Beyond Kuiper: The Galactic Star Alliance

by Matthew Medney

  Hunt took out a palmer. “This is coded directly to my DNA; any other would melt the cube and leave the would-be thief, umm, one-handed. You’ll learn about a lot of fail-safes that aren’t meant for students. We are, after all, handling data that could, if another war broke out, end the world. Do you understand that?”

  “I do.”

  William used it to unlock the NanoCube revealing a holo matrix unlike any other, a layered four dimensional cube. “It not only interacts visually; it can convey a user’s internal visualizations in real-time allowing you to see new ideas as they occur. Look, here’s the latest kerfuffle. I’m having trouble stably siphoning power for the ship’s grid.”

  They worked five hours straight; the sky turned an inky black before Hunt admitted it was time for some rest. He concluded the visit with a warm, admiring grin and a handshake.

  “See you in three days. Remember, no matter what your father says, don’t forget who the real K.I.N.G is.”

  Isaac left tired and inspired, barely remembering the “other thing” his father mentioned.

  William inhaled deeply. He and Bernard planned the conversation before Isaac’s arrival. The boy’s abilities were growing. His self-made cryptocube provided ample proof that with them came the lure of A.I. He wasn’t a danger yet, but he needed guidance.

  Given the journey ahead, Hunt felt a need to return to some familiar surroundings even if they might be uncomfortable. He thought of tall bookshelves, city rooftops, a gleaming tower, and a lovely little restaurant.

  It was time to reunite a very special trio for the first time in many, many years.

  1 Cryptocube

  A personal, secure digital storage container. A 5 x 5 x 5 cm box machined from a single piece of titanium tungsten alloy, it is capable of withstanding an Abrams tank being dropped on it. It houses a quantum processor with tesseract compression, un-networked drive, em shielding, physical data dock for hardline data transfer only, imbedded holoprojector, battery, and a mechanical keypad interface. The passcode combination is an independent numerical linkage with a progressive rotating code. Each iteration is based on an algorithm only the owner creates and knows. More than two incorrect passcode attempts or any tampering will melt the battery and contents along with it.

  2 SETI - Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence

  For over 100 years scientists have dedicated their lives to the SETI effort. It is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other planets.

  3 K.I.N.G. - Kepler Institute Nanotech Genius

  This award is given annually to a single exemplary student at Kepler who has furthest progressed in the realm of science.

  4 NanoCube

  A quantum storage device with near limitless capacity, unhackability, and the ability to bilaterally transfer ideas from a user to code for problem solving. The user inputs a problem into their cube and it can solve it using the users knowledge and logic, thus allowing for exponentially higher work produc- tivity and creative capability. It houses a quantum learning processor with tesseract compression, em shielding, neural uplink, imbedded holoprojector, wireless signal, and power source. The first 2 NanoCubes were secretly built by Bernard Hubert and William Hunt over the final three years at the Kepler Institute. Realizing they had effectively duplicated their minds with the cube, the danger of their existence became apparent. The two only ever made 8 additional NanoCubes for key personnel unknown.

  Eight

  Extra Bacon

  A snowy winter had descended on the quiet town of Hastings in the New Amsterdam Region (formerly New York). A lightly chiming wind gently shook the windows of a lovely little restaurant. Inside, a single oil lamp illuminated a polished oak table where three old friends discussed humanity’s future.

  William Hunt pounded the table. “I won’t go, Bernard. Be reasonable. Who wants to spend five years with no sun, rain, snow, or decent wine?”

  Bernard brough his face closer. “I need you! To be honest, I need you much more than you need me.”

  Sipping her wine, Angelika leaned back to watch. To her, the outcome didn’t matter. Whoever went, she still got the fusion drive. Across history, such opportunities were rare and fleeting, but it wasn’t the only reason the titan of industry joined her former classmates in this quaint, old dive. Truth be told, she’d never known smarter people. Certainly, no one could defy her the way Bernard did.

  It made her wonder; if he’d stayed at CERN and Darren lived instead... would they have come this far? The dark thought stuck with her, raising darker questions.

