Chapter 8
When morning came Floyd was perhaps a bit grumpier than normal even after he had his morning coffee. He checked his pots of coffee plants but no seeds had yet sprouted and he asked Mr. Watson, "How long before these coffee beans sprout?"
Mr. Watson replied, "It is expected to take 4-6 weeks." He then added, "Your coffee supply will run out long before the plants are bearing any fruit. We do have a small supply of tea which you can substitute."
"I think I would rather drink the horse piss stuff."
Before Mr. Watson could begin yet again his monologue on the health benefits of the drink solution, Floyd called for a planning meeting. Mr. Watson was as always assigned the task of recording the minutes of the meeting. Floyd opened the meeting by having Mr. Watson state the date and time. For the official record, he then summarized the recent events including the possibility of Lina being pregnant. After Mr. Watson completed his review of their remaining supplies Floyd's mood seemed even bleaker. Not only were they going to run out of coffee but unless they began rationing, their food would run out before the barley would be ready for harvest.
Floyd opened the meeting up for discussion and Mr. Watson spoke up saying, "If we created a windbreak that did not shade the plants significantly, it may be possible to grow a short season bean." Floyd wanted to know how many hours of direct light the plants would need and if they required any special soil conditions. After listening to an overly detailed description of the metabolic process of bean growth he finally figured out that the beans needed six hours of direct sunlight and would tolerate most soils. He turned to Tesla and said, "Can you design and build some sort of wall that would protect the plants and still give them the sunlight they need?"
Tesla was already drawing sketches of the sun's movement and a semicircular stone wall. Floyd asked Mr. Watson, "What are we going to use for fertilizer?"
Mr. Watson responded, "The soils are rich in most minerals but deficient in nitrogen and phosphorus. We do have a nitrogen rich supplement which could be used. It is commonly referred to as Night Soil on your native planet."
"Can it be composted safely?"
Mr. Watson responded, "The soils are not sterile and I would predict a rapid response to the fertilization which should make the supplement safe."
Lina looked to be recognized and said, "My database has a section on the use of a rock called phosphorite which was used by the local farmers to help plants grow."
Floyd asked, "Where do we find this phosphorite stuff?"
Lina was struggling, searching through the many memories and facts she had learned. She finally responded, "It is usually found with limestone but does not react as readily with weak acids."
Floyd responded, "The foothills to the west seem to have some limestone cliffs with different layers. Might be a good place to look."
Tesla was pointing to himself and pretending to drive the motor bike. Floyd could not help smiling but shook his head in the negative saying, "First we need to complete the garden area and build a better shelter. I am thinking that we could use rocks from the existing foundations to enclose the area around the ship but we have to figure out how to build a roof."
Mr. Watson started a lengthy review of the multiple roof support systems. Tesla was busy drawing and handed the paper to Lina. She smiled as she passed the paper to Floyd. He looked at the detailed sketch of a dome made out of rocks. He asked Tesla, "Can you build a dome?"
Tesla was bouncing up and down and there was no doubt but the Fixer thought he could build a dome. Floyd asked for Mr. Watson's opinion. Mr. Watson explained, "The dome is the most stable design that can be built with native materials. I have calculated that it will take 534.67 man hours of labor assuming that the stones are suitable to build a 30 foot dome outside of the airlock."
Floyd asked, "How are we going to move all of that rock?"
Tesla was getting excited again as he tried to demonstrate using the drone as a truck. When Floyd finally figured out what he was trying to say he said "No. It’s too dangerous." After another 20 minutes of discussion which produced no workable ideas he reconsidered and asked Tesla, "Are you sure you can turn off the laser and gain control of the drone?"
Tesla's bouncing up and down left no doubt that he was confident in his ability. Floyd asked if he needed any special tools and Tesla just started pulling tools out of his many pockets until he found the seven sided wrench he was looking for. Tesla held the wrench up for Floyd to see and pretended to be removing an access panel with it. Floyd asked, "How do you keep the drone from firing its laser while you work on it?"
Tesla pretended to be walking ever so slowly not making any noise. Floyd asked, "If you go real slowly the motion sensor does not pick up the motion?"
