Authors: Cliff Roehr
They had the usual amount of personal debt, car payments and credit card bil s but all of their bil s and payments were current. They wanted a family and a home of their own, someday. For the time being they both had to work on their menial jobs just to make ends meet. The home and the family were something the future might hold for them.
June 1, 2107 : At their interview hey were given a longer version of the speech that they had earlier heard from Hal Bergstrom. The woman who conducted the interview seemed to be bent on convincing them not to take the job. They were told that if everything on their application checked out and if they passed their physical examination, and their psych tests, they would be hired. It was their lucky day. They were both offered jobs, Carla cooking in The Company mess hal and Tim working on one of the general construction crews. They would need to prepare a last wil and testament and a living wil . They would each need to open a bank account where The Company could deposit their pay checks. They would each have to have a signature card signed by the person or firm that they wanted to designate to handle their financial affairs for them for the next ten years. One nice thing they learned at the interview was that all money earned while working on Mars was free of all State and Federal Income tax.
The Psych test for each of them was scheduled on the same day. Tim and Carla didn't think it would amount to much. They arrived at 7:30 AM on the third and were sent back to the classroom where they had fil ed out their applications. At 8:00 AM the screens on the monitors lit up. They were told to read the question on the screen select the answer to the question and then click on next. One at a time they read the questions and selected the best answer. They were not told how many questions to expect but they did not imagine that the test would more than 100 questions. There were 250 questions. Most of the questions were preference questions, very few knowledge questions. After answering question 250 a message appeared on the screen that thanked them for taking the test and were told that they were free to leave. Both Tim and Carla finished just before noon. Carla was done a little ahead of Tim. She just remained in her seat until she saw that Tim had finished. By the time they left it was about noon so they went to lunch at a cafeteria across the street from the building and discussed the test they had just taken while having lunch.
“That was the stupidest test I have ever taken, have you ever taken a test anything like that when you were attending A&M, Tim? “Nope, that was completely new to me. I think that even though most of the questions seemed inane and pointless that Mars Colony, Inc. now has a pretty good idea of how our mental processes work, how we would be expected to react to any situation, how tolerant we are of other people, how patient we are and a lot of other stuff about us that maybe we don't know about ourselves. We are just going to have to wait them out until the results come back, however long that takes.”
Before they left the cafeteria Tim's phone rang. He answered and was told by the girl on the other end of the line that he had done very well on the test. “You seem to have the exact psychological profile that we are looking for Tim. By the way, is your wife Carla with you right now? If so please tell here that she also did very well and fits the profile that we are looking for. You both passed, congratulations.” “That part of their hiring process was certainly easy enough,” said Carla. Little did Carla know that more than eighty percent of the people who took the test had been dropped from consideration for employment. It wasn't that they were bad people or that weren't intel igent, it was just that their test results indicated that they would not function wel in the environment that they would be living in on Mars. The Company did not want to go to the expense of sending people to Mars that would be unhappy with their situation once they got there.
“My God, Tim do you realize what we are doing, you will be thirty six and I wil be thirty seven before we get back home.” “Well Hon, by the time we get back this won't seem like home anymore, and late 30's is a great time to retire and see the world. The way I have it figured we should have over three mil ion dollars in our account by then.” “Sure, if we last that long, we can return to Earth any time we want but it wil cost us five hundred thousand dollars each to abrogate our contracts with The Company and an additional one hundred thousand dollars each for the trip back to Earth, that is what Tony told us at our interview, remember. No, if we go we wil stick it out for the ten years, no matter how bad it is. After all it couldn't be any worse than going to prison for ten years, could it?”
The trust department of their bank agreed to handle their financial affairs and they put a local attorney firm on retainer to periodically check up on the bank and receive their mail. The firm agreed to forward their important mail at every opportunity when a ship was leaving. For now they would get their mail about four times a year, hopeful y that would Increase to monthly before their contract was up.
Mars Colony, Inc. had given each of them a one hundred thousand dollars in advance pay which they had deposited in the bank, wel most of it anyway. They kept out fifteen thousand for spending money although they had no idea where they would spend for on Mars. On the last week before their departure Tim and Carla had paid a final visit to the Attorney Firm that would be representing them and handling their legal affairs for the next ten years. They had left their car with an officer at the bank two days before they left for him to sel , pay off the loan and deposit the rest in their account. They had visited their families, their friends, their dentist's and their doctors. Carla had a hard time saying goodbye to her parents and her brother but Tim only had his father to say goodbye to as his brother had been killed in Iraq in 2106 and his mother had died of cancer when he was a child. His father had remarried when Tim was a junior in high school. Tim never cared much for his stepmother, the feeling was mutual. Tim had an easy time of saying his goodbye's.
The night before they their friends had thrown them a big going away party. They were wondering if they could get any sleep at the Earth Orbiter or on the ship after boarding. They were both a little under the weather. July 7, 2107: It was already over ninety degrees at 7:30 AM on the morning of their departure. After check in they made their way to the tarmac boarding area of the North Las Vegas airport where they were ushered aboard a Shuttle for their flight to the Earth Orbiter. The Shuttle looked a lot like one of those little commuter jobs but this was one that could take off from a runway on Earth, fly through the troposphere, stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere and on into space. Shuttle are capable of supersonic speeds but when they are used as space shuttles they fly at subsonic speeds until they enter space. At a certain altitude the engines on the Rocket propulsion system kick in and the jet engines shut down. They can return the same way for a soft landing on Earth.
From the Earth Orbiter they would board the interplanetary ship that would carry them to Mars. The ship they were to board was called Mars Supply Two. The other ship that made the Mars run on a regular basis was cal ed Mars Supply One. They were told that each ship made two round trips per year. “Impressive names for one of mankind's greatest achievements, don't you think, Tim.”
