In the background, a senator’s opening statements drone on from the primary media screen.
“Okay, Isaac,” James says. “You’re up.”
Gold lines spider out from the Sun and connect with other stars. The whole animation has a video-game feel to it, like a space jockey selecting his flight plan for his next interstellar adventure. Closest to the Sun is a triple star system consisting of two yellow stars and one red. They know this one well — Alpha Centauri. Just beyond it rests twin red stars. A pulsing line connects them to Earth.
“Luhman 16 A and B,” Isaac says. “Six and a half light-years away. Brown dwarfs with confirmed exoplanets. Likely site of Silver Star activity.” He swipes, and the gold flight plan line stretches out further to a yellow star. “Tau Ceti. G-type main-sequence star, same as our Sun and similar age. Best probability for an Earth-like planet with life.” The flight plan continues from Tau Ceti to an orange star. “Epsilon Eridani, K2 main-sequence star. Sun-like, but only one billion years old. Less chance for life, but a greater chance for Earth-like planets that can be colonized without impacting local life. In 2034, source of a five-minute radio signal that is still unexplained.” He taps his slate, and the flight plan returns to Earth. “Total trip distance if you piggyback like this, twenty-eight light-years. If you return after each, fifty-eight light-years.”
A senator from Larson’s party has the floor and is doing a bit of grandstanding on the primary media screen. He’s cast a larger-than-life Silver Star image with red lights glowing from its metal rods on the Chamber’s screen.
Isaac swipes left to a new grouping of stars. The latest flight plan connects the Sun with a pair of orange stars and then continues to a red dwarf. “61 Cygni, binary system, K-type orange dwarf stars. It’s in the sweet spot for K-type stars likely to support life. The nearby M6 red dwarf is Ross 248. In 2017, astronomers detected a radio signal from Ross 248 that lasted ten minutes. The source has never been determined. Total trip distance, twenty-seven light-years.”
Hitoshi raises his hand. “Isaac?”
“Yes, Hitoshi?”
“I don’t know why I don’t know about these, but how many radio signals have we received from aliens in the past?”
“None confirmed. Could be natural explanations.”
Hitoshi looks to his left and back again. “Okay. How many unconfirmed?”
“Uh…four. 1977 Wow! Signal, 2017 Weird! Signal, 2034 Whoa! Signal, 2059 Awesome! Signal.”
Hitoshi blinks. “Wow, weird, whoa, and awesome is what the Ph.D.s came up with? Who are these guys, a bunch of surfer boys?”
Isaac hesitates. “What would you say if you just detected a possible alien signal?”
“Oh, I don’t know, probably something like OH GOD WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE which is pretty much what I said when actual aliens sent us a signal right before trying to melt our faces off in orbit around Astris.”
“You’re right,” Isaac says. “I forgot to count our Astris experiences in my answer. Make that four unconfirmed, two confirmed.”
“Well, at least we account for one-third of them,” Hitoshi says.
Isaac points at the media screen. “So, next is Kapteyn’s Star. Really interesting. Sub-red dwarf, eleven billion years old. Not part of the Milky Way. Captured from an early collision between the Milky Way and a dwarf galaxy.” He glances at Hitoshi. “Possible source of 2059 Awesome! Signal.”
Hitoshi nods. “Of course.”
“Just a single star trip, but at twelve-point-seven light years each way, length is twenty-five light-years like the others. Last pair to consider is Barnard’s Star and Lacaille 9352. Both are red dwarfs. Lacaille is the same age as Earth and contains a super-Earth. Twenty-four light-year trip.”
James leans in. “What’s ship time for the trips?”
Lin says, “With Promise’s upgrades, we’ll hit gamma one five eight. That’s sixty-five days subjective.”
Two decades gone in two months, James thinks. He glances at Isaac. “Which do you think is the best target for Promise?”
Isaac doesn’t hesitate. “Luhman 16, Tau Ceti, Epsilon Eridani. Should be Promise if there is more contact with the Silver Stars. Tau and Epsilon have the best chances of Earth-like worlds.”
