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H a R R I S O N G O Science Fiction from a Youth ON HARRISON GONG The whole thing goes: The future’s not set. There’s no fate but we make for ourselves. XXP PRESS CORPORATION www.xiaoxiaopublication.com 2 CONTENT VVL 04 The Earth’s Eye 06 The Journey to Mars 10 The strange discovery 16 Departure + Takeoff 23 To VVL 26 Arrival 30 The big black spot 33 Apparation 36 Hope 38 First defeat 41 A bone 43 Protection 46 Flash? Flash! 49 Exploding the sun 52 Second defeat 55 Where was Michael 58 The alien 61 A herd of aliens 64 A strange hole 68 Underground 71 The truth 73 A dream 77 Epilogue 78 3 Chapter 1 VVL t is one of the most ancient planets in the universe. It is beyond the Ivision of the Hubble and the James Webb telescope. It is a place that humans have never set eyes on. It has extreme temperatures. During the day, its star gives it a boiling temperature of 4,500 ℃. But at night, temperature drops to -190℃. Yet life still thrives there. 4 5 Chapter Ⅱ The Earth’s Eye “Hurry!” A voice spoke. “Yes, sir. There are two final particles.” said a squeaky voice like mouse. Jack Franklin and Michael Jefferson are standing on a tower. Jack is a tall, thin and balding, with little black hair on his smooth head. He has a toothbrush mustache and side-beard. A pair of horn-rimmed glasses perched on his long, thin nose. His brow was furrowed as he stared at the construction below which was going on noisily. Michael stood beside him. Although at an age of 37, Michael was surprisingly short, only about 5 feet tall. A huge amount of fluffy blonde hair grew all over the place on his head. His hair grew so alarming faster that he sometimes suspects himself as a girl. Two blue eyes twinkled under his brow. Michael, however, was not looking at the construction, but looking at a few birds flying into the clouds. He blinked and looked at Jack who was still staring downwards unblinkingly. Suddenly, there was a loud clicking noise that filled the whole valley. Michael jumped and looked down at the construction, too. He saw a tiny figure waving a red flag with his arms like a windmill. 6 “It's signal. We must go, sir. They have finished.” Jack tore his gaze away and found Michael. Michael shivered slightly. The gaze pierced him. He looked down at his feet. “All right, Michael. Let’s go!” They went down through the elevator. They strolled around the mountains and found themselves engulfed by a cheering crowd. “Finished?” Jack asked as he and Michael was hoisted upon many shoulders. “Yes, of course, sir!” roared the crowd together. Jack smiled. He had smiled for the first time in a year. As Technical Director of the “Earth’s Eye” telescope, with so many people to manage and so many mistakes to correct, smiling is really a difficult thing for him. About thrice the size of the Hubble, it would settle on Mars to explore space more clearly and helpfully. The “Earth’s Eye” would be a great leap in astronomy. Sent to Mars by two Long March-9s, one Falcon 11 Rocket and nine solid rocket boosters, it would take the longest journey. On a sunny clear day, three huge rockets were advancing slowly towards a high-rise tower where Jack and Michael stood. Their hearts were pumping. Here, the rockets would be ready to assemble and liftoff. Jack quickly adjusted and glanced down at Michael. He was as white as a sheet. And his legs were trembling so violently. That he could barely stand. Jack knew why. It's hard to assemble so many rockets together. And no one had ever done it before. He signed a deep sigh and turned away. He went back to the lab and tried to work naturally but found out that he seemed to be rooted to the spot. After two days’ installing and testing, Jack and Michael went to the tower again. Jack caught sight of a red gold flag in the sunlight. And he saw Michael's face flooded 7 with a bit of color. He felt relieved. He didn't need to worry about this for two months for the liftoff of the Earth’s Eye was set in two months. 