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lil-tachyon · 7 years

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“I won’t go back to that damn moon.”

Jon stared out out the window into a cold blue sky, the edges of which were just starting to show the deep violet tinge of the coming night. A few pale, early stars were just beginning to show. Vague points in some larger lattice. The man in black remained seated behind his desk.

“Right Mr. Inouye. You’ve been through a lot. No one is asking you to go back.” The man paused. Jon slowly turned away from the window to face him. He continued: “Regrettably, however, we do request that you revisit the memories for us. As part of the debriefing process. As I know you are well aware, the episode in which you were involved was highly unusual in nature and the fact that it resulted in the loss of life of two crew members and the premature termination of a mission costing several billion dollars means that we cannot take what happened lightly. Every detail must be accounted for, every fact identified examined and re-examined so that we can have as complete as possible a narrative of the regrettable incident.”

Jon said nothing and stared at the man in black for several moments, examining. The man was smartly dressed in a well-fitted suit; fashionable, but not daring. His desk was a deep umber, exceptionally carved and detailed. On it sat an articulated desk lamp, the sole source of illumination in the room. The whole scene was oddly elegant, almost intimate. It was at odds with the man’s formal speech.

After an uncomfortable period of silence, Jon spoke:

“I will tell you what happened. I’ve given the full account several times before, as I’m sure you’re well aware, and I will give it one more time, but this is the last. After this I’m done. I’m leaving the administration and I’m going to do my best to forget that any of this ever happened. Okay?”

The man in block nodded. “Understood, Mr. Inouye.”

Jon turned back toward the window, looked again at the cold, distant points of light piercing the steadily-darkening sky. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began.

* * *

When the day of the launch came, I had been on Mars for over twenty-six thousand hours. Roughly three Earth years or, equivalently, a little more than one and a half Martian years. And that doesn’t even include the six month trip to reach the red planet in the first place. Irrespective of the how you want to measure and quantify it, it had been a long time. When I’d left Earth I had been in my mid-twenties; my 30th birthday would take place some time during the return trip.

For weeks we had done nothing but prepare for the launch. It was that only thing on our minds; it was the grand finale to a historic trip. Our stay on Mars was the longest of any expeditionary team in history. We had done the most to tame those barren, rusty deserts, those cold and arid wastes. We had seeded hydroponics, erected towering sensory arrays, catalogued and itemized minute details of Martian geography and geology. We had wrested a life from that long-lifeless world of stone and ice. Now we were bequeathing that life to the new colony team; but not before one last act. We were going to launch a rocket to Phobos.

Phobos is one of Mars’ two means. While it is the larger of the two, it is still hardly more than an oversized asteroid. With a mean radius of eleven kilometers, it has barely a millionth of the volume of the Earth’s own satellite. It does not have enough mass to smooth itself into a regular sphere; it is an irregular chunk of rock that hangs in perpetual, ponderous freefall above Mars. Glimpsed from the surface, it is an unremarkable pale speck.

Why were we going to Phobos? One might as well ask why we went to Mars in the first place, or ask why Columbus crossed the Atlantic. We were going because that has been humankind’s driving imperative for all of history: to go. To prove that it could be done.

The plan was as follows: The launch would take place from our base in the Terra Meridiani on the evening of the last day of our occupation of Mars. The rocket would carry us into tentative orbit about Phobos and from there we would launch ourselves in an independent lander to the surface. The lander would serve as our base for about seventy-two hours before returning to the rocket which would bring us to an unmanned space station in orbit about Mars. At the station we would meet the relief crew, assist them in launching down to the planetside base, and then begin our own long voyage back to Earth.

It was a simple enough plan in theory. The tedious and complex calculations required to accurately translate ourselves from orbit to orbit about our targets had already been processed and double-checked by our shipboard AI, then triple-checked by each member of the crew. The plan was safe, the uncertainty negligible. The AI would perform virtually all of the piloting work automatically. We, the human crew, would, for all intents and purposes, be tourists, gathering data and samples on Phobos. We were going to pick up rocks and look pretty for publicity photos on what was essentially a brief vacation for us between our planetside tenure on Mars and the long, long haul home.

* * *

All of us woke early on the day of the launch. Final checks were necessary to ensure the proper functioning of all systems, failsafes, and backups. All morning long we shuffled back and forth through the cramped inter-module hallways. LED strip-lights shone brightly on the densely-packed pipes, wires, monitors, and access panels that lined every available surface. When the interior systems were confirmed in working order we proceeded outdoors, checking solar panel arrays and sensory antennae, clearing the omnipresent Martian dust from sensitive areas, and testing the two electric rovers that were our only means of transportation across the endless ochre deserts.

We finished by early afternoon and met in the central habitation module, one of the larger spaces in the complex, that contained our kitchen and dining area. There we had a late lunch, our last on the red planet and unquestionably the best of our entire stay. All the treats we had been saving for years were brought out and shared. The main course consisted of the synth-meat and hydroponically-grown salad we had grown used to, but was vastly enhanced by the genuine spices and dressings Anna had the forethought to pack so long ago. And for dessert we had real chocolate (courtesy of Kate) that we washed down with real coffee (some of Anna’s and some of mine). The food would likely have been scorned by anyone with even the slightest epicurean bent, but to homesick astronauts like us, it was a feast.

I remember that last meal vividly, the four of us hunched over the table in our tiny artificial habitat millions of kilometers from home. I remember Alexei, habitually reticent (partly by nature and partly, I suspect, due to embarrassment at his heavy Russian accent when conversing with us in English) gesticulating wildly to illustrate some joke. I remember Anna’s head thrown back in laughter that made her short brown hair bob. I remember Kate settled contentedly in her chair, sipping coffee and occasionally injecting good-natured sarcasm into the conversation with a wry grin. And I remember myself, Jon Inouye, bright-eyed and excited, sharing the only livable space in a million kilometer radius with the only other humans in a million kilometer radius. These were my friends. This was the last meal we would ever share together.

* * *

We could have sat like that for hours, content in each other’s company, but the local AI network gently reminded us of the impending launch over the colony intercom system. We reluctantly cleaned up our leftovers and gathered our remaining personal belongings. The various human touches that had accrued over the years of our occupation had now all but disappeared, leaving the habitation module like a hotel room just made ready for checkout.

There was no more time, however, to wax sentimental about our stay. Hurriedly, we donned our EVA suits and loaded ourselves and our luggage into one of the rovers. The spindly, gleaming rocket was the tallest structure for several klicks around and driving towards it on the only paved road on Mars was a surreal echo of driving on a highway back on Earth..

Within minutes of our arrival, we were sealed with all our personal effects in the rocket, cramped in the tight space between the innumerable instrument panels and data displays protruding from every centimeter of bulkhead. In the viewports visible from our acceleration seats we could see the rover already returning down the service road and we radioed the base-bound AI to begin the launch sequence.

Spidery support structures pulled away from us, collapsing and retracting, and in spite of the work spent on the ship’s myriad vibrational control systems, we could feel the start-up rumble of the engines as a subsonic humming in the ship and in our bones. Resources and conditions on Mars were limited, obviously, and we were not expecting the smoothest ride from a rocket that had been, in a large part, fabricated by us on the Martian surface. So although all indicators registered conditions well within established safety factors, I could feel twinges of nervousness in my and stomach and lightness in my head. Logically, I knew that all systems were equipped with so many failsafes and redundancies as to make it nearly possible for anything worse to happen than a preemptive shutdown of the launch, but it had been three years since I’d last traveled in anything other than our rovers and my mind wasn’t ready to trust our improbable rocket, standing alone in the oxide desert, impossibly far from home and a proper air/space control network.

Kate must have sensed my anxiety, because she leaned towards me and flashed one of her rare, full smiles. “Chill out, bud. Just a couple minutes of acceleration off of this rock and on to another and then before you know it we’ll be on an all-expenses-paid cruise home. You’re an astronaut for Christ’s sake. You’ve done this a million times before.”

Kate’s flippancy put me at ease and I was about to respond when a klaxon blared and the AI’s synthesized voice came on loud over the PA:

“All systems optimal. Launch initiated. Liftoff in ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one.”

The last count was violently punctuated by the shock and rumble of our rockets powering on, followed immediately by the sudden weight of high acceleration. The ship was screaming upwards, moving faster and faster with each passing second as its thrusters expelled an expanding cloud of incandescent propellant. We were tiny passengers in a metal cylinder launched upward against gravity and reason by the impulses of barely-controlled explosions. I smiled widely in nervous excitement as I remembered what it was like to be an astronaut.

The trip was over fairly quick and was uneventful after the initial shock of the launch. Phobos is in close orbit about Mars and we had hardly reached maximum velocity before we began to decelerate as we approached the rapidly growing chunk of floating sediment suspended in the void before us. In a few minutes the ship alerted us that we were in docking orbit about the tiny moon and we began preparations for landing. A few minutes more, and the four of us were descending, packed even tighter into the lander than we’d been on the ship. Before long, a gentle thud alerted us that our vehicle had made contact with the surface. All of us exchanged excited glances with each other. We were about to become the first people in human history to set foot on the Martian satellite.

