Harde Science Fiction
an amusing science fiction story by David Rich, part 2
The conclusion to our sci-fi story is here! Our fearless team is entering the asteroid/spaceship against orders, but, you know, for the good of mankind and possibly glory along with it, although that’s not the important part…
Read part 1 here and leave your thoughts for the author at the end!
“Harde Science Fiction” previously appeared in Eldritch Science in April 2022.
Harde Science Fiction
part 2
by David Rich
One by one they made their way down the shaft via the moving platform. During her own journey, Harde found it difficult to estimate the length of the shaft. She could only perceive acceleration and duration, but she ballparked it at 300 meters.
At the end of the shoot, they'd each stepped off the platform onto a bed of golden sand. The crew looked into the distance. The place seemed inconceivably vast.
Their grappling hooks didn't latch to the sand. But Harde hadn't noticed it at first because there was gravity! It felt slightly less than g.
There were dunes of sand for as far as she could see into the distance. The “upper” portion of the asteroid's interior was brightly lit, simulating a sunny day.
Kicking the sand, Stephen Stevens said excitedly, "It's like the beach! But no water... Isn't there a word for a vast sandy place with no water?"
"Yeah, a 'desert' you bonehead," the grumpy Steven Stephens replied. "By the way, there's almost no particle radiation to speak of here. And my sample readings suggest this air should be breathable. Not that I recommend removing your helmets."
But just as Steven Stephens said that, Stephen Stevens took off his helmet and inhaled deeply.
"Science Officer Stevens! That was reckless!" Garsovich shouted.
Harde appreciated Garsovich's desire to make orderly decisions. But she felt she had to try it.
Reckless or not, Harde released the latches of her own helmet. She joined Stephen Stevens in breathing the air. There was very little odor that she could detect or identify.
Following the captain's lead, other crew members removed their helmets. Garsovich was last to remove his, and did so only after Harde shot him a sarcastic stare.
"It'll be easier to move without our space suits," she said. "It's warm but surprisingly comfortable. Still, make sure to carry your full water supply."
The crew stripped out of their suits. Stephen Stevens, of course, was first out of his. He immediately strolled a short distance from the crew. "Do you hear buzzing?" he asked. Eventually, the rest had removed their space suits and ambled toward him.
"Yeah, I hear it too," Garsovich said, "right over that"—Stephen Stevens took off running—"dune." Turning to the more judicious scientist, Garsovich asked, "Does he always do this?"
"Only when excited. And I'm afraid he's as excited as ever," Steven Stephens replied.
"Well, let's not stand around here. Let's go after him," Harde ordered.
At that, the crew jogged after Stephen Stevens. They met up with the brash scientist at the crest of a sand dune. Everyone looked down to the other side of the dune, where there was a black, immensely tall rectangular stone.
It was humming.
Garsovich said, "It's like a—"
"Monolith," Harde completed the thought. Suddenly, Harde heard five musical notes, then drums, from a hauntingly familiar Richard Strauss piece.
"Okay," Garsovich said, "let's approach it slowly. And no one touches it!"
After ambling toward the monolith, the crew had encircled it. They stared, trying to comprehend its deeper meaning.
After all his fervor, Stephen Stevens seemed bored and uninterested. In fact, he sat down, leaning his back against the monolith, and sighed, "It's a vibrating stone slab... an enigma that shall ne'er be solved no matter how long mankind ponders it."
"Hey, I said don't touch it!" Garsovich exclaimed. Sitting on the sand, back resting against the monolith, Stephen Stevens turned his head to Garsovich innocently.
Meanwhile, Harde noticed that by leaning against it, Stephen Stevens was causing the monolith to tip, with Steven Stephens standing on the other side. "Stevens!" Harde shouted.
Quickly, the monolith fell over, nearly striking the other scientist, who'd juked out of the way just in time. After a thud, the monolith was lying on the ground.
"That nearly landed on my foot!" Steven Stephens yelled to Stephen Stevens. "You imbecile!"
