Trouble on the Red Planet; Aumrill
The Biologist

Donna woke up the next morning with the last evening a blur in her mind. She stood with her arms propped against a counter next to a mirror. She was staring deep into her eyes.

“Oh my, flaming head! That was some night,” she said to herself. “I won’t be doing that again for a while,” she promised herself.

She was thinking about what Bob had shown her at his work site. She knew that this was something that couldn’t be ignored. She took her usual morning shower and dressed. Immediately afterward she radioed the Robert A. Heinlein. Julia’s face appeared surprised, “Donna!” she said, “I didn’t expect to hear from you and I thought you were on recreational leave?”

“Well, Julia you know that as soon as you decide to take a break something always happens.”

“Murphy’s Law,” Julia said immediately, “what seems to be the trouble?”

“I need to consult a Biologist and have him take a look at something in the Biocontainment Field but I don’t know if there are any available on Mars,” Donna told her.

“Well Donna there is not one on Mars at the moment but we have a Thomas Bradley Perry, a ‘Bio Specialist’ aboard the Heinlein awaiting transport to Earth. Should I have him call you?”

“Yes, as soon as possible Julia. I’d like to clear this up as soon as I can.”

“Okay, Donna I’ll talk to him right away,” she said.

“Thank you, Julia. I’m signing off.” Donna walked out her door and into the corridor. Her portable communication device sounded and she answered it. “Now that was quick,” she said without thinking.

The person on the other end hesitated a moment, “Hello,” she said.

“Hello, Donna I’m just returning your call. I’m sorry that I didn’t get back to you right away,” the voice said.

“Ah? Richard, uh, hi! It’s been a long time. So, what’s up?”

“Hmmm, it must have been some kind of night last night Donna?

“What do you mean?”

“Well, since you called me early this morning, uh, about two o’clock. You said that you wanted to talk and that you miss me.”

“Oh, I do miss you Richard and I wish you were here. Do you think you might be able to come over? I mean, we’re on recreational leave and it would be nice to have you here.”

“Now, that’s a switch a couple of months ago you didn’t want to talk to me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Richard,” she apologized. “I was only just assigned to this job and I had a lot on my mind. Well, I couldn’t get you out of my mind yesterday and I really miss you.”

“I understand Donna I’ve been busy myself and I know what stress can do. We are in the middle of a ‘Dig’ here in Inca City. I, ah,” he thought for a moment, “I may be able to get out of here and go over there in about . . . I’m looking at my calendar. Okay, how about four days. I can be there on Tuesday.”

“Richard I love that. Oh, great! I can hardly wait. Will that be morning or evening?

“I can be there around noon so I’ll be leaving that morning.”

She picked up her walking pace in the corridor. “Oh, ho, that’s great! Richard you’re such a dear. I’m going to have a surprise for you when you get here.”

“I bet you will. Now, look, I have to get back to work. Since you’re not doing anything you should keep in touch until then.”

“Oh, I will, Richard. Bye, now.”

“Bye, I’ll see you in a few days.” He switched off.

She walked into the dining area, smiling. Wanjiku greeted her with a surprised look.”

“It must be your birthday, Donna? I haven’t seen you smile like that since we got here.”

“Oh, good morning, Jiku, it’s nothing; it just feels so good not having anything to do for a few weeks.”

“Oh, let me tell you about it, Donna. I slept so good knowing I had nothing to do,” Jiku told her, with her rich Kenyan accent. Come on, sit and have breakfast with me.” They sat at a table while the kitchens help went to get their breakfasts. “It has been stressful these past couple of months, I didn’t know when we were going to get a break.” Jiku stopped for a second and studied Donna’s face, then smiled.

Donna smiled back. ”What is it Jiku? I know you want to say something, I can tell.”

Jiku chuckled. “I know that look,” she said still chuckling. You don’t live to be my age and not know that look.”

“Oh, Jiku,” Donna said, now chuckling herself, “now, stop it and tell me what you’re talking about.”

“Okay, Donna,” she said regaining her composure, “who’s the lucky man?”

