“Thanks, old pal!” replied François with a smirk.
“Ok, let’s get a few containers from ARC 2. We’re definitely taking some of these guys home. They are not going to believe this.”
Under normal circumstances, a series of steps would have been taken before removing any foreign creature from its environment. At least until it could have been deemed safe for both the life form and the person doing so. But now that they were on their own, certain “protocols” had begun to fall back in the category of “suggestions”, rather than guidelines. François had not needed to be told twice. A few minutes later, both men were exiting the crevice, each carrying a small container of Martian water. Inside, several Blobus Viscus were being tossed around as they rejoined the rover. They were soon heading back to base enthusiastically.
Everyone was standing around a low table in greenhouse three. In the center of it, François’ precious new discovery was slowly sliding against the transparent wall of a small aquarium.
“I haven’t found any of the major sensory organs you would normally expect on an animal on Earth. It has no eyes, no ears, no limbs of any kind as a matter of fact. Not even a mouth. I must conclude it’s a protist of some sort. It is much larger than any on Earth, though, and substantially more complex. The nucleus, right here, makes out both its nervous system and brain. And for the size of its body, the space the brain occupies is quite substantial too. It may not be what we would call a ‘highly intelligent’ life form, but it possesses the ability to react to its environment. The fact that it uses bioluminescence is another fascinating wonder of this ‘Blobus Viscus’, as François so appropriately named it…” she looked at François with disapproving eyes, “…but I still don’t know what its source of nutrition is.”
“We were wondering about that… We didn’t see anything else there. I assume you’ve analyzed the water?” asked Dedrick.
“Yes, I did. I can tell you it contains several minerals we’ve never seen on Earth. I need to run more tests to try to isolate their exact composition. But whatever they are, I can’t even tell you how those life forms filter it. They have no digestive system, no processing mechanism of any kind that I can see. It’s fascinating… One thing for sure, they cannot survive long out of the water.” Walking over to a larger aquarium at the back of the room containing three of the creatures, Liu continued, “I’ve tried to determine if they use any form of communication between themselves. So far, nothing. I have been monitoring for sound waves.” She pointed at a screen nearby. “But nothing yet there either. I couldn’t find any patterns in their movements. Now, one thing of great interest to me is the light they emit in darkness, but there again, I need more time. They do react to movement from the outside, though. Look!”
Grabbing a small towel on the desk nearby, she waved the piece of cloth vigorously in front of the aquarium. The three Blobs quickly moved to the back of their limited living space, stacking up on top of each other.
“Awe, they’re scared,” said Ladli fondly.
“Wait, I thought you said they have no eyes. So how do they know you’re doing this?” asked Tendai.
“That’s the thing. I have no idea… They may possess another sense, unknown to us,” replied Liu.
“Some form of radar, maybe? Or maybe they can get a general sense of the amount of light surrounding them? They obviously have some way of sensing the change.” suggested Dedrick.
“Obviously… Anyway, I want to run a few more tests but I think these life forms are going to be very helpful to us.”
Liu gently tapped the outside of the see-through aquarium. The Blobus passing slowly along the same wall froze.
A few days later, the team had come to the conclusion that Blobus Viscus would be a wonderful addition to their diet. Although a few of them had at first been opposed to killing and eating a “Cute Bloby,” as Vera called it, it had only taken a few bites of the cooked creature, and one very convincing listing of its nutritional value, to get an anonymous vote of approval. After all, humans were carnivorous by nature. The team now had a new source of food. The Martian outpost living conditions seemed to be looking up. In a few weeks, four new members were going to join them, and Vera would give birth to the first human child ever born on another planet. Although all contact with Earth had ceased, and the small group was now completely on its own, the spirits were high, and soon they would have plenty of reasons to celebrate.
“I know. She just fell asleep a few hours ago. It’s gonna be close. Personally, I don’t think you’re gonna get here in time. She could go into labor at any moment. I wish you guys could be here for it, though.”
“I know, Dedrick, us too. We have another eight hours before we enter Mars’ atmosphere. Either way, it’s bound to be an awesome day.”
“I certainly hope so,” thought Dedrick.
Daniel was looking out the small window of the main cabin in Mars First 3, or MF3 as they all called it. The orange world in the distance was already taking most of the view, leaving only a small corner of black space on the upper right of the porthole opening. In a few hours, he and his three flight mates would step out on the dusty ground of Mars. He knew the world back home wouldn’t be watching as he had so often imagined, but the excitement was great, nonetheless.
“Almost there,” he thought. A big smile appeared on his face.
Ebba leaned forward next to him.
“Wow! Look at that. There’s our new home. And there, Valles Marineris. She’s so beautiful. Are we filming, Jessie?”
“Yes, both cams are recording. By the way, did you guys notice Phobos back there?”
She was pointing at an object in the distance. The Martian moon was clearly visible against the black background of space. Named after the Greek God, son of Ares and Aphrodite, Phobos was also the personification of horror to the ancient Greeks. Ebba had a fleeting feeling of dread thinking about it but shook the thought off as quickly as it came.
“Hey guys. We’re at T-minus two hours, fifty minutes. I think I’d like to do one more check run on the landing module. Ebba, you want to join me in the capsule?” called the commander from the upper level of MF3.
“I’ll be right there, Antonio.”
A few minutes later, commander Antonio Bardino and medical officer Ebba Andreasson were giving a whole new meaning to the term “Mile High Club.”
Phobos passing
“Breathe, Vera, breathe.”
“Feww! Feww! Feww! Feww!” was loudly breathing Vera, inhaling and exhaling rapidly.
“Breathe, Vera, breathe,” repeated Ladli.
“I am, I AM!” she replied harshly, looking annoyed and obviously in pain.
Vera was lying on her back in the infirmary pod with Ladli, Liu, and Dedrick at her side. She was about to give birth to the first Martian baby. They already knew it was a girl. Her name had already been picked, and to do so, Vera and Dedrick had asked their teammates to help them choose a name they all liked. After a few days of pondering and several close contenders, the expecting parents had finally picked “Chasma,” a name François had suggested; a name that came directly from the very valley they called home, Candor Chasma, in the Valles Marineris canyon.
“I can’t believe she’s having the baby the exact same day the MF3 is landing. Of all times! Talk about coincidence. I hope it’s a good omen,” said Liu sounding concerned.
“Feww! Feww! Oh, sorry for ruining your day. Feww, Feww, I’m having a baby, here. Do you mind?” replied Vera in pain.