Chapter 2
Mr. Watson continued to adjust their orbit by using the thrusters while working to solve the many problems identified by the flashing red lights. Most of the problems were solved by rebooting the governing programs but many needed physical resets. Floyd's study of the procedure for EVA was repeatedly interrupted by requests to perform some manual function for Mr. Watson.
While removing yet another inspection cover Floyd asked, "Have we made contact with the inhabitants of the planet? God knows we arrived with a bang."
Mr. Watson responded, "I have begun the contact protocol but the transmitting antenna seems inoperative. If you insist on violating the mission protocol by initiating EVA activities maybe you could do a visual inspection."
Rather than answer, Floyd began swearing under his breath as the power screwdriver floated away for the umpteenth time. When the computer asked him what the problem was Floyd responded, "This damn zero g stuff sure makes getting work done hard." Further conversation was interrupted by yet another bout of nausea and vomiting as Floyd's space sickness reasserted itself. After stowing the barf bag Floyd went back to work on the panel. He asked, "Which circuit did you want me to test?"
Mr. Watson replied, "It is the third breaker down on the left."
Floyd looked at the breaker and it seemed fine but he pushed it in order to reset the contact. Mr. Watson responded, "I now have power on the circuit. I will reactivate the solar tracking arrays while you watch the breaker." The arrays were no sooner activated when Floyd heard a definite click and saw the breaker had popped again.
Mr. Watson spoke up saying, "I wish sometimes that I had the ability to use the colorful language that you use when things do not proceed as planned. It would seem that our solar arrays have been damaged and we will have to limit our power consumption to what the onboard reactor is capable of producing."
Floyd finished reinstalling the inspection cover and said, "Time for a break and review of what we know."
"Yes, your vital signs would indicate that your blood glucose levels are dropping and supplemental nutrition is indicated."
"I think a beer is indicated."
"The nutritional aspects of that beverage would be adequate for the restoration you require but as I have informed you this beverage in unavailable."
"Must not have been the Navy that came up with the packing list for this trip…they would not have forgotten the beer."
"I can assure you that the preparations committee took great effort to ensure that adequate supplies were available but it would have been difficult for them to have foreseen all of the possible needs."
"That's why we have an ice ax sticking through our hull and no beer. Why would the committee pack a damn ice ax anyway?"
"At the time of our departure we had no information on the nature of the planet we are now orbiting. They consulted survival experts in preparation for the trip and the equipment was severely limited by the weight restriction of launch from Earth."
"Well, next time I’m going to make sure they pack some beer."
Mr. Watson was quiet for some time before replying, "My calculations would indicate the probability of your repeating this journey as being so close to zero that your statement has no meaning."
Floyd finished the tube of mush that used to be food and finished a second tube of some sort of sweetened citrus drink. He was about to ask for an update on their status when he made the mistake of turning his head to look at the indicator lights. This brought on another bout of space sickness and he gave up half the fluids he had consumed to his barf bag. He said, "This is getting to be real fun, really quick. This is worse than my first trip out on the ocean in a sailboat." After rinsing his mouth, he asked, "Status report?"
Mr. Watson replied, "Life support is stable but a slow air leak persists. Power is reduced 50% from expected with the loss of our solar array. Communication seems to be down because I have received no response." After a slight delay Mr. Watson added, "My calculations indicate that the lower orbit we are in has increased the friction our craft is experiencing and we are slowing down."
"What do you mean we are slowing down? I thought you said our orbit was stable?"
"Both statements are true. The problem is that as we slow, the gravitational well of the planet becomes more significant and re-entry more imminent."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that we now have only 38 hours before a controlled descent to the planet surface becomes impossible."
Floyd was quiet for some time before saying, "I need some rest but have to complete the training manual for the EVA. Can you do some of the information transfer stuff while I try and get some sleep?"
Mr. Watson replied, "It is possible but with your incessant scratching of the leads on your scalp the sensors have less capability."
Floyd unconsciously reached up and scratched his head where the leads were attached before replying, "I think we should try. There is just too much to learn." Floyd strapped himself into his bunk to keep himself from floating away and after several minutes fell into an uneasy sleep. He was awakened after six hours of not so great sleep and said, "At least the space sickness is better when I sleep.”
Mr. Watson spoke up saying, "Are you ready to test the learning from last night?"
"No. I am ready for a cup of coffee or at least a tube of coffee."
Having learned to avoid all rapid head movements Floyd warmed his coffee and he sat in midair enjoying the bitterness of the brew. He asked, "Any progress on figuring out what went wrong?"