Donna burst out laughing, “Jiku? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, you know very well what I’m talking about. I’ve got three older sisters and all of them are married,” she said ending in a chuckle.

Donna smiled. “Jiku, you know me better than I know myself. Shush! Don’t tell anyone,” she said in a whisper and a finger in front of her lips.

“Oh, Donna, okay, but you’re going to have to tell me all about it.”

“That’s blackmail . . . I’m kidding,” she teased. “I’ll tell you. His name is Richard Serling.”

“You are kidding! Richard Serling? Isn’t he the Martian Archeologist? You know, Maurine Matthews used to talk about him all the time and she had a nickname for him. She used to call him . . . “

“Mr. Incorrigible’, yes, I know and it’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it sometime. We met on the Shackelton,” Donna explained. “Richard worked in charge of assigning crews and I was head of detail maintenance. Richard is quite intelligent and he figures things out rather quickly.”

“So, I’ve heard, and Ms. Matthews said he could really be stubborn at times.”

“Yes, a one track mind, but that’s what I love about him. He also has a good sense of humor. You’re going to meet him. He’ll be here in a couple of days.”

“Oh, really, I’d love to meet him. Ms. Matthews was quite fond of him.

“Ms. Matthews liked everyone who would work hard and Richard always works until the job is done.” At that moment Donna’s portable communication device sounded. “Just a second, Jiku, it’s from the Robert Heinlein and I’ve been waiting for this call.” Donna then answered.

“Yes, this is Donna Silver.”

“Hello, Ms. Silver,” said the voice on the other end. “This is Thomas Bradley Perry and I just got word that you wanted to talk to me.”

“Just a second . . .” She and Jiku were done eating so she excused herself and got up to walk to her office.

“See you later, Donna,” said Jiku.

Donna waved bye and continued talking. “Mr. Perry we’ve got a small problem to clear up down in the Biocontainment area and I was wondering if you might have time to come down and look at it.”

“Well, the ship won’t be arriving from Earth until about three days so I suppose I could ride on the next supply shuttle. What exactly is it that you want me to look at?”

“Well, I don’t know, one of my technicians found something that may be organic material. Just out of curiosity I’d like to see what it is before we go any further with the project.”

“Hmmm, sounds interesting, I’ll go down and take a look at it this afternoon.”

“Great! That’s sounds wonderful! We’ll look forward to seeing you.” Donna signed off.

Meanwhile on the Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Bradley Perry began packing clothes and materials with the intention of using for the work that he was anticipating.

Later Julia Ganswind Davis found him in the station lounge drinking his coffee. “The station to ground shuttle will be leaving in a few minutes,” she informed him.

The sixty-two year old Biologist looked up from his coffee. “Oh, Julia did you know that Mercury is in retrograde and your Mars is opposing Jupiter?”

She looked surprised. “Oh! When you read my horoscope you told me that, my ‘Mars’ was conjunct with, my ’Jupiter.”

“The planets have moved since then,” he told her, “and your trine is setting on the horizon.”

“I will have to ponder that Bradley, but now let’s get you on the shuttle.” She walked with him to the shuttle conversing about the aspects of her astrological chart. They arrived at the shuttle bay.” We will see when you return, Bradley.”

“Bye now,” he said and then boarded the shuttle.

The shuttle landed on a shuttle strip just outside the facility. Workers began unloading the shuttle and Thomas Bradley Perry donned his pressure suit and then left the shuttle to approach the facility. Donna greeted him on the other side of the airlock. “Thomas Bradley Perry I presume,” she addressed him.

“And you must be the famous Donna Silver that Julia told me about,” he responded.

“Julia and I go back a long ways,” she informed him. “We should talk in my office before going down to the containment field.”

“Everyone calls me Brad or Bradley,” he told her. “I’ll follow you to your office.”

“A rather large facility,” he remarked looking around.

“This is an ambitious experiment in Terraformation, Brad; you should be familiar with the theory behind it.”

“Yes, of course, but the facilitations of Mars are quite smaller. Your gigantic green house project is quite an undertaking.”

