The quarter-mile walk would take a few minutes. The six shuttles were arranged around the spine at sixty-degree intervals, each with its own manual release. There were enough shuttles to evacuate the ship if needed.
Sheila was explaining again the need to release the two shuttles as close to the same time as possible.
“Because if we are out of sync too much we will give a spin to the ship and not acquire the forward momentum we need.”
“Yes I understand Newtonian physics Sheila.”
“Okay I'm just saying.”
They were quiet for some time while they pulled themselves along the belt line. Ordinarily, the belt line would be pulling them along, but without power they had to muscle their way down the ship's spine. Finally, they arrived at the shuttle station. Sheila took one side while Olson took the other.
“Okay dial the launcher to its maximum deflection possible,” said Sheila. The launchers were capable of being dialed to a launch angle of anywhere from thirty degrees away from the front of the ship to thirty degrees off the rear. For this launch, Sheila wanted both shuttles launched to the rear offset.
Once finished manually dialing in the deflection angle Sheila called Olson.
“You ready?”
“Ready.”
“Three, two, one, release!”
Sheila felt herself being kicked by the ship as her launcher reacted. Then almost immediately the ship lurched the opposite way. There was no more than a second between each kick. Sheila hoped that would be close enough.
With the spacewalk finished they were making their way back along the girder to the crew wheel. Sheila, feeling as if a load had been lifted from her shoulders, for the first time took a real look at the spacetime they were in. It was as if there were an indeterminate sky above her, luminous with a soft white light. As she stared at the “sky” she saw darker streaks race across it. She wondered if that was not the exotic energy girder-like net that kept the mouth open, adjusting itself to the ever-changing stresses caused by the always shifting mass-energy balance. All in all, it had a calming effect on her nerves.
Back inside the crew wheel, there was nothing they could do but wait. And without power, they couldn't determine course or speed if any. Sheila figured that it would take at least eight hours before they would know anything. She said goodnight to Olson and retired to her quarters.
Sheila was awakened by a pounding on the door. She looked at the time on her Emmie. She had only been asleep four hours. She dressed and opened the door.
“Stars Sheila, I see the stars. Your idea worked!”
“It's too soon Olson, unless.”
Sheila took off for the control room.
“What Sheila, what is it?”
“If we are really out of the wormhole mouth then the wormhole is shrinking faster than I expected. And if it is that could be the end.”
“The end of what?” asked Olson.
“Us,” she replied.
She explained to Olson the problem as they made their way to control.
“You see Olson, if we are out of the wormhole mouth this soon I suspect the mouth is shrinking faster than I expected. And if that is true then we could be in trouble.”
“In trouble, how could we be in trouble? We just got out of trouble, didn't we?”
“Yes but we could be in worse trouble. You see a wormhole mouth when left to itself will evaporate in much the same manner as a black hole. And at the very end of its life, a wormhole mouth will finish with an intense output of particles and energy. Putting it simply, if we are in the vicinity of this mouth when it evaporates we will be engulfed in an explosion.”
“You're right that's worse. So what can we do?”
“Well we will manually connect the isotopics to the charging arrays and start renewing their charge with the energy and light given off by the wormhole. As it gets smaller and smaller that energy will increase and the charging of the isotopics should also occur at an increasing rate. When we have enough power reserves we will make a short jump to put distance between us and the wormhole mouth.”
“But you said you didn't know how to use the drive.”
“I know but we haven't any choice.”
“Won't the distance decrease the charging rate?”
“Yes but not as much as usual because the energy output of the wormhole mouth will be increasing in an exponential manner so the isotopics will keep charging even at a considerable distance.”
As with everything aboard a fusion ship, provision had been made to provide a manual method of tying in the isotopics to the solar arrays. Once the task was accomplished Sheila and Olson retired to their quarters for a rest.
Sheila woke to find her night light shining in her eyes. She must have left it on by mistake. As she reached to turn it off she stopped.
The light's on.
Sheila jumped out of bed and headed for control. Olson was already in the room. The consoles were powered, Olson was at work rebooting them. Sheila pulled her way to the power monitor.
“I've got the attitude console booted Sheila I found the correct print.”
“Great Olson. We should have just enough power to run the electrics. But that means we can now aim the chemicals in the direction we want to go. It should put a little distance between us and the mouth. And I won't have to use the wormhole drive in an emergency situation.”
She moved to the attitude control rockets, oriented them and set them for a ten-minute burn.
“Just ten minutes?” said Olson.
“Yeah we don't want to burn through all our fuel without being able to replace it. We'll still need attitude control when the fusion rockets come online.”
“When will that be?”
“When the power levels reach twenty-five percent.”
“We're at ten now.”
“Yeah.”
“What do we do until then?” asked Olson.
“Well I'm going to get something to eat and wait,” said Sheila as she turned and pulled herself towards the door.