Tesla again was bouncing up and down so the answer was obvious. Floyd asked for other comments and hearing none said, "We'll try Tesla's plan. I'll go along to help."
Tesla began shaking his head and stomping his feet which just confused Floyd until Lina explained, "Tesla thinks you will make too much noise. He needs to do this by himself."
Mr. Watson chimed in, "I have witnessed the difference in mechanical ability and feel that the Fixer might be better off without your help."
"All right, you are probably right. When do we start?"
Tesla started putting all of his tools back in his pockets and Lina explained, "Tesla wants to start right now."
"I suppose now is as good of a time as any. I’ll stand watch outside of the ship and wear the space suit to keep communications open. Lina, you need to work with Mr. Watson on a planting program for starting the beans."
As Floyd suited up, Tesla was sitting quietly examining some sort of schematic stored in his memory. Before Floyd was finished suiting up, the Fixer was at the airlock ready to go. They exited the airlock and Floyd positioned himself just to the right of the ship so he could watch everything. Tesla began a slow motion walk directly towards the relay drone. His movements were so slow and smooth Floyd had trouble telling if he was actually moving. It took the better part of half an hour for Tesla to approach the drone. The panel he needed to remove was half buried by sand and Tesla began carefully scraping the sand away. Using the seven-sided wrench he began removing the attachment bolts, carefully storing each one as he removed it.
When he had removed all of the bolts he pried the cover off. Tesla held the plate up to show Floyd but the movement was enough to activate the motion sensor and the laser began firing. All Floyd could do was hit the ground. Several blasts hit the ship but before any serious damage was done Tesla had deactivated the drone by pulling the main power breaker. When Floyd realized the laser had stopped firing he stood back up and there was Tesla waving him over. Floyd ever so cautiously began moving towards the drone, but seeing Tesla bouncing around he figured that it must be safe.
Floyd used his helmet camera to relay pictures to Mr. Watson. The machine was filled with plug-in circuit boards and a large black box. Tesla began pulling the circuit boards and handing them to Floyd. A few he started to pull and then changed his mind leaving them in place. Floyd's arms were full of electronics and he was about to bring them to the ship when the drone seemed to come to life. The complex suspension and six wheels were all making noise and turning first one way then the other. Tesla seemed frustrated that the machine could not right itself and began to pretend they were lifting it upright. Floyd nodded in understanding and returned to the ship to store the electronics in the airlock. He removed the space suit much to the displeasure of Mr. Watson who said, "I will have no communication with you and will be unable to advise you."
Floyd responded, "You’ll just have to use your external cameras because there is no way I am going to dig out that damn machine wearing the space suit." Not waiting for a reply he lifted the hatch to the storage area and went searching for a proper shovel. He also grabbed the ice axe thinking, "Maybe we can get some use out of this damn thing after all."
When he got back Tesla had rigged some wires from inside the machine to the miniature controller that he had used on the model airplane. They needed to use the ice axe to pry up some rocks that the machine had fallen between, and after removing about half of the accumulated sand, tried to right the drone. With Floyd lifting for all he was worth and Tesla working his controller, the machine finally was righted. Each wheel was individually powered and had its own suspension. The machine was design to handle rough terrain. Tesla drove the machine up to the ship and Floyd said it was time for a break.
They did their best to brush the dust off before they got into the airlock, but still, dirt followed them in. Mr. Watson began complaining immediately about how the dust was going to damage his circuits. Floyd let him go on for a bit before saying, "We did our best. The air cleaner will have to do the rest."
Floyd asked Lina what she was working on and she explained, "Mr. Watson wanted high resolution photos of every circuit board. I think he is figuring out how it is programmed."
Mr. Watson said, "I am reverse engineering the control system which is amazingly complicated."
Floyd finished drinking the fruit flavored beverage and replied, "Maybe you should be using a few more of your CPU cycles on figuring out how we can use the green stuff growing in the lake before we starve to death."
Without a pause Mr. Watson replied, "I have been working with the samples you have provided and the algae-like growth has an acceptable nutrient content able to support those of us who require carbon based energy supplies." He then added, "The problem seems to be a very potent neurotoxin which is contained in the organism and which has been resistant to all the attempts at chemical de-activation which I have tried."
