As Lucia spoke, the imagery of Joselyn Bell Burnell appeared, followed by quasars she discovered, and then each constellation and location of special interest, which appeared for the benefit of all watching. She had even developed and presented to every citizen in Sol the architecture of a large and visually stunning observation post and had prepared a small video of how they would be built, using the materials within each area, all coming from “dead” star systems devoid completely of life, nearby the regions they would be observing.
“Cold-fusion and self-replication of Virtual Universe-encoded nanos will do a majority of the foundational and elaborate work, as programmed by our crew.” She passed her plans, via a neural link, to the other generals, as well as the policy-makers and sovereign nation leaders, so that they could view them and receive approval for them for further details, as shared, for proper coordination with UAS and IMC leadership.
“We will setup Cassiopeiae Galactic Observation Post, 120 degrees from the galactic center—relative to Sol, beyond our galactic halo, and within the void between the Milky Way and any other galaxy. This format will essentially be followed for all zones, regions, and sectors. We will also setup zonal region observation posts within any identified galactic superclusters, and within various filaments, such as Laniakea. We may find that the galaxies within our own zones will travel or drift in their tangents toward their locations of gravitational attraction outside our assigned zonal areas, given time, to zones of other UAS Commanders for any number of reasons.
“We will adapt.
“There are several primary points of interest, following the setup of the Orion Observation Post, which will actually be below our galactic disc with a view of the south galactic pole, the Perseus Arm in front of us, and the galactic center to the right. Before we embark on extragalactic activities, we would like to work with the President as she examines the Reflection Nebula, in Northern Quadrant 1, as well as M-78, NGC-2068, and Orion's NGC-2064, 2067, and 2071 deep sky objects, all while traveling en masse with the Presidential Spacecraft.
“Beyond the Perseus Constellation Region just beyond the Milky Way, in what is known as Northern Quadrant 1, or NQ1, we will set up the Perseus Observation Post in view of the north galactic pole, such that we will be sitting about 15 thousand light-years away above the galactic disc. Once Milky Way operations are complete, we will visit the Abell 426 Galactic Cluster Sector, where I am sure we will have plenty of personnel requests for more than one-thousand observation posts laying more than about 241 million light-years from Sol, per Epoch J2000.0.
“In the Pisces Constellation Sector, we will set up the Pisces Observation Post, in NQ1. Particular locations of interest are M-74, NGC-628, and a location that might call for seven galactic perimeter planetary operations center systems working in tangent with operation posts in a galaxy group that lays about thirty-million light-years from us, currently. Another location of intriguing interest within that region is Galaxy Cluster CL 0024+1654, which is about three to seven-billion light-years away, where we will setup observation posts as well.
“After setting up for Taurus, we would like to investigate and setup up observation posts near two other colliding galaxies in that region, with interest specifically in NGC-1410, which is more than one-hundred-million light-years away.
“Finally, we will set up the Triangulum Observation Post, in NQ1. Of interest in that sector is the Triangulum Galaxy, as well as NGC-634, which we have called the Jocelyn Galaxy, also in honor of Jocelyn Bell Burnell, which is about 250 million light-years away.
“Thank you all for listening and watching. I look forward to the journeys ahead.”
Chapter 62: IMC Zone-02
Lucia sat down, and as she did, UAS Zone-02 Commander, General Najem Grace stood up. Everyone loved Najem, as was evidenced in their expressions. They had seen her in her mermaid form many times in the Virtual Universe, and they all knew she had a heart of gold.
“Hello, my sweet and dear friends. All of my life, for the last one-hundred or more years, I have loved looking out into space. Finally, after serving the nation, with love for our Universe at my core, I will be honored to travel with each of the crews on many missions prior to arriving at Zone-02. For years I have admired the Andromeda Galaxy, and now I am about to have the opportunity to visit it up close and personal with Jasmine, as will my dear friend, Vesha Celeste. In my zone, I have been called to serve with the most envied and very handsome Lt General Stafford Gaines, who is an excellent chef, by the way, always competing with Generals Jeremiah Voltaire and Christian Coriolis in spirited and very enjoyable fashions to ‘out-chef’ each other.
