The Hesperian Dilemma Read online

  THE HESPERIAN DILEMMA

  A SCI-FI ADVENTURE AND LOVE STORY

  COLIN WATERMAN

  First published in 2019 by by Fabulahula, a division of E & Q Services Limited, Gloucester, United Kingdom.

  Copyright © Colin Waterman 2019

  ISBN: 978-1-9160519-1-1

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.

  For Linda, with all my love.

  Ay me! For aught that I could ever read,

  Could ever hear by tale or history,

  The course of true love never did run smooth.

  From A Midsummer Night's Dream

  by William Shakespeare.

  New Arrival

  11.30 Central Hesperian Time (CHT), June 2135

  Europa, second moon of Jupiter

  Dr Geoff Kirby was lying on the lawn in the garden, the only place in the Unidome where there was real grass. He was waiting for his com-phone to ring and, not having anything urgent to do, he relaxed and surveyed the scene above him. It was like a transparent termite mound, its occupants scurrying in all directions, many of them flying through the air.

  The scene of constructive purpose changed abruptly to one of confusion, as flashing lights and wailing sirens filled the dome’s air space like an electric storm. Geoff leapt up and ran to join the crowd gathering around the Securopa viz-box in the concourse. The screen showed a girl standing near the top of the roof. She looked puzzled, teetering at the edge of the maintenance platform, her emerald green Pinna 7 sports-aerofoils spread wide. Long, chestnut hair, parted in the middle – he’d seen her photograph only that morning. She was the girl who was supposed to call him. He unslung his wings, flapped hard in a steep climb to the apex of the dome, and dropped down next to the Oceanography Department’s latest recruit, Dr Maura O’Hara.

  ‘Come on,’ Geoff shouted. ‘We’ve got to get out of here.’ He launched himself into space and circled until he saw Maura gliding down. The cacophony of alarm signals stopped, and Maura joined her companion on the ground. ‘Welcome to Europa,’ he said. ‘You’ve just set off the main alarm.’

  ‘God between us and all harm!’ said Maura, waving her wings to keep her feet on the deck.

  ‘Okay, calm down. I’ve called the control room. We’ll go and say we’re sorry. That platform is a maintenance area. You have to get permission to land there. Did you forget? Prof should have explained it when you did your induction.’

  Maura shook her head, her long hair swinging in the low gravity. ‘The professor fast-tracked me through that. I think he missed some bits out. But what’s the big deal anyway?’

  ‘You’ll see,’ said Geoff, with a tight-lipped smile. ‘But let me do the talking, okay?’

  Geoff began to apologise but the Securopa man told him to shut up and listen carefully. Geoff wondered why he was standing with his feet so far apart. But there was no mistaking his jutting chin and squinting eyes, nor the rasp in his voice. It was hard to tell if the officer was naturally malicious or simply inflating his own ego. But, for whatever reason, he was clearly intent on giving them a hard time. He would force them to listen to his droning voice as he recited the formal regulations. No one was allowed to land on the platform without a permit. Failure to obtain security clearance was gross negligence. Every precaution had to be taken against possible Khitan infiltrators. The platform could be used by terrorist snipers. They should never approach the prohibited areas without proper authorisation.

  Geoff leant forward to disguise his height, made himself look serious and kept nodding in apparent agreement. He knew as long as they appeared to be sufficiently apologetic, the officer’s tirade would eventually fizzle out. Maura’s face had flushed red. Geoff covered her hand with his as she drummed her fingers on the control room desk.

  Eventually Geoff’s tactics had the desired effect, and the officer began to run out of things to say. He concluded by admitting that Maura had some excuse, being a new arrival. However, he said he viewed Geoff’s breach of regulations to be more serious, and he would ensure that Human Resources would register a formal warning in Geoff’s personnel file. Maura opened her mouth to object, but Geoff’s sudden look told her to stay silent.

