I plan to live forever. So far, so good.

”Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.” – Isaac Asimov

The door in front of him opened with a faint hiss. The other two members of the crew were already on the command deck.

“Finally, you arrived…” said Chris.

“Well, as you probably know, it’s not so easy to take a shower out here. I mean, after all, we are on a spaceship…” replied Brian.

“Anyway, we missed you up here!”

“Yeah right…”

They had left Earth 3 years ago. This was their journey back home…

“Look at it. It’s so beautiful!”

Chris pointed at the reddish sphere that lay before them. Mars had been visited by numerous space-probes, but this was the first mission that enabled man to set foot on it. But, as an intriguing fact, the first man on Mars was in fact a woman. Madeline had been chosen to be the first to descend from the module and set foot on the rocky deserted surface of Mars. Chris and Brian seemed to agree with this.

They had spent almost 2 months on the arid surface of the Red Planet, and during all this time they took samples from different locations and studied the atmosphere and the geology of the planet. And now they were returning home.

It had been an interesting experience for all the members of the crew. They had faced a few minor problems, but the computer of the space-shuttle seemed to be the best solution to each of them. It was a computer from the latest generation, and it also had an incorporated voice module.

They were all watching the breathtaking view of the Red Planet getting smaller and smaller, when they heard the voice of the computer. It was a female voice, with a perfect American accent:

“Mission status: 3 hours since departure. Life support systems online. Oxygen level optimal. Sector A functional. Sector B functional. Sector C functional. Estimated time until arrival: 14 months, 6 days, 17 hours, 28 seconds and counting.”

“It seems it’s all going just fine” said Brian, with a calm tone in his voice. “I think the computer has been most helpful during all the time we spent down there…”

“It certainly was…” replied Madeline. “I mean, not only does it understand voice commands better than any other computer, but it also processes them better and quicker. What would have happened if it hadn’t predicted that sand storm that hit our temporary base? We would have lost all the samples we gathered. Now, thanks to it, the samples are safe with us.”

“Well, it’s certainly going to be a long trip back home, so why don’t we get some rest, and then we can talk some more… What do you think, Brian?”

“I definitely find this to be the best idea so far. See you in a few hours…”

“That was the best nap I’ve had ever since we began this goddamn mission…” said Brian, while taking a sip of coffee through a narrow straw.

“We certainly deserved it…” Madeline replied.

The size of Mars was now close to the size of the Moon, as it was seen from Earth. And it just kept getting smaller and smaller…

The two were standing and watching the amazing view, when the door opened, and Chris entered the command deck, or “Sector A” as the computer called it.

No sooner had the door closed, than the voice of the computer broke the silence:

“Alert! Alert! Unknown virus detected in Sector C! Repeat: Unknown virus detected in Sector C! Take necessary measures immediately!”

“What the…” shouted Chris.

“Oh my God!” said Madeline. “Sector C?! That’s where the samples we took from Mars are!”

“But that’s impossible! I mean, isn’t that what we came here for? To discover life on Mars… And after nearly two months of searching for it, we discover that we had it with us all along?!” Brian said.

“I know! It’s unbelievable…” said Madeline. “But the computer detected something in there, and it certainly isn’t just a piece of rock!…”

“We have to check it out” said Chris.

Meanwhile, the voice of the computer kept repeating: “Alert! Unknown virus detected in Sector C! Take quarantine measures immediately!”

The three rushed out of the command room, passed the living quarters and finally arrived near a big metal door, a door that was the entrance to the so called “Sector C”, the place where the samples taken from the Red Planet had been stored.

“It seems ok from here” said Chris while looking through the small window. “I know that it’s just a bunch of rocks and that there isn’t any possibility for me to actually see the virus, but except the flashing red lights and the voice of the computer, there seems to be no problem…”

“You can’t see the virus. But the computer can! And that’s the most important thing!” replied Brian.

“I’m going in there!” said Chris.

“What?! Are you insane? You don’t know what this virus can do to you… What if it’s deadly?” Brian told him.