We wasted no time in donning our full regalia of pressure suits, EVA equipment, and “jet packs”- rudimentary flight apparati that allowed us to navigate in Phobos’ almost negligible gravity by propelling ourselves with pressurized gas jets.

We had decided early on in planning the trip that we would go out in three-person shifts with one person left behind to monitor the condition of the lander and the larger rocket orbiting geosynchronously overhead in the event that anything went wrong and immediate action was needed. It was decided that Alexei take the first shift aboard the lander while Kate, Anna, and I performed the first survey of the Phobian surface. Alexei wished us luck as, one by one, we stepped in and then out of the small air lock. I flashed him a nervous grin as I stepped through the tiny door. The airlock cycled and depressurized and then I was stepping out.

I winced as my eyes were assaulted by near-blinding sunlight for a moment before my suit visor automatically polarized. The barren moonscape before was rendered boldly in the harsh chiaroscuro of airless space. Hard, black shadows contrasted sharply with violent reflected sunlight, with no atmosphere to provide a gradient between the two. The overall impression was that of a pen and ink landscape. The effect continued out to the unsettlingly close, noticeably curved horizon, where undulating ridges of meteor-pocked stone marked a jagged demarcation between the bright gray rock and the total blackness of outer space. Absent the behavior of light and perspective to which we were accustomed, our first planetside sight of Phobos left us speechless and dizzy, and our first steps were those of clumsy somnambulists. It took us several moments to fully regain our faculties, and even then, floating through that distorted, rocky landscape felt like drifting through some obscure dream.

Nevertheless, we set to our work in earnest, beginning with the insertion of a small, commemorative bronze plaque into the surface a few meters from our lander. The plaque contained our names, a brief description of our mission, and a message of peace from the people of Earth to anyone that happened upon it. After the plaque was properly installed, we began work on our individual tasks, fanning out to bore into the crust, take samples, snap photos, and record video. There were some specific geographical features we were supposed to cover- several craters and other large formations, but a lot of where we went and what we did was at our own discretion. We were explorers in the old sense of the word.

Our first shift went smoothly enough. We met several of our nominal mission targets and began to develop a feeling for the lay of the land about our base camp. After a few hours we had already accrued several gigabytes of data and kilos of physical samples. We decided to return to the lander to unburden ourselves of our collected specimens and to relieve Alexei of his duties and allow him a chance to explore the moon. Kate took his place.

Thus, after a brief interlude, our second shift begin. Our initial forays had take us mostly north and east of the lander. Now we went south and west, I going slowly with Alexei while he accustomed himself to moving with the jetpack and Anna moved ahead.

We were about half an hour out when Alexei and I sighted the cave entrance. It was a gaping, vaguely circular hole, a little wider than a man, that shot straight down into complete subterranean blackness. It as at the bottom of a small crater, and the surrounding ridge would have completely hidden it from view had we not happened to traverse across that exact impact site. Alexei and I paused, intrigued, at the top of the chute and shined the beams of our flashlights down it. They reflected distantly off of something dull and metallic far below but revealed nothing else. We conferred briefly with each other, then radioed both Kate and Anna to tell them we had decided to drop down the shaft and report back whatever we found at the bottom.

Quickly, we rigged an anchor for our all-purpose, carbon fiber tethers at the lip of the shaft, as a precaution against a failure of our jet packs. Then I helped Alexei clip himself to the tether and watched as he descended, the lights of his helmet bouncing off the stone walls and back again off of his helmet visor. All four of us were tuned into the general comm channel to listen to Alexei’s commentary as he descended.

“It is cramped in here. I just barely fit…

“The sides are becoming more smooth now. Like walls. It is unnatural-looking…

“Christ this is deep. Forty meters now…

“It is opening up now. Getting wider…

“Jesus! It opens up into a cave! It is enormous! Dear God.. what is this?”

At this exclamation the comm channel became frantic with overlapping voices:

“Alexei, are you okay? What do you see? What is it?”

“You had all better come down here for yourselves,” he responded. “It is unbelievable.”

I was the first down. Clipping myself to the tether, I began my descent. The chute walls were rough and irregular at the top, but they soon became smooth and well-defined. Unnaturally so. Before long, I was climbing and sliding down a geometrically-perfect square tunnel with walls as smooth as glass, made, at first, of the same grey stone that composed the rest of the moon, but soon transitioning in regular, rectangular chunks into some unidentifiable violet, glassy material, so dark as to be almost black. I had descended quite far and the entrance had receded to a miniscule white dot overhead when the tunnel walls began suddenly to widen outwards, then disappear completely.

The chamber I dropped into was enormous, a vast cavern that extended so far out that my helmet lights did little to illuminate the distant walls. Far below me I could see the bright glow and the countless multiplied reflections of Alexei’s helmet lights against the oddly regular facets of the cavern. Every visible surface seemed to be made of thousands of perfect cubes and prisms, like some enormous bismuth crystal, but everywhere composed of the same unidentifiable black-violet substance. And in the center of it all, directly below me and clearly illuminated by Alexei’s lights, was a pillar, an enormous dark obelisk that jutted up from the ground like a monument to some elder god.

Letting go of the tether, I floated down to the cavern floor, careful to avoid the obelisk out of an awe-inspired reverence and no small amount of nervous unease. The great, black bulk, whose geometrically-hieroglyphed sides slid slickly before me, should not be. It was an anomaly that had no place on this dead moon. It had no reason or right to exist in this ancient, arid rock that had drifted through space virtually undisturbed for countless millions of years. Yet, in spite of all arguments to the contrary, it continued to impose its presence, looming darkly and heavily, and as I reached the cave floor and stared back up I was even further shaken by the obscene grandeur of the thing.

“Jesus Alexei, what the hell is this?” I asked into the suit’s mic after some moments of dumbfounded silence.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” he replied. “The closest natural analogues I have ever seen to this formation have either been volcanic in origin or else small-scale crystalline structures. This place having been geologically dead for eons rules out the former, and the sheer scale of whatever this is seems to preclude the latter. And have you taken a close look at the formations? The geometry, the angles… they are perfect at the smallest scale. They are like nothing I have ever seen in nature…”

By this time, Kate and Anna were both frantically querying us on the comm band, trying to make sense of our confusing transmissions. Anna was already on her way over but we took photographs of the cave and the great central bulk anyway to send to both of them. We could hear sharp intakes of breath from both women- confirmation that they had received the pictures.

“I’m gonna relay the photos back to mission control; we’ll have a response in about half an hour,” said Kate from aboard the lander. “I have a feeling our mission may be extended.” I grunted assent but remained otherwise silent, still too preoccupied with the impossible obelisk to do anything other than drift about it, silently observing and theorizing. Anna arrived shortly and was soon as dumbstruck as Alexei and I. The four of us continued fruitless speculation until commands from mission control arrived several minutes later. The tests we were to run and the data we were to gather on the anomalous formation were outlined. We were to give frequent updates to mission control at regular intervals until the relief crew arrived. Instead of heading first to the red planet, they would take over our work on Phobos for as long as possible until they needed to descend to Mars for supplies from the larger base. Our team would still be making our return journey as scheduled, but until then we were to abandon all other work except that relating to the new discovery.

We accepted the commands eagerly and set about to cataloguing, itemizing, and attempting to somehow make sense of the dark, unknowable bulk that hung over us in our work. Equipment was hastily lowered into the cave from above and we drifted and bounded frantically up, down, and across the cave, our helmet lamps and weightless movements lending to us the impression of purposeful fireflies flitting about in the crypt-dark subterranean vault.

After several hours we were not much closer to understanding the nature of the “formation” as we referred to it, as to try to call it anything else led to unhealthy speculation. The mystery seemed only to deepen with observation and experimentation. X-ray fluorescence revealed that the dark, semi-transparent material was a silicate and radioactive dating put the age of the formation at about ten million years. A vibration analysis indicated a nonhomogeneous interior that was likely hollow.

Essentially, all that our work served to prove was that we were looking at a mystery predating humanity as a species that had not been disturbed, in all likelihood, for several million years. Beyond that, our knowledge ended.

We were baffled. As hard as we tried to reign them in with trained skepticism, our brains speculated endlessly. Intermittent transmissions from Earth indicated that mission control was just as excited and clueless as we were. The nervous tension of standing on the brink of discovery was palpable. Eventually, though, we had to stop. None of us had rested since we’d left Mars, enlivened as we were by the adrenaline of discovery, but it had been well over an Earth-day since we had slept and the fatigue of constant activity was beginning to take a toll. We decided, therefore, to shut down our equipment and return to the lander for some much needed rest.

We were lucky that our chosen sleep period happened to coincide with the onset of Phobian night. All of us slept soundly in the darkness of deep space, and only once did anything disturb my rest. Briefly, I was awakened by a low static hum coming from the comm panel speakers, accompanied by the erratic flickering of several small instrument lights. This lasted for less than a minute before the cabin module returned to perfect stillness. I promptly fell back asleep, too tired to wonder or turn over the occurrence in my head. I do not know if anyone else’s sleep was troubled by the anomalous instrument behavior. I never got the chance to ask them.

