2120 Titus Read online

  “Well, thank you for the gift, but I need…”

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to have a short bible study with you. It’s one of my requirements.”

  Frustrated, Dr. Mueller replied, “Go ahead, I’ve got nothing better to do.”

  Yapchanyk smiled and pulled out another bible from his pack, this one was bright red and looked like it was printed yesterday.

  “Before you start reading scripture, can I ask you a simple question?”

  “Is it biblical?”

  “Well, sort of. I’ve always had this question and have never found a suitable explanation.”

  “Go on,” Yapchanyk said. He seemed almost concerned.

  “Now don’t think I’m trying to argue, and I’m not trying to make fun of you and your religion, but what does the bible say about the dinosaurs? I mean, we’re there dinosaurs on the ark?”

  “That is a very good question, and I do have an answer for you. Yes, there were dinosaurs on the ark.”

  “I was afraid you would say that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because only a crazy person would say dinosaurs were on the ark. Only a crazy person would say there was an ark,” Dr. Mueller replied.

  “I believe the bible,” Yapchanyk said flat. “The bible says the Earth is 6000 years old…”

  “What?” Dr. Mueller asked. He was offended at what Yapchanyk stated as fact. “The Earth is not 6000 years old.”

  “Not according to Archbishop James Ussher. He calculated the age of the Earth based on the linage from Adam to Jesus Christ. Then add on the 2,000 years since Christ and you get 6,000 years.”

  “If that’s so, when did this so called flood occur?”

  “4,400 years ago,” Yapchanyk replied. “So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.”

  “I’ll give you credit for one thing, you really know your bible verses,” Dr. Mueller replied. “But that doesn’t explain dinosaurs on the ark, if there was an ark. Dinosaurs died out seventy million years ago.”

  “Dinosaurs have always lived with people, they called them dragons, and they lived in the Garden of Eden along with the other animals and Adam and Eve,” Yapchanyk explained. He was talking like a teacher relaying information to an elementary student. “Job 40:15- Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.”

  “I think you’re taking quite a liberty with your use of the term “behemoth,’ that could mean any large animal, an elephant, a rhino, who knows?” Dr. Mueller argued.

  “But dinosaurs have been observed in recent times. There is the story of the Mokele Mbembe, seen by Pygmies in the in the Congo River Basin. It is a huge beast, as big as an elephant that dwells in Lake Tele.”

  “Eyewitness accounts are the most unreliable evidence there is. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson said its warped evidence to the Psychologist and the lowest evidence to the Physicist.”

  “Is he one of your profits of science? Mr. Tyson?”

  “Doctor Tyson,” Dr. Mueller replied. “I need more than what someone thought they saw to convince me to change my mind. An asteroid, six miles wide, a lot smaller than 2120 Titus slammed into the Earth 65-70 million years ago and wiped out the dinosaurs. Not a flood. And no, dinosaurs were not on any ark.” Dr. Mueller explained. He was getting angry.

  “You need faith,” Yapchanyk said. He was trying to calm Dr. Mueller in his tone.

  “By faith do you mean lobotomy?” Dr. Mueller asked. He was being sardonic and petulant. “Do you know anything about dinosaurs?”

  “Do you? I thought your degrees were in astrophysics and computer science.”

  “I was working on a degree in psychology but never finished,” Dr. Mueller replied. “But I know enough biology and have read about dinosaurs enough to have a firm grasp on the subject. Have you ever been to a museum that had dinosaur skeletons on display?”

  “Have you ever been to the Ark Encounter in Kentucky?” Yapchanyk asked.

  “You mean that 100 million dollar waste of tax payer’s money? How they managed to get away with that I’ll never know. And no, I’ve never been there.”

  “It’s quite educational.”

  “Do they have displays with dinosaurs on the ark?”

  “Yes, my favorite are the juvenile Tyrannosaurus rexes,” Tom Yapchanyk replied. “They are very life like.”

  “I bet they are, since you claim people see dinosaurs all the time running around in the jungles of Africa. Why not go get some real ones and put them on display. Hell, I’d pay the price of admission to see a real T-Rex.”

