Chapter 12: Chapter Six: Exoplanet Laboratory

Chapter Six

Exoplanet Laboratory

 

“WELCOME TO FOSSIL Crater.”

“What is your name?”

“What is your date of birth?”

“Place your index finger on this sensor, please.”

“You have to digitally sign all fifty forms.”

“Create a username and password for the Nebula Cloud, please.”

            The Astrophel children couldn’t believe how much office business there was to deal with just to live and work on the spaceport. They waited patiently before the doors to office buildings, sat quietly inside reception areas, and spent a lot of time standing in line just to sign in on a kiosk. Before lunch rolled around, Jasmine wanted to throw her crutches in a dumpster, and Galactic Research wouldn’t be finished in-processing researchers until early that evening.    

There were over two hundred buildings on Fossil Crater. Most of them boasted mid-century modern architecture with butterfly roofs. A few resembled something in a science fiction movie: Round with multiple cyan colored glass roofs, gleaming white metal, and large helical antennas, and two were sprawling test centers with hidden subterranean areas. Some were old and abandoned but most of them had security drones guarding them day and night. Every door was locked and could only be opened with a keycard. The laboratories were easy to get lost in too because the interiors were a maze of accessways and offices, and the walls, ceilings, and floors were cloud white. Items were floating around inside nearly all of the buildings, and Scotty collided with several bubbles of water.

Every time they got on a shuttlecraft to catch a ride to an appointment, the driver’s seat would be empty. Alarming, but everyone understood that the motor vehicles boasted the same autonomous technology that the Centaurus Boomerang spacecraft used during their journeys to our neighboring star systems; and they never crashed into anything or became lost. The driverless vehicles included voice assistance too, and the researchers never got off at the wrong building because they’d always hear a human-like voice tell them when to and when not to exit. The vehicles’ extraterrestrial-alloys used counterillumination as concealment to hide from prying eyes in the sky, so it was sometimes difficult to spot them at the bus stop shelters.

            The biggest and coolest quadcopters the Astrophel children had ever seen were the over-protective security drones for Galactic Research, and sixty-five were used to guard Fossil Crater. Some would fly only a few feet above the desert floor, and some would be so high in the sky you couldn’t see or hear their propellers whipping through the desert air. Most of them congregated at a small hanger to charge their batteries or receive repairs. There were three squadrons that provided security; one patrolled during daylight hours and one patrolled only at night. A well-armed clandestine squadron hid out in the desert to watch the launchpads and keep a close watch on the perimeter. They’d bury themselves under the sand and dirt, and you’d never know they were there until it was too late.

Androids handled all of the clerical work inside the consolidated administrative building. Thirty-five androids were assigned to the spaceport; and they all looked different, and they had their own names too. Many resembled adults, but a few were designed to look and act like teenagers. Most had modern haircuts, but a small number of androids had futuristic hair with the coolest colors. All of them wore the Galactic Research uniform with a nametape above the right breast pocket. Their voices were unique too, and it was very easy to match voices with faces just like you do with family and friends.

            Penelope, the administrative assistant, could photograph you just by staring at you. Her eyes would change color several times and then flash, and in less than a second your image was broadcasted to a sleek little machine that boasted multiple software programs. A minute or so later you’d have a common access card in your hands. In the sweetest of voices, she’d remind everyone to check the information to ensure everything was correct. Plato was the medical assistant and could gather all your vitals by simply touching your arm and peering into your eyes. He could even tell you what sort of vittles you wolfed down during breakfast, the number of calories you gobbled up, and all the vitamins and minerals that your body absorbed. For obvious reasons this became a fun game for everyone.

            Then there was Artemis. He was a communications android who was fluent in multiple languages to include Egyptian hieroglyphs and programmer language, and the fact that he understood coding made him very important and interesting. He helped Jasmine download an important update to her Helix, explained to Scotty and Joseph why a rocket has to reach a speed of 25,000 miles per hour to break free of Earth’s gravitational force, and seamlessly transitioned into an explanation of how Saturn’s rings manage to not fall into the planet. As he put it, “Consider the rings as weird looking moons that are in orbit around the planet and possess all the orbital characteristics of the round moons.”

