Tales of Three Worlds - 16. Fragment 16: Exploration

Fragment 16: Exploration

`“What took you so long?”

Harman and Silver Eagle paused just inside the door to Matthias Joossens’ office a short time after their guide Ivan Svoboda had introduced them, then left. Their meal had been good and the company informative, but the man seemed reluctant to answer more than a few of their questions, saying that they’d be better off asking their host, Doktor Joossens himself. Now, with the apparent curtness of those words, the two wondered if they’d get the opportunity to ask those questions at all.

“Ivan—Dr. Svoboda, I mean—gave us the impression that a meal before meeting you would be okay,” Harman said, ignoring the tone of the older man’s words; he wouldn’t allow this meeting to get off on the wrong foot if he could prevent it. “It was a long journey from Tycho Deep by ‘pod’…”

Dr. Joossens nodded, then motioned for them to sit in the two chairs opposite his uncluttered desk. “I sometimes forget that teens need feeding more frequently than adults, even in these days of nano-bots.” That remark showed them that their host came originally from a time and area where such technology was limited, if not banned outright. He seemed to be of middle years, but whether this was due to choice or was the best his ‘bots could do was uncertain.

Silver Eagle waved a hand to show it was time to move on, the ‘thals having no real patience with verbal jousting such as most humans enjoyed. “Harman and I are here to meet with his potential relatives, if Magrithe Derichs’ researches prove correct.”

The older blond man nodded. “Yes, I was informed about that, and I’m more than willing to have you meet your relatives…” He paused for a moment before continuing.

“Would you allow our Medical section to access your genomic profile to match up with our own files to see if there are any others here we don’t know about?”

Harman exchanged a glance with Silver Eagle before nodding his head in assent. He quickly scanned the release form Dr. Joossens handed him, then used the retina scanner to sign it.

“What puzzles me, Doktor Joossens, is how any of your people can be related to me; Ivan told us something about your ‘Lines’ and how they began with stored material from donors, but since my own family never left Earth, are we truly related at all?”

The man opposite them leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers beneath his chin. “I don’t quite see how you reached that conclusion, since Hartmann Hallbach did go into space and spent many years there, thus the reason why he left genetic samples here and elsewhere to provide him with a chance at producing children at a later date….”

Harman shook his head slowly, but took a few moments before answering.

“I guess I’m having some trouble incorporating lunar concepts into my mental processes since I grew up in an area where such things as genetic manipulation were only used to alleviate some diseases and control pain in those diagnosed with terminal illnesses…NorAm had some less stringent rules than other places, but they still allowed nothing that would permanently alter a person’s genome.

“I can see how Hartmann’s DNA could be used to create such descendants, but it seems different to getting it directly from my parents. What sort of relationship does this give us—since there is no direct interbreeding, surely brothers or sisters, or even cousins are ruled out?”

Doktor Joossens gave the two boys a small smile. “Yes, you’re right about that, but if you go simply by the genetics, then relationships definitely exist…it’s just the descriptions that lack exactness. For most purposes on Luna, such descendants are thought to be separate lineages, so the usual terms can apply within those families. Genealogy considers this as something like a cadet branch of a particular family, but that mainly applies to any breeding between two branches, which could produce offspring. Legally, inheritance between lineages of the same genomic profile have to be specified in documents to occur, otherwise such things pass from generation to generation as in standard families.”

“Now you see, Harm, why the ‘thals have it so much easier?” Silver Eagle said with a laugh and a broad smile.

The redhead grinned back, then turned to their host again.

“You said Hartmann left samples here, so I’m considered part of his lineage, just a separate branch of it for legal purposes? Does the concept of seniority come into this at all—I mean, since he was born on Earth and I came from that branch, does that give my branch more claim over any property he might have left here? With the events that have occurred recently on Earth, I am curious to know if any items went to his Line here, or if it reverts to me as the last surviving direct progeny?”

Now it was the other man’s turn to pause as he considered his answer. Harman saw his co-mate’s eyes narrow a bit which was a sure sign he was consulting his implant for any precedents on record, and wondered if Matthias Joossens was doing the same. He could assume the man had his own implant, but had no idea what generation it was since the man had spent a good part of his life in a restrictive area of Earth before coming to Luna several centuries earlier.

