Chapter 1
The year was 2327. Chris was running up the building’s front steps three by three. The green Martian sky was overhead. He was wearing a dark suit with a brown pullover. Upon entering, he turned left and headed for the lecture auditorium. The sign at the auditorium door read ‘The Early 21st Century; Historical Perspectives, by Joseph L. Martin.’
Christopher Black had grown into a tall, lean man, with dark, thick hair and light brown skin He had high cheek bones and a straight nose, slightly rounded at the end. He looked to be of pure North American Indian ancestry. He moved with a fluidity suggesting years of martial arts and gymnastics training.
Chris was looking for his date. He could smell a trace of her perfume, a light lilac-rose combination. He scanned the auditorium looking for a small, light-skinned, brown-haired woman.
This lecture was her idea. She was a science historian, and looking forward to hearing this speaker for over a month. Though Chris had some interest in history, he had much more interest in spending time with his date, Melody.
He spotted Melody near the far right entrance. She was wearing a white, shimmering summer dress that showed off her legs. The couple she was speaking with were older, maybe one hundred and thirty. They were probably from one of Jupiter’s moons, judging by their bright, spotted clothing.
“It’s so good to see you, Professor Winslow,” Melody said excitedly, giving the woman a hug.
“It’s good to see you, too, Melody. This is my husband, Robert, and since you’re not one of my students anymore why don’t you call me Mary.”
“Alright. It’s nice to meet you, Robert. Did you two come all the way to Mars for this lecture?”
“No,” Robert said. “We’re here for two days and then heading on to Terra. Mary is going to be teaching at the University of Michigan for a semester and we’re hoping to get involved in an archeological sea dig that is being planned.”
“The one off the coast of Italy?” asked Melody.
“Yes,” Mary answered. “But let’s not talk shop. How are you dear? Any new romantic flings in your life?”
It was an intimate question Melody wasn’t prepared for, but she liked the older woman, so she answered candidly. “Well, there is. He’s supposed to meet me here, but he isn’t always aware of the time, so I’ve gotten used to the idea he might be a little late,” she answered with a slight blush.
“Is he an historian, too, dear?” Mary asked.
“No, actually he’s a private investigator. A completely different career field.”
“Oh, how intriguing. Does he have many adventures?”
“Well, yes, a few. I have to admit that is part of the attraction.”
The lights dimmed slightly. They each glanced at the ceiling realizing they should find their seats.
“Are you available for lunch tomorrow?” asked Mary.
“Yes, where would you like to meet?”
“We’re staying at the Atrium Inn. Call me tomorrow morning and we’ll schedule it,” Mary said hurriedly as her husband brought out their tickets and began looking around for their seats.
“Alright, I will,” Melody said moving toward her own seat. She had been surprised to bump into her old professor, and wondered if there was any way she could be involved in the dig.
As the lights began to dim, Chris had nearly reached the threesome, but now they were separating and moving toward their seats. He followed her quietly, staying out of her field of vision, and sliding into the empty seat next to her. Her look of surprise as he “suddenly appeared” prompted him to give her his usual dopey, lopsided grin.
“The next time I get you a seat, it’s going to be a lot harder for you to sneak into it,” she warned him with a smile, wagging her finger. “Where were you? You’re late!”
“I’m not late. They haven’t even started yet.”
“They’re starting late. If you had been here on time, I could have introduced you to Professor Winslow.”
“Are you giving me grief?” Chris asked with mock seriousness.
“Me, give you grief? Never!” she said, rolling her eyes.
The speaker came out onto the stage and began his lecture. As he spoke, it quickly became clear to Chris he was a very good speaker and gifted with a large dose of stage presence. His voice rose and fell with a rhythmic quality which both hypnotized and stimulated.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. When thinking about the consensus reality of twenty-first century humans, please consider the different belief structures existing at the time.” He paused dramatically, catching his breath.
“Faster-than-light travel, or fatal travel, as modern slang has abbreviated it, was completely unknown and considered impossible by many of their leading physicists. Field theory technology was in its infancy, generally limited electricity and holographic projections. Physicists preferred to work with particle theory, a simplistic mathematical system. The speed of light was not considered a variable, but a speed limit which could not be exceeded.
