Further than Before- Pathway to the Stars

by Matthew Opdyke

  With integrated learning from each of the operating crew and support members within the scope of the laws of Universal Ethics, each AI became a very capable member of the crew, while able to perform every system operation throughout the spacecraft with maximum proficiency and attention to detail. From the IMC Command Spacecraft on down to their defensive, explorer, and all-purpose spacecraft, each of the AIs were highly sophisticated, intelligent, wise, kind, capable and caring for all living beings. Not only were they connected with the crew, but they were connected with each other. Together, they shared mutual goals of preserving all of life, biological or otherwise, while helping to optimize the health of others, as per the genetic norm with the ability to hone increased capabilities. Optimizing the clarity of the mind, while collectively increasing our understanding of the Universe, the AI worked to ensure the given potential for innovations of maximum ability to bring the goals of preservation of life to that of the Universe, humanity, and of all of civilization was brought to reality.

  As familiarity among the contingent crews grew, there was an increased sense that they were not solely crew or support members, but rather, instead, every member on-board each of the spacecraft was now and in-effect a crewmember. This included all 1200 crewmembers and their families. Every individual on-board was respected and given dignity. They were seen as critical members, each of whom had vital insight to offer. Thus, crewmember cohesion grew in many ways, as did the ability to form mutual goals with collaborative mindsets with respect for uniquely allocated and perfected mission goals. Every team was cohesive.

  The command center crewmembers of each UAS IMC Command Spacecraft were not condescending, pompous, or cruel to anyone; instead, they were kind, considerate, used their minds benevolently and were team-oriented, as properly-vetted. Their organic nature had always been benevolent in every way, and so much so that they were gentle, very dedicated to their missions, willing to share in the workload at any time, spoke to be understood and had educated themselves such that they could listen to understand in a calm and kind manner, and thus they engendered love from the IMC crewmembers and AI. All had a shared sense of well-being and purpose as well as an overarching sense of security from the respectful authority and power the leaders radiated, and as such all of the crewmembers were dedicated, innovative, highly capable, loyal, and capable themselves.

  Domiciles, restaurants and each of the support functions had been paired up with the most capable and enriching array of crewmembers of honorable character, the highest of skills, and vibrancy of personality unique to themselves alone, all to allow for shared emotions and intellectuality to grow as necessary for future requisite personnel growth purposes. There was a sense of levity, which was recommended by Eliza. Entire teams filled with family members and friends from various sectors spent time in the entertainment, education, and training matrices to share time together and hone their abilities to complete projects and responsibilities collectively and independently, which in turn helped to hone individual capabilities and readiness. This allowed each crewmember to garner additional respect between one another and for themselves, which in turn allowed for multi-planetary capabilities and fomented appreciation from one person to another. In this way, their efforts no matter where they would go throughout time would be met with success.

  Everything began to gel so much so, that together, the contingency as a whole was ready for the journey and had arranged briefings with each other as well as with the United Allied States President, her crew, and the Space Force IMC Commanders and their crews on a regular basis regarding full-scope, breadth, and detailed reports on training completion, mission planning, and views and specifics of the many zonal missions throughout the observable Universe, relative to Earth, and beyond. The UAS IMC Commanders and VCs were fully open to suggestion, and with the added support, they would improve upon their plans in the Virtual Universe, until they too were ready to brief every crewmember on the macro aspects of the beginning missions and each subsequent stage of their dispersal to locations throughout the Universe. Furthermore, all aspects of the IMC were ready for the journey, and right on schedule. Onboard the Presidential Command Spacecraft, in the convention center, the IMC was ready to address the UAS, solar-system-wide.

  Of course, for this, and as it should be, UAS President Eliza Williams and UAS Vice President Yesha Alevtina had presented the completed aspects of the contingency and training, as well as the initial goals of the UAS Presidential Command Spacecraft, and following that, all was clear as to the general nature of the overall UAS-IMC mission. The citizens of the UAS linked to voting within the Virtual Universe Voting Matrix, and unanimously delegated full authority to Eliza and Yesha to oversee any further delegations pertaining to the IMC, as and how they saw fit, without any requirements for any other votes with the exception of the votes meted out during the elections themselves. The only requirements there were, as pertaining to the IMC and apart from the four-year Presidential Election, were briefings and relative transparency, as necessary, following a critical series of missions, lessons learned, and tactics, techniques, and procedures that wrought successful conclusion to unforeseen challenges.

  If there were issues with how the President and her delegates conducted business, they would be mitigated following subsequent elections. In this way, more focus could be had on overcoming challenges and issues, and much less focus would be wasted on the kind of pointless and inconsequential banter that served nothing more than to build the egos of power-hungry bureaucrats and weaken the resolve of the people. As it was, the current Vice President was a shew-in for the elections in 2032, and Joanne was her presumptive nominee.

