Jupiter's Reef (8 page)

Alex didn’t bet.

He ordered the Professor to monitor the radar tracks of the dingers, while Mary monitored course changes and radio. It wasn’t long before the Professor started calling them dingers too. And he learned why the word is a spacer’s curse.

Right before his eyes, one punched a hole through
Diver
. There was an explosive bang-whiz-bang, then their ears popped. But only momentarily.

Inside the ship’s polyceramic skin a fluid polymer spilled into the hole and froze on contact with the vacuum of space, sealing the hole in seconds.

Everyone reacted similarly; grabbing furniture and holding their breaths.

Alex exhaled when he saw the pressure readouts stabilize on the console. He was red-faced. “Shitfire,” he said. “That scared me so much I couldn’t remember where we put the dingin’ space suits.”

“At least it was a small one,” said Johnny. “Most of them are small.”

“The suits are under the seats,” said Mary. “The emergency ones, that is.”

“Thanks, my love,” said Alex. “Dingers make me forget my own name.”

“That’s understandable,” said Johnny, taking his first deep breath since the meteor hit.

Moments later, an automated message came in warning them of meteors in their area. But the telemetry also showed that the rest of their path to Earth was clear. When he was sure that it was safe to do so, Alex lowered the protective screens so they could see Earth in its natural state.

Before them, a hazy blue crescent loomed. Its clouded details vanished with the curve of the planet into blackness. There, starlike lights outlined Earth’s cities. The shorelines were delineated as clearly as on a map.

“That looks like the coastline of America,” said Johnny. “Maybe the Florida Peninsula.”

Mary noticed the moon rising above the glowing blue horizon. “Oh, the moon. I wanted to see the moon,” she said sadly.

“It was on the other side of Earth when we came in,” said Alex, putting on his helmet. “Time to put her down.”

Mary had put two dark disks, her Com Tabs, she called them, to her temples. They stuck there like magnets on either side of her head.

The Professor, who’d never seen her use them, had to inquire as to their purpose.

“I don’t like them,” she answered. “They make me feel like a robot. But they help me receive wider bands and fainter signals.” She tilted her head and adjusted one of the tabs. “They also reduce radio chatter. It’s so noisy on Earth. I’ll probably have to wear them the whole time I’m here. Anyway, I can find Professor Stubbs if you tell me where to look.”

“New Boston,” said Johnny. “Bradenton Strip. They have a sub-orbital facility. Professor Stubbs is at MIT.”

Their ship had long ago broadcast the necessary protocols for any ship entering orbital space. But no one expected to be hailed immediately.
Diver
glided by Earth’s newest wonder, the orbital ring which would ultimately be a space elevator. The structure was as impressive as the view of Earth; stretching off to the horizon in either direction and looking like an infinite bridge. It glittered with solar reflections and welding torches.

The thing was being constructed at many points, equally spaced, along the structure. The pattern of finished and unfinished spans looked like sparkling links in a golden necklace.

They all watched in awe as the sight passed before them.

Alex could tell Mary was receiving radio messages because she was touching the tab on her right temple. She didn’t speak, but her lips moved slightly as she articulated thought-messages in her bio-mechanical system.

Soon she looked up and gave Alex a set of coordinates. He punched them into the keyboard on the console and waited while
Diver
’s computer translated them into a landing pattern.

It took only a few seconds. The ship dipped and turned. Then the engines engaged.

2
Diver
used its flight surfaces like an airplane as it slowed to subsonic speeds above the mountains of old New England. Alex reduced the null-gee and Mary groaned as the ship circled the spaceport, waiting for clearance to land. Automated broadcasts advertised various facilities near the spaceport.

One of the broadcasts announced, “Null-gee rooms available twenty four hours at the Bradenton Arms hotel.”

“That’s for me,” said Mary.

Earth’s gravity was as strong as she expected it to be, but it was also relentless. Mary wondered how long she could take it without occasional rest periods of weightlessness. It seemed that the exercising she’d done to prepare her body for Earth’s gravity had been useless. The gravity, indistinguishable from acceleration or deceleration, made her feel like the ship was about to impact the planet or jump back into space.

