11

Weddings

The Mars dome was filled with sunlight and greenery and beautifully decorated for the weddings of Shinji and Michiko and Eammon and Irina. The two brides were both wearing wedding gowns, thanks to reuse of the original gown made for Ethel—which had been considerably improved over the years—and use of the new gown that Ethel and Madhu had insisted be part of Columbus 4’s cargo manifest. The grooms wore their finest suits; Shinji’s looked pretty tired, since he had been on Mars for almost eight years.

The Japanese wedding was held first, at 9 a.m., in order to accommodate the television guests in Tokyo. The Catholic wedding followed at 11 a.m., a reasonable, though early, hour in Europe. Will presided over both, although Eammon, as a Catholic deacon, had been empowered to distribute the eucharist to those who wished to partake; a small amount of consecrated bread and wine had been imported eighteen months ago as well. An Irish priest provided a full wedding mass in Ireland for Eammon’s parents, in which Irina’s family and the wedding party participated fully via television; it was the first Catholic mass held on Mars. When it ended everyone headed for the great room in Renfrew for a reception line with both new pairs of newlyweds, the banquet, and entertainment.

“This is working better than I thought,” said Will. “I was afraid we wouldn’t be able to balance the needs of two couples.”

“The reception may be the tricky part, though,” replied Ethel.

The couples sat together at the head table, then led everyone through the buffet line. While Ethel went through the line with the kids, Will stopped to embrace Shinji. “My friend, I am so happy for you, I could burst!”

“Thank you, Will. I never could have imagined, when I was suddenly picked to fly on Columbus 1, that I’d be staying here and settling down!”

“You’ve been trying to leave this planet for years, too!”

“I know; it’s been quite strange.” Shinji looked at Michiko. “I think we will be very happy together.”

Michiko smiled and squeezed his arm. Will smiled as well. There was a fifteen-year age difference between them—he was forty-eight and she was thirty-three—but that didn’t seem to matter.

Eammon and Irina had already sat at the head table with their food. Eammon leaned over to speak to Will. “Thanks for your words at the mass.”

“Yes; they were beautiful. I had no idea you were a philosopher as well as a geologist!” added Irina.

“I’m not; I was drawing on scripture. That’s always safest,” replied Will. He didn’t say he had been paraphrasing Bahá'í scripture; he knew from experience that Eammon, as a conservative Catholic, was not very comfortable with references to the Bahá'í Faith.

“Your words about the magnetic power of love were very moving,” Irina said.

“I hope the two of you experience the great power of love throughout your lives, and I hope you share that power with others,” Will replied.

“And with our children,” added Eammon.

Will got in the buffet line to fill a plate with food. Marshall had barged ahead and filled a plate for himself; everyone spoiled him. So Will took his time and listened to the argument developing between Érico and Roger, which others listened to as well. “I’m so glad the Republicans are going to lose this one,” the Brazilian said, knowing it was the sort of comment that would raise Roger’s hackles. “Eight years in the White House are about seven years too many—”

“As a democracy, we don’t elect Presidents for a year.”

Érico was not to be fazed. “Of course not, neither do Brazilians! We aren’t a little, unsophisticated country, remember. But conservative Americans just can’t stomach the thought of an openly gay Vice President, even if he is a Born-again Baptist!”

“Well, let’s just say his gay credentials are stronger than his evangelical credentials.”

“I’m sure; prejudices are found everywhere.”

“Well, laugh if you want, but when the Democrats get in the White House, I wouldn’t expect Mars to receive any more nuclear reactors! And I can guarantee there won’t be any solid-core nuclear engines used to fly people here.”

Érico shrugged. “I didn’t want the nukes in the first place, but we now have four of them, and they should last ten to fifteen years. Who knows, by then we might be exporting uranium to low Earth orbit; we’ll have nuclear power in space and we’ll be able to protect the Earth’s environment from radioactivity. No Swift Shuttles have crashed yet, but it’s a matter of time. Mars has the uranium; all we need is an isotope enrichment plant.”

“As for nuclear engines, I’m not sure I want them, either,” added Kevin Dunbar, who worked with Rosa Stroger on their reactors. “We now know a six-month flight to Mars is safe. A three-month flight may cut in half the radiation exposure, but it doesn’t save propellant mass because the vehicles are moving too fast to aerobrake. And then to send the vehicles back to Earth, we have to extract nine times as much water from the moons, break it all into hydrogen and oxygen, and then throw away 8/9 of the mass. We can’t haul the oxygen down here because we have no need for it. So the cost to fly here ends up being more, and the return flight is much more expensive. And for what? The privilege of hosting a dozen tourists every columbiad?”

“Actually, the engine will be useful for manned flights to Mercury,” commented Louise Tremblay.

“And you think the Americans are going to lease these engines to the French?” asked Érico. “I don’t see the U.S. proposing a Mercury flight for some time. Besides, solar-electric propulsion is getting more powerful and effective all the time, and it works real well at Mercury.”