            “So how can a spacecraft as small as the Centaurus Boomerang build up enough speed to leave Earth,” Joseph had asked.

            “Not even I know that,” Artemis had edified, his blue eyes sparkling with electronic lights. “The technology Galactic Research uses as a propulsion platform is top secret.”

            Standing before the Astrophel children he opened a multi-colored Helix and searched through a library of complex builds until he located one with the title: Pet Rock. He touched a send key and gestured for them to follow him as he walked to the foyer where there was a Fomalhaut tropical fish pool. All the rocks were floating at the surface of the water, and when Scotty scooped up a large one, he discovered that it was as light as a feather.

            They quickly realized that there was a lot of important work to do. As researchers in the Exoplanet program, they were required to learn how to locate extraterrestrial life in distant star systems and care for it once it arrived in a Centaurus Boomerang and was moved into its new home. There were four work sections on the spaceport, and the researchers had to rotate through each of them and learn all the complicated tasks and everyday jobs; but they were responsible for the well-being of the Orion-Cygnus Arm fauna and flora.

                 The animals and insects in and outside the biodome had to be given daily attention, as did the plants. The researchers had to learn the names of all the organisms and how to care for them. Every week they rotated through the laboratory, biodome, observatory, and the launch complex; and there were extraterrestrial plants and animals everywhere.   

            Easily the grandest trees were at the laboratory. Inside the foyer were fuzzy firs that could morph their colors depending on the Sun’s activity and the air temperature, and they boasted a piney fragrance that everyone enjoyed. The tiny saplings had been retrieved from an Earth-like world in the Tau Ceti star system and transported to the spaceport. All four flourished the following summer, and it’s rumored that when the Tau Ceti star makes an appearance in the night sky, the fir trees will morph into a blue color.

            The observatory flaunted the much-celebrated Ross heartleaf, and there were ten of them scattered around the building. They’d been discovered on an Earth-like world in the Ross 154 star system, deep in a jungle that made the Amazon rainforest look like a park. The plants were a light green color, boasted big heart-shaped leaves, and towered above most of the researchers. The most entertaining thing about this big plant was the fact that if you approached and talked it would move its leaves, but if you leaned to it for a hug, its shoots and leaves would wrap around you.

            The biodome was very overwhelming, as a large number of extraterrestrial organisms made it their new home on this planet. A mix of floral aromas and awful odors created by flowers, insects, and animals gave the facility a unique fragrance, and the buzzing, chirping, cooing, and squeaking never actually stopped but only softened after the sun set. Jasmine believed she’d be in her element, working as something similar to a zookeeper. But Scotty and Joseph believed it would be the most complicated job they’d ever had. “There’s too much to learn here,” Joseph said. “What if one of the plants starts to turn yellow or something? What if one of the animals won’t eat its dinner?”

            Scotty considered his concerns. “I’m gonna have a hard time just learning the names of everything. Like the hairy lizard, um…”

            Jasmine leaned to the metal sign for a better view. “Galileo, the Alpha Centauri harry dragon. What’s so hard about that?”

            In addition to the cool things Penelope, Plato, and Artemis could do, there were many other androids that could amaze and bewilder everyone with their cutting-edge technology. Electra the research assistant could change the atmospheric pressure to raise or lower the temperature, make rain clouds appear inside the botanical conservatory, and she could even make it snow in the polar area. Scotty and Joseph ran into her after lunch, and the exchange of greetings quickly turned into a squabble. Joseph asked where on Earth the Groombridge 34 titan wasp slayer grows, as he’d like to have a plant just like that one in his room. She had trouble understanding how someone could ask such a silly question, so she made a rain cloud appear over them both. They ran down an accessway with the tiny storm cloud following them the entire time – miniature lightning sparking in all directions – but before they could get outside their uniforms were soaked with rainwater.  

            There was a lot to learn.

Even the Exoplanetologists, Astrobiologists, and Astrogeologists had once been new researchers, and they had to learn quite a lot. And as Galactic Research continued its Exoplanet program and introduced more extraterrestrial life to planet Earth, the learning would continue. It would possibly never stop.