  “That would be dangerous, don’t you think?”

  “Fuck, put a zoo next door, you could have your own Jurassic Park.”

  “I can see your becoming testy doctor. I don’t want to get into a debate with you.”

  “Then don’t tell me to have faith. Faith is for the lazy. I’m not lazy, I have two doctoral degrees. How many do you have?”

  Yapchanyk replied, “I have a B.A. in biblical and theological studies from The King’s University at Dallas.

  “I bet they have a great program on paleontology,” Dr. Mueller said. He was growing tired of the debate and wanted to get on with reading about the stars.

  “Then you tell me something I don’t know, tell me about dinosaurs.”

  Dr. Mueller was surprised by Yapchanyk’s challenge and his interest perked up. He sat up in his chair with new energy to debate this religious nut bag. “Sure, what do you want to know?”

  “Explain to me how dinosaurs came into existence.” Yapchanyk asked.

  “I’m not going into Darwinian natural selection. You can read that for yourself.”

  “No, I mean how do you get something from nothing?”

  “Oh, well that’s far more encompassing than how did the dinosaurs come into existence. That’s how life was created.”

  “I suppose,” Yapchanyk replied. “Let’s skip back a bit further. Tell me how any of this came into existence,” Yapchanyk asked raising his hands as he spoke.

  “Wow, now you’re getting into quantum physics. My expertise is in the physics of the very large---but I think I can answer your question.”

  “And please don’t give me the ‘Big Bang,” theory of creation. That is too simple,” Yapchanyk said.

  “Fine, I’ll go with my good old standby. I contend that matter has always existed. There was no need for creation or a creator. Can’t make what’s already there,” Dr. Mueller replied.

  “How do you know? You weren’t there.”

  “How do you know dinosaurs were on the ark? You weren’t there either,” Dr. Mueller smugly replied.

  Yapchanyk leaned back in his chair chewing on his next reply. He looked around the room and down at the bible in his hands. “It’s all here, in scripture,” Yapchanyk replied.

  “The bible is not a text book,” Dr. Mueller said. “It’s definitely not a science text book. Probably not even a great historical text. At best it’s one of the best works of fiction ever written.”

  “I’d die for my faith,” Yapchanyk said flat, almost sadly.

  Dr. Mueller was taken aback by Yapchanyk’s comment. “Are you sure? If it came down to it, would you give up your life in exchange for your phony beliefs?”

  “Phony?” Yapchanyk asked. “Why must you try so hard to mock me?”

  Dr. Mueller shifted in his seat and reached under his desk. He pulled out the pistol he stole from the pod that Diller used to shoot himself.

  “Where did you get that?” Yapchanyk asked.

  “I took it from the drone. I didn’t think Diller needed it anymore.”

  “Why did you lie?”

  “Because I figured Humphry would take it from me,” Dr. Mueller replied.

  Yapchanyk looked at the pistol and noticed there was dry blood on the barrel. “You missed some of the blood.”

  “Yeah, I guess
I did,” Dr. Mueller replied as he pointed the gun at Yapchanyk.

  “What are you planning to do with it? Test my faith?”

  “No, I figure this ship can be ran with two, maybe three crew at most and that work bot. Right now we have five and you seem to be the most worthless crew member on the ship. Earth is probably going to be destroyed before the year is out and on a personal level, I find you very annoying and spend way too much of my time avoiding conversations like this. I don’t have a company to report to, and I value my privacy.”

  Yapchanyk looked into the barrel of the gun. He then looked up to Dr. Mueller with his flat stare and rubbed his tongue over his front teeth. He didn’t plan to die today, but he was willing to take whatever God intended for him. If today was his day to meet the Lord, then so be it. “Before you kill me, can I pray for you?” Yapchanyk asked.

  Dr. Mueller paused--and nodded his head.

  “I pray the Lord will forgive you for the sin you are about to commit. I pray for your soul, that it won’t be cast into the bowels of hell and that the Lord will show mercy. In the name of the father…”

  The shot rang out and Yapchanyk fell to the floor in a heap. A trickle of blood drained from his forehead and he was dead.

