Early next morning, she was a lot steadier but grateful for the hand on her arm. She decided it was going to be a painful month or two ahead as she tried to regain strength. She walked to Maricia’s bed. She was the same.
“She is still asleep. Did she go to bed late?”
“No,” Lola answered. Savanna’s vision had improved. Lola’s skin looked leathery. Savanna reached out and felt it firm and warm.
“What time do you think she will wake up?”
Jekyll was positioned at her head and had sensors on her scalp.
“It is not certain that she will awaken,” he intoned. “She has suffered neurological damage. I am reassessing her functionality. Her brain wave pattern is abnormal, different than a sleep pattern. If she wakes up, I predict she will be impaired to some extent.”
“Is she pregnant?”
“Yes,” said Lola. “She has a boy.”
“What do I have?”
“A girl,” said Ivanna.
“Is Lucinda pregnant?”
“No,” said Ivanna.
Savanna looked again around Medical and struggled to remember. She moved away from Maricia and toward the center core. “Weren’t the pods, the capsules, in the middle of this room?”
“They were.”
“Where are Raul and Lucinda, then?”
“Perhaps you should sit,” Ivanna said in her silky tones after a short pause. Lola slowly joined the pair. Savanna saw their clothing was faded and worn, small holes in the knees, holes in some of the creases of the tunic. The midnight blue that Ivanna wore was a light gray. Lola’s pale green fabric was now a dirty pale of uncertain color.
“Why?” She looked around Medical and saw only one person. There were two beds, one occupied and hers. Empty space. A vacuum began to form deep inside her chest. She felt a stinging in her eyes followed by welling of tears. “No. Don’t tell me. Please, no.” Savanna wanted to run away, but her head began to swim. Her vision failed. She felt two pairs of arms gently lift her, tilting her supine before she lost consciousness. She watched the ceiling move as they placed her in her bed. Saline streamed down her face into her ears. “Please, no,” she muttered repeatedly.
“What has happened?” she finally said.
Ivanna answered, “Raul died of encephalitis in the seventy-second year of hibernation. He had a viral infection in his brain. We have no treatment for an ultraslow virus. Lucinda aged too fast. She died as a very old woman about fifty years ago without waking. The human response to the hibernation cocktail is variable, and hers was not compatible for a journey of this length.”
“Was there a problem with the temperature of her pod?”
“It was set at the upper limit.”
“Was her capsule programmed differently than the others?”
“It was programmed at that temperature, the same as Dr. Parambi’s.”
“But higher than mine and Maricia’s?”
“Yes, by 1.5 degrees.”
“What was Parambi thinking?” Ivanna did not answer. “He killed her.”
“He did not do the programming of the temperature of those two devices. Because of your last concerns, the premature aging of Lucinda and minor discrepancies in temperatures, the computers analyzed all programming changes made by the crew. It was Commander Chen who altered the thermal parameters before the mission started. Lucinda’s pod was cooled to the original settings, but it was too late. Unfortunately, it was not detected when the other changes were found prior to hyper-hibernation. It was outside the search criteria.”
“Oh god. When did Chen start to have an affair with Leila?” Savanna asked herself out loud. She tried to remember if she noticed any clue.
“They spent time alone in Commander Chen’s quarters on many occasions prior to departure,” Ivanna offered.
“This is insane.” Savanna fought through the mental haze, trying to collate the data. “One or two degrees made the difference in aging, is that the conclusion?”
“Affirmative.”
“I can’t believe he tried to kill them.” There was no response from Ivanna.
“I guess that is why they send eight of us on these escapades.”
“That is logical.”
“I am alone.”
“In a sense, you are. Lola and I are with you. Maricia may improve. We project you will do well.”
Savanna turned and curled up in a fetal position and wept for an hour or so, until tears, like blood from a wound, eventually stopped. The only sound was an almost-imperceptible hum from the LBS slowing the ship as it approached a new solar system.
A week later, Savanna’s vision was normal. She had been able to walk around the ship without assistance or a chaperone for several days. She finished a painful thirty-three minutes on a treadmill and walked into Medical. Lola was in virtual constant attendance at the bedside where Maricia lay in troubled sleep. Savanna patted Maricia’s cheek repeatedly. “Come on, Mar, wake up!”
This time, her eyes fluttered, her breathing pattern changed, and her mouth started moving. “Maricia, wake up. Wake up.” Savanna’s voice was strong and loud, full of excitement and hope.
Her eyes opened, blinking and roving.
Jekyll approached. Lola leaned in and repeated, “Are you OK?”