Alpha Rising

by G. L. Douglas

  Kaz darted to aft ship with Lynch following and the two rifled through the storage holds. She found the AstroLab’s old logbook and read from it on the way to the cockpit. “It says Urusa means Place of Peace. And it says the quadrants created by two crisscrossing bands, believed to be water, appear to have distinctly different environmental habitats. Urusa orbits its own small sun.”

  “Voila!” Lynch yelled from aft. “Observatory photos.” He waved a bulging, crinkled envelope through the air.

  Deni took it from his hands and pulled out a collection of photos showing Urusa and its sun. The crewmates waited on pins and needles as a printout ejected from the electro-brain.

  Star analyzed the incoming data and held a photo at arm’s length for all to see. “The planet’s crisscrossing bands are water,” she stated. “And, yes, the quadrants have varying environments.” She sat back and her voice changed to almost a whisper. “The planet looks like the symbol of hope.”

  “It does!” Kaz interjected. “Is this a sign from God, or what? So how long are we talkin’ here?”

  “What do you mean?” Deni asked.

  “Urusa’s our resting place, like Noah’s ark and Atlantis, so how long till we get there?”

  “Longer than I’d like,” Bach replied, “but we will go there.”

  Star typed on the keyboard. “We’ll have to conserve every fuel fragment, which means minimum acceleration, minimum deceleration, and optimum speed. But we could conceivably make it there in—”

  “Calculate it in twenty-four hour Earth days,” Bach interjected, looking at his watch.

  “One hundred and fifty days,” she replied.

  G.R. moaned. “More time cooped up contemplating our future.”

  “Easy, G.R.,” Bach said, “You know we could get there in less time, but we wouldn’t have enough fuel to decelerate and we’d pancake onto Urusa. We don’t want that.”

  The crewmates moved to the mid-ship dining area for a celebratory snack. Lynch grabbed a bowl of dehydrated vegetable flakes and sank into an alcove hammock nearby. “Think about this,” he said, “what if there’s already a civilization on Urusa when we arrive? Talk about your integrated family.”

  “Well, in my opinion—”

  “G.R.!” Kaz cut him off, “I’ll try to be nice. Please don’t say ‘in my opinion’ any more.”

  He huffed. “I’ve been saying it all my life.”

  “It distracts from what you’re going to say, and we’ve all heard it enough.” She flopped into a hammock across from Lynch.

  G.R. stood with his feet apart and his arms folded across his big chest. “Okay, if you ask me, we’d better be careful if we find anyone. Look what happened to us the last time. We never would’ve envisioned the likes of the Specter and his Rooks.”

  Kaz said, “Let’s assume Earth’s research is correct and it’s a virgin planet—a perfect new home.”

  Bach jumped to his feet and spoke in a comical W.C. Fields voice. “A new home, a new home, it’s a perfect new home!” Giggles and snorts from the others egged him on, so he held an imaginary microphone and, pretending to be a seasoned reporter, gestured dramatically and spoke in broadcaster jargon. “Here they are, the sole inhabitants of a newly discovered planet. The ship’s powerplant becomes the heartbeat of their brave new world….”

  Lynch raised his hand for attention. “But, eventually, over time, their clothes deteriorate. And as new generations are born, there’s nothing to wear—no Wal-Mart.”

  “Owww, Garden of Eden. I like it,” G.R. yelped.

  Star looked at G.R. in confusion. “Garden of Eden?”

  “Another Bible story.” He took a deep breath. “But let’s not be thinking about future generations; we need to worry about what’s going to happen to us when we run out of soap. Anybody think about that? We’re almost out of soap now.”

  Deni groaned, then said, “At least Star will smell good. Have you all noticed the divine scent she wears? Every time she comes near, it’s a breath of fresh air.”

  Star smiled in embarrassment. “Thank you, Deni, but it’s nothing I do purposely. It’s a natural occurrence in the women of Jenesis—a genetic identifier.”

  “Wait a minute!” G.R. said. “Your DNA is in fragrance form? You can identify someone by scent?”

  “Well, yes.”

  The space doctor shook his head. “Amazing! I want to know all about it.”

