The Io Encounter: Hard Science Fiction (Ice Moon Book 3) Read online

  The Io Encounter

  Hard Science Fiction

  Brandon Q. Morris

  Contents

  Part 1: Preparation

  Part 2: Execution

  Author's Note

  The Guided Tour of Io

  Glossary of Acronyms

  Metric to English Conversions

  Part 1: Preparation

  February 5, 2047, Shanghai

  Bailong Li no longer remembered the time when he first met his wife, but she later told him she had only gone with him because he’d spontaneously offered to warm her cold hands. Even now, although it was almost dark in the room, and he could no longer see very well without glasses, Bailong could clearly recognize his wife’s right hand. To him, the hand seemed to glow in the dim light. It looked delicate, but he knew it could grasp firmly and accurately because his wife had worked as a seamstress for 40 years.

  When the left lens of his glasses had once again fallen out of its frame, and he had once again struggled to pick the thin object off the floor, his wife’s slender fingers only needed a few seconds to retrieve the lens and repair his glasses. Then she would scold him, once again, and tell him he should go to an optician and get a new pair of glasses, since they could easily afford it. Of course he could see in her eyes that she knew quite well how much he loved his old pair of glasses.

  He placed his hand on top of hers and was shocked for a moment at how cold her skin felt. It was an instant reminder that his wife had felt cold during her whole life. Even now she didn’t feel warm, although they lived in a modern apartment in which they could turn up the heat to 30 degrees or more, as money was no issue these days. He closed his hand around hers and looked at her face in profile. The skin of her face also seemed to glow in the twilight, and to Bailong no one had such translucent skin as his wife, Chen Lu. Morning Dew. That was the name her parents had given her, and the name still fit perfectly. He saw her wrinkles—the old ones from sorrow, and the new ones that age had added—and his gaze followed the shape of her nose and chin, both pointing forward as if the personality of their owner pulled them there.

  Bailong Li bent a bit forward. His back hurt, as the wooden bench they both sat on was not at all comfortable. It was the only thing left from their former life in the village before their stubborn daughter, against their advice, joined the army to pursue her career. Bailong followed Chen Lu’s gaze staring out into infinity. His wife had never been much of a talker. She had always been quiet, even when giving birth to their daughter, but he did not mind. He felt good just being next to her. Chen Lu liked to sit at the window and let her gaze wander. Sometimes it seemed as if she left her body behind. That was why he liked to sit here beside her—to safeguard the shell that remained. This way he still felt needed, even though others now took care of the elderly couple who had raised the currently-most-famous daughter of China.

  A sea of skyscrapers loomed in front of them. Initially, Chen Lu had refused to move to this monstrous city. But when they were given a tour of the apartment, she just stood still in front of the huge picture window and could hardly be talked into leaving. After they moved in, she placed the wooden bench right by the window, and now they almost always sat there after sunset.

  Bailong turned his head around, as much as he still could manage. Behind him he saw that night had fallen over the city, even though he looked at a solid wall. When the couple first viewed the apartment, the government real estate agent proudly showed them the giant wall-mounted monitor that used camera feeds to create the illusion of a second picture window there. If the tenant so desired, the air conditioning could blow a fresh breeze through the room, creating the illusion of sitting on the roof of a high-rise building. According to the real estate agent’s whispers, this exclusive feature had been the idea of the previous owner, a multi-millionaire who had later fallen out of favor with the Party.

  Chen Lu never used the monitor. She claimed the view from it always fell short, somehow, of depicting the real world around her. Bailong Li didn’t mind if his wife refused to use it. As he turned back to look through the huge picture window, he perceived the scene before him as divided into two halves. Below was the chaotically-blinking sphere of humans. One couldn’t tell from up here that the bright spots, seeming to march like an army of ants, belonged to driverless cars, or buses, or trucks moving through the darkness toward unknown destinations. High-rises, most of them shorter than their own building, stretched like fingers toward the sky without ever reaching it.

  The sky was the upper sphere for him. Since China was putting a lot of effort into fighting smog, it appeared in purest black. Bailong remembered visiting Shanghai 30 years ago, when during one golden week they had marveled at the city and admired the red glow of sunset, but they had missed being able to see the night sky. Now the sunsets were much less spectacular, but their eyes could once again gaze into infinite space, hoping to see their daughter Jiaying who currently was on her return flight to Earth in a ‘tin can.’ Would she ever come home? Bailong sighed, as he could not imagine China’s new heroine ever moving into the room they kept free for her in the new apartment. It almost seemed as if Jiaying had never really belonged to them. She had always known what she wanted, and followed her own plans without telling anyone about them. After her return she would belong to the Party, whether she wanted to or not.

  The doorbell rang, but Bailong didn’t react since they were not expecting any visitors. Then his bracelet, which his doctor made him wear due to his weakening heart, and which was also linked to the apartment control software, suddenly vibrated. He raised his arm. On the bracelet display, the door symbol was blinking red. Somebody definitely meant business, as this color signaled the activation of the priority opening function, which was required by law to give 24/7 access to emergency services or the police. If he did not react now, the door would open by itself in 180 seconds.