  “There were no dinosaurs on the ark, you dumbass,” Dr. Mueller said. He went back to reading about Alpha Centauri A and B.

  Chapter 9

  Airlock

  Commander Humphry heard the sound of the airlock alarm screaming across the room. It was worse than the fire alarm buzzers she remembered from school and for good reason. If the airlock were compromised, the crew could be dead in minutes. She got up and looked at the control panel in her room and tried to see what was wrong by looking at the camera view of the inside of the airlock. She couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary from the angle of the camera on her screen. She punched a button and a different view popped up, nothing.

  “Lange, what’s going on?” Humphry yelled into her com link over the blistering noise.

  “There’s been a break into the airlock,” Lange yelled over the deafening sound.

  “Go to the airlock, I’ll meet you there,” Humphry replied looking for the silence command. She pounded on the keyboard until she found the prompt to turn off the buzzer and clicked it. The sound stopped but the yellow and red lights in her room and in the hall continued to flash over and over.

  “Dr. Mueller, where are you?” Humphry called into her com link as she ran out of her room into the hall.

  “I’m in the science lab,” Dr. Mueller replied.

  “Meet us at the airlock, ASAP!” Humphrey yelled.

  Lange was the first crew to arrive at the airlock. Lights flashed and spun all around her but she didn’t hear any indication that air was escaping from Plios 3. Humphry arrived next followed by Dr. Mueller who wasn’t exerting himself much at all. From his demeanor, the others concluded he didn’t seem concerned.

  “Looks to me like a false alarm,” Lange said. “I can’t hear anything or feel anything. There is no pressure alarm going off.”

  Humphry stepped over to the kiosk and typed in her command prompt and password. She then proceeded to check for atmospheric changes on the ship. She saw none. “Then what would set off the alarm?” Humphry asked.

  “Unauthorized access to the airlock---that would set it off,” Lange replied.

  “How can anyone gain access without authorization?”

  “Someone who’s an expert with computers,” Lange replied. She looked at Dr. Mueller and back at the kiosk trying not to catch eye contact with Dr. Mueller.

  “Did you do this Dr. Mueller?” Humphry asked. She was livid.

  “The door won’t open unless there is a ship docked on the other side, it’s a safety precaution,” Dr. Mueller replied.

  “There is no indication the door has been opened,” Lange said. Then she saw something she didn’t notice before. The image inside the airlock on the kiosk had what looked like part of an arm at the bottom right. Maybe part of an elbow but that was it. There was something inside the airlock that didn’t belong there. “Look at the monitor, the bottom right,” Lange said pointing at the screen.

  Humphry tapped on the kiosk screen and the camera moved to the right. She tapped again and it moved down revealing the body of Chief Religious Officer Tom Yapchanyk lying crumpled on the ground. “How did he get in there?” Lange asked.

  “I think we all know the answer to that,” Humphry replied. She gave Dr. Mueller and evil glare as she said it. “He’s the only one here that could figure out how to get the door open.”

  Lange looked at Dr. Mueller looking for confirmation. He gave her none.

  “There’s nothing to worry about, the outside door won’t open without a transport vehicle docked and connected to this ship. There are pins that have to fit in the ring to allow the doors open. It’s a safety measure so a computer failure wouldn’t allow all the air in Plios 3 vent into space by accident. And as far as I know, there isn’t a ship docked.”

  Humphry snapped, “I’m not worried about the airlock, I want to know why you put him in there? Is he dead?”

  Feeling cornered, Dr. Mueller stepped back and shook his head slow. He put Yapchanyk in the airlock to keep him from stinking up the ship, not to dispose of him. Although that would have been a bonus. “Why don’t you go in there and find out for yourself,” Dr. Mueller said pejoratively.

  Humphry was now feeling like Dr. Mueller was on the edge. Like an animal trapped in a cage ready to attack. “Why don’t you doctor?” Humphry asked.

  “I put him in there, I already know he’s dead,” Dr. Mueller replied. He was cold, morose, and waiting for someone to push him over the edge.

