Season of Passage, The (2 page)

Lauren blinked, surprised. 'He said that?'

Jennifer nodded, smug. Of course, Lauren had to agree with the young man. Jennifer was an exceptional beauty, one of those children who could

turn a dozen heads in a crowded mal . Her features showed an interesting play of contradictory genes. They were clearly defined, yet also

delicate, waiflike. She spent many hours outdoors, and as a result always had a decent tan, which went wel with her blue eyes. The latter

possessed a cerulean clarity that was seldom found except in newborn babies. But it was her hair that was her crowning glory: long and curly,

natural y blond to the point of looking bleached. On sunny days it swirled around her sleek shoulders like a protective aura. To look at Jennifer was

to see something beautiful; it was as simple as that.

'You told me his name,' Lauren said. 'What is it? Dave?'

'Daniel.'

'I see, Daniel. Not Dan or Danny, but Daniel.'

'I thought cal ing him by his proper name would make him feel more important,' Jennifer explained.

'Did you read that in a book?'

Jennifer shook her head.

'Are you sure?' Lauren asked.

'No. Yes! I like that name, Daniel.'

Lauren eyed her sister's discarded book. 'What are you reading, anyway?'

Jennifer bowed her head and touched the book's dul red cover. 'Just something I found at the library.'

'And it's a secret?'

Jennifer hesitated. 'It's a love story.'

Lauren laughed. 'I bet Danny - Daniel told you to read it. I'm going to make sure Terry watches you closely the next two years.' Instantly, Lauren

regretted mentioning her leaving, although it was something they had talked about enough. She knew Jennifer preferred not to discuss the

expedition to Mars while they were in Wyoming. It was strange - her sister had no trouble with the subject when they were in Houston. Lauren

added, 'Wil Daniel be here soon?'

Jennifer brightened. 'He said yesterday that he'd be here

at six. He's going to show me one of his weapons.'

'Sounds like a date to me.' Lauren checked the position of the sun. 'He should be here any minute. Do you want me to take a walk?'

'You don't have to,' Jennifer said, although she quickly stood, like maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea. Lauren took the hint and got up, tucking Terry's

newspaper in her white shorts. The air was warm and dry, and the feel of the sun on her bare legs was delicious.

'I need the exercise,' Lauren said. 'What did you mean, he's going to show you one of his weapons? Is he in the service?'

Jennifer giggled. 'No. He's only fourteen. He col ects weapons. He's part Indian.'

Lauren nodded. 'That explains it. Is he going to show you how to shoot a bow and arrow?'

'No. He's bringing an elephant rifle.'

'Great. My little sister's chasing an Indian who hunts elephants in a pine forest.' Jennifer thought that was funny. Lauren continued, 'I bought some

Cokes in town yesterday, if you want to give your friend a drink. And Jenny, if Terry comes, have Daniel give a blast on his gun.'

'What if he doesn't bring any bul ets?'

Lauren was already among the trees, the pine needles crackling under her bare feet. 'Then have him send up smoke signals,' she cal ed.

Soon Lauren reached the shore of the lake, where she turned west, heading in the direction of the sun. It was not long before she entered the

shal ows and broke into a jog, and then began to run. She loved to race along the shore and feel the sand between her toes and the water splashing

up her back. She ran for five hard minutes, and covered at least a mile - for she was in excel ent shape, and had always been fast on her feet. She

only stopped when she came to

a wide stream, which from experience she knew to have the slipperiest rocks in al of Wyoming. She had a tiny dent on the back of her skul

courtesy of the stream.

She was hot, and the lake was tempting. Unfortunately, she didn't have her suit, and her shorts and T-shirt felt like lead weights when they were wet.

Plus she was something of a celebrity these days, what with the launch date only a couple of weeks away. It wouldn't do to have one of NASA's

leading public relations specimens to be photographed nude.

Then again, it might do wonders for their budget.

