Back in the geo dome after our lengthy call to NASA, we explained the test we wanted to conduct. All three of the infected exchanged glances. ‘Are you sure you’re comfortable with this, Crystal?’ asked Roy.
‘If it satisfies NASA, then I’m happy to do it,’ she said.
‘Okay, come with us,’ I said.
Crystal rose from her seat and she, Anna and I left the geo dome with Bill following us armed with a projector. We took the minor walkway from the geo dome through to the main concourse, turned left and entered the surgery. We’d warned Krishna that we were coming, and he’d sent all the other medics but one away for a while. Gillian was no longer in any danger and was now recovering in ward one.
‘My name is Krishna, Crystal. Diana is one of our nurses. Can I ask you to sit on the medical couch, please?’
Crystal sat still and Anna brought over the sample flask.
‘Where would you like me to put the flask, Crystal?’ she asked.
I noticed that Crystal’s eyes had taken on the strange, infected look, which meant this was the LRP speaking.
‘Rest it on my left shoulder with the entrance close to my neck,’ said Crystal.
‘No funny business. Straight into the flask,’ I said.
‘We are an intelligence similar to your own. When we agree to something, we will follow it through… unlike, I might add, many humans,’ said Crystal.
‘Okay, but we’re watching carefully,’ I said, actually feeling that I had just demeaned myself.
The flask was duly positioned.
‘Okay, Crystal,’ said Anna.
We watched as one of the LRPs, crystal clear, emerged from the front of Crystal’s neck and made its way into the flask. Anna slotted in the cover plate, screwed down the lid and silicone sealed it.
Crystal rubbed her neck and said, ‘Hurts!’
‘Okay, Diana. Label the flask and place it in the sample cupboard. Lock it and bring me the key,’ said Krishna.
‘Set up one of those mini movement detectors inside the cupboard in case it decides to get out,’ I said.
‘How can it get out?’ asked Krishna.
‘We know they can. It happened with the one which infected me during my return to Earth. The silicone might stop it, but we’ve no way of being certain. The detector will at least alert us.’
‘Incredible,’ said Krishna.
‘This is just you now, Crystal?’ I asked, noticing the stare was gone.
‘Yes. God, it feels weird,’ said Crystal.
‘How?’ asked Krishna.
‘I feel empty, hollow. I don’t like it.’
Diana gave Crystal a hospital gown and asked her to change behind a screen.
With her being in a pressure suit, this took about twenty minutes. She emerged and entered ward two where the scanner stood, a large doughnut shaped machine with an attached medical gurney.
Crystal lay down on the gurney and there were a couple of short passes in and out of the doughnut. Diana then applied a drip device to deliver a radioactive fluid into her blood vessels. It highlighted them and helped the interpreter to see organs and other structures. We squeezed behind the radiation screen and watched the main scan.
‘Okay, Diana. Crystal can get dressed and get her to drink plenty of water. Mark, it will take me some time to analyse the scans,’ said Krishna.
‘We’ll wait and watch,’ I said.
Krishna sat behind a wall of technology with four monitor screens and as many controls as an Orion cockpit. I could see various cross-sections of Crystal. Analysis of the LRP’s shape and reflectivity in Krishna’s other patients allowed him to set up an alarm if the scanner spotted a similar object, even if it had changed shape. The only alarm was when we got to Crystal’s head and her two hippocampi came into view.
‘No sign of any abnormality or second LRP,’ he said confidently, twenty minutes later. ‘Can’t see anything unusual. She is a very fit and healthy woman.’
‘What if it has shrunk itself and wrapped itself around some organ or another?’ I asked.
‘Its chemical signature would still have set off the alarm,’ said Krishna.
‘Okay,’ I said, ‘Bill, irradiate Crystal, please.’
We returned to the main surgery and Bill played the projector over Crystal’s torso. It had no effect, so we were as sure as we could be that she was free of parasites.
‘Sit down again, Crystal, please,’ I said.
She sat on the medical couch. ‘I feel awful, Mark. Sort of dreadfully alone, abandoned.’
‘It could be just withdrawal symptoms,’ Anna said.
‘No, it is more emotional than that, as if I’ve lost a close friend or family member. Harrowing. An unpleasant sensation of real loss.’
‘Crystal,’ I said seriously, ‘we’ve done this to you to discover whether hosting the LRP really is something you want to continue to do. Are you sure this isn’t just a reaction you’ll get used to, like, as you say, a bereavement?’
