Chapter-13: Karen's Mars WalkAbout

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Outpost
By Julian Phillips
Tom Luong Films
Jan.4, 2010

Within only a day, Karen found herself in a large fitting room, where Mars-base staff were suited up for any external Mars-surface work or travel. The Alice-in-Wonderland effect was wearing off, and she felt confident and assured about her work. The voyage across the abyss, or planetary corridor, was itself demanding and unpleasant---just something about it, as any space-traveller of 2075 would confess. Now on Mars, her physical body functions returned to normal, and her mind was sharp. The Earth-Mars communications system, from the Mars-side, was of course complex and high-tech. Which was why she had come to Mars, given her training and education. After clearance and de-bugging, and orientation at the base, Karen enjoyed a short time at the exercise-area, which was a gym---to her delight, the one-third gravity on Mars seemed to bestow amazing physical prowess, and her usual yoga-and-dance routine was somewhat like that of a 'tiger on the moon'. She had never lept so high in her life,or felt so powerful. But it was deceptive and she knew it. Otherwise, throughout the Mars-base, the lower gravity was not really a 'problem', and folks could walk about normally, as a 170-pound man now felt himself a mass-weight of only about 60 to 70 pounds, but still functional. Cargo and heavy items were easy to move, and sometimes people would play gravity-games or pranks, like one of the janitorial workers who had learned to run and quickly climb up a tall wall and even run quickly across the ceiling, like Donald O'Connor in the film classic, 'Singing In the Rain'. But it never rained on Mars.
Each surface-excursion was carefully planned and prepped. Every foot-step beyond the safety of the air-tight base was dangerous, if only for lack of 'normal' air. The base workers enjoyed speculating about how long a healthy person could last, without a suit, on the surface, such as in regular outdoor gear, maybe a thick jacket and boots or a thick hat. Even a strong person would only last a few minutes, it was unanimously agreed. Attempts to breathe the very thin, oxygen poor Mars atmosphere would seem like a sprint-runner sucking his air through a soda-straw, and within only a few minutes, you'd collapse. Additionally, the Mar-surface temperature in the region of the Snikta-Ridge Valcanic Basin, at the feet of the Tharis Montes volcanos, towering higher than Mount Everest on Earth, was very cold. A warm day might see 10-to-20 degrees Fahrenheit, and cold days could quickly drop to well below freezing. The Sun, so blazing with it's heat and glory on Earth, here on Mars, was hollow and distant, fainter, and not nearly so intense or providing as much ambient surface heat. Complicating survival matters, was the fact that without a dense atmosphere, certain types of radiation easily penetrated from above, and surface-walkers on Mars would find themselves 'burning up'---or 'sun-burnt', without proper protection, from UV rays, and other exposure.
The Suit-Room and Surface Excursion Crew were ready when Karen arrived. Her 'surface-work' today was simple. Herself and two others, would hike North along the South-facing base of the facility, only a matter of 300-yards or so, to inspect and review the antenna-array and satellite-communnications radio-transmission tech-stations, that were necessarily built exterior to much of the operational base. In this way, Karen would have a first-hand look at what she was dealing with, rather than from mere schematics and books. No one expected her to go much farther than just those 300-yards and back---she wasn't an astronaut or explorer, and was not very experienced with the suits. Other Mars teams would commonly go on excursions of even a few hundred miles (in the motorized carts). So Karen's outer-work today was 'easy'. Nevertheless, every detail was planned-and-prepped carefully, scheduled, timed, and monitored, for complete safety. Back-up rescue teams were always ready if anything went wrong.
The Suit-Room was large enough to prep and outfit as many as 12 men at a time. The 'suits' were stored 'ready-for-use' in closets like row-after-row of coffin-like bins and chutes, and each bin was equipped with electrical chrarging, oxygen-tank re-charge, saftey-testing, and other. They were not 'moon-suits', like the Apollo astronauts wore. Mars was a significantly different environment, and so were the suits and the needs. But they were similar, and also more advanced in terms of the materials and techniques applied for the comfort and mobility of the walkers. They looked rather like floppy, aluminum or metallic, cloth-like head-to-toe jump-suits, thick with padding in rings, and with joints and elbows worked carefully for movement and strength. The boots were more common and not very unusual, except that they connected to the legs by an air-tight seal, also rings. Similar with gloves, and then the head-piece, a full-cover helmet, with large plexi-glass type rounded hood for 280-degrees viewing, and an internal radio-link to both inside-base monitors, and other walker-team members. The walker could control various features through a small panel of buttons on the right forearm sleeve. Once suited-up, a back-pack connected to the suit, carrying more than 24-hours of fresh oxygen, and also water, and a heating-system, and internal body-monitors. Amazingly, they were farily light and easy to use. But running a great deal, or any kind of vigorous repeated movement such as an athlete, was somewhat unlikely, due to bulk. Some people at the base liked them, and some didn't.