* * *

We woke in the morning refreshed and eager as ever to return to work. Thirty minutes after a hasty breakfast of tasteless synth-food Alexei, Kate, and I were suited-up and outside. It was Anna’s turn to stay in the lander. With all of us pretty well-accustomed by now to moving about in Phobos’ negligible gravity and with the site of the cave entrance now familiar, we were able to reach the chamber in twenty minutes. At the entrance, we lowered ourselves down to the chamber floor where we had left our equipment. Nothing had been touched and we were able to pick up our work from precisely where we had left off the previous day.

It was several hours before any of us noticed that something had changed in the night. We spent most of the morning scuttling about the base of the monolith like ants, and it was not until one of my experiments took me to the top of the great black-violet bulk that I saw a change in the structure. At its very top, almost invisible in the deep gloom of the cave, was the smallest opening, hard and rectangular; a square of sharper darkness in the already dark obelisk. Shining my suit lights on it revealed it to be fairly small, no wider than my head. It’s depth was indeterminable. Even under direct light, the shaft fell away into distant, impenetrable darkness. An unaccountable chill rippled through my body as I gaze on it.

I called Alexei and Kate and both of them were standing beside me at the apex of the bulk within a minute. We stared. “This isn’t something we could’ve missed yesterday, is it?” I wondered aloud, feeling at once stupid and nervous.

“Not a chance. We scoured this thing for hours yesterday. There’s no way we would’ve missed a hole like this,” Kate quickly replied.

Alexei was staring intently at his HUD. “She’s right. We have pictures of the top from yesterday. No hole.”

We were silent again for a moment, contemplating. Then Kate spoke first. “I’m going back to the lander. I know there’s equipment back there to rig a probe for us to send down and hopefully shed some light on what’s going on here. Do either of you need anything while I’m out?”

Neither of us did, so Kate floated hastily away and out of sight, blocking for a minute the slim shaft of light that tentatively fell through the chamber ceiling as she made her way to the surface. Alexei and I returned to work. I cannot speak for him, but I felt shaken and unfocused, unable to get much done. My mind incessantly wandered back to the oppressive bulk looming above me, absorbing all light from the room and leaving behind a residue of slick, opaque shadow. It was maddening. The thing dwarfed us with its size, mocked us with its and age and its frank disregard of our limited understanding. I was sweating, I realized. There was no reason to be so on on-edge. I forced myself to take a deep breath and resume my work.

In about half an hour, Kate radioed us that she had picked up the probe materials and was on her way back. Alexei and I both responded a brief acknowledgement before returning to silence. And again the anxiety returned. I consciously forced myself to concentrate, forced myself to look down before me at the glowing LED data readout and not to look behind me at the obscene, ageless mystery.

Alexei, too, must have been intent on his work, because quite some time had passed without either of us noticing when Anna radioed us to ask if Kate had made it back. Both of us looked up suddenly at this, shaken out of our respective preoccupations. The time readout on my HUD showed that just over an hour and a half had passed since Kate radioed that she was on her way back. It shouldn’t have taken even half that long for her to return.

“She’s not here,” I radioed back. “Alexei and I got distracted and didn’t notice. And I’m assuming you haven’t heard anything from her.”

“No. I’ve been attempting to radio her for the past five minutes. Nothing”

“Shit.” I paused to think. Then, “Can you get a location from the beacon in her suit?”

“I tried that that. I can’t get any confirmation when I try to ping it.”

I forced myself to take a deep breath. “What was your last visual of her? Did anything look off?”

“The last I saw of her, she was heading back to the cave. She looked fine. She was gliding with her bundles of supplies with no apparent difficulty.”

I was silent then. Turning, I looked at Alexei and he looked back at me. “I do not know what could have happened to her,” he enunciated gravely, “but I think that we can only assume the worst. Something happened that stopped her from coming back. She is unreachable and we cannot even get a signal from her beacon which means that all of her suit systems, including life support, have failed. In all likelihood she is dead. I don’t know happened or why, but the best we can hope for is to find her body and her suit and try to determine what went wrong.”

We stared at each other in silence a moment more. Kate was our friend, our partner. A valuable member of our team. The four of us had gone years seeing each other and no one else every single day. In spite of Alexei’s logic, which I could not refute, I could not process the idea of Kate being dead, permanently absent from our lives. And I don’t think Alexei really could, either. But there was no denying the sense in what he said.

“Okay,” I assented. “Let’s pack up everything here for now and look for her. We’ll head back along the straightest course from here to the lander and see if we can find any trace of her on the way. If not, we’ll meet back at the lander to rest and recharge before making another sweep. Anna, we’ll check in with you every five minutes so that all of us know where we are and what’s going on. I have no idea what could have happened to Kate, but I think it’s important that we proceed with maximum caution until we know what went wrong. Sound good? Anything I’m not thinking of?”

“No.”

“Sounds good, Jon.”

“Okay then,” I said. “Let’s get ready to move out. Alexei?”

“Affirmative”.

Hurriedly, we shut down and tidied up our sensitive equipment and secured all necessary covers and safeguards. When we were both finished, we propelled ourselves up to the chamber exit together. As we passed into the shaft I took one last downard look at the dark obelisk, barely visible in the meager reflected lights from our suits. In the darkness it looked like an evil finger, reaching out for us from lost subterranean depths. I felt nauseous and quickly turned away.

We emerged momentarily into the crater at the surface, now distorted by the long, jagged evening shadows of the airless world. Alexei led the way out along the path while I followed close behind. We went as slowly and as carefully as we could, a sometimes awkward task in the weak gravity, careful not to miss any of the sporadic footprints left behind at irregular intervals as a consequence of our jumping, gliding method of locomotion on the moon. Any one of them could have been Kate’s.

It soon became apparent, however, that we needn’t have worried about being so methodical. We found Kate shortly, her body sprawled in the middle of the path. Her suit had been damaged and punctured in several places, most noticeably at her face plate. The dust around her had been strewn and kicked about as if, in a frenzy, Kate had set upon crafting some perverted mockery of a snow-angel in the granular planetary sand. Now she was still, her face grotesquely deformed by the boiling of her blood in the harsh vacuum. Her eyes bulged, sightless, outward. She was dead beyond any doubt.

My jaw went slack as I stared with mingled horror, nausea, and the sharp pains of loss. Alexei couldn’t look. Over the comm we could hear Anna crying. Eventually I had to turn away; Kate’s disfigured carcass was too much to look at. I was panting heavily and had broken out in a cold sweat.

“Dear God, what happened to her?”, I asked. “Her suit’s perforated. This couldn’t possibly have been some hardware malfunction. This looks like she was attacked.”

Alexei’s voice cracked before he was able to speak. Then he said, chokingly, “I cannot imagine what happened, but I don’t like waiting here to figure it out. Let’s get her back to the lander. We cannot leave her like this and I don’t feel right out in the open like this anymore. Everything feels wrong.”

I assented, nervously.. Nothing was making sense and all I could think of was that taunting mystery interred beneath us and the desire to get as far away from it as possible. So, steeling ourselves against the revulsion in our stomachs, we picked up Kate’s body and began, awkwardly, to carry it between us. In our near-weightlessness, it almost certainly would have been easier for one of us to carry her under our arm or slung across our shoulders, but neither of us breached the idea. I don’t think we were mentally prepared to casually heave the lifeless body of our friend like some awkward pack of equipment. So instead, we slowly leapt-glided back to the lander, silent, looking straight ahead so as not to look at what had become of Kate.

Soon the lander was visible in the distance and was coming closer, swelling in size from a small reflective speck on the ponderously curved horizon to the insectoid silhouette that had become familiar to us. We were less than a kilometer away when I heard Alexei yell, a high, piercing sound I had never before heard the man make. He had braked mid-glide and as I turned to look at him Kate’s body was jerked from my grasp while my momentum carried me forward. For a second I careened before regaining control of my movement, and I was accelerating back toward Alexei when I saw what had made him yell and I stopped.

Issuing from every tear, crack, and hole of Kate’s suit and from every orifice of her body was a liquid. It was thick and viscous, and its color was the deep black of interstellar space except for where it caught the harsh light of the airless world and reflected bright speculars. Its movements were those of a possessed ferrofluid, constantly forming and reforming bizarre geometric protuberances like so many metallic pseudopods. In this fashion it was swiftly flowing out of Kate’s body and up Alexei’s arms, covering them in a thick black sheen.

Now Alexei was screaming again, screaming for me, crying for help. Anna was yelling over the comm system, frenzied, trying to piece together what was going on. I was momentarily paralyzed by shock and my body refused to move. I could only watch as the fluid slithered up across Alexei’s face plate. Its surface began to vibrate, shifting and shimmering in bizarre sine waves, and all comm channels devolved into bursts of static, varying in concert with the fluid’s oscillations.