She sat quietly, thinking about my question.
‘Yes, I could live like this, but I would much rather have her back. I was trying to remember when I first met Jenny. I could, but it was like seeing it on a monochrome TV through thick fog. Almost as if the memory is as nothing, yet, with the entity inside me, I can recall that memory in realistic 3D Technicolor any time I wish and even experience the thrill of falling in love as if it’s brand new.’ She paused, ‘Also, my memory of my first Orion launch is pathetic compared with the images, sounds and colours I experienced with the entity. I feel a great loss. Please return her.’
‘You’re absolutely sure?’ Anna asked.
‘Yes. Absolutely. I don’t think I can live like this. You’ve cut half of my mind out of me and fogged my memories,’ she said and began to weep. ‘It worsens… as… each minute… passes.’ Anna put an arm around her.
‘Sorry, Crystal,’ I said, ‘but we need to keep you separated from your LRP for two days so that we can be certain it is not some sort of withdrawal symptom. That’s the test NASA required.’
‘No. Please, no,’ she pleaded. ‘I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to do this.’
‘You and Roy agreed,’ I said.
‘I know, but I didn’t think it would be so bad. Please, Mark. Please let me have her back. I imagine this is what having Alzheimer’s would be like. Knowing something is missing It’s awful.’
‘Why do you call it “her”?’ I asked.
‘Because she’s part of me, I suppose. She knows me. She is part of me. We are me now. I’m female so she is female. I think we choose their gender when they enter us. I don’t think they consciously change sex to match ours. It is more natural than that. She’s a she and you have cut her out of me.’
‘We’ve made up a bunk for you in the scanner room,’ I said, ‘but you’re free to use the common room for refreshments et cetera. We’d rather you didn’t go anywhere else. Your LRP is secure. Roy will be staying in the geo dome. We’ll ensure they are safe but guarded.’
On hearing that, she looked up at me and asked, ‘Are you sure I’m safe, Mark? I felt real hostility from some of the Marines. You will protect us, won’t you?’
‘I promise, Crystal,’ I said.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
‘Computer, are there any areas without people at the moment?’ I asked.
‘Yes, the EVA dome is empty, plus the three buggies, Mark.’
Anna, Bill and I left the surgery and crossed to the EVA dome. I hit the safety cut-out, which prevented anyone from starting the air cycling process, and closed the door.
‘Why the cloak and dagger?’ asked Bill.
‘I’m worried about the situation and concerned about my cabin being bugged,’ I said.
‘They aren’t,’ said Bill. ‘I personally checked each of the cabins when they were opened. They’re clean.’
‘How do you mean about being worried?’ asked Anna.
‘Well, if we find that the LRPs are not harmful and are, in fact, beneficial, what will Earth say?’
‘Yes, I see,’ said Anna. ‘They could never allow someone with an LRP to return to Earth.’
‘They can’t anyway,’ said Bill. ‘The Van Allen belts would kill them before re-entry.’
‘No, Bill,’ I said. ‘We can choose a polar trajectory for re-entry which avoids the Van Allen belts completely. That, by the way, is classified. Only a handful of us are aware of it.’
‘But no one can live on the moon indefinitely. Their bones and muscles would deteriorate if it were years,’ said Anna.
‘That is exactly what I’m worried about. Let’s keep this conversation between us for the moment, but I’ll be listening very carefully to every word that comes from Earth about this. I want you two to do the same.’
‘What’s next then?’ asked Anna.
‘Firstly, I have to brief NASA. Be there with me as I am going to be honest with them about the situation and want to discover how they react. Threatened or interested. Will they want to find out more or show a less curious standpoint.’
We returned to the com dome, respectfully evicted the crew who were in there and called Neil.
‘Hi, Mark,’ said Neil. ‘How did it go? Over.’
‘Who is at your end? Over.’ I asked.
‘Just me. Fire away. Over.’
I spent the next ten minutes outlining the effect upon Crystal of having her LRP removed, then asked Bill and Anna to add anything they thought was relevant.
‘So, what now, Neil? Over.’
‘We obviously need more information, Mark. Your plan to talk to Crystal again over the next two days should fill in a lot of gaps. You have Roy and Vicky under guard? Over.’
‘Absolutely. Over,’ I said.
‘Then let’s see how the situation develops over the next couple of days. Over.’
‘Okay, Neil, will do. Out,’ I said and cut the connection.