That evening the Astrophel children were together in the lounge at the residencia for reading and researching hour. Normally there would be at least five researchers relaxing on the green, vinal couch; most of them would be there to talk and not to study. On that night they had the room to themselves.

            Within five minutes Scotty had turned the atomic boomerang corner table into a desk for his Helix. His face was warped into an expression of resolute, and he was typing so fast that Jasmine expected the program might permanently freeze up. The Helix could be used for accomplishing quite a lot of interesting tasks to include creating builds for Mr. and Mrs. Astrophel’s Geneware. On that night, Jazmine studied a Fomalhaut b water-based life holograph documentary film about that planet’s Northern Hemisphere’s twenty seas. Joseph, growing more consumed with reprisal, used a Galactic Research poster as a dartboard.   

            As she surveyed her brother from across the room, Jasmine asked irritably what exactly it was he was creating this time. Joseph asked him if he had remembered to delete the Alien Goldfish build as Mrs. Robinson was rather angry about it. Scotty barely heard their words. He was too busy writing one of the most important builds of his life.

*

Wednesday was a big day for the Astrophel children. They would begin section rotations the first thing in the morning, bright and early too, before the sun had time to peek over the crater’s eastern rim.

            “Okay, so where are we going?”

            “The exoplanet laboratory, to help inventory hyper sleep pods,” Scotty said, making eye contact with Joseph. “Doctor Reuven is a space scientist and runs the labs. Madison and Diego say he’s pretty mean to the researchers, so we’ll have to be walking on eggshells.”

            “Well, Doctor Stryker’s office is in the same building,” Jasmine said. “I bet he won’t let him be too mean to us.”

            “Well, it’s only for one day. Tomorrow we’ll be somewhere else, I guess the biodome or the observatory. Maybe the restrooms at the petting zoo won’t have glitter stickers on the mirror.”

            Joseph laughed as a memory flitted through his mind. “Yeah, when I first saw them, I thought I’d walked into the girl’s restroom.”

            Suddenly, Scotty’s Helix buzzed out of hibernation. The Astrophel children hadn’t yet gotten used to this, and it startled them there at the Aero bus stop shelter when all three Helixes buzzed to life, popping and crackling, displaying various menu options. Then a human voice emanating from each one, reminding them of their rotation time, the dining facility hours, and the flight schedule.

            They’d received several notes on their first day; they’d been spammed out by Doctor Stratton, the last one a friendly reminder to attend the mandatory safety class at the theater. It would help new researchers understand how to properly handle extraterrestrial insects if they encountered something they were unfamiliar with. After a second or so, Scotty spied a shiny icon floating inside the display; it was a quantum port request. Scotty touched it and watched Sparta blossom into existence in the warm morning air. Jasmine and Scotty smiled and shouted his name, “Sparta!”

            “Thank you, Scotty, and before you ask, our Quantum Placement has been upgraded, and I’m running version four point seven. It allows for us robots to be in three places at the same time.”

            Both Joseph and Jasmine got to their feet, as they didn’t want to miss a second of that.

            “It is such a pleasure to see the three of you here at Fossil Crater. Enjoy, but we do have a lot of work to accomplish.”

            All three shook their heads to agree, and Scotty said, “I can’t wait to get started.”

            “Today, once you have finished your duties, I would like for the three of you to visit me at the observatory.”

            “Sure, we don’t have anything going on this evening.”

            “Great, and good luck today,” Sparta said, and then, after a swirl of bright lights and electronic sounds, disappeared from sight.

            It was possible that Sparta knew they would have a rough day at the laboratory, with them being in the Cybernetics program and the fact that Reuven was hostile to new researchers.

            Close to the end of in-processing, they’d met Reuven, and the meet and greet was very icy, to say the least. At the end of their first duty day however, Scotty could tell that the director of space sciences did not want them in the Cybernetics program, probably didn’t want them in the Exoplanet program too.  

            Their duties at the laboratory were confined to the exoculture room. There, they helped inventory pods, write down lots of data, and sometimes wrestle extraterrestrial animals into glass terrariums.   

            Reuven showed ten minutes after everyone else, and he immediately directed the Astrophel children away from the metal worktable.  