In the nearby coffee shop, Sheila and Olson were still eating when they felt the shaking.
“What's that?” said Olson.
Just then an alarm went off. Sheila checked her Emmie.
“It's a radiation warning. Let's get to control.”
As she entered the control room Sheila took a look at the wallscreen.
“That's not right,” she said aloud.
The wallscreen was still focused on the wormhole mouth. Instead of a milky white light, the mouth was a patchwork of darker splotches moving beneath the surface. Sheila was sure that it was smaller than when they had first left for the break room.
“Can you get me a reading on the radiation environment?” asked Sheila.
“A huge spike, we just got our yearly quota. It's rising again.”
“Yes and we've got damage too. Some of the aft electronics are fried.”
“How?”
“Plasma wave hit us. The mouth is acting like a flare star but with a greater particle capacity. It's building a huge magnetic field and when it collapses it sheds the mass-energy as a plasma of particles.”
“I've never heard of such a thing.”
“Neither have I but I do know we can't survive too many more of those flares.”
8
“Maybe we should just take one of the shuttles and take our chances. We can leave the ship on automatic and recover it later when it has put enough distance between itself and the wormhole mouth,” said Olson.
“If we could pilot a shuttle and if the ship reaches a safe distance before that mouth explodes.”
“Well then more reason to get out.”
“I can't leave the others,” said Sheila.
“We don't even know if they will ever recover, maybe they are already dead.”
“We recovered and I expect they will also if we keep the ship in one piece. It's like hibernation, they aren't dying.”
“But we can't take those particle fla
res much longer. What can we do?”
“We can hope that we put enough distance between ourselves and that mouth before it explodes.”
Less than two hours later there was another radiation alarm. Watching the wallscreen Sheila could see the wormhole mouth shrink and then rebound in size.
Collapse, that's how it generates the energy necessary for these particle storms.
She looked at the power readings, they were at fifteen percent.
Not enough to make a jump. Not enough to make much of a run on the fusion engines but we've got to do something.
Then the wormhole mouth brightened considerably.
“Olson turn the ship one-hundred eighty degrees!”
Olson started to ask why but after several days with Sheila he knew she was always right. So he didn't hesitate to move to the attitude rocket console and have his Emmie program the burn.
Sheila was already at the console controlling the front magnetic generator. The generator created a magnetic “bubble” in front of the ship to guide any charged particles around the Iapyx when it was in flight. The generator along with the front mass-plate stopped almost all particle incursions when at speed.
As the ship came around the particle storm hit. The wallscreen lit up in an aurora of colors as the charged particles slammed into the magnetic field lines giving up some of their energy as visible light. Repeatedly, over and over as in waves the lights danced in front of the ship until finally, they diminished.
“Hear that Olson?”
“What Sheila?”
“No radiation alarms.”
“What's the power levels?”
“Twelve percent and building.”
“So we made it,” said Olson grinning.
“Not yet but our chances just improved.”
Hours later the wormhole mouth, invisible without magnification on the wallscreen, started its last flare. As it collapsed and evaporated it released all its mass as an energy stream of light and particles. Momentarily brightening to a brilliant star-like intensity it was just as quickly gone. The particle shower hit the Iapyx seconds later. If not for the distance and the magnetic and physical barriers the rain of particles would have destroyed all life aboard and much of the electronics. As it was the ship and crew came through with only a few percent loss in power levels which was well over twenty-five percent now.
Sitting in the coffee shop Sheila was explaining to Olson why they should now make for Trilos.
“It's the closest star system to our location. I propose to make a short jump there. Once in system, we'll use our remaining power to put us into orbit.”
“You are sure we can decelerate into the system?”
“I think so. I think I can at least get us close enough to the star to recharge even if not in a perfect orbit.”
“Don't worry,” came a voice from the doorway, “I can get us into a perfect orbit.”
They both pivoted to see First Officer Mac Jones standing there.
“But I'd like to have something to eat first,” he said.
Olson fixed the First Officer some food while he and Sheila filled him in on their situation.
“So I've been asleep for almost two weeks? No wonder I'm so hungry,” he said as he finished another plate Olson had made.
“Fine food Mr. MacGregor,” he said sincerely. “Okay let's get started. I'll handle the navigation Sheila if you'll do the jump.”
Sheila shook her head and responded in the affirmative.
They all went to control and before long had the ship in the Trilos system.
“If you all want to get some rest I'll stand the first watch while the ship slips into orbit. I don't think I'll be needing any sleep for a while.”
Sheila and Olson agreed and retired to their quarters. Sheila was feeling more optimistic than she had felt in weeks and slept soundly.
When she woke she dressed and headed to control.
“Ah Sheila,” said Jones. “You remember Dr. Griffin?”
“Of course, hello doctor how are you?”
“I seem to be fine Dr. Jackson although my muscles are a little stiff.”
