7W: The Geysers of Enceladus

Chapter I: The Geysers of Enceladus

The ground of the little moon of Enceladus is not made of rock the whole way through. Underneath the southern lands is a large ocean, submerged for millions of years. As Saturn’s gravity pulls on the waters, the plates of the land crack and separate into vast canyons. at the base of these canyons are geysers that shoot water out to great heights. Unlike the geysers that you can find on other worlds, these geysers spit out water using the force of gravity, meaning that the water shoots hundreds of feet into the air- and then rains back down in a mist.

After about a day of cruising around in the black, letting the passengers enjoy a pleasantly slow-moving river of stars, the Addingale floated down onto Saturn’s tiny moon, Enceladus. The tour group was welcomed into a large cliffside hotel.

Felix and Teresa settled into their hotel rooms. For the next three days, they would be enjoying a view of the cliffs and the moist, fresh air that filled their room. After they had put down their bags, the siblings ran downstairs to join the rest of the tour group, only to see that many of the people were heading off into different directions. Walking towards the direction of the cliffs to the north, Teresa saw Captain Shiloh carrying a backpack. Without hesitating, the siblings caught up with her and asked why everyone was heading off in different directions.

“Oh, didn’t you hear my speech?” Shiloh asked, “These geysers stretch out for miles, theres so much to take in around here, so I left four paths open that people can hike through.”

“I’m so sorry,” Teresa replied “my brother and I were upstairs dropping off our things- we must’ve missed your whole speech.”

“That’s okay,” She said, “Hey, why don’t you come hiking with me- I know some great spots around here.”

“Oh, I don’t wanna intrude-”

“Can we, Teresa?” Felix butted in, “I wanna see the coolest places around here!”

“Seems like your brother likes the idea.” Shiloh Laughed, “C’mon. Just make sure you guys have your umbrellas ready, it gets awful wet up here.”

Teresa and Felix liked teaming up with Shiloh- she was a very fun-loving person and she knew the lands that they were travelling better than anyone. The cliff sides were high and winding. The siblings would almost run out of breath, but then the huge blasts of water would come up from the ground at the base of the cliffs and cool them off. So close to the geysers, the three were getting soaked in water.

    After they reached the top of the mountains, the trails led into long stretches of fields and hills. Small cottages on the hilltops housed friendly people that loved to watch the geysers cut the clouds in half off in the distance. Felix was no different.

    The three enjoyed their hike, and re-entering another cliffside landscape, the three were stopped by a calm, deep voice.

    “Shiloh?” The voice asked, “Captain Shiloh, is that you?”

    The three turned around to see who was asking for her. Felix looked up to see an elderly man with dark skin, a white beard, large ears, and a very wide black hat.

    “I thought I heard your voice!” he continued, “Now were you trying to sneak on past here without saying hello?”

    “Uncle Jacobs!” yelled Shiloh, running up to the man and hugging him. “I was going to come visit later tonight but- Oh, Teresa, Felix, this is an old friend of mine, Sohan Jacobs. He used to help me with the tour group way back when.”

    “Oh yeah,” he said, “back when I was a little more spry than I am now. I’m just an old farmer now.”

    “It’s very nice to meet you Mr. Jacobs.” said Teresa, I hope we’re not intruding on your property or anything.”

    “Now don’t you worry about that,” He said “visitors are always welcome, especially if they’re friends of Shiloh, here.”

    “You’ve got a farm, mister?” Felix said excitedly. Mr. Jacobs looked down at Felix, probably noticing him for the first time.

    “Sure I do, son.” Mr. Jacobs chuckled, “I’ve got a few fields all around this area. My family and I grow food for the towns below the hills.”

    “Hey, why don’t you guys come take a look at it?” Shiloh suggested, “I mean, if that’s okay with you Uncle Jacobs.”

    “Well I’d be happy to show you folks around.” He agreed, “You are a tour-guide, after all.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Teresa pondered “I wouldn’t want to intrude-”

    “Please, Teresa?” Felix begged, “I’ve never seen an actual farm before!”

    “It seems your brother’s pretty interested.” said Mr. Jacobs, “Come on, I’ll show you how I work.”

    The three followed Uncle Jacobs onto his garden-farm. Trees grew tall in large square fields, each one brimming with large and colorful fruits that Felix and Teresa had never seen before. Large vegetable crops stretched out hundreds of feet before them. Bushes lined the edge of the farmland full of strawberries the size of their hands, blueberries and raspberries that one could finish in a couple of bites, and other foods much more plump than anyone could find on any other world.