Floyd asked, "If we water the plants with lake water will the toxin build up in the plants?"
"My study of this issue would indicate an 84.87% chance of this happening."
"Shit, this means we need to dig a well."
Tesla was pulling on his sleeve and trying to tell him something. Floyd looked at Lina who took a minute to figure out what Tesla was trying to say. She explained, "I think our Fixer knows where there is a well."
"How would he know that?"
Mr. Watson spoke up saying, "I have been providing high resolution 3D photos of the immediate area for Tesla to study."
"And he can see a well on your pictures?"
Tesla was bouncing up and down and only after he settled down did he pull up one of the pictures. It showed a bunch of twisted metal but did have what may have been a pipe heading towards a group of house foundations. Floyd asked, "Why do you think this is a well?"
Tesla began waving his arms in a circular fashion and lifting and lowering his leg simultaneously. An image of the ancient windmill on his grandparents' farm formed in Floyd's mind. He looked closer at the picture and with a little imagination could see what used to be windmill blades. He asked Lina, "If these people refused to use machinery could they have used a windmill?"
Lina took a minute to answer with her tail twitching only at the tip saying, "Their religion was both simple and complicated. They could use machinery only if it was powered by nature. I would expect a windmill would have been acceptable to them."
Floyd asked Tesla, "Can you fix this windmill thing?"
Tesla was nodding his head and sketching at the same time. He handed Floyd a rough sketch of a stone tower with a windmill mounted on the top. Floyd put the drawing under one of Mr. Watson's cameras and asked, "Any chance this would work?"
Mr. Watson replied, "A fixed windmill will be 23.59% less efficient than one that can rotate into the wind but it should work. Ideally we would just use the solar panels to power an electric pump, but it seems our aberrant atmospheric entry has limited that option."
"How are we going to make the blades and gears for the windmill?"
Tesla was pretending to pound on something and Lina explained, "Tesla will make them out of the old metal."
Floyd closed the meeting by saying, "We have a lot of work to get done. The well needs to be the first priority because we can start the beans inside the ship. Hopefully, by the time they are ready to transplant we will have finished the garden and the well."
After the meeting was closed Floyd asked Mr. Watson about the neurotoxin. Mr. Watson explained, "It is almost identical to ergot which commonly contaminated rye grains in times past on your world."
"So when they made whiskey from the rye did this toxin just disappear?"
Mr. Watson replied, "It may be that the wort that was used for fermenting would have allowed the toxin to be absorbed into the alcohol which could then be distilled. An interesting thought but it will take some time for me to confirm my initial opinion."
"Well, work on it. Wasn't that ergot stuff what caused the witch trials in New England?"
"That is one theory, but there are others. Ergot causes hallucinations and was the basis of LSD which was commonly used for the altered state of consciousness it produced."
Lina asked, "What is Mr. Watson saying?"
Floyd explained, "People would take this LSD and go on mental trips where they thought they were living a different life full of new sensations and colors."
Lina was thinking and paused before saying, "This religious group was known for the visions they saw during their ceremonies. Could this have been from the ergot toxin?"
Floyd responded, "Who knows, but very possible. Time to go to work. Do you have the plans for our windmill tower?"
Tesla was becoming competent with the computer input and with Mr. Watson's help the plans were already on the screen. It was not a very tall tower but still looked like a lot of rock. They needed to start with a 12-foot circle and dig a trench for the base layer of rock. How hard could that be?
After cleaning all of the debris Tesla disconnected the bent rod that moved the piston up and down as the windmill had turned. He insisted that they work the mechanism by hand until water began to flow. Easier said than done. It took a pry bar and a bit of Floyd's colorful language to finally budge the pump piston. After freeing the piston Floyd was able to work the mechanism and soon had water flowing. He captured a small amount of the water in a sample container for Mr. Watson to test. Then they started digging the trench. The top layer was sand and easy to dig in but the deeper layer was a clay-like material and Floyd needed to use the ice ax to break up the soil so Tesla could shovel it out. By the time they had finished the trench to Tesla's satisfaction Floyd was tired and hungry. Floyd wanted to quit for the day but Tesla seemed to insist that they lay the base layer of rocks. Tesla would identify the rocks he wanted from the old foundations and Floyd would lift them onto the drone which would drive them to the well site. Floyd would then place them in the trench and keep adjusting them until Tesla was satisfied. By adding sand back when needed they ended up with a flat stable foundation for their tower.