“Don’t sell the U.S. short,” replied Roger. “We’re on Mars now because the U.S. was willing to put in the lion’s share of the technological investment that developed the hardware. And the U.S. was willing and able to do that because it remains the world’s largest economy. It’s still almost three times the real size of the Chinese economy, and it remains ahead of the European Union because the Europeans don’t want to reproduce and don’t want to let immigrants in, so every year they have fewer and fewer people able to work and pay taxes.”

“And the U.S. is the richest society in the world to have lots of poor people!” added Louise. “It’s a scandal.”

“Well, we can be thankful we have no poor people on Mars,” said Will, intervening when he sensed the emotions rising. “And this sol, with two marvelous weddings, we have no unhappy people, either.”

There was a long pause in the line. “It was a beautiful pair of weddings,” agreed Louise. “And they were so different!”

“Oh, I thought behind the differences there were profound, human similarities,” replied Kevin. “They may get married in different ways, but they are all happy this sol.” And Kevin sounded happy as well, so much so that Will looked at him, wondering why. He and Jennie had been separated for six months, and after a week or two of awkwardness, everyone had adjusted to the new social situation.

“Our humanity unites us, in spite of everything else,” commented Roger. It had become almost a cliché on the Outpost, especially since the “Living Well” conference four months earlier.

Érico had reached the food, so he focused on filling his plate and the friendly argument ended. Roger followed, then Louise, then Kevin. Will was behind them all. As he finished filling his plate, he saw Kevin lingering to speak to him. “By the way, Jennie and I have decided to try living together again,” he said. “We decided yestersol. I’m moving back in tonight.”

“Oh, good. I’m glad for both of you and hope it works out. The last few months have been rough, I think.”

“Yes and no. We both have had to look inside ourselves, and while that’s been painful at times, it has also been a real growing experience. I hope it works this time.”

“You’ll be in my prayers.”

Kevin smiled. “Thanks, Will. I’m sure that’ll help.”

Will nodded and headed for his table. Ethel had her hands full feeding Elizabeth, who, at eleven and half months, had a lot more enthusiasm for eating on her own than the skills to accomplish it. The high chair was covered with mashed peas, splashes of milk, and soy yogurt. Ethel stared at Will angrily, so he put down his plate and took over with Lizie, allowing Ethel to get her food before something ran out. Meanwhile, Enlai was talking to Marshall and occasionally helping him as well.

“This big boy doesn’t need much help,” he said to Will.

“Yes, he’s really coming along.” Marshall was now three and a half. “Lizie isn’t doing badly, either.” He helped the little girl with another spoonful. “I’m so glad, Enlai, that you can stay another columbiad.”

“I’m happy as well. It would be a shame for the Chinese language not to be uttered here for a time. My parents aren’t happy; they want me to come home and get married.”

“Hey, if you get married here, you can have two children, and no one will complain.”

“Or six; Eammon told me that’s how many he wants to have. I think Irina has a lower number in mind.”

“Yes.” Will rearranged his place setting so that he could sit and eat while helping his daughter. “It’s sad to see Columbus 4 leaving next week.”

“We’ll miss them, but at least most people are staying. They’ve got science to do at Phobos, and they have to grab equipment to land on 2018XB.”

“A month on an asteroid and the first drilling done on an asteroid. They accomplish yet another first.”

‘There aren’t many left,” agreed Enlai. “We raised a flag at the South Pole and on the solar system’s highest mountain, cleared the Tharsis and Pisces Trails, completed the Polar Trail, cleared a quarter of the Virgo Trail. . . really something. I suppose we’ll finish the Virgo Trail before Columbus 5 arrives?”

Will shook his head. “No, I think we should keep most people here at the Outpost and do a few short expeditions. Most of our surface exploration crew has hit their two-year radiation limit and they have to reduce their exposure for six months to a year and be watched carefully for cancer before they resume their efforts. The new folks will be anxious to go out and we need to leave them something to do. The Virgo Trail’s really important, too; it’ll cross Elysium and some of Mars’s youngest volcanic surfaces, then follow the highland-lowland boundary in an area where the highlands have suffered severe erosion. There are a lot of important scientific goals.”

“I gather you plan to write a textbook?”

“Actually, the plans have gone beyond that. I want all of us together to write a textbook summarizing what we know about Mars, and it’ll be supplemented by a huge website. This is a good time. Opposition’s in six months, and as you know there’s a massive Mars Sciences Conference being planned for Aurorae and Houston. Two weeks of scientific expeditions when the time delay is at minimum, and almost continuous papers and panel discussions. If we sit back and write for much of the next half year, we’ll make that conference the most exciting scientific gathering in human history.”

“Unless a future conference includes discovery of viable life here,” replied Enlai. “But that’s looking less and less likely all the time.”

“Unfortunately.” Will turned to feed Lizie again. “What are the odds of finding life here, do you think?”

