DiscoveryUtopias |
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Story one: Professor Oasode arriving on "Plant 64-3" (Venus) for the first time as part of the exploration.
Professor Oasode sat in his assigned seat and strapped in ready for the landing. He leaned back and closed his sharp blue eyes. He really disliked riding in shuttles as a passenger. It was a lot easier to be up front, piloting. Then you didn't have time to think about the things that could go wrong. "Prepare for launch," a monotone-sounding voice said through the loud speaker. Oasode gripped the arms of his chair and took a deep breath. He wished that the government official that had hired him would let him fly, but they had told him he was there as a geologist first, a pilot second. He tried to not think about the dangers too much and instead focused on what kind of things he would find in Plant 64-3's rocks. The previous samples brought back had been normal, just like what you would find on Earth, but Oasode had found minute traces of minerals like nothing anyone had ever seen before. He had showed is findings to the government, who had placed him in the Space Navy's care. And here he was, the head scientist on yet another expedition. The shuttle trembled has the loading arm released it's grip. The pilot pulled away and began to angle in towards the planet. Oasode stared out the view-port, watching the stars that crisscrossed space in dizzying patterns.
"Entering atmosphere in 2 minutes," boomed to load speaker. Oasode refocused his attention on the planet that spun slowly beneath the shuttle. He leaned back and relaxed, starting to become more and more excited. He would be allowed to descend the ramp first, and be the first person to set foot on Planet 64-3's surface. All of the other landings and sample takings had been done by droids. Not until Oasode had discovered the unusual minerals had the Navy considered sending someone down to the planet's surface.
"Touch down in 10...9...8..."Oasode closed his eyes again, blocking out the rapidly approaching surface. Only a little bit longer.... he thought. A few strong gusts of wind buffeted the shuttle, causing Oasode to flinch.
"3...2...1...Touch down!" The landing gear settled evenly onto the lush, smooth grass of the landing site. Oasode let is breath out in a long whoosh.
"Still can't stand being a passenger, can you Odie?" Oasode jerked, and looked above his head at his fellow professor. Akdov pushed his glasses farther up on his face, his unkempt hair sticking straight up in back. He was every bit the untidy and messy professor that his skinny image projected. The binders he had been looking through before landing where gathered tightly in his arms, with papers spilling out the sides and threatening to tip out of the half open accordion folder. Oasode was almost the exact opposite, with thick, wavy brown hair and a strong build. Except for his glasses and brief case, many would never believe he was a professor. He hardly ever even wore a suit.
Oasode stood, laughing. "Here, Dov, let me help you." He reached out just as folders and papers started falling out of Akdov's hands. He managed to catch most of them, but one or two glanced off his arms. He turned to get them and found himself face to face with Melloney. She was holding the last of the papers.
"Here you are, Professor Akdov. Just like always! You still need to get organized . How you can keep track of anything I will never know." Akdov sighed, and pushed his glasses up yet again. Then he rounded on Oasode.
"You didn't tell me you had dragged your secretary along! No wonder you can stay organized while trying to head up an expedition. Hello? Odie?" Akdov looked over at his friend, and saw him staring at Melloney. Oasode shook his head and looked back over at Akdov.
"Sorry," he smiled. "And for your information, I had no idea Melloney was here. I've been locked in my room on the ship for the past 3 weeks, planing. Besides, she's not my secretary." Melloney giggled, turning away to gather her things. Akdov caught Oasode's eye, and raised an eyebrow. Oasode shook his head, declining to answer until they were somewhere more private.
"Professor Oasode?" The pilot poked his head through the hatch. "We're ready to lower the ramp. If you are ready to disembark?" Oasode quickly gathered all of his things together and nodded. All of the other professors and grad students gathered together in a little knot to watch. Oasode waited at the top of the ramp as it lowered. He was buffeted by a little wind, his nose filled with the scent of flowers, both kinds he knew and others he did not. He slowly walked down the tilted walkway, taking in the world as he went. He paused slightly before he took the last step down on to the soil. Suddenly it was over, and the others began to descend the ramp. He took a deep breath, then turned and and started directing the unloading process.