Upon saying those last two words, the front of the monolith opened up like a door panel.
"Holy—," Garsovich said in disbelief.
"Maybe that's how you say 'open' in the alien language," Stephen Stevens hypothesized.
"Like what?" Steven Stephens asked. "How do you think they say 'open' in their language?
"'You imbecile!'" Stephen Stevens replied.
And as he spoke, the door panel closed. Everyone stared at the monolith for several seconds. Then Stephen Stevens repeated, "You imbecile!” At that, the monolith's front door opened again. "Huh!"
Harde and the crew looked into the mysterious monolith through the open door. It felt cold inside, in contrast to the warm, desert-like environment.
Inside the monolith, there were cylindrical metal objects on several racks. Stephen Stevens pulled one out. He pulled a tab on its top. It cracked open, releasing a sudsy foam. He took a sip from the can.
"Beer!" he shouted. "How awesome! That's why it was humming. The monolith is a beer fridge!"
Garsovich made eye contact with Harde. He shook his head in obvious disbelief. Finally, he said, "Well... I guess a hot desert is a convenient place to put a beer fridge." Then he turned to the rest of the crew, "But I suggest we not drink it. We don't know—"
Harde squinted, wondering why Garsovich stopped speaking. In fact, he'd retracted his lips into his mouth.
Eventually, Cassidy said to him, "What, Commander? 'We don't know' what?"
"The sand," he replied. "It moved."
"Where? I don't see anything," Cassidy said, turning her head in all directions. "Maybe it's your imagination."
Harde shook her head at Cassidy. She knew the Commander wouldn't just imagine something like that.
But before Harde could comment, Stephen Stevens announced, "Hey everybody, let's do a group selfie! Captain, you too." He waved at everyone to gather up.
Harde's immediate inclination was to rebuff him. A selfie? Seriously? Then she saw that everyone else was participating. This photo, she imagined, could become history-defining. Iconic. She had to be in this photo, center stage!
"Of course," Harde said, joining the group as they gathered in front of Stephen Steven's camera. She stood next to Garsovich. The Commander smiled at Harde and placed his hand on her shoulder in a kind, endearing way. Harde returned the gesture by gingerly placing her hand on his sturdy back.
The physical contact was electrifying. She gave the camera a fake smile to mask her emotions.
"There," Stephen Stevens declared after he took the photo. He showed everyone his tablet, and the crew gathered to look.
"Send it to me," the other scientist, Steven Stephens insisted, with a glance of concern. Stephen Stevens complied with a few tablet swipes.
"What's that behind us in the picture?" Cassidy asked, studying the image on Steven’s screen.
"Hard to tell," Garsovich said, squinting at the screen. He turned his head in the direction where the object in the photo would've been.
"Looks like a snake," Cassidy said.
Stephen Stevens then ran into the distance to the very spot where the suspected object had been during the photo. "It would've been right here!" he yelled, circling an area of sand with his pointer.
"Stephen Stevens!" Garsovich shouted. "Come back here now. Stay with the team!"
"Don’t worry, Commander! I'll figure this out."
"No, it's too dangerous. Come back!"
The entire crew watched the gallant scientist nervously. With no warning, an enormous worm emerged from the sand right beneath him. It carried the man into the air, as the crew gasped helplessly. Harde took a deep breath, knowing a captain shouldn't show any fear.
The worm rose unimaginably high. A tiny slit on the crest of its bulbous head opened up into a giant mouth and chomped at Stephens Steven's body.
Cassidy, with her large rifle, was first to shoot at the beast. Her blasts spewed worm-flesh at each site of injury. The remaining crew members fired their hand blasters furiously, and the worm suffered an onslaught of crippling damage.
Harde waved the crew forward to charge the worm. She wasn't going to lose a crew member in this historic mission. By the time they'd reached the worm, it had collapsed and fallen dead.
They approached the worm's mouth, but it was evident that they were too late. Stephen Stevens had been mutilated.