Mr. Watson replied, "Yes, I have determined the error. You kept visualizing the disaster of the Mars Lander that crashed because of confusion in the units used. I had already checked the formulas and knew they were correct but since you seemed so concerned I checked all of the basics used in the formula. Somehow in the early conversion to the standard metric measurements the formula for nautical miles was used instead of statute miles." The computer continued, "This resulted in an error of 20% in a calculation which was then carried forward resulting in the final error of 0.897%."
"Were you reading my mind? Never mind, I don’t want to know. OK, so what are we going to do about it?"
"I have plotted an approach to re-entry which will take us down to the large plain near the western edge of the continent." Mr. Watson added, "This is contingent on your successful repair of the hull."
"What options have you come up with?"
"The design criteria would indicate that the involved panels are to be removed and replaced with all welds tested and certified."
"Like that is going to happen."
"Commodore, my calculations would also indicate that proper repair is of a very low probability. Use of an adhesive to close the penetration would be acceptable if the ship can be controlled to prevent any heat buildup in the area."
"Can the ship be controlled this way?"
"We have plenty of reserve fuel so there is a 69.67% possibility that the area can be protected from excess heat."
“Mr. Watson, let me make sure I have this right. We have two chances out of three of surviving if I can glue the hole shut. Is that right?"
"Your statement is correct."
"What kind of glue are we going to use?"
"My review of the bill of lading does not show any glue except for something in the first aid kit referred to as tissue adhesive."
"So I am supposed to plug the hole with glue but the problem is they not only forgot the beer, they also forgot the damn glue." Floyd was quiet for a moment before asking, "Do we have any baking soda onboard?"
Mr. Watson replied, "The substance you refer to is sodium bicarbonate and a supply is available in the storage area for food preparation. I can reference no information in how this substance can be of benefit."
"Assuming the tissue adhesive is a form of super glue, it turns the baking soda into a glass like material immediately. I used it to fix my wife's jewelry."
"This infor
mation is not in my data files but would seem to be logical. The tissue adhesive is based on cyanoacrylate and chemically it should be responsive to the hydroxide ions present."
Floyd began searching through the first aid cabinet and found a package containing a dozen small tubes of the adhesive and more importantly they had not hardened. He asked, "How am I going to open and handle these in a spacesuit?" Without waiting for an answer he picked up a syringe and moved into the prep area near the airlock. He put the suit on and practiced pushing the plunger of the syringe. It was clumsy but he could do it. He asked, "How much time before re-entry?”
"The best approach will be in 6 hours and after about 30 hours, re-entry will no longer be controllable." Mr. Watson continued, "I have launched the radio relay into a higher orbit and have begun the power up sequence."
"Could we use this relay to contact the planet?"
"It would be marginal but if we are willing to draw down the power reserve it has an 87.45% probability of working."
"Worth trying; we do not want to drop in uninvited!"
Floyd prepared his supplies filling one syringe with the super glue and another with the baking soda. He donned the space suit and helmet having only partially contaminated stuff with the super glue. The sequence for exiting the spacecraft seemed natural enough, so the learning while he slept must have been successful. When he first exited the airlock the blackness of the universe was contrasted with the brightness of the local sun and the planet looked spectacular. The large blue ocean was partially covered by clouds and the central land mass was highlighted by tall mountains with snow covered peaks. He spoke up saying, "This is really cool!"
Mr. Watson replied, "The readings I am receiving appear normal but I can increase the heater temperature if you wish."
"No, Mr. Watson, I was commenting on the view. It is absolutely fantastic!"
"How is it different than the digital image I have been projecting for you?"
"I suppose it is because I am free of the ship and can see the immensity of the universe."
"That does not seem logical but I will process the information. You need to move to the aft section of the ship."
Floyd used his thrusters to position himself and repeatedly checked his safety line. As he approached the aft end of their space craft the point of the ice ax was evident. He tried to use the attachment cable to secure himself but it restricted his movement too much. Instead he used a couple pieces of his duct tape to hold himself to the ship. He pushed on the ice axe but it was firmly lodged. He fumbled around removing the small hammer like tool from the fancy tool belt and began tapping on the ice ax. It remained stuck. In frustration he took a hard swing with the hammer. This dislodged the ice ax back into the storage compartment but also sent him spinning off into space when the duct tape let go.
Mr. Watson asked with what sounded like genuine concern, "Commodore, are you all right?"