  Bailong was annoyed. It must be that damned janitor again! Two weeks ago the man had suddenly appeared in their kitchen, presumably out of concern for their health, because they failed to react to him ringing the doorbell. The janitor was a poorly-paid, smelly man, and the unfriendly guy probably just wanted to demonstrate his power to these upstarts from the provinces. He was also most likely one of the many government spies, as they had been under constant supervision since their daughter became a national hero.

  Bailong caressed Chen Lu’s hand. His wife nodded in response, which meant ‘you go, I am staying here.’ He seemed to feel her thoughts in his own head, and they were warm. He got up and walked slowly toward the apartment door. Halfway there the bracelet vibrated again. He only had sixty seconds left to answer the door.

  “I am coming,” he called out, and was shocked how thin his own voice sounded. There was no answer from outside. The door lock displayed the countdown, and it had reached 20 by the time he pushed down the handle. Bailong jumped when the door was abruptly pushed open. Luckily, he was no longer standing directly behind it. Now his bracelet warned him his blood pressure had gone up beyond the desired level.

  “Mr. Li?” Two men in blue suits were standing in the hallway. They could be father and son. Each had a Party badge pinned to his lapel. They looked at him without showing any emotion.

  Bailong nodded. “Yes, that is correct.”

  “We are from the Office for Senior Citizen Welfare. We wanted to make sure you are being well taken care of. May we come in?”

  He had never heard of such a government agency. He knew the intelligence services sometimes hid behind obscure organizations. It did not matter. There was no choice but to invite these men into
his apartment with a polite gesture.

  Both of them bowed, then the younger one pulled out a device that somewhat resembled a clunky pistol and aimed it at Bailong’s face.

  “Just a technicality,” he said calmly when Bailong flinched. “I am going to confirm your identity via an iris scan.”

  Bailong stood still, even though he wanted to run away. But where would he go? And how could an old man escape two strong, well-trained agents?

  “Thank you,” the younger man said.

  The older man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of plastic shoe covers. “You have to excuse us, as we are in a bit of a hurry.”

  Instead of following proper etiquette by taking off their shoes before entering the apartment, the two men deftly slipped on their shoe covers, which were as blue as their suits.

  “May I?” Bailong was still blocking the doorway, so the older man pushed him aside. Now both visitors came all the way in and the younger one closed the door. At the same moment, they dropped any pretense of politeness.

  “We must talk to you and your wife, right away.” It was obvious the older man was the boss here. “Mrs. Li?”

  The men did not even wait for Chen Lu’s answer, they both marched straight toward the living room. The older one dragged Bailong with him, while the younger one typed something into the display of his bracelet.

  Chen Lu stood with her back toward the window, leaning against the glass. Bailong was frightened, since he had never completely trusted the windowpane and always kept a step away from it. He tried to join his wife, but the older man held his wrist in a firm grip.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Li, we have to ask you to come with us. It is a government issue of the highest importance.”

  Bailong gazed at his wife, but she showed no sign of emotion and seemed to look right through these unwelcomed guests.

  “Do you understand us?” The stranger was getting louder. Bailong nodded.

  “Fine. You do not have to bring anything along. Everything will be taken care of.”

  Bailong gathered all the strength old age permitted him, managed to tear himself free, and walked the four steps toward his wife.

  “Do not be afraid,” he said to her, though he sensed he was mostly trying to reassure himself. He took hold of her hand.

  “We should go now. There is a car waiting in the street,” one of the men said.

  “Yes, Mister...” The man did not respond.

  As a farewell gesture, Bailong turned around one last time and gazed at the sky. Somewhere out there, at an almost infinite distance, his daughter was traveling through hostile space. He was proud of her, no matter what was going to happen to Chen Lu and himself.

  February 10, 2047, ILSE

  He only needed to place a thumb over the sun to extinguish it. At the left and right edges, though, he could see thin strips that had not been there yesterday. Day by day the sun appeared to grow larger, attracting him like a far-away magnet. Its light even seemed to warm his skin more than before, although that was nonsense. He was not even observing the central star of the solar system through a glass window, but rather on a monitor attached to the wall of his tiny cabin, right next to his berth.

  Martin Neumaier really wanted to get home. He was tired of this seemingly never-ending adventure, but the crew of ILSE still had about eleven months of flight ahead of them. Right now, Martin was wishing he could curl himself into the folds of his grandmother’s skirt like he used to do as a little kid. He wanted someone who would caress him and tell him everything would be all right. He certainly did not feel all right. The day before yesterday, Jiaying had told him it was all over between them.

  Why, just why? Yesterday Martin had skipped his shift, saying he was sick. He also did not exercise, but instead spent the time lying in his cabin, giving in to feelings ranging from grief to anger. He had saved her life, and she had saved his. They understood each other, had shared both their dreams and the humdrum routine on board the spaceship they finally had returned to. And now this? Didn’t he at least have a right to find out the reason for their breakup, to hear what he had done wrong? Instead he had heard meaningless phrases like, ‘It’s not your fault,’ ‘It’s no use,’ and ‘You deserve someone better.’

