Mars Life (36 page)

For the five days of the fusion torch ship’s flight to Mars Dex felt a growing apprehension about seeing Jamie again. He’ll try to talk me into keeping the operation going, Dex told himself. He’s got this cockamamie scheme for keeping fifteen people at the base and depending on Selene for supplies. He’ll never agree to shutting down the operation completely. He won’t want to leave Mars. Christ, when it comes down to it I’ll probably have to get a couple of guys to literally pick him up and carry him off.

Not this flight, thank god. All I’ve got to do on this flight is tell him we’re giving up. Tell him it’s finished, over. All I’ve got to do is rip his guts out.

By the time the torch ship took up an orbit around Mars Dex was in a thoroughly depressed mood. Not even the sight of the red planet gliding past the observation port of the ship’s lounge gladdened him.

Jamie was also apprehensive about Dex’s arrival. He paced tensely from his tiny workspace to the cafeteria, poured himself a mug of coffee, checked with the flight monitors in the communications center.

“Oh-eight-two is right on the mark, Dr. Waterman,” the flight controller told him, smiling up at him from her display screen. “I hope they remembered to bring the cosmetics we ordered.”

Jamie tried to smile for her. His thanks came out more as a grunt than anything else. Cosmetics, he said to himself as he headed back toward his cubicle. She must just be kidding, trying to cheer me up.

Hasdrubal’s excursion to Crater Chang had been okayed. Jamie himself would go with the biologist. He was looking forward to it, looking forward to doing something useful, something more than scowling at logistics numbers that wouldn’t change and hoping for a miracle.

Unbidden, Zeke Larkin’s bitter words rang in his mind. 
What we’re doing here is rearranging the deck chairs on the 
Titanic.

The PA speakers blared, “L/AV HAS MADE RENDEZVOUS WITH RESUPPLY FLIGHT 082.”

When they come down, Jamie knew, Dex will be with them. And he’ll be carrying our death warrant.

The time seemed to stretch endlessly. In the weightlessness of orbit, Dex stayed in his compartment and tried not to make any sudden motions. His head felt stuffy, as if he were coming down with a bad cold. His guts felt woozy.

That’s all normal, he told himself. You’ve been through this before. Twenty-three years ago, he remembered. It’s been twenty-three years since I left Mars. I swore I’d never return. Once was enough. But here I am. Why? For Jamie. Because of that goddamned stubborn redskin.

Because he’s my friend, Dex realized. Over all these years he’s been the one real friend I’ve got. Dex sat on the edge of his bunk, gripping its sides with both hands, suddenly aware of the truth of it. Rollie Kinnear, all the people he knew from business, from the Foundation, his social acquaintances, even his various wives— Jamie’s the only one among them who’s a real friend. A pain in the ass, that’s true, but all he’s ever wanted from me is to help him explore Mars. Nothing for himself, just Mars.

And I’m here to take that away from him.

“L/AV LANDING IN TEN MINUTES,” the PA speakers announced.

Jamie looked up from his laptop’s display. He’ll be here in ten minutes. Slowly he got to his feet and started for the main airlock hatch. Then he hesitated, and made a detour toward the infirmary.

Vijay was at the desk that they had shoehorned in next to the accordion-fold door.

“Would you like to come and greet Dex?” he asked her, trying to make it sound light.

“Need some moral support, love?” she countered.

He grinned despite himself. “Only a couple tons worth.”

Vijay closed her laptop gently and got to her feet. He saw that she was wearing a light peach-colored sweater and a knee-length skirt instead of her usual coveralls.

“You expected this, didn’t you?” Jamie said.

She smiled at him, dazzling white teeth against her dark skin, and he realized all over again how much smarter she was than he.

They stood off to one side of the airlock hatch, where they could look through the dome’s transparent wall out onto the bare, rust-red ground and the towering cliffs off in the distance. A broad area had been cleared of rocks and scoured smooth by uncounted landings of L/AVs. A pair of the spindly vehicles stood off by the edge of the landing area, looking like big metallic spiders. Sunlight glinted off their bulbous glassteel canopies.

