Rocket Girls: The Last Planet by Housuke Nojiri Read Free Book Online

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    Professor Miyamoto cleared a space on top of the desk and set down the cardboard box. Mumbling to himself, he removed the fish container. A similar device was already sitting on top of the workstation with all of its wiring and tubing exposed—a prototype, Yukari assumed.
    “It does look like the QD is plugged with…poop? Yes, that’s poop all right.”
    He took off the lid and began to clean the area around the QD with a paintbrush and a syringe. When he had finished, he placed the container in the prototype device and flicked on the switch. The water began to circulate.
    “There, that should do it. Too bad you can’t do that up in space.”
    “You’d get water all over the place.”
    “No doubt. Sorry it had to break down right before reentry.”
    “Actually, it was more like during our reentry. It was a little hard to do the experiment and pilot at the same time,” Yukari said.
    “If the orbiter was a little larger, that might be possible.”
    “I hear they’re working on an orbiter that seats three,” Matsuri said.
    “You don’t say?” The professor pulled up some chairs to his own desk and sat the girls down. He was examining the cardboard box they had brought.
    “You did a fine job with this. Something of a genius at makeshift repairs, are you?”
    “No, nothing like that,” Akane stammered, blushing.
    “It took us fifteen years to get this device to its current level,” the professor said. “No one had ever built an aquarium for space before. I went around asking everyone for help. That oxygen regulator came from an artificial lung the medical department was working on.”
    Akane nodded, eyes wide.
    “The filter was a tough nut to crack too. We had to consider all the possibilities, like what would happen if they laid eggs on top of it, and what kind of material to use, and whether or not to use zeolite to get rid of the ammonia. We tested everything.
    “But if someone told me to repair this thing on the spot, I’m not sure what I would have done. You have some experience with animals in a laboratory setting?”
    “I’m in charge of the aquarium and the terrarium in our biology class. Though I don’t really do much—just take care of them and make observations.”
    “That’s plenty! I’m sure you come away with quite a lot from that.”
    “I do,” Akane said, visibly pleased. “Actually, I was wondering if I could ask you something.”
    “Anything.”
    “What exactly were you testing with these goldfish?”
    “Whether or not vestibular adaptability can be learned,” the professor said, his voice rising. He was clearly happy she had asked. “We wanted to see how quickly goldfish that had already been in space would relearn on their second flight. If there was an observable learning effect, then we might be able to find out exactly where the goldfish are keeping that information—that was our goal.”
    “Fascinating!”
    “Vestibular functions are thought to be related to space sickness. And space sickness gets in the way of spaceflight, as you know.”
    “Sure. It’s like seasickness that lasts for the first few days of a flight, right?” Akane asked.
    “That’s correct. Of course, there are a lot of other challenges out there waiting for an astronaut. Things like calcium deficiencies due to radiation and the redistribution of body fluids. But humanity must move into space sooner or later. You agree?”
    “Of course.”
    “We’re constantly fighting about this religion or that ideology or some territory or another down here. Well, my thinking is: why not just move away from all that? If the earth gets too cramped, we can settle space. It starts with the station. Next the moon. Then Mars. Some scientists have even proposed moving to comets. Imagine that, comets! That’s why we have to overcome all of the hurdles between us and these, er, ‘lofty’ goals. This experiment is one small part of that, a fragment of the answer, if you will. You agree?”
    “Of