The Odin Chronicles • Episode 36: “Stratigraphic Homesick Blues” • by Pauline Barmby ~ Stupefying Stories Magazine

Turning a silvery river stone in her hand and sniffling back tears, Nina stared out the scratched window of her tiny office. A half-finished report glared from her computer screen; images of a smiling, curly haired family covered the tablet in her lap.

Nina’s boss, Raisa Popov, barged in without knocking. “Report ready yet? I need that assay before we can start drilling in sector seven.”

Nina started and switched off the tablet. “Nuh … no,” she stammered. “I’m, uh, just calculating.”

“Same as two hours ago. Galactic isn’t paying you to mope,” Popov growled.

“I know.” Nina’s voice was small, her eyes brimming.

Popov sighed. “Go home and get your head on straight. Be back here tomorrow, ready to work.” She stomped out, rattling the office’s flimsy aluminum door.

Nina drifted out into the dusty afternoon. Head bowed, she plodded along the road to town. Her wind-whipped hair tangled in her glasses.

A rattling vehicle wearing a faded Galactic Mining logo slowed to pull up alongside her. Through its open window, a youngish man grinned. “Nina, right? I’m Jonas.”

“I’m the new geologist.” Nina was polite but distant.

“I know. Popov assigned me to be your driver, starting tomorrow.”

“Driver? For what?” she blurted.

“Dunno. I just do what she says. Want a ride to town?” His tone was hopeful.

“I’d rather walk.”

“Okay, then. See you tomorrow.” He gave her a wave and drove off. Nina coughed at the kicked-up dust.

Nina arrived at work the next day to find Popov and Jonas waiting with a shiny red Galactic truck. “Ready to get back to work?” Popov asked. Nina nodded silently. “Good. Grab your field kit.”

Jonas bumped the truck over washboard ruts and swerved it around axle-breaking potholes while Nina’s head swiveled back and forth at the sight of crumbling hoodoos and distant peaks. Popov signaled Jonas to pull over at the base of a five-meter-high outcrop. She hopped out and Nina followed her to the rock face, blinking away dust. Nina’s eyes widened as she reached out. “Are those…”

Popov swatted her hand. “Fossils? You tell me.”

Nina pulled a magnifier from her kit. “Trilobites? But how could there be Earth fossils here? That’s a huge discovery!”

“A huge discovery that could put this planet out of business. If word gets out, mining could be shut down for years while we sit around and wait for hordes of scientists to show up. Galactic suspects they’re fake. You need to prove it.”

“Fake? Why? How?”

“Don’t care,” Popov nearly spat. “Galactic wants proof one way or the other. If they’re fake, to refute nosy questions. If they’re real, to stall while they figure out what to do.”

Nina pushed up her glasses. “How long do I have?”

“A week,” Popov grunted.

“Okay…” Nina thought Galactic was being a bit paranoid. No scientists would be rushing out here. With time dilation, they’d be giving up years of their lives on the voyage.

“Then I need you back on those assays. Keep this quiet. Even from him.” She nodded toward Jonas, waiting in the truck.

For two days Nina and Jonas shuttled back and forth to the site, hauling field equipment and collecting samples. The first trip required all Jonas’ concentration to stay on the road. On the second trip, he tried to make conversation.

“Saw you alone in the bar last week. Heard you’ve been having a tough time.”

“Thanks, but I’d really rather not talk about it.” Nina fiddled with a sample case.

“I get it. I left for a decade. When I came back, I hadn’t aged but my brother—”

“You’re from here? You don’t get it at all.” Nina glared at him.

“I do,” he insisted. “I was homesick the whole time I was gone. Then when I got back, I still felt like an outsider.” Under his breath, he muttered, “Still do.”

“At least your family is here!” Nina cried. “You don’t understand! Just leave me alone.”

Jonas’ face hardened. The rattle of rocks in the truck bed was the only sound for the rest of the trip.

Nina threw every test she could think of at the outcrop samples: isotope composition. X-ray diffraction. UV fluorescence. She had to get this right. While she didn’t believe in Popov’s prophesied “scientific hordes,” she knew Galactic could and would fire her if she screwed up. In between tests, she snatched naps on the lumpy break room couch under a threadbare blanket that must have arrived with the first landing. Her fractured dreams featured her parents and sister, and strangely enough, Jonas.

When she followed the sunrise into town after five non-stop days of lab work, of course Jonas was the first person she encountered. He goggled at her disheveled appearance.

“I thought geologists had cushy office jobs. Looks like you’re earning your living.”

Nina was too tired to remember how annoyed she’d been with him. She trudged toward her apartment, trying to smooth her wild hair.

“So, what’ve you been doing?” Jonas asked, following her.

“Can’t say.”

“Come on. I work for Galactic too. What’s so secret?”

She gritted her teeth. “Cushy geologist stuff. Can’t say more or I’ll be in trouble with Popov.”

Jonas laughed. “Is anybody not in trouble with Popov?” His eyes met hers. “Listen, I’m sorry for butting into your business.”

“No, I’m sorry for yelling at you like that. It’s just…”

“Look, I know one thing about being homesick: you need friends. And something to do. Okay, two things,” Jonas laughed again. “Seems like you have something to do, whatever it is.”

“That’s for sure.” Nina’s eyes went unfocused and she yawned. “I just thought of another test to run…” The yawn turned into a small smile. “Can’t tell you what it is though.”

“Right. Secret.” Jonas winked. “But if you need a friend…” he trailed off as they reached her door. “Want to meet up for lunch later? Hans at the deli has a new pickle-and-cheese sandwich.”

Nina’s head lifted as her eyelids drooped. “Thanks. I need a nap first, but lunch later sounds great.”

On her way to the mine offices the next day, Nina’s feet felt lighter. It wasn’t the gravity; the ache of homesickness was receding. She was beginning to feel like she might belong on Odin III someday. The next time she wrote home, she’d tell her parents and sister she was fine, that she had a friend and something to do. Eventually she’d actually feel that way, she hoped.

She reached Popov’s office door and held out the chip with her report, admiring the suns streaming through the dusty office window. Popov took the chip.

“They’re fake,” Nina said. “The specimens have machining marks. The isotope ratios are completely wrong for Earth or Odin III. The stratigraphy is completely unphysical. It’s all there.”

“Good work,” Popov said. “Galactic will be happy to get this.” She turned back toward her ancient desk.

Nina lingered in the doorway. “But why would someone fake a fossil bed? That would’ve been so much work.”

“Good question,” Popov said. “I guess you’ll just have to stay and figure it out.”

“I guess so.” Nina said.

Pauline Barmby is an astrophysicist who reads, writes, runs, knits, and believes that you can’t have too many favorite galaxies. She lives in London, Canada and hopes to someday visit her namesake main belt asteroid, minor planet 281067. Find more of her words at galacticwords.com.