Later that morning, Tom was assisting Sally with the geological evaluation of the highly atypical stones. Brandon’s original assessment had been right on the money. These were indeed, a variety of diamond, but with an intriguing characteristic of colored micro-crystal inclusions embedded within the crystalline lattice. Sally deliberated and drew deeply from her education and lifelong curiosity about the natural world. She had interned with a gemologist as a college elective and witnessed the way diamond cutters would weigh the stones, assess the clarity, and determine the type of cut to either eliminate the inclusions or accentuate them.<\/p>\n
Typically, inclusions are considered to be flaws and detract from the desirability and value of the gemstone. However, these peculiarly colored micro-crystals refract the light in such a way, that even the uncut stones are breathtakingly beautiful, not to mention extraordinarily large. Each of the samples Tom and Brandon brought back to the Hab were sized between Ping-Pong ball and extra large eggs, with one baseball-sized stone in the mix. They were a very remarkable sight to behold, let alone actually hold in the hand.<\/p>\n
“Look at the size of this rock!” Sally exclaimed, as she stood at the workbench, placing a 250-gram weight on the scale to properly calibrate to 0.38 of Earth gravity before setting the gem on the scale. “It weighs… 65 grams. On Earth that’s…” rapidly punching numbers into the calculator, she read aloud “447’ish, nearly a pound.” After punching in a few more quick calculations, “Holy cheese! That’s something like 2235 carats. Tom, even with the inclusions, these rocks are going to be worth a fortune. When you and Brandon first brought these in and I saw how big this one was, I did a little digging in the computer. This one here is just about 2\/3 the size of the largest gem-quality diamond ever found on Earth, the Cullinan Diamond, at about 621 grams. From it they cut the Great Star and the Lesser Star of Africa on the British Crown Jewels. Those came in at 530 and 317 carats,” Sally read from the screen. She quickly stepped over to the porthole to take a look at the mounds of rock, a short distance from the craft.<\/p>\n
Tom quietly moved over to the porthole to stand behind Sally, entranced by her enthusiasm and wanting to share in her awe. After a few moments, Sally spun back around saying, “There must be bil… oh!” She found herself face-to-face, and nearly nose-to-nose, with Tom, and stammered out, “billions of dollars in… just a few of those piles…” Tom noticed Sally was feeling flustered at their close proximity and a similar shyness almost overwhelmed him.<\/p>\n
He took a large step back, clearing his throat and saying, “Billions, that’s great. Ten or twelve of those piles would pay for the whole damn trip, then. Right?”<\/p>\n
Averting her eyes from Tom’s features, Sally replied in an uneven voice, “Yes. I imagine the value of this find is most likely the reason why we have been waylaid and our fuel station attacked, to try to prevent us from finding the stones and\/or keep us from acquiring them.” She glanced up through her lashes to perceive Tom’s eyes still on her. She turned away and began to pace the small area, her voice steadying. “The Chinese must have discovered the stones quite some time ago. They’ve been working against us all along… to keep us from getting here first. I suppose it may have just been a coincidence that this landing site was selected for our mission. Maybe they thought we knew about the diamonds all along and they were just trying to stop us.”<\/p>\n
This time, when she turned back to face him, Tom smiled and his eyes crinkled. “But we did get here and there’s nothing they can do about it, now. If that rover had been about two feet taller, it might have done some real damage to the FP1, but boring into the landing gear and the outer hull didn’t have any effect on the fuel supply. Even with Commander Lewis feeding them information, they apparently just didn’t have the means to affect any real or lasting damage.”<\/p>\n
Tom unconsciously reached out and gently enveloped Sally’s hand with both of his. “It’s sad to consider that this may be the reason Ty was replaced with Jackie, Claire was murdered, and possibly even my Penny. And, they kidnapped Jackie’s husband and would have killed him, as well. But, by turning the tables on them, we will prove that their lives were not just snuffed out, for no good reason. We have the gemstones and now possibly the means to pay for, not only this mission, but also many more to follow in the future.<\/p>\n
“Sally, would you like to go on an EVA with me?” Tom queried. “I want to get a better look at the Penny Bright crater.”<\/p>\n
“I thought you’d never ask,” she beamed, delighted at the prospect of leaving the ship to go exploring. “I’d love to.” The touch of his hands was warm and caring, a feeling that both unsettled and excited her at the same time, more than just a little. With her free hand, she clasped his hand, also.<\/p>\n
“We can lower our gear over the edge and into the crater first, then rappel down after it. The climb back up should be pretty easy, in this low gravity,” Tom observed. “While Brandon and I were out there earlier, I noticed an area of the crater wall that has a bit more gradual slope, and it’s not too far from the near rim. I want to get a few soundings at the base of the caldera.” Tom suddenly noticed he was holding her hand, but had not even realized he had reached out. Sally’s hands were warm and soft, a very comforting feeling. Offering a warm smile to Sally, he squeezed her hand gently before releasing it from his grasp. She reluctantly let him pull away while returning the warmth of his smile with one of her own. Then, Tom turned to head up the ladder to the galley.<\/p>\n
Puzzled, Sally asked, “Tom, two things. What makes you think it is a caldera and not an impact crater, and two, the EVA Prep is on this deck, so where are you wandering off to?”<\/p>\n
He paused with one foot on the ladder and turned back toward Sally. “You don’t think this was a volcano?”<\/p>\n
