Chapter 23

As we got closer to the Reclamation area, we could see the Alpha/Omega symbols on the double doors. I could also tell that Paul wasn’t happy about this visit.

When we entered, a tall thin man dressed in a black suit stood up from the reception desk. “Captain Sullivan?”

“Correct, are you Mr. Garcia?”

“No sir, I am Jenkins. I’m a public relations specialist. Which is a fancy label for receptionist. Mr. Garcia is expecting you. Please make yourself comfortable, while I let him know you’re here.”

When Jenkins returned, he was followed by a short and stout man, with one of the bushiest mustaches, I had ever seen. He had his hand out and quickly shook mine. “Captain Sullivan, a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“Mr. Garcia, it’s nice to meet you too.” turning to Paul. I gestured to him, “And this is my orderly, sub-ensign Holt. We were up in environmental earlier, we were impressed with their handling of your emergency.”

Garcia got a confused look on his face, “Emergency?” He paused for a moment. Then his face brightened as understanding came to him. “Oh, I see. It wasn’t really an emergency, Captain. A lot of my equipment is old and needs repair and upgrading. One of the issues we were having was a pressure loss in our methane recovery system. Methane is a fascinating substance with so many different uses. We try to collect all that we can. Also, because it is so flammable, we don’t want any floating around.”

“We have been spending the past week trying to track down the periodic leaks we’ve been having. I asked the environmental guys to heighten the sensitivity of our sensors. I’d hoped that today would do the trick. We did find some repair work that needed to be done. We’re working on it as we speak.”

I hadn’t expected that. “I hope that we aren’t taking you away from anything, Mr. Garcia. We can come back later, if you’re busy.”

“No Captain, actually you have given me an excuse to get out of their way. I never did learn how to weld. So, I’m free for anything you need.”

I looked down at Paul. His eyes were darting around, and I could see the sweat on his forehead. “What’s up, Paul? Something bothering you?”

Paul didn’t look at me directly, but I could see that he was shaking. “It’s nothing, Captain. I, I, I’m ok.”

Garcia smiled and squatted down to where he could look Paul in the eyes. “It’s a scary place down here, isn’t it?”

Paul seemed to be on the edge of bolting. “Yeah, I hear there are ghosts down here.”

I was about to chuckle when Garcia replied, “Oh yes, I thought that might be it. Just for your information, Sub-Ensign Holt. We do indeed have ghosts down here. But don’t worry, my ghosts are friendly ones. Come with me. I’ll introduce you to them.”

He turned and led us through another set of double doors. On the other side was a circular room with a domed ceiling. It was a large room. Easily 50 feet across. In the center of the room was a sunken seating pit. In the center of which was a chrysanthemum bonsai.

On the walls of the room, there were small brass plaques. As Garcia led us around the room. He pointed out the plaques. “Mr. Holt, these are my ghosts. Welcome to our remembrance hall. All of our family members that have passed are remembered here.” he pointed to a specific plaque. “This is my mother. She was a member of the Folly’s crew all of her life. She was a member of the ship’s congress. Next to her is my father. He was a rock hunter that died while bringing in a load of iron ore. And his ship was hulled by a rogue asteroid. I was a young boy at the time. Not much older than you.”

Paul stood there, looking at all the plaques open-mouthed. “Where are they? I was told that sometimes you launch them into space. Others said that they were ground up into fertilizer.”

Garcia got a solemn look. “Nothing quite so gruesome Paul.” he eased Paul into one of the seats in the center of the room.

“Paul,” he began “We live in an enclosed ecosystem. Everything in that system has a use, and the prime use is to sustain everybody on board. But we can’t waste anything that might have a use. If a metal container has finished its use, we can melt the can down and reforge it into another can or something else. We breathe in oxygen and breathe carbon dioxide out. The plants we have onboard breathe that carbon dioxide in and exhale oxygen that we breathe.”

“Some of the plants that we grow, we eat. Then our bodies process that food for our use. We expel what we don’t use. That waste is collected, treated, and used to feed the plants, and again we have a circle.”

“Then we come to us. We are part of that system. We use parts of that system to exist. And at the end of our lives, we can either return what we have borrowed from the system. Or we can waste those resources by ejecting what is left into space, which will break the circle. But we also recognize the human needs of our people. We can’t be unemotional and inhuman about death. And that’s why we have this.” he looked around the room.

Paul sat with a look of understanding. Mr. Garcia continued, “When a crew member passes, we treat that person with the respect and dignity that we would want for ourselves. There are ceremonies and rituals. All designed to ease the spirits of the living. We have this room as a place to come and remember those who have passed.”

He paused for a moment and looked around the room, a smile on his face. When he spoke again, Paul jumped. “Well, young man, would you like to see what we do down here? Maybe you can take some tales to your friends. Give them something they can shiver about in their beds.”