The Eleusian Effect
Chapter 14 The Deep Space Mission to Alpha Centauri B

September 20, 2169 1100 Hours

Captain Tanner gave the crew the day off after the funeral. We had finally received orders to leave Mars orbit and explore the rest of the Solar System. I spent some time with Madam De Courvier and then after lunch I saw her off back to Earth and decided to call Bill.

“Hey Sweetie!” He was excited to see it was me. “How are things on Mars?”

“Busy, but finished, thankfully. How is the exciting world of law?”

“It’s been quiet. Boring, really. I’ve been spending a lot of time with your parents.”

“Oh?” I was glad they were getting along. “What embarrassing things have they been telling you?” “Oh not much.” They talked more about your cousin, Darius.”

“Really?”

“Yeah they really seem to get you two mixed up. Your mom, especially.”

“We spent a lot of time together as kids.”

“Your Dad pulled me aside and told me your mom just finished her Alzheimer’s treatments so to take what she says with a grain of salt.” “That makes sense. Sometimes there are some lingering effects.”

“That’s only in rare cases, right?”

“Yes.” I felt Bill was probing for more information but I shrugged it off. I was going to tell him how I felt, especially after the Mars incident and Barton’s unique gender transition. “Bill, I miss you.” “I miss you, too.”

“I think I will come back after this tour of duty.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” He sat up with anticipation.

“Yes. I will marry you when I get back.”

“Awesome!” Bill jumped up and ran around the room. “I’ll start the wedding preparations! Should we set a date?” “Not yet. Let’s wait until most of my tour is done.”

“You have made me the happiest man in the solar system!”

“I need you to do one thing, though.”

“Name it.”

“Let me tell my parents. I want them to know before we leave Mars orbit.”

“No problem. Make it fast though. I’m supposed to have dinner with them tonight.”

“Will do. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Sweetheart.”

“Talk to you at dinner.”

“See you then.” The com screen went dark. I took a deep breath and dialed my parents. I didn’t feel scared but I was a little nervous. My Dad answered. “Hi Sweetie! How are you?” “I’m fine, Dad. Is Mom with you? I have some exciting news.”

“Yes she’s in the kitchen. Hold on.” Dad stood up and called to the kitchen, “Hey Dot! Endana is on the com!” My mother came in immediately. “Hi Danna! How are you, Honey?” “I’m great, Mom. I have some important news. Bill and I are getting married.”

All the color dropped out of their faces. Dad spoke first, “Really? Wow. I mean congratulations!” Mom composed herself and spoke, “That’s great! And he knows about the change?”

“No, Mom. I haven’t told him.”

“I see. Are you?”

“I wasn’t planning on it. I didn’t see the need.”

“Well, that’s something to consider. If you tell him right away, he has time to adjust. Dropping something like that as you as walking down the aisle is not the best way to start a life together.” “I understand. I have time.”

Dad chimed in. “So are you coming home, now?”

“No. I will finish this tour of duty and then come home.”

“Will you leave GASA? I mean you’ve worked so hard for a long time.”

“Not sure, yet. I would like to stay in, maybe work on base in a clinic. I enjoy doing research so maybe I can do that. I’ll know better after we have been in space for a while.” “That’s sounds great. But I share your mother’s concern about telling Bill the truth. We can’t really advise you about what the right thing to do is but this is a big step. At least consider it.” “I will, Dad. I love you guys. I need to finish up some things but I will call you at dinner. We are set to leave orbit at 1900 hours so I will call you an hour before.” “Okay, kiddo. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

I really never thought I’d have to tell Bill I used to be a man. It seemed so long ago but it’s only been a few months. I contemplated the pros and cons of telling him. Somehow, I didn’t think it would be catastrophic. He was the first man to know me as only a woman; all my friends and extended family think I am somewhere else as a man. I know that GASA made up an ‘official’ story but I now realize I never actually read it. I thought about it during lunch and figured I should check it out. I walked back to my quarters and sat down at my com. I typed in my name (I could have just spoken into the com but I was concerned about prying ears) and waited. Download time was slower since we were preparing to leave orbit. Once the data came through, I transferred it to my pad and laid down on my bed. After sifting through the usual standard documents, I came across this one: GLOBAL AIR AND SPACE AGENCY

Combined Systems Command

Medical Division

3630 Stanley Rd #12501

San Antonio, TX 78234

UNCLASSIFIED

REPORT AS OF 15 JULY 2169

PROFILE: Darius Obama

RANK: Lieutenant Commander

MOS: Doctor of Medicine

CURRENT DUTY POSITION: Chief Medical Officer, USS Kennedy

STATUS: Indefinite Convalescent Quarantine

Lieutenant Commander Darius Obama was a member of the landing team that encountered the Venus Anomaly that affected the USS Kennedy and required a quarantine of the entire ship and crew. The anomaly caused a catastrophic genetic breakdown of all affected crew members. Once the anomaly was contained, the USS Kennedy was delivered to Mars for a full decon and reconstitution.