“Dr. Griffin do you know what happened to us?” asked Sheila.
“Not really Dr. Jackson. I can only guess. I was reviewing the early records of the trip when you came in. It appears that we went through a slight phase change because of the distance that we jumped and it affected our physiology.
“In essence our brains, under the strain of the physical change, essentially shutdown. The phase change space did not quite become the impenetrable barrier that was encountered early in the use of the wormhole drive. Instead the effect of the phase change in us was almost completely confined to a variation in the permeability of the blood-brain barrier. Larger molecules than normal were able to cross into the brain where they proved toxic to one degree or another.
“I suspect that the toxicity somehow affected our nervous systems putting us into a kind of hibernation. Very interesting effect if we can figure it out.”
“It was the Captain,” said the First Officer. “He wanted to establish a wormhole jump record.”
“It was deliberate?” said Sheila.
First Officer Jones only nodded.
By the time they settled into orbit around the star more than two dozen other crew members were awake. Dr. Griffin thought that all of them would awaken eventually. He had begun a system of intravenous feeding for the remainder so that they wouldn't suffer the worse effects of their long hibernation.
The First Officer put them in a perfect orbit to recharge the isotopics. It took less than three weeks at which time nearly all of the crew had awakened and the ship was back to normal. Except for the Captain. First Officer Jones had confined him to quarters. They were meeting to decide what if any action to take.
“I know that Captain Price made a poor decision,” said the First Officer. “But I think we should wait until we get him back to Centauri and let them decide what punishment he should be assigned.”
“Well I as much as anyone object to the Captain's actions,” said Sheila. “But I will agree to your proposal First Officer.”
Most of the others agreed also. The Captain would remain in confinement until the ship returned to Centauri where he would face any punishment deemed appropriate.
EPILOGUE
“That's impossible,” said the First Officer. “No ship can jump that far.”
The Nav Officer had spent the time while the isotopics recharged to get a manual fix on their position. His results did not agree with the Ems. Instead of being forty-something light-years from Centauri, he had calculated over five-hundred light-years.
“We need someone to double-check your calculations.”
“I can't be off that much,” said the navigator. “But if you want someone to check my work I suggest Dr. Jackson, she has the background.”
The First Officer explained to Sheila what he wanted her to do.
She was able to quickly check the navigator's figures. And then she checked them again.
“No doubt about it First Officer. It's just as the navigator says.”
“Well I still say it's impossible. But you two are the experts. We are orbiting a star almost five-hundred years from where we're supposed to be. I guess there's no reason to prepare for a return to Centauri. We can't provision for such a long journey. Simply couldn't pack enough into the ship even if we could keep the ship going that far and that long. I guess we will stay right here.
“But it is troubling that the Ems were in error. We will need to do a complete test of our systems and recalibrate if needed. If an Em can't be adjusted we will be forced to take it offline.”
Later the First Officer went to release the Captain from confinement.
“Why you letting me out now Mac? We're no where near Centauri are we?”
“No sir we're not and we aren't going to be.”
“What do you mean?”
After explaining the situation the First Offi
cer continued.
“So you see there's no use for a First Officer or Captain. We're all colonists now.”
They made their way to the second planet from the star which they had started calling New Trilos. Luckily it was habitable. The colonists were shuttled down to the surface. The Iapyx crew stayed aboard the ship. They weren't quite ready to face their exile and hoped to figure out a way to get back to Centauri eventually.
But for now, the original colonists prepared themselves and their provisions on the planet where they planned to live for the rest of their lives. The Iapyx may have landed them on the wrong planet but they would still set up a colony. A colony that carried the hopes and dreams of humanity to the stars.
AFTERWORD
The development of the wormhole drive is covered in more detail in my novel “Mach's Metric Book 1”. Its use and extension are the subjects of the novels “Mach's Metric Book 2” and “Mach's Metric Book 3”.
For further insight into why the expedition was so far away from its target system see the novelette “The Path Of The Long March”.
More discussion about Ems and their culture can be found in the novelette “To Tend And Watch Over”.
SECOND DARK AGES
Image © Bruce Rolff
PROLOGUE
What if there were enough material goods, services and utilities so that there was never a material want unsatisfied? Why strive beyond what is enough to give satisfaction complete? Is it not obvious that men left to themselves will only build enough for their own comfort?
If the answer is yes to the last question then civilization is an aberration. It is built on the unnatural efforts to create more than is needed. The need to build more than is necessary, which is an emotional need only, is imposed on men by ego. Ego which is never satisfied. Ego which leads to all the cooperation and creation but also the strife and destruction in the world.
To conquer ego's strife and destruction the AIs managing the worlds of the twenty-seventh century tried to conquer material want. In this they believed and pursued openly when supported or covertly when opposed. Humankind was the beneficiary and the victim. The AIs had managed and governed people for so long, hundreds of years, that humans were lost without them.
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