Come Back to Us

Departure

Come Back to Us
By Eiric

Michael gently took hold of the delicate, fragile elbow wiggling before him and eased it back onto the table where the thin paper was. It began scribbling furiously again, as the intent baby wildly moved his fist containing the brown crayon in a death grip that would hurt any living thing. Michael knew- he had felt that strong grip many times from his son as he grew older month by month. It would not be very long until David was a year old. He had never known that babies could be so… grown up at so young an age! David had an intense look of concentration on his face as he scribbled away, punctuating his masterpiece with occasional gap-toothed grins and squeals. Being a Dad only seemed to get more enjoyable as time went on. If only the challenge did not increase as well! Of course, his extensive experience with games and computers reminded him that the more the difficulty of a task increased in any game or experience the more rewarding it could be.

His watch lit up and chimed a delicate sound, and he tapped the face of it with his finger. “Hello, Sarah! What are you doing calling here? Aren’t you supposed to be busy today?”

His wife’s voice a little more thick than normal as she spoke in audio only through the cell watch, betraying her feelings just a little despite her presence at work. “Well, dear, my supervisor understood the… the circumstances. It is very busy here this week, especially today, but she was willing to give me this afternoon off. As soon as we finish things up here for lunch break, I’m taking off to meet you and spend some time with the family before we leave for the centre this evening.”

Michael’s lips thinned unconsciously for a short time, before he relaxed himself as he realised what she must be feeling right now. For him, it was a thrill of excitement. For his wife, it was probably more akin to having a limb detached for several weeks. While it comforted him that she cared about him so much, he grieved that she had to hurt like that. Sometimes daily life could make them forget just how vital they were to each other. “Sarah… late Summer is a busy time of year for you at work, and I know you and your team is being reviewed.” He paused before continuing, “I know you will be happier being with our family before I leave. So if you and your boss really think this is alright, then I am all for it.”

The sigh of relief was very audible from his wrist. “Okay, I’ll be home in the next hour or so.” Michael took the crayon from the baby’s hand before he could stuff it in his little mouth. “Michael? I’m really going to miss you. I know this has been done fairly regularly now in the government and military- they wouldn’t let you do it otherwise- but I’m still nervous.”

Michael smiled and pulled out his Pocket-Pal, switching the call from his wrist-watch to the screen of the small computer the size of a paperback book. These pocket computers had been around for years now, but only recently had they been able to catch up in processing power and speed to the bulkier notebook computers. It was surely the infusion of nanotechnology into computer development that allowed this. That, and whenever there is something better available the ‘older’ technology becomes less expensive. Quantum computing was the next thing, and the development of this was lowering prices of current computing. It was hard to believe that in a decade he might be able to have a watch more powerful than the network mainframe where he worked that was the size of his watch-cell he was talking to his wife on now. The computer at work was fast enough to manage thousands of computers, terabytes of data- he couldn’t imagine that cabinet sized monster fitting into his wrist watch. However, he had seen things just as stunning happen in his life.
His wife’s face appeared on the PP, and he could see the worry hidden underneath her features. “Come on home. There will be a big hug waiting for you. We’ll have a great afternoon, and I’ll only be gone a month. We’ve been apart longer.”

She cracked a wry smile, “Yes, but that was nothing compared to this.” Her smile faded and she became more serious, “Nothing like it at all.”

He looked at the little camera seriously, diverting his eyes from the screen to show his serious intent. “If you say the word, I will call this entire thing off. There will be consequences, but you and my family come first. God, my family, and then myself: those are my priorities. You know that.”

“I know, Michael. I’d never ask you to do that. I’m behind you all the way.” Fair fingers dabbed at the corner of closed eyes. “You just stay safe and be careful. Okay? If anything happens to you, I will come there myself and make you regret it!”

A wink and a smile preceded his parting words, “That is incentive I simply cannot ignore. See you soon.” The screen blinked off.



Sarah was changing David’s diaper while Michael typed away at his computer. He wanted to check over some emails and make sure everything was in order before his trip. He had long ago turned off the main line for his cell watch- reporters of all kinds had somehow found the number and were trying to get an exclusive interview from him before he left. Until he left the house, this was time for him to make sure his family was secure and tended to.