“Together, we will be able to journey out to Zone-02 and then be within the deeper regions of space. At this time, I will turn the floor over to General Gaines. He has prepared a wonderful brief, so please listen.”
Like that, Najem returned to her seat and sat down. While she was more than one-hundred years old, she looked like a stunning twenty-two-year-old. She too had donned the UAS Space Force uniform, which appeared in every way, very similar to Vesha’s, but with four stars on her collar. Her hair highlight choice had been a light aquamarine to turquoise blend, matching the aquamarine accents in her brown eyes and the accents in her uniform, with her medium-length light brown up-do fashioned in such a way that it was left ever so pleasingly to every eye.
Stafford, who was ninety-five years old, but looked every bit the twenty-two-year-old gentleman he was acclaimed to be, with three stars on his collar, had been good friends to Jeremiah Voltaire and Christian Coriolis for years. Each had been excellent chefs in their smaller-scale restaurants in their own time, and all three of them had won worldwide critical acclaim over the decades. While training on their UAS IMC Command Spacecraft, they would often take time during their breaks to compete with each other within the convention centers of the Presidential and IMC Command Spacecraft, Zones-02, 06, and 10, and no one ever complained. The taste buds and spirits of all crewmembers had been indulged on countless occasions, for lunch breaks and “nighttime” reprieves, following each eight-hour shift of work. This was one event of many for social interaction and fun, which included trips to the spacecraft beaches, Bobbie Gahan’s coffee competitions, and bliss. Each day was limited to eight hours of work for any given 24-hour period of time, and everyone enjoyed the bustle of work and the many things to do and the free spirit of the breaks in every possible way.
Stafford looked like he was a slender and sophisticated twenty-two-year-old, had optionally chosen to express himself as clean-cut, with a taper-fade of hair, a comb-over on-top that wove his turquoise and aquamarine blend of highlights throughout his light-brown hair, and despite his ghost-like pale aura, he was actually quite handsome. Everyone felt the same about him. He could have easily donned long hair and passed himself off as a dashing young woman, so he told everyone that for that reason he chose to keep his hair short on the sides and back, with patterns throughout the fade of his clean-cut sides and back and up to the long hair on top. He sensed a little more respect come his way from the ladies and other crewmembers when he expressed his image in his own creative way. With his dark uniform, blue accents that complemented his eyes, and his slender yet cut features, he addressed the crowd.
“Hello, ladies, gentlemen, generals, leaders, and crewmembers, I am honored to be here with you today during this historic event. Many years ago, my father, who raised me in a very brutal manner, taught me very few lessons that I’ve held onto today. I think the only one that I may have managed to hold dear was one where he told me that I have to work hard if I want anything at all, or maybe that is a quote from one of my favorite musicians. Yes, I’ve worked very hard. We have all worked extremely hard. Yet, we’ve done so under the auspices of good-naturedness and kindness in Pathway and we have continued to do so for the UAS and each other. Rather than through toxicity, the likes of which my father will be forever remembered for, we’ve learned that love, consideration, and beauty will promote our s
hared hopes and dreams.
“It was through my earlier days as a chef that I found my love for life, and when I met President Williams, about nineteen years ago, I found that I could continue to channel my efforts through pleasing the taste buds, and all while studying, gaining experience in, and improving upon so much more, so I could do my part as we as a civilization go further than we have ever gone before. My journeys have opened my mind to the beauty of our Mother Earth, our solar system, and within the hearts of each of you who are listening now or will read this much later.
“Today, we will begin to go, as President Williams and Doctor Sky Taylor have often suggested, healing rather than harming. As we journey to the vast reaches of space, our need for personnel, volunteers, and intelligent and capable beings to explore, and helm the many observation posts and colonies within the many galaxies will continue to grow exponentially. This reality has come into full view, even more clearly as I have worked with General Grace and our crew to plan the initial stages of our journey, for Zone-02. There will be many beautiful regions of the Universe we will see, and we will no doubt face many challenges ahead. It is ours to work together, to appreciate one another, and to bring joy to the hearts of all whom we meet.