Harde squinted in revulsion at the sight of the man's carcass. She considered how his enthusiastic spirit had profoundly boosted the crew's eagerness to take on this very adventure. She committed to remembering and repeating those sentiments when she informed his family.
The crew grew solemn as they gathered around his remains. The survivor of the two scientists, Steven Stephens, lowered his head and drooped his shoulders. "And he wasn't even wearing a red shirt," Steven Stephens said.
But before they'd had adequate time to reflect, a large pack of giant worms emerged from the sand.
"Run!" Garsovich shouted.
The crew raced swiftly from the charging worms. They fired their weapons at the monsters, blasting chunks of skin from them.
Steven Stephens ran beside the captain. "What do they look like to you?" he asked, hitting a worm squarely in the head with his blaster.
"They look like giant worms, Stephens! What's your point?" Harde replied.
"They seem phallic, Captain."
"Shut up, Stephens! Not now."
"Look Captain," he said pointing to the worm he'd hit, "it hurts them more when you hit their heads! These sand penises seem to be ultra-sensitive there."
"Call them 'sand penises' one more time and I'll blast your head off.” Harde noticed that Stephens had incapacitated the worm by blasting its head. “Everyone, aim for their heads!"
Soon after adopting the new target zone, the sandworms were slowing down.
"Captain, your strategy is working!" Garsovich said as he disabled another worm. Then he pointed his finger toward a rocky area to their left. "Let's head for those rocks, and maybe they won't follow."
#
After the crew had successfully escaped the sandworms, they found themselves trekking through the valley of a small canyon. From the crew member's frequent glances, Harde could tell they were nervous about the tall rocks that surrounded them.
Lieutenant Cassidy had been scanning the rocks with her eyes, targeting it with her blaster. Cassidy's lips blinked frequently, but they always stopped before she’d said anything.
Harde imagined that the security officer any moment would announce a new threat in the canyon more terrifying than the sandworms. Therefore, it surprised Harde when Cassidy said, "Do you think those beasts were actually the intelligent life we've been seeking?"
"Did they seem intelligent to you?" Steven Stephens responded sarcastically.
"Intelligent enough to eat your friend," she replied.
Stephens' face flushed with outrage.
"Everyone," Garsovich interjected, "let's stop the fighting. Clearly, those life forms couldn't have built a space vessel or whatever this 'asteroid' is."
"Agreed," Cassidy said, "but what are they doing here if this was built by a more intelligent species?"
Harde had been pondering that very question and was quick to offer some possibilities, "Maybe they're part of the food chain? Or maybe they keep them as pets?"
"Or maybe they evolved here on the asteroid over time from smaller sand peni-, umm, I mean, sandworms," Steven Stephens suggested. Before Harde could grow irate, Stephen's eyes turned to the rocks of the canyon. "Look! Did you see that?"
"What?" Harde asked, somewhat alarmed.
"I caught a glimpse of it," Cassidy said.
"It looked like a little elf," Stephens said.
Harde wondered if this could finally be the intelligent life they were seeking. She immediately headed into the rocks in the direction Stephens had been looking. The crew followed Harde.
Soon, she spotted movement. The creature she saw did, in fact, look like an elf. It was wearing a reddish tan robe with a hood over its head. But it scurried away before she could make out much more.
"I've photographed him!" Stephens exclaimed, presenting his tablet to the others.
Harde and the crew gathered around Stephens to look at the image. The elf was creepy, but in a cute way. Inside the robe's hood was a shadowed face of pure darkness... with two tiny shining eyes.
Harde was exploding with curiosity. She wanted desperately to see what the creature's body looked like behind its shaggy red cloak.
She ran deeper into the rocks to find the elf. For a moment, she stopped, realizing that she was being as impetuous as had been Stephen Stevens. And that got him eaten by a sandworm. Although this creature was small, a captain should know better than to make careless, risky assumptions. So, she considered regrouping and discussing strategy with Garsovich.
Oh, screw it, she thought, I'm the damn captain!
