International Space Center
Kenya, 2063
Emma hurried into the car and threw her bag on the passenger seat beside her. As soon as the door closed, the air conditioner started, and she sighed with pleasure as the cool air streamed over her. Even though it was still early morning, it was already unbearably hot, and she really hoped she wouldn’t have to be outdoors more than necessary during the day's activities.
After a few minutes she felt cool enough to move her body and entered the address on the screen, and then activated autonomous transport. For once she felt quite relaxed and when the car silently drove away a smile spread over her lips. After years of hard work and preparations, the dream of her life would finally come true. She was going to Mars with the first wave of civil colonizers.
Today's schedule was packed with several meetings and now she was on her way to a final meeting with the Space Agency. She had received the message yesterday and she remembered how she had felt a small sting of worry in her stomach when she saw it in the mailbox. She couldn't understand why they had to meet her right now, just a few days before departure? The board had already countless times, gone through everything that had to do with her tasks, so it could hardly be about that.
Well, there’s no point pondering about it. Soon, I will find out what they want, she thought, and glanced at the car's information screen.
She noticed that she would arrive in about fifteen minutes and immediately picked up her tablet from her bag. She instantly began to study the design drawings of the colony. Although she didn't really want to admit it to herself, she was a perfectionist. There was always something that could be improved or something important she could have missed.
She enlarged an area to the level of high detail, studied it intensively and made some quick touches on the screen, but it didn’t turn out well, and she quickly changed it back again. She tried some other options, but these felt just as wrong and soon a sense of dissatisfaction crept over her, and her previously relaxed face became stiff and tense.
Emma was herself again.
*
"I don’t have time for this," Emma muttered and tried to find a comfortable position on the hard chair. She had been waiting for over half an hour now, and the receptionist behind the counter had no information to give regarding when they could let her in.
"They" were at least half the board and a lot of other senior project managers. One by one they had passed her before entering the meeting room. No one had stopped to talk to her even though she knew many of them well. That was worrying to say the least, as she knew that some of them felt she for various reasons shouldn’t be allowed to go to Mars.
The main proponent of this opinion was of course Henry Jones. As the head of the Psychological Institution, his opinions were of course considered of highest importance by the board. He had on several occasions tried to persuade the board that she had unreliable personality-traits and that they should remove her from the colonization program with immediate effect. "Problems with authorities, aggressive tendencies, and an inability to collaborate under pressure," was the final judgment from the moron. Fortunately, the board didn’t listen to any of his arguments, but after that, she had always felt that her participation was hanging on a very fragile thread.
She was of course aware of the fact that she might not always be the easiest person to deal with, but Henry's statements were a pure insult. What did he mean by aggressive tendencies? Fighting for an opinion was not the same as being an aggressive person, was it? But apparently Henry thought so.
She sighed heavily. Henry's aversion to her had of course more in-depth reasons. But she had no desire to address these with the board, since she knew that she would be at a disadvantage when his words stood against hers.
She glanced at her watch and found that she had been waiting for over forty minutes. Now that´s enough! I can't sit here like a little schoolgirl outside the principal’s office! It’s better to take the bull by its horns and get it over with. She looked over at the information desk. The receptionist curiously glanced at her from behind her screen but looked down as soon as she noticed that Emma was looking at her. Emma took a deep breath, then got up quickly and walked up to the counter.
"Hello!" She shouted and waved her hand in front of the woman.
"You can tell them that I won’t wait any longer."
Then she turned around and went with firm steps towards the meeting room.
The woman got in a hurry and started to fiddle with some buttons and Emma heard behind her how she whispered in a microphone:
"She’s on her way, she’s coming in now!"
She was just about to knock on the door when it opened in front of her.
"There you are Emma! How nice that you could come on such a short notice."
The chairman of the board, Michael Greenstone, looked nervous and smiled so broadly that Emma wondered if he would get jaw-cramps any second.
She gave him a little smile and said, "Of course, no problem Michael. But what’s the point of this? I’m very busy as you know."
"Yes, yes, we understand, but we wanted to discuss one last thing with you. Come in!" he said and put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her gently into the room.
When she saw the men and the women around the elongated table, she immediately lost her courage. It was only grim faces that met her, and on one of the chairs, Henry sat with his hand resting on a thick stack of papers. That fat pile is probably my act, she thought sourly. It wouldn’t surprise me if he symbolically printed it out to show everyone how much shit he had collected about me over the years. She tried to catch his eyes, but he slid away smoothly and began to stare intensively at his laptop.
"Sit down, sit down," Michael said with an ingratiating tone and pointed to the only vacant chair at one of the short sides of the table.
Emma sank into the chair and looked at Michael, hoping he would explain the reason she was here.