  An hour later, Geoff spotted Maura sitting at a table in the Unidome coffee bar, looking glum. Everything on Europa was less than a seventh of its weight on Earth. Geoff bought two coffees and carried them over, rotating the tray slowly on one finger. Maura rewarded his trick with a smile, but then looked serious again.

  ‘I guess it was you I was supposed to contact to get shown round. I’m sorry, Dr Kirby, once I got my wings I completely forgot to call you.’

  ‘That’s normal,’ said Geoff, smiling his forgiveness. ‘Newcomers are always excited when they get their wings. It’s amazing how the low gravity changes the feel of the air in the Unidome. It’s like being in breathable water – and call me Geoff, by the way.’

  ‘Thanks, and you’re right about flying. It’s brilliant. I do breaststroke arms and waggle my feet to go up. Then I spread my wings and just glide down. It’s so easy.’

  ‘It’s great, isn’t it,’ said Geoff. ‘I used to dream about flying when I was little.’

  ‘Sure, but I’m sorry I got you into trouble. I thought the platform was a viewing gallery.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I don’t work for anyone here. The Unified Nations sent me.’

  ‘I know,’ said Maura. ‘I read your bio-notes during the trip from Earth. You’re a consultant on the Committee for Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.’

  ‘You’ve certainly done your research. Yes, we call it COPUOS for short. I’m only attached to the Oceanography Department for administrative purposes. So, what’s brought you to this ice ball?’

  ‘My tutor in Massachusetts told me there was a vacancy for an oceanographer on Europa, and I jumped at the chance.’

  Geoff had guessed as much. Maura had taken a step into the unknown. She was way out of her depth and he longed to help her if he could. It was his duty as an older, more experienced man, he told himself. But then, she was rather attractive.

  ‘You were at MIT then?’ said Geoff. ‘It’s a great uni.’

  ‘I was researching extremophile microbes,’ said Maura, her green eyes shining brightly as Geoff nodded his interest. ‘You know Jupiter’s gravity kneads Europa like a lump of dough. It heats up the ocean under the ice. For years, people thought there could be life here. If there’s even the simplest living cell, I want to find it.’

  Geoff was finishing work when he noticed Maura storing her wings in her locker. In fact, he couldn’t fail to notice her because she slammed the locker door with such violence that it bounced without latching. She had to slam it again. He left his briefcase and walked over to her quickly, but not so fast as to make it appear he was concerned.

  ‘Everything okay?’ he enquired casually.

  Maura shook her head, her earrings flying out horizontally. ‘Janey Mack! I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.’

  ‘You’re not still worried about Securopa, are you? They knew you were no threat.’

  ‘No, it’s Professor Mitchell who’s upset me. He called me into his office and gave me a right lashing for setting off the alarms. He said it gave the department a bad name.’

  ‘Come on,’ said Geoff, nodding towards the pathway around the dome. ‘Let’s go for a walk.’

  Since his early teens, Geoff had been aware he often misunderstood other people’s emotions. He could tell if someone’s mood was congenial, unpleasant or neutral but, beyond that, he was unable to recognise how
someone was feeling. He had been told it was a form of alexithymia but, as he could identify his own emotions, there was no exact diagnosis for his condition. He’d realised that, to live a normal life, he had to compensate using logic, and he’d studied body language and facial expressions as if learning a foreign language. He could now interpret visual and audible signs which, when considered in sequence, he could read as clearly as a sentence. Now, as he observed Maura’s behaviour, he was in no doubt she was exhibiting the classic signs of disappointment. He raised his arm to put it round her shoulder, but then let it drop again to his side. Too soon, he told himself.

  The outer corridor offered the colonists the opportunity to experience a change of scene after they’d worked an extended day in the Unidome’s artificial environment. Viewed through the radiation-resistant windows, the landscape was hostile, but beautiful. In the foreground, a smooth annular ring of ice reflected the radiance of the dome, while the tiny sun shining on the landscape beyond revealed a criss-cross of ridges and chaotic, fractured surfaces punctuated by shiny hillocks.