They were able to get a good look at the Mars Supply Two from a port hole on the Shuttle It loomed much larger than they had expected. Since the ship had been constructed in space and would never leave space weight was not a consideration, nor was size. The ship was assume, It was cigar shaped, at least four hundred yards long and appeared to be about seventy five yards wide at the beam. It was enormous, They later learned that this would be only the second voyage to Mars that this vessel had made. Until last year there had only been The Mars Supply One. This ship was a carbon copy of The Mars Supply One.
They had a some misgivings about the flight that would take almost two and a half months, but they were given to understand that the ship would be very comfortable and spacious. Their time would mostly be taken up by training and orientation classes so that by the time they arrived at the Mars Orbital Station they would know about as much as it was possible to know about what to expect when they actually reached their new home.
CHAPTER - The trip to Mars
July 7, 2107: Upon arrival their Shuttle pul ed along side the Orbiter then matched the orbital speed. They heard some clunking sounds then after about five minutes the door slid open. There were about 35 passengers on the flight from Las Vegas, most appeared to be in their mid to late twenties. Just as with a conventional airliner passengers began to stand up and retrieve their carry on luggage. A young lady in a snappy light blue NASA uniform appeared at the door and ushered the passengers into the orbiter terminal. They found seats in the waiting room. They were seated beside a large man. They assumed the man was to be a passenger on the same flight they were taking, and struck up a conversation with him.
“Hi, I am Tim Erkin and this is my wife Carla, are you also a new Mars Colony, Inc. employee?” “ Yeah, I was just hired” said the man in a deep baritone voice that you would expect from a man of his size. “My name is Archibald Shrimp, but everybody just calls me Archy. I am from West Virginia, I signed on as a laborer but I am also a part time minister of the gospel. I was cal ed for preachen bout eight years back. I been worken in the coal mines most of my life. I spect we gonna get to know each other pretty wel in the next ten years.
They had a chance to become only briefly acquainted with Archy before the NASA hostess announced that they could now board and get their room assignments. The thirty five of them were lead through the air lock and into another waiting room, this time on the ship.
Carla remarked to Tim “That man we just met just does not seem like the kind of person that the company would hire, he talks like he is downright ignorant.” “That's not the impression I got,” Tim responded. “I've been back in those hil s touring the coal mines and that is the way they all talk.”
A junior ship's officer dressed in a blue jumpsuit, and wearing ensign's bars, started calling names from a roster. White clad attendants lead the passengers off one by one or in groups of two, to the assigned rooms that they would be calling home for the next two and a half months. Tim and Carla were told that since they were a married couple they were entitled to a suite. Their Suite turned out to be an eight by fourteen foot room with a double bed, two folding chairs and a small round table. The floors were carpeted. There was a fairly large TV screen mounted on the wal in front of the bed. There was also a built in dresser and mirror. There was a four foot by five foot enclosure near the entrance that took up part of their space, it contained a shower, toilet basin and mirror. Al in all pretty spartan but what did they expect on a space ship.
They had no more than put their carry on luggage on the bed when there was a knock at the door. It was the their steward who had shown them to their room. He introduced himself as Damian, their steward. He told them to let him know if they needed anything, not that he would get it for them but he would tell them how to get it. They could always reach him or the steward on duty through the intercom mounted on the wall beside the bed. “At the moment though,” he said, you are to go to The Company Room 812 where you will be issued your on board ID cards. They wil be ready for you when you get there.”
Following Damian's directions they took the narrow stairway down three floors to the eighth floor where they located room 812. They received yellow ID cards with their picture on them. They were told they must wear these ID cards at all times. They later found out that yellow meant they were workers employed by Mars Colony, Inc. The nice young lady that issued them their cards ask if they had any questions. “Yeah, where is the dining room the class room and the bar.” asked Tim? “Here is a map of the parts of the ship that you are authorized access to. I am afraid that we refer to the dining room as the mess hall. The bar only serves soft drinks or coffee. It is called the 'Day Room'
you will be going to different classrooms from time to time. They are all numbered on your map. You wil see color coding on each floor, you are only authorized access to the top three floors, 8, 9, and 10. Enjoy your trip, these are the best accommodations that you will have in the next ten years.”
In their exploration of the top floors they found a nice Day Room with a small library, a mess hall that would seat about four hundred diners an adequately equipped gymnasium. They also located several locked classrooms. Peering through the doors revealed some strange paraphernalia inside. Many of them resembled what was probably a rendition of the Martian landscape.
Upon returning to their room Carla turned on the TV. They saw a schedule displayed on the screen. Breakfast was from 0600 to 0700, lunch from 1200 to 1300 and dinner from 1700 to 1800, meals would be served at no other hours. The time on the clock at their bedside indicated that it was already 1130, almost time for lunch. There was a button marked personal messages on the remote control so Carla gave that a try. Their names appeared on the TV
screen accompanied by a message that said that they were both to appear at room 914 for orientation at 1330. There was a message for Carla that said she should report to the mess hall at 0400 for training. There was also a message for Tim. It said that he should report to room 865 at 0730 to begin training. They kinda chuckled and Carla said “Well so much for a long leisurely trip.”
They arrived at the mess hal at 1200 sharp to find about one hundred people ahead of them in line. They noticed when they got up to the door that the diners were taking a plastic tray, stainless steel silverware and a paper napkin. Then by placing their tray on top of the glass sneeze guard and easing it forward they received a portion of everything offered. Once seated they noticed a selection of sauces along with salt and pepper on each table. The food they found to be institutional but adequate.