Chapter No.9.

The next day, Carl got up before the women and prepared a breakfast of eggs, bacon and coffee.

Amy was the first to show up in the large kitchen with an equally large breakfast nook. "I'm surprised to see you up so soon."

He smiled. "I guess I got used to being the designated cook."

She sat down at the table. "I don't mind."

"I'm sure you don't."

Alice, Janet and Margaret made their appearance wearing PJ's and slippers.

"I guess we all couldn't sleep in," Carl said.

"We're still reeling over the way NASA just ignored what's happening on Titan," Alice said.

Carl placed a dish full of bacon on the table. "We really don't know what they are aware of in this timeline, or even if they realize that timelines can change."

"I think they know a lot more than they're willing to divulge," Alice said.

"I agree, but there's no way we can challenge them about it."

"What do you know about timeline changes?" Amy asked.

"Not much," Carl replied. "We have experienced at least four timeline changes. We think they're the result of being bombarded with exotic nuclei cosmic rays, but we have no idea how that causes a timeline change."

"Are we living in an infinite number of timelines?" she asked.

"I'm not sure that's the way it works. It could be that there's only one of us and timelines are just different perceptions of reality."

"That sounds like a vague philosophical explanation."

Carl smiled. "It could be, but I don't see how there is an infinite number of us existing in an infinite number of timelines. It violates Plank's law."

"Maybe Plank exists in infinite timelines and we're just spectators."

Carl laughed. "I think that would violate someone else's law."

She laughed.

"So, when do you think NASA will call us in for a new mission?" Alice asked.

"That's a good question. I got the impression that we were essentially put on an extended leave."

"Well, I can't think of a better place to be on leave than this marvelous mansion you own," Alice said. "This is like being in a resort."

"Enjoy," Carl said. "There's lots to do here."

"Yeah, and we don't have to dress appropriately," Janet said.

"There's no dress code on Carl's resort," Amy said with a grin. "It's well secluded."

They giggled.

Carl decided not to make a comment that could be interpreted to be sexist. His goal was to make sure that they were satisfied with their present accommodations, but his attention was centered on what NASA was up to. He needed a way to be in on the planning that was going on, and he knew just who to call to get the latest information. Unfortunately, his source of information was a female.

He had to come up with some clandestine method of contacting Janice Wilson, probably the finest astronaut that NASA had ever had. She had survived several missions to survey the Asteroid belt that is strung between Mars and Jupiter. She almost bit the dust on one mission to Cares, the largest asteroid in the belt. Unfortunately, Charlie Fells, one of his best friends did die on that ill-fated mission.

The problem was that he didn't know if Janice was in this timeline. His search of NASA's employment data did list her, and that made him feel that he was in a timeline that wasn't too different than the original one. He made a more than cursory examination of her photo. She was a brunette with a classic female face. Her green eyes sparkled as if they were the eyes of a Greek goddess.

He called her private number and got a message that told him that she was busy and couldn't reply. Eventually, he did make contact and was able to meet her at Dorsey's, a café in the downtown district.

They hugged, and Janice gave him a friendly peck on the cheek. "I was so relieved to know that you survived the Titan Mission. You were sent out on a spacecraft that hadn't been approved."

"It's my second encounter with an untested spacecraft. I flew the spaceplane before it was cleared."

"Yeah, NASA has been getting cavalier about their testing protocols."

They entered the café and sat down in a booth. A waitress appeared and took their orders.

"The reason I contacted you is because I'm curious about what NASA is up to. We were able to determine that the device that terraformed Titan is a product of Azak Technologies."

Janice's eyes ballooned momentarily before settling into a narrow squint. "You've got to be kidding. They're a clandestine weapons manufacturer."

"That doesn't make sense. The device works by blasting out exotic nuclei cosmic rays. I'm not sure how that would terraform a moon or a planet, but one of its side effects is that it changes the timeline."

Janice eyes twittered briefly before she replied. "Timeline?"

"Yes. Evidently there is an infinite number of timelines. We first experienced it on July 6 when what we thought was an alien device on the Moon blasted Earth with exotic cosmic rays, which made every human on Earth vanish and most of the humans on the L2 Moon space station. We were in an Orion capsule on the way to the Chandra telescope and were unaffected."

Janice shook her head. "I don't know what to say. I knew that NASA was experimenting with terraforming, but I didn't realize that it was causing timeline changes."

"I realize that what I'm revealing sounds far-fetched but believe me when I tell you that it's a risk to everyone."

Janice didn't reply until after they were served. After taking a bite of her burger, she looked Carl in the eye and said something that surprised the hell out of him.

"NASA is updating the Explorer spaceship in orbit so that it can fly much faster."

"Why?"

"They discovered something happening on Enceladus and they want to send us out there to find out what's happening."

"Us?"

"Yes, your crew and me."

Carl had to pause and gather his wits before he replied to this unexpected revelation. "I assume that you're not just teasing me."

She chuckled. "I wish I were, but it's true. You and your crew will soon be asked to come in for a briefing."

Carl took a good swig of his beer before he reacted. "I'm having a problem understanding all of this. What the hell could be happening to Enceladus? It's a frozen moon with an ocean under its ice crust. I can't imagine it being terraformed."