“L/AV LANDING IN ONE MINUTE,” the overhead speakers announced. Then it switched to the computer synthesized voice of the automated countdown, “FIFTY-FIVE SECONDS ... FIFTY-FOUR ...”

Jamie felt his palms sweating. What if there’s a malfunction? What if they have to abort the landing? What if the landing struts fail? What if-

Vijay squeezed his arm and pointed with her other hand. “Look! There it is!”

The L/AV grew from a black dot against the yellowish sky and took on solid form. Jamie could even see the skinny landing struts sticking out from the corners of the boxy main body. The craft seemed to stagger momentarily as a burst of rocket exhaust flared from its main nozzle. Then it straightened, turned slightly in midair, and descended straight down. Even through the insulated wall of the dome Jamie could hear the thin screeching of its altitude jets. Dust and pebbles flew from the landing field as the L/AV settled down softly, its thin legs flexing.

“They’re down!” Vijay exclaimed.

Jamie let out the breath that he’d been holding for the past dozen seconds.

It took a seemingly endless time for the access tube to crawl out and connect with the L/AV’s airlock. The few dozen people clustered around the dome’s airlock hatch faded back as Jamie and Vijay went to the hatch. Jamie saw that Chang was already there, in a crisply fresh set of sky blue coveralls.

“Dr. Waterman,” said the mission director, with a slight bow.

“Dr. Chang,” Jamie replied, dipping his chin in return.

Jamie found himself licking his lips as a pair of technicians swung the airlock hatch open. What should I say to Dex? Should I let Chang greet him first? How’s he going to be after coming all this way?

Dex Trumball was the first person to come through the access tunnel. He was wearing a short-sleeved sports shirt of pale lemon hanging loosely over dark slacks, and carrying a black soft-sided travel bag in one hand.

He stepped over the sill of the hatch, glanced around. Jamie suddenly realized that Dex had worked just as hard as he himself to keep the exploration of Mars alive. He’s come all this way when he could have stayed home. He—

Dex walked past Chang and straight to Jamie. Jamie took a step toward him. Dex dropped his bag and the two men suddenly clasped each other in a profound embrace of warm friendship.

“Welcome back to Mars,” Jamie said, his voice strangely throaty.

Dex grinned the way he had twenty-three years earlier, when they had first explored the cliff structures together.

“I didn’t think it’d hit me this way, Jamie, but it’s good to be back. Damned good.”

Jamie clutched Dex’s shoulders for several wordless moments. At last the two men stepped back from each other, both of them grinning broadly.

Dex recognized Vijay. “Well, how are you, gorgeous?”

“I’m fine, Dex. Glad to see you here.” She put her hands on his shoulders and bussed him on the cheek.

“And you know Dr. Chang, of course,” Jamie said, gesturing toward the mission director.

Chang stepped forward stiffly and offered his hand.

“A pleasure to see you again, Dr. Chang,” Dex said.

“Welcome to Trumball Exploration Center,” said Chang, using the base’s official name.

Dex nodded, then glanced around. “My father’d be very impressed with all this.”

“Please allow me to show you our humble base.” Dex glanced at Jamie.

“Go ahead,” Jamie said. “I’ll take care of your baggage.”

“Hey, this is it,” Dex said, bending to pick up his travel bag. “I leave when the torch ship goes.”

A sudden idea struck Jamie. “In that case, why don’t you come with us this afternoon?”

Chang’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

“Come? Where?” Dex asked.

“We’re going out on an overnight excursion. To Crater Chang.”

“Safety regulations,” Chang murmured. “It is necessary—”

Dex interrupted, “Dr. Chang, I’m an experienced geologist. I’ve driven a camper more than a thousand kilometers overland.”

“More than twenty years ago,” Chang pointed out.

“The campers haven’t changed that much. And I’ve passed all my physicals.”

“So did Monsignor DiNardo.”

Dex’s expression tightened slightly. “I’m not going to die on you, Dr. Chang. And I’d like to get outside—after you show me around the base.”

Chang looked from Dex’s blue-green eyes to Jamie, then back again. “I know of your experience in overland excursion. No one has driven a camper farther.”

“Then it’s okay?”

“If the scientific director agrees.”