By the time they traversed the airlock Floyd was so tired he was going to skip dinner. Lina who had been tending her baby plants, which had sprouted, insisted that they eat. Somewhat grudgingly Floyd ate a couple of tubes of the ship's food and almost immediately fell asleep. Morning came and Floyd was grumbling about his sore back but ate some breakfast before having his coffee. Once he had his coffee his mood improved. Tesla was trying to tell him something and he looked at Lina who said, "Tesla is saying the rocks today can be a little smaller and easier to move."
Floyd stretched his back as much as he could before saying, "I think I’m too old for moving rocks; besides rock moving is not in my job description." He looked over at Tesla who seemed eager to get to work and said, "I suppose we might as well get to work. I doubt if the rocks are going to move themselves."
When they got back to the well site Floyd understood why Tesla had been so insistent on finishing the base layer. Even the lighter winds of summer were enough to pack sand tightly around the stones which firmly fixed them in place. The next layers were of slightly sma
ller stones and as the wall came up from the ground they became easier to place without as much bending over. Tesla built a small arched entry on the upwind side to prevent sand from covering it. Floyd doubted he could squeeze through the small opening but just kept piling stones as Tesla directed. He would place the stone and then Tesla would turn and adjust it until it was level with the other stones. The pattern was a simple one over two and two over one pattern with an inward taper. By the time of the lunch break they had created a wall almost three feet high.
They did their best to brush all of the dust and dirt off their clothes but Mr. Watson was not happy with the amount of dirt they brought back into the ship. Floyd listened to him complain about his circuits and finally said, "We did our best. You need to develop some sort of vacuum that we can use before coming back aboard." He then asked, "Is the air getting better or am I adapting to the foul air?"
Mr. Watson replied, "The air quality is improved 13.45% since our landing. I am not sure if this is a seasonal change or if the planet is recovering from the asteroid strike."
Floyd looked at Lina and her tail twitched as she replied, "Our monitoring has indicated some recovery but the outside air was still considered poisonous. Breathing the air was supposed to be fatal after just a few minutes but yet you and Tesla are doing fine. I am questioning the accuracy of our monitors."
Floyd responded, "It would seem to fit the pattern."
Lina asked, "What pattern?"
"Your Council and the computer that runs your Sanctuary seem to do everything they can to keep your people locked below ground. I wonder why they have not ventured out and explored on their own. Is it the chips or something else?"
Lina did not know how to answer but Mr. Watson spoke up saying, "The chips make freedom less desirable but would not prevent someone from leaving. I think it is a characteristic of The People to seek the comfort of the known."
Floyd replied, "I had an uncle who taught school in New York City. He retired with a nice income but in New York that meant he could have an apartment and maybe a well-used car. I asked him why he didn't move to a smaller, less expensive town. He told me that he could not leave New York City because of the symphony and museums. He never went to these things, but the fact he could go kept him in the city. I suppose you are right. We avoid change even if it is in our best interest."
Mr. Watson replied, "Better the devil you know, than the angel you don't."
"Where did you learn that?"
Mr. Watson explained, "It is a common theme in your literature and you, yourself have said almost the same thing."
"Well, I still don't understand how they can live in a cave and never see the sky and the stars."
Lina objected, "We have a continuous display of the night sky and can see the stars whenever we want."
"You can see a picture, but that is not the same. The vastness is lost."
Lina replied, "That first night when Tesla rescued me and we left from the top of the mountain, I was afraid of the vastness. Maybe what you say is true."
Floyd did not respond but simply said, "Time to get back to work."