* * * Oasode sat back in his chair. It had been an extremely long day getting everything they would need on the ground. The ground drilling equipment had taken 3 shuttle trips to get it all on the ground. At least they had been willing to let him fly one run. He had felt so free. It had been as if all his cares had been left behind, struggling to catch up. "There you are!" Oasode jumped. He quickly stood up and fumbled with the light so he could see who had spoken. It was Akdov. He pulled a chair over to where Oasode had been sitting and flopped down, giving off a huge sigh. "You know, you can be one hard man to find! I've been trying to flag you down all day and every time I thought I had found you, you would disappear like magic! I don't know how you do it," Akdov said with a slight smile. Oasode sternly commanded his hammering heart to calm down and sank back into his chair. "I'm sorry, Dov. I was really busy trying to get everything set up and-" he stopped as Akdov pointed a finger at him. "Your lying. You've been deliberately avoiding me, and Melloney too." Oasode fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable. Akdov sighed again, and leaned forward. "Look, Odie, do you want me to do this the hard way, or the easy way?" Oasode smiled, but it was a small, strained smile. "Don't you always have to do things the hard way around me?" Akdov gave a short, choked off laugh. "Alright then, you asked for it." He leaned back again. "I saw the way you were staring at Melloney on the shuttle this afternoon. Now, is it just me, or is there something going on between you two?" His eyebrow knitted together slightly. "Or if there isn't, do you wish there was?" Oasode shifted yet again, the seemed to give in to an inner struggle. "Well, no, not really. Kind of." Akdov just sat there, waiting for the rest of it. "To tell you the truth, I was truly and honestly shocked to learn Melloney had come with the team on the trip. When they asked me to do this, I jumped all over it for several reasons. One, it's a great opportunity, and two, so I could get away from Melloney for a while. I started to realise that I-. Well, it got to the point where I couldn't go a day with out seeing her. I had to get away for a little while, and figure things out. When I saw her on the shuttle, I freaked out a bit." A smile reappeared on his face. "Thank god you where there to keep me from doing something stupid. I just......I really like her, Dov." A very scared look found its way onto his face. "You gotta help me." Akdov realised his mouth was hanging open and snapped it shut. "If it's to get her off your mind, you can count me in, buddy. Do you know what the university would do if they found out you were dating a student? If they find out that you even considered it?" Oasode hung his head, feeling rather ashamed. Akdov sat back, his disbelief and whatever else it was he felt, evaporating as he watched his friend struggle with himself. "I'm sorry. What do you need my help with?" Oasode looked up, and tried to speak. It took several tries to get the words out. "I don't know, Dov. This is all just too new to me." He ran a hand through his thick hair, tousling it slightly. "I've never had feelings like this before, and I'm already 28! . . . . . Hey, Dov, is it OK if I ask you to leave? I just need a little time to myself." Akdov nodded, stood, and left. About thirty steps away from Oasode's tent he bumped into Melloney. "Oh, hello, Professor Akdov. Have your seen Professor Oasode? I've been looking for him all day, and I just can't seem to find him." Akdov stopped, trying to come up with a suitable answer. He finally came up with a plausible lie. It was flimsy, but it was better than nothing, and smiled hugely. "We've both told you before Melloney, you don't need to use formal titles for us. But as for Odie, he hasn't been feeling well. I just saw him to his tent. I wouldn't advise seeing him right now, though. He probably caught one of the local viruses." Melloney nodded, seeming to buy the lie. She smiled, waved, and walked off. "Hope you appreciate what I do for you, Odie. . . " he muttered under his breath. Melloney waited until she was back to her tent to burst out laughing. Good old Akdov! Of course he lying when he said Oasode was sick. If he had one of the local viruses he would have seen the team medic, because no one knew exactly how the viruses here would react to humans. She sighed, her urge to laugh slipping away as she thought about Oasode. She had pulled every string within her reach to come on this expedition with him. She could tell that he was surprised to see her. But she couldn't figure out if he really was too busy to talk to her or if he was