Chin Zhi Khang's Science Fiction Short Story

    “So, what are you going to do today?” Lucas asked Jack. They have been very close friends since Secondary School and are studying space exploration in University. 
    They decided to go to the library and found some books. They settled down and started on their books. 
    “Lucas, what do you think about going on a space expedition? I want to know how hot exactly Mercury is. You know me, I prefer to experience things in reality instead of doing research.” Jack asked. 
    Lucas nodded his head enthusiastically. “Of course I will go! I am always curious about the outer space. But for now, we shall focus on our studies and graduate from University first.”
   They found out that they would take about six years to reach Mercury from Earth, so they decided to set off as soon as possible. 
    Two weeks later, they had gone through training to prepare themselves for the 

worst. They then got onto the spacecraft and took off.

    They have been told that it would take 8 minutes to get out of Earth’s atmosphere. 
    After travelling 22 million kilometres, they found out that they were left with only half their fuel left. “We may not be able to make it to Mercury, which is 56 million kilometres away.” the pilot announced. “We will have to stop on Venus to contact NASA and ask them to send a spacecraft to Venus to fetch us.” 
    They finally reached and landed. The pilot tried to contact NASA but the communication system has broken down. 
   Jack and Lucas decided to explore the planet. They had been walking for 15 minutes when they spotted a building in their sight. “Look! I think that is a greenhouse!” Lucas pointed out. 
     “We found out that there was plenty of carbon dioxide on Venus, so we brought some potatoes to try it out,”  Jim, who was in the greenhouse, explained, after introducing himself and his partner, Harry, who are both botanists.
    Lucas asked, “I learnt a method to change food into fuel for the spaceship. May we use some of your potatoes to turn them into fuel to go back?”
    “Absolutely not! Without food, we may not survive and will not be able to announce our discovery to the people on Earth,” Harry explained.
    “Don’t worry about that. Once we get back to Earth, we will tell everyone about your amazing discovery,” Jack said to him, hoping that he would change his mind.
    “Alright then, but you have to learn the basics of planting crops,” Jim told them.
    After two years, they finally managed to grow enough resources to turn into fuel for their spaceship. 
    “Thank you for helping us to grow crops and letting us use it,” Jack told them.
    “No problem,” Harry replied.
    Subsequently, they proceeded onto the spacecraft and were on their way back to Earth. As soon as they reached, reporters were all over the place and were trying to interview them.
    “Although we did not manage to measure the temperature on Mercury, we did measure the temperature of Venus, and it is about 467 degrees Celsius. That is hotter than Mercury’s average temperature!” Jack told the reporters.
    Both of them went back home, learning that crops grow better on Venus than on Earth because of the abundance of carbon dioxide.
    
    Chin Zhi Khang (8)

    Word Count: 549