  Chapter 60: The IMC, Section 2

  UAS Space Force IMC Commanders, Five-Star General Vesha Celeste, and Four-Star General Erin Carter were at peace with all that they had done to prepare for this very moment, all that the zonal commanders and their crews had done to prepare, and with the robust capacities of each AI to maintain safety and security as well. They looked every bit as pronounced, regal, and heart-melting in their ‘tailored-for-them’ UAS Space Force uniforms. Vesha’s uniform had five stars on her cuff-like collar and Erin had four. Vesha’s hair was dark galaxy dye, shiny, with elegant spiral curls that fell into a medium-length angled bob, scattered with highlights of blue, turquoise, and purple in her raven hair, matching the variations of color in her green and violet eyes and the accent colors within the highly detailed and artistic embroidery and trim of her uniform that came with the standard variations or shades of black and white. Erin’s hair was blonde and luminescent, much like her friend, Sky Taylor’s, with light pinks and violets within her blue irises, the highlights of her hair, and the embroidery and trim of her uniform. They were both as splendid as could be and ready to travel with every UAS IMC commander and crewmember to help setup observation posts, headquarters, and colonies, as requested, before their own missions would begin. Their mission would ultimately entail traveling outside the observable Universe relative to Earth, to set up observation posts, headquarters, colonies, and define new zones, regions, and sectors out there as well.

  As planned, Vesha’s crew would at some point during their journeys setup observation posts with General Rebecca Knight and Lt General Jeremiah Voltaire, of Zone-06, and just beyond the CMB beyond the Fornax Galaxy Cluster Sector, within the Fornax Constellation Region. Eliza had also asked them to bring her along when they were ready to set up an observation post within a lonely Seyfert galaxy, named Eliza’s Galaxy, which was the only galaxy located within the CMB Cold Spot, in the Eridanus Constellation Region, many billions of light-years away. This carried special weight to her. She had researched this intently with General James Cooper, and they were certain, given current information, that this was the only galaxy in the Eridanus Void before what led to a large enough cold area within the CMB that suggested that this was one of the perimeters of the Universe, about 45.1 billion light-years away, but they were also ready for it to be one of many grea
t voids in the seemingly endless Cosmos.

  “I agree with President Eliza Williams that this may well be a perimeter that also exists beyond our area of space and beyond the Universe itself. Our President has asked that in due time we escort the Presidential Spacecraft to investigate it.” Vesha had mentioned this earlier during her presentation in the solar-system-wide transmission from Eliza’s UAS Presidential Spacecraft Convention Center, following Eliza’s broadcast. General Erin Carter then addressed the crowd.

  “No matter how far we go, we’ll keep our eyes on Sol, on Earth, and each region that plays into our history, and we will witness as history unfolds from a peculiar standpoint. Eventually, we’ll have answers that can only be obtained by traveling through time. Yet, while time travel is not yet within the scope of possibilities now, perhaps it will be soon and within the near future.” Erin spoke and inspired many, and following her words, she introduced Jasmine to the masses.

  Chapter 61: IMC Zone-01

  Database Moon Archive, Celestial-Sol Date: 2029 January 22. President of the United Allied States (UAS), Eliza A. Williams presides over and summarizes a broadcast by each IMC zonal commander, discussing upcoming primary missions. These memories are a collaboration from UAS and IMC Leadership, were recorded within the Virtual Universe and interfaced within the Pathway Melrose Campus. Input by: Joanne Gallant, President of Pathway, 2029-2032.

  When General Jasmine Belle, UAS Spacecraft Commander, and commander of Zone-01, supported by her Vice Commander, or VC, Lt General Lucia Tsu, who would follow her with a robust holographic and vocal presentation as well, addressed the IMC crews and everyone throughout the solar system on the UAS-wide broadcast, she moved the hearts of many. She would be in charge of overseeing so much and traveling through every constellation region from outside the home galaxy on out to the CMB, within Zone 01. She would be the first to begin the large-scale observation, exploration, and colonization of humanity, beyond the Milky Way.

  “Hello all, I am General Jasmine Belle, and I thank you for your undivided attention. There is so much to go over tonight, so I’ll try to be brief. It has been two weeks since the 2029 State of the UAS we’re ready to carry out all that was promised. Congratulations on your second term, President Williams, and thank you for making all of this possible. I confirm today, and before each of you, the results of our training, and I can indeed testify that every aspect of it has been successful. Our navigators were put to task in every way, planners, officers of every general and specialized field were put through grueling task after a grueling task, and they have proven themselves time and again. President and citizens of the United Allied States, I can assure you today, that we are ready to journey out to the edges of the solar system and then beyond.

  “We will begin by working with the President and her crew, and then go on from there. During mission planning stages we have, every individual and on each spacecraft, worked together as an entire crew and have thus arrived at a unanimous decision as to where our Zone 01 Galaxy Headquarters will be established. Our Zone 01 Headquarters will be located within the Andromeda galaxy.”

  As Jasmine said this, a beautiful high resolution and three-dimensional representational videography of the spectacular finite details, closer than ever acquired before, of the Andromeda galaxy played out behind her. The imagery continued to zoom in and follow her every word, as she spoke, with details and graphics that were very remarkable to behold.