(A decon and reconstitution means that the whole ship was scrubbed clean and renovated, with a new crew. It’s like an overhaul. Ships that can’t be reconstituted are scuttled and sent to the scrap yard on the dark side of the moon.) The affected crew members, including LC Obama were sent to the GASA Extended Convalescent Center, Melbourne, Australia where they remain as of the date of this report.

MEDICAL EVALUATION

It is with great importance and sadness that the judgement of this command has decided that the affected crew members of the USS Kennedy will remain at the Convalescent Center for the rest of their lives, with full benefits and pay. This decision does not come lightly nor easily. The tragic circumstances in which these people were injured are unlike anything any human being has experienced. It is because of the tremendous amount of risk that comes with space exploration we deem that these men and women will be cared for until they depart this life. This decision was made using the most advanced medical technology, the most exhaustive testing available, relative documentation and all available data applicable to such a unique situation.

The final point of this report is that the afflicted crew members must remain cloistered due to the possible contagious nature of their sickness. For the public good, the crew members have agreed to relinquishing any and all contact with the outside world, in exchange for compensation for their families and loved ones.

These men and women are held in the highest esteem by GASA and the world aeronautical/space community. May God have mercy on their lives and souls.

Michael Sennett

LTC, USA

AMEDD Commander

I was more shocked than I thought I would be; the report contained far more compassion from the Medical Command than I expected. I had hoped they were thorough enough to erase our entire digital footprint. This would be extremely hard to explain if anyone suspected any kind of cover up.

I found myself somewhat tired after reading the report and some of the ‘data’ the Medical Command used to put our male selves into exile. It was quite good. I was glad that it convincing enough to satisfy prying eyes. I put down my pad and dozed for a while. My mind seemed to wander, to Bill, my folks and then it landed on a thought. Someone knows the truth. I sat straight up. “Cleveland!” My brain was yelling. I had to figure out what angle his was. Maybe Bill can help. I bounded off my bed and fired up my com.

“What’s up? I thought you were going to call at dinner.”

“Sorry-I still will but I need a favor.”

Bill smiled. He liked when I asked him for a favor. “What can I do for you, Doctor?”

“Do you remember that guy we met last month, Cleveland?”

“Yeah, Mister Snoopypuss. Is he bothering you again?”

“No, but I need to replace out about him. He pulling some shenanigans and it involves classified information.” Bill got serious. “Wow, that’s serious business. You want me to vet him?”

“Yes. I need everything you can replace out about him. Childhood, school records, the works.”

“I will get right on it. It’s a slow day here in the office anyway.”

“Thanks, Hun. Talk to you at dinner.”

“Look forward to it.”

I thought of Wilson and how we’d agreed to deal with Cleveland after the Mars incident was settled. I called her and brought her up to speed.

“So when will you hear?”

“Any time now. He’s working on it as we speak.”

“What do you think Cleveland wants?”

“Well here’s my theory-since he knows what happened on the Venus Mission, he’s trying to replace a way to cash in.” “How could he have found out?”

“Well let’s go with the obvious. He is (or was) a member of GASA. He already knew about us when he contacted us. He has some information but not all of it. He is patient. He has contacts.” Wilson pondered for a moment. “If he wants to cash in, he is planning something big. He needs the complete story, plus the related data.” “Right. I think that about covers it. Hopefully, Bill can fill in the larger gaps.”

“I can’t imagine what Cleveland hopes to achieve.”

“Let’s hope it’s something less sinister than he is leading us to believe.”

Wilson nodded and went to her quarters. I decided to go to the Viewing Deck. It was only the second time I visited there. Sometimes we get so busy that we forget the beauty of the stars. I peered into the black void looking at the Martian sky. I wondered if I would be happier on Earth with a husband and a family. I think I could be, but there was something out in that black void. Something to discover, to see, to understand. The Anti-space sentiment crossed my mind. Were they right? Is it our place as human beings to go beyond our planet, our solar system? I have always believed in God, the Judeo-Christian version. People have questioned His existence for eons and now there is a real possibility of meeting Him without crossing into the Great Beyond permanently, I hope. I continued my philosophical musings as I sat in the comfortable lounge chair. The door slid open behind me and it was Tracy and Tanner.

“Ladies. How are you?” I liked having the company. It was perfect timing.

“We’re ready to get out of Dodge.” Tanner was noticeably excited.

