Fine Line

Chapter Four

"If we are to send people, it must be for a very good reason - and with a realistic understanding that almost certainly we will lose lives. Astronauts and Cosmonauts have always understood this. Nevertheless, there has been and will be no shortage of volunteers."
― Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space

The opportunity to send the first probe came earlier than planned. The Sun activity had increased more than what Leo had estimated. Van was eager to finally go out and see the wormhole from a closer viewpoint.

The team to drive the first probe to the passage through space was composed by Vince, Van and Gauguin. FUTURE-I, as it had been named, was attached to one of the evacuation pod that had been converted in shuttle for the occasion. Vince was manning the convoy while Van, on his side, checked the reading on the instruments, on alert if there were any change in the direction, speed or structural integrity of the shuttle. While the two were busy in the hull, Gauguin's part was to ensure the probe was following without any issue, securely moored to the main body of the pod.

As the spacecraft approached its destination, the preparation for the probe to detach and to go its merry way through space started. Gauguin secured himself on the umbilical, a cord that would anchor him to the shuttle and provide, at the same time, the necessary supply of oxygen. With the umbilical, the reserve on his suit were to be used in case of emergency only.

At the command, Vince was taking extra precautions not to move the pod too close or too far from the launching point. This point was the nearest to the wormhole they could stand without being attracted inside. To maintain the position, he had to maintain a constant thrust. Too much on one direction, and the shuttle would be pulled into the passage.

While Vince was occupied with the stabilization, Van engaged the separation of the probe. He started the engines of the small spacecraft remotely and hit the button controlling the attachment of the arms to the main cabin.

All was going smoothly, well-orchestrated, when a chock reverberated through the shuttle.

"One of the arms is still attached!" Van could hear Gauguin shouting via the com-link.

"It's OK," Vince tried to calm the man outside, "just proceed the same as during the training."

They had practiced different maneuvers covering emergency situations. What Gauguin needed to do was simple, though nothing would ever be simple in space. While Vince was adjusting the thrust based on the readings Van provided, the third man left the protection of the shuttle and approached the panel on the probe where the commands were located. He found easily the command to turn off and the arm started to recede.

The probe, now unattached, started its journey toward the wormhole. Van was maneuvering its engine to direct it effectively to the center of the passage opening. A sigh of relief escaped Vince lips when he saw it entering the gaping hole in the space fabric. The mission had been accomplished with no other disturbance. The issue with the arm could be considered secondary.

Vince maneuvered the pod to take the direction back to NOVA. He called Gauguin to join them inside as his job had been accomplished.

After a minute without any answer nor seeing the third man coming inside the hull, Van called him back. As his friend wasn't responding, he checked the outside camera feed to see what the situation was. He then started to fear for the other man when he saw him floating in space, attached to the umbilical.

Without hesitation, Van secured his helmet on his head and entered the airlock. Attaching his suit to a cord, he opened frantically the hatch and sprang out into the darkness. Puling on Gauguin's link, he retrieved his friend in no time, rushing the unmoving body inside.

Vince had set the pod on autopilot so he could help Van with his friend. The laid the body on the floor of the cabin and attached medical instruments to him. The readings were okay, he was still alive, though unresponsive.

The return to the space station seemed to last an eternity for Van who was worried about his friend. As soon as they docked the pod, Nic took charge. She was waiting with a stretcher and a team of two, probably nurses or doctors. They rushed through the corridors to the medical bay where machines and instruments of all sorts awaited them. They transferred Gauguin to a bed and started to remove his suit.

"Damn!" Nic sounded stressed, all of a sudden. She busied herself around the young man, checking on the machines and reading the results of various tests.

"All seems okay with him. His vitals are good, but we have a problem." Nic searched for her words. "His suit had been ripped. He didn't lack oxygen, though, but he had been exposed to intense radiations. See the burn?" She pointed to the area were the suit had been damaged, reducing the protection from the cosmic rays.

"Will there be any sequela?" Van was more than worried after hearing the diagnostic. "Is it life threatening?"

"Well..." Nic was thinking about the possible outcome. "Considering the level, there is a high risk of degenerative tissue effect. We'll have to keep an eye open for any cardiovascular, respiratory or digestive repercussion. He could even become blind." Nic was estimating the potential diseases that could occur in this case. "Nothing life threatening, I'd say. I'll still control for any carcinogenesis... "

Van spent the following days waiting for his friend to wake up. Nic had told him it could take few weeks, and, if there was any issue, they could still put him in a cryogenic chamber. His mind was foggy, unresponsive to his surroundings as he focused all his thoughts to Gauguin. He missed the meeting that took place the day after the launch of the probe. It had sent back the first data about the wormhole and the other side.

Leo couldn't stop talking about the marvel of the space distortion. Effectively, among the data he received, videos of the probe as it was inside the passage. The inside of the wormhole was a feat for the eyes, iridescent undulation, quicksilver walls.

While Leo dreamed of foggy waves, his colleagues worked on identifying the quadrant on the other side. Based on the stars positions and identified planets, the concluded that the passage was a shortcut to the Ophiuchus constellation, located between Hercules, Scorpius and Sagittarius.

The place wasn't too bad has it was known to house a number of inhabitable planets. A red dwarf had been easily identified as the sun of the Wolf System which had been identified since centuries as a potential habitable planet. If they could make it to it, the people from NOVA would enjoy a short journey to their new home. Nothing in comparison to the generation ship sent to Tau Ceti from Europa. At least, the wormhole would provide a convenient shortcut to a planet which, hopefully, would welcome them.

As Van was still waiting for his friend to open his eyes, it had been decided to proceed with the launch of the other probes. FUTURE-II confirmed the assumptions about the system at the passage exit. It was the Wolf System with a new Earth-material planet.

More data about the crossover permitted to identify structural constraint during the transfer through the hole. FUTURE-III had been set to gather more information that would be used to identify the points required to reconfigure the space station so it could sustain the journey without any major outbreak.

At the end of the second week, the team of engineers and rocket scientists had all necessary information to amend the station blueprints and start the modification work. 

They would attempt the cross the wormhole with the space station. All rejoiced in anticipation. 

Gauguin was still unresponsive. Van, depressed.