Regenesis by Eric Walters

Author:Eric Walters [Walters, Eric]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-385-68310-4
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Published: 2015-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

PART II

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

YEAR 4 AAE-DAY 137

Ivan was quietly working on the resistance apparatus—one that relied on elastics—in a corner of the room to simulate weightlifting. He’d have preferred old-fashioned free weights, but in zero gravity there was no point.

He glanced over at Professor Sheppard, who was pedalling away on the stationary bike. Sheppard acknowledged him with a little wave and smile as he continued to pedal, and Ivan gave him the merest of nods in return.

Each person on the station, from the youngest to the oldest, had an exercise program that had been designed specifically for them. Over the more than three years they had now been on the station, these programs, regularly updated to acknowledge fitness goals and add variety, acted to keep them fit, and to compensate for the physical effects of space travel and living gravity-free. Though the special shoes kept the crew members anchored to the floor of the station, their bodies were still affected by the lack of gravity, and three years was a long time to be living without it. They were continually monitored for changes in organ function and bone density. Of course, Sheppard, by this point in his life, would have potentially had troubles with both even on the surface, Ivan thought, but on the station this was critical.

Pedalling on the exercise bicycles also had a secondary benefit. The station’s engineers had hooked the bikes directly into the station’s batteries. It seemed to make the crew happy, Ivan had noted, to know that the effort they put into spinning the bicycles’ wheels was converted to energy to power the station’s systems.

The station’s solar panels were not as effective now as they had been in the beginning. Over the past three years a constant flow of microscopic debris and micro-meteorites had taken almost 10 percent of the panels’ capacity out of production. Plans called for teams to go out and do spacewalks to repair those panels on a periodic basis. While this wasn’t crucial—the remaining panels, especially augmented with the pedal power, were producing more than enough energy to meet the demands of the station—it would not have been wise to allow things to deteriorate further. Billy was, as Ivan had observed, somebody who liked to have a healthy surplus of everything.

Of course, Ivan suspected that there were other reasons for Billy’s decision to send out the repair crews. When crew members were idle they were more likely to experience mental health problems than when they were working around the station. Although everyone had a job to do, it wasn’t possible to engage them fully at all times. Sending the repair crew outside would give them purpose. It would also give them practice and help them to develop skills they might need if they ever had to make a really crucial repair. Better to learn and refine those skills now so they could have them if needed later.

Following their designated fitness routine was another way to help the crew occupy down time. But

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