A little angel in emerald green stepped into the den, a large bow secured at the back of her head in her long copper hair. Celina stood at the doorway for a moment until her Dad noticed her before walking in and presenting a large drawing to him. “I wanted you to see this before you go, Daddy.” She said in her very proper, gently nasal voice. After clicking his mouse a few more types, he touched the keyboard and turned off the screen to give his five year old daughter complete attention. The seriousness with which she presented her creation brought a smile to his face as he looked over the drawing and admired how much her skills had improved over time. He could actually recognize the planets as circles, now, instead of lopsided eggs.
Her little finger darted out to point out what was already adorably obvious, but it elicited not a single protestation from her Father. “This is our house, and this is us living in our house.” She said with her lecturing tone that only a little girl could quite accomplish. Her finger pointed at what appeared to be earth with a house drawn on top and three little people drawn on it. There was the baby in Sarah’s arms, and there was Celina. Her finger moved to the other side of the paper to point to another planet with stars around it. The distance from Earth, Michael noted, seemed to represent how far Celina felt the distance to be in her mind and heart. “This is Mars. This is the station on Mars. And this is you when you get on Mars.” Michael looked at the figure of himself.

“Not only am I larger than the station, darling, but I would not be smiling like that if I did not have a suit of some kind to protect me from the atmosphere. I would be choking and probably very upset.” He could not help but grin at the offended frown Celina adopted at his impudence. Rather than responding, she put the drawing down on the desk and gave him a big, silent hug. She remained there a few moments as Michael stroked her long, satin hair. Then she suddenly let go and ran out of the room, obviously not quite comfortable with the idea of saying goodbye to Daddy. To her, a month might as well have been years. At least Sarah understood that his job would be one of the safest ones on the team. He would at least get a few opportunities to walk on the surface of Mars, but most of his duties would be minor.

Michael was a counsellor as well as an expert in intercultural relations. Since the Mars station team would be composed of a mixture of groups from a variety of UN members it was recognised by the United States that it was essential to have a member of the American team that was capable of counselling their crew and facilitating relations amongst the international crew. He would only be there a month, as the facility began its operations, but during that time his goal was to enable friendships and ease conflict by counselling the US members and building friendships with the international group. Once that was established, from the second month on it would be up to the crew to take it from there. Oh, the team would have kept him as long as they could- but Michael had a family of his own, and he had refused countless times any and all offers to stay longer. When he was pressured by the US ambassador to the United Nations himself, he had flat out threatened back that he would not even go for the month he had accepted if he received any further “requests” of that nature. Since then, none were given.

Michael got up and put on a light coat. It was only late August, but the weather had been a little cooler lately and he did not want his memories of Earth for the next month to be of shivers and chills on the way to the centre. He could hear the slight commotion in the other room of David making noises and Celina complaining about something in a whining tone while her mother very firmly scolded her. He would miss being here, but he was excited about the trip. It would be a wonderful month. In only a short time, he would be back. For the rest of his life, he would be treasuring memories of an experience that would go down in history. An experience that very few people on Earth might get the chance to be a part of.

“Alright guys. It’s time to go. I was told to get there three hours early, sharp. This is one appointment that it would be wise not to be late for. After all, I doubt you would want me to be known internationally as “the one who was late”, would you?” He cracked a smile, but he could tell that everyone save for David was feeling stress. After one glance back at the now dark house, they closed the door and headed for the car.



The Gobal Transport Centre was mainly used by government and UN officials world-wide, as well as essential military travel. The hope, however, was that in the not-so-far future it would eventually be opened up like unique sort of airport. It was a huge complex made of sleek, white walls with elegant windows and a very modern feel. It felt more like a combination of an airport, a very nice government building, and an expensive hospital all in one. After checking in at the front and waiting while they were all thoroughly checked by security, they stepped into the beautiful glass elevator and were taken up many floors along the side of the building. The crowd below was held back away from the building, thus there was no flood of reporters attacking them while they entered the quiet building. This did not feel so much like he expected people who used space shuttles used to feel before launch. It was much more subdued and sterile feelings. Perhaps this was due to the fact the governments had relied heavily on the technology that businesses had developed, so everything had a more secure and businesslike feel than ever before.