  “Why?” Lange asked. “What did he do to you?”

  Dr. Mueller kept his eyes glued to Humphry’s stare waiting for her to make an aggressive move. She stood still, trying not to provoke the man who was obviously unstable and probably the killer of two of her crew. “Diller,” Humphry said. It was an epiphany. “You said he didn’t have a gun, you lied to me!”

  No reply, then Dr. Mueller reached behind his back and pulled out the pistol he stole from Diller and used on Yapchanyk. “I’ll give you a choice I didn’t give that religious heretic. You can get in the airlock with him, or I shoot you where you stand and put you in there.”

  “I’d suffocate.”

  “No, there’s ventilation. You might starve or die of dehydration, but you wouldn’t suffocate.”

  Humphry thought for a second. She knew there were emergency escape measures inside the airlock she could use to open the door. She could wait out Dr. Mueller and leave the airlock when she wanted. This was such an obvious way to get out she was surprised Dr. Mueller didn’t think of it. Or did he? “Fine, I’ll get inside,” Humphry said. She didn’t want to let on that she had one on the doctor.

  Using a handheld tablet, Dr. Mueller unlocked the airlock door. It slid open with a humming sound and locked into place with a clank when the entrance was clear. “Get in,” Dr. Mueller said.

  “What about her?” Humphry asked. She didn’t look at Lange but Dr. Mueller knew who she was talking about.

  “No, just you.”

  Humphry took another glance at the pistol and stepped away from the kiosk and into the airlock. Yapchanyk was too fresh to smell. Although he had begun to decay, it would be a day or so before his odor was noticeable.

  With a press of the touch screen, the airlock doors slowly inched inward. They hummed and buzzed until they closed with a metallic snap. A green light appeared next to the door and Dr. Mueller knew the airlock was secure. He looked over at Lange and said, “Go over to the kiosk and look at the screen.”

  Lange was now afraid of Dr. Mueller---and for good reason---so she did as he said as carefully as she could. She didn’t want to do anything to upset him. She took the few steps towards the kiosk and stopped looking up at the screen. From her vantage point, she could see the back panel and part of the left side of t
he airlock. In the center stood Humphry who appeared to be looking around the room for something she lost. “What am I supposed to be looking at?” Lange asked.

  Dr. Mueller tapped his tablet again and the far airlock door popped open sucking Humphry and Yapchanyk into space. This time with no sound.

  Lange’s eyes bugged out wide and she took a gasping breath. “You said the door wouldn’t open!”

  “I lied.”

  Chapter 10

  Three days later

  Isolation is where Dr. Mueller felt most content. He would spend long hours in his room hold up away from Lange and Hart and then binge on science programming on the television in the lounge area. Hart and Lange spent most of their time in the science module away from Dr. Mueller afraid of what he might do next.

  Deeply involved in a program about the plague, Dr. Mueller didn’t notice when Hart stepped into the lounge. She stood in front of the screen and brought him out of his television induced trance. “You have a message,” Hart said.

  Dr. Mueller turned down the program and replied, “From who?”

  “Earth,” Hart replied. As she turned to leave she added, “Check your email. I’m tired of the alerts flashing all the time.”

  Alerts didn’t bother Dr. Mueller, he ignored them. But he hadn’t checked his messages in days and was now curious what was new. He picked up his tablet and swiped his screen bringing up his message box. He found three unread messages, two from the manager of NASA and one from what looked like the President. The messages from NASA were dated two days ago and the one from the President today at 1300--- four hours ago. The messages from NASA were titled, ‘Routine maintenance check,’ and ‘Urgent, for your eyes only.’ The doctor clicked on the one marked ‘Urgent’ and a short message popped up on the screen. It read, ‘We have seen the video of your interactions with Tom Yapchanyk and Commander Kate Humphry. We are deeply concerned for the safety of the remaining crew. We have yet to locate Maintenance Specialist/Security officer Jim Diller but are aware a drone has been launched from Plios 3 and has not returned. Please make contact with NASA control as soon as possible.’ The message was signed Julia Thompson, NASA mission control.