“Me too. Mars is depressing. I’m ready to see the rest of the solar system.” I hadn’t seen Tracy in days. I turned to her. “What have you been doing? I haven’t seen you.” “Just tweaking the engines. We’re going to be doing light speed a lot more often.”

“Will we need light speed for a while? I figured we wouldn’t use it until we got beyond Pluto.” “Do you want to tell her?” Tracy said to Tanner.

Tanner smiled. “We have new orders. Due to the positive additional testing on Mars, GASA has approved us for deep space.” “Okay, so that mean we-“ Tracy interrupted me. “We are skipping our solar system! We headed towards Alpha Centauri B!” “That’s incredible! Are we going to be able to study the Theorites?” (The Theorites are the nickname for planets that were assumed to exist in the Alpha Centauri B galaxy that would most likely be able to support life “Not only that, if conditions are favorable, we’ll be the first ship to evaluate them for colonization!” “Holy crap! That will make history! Wow. I can’t believe it! We’ll be the first humans on an alien world! Outside our solar system I mean.” I was excited. “Imagine all the research we can do!” “We’ll be there in four days at double light speed. We’ll need to work out a game plan for the landing party and obviously I want you there.” “Didi, we should not rush to the surface. We should do as much long range scanning as possible.” “Why so cautious?”

“Well since the Venus Mission we’re facing things no human has ever dealt with. I don’t want to end up an alien reptile man or something.” Didi and Tracy looked at me. They knew I was serious, but they looked at each other and burst out laughing. I laughed too. Didi wiped her eyes. “Okay, Doc. We will be extra careful.” We left the Viewing Deck and headed down for dinner. “I will catch up with you guys. I need to make a phone call first.” “Don’t be long, I ordered Prime Rib to celebrate going to Alpha Centauri.” Didi smiled. She had been waiting for this for a long time. I was excited to tell my family about the new mission. I almost forgot that I wanted to talk to Bill alone first. I called him and it took a little longer to go through. He was walking up to my parent’s house when he answered. He answered through his pad, which would account for the slower connection. “Hey Sweetheart.” “Hi Sweetie.” He looked serious.

“What did you replace out?”

“Well, it took some really effort. I called in a few favors and got probably more than I was supposed to.” “Do tell.”

“First, Philip Ivan Cleveland is dead, and has been for forty years. He was the only Phillip Cleveland to serve in GASA.” “You have to be kidding me.”

“No. The Philip Cleveland you know is a security specialist named Romulus Rood. He is part of the United Nations Global Security force on loan to GASA for deep space security operations.” “’Deep Space Security Operations? We need that?”

“Apparently, the UN thinks we do.”

“Interesting. Anything else?”

“Yes. He has a wide scope to do what he thinks is necessary.”

“Wow. You called in some serious favors.”

“Actually, it’s because of you.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I kept getting stonewalled through normal channels, I contacted your special friend, Governor Stevens. He is on the National Deep Space Security Committee, special liaison to the UN.” “That’s uncanny luck.”

“Gift horse in the mouth and such. Anyway, most the information is from him and he is willing to keep us abreast of developments in that area.” “So why is Cleveland, Rood, after classified information?”

“That we do not know. It’s possible he wants to know for security reasons.”

“I wish. He contacted another of my crewmates and lied about who is wife was.”

“He’s a spy. It doesn’t surprise me.”

Bill paused for a moment. He seemed nervous.

“What’s the matter, Sweetie?”

“Governor Stevens was more than generous in sharing information. Even highly classified information. In the process of getting all this information, I read about the Venus Mission.” Not much has shaken me since my gender change. I haven’t felt nervous or scared, until Bill said those words.. “What did you replace out?” “Everything.” I started to tear up. “Did you read it carefully? I mean from beginning to end?” “Yes. I know everything. I know that you are, were Darius Obama. I know that you risked your life to help your crew mates and that you found out too late that you could not change back to male, even if you wanted to.” “I didn’t want to lie to you, Bill, I just didn’t know how to tell you.”

“It’s okay. I also read the medical data and saw that you aren’t just transgender, you have been completely changed over to female. Your reproductive organs, genes, everything.” “What are you saying?”

Bill relaxed and smiled. “I’m saying that I would have been awfully bummed out if we couldn’t have children!” Months of tension that I had forgotten about ran out of my body. If had not been an enhanced female, I probably would have developed ulcers over it. “Oh Bill, you mean you still want me?” “Of course! I’ve only really gotten to know you as Endana. I guess I will miss Darius but we only saw each other summers on the Cape anyway. You are now the woman I love and that all I know you as. My feelings have not changed. Just make sure you come back to me so we can start a family.” “I will! I love you so much!”

“I love you too. Let’s tell your folks.”