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| Lpnet1-100 The Lost Planet Chapter 1: Accident with an Asteroid Chapter 2: Stranded in Space Chapter 3: Survival in Solitude Chapter 4: The Ancient Temple Chapter 5: A Virtual Reality Experience Chapter 6: The Crystal Records Chapter 7: The Knowledge of Tranqua Chapter 8: The Meta- Hydrovector Chapter 9: The Long, Hard Work Chapter 10: The Project Complete Chapter 11: The Crystal Fantasy Chapter 12: The Key of Vitreos |
The Lost Planet
Chapter 10. The Project Complete 1/1/2087: Construction of the Hydrovector was a massive project, and it was almost complete. With less than 3 months of water in storage and still no signs of ice on the asteroid or in the vicinity, it seemed my only hope for survival. It wasn't easy, by any means. The most difficult part was purely psychological; an extremely depressed feeling of doubt in everything I was doing. At times when the doubts took control I fell down somewhere and rested weary bones, head shaking with self-incrimination. "What the hell was I doing? Had I gone mad? Did I really believe there was a way to make water?" I was counting the hours and days, checking the limited supplies, approaching the inevitable deadline... now just 3 months away. This depression led to desperation, then careless abandon, like clockwork every 24 hours. I came to recognize it as a sign not so much of defeat as a necessary rest-period. No matter how hard and long I worked, the depression always signaled the end of a day's work, whether it was 6 or 24 hours straight, it was inevitable. After accepting the day's defeat and taking the much-needed rest, my thoughts always turned to the dreams, the mystery of Tranqua and its people, the VR unit, and of course, the crystals. 1/20/2087: The project was completed. With a balance of pressure, a few millimeters of water passed through a tube into a chamber, where it reacted with the elements to create a vaporous gas. The gas filled the upper chamber and reacted with the spark from an electromagnet, to create lightning, and 'rainfall'. The rainfall produced in the upper chamber fell through the middle chamber and was filtered through a funnel into the lower chamber. The 6 meter high by 3 meter wide water-making mechanism stood firmly on the base of the huge cavern, remnants of the Valkon in a framework of heavy, metal girders, converted into some kind of organ inside a monstrous mother of a ship. Gazing at last upon it with some satisfaction, from its base up to where a high-intensity lamp hung from the balcony was just a few meters away, I fought away the daily depression and felt a surge of confidence. I deserved about a whole day of rest, the way I figured, but not yet a vacation. So I had something to eat, in the corner of the temple, where most of the main-controls were, and quietly rested in anticipation of the hydrovector's production. Still with confidence, I ignored a little voice with its cold, calculated deadline, little more than 2 months away. Sometime in late March was the latest estimate, if the project failed. Disregarding the little warning and the doubt it carried, I turned again to the crystals, and continued to increase my knowledge of the Tranquans. I learned such things that would catch the attention of the most educated scientists of Earth. Such knowledge could revolutionize the human race in outer space, and move us into a whole new century. It wouldn't make sense to die and all that had been discovered be lost. No, that wouldn't be right, it would not happen that way, it couldn't. I had to survive. Psycho-Kon Care: The Hopeless
Soul-Survivor against Inevitable
Death in Space:
Words cannot do justice to the personal hell I was entrapped within. A continuous cycle of depression, desperation, and careless abandon was kept at bay only with the work my two hands and mediocre mentality exhibited dire devotion with. At times it all seemed really rather futile, as if it were a waste of time; this led my mind to wander all about, seeking more favorable options and courses of action. In desperation I sought such alternatives, but nothing I found provided any hope of solving the situation, except for the Tranquan Hydrovector. For it was water, not food or air that I was short on, and it could only be recycled once. In the process of water recycling, a quarter to a third of the water was lost. Even recycling it would only delay the inevitable for a month, and during that time the water would lose all quality, eventually it would be as bitter as wood alcohol, not palatable, but poisonous. It was not a pleasant way to go. The Hydrovector appeared to be the only hope for survival. So I picked apart the Valkon freighter and constructed the 3 meter wide, 7 meter-high mechanism, in the huge 'batheopath' cavern, and there it stood, like an organ inside some kind of monstrous mother-ship. Words do no justice to the experience. Like a 21st century Robinson Crusoe, on a cold, dark stone in deep space, alone, all I could do was fight off hopeless depression and try to survive, no matter what kind of crazy logic and manual dexterity that required. For it really made no sense to simply quit, and die before the fact, when there was still enough time and matter to work with. It was around that time, several hours before I planned to activate the hydrovector, when an intellectual boost occurred which was projected beyond the extended deadline. I realized somehow, with a complete inventory of the remnants of the Valkon, it might actually be possible to construct a small, space-going, air-tight vehicle. The new concept was fascinating and I went to work on it at once. |
Chapter 13:
Contact with Mars Chapter 14: The Asteroid Miners Chapter 15: T’rwani and Tranqua Chapter 16: The Europan Pirates Chapter 17: A Clone for a Companion Chapter 18: A Skirmish in Space Chapter 19: The Story of Tranqua Chapter 20: Dealing with the AMV Chapter 21: The Tranquan Transverser Chapter 22: The Trouble with Martians Chapter 23: The Martian Consulate, Zykura Chapter 24: Hexnot, Mars Chapter 25: The Final Cataclysm |
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