Joossens spoke as if he’d been here when Hartmann had left his genetic samples here, but that had to be nearly three centuries ago, and they hadn’t found a precise date for the older man’s arrival on Luna despite their data searches. Was that simply due to a clerical error or something more? If he’d been on the run from the Genetic Authority, then hiding the particular details of his immigration was understandable, but was that the only reason for the lack?

“That could be a thorny question, but a look into his personal files and records should give us an answer. I know he planned on Luna giving him some family of his own, but I don’t know if he took similar or other steps to do the same on Earth. He did leave some instructions and some few personal effects here when he last left us, but it’s been a long time since I went over those things, so I don’t know what else there might be.

“Would you like to see his personal quarters today, or leave that for tomorrow?”

For the first time since entering Dr. Joossens office, Harman took notice of the décor, and was surprised to see a small rectangular object hanging on the room’s greyish wall next to the vidscreen to the right of the desk. It seemed to show the current time on each of the Three Worlds, Earth’s being represented by GMT, while the other two used their own systems: Luna’s 24-hour planet-wide day, and Mars its own 24.5 hour cycle. He couldn’t recall if Mars, like Luna, used the same time in all settlements, or zones as on Earth.

He was a bit startled to see it was nearly 2300 already, or 11PM using the clock he’d grown up with. Silver Eagle had noted the time as well, and answered for both of them. “I think it might be best to do it in the morning, don’t you Harm? It was a long trip from Tycho, and we also have to meet your relatives …so starting out fresh might be best.”

“That sounds good to me,” he replied, stifling a slight yawn. “What time works best for you, Dr. Joossens—though I guess it depends on how much there is to see?”

“Well, if you include his laboratory and work rooms as well as his personal quarters, it could be several hours, and most people have breakfast around 0800, so you could be done by lunch if you see all of them. That would save the afternoon and evening to start meeting your local family….”

“Let’s plan for that then, shall we? I’m thinking not everyone could meet at the same time with varying work shifts?”

Dr. Joossens made a gesture to show that wouldn’t matter. “For an occasion like this, no one would object to any alterations in their work cycles—it’s not every day a new relative is found, especially one from Earth….”

As the boys rose to leave, Silver Eagle asked if they’d need an escort back to their room, since Ivan Svoboda had left after introducing them to the settlement’s owner. If they’d been in one of the larger cities, they’d have had a visual guide such as a holographic marker along a wall, but they hadn’t seen anything like that here.

The tall blond man opened his office door with a touch to its central wheel, and stepped out into the corridor with them.

“Just ask your implants for voice directions since you’ve updated the link to our systems. It knows your room location and will use our map as a guide. Send a message to either Ivan or myself after you eat, and one of us will meet you. If I’m free, I can do it, or you may choose Ivan instead—he can do both since he’s been tasked to be your local contact during your visit.

“Have a good night, boys.”

* * * * * * * * * *

“What do you think we’ll find in Hartmann’s quarters,” Silver Eagle asked as they walked toward the restaurant they’d been in the night before. Despite the new location and the excitement of the chance of meeting new relatives, they’d both slept well, and looked forward to seeing Ivan Svoboda again.

“Truthfully, Sil, probably nothing beyond personal interest….I mean, it’s been centuries since he left and I’m sure lots of people have gone through all his labs and rooms for any clues to what happened.”

The ‘thal nodded his agreement with his co-mate’s statement, then added an observation of his own. “I just wonder how much of his personal belongings are still here—wouldn’t most of those have been sent on to his brother Ernst-Karl?”

His companion frowned. “You’re probably right, but we can hope; if he was here for only a short time and didn’t do any of his research here, then there might be things the investigators missed….”

The restaurant was about half filled with customers, so it took a few moments for them to locate Ivan near the ‘windows’ that showed them the crater’s central peaks. He stood and motioned for them to sit, then showed them the breakfast menu.

