by Russell Fine
When they arrived in the dining room, Jeffery went into the kitchen and asked the cook to prepare something extravagant for the guests. He also asked her to make some cinnamon rolls because Jeffery knew how much Garlut and Brealak liked them.
When Jeffery returned to the table Garlut asked, “How was your journey? Did you like Procolt 2?”
“It has been rather interesting,” Jeffery responded. Then he said, “Procolt 2 was nice, very nice, but we have a mystery I hope you can help us resolve.”
“What is the mystery?”
“First, when we arrived at the Procolt System we were threatened with destruction by a ship from Torblit. The ship’s captain, Glencet, claimed that Torblit owned the Procolt System and threatened to destroy our ship if we didn’t leave immediately. I managed to diffuse the situation by giving Glencet some of the products we were bringing to Coplent. He particularly liked the chocolate. Anyway, he agreed to let us explore Procolt 2 for twenty days. Apparently, they have a mining operation on Procolt 4 and thought we were there to steal whatever it is they’re mining.
“During our first full day there, some of our people discovered a humanoid skeleton while they were exploring a cave. Upon examination, we found a metal tag around the neck of the remains that identified the body as a soldier from the United States. We were unable to determine how long the person had been dead, but it didn’t appear to be for very long. As you probably know, the United States hasn’t existed for eighty-five years. So, I have two questions: How did somebody from Earth get to Procolt 2 and how long ago did he die?”
Garlut said nothing for a few seconds, then he said, “Do you remember I told you we weren’t responsible for the reports of flying saucers?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“What I did not tell you was I know who is responsible. There were people from Metoba studying Earth. They fly saucer-shaped shuttles. Although they were, and still are, members of the trading group, they didn’t feel compelled to follow the rules regarding contact with backward civilizations. They had no problem with flying over major cities and being seen. Although I am not aware of any specific instances where they actually made contact with the people on Earth, I am certain it happened. I suspect they probably kidnapped people from Earth from time to time, in an effort to study them. I know they are aware of Procolt 2 and it is probable they took their captives there when they were finished with their research. I must also tell you they have not visited Earth for more than one hundred years.”
“What do the people from Metoba look like?”
“I suspect you already know the answer to that question. They are thin, hairless, and have bluish-gray skin. They are short. The tallest ones are probably five feet tall. They have large black eyes and their noses do not protrude from their face. They do not wear clothes and the males have no external genitalia. Because the females have no breasts unless they are near the end of or right after a pregnancy, it is impossible to tell the males from the females by looking at them.”
“You’re right. I would have guessed that, except for the part about the genitalia. I just figured the drawings I saw left off the genitalia for reasons of modesty. We brought the remains with us. Can your people determine how long ago the man died and possibly his age?”
“I am not a medical expert, but I think we may be able to help you. You should also be aware that Torblit has no legal claim to the Procolt System. If they want to file a claim, they must do so by petitioning the trade group members at the yearly meeting. Despite their warning, they would have never damaged or destroyed your ship. That would have caused them to be ejected as members of the trade group and would result in financial ruin for Torblit,” he said and then paused awaiting a reaction. “You mentioned you brought some things from Earth for us. Can you tell me what they are?”
“Yes, there are cases of chocolate bars, sacks of cinnamon, and I have eighteen power modules that produce the power Quat requested. I left Earth with twenty, but I gave two to Glencet. He expressed a lot of interest in the power modules and wanted information regarding the pricing and delivery. I have no idea how to communicate that information to him. Even if they wanted to buy something, we have no way to deliver it to them since Earth has only one starship.”
“I am sure we can resolve those issues during your visit. Torblit has a permanent trade representative on Coplent and I will set up a meeting with them. I would not be concerned about delivering their purchases. Torblit has a fleet of five hundred starships and I am positive they will pick up anything they decide to purchase from Earth.”
“Good. Can I assume you have an idea about product pricing?”
“Actually, we have trade delegates on Earth now. The first group arrived shortly after you left. They met with representatives of the World Council and created a pricing schedule for the three items Earth will begin trading. Some of the people from the first group have already returned to Coplent and have gone back to Earth again. The bank has opened a branch on Earth as well. Everything is progressing as we anticipated.”
