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Chapter 29

Chapter 29

January 21st, 2158

Logan and Mike fell into a comfortable routine.  Every morning Mike woke Logan with a box with new items.  Then the two went and either ran around the track or swam laps in the pool.  Next came weight lifting.

After the morning work out the two would get breakfast and then head to the secured area to begin the days work.  Logan quickly learned that his work was mostly theoretical, and they couldn't move too far forward without some variables filled.

All of the linguists began to help out in different areas around the station.  Mostly Logan found himself helping Ed build and refine what Ed had begun referring to as the Lingua Suits.  On a few occasions Logan found himself working with some biologists.  Unlike linguists, the more time passed the more information about several different exoplanets was received and needed processing.

Holo's throughout the secured area constantly updated information about potential exoplanets that teams might be sent to.  About a week after arriving on the station, a rover landed on one such planet.  Transitions were received with detailed images of various plant life.

After only a few days of Mikes training, Logan recognized that his body was responding quicker and more controlled than it had in years.  He was far from optimal health, but his body had started the process towards getting there.

Each night, Mike and Logan would spar.  Logan would do his best to describe the objects that Mike had placed in the box.  As Logan got better at describing the items, more items began to show up in the box.  Three became four, and four became five.  This morning there were six objects in the box.  A chunk of what looked like rubber, a pair of glasses, two coins, a playing card, and the return of the shoelace.

This was the first time that an object had been in the box twice.  Logan wondered if there was some meaning that he should take from this, but dismissed the thought.  After all how many different items could someone find on a space station all the way out in the middle of nowhere.

He also found that he was getting better at thinking and reacting separately.  He was still unable to deal any damage to Mike, but Logan was becoming more nimble.  He was beginning to read Mikes body and react without thought.  He was lasting longer in more resent rounds because of this.

In between working and training with Mike, Logan became aware that he was beginning to take in more information through out the day.  He was beginning to recognize people not only by their face, but what they wore, and how they walked.  He began to pay more attention to how people acted and learned that he could read people much easier than before.  Logan believed that this was directly related to his training with the box.

On this morning, roughly six weeks since their arrival on the station, they received their first request to meet with their Exploratory Team.  The two started the day normally, with a work out.  But the training was cut short by bipping from their DNAC's.  The message gave them a time and a place to meet with their team.

Every few days another ship would dock and unload another group of scientists and their military escorts.  And every day, holo's inside the secured area would upload new information regarding discoveries from all around our Galaxy.

When the appointed time had come, Logan and Mike found themselves in a conference room much smaller than the first one they visited when arriving at the station.  There were ten other people waiting in the room with them.  Logan recognized one of them as an engineer, whom he had never spoken to.  No one else was familiar.

Moments after they had arrived in the room the door opened and two men walked in.  The man who entered first had graying hair and wore a well tailored uniform.  The second man was larger than the first and wore street clothes.  He was either the first mans escort, or personal bodyguard.

After entering the room the second man leaned against the wall.  The first man stepped up in front of the group and began to give commands to his DNAC.  The Large table in the center of the room projected a holo giving a three-dimensional look at some unknown exoplanet.

"Welcome to your first Exploratory Team meeting," the man said.  "I am Daris Hassan the Logistical Commander for this station.  My job is to coordinate all of the Exploratory Missions.  As you may already know, we currently have four teams who are now stationed on exoplanets.  And as you may have guessed, we are coming up to your turn."

"This," Daris said gesturing to the exoplanet, "is exoplanet Clotho Three.  Because we are finding new exoplanets daily, we are trying to be as simple as possible when naming them.  We have named the star that this planet orbits Clotho, and you may have already guessed, it's the third orbiting body from that star."

"We have had two satellites orbiting Clotho Three for close to two weeks now, and a rover on its surface for about four days now.  Here is some of the information that we have gathered on Clotho Three.  Clotho Three has a mass much smaller than the Earth, however the exoplanet is very dense.  What this means is less gravity.  If earth is one hundred percent gravity, then Clotho Three is somewhere close to seventy percent.  You will feel stronger when you get there, but week when you come back."

Daris entered a quick command and the holo changed to several molecular structures.  Logan recognized a few of them as common gasses, but the more complicated ones were beyond his level of chemistry.

"This," Daris said, "is the atmosphere of Clotho Three.  The good news is it is breathable, however some of you may have already noticed the oxygen and nitrogen levels are different than earths.  On earth the oxygen levels are roughly 21% and nitrogen is about 78%.  On Clotho Three we are looking at about 38% oxygen and 61% nitrogen."

"The most important point to make here is that there is a lot more atmosphere on Clotho and therefore it is more dense."  Daris faced the group to emphasis the importance of what he was saying.  "When you first arrive on Clotho Three it will be hard to breath.  The feeling will make you feel claustrophobic, as if your chest is being constricted.  Although these levels are safe, they can become dangerous very quickly."

"If you panic while trying to breath you may begin hyperventilating.  The more you hyperventilate the harder it will be to stop.  And if you hyperventilate too long you will receive oxygen toxicity, which if not treated can be fatal."

"To help prevent this, everyone will be outfitted with personal air tanks.  These tanks will be oxygen depleted.  In an emergency, breathing from this tank will lower the oxygen levels in your body."

"Also, your team will be transporting a small hyperbolic chamber designed for two people.  In an emergency up to six people can fit inside, but it will not be comfortable."  Daris paused for a short breath, "Are there any questions about the air on Clotho Three?"

There was a brief pause were nothing was said, and Daris continued, "You will all begin training for conditions on Clotho Three tomorrow.  You will meet at shuttle bay F 19, were you will take a shuttle to a training ring a few clicks from this station.  This ring was specifically designed so we can match environments that all of our teams would be facing.  By the time you are departing for Clotho Three, each of you will have ample time in the training ring to know exactly what to expect when you arrive on the exoplanet."

"Now," Daris said bringing up a new view of the exoplanet, "to the exciting parts of our meeting.  As many of you are aware we have already documented thousands of new plants and animals using rovers on at least six different exoplanets so far."

Daris zoomed in closer to the planet.  Logan instantly recognized a coastline to a large lake, sea or ocean.  The water was blue with hints of brown and green in a few places.  The land was a wash of browns.  Along the coastline there were several landmarks that looked like hash marks, circles and squares.  Logan didn't recognize anything as out of the ordinary.  This image is one of like thousands that he might have seen around earth.

The engineer almost shouted, "My god, is that what I think it is?"

Daris smiled obviously glad that someone noticed what he was trying to point out.  "Yes, by our best guesses this is a village.  We can easily see primitive roads as well as a few different types of non-natural structures.  If their culture is anything close to our own, we estimate that there may be upwards of five hundred sentient beings living in this area."