            “You three are the Astrophel trio. Day-one researchers who’ll probably stomp or swat everything you see.”

            Aldrich Thompson and his flunkies Julian Rowe and Lucas Boden laughed loudly at that. Reuven gave a lengthy lecture that centered on the remaining pods and what might be inside them. His voice was loud and commanding, and he appeared full of both power and authority. But just out of sight and hidden from the world was a bit of fear, coiling around him like vines in a Procyon jungle and deviously shrouding his foreboding of danger.

            “This facility was created so we can obtain a better understanding of the complex biological lifeforms and the oh-so important exotic elements that we discover on the surface of exoplanets and relocate to Earth,” he said. His voice was loud but intelligent, and even Aldrich listened close; the Astrophel children were awe struck. Maybe it was his natural talent to captivate an audience, or it could have been that he was old enough to be a father to the researchers. “After we discover life on an astronomical object, we must understand how it blossomed into existence and how it manages to not simply fizzle away. Is life inside the Altair system carbon based or silicon based? Is life inside the Groombridge 34 system primitive or highly advanced, and will it be afraid of humans or will it pounce on us with the promise of pain and venom. Will we be required to store it away in quarantine or allow it free rein of our beautiful spaceport? Your work here will provide you with the intimate knowledge necessary to protect and care for the extraterrestrial life on Fossil Crater.”

             No one said a word. Scotty and Joseph both considered the bee incident the night they arrived. Jasmine was a little nervous, as the thought of fangs and venom did not impress her.

            “Researcher Scott Astrophel!” Reuven said. “What’s the age of the Wolf 359 star system, and what geologic period is planet c currently in?

            Scotty tensed, and he could feel blood rushing into his face. He turned to Joseph for help, but his expression of fear and anger said everything. Jasmine simply smiled and rocked around on her crutches.

            “I haven’t been studying space, doctor,” Scotty groaned, and stiffened as a wave of stifled giggles fanned out from the worktable.

            Reuven shook his head in disappointment. “You, a child prodigy, and all you desire to do is mock and swindle the village.” He took a bin in both his hands and placed it on the worktable. “What does the Tau Ceti dragonfly eat, and where do their eggs hatch?”

            That got Scotty’s stomach churning with butterflies. Jasmine’s smile widened, and she was worried he’d begin bullying her and only her. Joseph was just as lost as his brother and sister.

            Scotty spoke again. “I’m sorry, doctor. We really didn’t have time to read up on Australian insects.” Then he wished he hadn’t said a word because there was more stifled laughter.

            “Perhaps Michael’s genius skipped a generation,” Reuven chided. “The Exoplanet program centers on extraterrestrial organisms whose homes are far away from Australia, researcher.”

            “Yes, doctor,” Scotty managed. It was the only thing he was brave enough to say. They did everything Sparta had told them to do, and besides, the Exoplanet program is top secret, so there actually wasn’t a way for a researcher to prepare.  Reuven waited a few moments for the Astrophel children to rise to the occasion and do more than make excuses. “What planet do the Fomalhaut tropical fish call home, and what ocean did they evolve in?”

            An expression of excitement spread across Jasmine’s face, as she actually knew the answer, so she propped up a crutch and raised her hand.

            Both Scotty and Joseph moved their gaze from Reuven to their sister, and they encouraged her to answer the question.

            Aldrich cut his eyes to the ceiling and shook his head in what must have been joy.

You are reading story J.C. Warren: Scotty Astrophel and the Star Nexus at novel35.com

            “I’ll tell you,” Reuven said. “Day-one researchers, the Wolf 359 star is three hundred and fifty million years old, and planet b is currently in the early lithospheric period, so life there is incredibly primitive. The Tau Ceti dragonflies’ diet consists of swamp flies and velvet moths, and they hatch atop warm pools of mud from Tau Ceti e. Now, the Fomalhaut tropical fish are home to Fomalhaut b, an Earth-like world whose water makes up 90 percent of its surface, and they evolved about 100 million years ago in the southern Aphrodite Ocean. And yes, there will be a test on everything that I say.”

            He opened the bin, peered into its contents, and allowed an expression of apprehension for his audience. “This is another bin from the TRAPPIST-1 system, and I don’t like what I see.”