“Very good! I would also like to tell you about the other important thing we discovered on Procolt 2. We found a race of highly intelligent animals. They’re similar to small rodents called squirrels on Earth, except they’re much larger. They have hands with opposable thumbs and have developed a language. I left two of my crew members there to continue studying them. I hope we haven’t violated any trade group rules, but we didn’t know they were intelligent when we first landed on Procolt 2. Because they aren’t humanoid, I didn’t think there would be a problem. We aren’t going to give them any new technology or make any attempt to change their society. However, I must tell you that in the twenty days we were on Procolt 2, the squirrels managed to learn to speak English and they taught our language expert to speak their language.”
Garlut appeared to be deep in thought for a moment before he said, “I wasn’t aware there were any intelligent species on Procolt 2 and the planet has been extensively explored. Perhaps this is a small group of animals that only live in the area where you landed. Since they are not humanoid and will likely never develop interstellar travel, I am certain you did not violate any of the trade group rules. I am concerned that you left two of your officers there. Are you sure they are safe?”
“Before we left, I made arrangements with Glencet to check on them regularly. Also, Glencet gave them communications devices which will allow them to contact his ship in case of an emergency.”
“It sounds like you did what was needed to insure their safety. I would also like to send a ship to Procolt 2 to study these animals. Would that be okay with you?”
“Of course. I’m sure Cathy and Sheila would appreciate the company. Your ship should probably contact Glencet so he can let my crew members know they are going to have visitors.
We left a habitat that can house sixteen people on the planet, so your people can stay there.
“I have two more things I want to discuss with you,” Jeffery continued. “The first is that Dr. Weber has some blood samples from people who have contracted a disease we’ve been unable to find a cure for. I was hoping we could give the samples to some of your medical experts and ask them to help us find a cure. The other item was, on the way here from Procolt 2 our ship’s wormhole system failed. It took us almost four days to repair it. During the outage, many of my crew and probably all of our guests were convinced we were going to be stranded and die out in the middle of nowhere. Is there any system in place we could have used that would have let other trade group members know about our problem?”
“I have contacts at the University Medical Center,” Garlut replied. “I think they may be able to help you. Please give me the samples and any other information you have concerning the disease. I will send it to them. Regarding the problem with your propulsion system; you are correct. There is no system in place that would have allowed us to know about your problem. That is one reason why we need to develop a communication system that would allo
w us to transmit messages at least at the same speed we can travel through space. However, in your case, if you had not arrived here within thirty days of the time you were expected, I would have searched for you. Since you are using our navigation system, I am sure we would have found you.”
“That’s good to know, although it all worked out so there was no crisis. I want to convince the World Council that we should build more starships. If all the ships follow a specific mission plan and if a ship is late returning to Earth, we’ll know where to look for them. I know that’s by no means foolproof, but it’s better than nothing.”
“We have a similar plan here on Coplent. Our ships follow regular trade routes and because our ships are much faster than yours our missions are shorter. Typically, half a year, so in the event of a system failure we would be able to locate them fairly quickly. We have never lost a ship. We have had a few close calls with problems similar to the one you experienced, but the problems were always resolved by the ship’s crew.”
“Perhaps by the time I get back to Earth they’ll have made some progress on the new communications system,” Jeffery mused.
“Based on your accomplishments, I believe Earth has excellent engineers. I think they will find a solution to the problem, and if they do, it will make Earth very wealthy. I wanted to talk to you before you go down to Coplent. It is not anything like Earth. Almost all of the land surface is densely populated. There are very few single-family homes. More than ninety-five percent of the forty-five billion inhabitants of Coplent live in apartments. Many of those apartment buildings are over one hundred stories tall. The only green spaces are in parks, and there are a lot of those. There are also some very nice areas that are unsuitable for building due to environmental or land surface conditions. You will probably find it surprising, but most of our people have no desire to even visit a place like Procolt 2. The open space, the trees and plants, and even the animals make them feel uncomfortable. This is a problem for us since we are running out of space and fresh water. We import almost all of our food because there is so little land available for farming. You should consider this a warning. As the population on Earth increases because of improvements in medical technology, you could be facing the same problem in as little as two hundred years.”
