17 CRISIS MODE

17 CRISIS MODE Lunar day 252 T minus ten minutes to emergency evacuation We had all rehearsed evacuation procedures many times. NASA mandated that we had to do it once a month, and Nina occasionally threw in a bonus fake emergency just to keep us on our toes. We never really evacuated, as that was considered too dangerous, but we at least went through the motions so we would know where to go and what to do and what everyone's job was. Unfortunately, there'd been no way to completely

prep for an actual emergency, because the circumstances of an actual emergency were very different. We always knew that the rehearsals were rehearsals, and that if we screwed up, we wouldn't die. But now it was real, and that created a very different mind-set. No matter how much we had practiced not panicking, most of us were now on the edge of panic. And to make matters worse, since our oxygen levels were already low, none of us were thinking as clearly as we should have been. Some people, like Mom and Dad and Chang, appeared to be thinking more clearly than others, but they were working at it, almost willing themselves to fight off hypoxia long enough to function. Others, like Dr. Brahmaputra-Marquez, succumbed too quickly. She was laughing giddily and talking to an imaginary kangaroo. To my surprise, Dr. Marquez turned out to be one of the competent people. Seeing that his wife was in trouble forced him to step up his game. He tended to Dr. Brahmaputra-Marquez while also helping Roddy and Inez. Inez was probably doing the worst of anyone, but at least she was still conscious and able to follow directions.

Cesar Marquez may have been the calmest of everyone—although that was probably the result of the sedative his mother had given him. He emerged from the medical bay looking serene and well-rested (although possibly a bit spaced out). "We're evacuating?" he asked. "Cool. Sounds like fun." The first order of business was to get oxygen. Emergency canisters of it were bolted to the walls throughout MBA, the same way that fire extinguishers are everywhere in buildings back on earth. Those adults who still had their faculties grabbed the canisters as quickly as they could while still taking care not to go too quickly. Anyone who moved too fast would increase their heart rate and breathing speed, which would only make them more hypoxic. The canisters all had transparent face masks to fit over the user's nose and mouth, and these were connected to the oxygen supply by tubes. They looked very much like the face masks that drop down on an airplane if the cabin depressurizes. The procedures for using them were the same as on an airplane as well: Mom, Dad, and Chang each took a few breaths off their canisters first, making sure that their minds were thinking straight before turning

their attention to helping everyone else. Meanwhile, I led Violet toward the air-lock staging area, knowing our parents would meet us there with the oxygen. There wasn't any time to spare waiting around for them. I was trying to soothe Violet and keep her from getting scared, although she was too looped out to really grasp what was going on. Instead I was ending up getting scared, because she was acting even sillier than usual. "Know what else I'd like besides a unicorn?" she asked. "Some dinosaurs. The ones that are all gray and fuzzy and adorable with huge ears." "Uh, Violet," I said, "I think those are koalas." "Right! Koalas! That's what I want!" Nina came rushing down from her residence, toting the emergency canister from her room, the mask already strapped to her face. Because of this, she was completely clearheaded and began barking orders. I didn't really grasp what she said, though, because it was all highly technical, I wasn't in the best frame of mind, and none of it was directed at me anyhow. "Chang, placate the orbital dingus flange! Stephen and Rose, diffuse the bicaudal ventricles! Daphne, oscillate the flammable terrapins!"

Or something like that. The Sjobergs burst from their residence like a herd of spooked cattle, shoving one another out of the way and all yelling that they ought to be first to evacuate. Although they had two emergency canisters in their suite, they hadn't remembered to bring either one. Through it all, the sirens kept wailing and the base computer continued calmly announcing that we needed to evacuate immediately. Whoever had programmed this had probably expected that it would be soothing, but it had the opposite effect, like someone repeatedly reminding you that you only had a few minutes left on a math test when you were trying to focus on the test itself. Mom raced over to Violet and me with her oxygen canister. She clapped the mask over my nose and mouth before I could even protest that Violet should have it first. My first breath of oxygen had a startling effect. My head cleared almost instantly, as though a cloud had evaporated inside my skull. I immediately grasped exactly what I had to do next and how to do it. After a few more breaths, we forced the mask onto Violet's face. I saw clarity return to her eyes

within only a few seconds. "Both of you, suit up to go outside," Mom said. "I have to stay back here to fix the system." "What?" Violet asked worriedly. "Why?" "Because it has to be done and I know how to do it," Mom said. "Your father is coming outside with you, but he has to work on the problem out there, so I need you two to stick together." She shifted her focus to Violet. "Your brother is in charge. Stay close to him and do what he says, all right?" Normally, Violet might have protested, but now she grasped that this was important and that she had to listen. "All right." Mom said, "It's a good thing your father checked your suit with you today, so we know it still fits." "It does," Violet agreed. "Though it's a little tight. I've grown two inches since we got here!" "Two inches? My goodness. Your grandparents won't even recognize you when we get home." Mom's tone was light and easygoing, but I knew it was all an act to keep Violet calm. It worked like a charm, though. Violet didn't seem very worried, despite everything that was going on, and even I felt a bit more relaxed myself. "Now, even though this is an emergency," Mom continued, "we still have