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The Scavenger of Mars #2
Jonas got out of the room after turning off it's life support system. The disc from the vault kept safely inside his pocket. The first task he prioritized was to resupply his life support system. However, the radiation was a costant companion while venturing inside cryonia. He had to constantly monitor his geiger counter to save himself from lethal radiation.
Jonas was still wearing the primitive jumpers which were used by the construction workers who built the great domed cities on Mars. The construction workers initially used special radiation proof suits for building the dome which were costly and a rare commodity on Mars. Once the dome was complete, workers used these jumpers which were available in plenty and had minimum radiation sheilding and life support. 90% of the solar radiation was soaked up by the pyroelectric fibre glass. This glass was a marvel of modern science, manufactured completely on mars. It was 20 times stronger than carbon fiber and converted 25% of the solar radiation falling on it to electricity. Half of this electricity was then fed to the power batteries inside Cryonia's power plant and half to air generation plant located half a mile south of the city. This air generation plant entailed strong chemical reactions and flow of potentially hazardous gases. To avoid any potential mishaps, this plant was situated well outside the city premises. 'What a golden time it must have been' Jonas thought. He wondered, how peaceful it must have been in those days for residents of this domed city to have walked without jumpers in a controlled atmosphere. All the technological marvel, every inch of this city once exuded, was in ruins at present.
Jonas was moving towards the old air generation plant to replenish compressed air for his system, so he could scavenge and return back safely to caves of the northern lowlands. The city used to have six airlocks, all open now and in a state of disuse. Jonas thought, the residents must have tried to escape from these airlocks once the dome was breached. While he was moving south, the radiation level rose abruptly. Moving further south could have exposed him to a very lethal dose of radiation and he spoke to himself in disdain "I am screwed".
Jonas had to make a new plan to reach the air generation plant now. He started working numbers on his touchpad. He had been so far now that the only viable option he was left with was to somehow reach the air generation plant. The high level of radiation ensured that he couldn't move towards replenishing his supplies and air within the dome. 'This dome is huge' he thought. The 'great dome', as the dome of Cryonia was popularly known among the Martians, was 1.5 Kilometer high at the center. It had a diameter of 5 Kilometer and was almost in a perfect circular shape with triangular panels of synthetic glasses fitted all across the dome. The dome had three layers, one on top of the other to contain the Solar as well as Cosmic radiations. It was strong enough to absorb a direct impact from small meteors and yet it was delipidated now.
The calculation on Jonas' touchpad revealed that if he took the eastern airlock exit and used peripheral road, it would be a hike of 6 km to air generation plant towards South. He looked into his display which showed that only 20 % air was left.
Jonas didn't have a choice and he followed the route shown by computer. He exited the eastern airlock and started walking on the peripheral road. Only partial markings were visible, owing to the fine Martian dust covering grey coloured road. As he walked, he thought about his existence on this planet and how harsh things were here. He often wondered how life would be on earth which was polluted beyond limits and new colonies in it's orbit which were on another level of existence, a sort of Paradise. Hell and Heaven looking at each other in a tug of gravity. People of heaven feeling pity towards hell and people of hell having a simmering jealousy towards residents of heaven.
Immersed in his thoughts, Jonas heard the alarm of low air inside his life support system. He was left with only 2% of air. The normal level when the alarm usually started was at 15% but Jonas had altered the settings. He was still a good 2 Kilometer short of the air generation plant. The 2% air was not enough, and if he ran, the air would expend even faster. He had no option, so he ran.
After 1 Kilometer, his air ran out and he was literally breathing the CO2 exhaled by himself. He was gasping for breathable air, but he had only one chance to survive. The geiger counter was at the danger mark but he had no intention of thinking about radiation. It was a do or die struggle to reach air lock of air generation plant.
He fell on his knees 20 meters short of the air lock, his vision blurred due to hypoxia. He crawled last few meters feeling like his death is near.
Just when he thought he's nearly dead, the air lock opened automatically. Too weak to feel astonished, he somehow made his way into the air lock which closed behind him and a gush of air filled the room. He pulled out his helmet in a jiffy and his lungs soaked in the breathable air. Still coughing and trying to normalise, he was drenched in sweat even on the cold Mars. He lied down and curled into fetus position, feeling life inside his lungs. He was still alive !!!!
