No Time on Titan: A Short Story

By Jeremy Reimer

Lyesha Brown is an ordinary biologist who receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to Titan, Saturn's largest moon and the only one with an atmosphere, on a corporate-sponsored mission to search for life. But she soon finds that the veil of corporate secrecy surrounding the mission could have deadly consequences. Can Lyesha survive the cold winds and sail the dark liquid methane seas of Titan to solve this mystery? Find out in this fast-paced short story from the author of Silicon Minds of Mars.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeremy Reimer
• Release date: Apr 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005129187

Jeremy Reimer

I was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on March 16, 1972, to Louis Elton Reimer and Gail Patricia (Edmondson) Reimer. Our family moved to Winlaw (close to Nelson) in the interior of BC when I was just one year old, and then again to the small town of Gibsons, BC when I was three. I grew up in Gibsons and went to elementary school there, but when it came time to go to high school I went back to Vancouver to attend Eric Hamber Secondary. Thanks to the Challenge Program I was able to finish in just four years instead of five, and started my B.Sc at the University of British Columbia when I was just 16 years old.Some detours and interesting side-adventures later, I graduated with a B.Sc in Physics from UBC, and then got my Bachelor's of Education from UBC a year later. I taught at Kester Grant College (a private ESL high school) and then Saint George's Secondary for a year, then decided teaching wasn't for me and went on to other prospects.Currently I work at a software development company in Vancouver as a software developer and technical writer.Marital statusMarried since 2001 to my wonderful soul mate Jennifer. Quite simply the most amazing woman in the world. She is intelligent, gorgeous, caring, funny, and just all-around amazing.KidsNone.PetsA beautiful tortoiseshell cat named Zoe.EducationBachelor of Science, Physics, University of British Columbia (1996)Bachelor of Education, Secondary (Physics), University of British Columbia (1997)Certificate of 2D and 3D animation, Vancouver Training Institute (1999)Diploma of Technical Writing, British Columbia Institute of Technology (2007)Project Management Professional, Project Management Institute (2010)Vital statsAge: 40Height: 6 feetWeight: 172 lbs (more muscle than a couple of years ago!)Teeth: Still got 'emCurrent computers owned2x2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook runningOS X 10.5 (CYLON_RAIDER)2x1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo running Windows XP (ADAMA)4x2.8GHz Intel Quad Core running Windows 7 (TELEVISION)1.8GHz Pentium 4 running Ubuntu Server Linux (ZOE)733Mhz Pentium /// running Xubuntu Linux 7.0 (GALACTICA) - flown into the sun...800Mhz G3 AmigaOne running OS 4 (JEREMY) (Sadly R.I.P. )500MHz G3 Macintosh iBook running OS X 10.3133MHz Pentium running DOS 6.0 and Windows 3.125MHz 68040 Macintosh LC475 running System 7.5.38MHz 8088 Packard Bell running DOS 5.0 and Geoworks8MHz 68000 Macintosh Classic running System 67.14MHz 68000 Amiga 500 running Workbench 3.11MHz Z80 Heathkit H89 running CP/M

Book preview

No Time on Titan

Copyright 2021 Jeremy Reimer

Published by Jeremy Reimer at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. This is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events, or locales, is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

No Time on Titan

The rain was coming down harder now, the quarter-sized blobs of liquid methane slowly floating from the sky before they spattered on the boat’s windshield like beats on a drum.

Lyesha stared out between the curtain of drops, scanning for the horizon. She looked at her watch, then instinctively looked back through the aft window. She saw nothing through the thick haze there either, but she knew he was out there, somewhere.

She turned back with a determined grimace on her face, and pushed the boat’s throttle harder.

Three years earlier…

Ryan was a nice enough guy, but he had one irritating problem. When he finally showed up, she made a show of glaring at her watch. It blended almost perfectly with her smooth, dark skin.

You’re late, she said.

He shrugged in that affable way of his. I thought I texted you.

She lifted the watch up even further. I would have seen it! she said.

I’m sorry. He ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair and smiled, flashing his perfect teeth. He was wearing an immaculately pressed suit that probably cost more than her monthly salary.

She sighed. Take a seat, she said. I’ve already ordered for us.

He did as he was instructed. Thanks, he said. What are we eating?

You’ll find out when it comes. Now tell me about this plan of yours.

Ryan smiled. You’re going to love it, Lyesha. You know about the Porco mission, back in ’38?

"Of course. Multi-year mission to Saturn. Landed two probes, one on Enceladus, the other on Titan. Looking for evidence of microbial life under the ice of Enceladus. Inconclusive. The Titan probe was