  Maura fell into step beside him. ‘You know, I had no idea it would be like this here. Once Prof had finished raving about how careless I’d been, he told me the Oceanography Department only did research to support the OPDEO naval base. Would you believe it, he’s ordered me to do temperature surveys? He wants a complete map of the isotherms over the complete feckin’ surface of the moon.’

  ‘He hasn’t got any choice,’ said Geoff. ‘He has to do what OPDEO says because they fund the whole colony.’

  ‘I thought he’d want to know if there was any life in the ocean, but he told me not to waste my time looking for flora and fauna. Actually, I’m so pissed off, I’m thinking of taking the next transport back to Earth.’

  ‘Cheer up, Maura, we’re pioneers on a new frontier. Doesn’t that get your adrenalin flowing?’

  ‘So far it’s the eejits who control this place who’ve done that for me, and not in a good way.’

  ‘Well, the truth is that OPDEO is more interested in military supremacy than science. It’s the Hesperian Federation’s armed force in space. They’ve set up a base here to get an advantage over our enemy.’

  ‘You mean because the Khitan Empire built a command centre on Mars?’

  ‘Exactly. That was an escalation of the arms race against the Federation. Now we’ve built the means to destroy the Khitan’s base. Whoever’s furthest from the sun can fire missiles at their enemy with gravity to help. Here, the Federation can do it from submarines under the ice. It’s the ultimate deterrent because their subs are impregnable.’

  ‘But they advertised for research scientists,’ said Maura, arching her eyebrows.

  ‘Right, but as Prof said, it’s only research to assist OPDEO’s navy.’

  ‘So why are you here, Geoff?’

  ‘Call me cynical if you like, but I think OPDEO wanted someone from the UN as window dressing. It helped them disguise their true ambitions.’

  ‘But OPDEO’s just a deterrent. It was set up to protect us. You’ve just told me that.’

  ‘I’m sorry to disillusion you, Maura, but OPDEO’s name is deliberately deceptive. It’s nothing to do with “Outer Planets Defending Each Other”. It’s really an aggressive organisation. That was one reason the UN sent me here.’

  ‘You work for the UN, but you’re not on their payroll. You’re a consultant, right?’

  ‘You really did do your homework.’

  ‘I had a long time to kill coming here. Your committee employs you to write papers about ANN.’

  ‘Sorry, I don’t know anything about neonatal nursing, or its academy,’ said Geoff, keeping his face expressionless.

  She pulled at his sleeve to stop him walking. ‘I’m talking about artificial neural networks,’ she said, laughingly articulating each word with exaggerated clarity. ‘I understand you’re an expert on the subject.’

  ‘I know it’s more predictable than human intelligence. It has extraordinary possibilities.’

  ‘But how safe is it really? I know you’ll say all programs have built-in safeguards to protect us. But artificial minds more intelligent than us. Won’t they get their own ideas?’

  ‘Oh, Maura, I think you’ve read too much science fiction. But finding life under the ice here is a definite possibility. That’s science fact.’

  ‘Maybe, but Prof doesn’t want me to look for it. I’ve wasted nineteen months travelling a billion kilometres to a place that’s a complete jacks.’

  She stopped to look out through the windows. Geoff was afraid for a moment she might kick the glass. ‘Don’t give up,’ he said quickly. ‘Sometimes it’s best to bend with the wind, if you know what I mean.’

  ‘I don’t . . . tell me.’

  ‘You could collect Prof’s data and do your own scientific study at the same time.’

  ‘How would that work?’

  ‘Well, the best bathyscaphes ever constructed are here on Europa. They can go deeper than the Mariana Trench. Once you’re inside one of those bathtubs, you could collect any data you like.’

  Maura had almost completed her training as a bathyscaphe hydronaut. She’d dealt successfully with the score of random fault conditions created during simulator exercises, and had carried out supervised practice dives in an actual ‘bath’ down to one kilometre depth.

