The trip to Mars would take about eight months. Meanwhile the crew had various jobs to do, but mostly they just had to wait. They spent some of their time catching up on news from Earth, playing games, talking, or writing to their friends and family back home.
The crew slept in shifts so that there was always at least three people awake at a time in case anything went wrong. However, they typically came together at least once a day as a group to mingle and eat in the dining room.
One such time, as they were milling around, Phoebe asked, “Is anyone else getting tired of this soylent stuff?”
Rin replied, “I don’t mind it. Besides, we might as well get used to it. It’s half of the calories on board the ship.”
“It was integral to keep the weight of the ship down. The less weight they had to spend on food, the more they could use for supplies, so we should be grateful for it,” added Anesh.
“Well, it’s just hard to be grateful for something so bland,” said Phoebe.
“Did you try adding sriracha?” asked Norbite.
“Eww, gross. No thanks,” replied Phoebe with a look of disgust. “Nevermind. It’s fine. I’ll get used to it. I’m looking forward to growing some real food in about eight months, though.”
Just before dinner, Anesh brought up a new development from Earth, “Did you guys see this? There have been reports that the Chinese are planning to launch their own Mars growth mission. Instead of a manned mission it seems to be only an automated probe.”
“Are you sure it’s not just some kind of April fools joke?” asked Norbite.
“No, it’s not. I checked,” replied Anesh.
Phoebe had also seen the story, “Yes, it’s true. Do you know where they plan to send it?”
“They wouldn’t want to get too close to us, surely.” Kurt said, sounding a bit concerned.
Anesh braced himself as if having felt a brief chill. “Has NASA contacted us about this?”
Kurt responded, “No. They probably wouldn’t say anything official until the rumors have been confirmed.”
Kurt called a group meeting in the dining area. He looked serious. Addressing the whole crew he announced, “Listen up everybody. I have some news. The Chinese launched their Mars probe. They say it’s going to land in the northern hemisphere so we shouldn’t have anything to worry about. I just wanted to let everyone know.”
“What is it like?” asked Phoebe.
“Apparently it’s a simple lander with a biosphere contained inside. Upon landing it will orient itself and activate several seeds embedded in a self-contained hydroponic system,” Kurt replied.
“So they’re going for a land grab,” noted Rin.
Akshara added, “Isn’t that what we’re doing?”
While the crew were milling around the dining area, Kara brought up a question she had on her mind, “Can we give the ship computer a name? It’s so weird calling it ship all the time.”
“How about Hal?” joked Norbite.
“I wouldn’t mind calling it computer, like in Star Trek,” suggested Anesh.
“No really. Something else,” Kara said flatly.
Kurt suggested, “How about Rigel since that’s the module its located in?”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” replied Phoebe. After some discussion, they all agreed, Rigel would be the computer’s name. Akshara programmed it in.
After doing his routine check of the nuclear reactor, Anesh cornered Norbite in the science lab. “Do you believe what NASA said about Jalali? That it was the life-x?”
Norbite replied, “Why would they lie about that?”
“I don’t know, to cover up their own incompetence? They spent so much time and energy to make sure we all have the best personalities for this mission, and then that happens. It looks pretty bad.”
“Hmmm. I hadn’t really thought about it. I guess it’s possible.”
“We’re you completely truthful in your evaluations? I know I wasn’t,” said Anesh, smirking.
“Look. There’s no way to completely predict what people will do in certain situations. So, yes, maybe they screwed up, but can you blame them? I think it was just a fluke. Or maybe it was the some malfunction of the life-x. Who knows?”
“Yeah. I guess you’re right.”
“Meanwhile we just need to look out for eachother.”
After a brief pause, Anesh replied, “True.”
By this time everyone was beginning to feel the invisible hand of biology moving them to couple. A kind word or eye contact that lasted a heart-beat too long carried with it a weight that wouldn’t otherwise be there were they not trapped in a tiny, spinning apartment complex in space. If two people of opposite sex went missing for a period of time the others grew suspicious.
It went unspoken that NASA had planned for this outcome. Each of the men on board had been required to get a vasectomy long before launch. An unplanned pregnancy would have been much too disastrous to leave any room for error. Pills require to be taken. They could be forgotten.
