Jupiter's Reef (11 page)

In the distance, through
Diver
’s unshuttered windows, they could see the dome of the distant spaceport. Superimposed lines of light were projected on the windows, showing the way to Milton, and Stubbs Field. As they approached they were warned of a cloud layer above the mountains. Alex could see the clouds and figured he could negotiate them easily enough after plowing through fifty miles of cloud top to find Jupiter’s reef. But, as advised, he set the ship’s guidance systems on automatic and went along for the ride.

The spearhead shape of
Diver
descended out of the clouds over what appeared from the air to be a military encampment; a large circular field surrounded by trees. At first glance the area looked like the rest of the landscape; forested, peaceful and green. But on closer inspection, Alex saw what was beneath those trees; like ants in the grass.

As
Diver
settled slowly into the center of the field, and their eyes adjusted to the shadows, they could see dome-like personnel tents, trucks, generators, rows of unicopters and scores of people standing at the edge of the field, looking up at the incoming ship.

“Dingers,” said Alex. “Things are going to get heavier, my love,” he added as he switched off the null-gee system.

Clouds of dust and pine needles obscured the crowd’s photo-op of
Diver
’s touchdown, but they felt it hit the ground through their feet. And that’s exactly what the media at the scene reported over the Global News Network.

When the cloud drifted away, and
Diver
sat motionless in the middle of the field, there was a deafening cheer and everyone rushed toward the ship.

Alex and Mary could hear the crowd through the walls of their ship.

“Sheesh, the clicker men weren’t this scary,” muttered Alex as he shut down
Diver
’s engines and unstrapped himself.

Mary had already undone her seatbelt and gotten up. “I can do this, Alex,” she said with a smile. She took a few steps toward the airlock and turned gracefully. “I think I really can do this!”

6
Mary met Earth’s gravity with resolve and courage. She even demonstrated a knee bend. Alex tested his footing and found the strength easily enough, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of being accelerated upward. Still, like Mary, he was eager to experience the ‘real’ Earth. So they walked to the airlock with enthusiasm. But, with the crowd raging outside, they both had to stop and take a couple of deep breaths before they could muster the courage to open the door.

Mary was so distracted that she forgot to zip up her flight suit. The door opened outward with a hiss, just as she realized her mistake. Reporters’ vidcams zoomed in unison as Mary spun around and quickly adjusted her outfit. Her left knee buckled slightly from the added gravity and she almost fell.

“Maybe I can’t do this after all,” she said softly.

Mary forced a jaunty smile and took Alex’s arm as they stepped from
Diver
’s opened hatchway. Alex felt proud as he felt Mary’s arm tug on his for support. She was doing well but it wasn’t easy.

Mary didn’t have his muscle power but she didn’t have his mass, either. And, judging from the way his back felt, he was doing no better. With their weight suddenly doubled he felt overweight and weaker. So as he and Mary stood facing the crowd and the media, all Alex could focus on was the gravity issue.

The crowd kept its distance and yelled questions at them.

“What do you think of Earth?” one roared.

“Is it prettier on Jupiter? Do you have nightmares of the tragedy?” said another.

“Are you married?”

“Alex ... Mary ... tell us.”

As he looked at the crowd, Alex realized suddenly that he had what he wanted; the credit and fame that goes with the discovery of an alien world. He wondered if Columbus felt this way when he got back to Spain after discovering the new world.

This is it
, he thought.
My reward. And all I want is for the crowd to go away and to get back in the ship.

“Sheesh,” he said aloud, as he surveyed the scene. The crowd, the green trees and the blue sky with its puffy white clouds nearly overwhelmed him. When he was growing up here it would have been just a normal day on Earth.

“I’ve been in space too long,” he whispered to Mary. “This is like setting foot on an alien world.”

“I know,” she said.

Professor Stubbs pushed his way past a couple of reporters and held out a hand to Alex. On either side of Alex and Mary, several more military officers took up a defensive formation around them. All of them were armed only with long black batons.

Stubbs smiled at Alex.

“I want you to meet the President, Alex,” he said as a blue-suited man in his mid twenties grabbed Alex’s hand awkwardly. Behind him a group of armor covered guards watched Alex’s every move with suspicion.