Two Suit-Helpers worked with Karen, as well as her team-mates. John Balker was an experienced surface-walker veteran, more-or-less her guide, mlae, about age 45with three years on Mars (not counting Earth-vacations). The other walker going with them was Bob Johnson, a former transport pilot who was recruited to work on Mars with the ships and launches, as a 'space-harbor' pilot, or what they called a re-entry pilot. Bob was only 38 years-old. Both men were of the same husky astronaut 'right-stuff' mode that they all aspired to, jocular and up-beat.
"We exit at Gate-Three, the air-lock," said Balker. "That's off the main-entrance you came through when you arrived, just to the South about five hallways. Once we're outside, we'll just walk. we could take a cart, but I thought you might enjoy the experience. So, we just go North along the facility perimiter, 250-yards or so. Nothing out there, just rocks and dirt, and cold. Then we move up by the antenna-array, and just beyond are the other communications stations."
Balker and Johnson were already suited-up, and were testing their gear. Each person always took full responsibility for their own suits, and knew them well enough so that any emergency would not be a mystery. Karen, however, was maybe not-so familiar with the set-up's.
"Slip your hand under, then over, then through the hole," said one of the women Suit-Helpers.
Karen complied, and then figured it out. "It's a lot like mountain-climbing gear, isn't it?" she said.
"Very similar, yes," the woman answered. As Karen finally got herself completely into the suit, she laughed. It was a locker-room atmosphere, given that the walkers would put on their suits, with only 'long-underwear' underneath. "How's that?" Karen said.
"Looking good, lady," Bob answered.
"Let me just check you out on the safety-systems one more time," said the woman.
"We're still on schedule. Base-Control doesn't have us leaving the air-lock for another hour. A hallway mobile-cart will move us to the air-lock so we don't have to walk through the building wearing these things," Bob said.
"I'm also going to need my testing-equipment and hand-computer," said Karen.
"Your bag," said John.
"What?"
"You'll have your carry-bag. If it works inside, it works outside. Just make sure any electronics are not going to freeze, and have charge, and that you can push the buttons with your gloves on. And nothing with really sharp edges, like knives or blades. Other tools may be okay. I'll look at what you have before we exit."
Now all three of them closed down and latched their rounded plexiglass helmet hoods. The helpers booted the life-support systems, and the suits went 'live'. For the next five hours, each of them would exist in a tiny, closed-system inner-world, sometimes sweaty-moist or uncomfortable. If they had an itch, it wouldn't scratch, and pee-and-poop went into an often less-than-perfect diaper-and-catheter system, with large fitted-plastic male or female 'rump kits', that routed substances as appropriately as possible. John tapped his helmet as their radio-link went live.
"Read me? Karen? Bob? Testing---"
"How do I look?" Karen said, posing.
"Ready for Hollywood," Bob answered.
"Not a movie. Not a TV-show. Say it often," Karen joked.
After more adjustments and waiting, a hallway mobile-cart came and took them from the Suit-room to Gate-Three. Other base-workers were used to the sight---just another external gig, function, or labor of some kind. By the Martian clock, it was early afternoon, a good time, because the distant Sun had by now heated the surface to about the daily high-temperature.
Gate-Three was an air-lock gate, operated by three workers. It looked much like an Earthside jet-air travel gate at a large airport, perhaps wider, and more industrial, or even military-looking---not for tourists, to be sure. Walkers passed through the first inside door, onto a mid-point platform. Then the first door closed behind them, and was sealed for air. Once sealed, the second, outer-door, now was opened by the operators by machine-power, and they could pass on foot to the outside---the actual surface of Mars. This door then closed and sealed again behind them. It was quite safe. However, sans the machine-power and air-pressure seals and pumps that filled the mid-point area with fresh air, there was no way a person could use the gates, or pass through. In other words, you could not go through the air-lock gates 'manually', or operate them by-hand. There were other 'hatches' and portals into the base from outside, that could serve that purpose, should the need arise. Inner air-pressure leaks and safety were obviously a critical safety issue at all times.
As instructed, Karen, John and Bob, processed through the gate, which took about five minutes. When they stepped outside, Karen could not help but slip again into Alice-mode. Her inner-child thrilled. Here she was, walking on the surface of another planet, Mars.
"Good heavens! It's beautiful! Oh my god!" she said.
The other walkers chuckled, which she could hear on the radio-link.
"Yeah," John said. "Definitely. Not Earth, that's for sure. You'll get used to it."