The wall was going up more quickly as the radius got smaller and Floyd was working at a comfortable height. Tesla seemed to get progressively more concerned with the fit of the rocks as the wall tapered towards the top. By the fourth day they were ready for the capstone but Tesla took the better part of the day searching through the rubble of the village looking for just the right stone. Floyd finally said, "You keep looking for your stone. I'm going to take a ride and look for the rock Lina was talking about."
Mr. Watson insisted that Floyd wear the space suit and Lina was unsure if it was safe to be exploring by himself. Floyd agreed to the space suit and told Lina, "I will be careful." Floyd checked the charge on the electric bike, as well as his emergency supplies, before heading out of the airlock. The freedom of riding the small bike perked up his spirits as he rode west to the foothills. He did not really know what he was looking for, but did as the old gold miners had…he looked for a rock layer that was a different color. The slope was getting too steep for the bike. Floyd parked the bike and hooked up the charger. With his backpack he began climbing up the hill towards a small seam of rock. He came across a path and veered to the right to follow the trail which led to a small pit. In the pit were broken pieces of rock and some hand tools for digging.
He picked up several small rocks and put them in his backpack making sure he had good pictures of everything he saw. It was time to head back and the black clouds visible on the horizon encouraged his return. He almost missed his track back to the bike because he was so intent on following the ancient trail. Mr. Watson was calling to remind him of the need to return, but Floyd ignored him and made his way back at his own speed. The pictures did not transmit until Floyd was almost back at the ship and Mr. Watson began commenting almost immediately on Floyd's find. Before returning to the ship Floyd checked on Tesla who was sitting on a large flat rock chipping away with his small hammer. He was using a bent and twisted piece of metal to measure with and would make scratch marks as needed for trimming the rock. Floyd looked at the approaching clouds and said, "I think it’s time to head for cover. Your rock can wait."
Tesla looked up at the clouds and willingly hopped on Floyd's backpack for the short ride back to the ship. They did their best to clean the dust and dirt off, but as always Mr. Watson was nagging them about the dirt. Lina welcomed them with strong wags of her tail and then noticed that Tesla's hand was bleeding. While she worried over the abrasion Floyd and Mr. Watson worked to analyze his rock specimens. Floyd carefully scraped the rocks to create fine dust that was then fed into the analyzer for Mr. Watson. The screen depicted the chemical composition as a series of colors but did not display any labels. Floyd finally asked, "Well, did I find any of the phosphate stuff we're looking for or not?"
Mr. Watson replied, "As can be easily seen by the graphs I have displayed the tan colored rock is high in phosphorus and should work well as a soil supplement."
"Well, that explains the trail and old tools. I think we have a lot to learn from those who lived here before us." He added, "It looks like it’s going to be more hard work mining that rock by hand and moving it to our garden area. A small backhoe would be nice or maybe some dynamite."
Mr. Watson started explaining in great depth the amount of rock that was going to be needed for their garden to adequately enrich the soil. Floyd was only half listening and finally interrupted by saying, "Just thinking about it makes me want a beer."
Mr. Watson said, "It would seem to me that just about everything makes you want a beer." He then went on to repeat his monolog about the advantages of the flavored drink. Lina and Tesla came forward with a bandage on Tesla's hand. Mr. Watson informed them that Floyd had found an adequate source of phosphate. Tesla was looking at the pictures Floyd had taken and pointed out what appeared to be a cave or mine shaft just above where Floyd had found the tools. Floyd had to look carefully to see the partially collapsed opening and nodded his head in agreement.
He told Tesla, "Good pickup, I missed it completely. We need to go back and check it out."
Mr. Watson spoke up saying, "It is unfortunate that the camera transmission is so limited because I would have been able to help you identify structures."
Floyd laughed and said, "Now, Mr. Watson, did you actually detect the opening before Tesla pointed it out?"
Mr. Watson began a long explanation about pattern recognition and finally admitted that the humanoid brain had enhanced capabilities that he had not yet mastered. The evening was short and Lina soon joined Floyd in his small bunk. Lying in his arms she was quiet for some time before saying, "I think I felt the babies moving today." Floyd placed his hands on her mildly pregnant abdomen but could feel no movement.
He asked, "How long do you think we have before the babies are born?"
