Quarantine

by William Hayashi

  “Perhaps so, but I don’t want to wait until the last minute. If nothing else, we should start a dialogue within the community about the coming expansion. See if anyone else has an idea worth pursuing. Let’s take a few days and give it some thought,” Margaret suggested.

  “Can we discuss it outside the council?” asked William.

  “Absolutely. Meanwhile, I’ll get with Chuck and Peanut and find out the latest on the new habitat’s progress. The longer it takes for Earth to give up their nukes, the larger our presence around the solar system will be. And since they have no way to duplicate our achievements, they’ll be left with nothing to explore but the moon once we lift the embargo,” Margaret snorted.

  “Pretty much all they have now are the empty ISS and GST space stations in L5 orbit, and that one broken down rover on Mars limping along. Chris assured me that Genesis can find no research being done that’s close to duplicating his G-waves, so we’re home free!” said Physicist Sarah Lipscomb, speaking for the first time.

  “But we should be planning how to ensure the security of our people in a solar system also populated, no matter how scarce they are, with people from Earth,” Phillip interjected. “I doubt we would ever see anything like all-out war, but we must assume they will be angry and vindictive once set free of Earth.”

  “If they are, Christopher is not going to put up with any misbehaving from anyone. The way he dealt with the Russians should give them pause. But in the words of that idiot president, ‘bring it on!’” June declared.

  Margaret stood, signaling that the meeting was over and waved a friendly hand toward the conference room door. Once everyone left, Margaret said, “Genesis?”

  “Yes, Margaret. How may I be of assistance?”

  “Peanut, please.”

  “Hey, Margaret! What’s up?” Peanut replied.

  “How was Jeff’s birthday celebration?”

  “Great. He had presents, cake, ice cream and a passel of friends stopped by. I was so glad I didn’t miss it.”

  “Speaking of which, how did it go at the station?” asked Margaret.

  “Smooth! Roger and I got the equipment installed in no time. And with the integration of the Genesis clone, the calibrations went like clockwork. I even got some quality time in on the latest interdimensional probe data on the way home. Don’t say anything to Chris, but I seriously believe we can send a crew outside of our dimension in a protected jumper very soon,” Peanut explained.

  “That’s excellent! I want you to tell me everything. But the reason I called was to go over progress on the new habitat with you and Chuck. You have some time today?”

  “Sure do. Let’s get Chuck on the line. Genesis? Please add Chuck if he’s not too busy,” Peanut requested.

  “Hey, Peanut! Sorry I missed the shindig. How’d it go?” Chuck replied.

  “Epic for a five-year-old boy. But I have Margaret on the line.”

  “Hey, Margaret. What’s up?

  “Do you have a few minutes to discuss the new habitat today?”

  “How about now?” asked Chuck.

  “Peanut, is that all right with you?” asked Margaret.

  “Sure thing. Your office?” he asked.

  “That’ll be perfect. See you two shortly,” she replied.

  Peanut arrived first, and as he poured a cup of coffee from the office urn, Chuck breezed through the door. He waited until Peanut set his cup down and then grabbed him in a huge bear hug.

  “So glad you’re back, my man! How was Earth?” asked Chuck.

  “We didn’t really visit the planet, as a matter of fact we got no closer than lunar orbit. But I must admit, it’s still gorgeous. But you know what? I really don’t miss it at all. This place is truly home.”

  “Good to hear. The installations go okay?”

  “Smooth as glass!” Peanut replied.

  Margaret poked her head out of her office, “Good, you’re here. Grab a cup of coffee, Chuck. I thought we could talk in my office.”

  The two followed her into the office and took seats around the table.

  “First of all, your team is going gang busters on the new habitat. Word is some of your team are staying in the completed and enclosed portion overnight. Is that correct?” she asked.

  “I checked out the interior and the environmental installations before I authorized anyone even cracking open their helmets before I gave the okay,” Chuck declared defensively.

  “No, no, don’t get me wrong! I wasn’t questioning your or Peanut’s judgement. I was actually amazed at your team’s progress,” Margaret said quickly to reassure Chuck.

  “So, why are we here?” Peanut asked confused. “I thought we were being called on the carpet for something.”

  “It’s nothing like that. Just so you know, I am constantly amazed at the steady stream of rabbits both of your departments pull from a hat. No, what I wanted to discuss was the timeline on the completion of the new habitat. The council met today to start the process of planning on how we’re going to populate the new habitat, selection criteria and such. We don’t want to wait until the last minute. We’ll also have to make decisions on governance, location, policies and procedures covering mutual assistance, emergencies; really, a myriad of issues,” Margaret explained.

  “Man, I never gave all that any thought. I guess I figured it would all kind of just happen,” Peanut laughed.

  “We’re not really long on ceremony or rules and regulations around here. I guess I was thinking in the back of my mind kind of like Peanut,” Chuck confessed. “Leaving the council has left me somewhat in the dark about the behind the scenes planning that does go on around here. But now that you mentioned it, that does make perfect sense. So, what do you want to know?”