The number of items surprised both boys, who had been expecting more limited options. There were the usual items such as eggs, bacon and juice, but also a variety of rolls and toppings if you wanted a more Eurobloc meal. Something called ‘the Full English’ had them wondering who could eat so much at one sitting: bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, eggs, fried bread and even kippers for the truly colonial appetites.

“I’m having tea, rolls and orange marmalade, if that helps…” their guide said with a smile.

“It does, thanks,” Harman said, then added to the waiter as he asked for their orders. “A ham and cheese omelet, two pancakes with maple syrup and orange juice, please.” He was even more impressed when asked what type of cheese and syrup he wanted.

Silver Eagle chose sliced ham, hash brown potatoes and biscuits with honey, adding fruit juice and hot tea. Unlike Harman, he’d lived on Luna all his life, so the menu was no surprise, but his co-mate could still be shocked when some items appeared that he’d rarely seen on Earth itself. “Four centuries of agricultural development and experimentation,” he’d told him more than once since they first met two years previously. “Sure, the early years were rougher with more synthetics, but bringing in stock and the genetic codes for plants, animals and hybridization soon gave us as much or more variety than what the average Terran could find locally.”

It was nearly an hour before they finished eating and were preparing to start their day’s tasks. “Where shall we start,” Ivan asked, finishing his cup of tea.

With a quick exchange of glances, Harman suggested his ancestor’s personal quarters, then his laboratories. “I don’t suppose you can tell me whether the Star Seeker investigators went through those places?”

“From what I understand, his base on Ceres was his main one, and the testing site past Neptune were thoroughly searched, but his main activity here was limited to genetics and historical research, so they left after doing only a cursory examination.”

“What type of genetics?” Harman asked. “And how does history fit in,” added Silver Eagle softly.

Ivan closed his eyes for a moment, and his face gave the signs for someone who was consulting his comm implant for more data. The speed of his return to the present indicated it was a private source rather than the hugely complex network that connected all three human-settled worlds.

“Early forms of plant and animal hybridization, especially pre-Twentieth, early space exploration research, including testing the limits of the human body…and speculation on exo-planetary environments.”

“That certainly doesn’t have anything to do with his Star-Seeker engineering….”

“It sounds more like the things Earth was doing before Luna was settled,” Silver Eagle added to his partner’s comment.

Harman finished off his juice, then put his napkin on his empty plate. “Well, we’re not finding anything sitting here, so shall we make a move?”

Ivan led the boys out into a different corridor, then into an elevator that dropped them deeper under the crater’s rim. “The surface levels are mostly residential and business, while the research labs and industrial are the next lowest, then below them all are the Maintenance and Farm caverns.”

“We’re headed for the middle levels then,” Harman asked, expecting a nod, but got a shake of the head instead.

“Hartmann Hallbach kept some quarters there, but he had others that weren’t on official site plans, so were never searched. Doktor Joossens has given permission for you to see them, but he doesn’t think you’ll find anything new.”

Ivan could sense a renewed excitement from his charges, and was pleased, though he too doubted there’d be any revelations made on this tour since their own people had found nothing.

“That doesn’t really matter to me…the few things I’ve seen came down through the family and were worn and old…but here there’ll be things I know he actually touched on a daily basis! Maybe I’ll find something that tells me he shared one of my own interests….”

When the elevator slowed to a stop, Ivan held up a small disk to the floor display pad, and they began moving downward once more. “That was the lowest mapped level, next will be our destination…and, here we are,” he said when the door opened on what seemed one more green-turfed corridor. About fifty feet down were two doors with the omnipresent central wheel, with the corridor ending with another a hundred feet farther along. The door to their left was labelled ‘Laboratory’ and the right ‘Library’.

Silver Eagle was tempted to try the right-hand one first, but Harman was pressing on toward the end, which were most likely Hartmann’s personal quarters. Before he could touch the wheel, Ivan stopped him.

“Unlike the newer levels, you need to actually spin the wheel for the lock to disengage….”

The red-head nodded, gripped the wheel with both hands and began to turn it. He could feel a tingle as it gave fairly smoothly, then swung inward, revealing a small ante-room as the lights came up. There was an archway on the other three sides of the space, and from the left one a figure approached, smiling.

“Welcome to my home, I’m Hartmann Hallbach….”