“Well, I’ll agree there isn’t much of an impact rim, but I suspect these stones are not native to Mars. Wind erosion could take down a lot of rim, I suppose. I’ve been thinking about it since you brought in the samples and I just don’t see this as a volcano. More likely, these are carbonados from somewhere else, brought in on either a meteor or comet,” Sally told him, seriously.<\/p>\n
“Interesting,” Tom replied. “So, meteor or comet, you say? Which do you think is the more likely of the two?”<\/p>\n
“I think a sounding will tell us that… and where are you going now, if not to the EVA Prep-room?” She asked once more.<\/p>\n
“Oh, I just wanted to grab a quick sandwich before heading out. You hungry?”<\/p>\n
“Sure, I’ll buy,” Sally smiled broadly and lightly tossed to him the diamond she had been previously examining.<\/p>\n
Tom laughed out loud, pleased with their friendly bantering, “In that case, I’ll have filet mignon smothered in lobster.” Oddly, he felt a little like a teenager, going out on a first date. Holding hands with Sally was a nice start. Too bad there was no movie feature in a darkened theatre. He shook his head at himself, amused with his thoughts.<\/p>\n
Brandon was reading data from a laptop at the table in the common area, just outside of the galley, a raw carrot in his hand while he munched. Tom and Sally arrived on the top steps of the Jefferson ladder, laughing together at what appeared to be an inside joke. “And what are you two so giddy about?” he quizzed his crewmates through the open hatch.<\/p>\n
“Well,” Tom started to answer, but turned to Sally. “Do you want to tell him?”<\/p>\n
“OK. Can you keep a secret?” she asked with a devilish twinkle in her eyes.<\/p>\n
His curiosity piqued, Brandon replied, “Of course.”<\/p>\n
Sally snagged her arm through Tom’s, “I’m pregnant and Tom and I have decided to stay on Mars, living together in sin!” Brandon started and nearly choked, his hand going to his throat as he gasped and coughed. Tom also had a stunned look on his face indicating that this was not the same information he was anticipating her to announce. “Hey, I’m kidding! Gees-Louise, you guys are so gullible,” she ribbed the pair, then went on.<\/p>\n
“No, you were right about the stones being a form of diamond. The one Tom is holding is about 2200 carats. I think we should re-negotiate our contracts to be… oh, I don’t know, perhaps about a tenth of one percent, as a finder’s fee. We’ll come out way ahead of the piddling amount they are planning to pay us,” she said referring to the five-to-seven plus million they would each receive. Sally stopped, astounded. “Did you hear what I just said? Who would of thunk it, as my grandmother used to say.”<\/p>\n
Pausing to regain his composure, but still gazing intently at Sally, Tom inserted, “And, we’re going to EVA to the bottom of the crater and conduct soundings to see if we can determine where the heck they came from. The debate is whether they came up from within Mars, volcanically, or hitched a ride with a meteor or comet. Care to make a wager?” he invited, waving the glittering rock lazily before his friend’s face.<\/p>\n
“No way,” Brandon stated, with a snort. “I’m not about to bet on anything having to do with geology, especially with a pair of crazy geologists.”<\/p>\n
“Smart man,” Sally observed with a quick grin. She and Tom then went about the business of preparing their snack, arguing good-naturedly about the merits of mayo vs. mustard.<\/p>\n
Watching the two of them and perceiving how they interacted, always remaining nearby one another, Brandon’s mind began mulling over the implications of Sally’s somewhat humorless joke. The concept that she and Tom might have contemplated the idea of having a child together was not a problem in his mind. They are two single consenting adults and what they did was their own affair, so to speak. If they are sharing each other’s company… well, why not? So long as they are only sharing each other’s company (or bed to be more precise) and not planning to actually conceive a child on Mars. That could be problematic and possibly life threatening.<\/p>\n
Sally is still young enough to potentially becoming pregnant. However, the child would never be able to visit Earth. People visiting Mars from Earth have it easy, going from 1.0 Gee to 0.38 Gee. But, someone born on Mars trying to visit Earth would be going from 1.0 Martian Gee to just over 2.5 Martian Gee. Attempting this would have grave consequences.<\/p>\n
A person weighing 70 pounds on Mars would find himself or herself weighing 184 pounds on Earth. This might not sound so bad on Earth, but let’s see it from our Earthly prospective. A person weighing 184 pounds on Earth would find himself or herself weighing 484 pounds on a fictional planet using the same gravity ratios. To take this analogy further, Mars has a very thin and dry atmosphere compared to Earth. So, the atmosphere of that imaginary planet would feel nearly as thick as water to someone from Earth. He or she would have extreme difficulty moving about or even breathing.<\/p>\n
It is anticipated that moving from Earth to Mars will prove to be one way, primarily due to the human body’s inability to adapt quickly. After two or three years of residing on Mars, it could take the body the same number of years to reacclimatize to Earth’s gravity and atmospheric pressure. Any children born on Mars would begin exhibiting alterations to their physical structure, within one or two generations. The most obvious change would be in height. It is believed that, under the reduced gravity, heights of seven feet or more will be quite common. However, bone density would decrease and muscle formation would change due to the same reduction of gravity. It could take years of increased gravity exposure, in small increments, to build someone’s musculature up to a sufficient strength, able to support his own body mass when arriving on Earth. In addition, the function of the lungs may be impaired due to the differing gravitational loads, atmospheric pressures, and weakened muscles and require assistance from a breathing apparatus to survive in a thicker and more humid atmosphere. In the end, children born on Mars would be just that: Martians.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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