Kurt called a meeting at the behest of the mission director. He was not excited to be doing this. “Okay folks. It’s time to address the elephant in the room. Everyone here, with the exception of Phoebe, is single back home. Let’s be adult about this. However, if there’s going to be coupling it needs to be above board, completely consensual, and no drama. That means if you want to establish a sexual relationship or a break-up - yes, even a break-up - you need to notify me as commander and the director O'Donnell. Okay? We’re all stuck together for at least thirty months. We don’t need any bad feelings harbored between ex-lovers. Got it?” Everyone nodded in agreement. “Okay then. Dismissed.”
Akshara floated over to the nuclear reactor monitoring station, where Anesh could usually be found. “Which is better Star Trek or Star Wars?” she asked point blank.
Without hesitation he responded with a grin, “Star Trek, of course.”
“Good enough for me,” she said and kissed him square on the mouth. His eye bulged with surprise for a moment, but he then returned the kiss wholeheartedly.
Within the next two weeks, everyone had notified Kurt and the mission director of their relationship status: Norbite and Kara, Anesh and Akshara, and Kurt and Rin were all officially couples.
Norbite had developed a bad cough and went to see Kara for medication. After some examination, Kara diagnosed him with a minor case of bronchitis. She gave him some medicine and said, “Take this. You should feel better in about 24 hours. If not, come back and see me.”
“Do you think we’re here for a reason?” he asked.
“What? Yes. We’re going to Mars to search for life and establish a colony for America,” she replied.
“No. I mean… Do you believe in a higher power?” Norbite asked quizzically.
“I’m sorry, you know I can’t answer that. According to directive 42 we are not to discuss religious or political matters,” she said robotically.
“Look. We’re going to be stuck together for a long time, so we might as well get to know each other,” replied Norbite with a smile. “Come on, what are they going to do? Fire us?” he conjoled.
Kara sighed. “Okay, fine. I was raised Catholic, but I don’t really believe in it all. I like to think we’re here for a reason, yes. Otherwise it all seems kind of meaningless; doesn’t it?”
“Well. I think we all have to make our own reasons,” he replied. “If there is a god, I think he/she/they/it is kind of unknowable...” he trailed off.
“I was raised agnostic, but I was exposed to all kinds of religions. Nothing really stuck.”
“Where do we go when we die then? Do we just disappear?”
“I don’t know. I try not to think about it, but I figure once you die, all your problems are over.”
“Unless you’re going to hell,” Kara said with a smirk.
“Isn’t it interesting how the trip to Mars takes about eight months?” Norbite asked to no one in particular in the dining area.
“What about it?” replied Rin.
“Well, it’s kind of symbolic. It takes about as long as pregnancy. It’s like we’re gestating. To be born again on a new planet.”
“You’re weird, Norbite,” said Anesh.
“Thanks,” Norbite said sarcastically.
“Actually, gestation normally takes 40 weeks, which is more than nine months,” added Kara.
“So, we’re like premi’s then?” joked Rin.
“Or hippos. They only take eight months,” said Phoebe, smiling.
“That’s us. The Hippo Seven. I like it,” suggested Kurt, laughing.
Kara called Norbite into the science lab near the cargo bay. She was floating next to one of the experiments she was in charge of - a group of a dozen mice.
“The mice are dying,” she declared.
“What’s wrong?” asked Norbite.
“They’re getting cancer. I think it’s from the radiation.”
“Well, we already know that radiation causes cancer. Why aren’t they shielded?”
“That’s the problem. They are,” she replied with tension in her voice.
“Have you told NASA?” he asked calmly.
“Yes, they don’t want me to tell anyone else. They don’t want us to be alarmed. I just had to tell someone.” She took a deep breath. “They said we shouldn’t be affected since we all have the life-x bacterians. It should repair enough of our DNA to counteract the radiation.”
“Well, that’s good. What about the mice?” he asked.
“I’m going to see if I can start IVF, in vitro fertilization, on them to improve their chances of survival going forward. I could pick the healthiest mice to reproduce.”
“I think so,” she replied. “I hope so.”
