“Six. The probe is our primary interdimensional tool until we can be one hundred percent sure that a person can leave this universe and survive wherever the probe’s been going. So far, the best part of our research was that the probe returned to our universe the first time we sent it into other space. The calculations we cooked up accurately predicted what was necessary to punch through to outside our four dimensions.”
“Four?” Benjamin asked. “I thought there were only three, I mean physical dimensions.”
“There are, but we have to pay attention to time. Time is tightly bound to space, especially in my search for a faster than light drive. Right now, superstring theory postulates ten dimensions in our universe. The M-theory folks say there’s eleven, but the Bosonic string math suggests like twenty-six dimensions. So, even though the probe leaves our universe and returns, neither Chris nor I can say for sure where the probe’s really going. I want it to be into the space between universes because I really like the whole multiverse school of thought.”
“Man, that’s pretty heavy. It makes my brain hurt trying to even find a starting point in solving the FTL problem. I guess that would require a dimension where the speed of light is no longer the limiting factor, some place where the mass of a speeding object doesn’t become infinite at light-speed. Let me ask you two this: would it speed things along if you sent a small, manned base station wherever the probe’s been going so some really extensive tests on the cosmological constants there can be tested?” asked Ben.
“It probably would. But your dad is definitely not down with that,” TJ said.
“Since Riley’s accident on the moon, Chris has had a zero-tolerance policy on risk to anyone’s life in the colony. He’d have a cow if TJ or I suggested it, even if we had a genuine volunteer. At heart, he doesn’t even believe that people have the right to take a chance like that. Patricia had to almost physically twist his arm for him to allow someone to finally test the retrovirus. But in his defense, no one has had a serious accident since Riley,” said Peanut.
“God rest his soul,” TJ intoned.
The three were all silent for a moment, then TJ asked, “So what’s up, Ben?”
“Oh yeah. I wanted to run the idea of having a clone on the Titan mission is a good idea or not. Having the clone do a running log of the mission would be great, but I’m wondering whether that’s overkill?”
“Good question,” said Peanut.
“Well, let’s pull up your mission plan,” suggested TJ, turning on the wall display. “G2, please display the Titan mission plan.”
TJ started paging through the mission plan, waving his hands in front of the screen scanning from page to page. When he was halfway through the plan, he asked, “Are you bringing along analysis equipment for the atmosphere, the hydrocarbon fluids, and anything else that catches your attention?”
“We sure are. Sam and Joy put together a biochemistry lab in the hab for analysis of all the samples we bring back, plus there’s frozen storage for any biologicals. Once we return from Titan, the hab’s clone can assist in the analysis,” explained Benjamin.
“That’s what I’m thinking, looking at the tests and samples you’ve got listed here, and that you’re using two jumpers for redundancy and safety, and that the hab is going to be in the immediate vicinity, I think carrying a clone in one of your jumpers would be overkill. What do you think, Peanut?”
“At max velocity, their mission shouldn’t be but half an hour from the hab. There are two additional jumpers and one of the whales scheduled to accompany the collection mission. They’ll be several ships in the area. I think they’ll be all right on their own. The comm lag won’t be over a few seconds in any case,” Peanut replied.
“Ben, I’m proud of the mission your team put together. I halfway wish I was tagging along,” TJ said, clapping Benjamin on the back.
“Yeah, but don’t you two forget, I’m going to be the mission commander when you have the FTL drive perfected. I plan on being the first human to visit another star system!” Benjamin reminded them.
“I don’t doubt it. And it shouldn’t be too long before I can make that happen,” replied Peanut.
“Don’t sweat it, Uncle Peanut, I’m patient. Just don’t forget who’s going to pilot our first spacecraft to another solar system.”
Peanut and TJ laughed as Ben left the room, then returned to their work on the hardware inside the probe.
Benjamin checked the time and saw he had only a few minutes before he was to meet the rest of the team for dinner in the commissary. Once he arrived, Piper and Joy were seated at one of the larger tables off to the side of the vast room. He quickly went through the food line and made his way to them.
“Ladies. How are the two of you tonight?”
“Great!” “Doing Well.”
Benjamin plopped down into a chair, “Anything new on the mission front?”
“Nope. I think we’ve all been helping out the collection mission crew pack the hab with supplies and equipment,” Piper replied. “I also checked out all the final notes and additions to the Titan mission profile.”
“I stopped by to see Uncle Peanut and TJ. We chatted about whether they thought we needed a Genesis clone for our mission.
“Hold that thought until the others get here,” said Joy, interrupting.
“Yeah, sure,” Benjamin said, then began to put a serious dent in his dinner.
A few minutes later, Sam and Virginia arrived together and in no time, they were talking about the work preparing for departure to Saturn. Once the side discussions slightly wound down, Benjamin related his discussion with TJ and Peanut concerning carrying a Genesis clone to Titan. With a clone installed on the new habitat, less than a minute of communications lag time away, the consensus was they would have little need for their own clone. Piper followed up with informing the team that all their equipment, except for personal items, was loaded aboard the hab.
