The environment had changed drastically for the scientist and the apprentice.
“Bizarre,” the scientist murmured, blinking as they adjusted to the dim light. He lightly brushed his hands on the wall, and shuddered as he probed through a slimy coat of material and scraped against a strange red rock. He lightly brushed his hand on the wall. They had physical form.
“You contaminated the room,” someone interrupted. The scientist whirled around to face the old woman that sat confidently cross-legged on the curved red chair. Her snowy hair was sheared short and her gray eyes flashed intimidatingly. Even the scientist, who was not the type to be intimidated, felt as though she commanded respect. They were in front of a powerful, influential person.
“S-sorry about that,” the apprentice stammered, apparently just as shocked about their development of physical forms as he was. The lady’s eyes, who had been laser focused on the scientist’s, flicked to the younger woman.
“Well, if you’re here now I might as well show you around—”
“You seem oddly calm about seeing two mysterious people appearing into your personal quarters, dressed as though they lived a century and a half ago.”
“A century and fifty-five years to be exact. Welcome to 2135.”
The apprentice staggered into a large flattened reddish sphere that appeared to be a desk of some sort. It was the same color of the walls. The old woman raised a paper diary that should’ve been on life support. It’s brown leather cover was dry, and cracked, and the pages were yellow and chipped.
“It’s barely readable, but someone’s noted down the years they time traveled. And they noted their encounter with me. It’s bizarre, but I’ve read the encounter with myself countless times. And now I’m saying things that don’t match up with it.” The lady flicked through the book and her eyes widened in surprise. “Except now it does.” She handed the book to the apprentice, and as she glanced through it, the words just became different. They didn’t morph or flash or group into something different, they were one thing once, then just became another.
“This is amazing!” the scientist murmured. “Do you mind if I read the rest of the book?”
“No, by all means go ahead. I’ve noted my entire experience on this planet in there. It should be most illuminating.”
“This planet?”
“Oh, did I forget to mention. You’re on Mars.”
The scientist had no reaction, but the apprentice plopped onto the soft carpet that covered the dusty red floor. It was of an unfamiliar silky material, stretchy and white.
“I’ll leave you to process then,” The woman said, exiting the room.
The scientist flicked through random pages in the notebook that had provided the information to the old woman, more interested in the woman’s life than the real paradox. Then he handed it to the apprentice. “It’s quite interesting.”
The apprentice accepted the book and carefully flipped through pages.
1-15-2061
Today, I was visited by the Earth President! He came to Maia X to witness the progress of terraforming the moon. “Children, like Selene, are the future of humankind.” He announced. “They are epitomes of pantropy and will lead in terraforming the galaxy!” The audience burst into applause. They were couples, visiting the moon to give birth. Moonling children, like me, are special! When I was two and taking many capability tests as the first child on the moon, the couples started coming by the masses to give birth on the moon. Anyone born on the moon must stay. I write in this notebook that is supposedly a family heirloom. The first few pages are an ancient time travel tale that apparently soon time travelers from the 1970s will show up. That’s dumb, I’m sure and time travelers would be far more publicized. More than even my birth!
8-28-2065
“Your flexible genes bestow you a great honor…and responsibility.” The president often said to his team of Moonling children. We are the special ones, who would have the honor of terraforming Mars! As we were born on the moon to earthborn parents, our genes are more adaptable. Flexible genes meant that we could more easily adapt to non-earthlike conditions, he had explained, so we would not be as impacted by Mars’ 2.3-times-as-strong gravity compared to moon’s and we could breathe non-oxygen compounds. We did not need to geoengineer Mars because we could withstand the cold. Now Mars was practically a habitable planet.
7-31-2067
We have been training for two years! Ares, Diana, Horus, and I, the first team to be launched to Mars, were hailed by the president as heroes. He explained to the audience: “The new Helium 3 powered rocket, designed by Emelia of Lunar Solutions to transport moon bricks to earth, will take the team to Mars!” People had traveled to Mars before, but we were the first to attempt to terraform it. My teammates each specialized in a certain job, but I excelled in all the fields and was elected leader.
We needed to establish four things on Mars, atmosphere, water, shelter, and food. After debating many ideas, it was decided that we would be sent with dirt drills, to establish an underground colony, while having an aerogel dome as a greenhouse for our astrobotany lab. The plants, which had been genetically engineered only depend on air moisture, would eventually be our permanent food source. Earth would eventually send earthlings and animals to Mars.