“Antigravity thrust drives, force fields, and even something as simple as artificial gravity wells did not yet exist. There was no clear understanding of how gravity and magnetism worked. Space travel during those times was not only a difficult process, but it could lead to illness and death if you stayed in space too long. Radiation poisoning, muscle and tissue atrophy due to weightlessness, and sheer boredom from being confined in a small space ship or station for months or even years, were trials the pioneers of space travel faced.”
As he spoke, pictures from the past appeared on a gigantic screen behind him. The first was of an astronaut floating in space, wearing an archaic space suit. The pictures changed every few minutes to emphasize a point the speaker was making.
“One of my favorite myths of the twentieth century was their belief in a theory called the ‘Big Bang’, which was popular until about 2015. The Big Bang theory proposed the universe was created from a tiny speck perhaps the size of a proton. This proton sized mass exploded creating all matter and energy in the universe we see today.
“The original basis for this theory was the observation light shifted to the red as they travelled from other galaxies to Terra. It was theorized the redshift was caused by the galaxies moving away from each other in the same way sound waves shift from a high pitch to a low pitch, as the source of the sound, or the listener, moves away. Light waves were thought to behave in much the same way as sound waves. And since space was thought to be empty and provided no interference with the light waves, it was the only theory that seemed to make sense. The question became: ‘Why were the stars moving away from each other, some at seemingly incredible speeds?’
“One popular answer, was an explosion propelling all of the galaxies away from a central point. The Big Bang theory. It was thought eventually gravity would either pull the universe back into a proton sized mass or else the universe would continue to expand, losing heat as it did so. Both scenarios spelled the end of all life. I won’t pretend to know the impact this theory had on individual perspectives, but I imagine it must have been at least a little depressing.
“Now, I should point out not all Terran cultures of the early 21st century embraced the Big Bang model. Many had religious beliefs passed down from one generation to another, and the Soviet Union, an experiment in communism, did not officially embrace the Big Bang theory. The leading country of the time, the United States of America, did, however, actively promote it, by teaching it in their schools as a fact, rather than theory.
“I find it fascinating this theory was promoted as fact by North American scientists, when there was no way to prove the validity of it thru direct observation. And it was a strongly held belief by many of their leading cosmologists. Information and observations creating doubts were scoffed at and ignored.
“The Wolf Effect, named after Emil Wolf, was developed during this time period, but was never seriously considered an alternative explanation for the redshift of light. The Wolf effect was, of course, proven to be correct after the first “fatal” expeditions to other galaxies. From our perspective with 20/20 hindsight, it seems the discovery space was not empty should have alluded to the possibility there might be other reasons for the redshift of starlight. I suspect the change to particle research and away from field and wave theory research blinded scientists of the time to other possibilities.
“21st century Leaders of physics appear to have developed an almost religious faith in the Big Bang theory. A faith keping them from open minded objectivity. Continually finding stars and galaxies older than the proposed age of the universe, and observing galaxies on a collision course with each other, should have stirred doubts about the theory. Only after discovering that galaxies orbit around galactic cores, which current theory suggests are over a hundred billion years old, did the Big Bang theory begin to falter. It should noted Terra still prefers the photon model of light.
“Before we pat ourselves on the back for our current state of enlightenment, we should consider our descendants may very well wonder about some of the current beliefs and perspectives.
“I’ve given you a sense of their technical expertise and how they viewed their physical world. Now I’ll move on to an overview of the three dominant cultures of the time. And as I’m describing them, imagine how these cultures must have conflicted with each other when doing business or interacting in other ways.
“The United States was the primary world power, with Canada as their cultural ally. We’ll call them the ‘North American Culture’. As a culture, their primary ideals seemed to be a combination of honesty and efficient use of resources, while maintaining a strong sense of individual freedom and identity. Not always met, to be certain, but strived for.
“The ‘Asian Culture’ included Japan, China, and Korea. The strongest ideal influencing their behavior was the concept of harmony, essentially, to avoid creating emotional stresses, and to know your place, or status, in society. To be a hard worker was also an important ideal. Again, not always achieved, but strived for. Altho each country spoke its own language, they shared the common written language of Chinese, which acted as a unifying influence.
“The Soviet Union was also a world power, and as mentioned before, was an experiment in communism. Sharing the wealth seemed to be the primary goal in the ‘Soviet Culture’. I hesitate to use the word ideal, because I do not believe this philosophy was embraced by the general population. The Soviet Culture was one of chaos and disorganization. Domination and lack of individual responsibility, tho not ideals, were behavior patterns in the Soviet Culture. Patterns leading to its dismantling in the 1980’s. After this, various member countries of the Soviet Union began to embrace North America’s cultural ideals.