Lauren listened closely for a minute, scanning the beach in both directions and finding no one. What decided her in the end was the thought of not

seeing any green or open water for two whole years. She had to embrace nature while she could, and if someone did snap her picture, at least she

would look like she was having fun. She had her shorts and shirt off in five seconds, and was in water over her head in another ten. It was not merely

cold, it was liquid ice, and she loved it. Wash Lake was a half mile across, and she swam strongly toward the center. Had it not been for her bare

bottom, she would have tried to swim to the far shore.

But her run must have taken more out of her than she realized. Close to the middle of the lake, she found herself working hard and decided to rol

over on her back and take it easy. She drifted along for some time, paddling just enough to stay afloat. Out of the corners of her eyes, the trees

looked ten times more distant than they real y were, as they always did from surface level. The sky began to darken as the sun slipped behind a

forested ridge, and the water temperature final y made itself felt on her muscles. After al the money NASA had invested in her training, it would be a

bummer if she drowned. Yet it was with regret that she rol ed on to her bel y and began to swim toward the shore. She knew even then that she

would remember this swim while she was walking across the sands of Mars.

Out of the water, Lauren plopped down on a boulder beside the stream and slipped back into her clothes. The evening air held the day's warmth -

she didn't mind the damp material clinging to her skin. She had left the paper in the sand. She picked it up and flipped to Terry's article.

WAR OF THE WORLDS

by Terry Hayes, Reporter

Houston. On October 28, 2002, almost two years ago, two Russian spacecraft touched down on Mars, in the mountainous region known as Tharsis.

The expedition was headed by Dmitri Maximov. For ten days his men explored the area, beaming to Earth incredible footage of the alien

landscape. But then, on November 6, al contact with them was lost. Two days later, communication was also lost with Carl Bensk, the sole

cosmonaut aboard the mother ship, in orbit around Mars. Since that time, neither the men on the planet, nor Carl Bensk, have been heard from.

They are presumed dead.

What happened to them? Five major theories have been put forth to explain their disappearance: 1) mechanical failure; 2) natural calamity; 3) alien

infection; 4) alien monsters; and 5) insanity.

Of these five theories, the first is thought most likely, but only in the improbable context of the others. The chance of both communication systems on

board the landers failing simultaneously is astronomical y smal . Furthermore, the two craft landed almost a mile apart. If one had exploded during

takeoff, the

other would have been spared. For the mechanical theory to hold water, the mother ship would also have had to suffer a major system failure. The

theory breaks down under even the most casual scrutiny.

A natural calamity? Mars is now known to have sand-storms, and earthquakes are much more common there than on Earth. It snowed often while

the Russians were in communication. The Tharsis region is also volcanic, or at least it has been in the past. However, satel ites circling Mars

reported no unusual weather during the period in question, and no obvious eruptions. In either case, the orbiting ship should have been unaffected,

and Carl Bensk should stil have returned home.

Life has never been proven to exist on Mars. Nevertheless, a variety of microscopic organisms could be flourishing in the planet's atmosphere and

soil undetected. Our investigation of Mars is stil in its infant stages. As is wel known, a human being exposed to a virus or a bacteria from an alien

environment would have no natural defense. Skeptics of this theory, however, point out that such an infection would have had to strike at lightning

speed to prevent the cosmonauts from radioing Earth. Given the harsh Martian environment, advanced forms of life are considered impossible.

Plus, of course, none of the Russians saw anything that looked alive. But even if such creatures did exist, they would once again have had to kil at

an incredible speed to prevent at least a warning from being sent to Earth. Certainly, no alien's arm could have reached al the way into space and

murdered Carl Bensk, not unless the alien was part of an advanced civilization that had mastered the art of invisibility.

It must be clear by now that the fundamental criticism of al these theories centers on Mr Bensk. That is, except for the fifth theory - insanity. The

Russians...

Lauren dropped the paper with a start as a loud explosion echoed across the lake. Daniel must have brought bul ets, she thought. Terry must have

arrived. She jumped to her feet and raced down the sandy beach. She ran fast, as hard as she had on the run out, and was gasping for air by the

time she caught sight of Jennifer and her friend.

