Surfing Chance - Chapter 11

Universe Alpha[1]

Chance knew that Mia was alive but he could not figure out if she can be revived or not. Fermi has been studying her body in the last five decades and it never displayed signs of being conscious.

"Mia is part of this planet now.", said Fermi. "She has been added to the collection and I don't think we can do anything about it. Let's get back."

"We can't go back yet. If you were to go through the portal now, you'd probably die. I was in a coma for 48 hours. We need to develop some sort of decompression chamber that divers use. We need to gradually adjust the air and pressure around you so that the transition is not sudden. At your age…

"… I know. Do your thing. Just tell me please, did you cure my leukemia that time when you shook my hand? I have been thinking about this ever since I arrived here. I could not make meaning of it."

"I… I'm sorry I did it without asking for your consent. I just assumed that this was what you wanted…"

"It doesn't matter anymore. I have hated you and then forgave you and now I don't even mind it that much. I was just curious.", said Fermi. His face was wrinkled and his long white hair was tied in a ridiculous bun. All of his clothes were handmade from materials gathered from various plants. Fermi looked skinny and fragile, like he could break in half any minute now. Chance was scared of what he had done and was thinking of probably trying to undo it…

Fermi's eyes met while Chance was scanning his new appearance, "Don't worry professor. I am content with the way I am."

After Chance created a pressure field and a different oxygen structure of the air, he was gradually turning the pressure and the oxygen concentration down like he was using a thermostat knob.

"We're ready. I will open the portal."

"Wait!", Fermi slowly walked to where Mia was and picked up a tiny lemon from one of the lush branches. "Good to go."

…

Fermi arrived in Tokyo in the evening and the city overwhelmed him. It was crazy crowded with too many oddly dressed individuals and bright neon street signs. He could barely breath and Chance helped him to get back to his student room. All the things were exactly as he last saw them nearly five decades ago. No time has passed here. He asked to be left alone and they agreed to meet in a few hours in the park.

…

The two of them were sitting on the park bench and Fermi was sipping from the vitamin water bottle that Chance had prepared for him.

"This is my story. It was the adventure of a lifetime and had I spent it with Mia, it would have been a perfect life for the two of us. We could have colonized the new world together… have ourselves some Kepler alien kids.", said Fermi half smiling.

"Forgive me, Fermi… I … all things that I try to do…"

"This is the burden of adventure. You must never give up, Chance. Me, Mia, Serghey, you… we were born to do this and never forget it…

… still, my adventure has come to an end. I have my lemon… and I plan to plant it near my old house in Napoli. I was planning to go there if I ever reached old age and now it is time for me to live up to that promise. Please send me there and let me spend my last days setting up my own garden with olive trees and basil plants."

…

Fermi found his childhood house abandoned and empty. The garden needed weeding and all the plants were chaotically oversized. A fair challenge for a plant caretaker with a life's worth of experience. He opened all the doors and windows as to get rid of the damp smell. In a matter of weeks, the garden was back to its Zen state and all the basil plants were freshly trimmed and sprinkled. Fermi even managed to sneak in a few seeds from Kepler. Just a few herbs and spices that he grew a little too accustomed to over the years. They were growing wonderfully in this new place and of course, the lemon tree… he had found a special big clay pot for it and it already sprouted its first thin emerald blades. Fermi got back some of his vigor and strength. He was repainting the house walls and cleaning the huge wooden table, meant for outdoor family dinners. The grapevines needed least attention because they had grown into a beautiful arch over the dinner area and were protecting Fermi from the harsh sunny Neapolitan summer days.

On a cold September day, when Fermi was picking up baby carrots in a salad bowl, a woman knocked on the gate doors and entered the garden. He had recognized his mother and his eyes teared up, but he was too afraid to speak so as not to scare her away. His old hands were trembling. The woman kneeled to have a look at the basil plants and she rubbed a leaf between her thumb and index finger. As she got closer to Fermi, she found herself dumbstruck by his appearance. The familiar features were there, but it was as if she was trying to remember something she had long forgotten. At long last, she whispered half certain: "Fermi?", and immediately jumped in to hug her son. She cried and asked for forgiveness as she kissed his old wrinkled hands. In all his life, he never imagined he could be this happy to have been found again and to finally be home.

…

Thunderstorm and heavy rains were pouring on the city and everyone was instructed to not leave their home unless it was an emergency. Serghey left the Edogawabashi Metro station and headed towards the Atlas Avenue building, where Chance was living. He did not have an umbrella, but he was wearing a hooded orange jacket. He ran to the building and was breathing heavily. His jeans and sneakers were soaked and dripping onto the entrance hallway. After taking the elevator all the way to the 11th floor, he rang the doorbell and knocked on the door three times. After a good half minute, Chance opened the door and let Serghey in without saying a word.

"Good evening, Professor. Sorry to just drop in like this.", said Serghey, "I just finished settling in my mother and sister. They arrived this morning. I knew that I needed to come by your place immediately after. Did you hear from Fermi?"

