"There's the Hab!" Bruce cried.
"What's that? Up on the- It-" The image revealed a handwritten note, posted on a metal rod. ""Darcie and I'll write messages here. Are you receiving?"" The image revealed two more notes, spaced a few feet apart. ""Point here for yes." "Point here for no.""
"Thirty-two minute round trip communications time," Tim said. "They can only ask yes/no questions, and all we can do is point the camera. This won't exactly be an Algonquin round table of snappy repartee.
"Tim," Bruce called.
"Roger that. Pointing the camera..."
EXT. MARS - DAY
Mark and Darcie watched as the camera moved towards one of his notes.
"YES."
"So here's the rub..." Mark began.
INT. HAB - DAY
Mark addressed the camera. "Somehow, we need to have complex astrophysical engineering conversations using only a still-frame camera. From 1996. Luckily, the camera spins 360, so Darcie and I can make an alphabet. We just can't use our alphabet. Twenty-six letters plus question card into 360 gives us 13 degrees of arc. Too narrow. We wouldn't know what the camera was pointing at. So. Hexadecimals to the rescue..."
EXT. HAB - DAY
Mark methodically set up cards marked "A-F" and "0-9" in a circle around the camera. "I figured one of you guys kept an ASCII table somewhere..."
INT. HAB - DAY
Mark sat in Johanssen's bunk and was scrolling through her laptop. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you supernerd Beth Johanssen, who also had copies of Zork 2 and Leather Goddesses of Phobos on her laptop. Seriously, Johanssen... it's like the Smithsonian of loneliness on there..."
Darcie laughed softly. "It was fun to play."
INT. JPL GARAGE - DAY
Tim consulted an ASCII chart as he pointed the camera.
EXT. HAB - DAY
The camera swung from card to card as Mark said, "Not that Darcie and I are complaining. Well, not me at least." Darcie swatted his shoulder. "Hey!"
INT. HAB - DAY
Mark translated the numbers with his ASCII table. "HOW ALIVE"
Mark glanced at Darcie and they pondered the question before he wrote the response.
INT. JPL GARAGE - NIGHT
""Impaled by antenna. Bio-monitor destroyed. Crew had reason to think me and Darcie dead. Not their fault.""
INT. ROVER - NIGHT
Mark inputed the code into the rover's computer. "Now that we can have more complicated conversations, the smart people at NASA have sent me and Darcie instructions on how to hack the rover so that it can talk to Pathfinder. If she and I hack a tiny bit of code, just twenty instructions in the Rover's operating system, NASA can link the rover to Pathfinder's broadcasting frequency... and we're in business."
Mark and Darcie waited patiently at the computer.
Text popped up on Mark's screen.
Venkat said, "Mark, Darcie, this is Vincent Kapoor..."
INT. JPL - GARAGE - NIGHT
Vincent and Bruce huddled around Tim's console while Vincent dictated and Tim typed.
Vincent continued. "We've been watching you two since Sol 54..."
INT. NASA - MISSION CONTROL - NIGHT
Teddy, Mitch, Annie and the rest of the team watched Vincent's text cross the screen.
Vincent was still speaking. ""The whole world is rooting for you two. Amazing job, getting Pathfinder. We're working on rescue plans. Meantime...""
INT. ROVER - NIGHT
Mark and Darcie read the text. It was their first human contact in quite some time.
Vincent continued. ""We're putting together a supply mission to keep you two fed until Ares 4 arrives.""
INT. JPL GARAGE - NIGHT
Vincent and Bruce huddled around Tim's console as Tim read, ""Glad to hear it. Really looking forward to not dying.""
Everyone laughed and cheered. Tim noticed there was more and read it aloud. ""How's the crew? What did they say when they found out Darcie and I were alive?" And there's a message from Darcie. "How'd Beck react?"
Vincent and Bruce shared a glance and Vincent thought about it.
"Tell them," Bruce said. "Hm. Tell them..."
INT. ROVER - NIGHT
Mark and Darcie watched the text pop up onscreen.
Vincent said, "We haven't told the crew you two are alive yet. We need them to concentrate on the mission.""
INT. JPL GARAGE - NIGHT
The whole room waited patiently. Tim read the response. "He says... "They don't know we're alive? What the-" He hesitated."What the... f-word... f-word in gerund form... f-word again... is wrong with you... f-words." And Darcie says, "how dare you not tell them! My husband thinks we're dead and you haven't told them we're freaking alive? He doesn't know I'm alive?! You're unbelievable!""
"Mark, please watch your language..." Vincent said. "Darcie, please calm you down..."
INT. ROVER - NIGHT
Mark and Darcie read the response and the latter scoffed.
Vincent continued. "Everything you two type is being broadcast live all over the world."
Mark and Darcie's eyes narrowed as he typed a response. He hit enter. Darcie impatiently waited for an answer.
INT. JPL GARAGE - NIGHT
The group read Mark's response. They went pale. Vincent hung his head. Tim tried not to smile and failed.
INT. NASA - TEDDY'S OFFICE - NIGHT
Teddy was on the phone as Mitch approached.
Teddy said into the phone, "Yes sir... they're under a tremendous amount of stress... I understand. We're working on it. Thank you, sir." He hung up and glanced at Mitch. "I just had to explain to the President of the United States what a "bureaucratic felcher" is."
"I made the mistake of typing it into Google," Mitch said. He added off Teddy's look. "Don't." He paused a moment. "Problem is, Mark and Darcie are right. This is only gonna get worse the longer we wait. We need to tell the crew."
"You're bringing this up while Vincent's
in Pasadena so he can't argue the other side."
"I shouldn't have to clear this with you
or Vincent or anyone else." He paused a moment. "It's time, Teddy."
Teddy thought about it and agreed the crew should know.
YOU ARE READING
Space Odyssey
Science FictionDarcie is chosen for and sent on a mission, alongside others, for, what feels to her, as a once in a lifetime opportunity. While she and her husband don't want to leave their young son behind, they know he's in good hands. But when the mission goe...
IX. Sols 79-109
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