Soon, however, I regained control of my senses and spurred myself to action. Barely thinking, I jetted forward, grabbing Alexei in one powered swoop. The fluid stretched into strands that snapped and burst into suspended spheres like mercury raindrops as we pulled away from Kate’s body. Terrified and confused but determined to bring myself and Alexei safely back to the lander, I heaved him atop my shoulders in a fireman’s carry and launched myself frantically forward.

We were flying now, careening madly over meters and meters of grey dust as I struggled to maintain both my balance and my hold on Alexei. The lander was coming closer now, rapidly swelling in size. I dared one look behind me. The cloud of fluid droplets was drawing closer together, apparently reforming as one spherical mass, hovering ominously above where Kate’s body had fallen back to the surface. Terrified and confused but determined to bring myself and Alexei to safety, I returned my attention forward and decelerated as the lander came to within hopping distance.

The comm static had calmed enough now for understandable, albeit fuzzy, communication. “Anna, get the lander ready! Alexei and I are coming in. Something’s out there, something that was hiding inside Kate’s body. I don’t know what it is but it had a tight hold on Alexei and I only barely wrestled him away. We need to leave now!”

“Start up diagnostics running now,” came her swift reply, “but what the hell is going on? What happened to Alexei? Why isn’t he responding?”

I was at the airlock door now and I put Alexei down. His body was limp and he appeared unconscious. “I don’t know,” I said, “but we need to get him to the ship’s autodoc as soon as possible. If what happened to Kate is any indication, this thing is extremely dangerous.”

“But what is this thing? I wasn’t able to get anything from your suit cams before the interference got bad. What in God’s name are we dealing with?”

The airlock panel slid open noiselessly and I carried Alexei inside. The panel shut behind us and a hissing sound signaled the beginning of chamber pressurization.

“It looked like… I- I don’t know,” I stuttered. “It looked like mercury, almost, but darker. A deep, dark liquid metal that flowed and pulsed and moved in a way that no liquid ever should.”

The final door hissed as it slid aside, revealing the lander interior and Kate, in full EVA gear minus her helmet, waiting anxiously for us to step in. As soon as we were through she helped me pick up Alexei and secure him in one of the lander’s sleeping bags. He was practically weightless in Phobos’ weak gravity, but I appreciated her help nonetheless. When he was settled I turned towards one of the viewports and looked anxiously back where I had come. Everything was still and the achromatic planetary surface looked like a sinister black and white photograph. “How long until launch?” I inquired nervously, my gaze fixated on the horizon.

“About two minutes before diagnostics and trajectory calculations are complete,” she replied. “You better get buckled up.” she was already situated at one of the navigation stations and I was about to follow her lead when we both heard a noise.

Alexei had sat up, bumping his helmet, which we had not bothered to remove, against the bulkhead. Now he was staring at us, his face obscured by his still-tinted faceplate.

“Alexei? Are you alright?” ventured Kate. Alexei said nothing. He continued to stare forward at us, sitting straight up, completely still. I moved to ease him back into a resting posture so that he would be positioned safely for launch. Gently, I put my hand on his shoulder to lay him down. He was motionless, not even turning his head to look at me. I hesitated.

“Alexei?”

He did not react. I decided there wasn’t enough time to worry about his behavior; our primary goal was to get him medical attention as soon as possible. I made to secure him in his bed again. This time, however, my touch provoked a reaction. Immediately as I laid my hands upon him, Alexei jerked about violently to face me, and before I could react he grabbed arms, so tight that through all the layers of my suit I could the pressure of his fingers sharply on my skin. I yelled in shock and pain.

Anna looked up from where she had been making preparations at the navigation terminal and her eyes went wide. “What the hell? Alexei, what are you doing?” she screamed, and vaulted out of her chair toward us.

Alexei wrestled me to the floor now and moved his grasp to my throat. His strength was inhuman- I could do nothing but bat my fists helplessly and struggle to breathe against the encroaching pressure on my windpipe. Anna came up behind and tried to pull Alexei off of me but he batted her aside with a casual, inhuman strength. I was choking now, gasping. I was quickly losing any strength to struggle; there was nothing I could do but look up at the anonymous faceplate that hovered impassively over me. In light-headed confusion I stared upward and noticed the smallest burnt hole in the shoulder of one of Alexei’s suit sleeves. Realization overcame me and I knew then that the thing above me was not Alexei. His mind was long gone, just like Kate’s; replaced by the unfathomable impulses of a crude alien will.

Even as I was beginning to comprehend some small part of what had happened, blackness swam across my vision and my mind began to slip. I was half unconscious when I heard the smash and tinkle of breaking glass and felt the grip on my throat release. I shot up, greedily gulping air. Anna was standing over me holding a large wrench. Alexei was sprawled against the airlock door, bent forward with his face plate cracked and shards of it scattered about him.

“Is that it?” I gasped between desperate breaths.

“I don’t know,” replied Anna, “And I don’t care to find out, either. Let’s get the body out of here. Before it wakes up again.”

I hesitated. This was too much for me. How could I leave two of my best friends out there on that harsh, rocky surface, billions of kilometers from home? How could I leave Alexei when I had just seen him moving, living?

But no. What I had seen animating his body was not life. Cruel puppetry. Nothing good or natural had moved those limbs. I steeled myself and, helping Kate, I moved the body into the airlock. We left it on the ground and the inner door hissed shut. I made for the control pad to open the outer door without first depressurizing the chamber so that the body would be jettisoned out but as I did so I heard a tapping at the airlock door. Anna and I both rushed to the single, small window recessed in the door to see what was happening.

There in the window was Alexei: scared, confused and in pain. He was bleeding from a head wound and the blood streamed down his brow. His mouth moved slowly but there was no sound. His eyes pleaded with us. For one brief moment he was back.

Then the lights in the lander flickered. Static screamed out of the onboard speakers and the black liquid streamed from Alexei’s eyes, mouth, and ears, covering his face and extending tendrils toward the window at us. Crying, I punched the final button on the control pad and with a hiss the chamber was evacuated. The thing was blasted out of the lander.

Anna and I had just enough energy and force of will left within us to navigate back to the ship waiting patiently in orbit. Flickering lights in its control room alerted us to missed calls. Impatient queries from mission control personnel on earth who, separated by light-minutes and having heard only early, confused reports from us, wanted to know what the hell was going on.

We ignored them. Weightless, Anna and I embraced each other, crying and shaking, until sleep overcame us. I dreamt of stellar abysses, incalculably old. Dark presences fluctuated in cosmic depths. I do not know what Anna dreamt.

* * *

“And that’s it. You know the rest. We eventually communicated with mission control who forbid us to speak of what happened to anyone pending a ‘proper investigation.’ We rendezvoused with the relief team and made up a weak cover story about instrument malfunctions. And now, about a year later, I’m here. Back on Earth. Telling you this.”

The man in black regarded Jon in silence. Jon stared through him, into the distance. His body was back on Earth but his mind was elsewhere.

Then the man spoke: “We thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Inouye. I understand from your speech and from the complaints you’ve filed with us that you feel we have not adequately investigated and addressed the situation. I want to reassure you we are doing our very best to determine what really happened to you and your team on Phobos.”

John’s eyes focused again and he responded. “I already told you what really happened. Just now. And I’ve reported it at least a dozen other times. As has Anna. But I’m done now. I can’t do it again. I just want to forget. I won’t go back.”

With that he stood up and left the room. The man in black watched him intently as he went but made no move to stop him. Through the window, the stars twinkled faintly.

#artists on tumblr #writing #phobos #sci fi

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quee--ra · 5 years

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Predator 4 - Arnold Schwarzenegger interested in participating in the new sequel

Schwarzenegger: A portrait for the Governator

It was only a matter of time before these two Styrian Buam ran into each other. That was how it happened in Kitzbühel one summer. Real recognize real, there was an extraordinary friendship between men. Schwarzenegger invited Gabalier to Los Angeles, they trained together in the legendary Gold's Gym in Venice Beach and cruised through Brentwood. Of course, a friendship with an Arnold Schwarzenegger leaves its mark and Gabalier was motivated and inspired to the tips of his hair. Together with McCain, he performed at an event in Columbus, Ohio, a few days before the election. Due to his very successful and turbulent life, he is considered a prime example of living the "American dream". He became one of the most famous personalities the United States and one of the most successful action actors in film history. Before being saved, Lauda was in the flames for 55 seconds, breathing in toxic fumes. His lungs were burned. Nevertheless, Lauda struggled back to life in record time and started racing again after 42 days. In 1997 and 2005, he underwent two kidney transplants. In the morning, Lauda's coffin had been received by Birgit Lauda and his eldest sons Lukas and Mathias at 8:00 a.m. Trends and tips from the areas of fashion & beauty, travel, love and cooking - read the best of Brigitte at the start of the week. He is the Terminator, Mr. Olympia and ex-California Governor. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the guy who misses nothing and makes it all the way to the top. Now he's becoming a hero online too. So much so that he made a song for Arnold on the steel body. But he was amazed when the terminator was so enthusiastic that he wanted to be part of the song! Pump it up is the story of someone who set out to motivate others and exemplifies what is possible in life. For almost an hour, the Hollywood star then gave deep insights into his very personal success story. With a lot of humor, he described numerous anecdotes from his time as a bodybuilder, action star and politician, with what resistance he had to fight and how hard he had to fight again and again for his success. He also owes the latter to US President George Bush () who died on Friday. "He was a mentor and a father figure for me," he thought to the once most powerful man in the world. For example, he appointed Democrat Susan Kennedy as his new chief of staff in 2005. [32] As a former actor, he knew how to present himself skillfully in public; Humor and a sense of family painted a sympathetic picture of him close to the people in the media. His announcement that he wanted to forego his salary as governor also contributed to this. “Terminator” 3 to 5 are considered a bad fever dream in the fan base. That's why director James Cameron, who held the reins in the first two parts, stepped in again.

