Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1) (112 page)

            “How are mother and child doing?”

            “Just fine. Both are in perfect health.
Father I’m not so sure about.” She grinned. “Yeah.”

Gabe
elbowed Jeff in the ribs and grinned.

            “Did the pregnancy go normally? Were there
any complications?”

            “We don’t have all the details yet, but so
far as I know the pregnancy went full-term and progressed quite normally, no
problems. Labor may have been just a bit on the long side; I think our
information was around eight Earth hours and twenty minutes, Mars’ hours are
about a minute and a half longer than ours. As you probably know, for the most
part it’s gravity that gets the infant into position during labor to be born
and Mars gravity is only 38% that of Earth, so Gabriel had to do a lot of
walking around during labor to get Margherita lined up. But, otherwise labor
and delivery went very smoothly, no complications. Up front here.”

“Thank
God,” Susan sighed.

            “Was it necessary to induce labor?”

            “No. Over here.”

            “Is she breast-feeding?”

            “Yes. Back here.”

            “Why did they decide to have a child on
Mars?”

“Uh oh,”
said Jeff nervously.

            “Oh boy, I could talk for hours on that
subject. The short answer is, ‘Why not?’ Look, eventually the rest of the world
will catch up with us and go explore other planets and children will be born in
space and on other worlds. So, a long time ago the decision was made that since
we’re going to be the first ones to Mars, what the heck, why not be the first
to have a child born off-world? Yeah, in the middle here.”

Jeff
nodded. “Good answer, Chrissie.”

            “How is Dr. Frederick holding up?”

            “She’s tired. Otherwise, holding up very
well. She’s a new mother and, well, thrilled. Over here.”

            “I’m sorry but what was the name again? And,
is there some significance to it?”

Abby shook her head. “The first person born on Mars?
Significance? Are you kidding me?”

            “Margherita Concordia Grey. And yes, there is
significance to it. Obviously, Margherita relates to where they are, the
Margaritifer Basin. The name Margherita is derived from margaron, the Greek
word for pearl. In Roman mythology, Concordia was the goddess of agreement,
understanding and marital harmony, and she was the daughter of the Roman gods
of love and war, Venus and Mars. Thus, Margherita Concordia: pearl, daughter of
Mars. And her nickname is Ghita. Yeah.”

            “Captain Grey and Dr. Frederick are not
married, is that correct?”

            “Yes.”

            “Follow up?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Are they going to get married?”

            “Well, Capt. Grey and Dr. Frederick are
engaged to be married, nuptials to take place sometime after their return to
Earth. They’re a little short on chapels up there.” Chrissie grinned. “Yeah,
over here.”

            “How is Ghita adjusting to the low gravity on
Mars?”

            Chrissie laughed. “Uh, Ghita is two days old.
I think it’s a little early to tell. Back here.”

            “Do they anticipate any undue difficulties
with an infant during the trip back. They’ll be weightless for months.”

            “That’s a good question, and one that’s hard
to answer. Nobody’s done this before. We’re just gonna have to wait and see.
One thing is for certain – meal time could be a bit messy. Yeah, here. No, hold
on, I’ll come back to you in a second. I’m sorry, my response to that last
question was not meant to be frivolous. The trip back is indeed a big question
mark. The impact of seven months in space on an infant? We just don’t know.
Ghita will have a little over six months on Mars to develop before they take
off, but she certainly won’t have started walking yet, probably not even crawling.
Our best guess is that the weightlessness will probably have a minimal impact
on her during the trip. However, it may take her a while to get used to Earth’s
gravity, as she’ll probably have some difficulty with balance. But we’re a
pretty rugged and adaptable species and we expect that she’ll get the hang of
it fairly quickly. Okay, back over here. Sorry.”

            “Are you at all concerned about the
possibility of permanent disabilities?”

            Chrissie sighed. “Um, oh gosh. Yes and no. I
mean, one is always concerned about the possibility of disabilities in a
newborn. But, no, we have no undue concerns at this time. As I said, we’re a
very adaptable species. Just as Jeff, Gabe, Abby and Susan have adapted to
living on Mars, Ghita will adapt to living on Earth. It just may take her a bit
longer because of her age. But we’re confident that six months or a year after
she arrives here on Earth she’ll be just fine and indistinguishable from her
peers – developmentally speaking. She will of course still be a Martian. Na-Nu
Na-Nu.” Chrissie grinned. “Yeah, way in back.”

            “Following up on that, humorous though it may
be, at present activity on Mars is regulated by international treaty here on
Earth. What impact is the birth of a child there going to have on that?”

            “I have absolutely no idea. But I would
imagine it will be a topic of many dinner conversations for a long time to
come. Over here.”

            “It’s been reported that Dr. Frederick
possesses an extremely high IQ. Is there a possibility that her daughter’s
birth on Mars may, I don’t know, somehow amplify that and that Margherita could
turn out to be some kind of super-genius?”

Gabe groaned. “Well, my IQ is
clearly higher than yours, moron. God, what a stupid question.”

Jeff smiled. “That's why you're
a physicist and he’s a reporter.”

            Chrissie sighed and shook her head. “I don’t
know. I can’t think of a reason why birth on Mars would have anything to do
with it. Inside their habitat, except for the reduced gravity and the absence
of some gaseous trace elements in their atmosphere, it’s pretty much like it is
here. Yes, Dr. Frederick is very intelligent, so is Captain Grey. So the odds
of Ghita being reasonably bright are probably pretty good. But it’s still
likely to just be a combination of genetics and education, just as with any
other child. Yes, she is a Martian because she was born there but, genetically,
she’s as human as the rest of us. I’ve seen a photo of her and, no, she’s not
green and doesn’t have antennae. She looks pretty much like any other baby. No,
that’s not right, she’s a lot cuter. I have to say that or Gabe will pummel me
when she gets back. Yeah, over here.”

