Pulvirenti Giorgio - Proxima B

Doctor Ezekiel Phin, in his turn, replied, “Well, it isn’t really that way. You are right, this femur belongs to a woman – not an old woman, actually, but a thirty-year-old one, and more precisely one of the women that took part in the project for the colonization of Mars called “HELIOS” ten years ago. And this is her femur after staying in space for six years!”

Ezekiel’s words fell like a stone into the hall where there were several doctors and other surprised people. Then he kept on talking.

“This is one of the issues that we must resolve. And now look at this one! What do you notice?”

A video about a pulsing heart was broadcast behind him.

“I believe that this one is more… let’s say… particular!” Phin added before giving the floor to the corps of the doctors.

“You in the second row with your hand up, please!”

The doctor consulted by Doctor Phin was an athletic and attractive man, with light eyes, in his mid-thirties that got attention from the female audience.

“Hello! I’m Mirko Ivanov. I’m a heart surgeon at N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Medicine in Moscow. Well, I think this is a case of spherical heart. Observing its shape and given the irregularity of its rhythm, the subject must have lived six months in space,” the Russian man stated firmly. Then he exchanged a look and a smile with Amelia that was a few rows in front of him and finally he took his seat again.

“That’s a good remark! This malformation is due to the less exhausting work of the heart in space. A solution will consist in the supervision of the members of the expedition during their training period,” Phin explained.

After other basic concepts of applied medicine in space life, he deliberately talked about another topic and his tone became much more serious.

“What we’re going to talk about is a very important topic: repopulation. I’d like to ask you how many men and women may be needed to repopulate a planet like Proxima B,” the doctor stated, trying to foresee the possible reactions of the members of the mission.

“Excuse me; you said “repopulation”, didn’t you? Weren’t we supposed to build some bases so that the other people could join us on this planet?” was the question of a rather alarmed oculist in the second row. People in the hall began to mumble. Doctor Phin’s countenance grew strange when he noticed their strange reaction.

“I may have been misunderstood! The mission implies that people are moved from this planet to that one, but… let’s assume that something unexpected happens…” Doctor Phin tried to explain, but he did not even have time to finish his sentence. A female voice stopped him.

“Ten thousand or so! Ten thousand men and women!” Amelia cried out, drawing all the focus towards her. Everybody looked at her, including the man that was the chief in London, who cried out in amazement, “Can you repeat, please?”

“Well, you got it. Should we put it approximately in order to avoid any cross between kinsmen and re-balance the high mortality rate taken into account for space travels, an intergenerational mission should involve at least ten thousand people,” Amelia stated once again. Those who were in the room fell silent while waiting for some explanations for what they had just heard. Some moments of silence followed. In the meantime, the professor stared at Amelia.

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