“Have we stopped yet?” said Mary. “How fast can we get to that hotel?” She had set her seat back so that she was lying down relative to the Earth. But they hadn’t touched down and Alex didn’t have the heart to tell Mary that
Diver
’s null-gee system was still operating at a third strength to help reduce the ship’s weight during landing. He figured she’d find out soon enough.

Everyone was watching the viewscreen when they received clearance to land.
Diver
banked once, then descended through a thin veil of cloud.

The scene and all its details, though common for Earth, was so verdant and full of life that it took Mary’s breath away. “Trees!” she said. “Thousands of pines ... all like the ones at the Isidis Arboretum. But they’re greener.”

Alex and Johnny smiled, appreciating Mary’s excitement.

The spaceport was a domed structure built into the base of a mountain. Alex saw it appear through the clouds.

Professor Baltadonis pointed to the blue ocean about a mile away. “Hard to imagine that the water was several miles farther away, once,” he said. “Some still remember the way it was. Stubbs is one. He saw the melting start. Once the melting started, the oceans rose fast. And they’re still on the rise.”

Mary peered into the distance and squinted. Her genetically engineered eyes could pick out subtle details. Waves and ships, like those in pictures she’d seen growing up on Mars.

“It looks normal to me,” she said with a shrug.

Alex lowered their landing gear as the runway loomed before them. Finally they touched down, rolling toward the distant domed structure.

Alex looked at Mary apologetically. “I’m sorry, love, but I have to power down. Null-gee systems, too.”

“I thought you had it off already,” protested Mary as the full gravity hit her. Everyone groaned and laid back in their seats.

“This’ll be rough for all of us,” said Johnny.

Alex steered to a designated docking area inside the spaceport’s huge dome and brought the ship to a halt. The docking bay was a large hanger and staging area that housed both air and space craft. Alex eyed it all dubiously through
Diver
’s cockpit window while arrival and quarantine protocol scrolled across the console’s vid screens.

“Everything’s inside the dome,” observed Johnny, peering out the window. “They can seal it off tight if there’s contamination. All spaceports are designed this way.”

Alex unstrapped himself from the pilot’s seat and sat up with some difficulty. “Whooaa, this isn’t going to be easy.”

A message alert flashed. Alex accepted the transmission and faced the screen.

The monitor showed an unfamiliar face, that of an elderly man with thin grey hair and glasses. He squinted at them with a quizzical, almost bemused expression.

“I assume,” he began, “that you wouldn’t mind meeting in one of the spaceport’s null-gee rooms. They turn my stomach, but I’m game if you are.”

“You are Stubbs?” said Alex.

“I am. Yes.” said the man. “And you’re Alex Rose. The miner with the soul of Darwin.”

Alex smiled. “It’s been a while since we talked. I have a lot to tell you.”

“Lunch at the Bradenton Arms, – Null-gee Suite 4. – Meet me, say, in an hour?”

“That sounds perfect,” said Mary, still trying to get up.

Stubbs’ image was replaced by that of a woman with brown hair tied tightly in a bun. She wore a blue uniform and an odd looking headset.

“Crew of
Diver
, welcome to Earth,” she said. “Our records show that none of you has been to Earth recently. No doubt you would all welcome the use of wheeled assistance at the spaceport. Is that correct?”

“I don’t need to be treated like an invalid,” said Alex. “I’ll deal with it.”

The woman smiled courteously. “Many say that, Mr. Rose. Your mind may be ready for Earth, but your body might not be. There have been unfortunate incidents. Please try these carts. They allow full mobility and assist in arm movement. They are most helpful during lengthy customs check-ins.”

“Sign me up,” said Johnny.

“Me too,” said Mary, glaring defiantly at Alex. “Suffer if you want to, dear, but as for me I’m going to enjoy this vacation.”

“That’s the spirit,” said Professor Baltadonis.

It was almost comical to watch the three of them struggle to their feet and through
Diver
’s hatchway. When any of them bent in any way they nearly fell in that direction. They were met by three stewards pushing tall contraptions that resembled chairs made of a light latticework of metal. They were covered with a nearly invisible material that looked like blue smoke under the lights in the loading bay.

Alex surveyed the area as an attendant helped him into the chair.
Diver
was already being examined by ground crews. Behind it, brightly lit in the afternoon sun, was a green mountain.

