Kahnu (The Guardians of Tomorrow Book 1) Read online

  “I know. None of us expected that. I should’ve been more attentive to her. Najib’s death was a real blow for her. She loved him, you know? Poor girl… a few days of rest should do her some good though.”

  “Look! There.”

  He was pointing at an object in the early morning sky. About twenty degrees above the horizon, a spherical body was flying quite rapidly in the far distance. Phobos, the largest of Mars’ two moons, was tracing across the Martian sky, as it did every seven hours or so. Although quite dark and small, the natural satellite could easily be spotted due to its close proximity to its parent planet.

  “They say Phobos will eventually crash into Mars in about fifty million years or so.”

  “Really? Why is that?”

  “It's due to its orbit. It goes around us faster than Mars' own rotation speed and that causes the planet to pull it even closer. The process is very slow of course, but Phobos is getting faster and closer every time it goes around us. Eventually, it will get swallowed by the planet.”

  “Now that you say it, it sounds familiar. I think I heard about in training,” conveyed Vera.

  “Now, the other interesting thing is that the other large moon of Mars, the smaller one of the two, Deimos, goes around Mars much slower. Its orbit is about thirty hours, therefore much wider. Eventually, that one will be sent out into space, away from us.”

  “I see...” Vera was looking at him a bit surprised. She wasn't used to François having a normal conversation, without his usual cracks and rude comments.

  “Am I boring you?”

  “No, no, on the contrary, I like when you are not constantly goofing around. I'm just not used to it, that's all,” she offered with a smile.

  “Hey! What do you mean, goofing around? When do I--”

  “Guys, can I see everyone in greenhouse II? Thanks,” Dedrick’s voice left their helmet headsets as quickly as it had appeared.

  #

  Half an hour later, they had joined Ladli and Tendai in the greenhouse. Dedrick was addressing the small group.

  “OK, Mars First headquarters finally got back to us. Apparently, they had to figure this one out. They are going to make an announcement to the media in the morning. That’s in about four hours from now, for us. They asked if we could wait until then to do the ceremony. They’ve also asked that one of us film the whole thing, mentioning their intension to broadcast a worldwide salute to Najib. Anyway, I guess we can wait a few hours.”

  “So…where should we…bury him?” asked Sabrina hesitantly.

  “That’s why I wanted you all here. What do you think?”

  “Do we really have to talk about this now?” asked Ladli, almost in tears.

  “I’m sorry, Ladli. I know how you feel, but we need to address this.”

  “He’s right. What about Mount Shamsi?” offered Tendai.

  “That was my thought as well,” replied Dedrick.

  “Yep, I think that’s a good idea. He would have liked that,” added François.

  “I miss him,” said Sabrina. She was now crying.

  They all got quiet for a moment. There wasn’t much anyone could say.

  “Ok, I guess I'll go get ARC 1 ready, then,” finally said François.

  “I'll come with you,” offered Vera

  “Wait for me,” added Tendai.

  #

  There were seven of them now. It seemed an odd number to Tendai who was somewhat superstitious, although he would never admit to it. He was a logical man, a scientist by nature, and had a need for balance and stability. Eight was always preferable to seven; it was an even number. It felt safer to him. Odd numbers seemed…chaotic and unpredictable. In some cultures, odd numbers often represented danger and evil. He was a bit obsessive that way, always worrying about numbers and their significance. But they were all used to it.

  Liu was walking along Vera who was holding her against her side, an arm wrapped around the poor woman. They were walking right behind the three men carrying Najib's body, still in his suit. There was no coffin. The Mars First outpost offered many amenities, and the colonists had many essential resources at their disposition, but a coffin wasn’t one of them. Dedrick was in front, holding the stretcher with both hands, his back turned to the rest of them to face the way up the hill. François and Tendai behind him, one on each side, were carrying the other end of the load. Ladli had fallen a bit behind but was slowly catching up, while Sabrina was following the group from the side, a camera in hand.

  They were all silent. It was a sad procession to see, for sure. The sun had already begun its descent towards the Martian mountain range to the west. Cast by the amber light of dusk, rocky shadows were slowly growing all around, and the late evening sky was adding to the dark mood, bathing them in shades of deep reds and somber oranges. Slowly making their way to the top of the hill where they all had agreed Najib should be laid to rest, their convoy finally reached the summit. After each one of them had taken their turn to say a few words about their friend, the teammate and co-worker, the loving brother, the often funny, always wonderful, most honest, hardworking, true loving soul they all would miss terribly, Najib's body was lowered carefully in the hole François and Tendai had dug earlier. They then shared a few minutes of silence. Seated in a circle around Najib's final resting place, each began absorbing the reality of the tragedy.

  François was now the one behind the camera. He followed the small group around with his zoom. Looking at his colleagues through their helmets, he tried to imagine what each one was thinking.

  It was obvious Tendai was praying. He was the most religious of them.

  He paused a moment on the Asian member of the group.

  “Poor Liu. She's not taking it well. I've never seen her this way. I guess she really loved him.” He slowly turned his attention to his Russian team mate.