9-3-2067
Diana and Horus had drilled the first group of chambers of our future underground colony. It was a momentous occasion, despite the fact we would spend a few nights in the Flyer in case there was unfriendly extant extraterrestrial life. Ares and I had set up CSTs (Carbon Sequestering Trees, artificial trees that would sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere , converting the carbon into diamonds and releasing oxygen back into the atmosphere) in the aerogel dome, to prepare part of area for the animals.
3-18-2070
Earth has sent many people up. Managing a planet is stressful. Oversee drilling, watch the greenhouse plants, confirming the ecosystem is balanced (we converted part of the aerogel dome to a controlled ecosystem), witness astrobotany tests (The plants grew with a reddish tint in Martian soil), arrange water scouts, arrange extraterrestrial life scouts, listen to their reports, resolve disagreements, make life-changing decisions, and the list goes on…There are small moments of fun, like joking about Ares’ name or playing hide-and-seek in the greenhouse.
4-27-2075
Water is one thing that despite flexible genes, we could not live without. We had been mostly dependent on the fast SpaceFlyers to deliver water and Hydration tablets from Earth, but about a month ago I received a report from the drilling team that was about to change that. There was a layer of frozen water a couple hundred feet below the crust. But, because of Mars’ low vapor pressure, the only place to heat the ice into liquid water would be in a pressure chamber. We pried one out of a Flyer (we still have other Flyers) and installed it in a chamber underground.
Today, I sipped the first extraterrestrial liquid water; the first Martian water. There were many processes that the water had gone through before coming to my lips. For example, Horus had led a team to extract all the minerals that had frozen into the ice. One compound (dubbed Phostilite) does not exist on Earth. After testing its properties, it was an excellent insulator and fertilizer. Although we could use it as fertilizer, thanks to our flexible genes, insulation was unnecessary. I remembered Jordan on the moon, and how he always complained about the cold of Lacus Astatis.
4-30-2115
Last month, there was a frightful Martian storm that wiped out the entire aerogel dome, decimating our food source, the plants, animals and the backup food. Spirits were crushed in mourning of those who did not make it underground in time. But within fifteen-days and with aid from Earth; Mars built itself back up. It feels that our mission, MY mission, is complete.
There was a gap in the entries and the apprentice guessed Selene, the old woman, had forgotten about the archaic notebook. But no, there was a final one.
1-15-2135
It’s been sixty-seven years, Mars is a fully functional colony. I am retired and there is a new leader. It hits me now, how none of this would have happened without me, about the immense responsibility I was handed that no child should have to bear. I contemplate how such a cycle will never end. Kids with ‘flexible genes’ are again having their normal childhood snatched, and are being sent to other celestial bodies, to live the same half-life we did. I was born in the spotlight, blinded by the glare. Now my eyes are open to all the injustice. Alas! the secret will die with me; the rest of the world intent on the prizes reaped at the children’s expense. There is no end to human conquest.
Dammit, even when humankind discovers new planets and has amazing growth, we still don’t stop taking advantage of others. We are totally and entirely doomed. The small hope that the apprentice had protected was extinguished now, and she had almost deflated. The apprentice closed the book running her fingers on the beat red leather. Something struck her.
This book looks awfully familiar. She raced through her memories, which was difficult as her mind was scrambled from the time peering, but she recognized the book. It was sitting on her office shelf in her apartment.
A bootstrap paradox! We traveled here and was welcomed. But only because I’ve traveled here before and noted down the travels in order to travel here and be welcomed. And I only wrote in the book because we know that the book exists now. Apparently, the book was a family heirloom. Does this mean its destiny for this all to happen? For the book to follow the exact same path every iteration to end in this very point? Will my future children all lay their hands on this book? A happy feeling swelled in her. Selene is my descendant that means. My family has an impact on this world. The apprentice’s mind flashed back to Vanessa, Nora, and Emily. Are they all my descendants? Influential, powerful people. Although she was happy, the thought made her feel insignificant. Does the machine follow the book? Or… does the machine follow me? It would make sense to follow the most similar possible space to my own Now, and my genetics are the ideal place. It is unnatural to change Nows so abruptly. But then why do we have physical form? Why aren’t we seeing this from Selene’s perspective? Is it because she’s old? Or is it because of the book; she’s the only one whose read it and believed it? Or is there a loop of some sort that none of the others could have read the book because it didn’t exist yet on this timeline because I haven’t come here and had the thought to write it. But that circles back to
my other questions, how did it exist in the first place if I only wrote it because it had already been written?