“Well, it’s not without its problems I assure you and I appreciate the fact that you came down at this short notice. We will be back into production as soon as the rest of the materials get to us. Until then I want you to take a look at these.” She handed him a set of eight by ten photographs which he studied readily.

“Ah, yes, ‘nodes’ they’re quite common, you know.”

“So, you’ve seen these so-called ‘nodes’ before?

“Yes, they are all over Mars. We have determined that they are made up of organic compounds. The standing theory on ‘nodes’ is they are the result of decomposed material coming together before being freeze dried to the state they are in.”

“What was the test done on these, ‘nodes’, which brought the scientist to this conclusion?”

“There, are no conclusions in science, Ms. Silver,” he corrected her, “the ‘facts’ are continuously being challenged by new discoveries. That is what science is all about. All theories, including this one are a collective opinion on a study or phenomena. We performed all of the standard tests on the ’nodes’ just as we did on all organic material found on Mars and it brought no surprising results.”

“Well, Brad, may I present you with a not so standard experiment that may or may not surprise you?”

“You have intrigued me Ms. Silver. I will be happy to go along with the experiment.”

“Brad you may call me Donna, it’ll make easier conversing that way. Now, excuse me, Brad while I contact Bob.” She voice activated her communication device and the screen rolled up from her desk. The device beeped twice and Bob’s face appeared on the screen. “Hello, Bob, this is Donna. Are you doing anything important right now?”

“No, as a matter of fact I’m sitting in the recreation lounge watching my wife play chess with Clare.”

“Well, then you wouldn’t mind going down to your work site and meeting Mr. Thomas Bradley Perry and myself there?’

“I’ll be right down, Donna.

Brad and Donna were in the elevator down when, Mr. Perry asked, “How old are you, Donna?”

Taken aback by the question she said, “I’m uh, forty-two. Why?” with the look of surprise.

“Well, according to Douglas Adams you are ’the answer to life, the universe, and everything.”

Somewhat amused she said, “Well, I suppose the question to that answer would be: “Are you a ’Hitchhiker?” and then she chuckled.

“Well, I guess I could be considered as such. I have read the entire series of books.”

Shortly they were at the jobsite where Bob was already waiting. Donna made the formal introduction and told Bob to demonstrate, for which he was already prepared.

“Brad, I want you to pay close attention.” Brad watched with enthusiasm as Bob dropped the ‘nodes’ into the thermal bucket of water. He raised his eye brows when the water started its violent reaction.

“Well, Bob, you have made a most interesting discovery, but I believe we are witnessing the explosions of millions of molecules experiencing an extreme temperature change.”

“So, you don’t believe this is such a significant discovery?”

“On the contrary, Bob you’ve given me something that my colleagues and I will be arguing over for years to come. My personal feeling though, is that it has no significant bearing on the project at hand. I will of course call it’The Robert Wilson Experiment.”

Satisfied the three concluded and were shortly on their way back up in the elevator. Donna was in the middle with Bob to her left and Brad to the right. “What month were you born, Donna,” asked Brad.

Taken aback again by this question Donna said, “I was born October twenty-seventh. Why?”

“That means that your Sagittarius is in Capricorn.”

Bob interrupted. “I think Brad is doing your horoscope, Donna.”

“Well, I take it you’ve never had a reading, Donna?”

“Actually, no, but we owe you debt of gratitude for clearing up the dilemma. What do we owe you for this professional visit, Brad?”

“I’m glad you asked that Donna because my system is opposed to over exposure to artificial gravity and I was wondering if I could indulge in the comforts of your facility for a few days while I wait for the space cruiser Jonathon Swift to arrive?”

“Well, that’s the least we can do, Brad. We will have quarters ready for you shortly.”

The elevator doors opened. “While Donna is making preparations for your quarters, would like to come with me and meet my wife to do a reading?”

“I’d be happy to do that Bob,” he answered enthusiastically. Donna turned and went to the left the two men turned and went to the right.