  “Well, if I can be put on the distribution list of the department head updates, not to interfere, but to keep in the loop about the progress. That way you don’t have to worry about remembering to keep me in the loop. I can always consult with Genesis for the latest updates, but this seems the easier way of going about it,” Margaret explained.

  “Do you have any interest in taking a tour, seeing the progress for yourself?” asked Chuck.

  “Maybe. In my department there’s never any real reason for a geneticist to suit up and go outside. Thank you for the offer, Chuck.”

  “That goes for me too, Margaret. I’d be more than happy to escort you around the construction site whenever you’d like,” offered Peanut.

  “My thanks to both of you. In turn, I can keep you informed about the latest doings in the council concerning the second habitat.”

  “That sounds great, Margaret. Thank you,” Peanut said, smiling.

  “Gentlemen, that’s about it. What’s Chris up to these days? I haven’t seen him for a couple of weeks,” Margaret inquired.

  “He’s been doing a lot of work on the interdimensional probe data. Ben just moved into his own place. I think he and Pat are adjusting to their new reality, maybe even some of that ‘empty nest’ thing going on,” Peanut replied. “I think once he called the question on Earth’s space embargo, he was ready to quit micro-managing every single thing that went on around here.”

  “Yeah, he literally spent half a century controlling everything about this place, even raising Ben. I hear he spends a good deal of time with Lucius. Hell, Lucius, for all practical purposes is like Chris’ father,” Chuck added. “When I see him and Pat together, it’s almost like he’s a different guy. Although, I am kind of surprised that he’s not been poking his nose in on council meetings.”

  “Nope, he really dialed it back even before I took over. When you see him, please pass along my regards. Anyway, thanks for the update and the offers, gentlemen,” she said.

  “Cool enough,” said Chuck, getting up and giving her a quick hug.

  As Chuck and Peanut left the office, they chatted about the status of the various systems of new habitat. Suddenly Peanut stopped dead in his tracks. />
  “What up?” Chuck asked

  Peanut just shook his head and signaled for silence. A moment later he said excitedly, “I just had a brainstorm!”

  “No shit, Sherlock. Spill!”

  “What if we put an interdimensional engine in the new hab?” Peanut asked.

  “Other than Chris having a fucking stroke, you mean?” laughed Chuck.

  “Okay then, other than that?”

  “Actually, I think it’s brilliant. I never cottoned to heading to another star in nothing but a jumper, or even one of the whales. I figured you’d probably outfit one of the science stations, maybe with a crew of a dozen or so. A duplicate of the Earth station would be ideal, it’s even got a hanger bay for jumpers. Once we got wherever we’re going, then the jumpers could be used for exploring,” explained Chuck.

  “But what about using one or both of the habitats? Like what if we find another civilization? What if we hit it off and want to hang around for a few months, or years even?” Peanut asked. “Since we’re self-sufficient, we could literally go anywhere. Hell, there’s water, ice really, most everywhere, maybe not always so easy to extract, but replenishing air and water is really the only thing we must worry about, we’re good on food production. That’s where Chris was right, we had to be free from having to periodically get supplies from Earth.”

  “I’ll give you this, it’s a brilliant idea. But I can’t see you being able to convince Chris to even consider the idea right now. Speaking of which, how close are you to doing a manned test?”

  “Within the next year or so. I was looking at having a space station built for the purpose, but I didn’t think about taking along jumpers. Genesis?”

  “Yes, Peanut. How may I be of assistance?” replied the A.I.

  “Please begin a simulation on adapting the Earth space station, or one like it for rotation out of this universe using the interdimensional effect,” Peanut directed.

  “Yes, Peanut. Are there any additional parameters to include in the simulation?”

  “Yes, see how far a combination of stored food stuffs and local production of consumables could maximize the duration of a mission,” Peanut added.

  “Very well. Estimated time of completion, two hours.”

  “Thank you, Genesis.”

  “May I be of any further assistance, Peanut?”

  “Negative, Genesis. That will be all.” Turning to Chuck, he asked, “How long do you think it would take to build another station like the one orbiting Earth?”

  Chuck thought about it for a few moments, “Trouble is, both of our departments are working on the hab. If we could pull a dozen of the crew off to get the station started, we could have the shell, the decks and the interior bracing easily done in less than twelve months. The rest could be done over six or so months after that. Let’s say we build-in four or five interior decks, and still have a hanger big enough for two jumpers, maybe even a whale, total time, less than twenty-four months.”

  “Perfect! Let me look at what Genesis comes up with. I’ll have her copy the plans to you. I don’t want to count on the Earth station being back any time soon. Last I heard, Israel, Russia and the U.S. are the last holdouts with nukes. and the U.S. is scheduled to be done getting rid of the last of its stockpile in the next five years. Anyway, even if the official word is that there are no nuclear weapons left on Earth, I wouldn’t count on every government being honest. So yeah, I think we need a brand-new station for this test, and for forays out of the solar system,” said Peanut.

  “All right, my man. Do your thing and get it done. Think about how to sell the plan to Chris, then we’ll hit him up together,” promised Chuck. “Let me ask you this: what are the power requirements to rotate the probes out of this universe? Are we going to have any problem rotating a whole space station out of our space?”