Floyd had reached the end of his safety line and was bouncing back towards the ship. He replied, "Seems I may have been a bit vigorous with my last tap." He regained control using the small rockets and moved back to his work site. Doubling up on the duct tape he inspected the hole and then tried filling it with the baking powder but it tended to float away with the slightly positive pressure in the compartment. Floyd asked, "Can the pressure be equalized?"
After Mr. Watson had adjusted the pressure Floyd needed to use a syringe in each hand to apply the super glue immediately to the baking soda and gradually build up a solid plug of the hole. He tried to coat the entire repair with another layer but had run out of glue. After a bit of swearing he asked the computer to increase the pressure a couple of pounds to see if the repair would hold. He kept watching but nothing was happening so he asked, "Are you going to increase the pressure?"
Mr. Watson replied, "The pressure has increased as you requested and seems stable at just under 0.09 atmospheres."
"I'll be damned. It seems to have worked."
"Would you like me to increase the pressure further?"
"No, better not to push our luck."
"You have 24 minutes left in your allowed EVA time."
"Let me get a look at that antenna and then I will return to the airlock." Floyd began to maneuver but the duct tape held his left foot to the ship. He needed to use his right foot to provide the leverage to pull the tape free. Unfortunately, the ends of the tape got tangled and now his feet were stuck together. He struggled for a few minutes and decided to ignore his feet. Using his thrusters, he maneuvered over to the front end of the ship where the antenna was - except it wasn't there. He reported, "Unable to repair antenna. It is gone."
Mr. Watson asked, "Can you make sure none of the wires are in contact with the ship?"
Floyd looked more closely at the wires and they had both pulled free of the antenna leaving exposed wire strands. Using small pieces of his now precious duct tape he secured the ends the best he could with the gloves he was wearing. Mr. Watson reported, "You have corrected the circuit and we should now be able to communicate with the repeater probe. Your time on EVA is over and you need to return to the ship ASAP." Floyd did as he was told but not before having one more 360 degree look around and enjoying the immensity of the world.
Floyd had no sooner completed the EVA closing protocol when Mr. Watson began asking questions. Floyd replied, "Just a minute, I have to take a leak." When finished he said, "Seems funny to have to urinate again because while on dialysis that never happened." He did his best to answer all of the computer’s questions but just did not know how to explain the feeling of exhilaration he experienced while free of the ship. The work needing to be done postponed any further philosophical discussion.
The few remaining hours passed all too quickly and before Floyd knew it the time had come to don the spacesuit again. He sat at the controls knowing that Mr. Watson would be in charge of the re-entry and initial descent. His task was to actually land their craft without breaking it…how hard could it be?
The initial firing of their thrusters seemed gentle enough but the g forces built up soon enough as they entered the upper atmosphere. Floyd knew the ship was not aligned properly and when questioned Mr. Watson replied, "I have calculated that the ship should withstand the added forces and the angle is necessary to protect the area of your patch. If the patch were to fail I am sure the outer skins of our craft would be lost almost immediately."
Floyd began to fret about the makeshift patch and wondered what else he could have done. The deployment of their first parachute jolted him back to the present. Everything seemed to be progressing well enough and now he could feel the roar of the rockets as they helped further slow the spaceship. When they had slowed to the speed of a fighter jet, the controls became responsive and it was now his ship. The computer screen showed they were on a good glide angle but a little fast. He corrected by pulling the nose up and exchanging speed for a bit more altitude. When his speed was under control he began slowly engaging the speed breaks. By balancing the controls, the speed breaks allowed him to descend back to the proper glide slope without excess speed.
He had been a good pilot but that was a long time ago and now he was no longer in the fancy simulator but on final approach to a flat barren plain on another world. His thoughts were interrupted when the turbulence started. At first it was no worse than a typical hot summer day in the Persian Gulf but the turbulence just kept increasing. Floyd was now sweating, trying to dance with the ship as it was tossed about. His anxiety was beginning to limit his ability to respond when he started to hear his LSO (landing signaling officer) telling him to keep it steady, nose up a bit. Hearing this voice of the past which brought him down on nights with heavy seas settled him down and he concentrated on maintaining his glide path. He was dancing with the craft through the turbulence, no longer fighting it. He had no visual references only the image as projected on the screen in front of him. His intuition began controlling his movements
and he was compensating for the turbulence almost before it hit. Time slowed way down as he watched the indicators and maintained his glide slope. He reached over and deployed the landing gear but it had no sooner locked in place when he changed his mind and retracted the gear. Mr. Watson spoke saying, "You are violating the landing protocol. The landing gear is to be extended and locked in place at pattern altitude."