The crew followed her into the rocks without a word from anyone. Harde felt like the team was in a 'flow' state. She didn't need to order them to follow or protect her; the team seemed as curious as she was and altogether eager to join her in pursuing the tiny creature.
Within minutes, she caught sight of the little elf. Harde ran after it, like a madman chasing a chicken. Soon, Harde had just about caught up.
She clutched the back of its reddish robe as it scurried from her. For a moment, she considered that this wasn't terribly good protocol for first contact. But they had to determine what this asteroid was all about, and this seemed like the only way.
She dragged the elf closer, and with her other hand, yanked off its hood, hoping to view the mysterious head and face attached to those tiny bright eyes.
But she yanked so hard, she pulled off its entire cloak!
Harde regretted for a microsecond that she'd just publicly disrobed an intelligent alien life form. But then, she simply stared in amazement at what was behind the robe.
In fact, there was nothing! Absolutely nothing, except for two small 'lightning bugs' where the eyes had been. The bright bugs flew higher, leaving behind the little reddish cloak.
"That was weird," Garsovich said.
"Wait, I have a theory!" Steven Stephens shouted. "Follow those eyes!"
Everyone stared at the pair of fireflies floating away.
"You heard him!" Harde commanded. "Follow those eyes!"
The crew responded immediately, working their way through the rocks as the pair of elf-eye-fireflies sailed above.
Harde smiled for a moment, watching the crew jump at her command. She usually enjoyed that aspect of her job, the exercise of power over others. But in this instance, it gave her a completely different type of pleasure. It was the joy that comes when everyone around you is excited about the same thing.
Following the eyes was a great idea of hers, she thought. Then, she realized she'd need some clarity from Stephens on the theory behind “her” great idea.
They walked a few kilometers pursuing the fireflies. Then, they approached an apex.
Garsovich was first to reach the top. Looking down to the other side, he said, "You'll never believe this."
Eventually, Harde and the crew reached Garsovich. Below was a city made of stone. Rather than gaudy or magnificent, the architecture was boxy and functional.
Harde forgave their lack of aesthetics when she considered that she'd soon become the first person to discover an alien culture. She supposed the crew had come along as well, but Harde was the highest-ranking officer.
And she recalled having the tremendous idea of following the fireflies to the aliens' lair.
"I'm glad Science Officer Stephens thought of following those eyes!" Cassidy said.
For a moment, Harde glared at Cassidy with the look of murder.
"No kidding! What was your theory, Stephens?" Garsovich asked.
Harde bit her lip.
"That the elf was some kind of virtual avatar," the scientist answered. "That the eyes float around at the will of an intelligent life form in order to visualize being anywhere within this grand environment."
"Like a virtual reality game," Garsovich said.
"Yes, quite possibly," Stephens replied.
"Interesting, Stephens," Harde cut in. "Please educate me more later so I can properly detail my adventures to the admirals." Then she looked around to the group and continued, "So! Let's go down to the city and meet the builders! They must be eagerly waiting to meet me."
The crew hiked down the steep incline of the rocky hill. It was about a half kilometer to reach the first building.
They roamed the sand-blown streets of the city. The buildings became monotonous. Harde couldn't tell one rectangular block from the other.
"Has anyone noticed there's no one here?" Cassidy asked the group.
"Maybe they're asleep," Harde replied swiftly.
"All of them?" Garsovich asked. Harde shot Garsovich a grimace. He lowered and shook his head in response. Harde hoped he realized his mistake, that he'd improperly doubted her in front of the crew.
"In the spirit of adventure, let us go inside and take a look," Steven Stephens said, having already approached what appeared to be a door to one of the many indistinguishable buildings.
He placed his hand on a round bronze fixture having a narrow hole in the middle. Possibly, it was a door handle. After staring at it for several seconds, he backed away.
Sighing, Cassidy waltzed to the door and yanked the handle. She pulled, then pushed, but nothing budged it. Several crew members joined in but had similar luck. Stephens muttered, "You imbecile," a few times for good measure, but to no avail.
