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Short Story: Regolith trader’s first trip to Mars

Thursday October 08 2015
comet

Francis “Franco” Kamau stared at the ship in awe. The name COMET, Interstellar Solar Lines flashed on and off on its side in a kaleidoscope of colours. The travel brochures to Mars had not mentioned how big it was. ILLUSTRATION | JOHN NYAGAH |

Francis “Franco” Kamau stared at the ship in awe. The name COMET, Interstellar Solar Lines flashed on and off on its side in a kaleidoscope of colours. The travel brochures had not mentioned how big it was.

The great passenger and cargo carrier looked like a mountain, larger than any ship he had ever seen.

The bus that was ferrying Franco and 59 other passengers to the spaceship stopped at the door of a large hall next to a giant gantry beside the ship.

When they got off the bus, a hostess in a red uniform led the passengers into the hall and told them to line up at a passport check barrier. Franco was the first in line.
He glanced at a large screen displaying a message about their flight, as his passport was checked.

Departure: 4:30pm Date: June 17, 2165AD
Arrival: 8:15 am Date: June 20, 0100MD

The ship was timed to land at the exact time the first group of people landed on Mars 100 earth years earlier. The 300 people were the pioneer group they had made mankind an interplanetary species after they settled permanently on the red planet.

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Now, that population had increased to over a million, with new settlers arriving all the time.

The passport checker did a double take when he read the name on Franco’s passport.

“Jeez, you are Francis Kamau,” the man said in admiration.

“I suspect I am,” Franco told the man amiably.

“Mr Francis, the captain wishes to meet with you as soon as you are on board the Comet,” he said as he handed him back the passport.

The hostess in red tugged at his elbow, “This way, Mr Kamau.”

Franco followed her into a lift. She pressed a button and it rose quickly.

It stopped at a round tunnel labelled “Bridge One,” which led into the ship.

The hostess led Franco through the tunnel.

A subtle vibration was discernible under his feet the moment he stepped into the ship and he was beset with goose bumps. The Comet felt alive.

The inside of the ship was shiny with unpainted but highly polished metal, and she led him to a door labelled “Captain.”

The door slid open as they got near it, and they entered a room where a man was seated facing a huge screen covering the entire wall opposite the door. He swivelled his chair around as the two entered.

“Mr Kamau,” the Captain said as he rose from his chair, “Your reputation precedes you.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Franco said as they shook hands.

The hostess bowed and left the room.

Franco was mesmerised by the Captain’s height he was at least seven feet tall.

“My name is Captain Michael,” the man said as he sat back down.

Franco looked around. There was no chair for him to sit on.

Captain Michael eyed him sardonically and smiled as a chair came up off the floor.

“Everything in this room is mind controlled. Please sit, Mr Kamau,” Captain Michael told him.

“Call me Franco.”

“OK, Franco, I make it my responsibility to make important passengers such as yourself feel as comfortable as possible on my spaceship,” Captain Michael told Franco.

“Am I that important, really?” Franco asked in surprise.

“Most certainly. You have 100,000 tonnes of regolith on this ship.”

“I take risks,” Franco said.

“What are you going to do with all that stuff?” Captain Michael asked him.

“I plan to sell it,” Franco told him.

“You are going to be a very wealthy man once your cargo gets to Mars,” Captain Michael said in reverence.

“I hope so,” Franco said smiling.

“What’s in your regolith?” the Captain Michael asked him.

“Top grade red volcanic soil. I have mixed it with any natural manure I could lay my hands on, from cattle and sheep to chicken,” Franco explained.

“You are going to transform farming on that barren planet,” Captain Michael said.

The two sat in silence again, for some time.

The ship’s vibrations increased.

“What’s that?” Franco asked in alarm.

“Nothing to worry about. This ship is made of lightweight alloys. It sits on an electromagnetic cushion. Without the cushion, it would be damaged by the sheer weight of cargo. It’s now preparing for takeoff, all by itself,” Captain Michael said, his pride clear to see.

“Amazing,” Franco said.

“You wouldn’t expect less from an interplanetary liner, would you? Allow me to take you on a little virtual tour of the ship,” Captain Michael told him.

The Captain used his mind to change the screen.

“That’s the fusion reactor. It produces enough electricity to meet the demands of an entire country like Kenya,” Captain Michael said.

Franco stared at the screen, his mouth wide open in wonder.

The screen changed again.

“That is the fusion drive — our main engine. It uses almost all the electricity from the reactor. We will switch it on only when we are out of the atmosphere. Three earth days later, we will be on Mars,” Captain Michael explained.

A feminine, metallic voice spoke softly through overhead speakers: “Welcome aboard everyone. The Comet is commencing auto countdown. Please be seated and fasten your seat belts.”

As he fastened his belt, Franco asked, “How many on board?”

“Eighteen thousand passengers, 2,000 crew on board,” said Captain Michael.

The ship started to rise from the Space Port using its electromagnetic lifters. It rose steadily until it was above the cloud. It continued to go up until Franco could make out the curvature of the earth.

He felt a twinge of regret about leaving home, but he knew his dreams would be unfulfilled if he stayed. He craved something new.

Suddenly there was a clap of thunder as the fusion drive was ignited.

Mars was beckoning him. He was going to sell his regolith and start a new, better life on Mars.

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