Mars Awakening - Chapter 9

Please find below Chapter 9 of the book: Mars Awakening. If you are just starting Mars Awakening, then here is the link to Chapter 1

CHAPTER 9

The following morning during the morning meeting, it was Adrian’s turn to present his findings. From Adrian’s perspective, these meetings took off quite badly, that first meeting was particularly awkward. Thankfully, now they had a more friendly feel and had morphed into something enjoyable. He found it a great way to start the day, discuss problems, plans, and hang out with people.

They took place every morning at 7 in the command module, and although it was only just over a week, these meetings already seemed an important part of the day. Down his side of the train, Adrian, didn’t see too many others. As much as Adrian loved his space and gardening, knowing he was on Mars made him want to be close to other people. Beginning the morning with coffee and a chat was very comforting. There was a defined structure to these meetings, and he knew that when his turn came around, he had to be prepared. The meetings were conversational, yet Commander Chase was extremely thorough. And the table helped. It was the most technologically advanced table he ever saw.

The table was the centrepiece of the meeting. Everyone was around it. Adrian gave a briefing of his finding in the garden rooms. The tables most futuristic feature was its ability to cast holograms. Given the room’s different lights, it could project an image in 3D above the table. These images reached the ceiling and, so far, no one could work exactly how it worked. Laid out on the table at the start of the meeting were the twenty-five modules, in order, each module labelled for ease of identification.

During the meeting, they could expand the area they wanted to display, and the first time Adrian saw it, it impressed him. It made for a very interactive experience, and it greatly helped in explaining something to a group of people. Adrian dragged the modules he didn’t want away, expanding the four he wanted to discuss.

“With regard to a plan,” Adrian began, “we have starter stock for pretty much everything we would like to grow. It is a good collection, but there are far too many choices. We need to select what we want to grow, what will benefit us the most. We seem to have an endless supply of water, a real surprise. I thought water would be hard to come by on Mars.”

“How much water do we have? There must be a limited supply, right?” asked Chase.

“There is a tap in the garden room, and it appears to flow freely,” Adrian said. “I have something else to add later, which might make us question how much water we have. But first, the garden. The soil is our main concern. We only have five large bags of soil. I was thinking of splitting them out and starting some small planter pots, because this way I can start the process before we find more soil. In fact, I have already put this soil in pots and added water to them. Nothing will grow yet, but this will prepare the soil.

“I’m assuming we need to bring soil in from outside. It is frustrating that soil surrounds us, but I am also not keen on venturing out and collecting it.”

No one looked comfortable when he said this. Before they spiralled into depression, Chase said, “It’s a vital item on our list. We have food for now, and we can create seed stocks. Let’s start with that. We will get to the problem of getting outside next.”

“So, in module 24,” Chase continued, “there is racking. What is its purpose?”

“It is not just module 24. We have also set up module 22 and 23,” said Adrian. “These three modules are full to the ceiling with racking. There is a seventy-centimetre path between all the racking, but that’s all. The racking consists of tubs that vary in depth, from ten to thirty centimetres, and they are one meter by two meters. I believe these modules are high-density vertical farming modules.

I have previously seen such type of farming in documentaries. We should be able to grow significant amounts of food, depending on what we choose. There are also mountable racks that are ten by ten by fifty centimetres, and there must be eighty of them. I think they will attach to the walls and can spread around the different modules, providing farming and greenery. Given we can run the lights constantly and even adjust the temperature, and if given long enough to prepare, I think it is not inconceivable that we will never be short of food.”

“This truly is quite an amazing train,” Luke added. “They seem to have thought of everything. Why do you think they left out the soil?”

“I suspect you wouldn’t bring soil all the way from Earth when it is abundant here,” Chase said. “Which suggests to me that there must be a way we can get outside to collect some. Has anyone found any way to get anything in or out of the train? Any exit point that is big or small?”

Everyone looked at each other. “Well,” Luke said, “if we were fifteen centimetres tall, then we could get out? There is a small exit in module 1, only fifteen centimetres by fifteen centimetres. Nowhere big enough for us to get out, not that it matters, because we don’t have any spacesuits, and there’s no air outside.”

Chase thought this over. When inspiration struck him, he jumped to his feet, feeling excited. Everyone looked at him in surprise. He quickly sat down. “That’s it! Fifteen by fifteen. That’s an odd dimension. I guess we could get a small bucket of soil through that. I have been thinking about this train, and one thing doesn’t make sense. It’s big enough for us to live in for a long time. Given enough resources, we could live here indefinitely. But some important parts are missing. We have no access to air systems, water systems, wastewater systems, power systems. All these are outside, and we have no spacesuits. That suggests that we are not personally meant to go outside. Did you hear me? We are not meant to go outside.”

He looked around. A few were giving him sideways looks, looking at him as if he lost the plot.

“We are not meant to go outside, but there must be more. They are treating this as a stupid computer game. We need to get to level two before we find out what’s outside. I think I can prove it as well.” Acting on a hunch, he barrelled on. “LJ, have you seen any mention of the portal that Luke mentioned in the code?”

LJ began tapping away at the table to bring up the door code. No, she had not seen any mention of a small door in module 1. She studied the code and looked up in shock. “It is here, in the code. The portal called module 1 External Access is here in the code. I swear it wasn’t here before. I have looked at this code before, and it wasn’t here. I wouldn’t forget that.”

“I have also looked through that code,” Chase said. “There was never any mention of the portal.”

Chase, a little peeved, said, “September, can you tell us why there is now a code for the portal in module 1, a code that was not there previously?”

September: “The code for the external portal in module 1 has always been there.”

Chase said, “We couldn’t see the code.”

“Yes, you needed to discover the portal before the portal code became available to the crew.”

Chase said, “How many other codes are you hiding?”

“That information is restricted.”

Chase asked, “When did the portal code become unrestricted?”

September explained, “When you discovered the portal.”

And when was the portal discovered?”

“You discovered it two minutes ago.”

“Luke discovered the portal more than two minutes ago.”

“Yes, Luke discovered the portal yesterday at 3.12 p.m.”

“So, the whole crew needs to be informed?”

“Only you, Commander.”

Chase, containing his exasperation, said, “I do not like these games, September.”

“Yes, I am detecting elevated heart rate and stress,” September said matter of factly.”

Thank you for taking the time to read Chapter 8, my aim is to keep posting one chapter per week. The full book can be purchased as an Ebook or paper back through Amazon: Link