His terse reply was, "Nobody expected an off field landing. Much safer with the gear up." No second chances and the touchdown had to be soft enough that the belly of the craft absorbed all of the energy of landing without breaking the ship.
When the altimeter ground contact warning sounded he ever so gently pulled the nose up and kept feathering it ever higher to bleed off speed. When first contact with the ground was made it was the aft skid plate and Floyd added just a hint of power to help keep the nose up as the craft began to de-accelerate much more quickly. He struggled to keep the stubby wings level to prevent any cart wheeling. The rocks would bounce the craft back into the air and he would nurse it back down with little bursts of power. This was followed by full ground contact and several hard jolts from irregularities and rocks on the ground. And then they were stopped. Floyd did not even start the shutdown checklist. He just sat back and breathed.
Mr. Watson spoke up saying, "Completion of shutdown procedure begun." He then added, "I commend you on a satisfactory landing. I was unable to process the responses you were making to the turbulence we encountered. My programming sub-routines were not adequate to the task. I wish to explore this further."
Floyd said, "Thanks for the help. I was losing it."
"Your dreams often had the one you referred to as your LSO in them and I computed that it may provide you some comfort."
"Well, you computed correctly. Now it is time for a beer."
"I have informed you many times that the beverage you refer to as beer is not available. You do have the citrus flavored drink available which is fortified with multiple vitamins and minerals."
"Yeah, but it tastes like horse piss."
"My database would indicate that it is highly unlikely that you have ever tasted equine urine. I will assume that your words are another one of your colorful metaphors."
As they worked their way through the shutdown procedure only a few red warning lights had to be dealt with. One was the air leak in the storage compartment. The patch had held up pretty well through the heat of re-entry but the jolting of the final landing had broken the seal. Floyd made the repair low priority for they were now safely on the ground…for better or worse. He asked, "Any idea where we are and why are the external cameras not working?"
"The second question is easier, the cameras were retracted for our re-entry and I will activate them as soon as the wind decreases to an acceptable level. The question regarding the present position of our ship is more difficult. We are somewhere on the plain between two mountain ranges, but I cannot ascertain our position with any better accuracy."
"You mean we just got here and we're already lost?"
"I have calculated that our remote radio beacon will be in range in 47.32 earth minutes and using Doppler shift should allow for locating our position within .286 km. Our mapping of the planet is much reduced because of the unfortunate low orbit that we found ourselves in."
Floyd was studying the images they had of the planet but there were enough clouds that the clarity of this region was poor. It was obvious that there were mountains surrounding the plain and only one valley leading out which eventually drained towards the ocean. He said, "If I were a farmer I would settle near the outflow of the valley because the land could concentrate the water." After thinking some more he added, "Unless the dry lake bed we are in has salt in it."
Mr. Watson responded, "I have deployed a sensor and it does not indicate a high level of salts in the soil. Why did you say we were in a dry lake bed?"
"I guess because that is what it felt like when we landed. One of my favorite things back home was to land a small airplane in the Alford Desert, which is a dry lake bed."
"My data base would suggest that this Alford Desert fills with water during the spring snow melt. Would you expect the same of this location?"
"Why would this be important?"
"We will need to protect my electronics. The design criteria did not include submersion testing."
Floyd laughed saying, "It's all in your perspective. I am worried about starving or dying of thirst and you are worried about rusting." He added, "We may need to figure out some method of moving this ship. But first, let's eat."
"I have no need for organic nourishment so why do you use the plural form of speech?"
Floyd responded, "Eating is in part the taking in of nourishment but it is also a social activity where much of our planning and communication occurs. We need to figure out what we are going to do next."
"That seems almost logical but I do not understand why the ingestion of organics helps with the planning. The human brain does seem to be most creative when occupied by otherwise trivial matters."
Floyd was preparing some of the preserved stew and noticed that the package seemed lighter than it should. Mr. Watson explained, "The planet is 84.37% of the Earth's mass so the gravitational force is less."
"You mean I am 16% stronger here than on Earth…sort of like a Superman?
"Your strength remains the same but, yes, you can lift more and jump higher because of the change in gravity."
