planet's surface
it will further change the albedo of the planet's regolith, making it
dark enough to really suck up solar radiation," another
scientist said.

The
first scientist miffed over the Ceres crack started to catch on.
"Yeah! And didn't I read that Phobos is going to break up and
hit the planet anyway?" He pulled out his phone and started
tapping at it. "Yeah, here it is. Wiki is my friend," he
smiled as the others snorted. A few in their circle grinned. "Yeah,
hit the Roche limit then break up into a short lived ring. Wow that
would be something to see!" He looked up.

"Yeah,
but how long until it hits?" the woman asked.

"Oh,
um, ah, oh, eleven million years. Guess we have a long wait," he
replied sheepishly.

"Not
if we do something about it," Zubrin commented from behind him.
The four young turks looked up startled. "Good catch, I want you
four to jot out a quick presentation and deliver it after lunch."
He moved off to the next group. The group looked at each other
stunned.

"Wait,
did he say after lunch?" the woman asked bewildered. “
Today
???”

"Yeah,
we better get cracking!" Tenji answered excited.

...*...*...*...*...

“What
the hell are we going to do with him? They are beginning to become a
major liability here,” the VP sighed. The president was
starting to look like a fool with the NASA crew out of control.

“Our
allies love the work they have done, love that we are finally making
some progress in exploring space, but they are both loose cannons!”
The president threw a pile of paper up in the air. It fluttered down
around him as he tried to get his rage under control.

“It
is all a matter of perspective,” Doctor Zubrin replied.

“What
the hell does that mean?” the President demanded looking over
to the Doctor.

General
Sidwell sighed. "I think what he means Mister President is that
it is easier to ask for forgiveness then for permission," he
replied.

“Not
exactly,” Doctor Zubrin replied but nodded slightly. “What
I meant was, we put this, the colony directives, and the plasma
driven ferry in our plans that we submitted to you and our allies. I
can't tell you how hard it is to repeatedly explain something to
someone when their eyes go glassy and they dismiss you.” He
locked eyes with the President. “We wanted, hell, I wanted the
best. Fire eaters, people who will move mountains and change the
course of human civilization. I guess I got my wish,” He
chuckled dryly. The general snorted softly.

The
VP nodded. “You've got to give them that; I didn't think it was
possible for them to do what they did. Hell, I don't think the
opposition did either!” He chuckled in chagrin. “They
were betting that it would fail, that we would have one hell of a
black eye on our hands, something that would drag us down, and
instead everything has gone almost smoothly, and yet we have one hell
of a PR nightmare while they duck and cover!” The President
chuckled.

“Damn
right we do, but no more surprises,” the president waggled his
finger at Dr. Zubrin. “We will try to pay more attention,”
he continued.

“We
will try to do our best Mr. President,” Dr. Zubrin replied,
fully sober. “Um, okay one more, Mario and Wanda are staying.”

“Shit,”
the VP sighed.

“I'm
not surprised,” the president said with a snort. “Somehow,
not at all. But no more surprises. Brief me before it hits please.
I'll damn well
make
the time. Now that the war on terror is
winding down, we've pulled out of Iraq... Let's just say I'm more
available now.”

“Yes
Mr. President. I will certainly try sir.”

The
President nodded. “I know you will Bob, but put them on a
leash. A short one,” he growled. “Now get out of here, I
have to see if I can put a positive spin on this...” he sighed
again.

...*...*...*...*...

"What
do you mean you’re staying?" The commander looked from
Wanda to Mario tiredly. Mario smiled. He was pretty sure the
Commander had been expecting and dreading this conversation for some
time. They had waited until the evening to let the others know.

"It
wasn't like you didn't expect this. I did make a promise to my
brother you know," Mario replied. He shook his head.

The
commander snorted. "You’re serious aren't you?" He
looked over to Wanda. "I can expect this from him, I've never
been quite sure of the Iron's family mental state. But you..."

She
smiled. "Think it is infectious?" she asked. She sat on
Mario's lap. "We've planned this from the beginning Commander.
Don't worry about it."

The
commander shook his head. "I am staying too," Tess replied
in the silence. Even Mario was startled by this admission.

He
looked over to her. "Tess?"

She
smiled. "What?" She examined her nails.