  “Gentlemen?”

  Bernard remained fixated on Mr. Good Will Hunting, as he called William—G.W. for short, but William disengaged. “Angelika! Oh, there you are.”

  She returned his smile with a wry glare. “Bernie, I hadn’t thought about this before, but Pegasus accomplished what Phoenix Fires couldn’t with significantly fewer resources and without Darren. If Will really wasn’t involved, what changed?”

  As she waited, the answer dawned on her. “Ah. Isaac.”

  So, the small boy Bernard once brought to work to see daddy’s rockets was the key. The very thought took her aback.

  Bernard seemed to be searching for a reason not to speak. He couldn’t find one.

  “Yes, Ang, it was Isaac. I knew you’d figure it out eventually. When he was ten, his abilities exploded. I tried teaching him, but there was no need. He was a natural, he got everything I threw at him. So, I tried him on some of the calculations from Phoenix Fires. By the end of the day, he’d written an equation that accurately predicted plasma field currents during fusion. That formed the basis for the drive. He’s a scientific virtuoso, but at that age, innocent to the possible repercussions. Without proper guidance, I was afraid he’d make some advances in A.I. that would create self-aware machines, resulting in a Skynet apocalypse. So, I brought him to William.”

  Eyes narrowing, Angelika sat up. “William knew?”

  “Of course.” William shrugged. “I’m his teacher. But I wasn’t going to broadcast it. If you really think I’d put a student’s best interests second, even to you... well…”

  Bernard sighed. “I should have been more candid. I’ve lied to you and many others to get here. But, no more. I have something to show you both, something no one else has seen.”

  Once the waiter took their drink orders, he took out a portable DVD player and pressed play. By the time the waiter returned, the video was over.

  “Who had the martini?”

  Though stunned, Angelika managed to say, “Me.”

  “Oban 22 on the rocks?”

  “Mine, thanks,” Bernard answered.

  “And the Mojito must be yours.”

  William nodded numbly. “Correct, much appreciated.”

  They sipped slowly, quietly, until William, searching the depths of his drink, found his voice. “We can’t show that to anyone else, not even Isaac. Not yet.”

  “I agree.” Bernard removed the DVD and cracked it into pieces. “The only other copy is on a VHS1 tape locked in my safe, and I’ve worked hard to be sure I’m the only one in the northern hemisphere who still has a machine to play it.”

  Angelika frowned. “William, you have to go with Bernie. I need you both on that ship, and you’ll need each other. This mission has to succeed.”

  William was agreeing before she finished. “I know, Angie. I’m in. Bernard, tell me what you need and who. We will do this.”

  Things getting too dramatic for Bernard, he tried diffusing the mood in his usual, pop-culture way. “I’m Danny, you’re Rusty. It’ll be like Oceans 11.”

  William blinked. “Don’t ever change, Bernie. So… who do we need?”

  “You two are our astrophysicist and mathematician,” Angelika said. “That leaves an engineer, chemist, botanist, and biologist. Past that, to be truly representative, we have to look beyond ST
EM. We’ll need a politician, historian, a former or current military mind, a linguist, and a doctor.”

  William counted. “That’s eleven.”

  “Twelve. I’m not funding this without a say.” Angelika interjected.

  Bernard shook his head. “Wouldn’t work in an emergency, not with sketchy communications across billions of miles and hours of time delay.”

  She smiled sweetly. “In that event, I’ll give a crewmember my proxy.”

  “Hm. I know someone, but Bernie won’t like it,” William said.

  They knew instantly who he meant. Bernard’s harsh response rattled their drinks.

  “ABSOLUTELY NOT! I will not have her on my ship.”

  Angelika patted him. “My ship.”

  He glared indignantly.

  An undeterred Will made his case. “An objective, balanced crew should be a team of rivals. She’ll give us legitimacy, a bridge to CERN, and provide a sense of reparation. If he were here, it would’ve been Darren. We owe it to him.”