Once-in-a-lifetime moments for Karen had included her first sexual encounter, college graduation, and the first time she smoked marijuana. They paused for a long moment. What she could see was the region that stretched out before the face of the Mars-base, but the view extended literally hundreds of miles, as they were rather high-up. Tharsis Montes rose and extended like the gods themselves, to the East and far out of view---jutting skyward as bands of rock and colors, a geological marvel, yet so large as to be almost dizzying. The planners wanted permanance for the base they were building, so the facility seemed almost to be fitted into the rock itself, yet at a much lower level, flatter. The mountains did not have 'snow', but seemed to glow with a crystalline sort of shimmering, especially up higher, as if the ages and ages of 'dry-ice' moisture had coated the stone, like a far off silver. Clouds and mist were also not really present in amounts one would think of as 'weather'---or like Earth-clouds. But as tall and high as the mountains were, one could see that the Martian atmosphere had a substance of some sort to it, as if carried by the wind, which was hardly even the slightest of breaths.
In the other direction, downward off the flat-land where the base was built, Karen could turn and see that the surface of Mars was indeed barren. Rocks and sand, or dirt, with only a little variation, spread away outward from her feet, towards the distant Martian horizon, perhaps hundreds of miles. Even this vista was stunning, much perhaps like California's Mojave, or Death Valley. Slopes, and ridges, small rocks, patches of colors, varous rising areas---far beyond, more mountains, also of great size. The sky-color was an odd patina of blue-green-red, for daylight hours. The Sun was visible, too---distant, smaller than on Earth, somehow cold-looking, seeming to strain with long slender rays of life-energy extending towards them.
"Let's get to work," Karen said, after her moment.
The two men chuckled again. The inner-helmet radio-link had a quality tone, and operated automatically with each spoken word. Each team-member could hear any conversation. "This way," John Balker said. They started the hike in the direction he was leading them.
He touched a button on the fore-arm panel on his suit. "Hello, base. This is Balker, with Karen Tuturro and Bob Johnson. Please recognize."
A moment. They could hear the Inter-base Communications Monitor and Excursion Team Link, a woman named Sally.
"Hi John. Base Inter-link here, I'm Sally. Got you covered. How's the weather?"
"Paradise never changes," John said. "Beautiful day!"
"Of course," Sally answered. "You're on my screen, looks good. Hi Karen---Bob."
Karen and Bob both answered with greetings. They were walking, over the sand and rocks, with the walls of the facility to their right, and the buildings and structures looming near, comforting. Their boots crunched on the sand---swish-crunch-swish-crunch-swish, like the sound of walking on a rocky beach in roller-skates. With the lighter gravity, the walking wasn't too physically demanding, yet was hard enough that Karen had to breathe deeply and focus. She had her carry-bag with testing equipment, and she had a good idea what she wanted to accomplish. Bob and John also knew why she needed to look at the Communications outer stations and antenna-array, but neither of them were trained about those systems (though they knew them well-enough).
It took them an hour to reach the outer stations and small buildings and structures that housed the communications gear and antenna-arrays and so on, that she wanted to look at. They stopped to rest several times along the way. Karen was eventually stricken with one painful truth about Mars, as she again enjoyed the view. If there was anything truly alien about the place, it was the total absence of any form of life, or natural plants, or any kind of foliage, or running water, or trees. Beyond the base, peering through her helmet visor, viewing---she blessed her memories of Earth with its abundant life. Nowhere could she see even a single twig. No life. Except themselves.
"This is the lower of the two Off-World Radio Dish systems," Balker told her, when they reached their goal. "You can see, it has the three large radio-telescope type dish projectors, and then a series of smaller ones. The large ones go to Earth, controlled by a targeting computer, so the positions change slowly. The small ones can signal to orbit, or also to surface. Some of the small ones can reach Earth, too, but not as efficiently. Our helmet-link radios are actually running off smaller antennas up there, on the second platform building---I think."
For Karen, it was like coming home. She recognized all the types they were using, and their functions, power-sources, routing, and computer-controls. There were large platform pads, with out-buildings suitable to the Martian environment, and then the dishes above, and arranged all around. At the highest point the set-up reached upwards about two stories, notreally all that impressive for size at all.
She tapped her helmet. "Can we get any music on these things? You know---some Beatles tunes or anything? I like to listen to music while I work."
"I'll see what I can do," Balker replied.
"The old Beatles, not the late stuff. I never liked their darker works."
Both the men with her laughed, then found repose on rocks or against the buildings, as Karen began what only she knew needed to be learned and discovered, to begin work on repairs to the base's vital commnications-link to Earth. The Alice-effect loosened its grip as her mind focused on familar, highly involving tasks.

---Julian Phillips
Jan,4, 2009
2,600-words