Floyd was finishing the stew, which did not seem to taste so bad, when he noticed the noise of the wind had stopped. Mr. Watson confirmed the change and deployed the external cameras. The local sun was setting and with it the wind and dust. The cameras showed a desolate landscape which was barren of any semblance of life forms. The few rocks visible cast elongated shadows and the closest mountain range was apparently covered in snow which glowed in the red light of the setting sun. Mr. Watson rotated between cameras and changed to infrared as the light faded. The local moons had not yet risen and the stars were bright. Floyd asked, "Which star is our sun?"
The image moved and zoomed in on a very ordinary looking star which was hardly visible among the many stars in the camera's view. Floyd just stared at the image for several minutes before saying, "Our sun is so small and far away. Sure wish I could open a window and have a good look at it."
My Watson replied, "The optics in the camera exceeds the visual discrimination ability of the human eye. Why would it help to look directly at the Earth's sun?"
"Don't know, but all my life I have enjoyed being outdoors and looking up at the stars. Using a telescope was fun but not the same effect as seeing the whole sky filled with stars. Kinda hard to fathom that one of those stars is my home where I left my family."
When morning came and after his morning coffee, Floyd was eager to explore outside of their ship, but Mr. Watson was adamant that the isolation protocol be followed until the initial biologic testing was complete. Floyd complained, "It is a dead world. What could possibly hurt me?"
Mr. Watson responded, "Spores can survive extremely harsh conditions, even exposure to outer space. It will be 48 hours before the biologic testing is complete."
"I can wear the space suit."
The ever patient Mr. Watson asked, "How would you decontaminate the suit on your return to the ship?"
Floyd changed the subject asking, "What do we hear from our remote probe?"
"The probe is functioning above minimums but our ability to communicate is limited by the antenna failure. It would be good if you could repair the antenna."
Floyd began complaining about not being able to repair the antenna if he could not leave the ship. His thinking was already focused on a method of constructing an antenna. He asked, "How directional does the antenna need to be?"
Floyd's question was answered by multiple diagrams appearing on his computer screen. The design was pretty simple - much like the TV rooftop antennas he
remembered from his folk's house. He began scrounging for wire and metal but the ship was pretty clean of excess stuff. He asked, "Does it have to be outside the ship to work?"
Mr. Watson began a long dissertation on the absorbing characteristics of their titanium hull, but all Floyd really heard was, "It would work inside the ship but at a reduced capacity."
Now he had a plan and began rummaging through the cooking supplies until he found the roll of aluminum foil. Tearing it into strips he rolled these strips into thin tubes. Then much like making toys out of balloons he began twisting the tubes together forming a model of the antenna they had lost. He did not bother to measure anything but simply constructed his "toy" antenna to look like the drawings he had studied. When he was finished with the antenna he asked, "I need to break the antenna feed to the outside of the ship. Where?"
Mr. Watson replied, "The easiest access is under the inspection panel 3R on the ceiling of the cockpit."
"Is there a disconnect for the cable?"
"No, the cable runs through the panel box but no connections are made."
"I'll just cut the cable and figure out something for the ground wire."
Mr. Watson objected saying, "You will be violating the maintenance protocol by severing the wire and I will need to note it in my logs."
"You can put anything in your logs you want but if we don't get communication and figure out where we are it is not going to matter."
"Your point is valid and I do not object to the action, but I am required to record all infractions of the protocol."
"You would have never made it through flight training."
Mr. Watson was puzzled by the reference and started a long monolog about the need to follow orders. Floyd just ignored him and went to work on the panel. There was a jumble of wires passing through the box and it took many minutes to isolate the proper cable. Floyd pulled as hard as he could but could not gain any slack in the wire. He finally used the cutter on his multi-tool and snipped it, leaving as long of a tail as he could. It was then a matter of stripping the wire on the coax cable and exposing both the grounding sheath and the central wire. He connected the central wire by twisting it around the base of the antenna but could not figure out what to do with the ground wire.
Mr. Watson spoke up saying, "For maximum efficiency the ground needs to be connected to the base of the antenna with adequate resistance between the two elements."
As the computer continued his dissertation on the required resistance, Floyd used a small piece of his precious duct tape to first separate the ground wire from the antenna and then secured the wire braid securely with another piece of tape. He said, "Try it."
Mr. Watson asked, "Should we not first test the device for the proper resistance and impedance?"
"We are going to. Turn on the transmitter and see if it works. If it doesn't work then we will worry about it."
Mr. Watson continued his dissertation on the importance of impedance matching while they waited for the relay probe to circle around in its orbit and into range. The dissertation ended only when the static they were listening to changed and the locating signal could be heard above the background noise. Mr. Watson's tone seemed to change as he began processing the signal saying, "The signal is contaminated with significant electrical interference, but with proper processing I should be able to again communicate."
