"Across the sea of space, the stars are other suns."
― Carl Sagan
"We don't have much time now, Van," Nic was trying to put some sense in the young man's foggy mind. "We will have to put him on stasis in the cryogenic tank."
Van and his friend had left Earth since almost three weeks, although it seemed eons for the islander. He couldn't stop remembering the glory of their younger years, the time spent in the ocean, more swimming than fishing. He remembered his grandfather, forcing them to get their tattoos, to wear proudly their past and culture on their skin as they were sent into the unknown.
The two young men never had left the atoll before. They had hopped on their outrigger canoe and affronted the deep waters. They had relied on their senses and the stars to find their way. They just knew they needed to go North-West, the nearest space-port as the old man had told.
Through a series of small islands, they paddled their way to Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and, finally, Hainan. When they docked on a fishing village at the south of the island, they found chaos. Keeping to themselves and avoiding trouble, they reached the launching area on a starry night. There, three thrusts rockets were ready to depart, though people still struggled and rushed to embark.
The two friends had feared they would be denied, however, the situation was such that no one really took notice of who was boarding. Once the spaceship had reached its full capacity, the crew just closed the hatches, asked everyone to seat properly and to secure themselves. The power of the engines as the rocket took off had stunned the young men. They held each other's hand to draw some comfort in the contact. Their adventure just started.
In the medical bay, Van was holding Gauguin's hand. He didn't want to come up with the decision to put his friend to sleep, even if it wasn't an eternal one. He roamed one finger along the lines on the sleeping man's skin. He drew circles following the sun and the waves of the Ocean, halted when it reached the Enata, the memory of their people waving them good luck bringing tears to his eyes.
"... ing... Tickling..." The word was almost inaudible. Nevertheless, Van looked at Gauguin with a prayer. His wish was granted as he saw the deep green of his friend's eyes fixing him.
"Move!" Nic had also heard the sleeping man's words and pushed the crying Van on the side. She subjected her patient to a series of tests and samples. The checkup lasted almost a full day; Gauguin was too tired and weak to object to it. Van tried to protest, once, and was sent to wait outside. He ran to Vince and Leo, who were analyzing the images taken from FUTURE-III, to give them the good news. His friend was up, sound and alive.
The two scientists left their work on the side and followed behind Van in the direction of the infirmary. Nic almost threw them out of the room when they started to jump and shout in excitement. Gauguin was smiling, though his prolonged sleep had left some marks on his features.
"What is the verdict?" Vince wanted to know about the aftereffects of the exposition to radiations and the long sleep that followed.
"Nothing! Zip! Zilch! Nada!" Nic sounded almost furious. She explained that she couldn't find any trace of damaged tissue, not deterioration of the internal organs, no sign of DNA mutation of carcinogenic cells. She couldn't accept that Gauguin's misadventure had no repercussion.
Before he could leave the bay, Nic forced Gauguin to remain for another couple of days under observation. She asked some of the doctors newly added to her team to help her with the analysis of this surprising case.
"How could have I missed it?" On the third day of the forced observation period, the scientist found the reason of the miracle. "Where are you from, guys?" She had some doubts and wanted confirmation.
"The Tuamotu." Van answered for his friend as he was tired. "Mururoa, to be more precise. Why? Does it have anything to do with Gauguin and his health?"
"I knew it!" Nic was so happy she was almost glowing. Van had this idea that the woman was a lunatic, though he kept it for himself. She sure looked crazy sometimes.
"See," she added, "Gauguin's DNA presents a mutation resulting from long exposure to radiation. Though, I didn't took it into consideration initially because it was already there when I compiled your profiles at your arrival."
Van wasn't sure he understood where she was going with this.
"You, living in Mururoa, or in the area, had been exposed to high level of radiation since even before your birth. What with all the nuclear tests the French used to perform over there... if your family never moved from the region, your body is the result of generations of exposure to radiation. Those from the nuclear tests and those from the solar flares."
Van started to understand what she was saying. Gauguin's special health was the result of mutations that rendered him immune to radiation, or, at least, more resistant to it. He agreed when Nic asked him if she could do some testing on himself, to confirm whether or not he was showing the same modifications of the DNA.
NOVA entered its fifth week after welcoming the people from Earth. Not only the mystery of Gauguin's excellent health after his accident out-space had found answer, but also, the wormhole had been confirmed to be their passage to a greater future.
The modifications on the space stations had been completed and only remained for Leo to predict the next opening. In preparation to the big jump, the station had been relocated near the gaping mouth.
Nic, and her team, was busy giving instructions to the people on board regarding what to expect from the passage through space and how to react. She also organized the revival of the remaining thirty scientists still under the icy spell. To avoid any complication with the cryogenic chambers while traveling the wormhole, it had appeared more secure to wake up everyone.
The recent events had been explained quickly, along with the urgency of the situation. No objection came from the new batch of passengers. They followed with the decisions taken by their peers and integrated the different teams according to their respective field of research.
All was ready for the grand adventure when Leo gave the green light. A huge flare was predicted to occur in the following hours and the opening should remain open for a day or two. So far, the probes had spent only few hours inside the space tunnel, however, the station, due to its mass and size, would probably take longer to cross over.
The mouth opened on time as per the estimation. The space station slowly took the direction of the opening. The excitation grew inside NOVA as everyone stood still, waiting to experience the shortcut through space.
Van felt nauseous, disoriented. Traveling a wormhole took its toll on the body. Gauguin had blacked out almost instantly after entering the tunnel. Though, considering his past weeks and the fact that he woke up only recently, it could be understandable.
As they were standing at the center of the space station, the outside spectacle of quicksilver waves wasn't on the program. Van recalled the images and Leo's excitation at the first visioning of the data from FUTURE-I. He was a bit sad not to be able to observe the sights himself, though it was for security reasons. In case of any damages to the structural integrity of the station, the passengers had been confined in its core, the soundest pat of NOVA.
Van couldn't say how long the crossing lasted. He was out intermittently, awake at one time, and blacked out the moment after. Nic had attached biometric recording devices to a group of travelers so she could analyze the results once on the other side. The experience wasn't a pleasant one, though necessary, being the side-effect of the twists in the space fabric or Nic's ministrations.
The dizziness finally stopped. The walls seemed to stabilize and the floor regained its comforting rigidity. Van didn't realize before the station had completed the crossing, that his surroundings had been so affected by the hole in space.
The music preceding any announcement through he communication system chimed.
"Rejoice my friends. We are on the other side. Sound and alive!" At Leo's words, the clamor erupted throughout the space station.
They could start looking for a new home. A new beginning under a benevolent star.