kill Daniel Karpinen. And we need to do it in a spectacular way. The 'propaganda ofthe deed' has to be worthy of the target."
With the formal language from the past, the group agreed to the new target.
Chapter 21
Building the Ship
The picnic was just what we needed. Felix and his men looked out of place with their attempt to blend in with civilian clothes. They just couldn't hide the guns and radios. They all insisted on wearing dark glasses so they could observe people without them seeing were they were being looked at.
I didn't feel that old but lately everyone I seemed to be talking to was over fifty. Manning, Schmitt, Ole ... the ladies from the Coffee Klutch were my daily business contacts. The U of M college students never wanted to socialize ... For the first time in months there were kids and young adults. Tabby was gone just as soon as we got out of the cars talking to her high school friends. I remembered a few from my high school days but I had left school too many years ago to need to talk to them.
There was one thing about the state park that made it the place to be in the summer. It had a great swimming beach. I had my swimsuit under my clothes. The water was cold enough to send chills through your body but warm enough that you could stay in for an hour at a time.
Kids were splashing. From a dock next to the swimming beach, a group of adults were pulling skiers amid yells and splashes. I got sand in my hair and water up my nose. I felt young again. Tabby came out to join me. We splashed and groped each other under the water. Chilled, we climbed out and laid on our towels absorbing the sun.
I noticed the gulls flying overhead. I followed their motions and saw a small boat a hundred yards up the shoreline. There was a fishing line off the side of the boat. But something didn't feel right. I looked straight at Felix and then straight at the boat. I saw him talk into his radio mike. At the same time I heard Tabby, “The boat is leaving."
The rest of the picnic was filled with food, casseroles, salads, barbecued chicken, and ribs. Stuffed, slightly sun burned, and totally exhausted everyone piled into their cars when the evening mosquitoes came out and headed for home.
My first sight of the ship wasn't impressive. The gravity shuttle approached the construction from below. With no reference points it was impossible to visualize the size of the ship. From the distance, it looked like a child's building toy. The ship was dominated by two features, the front of the ship with its twenty-one-meter parabolic dish and main body, which consisted of a five-meter by twenty-meter cylinder surrounded by six other five by twenty cylinders. Behind the dish and before the cylinders was a partially constructed rectangular box of fifteen meters by ten meters. Aft of the cylinders was another rectangular box but this one was finished. Behind the box was a cluster of spheres and a large maneuvering rocket engine.
As we got closer, I was able to spot the space-suited workers assembling the box by the dish. Inside, I could make out the form of the nuclear reactor and electrical power station for the ship. We circled the ship and came to a cylinder with its end open. With its wings folded against its sides, the shuttle just fit into the five-meter opening. I listened to the huge air lock swing shut and the bay fill with air. Tabby met me when the shuttle door opened. She had been coming up to the ship every day for the last two months.
“Hi, Hon. Ready for the tour of the habitation portion of the ship?"
“Sure but I want to see the control room and look at the exterior bracing after."
“Well the front half of this cylinder is a shuttle bay with the other half used for storage of oxygen, water, and fuel. The cylinder opposite this one is identical."
“How did you decide on the amount of storage?"
“You know that NASA has never been able to test a complete recycle system and every time the shuttle bay doors open or an air lock we would lose air and water. Well we took the estimated loss that NASA had computed for a five year trip and tripled the numbers. We have the two main storage cylinders plus every section has a balanced storage supply. We should have at least a sixty day supply within the ship even if the recyclers go offline."
“Let's go to the center cylinder?"
The center cylinder had a five-meter tank filled with a bacteria mix for making oxygen and purifying water in the center. Both ends had small gardens laid out around the curved wall. I felt like a hamster walking in a wheel. The front garden was dominated by dwarf fruit trees and a small fountain. We sat on a small bench by the fountain while Tabby told me about the plants. It was the strangest thing looking up and seeing grow lights instead of blue sky. The back garden was all vegetables.
The four remaining cylinders were an exercise/cafeteria unit, secondary crew quarters and equipment storage, a full laboratory and manufacturing shop, and one cylinder for unknown needs. Our living quarters were in half of the aft rectangle. The other half was the bridge of the ship.
The ship was filled with workers. Tabby helped me suit up for the space walk. Three men were assigned to keep me safe while I examined the outside of the ship. I could see the military emblems on their suits so I didn't bother protesting having to be babysat.
“When you finish, I will meet you in our quarters. That's the only place that is currently not under construction. I have all the blueprints and specifications laid out there."
I gave her a kiss, locked down my helmet, and left the ship with Tom, Dick, and Harry. I got tired of all the sirs being uttered at me five minutes into the walk. To retaliate I began actually calling them Tom, Dick, and Harry. The examining of the structural supports, welds, and placement took two hours. The only thing that kept it from being boring was the view of the blue white earth.
Before heading back inside, I took out a half dollar. I tossed it out into space and said, “May this ship be as light as an autumn leaf blown about by a gentle breeze and Nakki be as heavy as this coin pulled to the earth below."
“What was that all about sir?"
