The next video had absolutely nothing to do with any of the revelations from the last one. In fact, it was almost as though the Tracy family was completely ignoring the information that had been given to the world. Even their Instagram profiles were empty of information; they were still only posting pictures of their new cat.
This video though, for all that it wasn't exactly what the world was wanting, was fascinating in and of itself.
Very few people got to see space the way that John Tracy could show it. Not only did Thunderbird Five have an excellent view of, well, everything, but the holographic interface in the 'Bird was amazingly more advanced than anything that Earth had to offer at the moment. Again, the Tracy's seemed frustrated that even with TI, they weren't able to get the world to upgrade as quickly as they wanted.
This video was more geared towards a younger audience, everyone soon realized. John had obviously compiled all the space-related questions that kids had been asking, because some of them were incredibly simple. But he patiently answered every single one with a smile and visual explanations.
Why is the gravity on the moon different? Because of the difference in mass to the Earth. And a nice easy explanation on what gravity is and why it works, complete with video of Alan jumping on both Earth and the Moon, and even Mars to give examples in progress.
Can a star turn into a planet? Sometimes, in very rare instances and only if the star was a brown dwarf. This led into a simple explanation about different star types.
How does Thunderbird Five have gravity? An easy to understand explanation about the ring and centrifugal forces. How gravity can be formed through acceleration.
What keeps the sun spinning? Nothing. It's spinning under its own inertia and since there's nothing capable of stopping it, it's likely to spin forever.
Where is the edge of the universe? We've never found it. As far as we're aware, it's continuously growing.
The video was almost forty minutes long, the longest any of their videos had ever been. It was amazingly educational, and astonishingly beautiful. John had a way with words and a voice that could sooth even the most panicked of people.
They got evidence of that, as well, when half-way through the video a distress call came in from Siberia. Two hikers lost in the snow that had managed to hail International Rescue on their radio. Which, honestly, was miraculous as well, because what other space station was capable of picking up radio signals like that?
John talked the two men into calming down, informed them how to protect themselves from the elements and then checked to see if any other rescue agencies could handle this call. None of them could, so he called up Tracy Island. "International Rescue, we have a situation."
Scott was sent out, and the holographic interface tracked the fast ship, John explaining how Thunderbird One could get up to speeds of Really Really Fast—apparently the actual speed was classified. But it only took twenty minutes for Thunderbird One to locate the hikers and only about a half hour to have them safely back to the city. Most of the rescue was edited out for time, but the important bits had been left on, such as the information that John gave to Scott about the location and the hikers themselves. Once they were safe, and 'One was on her way back to base, John flipped the holographic back to what he'd been speaking about before.
John's attention turned back to the stars and his questions.
John even deemed to give a very brief tour of his Thunderbird, being careful to keep things classified. He showed off his main hub, where the holographics were and the majority of the video had taken place. He showed his own bedroom, as well as the 'guest rooms' (there were two) that were on board. The bathroom. The 'kitchen'. The observation deck and the gym. At each one he gave simple explanations to questions he'd obviously been asked.
What do you do about bone density loss? We have special tablets we take now, that help fight that. Plus, I keep the gravity fairly constant in most of the station.
How does a toilet work without gravity? Thankfully all the bathrooms have gravity. There are fail-safes in place if the gravity fails in those areas, but its not something I really have to worry about.
Why do you need a gym? Muscles can atrophy if not used enough, and in space you can get used to not exercising. International Rescue has very strict rules about health and physical fitness, so I have to use the gym to keep healthy and strong.
What's your favorite part of Five? The observation deck. You can see the whole world from there.
Thunderbird Five, for all that it was mostly white, didn't look as stark and clinical as most would have expected. There were lines of color, blues and grays and oranges. And in the bedrooms especially were paintings on the walls and photographs. John's room had an enclosed shelving system filled to the brim with books. The kitchen had a painting of all five 'Birds on the wall. The bathrooms had been tiled in something other than white.
It looked like a home in the living areas, as opposed to a business, like the rest of the ship. There was a lot of technology involved too, obviously, but a lot of that was blurred out on the camera. Apparently, it was classified, and that was fine for most people. The fact that they got to see Thunderbird Five at all was considered amazing; even Global One hadn't done a tour like this and Global One was considered 'public' since it was GDF owned.
For the kids, the video was an amazing piece of educational workmanship. For the adults it was the same, but it was also an insight to the degree of professionalism that International Rescue held themselves to. John had been nothing but calm and courteous throughout the entire call, his voice never once wavering, even when he realized it was a call that IR would have to take up. The amount of work that went into keeping oneself fit and ready for rescues was another surprise. Most had never considered that the communications officer would have the same requirements as the actual rescues.
Most seemed to forget that John often went on rescues himself when he was dirtside.
The video did its job, in that it completely distracted everyone from the news of the wedding and engagement. Now, the world seemed more focused on what they'd seen of Thunderbird Five and of space itself.
John was inordinately pleased.
His brothers were understandably thankful.
Note: Guys, this chapter is incredibly short because I'm out of ideas. I'll keep posting if I get some more inspiration but no promises. Love ya!
