Gaea

Chapter 10

The soil was dead. It had greater water content than expected, with slightly more iron oxide, but no life. Liu went to sleep that night disappointed, to say the least, but with some hope for the following day.

The next day was much the same. An endless flat, hours of study, followed by disappointment. At the end of the day, with the sun still shining through the windows with all its power, Liu and Amit ate. Liu spoke.

"I've found nothing. There's nothing out there."

"You can't say that for sure. Not yet, anyway. We've covered maybe three hundred kilometers, that's hardly a good measure of..."

"Tell me truthfully. Do you think I'll find anything?"

"Liu, you know that I don't know. My only advice is to wait and see. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow will be your day."

Liu ate her afternoon meal that day in the driver's bubble. She found herself staying there more and more of the time lately. She stared out at the desert and breathed the filtered air of the rover. The food was a tasteless mash derived from fungus and hydroponically grown legumes, perfectly befitting the sensory wasteland beyond the glass. This is not what she came for. She wanted some activity, change, something as vibrant as Earth, not dead like Mars or Venus. Or anywhere.

The morning brought promise. Sitting on the horizon was a shield volcano, almost flat against the desert plain, spewing molten rock in a lazy stream. It glowed vivid red, the mountain itself black and grey.

Amit emerged from his bunk.

"Would you look at that! I told you there'd be something!"

"I have to admit, this is a welcome change of pace. Here I was thinking this planet was dead, and then this comes along."

"Can't imagine there a whole lot living there though. Sorry."

"Oh, no need to apologize. Besides, there are some species of bacteria living in extreme environments on Earth. Who knows."

Liu and Amit drove to the base of the shield volcano, where ropes of dark, hot rock accumulated in great piles of steaming stone. The heat, oppressive even under normal conditions, was downright palpable so close to Gaea's beating heart. Shaking and sweating, Liu scooped the dirt and newly formed stone into a vial and watched it crumble, settling into the bottom. Feeling the increased gravity pulling her to the ground, she got up from her crouch and trudged back to the rover. From the door, she watched Amit hurry from boulder to boulder, scraping off little puffs of dust at each one, before almost sprinting off to another. She smiled.

The volcano continued to roar far above, producing an umbrella of molten rock that forever hung over the caldera. The wind seemed to be quieter, awed by the raw power of the planet.

Once they were back inside the rover and moving away from the volcano, Amit and Liu discussed the expedition.

"I'm still running my tests," said Liu, "I'm hopeful for this batch."

"I'm hoping with you. But, seriously, that volcano was too much. I feel spoiled. Did you know that there are only three celestial bodies in the known universe with volcanic activity? This'll be the fourth, and I'm the first to see it happening!"

"Do you think this is how the first explorers on Mars and Luna felt? The first in every sight they saw, every patch of ground they walked on?"

"Must have been. But ours is the better experience, isn't it? No space suit, nothing to obstruct us from exploring this new world to our greatest content!"