Many questions whirled through the apprentice’s mind, but his thought processes were interrupted by the heavy metal door to the quarters sliding open once more. Selene had returned.
“I’ll show you around.” She glanced at the notebook in the apprentice’s hands. “My life’s work.”
The group of three emerged from the room, venturing through the hive-like passageways of the colony. People scurried around all intent on their own jobs and responsibilities. The colony functioned like a well-oiled machine, and like a machine, it was clear it had been manufactured by a good mechanic. In this case, Selene.
Off to the side, the scientist addressed the apprentice. “It is obvious how important Selene’s life is for humanity’s progress, and also perfectly illuminated human nature to be selfish. To want an individual life for yourself when you could serve humanity as a whole. When you could save entire species. When you could go down in history as a savior. You could be immortal despite the small speck on the time space continuum that you were allotted. Selene had achieved all of that, yet she still wants to be insignificant. It just goes to prove that the human brain is incompetent—”
“I know what you’re thinking,” Selene interrupted his speech, evidently hearing the conversation. “That I’m selfish for wishing I lived more than a half-life. The truth is I am perfectly at peace with how my life has played out. I am honored that it was my life that had such a great impact. But why did it have to turn out this way? Why did this impact even need to happen? And why must children be farmed and sent to more celestial bodies? Once again, human greed. I just wish that my life could’ve protected many more. After all, we are but specks in the immense spread of space, and even all the celestial bodies we know of will not hold candle to the expanse of universe. We are so insignificant, and nothing we do will have an impact in the long run. It will all be consumed by the sands of time. You are only remembered by individuals and few human lives you touch. So, you should enjoy your own life for yourself. I didn’t have that privilege, and many more children will not, and like many others, my life’s work will amount to nothing once I too have become sand in the dunes of time. I am at peace that I am insignificant.”
The ominous statement was concluded with the three of them ascending through a futuristic elevator of some sort into the greenhouse. It was meant to duplicate an earthen ecosystem, and thousands of plants lined shelves illuminated with sharp neon lights which provided correct nutrition, and the establishment was covered with a murky aerogel dome that warped the billions of stars visible in the dark sky. It was an ethereal view. And the scientist and the apprentice were lucky to see it.
“I hope your visit has been enjoyable. And I hope you remember to live life the way you want because the results will have no significance when you die like anyone else.”
The Martian sun began to rise, and the deep cold that was ever present in colony evaporated, leaving a burning heat. Strands of sunshine reflected on the red dusty planet, and sunlight filtered through the shiny green leaves in the greenhouse.
The real truth finally hit the apprentice. It was easy to ignore that she was on mars when in the dark passageways of the underground colony, but here, staring at the rising sun (which probably wasn’t safe), it crashed onto her again. Billions upon trillions of stars filled the night sky, and she could see the wide expanse of space. She could feel how insignificant she was. And she could tell how dangerous it was to be traveling on the time space continuum. One miscalculation and you were stuck across the universe,
billions of eons from your Now.
The people in the colonies saw this view every day. How do they cope with this feeling? Or maybe they just have never had it any other way. They don’t know how constrained my generation is. What will I do now?
Traveling along the time space continuum left the apprentice with an intense feeling of dread. No matter what she did it would be insignificant. If Selene is insignificant, what am I? Am I more important for creating those who have impact? No, that’s stupid. In that case, the original chimpanzee would have the greatest impact. And even so, we define impact as impact on ourselves and not the universe. To some other sentient being, we may be nothing more than ants. And on the grand scheme of the universe, we are but dust and specks of energy. Even for young Vanessa who was but fifty years in the future. The apprentice might even be alive by then, yet nothing she could do would allow Vanessa the freedom to her own body. And even if her actions did have impact on Vanessa, time itself wouldn’t allow it. In the timeline where Vanessa was trapped, she would always stay trapped because that was the timeline. She could maybe help a single Vanessa in her own timeline, but the trillions of others would suffer.
The event ended.
“Bizarre,” the scientist muttered to himself. Tears streamed down the apprentice’s face with no signs of stopping.
Suddenly a loud robotic voice resounded from the heavens.
“You setup with the Time Machine has expired. Would you like to add 3 minutes to your allotment, or would you like to enable proper exit protocol? What the- the apprentice glanced, shocked, at the scientist, who didn’t appear to question the voice.
“Begin proper exit protocol please.” He glanced at the apprentice and smiled fully for the first time. “I hope you’ve enjoyed your experience. See you on the other side.”
The event ended.