Michael pulled his hand through the few hairs he had left on his head and started to speak a bit hesitantly:
"Okay Emma, let’s see now… I know you’re a busy person, so I’m going straight to the point. As you know, some members of the board believes that you are not suitable for this assignment…"
He glanced at Henry, but he just looked back at him with a neutral face.
"And above all, chief psychologist Henry Jones believes that you are totally unsuitable for the assignment and that your mere presence can risk the balance in the colony."
Emma didn’t answer and tried to look as indifferent as possible. It was just as good to let them chatter for a while before she would say her point of view in the matter.
Michael continued, "But at the same time, there are several members of the board who defends you and believes that it´s of the utmost importance that we send someone with your invaluable knowledge of the colony. They think that it is important that there is someone in place who knows where every little screw and bolt should be…"
Emma couldn't help smiling. They didn’t use any screws or bolts at all in the colony. No weak mounts were allowed, but of course, a bureaucrat like Michael didn’t understand that.
"Anyway, we have to take Henry's fears seriously. He argues that we cannot risk having a confrontational personality type like yours creating conflicts... We need a colony that works frictionless and where everyone can cooperate with each other without problems arising…"
"But wait a minute, Michael!" Emma suddenly shouted. "Why do you have to start nagging about this non-existent problem once again? You have made a final decision that I can go to Mars... The departure is only a few days away… You all know that Henry's accusations are completely unfounded! There is simply no risk at all that I will create any kind of "imbalance" in the colony."
"Yes, it’s true that we have tried to see the benefits of your participation and ignore the..." he cleared his throat. "The obvious disadvantages."
He started browsing some papers on the table and continued so quietly that she hardly could hear what he was saying.
"But now we have a new incident to take into account."
Incident? What could it be this time? She tried to remember but couldn’t come up with anything special that had happened, not recently anyway.
Michael looked up from his papers.
"It’s like this Emma. It has come to our knowledge that you on several occasions have expressed yourself condescendingly and critically about the colony's leader Nikolai Kovalev."
Nikolai? Emma tried to remember what she could have said about him. Sure, she obviously disliked a person who constantly complained about her work, but it was thoughts she tried to keep to herself, at least for the most part.
"Okay Michael, tell me what I said about him!" she said and stared at Michael, hoping he would get even more nervous.
However, he quickly turned to Henry and said in an appealing tone. "Henry, can you tell Emma what has come to our knowledge?"
Emma´s heart stopped. Damn, she thought. Not Henry! That bastard will not give up until he has managed to make sure I never get to Mars!
Henry rose slowly and said calmly. "Thank you, Michael!" Then he cleared his throat and continued in loud and clear voice:
"As you all know a colonization of Mars is not a like a school excursion where you can send home troublemakers which destroys for the other participants. Therefore, we have worked very hard to find the people who are best suited for this mission. The colonizers will live in extreme and dangerous conditions, not for a short period, but for the rest of their lives. Because of that, everything must work as smoothly as possible. We cannot afford any unnecessary friction and weary conflicts among the colonizers. Focus must always be on getting the colony to work. It is, of course, inevitable that disagreements still arise among the colonizers, but we must strive to make them as few as possible."
He cleared his throat again and looked around the table, and then continued:
"That’s why we have carefully selected people who show good cooperation skills and good abilities to flexibly solve any conflicts that arise..."
He paused and glanced at Emma, and she could swear that he smirked at her.
"As one of our chief designers, Emma has all the qualifications needed to contribute to the development of the colony, at least if we look at her knowledge and merits. But, if we look at the requirements that we set based on personal and psychological characteristics, she should, in my opinion, never been given the opportunity to even join the colonizer's program from the beginning. Emma is showing major difficulties when it comes to collaborating with others. As soon as someone goes against her ideas, hell breaks loose and her way of resolving conflicts can be summarized in short by telling everyone to go to hell. The reason for still letting Emma through the eye of the needle has largely been due to the fact that, she after all, would be surrounded by socially flexible people and that they would alleviate her more aggressive appearance."
He made a short break, took a sip of water and continued.
"Anyway. My point is that we have accepted Emma's inappropriate personal qualities, as her qualifications were considered invaluable. And even I can accept that argument. But now there’s new information on the table. We have from several independent sources got the information that Emma have said very inappropriate things about the colony's leader, Nikolai Kovalev."
He now turned directly to Emma.
"We can understand that you think Nikolai is unnecessarily critical of many aspects of the colony's structure. But he has been on Mars for over four years now and is doing everything he can to make the colony work. As the leader of this project, he does an invaluable job of preparing for the arrival of the civil colonizers, that is, for you. It’s his job to be critical, because without his critical eye we ultimately risk human life."
Henry quieted, looked straight into her eyes and then said with a chilly voice, "Is there anything you want to add Emma?"
What does he want now? Maybe it’s a trap? It wouldn’t surprise me if he hopes that I will start yelling and acting out just to strengthen his argument, Emma thought bitterly.
