“The problem,” my uncle said, “is that the helium-3 analysis won’t be completed until mid-January. The next launch window to Europa opens on December fifteenth. Miss that date and it’s a nineteen-month wait until Jupiter’s orbit aligns again with Earth’s.”

In a millisecond, ABE calculated the distance between Earth and Jupiter, which varied between 376 million miles and 600 million miles, all dependent on the two planets’ independent orbits of the sun. Absorbed in a cartography chart displayed subliminally upon my mind’s eye, I failed to notice the vice president staring at me.

“Sorry. And I wasn’t mentally masturbating.”

“Ike, I’m sure ABE will one day win you the Nobel Prize. But we’re at a serious crossroads. If we fail to launch the Europa mission and the computer turns out to be right about the moon’s supply of helium-3, then the fossil fuel industry takes over and it’s 2012 all over again, only a lot worse. The carbon dioxide imprint from tar sands is far more toxic than oil. We’ll have runaway climate change within a decade.”

“And if you launch in December and the helium-3 turns out to be satisfactory?”

“Then our administration looks like a bunch of clowns and we lose the midterms, jeopardizing the entire space energy program. As we’ve seen, the voting public suffers from short-term memory loss.”

“Okay, so how can I help?”

The general lowered his voice, perhaps not fully convinced the room was soundproof. “Robbie, an opportunity has arisen that would allow you to evaluate both GOLEM and Dr. DeFriend’s team during the six-week training mission. Your observations would ultimately determine whether we launch in December.”

“Exactly what does this training mission entail? Koch mentioned it takes place in Antarctica?”

The general nodded. “It’s the only place on Earth that resembles conditions on Europa. The exercise begins with the submersion of the Oceanus habitat through a mile-thick sheet of ice where it will remain anchored to the bottom of the Ross Sea, paralleling operations set for Europa. Once the habitat is in place, the team will rig the ship’s couplings to a series of hydrothermal vents. The vents will be capped, with the superheated waters redirected through pipes to an underwater platform where gases—in this case sulfur dioxide substituting for helium-3, will be separated and stored in tanks for transportation back to the mother ship.”