  Bernard grimaced. “You can’t have reparations for a crime that didn’t occur. Besides, it doesn’t matter; Lily Parson does not want to see me.”

  “Is that entirely her fault?”

  William’s question stung. Bernard had known Darren’s daughter from birth, watched her mature into a talented nano-physicist, but her vehement belief that he was responsible for her father’s death opened a rift that neither attempted to bridge. The resentment festered into a misguided conviction that he’d actually asked Darren to stay on purpose.

  “She’s brilliant, clever, loathes you—and I can keep her under control,” William said.

  “Control Lily?” Angelika wasn’t convinced. “You can do that?”

  With a massive sigh, Bernard put the mission first. “He can. She was his student.”

  Angelika was satisfied. “Okay. That’s one down, nine to go. More names?”

  Bernard looked to Will. “Have you kept up with Aubree?”

  “Gates?”

  “Yes, your brother’s wife. Which other Aubree could I possibly be talking about? Your past may be painful, but she’s the best historian I know of.”

  It was William’s turn to be somber. “A fantastic choice,” he admitted. “I’ll reach out. As long as we’re going where angels fear to tread, Angelika, have you kept up with…um, Godric?”

  The table went silent until William broke in with a rare ardor. “Look, this has to be done correctly. Given our preeminent careers, we’re going to have history with some, if not all, of the experts we need. But think—any past friction will be nothing compared to our combined power.”

  Angelika half-smiled. “Bernard’s wearing off on you. I haven’t heard that sort of passion from you since you worked for me at O.L. Yes, I keep up with Godric. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t stay connected to the head of the W.C. space initiative. He’s married, and I couldn’t be happier for him. I’ll set up dinner.”

  “I guess we all have social sacrifices to make. Who else?” Bernard tensed as a name flit by in his mind. After a moment, all three said, “Ilya O’Connell.”

  Ilya was an incredible post-war mechanical engineer whose designs were ubiquitous. He wasn’t as famous as the others, but only because few who saw his work understood what they were looking at.

  “He’s also a liability,” Bernard said. “Maybe more than Lily, but I’ll talk to him.”

  Staring off into some invisible abyss, Angelika spoke almost to herself. “If we really are going to reach deep beyond any comfort zone, fine. I haven’t seen him in a few years; we were never ‘objectively’ good together, and I kinda broke it off last time, but we need an eminent botanist, and he makes Mark Watney look like a weekend gardener.”

  William rolled his eyes at the archaic movie reference, but Bernard was shocked. “You don’t mean…?”

  I do,” Angelika snapped, “and I will not speak further on the subject.”

  Moved, Bernard raised his glass and regarded them with an admiration that reminded him of the look Luke gave Han and Leia at the end of Star Wars. “A lot of jokes, barbs, and quips come to mind, as you’d expect, but right now, I very much want to say, thank you. Thank you for dealing with my faults, for seeing the good, and for understanding what needs to be done for the sake of our species.”

  Angelika and William raised their glasses. “Hear, hear!”

  “Evolution took us from stardust to creatures that can walk, talk, think, and create things like the fine Oban 22 I hold out to you.” The candlelight glistened in the amber waves as he gently swished the scotch. “But the human goal is to escape evolution, to understand the miracle of our existence, rather than remain a cog in its cosmic wheel.”

  The drink kicking in, he indulged in a good-sized swig and smacked his lips. “Where was I? Oh, yes. Anyone know a good biologist?” After their amused faces failed to produce a name, he said, “Is it possible we have no clear winner this time?”

  Will chuckled. “How could we? You’d want Max or Ava, Ang… want Kelsey or Martin… and I like Herman.”

  “I’m surprised we agreed on the first three.” Angelika snapped her fingers at the waiter. “I’m going to need another.”

  The three burst out laughing. For a fleeting moment, they were students again enjoying the night before finals. In two hours, they settled on Ava Auburn as the biologist and Galena Hunter for their physician.

  Sensing the right time had come for his final revelation of the evening, Bernard shifted nervously until he couldn’t delay any further. At his nod and wink, a man in derby and trench coat rose from the shadows of the bar and started towards them.