Jamie said, “I think it will be good for Dr. Trumball to accompany Hasdrubal and me on the excursion. It’s only overnight. We’ll be back tomorrow.”

“In time for the torch ship’s departure,” Dex added.

With a laugh, Jamie said, “We won’t leave you stranded here, Dex.”

“Good.” He hefted his travel bag. “I only brought a couple days worth of underwear.”

While Chang escorted Dex on a tour of the base dome, Jamie took Dex’s bag and, with Vijay beside him, carried it to the compartment that would serve as Dex’s quarters.

“D’you think it’s all that good an idea, taking him out on your excursion?” she asked.

Jamie tossed the bag on the compartment’s bunk, noting almost unconsciously how lightly it floated in the gentle Martian gravity.

“A very good idea,” he replied as they started back toward the infirmary. “I want Dex to see what we’re doing here.”

“But what about the village?”

“We’ll take a look at it on our way out to the cable lifts.”

Vijay shook her head ever so slightly. “Carleton’s going to be disappointed.”

“We’ll look at the village,” Jamie repeated. “But I want Dex to see this new crater and the work that Hasdrubal’s doing.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Me, too,” Jamie said.

After a brief lunch with Chang in his office, Jamie bustled Dex to the main airlock, where they pulled on nanofabric suits.

“These things really work?” Dex asked, looking dubious.

Jamie nodded. “Everybody uses them now.”

“Pretty flimsy.”

The astronaut serving as safety officer almost scowled at him. “They’re the best damned protection you can have,” he said firmly. “A helluva lot better than those old clunkers. Even Dr. Carleton is using ‘em now.”

As if on cue, Carter Carleton came striding up toward them. Jamie introduced the anthropologist to Dex.

“Coming out to see the excavation,” Carleton said as he reached for one of the suits hanging limply in their locker. It wasn’t a question.

“We’ll stop by and take a look,” Jamie replied. “We’re on our way out to see Crater Chang.”

“Chang.” Carleton’s voice went flat.

“I’ve been following your work on the village,” Dex said, suddenly diplomatic. “Fantastic stuff, especially the graveyard.”

“Yes,” said Carleton.

“Complete skeletons,” Dex went on, shrugging his arms into the suit’s backpack. “We’re trying to get the news nets to carry a special on your work.”

Carleton said nothing. He stepped into the leggings of the suit he’d chosen, pulled them up over his hips and then worked his arms into the sleeves.

Once all three of them were in their suits with the bubble helmets inflated and the astronaut satisfied that they were properly sealed up, Carleton asked:

“Just how much time can you spare to examine the village?”

Jamie recognized the sarcasm in his voice. The anger.

“An hour,” he said, stepping to the airlock hatch. “Then we’ve got to go up the cable with Hasdrubal and spend the night in the dome up on the plain.”

“One hour,” Carleton muttered.

Jamie glanced at Dex. From the expression on his face Jamie could see that even Dex recognized the bitterness in Carleton’s tone.

“That’s one pissed-off anthropologist,” Dex said as he walked between Jamie and Hasdrubal toward the cable lifts running along the cliff face.

“Did you want to stay longer?” Jamie asked.

With a small shrug, Dex said, “Might’ve been interesting, poking around those building foundations, looking into the graves.”

Hasdrubal said, “Carleton wouldn’t let you touch anything.”

“Yeah. I can understand why.”

And maybe, Jamie thought silently, you’ll be able to understand why we can’t have tourists poking around the village.

They reached the base of the cable and started to clip the harnesses over their suits. Jamie watched Dex closely. He had no problems with the harness and he seemed to be more at ease wearing the molecule-thin nanosuit.

“We gonna stop and look at the cliff structures on the way up?” Dex asked.

“Tomorrow,” said Jamie. “On the way down.”

Hasdrubal made a low, chuckling sound. “If we stopped now to look at the structures Carleton would shoot us in the back with one of the digging lasers.”

Jamie laughed, but when they started up on the cables he could see the team of people digging away industriously at the excavation. One person, though, was standing at the edge of the pit watching them, fists on his hips. Even at this distance Jamie could sense the anger radiating from the anthropologist.