2085 / Europa

By Mitchell D. Kowitz

It was the year 2085. There are presently three countries that now have outposts on the Moon. The United States, China and Israel. 

My name is Matt and I am part of a global experimental project called “Adam”. There has been a discovery on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. The probe sent back readings of three different areas that had a chemical breakdown similar to chlorophyll. We all know that if there was chlorophyll there was life…but what kind?

A conclusion was reached by the science department that it could be a primordial but that is still just speculation. 

I was part of the original team for Mars One. After two years, we finally made a livable habitat for around 40 families. 

In the last 50 years, we have gone through fossil fuel to nuclear power to matter and anti-matter propulsion.   

Now the government and space agency are doing a full core press to develop an anti-gravitational device. We have been trying to duplicate its properties ever since we have had a crashed UFO in our possession. Now, we have built a spacecraft called the “Triton”. This craft should be able to make the trip not in months but in a matter of hours. 

We have a crew of five and are scheduled to launch in two days. Our ship will use its impulse power to leave our atmosphere and then we will activate the anti-gravitational drive and travel faster and farther than ever before. 

No one could have predicted how travelling at light speed could affect the body or for that matter, the crew. We activated the device, set our navigational projection to Europa and it only took 3 hours to arrive at the planet Jupiter. We made an additional course correction to the Moon of Europa and our captain, Brian and science officer, Brett, made their way to the shuttle to travel down to the Moon. They were to land around 600 yards from the area that was identified with the chlorophyll. 

The surface temperature was 100 degrees below Celsius and the terrain was rocky, stark and barren.  What could be growing under the ice we thought. How could it survive under these extreme temperatures? All of these were questions that had to be answered if our mission was to be successful.

Our landing and sample gathering were a success, but unfortunately, at that time, neither Captain Brian nor Science Officer Brett realized that all around their boots was a microscopic contagion. It was nearly impossible to detect or see. Two days later, our first mate, Jacob noticed something like a fuzzy mold starting to appear around the boots of the captain and the science officer. It was an eerie coating of a blue and gray film that covered the soles and heels of the boots. Upon closer examination, I found this to be quite strange but then I realized that I wasn’t wearing any type of protection as part of a protocol for investigation, in other words, I wasn’t wearing the appropriate suit or gloves that one would wear during such an investigation. 

I took the boots and placed them in a quarantined area, took a long shower, scrubbed my body raw and then reported my findings. Captain Brian questioned me about how I handled the situation of isolating the contagion. I told him that once I noticed the growth, I took the proper precautions. 

I lied.

I was afraid that the captain would put me in isolation which is exactly what would have happened if I had been truthful with him about this situation.

Over the next few days, during our time at Europa, we performed many experiments and surveys. The composition of the ground, measuring ice, and exploring more possibilities with the new findings of chlorophyll. 

Europa is a cold, dark and barren moon. Its distance of over 390 million miles from Earth gives it little sun. The gravity is similar to the Moon orbiting around Earth with the exception of ice, underground volcanoes and pockets of water that were buried under hundreds of feet of ice. 

There is life here but what kind and what form will it take? We talked about this at our last meeting. So far, we have no conclusions of the origin of this substance. 

Three days had passed and I hadn’t been feeling well. I noticed that the skin on my hands and arms began to display small patches of discoloration.  I remembered that I had touched everyone in the crew and now they were all possibly infected. I alerted the captain of my condition and he ordered me to go into isolation. The next day, I discovered that I was losing a bit of my muscular control. I had difficulty standing and walking. 

Jacob was the first to show signs of contamination. Science Officer, Brett, spent days trying to figure out the chemical breakdown of the contagion or growth. Experiments showed that it lived in zero gravity and multiplied itself by four in an oxygenated atmosphere. It was noticed that paralysis was starting to affect different members of the crew as they moved or spoke. It was also discovered that there were several unknown proteins and strange cell structures in each sample slide. 

Four days have now passed and all of us are beginning to show signs of contamination. We had to abandon the rest of our mission and get ready to activate the anti-gravitational drive for our journey back home to Earth. 

Captain Brian called an emergency meeting for all of us before we embarked. He said to us, “You know, we are all infected with something unknown and dangerous. We cannot allow ourselves to go back and endanger lives back on Earth.” 

We all went into shock. All of us looked at each other with great fear. We all knew what this meant, and we also knew that Captain Brian was correct. We were all beginning a process of mutating to a new form of life. So, the question arose, since returning to Earth was now out of the question, where do we go?

We can now travel light years to any star in the galaxy. That is exactly what we chose to do. We set our new course for an Earth-like moon in the alpha-centauri system. 

Captain Brian notified mission control back on Earth of our final decision to change course…to not return home to Earth. We didn’t know what the future would hold. But we all knew that our sacrifice was the ethical and moral thing to do. This is what we were going do, 

But that is not what happened.

After Captain Brian told us about our contamination, Science Officer Brett began to lose it. He went off in a tantrum about needing to see his wife and child once again. He became violent and it became necessary to restrain and sedate him.

Later that evening, the captain and the rest of the crew sat down for a long talk over dinner. In less than five minutes, the captain started to throw up and one by one, the rest of us fell to the ground and looked at one another. Brett had escaped from the restraints that we put on him and suddenly, he was standing in the doorway saying these words, 

“I hope you all enjoyed your poisoned dinner, now let’s get this ship turned around and back to Earth.” 

Brett got on the intercom to mission control and lied to them, saying that the contagion had finally been contained but several crew members are not able to fulfill their duties.

As Captain Brian lay dying on the floor, he yelled out to Brett, “You’re bringing this virus back to Earth. It will infect everyone. You’re bringing this virus back to Earth, it will infect…”

Mitchell’s Jewish background led him to become a Cantor where he has served 2 congregations for 28 years.  A native of Jacksonville Fla, Cantor Mitch served at Beth Israel in Munster Indiana and Temple of Aaron in St. Paul. He is currently the Cantor at Share Chesed Synagogue in Minnetonka and is also the adjunct clergy for Sholom Home East in St Paul and West in Minneapolis. The entertainer is back in full force! Recently he finished filming a pilot food show entitled “Kosher Cuisine”, featuring Israeli music and has a cookbook out entitled “Kosher Cuisine for a New Generation.”

As a master storyteller, his short stories are written for just that. To tell a good story, and have been featured in several magazines and periodicals.

His poems have been featured in The Grapevine, and the book “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” and

His book “In the House of Temptation and screenplay Visions are among his latest works.

A member of the Minnesota Writers Workshop, he is currently working on new writing projects.