“The Soviet Union had created a massive welfare state philosophy, from which its people did not fully recover until approximately 2080.
“For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of a welfare culture, a simple definition would be a culture where individuals expect to be given to them the essentials of life. Work and social responsibilities do not earn the essentials, and are philosophically separated. In a welfare state the government provides the basics for survival and concepts such as quality and personal worth fade away.
“The concept of synergy played an increasingly important role in all three cultures, starting with Canada. Synergy, as an anthropological concept, originated in the 1940’s. An anthropologist named Ruth Benedict compared what she considered to be three unhealthy primitive cultures with three healthy primitive cultures. She developed the concept of ‘synergy’ as a description of broad cultural behaviors. By her definition, it meant behaviors that, when combined, produced effects greater than the sum of the actions. A culture in which individuals shared their resources, communicated honestly, and took care of its children in a collective and loving way would produce many positive results, both materially and psychologically. The amount of energy required to produce these results were minimal.
“Compare this with the much larger amounts of energy used in a culture where individuals hoarded their material resources, saw lying as a necessity for accomplishing their goals, and attempted to weaken or eliminate their neighbors and the children of their neighbors.
“A synergistic culture supported long term thinking patterns and non-synergistic cultures supported short term thinking patterns.
“The concept of synergy had a gradual, but expanding impact over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Beginning in the North American culture, then expanding into the Soviet culture, and finally moving into the Asian culture. Synergy, as a cultural concept, also laid the groundwork for our current Martian culture.
“We’ll focus primarily on the North American Culture partly because they kept more accurate records and also because most of our own belief structures have evolved from...”
Standing outside the door of Chris’ apartment with Melody, he asked, “What is the Wolf effect?”
“If I remember correctly, the basic idea is that if you have light waves of different frequencies entering a plasma or gas cloud in space, the interference causes a frequency shift towards the red end of the spectrum. The thermal fields of the atoms absorb some of the light’s energy and some of it gets scattered. Most of it passes thru at a lower frequency.
“Oh,” Chris responded. “Well, photons don’t apply in the process. I wonder why Terra still uses them as a model?”
“Politics in the physics community,” Melody answered as the two entered his apartment, one of three New Haven Towers. As always, he admired the view from his apartment. It was on the fifth floor and overlooked New Haven and the Martian landscape. He had been on the waiting list for six years to get an apartment above the third floor, and it was well worth the wait. The view from his apartment was spectacular.
A red message light was blinking on the comm system as they entered. They were both still buzzing conversationally about the lecture, which had provided all kinds of insights into the mindset of early 21st century humans, as well as a few about modern humans. Chris was torn between answering a possible business prospect and focusing all of his attention on Melody. Curiosity and his sense of business responsibility won.
“Excuse me for a few minutes,” he said.
Melody gave him a dirty look and picked up a magazine comm-link lying on the coffee table. She began scanning for the latest fashion articles. Chris hoped she would avoid the styles coming out of the Jupiter colonies.
The viewscreen brought up the face of an attractive blonde-haired woman in her early fifties. It was Valery Firsov, Security Director of Intergalactic Mining Enterprises. He had contracted with them before and knew she had been pleased with his work. One of Chris’ business goals was to create a strong base of repeat customers. He was very pleased she had called.
The message started to play. “Hello, Chris. This is Valery Firsov of Intergalactic Mining. I have a job for you, if you’re interested. We have received word through the grapevine a mole is in our mining base on Corbin III. It is our understanding the mole is planning to steal a large quantity of corbinite. We would like to have you go undercover and investigate the situation. We’re prepared to pay you 40,000 credits if you find the mole within a two week period. If you are unable to find the mole, we’ll pay you 3,000. Give me a call back and let me know what you think.”
Chris enjoyed being a private investigator. It was a field he seemed especially well suited for. Psychological counseling he had received in his youth had sparked a keen interest in the workings of the human mind. In school he’d taken a number of psychology classes. He also had a gift for observation and accurately “reading” events based on minutiae. Chris was a natural for detective work.
Thank god for career testing! he thought.
He had very little competition as a private investigator. There were five on Terra and he was the only one on Mars. Unfortunately, there was also very little demand on Mars, so most of his work came from Terra. Computers could investigate the majority of situations quite efficiently. Occasionally, though, a human was needed to gather information and make intuitional connections computers simply could not. This was where Chris came in.