Joy and Sam ran down their consumables for the trip, letting everyone know that all their special requests had already been stowed. Benjamin explained the interior retrofits to their two jumpers for the week-long stay in orbit around Titan. They would be in fairly close quarters, but they were also a good deal more emotionally centered than their counterparts on Earth.
Each jumper was equipped with a temporary shower and a larger water recycling unit, along with a stove/oven and a fridge/freezer combo. All of which were standard equipment for the jumpers. All but four seats were removed to accommodate the modifications for sleeping during a longer stay in the jumpers, and as they were designed for many different uses, the options and combinations were almost endless.
When they finished eating, the crew left a final check of their supplies and equipment for the next morning, leaving them free to assist the hab crew with their preparations for the rest of the day.
As Benjamin was tossing his garbage and returning his tray to the kitchen conveyor, he couldn’t help overhearing many of those eating discussing the departure of the hab and its mission to Saturn. There were even a few who offered him good luck on the Titan mission.
The rest of the Titan team dispersed to help the hab’s engineers’ construction team finish out their preparations or visit with family and friends. When Benjamin stopped by his folks’ place, he was surprised to find Sydney and Joy there. He gave his folks and Joy’s mother hugs and accepted their well wishes for the mission with good cheer. He also gave Joy a wink and a smile across the table.
They talked about the mission, swapped stories about Joy and Benjamin’s growing up in the colony, and Sydney shared a little bit about Joy’s father from before she left for the colony.
Benjamin and Joy were close growing up. They had spent enough time together to grow to know each other well, but they resisted becoming a couple for the same reason: they resented everyone’s expectations that they would, indeed, become a bonded pair. They had dated, and truth be told, they were infrequent lovers, ex
perimenting sexually when they were teens, but nothing much more than a very tight friendship had resulted.
They talked for a good long time, even laughing over Christopher’s threatening President Laughlin into releasing Lucius and Julius from federal custody. Patricia had watched as Christopher mellowed through the years. When she found out she was pregnant with Benjamin, she rightly wondered what kind of parent he would be. There was no doubt Christopher was brilliant, and that he was pragmatic, but she wondered if he would be the same with his son as he was with the entire colony: overprotective and overbearing to a fault, convinced he was right. But even though she had never met Benjamin’s namesake, Christopher’s father, it seemed like Christopher had learned a good deal about parenting from his own folks.
Before she was hustled off to the moon, Sydney served as Dean of Student Affairs at Stedman College for Women, just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. She had counseled hundreds of teenage girls and women over the years at Stedman, so raising Joy was no mystery. Joy was bright, and as she knew no better, she took Genesis, the colony, and the fact that she was living in outer space as no big deal. The one thing that did impress Joy was the fact that her mother had personally recruited hundreds of the women living in the colony. When she was old enough to understand exactly what role her mother, and Lucius had in populating the colony, she was in awe of the job they had done.
When Benjamin began to make his excuses, blaming the amount of work he had to get done the following day, everyone agreed to call it a night. Benjamin gave hugs all around, both of his parents told him how proud they were about his participation in the Titan mission. When he hugged Sydney, she told him to take care of himself, Joy and the others, telling Joy the same thing. When Sydney, Joy, and Benjamin set out for their own quarters, Joy pulled him aside and informed him she’d be stopping by to say goodnight after she walked her mom to her quarters.
Benjamin was just zipping up the travel bag holding all his clothes for the mission when the annunciator let him know someone was at his door.
“Come in, I’m in the bedroom” he called out.
“Your folks are great. It’s kind of cool that they’re really the progenitors of this whole colony,” she said, dropping onto his bed and propping her head up on her hands.
“I guess so. But it was more like a dozen people who really got the ball rolling in the beginning, but I get what you’re saying,” he said tucking his datapad in the side pocket of the bag.
“Aren’t you going to need that tomorrow?” she asked, pointing to the datapad.
He paused, then pulled it out and set it on his desk. “Yeah, I guess so. Is your spacesuit packed and ready to go?”
“Already stowed in your jumper along with Virginia’s. Are you sure you’re ready to go on the mission with two women to keep satisfied?” she laughed at his embarrassment.
“Knock it off. You know that’s not what it’s going to be like.”
“How do you know? She obviously likes you; I can tell by how she watches your face when you’re talking in the mission meetings. Actually, most of the women our age think you’re kind of hot! Think of it, a ménage à trois for the duration of the mission, Sam too! Clever how you two guys arranged for the majority of the crew to be women,” she giggled.
He’d be lying if he said the thought wasn’t at least of passing interest. But he shook off the idea. He was way too responsible to let any personal relationship get in the way of his mission responsibilities.
“Hey, is it all right if I sleep here tonight?” Joy asked, her voice softening.
Benjamin looked her in the eyes, “Of course. You need anything from your place?”
She jumped off the bed pulling her toothbrush from her pocket and headed for the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower, want to join me?” she asked.
