Marooned on Giri Minor
You find Commander Andrade at the edge of this so-called "camp," scanning the nighttime landscape with her WristComp. You show her the two rucksacks and their humble contents, and she calls up a holographic display of the rough map she has just made. Emitted by the sophisticated device on her left wrist, the map floats in the space between you, glowing brightly in the dim moonlight.
"The good news is that it's a straight shot," she says. "It looks like there is a ridgeline of some kind that we can follow over here, and the colony site sits in this valley down there."
"That looks easy enough," you say. "But what's the bad news?"
"That's it, I have no idea," she says. "We're in an alien environment, underprepared in terms of gear, and operating on too little information. If this were an actual mission, we'd be outfitted with exactly what we need, and we'd be briefed on exactly what conditions to expect. But we're on an unsurveyed world, equipped only with what a lieutenant was able to purloin out of someone's duffel bag. I don't mean to scare you, but I can't underestimate the risk involved in what we're doing."
"But the risk would be even greater if we just sat here," you say.
"Right," she says. "That's why we're doing what we're about to do."
She considers the holographic map for a moment more and then switches it off. "So, Starman, when do you think we should set off for the colony site?" she asks.
You hadn't quite thought about that yet. "I'm tempted to take off right now," you say. "The sooner we can get a signal out for help, the better."
"There is an urgency to our situation," she agrees. "And as I understand it, Giri Minor is mostly desert. The temperature seems reasonable now in the dark, but I would expect it to be less so in daylight."
However, a thought occurs to you while she's speaking. "But I'm not sure it's the best idea to cross a strange wilderness in the dark," you say. "It will be hotter in the daylight, but at least we can see where we're going."
"Perhaps first thing in the morning," Andrade says, "while the desert is still on the cool side."
She pauses, then adds, "Look, I'm 52 years old, and I've spent most of my naval career working at desks and computer controls. Before we're done here I'm probably going to wish I had spent more time working out. So if we're going to make this trek, I'm going to be relying on your youth for my inspiration. Therefore I'm leaving it up to you to decide when we go."
"The good news is that it's a straight shot," she says. "It looks like there is a ridgeline of some kind that we can follow over here, and the colony site sits in this valley down there."
"That looks easy enough," you say. "But what's the bad news?"
"That's it, I have no idea," she says. "We're in an alien environment, underprepared in terms of gear, and operating on too little information. If this were an actual mission, we'd be outfitted with exactly what we need, and we'd be briefed on exactly what conditions to expect. But we're on an unsurveyed world, equipped only with what a lieutenant was able to purloin out of someone's duffel bag. I don't mean to scare you, but I can't underestimate the risk involved in what we're doing."
"But the risk would be even greater if we just sat here," you say.
"Right," she says. "That's why we're doing what we're about to do."
She considers the holographic map for a moment more and then switches it off. "So, Starman, when do you think we should set off for the colony site?" she asks.
You hadn't quite thought about that yet. "I'm tempted to take off right now," you say. "The sooner we can get a signal out for help, the better."
"There is an urgency to our situation," she agrees. "And as I understand it, Giri Minor is mostly desert. The temperature seems reasonable now in the dark, but I would expect it to be less so in daylight."
However, a thought occurs to you while she's speaking. "But I'm not sure it's the best idea to cross a strange wilderness in the dark," you say. "It will be hotter in the daylight, but at least we can see where we're going."
"Perhaps first thing in the morning," Andrade says, "while the desert is still on the cool side."
She pauses, then adds, "Look, I'm 52 years old, and I've spent most of my naval career working at desks and computer controls. Before we're done here I'm probably going to wish I had spent more time working out. So if we're going to make this trek, I'm going to be relying on your youth for my inspiration. Therefore I'm leaving it up to you to decide when we go."