James nods. “Agreed.” He looks over at Willow. “Willow’s on point for the U.N. contacts. How’s the interest looking since the speech?”
Willow says, “We’ve had inquiries from China, Japan, Canada, and the European Union. So far, I believe everyone is waiting for today’s vote.”
“However this plays out,” James says, “I don’t think anyone will have ships ready until the end of next year, and I wouldn’t expect Promise to go back out before then.” When he pauses, the overwhelming emotion from the group is concern. “All of us made huge sacrifices when we lost nine years from the last trip. Twenty-eight years is a quarter of people’s lives. Those who go will go because it is what drives them, and, like last time, I will not ask any of you to go, but I will give you first call on the mission seats before opening recruitment to a wider pool.” He glances at Sarah and Will. “Those who stay behind will feel the biggest hit from our choices. I can’t make time go any faster for them, but there may be a way to slow it down.” He nods to Julian.
Julian talks with his hands, his soft French accent melodic. “The senescence trials are on track for approval late next year. Treatments are a suite of senolytic, microcellular, and nanotech technologies that can undo age-related damage and turn back the clock. I must say, it’s quite remarkable. You must ask if our bodies can regenerate cells, why should our new cells be born old? If we can address what causes aged cells to reproduce as aged cells — things like telerome shortening, mitochondrial dysfunction, and epigenetic alternation — then our new cells could indeed be new. A person who receives the treatments will not only feel younger but, over time, will grow younger as new cells replace the old. Those with advancing age may regress thirty or more years. With continued treatments, they may live to one hundred and seventy. As part of the Vice President’s space initiative, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will offer priority treatments and funding to the families of any crew member undertaking interstellar exploration. The treatments are expected to cost several million dollars, and H&HS will pay for five treatments.”
In the background, the senators cast their votes on the legislation to recommercialize Riggs. From the last poll, the bill is expected to fail along party lines. The yeas and nays are the only sound in the Hayden-Pratt rec room as the crew digests Julian’s news.
“It’s optional,” James says. “I know not everyone wants this, either for themselves or their family. But the option is there if you do. It’s Holden’s idea, and the offer will be extended to the other crews that come after us. I asked Julian to work with H&HS so that we had the best info about the treatment and options.”
James scans everyone’s faces, trying to get a read on their reaction. Hitoshi seems mildly curious. He’s the youngest and has the youngest parents, and he has the lowest risk of losing someone due to age. Willow and Julian are the next youngest. Willow seems genuinely troubled. Out of the group, she’s the one that lost the most from their last trip. Next are Isaac and Sarah, both in their early thirties. Like Hitoshi, Isaac seems curious — perhaps it’s the scientist in him. James knows Sarah won’t be going on the trip, and even though she’s a candidate for treatment as one of James’s friends, she’s young. She seems more troubled at the prospect of James leaving for a quarter of a century. Ava is next, nearly the same age as James, and she’s conflicted. Will just turned fifty and has his gaze down, clearly thinking about whether he’d want the treatment. Beckman is the oldest with a father in his seventies. If he goes and his father doesn’t want the treatment, it may be the last time he sees him. Beckman’s brow is furrowed.
A musical ping from the media screen pulls everyone out of his thoughts and draws all gazes to the Senate Chamber’s live stream. An animated banner scr
olls across the screen’s bottom with the vote results. Yeas: 50. Nays: 50. A grin pulls across James’s face. Larson’s got control of the Senate by plus six seats. He’s not sure if Larson tried to get his party lined up in a solid fifty-six person nay and had six defectors, or if it was the other way around, with Larson persuading a handful of defectors to vote yea. Whichever it was, ties in the Senate are broken by the presiding officer of the Senate, who gets to cast the final vote.
The camera cuts to Vice President Holden Richards standing at the Presiding Officer’s Desk with both hands gripping the podium. He smiles. “The Senate being equally divided, the Vice President votes in the affirmative, and the bill as amended is adopted.”
We did it, James thinks. Riggs is back, and now we’re swinging for the fences.