            The hounding continued for the remainder of the day, but things got really interesting once they emptied the pods and inspected their contents. The Astrophel children were reluctantly put at the worktable with the other researchers, but Reuven hovered over them like an angry hawk. From the head of the table, he instructed every move, running his hands through his long, swept-back hair when he became agitated, and growling angrily if the samples weren’t handled with care and concern.  

It seemed to be an uneventful and routine inventory until Niles Winter and Jerold Tuckerman removed one of four samples of TRAPPIST-1 blood grass. Without warning, six fuzzy legs sprang out from the clump of dirt and flora, and their little feet shuffled frantically to get their footing. A moment later, tendrils of smoke were rising from the dirt, as two flames gently waxed and waned inside the interstellar nest, and as soon as they nipped the cool air inside the room, the dirt tumbled away baked and brittle. A mystifying creature was before them! It suddenly bounded to the ceiling, its blazing wings boasting a cobalt blue color.

             “Well, you’ve done it now!” Reuven snapped, taking an insect net in his hands. He followed the winged extraterrestrial with his eyes as it fluttered around the room, making everyone scatter in all directions. It moved with grace and ease, two blue flames spilling over the wings and spinning into two separate vortices. For a short time, it appeared as if it would surely escape, but all of a sudden Reuven dashed around the room, miming the creature’s every twist and twirl. Then in one fell swoop, he was soaring through the air to net the fiery wings, and he must have leaped four feet off the tiled floor because the ceiling was over ten feet high. “This must be the TRAPPIST-1 fire moth. It alone can damage most of our facilities. Open the terrarium!”

            Niles slid the lid away and noticed how angry the moth appeared as it fell into the glass container.

            “You could have gotten us all injured, or worse! All life from the TRAPPIST-1 system is dangerous, but in most cases, deadly.”

Then Reuven returned back to the worktable, but he was not as he was before the jump because he was limping and appeared to be in pain, and after only three steps he growled like an animal.

“Now, see what you made me do!” Reuven shouted and energized his Helix. “I’ve busted another damper spring.”

Reuven growled again and removed Jerold’s Astrobiologist pin from his lab coat. 

            “Why me?”

            “You’re Nile’s mentor aren’t you. And you’ve set a bad example for the new researchers. We’re here to learn and to teach.”

            The Astrophel children stood dumbfounded, and Scotty wanted to take up for Jerold and Niles but thought better of it.

            “And since all they did was stand there and do a whole lot of nothing, no canteen liberty tonight for all three of you!”

            Jasmine’s face pulled back in a frown, and Scotty and Joseph became quite angry but decided to continue walking the line.

            Several hours later they were walking through the airlock and out into the arid desert evening, feeling drained and a little sad. They’d gotten into trouble on their very first duty day, and they had thirty-four to go.

            “Tomorrow will be a better day,” Scotty said. “Diego admitted he always acts like that. Now, let’s go and hang out with Sparta.”

            Sometime between four and five they were on a shuttlecraft as it drove across the crater. Sparta spent most of his time at the observatory, helping Doctor Amherst locate exoplanets. The four domes were an award-winning architectural achievement with their Art Deco style and the fact that the facility generated all of its own power through a solar panel farm. The larger of the four domes protected the Wallace exoplanet telescope; the largest telescope in the world. The smaller telescopes were used to study distant galaxies, exploding stars, black holes, and dark energy and dark matter.

            As they walked in, a group of exoplanetologists was preparing the telescope for a night of deep space observations, and it appeared as if they were having problems. Then Sparta’s voice was heard. “It should point to the constellation Virgo tonight.”

            He nodded them in when he saw them standing by the door.

            “We are researching the Wolf 424 star system tonight.”

            He descended the spiral staircase and walked to where they were standing, and all three Astrophel children were taking a good long look at the massive telescope.

            The main entrance level had three offices, two classrooms, a library, a conference room, and a small kitchen area. Planetary maps and star maps were framed and hanging along the walls, miniature Centaurus Boomerang spacecraft and exoplanet rovers dangled on strings from the ceiling, and rock samples from ten different exoplanets were inside display cases on both floors.