Reaching the correct floor, they stepped off the elevator to a beautiful lobby and very suddenly his family was approached by a young woman in dark blue business dress. “Welcome! If your family would follow me, we would like to ask them to sit in this waiting room with the other families while our very competent staff leads you to our transportation facilities. We would invite you all to watch, but in order to make this a safe procedure we need to keep the number of people involved as small as possible. Right this way, please.”

Sarah immediately grabbed his arm, looking at him with surprise at having to part so abruptly. He pulled her close and gave her a long, intimate kiss, “I love you. I’ll see you very soon.” He ran his fingers through her auburn hair and smile, twining his fingers with hers before letting himself be escorted towards a hallway leading out from the lobby.

“I love you Michael! Come back soon! Come back safe! I love you!!” Sarah shouted out after him, heedless of the formality of the occasion. Her husband waved back at her before they passed through sleek grey doors which sealed behind them. Celina wrapped her arms around her Mom’s leg and began sniffling, while Sarah occupied herself with rocking the sleepy David rapidly against her. She ignored the fact that tears were pooling in her eyes and leaking down her cheeks. It would only be a month- what was that compared to the years they had been married?



If the exterior of the GTC was impressive, the inside was even more so. It truly felt like he was walking from his usual world into something of an alien world- though the closest comparison he had was a hospital as he noticed the special equipment and doorways. He was lead into an area that looked like it connected to several hospital-like rooms and one room in particular with very large caution signs on it. They read, “Caution- Concentrated Magnetic Field. Authorised Personnel Only” and “Radiation Danger Area- Security Clearance Level One Required”. He was shown his own little room with a gown in it and a locker. This time a real nurse guided him there, telling him to remove his clothing and all items and place them there- he would be unable to take any of them with him. He had already selected important or special items he wanted for the trip months ago- now, he would only be taking himself. Even his clothing would apparently be left behind. He had sent his wedding ring ahead as well, and worn a temporary one instead. He wanted to have his real wedding band with him while he was on Mars. His Wife had not really understood, but he had insisted. He simply felt it was important.

He took a calming breath to slow down his racing heart as he tied up the laces of his drafty gown. This was it. He would be experiencing something completely new and incredible- he would set foot on another planet in only another hour or two. One small step for man, one giant leap for Michael! He finish with the gown and pressed the button on the wall. Seconds later the nurse opened the door, gesturing for him to follow her. He wondered why the speed surprised him- after all, he was a national celebrity now along with the others chosen for the trip. Everyone in America could probably recognize his face- maybe even the world- especially since he was the only member of the team who was staying for so short a time. It was particularly popular among the press that his reasons for returning were his family. They kept repeating it until Michael finally gave up watching any TV, since he was always seeing himself on it. He appreciated the fact people liked his reasons, but disliked the motives behind the hype. The media wanted a story that sold- and his sold. The reason it sold, however, was because people wanted family values back. After all, that was why he held himself so strictly to his priorities- he knew it was easy to let life catch him up in its fast pace, and it was his choice to put his beliefs and family first that got him so far. Without God, without Sarah, he would never have been successful.

He was lead next to the room with the caution signs, and then to a room next to it. This was the surprising part- though he supposed it made sense. They proceeded to shave all of his hair off except for the hair on the top of his head, his eyebrows, and his eyelashes. He was glad they were willing to let him keep that much. The fact one of the two people doing it was a woman made him embarrassed, the fact one was a man made him feel a little violated when they got to his more private region. “Be careful down there- I’m willing to give up my hair without complaint, but there are some things I might not appreciate loosing.” He got a grin from the two nurses.

Once he was shaved, he was then cleaned in a very unique way. First he was put in a glass room and sprayed down with water. He then was told to rub a foamy soap all over his body and scrub himself down with a very rough sponge. This room connected directly to metal doors leading into the room that had been labelled with those intimidating signs. Michael figured out that apparently they wanted him to be thoroughly sterilised and cleaned without risking any contamination once he finished. By the time he was done scrubbing, his skin was red and the hot water stung as it sprayed him down. He was blown dry over a grated area with special lights added to help. A friendly male voice explained some of what was to happen next.