Bob and Brad found Dana in the recreation lounge with her friend, Sarah. Formal introductions were made. After a minute of careful analysis Brad gave Dana her Horoscope.

“Well Dana it appears that you’re a perfectionist. You are diligent in your work and have a high expectation of others. You are generally focused on the ‘task at hand’ and oblivious to the things going on around you.”

“Wait a minute here,” Dana protested, “you can’t tell that much about a person by reading a foolish chart. And I only intervene with someone else’s work when they are behaving like ‘a bull in a China Shop’. It’s pretty reckless to come to conclusions too quickly.”

“That’s precisely the point,” Brad answered. “Astrology isn’t a science, and if it were it is not an exact science. It’s merely an observation of how the positions of the planets affect your personal growth. It doesn’t demean character nor make an accurate evaluation of it. Nonetheless the recipient of a reading will sometimes set that observation upon themselves.”

Sarah, who was observing the reading, interjected a question. “How is this different than a Tarot reading?”

Brad looked up at the pretty young woman, smiling. “Well, Sarah there is quite a difference as Tarots are fortune telling as are palm readings and such. Whereas horoscopes are observations based on the positions of the planets at the moment and the place a person is born. You are apparently Sagittarian and I can surmise by your accent that you at least grew up in New York. You are around twenty-seven years old and were born around the fifth and tenth of December. Your parents were probably Swedish immigrants.”

“Hmmm?” Sarah was bewildered. “I was born in New York and I am twenty-six. My birthday is the seventh of December but you could’ve gotten that from my work profile.”

“I assure you that I didn’t know you existed up until ten minutes ago and I couldn’t access confidential information.”

Dana interjected. “But, you must’ve had access to our work profiles otherwise you couldn’t know so much about us.”

“Wait a minute Dana,” Bob intervened, “Brad isn’t giving specific information, and he’s just telling you that he has a template due to a lifelong study based on the positions of the planets and how they influence your behavior and their probable affect on the events of your life.”

“That’s correct Bob,” agreed Brad.

“So, would you say that it’s an art form?” asked Sarah.

“Or a craft depending upon how you choose to look at it but then so are tarots, palm readings, and such,” answered Brad.

“Interesting,” Sarah said. “But you never told us where you were from.”

“Oh,” said Brad promptly, “I’m from Indiana,” and after a brief pause he added, “and I try to stay as far from Indiana as possible,” ending in a chuckle.

“Well, I know a few people who may enjoy meeting you Brad,” said Sarah. “Would you be willing to take a walk with me so that I can introduce you?”

“Why, certainly young lady,” he said standing up. He then lifted Dana’s hand and kissed it. “It was a pleasure meeting you Dana.”

“Likewise,” she said, “we should continue this discussion at a later time.

“So we shall.” Brad took Sarah’s elbow and they left the recreation room.

“Interesting character,” Dana remarked.

“Yes,” Bob agreed, “yes he is.”

The days passed and Brad read horoscopes to much of the crew. The following Sunday Brad was preparing to don his pressure suit when he turned to the group, which included Bob and Dana, who were seeing him off in the space shuttle, which was to transport him to the orbiting space cruiser, the Jonathon Swift. “You are a delightful crew,” he told them. “When they convert this facility into a colony I should like to make it my retirement home.”

“Don’t let ‘Uranus’ swing around and slap you on the ass,” someone shouted.

Brad zipped up his pressure suit and said, “Just remember who gave that line,” he chuckled. “Oh and Bob once you get this project up and running and if a character shows up from the Biocontainment field who calls himself ’Willis’ and he’s singing ’¿Quein es la Senorita?’ asking for someone named Jim, you be sure and let me know. Okay?”

“I certainly will, and you keep in touch. I gave you my e-mail address for a reason, you know.”

They finished their goodbyes and Brad proceeded through the airlock. They all turned and walked down the corridor. Someone said, “This place will never be the same again.” Another answered, “Oh, he’ll be back, I’m sure of it’.

“What makes you say that?” someone else asked.

“This is about as far as he’s ever been from Indiana.”