    “These are incredible!” Teresa said, taking a bite out of a strawberry. She let the taste linger in her mouth as a line of red juice dribbled down her cheek. “You must have some kind of secret formula for the soil around here!

    “Not at all! Everything here is as natural as you and me. You see that cliff over there?” Uncle Jacobs said, pointing to the east behind his grove of fruit trees, “Right there is one of the geysers, and a couple times a week, it blasts into the sky and a mist of spring water feeds all of the plants on my garden. 200 years ago, my family bought this stretch of land and started planting seeds from every fruit they brought from Mother Earth. Then, with each crop, they would only re-plant the biggest fruit they could find and use water from the geyser to keep everything healthy and tasty.”

    Shiloh took Teresa for a walk around the garden, telling her a bit more about the history of the lands that they were walking through. Felix followed Mr. Jacobs and wanted to learn more about the life of farming. Mr. Jacobs told Felix that it was a calm life, and very relaxing. Throughout the next few hours, he showed Felix the tools he used dig up and wash the vegetables, how to cut the fruit off of the trees, and how to plant new crops for the next batch. For this, he showed Felix a small machine that he pulled out of his toolshed.

    “Now this here, son, is what my grand-pappy called a Dowsing Rod”, he explained, holding the two metal handles higher than his waist. There was a screen on the device that flashed on when he pressed a button. “They didn’t make too many of these but they sure are useful. They look under the ground for you, and show you where to find rocks or dead roots or anything else that might stop a crop from growing.”

    “Can you use it to see through walls and stuff?” Felix asked

    “Sure can.” He answered, “That’s probably the reason they stopped making them. Too many people spying on everyone else. Not me, though. My sister and I used to use this to go looking for buried treasure out in the fields.”

    “Woah, there’s buried treasure out here?”

    “Well maybe. My dad told my sister and I when we were little that the very first Jacobs family to come here buried a chest somewhere under the farm.” He told him “But now I’m thinking that he just wanted us to dig more in the fields for him. I use that story on my granddaughter, too.” He laughed.

    “So what was in the chest?”

    “Well dad told me that it was all sorts of treasures,” He started, “but also apparently some kind of seed that hasn’t been seen in a long time. Something that could make us rich.”

    The day came to a close and the three had to get going back to the Hotel. Having another two days to spend on Enceladus, Teresa asked if they could come back the next day and buy some fruit from him to take with them on the trip. Suddenly, Felix got an idea: He could learn how to garden food from Mr. Jacobs and start his own back on Umbriel. He asked Mr. Jacobs if he could help him to plant his crops when he returned the next day. Mr. Jacobs happily agreed, and the next day, Felix was ready to help.

    Shiloh gave Teresa a basket and took her around the garden to pick the vegetables that she found to be most delicious- that night she would make an excellent dinner for her and her brother. She enjoyed the help of her new friend as well, and gladly spent the day with her picking out of the garden. Felix and Mr. Jacobs, meanwhile were out near the cliff sides, digging up dead bushes and planting new ones. The geyser was shooting off nearby dampening the ground, making it perfect for digging up.

    As they dropped an old blackberry bush into Uncle Jacobs’ wheelbarrow, Felix wiped his hands on his pants and asked, “Are you sure we should throw that away? Can’t you make more berries out of it?”

    “Oh that old thing? No, we haven’t had a decent crop from that bush in years. It’s time to plant a new one.” He answered.

    “I wanna be a farmer, too.” Felix admitted, “We don’t have farms on Umbriel, at least not ones near my house. I wanna stay here and work on the garden, just like you.”

    “Oh do you now?” He chuckled, “Well I’m flattered, I’m glad to see that you like this life so much. Maybe one day you’ll come back here and buy a place of your own.

    “Maybe. Umbriel is so boring.”

    Uncle Jacobs saw Felix digging around in the ground, picking out thick roots left behind from the bush that they had dug up.

    “Here, why don’t you try the dowsing rod?” Uncle Jacobs said as he handed him the Machine. “You hold it up over the dirt, and you can see where the big rocks are going to be. It saves you a lot of time.”