“As we begin our journey, and shortly following the setup of observation posts around our sectors of the galactic halo, we have worked together and plan to set up our headquarters within the galaxy, known as MACS0647-JD. This is viewed by looking between 110 and 150 degrees galactic longitude as viewed from the Sun, from the galactic center and beyond the northern plane of the galactic disc. This object was identified in 2012 as the most distant one seen with legacy technology, but it is no longer. It is still, however, among the most remote. It had, at that time, based on legacy tech, an estimated 1 billion stars. Using Pathway tech, we now understand that in its current state it has evolved from a galactic group of a thousand grand design spiral galaxies to a super-massive elliptical fossil galaxy, and finally to a super-massive fossil spiral galaxy with more than three trillion stars. We understood then that it was 13.35 Billion light-years away, now, due to expansion, it is 45.1 billion light-years away.
“MACS0647-JD is a location that our crew has dubbed the Najem Galaxy. Our headquarters will be in that distant region on planet Najem Epsilon, within the Najem binary red dwarf star system, which is actually rather young, compared to the historic nature of this once-primordial galaxy, out of affection for our wonderful commander. The remaining three trillion stars will be investigated in every possible way, and we will provide plenty of opportunity for volunteers who would like to become very resource-wealthy and for anyone merely looking for a seasonal getaway.
“This galaxy is located within the constellation region of Camelopardalis. Within that region, there are also a number of other objects of interest, with locations wherein we will setup observation posts, exploration missions, and colonization and resort cities.
“Before we span to these locations, however, as General Tsu briefed, we will travel with the President through our regions within the Milky Way and then establish observation posts in our zonal constellation regions just beyond the galactic halo. For the regions of Zone-02, we will explore Auriga, Camelopardalis, Cancer, Canis Minor, Gemini, Leo, and Leo Minor. These locations lie toward the galactic anticentre or looking away from Sagittarius A between 120 and 230 degrees, galactic longitude. They give us a view both above and below the galactic disc and through our own Orion Spur and the Perseus and Cygnus Arms, all with many beautiful and promising sites to observe, explore, and more throughout the Cosmos.
“One of the objects of interest to study from within the Auriga region, in Northern Quadrant 2, or NQ2, is the Grace Galactic Supercluster, which we have named for a much-loved astrophysicist, Nancy Grace Roman, who was the ‘Mother of Hubble.’ Through her efforts, we are now where we are, readying ourselves in an informed manner to also travel to this location, which is about 3.5 million light-years from Earth, shortly following the establishment of our journeys with the President, the primary observation posts, and Zones 01 and 02 headquarters operations centers.
“In Camelopardalis, we intend to set up, in addition to our UAS IMC zonal headquarters, an observation post which will be about eight-million light-years away, just beyond the galactic halo of NGC-2403, which is still an intermediate spiral galaxy of the M81 galactic group. In Cancer, we are interested in setting up an observation post near OJ-287, which was a quasar about three-and-a-half-million light-years away, to gather more information and by observing and exploring it more. In Canis Minor, we will set up an observation post just beyond and above the galactic disc of the spiral galaxy NGC-2485, which is 225 million light-years distant, with a view of both that galaxy and those behind it, relative to Earth. From our Gemini Observation Post, we will examine NGC-2355, also known as the Graphite Galaxy. This intriguing satellite galaxy lies 1100 light-years above the galactic disc of the Milky Way, and 5400 light-years from Sol.
“Our Leo observation post locations of interest include Messier-65, or NGC-3623, which is an intermediate spiral galaxy, about 35 million light-years away, and NGC-3842, which is an elliptical galaxy with a very large black hole, about 331 million light-years away. Finally, our Leo Minor observation post locations of interest include Hanny's voorwerp, which is approximately 650 million light-years away, to investigate the star-forming region of the remains of IC-2497, following its interaction with the larger galaxy’s quasar anomaly. This might represent a safety measure to consider if transiting above or below any galactic disc. We also plan to further explore and observe a host of other galaxies and galaxy clusters within each region of our zone. There will always be an open mind here for updates and new information.
