white light to mix with the blue.
They stood in silence as the shutter clacked up into its housing.
“Dr Holland,” said Jensen. “I give you the caves of Mars.”
Holland walked to the window. He was looking into a large cavern, roughly spherical. Eaten out of the rock by the actions of millions of years of acid-producing organisms, it breached the lava tube, its walls and floors fractally pocked with further spheres that gave the rock surface the appearance of bad foamcrete. The lava tube past the airlock veered right and carried off into the dark, but the path turned left, through the tube’s broken wall, down a set of metal steps and on to the floor of the cavern. A string of lights on poles and power cables followed it.
Maguire joined him.
“Incredible,” said Holland.
“It’s quite something, isn’t it? And this is just the uppermost cavern; they get bigger as they go down. This one is practically dead now, just a few organisms up here, a remnant of the remnant if you like. It’s too cold here for the range of life we see lower down.” Maguire pointed out a number of small stalactites. “Ossified snottites. I don’t think there were ever many, and certainly none of the more complex forms. And fairy castles, not very old, which is a bit of mystery to be honest, what with everything else being so ancient. You can tell from the size of the mineral deposits they leave behind. But you’re here for that, aren’t you now?”
“Silicon shells, deposited like coral,” said Holland. He’d only ever seen pictures before. There were little stacks of them all over the cavern, half a metre tall and cupped at the top, sparkling in the light from the path. Each one built up by the actions of microbes over untold aeons. Whole orders of life had risen and died on the evolutionarily volatile Earth, while on cold Mars life had patiently built tiny castles, crystal by crystal.
“This is the highest point at which they’re found. They struggle up here, nothing compared with the richness you’ll find down there, like magic grottoes, they are. I’ll bet you can’t wait to get down there and see it, eh? Eh?” Maguire gave Holland a push on the shoulder.
“Wow,” he said. He felt his sense of disconnection return. The experience was unreal.
“Don’t use up your ‘wows’ now, you hear? You’re going to need them when you go into the lower caverns.”
“If I may,” said Jensen. He held forefinger and middle finger up together and indicated the lines and cables running alongside the path. “I will point out some of the safety features in the caverns. Power is delivered to EM relay points around the caverns by those cables. Microwave power transmission is too dangerous, but you will always be able to recharge your equipment remotely, barring a catastrophe. Lines” – he indicated spun carbon cables hanging slackly from the walls – “to clip yourself to. They are steel where there are large concentrations of carbon-hungry methanogens. The stairs are safe, but there are many sheer drops in the caverns. While descending, it is mandatory to attach yourself to the line. Detachment from the line is permitted only after confirmation from the observation team. You will work in pairs within each expedition. It is absolutely imperative you do not lose sight of your party while you are in the chamber. Radio contact is at a short range in the cavern system; relay points, however, allow you to communicate with Deep Two and Ascraeus Base, and so to the larger Martian Grid, which allows us to send remote units down also, including the AI. You will be expected to leave your augmentation active while within the caverns at all times. Dr Vance?” Jensen called behind him. “If you please.”
Lights flickered on, along with the whine of machinery coming online. “The centre is now at mission active status.”
“Dr Jensen?” A voice. The AI. Holland felt his good humour crumple in on itself. “Are Panther Team
They stood in silence as the shutter clacked up into its housing.
“Dr Holland,” said Jensen. “I give you the caves of Mars.”
Holland walked to the window. He was looking into a large cavern, roughly spherical. Eaten out of the rock by the actions of millions of years of acid-producing organisms, it breached the lava tube, its walls and floors fractally pocked with further spheres that gave the rock surface the appearance of bad foamcrete. The lava tube past the airlock veered right and carried off into the dark, but the path turned left, through the tube’s broken wall, down a set of metal steps and on to the floor of the cavern. A string of lights on poles and power cables followed it.
Maguire joined him.
“Incredible,” said Holland.
“It’s quite something, isn’t it? And this is just the uppermost cavern; they get bigger as they go down. This one is practically dead now, just a few organisms up here, a remnant of the remnant if you like. It’s too cold here for the range of life we see lower down.” Maguire pointed out a number of small stalactites. “Ossified snottites. I don’t think there were ever many, and certainly none of the more complex forms. And fairy castles, not very old, which is a bit of mystery to be honest, what with everything else being so ancient. You can tell from the size of the mineral deposits they leave behind. But you’re here for that, aren’t you now?”
“Silicon shells, deposited like coral,” said Holland. He’d only ever seen pictures before. There were little stacks of them all over the cavern, half a metre tall and cupped at the top, sparkling in the light from the path. Each one built up by the actions of microbes over untold aeons. Whole orders of life had risen and died on the evolutionarily volatile Earth, while on cold Mars life had patiently built tiny castles, crystal by crystal.
“This is the highest point at which they’re found. They struggle up here, nothing compared with the richness you’ll find down there, like magic grottoes, they are. I’ll bet you can’t wait to get down there and see it, eh? Eh?” Maguire gave Holland a push on the shoulder.
“Wow,” he said. He felt his sense of disconnection return. The experience was unreal.
“Don’t use up your ‘wows’ now, you hear? You’re going to need them when you go into the lower caverns.”
“If I may,” said Jensen. He held forefinger and middle finger up together and indicated the lines and cables running alongside the path. “I will point out some of the safety features in the caverns. Power is delivered to EM relay points around the caverns by those cables. Microwave power transmission is too dangerous, but you will always be able to recharge your equipment remotely, barring a catastrophe. Lines” – he indicated spun carbon cables hanging slackly from the walls – “to clip yourself to. They are steel where there are large concentrations of carbon-hungry methanogens. The stairs are safe, but there are many sheer drops in the caverns. While descending, it is mandatory to attach yourself to the line. Detachment from the line is permitted only after confirmation from the observation team. You will work in pairs within each expedition. It is absolutely imperative you do not lose sight of your party while you are in the chamber. Radio contact is at a short range in the cavern system; relay points, however, allow you to communicate with Deep Two and Ascraeus Base, and so to the larger Martian Grid, which allows us to send remote units down also, including the AI. You will be expected to leave your augmentation active while within the caverns at all times. Dr Vance?” Jensen called behind him. “If you please.”
Lights flickered on, along with the whine of machinery coming online. “The centre is now at mission active status.”
“Dr Jensen?” A voice. The AI. Holland felt his good humour crumple in on itself. “Are Panther Team
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