  “I want to know more about your culture too,” she said.

  “It’s much like yours might have been a couple of generations ago,” G.R. said while munching dried vegetable bits. “Sure hope there’s lots of food on Urusa.”

  Deni scoffed. “You won’t have a choice of restaurants.”

  “There better be a Taco Bell. I can’t live without Taco Bell.”

  “Then you’ll die, old buddy, ’cause there ain’t gonna be no Taco Bell,” Lynch stated. “But we’d best keep our animals reproducin’.”

  “Yeah, we’ll have to farm and breed certain animals for food,” G.R. said.

  “Won’t be much else to do,” Lynch replied with a wink.

  Kaz playfully nudged G.R. “Poor G.R. There goes your conformer bed, popcorn, and plasma video wishes.”

  “But soon,” Star interjected, “our present technology will become obsolete. We’ll lose all hope of communicating outside our immediate area.”

  Deni picked at loose trimmings inside the cabin, “The whole ship is going to deteriorate. Future generations on Urusa will regress to primitive lifestyles.”

  Lynch joined in, talking like Orson Wells with a southern drawl. “We’ll scatter across the planet in search of shelter. The common language and all native tongues will pass down to new generations. And, before you know it, there’ll be a new earth.”

  G.R. groaned. “Do we have to perpetuate your southern vernacular on this new earth? Please don’t pass that down. Sometimes I can’t even understand what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t start with rules and regulations,” Lynch replied. “There’ll be enough natural restrictions to keep it challengin’.”

  Bach examined a snack food ball then popped it into his mouth. “We’ll make our own tools—”

  G.R. interrupted, “Maybe a few crude guns from the ship’s metal.”

  Bach continued, “We’ll find something to make fire, maybe flint.”

  “Flintstones!” G.R. yelled with a huge snort that got a giggle even from Kaz.

  Star missed the humor. “Metal weaponry will rust and deteriorate.”

  “Then we’ll make arrowheads from the scraps,” Bach countered.

  “They’ll soon be used up,” she replied.

  “Then we’ll go back to ones of stone.”

  Deni spoke up. “I’d like it better with no guns. I vote no guns, ever.”

  “Guns would be in case of attacking invaders,” G.R. said. “Remember, we’re pretending there’s no one else on our planet except us chosen ones, and we’re non-violent types.”

  Bach got up with a clever look in his eyes. He hunched over, walked the floor with a hitch and smoked an imaginary cigar. “Soon the guns become weapons because someone wants more than food—they want your stuff.” He jabbed the invisible cigar at G.R. “Anything you have that they don’t.”

  “And, if you’re smart,” G.R. huffed on his fingernails, “you’ve managed to store away some fine provisions.”

  “Be advised, I’m going to record all of this so future generations know what to do and not to do,” Kaz said.

  “Good,” Bach said. “We must document everything carefully. If we don’t make it in the long haul, we’ll have left a legacy—journals of life after Earth and the black hole that swallowed part of the universe.”

  “Whoa! Hold on a minute,” G.R. yelped. “Rewind for a second. My mind’s stuck on Kaz’s comment about future generations. Think about the passengers we have in the E-module and their exquisite mix of genetics. Urusa will be a diverse melting pot.” He nodded, agreeing wi
th himself. “And their talents range from artistic to scientific.”

  Lynch scratched his thinning hair and chuckled. “Won’t it be great if we don’t age on Urusa?”

  Bach wore a sly grin. “You’d be the first to benefit from that.”

  “Well, just so y’all know, I don’t plan to spend the rest of my days on this ship. Me ’n’ Kaz will make our own way. We’ll keep near the ship so we can remain united with the group, but I gotta have privacy.”

  “I want a baby,” Kaz said wistfully.

  Deni glared at her. “Do not start on that.”

  “I’m the youngest of the Earth bunch. The next generation of earthlings could start with me and Lynch.”

  G.R. laughed and snorted. “Heaven forbid, a miniature Kaz.”

  Deni smiled and added, “And, Kaz, think about this. G.R.’s the doctor; do you want him to deliver your baby?”

  “Ahhhg!” she shrieked and crossed her legs.

