On the Shores of Titan's Farthest Sea by Michael Carroll

Author:Michael Carroll
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf, mobi
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015

Michael CarrollOn the Shores of Titan's Farthest SeaScience and Fiction10.1007/978-3-319-17759-5_33

33. A Little Trip

Michael Carroll1

(1)Littleton, CO, USA

There was a clarity to things when one was at the precipice, about to embark on something that seemed adventurous…or dangerous…or deadly. To Jeremy Belton, such times imbued life with a surreal atmosphere. Colors dazzled, sounds rang more sharply, smells held a richer aroma. Everything had a diamond-hard edge to it. That was how this day felt to Belton. It had a succinct quality to it. It felt lethal.

His fellow passenger told him the trip would be easy—she’d read all about it—and undoubtedly it would be easier than the trips of the past. “You know, they say the earliest Titan explorers suffered terribly. Coming all the way from Earth, and despite the constant flow of nuclear thrust, their transit times stretched to years. They arrived exhausted and bored. Can you imagine all those countless protein bars and hours on stationary bicycles and treadmills?”

How did she know all this stuff? he wondered. But he was too nervous to make good conversation. He let her go on about how from Mars, at the right planetary alignment, flight times to Titan could be cut down by over a third using Jupiter’s gravity as a slingshot. It was still a grueling trip. But with China’s Q’in nuclear propulsion, coupled with the new disposable ultra-high thrust trans-stages and various chemical additions to the bloodstream, Belton faced a trip of less than five weeks. To him, even this seemed daunting.

He tried to relax into the couch, but his body kept bobbing around. He tightened his belts. His phone rang. The woman stopped her monolog. Saved by the bell.

He tapped his ear. “Belton.”

“How goes the adventure?”

“Sanjay Rao, what timing you have. I was just thinking about you here as my nausea was increasing.”

“It’s all going to be just a fond memory soon. No traffic to report, but Jeremy, keep an eye out. This whole business makes me nervous.”

Jeremy lowered his voice. The woman was chatting up an attendant. “I’m telling you, this is the best way to do it. A nice, low profile civilian liner. Nobody will notice. Any word from our friends?”

“We’ve dispatched a SWAT team from Ganymede. They will either be waiting for you or they’ll have things under control by the time you arrive. Does that make you feel better?”

“Marginally. What would really make me feel better is a little more gravity. Looks like we’re on approach, so I’ll sign off.”

“Good luck, space cowboy.”

Belton gazed out the window of the little shuttlepod, but his mind was a few gazillion miles away at Saturn. Godspeed to the SWAT team, he thought.

The massive transport loomed above him like a colossal mountain. It was nothing like the luxury liners that ferried passengers between Earth and Mars. The shuttlepod carried only one other passenger, the loquacious woman whose name was Jennifer.

“It’s all brawn and no beauty,” Jennifer observed. Belton noticed the bolts, hatches and rails scattered across the metallic hull of the transport as it filled the windows.

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