But Terry hadn't arrived, after al . Daniel was simply target shooting, using the cans of Coke she had bought yesterday. A handsome boy, he was

dark complexioned, and had a remarkably wel developed physique for a fourteen-year-old. The rifle he had cocked to his shoulder looked as if it

could blow the head off a dinosaur.

'I told him you would come if he shot the gun,' Jennifer said with a laugh. 'Lauren, this is Daniel. Daniel, this is my big sister, Lauren. She's going to

Mars in a couple of weeks.'

So what else is new, Lauren thought.

Daniel offered his hand. 'I know that. I saw you on TV last week. That's great that you're going to Mars. I'd like to go there myself someday.'

Lauren shook his hand. 'Pleased to meet you, Daniel. You'l get to go. In another twenty years they'l probably have tourist flights to Mars.'

'But Lauren's going to be one of the first there,' Jennifer said.

'The Russians were the first ones,' Daniel said. He added, 'Of course, they didn't come back.'

'No, they didn't,' Lauren agreed.

'That was a lousy way for me to say hel o,' Daniel said wisely. 'Sorry.'

'That's al right,' Lauren said.

'It's pretty cold there, isn't it?' Daniel asked.

'Our suits wil keep us warm,' Lauren said. 'At least, that's what NASA tel s us.'

'I tried on her helmet,' Jennifer broke in.

'What was it like?' Daniel asked, interested.

'It didn't fit. It was like wearing a bowl over your head. It was fun, though.'

'We'l see you on TV when you're there', won't we?' Daniel asked.

'Yes,' Lauren said. 'Except you'l see everything twenty minutes after it happens. Even traveling at the speed of light, our radio signals wil take that

long to reach Earth. You probably know al that stuff.'

'Yeah,' Daniel said. 'Pretty long ways to travel. Jenny says you'l be gone two years.'

Lauren nodded. Jennifer explained, 'The trip home takes the most time. They have to wait for the Earth to swing back around the sun. Hey, Daniel,

did you hear about the computer that runs their ship? His name's Friend. I think that's a neat name.'

'I read about him in the papers,' Daniel said. 'Is it true he real y knows how to think?'

Lauren smiled. 'He thinks just fine, as long as he doesn't have to make a decision. He only knows what he has been programmed to know, like a

PC in your home. But since that's just about everything mankind has learned in the last five thousand years, he's pretty smart.'

'He talks, doesn't he?' Daniel asked.

'Like you and me,' Lauren said.

'I talked to him over the radio,' Jennifer said.

'What did he say?' Daniel asked.

'I asked if he enjoyed living in a spaceship, and he said, "Yes, Miss Wagner."'

'He cal ed you Miss Wagner?' Daniel asked.

'He's very polite,' Jennifer said. 'But I didn't talk to him that much. I couldn't think of anything, you know, that I wanted to say to a machine.'

Daniel shook his head, impressed. 'Al this stuff is so far out.' He inspected Lauren more closely. 'Lauren, how come your hair's al wet? Were you

swimming in the lake?'

'Yeah,' she said. 'I swam al the way out.'

'How come your shorts didn't get wet?' Daniel asked.

Lauren shrugged. He was a big boy. 'Because I took them off.'

Jennifer blushed. Daniel nodded. 'I used to go swimming naked al the time,' he said.

'You did?'Jennifer asked, amazed.

Daniel shrugged. 'Sure.' He addressed Lauren. 'I hope you didn't go swimming alone.'

'I was alone, yes.' He had his eyes on her, and Lauren wasn't sure what he was thinking. But he seemed a nice enough kid. 'Why not?'

Daniel spoke gravely. 'A girl my age drowned last week. She went out too far and cramped up. At least that's what my brother thinks happened to

her. The water's pretty cold. I had to dig the hole for her.'

Lauren grimaced. 'You what?'

Jennifer looked uncomfortable. She said quickly, 'Daniel sometimes helps out at Olive Grove Cemetery. He usual y just does gardening. You know

the place, Lauren? You've seen it on the road in.'

'You helped bury her?' Lauren asked, not real y wanting to know.

'Yeah,' Daniel said. 'The owner doesn't have much equipment. Sometimes I help him put the coffins in the