Floyd was getting impatient and asked, "So have you figured out where we are yet?" Before Mr. Watson could respond he added, "Have we heard from the inhabitants of this godforsaken place?"
Mr. Watson was somewhat slow to respond saying, "We are at the southern end of the valley about 15 miles from the high ground you wished to explore. I will need to devote many more CPU cycles to the filtering of the signal to produce a more satisfactory answer." He then added, "There has been no detectable response to our signaling of the planet's inhabitants."
Floyd was already busy overlaying a grid on their map of the valley they had created while orbiting the planet. The scale was not fine enough to be of great value but at least gave him something to work from. The high ground to the north was steeper but had better sun exposure. If he was going to farm it would be the southern area but a city would be better suited for the northern slopes. After scratching his head and picking at the electrodes protruding from his scalp he asked, "Any idea where the signal you were receiving while I slept was from?
Mr. Watson replied, "The signal would have originated from this quadrant of the planet but I am unable it be more precise."
He then began another long litany of reasons for his inability to be more exact but Floyd was no longer listening. He kept measuring distances on the screen and jotting down numbers on a pad of paper. After many minutes Mr. Watson interrupted him by stating, "Your handwriting is so poor that I cannot read what you are doing. Please use the computer keyboard."
Floyd responded, "Can't think with a keyboard." He then asked, "The fancy electric motorcycle we have has a range of only 20 miles. I need to extend it to double that if we are going to explore the area. Any suggestions?"
"The battery will need to be recharged."
Floyd spoke up maybe a bit louder than needed, "I know the battery needs to be recharged. How do you suggest we do it?"
Mr. Watson began to list all of the possible recharging sources in his data base. Most were of no value because they did not have the equipment or the means of creating things like solar cells. When Mr. Watson finally got around to listing the other electrical sources, Floyd's ears perked up. Apparently they had a portable fuel cell unit on board which was meant to power a radio transmitter. Floyd asked, "If I hooked the fuel cell up in parallel with the battery pack on the bike, how much range would I have?"
Mr. Watson replied almost instantly, "Your range would be extended to over 100 miles until the hydrogen was depleted." He then added, "Your top speed would be reduced to 4.67 mph."
Floyd complained, "I can walk almost that fast. How about if we somehow used the fuel cell as a charger for the built-in battery?"
Mr. Watson was silent for a few seconds before responding, "The top speed of the electric motility vehicle which you refer to as a motorcycle is about 50 mph. This speed can be maintained for 15.43 minutes before the battery charge becomes depleted. It would take 4.58 hours to recharge the battery from the fuel cell. You could then operate the EMV for another 12.67 minutes at full speed."
"Why not the 16 minutes?"
"Battery charging is complex and without the ability to boost the final charge voltage the battery cannot be completely charged."
Floyd responded, "Good enough; I can make it there and back." His conversation was interrupted when the ship was struck by a gust of wind. It was just past midday and the thermal air circulation was beginning in earnest. Mr. Watson had already withdrawn all of the cameras and they were again living in their sealed cocoon. Floyd became fidgety with the loss of view and had trouble concentrating on the route planning he was doing. He stood up and stretched saying, "Seems being outside in the afternoon is not a good idea. I think I will go put the motorcycle together."
Mr. Watson complained, "Protocol does not require assembly of the EMV until after contact is made and permission granted by the local inhabitants."
"You would have me wait to begin exploring until the snows melt and this desert turns into a lake?" Floyd then asked, "Any idea when the melt season starts?
Mr. Watson responded, "My calculations would indicate we are in the transition phase between the cold period you refer to as winter and the warm period."
"So, it's spring and the snow melt could come at any time and rust your circuits. Are you sure you want to wait until contact is made?"
"Your argument is logical and I concur with the need to begin exploring the region for a better location for the ship."
Floyd said, "While I am working on the motorcycle, how about you use a few of your CPU cycles to compute how much fuel we would need to
move this ship 15 miles."
Mr. Watson replied, "We have sufficient fuel to move the ship the required distance but only if it is rolling on a hard surface."
"Means we need to jack the ship up and deploy the landing gear. Is the ground hard enough to hold us up?"
Mr. Watson said, "The thermal probe would indicate that the ground freezes at night but thaws by midday. This will change with the seasons."
"Sounds like we got a lot of work to do, but first I need a bite to eat."