The November pre-dawn sky has brightened to enough of a deep blue that the silhouette of Ryan’s Mountain carves an irregular shadow over the stars. James’s headlamp bobs a white cone of light, etching sharp moving shadows from the rock-strewn trail. It’s brisk out, enough for him to wear a technical jacket, but not cold enough for his breath to fog. His breathing rate is up, and he’s feeling the strain. It’s a two-point-four click hike with a third-of-a-click change in elevation, which is like climbing eighty flights-of-stairs. Sarah’s headlamp sways behind him, causing his own shadow to swing in front of him, and Will is in tow. It’s great for the three of them to take some downtime and spend the weekend camping like this. The last time they unplugged was before Gaige was born, fourteen years ago. Has it really been that long, James thinks?
As they approach the summit of Ryan’s Mountain, the sky is smudged with a luminous rose band. James arches around the trail and takes the final steps onto the peak. When Sarah and Will arrive beside him, he sets his hands on his hips and takes in the sights. From here, Joshua Tree is a three-sixty panorama of distant mountains, desert landscapes, and rock formations. Although dawn is imminent, the skydome is still inky black high overhead, with the band of the Milky Way as visible as if they were in space. Thousands of stars dot that sky. Compared to what they see from their city homes, it’s like an entirely different sky. That, combined with the rocky outcroppings and otherworldly terrain leading up to this point, gives James a strange sense of déjà vu from his hike on Alpha Centauri’s Astris. Only one Sun will be rising in this sky, however.
James glances at his watch. “Perfect. Five minutes ‘till sunrise. We nailed it.” He unslings his rucksack and sets it at his feet. When he opens it, he produces a silver thermos with an enamel green top. It’s the thermos that Ava gave him in the hospital, whose contents he’d merrily consumed while reading her book. He had other thermoses that he could have used for this hike, but he wanted to take this one. He’d thought about asking Ava to join them — but that seemed a step further than he was ready to take. He holds up the thermos. “Brought the good stuff. Kona?”
Will’s winded and leans over, bracing his hands on his knees. “Can you give it to me by IV?”
James chuckles. “Ah, c’mon, this was a cakewalk compared to Yosemite.”
Will catches his breath, standing back up. “Yeah. That was a decade ago.”
Right. He and Will are no longer the same age, James thinks. Will’s starting to slow down. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.
On the other hand, Sarah looks like she just got back from a walk around the block. She opens her rucksack and produces a silver cup with a family photo of her, Gaige, and her new husband, Aiden. “Okay, well, while you old guys sort it out, I’m going to drink some jo.”
James unscrews the lid and steam wafts out. The scent is like a narcotic. He pours some in Sarah’s cup.
Sarah raises her cup. “Here’s mud in your eye.”
Sarah’s first husband, Mark, always said that, and James is happy that she never dropped it. He raises his cup in response and takes a sip. “Hell of a view. Wish we did this sooner.”
“That’s the thing about time,” Will says. “Always getting in the way.”
James nods. “Yeah.” He takes another sip and looks up, searching the sky. Venus is a dazzling light rising a quarter-of-the-way up the sky. Following the ecliptic line, Mars is a coppery glow higher up, followed by Saturn’s yellow disc at the apex. The rectangle of Orion with its three-star-belt hangs in the southwest sky.
“You’re looking for it, aren’t ya?” Sarah says.
“Bernard’s?” James says. He shakes his head. “Not visible tonight.”
Sarah follows his gaze upwards. “No, your stars.”
James smiles. “Can’t pass it up with a sky like this. Tau Ceti has already set, but we can catch it tonight around midnight. Wrong time of year for Luhman 16, and you’d need a telescope, anyway. But, Epsilon Eridani…” He points up at the lower corner of Orion. “Follow Orion straight down, and it’s right there.” A bright orange star glows where he points.
“It’s crazy,” Sarah says. “Here we are, standing on mountaintops, picking stars out of the sky to visit.”
“It’s Bernard’s dream,” James says. “We’re making it happen.”
The band at the horizon brightens as the Sun breaks above the mountains. Coral light washes over the three as they stand, watching the panorama of Joshua Tree saturate in warm color and long shadows.