“Who knows.” Enlai considered. “Less than ten percent, now. The mid latitude snow packs are sterile. Pretty soon, I’ll be in favor of seeding this planet with terrestrial life!”

“It’s a shame the entire biosphere here died. I suppose there’s a lesson for us, though.”

“Yes. Mars and Venus teach the same lesson. At least the next few years will see the human presence expand to Venus,” said Enlai.

“Yes, and my friend David’s the commander! I congratulated him the other sol.”

“I emailed him as well. I know David very slightly. Very generous of the French, to include an American and a German. I just wish they’d drop their opposition to the biomes.”

Will smiled. “I think we’ll see that in the next sol or so. Louisa is talking to them right now. The publicity campaign she waged really complicated things; it made the Russians feel pressured. But everyone’s coming around now, at the eleventh hour.”

“Media campaigns cannot substitute for diplomacy. I’m glad to hear it. The Chinese and Japanese are now in favor of the biome integrated system. I can’t wait to see them, too.”

“Me, too,” agreed Will.

-------------------------

The two weddings were a brief pause in the very hard work to prepare for Columbus 4’s departure. On the morning of October 11, 2028, the Pavonis blasted off with Koyo Takenaka and Sridhar Pradhan on board. Four hours later the Alba followed with Olaf Norlander and Francisco Almeida. Both shuttles were loaded down with nine tonnes of fossiliferrous Mars rocks and a few hundred kilograms of gold and platinum. Soon the shuttles were in a Phobos transfer orbit, where they rendezvoused with a Lifter and refueled for a landing on that moon. Four busy sols there were sufficient to explore a few areas of the moon not previously reached. They also stripped the moon of two of its four drills—the newer ones—and packed up a tonne of old scientific instruments, which were now destined for the asteroid 2018XB. They refueled again and took off for Deimos, where they made another four-sol visit. Then they docked to Embarcadero, where the ITVs Ausonia, Solis, and Daedalia waited.

The work to put together Columbus 4 was complex and they had three sols to do it; six if they had to delay their launch date. The Daedalia was staying in Mars orbit; the other two ITVs were heading back to Earth, attached to the two shuttles. Two partially fueled Lifters were there to refuel the shuttles, so they had the methane and oxygen they needed for trans-Earth injection, rendezvous with the asteroid, and a post-rendezvous orbital correction to head for Earth. Furthermore, their third Lifter had earlier arrived with thirty tonnes of methane, destined for the fuel tanks of the shuttles. Ultimately the methane would be sold as fuel in earth orbit, where it could be burned with surplus lunar oxygen already available there. It also provided fuel redundancy if Columbus 4 had trouble en route to Earth. But first the Mars rocks and precious metals had to be transferred to storage in the ITVs. The crew module of the Alba was removed entirely and docked to the Daedalia; it would stay in Mars orbit to provide possible emergency accommodation for Columbus 5 if needed and might eventually be placed on one of the moons. Finally, any spare provisions in the three ITVs were moved to the Daedalia to await future use on Mars.

Just hours before trans-Earth injection was scheduled, Will received marvelous news and immediately called Commander Prathan to let him know.

“Sridhar, we have the final clearance for the two biomes,” he announced. “Morgan just called me. The announcement is being made to the media in about an hour. I wanted you all to know, since you’ve made quite a sacrifice for this world.”

“Thanks, Will. That’s very kind of you. We feel like we’re abandoning you!”

“Nonsense! Not everyone can stay here. Some people come to make a two-year contribution; some four or six; some, a more or less permanent contribution. It’s all welcome. And Sridhar, you guys have just added to our knowledge of both moons, you’re hauling back to Earth about a hundred million bucks in cargo, and you’re spending a month at a new worldlet on the way back to Earth. Don’t knock that.”

“I can’t imagine the two biomes can be ready in time, though. Columbus 5’s cargo departs in six weeks! The ITVs and crew depart in twelve!”

“Not any more,” replied Will. “The politics have forced some change to the plan. Columbus 5 is flying faster and lighter, so it can leave two weeks later and can still aerobrake safely. The nuclear engine will make it possible. It’ll fly Biome 1. Biome 2 will leave Gateway on March 1 instead of December 11; it’ll be pushed to a higher velocity than anything ever sent to this world, and it’ll use some new aerobraking techniques to arrive safely. The nuclear engines will add a few tens of millions of dollars, but it will also mean a better test of the technology. The Automated Cargo Vehicle with Biome 2 will fly here in less than five months.”

“And if the engine fails, it’ll sail past the orbit of Saturn and return in about fifteen years.”

“Yes, but they’ll put it on a trajectory to bring it back here! Who knows whether we’d be able to use the cargo by then! But never mind. We’re getting the biomes. And once you guys get to Earth, you’ll be able to help. So have a great trip back to Earth, a fascinating and fruitful adventure on 2018XB, and stay safe.”

“We will. You all stay safe, too.”

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