  Standing in the Unidome sky gallery, she looked out across the Solar System. The sun was directly overhead, but in the thin atmosphere of Europa, the sky was black. The starscape was magnificent, dominated by two of Jupiter’s moons – the giant crescent of Ganymede and dark Callisto in its gibbous phase. She couldn’t see Jupiter itself, nor its innermost moon, Io, because the Unidome was situated on the side farthest away from the giant planet. But the sun was still the brightest star in the sky. Just to the right, a tiny disc of light was visible, tinged blue by the oceans that covered two-thirds of its surface. Maura heard the click of magnetic soles on the walkway. She turned and greeted Geoff with a smile.

  ‘How did you get on with the bathyscaphe theory exam?’ he asked. ‘It was today, wasn’t it?’ he said, slightly emphasising the word ‘today’ in acknowledgement that days were an artificial concept on Europa. The colonists chose to maintain their natural biological rhythms in synchronism with CHT.

  ‘It was, and I did okay, I think,’ said Maura. ‘As soon as I realised piloting a bathyscaphe was like flying a powered air balloon, I knew what the theory must be.’

  ‘So, when will they let you take command?’

  ‘Soon, I expect. D’you want to come with me? I’m looking for an assistant.’

  Difficult Question

  It was the hardest question Kai had ever tried to answer. ‘Which fish cannot swim to the end of the ocean?’ It was illogical, and it was meant to be. Kai Yongze had wrestled with the problem for the last six months, during periods of sitting meditation, walking meditation, carrying out his duties at the monastery, and even during his dreams. He’d looked at the conundrum from every point of view: scientifically, spiritually, and poetically – but without success. He had failed again, just as he’d failed to perform the role he’d been given by his birthright. As the son of a rich Khitan deputy, he could have enjoyed a lifetime of leisure. His unearned riches and the opulence of his surroundings had shackled him with chains of gold.

  He’d broken free, run away to a city in the outlands, and spent his personal wealth in brothels and gambling dens, trying to escape his inner emptiness. After his money had run out, he’d joined the beggars in the street. Some passing monks told him about a monastery in the mountains where he could find peace. The Abbot, Wu Jiu Li, had taken him in and given him both hospitality and a goal for his life. But the path set by the Abbot had been difficult to follow. Kai shaved his head, donned the simple robe of a novice monk and began to meditate, following a regime intended to reshape his mind. He had to reject all he’d ever known, to answer a question that made no sense.

  Kai was no nearer the
solution. He had not slept for two days, nor eaten for three. During the last meditation practice he’d been unable to sit upright, and a monk had been forced to correct him, striking him eight times across his back. He wandered through the grounds looking for a place where he could find peace of mind.

  Since Wu had put him on light duties, he was now responsible for feeding the fish in the ornamental pond at the end of the rock garden. He collected a bucket of rice flakes, hoping that the task would distract his troubled mind. However, there was no peace to be found in the formal garden where the high midday sun provided no shade. A few severely pruned bushes were interspaced between randomly spaced boulders, all set in a sea of white marble chippings. The fragments of stone dazzled his eyes and burnt his bare feet. He sat by the edge of the ornamental pond and dangled his feet in the water while his reflection gazed up at him, the image of a stranger.

  The carp gathered around, jumping and diving in anticipation of food. Kai got up, scattered the rice flakes on the surface of the water and watched a shower of golden fish dart towards the morsels. He looked for the Great Fish, rumoured to be some hundred years old, but he didn’t really expect to see it. All the monks knew it preferred to find fragments of food later, flakes of rice caught on the water-lily leaves. But, on this occasion, the ancient carp rose to the surface, lifted its head from the water, and fixed Kai with a misty eye. Then it spoke, clearly enunciating a single word: ‘Thiosh.’ Kai promptly fell over backwards and dropped his bucket in the water. The shoal erupted in turmoil, gorging themselves on their unexpected second helping.

  All the novices had their own personal riddle. Every day, they knelt before Wu in turn, and chanted the illogical question their master had given them. Wu would say, ‘Well?’ Sometimes the novice would offer a response, and sometimes he said nothing. In either case, Wu would frown and wave him away.