"Stand clear," Cassidy said, raising her blaster rifle. Planning to apologize to the aliens for the damage later, Harde nodded affirmatively at Cassidy, who nodded back.
Cassidy fired. The door cracked. She fired again. After that, there was enough of a fissure to peek inside. Cassidy barraged it with shots, and the door eventually caved in.
Harde pointed her thumb into the building and said to the crew, "Let's go."
They climbed over the rubble of the destroyed door into the foyer of the alien building. It was slightly cooler inside, but just as brightly lit. The foyer was empty but led to three branching hallways.
"Should we split up?" Steven Stephens asked.
"I recommend we stay together," Cassidy said.
Harde pointed to Cassidy and said, "Sounds wise. Let's take our time." Harde was worried primarily, however, that if they split up, she might not be in the first group to meet the aliens. Unthinkable!
They walked down the hallway on their left and found it lined with identical-looking interior doors. The crew gingerly approached the first door.
The door had no handle or knob. Harde put her hand to the door and pushed gently to see what would happen. It creaked, but moved noticeably. She surmised that a hefty shove would open it.
"Captain, please let me," Garsovich said, placing his hand on the door. Cassidy stepped right behind him aiming her weapon ready to defend.
"Go ahead, Commander," Harde ordered. She figured that, either way, the history books would indicate that she was first to greet the aliens. But if there were dangers involved, she trusted that Garsovich and Cassidy were the right people to enter first in the literal sense.
Garsovich pushed the door open and walked through the doorway, Cassidy right behind him. Harde peered into the chamber. Garsovich waved, beckoning Harde and the rest of the team to follow, which they did.
There were various light-emitting objects scattered around the room. Harde lifted one to examine. She envisaged a member of the alien race eventually explaining to her all its functions. What great knowledge she would carry and deliver to all humanity!
"A tablet?" a nearby crew member suggested.
"Or a gaming console," Steven Stephens said.
Harde put the object down and followed Garsovich to the center of the room, which had a rectangular pit with a lowered floor. Soon, the team had encircled the pit. Within it below there were, to Harde's best guess, numerous couches.
She closed her eyes and tried not to acknowledge what saw resting upon each couch. But the crew was staring right at them.
"Bones," Steven Stephens said.
"Their bodies are weird," Cassidy added.
The skeletons on the couch had spherical torsos, approximately one meter in diameter, with four limbs. Two of those appendages ended in long feet shaped like skis; the other two limbs resembled ski poles.
"Being shaped like big spheres must have made it difficult for the aliens to give off body heat," Garsovich said. "If this desert environment is like their home planet, I wonder how they could have evolved that way."
Harde scrunched her face. She was irritated that the commander was speaking of the aliens in the past tense. For all they knew, there were plenty of them living in the other rooms and the other buildings.
"Maybe their planet isn't very hot," Cassidy conjectured. "This place is sandy like the desert, but the heat isn't oppressive."
"Actually," Stephens said, "their round shape may have helped them conserve water in dry environments. And those feet. They're like skis. Perfect for getting around on the sand."
Harde then commanded, "Let's check the other rooms."
The crew moved down the hall, room to room. Then they returned to the entranceway foyer and headed down each of the two other hallways. In every room throughout the building, they found more or less the same: spherical skeletons, couches, mysterious electronic devices.
Harde's facial muscles tightened. Then she said, "Okay, let's check the other buildings. Come on, everyone! There's still more to see. Remember the eyes? Someone was using those eyes!"
"Captain, it's possible that those eyes were automated," Steven Stephens said in a consoling tone that merely agitated her. "In fact, the asteroid may still have functioning artificial intelligence even though the intelligent life forms are all dead."
"They're not dead, Stephens!" Harde shouted. "We've only checked one building!"
There was awkward silence. Stephens swallowed his saliva.
"I said let's go!" Harde exclaimed. "Let's check the other buildings. Now!"