“Mom sends regards,” said the President, smiling. “I’m not sure what the heck you found on Jupiter but it’s tres’ olay!” He slapped Alex’s shoulder.

“We ... uh ... mom and me ... we’re here on vacation. Only cool place ... these mountains.” The man laughed and looked around at the crowd. “We’re proud of you boys from ... uh ... the Rim and those ... uh ... you Terraformers. You’re all doing a tres’– an amazing job!” Some people in the crowd applauded vigorously.

“And you’re the Sensor, Mary Seventeen?” the President asked, looking Mary up and down.

“Nice to meet you, Mr President,” said Mary, checking her zipper. “May I ask what you’re the President of?”

A titter of laughter ran through the crowd. The President smiled graciously and he surveyed the faces around him nervously. “That’s right,” he continued, still smiling. “No one mentioned I’d be here. Well, it was a surprise.” The man studied Alex for a moment. “I’ve been asked a lot of tough questions but this one ...” he chuckled and looked around again. “Okay. Fair question. Well, I’m the President of New America. Two and a half years, now.

“But today I came here to meet you, Alex Rose and you, Professor Stubbs and announce that as a gesture of support for science and exploration. And to ...” the President looked at a something hidden in his left hand, “and to commemorate the ratification of the Republican Constitution, we are funding your return trip to Jupiter.”

“Thanks, Mr. President,” said Alex. Then he leaned forward. “No one told us your
name
,” he whispered.

The President slapped Alex on the arm and chuckled, but Alex saw the man’s eyes go cold. Alex was positive he’d offended the man deeply.

“I’m sorry, Mr President, sir,” said Alex. “I meant no offense. Nobody tells me anything.”

“Yes, yes,” he smiled at a camera, “Stephen T. Brown.” and smoothed a lock of hair being teased by the wind, “Steve Brown, President and current CEO of EarthCorp One, New America. Call me Steve.”

Alex smiled as graciously as possible while his mind struggled for engaging subjects to discuss. “Thanks, President Brown,” he said. “So you’re commander of the armed forces?”

The President looked around nervously. “The armed forces? Uh ...”

“Just curious, Mr President,” said Alex. “Just conversation.”

“Well, Alex, it was great chatting,” said the President. “But I have to go. I really want you to meet mom one day. She’s glad you made it. And, uh, I hope you like our planet.” He laughed and took Alex’s hand again. “This Jupiter stuff. Amazing! Great!”

The President waved as he hurried off surrounded by a group of soldiers in black armor. Alex noticed that they also carried the long black rods.

Another group of soldiers pushed past Alex and entered
Diver
, carrying gear Alex couldn’t identify.

“Hold on,” he yelled at them. “Be careful in there!”

Alex started to follow the soldiers when the media began shouting questions at him again. “Tell us how you like Earth. How does it feel to be back?”

He shook his head, then leaned toward one reporter’s camera and said “Thanks.” He smiled a toothy grin, and added, “I like Earth very much. I’m from here originally.” Then he turned toward Mary and shrugged.

The reporters took that as a cue.

“Mary,” shouted an elderly woman in a red jacket. “Can clones function with normals? Do you fight a lot?”

Someone else asked her age and another, a man with dyed black hair and arching eyebrows, asked stridently if Alex “... expected to father children by a clone.”

Alex was stunned by the questions. Mary lowered her eyes.

Professor Stubbs stepped between Alex and the reporter.

“Still muck-raking, Sam?” he said. “Sorry, but this isn’t scandal, Sam, it’s science and there’s nothing we can tell you that hasn’t been published in the journals or on the Net. Except, of course, that we had a safe landing here today. Alex met the president and now we’re all ready to get to work.”

As Sam was about to ask another question, Johnny Baltadonis appeared out of nowhere on his G-scooter, pushing his way through the crowd of reporters.

“Excuse me. you vultures,” he shouted. “Let me talk to my friends!”

Alex smiled when he heard Johnny’s voice. The crowd parted and old Johnny rolled up to join Alex, Mary and Professor Stubbs. Alex was impressed by Johnny’s agility with the G-scooter. Then he noticed Johnny’s leg was wrapped in foam.

“I broke my damned leg, Alex,” said the Professor. “Bone deterioration, they tell me. Normal for off-worlders, they said. Like it’s
my
fault! Like I’m from Mars.”

