Trapped on Venus (11 page)

 
“What do you mean
‘it’s gone’?” Stimson reacted.

 
“It’s gone, John,”
Scott replied. “It just flew off.”

 
“You mean, it wasn’t
hurt?” Stimson tried to clarify.

 
“I don’t know,” Scott
concluded as he watched the creature fly up into the clouds where he could no longer
see it. “Maybe it was just stunned from the impact.”

 
“How did it fly?”
Professor Levin asked. “Did it have wings? Did it float or glide? What kind
of...”

 
“Wait... Wait a
minute. Let me describe it as best I can,” Scott said, trying to answer their
questions while still trying to figure out how to describe what he thought he
saw. “I’d say it was... well... sort of like a stingray in the ocean. You know,
it was kind of round, translucent, it flapped the edges of its body...”

 
“Yes, I could almost
see through it,” Marty agreed. “And it moved kind of like it was swimming
through the water.”

 
“Did it have a tail or
any external appendages?” Professor Levin asked.

 
The astronauts thought
for a moment, trying to remember what they had seen in just the few seconds it
had been visible while it flew. “Not that I could see,” Scott told them. “I
don’t remember any tail or wings or anything.” Marty agreed: “No, I couldn’t
see anything like that, either. It wasn’t flying very fast. But it got up into
the clouds right away, probably to make it harder to see.”

 
“Well, there must be
others like it around you somewhere,” Stimson warned. “I can’t imagine just one
advanced life form like that without there being a whole colony of them
somewhere. Make sure you keep alert. It may be back. It may even bring others
with it.”

 
Stimson realized how
ominous that might sound. As if the astronauts didn’t have enough to worry
about without being on the alert for an attack of some kind of creatures from
overhead.

 
Considering the emotional
condition the astronauts might be in, Stimson asked if they wanted to continue?
“How do you guys feel?” he asked. “Do you want to go on, or do you think you
need to return to the ship?”

 
That was a big
question for both of the astronauts. So much had happened – so much in just the
blink of an eye! – that it left them tense and alert. “We’ve got to go on,
John,” Scott answered. “Don’t you think so, Marty?”

 
“Yes, I know it could be
dangerous... even foolish,” Marty answered. “But if we don’t do this now, the
chance will pass us by. I’m ready for anything,” he concluded. “All we’ve got
are the extractor rods to fight off any intruders, so we’re at a disadvantage.
But, maybe they’re not predators, anyway. I can’t say this was an aggressive
attack. The thing just flew into our ship. He ... she... it – whatever it was –
was probably as surprised by us as we were by it. Come on, Scott. Let’s get the
extractor rods out of the equipment locker and get started.”

 
Scott agreed as they
both turned to the equipment locker that was built into the side of the landing
craft. They swung open the door of the compartment, then each grabbed a three
foot long thermal plastic rod, with a handle that could be squeezed on one end
and two pinch prongs that could be used to pick things up on the other end, and
pressed them into the clamps that were built into the legs of the side of their
suits.

 
“Ok, we’re armed and
ready,” Marty joked with a sense of irony in his voice. “If anything bigger
than a Venusian mouse comes after us, we’re probably doomed!”

 
As Scott pulled his
extractor rod out of the compartment, he also thought of taking the tool box
with them. “Shall we take this, too, Marty?” he asked. “Never can tell what we
might need to get that monitoring equipment working.”

 
“Hey, yeah. There’s a
hammer and some duct tape in there,” Marty added. “Give me those two things and
I can fix anything!”

 
Scott pulled the small
kit out of the compartment. It was not much bigger than a carry-on bag for the
airport, but it did have some helpful gadgets in it. It wasn’t particularly
heavy, but there were two fairly large “Venus wheels”, about 4” in diameter
with a broad roller base, that could be fitted onto it to make it easier to
maneuver.

 
“Attach that
collection kit to it, Marty,” Scott instructed. The small but durable case was
made to fit interchangeably on the tool box, and allowed them to travel as a
unit.

 
“I just wish one of
these things had a gun with a scope on it,” Marty joked as he snapped the
wheels in place and extended the handle so that it could be pulled.

 
“Yes, I know you’ve
got to feel a sense of vulnerability,” Stimson consoled them. “But you’re
scientists not big game hunters. We don’t want you killing anything anyway.
You’re on a mission of peace.”

 
“It’s not US killing
THEM that I’m worried about, John,” Marty said as Scott closed the door of the
equipment locker. Then the astronauts took a few cautious steps away from the
ship.

 
“Which way are we
heading, John?” Scott asked as he looked at the terrain around them.

 
It was as if they were
inside the rim of a small valley wall that varied in height from about two or
three meters at its lowest to as high as eight or ten meters. There were gaps in
the wall where it had been eroded in places, and it was thought that the
astronauts could exit the crater through one of those places.

 
“Do you see that wide
gap in the rim of the wall just to the south and east of your lander?” Stimson
asked.

 
“The one with that
angular rock formation just to the right of it from where we are?” Scott said,
identifying it further.

 
“Yes,” Stimson
confirmed. “That should take you out of the crater so you can see the site
where you were before.”

 
“Although, we won’t
know what kind of condition that area is in until we get there,” added Marty.

 
“That’s right,”
Stimson cautioned. “You said the ground was breaking up beneath your ship when
you took off. It could be just a pile of rubble.”

 
Professor Andrus, the
Polish chemist and expert on extraterrestrial life, attempted to add to their
expectations.

