Messages from the Deep (3 page)

A major area of concern is that of the blood
groups of members. The reason is that, if somebody is injured and
needs blood, at least one other member should have compatible blood
to donate. The ideal is that everyone is O positive, with the least
chances of rejection.

Then, of course, the big question of our
research here — Is there, or was there, life on Mars?

So we analyse samples of soil, looking for
any small sign of (previous) life. But that raises the question,
‘What is life?’ Will we know, when we see something, that that
thing is evidence of life?

Because, you see, life on Mars may have been
or be very similar to or even exactly the same as life on Earth, or
it may be very different. Imagine if it is different — that could
mean that there may be a multitude of other life forms on other
planets in our galaxy and other galaxies.

We think we have found evidence that there
was life here, in the form of fossilised material, like bacteria
and fungi, and if we could dig deeper, we may still find living
organisms.

Just as we know that there were dinosaurs on
Earth millions of years ago, probably wiped out by an asteroid
strike, there may have been life forms, even perhaps a previous
civilisation of humans or ‘alien’ hominids or humanoids, here on
Mars. However, it seems that Mars was hit by massive asteroid
strikes and everything that had been here, including probable
oceans or lakes, was destroyed. The magnetic fields around the
planet were dramatically weakened and their function of shielding a
planet from solar radiation and helping to reduce evaporation of
gases and water was greatly reduced. This means that the atmosphere
that Mars may have had was lost into space and, even now, the thin
atmosphere of carbon dioxide easily escapes and there is high solar
radiation. Unfortunately, the suggestion that we should try to
create an atmosphere here is therefore problematic. There has been
a proposal to explode a series of fusion bombs over the poles,
vaporising carbon dioxide ice to make an insulating atmosphere, but
it is not clear how effective that would be. The fear that the soil
and water on Mars is dangerously radio-active is unfounded because
the heavy metals like uranium need to be processed to cause
that.”

In 2026 the second group of four crew arrives
and the settlement expands.

Early in 2028 a message from Earth
arrives.

“We have an announcement to make. As you
know, there has been a build-up to a breakthrough in the speed of
space travel. Trials have shown that the new fuel being tested will
not only enable astronauts to reach Mars in about six weeks instead
of seven months, but there will be enough fuel to land safely and
then take off again and return to Earth. The new system works on
electromagnetic energy and is known as VASIMR (Variable Specific
Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket).

It has also been decided, mainly for reasons
of your safety and health, that each group should spend only four
years on Mars. This means that the first group will be leaving
after the new crew of eight arrive on a new craft in a month’s
time.”

The new craft arrives with the new crew and
two pilots, and the first crew, including Mariada, leaves for
Earth. They are all elated to be returning to Earth after having
experienced, literally, life on Mars.

They arrive back on Earth and have to undergo
a few days of tests, to check bone density, lung capacity, blood
cells and much more. They all appear to have suffered no long-term
effects of being in space and on Mars for four years. Mariada
describes the feeling of the sun and wind on her face as the best
feeling she has had for years.

A presenter for ‘Life on Mars’ interviews
Mariada.

“What would you describe as the biggest
challenge the team had on Mars?”

“As you have seen for yourselves, some of the
most interesting things to happen on Mars were about us and how we
coped with the basics, like sharing our minimal resources, catering
for each person’s quirks and eccentricities and doing without all
the things we take for granted on Earth, like eating chocolate or
having a swim or even a bath. What had been agreed on Earth did not
necessarily happen on Mars. Sometimes there was an attitude shift,
as though the system of ethics and justice used on Earth did not
always apply here. Maybe it was because we were all aware that
there could be no prison or ‘time out’ as everyone is essential all
day. There could be no fines as we had no money, and what rewards
or punishments can you give? If you neglect or abuse something or
somebody, do you have to do extra gardening or cooking or
something, or not watch T.V.? There was that tacit threat that if
you did not behave responsibly like an adult, you may have to be
treated like a child. But, thankfully, nobody flipped out or
smashed anything important, and we all came back fairly healthy and
sane, I think.

I feel we have learned two crucial things :
One is that we are much clearer as to the human element of these
missions and the biggest weak points in terms of difficult
situations and behaviour. It’s nothing ground-breaking really.

Just the usual stuff like being flexible,
consultative, problem-oriented, generous and so on. The other is
that we have a huge realisation of the importance of looking after
the whole being of planet Earth. That everything is precious,
deserving respect, inter-connected and part of an even bigger
universe. We have a moral imperative to live the most responsible
and caring life that we can.

Since arriving back, I have been continuing
with research into quantum biology issues like photosynthesis and
how we can harness the sun’s energy more efficiently, and how to
use nuclear energy more safely. But I am also interested in issues
of psychology, ethics, law and spirituality.”

Using Mars as a ‘refreshment station’ and
taking over a year, a space-craft finally reaches the furthest
‘planet’ in our Solar System, Pluto, also with huge resources of
ice as on Mars, and a settlement starts there in 2030. This time,
however, it was decided that only robots would be sent as there had
been such huge advances in robotics, and as the most problematic
area in any settlement is the human factor. Robots do not need
oxygen and water, are less affected by radiation, and do not have
feelings or make mistakes.

Mariada is staying at the family beach house
at Keurboomstrand near Plettenberg Bay.

She is out paddling on her paddle-ski in the
bay and is passed by an exuberant school of dolphins. She remembers
the dream she had before leaving for Mars, where a dolphin speaks
to her, saying that she will find it on a planet beyond Mars, like
Earth. She cannot get the image out of her mind, until a boat draws
up nearby, and the skipper greets her.