Lina responded, "Our normal gestation time
is six months but Mr. Watson says that it might be longer because you are the father."
Floyd did not respond for many minutes and Lina assumed he had fallen asleep. He finally spoke up saying, "I think we should get married."
Lina was puzzled by the concept of marriage especially since there was no one else around. Floyd tried to explain his reasoning but in the end said, "It is a custom on my home world and I would like to continue it."
Lina replied, "I will marry you." She was reviewing in her mind the literature of the ancient ceremonies of The People and asked Floyd a question about his customs but the only answer was a gentle snore from Floyd. Lina had trouble sleeping because of the many thoughts that were racing through her mind. Marriage had been obsolete in the Sanctuary ever since the cloning process was perfected, and all she knew of the custom was from the historical records. The People who had made this hill their home made a major celebration out of weddings but their traditions were lost except for the short description recorded in their library. She finally decided they would need to start their own traditions and she would work with Mr. Watson on the ceremony.
Morning came and Floyd was much less sore and in a better mood even before his coffee. Lina brought up the wedding and Tesla could not stop bouncing with excitement. Mr. Watson was unsure how they could have a legal wedding. Floyd asked, "I thought that as an officer I could marry people?"
Mr. Watson replied, "Commissioned officers of the navy with the rank of Captain did have the legal right to witness marriages in historical times but the tradition does not seem to have been continued. Besides, how can you witness your own marriage?"
"As a Commodore, do I have the right to grant military rank?"
"Historically, yes, but modern times have relegated this authority to committees."
Floyd ended the conversation by announcing, "I hereby grant Mr. Watson a commission in the USN with the rank of Captain." He added, "Now you can legally marry Lina and me." Without waiting for a reply he turned to Tesla and asked, "Ready to go to work?"
While Floyd and Tesla went out to work on the well Lina and Mr. Watson reviewed the history of marriage and the ceremonies that accompanied it. The more Lina studied the material Mr. Watson presented, the more confused she became. Mr. Watson tried to explain that the only weddings in his memory banks were of important people and thus the celebrations were very elaborate. Lina asked, "How can we have one of these weddings if I do not have the thing called a wedding dress or rings to share?"
Mr. Watson for once was at a loss for words and only said they would have to wait for Floyd to explain the wedding he was planning. When Floyd and Tesla came in for a midday break and some food they were met by silence from Lina and Mr. Watson. Floyd was so busy eating and trying to re-hydrate himself that he was almost done eating before he realized something was not right. He asked, "What's up?"
Lina refused to look at him as her tail drooped almost to the floor. Mr. Watson beat around the bush for a while before saying, "We do not understand how you can have a wedding when none of the ceremonial wedding items are available."
Floyd looked up at Lina and thought he saw tears in her eyes as he asked, "What is Mr. Watson talking about?"
"How can I marry you if I do not have the thing called a wedding dress and a ring to give you?"
Floyd took Lina's hand and said very gently, "Weddings are not about all the fancy stuff and parties. They are about committing to each other. I will take you as my wife the way you are, with the clothes that we have. Maybe we can get Tesla to make us a couple of rings."
"Are you sure you will marry me without the thing called a wedding dress?"
"I will marry you as you are if you will marry me as I am."
"I will marry you."
Floyd tried to give her a hug but her tail was twitching so much that it kept getting in the way. He did his best and told Mr. Watson, "Figure out the minimal requirements for a wedding and work out a plan with Lina."
He turned towards Tesla who could not stop bouncing with excitement and said, "Tonight we will talk about ways of making rings, but for now let's see if we can get that capstone set."
Tesla had managed to shape the stone but now they needed to get it raised to the top of their dome. Using some of the scrap metal, they pried it to a vertical position and rolled it to the dome. Then began the tedious work of prying up first one side then the other, filling in underneath with sand as they went. Floyd was worried about the pressure they were putting on their dome, but Tesla was content to keep adding sand and weight being confident in his construction. Floyd could see the taper that Tesla had created in the dome and the capstone but still thought there was a good chance that the stone would fall through the opening and they would have to start over.