© Tanha Musafir
To be continued
Jonas was still wearing the primitive jumpers which were used by the construction workers who built the great domed cities on Mars. The construction workers initially used special radiation proof suits for building the dome which were costly and a rare commodity on Mars. Once the dome was complete, workers used these jumpers which were available in plenty and had minimum radiation sheilding and life support. 90% of the solar radiation was soaked up by the pyroelectric fibre glass. This glass was a marvel of modern science, manufactured completely on mars. It was 20 times stronger than carbon fiber and converted 25% of the solar radiation falling on it to electricity. Half of this electricity was then fed to the power batteries inside Cryonia's power plant and half to air generation plant located half a mile south of the city. This air generation plant entailed strong chemical reactions and flow of potentially hazardous gases. To avoid any potential mishaps, this plant was situated well outside the city premises. 'What a golden time it must have been' Jonas thought. He wondered, how peaceful it must have been in those days for residents of this domed city to have walked without jumpers in a controlled atmosphere. All the technological marvel, every inch of this city once exuded, was in ruins at present.
Jonas was moving towards the old air generation plant to replenish compressed air for his system, so he could scavenge and return back safely to caves of the northern lowlands. The city used to have six airlocks, all open now and in a state of disuse. Jonas thought, the residents must have tried to escape from these airlocks once the dome was breached. While he was moving south, the radiation level rose abruptly. Moving further south could have exposed him to a very lethal dose of radiation and he spoke to himself in disdain "I am screwed".
Jonas had to make a new plan to reach the air generation plant now. He started working numbers on his touchpad. He had been so far now that the only viable option he was left with was to somehow reach the air generation plant. The high level of radiation ensured that he couldn't move towards replenishing his supplies and air within the dome. 'This dome is huge' he thought. The 'great dome', as the dome of Cryonia was popularly known among the Martians, was 1.5 Kilometer high at the center. It had a diameter of 5 Kilometer and was almost in a perfect circular shape with triangular panels of synthetic glasses fitted all across the dome. The dome had three layers, one on top of the other to contain the Solar as well as Cosmic radiations. It was strong enough to absorb a direct impact from small meteors and yet it was delipidated now.
The calculation on Jonas' touchpad revealed that if he took the eastern airlock exit and used peripheral road, it would be a hike of 6 km to air generation plant towards South. He looked into his display which showed that only 20 % air was left.
Jonas didn't have a choice and he followed the route shown by computer. He exited the eastern airlock and started walking on the peripheral road. Only partial markings were visible, owing to the fine Martian dust covering grey coloured road. As he walked, he thought about his existence on this planet and how harsh things were here. He often wondered how life would be on earth which was polluted beyond limits and new colonies in it's orbit which were on another level of existence, a sort of Paradise. Hell and Heaven looking at each other in a tug of gravity. People of heaven feeling pity towards hell and people of hell having a simmering jealousy towards residents of heaven.
Immersed in his thoughts, Jonas heard the alarm of low air inside his life support system. He was left with only 2% of air. The normal level when the alarm usually started was at 15% but Jonas had altered the settings. He was still a good 2 Kilometer short of the air generation plant. The 2% air was not enough, and if he ran, the air would expend even faster. He had no option, so he ran.
After 1 Kilometer, his air ran out and he was literally breathing the CO2 exhaled by himself. He was gasping for breathable air, but he had only one chance to survive. The geiger counter was at the danger mark but he had no intention of thinking about radiation. It was a do or die struggle to reach air lock of air generation plant.
He fell on his knees 20 meters short of the air lock, his vision blurred due to hypoxia. He crawled last few meters feeling like his death is near.
Just when he thought he's nearly dead, the air lock opened automatically. Too weak to feel astonished, he somehow made his way into the air lock which closed behind him and a gush of air filled the room. He pulled out his helmet in a jiffy and his lungs soaked in the breathable air. Still coughing and trying to normalise, he was drenched in sweat even on the cold Mars. He lied down and curled into fetus position, feeling life inside his lungs. He was still alive !!!!
© Tanha Musafir
To be continued