Sarah takes another sip of her coffee, watching the sunrise. “James, you ever have any doubts about what we’re doing?’
He’s glad she asked because he wanted to talk it, and he wasn’t sure how to bring it up. “Yeah, I do. I’m asking people to give up a quarter of a century. Now I’m asking a lot of people to do that. It’s not like the world will end if we don’t do it next year, or five years from now, or twenty years out. It’s not that kind of mission. It’s the long game. This is all about getting it started.”
“If you take the people part out, do you have any doubts that sending the fleet out is the right thing?” Sarah says.
James considers that for a second. “No. You can’t ever start a journey without taking the first step. Aging tech is coming, and we’re going to pick one of two paths. Burrow in and maximize system real estate or expand and acquire new worlds. But even that’s not it. The Silver Stars, the Boomerangs…everyone else is out there. We should be out there. Can’t grow if we keep blinders on. The only arguments people have against it are fear-based. Can’t put fear behind the wheel.”
“So, your doubts are the people cost?”
James quirks his head and smiles. “You’ve gotten good at this, Sarah.”
Will chuckles. “You don’t know the half of it. She was a force to reckon with when you were gone.”
“Still am,” Sarah says. She waits for James’s answer.
He nods. “Yeah, that’s it. I feel guilty for bringing people back after nine years and asking them to go back out for twenty-eight.”
“James,” Sarah says, “I mean this in the nicest way, but your guilt is about you. Everyone’s adults. They can make their own calls. If they don’t want to go, there’s a line of people who do.”
He still can’t get over how much Sarah’s matured since he’s gone. His relationship with her was always mentor and student, but now, she’s a peer and a leader. “The problem isn’t as much for the people who go,” he says. “For them, it’s just a few months. It’s the people they leave behind that carry the weight.”
The Sun has fully risen now, replacing the coral light of dawn with the gold glow of early morning.
Sarah looks him in the eye, her stare direct. “We can also make our own choices. Hell, life is all about this. Do you stay in your home town where your parents live, or do you move far away searching for your own life? If you were to ask your parents to choose, they’d tell you to get the hell out and chase your dreams.”
James raises his eyebrows, searching her eyes, reading the message contained within. I forgive you, her eyes say, now quit your moping and start chasing your stars. It’s something he needed to hear from her, even if she didn�
��t directly say it, and he gives her an unspoken response in his nod. Thank you, Sarah. When he looks at Will, Will’s also in on the implicit exchange, giving a soft smile. After a long pause, James says, “You give any thought to the aging treatment options?”
“Kind of feels like a bribe,” Sarah says bluntly.
James nods. “It is. I said the same thing to Holden. It’s more for the people that leave than those that get it, but it is nice to have the option to do something for people’s families.”
“I’m at the top of my game,” Sarah says. “If you offered to make me ten years younger, right now, I wouldn’t do it. Might feel different when I’m sixty. I don’t know. Maybe we could option it for later in life.”
James considers it. “I’ll bet Holden would go with that.” He looks over at Will.
“I really don’t know, James,” Will says. “Fifty is just a number, but, I admit, when we talked Joshua Tree, I kicked around the idea of doing a couple of multi-pitch climbs at Saddle Rock, but then I backed off because I’m not sure that I’m up for it anymore. I know, if I put some sweat and tears into it, I could pull it off. You got guys climbing tougher routes in their sixties. But, when we were in our twenties, we could just do it. If you had the skill, your body would adapt. At fifty, adaption’s a real pain in the ass. So, yeah, dialing back the years a few decades is tempting.”
“Think you’ll take the option if I go?”
Will smirks. “With the way business is skyrocketing now that Riggs is back in the game, I could buy the option without the government handout, so don’t let that be a factor.”
“Good point.”
“Guess the bigger thing to wrap my head around is whether I really want to live to one hundred and seventy. You kind of want to see someone else do it first, so you know how it’ll go. Bit of a catch twenty-two, there.”
Bernard's Dream: A Hayden's World Novel (Hayden's World Origins Book 8) Page 9