"I can't either, but who knows what's going on. Maybe this is an attempt to establish a base there."

"I have trouble picturing that."

She smiled. "I do too."

Janice's expression rapidly went through concern to amusement to contriteness. "Ah, I understand that your crew is living with you in a mansion. I wonder if you wouldn't mind having another wayward live in."

Carl tried as best as he could to suppress a grin. "Sure, but I'm really going to get razzed if you do."

She chuckled. "I can understand that. You'll have a full house of women."

Carl just smiled, but inside he was wanted to sneak out and just disappear.

When Alice showed up later that day, the women were hell bent on teasing him.

"It looks like you really do have a brothel now, brother," Amy his sister teased.

"I am the victim of a series of fortunate circumstances," he replied with a smirk. "But keep in mind that vous les filles avez L'avantage."

"You bet your bippy that we do!" Amy said.

Carl laughed but he knew that he would be the butt end of the jokes. He didn't understand why someone with Janice's stature wanted to live here. He assumed that it was for the same reasons that the other women wanted to live here for free. He understood.

Surprisingly, NASA didn't contact them. They all thought that they would be summoned to a Mission briefing, but their employer didn't seem to be in a hurry.

When they gathered for the evening meal of steaks, potatoes and carrots, one that Carl had prepared, the talk centered on their situation.

"Janice told us that we were slated to go out on a mission to Enceladus," Alice said. "Is this another case of robotic terraforming?"

"Hell if I know," Carl said. "I can't even imagine how an ice moon like Enceladus could be terraformed."

"When is this going to happen?" Margaret asked.

"We don't know," Janice said. "All I know is that they're supposedly updating the Explorer spaceship to make it there a lot quicker."

"Yeah," Janet said. "And that translates to more G's when we do the major engine burn."

"I heard a rumor that suggests that they've found a way around that problem," Janice said. "It has something to do with being immersed in a liquid."

"That sounds crazy!"

"Yes, but it would cut down the G-force effect," Carl said. "They might have worked out the Liquid Breathing problem."

"Isn't that done by using a perflurohexane liquid with anresthetic vaporizers?" Janet asked.

"Yes. However, I'm not sure that they've solved the high-volume ventilation problem.

"I get this feeling that we might end up as guinea pigs," Margaret said.

"Maybe it's not what we think," Carl said. "We'll just have to wait and see."

That didn't do much to assuage the anxiety that they were suffering. Carl decided to keep a low profile while they were waiting for their next assignment.

As the days went by, he spent his time trying to stay in shape by running around the property and using the exercise equipment in the basement section of the main house. He also was also able to amuse himself by practicing basketball shots in a full court.

The women preferred to play in the Olympic-sized pool, and since it was secluded by frosted glass windows, they could swim in their birthday suits. However, their activities were being observed by surveillance cameras.

Carl had no intentions of intruding on their activities, but something was about to happen that would make him break that intention. He was sitting in his favorite easy chair in the massive living room when his phone beeped.

The women were in the pool enjoying the slide that twisted like a corkscrew to provide a rambunctious ride from a tower to the water. They screeched and yelled to express their glee more indicative of what children would do. It provided them enjoyment which was complete abandonment of adult propriety.

When they saw Carl enter the pool chamber, it propelled their desire to tease him into a frenzy. They swam over to the lounge area where he had just plopped down in a lawn chair and gathered like a pod of dolphins, treading water to shield their bodies.

"You here to ogle us?" Janet intoned in mocking fashion.

"No," Carl said, presenting a subdued, more somber moody expression to them. "I just got off the phone with George. He wants us to come to a meeting tomorrow at 10."

"Did he say why?" Margaret asked, her expression of glee fading to a more ominous pout.

"No," Carl replied in a  matter of fact manner.

Janet was the first to pull herself up out of the pool and approach him without any attempts to protect her modesty. "He didn't even give you a hint?" she said while propping her fists into her hips.

Carl avoided reacting to her unexpected reaction. "None."

Margaret got out of the pool and joined Janet, folding her arms like a grade schoolteacher ready to ball out a student that gave her lip. "That's ridiculous!" she said, her brow furrowed.

Alice, Janice and Amy climbed out of the pool and joined Janet and Margaret. None of them exhibited any sign of embarrassment.

"I agree, but that's all I could get out of him," Carl said. "I would assume it's about the new mission."

Carl was surprised when they sat down in lawn chairs near him as if everything was normal. Janet and Amy crossed their legs. Margaret sat with her legs together. Alice and Janice leaned back in their chairs. Alice raised her arms up to cushion her head, relaxing as if she were on a resort beach.

"This has to be something to do with Enceladus," Janet said. "It's the reason they're updating the Explorer."

"I hate the idea of being confined in spaceship," Janice said. "Here, we can enjoy ourselves in this fabulous resort of yours."

"Yeah!" Janet said. "And this is how we pay him in order to live rent free in his outlandish resort."

They laughed.

Carl realized that they were teasing him, but their lack of modesty was disturbing. It was not how he expected mature women to behave, especially women who had PhD degrees in astrophysics.

They got up and dived back in the pool to continue their collective fun. He decided to get up and go back to the living room to enjoy peace and quiet, and to get over the shock that he had experienced.