The scenery captivated Alex for a moment because it was so very much unlike the waterless rusted landscapes they had just left. On the slopes of the mountain in the distance were dots of color Alex assumed to be homes. They appeared crowded by the vegetation around them. Alex wondered how the residents dealt with so much life around them.

He squinted to see the details more clearly while the attendant grabbed his arm and pushed it into a harness. Alex’s arm was stopped by the smoky material an inch above the metal.

“Plastic smoke,” said Alex. “Can’t get any lighter than that. We just started getting it on Io.”

“Practically no mass at all to weigh you down,” said the blond haired attendant. He smiled cheerfully at Alex. His name tag said ‘ELVIS’. “Okay to strap you in?” he asked politely

“Do your worst, Elvis,” said Alex, looking back at the distant mountain. He noticed that Mary was looking at it too.

“There you are, my love. The mountains of Earth. Blue skies.”

Mary was already secured in her ‘G-Scooter’, as the ground crew called it. They showed Mary how to drive it by flexing her feet against the ground plate. Then Elvis asked everyone to pay attention to a uniformed woman who had just joined them. Alex recognized her as the one who’d talked to them on the viewscreen after they landed. She asked if everyone was feeling okay and if anyone required special treatment. Alex couldn’t help wondering why they were getting preferential treatment. And, as always, he had no trouble asking.

The woman turned to face him and then, recognizing Alex, she smiled. Before she answered, her eyes gave him a cursory once-over. “Each ship is assigned a ground steward. In your case it’s me. You may call me Peggy.”

Peggy wasted no time demonstrating the mobile armrests that assisted in basic chores like lifting baggage or signing one’s name. The armatures were slender constructions that she said worked by sensing and assisting muscle movement. The rest of the device was a tripodal wheeled assembly that, like the arm rests, sensed leg movement. Peggy told everyone to relax and behave normally. “You’ll find these G-Scooters are very intuitive,” she said. “Take a step and you’re on your way.”

Though awkward at first everyone soon mastered the G-Scooters with some help from the attendants and managed to pick up their bags.

When she was finally standing before the opening doors of the main spaceport, Mary felt like a caged animal about to go on display. But Peggy seemed to sense this. She moved next to Mary and began talking to her quietly. Alex tried, but couldn’t make out what she said to Mary, but it seemed to relax her. Mary looked over at Alex and smiled.

Peggy then turned to face the Professor and Alex and asked if they were comfortable with their G-Scooters.

“I guess so,” said Johnny.

“Amazing,” said Alex, moving his arms up and down. “My hat’s off to the engineers who made these things. I guess you rely on these a lot, huh?” Peggy smiled. but didn’t answer.

Alex looked at his companions. “It would be nice if we didn’t look like our luggage.”

Everyone laughed except Peggy who smiled politely and told them to follow her into the spaceport. She paused briefly to mention that they had already been scanned and found to be free of biological or chemical contamination. “But,” she added before opening the double doors, “immigration procedures still require a medical examination while you’re in customs.”

“No wonder they gave us these machines,” said Professor Baltadonis as they rolled through the open doors. “This could take all day.”

When they got inside Alex was relieved to see G-Scooters in use everywhere. It seemed to be a very busy spaceport. He recognized IoCorp and MarsCorp personnel by their uniforms.

“Yup,” he said. “This is Earth. Every faction under one roof. Only here.”

Alex stopped his scooter to take in his surroundings. The interior of the spaceport was open all the way up to the dome that covered the complex. Offices, shops and restaurants rose in tiers that hung over the main floor, connected by stairs, elevators and escalators.

While he stood there, an elderly man with thick glasses and a jolly expression walked over to them. The man wore no mechanical gear so Alex knew he was from Earth. The gentleman carried two fairly large bags, which he put down when he reached them. “Mr. Rose,” he said. “No need to waste your batteries. I’m right here. And I’m used to one gee.”

“Hello, Professor Stubbs,” said Alex. “Just tell me no one’s showed you my data yet.”

“It’s your data, Alex,” said Stubbs with a grin. “I assure you that I would only view it in your presence and with your permission. Of course I must confess to having some idea of what it’s about. I can’t pretend to be totally ignorant.” Stubbs laughed and looked at the faces of his guests.