    Felix took an immediate liking to the device. Not only could he see underground, but he could use it to see the bones under his skin. Uncle Jacobs laughed and took him around to different bushes and let Felix dig up the ground after they had removed a plant. Felix felt that he was truly getting the hang of farming until he dropped the dowsing rod after tripping on a rock that he had pulled up. Down it tumbled off the cliff that he was standing on, and he thought that he had lost it forever. He looked over the cliff, and found that luckily the drop was only about 20 feet, and the machine seemed to be in tact.

    “Oh darn!” Uncle Jacobs shouted, “Now how am I gonna get down there?”

    “Don’t worry, I got it!” Felix answered, immediately flooded with guilt at what he had done. He found a good path to climb down and made it to the base of the hill very quickly. He picked up the dowsing rod and checked for any broken parts.

    “Is it okay?” Uncle Jacobs called down.

    Felix pressed the button on the side. The screen turned on. He ran it over the ground and saw brightly lit rocks, worms and frogs hidden underground or in the water of a small stream. “Yeah it’s working!” he called back. He could hear Uncle Jacobs sigh in relief as he pointed the device around. In the side of the cliff, he saw a shape light up on the screen. It was nearly square in shape, and seemed to be pretty thick. He grabbed his trowel which he had carried down with him, and began digging on the side of the wall. after he had dug about a foot into it, he pulled out a heavy metal box, covered in rust and dirt, but with a single word carved on the front: Jacobs.

    He brought the box back up with him and handed it to Uncle Jacobs, who was absolutely stunned to see what Felix had found. Teresa and Shiloh helped him to open it up, the box required solving a puzzle to open it. Inside the box were many small treasures- some old jewelry that belonged to Uncle Jacob’s ancestors, some old photographs and toys that had been brought from Earth, and a smaller box with a message written on a piece of paper: From Rowan Jacobs, To whoever finds this treasure.

    A tear rolled down Uncle Jacobs’ cheek as he read the rest of the message.
“What is it?” Asked Felix.

    “Hidden under the garden…” Uncle Jacobs said to himself. He picked up the smaller box and pressed a button on its side. With a click and a hiss, the box opened up and he picked a small blue seed out of a clear goo inside. “This was my Tenth Great-Grandfather’s.” He said, “He went to visit an alien planet about 250 years ago, and came back with a seed. He thought that the fruit he ate on his trip was so good, that he needed to plant it and share it with the humans. Alien food was illegal to bring back to Earth at the time, so bought this land and started a farm, so that one day when the laws lifted, he could grow it and let everyone enjoy.”

    “What are you going to do with it?” Shiloh asked

    “I’m going to plant it.” He answered, “The children of my family have been dreaming of finding this for 200 years. It’s time I fulfilled those dreams.” The room fell silent as group stared at the small blue seed. Uncle Jacob’s face continued to twist with joy as he held it in his shaking palms. He put the seed in a cup that he found in the kitchen and looked at Felix, “Felix, I owe you a lot.” he said. He looked up at Teresa and Shiloh, “and you two as well. If you hadn’t come here, I never would’ve found this. Let me give you guys something.”

    He ran into the other room pulled out a box full of small rocks. He put a few of them on the table and revealed that the insides were full of blue crystals. He told them that the crystals were found deep underground on Enceladus, and that while they weren’t worth much on that world, on others they were very rare and worth much more. The three each took one crystal, and Uncle Jacobs refused to charge Teresa and Shiloh for the fruit they had taken.

    The three of them said goodbye to Uncle Jacobs and thanked him for the time that they had gotten to spend in his garden. Felix was especially grateful, as he saw the past couple of days not only as an experience, but as an adventure.

    The next day, Felix worked on picking out the seeds from the fruit they had eaten the night before, and put them into his bag, and Teresa hid their two gemstones safely in her bag. She noticed Felix looking almost sad as he collected his treasures.

    “What’s wrong, bud?” She asked him, “Didn’t you have fun out in the garden?”

    “Yeah I did.” He answered, “I just don’t really want to leave yet. I haven’t had this much fun in so long.”

    Teresa understood what he was going through. Their life at home was the same every day, and it was nice to get a break from that and do something new.

    “I know you wanna stay here, but we have other places to go.” She said “And who knows, maybe one day you’ll come back here.

    “I guess so. I just wanna stay here now, though.”

    The two packed the rest of their things and got ready to leave Enceladus and head to their next stop: Saturn.