Proxima B. Pulvirenti Giorgio
to begin. We shall be given a chance to plant trees and plants on the surface. And we shall be able to breathe without the aid of breathing apparatuses, which is not irrelevant. So, the process of terraforming the planet will be complete,” the doctor concluded.
“Excuse me, Professor, I can understand what you’ve said about algae, plants and trees, but I think we’re underestimating a problem that has been gripping our planet for over a century… I’m talking about the animal extinction. What about the animals?” Korin asked in a tone that was both worried and curious.
“That’s a very good question, Mr. Tamura! A great question, actually! Follow me!” Doctor Preparata cried out, and then he entered a small hallway and led the group in a room that was next to the previous one.
“As for the issue raised by Korin, we have developed what we call THE MOTHER!” the doctor stated. Then he stopped in front of a machine that was unique. It looked like a huge box; a holographic display allowed interaction with it.
“Thanks to this machine, you can recreate embryos and perfectly developed specimens from the DNA of over ten million animal species that was collected over the last century. Dozens of such machines are ready-to-use on board the three motherships,” he added.
Everyone who heard him was astonished by his words.
“How does it work exactly?” Jerry asked him. He was getting more and more intrigued by the machine.
“The genetic code on file will allow the development of stem cells inside the database of the machine by means of... let’s call it... an incubator. This is only a type of incubator, but bigger incubators will soon be available for taller or bigger human beings that will develop outside the planet later on. It could be defined as a sort of printer of living beings!” was Doctor Preparata’s answer to the boy that could scarcely believe his eyes.
“Can we try it, Sir? Please!” Korin requested. He hoped to see the machine working.
“Of course, kid! But only in order to demonstrate what it can create,” the professor replied, then he turned to the machine and started it; he was tinkering with the holographic display in order to find a species whose recreation would take only a few minutes.
“Hmm, here it is. This one should be a proper one!” the doctor exclaimed. He started the machine and begged the group to keep away and for a little patience until a living being would be released at the bottom of the particular contraption.
“CREATION LIVING BEING FIVE MINUTES LEFT,” the automated voice informed.
“Professor, do all the creatures need the same time of creation or rather it changes according to the species?” a German member of the group of biologists asked him.
“The time of creation changes according to the species and the dimension. The machine has to be powered by chemical substances so that tissues can be synthesized and the living being can develop, you know,” Doctor Preparata explained.
“CREATION COMPLETE. PROCESS OVER SUCCESSFULLY”.
They had been informed once again that the process had been carried out successfully.
“Look. It’s ready!” the doctor exclaimed enthusiastically. Then he opened the compartment at the bottom of the machine and pulled out what looked like a big coleopteran.
“This is a titan beetle,” he explained proudly. Then he handed the specimen of insect over to Korin, who seemed almost afraid of the new animal at first, but after being reassured by the doctor, he held it willingly.
“We shall do great things together! We only have to want it, my lads! Life needs nothing but a thrust, then it will find its way forward! You only have to want it. Remember that!” the Italian biologist concluded. Then he released the animal into his custody and before saying goodbye to them all, he informed them about the next things to do, including the directions for using the machine that they would need shortly.
The group of engineers used to meet very early, but it was not a problem at all for many of them, including David. That morning they would start studying and being familiar with the new tools that they would have to use on Proxima B for establishing new buildings. After having their usual breakfast at the common table (they used to go there first), they talked a little with the other guests of the complex, and David and his group found themselves within the building no. 1 where the training would begin. They, too, would have at their disposal a device similar to a handheld to take notes, read and study the information that their superiors, including a man of Indian origin called Dinkar Kanak, who was one of the most important people in the world in the field of architectural engineering, would transmit to them. Kanak was a rather short and half-bald man in his sixties; he used to wear a pair of thin glasses that, most of the time, he allowed falling down on his nose. Most of the time, he used to walk by dragging his left leg due to a bone disease. Yet, he maintained his sense of humor throughout – all in all, a person that may have looked funny at first, but instead he was an inexhaustible source of resources. Powell had desired him so keenly that one of the engineers that took part in the realization of the whole complex of the Rocky Mountain National Park as well as the owner of the company that produced particular 3D printers that could build buildings in no time by using zero-impact products. David and Giovanni were together with their group of twenty-five engineers. They were sitting in their own places, waiting for their superior to explain the situation. Kanak appeared before the front door of the hall, that is the same door through which the other people had come, and he was accompanied by two other uniformed men that were his assistants.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” he said with his unequivocal French accent.
The engineers said good morning to Kanak, who immediately took his seat behind his writing desk.
“So, as I mentioned yesterday, what we’re seeing this morning is the structure of our kiddo in detail and how to obtain the highest efficiency from it. After you!”
Kanak asked the two assistants to introduce the machine that was leaned on a movable table behind a marquee. As soon as they uncovered it, that particular 3D printer appeared.
“Here it is! Our own Engineer X!” the Indian engineer cried out while introducing his creation enthusiastically to the pupils. The curiosity of David, Giovanni and many other colleagues of theirs was aroused as soon as they saw that weird machine despite most of them had already had to deal with similar instruments during their own works.
“Start being familiar with it, since it’s with it that you’re spending most of your time on Proxima B, even if this a reduced sample. The models that you are using on the planet are much bigger,” the professor explained. Then he kept on saying, “But they work exactly like the one you are seeing right now. And even the raw material that we’re using there is the same! Some samples even more reduced of Engineer X are to appear in front of you!”
While Kanak was still speaking, from their own desks all the engineers could see appear a 1:50 scale model reproducing the machine.
“That’s it, gentlemen! All you have to do is not difficult to explain. You’ll have to assemble and make a 1:100 scale model reproducing a building that is similar to the one that you’re going to erect on Proxima B!”
David and his fellow engineers paid attention to what they were ordered as they were busy watching the particular printer. One of them, a certain Bryan Stone asked his professor, “Excuse me, Professor, and what about the material that we’re going to use?”
“That’s a very good question, Mr. Stone! I was about to explain exactly that point!” Kanak cried out. These words caught the attention of those who were there, whose eyes were now upon him.
“What is peculiar to this special machine is the fact that it works with waste material only,” he specified.
They began to hum in their soft voices. The professor did not care so much about that hum at first. He turned round, pushed a button on a remote control and a big holographic display appeared behind him and showed the internal structure of the machine on one side and a list of materials on the other side.