8 9 Chapter Ⅲ The Journey to Mars wo months passed quickly. Autumn arrived with golden leaves Tlike butterflies falling from the trees, and apple's pounding the ground. Jack alone stood again on the tower. Michael had got flu and asked for two days’ leave. Jack had a sickly green pallor that matched his bright green eyes. The enormous rocky was ready to fire. People were flitting around it, making a last-minute check. Jack closed his eyes for a moment. Tiny spot appeared in the darkness flashing. He opened his eyes and his gaze rested upon the sky-- No clouds, no wind. It is a good omen. A bell rang loudly like sound across the ground. Jack looked at the time 8:50 a.m. He breathed deeply for a few minutes, gulped down some water and closed his eyes again, dreading the crash. That would mean another year's work if the liftoff is failed. 00:03, 00:02, 00:01, 00:00! The engines roared. Jack’s eyes flew open. A blinding light greeted him. He put on sunglasses as he watched the huge rocket grew smaller and smaller with a mixture of pride and anxiety. The rocket had vanished leaving large amounts of white smoke behind it. Suddenly, the telephone rang. Jack's head was in his throat. Please be 10 good, be good! He thought frantically as he picked up the receiver. “Jack Franklin speaking.” He said in a quivery voice. “Hi Jack! This is the chief of the Earth's Eye. We are happy to inform you that the first stage has succeeded. Jack’s heart leapt. “We are also going to tell you that the second stage went on very…” Jack was grinning. “… bad.” The chief finished. And Jack's heart sank like a stone. “It didn't fall off from the main rocket as planned, so we landed it on the moon. And we will lift it in another five months. Good day to you, Jack.” Jack put down the receiver and sank into an armchair. His hands buried into his face. For one glorious moment, he thought it had succeeded. Now he was left into worse turmoil than ever. He grabbed the reports and threw them into the fireplace. He tore pictures of the telescope into pieces. He wanted it to end. He wanted to go out and spend the rest of the days as a beggar. But why? A voice said in his head. “Why I want to be a beggar? I should have confidence in myself. I shouldn't have felt despair. That's still light ahead. I need to fight!” He leapt upwards. His face glazed with tears, but it also had a blazing look. *** Five months had passed. There were still some shows in the valley which were on the tops of the mountains. On the ground, flowers were already blossoming, and grass was poking their heads out. Birds sang loudly, filling the valley with an echoing sound. Jack was standing on the tower again, this time with Michael. Now Jack felt peaceful. If it didn't succeed this time, the mission would be ended. After a while, there was a ringing noise behind Michael. He turned around. So did Jack. His brow furrowed. The telephone was rattling. Michael picked 11 up the receiver. “Michael Thomas speaking. “ “Congratulations Michael. and to Jack if he's there.” Jack grinned. They heard a smattering of applause as the chief spoke. “It has left the moon and set out towards Mars. It will arrive there in two months. And… “And by the chief’s momentary silence, they heard yells and cries and much louder wave of applause. It's my honor to tell you,” roared the chief over the thunderous of sounds, “that the third stage is pretty smooth sailing.” The chief paused for a moment and they heard what sounded like an explosion. For a moment, they looked at each other, horror on their faces. Then they both laughed out in relief. It wasn't an explosion, it was a sound mixed with yells, cheers, claps and cries. And the chief shouted it aloud to the receiver, “The group dragon has just left the Falcon 11 and are going to land on Mars in about two weeks. We'll talk to you again by then. Excuse me, I have to go and join the celebrations.” There was only a buzzing sound. Jack and Michael stared at each other, hardly believing their ears. Then Jack broke the silence. He screamed and hugged Michael, then began to sob into his shoulders, choking, “Yes! Yes!” Michael patted Jack’s back as tears welled up in his eyes, too. He mopped his eyes and felt his ribs might crack under the tightness of Jack’s hug. It seemed that they had broken apart for many years. After a while, tears were still shining on their faces under the sunlight. *** After the celebration on the high tower, Jack and Michael became anxious once more for the deadline was drawing nearer and nearer. Jack 12 said if it failed to land on the Mars, he would resign and become a beggar in the rest of his life.
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