“Thank you all so much. With so much to explore and understand, I feel like a kid in a candy store. I, in all sincerity, am looking forward to working even more with each of you on the many exciting adventures in the days, the weeks, the months, and the years ahead. Please, if you have any questions for me at any time, feel free to link with me neurologically or visit the Zone-02 matrix in the Virtual Universe, and our team will be glad to assist you. Here’s to working hard!”
Chapter 63: IMC Zone-03
Lieutenant General Stafford Gaines sat down, and everyone seemed very appreciative of the exciting details, along with his sincerity, his sense of humor, and his gentle, yet uniquely professional appeal. General Malinda Jefferson, stood up, smiled, and gave him a hug as she passed him. Malinda was a lovely young lady who looked healthy, active, and about the age of twenty-two. Her choice in imagery was breath-taking with naturally light brown skin, lovely coffee, golden, and green eyes, hair that was styled in such a way that married together her left-side up-do and right-side relaxed-do, with black underneath fluorescent colored highlights of green and yellow, and a lavishly professional style. She fit her uniform with every splendid curve ever so well, and its accents complemented every one of her features.
Malinda had been to space long before Eliza had setup Pathway, and as soon as they had met, she had decided that working with Eliza, Hanz, Ariel, Laetitia, and her team was her calling in life. Since her recruitment to Pathway, she had built and supported many organizations with children who were victims of lost childhood, who had been brutalized or treated harshly, and each of whom had been in need. There were countless occasions where Malinda had helped entire families move from tattered and torn places throughout the world at the time to the many tech cities throughout Sol. There, these children and their families were given a pleasant life with much to look forward to and with ways to contribute, all while living within luxury domiciles and all of the works that were available within any tech city. The people adored her.
“It is so wonderful to stand before you today. Thank you, Eliza, Yesha, James, and each one of you for all that you have done to bring this wonderful reality to what it is now. The first time I flew in a spacecraft I flew in something much smaller, which was quite interestingly more aw
kward to maneuver and dangerous to be in than within any UAS Space Force IMC Spacecraft. This journey, by comparison, will be vast, intriguing, and with near-unlimited resources available to each of us for increased quality of life and that is far more than we could have ever imagined thirty years ago.”
Malinda then looked about and then toward Stafford, Jeremiah, and Christian, sitting in the front rows of the convention center, set up for all who would speak that day. All three were close friends for more than a decade. “I’ve been to each of your restaurants on Earth, Stafford, Jeremiah, and Christian, and I will say, I might have to visit your UAS Command Spacecraft from time to time, to grab a bite to eat once this journey takes off! No worries, Hanz, it is wonderful working with you too, and we have quite a few wonderful restaurants on-board UAS Command Spacecraft Zone-03, but Stafford, Jeremiah, and Christian, your cooking skills are unparalleled. Speaking of Hanz, ladies, feast your eyes. He is truly a gentleman, a knockout, and brilliant beyond belief. The regions with our zone will cover areas that can be seen if we are looking between 180 and 300 degrees from the galactic center. We will be able to see above, below, and through the galactic disc, and toward the eastern portion of the Sagittarius, Perseus, and Cygnus arms. Therefore, I must bid you adieu, because Lt General Hanz Schultz has put together our Zone-03 brief for everyone’s listening ears and watchful eyes. Please enjoy!”
General Malinda Jefferson passed her Vice Commander, with a smile and a hug, and Lt General Hanz Schultz began to address the audience. As he did, his nicely-styled light brown hair, hazel eyes, and chiseled features poured through his UAS Space Force uniform, with his three-starred collar. He was a man of good size, clean-cut, frequented the gym often and still had a considerate, kind, and gentle demeanor. “Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to be with you here today, and I am honored to serve with General Malinda Jefferson. No worries, Malinda, I very much plan on enjoying the chef expertise of Stafford, Jeremiah, and Christian. With these sports arenas, I’ll eat for some added energy. I am also impressed with the stories of Major Generals Ariel Boshka and Laetitia Zemani, both of whom have agreed to address you following what I have to share. These two wonderful individuals have come from very austere backgrounds; yet have grown up to become striking individuals of their own accord and beautifully benevolent leaders of many other amazing individuals. Therefore, I will begin and then pass the torch.
Further than Before- Pathway to the Stars Page 106