Transmat World: Chapter 10, Episode 4
Between the Earth and Moon; Thursday, October 7, 2145 A.D.
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A small, flatbed lunar hauler eased up next to him and deployed steps. A man approached with one gloved hand near his ear; pinky finger sticking out one way and thumb the other, forming a communication symbol. The other hand made a slicing motion at his neck. Enrique cut off his suit communicator. After stepping up on the bed of the lunar truck, the man offered Enrique a hand. When they were both on the elevated surface, the individual bent forward and pressed his helmet against Enrique’s.
“Enrique Ramirez, I am Major Larry Presley, commander of Alpha Base. Are you okay? Do you need any immediate medical attention? If you do I can cut short this ceremony.” The major’s voice was muted but clear.
“Nothing that can’t wait, Major. There’s a cold spot on my — ” Enrique stopped and tried to look down at his leg. He had to bend his torso, crane his neck, and lift his leg. Before he could finish that maneuver someone had already slapped a self-contained, adhesive, insulated heating pad on his leg patch.
“Never mind about that. Hope it’s okay if I pee in front of a thousand people, though.”
“Five thousand and your secret’s safe with me. Please accept my condolences on the loss of your hedbot. Everyone will miss Rousseau, including myself,” said Larry.
“Thank you, sir, but what do you mean by ‘everyone’?” asked Enrique.
“Your email went viral 30 minutes after you sent it. By the time you were half-way here, almost everyone on Earth, Moon, and Mars was watching your holographic feeds to the Internet.”
“Good Lord God— “
“There will be time to think about that later. Are you ready?”
“I guess so.”
“Turn your communications back on and let’s proceed,” said Larry who straightened back up and subvocally turned his comms back on.
“Enrique Ramirez, congratulations on being the first person to brave the starry void on a journey between Earth and Moon wearing only a spacesuit in a day and age when one can step into a booth on Earth and emerge on the Moon. You are the epitome of the human spirit’s desire and imagination to bravely do what no one has done before. Please accept this plaque as a congratulatory token from the workshop of Alpha Base and accept our condolences for the loss of Rousseau.”
Enrique took the plaque from Major Presley. It was heavy gage stainless steel with the engraving:
“On the occasion of the first trip from the Earth to the Moon in a space suit, exemplifying the spirit of adventure and exploration; congratulations to Enrique Ramirez and his hedbot companion, Rousseau, on this day Thursday, October 7, 2145 A.D.”
Enrique blinked back tears as he read the plaque out loud. Five thousand people stood in their vacuum suits not making a sound.
“I want to thank Major Presley for this wonderful plaque and the sentiments and all of you for being here. This is quite unexpected. I have given no thought to what I would say. Honestly, I thought I would be in the base brig rather than giving a speech — ” a laugh from the crowd — “and despite Major Presley’s statement that I’m wearing nothing but a space suit, I do have on my skivvies.” The crowd roars. “On a more serious note, I lost a good friend today. Rousseau is … was the perfect example of how man and machine can work together to assure the survival of mankind. With support like Rousseau’s, we can march into the future without fear. Maybe we should all rejoice that, hopefully, our tools have become smart enough to save us from ourselves. Having said that …”
Enrique paused. He noticed a commotion out of the corner of his left eye. He glanced in that direction. It was the hedbots. They were excited about something at the far northern edge of the crowd, and it quickly spread to the rest of them. Soon, the crowd itself was in an uproar. Enrique felt a weight settle on his right shoulder. He turned to stare straight into giant grasshopper eyes. It looked like Rousseau with leprosy. Parts of his green skin were a mottled brown and gray. One eye was clouded like a cataract. Several digits were nothing but stubs. One leg was half gone. Most revealing of all, both communication antennae were burned smooth off his head. Rousseau’s exterior was apparently not as acid resistant as his thruster tube. The robot grasshopper tilted its head.
“Miss me? Did we win a giant check? I get half,” prattled Rousseau. At this range, antennae were unnecessary.
“Okay, you get half of this, if I get the rest of what we make off this stunt,” said Enrique as he leaned the plaque away from Rousseau’s good eye.
“It’s a deal. Oh, boy! What did we get?”
Enrique showed him and Rousseau read it.
“Enrique Ramirez, you sorry excuse for a hedbot owner. You would take advantage of a poor, feeble mechanical brain traumatized by the vicissitudes of space? You should be ashamed of yourself,” exhorted Rousseau as if he had all the rights in the world to share the rewards of this adventure.
“It’s good to have you back, Rousseau,” said Enrique.
“It’s good to be back,” said Rousseau brightly, playing to the crowd.
Only a small radius of people can pick up what Rousseau was saying, but the crowd went crazy, laughing and shouting. They were surging forward and pressed against the lunar cargo buggy.
The major took charge. “Everyone calm down. We’re all standing around in a vacuum with nothing but fabric and plastic for protection. This is a hostile environment and I am in charge. There will be a calm and orderly entry back into Alpha Base. Once inside, everyone will celebrate in their own chosen manner. Do you understand?”
With a resounding “Yes” everyone did as the major commanded, except for the rowdy few that bodily picked up Enrique and Rousseau and carried them inside. The massive airlocks in the hangars processed everyone back inside the base in twenty minutes. Some people took a Transmat back to Earth or Mars, but quite a few stayed to party. They all headed for the hotel lobby. Uniformed officers diverted Enrique and Rousseau to the medical facility. Medical personnel removed Enrique’s suit, and the doctor looked at his leg.
“Mr. Ramirez, I’m giving you an antibiotic just in case that thing picked up any bacteria from your suit before it went in your leg,” said Dr. Winston.
“What about alien DNA?” inquired Rousseau.
“Rousseau, would you quit going on about that alien DNA crap. The good doctor just — “
“And you’ll be under observation for the next twenty-four hours just in case there was anything unusual in that speck of matter,” said Dr. Winston.
“Whaaaat!?”
“Told you,” said Rousseau, “you’re going to become a mass of crystalline transistors capable of moving by thought alone. It will be so cool.”
“Dr. Winston, do you need a hedbot?” Enrique inquired.
“No, thank you, and I would recommend you take a shower as soon as possible,” replied Dr. Winston.
“I’m glad you said something, Doc. I thought my olfactory chip was damaged by radia — ” said Rousseau.
“And you should scrub down your hedbot as well to make sure no acid remains on its exterior,” added the doctor.
“Enrique, are you going to listen to this quack? Let’s get out of here and go party.”
“Come on, Rousseau; let’s see if any of those scabs wash off. After the party, you’re going into the shop.” Enrique headed for the shower.