Chris paused for a moment to analyze the situation. He needed the work and the credits. But the payment arrangements were not his standard operating procedure. He normally worked for 500 credits a day, and was not thrilled with the idea of having his customers dictate his fees. It made for a bad precedent. Still, he thought, I would like to have Intergalactic Mining as a repeat customer, and I could use the credits. On the other hand, do I want them as a customer if their going to underpay me.... I’ll bet they’re not convinced their info is a hundred percent reliable and that’s why they want to set it up this way. Time for a little direct communication.
“Computer, what time is it on Terra, Pennsylvania, Scranton City.”
“Terran time, Scranton City is 3:34:20 PM,” the computer responded.
“Place call to Valery Firsov, Security Director, Intergalactic Mining Enterprises. Chris stood as he waited for the call to go through. (After sitting at the lecture for an hour and a half, and another fifteen minutes in the cab home, he had no desire to sit down again for this comm call.) Melody decided this would be a good time to use the bathroom. Chris noted she took the magazine comm-link with her. He hoped she wouldn’t leave it in there.
“Hello, Chris. Is this something you can fit into your schedule?”
Chris turned to find Valery’s face on the vidscreen. “Scheduling isn’t a problem Valery, but the payment arrangements are a concern. Normally, I charge 500 credits a day. The idea of going to Corbin III for two weeks, with another couple of days thrown in for travel time, and only coming back with 3000 credits isn’t all that appealing.”
“It’s 3000 credits if you don’t find the mole. It’s 40,000 if you do.”
“How reliable is your information?” Chris asked bluntly.
Valery practically squirmed in her seat. “It’s not as reliable as we would like. If it were, we would probably know who the mole is.”
His hunch was right. They were working with weak information and hoping he would absorb some of the loss, if it turned out they were wrong. “I’d be happy to take the assignment, Valery, but I’m afraid I have to insist on my standard fee of 500 credits a day.”
Valery looked as if she were going to cry. “Chris, this is the offer the board has approved. I don’t have the authority to change it.”
“I’m sorry, Valery. But I can’t afford to get burned if it turns out there’s no mole. As I said, I’m be happy to take the assignment, but only at 500 hundred credits a day.”
Valery’s face was shifting to an expression of anger and there was a hard edge to her voice. “Very well, I’ll see what I can arrange. I’ll call you back in a few minutes.”
The screen went blank.
This is somebody’s idea of money management, he thought, perhaps hers. Large corporations are always trying to find a way to save a credit. They’ll happily pay 40,000 credits to catch a thief, but don’t want to waste more than 3000 for a wild goose chase. Why can’t they just play it straight? The odd thing is she didn’t expect me to question it. When I did, she had gotten flustered which is unusual behavior for her. Stress-related behavior.
A few moments later Valery rang him back. She had recovered and was once again all smiles and friendliness.
“I have approval to pay you 500 credits a day. Can you leave tomorrow?”
“Yes. That’s not a problem” Chris answered, wondering what kind of problems this might create.
“Good. Too bad there aren’t more of you. Well, maybe someday. I’ll have your tickets and an info package waiting for you at the ship tomorrow morning at 11 AM your time. Good hunting. Out.”
Chris was relieved the negotiations were over. He didn’t enjoy having to defend himself in this way. He knew he charged a fair price and provided an honest, competent service.
That whole conversation had an odd quality to it, Chris thought. The way they’re rushing me out of here means they’re concerned about it happening soon. I’ll have to be careful about the way I do business with Valery. I don’t completely trust her. And what was that crack about there not being more of me? An odd smile had crossed her face when she said it. Is it possible she knows something about my origins?
Chris noticed the bathroom door was open and the light was out. Melody must have moved to the bedroom. It was time to refocus his attention on the present. He quickly called Chester and left a message saying he would be stopping by in the morning. He then put the issue of tomorrow’s new case in an imaginary box, and put the box in storage for the night. The bedroom was lit with candles. Melody had been busy while he was on the phone. The candles provided a warm, soft light, and gave the room a scent of vanilla. She did know how to create a romantic atmosphere.
“I have to leave tomorrow on an assignment,” he said as Melody, who was already nude underneath a sheer nightgown, began taking off his clothes. “Intergalactic Mining has a situation they want me to check out.”