According to his own information, Schwarzenegger spent three to four hours a day with the make-up artists - even then with an obligatory cigar in hand. The prosthetic arm must of course have the same bullet hole as the make-up on Arnie's arm. To complete the order, please click on the confirmation link that you have just received by email. Arnold Schwarzenegger received an electric off-roader in Kitzbühel.

#schwarzenegger governor reddit

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bulbspoon9-blog · 5 years

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New York Travel Guide: A Taste of Midtown

Planning a trip to New York City? Join me for our family’s picks on places to eat, sleep and visit while in Midtown New York in this New York Travel Guide. I am excited to share some hometown favorites with you AND collaborate with my very own brother, Andre Legaspi, who is a talented NYC-based street and lifestyle photographer. Photos by Andre Legaspi Photography.

Photo by Andre Legaspi Photography.

My New York Travel Guide is long overdue. I was born and raised in New York, and head back regularly to visit family and friends, and of course, for work. I try to keep a finger on the pulse of the city and check out what’s new (and what is still around), so it’s about time I shared some of my must-sees with you. As a New York native who now calls California home, I offer a perspective that comes from someone who loves and misses her hometown and feels like a tourist at the same time.

Let’s start with A Taste of Midtown, shall we? Midtown may not have the cool factor of lower Manhattan, but between you and me, it’s my favorite. The light is brighter, the streets make sense, there’s always a show to catch, and my offices used to be in midtown, so I feel like I know it best.

Stay

My favorite place to stay when visiting as a family of four is the Andaz 5th Avenue. Across the street from the New York Public Library, it’s away from the zoo that is Times Square, but within walking distance to so many locations, particularly Broadway theatres and Grand Central Station. The suites are roomy, with little kitchenettes, and the food and room service is superb.

The London NYC is another gem. This hotel used to be an apartment building, making its all-suite rooms spacious by NYC hotel standards.

Eat & Drink

Have ramen at Ippudo Westside. Don’t forget the pork buns!

The Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station has been serving up oysters and seafood since 1913.

Indian Accent serves up a taste of New Delhi inside the beautiful Le Parker Meridien.

For more casual Indian food, check out Bengal Tiger. This tiny gem used to be a favorite when I was working in the area.

If you won’t be going into Flushing, stop into Joe’s Shanghai for some slurp-worthy soup dumplings. The crab soup dumplings are the best.

Start your day with bagels and lox! If you’re on the west side, head to Best Bagel & Coffee (love their non-dairy schmears!). On the east side, go to Ess-a-Bagel. My husband loves to surprise us by bringing home a dozen when he goes back. They ship, too!

Grab pastrami on rye and a knish at the Carnegie Deli.

Tim Ho Wan is now in Midtown! No need to fly to Hong Kong for dim sum and barbecue pork buns, though you will definitely have to wait.

Serendipity 3 – if decadence is what you’re after, this is your place. Back in the day, my friends and I would stop in just for dessert and order the Outrageous Banana Split — it was HUGE, and this was before Instagrammable desserts were a thing.

Sarabeth’s has been a favorite for brunch for decades!

Magnolia Bakery has grown since they opened their first store in NYC, but if you’re craving something sweet, why not pop in for their famed banana pudding?

Bibble & Sip – craving cream puffs? Stop in for a sweet treat and a coffee, maybe before catching a show?

Check out Eclair Bakery for a taste of Paris in New York!

Danji for delicious Korean! Try the shrimp and scallion pancakes, beef sliders, pork belly sliders, egg over rice, and tofu ginger scallion dressing. Perfect place to grab dinner before watching a show!

Explore The Plaza Food Hall, downstairs in the Plaza Hotel — you can find everything from doughnuts to lobster, and everything in between. You can do a whole food crawl in this spot alone.

Whenever I’m in a rush, I look for a Halal Guys food truck (street food various locations). It’s a great way to get your gyro or falafel fix.

I’m guessing you’re looking for a slice of pizza while in Midtown…so stop in NY Pizza Suprema near Penn Station.

Need your bubble tea fix? Go to ViVi Bubble Tea on 7th, Gong Cha on E44th or Kung Fu Tea in Koreatown.

Looking for vegan food? We love P.S. Kitchen – perfectly located in the Theater District for dinner before a show, the food is absolutely delicious and all profits are donated to charity. Blossom in Chelsea has been a vegan standby, and there’s also a wonderful location on the Upper West Side. For fast vegan food, by CHLOE has several locations throughout Manhattan, including one in Rockefeller Center.

Craving fresh produce? Just around the corner from the United Nations Plaza, the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza Greenmarket is open every Wednesday and is host to farmers from the tri-state area.

Photo by Andre Legaspi Photography.

See & Do

Catch a Broadway show.

The New York Public Library is worth a peek, especially for book lovers.

Bryant Park is one of my favorite spots and is right behind the New York Public Library. If you’re in New York during the summer, stop by Bryant Park for their outdoor movie nights. Winter brings ice skating. I used to eat many picnic lunches here back in the day!

Top of the Rock for the views! And if it’s Christmas, take in the twinkling tree and go for a skate in Rockefeller Center.

Catch a performance at Radio City Music Hall. If it’s the holidays, you can see the Christmas Spectacular with the Radio City Rockettes!

Even if you’re not catching a train, stop into Grand Central Terminal. There are tons of eateries housed in the beautiful terminal.

Explore the exhibits at the Museum of Modern Art.

Go shopping! Flagship stores abound, from the three B’s (Bloomingdales, Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman) to Saks 5th Avenue. Plus, there are The Shops at Columbus Circle if you’re looking for a mall that happens to have high-end restaurants such as Masa and Per Se.

Sneak away from the urban jungle and stroll along the High Line. The High Line stretches down into Chelsea and Lower Manhattan, which is where we’ll pick up the guide again next time!

Photography by my very talented brother, Andre Legaspi. Follow Andre on Instagram and check out his work at andrelegaspi.com.

MORE FAMILY TRAVEL GUIDES

Paris Travel Guide: A Taste of The City of Lights A Taste of London: A Family Travel Guide A Taste of Hong Kong: A Family Travel Guide A Taste Of Cruising the Mexican Riviera: Travel with Princess Cruises A Taste of Deer Valley, Utah: A Family Ski Travel Guide

Source: https://kitchenconfidante.com/new-york-travel-guide-a-taste-of-midtown

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

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jessecaandraymund · 5 years

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Places you must see in Bohol

- Blood compact (sandugo) The Sandugo was a blood compact, performed in the island of Bohol in the Philippines, between the Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna the chieftain of Bohol on March 16, 1565, to seal their friendship as part of the tribal tradition. This is considered as the first treaty of friendship between the Spaniards and Filipinos. "Sandugo" is a Visayan word which means "one blood". The Sandugo is depicted in both the provincial flag and the official seal of the government in Bohol.It also features the image of the blood compact. The top of the seal explains the history behind the Sandugo event that occurred in Bohol, the fleet and the location where the Spaniards anchored and the place where the treaty was conducted which was dated on March 16, 1565. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandugo

- BACLAYON CHURCH La Purisima Concepcion de la Virgen Maria Parish Church (also The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary Parish Church), commonly known as Baclayon Church, is a Roman Catholic Church in the municipality of Baclayon, Bohol, Philippines within the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tagbilaran. Baclayon was founded by the Jesuit priest Juan de Torres and Gabriel Sánchez in 1596, and became the oldest Christian settlement in Bohol. It was elevated as a parish in 1717 and the present coral stone church was completed in 1737. The Augustinian Recollects succeeded the Jesuits in 1768 and heavily renovated the church since then. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Baclayon_Church

- Python sanctuary The Philippines' largest captive reticulated python (Python reticulatus) or baksan in the native language, is found in Bohol. Prony, a female baksan named after its owner Sofronio Salibay, measures 27 feet (8.23 metres) and weighs more than 300 kg according to a Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) estimate If the measurement is indeed true, Prony is longer than Fluffy, current titleholder of Guinness Records 2011's longest captive snake. Fluffy, also a reticulated python, lives in Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Powell, Ohio, USA. When measured in 2009, she was found to be over 24 feet (7.23 metres) long. https://visit-bohol.blogspot.com/2012/03/python-prony.html?m=1

- Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary A non stock, non profit organization for tarsier conservation ,Forest where visitors can see the tarsier, a small native primate, in its natural habitat https://www.tripadvisor.com.ph/Attraction_Review-g3649283-d320849-Reviews-Philippine_Tarsier_and_Wildlife_Sanctuary-Corella_Bohol_Province_Visayas.html

- loboc river cruise Get on board a floating restaurant and enjoy the Loboc River cruise with buffet meal. The cruise and buffet costs P650.00 per person and this includes a short cultural show by the local community. Buses and jeepneys are available at the Tagbilaran City Dao Integrated Bus Terminal. https://lobocriverwatch.com

- Chocolate Hills are a geological formation in the Bohol province of the Philippines. There are at least 1,260 hills but there may be as many as 1,776 hills spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometres. They are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, hence the name. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_Hills

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savetopnow · 7 years

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2018-03-28 10 MOVIE now

MOVIE

Birth. Movies. Death.