  Lynch dragged the back of his hand across his mouth, squirmed a little, and squinted his beady blue eyes. “Well, ah, sooner or later the winds of passion are gonna blow. We’ll be free from the group. Things will happen.”

  “Well, I forbid your having a baby unless you’re married,” Deni said, hands on hips, glaring. “Just forget about those winds of passion. I’m makin’ the first rule: no marriage, no baby.”

  “Okay, okay, we’ll get married,” Lynch said, groaning. “But who’ll marry us?” He thought about it for a moment. “Hey, I studied for the ministry. I’ll marry myself. You know, marry me and Kaz.”

  “Under the circumstances, it’s the best we can do,” Deni said.

  Kaz hugged Lynch. “You just proposed!”

  Bach’s emotions pinched a little, so he shut out his ex-fiancée’s romantic notions. “By the way, is anybody besides me musically inclined? We have to keep music alive. I just realized that recorded music is gone forever. All the great old rock groups, and my college friends’ band, the Ravens, will be heard from nevermore.”

  G.R. yelped, “Ravens … nevermore. Good one, Bach!”

  Lynch rolled his eyes and stated, “If you’re musically inclined, Bach, we’re all in trouble.”

  Star spoke up. “Don’t forget, Bach, we’ll have music from the spiders, and others from Troas.”

  “Oh, that’s right.” He chuckled. “How could I forget them?”

  “We have musicians aboard?” Lynch asked.

  “Sort of. You have to experience it firsthand. Spiders—arachnids—from planet Troas play what sounds like classical music on their webs and the planet’s animals and other critters join in. It’s a most unusual concert,” Bach said. “On the other hand, I’m gonna write down all the old songs I remember from Earth, but I’ll need help on the lyrics … never get ’em right. Then we can sing with a little help from our Troas friends,” he added with a laugh.

  Lynch exaggerated a sigh. “No instruments, and off-key Bach wants to be the musical leader.”

  “Straight a cappella. Unplugged!” Bach yelped. “We’ll call ourselves the Astral Plebeians.” His mouth opened with a silent laugh. “I want to keep my reputation for dubious musical talents intact. Hey, maybe we can make a flute or horn from parts of the ship, and drums.”

  “Some of our talented passengers can probably make them for you,” G.R. said.

  “Maybe they’ll make a guitar for me.” Lynch added.

  Kaz eyes widened. “You play guitar?”

  “I keep tellin’ you there’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

  Deni said, “Well, if our theory is correct and we’re the first ones on Urusa, you’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other better.”

  Lynch stood and stretched. “Did y’all know that there’s more than one Bible passage sayin’ that after the end of the world there will be a new heaven, and a new earth will come down from heaven, and God’s people will live there in a new Jerusalem?”

  “What’s your point?” G.R. asked.

  “Bach’s mission began with a divine command. Now, here we are transporting a diverse genetic mix of faithful people toward what’s believed to be a virgin planet. What if Urusa is the new earth—a fresh start at God’s potter’s wheel?”

  *****

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Star’s calculations proved accurate and now, at day one hundred and fifty, planet Urusa loomed large before them.

  Kaz and Lynch stood at the viewport, looking at the planet and its sun. She grasped his arm. “I’m scared and excited at the same time.”

  He kissed her cheek. “Concentrate on the excited part.”

  Bach’s terrain analysis showed an area that seemed made to order for landing—a perfect clearing with plenty of room for the ship to descend vertically. “I feel like Columbus discovering America,” he stated with an energetic smile.

  Deni monitored incoming data and images on the view panel. “What an awesome experience.”

  “Hope it’s awesome when we get there,” G.R. said to no one.

  Star readied for landing. “Time to buckle down.”

  #

  At touchdown, an excited cheer rose from the crewmates. They cast off their restraints and hurried to the windows and portholes. After a guarded silence, Lynch spoke from forward, starboard. “I see an orchard over there with trees in every shape ’n’ size hangin’ heavy with yellow, orange, red, and green fruits.”

  Kaz added from aft starboard, “The sky’s a clear blue canopy over a plush green carpet of grass. And in the distance are hundreds of flowering bushes in shades of pink, purple, yellow, and blue.”