“I’ll wear a spacesuit. The virus can’t reach me that way…”

“You know, I’m having second thoughts about this…”

In about 20 minutes, Chris was wearing a spacesuit, and he was prepared to enter “Sector C” and take a sample of the rocks and the air in there, and bring them out for further study.

Brian and Madeline went back to the living quarters, while Chris, who had now remained all alone, sealed between two hermetically shut doors, was getting ready to enter Sector C. The whole operation took no more than 15 minutes, and Chris returned with the samples. He entered the decontamination room.

The only thing that was standing between Chris and the other two was a tightly shut door. The decontamination finished, and Chris tried to open the door. But he couldn’t! Then they heard the computer’s voice again:

“Decontamination unsuccessful! Virus still detected in Decontamination Area! Alert! Possible virus infection for all the people present in the contaminated zone! Quarantine sequence commenced! Sealing all doors!…”

“Nooo!” shouted Chris, while he was desperately hitting the door.

Madeline and Brian were speechless. They couldn’t do anything but stand and watch how Chris was facing the imminent virus contamination.

“We can’t go back to Earth!” said Madeline. “It’s too dangerous! What if the virus causes a deadly plague?! We can’t do it!… Let’s call Mission Control and report the current situation…”

“What?! After all this hard work? And what do you suggest we do?…” replied Brian.

“Drop all the cargo… I think it’s safer that way!”

“Drop it? Isn’t there anything else we can do?”

“Well, we have absolutely no clue of how this virus spreads… I mean, even after the decontamination sequence, the computer still reported the presence of the virus…”

“So that’s basically the only solution we’ve got, right?”

“Yes, I suppose it is…”

“And what about Chris?!…”

The next two hours were the longest hours Brian and Madeline had to face ever since their departure from Earth. It was a matter of life and death. It was surely easy to drop a 4 months’ work (and all the billions of dollars invested into it) into space, but sacrificing one man’s life was unacceptable, even if it meant saving the life of billions of other people. But if all three of them remained up there and never returned, it would be worse than having two members of the crew return back home. And that’s the decision they took…

“But who’s going to tell him?” asked Madeline.

“I think he already knows this was going to be our decision. I believe it was inevitable.” replied Brian.

“And who’s the one that’s going to open the hatch?…”

“I will do it!” said Brian. “You just stay here on the command deck…”

After saying this, Brian left the room.

Brian was standing in front of the door. Chris looked straight at him. He then knew the inevitable faith that awaited him. He just nodded, as a sign of approval.

Brian’s finger was a few centimeters away from the button that opened the hatch, when the voice of the computer said:

“Breach detected! Virus contamination extended to Sector B! Repeat: Virus contamination extended in Sector B! Scanning perimeter… Two human life forms detected in the contamination area. Please take measures immediately!”

Brian’s face turned white. He remained there, motionless. His mind was overwhelmed by a strange feeling of terror, hatred and despair. But it only took him a couple of minutes to find the best solution. He headed towards the door to the command deck.

Madeline was unable to say a word. They just looked at each other through the window. After a few moments of silence, Brian told her:

“You know what you have to do, Madeline…”

“But I can’t do it. And you know it!…”

“You have to… It’s either me and Chris, or the whole three of us! Think…”

“I can’t! I just can’t!!!”

“You must!… That’s the most logical thing to do!…”

The inevitable moment had arrived. The two men were now standing and waiting for Madeline to push the button. As it was already a contaminated area, the computer had opened the door that separated the two.

Madeline closed her eyes and stretched her shaking hand towards the button that opened the hatch. The last things that Brian saw were two small teardrops twinkling in the corner of Madeline’s eyes. Their death was instantaneous…

A few seconds after the hatch had opened, Madeline could see all the samples they had taken from Mars drifting away into space.

“All that hard work… Chris… And Brian… Oh, Brian!…”

Madeline’s thought was interrupted by the voice of the computer:

“This was just a drill! Repeat: This was just a drill!”