  How was he supposed to make it through the coming months? How did she imagine it working? The spaceship was not large enough for them to avoid one another. They would still have to talk to each other and share shifts, especially now. With the entire crew consisting of only five people, there was no room for personal animosities. How could the situation ever become normal again, if Jiaying did not answer any of his questions?

  Martin swiped the sun aside with his index finger. At this scale, he could not find Earth without the help of a computer. Of all the planets, he could only see Jupiter clearly. It moved around the sun in its own orbit and approached the trajectory of ILSE, which was aimed at the future position of Earth, with a speed of 13 kilometers per second.

  Jupiter is a remnant of the primal period of the solar system. This gigantic ball of gas is 11 times the diameter of Earth and has 300 times its mass. It outweighs the combined mass of all the other planets by two-and-a-half times, and its gravitational pull had a significant influence on the construction of the solar system.

  On our way out, Jupiter was behind the sun when we crossed its orbit, so we will soon be able to admire its full size for the very first time. The planet needs almost 12 Earth years to orbit around the sun. Martin then scoffed at his thoughts. They would not reach the orbital plane of Jupiter ‘soon’ and, having reached that point, be halfway home. It would still take months before the gas planet and its numerous moons would bring any real change to his daily routine.

  There was a knock on the door. It must be Amy. Nobody else rapped on doors in such an old-fashioned way, using their knuckles. The commander is just doing her duty by checking on me, he thought. At the same time, he was angry at himself for being so unfair to her, though right now the world wasn’t exactly treating him fairly, either.

  There was another knock. Amy, of course, would never just burst into his room unannounced. She was so damned polite and considerate.

  “Come on in, I’m here,” he finally called out. The door opened, and indeed it was Amy who entered his cabin. She was wearing a NASA overall, not uncommon for her. He rarely saw her in a civilian outfit, particularly since the special clothing was intended to mitigate long-term side effects of low gravity.

  “How are you doing? Can I help you somehow?” asked Amy quietly.

  Martin felt like giving a snotty answer, but he simply could not do it because Amy’s face so clearly expressed real concern. He couldn’t slap Bambi in the face, could he?

  “Thanks. It’s okay,” he answered, trying to use a neutral tone.

  “I have talked to Jiaying. She told me she broke up with you, which has left you quite devastated, understandably so.”

  “Yes?” If Jiaying actually cared she could tell me herself, he thought, shaking his head.

  “Yes,” Amy said, “and I got the impression she really means it.”

  “Great,” Martin answered. “That is so helpful.”

  As if physically struck by his cynical reply, Amy flinched slightly.

  How can a commander be so sensitive? “Amy, I am sorry, but I’m not doing very well and I just don’t understand it,” he said. “Did she give you any kind of explanation?”

  The commander shook her head. “Unfortunately, I don’t know any more than you do. Maybe she herself doesn’t know the reason. When I was 20, I dumped a great boyfriend. I just got a strong feeling I had to do it—right then. Later I regretted my decision, but by then he was already married.”

  “Jiaying isn’t 20 anymore.”

  “This is true. Honestly, I didn’t get the impression it was a spontaneous decision. Jiaying is very goal-oriented, as you know. If she comes to a decision, she has a good reason for it.”

  “That’s what bothers me. It has to be some
thing connected with me, because otherwise she could have told me.”

  “I can imagine how that preys on your mind.” Amy focused on the wall, as if something was going through her head.

  “Right now, you need some diversion,” she said. “Do you want to watch a movie with me?” She looked at her watch. “Hayato is taking care of Sol right now, and my shift won’t start for another three hours.”

  Martin could not help but smile. Amy actually wanted to sacrifice her free time for him. He was touched by this. He looked to the side so she wouldn’t notice.

  “No, it’s okay,” he replied. “I’ll just get on the exercise bike for a while. Thanks for coming to see me.”

  “Okay, of course you’re welcome. And if you need someone to talk to, you know...”

  Martin nodded, sat up on the edge of his bed, and started putting on his sneakers.

  “See you later,” Amy said, closing the door of his cabin again as she left. Martin fell onto his side on his bed, pushed the shoes from his feet, grabbed his tablet and rolled over on his back, bringing up a book he had started reading a week ago. He suddenly remembered Jiaying recommending it to him. He almost felt like putting the tablet aside, but he forced himself to continue reading.

  February 15, 2047, Fort Meade

  A black sedan approached a low, even blacker rectangular building. The vehicle rolled slowly across the huge parking lot. Only a few cars remained by this time. About every twenty meters the sedan was bathed in the light of another streetlamp. Even so, the passengers inside could not be seen due to the reflective windows. The building they approached concealed a metal skeleton beneath its shimmering surface. This skeleton kept any radiation from entering or leaving. They could see an entrance in the middle of the wall that, from a distance, looked more like a socket. The almost-silent black sedan drove into it.