 
“As much as vee can
tell,” he said, “it may be coom-pleet-ly covered over and smoove again. Vee
half a teery daat it is a hard crust daat is baked by the heat. Maybe eet is
displaced by moove-ment beneet dah surf-as, but eet is steel solid enuff to
walk on, and eefen to support your ship.”

 
“So what he’s saying,”
Stimson clarified, “is that they believe the ground may just bake itself closed
again if it breaks apart. There may not even be any trace of where you were
before. We’re hoping that at least the monitoring equipment you left will be
there, but we won’t know that until you get there.”

 
“Then, I guess we
should get going,” Scott concluded. “We’ll see what we can do, and we’ll be
alert for anything that might happen.”

 
“You can say that
again,” Marty added. “Could be things in the air or under the ground. I’m
beginning to feel like this is a busy place!”

 
The men smiled a
little nervously at the accuracy of Marty’s joke, but they also felt the stress
of venturing into such uncertainty. There was no way to anticipate what they
would encounter. In fact, there wasn’t even a certainty that they would see
anything at all which might be an even bigger disappointment than finding something.
But, they started in the direction of the gap in the wall.

 
The ground was dusty
and soft, much like a flat desert, but the murkiness of the atmosphere made it
seem almost like the bottom of a lake. The astronauts shuffled along carefully,
spaced several meters apart in case the ground should suddenly open up or give
way, but nothing happened. Both Marty and Scott also let their eyes scan the
skies in front of them as they glanced up and down in an effort to be ready for
anything that might happen.

 
“Can you describe what
you’re seeing for us?” Stimson asked. “Remember, we don’t have any visuals
without the cameras. We’re tracking your movement by radar, but we can’t tell
what you’re seeing.”

 
“It’s all pretty much
the same, John,” Scott reported. “Looks like sand... kind of like sand on the
bottom of a lake or the ocean. I can feel the heat – it’s very intense – but my
suit is still cool.... How about you, Marty? You’re the geologist. Anything in
particular you notice?”

 
“It’s so unusual...
unique,” Marty answered as he let his eyes look around. I think Professor
Andrus’ theory about the surface being baked makes a lot of sense. There are
very few undulations... no vegetation, of course. I have been interested in
some of those sort of boulder groupings near the edge of the rim. They look
like they might have been here for a while. If I could get a couple samples
from them, I’m sure it would be helpful to know what kind of minerals they’re
made of. Could be a kind of silicon... could be a metal, or just sand. I can’t
tell without chipping a piece off.”

 
“Maybe on the way
back, Marty,” Stimson acknowledged. “Right now, I just want to get you back by
your original landing site to see if the equipment is there, and what it looks
like. Your first objective is to reset the monitoring equipment you put there
the first time you landed. Then, our second priority will be to see if you can
find those creatures – either the ones under the surface, or those in the air.
If you can get a sample of either one of them, you’ll push science ahead by
decades!”

 
“Yes, I know that
would be important, John,” Scott concurred. “But we don’t even know how we’re
going to collect a sample. And, if they’re not very friendly about it, it may
be harder.”

 
There was no more
talking for a minute or so, then Marty broke in. “Hey, what’s that up by the
rim, Scott?” The astronauts were almost at the rim of the crater they had
landed in when Marty saw a pool of liquid starting to form on the inside of the
wall. It wasn’t very large, maybe only ten feet in diameter, but it was
definitely a liquid pool of some kind. “Shall we get closer to it, Scott?”
Marty asked.

 
Stimson was quick to
intervene. “No, guys! I know it sounds tempting, but we’ve got to get to that
equipment first.”

 
“There’s undoubtedly
something there, John,” Marty pleaded. “If you want us to make contact with the
creatures, this might be an opportunity to do that.”

 
“I know it sounds like
a lost opportunity, Marty, but it may also mean that you’ll never get to the equipment
if anything happens. How far are you from that gap in the rim of the crater?”
Stimson asked.

 
“We’re pretty much
there, John,” Scott replied. “It’s right here to my left.”

 
Just then, another
pool of liquid began to emerge to the left of the astronauts. It was about ten
or twelve meters away.

 
“Stimson,” Scott
alerted him. “There’s another pool forming to the left of us.”

 
“What?” Stimson
reacted. “There are pools on both sides of you?”

 
“Yes,” Scott answered
then began to try to assess the situation. “There are pools on either side of
the gap in the rim.”

 
“Can you make out
anything in them?” Stimson asked.

 
“Negative, John,”
Scott responded. “It’s a pretty dark liquid. I can’t see into it – especially
from this angle – but it’s sort of rolling like a liquid in a tank.”

 
“Just leave them,
Scott,” Stimson instructed them. “Go through the gap and get out of the
crater.”

 
It was a difficult
choice to make. The Mission Commander knew that they might be missing an
opportunity of tremendous importance by leaving the pools of liquid behind, but
he weighed that against the possibility of years of data streaming back to
Earth after they left the planet.

 
“Alright. Here we go,”
Scott said as he walked through the opening in the rim and into the area where
they had been when they had to blast off previously. Scott was astonished at
what he saw, but not surprised. “Marty... it’s gone!”

 
Marty stepped through
the opening to join Scott. As he looked at the area in front of him, he knew
what Scott was talking about. There was nothing there! “It’s like we were never
here!” he admonished.

 
Stimson tried to
clarify what he thought they were seeing. “You mean it’s... undisturbed? You
can’t even see any undulations or ripples in the surface?”