When the stone was finally level with the top of the dome they began slowly sliding it over the hole that remained at the top of the dome. It did not fit. Floyd had to pry it up and hold it with his makeshift lever while Tesla hammered away at the edges. On the third try it settled into place with a satisfying “thunk” and Floyd could not help giving Tesla a high five. Tesla began bouncing on the stone in celebration. Floyd was content to sit on the edge and rest. Tesla, when he stopped bouncing, started using his small hammer and a chisel he had made to create the center hole they needed. Floyd watched for a while but then noticed the sun was getting low and told Tesla, "Enough for today."
They returned to the ship and after doing their best to clean off the dirt from their clothes, entered the airlock. Their high spirits were met with the usual complaint from Mr. Watson about the dust but Lina greeted them with her tail held high and began telling them of her ideas for the wedding. Floyd tried to listen but had trouble keeping up with her flow of thoughts. He finally said, "I think this discussion should wait until I get some fluids in me and maybe some of that stuff Mr. Watson calls food." He added, "A beer would be really good about now."
Mr. Watson, yet again, explained the advantages of their enriched beverage but Floyd completely tuned him out and went about pushing buttons for some food. Tesla had figured out how to get the food he and Lina liked and they sat together in the crowded cockpit. Mr. Watson had questions about the fitting of the capstone and seemed impressed with their simple but effective method for moving and fitting the stone. He presented multiple drawings of pump actuation systems. Tesla seemed to like the simple offset cog drive which would provide a few inches of pump movement for every rotation of the blades. Floyd began scribbling on his paper and after figuring for a while said, "Each stroke will only produce an ounce of water but if it runs continuously we should be able to pump maybe a hundred gallons a day."
Mr. Watson said, "If you would use the keyboard I could check your figures but my calculation is similar to yours. I do not understand why you insist on scribbling on paper which nobody can read."
Floyd shrugged his shoulders and replied, "The scribbling seems to help me organize my thoughts and even I cannot read much of what I write. Hard to think using a keyboard."
"That is illogical. I cannot yet understand how the creativity develops in your mind despite analyzing your brain waves. I will continue to try and learn to interpret your scribbling."
Lina waited until Floyd was done eating before saying, "Mr. Watson and I have been trying to make sense of the local marriage customs but our data is very limited. They used the small hill to the west for their ceremonies of marriage and initiation. Weddings were held on the evenings of the full moon."
Floyd asked, "When is the next full moon?"
Mr. Watson replied, "The moon will be full in four days."
"Well, let's have the wedding in four days." He turned to Tesla who was bouncing up and down and asked, "Do you think you can make a couple of rings out of those fancy coins they sent up instead of beer? I sure see no other use for them."
Mr. Watson objected saying, "Those coins were included for their historical importance and as gifts." r />
"And who the hell cares about their historical importance now? And besides they will be used as gifts to each other."
Mr. Watson still objected saying they did not have the equipment to cast the metal. Floyd interrupted him saying, "My grandfather showed me how to make rings out of a coin when I was a kid. All it takes is a small hammer and a drill of some sort." He then explained how his grandfather would gently tap the edge of the coin with his hammer as he rotated the coin around. The edge of the coin would gradually fold under and the writing, cast into the coin, was preserved but was now on the interior of the ring. Tesla was concentrating hard on Floyd's story and he no sooner finished than he was off to retrieve the coins. The six coins were carefully packaged in a fancy display frame. Floyd looked at the sizes of the coins and chose a gold coin about an inch in diameter for Lina and a silver coin half again as big for himself.
Tesla carefully cut open the backing of the frame and removed the two coins. Floyd accepted the hammer that Tesla had pulled from one of his pockets and began demonstrating the technique. Mr. Watson was not happy to have them pounding on the floor of the ship saying they were going to disrupt his circuits. Tesla disappeared again into the lower hold and soon returned with the ice ax. By balancing the ax upright between his legs he had an anvil of sorts to work with. His gentle tapping had a nice rhythm to it and after a few minutes Floyd could no longer stifle his yawning. Lina spoke up saying, "It would appear that a rest period is indicated." She took Floyd by the hand and joined him in the small bed content to lie next to him and listen to his breathing until she joined him in sleep.