            “It is good to see the three of you,” Sparta said, and then turned his attention to his Helix; a supernova alert was pulsating in the screen. “It is official. We will be studying Spica for the next two months as it transitions to a neutron star or black hole.” It was apparent to the Astrophel children how important the androids were to Galactic Research.

            “We survived our first day,” Scotty said while Sparta typed onto a holographic keyboard.

            “I knew you would do well today,” Sparta said, looking at Jasmine’s crutches. “Galactic Research is predicting that sixty percent of cyborg candidates will succeed in the Cybernetics program.”

            The remark did little to soothe their nerves. They followed Sparta down the accessway to the kitchen where he took three popsicles from the fridge and handed them out; they were not-of-this-world space-ice and the researchers believed the popsicles were worthy of culinary awards.

            “These ice drops contain Altair rabbit enzymes. They will teach your cells and tissues to be more tolerant of intense radiation.”

Sparta ushered all three of them into Doctor Amherst’s office to talk in private and help set up the telescope. Inside were more miniature exoplanet rovers, rock samples from exoplanets, and several planetary maps hanging on the wall, but the coolest items they had seen so far were inside his office. An assortment of star globes – five altogether – hovered above granite art stands, radiating both light and heat, and if you looked close enough you could see tiny solar flares jetting from their surfaces. All five were a different color too: red, orange, yellow, blue, and white, and their surfaces seemed to be in continuous motion.

            “I’m sure this is something else we’ll have to keep under wraps,” Joseph said, and crunched into the icy slush that was the Epsilon Eridani berry blast flavor. “There’s no way you can keep this a secret.”

            They piled up close together on a couch and talked about their day while Sparta monitored his Helix and exchanged messages with the telescope operator. Jasmine laughed when she heard him predict that Reuven would someday be transferred to the moon.

            “He attempted to have me banned from the laboratories last year. He told Doctor Stryker that I was spying on him. How absurd.”

            Scotty told Sparta that he’d took canteen from them for the night because of what someone else had done. He reminded them that Reuven did not like new researchers.

            “I don’t know,” Scotty said. “I just have a really bad feeling about him.”

            “You do not have to concern yourselves with Reuven. He is just one of many that Galactic Research employs. He has a boss.”

            However, Sparta said that while typing on the keyboard.

            “Tonight, you should prepare for your next rotation. It is always a challenge, caring for extraterrestrial fauna and flora.”

            Scotty believed Sparta was being just a little elusive in the conversation, the exoculture room. Then another alert flashed in the screen, and when Sparta opened it, Scotty leaned to the Helix and read the content.

 

The Star Nexus

Attention Fossil Crater. The Star Nexus will be updated tonight at 2000 hrs. local time. Be prepared to transcribe the new data as it will be moved to the Nebula Cloud in response to the ongoing security threat.  

 

Scotty’s mouth fell open at seeing this. He hadn’t forgot the evening Sparta explained to Mr. and Mrs. Robinson how important safeguarding the Star Nexus was to everyone, especially Mr. and Mrs. Astrophel.

            “Sparta!” Scotty shouted, and scrambled to his feet. “Is the Star Nexus here, on Fossil Crater? I’ve been wanting to take a look at it.”

             He turned his attention to the Astrophel children. “I am sorry you had to see that. That is actually above top secret, and I am not allowed to discuss it with anyone.”  

Yet, Scotty couldn’t help but imagine that he allowed the message to be seen. Had that been the reason he’d invited them to the observatory. If it was actually for his eyes only then he wouldn’t have opened the message until they’d left the grounds.

            “And what’s up with the ongoing security threat?” Joseph asked.

            “I am afraid someone is attempting to steal all of the data that Galactic Research has…” Sparta said. “Whoops, more top-secret information. I now have to resume my duties. Feel free to watch the exoplanetologists prepare the telescope, but do enjoy your evening.”

            They caught the last shuttlecraft to the residencia. As they peered through the windows and powered through another not-of-this-world space-ice popsicle, Scotty considered the possibility that his most important research could center on the Star Nexus. What was it used for? Who wanted to steal its data? Why was it important to locating Mr. and Mrs. Astrophel?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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