  “Now, I bet Dedrick is eaten away by the feeling he screwed up, somehow. Najib was under his care. He keeps mentioning he was his responsibility. I wish he wouldn’t put so much on himself. It was an accident… Bad luck… Ladli… Hmmm… I’m not sure what Ladli is thinking. What is she looking at?”

  Following her eyes, François easily spotted the large boulder near the ridge, just a few dozen meters behind them. “Najib’s block.” It was by far the biggest rock on “Mound Shamsi,” and had been the very first Martian feature to be named after one of the colonists. The oddest thing about the rock was obviously its shape. It was almost perfectly cubic. Seriously battered by the elements of time, and half buried, the artificial looking block had managed to go unnoticed, until, only days after his arrival on Mars, Najib had tripped over the protruding top, on his very first outing. He had spent the next several hours trying to convince the rest of them to help him “unmars” the unusual boulder. Two days later, the colonists had managed to reveal most of the rock.

  François carefully took another look at it, zooming with the camera. It was an unusual rock, no doubt. But eventually, they had all agreed it was probably a broken piece from the plateau above, that a lucky set of circumstances had shaped that way, nothing more. Najib kept coming back to the site every time he got the chance, regardless. He always hoped to find something else nearby, something just as unusual that would vindicate him and his theory.

  “Another object would multiply the odds, you see,” he had argued.

  Najib was convinced another intelligent civilization had lived on Mars. He was a huge follower of the “Face on Mars” movement. Decades earlier, a NASA photo showing a large rocky feature on the red world resembling a humanoid face, had sparked a worldwide debate on the subject. The belief by some that the monument had been made by an ancient Martian civilization, had been rekindled in 2021, when another NASA photo, taken by its rover, Mars Explorer II, had clearly shown a pyramid shaped formation in the Cydonia region. Several dark spots along the ridges of the pyramid, believed to be entrances, had proved to be the most controversial argument. With NASA unable, or unwilling, to send the rover back t
o the area, the public’s interest had quickly died down. In the end, the pictures had brought up for some, more questions than it had delivered answers, but Najib had his own opinion on the subject. In fact, he hoped Lars and the board would eventually allow him to go check the area. He had suggested it to them many times. The place also offered some very intriguing features. Strange geometric formations, seemingly grouped intentionally, that had many question the possibility of random coincidence. Here again, he felt the sharp geometry of his NS1 boulder was more than a natural formation. He has scoped the surrounding area many times. Unfortunately, he had never found anything else unusual.

  “Either way, I’m glad we got to name the place after you while you were still alive, buddy…”

  “Mound Shamsi” and its Najib block had both been suggested to the Mars First committee by the Martian group, in honor of the Pakistani’s discovery. Now, it would also be where the first human casualty would rest, a sad reminder of how fragile life can be.

  And although, he would have agreed Najib’s life had ended too soon, François found comfort in knowing that his colleague had lived his dream of going to Mars. A feat only seven others had ever done, in all of human history. And for that alone, Najib Shamsi would be remembered for posterity.

  #

  Later that night, the Mars First public relation’s department issued a lengthy statement to the press about Najib’s untimely death, calling the incident a regrettable and tragic accident, but also clearing any wrong doing or negligence on the part of the Mars First company and the colonists. A commemorative event would take place that weekend in Bangalore, Najib’s home town in India.

  And all over the world that same night, thousands of small communities and large cities alike joined in large groups outside to light candles and observe a night of silence in memory of a human being who had gone further than most ever could. A funny and loving man many had come to admire. They had followed his training and subsequent landing on Mars on MFN, the media channel Mars First Now, for almost fifteen years. That night, astronauts watching Earth from the International Space Station, reported a significant increase in brightness in many parts of the world.

  Regardless of the worldwide sympathy, the tragic event had genuinely jeopardized the whole Martian endeavor and stopped any future missions, at least for a while. The reality of the dangers the Martian explorers were exposed to day after day had suddenly become a great concern across the globe. Alone on a distant planet, far away from any help or anyone, and left to fend for themselves, what chances did they really have to survive? Some felt spending billions of dollars to send people to such an unforgiving place was absolutely irresponsible and even criminal. The incident had refueled serious questions about the whole program. “Did Mars First have the right to send these poor gullible souls to their certain death?” as some news media had phrased it. The company’s responsibility in Najib’s death was being seriously questioned, and it would take another four and a half years to defend.

  “Do you still maintain that sending these unqualified, everyday citizens to that hostile and desolate world, millions of kilometers away, is not pure murder? What life can these young men and women possibly expect on a frozen piece of rock, itself devoid of life, where the air is not breathable, the temperature can plunge to minus -133 Celsius, and solar radiation is deadly?” had asked a reporter.