  “Not at all. Once the interdimensional effect initiates, it doesn’t take any more energy for a big mass as a little one once the puncture, for lack of a better term, initiates. What I don’t know about are two very important things. The first is I’m not sure if the G-waves work the same way outside our universe, and the second is how hard will it be to navigate in interdimensional space? Will we be able to travel light years away from the solar system and then easily find our way back?” Peanut mused.

  “Nothing is going to be solved until we send a manned mission into inter—can we call it something else? Something shorter?” Chuck asked.

  “How about ID-space?”

  “Fair enough. I know that it must be frustrating trying to build sensors for a physics that you have no idea what the defining characteristics are. And sending along a Genesis clone only gets you so far. Let me ask you this: if you could send your lab, with all its sensors and a bunch of G-waves to see directly how they operate, how long would it take you to figure out what you need to know for faster than light travel?”

  “I think it could take as little as a day, but hopefully no longer than a week. Sending a fully functioning lab into ID-space could answer so many of my questions once and for all,” Peanut replied.

  “Okay, then it’s settled. Let’s see how quickly we can build you a station for your research. Those questions must be answered. I told you that I’m going to be the first man to Alpha Centauri.”

  Peanut laughed. “You really think Chris is going to let that fly? He’s going to hit the damn roof when he finds out I want to take a whole space station into ID-space.”

  “We’ll see. Wait until you see how I react when Chris says he wants to go with you!”

  “Be sure someone records him once he finds out. Anyway, I gotta scoot. I’ll catch you later,” Peanut said, slapping five with Chuck, then they both took off, heading in different directions.

  Way Back Home

  Alexis Howse was collecting soil samples by hand from the settlement’s cornfields to take back to her lab. Not only was Alexis a great botanist, she was an astrophysics wiz. She wrote down the sample’s location on the label and put it in the rack on her cart. She pulled the cart behind her as she headed back to the converted barn. Her lab was the entire top floor of the structure where a small, but powerful, telescope-housed turret perched on the roof.

  As she passed the greenhouse, Alexis saw Andy inside doing something at the workbench.

  “What’s up, Andy?” Alexis asked, stepping inside the humid, cloying air,

  “It looks like my hybrid tomato plants are holding up very well. I’m going to transplant some from the hydroponics tank into dirt,” he explained. Andy was one hell of a botanist as well as the geneticist.

  “Nancy and Aidan stopped by to see if you were going to be using the telescope tonight. I think Nancy wants to study the colony as it orbits closer to us,” Andy said.

  “Did she say what time?”

  “Well, I presume some time after dark,” Andy replied, laughing.

  “Thanks, smart ass. I’m going to take these soil samples inside and start running my tests. You getting hungry?” she asked.

  “A little. Tell you what, let me transplant a few of these, then I’ll make us lunch. Sound good?”

  “Yep, thanks,” Alexis said, leaving the green house.

  For the same land and climate, the Colorado community’s crops yielded 12% more produce than the best of the corporate farms across the country. They used no pesticides either. Though they did not sell their crops to any outsiders, several high school-aged students did operate a farm stand along a major road that snaked its way past the outskirts of town. The farm stand greatly contributed to the appearance of normalcy they wanted to project to the general public.

  Alexis buried herself in the measurements and analysis of the soil data, seeing what changes the crops wrought on the mineral content in the dirt. Her goal was to maintain the overall quality of the soil so that it did not lose its vitality like the great dust bowl in the 1930s. Avoiding the use of commercial fertilizers and pesticides also kept surrounding waters,
wells, and drainage land unsullied by the usual contaminants.

  The stairs on the loft creaked, she turned and saw Andy carrying a covered tray, presumably containing lunch.

  “You are a sweetheart,” she said as he set the tray down on a cleared table.

  “I know how often you’ve worked through meals. It’s just soup and a sandwich,” he said.

  “Will you be joining me?” she said as she grabbed a couple bottles of water from a small fridge.

  “I’d hoped so. What are you doing? I see the soil, but are you looking for anything specific?”

  “Mostly soil pH, and looking for any smaller parasites, anything that’s root-born,” she explained.

  “Find anything?”

  “Happy to say, nothing at all. You get the hybrids planted?” she asked.

  “Yep. Built a separate six-inch tray for them. I figure they can stay inside for a couple of weeks, then I’ll transfer them outside. Hey, what are Nancy and Aidan up to? They seemed pretty excited,” Andy asked.

  “Nancy created and installed a mirror that’s made up of ninety little reflectors connected to a computer that helps compensate for atmospheric distortion in real time. The images from the telescope are unbelievable. They’re as sharp as those from telescopes with forty inches, or larger, mirrors. She spent a couple nights observing and photographing the colonists’ space station in the L4 spot. She can even see their ships come and go if the sun catches them just right. Right now, the main colony is starting to come into its closest transit to Earth; they’ll be about sixty million kilometers from Earth. She wants to closely observe the exterior of their habitat and any other nearby structures that the colonists may have clustered around their community,” she explained.

  “What about Aidan? I thought he was into laser research in communications.”