  “Before assuming autonomous command of Zone 01, I would like to take our entire contingency to the planet, called Eta. From there, we will be able to explore the beauty that exists and take time for breaks, while studying the skies, creating constellation maps of that small sector within space in a blink of an eye, and enjoy the skies from that vantage point, unique to humanity. We will update our plans, as necessary because each of our intended voyages is open to adjustment based on any new contingencies or dynamic information received. Together, we have come to an agreement and have planned to establish the first extra-galactic headquarters or the headquarters for Zone 01 of 12, near Eta, within that local star-systems region.

  “Eta, within the Andromeda galaxy, itself, and as agreed upon by the UAS, will be set up as a UAS resort planet, with a small contingent from Earth setting up the only extra-galactic high-tech city that will be located there, at least for a while. This location will have a sprawling jump gate terminal to the private resorts and a robust private return jump gate system, providing access to the beaches of white sands, red wine seas, and mountains of unique vineyards, with jewels of every kind, and a complimentary trip home. It will be designed for ultimate relaxation, sustainability, and preservation of its richness. Its entire unique ambiance is due to the fact that it orbits around itself in a number eight-shaped pattern and between two slightly distant red dwarf suns, which revolve around each other from a safe and great distance. Eta has five moons, all of which will be terraformed after further exploration and observation.

  “Our plan is to visit locations, courtesy of the President and the IMC, within the Milky Way. For example, we plan to accompany her to see and conduct missions throughout the major visual asterisms of the constellations of Orion and Cassiopeia, prior to establishing our UAS regional observation posts. We have worked with the President, the IMC commanders, and their crews, and as such, we have been given authority to carry out planning and all stages of each of the primary missions within our zonal constellation regions, both inside and outside the Milky Way. Within the western side of the Milky Way’s galactic disc, as relative to Earth, through the external area of the Orion Spur and just above the Perseus Arm, we will set up an observation post that will give us a resplendent view of the entire region of the Milky Way.

  “We have other locations that Lt General Tsu will brief us on. Thank you all. It is a pleasure working with each of you, and I look forward to our many missions ahead.”

  Lt General Lucia Tsu, in a similar uniform to General Belles’, stepped up to the podium, and the three stars on her collars glistened within everyone’s eyes. She wore her uniform well. “During my earlier days, I, as well as the rest of the vice commanders, worked with Dr. and now Lt General Evan Bauer to investigate the toxicity of the many work centers throughout the Nation and the World. Our, joint efforts led to large buyouts of the most noxious of these corporations and together with President Eliza Williams, Vice President Yesha Alevtina, and Dr. James Cooper, we influenced each industry into becoming the enviable work centers they are now. Their efforts led to a large increase in the quality of life, as well as the durability, the ability to update, sustainability, and upgradeability of the products and services they offered that could endure throughout an indefinite period of time.

  “Our collaborated efforts also led to more time with family and friends and the ability to traverse the solar system.” Everyone respected Lucia. Her Asian features were so beautiful in every way, and her hair, in its professional form, was fairly similar to Vesha’s in style, with raven hair and prismatic highlights that added luster to her spiral-curled medium-length bob. In all respects, she was stunningly beautiful while commanding respect and awe.

  “All things considered, it’s a pleasure to be here before you today. Thank you, President, IMC Commander, and General Belle, I look forward to working with you for many years ahead. Congratulations President, on your reelection!” As she stated that, there was an overwhelming sense that the entire UAS viewing audience had felt the same and cheered in unison.

  “Once we have traversed the Milky Way with the President and establish an observation post with a unique vantage point at each external sector of our constellation regions, with each of the IMC zonal commands, outside the halo of the galactic disc of the Milky Way and have carried out copious research from those external vantage points, we plan to visit many galaxies far and distant in those regions, relative to and as viewed from Earth. However, we will follow our journeys through our home Galaxy with the establishment of observation posts beyon
d our galactic halo, that we will share with the Presidential UAS envoys within the extra-galactic regions of our zones allowing our command to see much more galactic supercluster activity in the regions of Andromeda, Aries, Cassiopeia, Orion, Perseus, Pisces, Taurus, and Triangulum.

  “All of these regions are such that if we are looking toward Sagittarius A, and consider that as zero degrees galactic longitude, then our Zone 01 Regions are looking between 60 and 120 degrees galactic longitude, toward the western area of the Orion Spur, both above and below the galactic disc toward the Perseus and Cygnus arms.

  “As General Belle has shared with you, we will set up the Zone 01 Headquarters within the Andromeda galaxy, visit Eta, and then return to our constellation observation posts, just outside the Milky Way’s halo, to explore deeper sectors of each region. From there, we will set up subsequent constellation regional observation posts within more remote parts of our zone:”

  As she described them, the constellation regions appeared in three-dimensional imagery behind her. “For Aries, in Northern Quadrant 1, we will set up the Aries Observation Post. Of principal interest in this region is the Liverpool galaxy, or NGC-772. We will travel to that location about 130 million light-years away and set up the Burnell Beta Observation Post, in honor of a wonderful and amazing astrophysicist who worked for NASA for so many honorable years.”