“Well you
are
, you old fart! Listen to him, Alex,” said Stubbs, nudging Alex. “He’s been complaining all day. Chalk it up to age and think of how happy you’ll feel when you get off this planet... so give it a rest!”

“I broke my leg,” said Baltadonis. “You give it a rest.”

Johnny wheeled his scooter toward Mary and raised his arm. The scooter’s armature assisted him with a whine of small motors. The machine worked smoothly, but slowly. Still, Professor Baltadonis seemed to have mastered its fine points.

“Watch your step, Mary Seventeen,” said Johnny, wheeling himself on the uneven ground to a more stable position. “Bones can snap like twigs in this gravity. We’d be better off at the spaceport. They said if we get off this planet soon, I’ll heal faster. No chance of that, I guess. Too much work to do before we go.”

The reporters began to pack up their equipment while the rest of the crowd milled around talking among themselves. Alex rested a hand on his aching lower back and faced Stubbs. “Mary wants to see your home, but right now we’re
mostly
concerned about EarthCorp’s order to turn off the null-gee field.”

“One thing at a time,” said Stubbs. Then he turned and waved to a group of soldiers, who immediately started dispersing the crowd.

At the perimeter of the field stood a large group of people who Alex took to be local citizenry. He noticed most of them wore sunglasses and some had what looked like masks or breathing apparatus. He was going to ask about them when the soldiers ushered him toward an odd looking car that had just noisily arrived in a cloud of leaves and dust. Its engines died with a whine as it settled lower to the ground. Alex took note of the rubber skirt that ringed the base of the vehicle and tried to remember if he’d seen wheels under the thing when it drove up.

Johnny explained that the vehicle was called a hovercraft and it rode on a cushion of air. With a hiss its side doors unfurled like wings and the group began to enter. Alex wanted to look it over more closely but a soldier urged him to get inside.

“We’ve got to move, sir,” said the soldier.

Alex didn’t like being pushed around but he wasn’t in any mood to argue. He dipped his head and climbed inside.

Two soldiers driving the car turned and watched as everyone seated themselves in the two rows of seats behind them. Their eyes soon fixed on Mary.

Alex slid into a seat next to her and stared belligerently at the driver. Then he eyed the other soldier suspiciously. The soldiers smirked at each other, then turned to face the front of the car and closed the doors.

The sound of the crowd ended so suddenly that Alex jumped. “Dingers,” he said. “That was a sweet treat.” He looked around at Johnny and Stubbs seated behind him. “Where are we headed?”

“My place, of course,” said Stubbs, seated across from him.

The ride only lasted a minute and took them to the front porch of Stubbs’ home. They were told that it was only a short walk to
Diver
but the air car was the best passage through the crowd.

The house was a large two story frame structure with white siding and a red tiled roof. Alex could see a large open porch on the second floor that looked toward the back of the property where there was a small lake. Mary wanted to visit the back yard and lake but was herded by black uniformed soldiers up the steps to the front porch and into the house.

Then the door closed behind them. Everyone stood in a foyer where coats and rain gear were strewn. A pair of boots with metal buckles lay under the coat rack, caked with mud.

The two soldiers stayed by the door, presumably as guards, while Stubbs ushered the group into a large study. The room was lined with books on three sides, and a large desk sat in front of bay windows that looked out on the lake. The Professor walked behind the desk and sat down, telling his guests to be seated and help themselves to coffee at the bar.

This room is Victorian style, isn’t it, Mr. Stubbs?” said Mary as she cruised the drinks on the bar. She chose a bottle of water and began looking at the wallpaper. “Is this decor the law here? I see these gingerbready houses all over this area. I know it’s Victorian but I don’t remember what that means.”

“After Queen Victoria,” said Stubbs, squinting at her. “I suppose it was a style that was popular when the place was first heavily settled. Late 1800s. Pre-industrial west.”

“Jeeps, I love it. It’s so relaxed.” said Mary. “To make these designs people must have had lots of time and materials. It suggests a wonderful life. They must have been blissfully happy.”

“I like to think so, too,” said Stubbs politely. “It’s a style worth preserving, I think. It’s New England.” He shrugged his shoulders and looked at Johnny.