The Law of Attraction [Chris Beck]

Chapter 26

                "Good morning, Doctor Blake." At the head of the panel was Venkat Kapoor, his eyes looked sunken, and his shirt collar ruffled as though he'd slept in it at his desk the night prior; Alice presumed he probably had, along with a lot of others at NASA. 

There was a large table, five people sat at the table with a clipboard in front of them, and instantly Alice knew that she was being scrutinized and evaluated the moment the video screen opened up. It would be a long conversation, and even longer because of the transmission delay. It was clear that the panel had gotten dressed up, the array of psychologists looking proper and pristine. Off to the side was an exhausted looking Mitch, and Alice wanted to send more than sympathetic glance in his direction, but was unable to do any more.

"Good morning," she addressed the entire panel, and she smiled curtly because it was her job to do so. The grim topic on the table was no easy task to address, but she sat proper in her chair and reviewed in her head quickly what she had wanted to say.

"Let us begin by stating that I was against this," Venkat spoke solidly. "But I thank you for your discretion."

"Shall I begin?" she asked, wanting to get this over with as quick as possible. Though rushing was not a smart idea, she just simply couldn't contain the jittery nerves that were making their way through her. In a few minutes it would be obvious to the panel that she was nervous, but it was expected.

"Please, go ahead," Venkat announced and the panel fell utterly silent.

It took Alice a moment to gather her bearings and her mind, but she took a deep breath and started right into her speech. "Mark's alleged death was very hard on the crew, as expected, but every member of the crew preformed beyond expectation when Commander Lewis made the call. It was a call that no commander wants to make, but the crew is tough as nails. Right away, tasks were handled and grief was put aside for those who couldn't allow it to get in the way of getting the rest of the crew's safety aboard the Hermes. The grief period, for every crew member, was exactly the time allotted for any sort of death. After two months, the atmosphere aboard the Hermes has gone back to normal, or as normal as it can be. The crew had done an excellent job at handling it."

Alice went into each individual at that point, discussing the pros and cons of each crew member knowing. There were far more pros, but there were certainly a few cons that Alice couldn't ignore. There was guilt, remorse, and regret. But it was hope that would keep them going; if finding out he was alive was going to do anything, it was going to make their journey a little less painful. Yes, there was the issue that each crew member would go to bed each night knowing that Mark was struggling to survive back on Mars. One small breach in the Hab, one bad rover flip, another big storm; there was a lot against him, but the crew knew Mark better than anyone, including the psychologists on the panel.

"I've been working with this crew more hands on than any of you; I'm well aware that each of you are prestigious psychologists, NASA would never settle for less. But when you make your decision, keep in mind that I have been here with this crew, face to face as both friend and colleague. I know this news will come as a shock to them, of course there will be some guilt and worry, but no more than there already is. It is better that they have hope he might be rescued, as opposed to discovering it when they arrive home after thirteen months of space travel. That will not only be a painful shock on a supposedly happy day of their lives, but I can all but guarantee that they may reconsider working for a company that would withhold such information for so long."