  From the forward port G.R. stated, “I got a hilly area with a pristine waterfall over here—”

  Deni finished his sentence. “Cascading into an oasis of transparent turquoise water surrounded by pure white sand.”

  Star reported from the cockpit. “Beautiful manicured land ahead with rows and rows of what look like grapevines, dipping to the ground from the weight of their bounty.”

  “And I see what looks like fields of vegetables ripe for the picking at front left,” Bach added.

  “Garden of Eden!” G.R. yelped.

  The crewmates broke into a spontaneous dance accompanied by hugs and hoots of joy as they went from the portholes to the windows and back again.

  “A dream after all the nightmares,” Kaz said, giddy with glee, “and I’m not gonna waste a minute doing anything but enjoying it.”

  Deni headed to the cockpit. “I want to check on a few things.” She sat, looked out, and shouted all at the same time. “Unbelievable! Hey, everyone, a rainbow—and we’re at the end of it. Come look!”

  Bach squeezed in beside Deni and draped his arm over her shoulder. The dazzling bands of color arched across the sky in a path ending right on the ship’s windshield. He looked back through the cabin; the drab ship was awash in color.

  Kaz flung herself into Lynch’s arms, nearly knocking him down. “My prayers have been answered!”

  Having no understanding of the excitement over the rainbow and talk of a Garden of Eden, Star slipped away to the environmental module where, since touchdown, the inhabitants had anxiously waited to learn their fate. They quickly gathered around when Star entered. “We’ve safely arrived at a biospheric planet known as Urusa,” she advised. “We’re running security checks before going out.”

  After answering questions and explaining their plans thus far, she moved on to the animals’ module where the various species had adjusted to daily human interaction during the long time adrift. Her wurrs, Lotus and Arro, roaming freely among the other species, ran to her for a daily reunion filled with her loving hugs, and their head-butts and nonstop purrs. She spoke as if they understood. “I can’t wait to take you into the main cabin. But you might get spooked and escape when we open the big door, so stay put for now, and soon you’ll have a beautiful new home to explore.” She kissed her pets on their fuzzy heads. “I’ll be back soon.”

  Star headed straight to the cockpit
to launch a battery of tests in search of other life forms. “Someone’s caring for this beautiful planet,” she said under her breath.

  In the galley area for celebration, Bach uncorked a cylinder of aquamarine sparkling water while the others readied to try the intoxicating, lemony drink. He poured a small amount into a cup and enjoyed his cohorts’ surprise at seeing crackling streams of starlike bubbles rising to the top. With all eyes on him, Bach took the first sip, then passed the cup to Lynch with a warning, “Drink just a drop. Those crackling bubbles have a highly intoxicating effect that hits almost instantly.”

  Lynch ignored the warning and, like a swarthy sailor, gulped the popping water without regard. An instant later he looked around in wonder, grinning from ear to ear. “Whew! Wicked stuff. But it released my apprehension.” He handed the cup to G.R.

  G.R. watched Lynch for a moment then took a couple of sips. He waited, then grumbled, “It didn’t release my apprehension,” and passed the cup to Deni.

  Deni sniffed the crackling aquamarine liquid. Her eyes opened so widely that, against her black skin, they looked twice their normal size. “No thanks.” She passed it on. “I prefer to stay in control.”

  Kaz swilled the last few drops, then raised the empty cup high over her head with a smirk. Grinning like the Cheshire cat, she loudly declared, “I’m ready to explore Urusa!”

  Suddenly, G.R. yelped, “Woo hoo!” and threw his arm around Kaz’s shoulder.

  She looked him in the eyes, put her arm around him, and giggled. “Let’s go. Grab a spacesuit. I’ll go first.” Without another word she bounded to the storage hold on feet barely touching the floor.

  Lynch sat back, chuckling at her antics. “My true love wants to find a little green man for her boyfriend.”

  Bach pulled her back. “Sooner or later we’ll all go out, Kaz, but now’s not the time.” He led her to Lynch and said, “Pretend he’s your little green man.”

  Deni suddenly spoke out, “’All of us?’ Oh, my gosh, we forgot about the passengers. I’ll go check.”