his neck and squeezed the trigger. Danzig felt a wasp sting. “There. That should do it.”
Danzig knew that he should be grateful to the doctor for saving his life, but he could barely stay awake. “ Danke ,” he whispered, then remembered expedition protocol. “Thanks,” he added, using English instead. Another question occurred to him. “How … long?”
“About six and a half months.” Philips reached up to the monitor and tapped a finger against its screen. “To be exact,” she added, studying the readout, “six months, one week, six days, seven hours and thirty-six minutes. Today is September 19, 2112. And before you ask …”
She walked across the compartment to a large square porthole. Its outer shutters were closed; Philips touched a wall button and the shutters rolled up like Venetian blinds. Beyond the window lay darkness, jet black and fathomless. Then a grey orb slowly glided into view, as densely cratered as the Moon but much larger. Looming behind it was an immense sphere, yellow and orange bands slowly moving across its width, a large red ellipse swirling just south of its equator.
Callisto, with Jupiter in the background.
Danzig stared at them. When he’d entered the airlock, the Zeus Explorer had just crossed Mars orbit. If he’d been in hibernation for as long as Philips said, then the expedition must have reached Jupiter and its moons several months ago.
“We … made it.” Danzig forced a smile. “Thanks for … waking me up.”
“Yeah, well …” The doctor absently brushed back her blonde hair; she was kind of pretty, Danzig sleepily decided, in a stern sort of way. “If it was up to me, I would’ve let you sleep all the way back to Earth. You’re not fully healed yet. But the captain insisted that we wake you up.”
“Why did …?”
His eyes closed. He was unconscious before she had a chance to reply.
II
D ANZIG SPENT THE NEXT two days slipping in and out of sleep. Dr. Philips was there each time he woke up, ready to feed him or give him a bedpan. He was her only patient, so he had her undivided attention, and before long he felt comfortable enough with her to start calling her Martha. He gradually regained enough strength to stay awake and by the end of the second day all he wanted to do was get out of bed, although Martha warned him that he’d probably have to use a cane to get around. Six months of hibernation had atrophied his muscles; it would be awhile before his legs were strong enough to support him again.
It was not until then that the captain paid him a visit. He was sitting up in bed, reading a thriller on his pad — Martha had fetched it from his quarters, three levels down on Arm A from the infirmary, along with his clothes — when Consuela Diaz gently knocked on the recovery room’s half-open pocket door.
“Hello? Otto? Are you awake?”
“Yes, I am.” Danzig bookmarked his place and put down the pad. “Hello, Captain. Come to see if I’m still among the living?”
“That I knew already.” Captain Diaz slid the door shut behind her. “Dr. Phillips told me after the accident that you’d probably make it through, provided that you remained in hibernation long enough for the nanos to do their stuff.” A tentative smile on her nut-brown face. “I’m sure she’s told you that she was reluctant to wake you up. I figured, though, you’d be disappointed if you got all the way back to Earth only to find out that you’d missed your chance to see Jupiter.”
Danzig shrugged. Compared to what he’d been through, whether or not he was an active participant in the International Jupiter Expedition was the least of his concerns. In fact, he’d asked Martha to keep the shutters closed; the sight of Callisto spinning past the porthole every few minutes gave him vertigo, even if it was only caused by the habitat arms rotating clockwise around the Explorer’s hub.
“Is that why you had her wake me up?” he asked.
“No … no, I’m afraid it
Danzig knew that he should be grateful to the doctor for saving his life, but he could barely stay awake. “ Danke ,” he whispered, then remembered expedition protocol. “Thanks,” he added, using English instead. Another question occurred to him. “How … long?”
“About six and a half months.” Philips reached up to the monitor and tapped a finger against its screen. “To be exact,” she added, studying the readout, “six months, one week, six days, seven hours and thirty-six minutes. Today is September 19, 2112. And before you ask …”
She walked across the compartment to a large square porthole. Its outer shutters were closed; Philips touched a wall button and the shutters rolled up like Venetian blinds. Beyond the window lay darkness, jet black and fathomless. Then a grey orb slowly glided into view, as densely cratered as the Moon but much larger. Looming behind it was an immense sphere, yellow and orange bands slowly moving across its width, a large red ellipse swirling just south of its equator.
Callisto, with Jupiter in the background.
Danzig stared at them. When he’d entered the airlock, the Zeus Explorer had just crossed Mars orbit. If he’d been in hibernation for as long as Philips said, then the expedition must have reached Jupiter and its moons several months ago.
“We … made it.” Danzig forced a smile. “Thanks for … waking me up.”
“Yeah, well …” The doctor absently brushed back her blonde hair; she was kind of pretty, Danzig sleepily decided, in a stern sort of way. “If it was up to me, I would’ve let you sleep all the way back to Earth. You’re not fully healed yet. But the captain insisted that we wake you up.”
“Why did …?”
His eyes closed. He was unconscious before she had a chance to reply.
II
D ANZIG SPENT THE NEXT two days slipping in and out of sleep. Dr. Philips was there each time he woke up, ready to feed him or give him a bedpan. He was her only patient, so he had her undivided attention, and before long he felt comfortable enough with her to start calling her Martha. He gradually regained enough strength to stay awake and by the end of the second day all he wanted to do was get out of bed, although Martha warned him that he’d probably have to use a cane to get around. Six months of hibernation had atrophied his muscles; it would be awhile before his legs were strong enough to support him again.
It was not until then that the captain paid him a visit. He was sitting up in bed, reading a thriller on his pad — Martha had fetched it from his quarters, three levels down on Arm A from the infirmary, along with his clothes — when Consuela Diaz gently knocked on the recovery room’s half-open pocket door.
“Hello? Otto? Are you awake?”
“Yes, I am.” Danzig bookmarked his place and put down the pad. “Hello, Captain. Come to see if I’m still among the living?”
“That I knew already.” Captain Diaz slid the door shut behind her. “Dr. Phillips told me after the accident that you’d probably make it through, provided that you remained in hibernation long enough for the nanos to do their stuff.” A tentative smile on her nut-brown face. “I’m sure she’s told you that she was reluctant to wake you up. I figured, though, you’d be disappointed if you got all the way back to Earth only to find out that you’d missed your chance to see Jupiter.”
Danzig shrugged. Compared to what he’d been through, whether or not he was an active participant in the International Jupiter Expedition was the least of his concerns. In fact, he’d asked Martha to keep the shutters closed; the sight of Callisto spinning past the porthole every few minutes gave him vertigo, even if it was only caused by the habitat arms rotating clockwise around the Explorer’s hub.
“Is that why you had her wake me up?” he asked.
“No … no, I’m afraid it
Similar Books
