Read Online Orb by Gary Tarulli - Free Book Online

that same door was always wide open if you needed to make your way in.
    I thought I saw other contrasts in Thompson. Self-taught in native culture, a hunter, fisherman and geologist; he seemed preoccupied with chipping away at the past. And yet, as mission commander, treading where few, or none, have gone before, he was on the cutting edge of the future. Of these two colliding worlds, I wondered which he was more at home in. Perhaps neither, but if I was to find a common denominator it would be in the pure adventure he sought, and found, excavating the unknown.
    He certainly was intelligent enough to confront all the many challenges he set for himself. In his chosen field of geology he was near the top, but unlike Melhaus (and most other scientists for that matter) he didn’t much care for peer recognition. His physical appearance also flew in the face of the stereotypical bespectacled, lanky scientist. He was not overly tall, but broad, heavily muscled in the chest, legs, and forearms—likely due to his dedication to tough field work and the pursuits of bow hunting and sport fishing. Given his physical and mental attributes, if I were in a tight spot, Thompson would be on my A-list to handle it.
    At dinner, when everyone was gathered and slightly more receptive to something other than the work they were immersed in, I decided to share the theory I had broached with Thompson; that, in short, leaving Earth behind may have adverse and unrecognized behavioral consequences. Not only was I seeking the crew’s opinion, but I was hoping that verbalizing the idea, especially if it was determined to have some merit, would provide a beneficial effect.
    “Help me out with something I’m working on,” I said to no one at particular. “Call it the Sanctuary Theory, if you will.” I explained. “Maybe something in your respective disciplines would be relevant, or perhaps a personal experience. On the other hand, you can diplomatically inform me that the idea isn’t worth shit.”
    I was grateful when Thompson, who apparently wanted to give the ensuing conversation some impetus, chimed in first.
    “I had the advantage of hearing Kyle’s idea earlier,” he said. “Keep in mind he is singling out a potential source of stress, possibly depression, specifically related to extrasolar spaceflight. I construed this to mean leaving the heliosphere. Two thoughts came to mind. The Sun’s magnetic field extends throughout the solar system and its effect on brain waves is well known. Could the complete absence of this field have a detrimental effect? And what are the effects of exposure to the varying intensities of dark energy? I searched the AI for both these topics and found no completed studies. Anybody aware of any?”
    No one had heard of a study dealing with these matters.
    “What interests me,” said Diana, “is not being able to see the Sun. I’m not referring to Seasonal Affected Disorder. The steps taken to address sunlight deprivation on spaceflights aren’t exactly a big secret. Let’s go beyond that, to losing all contact with the Sun. There is some research. A few individuals voluntarily living in caves—and to varying degree they succumbed to depression. Animals observed during solar eclipses exhibit behavioral changes that resemble symptoms of stress. I can add a personal note. The day we lost sight of Earth and Sun, I wept. Why, I’m not really sure. I partially attributed it to hormones, but the feeling has been hard to shake. Personally, I think Kyle’s put a name on it.”
    “There are additional studies related to my field of expertise,” Paul added, “that go beyond the sunlight component of SAD. They prove human behavior is also affected by barometric pressure, temperature, wind, precipitation, too many days of identical weather, variation to the length of day, season changes and so on. Since this is true, Kyle, I suggest that the absence of all weather should also influence behavior. This, at best, is