She forced herself to sound as friendly and as resolute as she could and said:
"Yes Henry, it’s true that I perhaps have expressed my dissatisfaction over the fact that Nikolai constantly complains about everything I do. After all, there is no end to his criticism. Very tiring, to say the least. But you don’t have to take it so seriously. I may have whined a little over some things he said in the heat of the moment, but of course I respect Nikolai's opinions just as much as you do."
She looked around the table to see if anyone seemed to accept her explanation. But it was mostly neutral faces that looked at her, so she continued.
"You all know that I can be a bit temperamental, but you don’t have to worry, I’ll behave. I understand as well as you that internal conflicts are one of the greatest threats to the colony's existence, and I would like to point out that there’s probably no one that cares about the colony as much as I do."
She smiled in the hope that they would soften a little.
But nobody said anything, and Henry stared at her with ice-cold eyes and then said,
"There’s no doubt that you have the colony´s best interest in mind. But when you, on countless occasions, say patronizing comments about Nikolai, at least I start to doubt whether we really have made the right decision to send you to Mars. Let me quote some of the things you have said about Nikolai only in the past year."
He picked up his tablet and read out loud, "That little rat doesn’t know anything about air locks." "He should just shut up with his nagging about the solar panels' angle and position, no one has asked for that imbecile's opinions in the matter." And this is my favorite. "That bastard will answer to me as soon as I get there."
Emma recognized the sentences and there were probably several witnesses who could confirm what she had said. I’m done, she thought desperately. There is no way out of this. Henry has crushed my dream!
Henry continued with an almost triumphant tone:
"I think especially the last quotation is telling for the problem I’m trying to highlight. Emma's personality profile, her behavior and, above all, her statements indicate that she will inevitably confront Nikolai Kovalev as soon as she gets the opportunity. Therefore, I think we must consider recalling Emma from the mission. We cannot risk a serious conflict arising between Emma and Nikolai, as it in the end, may risk human life."
Henry looked around the table with a victorious smile. No one said anything, and Emma felt tears in her eyes and turned her face down in an attempt to hide it. The seconds went by, but then, suddenly she heard a familiar voice, Peter Erikson, head of ICL Electronics, and one of those who had always supported her through her career.
"Thank you, Henry! Your opinions are very valuable, as you address many of the important factors that we need to consider regarding the colony. A colony on Mars is an incredibly sensitive project, and we must of course try to shed light on every aspect that can jeopardize it. But I must emphasize that I think you are exaggerating the dangers of sending Emma. Emma and I have worked together for almost fifteen years, and I can certify that Emma has a temperament that some people maybe can experience as brusque or perhaps even aggressive. I have myself have received my own share of telling-off's over the years, but we still respect each other, and our cooperation is still intact and good. You make it sound like Emma has some kind of personality disorder and that she can’t see her own faults and flaws. But I can assure you that Emma has always apologized when she has crossed the line, and she can always change her mind if it turns out that someone else has presented a better solution to a problem. I also want to add that once you get to know Emma, she is a warm and compassionate person. She works hard, almost too hard, and she never gives up until a problem is solved. Those characteristics should be more than enough to let her come along for the journey. Emma is an important contributor to this project and having someone with her knowledge at the colony is in my opinion an absolute must. Emma is with her knowledge and her expertise, is an asset for all of us. We must not forget that a serious malfunction with, for example, ventilation, food supply and radiation protection, not only will create a few minor problems, but will risk the whole existence of the colony!"
Henry opened his mouth to answer, but Peter held up his hand to stop him and then continued.
"Wait a minute Henry! We already know what you think. As a representative of ICL Electronics, one of the largest suppliers and developers in this project, I would like to argue that I have the mandate to stop this stupidity here and now! We have invested huge sums of money in this project and we expect to get something back from this investment as well.”
He turned to Michael.
"It would be very unfortunate if you chose to listen to Henry´s arguments. ICL Electronics, as well as many of the other major investors, cannot demand anything other than sending our best personnel to the colony. We have an obligation to the shareholders, an obligation to all the people who have been working day and night for us to succeed, and above all we have an obligation to the colonizers, that we all do our best to succeed in the colonization of Mars. Emma is one of the key figures in this project. And if you take our money and our efforts seriously, I really hope you will find reason and follow our opinion in this matter."
Emma couldn’t help smiling. She knew she was rescued. They would probably continue to discuss back and forth for a while, and Henry would certainly not give up without a fight. But his efforts would be meaningless as he now faced a superior opponent. In the end, it is always money that decides the verdict. It has always been like that. She had been saved by the safe embrace of the market economy. An investment must provide returns and she was a highly valued bet in the game to maximize this return.
Emma let her tablet discreetly slide down on her lap. I can just as well get some work done while they continue the discussion, she thought pleasantly and opened the drawings for the cultivation center at the colony.