Chapter No.3

Life on the Orion capsule traveling through space on its way to the Chandra radio telescope was boring at best. There wasn't all that much to do other than for the crew to hash out what they were trying to determine about the alien radio signal. However, since they were bored, it resulted in some probing conversations, especially when they were relaxing before sleep.

The more intimate conversations happened while they were essentially just floating in the capsule as if suspended.

So," Carl said. "What sort of family did you leave on Earth when you agreed to go on this dangerous mission?"

"I really didn't have anyone to be concerned about me," Margaret said. "I'm divorced and didn't have any children."

"I never married," Janet said. "I guess I was swept up in the quest for knowledge."

"What about you?" Margaret asked.

"I managed to go through two wives," he replied. "I guess I wasn't fit for marriage. I had two children in my first marriage, but I was ordered not to contact them as part of the divorce even though I still had to pay for their care.

"Well," Margaret said with a sigh. "I guess we're really expendable."

"Who's going to give a damn if we do interpret the alien signal," Janet said. "Most people don't care if there are alien civilizations out there, and the ones who do, think they look like us."

"Not to change the subject, but do we know if this signal is still being sent?" Margaret asked.

"I think we should be able to contact the telescope," Janet said. "We should be close enough for that." She reached for her laptop and began entering commands, but after several attempts to contact the telescope's radio signal, she stopped. "That's weird. My password is no longer valid."

"That doesn't make sense," Carl said. "We have to be able to contact the telescope when we get there if we're going to update it successfully."

"I'll contact Mission Control," Margaret said. "Maybe they can fix it."

After several attempts, Margaret looked up from her laptop. "I can't make a connection."

Carl floated over to the main capsule control center and activated its communication system. After several attempts to make contact, he turned to the two women. "Okay, something is seriously wrong here. I don't understand how we're not able to contact the Mission Control."

"Maybe we're not aiming our antenna correctly," Margaret said.

"I have it aimed at the backside of Earth," Carl replied. "There are at least three antennas there."

"Maybe Earth is dealing with a magnetic field problem," Janet said. "This is the peak of the Sun's activity."

"I don't think that's the problem," Carl said. 'I'm able to connect to a signal from Canberra's antenna, but I'm not getting any recognition."

"Well, this is ridiculous," Janet reacted. "We're out here without any contact with Earth."

"This doesn't make sense," Carl said. "There's no way they would simply abandon us."

"Can we get back to Earth without Mission Control?" Margaret asked.

"Yes, but it will take some very careful calculations on our part to make sure we get back on the proper course. Even a small mistake could strand us in space."

"I don't like the sound of that," Janet said. "We would either run out of oxygen or starve to death."

"Let's not look at the dark side," Carl said. "Maybe this is just a power grid problem."

"I wonder if this has anything to do with the alien signal," Margaret mused.

"It could, but we won't know until we get to the antenna and update it," Janet said.

"I can't wait," Margaret said. "At least we'll have a shot at knowing what the hell's going on here."

"We have three days to think about it," Carl said. "There's nothing else we can do to determine what's going on. Unless we can contact Mission Control, we're on our own out here."

After a period of silence, Margaret asked the big question. "How long can we survive in this space bucket?"

"We have enough oxygen, water and food to survive for three months, maybe a bit longer," Carl revealed.

The looks on their faces told Carl that they were not impressed. In fact, they looked like they were very unhappy. However, there was nothing they could do about it. They volunteered.

However, what they would inevitably discover would change everything.