“Are you Dick or Harry? Never mind. My grandmother told me stories when I was little about our family history. Some were ship builders and some were sailors. But it was always a custom to speak a protection charm before you sailed. Nakki is an old old name for a malicious and mischievous spirit, a gremlin. You give the spirit, the gremlin, a coin and he follows it down to the bottom of the sea or the planet below while you float away like a leaf."
The matching military triplets shook their heads behind their helmets and followed me to the airlock.
When I got back to the quarters, I found all of the blueprints and spec sheets in our quarters. But I also found Tabby completely naked except for a portion of the blueprints, which she had somehow traced onto her body. I found the gravity control knob for the room and adjusted it for just enough force so everything would eventually make it back to the floor. I did have an interesting time making corrections to
the blueprints.
The lab work was slowing down and the construction of the spacecraft was speeding up. Tabby was the engineer so she was busy every day. I took to walking through the woods for hours at a time. I listened to the sounds and felt the breathing of the forest. For some reason my grandmother's stories came back to me stronger than before. I could understand the mythical Finnish hero, Vainamoinen, the singer and knower eternal, the man of quiet waters. The woods, air, water, animals all seemed to form a music of sound. It was as if you could just copy the notes you could become what you heard. I found myself at those times playing with the puukko in my hands, my Great Grandfather Ilmari's steel puukko. Great grandfather was named after the smith Ilmarinen who hammered out the lid of the heavens and the great Sampo. Ilmarinen and Vainamoinen were the best of friends, a poet and an engineer...
“There you are. It is getting dark. Aren't you hungry?"
“Tabby. Do you think it is strange that I am sitting in the woods?"
“No. If I didn't have to work on the spacecraft, I would be sitting here with you."
“Did you ever hear about Vainamoinen and Ilmarinen?"
“No."
“In Finnish mythology they were two friends and heroes. Vainamoinen was a poet who knew too much and Ilmarinen was a builder of the impossible. You know I named the gravity device after Vainamoinen's kantele. I sometimes feel like I know too much."
She tickled me in the side. “You are not Vainamoinen. You are not smart enough.” We walked back to the cabin in the falling dusk. I knew there was something more that I had to learn. I seemed to understand science but I now needed to know about the life around me.
* * * *
Santa opened the meeting. “What have you found out about Karpinen?"
Snow White answered, “We have been following him as well as we can with his government guards all around him. We have found no pattern to his movements. We thought about blowing up the spaceship he is building but there is a danger of being discovered by the security measures and it might look like an accident, after all it is the first of its kind. The same seems to be true with all of his movements. He is too private of a man to be in public regularly."
Hamlet interrupted, “Could we grab someone he loves and pull him away from his protection?"
“Other than his wife we have no idea who would work and she is as well protected as he is."
Santa broke in, “There is always a way. We just have to look harder."
Romeo coughed and everyone turned to look. “I've got an idea..."
* * * *
Tabby needed to talk with Ole face to face and go over plans. We decided to go to LA and the Skunk Works. After telling Felix about the plans, I got invitations for Edwards Air Force Base, JPL, and Dryden Flight Center.
Move-over was shoulder dropping my feet when Felix came back with the list of places that I was supposed to visit. During the day, Move-over usually doesn't like to be held but today he molded into my arms when I picked him up. I was upset with the government trying to organize my time so I was a little sharp with Felix.
“We are going to have to have someone feed and water Move-over while we are gone, a bowl of water and scoop of food here and the same at the cabin.” Move-over looked at Felix and growled.
“I will take care of it."
“Are you coming or are you staying here."
“Zimmerman has put me on permanent duty as your personal bodyguard."
That was something I had not expected. “Do you want me to talk to him? Tabby's mother Martha was telling me that you were dating Erma's granddaughter Gail."
“How did you know?"
“You're in a small town. Everyone knows everything about everyone."
“Ya. Don't talk to Zimmerman. Ya. He's not the best when it comes to anyone questioning his authority."
“Well you do need a dose of LA to get rid of the Midwest rural slang you picked up."
The trip was different. Manning at JPL had a number of Caltech students for a last minute seminar that I was suppose to speak at. Instead of talking, I brought them to a computer lab and we got to work playing around with equations. Holcum wanted to show off some of the new military equipment at Edwards and Scott and Dr. Jorge were at Dreyden. I wanted to be with Tabby and Ole going over the spaceship plans but I knew I had to put in my time with the others before I could break free.
To pass the time I tried to blend in with all of the people around me the same way I did in the forest. At first, they would try to get me involved with their conversations but my non-committal grunts and ah-ha's slowly stopped them and they soon got to arguing among themselves. It was much harder than understanding the flow in the forest but I eventually seemed to get the feel of the interactions between the people. I got a surprise at Dreyden with Dr. Jorge. He was sitting back and watching the interactions himself. Soon we were sitting together watching the others.
“Why are you watching?"
“What better way to learn about the people around you?"
“Okay, Daniel. Can you tell me the pecking order of the people here?"