SXSW 2018 Review: TAKE YOUR PILLS Shines A Light On An Alarming Problem

Is Denis Villeneuve Still Making a DUNE Movie? Nope! Now He’s Making TWO Of Them

FIRST MATCH Trailer Takes A Girl’s Troubles To The Mat

Wes Anderson And Bill Murray: A Cinematic Rapport

Book Review: S. Craig Zahler’s HUG CHICKENPENNY Is A Touching Gothic Parable

CineVue

Criterion Review: Yi Yi

Film Review: A Wrinkle in Time

Film Review: Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House

Film Review: The Third Murder

Film Review: Pacific Rim: Uprising

Cinema Blend

What May Be Going On With The New Mutants Reshoots

Dwayne Johnson's Jungle Cruise Movie Is Finally Adding More Cast Members

Why Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Really Went To Space In Season 5

New Avengers: Infinity War Video Shows Groot Being Sassy To The Guardians Of The Galaxy

Alex, Inc. Review: Zach Braff's Return To ABC Is Sweet And Silly, But Mostly Boring

Cinema Scope

Cinema Scope 74 Contents

The Work (Jairus McLeary & Gethin Aldous, US)

Global Discoveries on DVD: A Few Peripheral Matters

Canadiana | Hometown Horror: Robin Aubert’s Les affamés

Exploded View: Bruce Conner’s Crossroads

Comicboook.com

This WonderCon Cosplayer Was the Perfect Kylo Ren From 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'

'Avengers: Infinity War': Best Look yet at How Iron Man's New Suit Works

7 of the Best Spanish-Language Horror Movies

Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies Ranked by Box Office Totals

Star Wars: Mark Hamill Regrets 'The Last Jedi' Cutting Luke's Reaction to Han's Death

Film Comment Magazine

The Film Comment Podcast: Easter Hams

Festivals: True/False 2018

Berlin Interview: Lav Diaz

Readings: Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa

Film of the Week: Isle of Dogs

Film Inquiry

Fantasy Science Pt. 2: The Turing Test & EX MACHINA

CALIFORNIA DREAMS: I Don’t Know What I Just Watched & I Don’t Care

SWEET COUNTRY: Magnificent Australian Western Touches On Universal Themes

Dinner With Dames #14, With Kimberley Browning (Recap)

TOMB RAIDER: Stays True To The Games

Film School Rejects

Why Did No One Tell Me Our Pick of the Week Was So Clearly Inspired By Stephen King?

Zak Penn to Bring ‘ROM’ to the Hasbro-verse

The Subconscious Reflections of ‘Columbus’

A Brief History of George Lucas’ ‘Star Wars’ Sequel Trilogy

How Pixar Pays Homage to Classic Cinema

Reddit Movies

Robert Downey Jr. announces the voice cast of Doctor Doolittle: Rami Malek, Marion Cotillard, Tom Holland, Octavia Spencer, John Cena, Kumail Nanjiani, Selena Gomez and more

Honest Trailer- Star Wars Episode 8

First Poster - 'Terminal' | Margot Robbie, Simon Pegg, Mike Myers

Tokyo Drifter (1966) - Seijun Suzuki´s neon-drenched yakuza film

New kaiju inspired RAMPAGE poster released.

Roger Ebert

FX's "The Americans" Keeps with Series' Strengths in Final Season

The C-Section in American Movies

How ABC’s “The Good Doctor” is Changing Television

How to Create Sex Scenes That Women Will Enjoy as Much as Men

Return of “Roseanne” Marked by Notable Highs and Lows

Screen Rant

Roseanne Revival Review: Emphasizing Change Makes The Return Worthwhile

Last Jedi: Watch Carrie Fisher Slap Oscar Isaac Many Times in Gag Reel

20 Crazy Fan Redesigns Of Mario Characters

15 Things You Didn’t Know About Selena Gomez And Justin Bieber’s Relationship

Marvel Comics Announces Infinity Wars Event

Slash Film

Superhero Bits: ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Charity Screening, ‘Injustice 2’ Legendary Edition & More

Daily Podcast: Avengers: Infinity War Writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely [Interview]

‘Ready Player One’ Behind-the-Scenes Featurette Goes Beyond the OASIS

Netflix Renews Nerdy Doc Series ‘The Toys That Made Us’ and Four Other Unscripted Shows

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Gag Reel: Watch Poe Get Slapped, Flubbed Lines, and More

#movie

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bluesman56 · 5 years

Video

flickr

Columbus by Tony Via Flickr: Day 88, Port 28, Country 15; Singapore, Malay Peninsula: CMV World Cruise Returning from The Gardens by the Bay using the modern underground system to get back to the cruise terminal. On aspect of the underground system let us down. The automatic ticket machines do not accept card payment and cash only. Such a pity as we paid for food, entrance tickets and more by card. So I had to withdraw a few dollars for the train. It was at this point that things didn’t go to plan. On arriving back on board I discovered that my mum had norovirus. We were both confined to cabin for the next three days. Mum recovered and is fine. But we missed out on Kuala Lumpa and the Petronas towers, and Kuala Lumpur.

#Nikon5300 #asia #columbus #cruise #dusk #harbor #harbour #malasia #night #port #ship #singapore #sunset #tourist #world cruise #2019 04 03 1821080

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joinleaf · 4 years

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New York Attractions

City in New York State

New York City comprises 5 boroughs sitting where the Hudson River meets the Atlantic Ocean. At its core is Manhattan, a densely populated borough that’s among the world’s major commercial, financial and cultural centers. Its iconic sites include skyscrapers such as the Empire State Building and sprawling Central Park. Broadway theater is staged in neon-lit Times Square.

The Brooklyn Bridge connects Manhattan to the borough of Brooklyn, where varied neighborhoods range from Williamsburg – a hotbed of indie music, art and nightlife – to beachfront Coney Island and its amusement parks. The borough of Queens has Flushing Meadows Corona Park, with its 12-story 1964 World's Fair globe sculpture, the Unisphere. The Bronx, NYC’s northernmost borough, is home to the landmark New York Botanical Garden and renowned Bronx Zoo. The Staten Island Ferry links Manhattan to NYC’s southernmost borough with views of the city skyline and Statue of Liberty.

Source : Google Travel Guide

There are a plethora of dating apps to join when looking for a significant other. There may even be local meetups were one can join a large social organization for the purposes of networking. If you aren’t looking to date or into networking for the sake of networking and want to enjoy a low-key activity with a group a people you’ve found the right place.

Best New York Tourist Attractions :

Statue of Liberty National Monument Central Park Times Square Empire State Building Brooklyn Bridge The High Line The Metropolitan Museum of Art Rockefeller Center The Museum of Modern Art Grand Central Terminal 9/11 Memorial & Museum One World Trade Center 5th Avenue Bryant Park The Plaza Broadway Battery Park Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Coney Island Chrysler Building Chinatown Chelsea Market American Museum of Natural HistoryProspect Park St. Patrick's Cathedral Flatiron Building Little Italy Brooklyn Botanic Garden Washington Square Park Radio City Music Hall Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum Bronx Zoo New York Botanical Garden Madison Square Garden Central Park Zoo Brooklyn Bridge Park Bethesda Terrace Liberty Island Top of The Rock Manhattan Bridge Columbus Circle Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises The Met Cloisters Liberty State Park Flushing Meadows Corona Park Brooklyn Bridge Madison Square Park Whitney Museum of American Art United Nations Headquarters The Tour at NBC Studios Strawberry Fields Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Roosevelt Island Brooklyn Museum One World Observatory Tenement Museum Belvedere Castle Charging Bull Wollman Rink New York Aquarium New York Harbor George Washington Bridge Federal Hall New York Transit Museum Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree The Frick Collection Madame Tussauds New York Canal Street Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Carnegie Hall Museum of Sex West 34th Street Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden Luna Park Brooklyn Heights Promenade Macy's Queens Museum Brookfield Place Vessel Apollo Theater Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Yankee Stadium The Woolworth Building The Morgan Library & Museum New York City Hall New Museum Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir Astoria Trump Tower Museum of the City of New York E 60 St &2 Av Madison Avenue Bushwick Herald Square New York Hall Of Science Trinity Church Riverside Park Metropolitan Opera House Gramercy Park

#new york attractions #things to do in new york #what to do in nyc #travel

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gsgaragedoors · 5 years

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Electric Wheelchair Travel on Airlines and Cruise Ships

Electric wheelchair traveling can be a hassle for the users but if they are well prepared, there is no place on earth that is out of bounds for wheelchair users.For most wheelchair users when traveling, accessibility is always an issue, be it boarding the plane or cruise to moving along the narrow aisle on board them. This article discusses about traveling on different modes of transport for wheelchair users going overseas and the things to look out for when traveling.

