A Fluid Strangely, Chapter 2

She nods, “Yeah, we need that to shoo away the Lendon Hornets.”

“Hornets?”

“Well, their discoverer, Mr. Lendon, thought they are similar to hornets, but I would rather see the proximity to terrestrial mosquitoes.” She smiles to underline the irony and Nigel utters an “Oh uh!”

Then he adds, “Okay, I haven’t had a bonfire on earth since my childhood. Particularly not with green fire as you wrote, so it’s quite an oddity to me.”

“Yeah, it comes along with the high amount of Borax in the shore’s sand. It’s odd, but frankly, I like green fires.”

And then, she takes a deep breath to change the subject, “But talking about unusual mixes of substances: You need to see the physician in one hour to get your breathing implant injected.”

“Yikes!” His grimaces tell everything about his dislike.

“Well, it’s still better than a full tight suit and a breathing mask, trust me.”

“I know. Still, it gives me the creeps,” he counters as a matter of fact.

With a smile on her face, she leans back in her chair to ease his mind and folds her hands together, “Yet you will be rewarded with the astonishing experience of the moon’s unknown ocean for which we are really grateful that you, a mathematician, are willing to take a look at.”

He sighs, “Right, after all, I always wanted to make discoveries, maybe I am lucky here.”

“Yes, maybe you are. That’s what we hope for, too.”

##

The landing occurs without trouble. Graciously, the third moon of Cineus Prime comes into the vision of the observation windows and Nigel watches with silent delight how this strange and mysterious planet becomes larger and larger, giving way to details like the pitch-black oceans, the yellow shimmering soil and the huge landscapes with the bluish vegetation.

As the approach commences, Nigel can’t help himself noticing that a mix of joy and awe nearly presses some tears into his eyes. He finally made it. Made it to see an alien planet, to experience an alien world. And even though he is a mere mathematician, he is there right in the middle, being one of the first pioneers of Cineus Tri.