avoiding her. If it was the latter, she had no idea why. The former one seemed to be the right one, but then what about the lie Akdov had just told her? That would imply he was helping Oasode. She shook the swirling thoughts out of her head and turned to get ready for bed. Maybe tomorrow the answer would turn up. Several days later, Oasode woke slowly. His mind slowly came back from dream land. He couldn't remember the dream, but he would bet anything it had been about Melloney. That's all he had dreamed about for weeks now. He swung his legs out over the edge of the bunk, stood, and began to fumble in the predawn darkness for his clothes. He thought about getting started on his work right away, but decided on a walk to clear his head. He pulled his old air force issue jacket on over his shirt, snagged a pair of shoes, and headed out for the nearest hill. He got to the top and sat down staring down the sloping hill side, covered in gently swaying grass, that raced to meet the huge expanse of ocean. The sun that had just begun to rise colored the water and the clouds shades of pink and orange. "Wow. I had no idea it was so beautiful in the mornings." Oasode jerked around and saw Melloney standing a few paces behind him. She was still in her pajamas, her slippers and her hair was pulled back in a loose braid. She walked forward and dropped onto the grass next to Oasode. He sat gaping for a minute of two, then finally managed to get a few words out. "How did you know I was up here?" Melloney glanced at him mischievously. "I could say it was simple intuition, but . . . . . . well, actually, I heard you leave the camp. I was always a light sleeper, and when I saw you where heading up here, I followed. I've kinda had the feeling that you've been avoiding me the past few days." Oasode continued to look out toward the sunrise. "I don't know what you mean," he replied. "I've just been really busy, is all. What made you think that anyway?" He pulled his jacket off and put it over her shoulders. "Here, you look cold." Melloney sighed. "Thanks, but back to the original conversation. Well, for starters, when ever I needed to see you, you where always gone. For another, the first night we landed, I asked Akdov if he had seen you, and he claimed that you where sick." She laughed. "You know he could never tell a lie." Oasode let all of his breath out in a long whoosh. He decided to tell her the truth. "Well, I kinda have. But not for the reason you would think," he said quickly to stop her from interrupting. "I don't know if you noticed, but I've changed a bit the past few months." He finally looked over at Melloney, and stared her in the eyes. She looked away first. "I've noticed a little, but I didn't really think about it. Why? What made you change?" She looked back over at him. He didn't flinch. "I've been thinking a lot about it, and I think what's changed me is love." He sat there, waiting for her to catch on. She sat still for a moment, the her eyes widened and he hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, no, Professor. . . . . " He took her hands and held on tight. "It's always been you, Melloney. And I've told you before, call me Odie." She tried to pry herself away. "No, Professor, we can't. The university-" He put a finger over her mouth. "This is what we both want. If it's not, I need you to tell me you don't love me. If you can tell me that, I'll help you get school done, then you won't ever have to see me again. But you have to tell me you don't love me." She shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I can't tell you that, Odie." She whispered. "I love you, too." Oasode gathered her up in his arms and kissed her passionately. After a few moments, she broke away and leaned against him. "What are we going to tell the university?" He thought for a moment. "Nothing," he decided. "We'll just keep this between us until you graduate. Alright? Now come on, we only have three days left until we head home." She willingly let herself be pulled along. "I'll be sad to leave here," she murmured. "It's so beautiful, and I learned so much easier here, too." Oasode looked back at her. "I feel the same way. And I know most of the other professors do to. Maybe we can all come back someday."
About a year later, Melloney graduated and she and Oasode got married. Melloney became a professor at the same school as Oasode. A few years later, they decided to move back to "Planet 64-3" to live there. When several of their colleagues found out, they decided to go with them. Melloney, Oasode, and the others became the founders of Venus, which Melloney named their planet after remembering it's exotic beauty. Venus turned into a prospering utopia. |