‘He wasn’t alone,’ said Anna.
‘What? How do you know?’ asked Bill.
‘He was in the middle of a sentence, didn’t hesitate, but I definitely heard a cough in the background.’
‘You’re sure?’ I asked.
‘Positive.’
‘Come on,’ I said. ‘We have to go back to the geo dome to let our other two guests know what is happening.’
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
‘At last!’ exclaimed Roy as we entered the geo dome. ‘What happened with Crystal?’
‘Interesting. We’re leaving her without her LRP for the full two days, as agreed, so that we can understand how she feels about it,’ I said.
‘I should get back to the rille. I can’t sit around here for all that time,’ said Roy.
‘What exactly are you doing at the rille?’ asked Bill.
‘We’ve created a habitat in part of the cave system and are reasonably comfortable. We’ve also made a discovery which we are trying to understand. Remember, combined with our entities, our intellectual abilities are seriously enhanced.’
‘What sort of discovery?’ I asked.
‘I won’t let you know until I am reassured that you will not harm any of us. Your random killing of us must stop,’ said Roy.
‘But you were trying to attack us and also trying to take over the world. You’re not harmless!’ I said.
‘We haven’t harmed any of you,’ he protested.
‘Blake is dead!’ I said.
‘With respect, Mark, it was you who smashed his faceplate!’ Roy proclaimed.
‘Because, at the time, the two of you were trying to stop Linda and I from escaping… and you damn near succeeded.’
‘Okay, I concede that, but all of that happened long before we discovered how wonderful the symbiosis with the entities is,’ he said in a more conciliatory fashion. ‘It has been a difficult learning curve for the entities too.’
‘That is exactly what we’re trying to ascertain, Roy. What have you discovered at the rille? Pure ice? Something else?’
‘I won’t discuss it until you return Crystal to us.’
‘Okay, but can you explain why you’ve taken the quantum particle and cosmic ray detectors from Moonbase? NASA is somewhat put out about it.’
‘Same answer. Return Crystal to us and also Vicky’s entity if you aren’t going to return it to her,’ said Roy.
‘Will you come back the day after tomorrow, then? About fourteen hundred hours.’
‘I will,’ he said.
‘Okay. Mike, can your squad escort Roy back to buggy one and see that he, and the LRP on his shoulder, leave the garage dome?’ I said.
‘No problem, Mark,’ said Mike and they left us in the geo dome with Vicky.
‘What about me?’ Vicky asked.
‘We’ll escort you back to the bio dome where you can continue to stay until this is resolved.’ Then I suddenly had an idea and said, ‘If you’d prefer to separate from your LRP, you can re-join the rest of us.’ I said.
‘There’s another flask over there,’ said Bill getting up and retrieving the empty container.
‘It won’t be harmed,’ I said.
This could be an interesting experiment. Would her LRP have gained so much control over her that she would want to remain with it in isolation, rather than join her friends and colleagues?
‘I don’t know how to make it exit,’ she said.
‘Give it back control,’ I said and watched for the change in the clarity and alertness in her eyes. ‘Right, LRP. The host wants you to leave her until we’ve resolved the situation. You have my word that you won’t be harmed. Bill, offer the flask to her neck.’
Vicky sat down again, and we watched as the LRP left from just in front of her ear and entered the flask.
‘Silicone seal it and mark it clearly as Vicky’s, Bill. Take it through to Krishna to keep safe. You okay, Vicky?’
She rubbed her neck. ‘That hurt. Yes, I’m okay. Feels weird,’ she said.
Once Bill had left to go to the surgery, I walked over and hit the multidirectional projector. There was no effect on Vicky so she must be clear.
‘What do you mean by “weird”?’ I asked.
‘Sort of vacant, an absence of something, but I don’t know what.’
We were just leaving the geo dome and she suddenly stopped. ‘Oh, dear,’ she said. ‘All those memories are gone.’
‘Explain.’
‘Earlier, I was enjoying some lovely memories of playing in the park, when I was a child. Talking to school friends. Family holidays. The entity brought them to life, as if I was really there. I can’t see them anymore.’
‘Let’s get you to the common room for a meal and coffee. You’ll feel better after that,’ I said.
‘It’s sad,’ she said quietly.
‘How sad?’
‘I’ve lost something lovely, Mark.’
‘Come on, let’s talk about it over dinner,’ I said.
Where on Earth, or rather, the moon, was all of this leading us?