"I got an email this morning, but I could not open it until now. Serghey, I don't know what to do anymore. Everything I do is wrong… I hurt so many people since I started out on my mission. I thought I knew better, but every time I miscalculated… every time, I could not foresee the consequences…"

"Professor, it often happens that people end up hurting those around them even when they have the best intentions. What happened to Mia, is beyond our comprehension. From what you told me, she had vital signs but she was integrated with the plants of Kepler for more than five decades now. Her mind is bonded to the alien botanical lifeforms and I am certain that it was her dream to explore other worlds in one way or another. For as long as I knew her, all that she was talking about was extra-terrestrial biology. It is not uncommon for physicists, chemists and other scientists to 'merge' with their work… I mean think of Marie Curie that died of too much exposure to radiation. Science is a messy business, Professor. Even Einstein had to watch part of his scientific work turned into a weapon of mass destruction… I am certain the man had regrets, but this did not stop him from pursuing scientific truth…"

"Serghey, I understand the logical arguments but it does not justify killing people by accident. Had I remained in the United States, had I not run after some crazy dream of universe exploration, these people would be safe and living their lives undisturbed…"

"Yes, professor, but think of Fermi! He had less than a few months to live because of his leukemia. Due to your intervention, he lived more years than he could have possibly hoped to. He lived all those years on an alien planet, studying exotic phenomena and species that we could never have imagined… he was given the gift of an entire lifetime and now he is safely enjoying his last years back home, in Napoli. He sent me a picture this morning. His mother had come back and they are living together again. They are expecting his older brother to visit in the next days and their family will be reunited. There is good resulting from your actions, professor… and there is yet more good that can be done…"

"I don't know about this, Serghey. I find little comfort in your arguments. In these last days I've been thinking about Mia's parents and the people in Pakistan. So much suffering over some child's play. The universe is not my sandbox and people are not mere statistics. There are laws in place protecting them from people like myself. Each of them has the right to life… the right to peaceful, undisturbed life."

"So do the people in my country, but nonetheless they are at war… what if we could save at least some of them from a terrible fate?"

"I know that you are passionate about the situation in your country and I understand this. I empathize with your people, but with a track record as mine, I risk making things worse for them.", said Chance putting his head to rest on his arms. His thin fingers were combing through his rich blonde locks. He was sitting in a small blue reading chair, dressed in pajama pants with small stars on them.

"Don't worry professor, there are no risks involved in what I am proposing…"

…

Chance opened a portal to the Kharkiv city hospital, where Serghey's father was working. He remained to work as doctor there treating the victims of bombings and the wounded soldiers. Serghey asked his father to guide Chance through the hospital as quickly as he could so that he may treat the heavily injured people first and then the rest of the patients. They went straight to the children's section where they found at least twenty kindergarten aged girls and boys some of which had missing limbs. Chance was dressed in a medical uniform and wore a sanitary mask and white hat. He re-grew the limbs of all the children and left in a hurry to treat other heavily injured patients. It was difficult to stay undercover and to keep the patients from reacting either in panic or in exaltation. It took them a few good hours and Serghey saw that Chance was getting exhausted from all this work.

"It is enough, professor. I counted. We have treated around 225 patients. It is more than I could have hoped for. Let's go back to Tokyo. Our country owes you a huge debt…"

Chance smiled and opened a portal to get back. As soon as they reached his apartment, they noticed how the thunderstorm had subsided. The sky was clearing out and the first rays of sunshine were painting the morning sky in bright orange.

"I am terribly tired, Serghey and I just realized that I have a full day of lectures today from morning until evening. I'm not sure that I can skip any more lecture days without getting fired. I did not have time to prepare for either of the lectures…"

"I apologize professor. I did not know our intervention would take this long. We did the right thing, but now I also have lots of classes ahead of me and I am unprepared. I even have a paper to submit this morning… which I was supposed to be working all night."

"We're in trouble now, but I don't feel the least bit worried. Somehow, this kind of trouble is easier to navigate than the usual side-effects of my missions…"

"Professor! I may have a solution to our problem."

Chance packed his bag with laptop and all and they opened a portal to Serghey's student dorm. For the next ten minutes, Serghey downloaded all the research papers he'd need for completing his homework. He packed his things and two inflatable matrasses and some blankets. Chance went to the grocery store to get some snacks, sweets and a case of water. Serghey asked Chance to get a few beers for him as well.

When they were all set with their camping gear, Chance opened a portal back to Kepler 186f. Time flows much slower there. They set up camp and their mattresses in Fermi's base camp. They even found Fermi's work desk and encyclopedias. They cleaned up the place, because more than 25 years had passed since Fermi left the greenhouse. Mia was still there, young and beautiful as ever. Serghey opened a beer and Chance joined him. Tired and red-eyed, one beer was exactly what they needed to get them to fall asleep for more than 10 hours.

Chance woke up and started preparing his lecture materials. Serghey woke up and started working on his laptop on the research paper that was due for submission. They had plenty of time to do all of these things and only a few seconds have passed in Earth time equivalent.

They used the map left by Fermi to explore more of the greenhouse areas. They read the instructions on how to find edible fruits and roots. How to cook each of them if at all and which areas to avoid. They discovered the wheat fields and the waterfall area and Chance left the greenhouse in order to explore the planet from above. He was curious to see how far these greenhouse galleries went. Like vines, they engulfed the whole planet and, in some sectors, they appeared to go underground. Chance checked the inside of the greenhouse in various places, with the right safety measures in place. It was all the same, one giant botanical collection in the middle of outer space. Not a single bacterium, not a single bug, not a single being existed on this planet other than plants.

They explored for days and they could have stayed for as much as 12 months and this would amount to the passing of one Earth hour. When they were done with all their preparations and exploring, they decompressed and went back home. Rejuvenated and well rested, they could now start the day. With minor jet lag, they were back on track. The red glowing sun was rising and Tokyo was waking up.

...

[1] Universe Alpha is the Universe in which Chance recruits Fermi, Mia and Serghey to help him explore the Kepler system. Probability of universe destruction 99%.

Universe Beta is the Universe in which Chance loses interest in the human world and pursue space exploration on his own. His actions on the Moon and planet Mars gets unwanted attention and he is declared a global threat to humanity by the federal investigators. Probability of universe destruction estimated at 100%.