Electric wheelchair users have to make sure his wheelchair or handicap scooter is in good condition before leaving home. It is advisable to send your wheelchair for servicing especially before a long haul trip. Remind the service man to tighten any loose bolts and screws and also add lubricant to the axles of the wheels. You would want your wheelchair to be in tip top condition when traveling to prevent any problems that will wreck the enjoyment of the holiday. Time can be better sightseeing than finding a repair shop and waiting for repair.Write your name,contact number, return address and destination on tags that can be attached to your electric wheelchair and any removable parts. Some of the parts are expensive and difficult to replace so it is recommended that you take care of them too. Electric wheelchairs with pneumatic tires run a risk of having flat tires. It is therefore handy to bring along a repair kit that contains parts necessary to switch a flat tire. The repair kit can be a small palm sized box but enough to store the crucial parts that are small.

When traveling by cruise, boarding and disembarkation is the more troublesome parts of the journey. Basically, there are 3 ways a wheelchair user can disembark from the cruise ship: The first way applies to users who are able to walk down the gangway and the wheelchair will be handled separately by the ship assistants. For those who have problems walking, I suggest you stay on the wheelchair and allow the strong sailors to carry the wheelchair plus yourself down the gangway. The last method is by using what we call "creepy crawler". It is a mechanical system which the electric wheelchair mounts onto, converting it to a "walking" system. Electric wheelchair and scooter users have to take note that they are unable to employ the last two methods of disembarkation as the weight of the electric wheelchair is simply too heavy to be carried and also risk damaging the electronic components with too much vibrations. Ship assistants will advise you to transfer to a manual wheelchair and transferred off the ship separately. You can return to your electric wheelchair or scooter at the pier.

The most common form of transport is by air and the different airlines actually perform differently when wheelchair travelers are concerned. It takes extra efforts to provide satisfied service for wheelchair travelers and proper training should be rendered to the airline staffs. Back to the wheelchair users, call to confirm your flight details as they are subjected to change. Electric wheelchair users will spend a lot more time transferring between airport terminals if they arrive at the wrong one. You need to also inform in advance the airline that you will be traveling in a electric wheelchair, manual wheelchair or handicap scooter. Ask for additional assistance when you reach the airline counter.Electric wheelchair users have to request for "gate check" as it allows you to move directly onto the plane. The airline staff will assist you in placing the wheelchair at a corner after you transfer to the seat, usually by the aisle. You are reminded to remove the leg and seat cushions and carry along by your side as these loose components may go missing while in storage. If the wheelchair can be folded, use duct tapes to tie the wheelchair together, keeping it as compact as possible. This will prevent damage from rough airport handlers.

Other steps to take while traveling by used electric wheelchairs and scooters include the type of batteries to use. The best form of batteries to use for traveling are the gel cell and dry cell batteries. Refrain from using wet cell batteries as there is a possibility of leakage and airlines usually ban them from being taken on board.If your electric wheelchairs were to be stored in the goods compartment of the airplane, you must take precautions to prevent unwarranted use of your electric wheelchairs by the handlers. Set the electric wheelchair transmission to neutral gear such that it can be manually pushed to its storage location. Remove the battery connections between both chair and battery and use a duct tape on both ends. Never leave a open wire dangling. Keep the power cord by your side at all times. You also have to remove the joystick and keep beside you or if it is fixed to the electric wheelchair, loosen the joystick and point it downwards. This is to prevent damage to the joystick due to other weights being piled on top of it.

For electric wheelchair travelers who often have to move along the aisle of the transport vehicle i.e. plane or cruise, the electric wheelchairs have to be left behind as they are too wide for the narrow aisle. In these situations, the transport operators have to provide aisle chairs which are skinny enough to move down the aisle and bring the wheelchair user to his or her seat. In recent years, airlines have made provisions such as knock down arm rests among its seats on board flights. This helps to cater to the increasing number of savvy wheelchair travelers worldwide and airlines have also gained in their image as all encompassing enterprises with no discrimination.

As a last piece of advice for wheelchair travelers, do not assume the care of your electric wheelchairs to be the prerogative of the transport operators. You, as the owner, should take every steps to prepare for wheelchair travel and cooperate with the standard operating procedures of the operators as far as possible. Being considerate is the key here, it will also be the deciding factor whether the you will enjoy your holiday or completely spoil it.

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mastcomm · 5 years

Text

Who Needs a Caribbean Yacht When You Can Take the Ferry?

Orion was shining brightly in the dark sky above Anegada in the British Virgin Islands. But the constellation had some electric competition in the band of bright mast lights bobbing offshore — “like a bejeweled Orion’s belt,” observed a new acquaintance who introduced himself as Spoons, the pilot of one of those yachts. He and his crew of five friends from the Boston area had paid $10,900 for eight days on a 45-foot catamaran to sail from island to island.

Chartering a boat is one way to island hop in the B.V.I. — and a popular one. According to the tourism board, slightly more than half of all visitors to the British overseas territory’s 60 islands and cays stay on yachts.

I, on the other hand, chose a far cheaper way to travel between islands. Using the B.V.I. ferry system, I spent $140 — not including accommodations, which added about $700 to my expenses — over a five-day trip, reaching four ports in bargain, connect-the-dots style.

In the Caribbean, several ferry companies offer opportunities for multi-island vacations, such as the L’Express des Iles, which cruises from Guadeloupe to Dominica, Martinique and St. Lucia. Others offer domestic service, including ferries from St. Vincent to some of the outlying Grenadines, and those that link the United States Virgin Islands.

But few Caribbean destinations offer a ferry system as extensive and convenient as the British Virgin Islands’. The tourism board details schedules and links to seven islands on an interactive web page devoted to island hopping.

From my first childhood ferry trip to Mackinac Island, Mich., where cars are banned, I have had a romance with ships that fill in for roads, carry vital cargo and allow communities to thrive in isolated places. They are buses for commuters, trucks for suppliers and relatively cheap maritime thrills for travelers.

Yes, cruise ships can actually be a rock-bottom ticket to the Caribbean — on my trip, I met a couple from South Carolina who spent only $600 each on an 11-day Norwegian cruise — but as an independent traveler, I find those affordable ships too big, and small charters too expensive. The ferry system seemed just right to this backpacking Goldilocks.

Seeking a winter warm up and a budget tropical vacation, I went to the B.V.I. in January to test the convenience and cost of the ferry system, hitting the cruise hub of Tortola, the mountainous beauty of Virgin Gorda, and remote Anegada.

Have passport, will ferry

Often, the cheapest flights from the United States that arrive nearest the B.V.I. land in St. Thomas (in the United States Virgin Islands), which is where I caught the 8:30 a.m. Road Town Fast Ferry from downtown Charlotte Amalie to Road Town, the B.V.I. capital, 50 minutes away on the island of Tortola ($60 round trip; the United States dollar is the official currency of the B.V.I.).

A mix of day trippers, business commuters, yacht renters and one friendly couple from Tortola who helped me with my immigration form joined me on the windy trip aboard the 82-foot passenger ferry BVI Patriot. With four-foot waves and occasional sprinkles, I sat on the upper deck inside the cabin, which was both strangely ordinary — two flat screens tuned to CNN delivered news of the Democratic presidential debates and a snowstorm in New York — and wildly exotic as we passed leggy cactuses growing out of rock islets, forested hillsides of undeveloped islands and a few stands of barren mangroves, evidence of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, which struck in 2017. (The damage inflicted by those hurricanes brought the hotel room inventory to about 1,500, down from 2,700.)

Two cruise ships in the harbor dwarfed the 149-passenger BVI Patriot when we arrived. After clearing immigration, I hired a taxi driver, Conrad “Dodgy” Lewis — “Dodgy doesn’t describe my driving,” he insisted — to take me from the congested capital over the island’s mountain spine to Cane Garden Bay, one of Tortola’s most popular beaches, and back several hours later, in time for my late-afternoon ferry to Virgin Gorda for $50.