“Oh. How long will you be gone?” she asked nibbling on his ear lobe.
“Should only be about three weeks,” he replied kissing her shoulder and moving them toward the bed.
“Mmmm. Well, don’t plan on getting much sleep tonight.”
They kissed passionately for several minutes. Chris lightly dragged his fingernails up the back of Melody’s thighs continuing their ascent until his fingers reached the nape of her neck. Starting just behind her jaw line, he licked and nibbled his way around her ear.
Both were accomplished lovers and firmly believed in the Martian credo, ‘An orgasm a day keeps the doctor away.’ Martian culture had a very liberal philosophy regarding sex and lovemaking. Sex was regarded as a necessary release for maintaining good health.
Chris had experienced lovers since his sixteenth birthday and had even taken an extracurricular class titled ‘Lovemaking 103’ when he was twenty, which he had thoroughly enjoyed, in part due to the enthusiasm of his female classmates.
With the influence of sexually transmitted diseases no longer a threat, and the extension of life to approximately one hundred and eighty years, the culture of Mars had adapted. Young people started experimenting with sex at around age sixteen and continued into their late twenties. Individuals in their thirties were generally more focused on developing their careers than in finding marriage partners, though short-term monogamous relationships were common. Marriage normally happened at around age fifty and consisted of a fifteen year contract for purposes of having children. As individuals reached the age of one hundred, it was not unusual for them to have two or three lovers, often in a communal-style setting. These relationships usually lasted for the rest of their lives.
At fifty, most people were considered to be young adults, both physically and experientially. Signs of aging didn’t generally start to appear until a person was around a hundred years old. Strength, vitality, and good health were maintained throughout a person’s life, due to a variety of medical and biofeedback developments.
Human evolution had moved from a genetic function of adaptation and survival of the fittest, to a conscious selection of desired genetic traits, and an education including subjects such as yoga and alien trigonometry. An expanded lifespan had not been the result of natural evolution, but of a greater understanding of human genetics and biological aging mechanisms. Yoga training began at age twelve, as part of a basic Martian education. By the age of twenty, Martian youths had learned to control most of their autonomic functions through a combination of yoga techniques and biofeedback training.
As the two of them shifted positions he could feel her breasts pressing against his chest and the heat from her loins pressing against his thigh. Her breathing was starting to speed up and so was his. Chris had learned matching his partner’s breathing rate created a more intimate, trusting atmosphere, as well as adding to his own physical excitement.
She moaned as he kissed her neck. She lifted herself to give him a passionate kiss, and his hands moved down her back.
They continued to cuddle and stroke each other. Sensing the time was right, Chris rolled Melody over on her back. He thrilled at the sensation of first entry, as he always did. They were not a monogamous couple, but they enjoyed and cared for each other and both were open enough to be intimate without fear.
A few hours later they lay in each other’s arms exhausted. They cuddled, relaxed and whispering to each other.
“Where will you be for three weeks, mister private investigator?”
“Corbin III, one of Intergalactic’s mining colonies.”
“Will it be dangerous?”
“Shouldn’t be too bad. I’m going undercover to try and sniff out someone of low moral character who wants to steal some corbinite. All I should have to do is point my finger, provide the appropriate evidence, and let Intergalactic handle it from there,” Chris said sleepily. He hesitated on going into the conversation with Valery Firsov.
He knew Melody enjoyed hearing about details and a small battle between “communication laziness” and “sharing info” took place in his mind.
“With that incredibly sensitive nose of yours, you shouldn’t have any problems sniffing someone out,” she said playfully, as she rubbed his stomach.
“I’m probably oversimplifying it. They’re not even sure a theft is being planned. The original offer included a clause saying I would get paid less if I was unable to find the mole. I had to renegotiate to get paid a daily rate, regardless of whether or not they were sending me on a wild goose chase.”
“I can’t believe they tried to rip you off. They had better be paying you a fair amount!”
“They are,” Chris assured her. “I have to get together with Chester tomorrow morning before I leave. I’m fading fast, Sweetie. Good night,” he said kissing her on the forehead.
Melody lay with her head resting on his chest. She felt content and loved. She was intrigued with Chris. He wasn’t your typical Martian male. He wasn’t an engineer, or a physicist, or a language specialist. He was an adventurer. He wanted to go out and explore the universe. Yes, he was intriguing, and a little odd.