“After you are dry, you will enter the next room. You will put on a new gown made of a special material, and then lay down on the tray before you. We will explain the rest from there. We hope to make the rest as easy and comfortable as possible. We said this would take two hours, but that was to give us extra time. In actuality, if everything goes well we should be done thirty to forty minutes from now. Just think, in less than an hour you will be standing on Mars.” The voice finished, and Michael could not help but grin at the idea. His heart was racing with excitement. He prayed to himself that his family would be comforted and feel peace about this- but he knew things would be well. They would all be taken care of.



He had expected an audience, a crowd- something. There was probably a video recording that began once he had his gown on, but the only person in the room was a specially suited technician. The machine present reminded him of nothing less than a monstrous MRI machine he had experienced once years ago. In truth, it apparently used a variation of the same technology- as was explained to him prior to this, and once again by the technician. He would lay on the special tray. A brace would be put over his face and he would be secured so that his body would not accidentally move in the process. He was asked once again if he had eaten anything in the last twelve hours, and verified he had taken the medications he was told to and held to the special diet required of him for the week prior. Finally, the technician laid him down and put an oxygen mask over his face before giving him several injections. His racing heart relaxed a little, and he felt a little more at ease and peaceful. The room was cool, and the mechanical hum of the machine behind him was both relaxing and exciting at the same time.

After a short time, the technician removed the oxygen mask and looked at him. “Sir, after this I am going to leave the room. You must remain completely still. We will be scanning your entire body more completely than any non-quantum equipment is possible of doing. This scanning process has an error-correction process, and it will be repeated two times total to be sure. However, you must do everything you possibly can to remain as relaxed as possible. Swallow when you need to, breathe but otherwise keep your body completely still. We gave you some medication to help the scan and also relax you to make keeping still as easy as possible. If we feel you moved too much, we will have to repeat the process all over again and it will take twice as long or more. We do not want to allow any risk of harm to you- after all, you and your team are heroes.” The technician smiled warmly and patted Michael’s shoulder. “Good luck, have a safe trip and do our country proud up there. Come back to us.”

The braces were secured- the fabric over them was not uncomfortable or too cold, and he was snug and well fitted on the tray. All people had left the room now, and the tray slid back slowly. Soon he was in the brightly lit white tube with the surface close above him. He felt the cool air slide over him as his knees past the opening, then his toes. He was totally inside the machine now, and it felt rather comfortable. The sequence of events had been explained to him, and now it began.

First there were short two to three minute scans to get the image of his body. Then, he felt the vibration and heard the muted low tones of the machine as it sent waves into his body to carefully scan every single molecule within it. He could hear the clicking and deep vibrating whir as he was circled by the equipment. The series of scans finally finished and were repeated again, before they began the third and final run. This was it. The sounds were now a louder, deeper vibration punctuated by high pitched noises. His eyes were closed and he felt his head a little fuzzy as the vibrating went over him. During this last run of scans, the actual transportation process would occur- all this data would be instantly relayed by quantum communication to the facility on Mars where he would be reconstructed using quantum and wet nanotechnology. What was here would be vaporised- thus the radiation warning on the door- and he would simultaneously appear on Mars. Officials did it to transport quickly on Earth, and now he was one of the second groups to make the journey all the way to Mars. His thoughts drifted a little to his family as he lay there. He looked forwards to getting to tell them about what he saw.
“Come back to us.” He heard the technician say in his mind, the last words he had heard someone say to him.


Then the vibration stopped. He kept his eyes closed. Nothing. He heard the sound of the door opening. Michael opened his eyes, seeing once more the clear white and brightly lit tube surface above him. He heard some voices, and more people came into the room. The tray was slid out, and after a few moments of the tube he suddenly could see the technician and several other unsuited people in the room.

“Why didn’t he go?” Asked one of the government officials he recognised.

One of the doctors now in the room shook his head, “I was told that a safety mechanism had turned on- it is an emergency procedure, so that if there is a problem establishing a connection to the other point, he will not cease to exist here without appearing there… that is, he would not be killed.”