“Be there in a minute,” he replied.
They showered together, something they did rather infrequently, but it did bring them closer together through the years. Joy’s favorite part was when Benjamin washed her hair, often massaging her scalp. It was especially nice after a particularly tough day; it drained the tension right out of her. For Benjamin it was the intimacy of being with Joy in a frankly sensual, if not downright sexual, setting. But it was experiences like this that contributed to his ability to be with a woman and not turn into a grabby little creep. He respected Joy, understood boundaries, and understood that another person’s wishes were just as important as his own.
After a good, long shower, and a little horsing around, they dried off, climbed straight into bed, and dropped into an exhausted sleep.
* * *
Constance and Silas were working on the methane yield from the community’s waste plant. It turned the community’s organic garbage into fuel for the municipal vehicles. All the snowplows, garbage trucks, dump trucks, pickup trucks, and jeeps had been converted to use methanol, freeing them from another outside consumable. According to reasonable estimates on the amount of garbage they would be collecting through the winter, unless there was a month-long storm or some other disaster, they should end up with a surplus by spring.
“I was contacted by one of the mobile telecom companies yesterday about them surveying for a cell tower off to the west of town. It’s something that we should talk about. The revenue isn’t going to make us rich, but it would be a great, passive way to keep replenishing our cash reserves. What do you think?” Constance asked Silas.
“Isn’t that kind of like the camel’s nose in the tent?” he replied.
“Maybe, but it’s not like they’re dragging an office full of folks behind them. The tower would be unmanned, with firmware updates done through the network. But this must be a community decision,” she said.
“I’ll put it on the agenda. Anything else?”
“I got word that Aidan is due back in the next couple of days,” she replied.
“It’s been a minute. Did he have fun?” he asked.
“No idea. But he did say to keep an eye out for some boxes addressed to him.”
“You think he fell in love or something?” Silas asked. “He was with that same woman who visited here, Valerie right?”
“That’s her. She’s sharp, pretty too. Maybe something did spark between them. It would be great if it did, I invited her to join us. Aidan’s place is plenty big enough for two, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“One other thing. That agriculture inspector was nosing around again, asking whether there were any houses or farms for sale in the area,” Silas said as Constance looked up to meet his gaze.
“How serious?” she asked.
“Not really sure, but it’s the second time he’s asked.”
“You told him his melanin deficiency disqualified him from joining the community, right?” she chuckled.
“Oh he’d shit a brick if I told him that, then he’d have a stroke once I told him it was the absolute truth!” Silas laughed. “Damn good thing we own all the land for miles in every direction.”
“True. But eventually, someone is going to twig to the fact that not only don’t we have any whites in the area, but that they’re simply not wanted. Once word gets out it’s going to raise a shit storm with Whitey. I’m afraid that if any of our black-only communities are discovered, white folks are not going to be happy finding out that there’s places in the country where not only are they not welcome, but that we can make it stick,” Constance said with a self-assurance she didn’t completely feel.
“One thing we can do is price the land around us completely out of reach,” said Silas. “I just don’t see some white multi-billionaire really wanting to move in around here. Maybe a summer home or winter lodge. But so far we’ve skated under the radar.”
“See if you can pump the inspector to see what’s really up. Maybe we have nothing to worry about.”
“Or maybe, Whitey is on to us,” said Silas, winking.
“How are we on electrical power generation?”
she asked, changing the subject.
Silas took out his tablet and brought up a chart. “We’re still pumping about twenty-five percent of what we’re generating into the grid. And every home equipped with a storage battery is maintaining over a ninety-five percent charge on their battery.”
“And we have just two more homes that need storage batteries, right?”
“Yep. We could stand several more in the greenhouse and the barn. Fortunately, the barn’s almost completely insulated, even the telescope turret, except when it’s open, I mean.”
“That’s great work, Silas!”
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not doing it by myself, but everyone knows it needs to get done. No one’s going to go hungry or cold this winter—not that anyone ever really has, but they’ll be warm and well fed. No one will need to crash at town hall or with friends if we have a bad storm this winter,” Silas said proudly. “Oh yeah, a couple of the older teenagers were wondering if we could build a dorm so they can get out of their parent’s homes once they graduate. I said I’d talk to you to see if you would put it on the agenda for the next meeting.”
“What, and let them do whatever they want with whomever they want? That’s for their parents to decide,” she said, sighing. “But I will put it on the agenda. Our kids are responsible, and they’d do no worse if they went off to college somewhere. If they act like adults, I suppose we should treat them like adults. Anything else?”
“Tricia and Spencer are thinking about getting married. At least that’s what I’ve heard through the grapevine. You hear anything?”
“Not yet. But they’ve been going together for what, over two years now? It’s about time they made honest folks of each other. And, we could use a wedding here. It’s been going on five years since the Arthur and Tanece tied the knot. See what you can find out. You mind?”
“Not at all. By the way, I have one more thing on my list,” said Silas, glancing down at his tablet.
“And that is?”
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