Garsovich patted Harde gently on the shoulder and winked. "You heard the captain!" he commanded. "Let's move!"
Harde found herself staring at Garsovich as he marched the crew out. He took the team on a lengthy, painstaking search of building after building.
But each room was a variation on the same theme.
"It's possible they've been dead for centuries," Steven Stephens lamented. "For Millennia. Perhaps longer."
#
Harde sat behind her desk in her ready room aboard the S.S. Antarctica. The ship had been lugging the giant asteroid slowly toward station Outer Space 8.99 3/4.
She recognized that these discoveries were still of great significance: the first artifacts of alien life, treasure troves of advanced technology, and not to mention, the radiation-shielding heavy metals they'd been originally sent to acquire.
But it wasn't first contact with aliens. No, in time, someone else would claim that honor.
She rattled the ice cubes at the bottom of her empty glass of iced tea. Then, Steven Stephens buzzed her door.
"Captain, may I?" his voice rang on her desk speaker.
She thumped the glass down. "Fine, come in."
Stephens entered nervously. Harde laid back into her seat with a sigh. Stephens then scooted to a chair opposite her desk.
"Captain," the scientist said, "before I return to my duties on Outer Space 8.99 3/4, I wanted to say it was an honor to join you on this expedition. It was... unprecedented. Although there was tragedy along the way—"
"I know, Stephens! I lost a man. Your friend. A great scientist. I'm taking endless flak for it. The way the admirals see it, losing Stevens was my fault. So no, Stephens, I don't need to be reminded, thank you! Was there anything else?"
"Actually, Captain, yes," Stephens replied, turning his head left, then right. "I am an android. I've been watching over humanity for generations. I am programmed never to let human beings be harmed because of my own actions or failures.
"Captain, you did not order us to go on that mission! We went because it was the right thing to do. What if we'd brought home intelligent hostile aliens, and they slaughtered everyone on Earth? I ran multiple simulations in my negatronic brain showing that for us to go aboard that asteroid was the optimal decision for humanity."
"Stephens, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. You're not a robot!"
Harde reached for Steven Stephen’s face and flicked his nose hard.
"Ouch! What the hell?"
"You see. You're not an android."
"Alright! Alright! I'm not an android."
"Did you make up that absurd nonsense just to make me feel better about my command decisions?"
"Well, more to the point, Captain, your big revelation scene... you know, where you were expecting to greet intelligent alien life, but instead you found a bunch of bones?"
"What about it?"
"Well... that scene kinda sucked."
"So, by telling me you're a robot, you thought you could provide me with a more dramatic final revelation scene?"
"Yes, and a very cool plot twist I might say!"
"Get out of my office, Stephens!"
"Yes, Captain, umm, one last thing. I just forwarded you the group selfie that Officer Stevens took. You know, just before he died. He sent it to me first. Go back and read that part of the story if you don't believe me... But I'll be heading out, Captain. I'm sorry the mission didn't go as you'd hoped."
Stephens got up and walked to the exit door. But before he could leave, Harde said, "Stephens?"
"Yes, Captain."
"It was good to have you onboard. Good luck. And sorry for your loss."
"Thank you, Captain. And... I do think Commander Garsovich likes you. Don't give up," Stephens said before he left.
Harde pulled open her communicator. She found the file that Science Officer Steven Stephens had sent her.
She stared at the group selfie. It had all of the members of the team who'd banded together for an adventure that fundamentally changed humankind's understanding of the universe. The great endeavor was, as Stephens put it, the “optimal decision for humanity.”
Harde sucked in her lips and bit down on them. Then, in the photo, she spotted Garsovich’s hand on her back. She unclenched her mouth and grinned.
Afterwards, Harde opened her comm to Garsovich. "Commander, we should throw a celebration for the whole team before Officer Stephens departs. Let's begin some arrangements."
Meet the author:
David Rich holds two degrees from MIT and lives in the Boston area with his family. His short fiction has been featured over the last several years in numerous literary journals. But he's really just an engineer and wannabe writer.
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