"Don't
you want to see the Earth? Your family?" the commander asked
surprised. "Ticker tape parades, hero of the hour..."

She
shrugged. "Is not for me. Never was. I stay. Here I can build a
whole new world, make a new future," She waved dismissively.

"I'm
never good with the kissing babies thing. You know that," the
commander sighed. "You're all nuts." He sat back and looked
over to the Hans.

"We
are going," Li replied quietly.

The
commander chuckled and looked over to Mario. "I'd stay but got
what my wife and kids would do to me..." He shook his head
smiling wryly. "No not worth the ire of an outraged spouse. Bad
enough we have been gone for so long as it is," he said firmly.
He looked over to the Hans. "Looks like it is just us folks."
The Hans bowed. "No way I can talk you three out of it?" he
asked, turning to the mutineers.

Mario
looked over to Wanda who shook her head. "Nope." He glanced
at Tess. "Tess, you have until T minus twenty to change your
mind."

She
nodded. "I know, but I won’t."

...*...*...*...*...

"Go
baby go," Mario said softly. It was quite a thing to watch the
launch. They watched as the craft leapt into the sky. Wanda pressed
her head and body into his arms. He sighed.

Tess
leaned forward, arms crossed resting on the window sill, nose pressed
to the glass. "Well, we're committed now," she said softly.

"Yup,”
Mario chuckled. "Good luck guys." Wanda sobbed a little.
"Regrets?" he asked. He turned her so he could look into
her eyes. She had her head down. He used his thumb and index finger
to raise her chin.

"A
little. No, a lot, I'm a bit scared," she admitted. Her parents
were going to flip when they found out. He chuckled and hugged her.

Tess
turned from the window. "You’re a little late you know,"
she accused. She had expected Mario to want to stay but hadn't been
sure until he'd announced it.

Wanda
giggled. "Yeah. Let’s go look those vaults over again,
maybe I can help," she said firmly.

Mario
nodded. "Yeah we should get back to work."

"Just
think babe, you've got one hundred seventy seven days of scientific
discovery all to yourself," Mario teased. Wanda sniffled then
blew her nose on his chest. "Heeey! Oh gross!" he mock
growled.

She
laughed. "Sorry. I don't know why your complaining, I do the
laundry remember?" she replied. He laughed as she got a hanky
and wiped it off.

"I'll
meet you outside," Tess responded. Mario watched his wife slowly
cleaning. He caught her wrist and kissed the back of her hand.

"It
will be okay, I promise," he said soothingly.

She
nodded. "Let's get to work." She tossed the tissue into the
laundry and held his hand as he walked her to the airlock.

...*...*...*...*...

Wanda
came in and hugged Mario. "What was that for? Not that I'm
complaining or anything," he said. He hugged her back.

"I
just got off the line with Commander Bower, they had an electrical
fire," Wanda replied. He stiffened as Tess looked up in alarm.

"Are
they okay?" Tess asked. They were almost a week out; there was
nothing any of them could do to help.

"Yeah,
they got it out. The Commander says he is a bit sooty, but they are
okay. Mission control is going to upload a report later," she
sighed. Mario grimaced.

They
heard a beep. "That may be it now." Tess rushed off.

"Yeah,"
Mario hugged his wife.

"Close
call," she whispered.

"For
them, we're fine." He nodded.

Tess
returned. "Is wiring fault in electrical system they think.
Short in power line to board. Rub against hard edge and cut line.
Need us to check incoming MAV four and MAV three on ground to be
sure," she reported. She waved to the MAV sitting out on the
horizon.

"Right.
We can do that tomorrow. Did they give us an area to look?" he
asked looking over to Tess.

"Is
in panel thirteen, lower level," she replied.

"Good
to know." He nodded to her as he rubbed Wanda's shoulders.

...*...*...*...*...

"Mario
we're getting a sentinel report, solar flare alert," Wanda said,
voice suddenly tense the next day.

Mario
looked up then sprinted for the rover. "Direct or sideband?"
he asked as they jogged. They were at the clay pit, nearly two
kilometers away from safety.

"Sideband.
Six minutes, but it looks like we're only going to catch a piece of
it, it seems it will strike the planet, we'll be occluded for the
first part."