  “I, uh… put something in motion earlier, someone actually. Angie, I hope you understand, but it’s only right we include him at this stage.”

  His friends eyed him. Angelika whispered, “Godric.”

  “Dear god, what have you done?” William snapped across the table.

  Godric Adams removed his hat and coat and surreptitiously glided into a chair magicked in place by the wait staff. “Hello, Angie. Sorry for the surprise, but Bernard came to me the same night you and I talked about Space Exploration Act—and you know how persuasive he is. By the time he finished talking, I knew I had to be here. I’m also sorry I haven’t returned your call. Between Heather, the kids—and this—it’s been a lot to deal with.”

  Angelika hadn’t been this blindsided since CERN and didn’t care who knew. “This being what, Ric…?”

  Godric grinned. “Going to Kuiper. I’m your politician, ready and willing to navigate the geopolitical waters needed to get the ship built and then represent our diplomatic side to… whatever we find.”

  Angelika rounded on Bernard. “Always ten moves ahead, aren’t you?”

  He shrugged. “Ric was the one who persuaded the W.C. to restore my advisory seats. I know how much he needs to be involved in this. I certainly wasn’t going to keep him away.”

  “You know that I’m here and can hear you talking about me, don’t you?” Godric gestured for the waiter. “Gordon, Old Fashioned, extra bacon. Thanks.”

  “And, um, five more bottles of the cab, Gordon,” William added. “The 2049 from Missoula, please.”

  Everyone giggled, but then William’s eyes narrowed at the newcomer. “Aren’t you the one who said seven years and one-hundred fifty-one days ago leaving the World Council unattended was tantamount to child abandonment? Why sacrifice five years of your career?”

  Godric answered with practiced calm. “Silly me, I was hoping to have at least one drink before the hard questions. You think being a Councillor means I haven’t dreamt, since childhood, of being an astronaut? In light of S.E.A., if the committees throw hypothetical first encounter scenarios at you, it’ll help to have me there.”

  “I didn’t have to do much convincing,” Bernard said. “Godric was already one foot in.”

  Noticing Angelika and William staring at him with great concern, he realized that Gordon had cleaned the t
able, along with the DVD shards. In hot pursuit of the waiter, Bernard hurried to retrieve them. Both Angelika and William wondered if Godric had seen any of the video from the bar, but said nothing.

  By the time Bernard returned, shards stuffed in his pocket, Angelika was cooling down. “Let’s move on. How about the name?”

  Godric pursed his lips. “We want the public aware of the ideology: the understanding that we’re explorers and pioneers proud to wander the edges, experience the depths of existence. Whatever name we pick should encapsulate that ethos.”

  William smirked. “If you put it that way, why not…”

  Bernard cut him off. “The USS Enterprise!”

  Angelika rolled her eyes. “Voyager?”

  “Good idea, Angie,” Godric said, “but, ironically, also Star Trek.”

  William grunted impatiently. “If you’d let me tell you what it is, maybe you’d like my idea.” Comfortable he had their attention, he continued. “Darren’s middle name is Damon, which, backwards, is Nomad… a wanderer.”

  Bernard’s chuckle reverberated making each of their drinks dance within their respective glasses. “William, that too is a reference from the original Star Trek, but alas, its meaning is core to our mission.”

  There was a collective, fervent nod as the new drinks arrived.

  After a last gulp from their third wine bottle, Bernard said, “I’d like to offer a slight adjustment to help Ric sell this thing… the W.C.O.L. Nomad-A. That credits the council, Outer Limits, and highlights the fact that it’s the first in a series.”

  “Good,” Godric said. “Every little bit helps. With Madeline looking for any reason to shut down the space program, the mission’s going to have a lot of opposition.”

  “I’d like to be clear on what that mission is, exactly.” Angelika was all but accusatory. “What are we doing in space? Clearing the name of a washed-up science hack or searching for ET? I know one’s the same as the other, but that’s a question we’ll have to answer once this goes public.”