“Hi there. Sorry to interrupt your
conversation with the dolphins. Did any tell you anything
interesting?”

“Actually, yes. Apparently, there may be
dolphins in outer space. And I may have a date with one.”

“Well, before you do that, would you like to
come and visit our research station here? Maybe you can teach us
how to communicate with them. By the way, my name’s Alex.”

“That sounds interesting. I’d love to. And my
name’s Mariada. See you tomorrow.”

PART 2:

COMING IN — CETACEANS ( 2030 —2044 )

“Perhaps we have some things still to learn
from the natural world around us before we turn to the far shores
of space and whatever creatures may await us there.”

L. Eisely. ‘The long loneliness’. 1960

“We, as relative newcomers, may be asking too
much of ourselves to communicate meaningfully with minds as ancient
as those of the whales and dolphins.”

J. Lilly. ‘Man and Dolphin.’ 1961

In the laboratory at the Marine Research
Station at Plettenberg Bay, Alex and Mariada listen to an expert
cetacean linguist explain a recording of a whale song. She plays it
in short bursts, explaining that she is translating it loosely and
creatively, with names especially. She plays the first few
seconds.

“I am Aristotle. I like to think deeply and
develop our knowledge of history. My mother is Helen, who was
abducted when young by another clan, but brought back by my father.
My grandmother was Diana, killed by whalers.”

The linguist explains, “This song went on for
about 40 minutes and, as each whale generation is about 20 years on
average, five names covers about a hundred years.

We counted about 80 names, the last of which
could refer to a period almost 2 000 years ago. However, we have
found that there can be variations of these ‘family history’ songs,
and they can sometimes skip many generations and only refer to
those who lived in periods of major events.

The most often-mentioned dramatic events of
the fairly recent past, besides deaths from whaling, involved
bombs, referred to as being like a large number of whales landing
on the water after breaching, or a combination of a thunderstorm
and earthquake. The period referred to was clearly around the time
of World War 2, and the most notable bombs referred to were
probably the nuclear explosions of 1945 in Japan and later in the
Bikini atoll area. Links were also made with events like major
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and so on. When a reference
was made to the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., it
was realised that the ‘memory’ of whales could go back thousands of
years.”

Mariada and Alex are walking on the beach at
Keurboomstrand and pass under the arch of Arch Rock just before the
Matjes River mouth. They climb the path up to the Matjes River Rock
Shelter and read that it is one of five national monuments of Stone
Age sites in South Africa. Later Stone Age people, ancestors of the
Khoisan, lived here periodically from about 12 000 to 1 000 years
ago.

More than 100 adults and children were buried
here, some with painted stones, bows and arrows and fishing gear.
The middle of the last Glacial Period (Ice Age) was about 18 000
years ago, when the air temperature here was about five degrees
Centigrade cooler, the sea level was 130m lower and this area was,
therefore, about 100km inland. When the polar ice started melting,
from about 16 000 years ago, the sea level started rising until it
reached the present level about 12 000 years ago, when people
started using the shelter.

Alex wonders, “Who knows what settlements,
and maybe cultures, were submerged by the rising sea, like the
legend of Atlantis? And if our own era of global warming continues,
most of our major cities will become flooded, causing massive
disruptions and an economic melt-down.”

Alex is on the balcony of the research
station, looking out to sea towards Keurboomstrand. The East wind
has been blowing for a few days, bringing colder water and causing
a heavy bank of mist over the sea, so he can’t see Keurbooms across
the bay from town. He wonders if she will disappear from his life
or if he will disappear from hers.

He SMSs her, ‘missing you lets live for
today’, and she replies, ‘make my day’, so 10 minutes later, he is
on the way there.

They are at the mouth of the Matjes river
again, but this time the sky has fallen into mist all around them.
The huge rocks near Cathedral Rock swirl in and out of view.

Mariada says, “You think I may disappear, so
let me disappear and you try to find me after counting slowly to
100. OK?”

Alex faces the rock and starts to count as
she walks backwards towards the sea, where her steps disappear in
the shallow water. She walks towards the far side of the rock and
then runs around it to the side near where she started. She peeps
over the top and sees him looking at her footprints going towards
him, so he traces them back for a while. But then he stops, laughs
and shakes his head and follows them to the sea. He looks left and
right, correctly chooses left and then disappears behind the rock.
She quickly goes around to the place where they started and sits
down casually. Not long after, he comes jogging around the corner
and nearly falls over her.

“What?!” he says.

“I had a swim and then I came straight back
here. Didn’t you see me?” she says nonchalantly. They both burst
out laughing like lunatics and she runs off screaming, closely
followed by him, into the sea. They both disappear but you can
still hear them splashing and laughing.

It is a few days later and the weather is
wonderful again, with the sea deep blue and sparkling. They are
walking around Robberg peninsula and visit the cave there, then
move on to Nelson Bay shelter, another famous site. They start
discussing their relationship.

Mariada says, “We live in the here and now
present and at this moment I have deep feelings for you and would
like to become even closer. But you must also know that if I were
to be called to go back into space, I would go, with or without
you. I would miss you terribly but I’ve left Earth before and I
would do it again. Do you accept that, dear Alex?”

“Of course I do, Ada, and I would support you
even if it means the end of us being together.

Actually, I have a confession to make,
something I haven’t told you about because it only happened
recently. I have applied for the Earth 2 mission which, as you
know, proposes to send people there in a few years’ time, when that
sort of travel becomes possible and safe, which is looking likely
now. My research here seems to have reached a peak and, while I
want to wind down a little, I also long for a new challenge. I made
up my mind a few weeks ago after I had a life-changing experience,
when I nearly drowned.