Gabe frowned. “You better say she’s
the cutest baby in the universe or I’ll crush you like a bug.”

Jeff chuckled. “You're such a
softie.”

            “I presume Dr. Lú was present. Were Captain
Grey and Commander Nolan present at the birth? And, was Dr. Lú prepared for
potential complications? For example, could she have performed a cesarean
section if necessary?”

Abby shook her head. “No, we were all out collecting
rocks.”

            “Yes, yes, yes, yes and, uh… yes.” Chrissie
smiled. “Susan Lú is an extremely capable physician and, as I said earlier,
this has been five years in planning and I’m pretty sure she had all the bases
covered. And, yes, both Jeff and Abby were right there at Gabe’s side. Yeah,
down here.”

            “How sophisticated are their medical
facilities?”

            “Pretty sophisticated. Not large, but more
than ample. They have x-ray, ultrasound, complete surgical setup, a full locker
of pharmaceuticals, most everything they might need. You may remember some
months back when Abby had her accident and fell in the crater. Susan was able
to deal quite adequately with some pretty severe injuries. She did contact
Earth for consultation with an orthopedic surgeon because of the severity of
the break in Abby’s leg, but then proceeded to put Humpty Dumpty back together
rather well. Over here.”

“Humpty
Dumpty?” Abby glared at the screen. “Girl, you're toast.”

            “How is Commander Nolan?”

            “She’s fine. Has healed up quite nicely.
Yeah.”

            “Is there a reason why you didn’t announce
Dr. Frederick’s pregnancy months ago?”

            “That announcement was withheld at the
request of Dr. Frederick and Capt. Grey. Uh huh, in back.”

            “Why?”

            “Because that’s the way they wanted it.
Yeah.”

Jeff nodded. “Good job.”

            “Don’t you think the public had a right to
know about a monumental event like this as it progressed?”

            Chrissie shrugged and shook her head. “No.
Over here.”

Jeff
laughed. “Excellent.”

            “What kind of impact do you anticipate this
will have on the rest of their mission?”

            “None. As I said, this was planned and fully
anticipated. Barring unforeseen circumstances they’ll go on with the remainder
of the mission as planned. Yes, in back.”

            “I recall no mention at all over the past few
years of a personal relationship between Dr. Frederick and Capt. Grey. I’m just
a little confused here, how long have they had a relationship? Or, have they?”

            “Eh… uh, that’s getting into their personal
lives and we’re not gonna go there. Back in the corner.”

Gabe sighed with relief. “Thank you.”

            “Who’s idea was this?”

Gabe, Abby and Susan simultaneously
pointed at Jeff.

“Gee, thanks,” he said, “this
should be interesting.”

            “Come again.”

            “Who’s idea was this? I mean, in the
beginning, who decided to have a child on Mars?”

            “Initially, it was Capt. Grey’s suggestion.
Who decided? Well, because of the obvious impact it would have on the mission
and everyone involved, ultimately the decision was arrived at jointly. Up front
here.”

            “What was the initial reaction to Capt.
Grey’s suggestion?”

Abby grinned. “Gabe wanted him
boiled in oil.”

            Chrissie laughed. “That took place before I
joined the team, so I wasn’t there. But from how it’s been described to me,
reaction was, uh… mixed. Yeah.”

            “What was your reaction when you first heard
of it?”

            “Well, my reaction was also mixed: surprise,
concern, curiosity, wonder. I have a vague recollection of being speechless.
Yeah, you.”

            “Was there a lot of debate about it?”

            Chrissie laughed again. “Uh, yeah, you could say
that. Yes.”

            “Outside of your nucleus team, was there
anyone else that knew of this?”

            “No. Yeah, you.”

            “Has the President been notified? And if so,
what was his reaction?”

            “Yes. I personally spoke with the President
on the phone yesterday evening, shortly after we re-established communications
and got the word. His reaction was much like yours; a lot of questions.”

            “Follow up?”

            “Yeah?”

            “Will he be sending congratulations?”

            “I believe a personal message from the White
House has already been sent; I don’t know what was said, I haven’t seen it. The
President has been very supportive of this mission all along and he and the
crew are well acquainted. Yes.”

            “Was the President aware of this plan
beforehand?”

            “No. Yeah, over here.”

            “Are Capt. Grey and Dr. Frederick happy?”

Jeff and Gabe both grinned and
nodded.

            Chrissie smiled and pointed at the reporter.
“Best question of the day. Yes, they are ecstatic! Alright, I’ll take three
more questions then Dr. Christianson and I have to go. Up here.”

            “What’s the next major evolution on the
mission schedule?”

           
“In a
few weeks, Capt. Grey and Commander Nolan are going to revisit the crater that
Abby fell into, which cut that evolution short, and try and complete at least
part of their originally intended survey and sample collection. After that, the
only major exploration remaining will be an expedition by Dr. Frederick and Dr.
Lú up to the plain about 50 kilometers northwest of Grey Station. That will be
about three months from now, the date is flexible. Yes, over here.”

            “Will they be taking Ghita with them?”

           
“Yes. As
a result of circumstances, both Dr. Frederick and Dr. Lú have been unable to
get out and explore the planet for some time, and both are most anxious to do
some further sightseeing. So, yeah, all three of them will head up there and
have a look around. It should be an interesting trip. There’s a lot of interest
in the potential history of water ponding on Mars and that particular area
appears from HiRISE imagery to be somewhat accessible and a likely candidate.
It was the primary site in the Margaritifer Basin proposed for the MSL. After
that, all their remaining efforts will be directed toward preparations for the
journey home. Okay, over here, last question.”