At Cane Garden Bay, lounge chairs and umbrellas colonized the sand in front of a series of restaurant terraces and beach bars, welcoming travelers from the cruise ships, arriving in open-air buses. On an overcast day, I walked the beach between sporadic downpours to the more than 400-year-old Callwood Rum Distillery where Matthew Callwood, a distiller, bartender, tour guide and member of the family that has owned the distillery since the 1800s, led me and two cruise passengers on a tour ($5) of the mostly outdoor distillery works, including a 19th-century sugar cane crusher originally powered by harnessed donkeys.

“There used to be 28 distilleries on the island, and now there’s just us,” he said, pouring shots of Callwood’s four rums, including white, spiced and the smoother aged version he recommended. “It’s good for sipping, or putting in your coffee in the morning.”

I stashed a pint ($12) in my pack and moved on down the beach, watching divebombing pelicans on the water and free-ranging chickens on land. Beachfront restaurants teemed with day drinkers, but I followed Dodgy’s advice for lunch and went to Banana’s Bar & Grill, a polished bistro where cabdrivers were stopping in for takeout chicken soup. I learned why. Inexpensive and delicious, my $9 bowl brimmed with root vegetables, spinach and large tender pieces of chicken, bones and all.

If I had had time, I would have enjoyed outlasting the cruise passengers and staying on Cane Garden Bay at a place like Myett’s Garden Inn on the Beach, running $250 a night on Airbnb. But I had a ferry to catch.

Of bubbles and baths

Racing to make the late afternoon Speedy’s ferry to Virgin Gorda ($30 round trip), I was joined by a day-tripping set of cruise passengers, another American couple bound for a week at a luxury resort, uniformed schoolchildren and several returning islanders clutching bunches of stuffed shopping bags. One visitor leaned over the port railing, welcoming the warm wind in his face for the entire 30-minute passage toward Virgin Gorda, said to have been named Fat Virgin by Christopher Columbus for its pregnant profile.

You can tell a lot about an island by its ferry cargo. There were pallets of bottled water on the boat to Tortola. On Virgin Gorda, Speedy’s deckhands unloaded cases of Veuve Clicquot and Cakebread Cellars wines.

Virgin Gorda has long attracted the rich and famous. Taxi drivers pointed out Morgan Freeman’s former home and Richard Branson’s two nearby islands. Recently reopened after the hurricanes forced substantial rebuilding, Rosewood Little Dix Bay has catered to the affluent since Laurance Rockefeller developed the resort in 1964.

Consequently, a solitary backpacker seemed an usual sight in Spanish Town, the main settlement on Virgin Gorda. I declined taxi offers in favor of a 15-minute walk to Fischer’s Cove Beach Hotel, where blossoms were tucked in conch shells and towels in my tidy and spacious room ($175 a night). Only when I stepped onto the flamingo-pink patio and looked up did I realize there used to be a second story above, where rebar now pierced the blue sky. The Flax family, owners of the hotel, are gradually rebuilding after the hurricanes.

Tropical foliage has sprung back on much of the mountainous island, home to a series of national parks, including Gorda Peak National Park, with its panoramic trail to 1,370 feet elevation. Staying overnight on Virgin Gorda offers a rare opportunity to visit its best-loved beauty spot — the Baths National Park, protecting a dramatic stretch of shore where massive granite boulders as big as 40 feet in diameter cluster in the shallows — before the cruise ship crowds arrive.

At 7 a.m. when the first blush of light began pinking the clouds, I started down the park path past cactuses and the occasional orchid to Devil’s Bay where a septuagenarian foursome was quietly skinny dipping. I waited out a 10-minute rain shower in a shorefront cave weathered by the action of the waves. The path continued over and between the Baths’ boulders, sometimes with the assistance of steps or rope holds bolted into the rocks, walling off calm, shallow, swim-inviting pools.

I saw evidence of other early birds at the Baths — “M + M 2020” seemed freshly written in the sand — but I never saw them until I completed the roughly mile-long circuit and returned to the entrance at 8:30 a.m. where a line was already forming.

Lobster, yachts and empty beaches

“Tortola is the big city to us,” Dawn Flax, one of the family members who runs Fischer’s Cove, told me when I checked in. “We go there when we need to go to the bank or the lawyer.”

A day later, I ran into her at the ferry terminal on Tortola, returning home after a banking run. It was an unintended stop, but when the Wednesday departure from Virgin Gorda to Anegada was canceled, I was forced to the B.V.I.’s hub to catch Road Town Fast Ferry’s 300-passenger Lady Caroline from Tortola to Anegada ($50 round trip).

Of the six of us scattered among 30 seats on the outside upper deck, five were returning islanders, quizzing two with roll-aboard luggage about their vacation abroad. Children scrambled up and down the stairs for vending machine snacks and teenage couples leaned into each other, sharing earbuds. But the high seas soon quelled conversation, abandoned to the rush of the wind, the rhythmic rise and fall of passing boats under sail and the shifting view of outlying islands.

Sandy and flat where its sibling islands are steep and rugged, Anegada — the most northeastern island in the B.V.I., and the only coral island in the volcanic chain — resolved into view like an overgrown sandbar during the one-hour crossing.

From the concrete ferry pier, I got the vaguest of directions to my hotel — walk down the pier and take your first left — which turned out to be accurate. By late afternoon, the outdoor, oceanfront bar at the Anegada Reef Hotel was packed, not solely with guests of the 10-room hotel (from $155 a night), but also with sailors from the many yachts moored in front of it.

Other than the pre-sunset rush for rum-based Painkiller cocktails, the nightly hotel barbecue featuring the island’s renowned spiny lobster, and a D.J. blaring “Love Shack” from a bar at Potter’s by the Sea down the beach, Anegada is quiet.

“You come to Anegada to swim and sleep under the sea grapes in the shade and wake up and swim and eat and drink and sleep again,” explained an islander at the bar. “No one will bother you.”

I hoped not, especially when I rented a scooter the next morning for $50 a day from Michael Hastick, the co-owner of L&M rentals. He gave me, a scooter novice, a quick lesson in operating the vehicle and when I asked the speed limit, he smiled.

“There’s only one cop on the island,” he said, pointing to the empty street. “It’s Anegada, and this is rush hour.”

Technically, the speed limit is 30 m.p.h. And the occasional traffic obstacles were goats. Michael marked up a small map indicating where I would see the island’s flamingos (distantly, in an interior pond), its endangered Anegada iguanas (in conservation cages next to the police station) and its best beaches, especially Loblolly Bay on the north shore, home to beach bars for castaways (Flash of Beauty) and party people (Big Bamboo).

Despite an open sign, Flash of Beauty was deserted at 10 a.m. Conch shells lined sand paths through the dunes to the beach, strafed by surf despite the barrier of distant Horseshoe Reef, visible in a line of frothy waves. I plunged in and immediately saw conch shells and rainbow-colored fish schooling around coral heads, but with the strong current I decided that as much as I love solitude, it wasn’t safe to swim alone. It was, however, completely safe to leave my cellphone, wallet and scooter keys, and walk for miles down the deserted beach, returning to find everything as I left it, Flash of Beauty still closed and no other visitors.

Chased by another downpour, I stopped at nearby Anegada Beach Club, home to intriguing palapa-roofed beachfront tents, a kite-surfing school and a poolside restaurant where I met Paula and Michelle Mau, a couple from Omaha who regularly visit the island.

“Anegada is the end of the world,” Michelle said. “There’s no one here. It’s magic.”

The Maus spread some of that magic by inviting me, after just a five-minute chat, to join them on a private boat they had chartered to snorkel around the uninhabited east end of the island. We saw four-foot barracuda, green sea turtles and shy puffer fish. We froze in another pelting downpour and dried out in the sun. We cruised by 12-foot-high islands composed of conch shells that harvesters, dating back to the indigenous Arawak, cast off after taking the meat, creating pearly pink mounds where terns posed in profile. They wouldn’t take a dime in return, though the four-hour trip cost more than $300.

Before leaving on the next day’s 8:30 a.m. ferry to Tortola and onward to St. Thomas, I walked the beach to Neptune’s Treasure resort where the aroma of cinnamon rolls from Pam’s Kitchen served as an olfactory siren to sailors aboard the 50-some yachts tied up offshore.

The Caribbean is rarely a thrifty destination. Food can be expensive (I paid $40 for half a lobster at the Lobster Trap on Anegada). There were unexpected fees, including a B.V.I. environmental tax of $10 upon arrival and a $20 departure fee. My hotels would have been a better deal if split with a companion. I spent close to $1,000 on the trip.

But the compensation of taking the ferries went beyond financial. I traveled with commuting islanders of all ages, passed the time in terminal waiting rooms with women doing word search puzzles and joined them in bringing my own lunch aboard. These regular sailors knew to sit starboard to avoid the sun on the afternoon Anegada run and to move to the exit before docking to beat the disembarking crowds at Tortola.

Still, no one seemed to take this special means of transportation for granted. Like me, they tugged on sweaters, sat in the shade and watched the successive hues of blue streaming in and out of sight between water and sky.

Elaine Glusac is a frequent contributor to the Travel section.

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