“Since you are not participating, I would like to wait before placing you. But Scott is the top dog here. Although, Holcum has a good size following and that man over there has some as well.
“Scott is pretty much ignoring the action and leaving his followers to handle the discussion. Holcum is basically lost. Holcum's aids are trying to insulate him from direct conversation while still trying to affect the superior calm of the military.
“That other man is a different matter. He is challenging Scott for leadership and his people know it. They are trying hard to score points.
“There are about a dozen others who are here either because they need to be or were ordered to be here. They are trying so hard not to be involved that they stand out."
“Interesting observations Daniel. Who is the strongest here?"
I looked him straight in the eye. “I am.” I held him with my eyes for a five count and turned back to watching the others.
“So you are Daniel."
“Using my first name is not going to win you any points."
“I know but it is a weakness. I have to try. We are after all people and every social group of animals has a hierarchy. If I can get you to accept my use of your first name, I will be higher on the hierarchy."
“How would you place me?"
“You have natural control over situations but you don't want to be a leader. You are too strong to be a follower. You are a long wolf, an El Lobo. Others can follow where you lead but you are not really a member of the pack. You belong with the pack but are not part of it.
“I've done some reading up on your ethnic heritage and I read a report about your visit to the spaceship. Do you really think that a modern crew can be controlled by a shaman using a simple charm? In the Baltic the Finns are still known as wind wizards but here there is no ethnic history to support using superstition to control people who are not under your immediate command."
Jorge left it there waiting for me to respond. I wasn't going to tell him I did the charm in memory of my grandmother so I just looked at him. After a bit he swallowed hard and turned back to the gathering. I got up.
“Interesting. Good bye Dr. Jorge. I will be leaving now."
Oggie gave us a kitten before we left for our spaceship. Move-over couldn't decide if he liked the little thing. And he definitely put the kitten in its place when it tried to nurse on him. We had trouble finding a name for the kitten until he fell down the stairs. Tumble and Move-over were going to be the first animals to travel to the outer planets.
Chapter 21
Test Flight
Romeo's plan would take time but Santa thought it was brilliant. It would give the Cell the exact event that they wanted. The propaganda ofthe deed' would be remembered for centuries. Nothing would go wrong. Hamlet had begged for permission to be the artist for the deed. He knew he would not survive but he also knew his name would be recorded in the history books. Freud, the psychologist for the Cell, started the weeks of hypnotic controls that would be used to protect the Cell if Hamlet was caught still alive. Even the old spy novel trick of hollowing out a tooth for a cyanide pill was done.
Santa was happy. There was so much to do. There was so much passion in the artistic details of the deed. Every member of the Cell felt the excitement. Planning the death of another person was the second most powerful force uniting the Cell. The first was taking part in the killing. For those few people who have the psychological twist that permits murder, there is no greater joy than the killing after a successful hunt.
Hamlet had a wife and children at home but the hard-eyed angular beauty, Snow White screwed him and used him every chance she had until he was exhausted. The sex pushed his already overloaded psyche to the point that all that mattered was killing Daniel Karpinen.
* * * *
The loading of the shuttle was a mess. The last few items of belongings took up most of the spare room in back. The two cats had to be caught a half a dozen times. Whenever the shuttle door was opened, one or the other cat would make a break for
it. My greatest surprise during the loading was that Felix would be coming with us. The door was finally shut and we took off with our stocked and ready space shuttle.
The cats decided that this was the best time to play pounce-your-it. We were able to keep them off the pilot but both Tabby and I got scratched and Felix was bitten by the kitten. There was no pressing need for speed so the trip to where the spaceship was orbiting took six hours. The cats finally settled down an hour into the trip. The kitten decided to fall asleep draped over my shoulder. Move-over went belly up on Tabby's lap. Tabby was scratching Move-over in his armpits; his rumbling purr was the loudest sound on the shuttle.
Finally through the porthole, I caught my first sight of the completed ship. The outside surface was covered with a yellow Teflon-polymer film. The film was a blend of resins and carbon fibers resulting in a finished coat that was stronger than tungsten steel and able to shed most micro meteorites. The call letters YS2 were printed in black on the large spherical fuel tanks for the maneuvering rockets.
We entered the cylindrical docking bay and opened the doors. The two cats took off with the slinking motion of feline exploration. The first thing Tabby did when we got on board was to announce on the intercom that the christening of the ship would occur in one hour.
I hadn't been active with the final preparations on board for the test run. I knew we were going to be stopping by each of the outer planets in turn and deploying a number of satellites and probes at each planet. NASA had conducted a contest in the schools for projects on each of the planets. Along with the scientific research, there would be real time Internet feedback to the schools on their projects.
“What is the final count on scientists and technicians that we will be taking?"
“Twenty-one. Schmitt, Manning, and Jorge all insisted on coming. We got a fully trained five man NASA shuttle crew, six of the most skilled members of the construction crew, and four of Holcum's military boys ... Let's see ... that makes eighteen and with the three of us twenty-one. Yup that's the crew."
Eyes of an Eagle a Novel of Gravity Controlled Page 15