Michael blinked. He had heard the protestations about this method by some people- but it had successfully occurred, and he even had a friend who had done it multiple times. He could attest to the fact that his friend was the same guy he had always been- no scrambling, no demonic possession or evil twin. Yet it was a little strange to think about the fact that if the other connection did not succeed- he would basically be killed, vaporised by the very people trying to send him safely elsewhere. He put that aside from his mind.

“So what happens next?” Asked another man.

“Well…” said the doctor, “We have to follow procedure exactly. Until we hear back a clear communication from Mars National Community, we cannot attempt to send Michael or any of the other two we were sending in this attempt. So, we wait.”

They let Michael sit down in a chair in the room- apparently since the data had been taken, he did not have to be kept totally sterile. Once they got the all clear, he would return to finish the final scan as before. The wait was unnerving. He wondered what they had told his family. He hoped they were not getting upset.

Finally, a commotion started outside the room and a very well dressed member of the staff stepped in. “Gentlemen, I have serious news. There was a sudden atmospheric storm that began on Mars, and we believe the facility was damaged. All communications with them have been severed as of three hours ago. We can only wait until either the storm passes or they repair the equipment on their side. I am afraid we have to call off the transportation. From what our experts know about the weather on Mars, it is safe to say that we may need to consider calling off the transport of these men entirely and follow up with an emergency assistance crew instead when we renew contact.”

The mood in the room changed drastically. Concerned murmurs began, and Michael felt his heart sink down in his chest. He felt a little guilty that it was not only for worry of the crew on Mars, but also the fact that his one chance- this incredible opportunity- had just shattered into pieces right before him. Come back to us? He never even left.

After the news, he was allowed to dress, and lead back into the lobby. Sarah ran to him and threw her arms around him. “When they said something had happened, I was so scared… I was so worried… so when they finished saying that you had never left, I felt like I was about to explode with relief. I am so glad you are okay. I’m so sorry you didn’t get to go! I’m sure… I’m sure it will work out soon. I’m just glad you’re here, now.”

Michael gave her a warm hug and nodded, “We’ll see what happens. It’s all in God’s hands right now, we just have to go with it.” He smiled down at Celina, who was tightly clinging to his leg and smiling up at him. He had to admit that this warm reception made the prospect of staying not quite so bad. If he had gotten there and then the storm had hit, he had no idea how he might have felt- being forced to be separated from them for only God knows how long. He was here, safe, with his family- and maybe, God willing, he would get to go in the near future.




Michael heard a whoop from the other pod-room, and disentangled himself from the exercise machine so rapidly he scraped his leg. When Hijii whooped, everyone listened- he was a very calm, serious Japanese scientist who had kept a very level head through all this. Michael made his way carefully through the doorway and stood next to Hijii’s console while gradually other crew members began to gather nearby. Hijii smiled at him. It was good to feel useful- after all this time, he had been told by other crew members that it was his experience in counselling and working with other cultures that helped keep people from killing each other during the first few months of their isolation.

I guess God knew what He was doing after all when He sent me here. Who could have thought this would happen? Only God could have known- and somehow, I had the strength to help calm things down. I’m not the only one who misses my family, here.

Everyone was desperate for their homes, their family. One look at Hijii’s monitor made everyone start laughing and grinning. Not any longer. It was the words they had waited ten whole years to see. Ten years of total silence and separation from Earth, no explanation or understanding of how or why it was so. By now, they had gotten into a routine of trying to find joy in each other’s friendship and keep up hope for the future. They could occasionally see through the rough atmosphere into space- Earth was still there, and as long as that was so there was always hope. Hope that had finally been answered in the form of a sentence- “Earth to Mars- do you read?”

Soon followed voice contact. They were saved. Already, one of the Mars-side techs was racing to his post to being a routine he had probably practiced millions of times since that faithful, horrible day. He would begin to divert their power towards warming up the quantum transport machine, and in a few days they would finally be able to be home. Years upon years in a small, isolated community on a dangerous planet- and now they would go home to breath the air of Earth. Finally, finally, finally- Michael would get to hold Sarah in his arms again, see his precious angel Celina, and see what kind of man David was growing up into.
After all this time growing up without him, their father, they would get to see him again- and he would get to see them.