  “First off, let me correct you on a few points, if I may. The Mars First applicants ARE qualified. Their astronaut training program takes almost eight years to complete and is as extensive and rigorous as NASA’s won program. Our team members go through countless evaluation tests, and we make sure to provide them with the tools necessary to insure the highest chance of survival possible. They do not get to go to Mars unless our team of experts certifies they have met or surpassed all physical and mental expectations. I would also like to remind you that the first two teams sent to Mars have done very well, in terms of adapting to their environment. And if I may, regarding the temperatures on the planet, -133 Celsius is an extreme, and Mars' average temperature is closer to -55C. And did you know that temperatures on a summer day can easily reach a comfortable 27 degrees? Of course, this is somewhat irrelevant, since no one can be on the Martian planet without a suit. Now, it is true that certain conditions can be difficult to work in. You mentioned radiation. Over time, radiation bursts from solar flares can have serious consequences on the human body, but as the Martian colonists have demonstrated on several occasions, they can shelter themselves from those rare events, in the isolating the underground booth designed for that purpose.”

  Lars was always good at handling reporters and TV journalists without sounding annoyed or losing his temper, even when some seemed biased against the project. He was used to it. But after Najib's untimely death, many more such accusations would test his patience to the limit.

  Regardless, the company had been forced to reschedule the departure of the Mars First 3 ship, to let some of the initial steam fizzle down. The legal actions that had followed, and the amount of time and energy Lars’ organization had had to spend defending and maintaining the integrity and validity of the program, had put a serious financial toll on the whole enterprise. Sending a spaceship to Mars couldn’t be scheduled hastily, and the time window for the launch was precise and short. Departure had to be synchronized when Earth and Mars were lined up on a precise curve, allowing the ship to travel the least amount of time and distance. Even so, the shortest trip to Mars still took about five months, and that window was only available every two Earth years or so, since Mars revolved around the sun significantly slower than its blue cousin.

  At first, hoped to be just a step back until the next planetary alignment, twenty-six months to be exact, the ramifications of the Najib’s death had proven to be a much longer ordeal than anticipated, and the entire project had been put on. Luckily, the discovery of liquid water in underground lakes in 2033 would finally change the public's opinion in the program's favor, and the green light would eventually be given later that year. MF3 would finally launch in early 2034, five years late.

  Part II

  Chapter IV

  H2O

  The fast winds were blowing dirt in all directions around the small group of explorers, and their suits were looking dirtier by the minute, but the brown dust flying all around was not enough to make them pack and go back to the base yet. Although the winds could blow at much higher speeds than they did on Earth, for the most part, small Martian tornadoes and occasional winds storms were comparatively weak, due to the thin atmosphere of the planet. Nonetheless, they were certainly annoying conditions to work in. Especially because they meant reduced visibility and clogged everything.

  “How deep are we so far, Tendai?” asked Dedrick.

  “Almost eight meters. Still nothing.”

  “Ok, let's bring it back. I don't think the drill will go much-”

  “Wait! I have a new readout. This is different. Look!” said Tendai with excitement.

  “What is it? Let me see,” said François who was closer to the screen than Dedrick.

  While the Russian commander was making his way to the two men standing next to the machine, Tendai stopped the drill.

  “Look! The numbers are climbing. No doubt about it. Unless this analyzing probe is defective, we've got liquid water down there!!” said François.

  “Let me see.” Dedrick as just reached the two men.

  “Yes! YES!” he exclaimed, his two gloved fists up in the air. “Awesome job, guys! Lars is going to be ecstatic. Wait ‘til we tell him about it! Wow! Finally,” he added, letting out a big “Fewww! Ok, Tendai. Let's get this baby back up. François, come help me with the GA sampler. We need to bring some water back with us for analysis. We're gonna have one hell of a reason to celebrate tonight!”

  As Dedrick and François, walked to the rover, the two shared a well-deserved high five with a big smile on their faces. They had been drilling the area for almost two weeks and made el
even holes in promising spots, but none had yielded any results until now. Number twelve had finally paid off. They had found liquid water on Mars. This meant a lot more than a new geological discovery to them. It meant a new source of H2O for the colony, one of the most needed resources for their long-term survival on the desert planet. Although they didn't know the quality or quantity of water below their feet yet, they knew it had to be large enough for the water to be in liquid form. That also meant there had to be more underground reserves like this one elsewhere on the planet. This was an amazing discovery, a life changing moment for them and all future colonists.

  While François guided the plunger down the hole to begin retrieving a sample of Martian H2O, and Tendai busied himself packing up the rest of the equipment, Dedrick got into the rover and called the Mars First outpost. Ladli appeared on the small screen in front of him.

  “Hey guys. How's work going?”

  “Ladli, turn off the satellite feed for a minute.”

  “What? The whole feed? Why?”

  “Please, just do it.”

  “OK. Give me a sec… OK, Done. What’s going on?”

  “You’re sure it’s off, right?”

  “Yes! I just did. I swear. What’s going on?” she replied with apprehension.

  “We did it! We've found it! We’ve hit water!”

  “WHAT!?” she screamed, as her face lit up. “Oh, my God! I can't believe it! Vera! VERA! Oh, my God. Wait until I tell the others. That's fantastic!” added Ladli.

  “I know.”

  Vera stormed the control pod. “What? What is it?”

  “They've found it. They've found water!”

  “Ahhh!!” Vera screamed ecstatic. The two women jumped in each other's arms and started dancing around the room, jumping up and down like two little kids.

  “Vera. Vera?” called out Dedrick.

  “Yes, yes, what? Oh, my God, oh my God! Heee!” she giggled, looking at the screen while still hugging Ladli.