“The population on Earth has increased by 50% over the last one hundred years, but we like open spaces, forests, trees, and wild animals. I just don’t see it happening on Earth. I suspect, given the opportunity, a large percentage of the population would gladly move to a place like Procolt 2 in a heartbeat. We have areas that sound a lot like Coplent. In our larger cities like New York, Hong Kong, Mexico City, and Los Angeles, people are already living as you describe on Coplent, but they go to the sparsely populated areas for vacation.”
Until now, Debbie and Brealak had been listening, but hadn’t joined in the conversation. At the lull in the conversation, Brealak said, “Garlut and I would like you and Debbie to be our guests at our home. We have a very large apartment and I am sure you will be more comfortable there than at a hotel.”
Without waiting for Jeffery to answer, Debbie said, “Thank you. We gladly accept your invitation.”
Jeffery said, “Yes, I agree. We know little about Coplent. Staying with friends will make it much more pleasant for us.”
Garlut said, “I am glad that is settled. Please get the samples from Dr. Weber and gather what you need. We will go down to the surface. Is there anything else you need from us now?”
“Yes, I need someone to take the products we brought to you off the ship, and we need to have someone remove the remains we found on Procolt 2.”
“I will take care of that as soon as we get to my home.”
At that moment, the cook brought out a big platter of cinnamon rolls and placed them on the table. Debbie got up and brought glasses of water for everybody and coffee for Jeffery and herself.
Brealak and Garlut immediately began to eat the cinnamon rolls. Garlut said, “These are different from the ones we ate on the space station, but I think they are just as good. Do different cooks make the same foods differently?”
Jeffery thought that was an odd question. He answered, “There are basic instructions for preparing foods, but many people make changes they think will improve the taste. I could probably find hundreds of different recipes for cinnamon rolls.”
“That probably explains why our food is so different from the food on Earth,” Brealak said. “On Coplent every cook prepares the food in an identical fashion. So, if you eat something at home or at a restaurant it will taste exactly the same. Food preparation is mechanical; it is always done the same way.”
“I have to admit that sounds boring. On Earth food preparation is considered an art. The person preparing the food can cook it any way that seems appropriate. We have hundreds of different seasonings,” Debbie said. “These seasonings can make the same food taste completely different depending on how they’re used.”
A few minutes later, the cook brought the main course. Each was given a small filet mignon covered in a Béarnaise sauce, buttered green beans with sliced almonds, and a dish of macaroni and cheese.
“This is excellent,” Garlut said. “Do you always eat like this on the ship?”
“The meat is used for special occasions, but the rest of the meal is normal,” Jeffery responded.
After dinner, Jeffery contacted Dr. Weber regarding the blood samples and asked him to bring them to his cabin. They all went to the cabin so Jeffery and Debbie could pack the things they needed for the stay on Coplent. Dr. Weber was already there with the samples when they arrived. He gave the samples to Garlut and told him what he knew about the disease. While Dr. Weber and Garlut were speaking, they headed to the lab. When Jeffery and Debbie finished packing, Jeffery said, “We’re ready to go, but before we leave, I want to know if you can make arrangements for my crew and our guests to tour Coplent.”
Brealak answered, “That has already been taken care of. Starting tomorrow morning we will bring down groups of fifteen people and take them on an all-day tour of our planet. We have trained twenty professional tour guides who speak English so your people will not need translators with them. I believe your communications person is already aware of this.”
Jeffery opened his com unit and said, “Anne.”
A few seconds later she answered with, “Yes sir.”
“Are you aware of the plans to transport fifteen people from the ship to the planet’s surface every day for a tour?”
“Yes sir, I’m aware of it. Mike and I are preparing the lists right now.”
“Thank you. Debbie and I will be going down to the surface shortly. Please contact me if you need our assistance with anything. Also, some people will be coming tomorrow morning to the ship to offload the cargo. Please make sure Ron is made aware. Somebody will also be coming to remove the remains of Mr. Brown. Please inform Dr. Weber.”
“Yes sir.”
“I think we’re ready to go,” Jeffery said.
They left the cabin and walked back to the shuttle bay where they boarded Garlut’s compact shuttle and left the Star Rover. Jeffery thought they were going to go to the space station before going to the surface of Coplent, but he was wrong. Shortly after leaving the Star Rover, they began their descent to the surface. Jeffery and Debbie both stared out the window waiting for a clear view of Coplent, but they were twenty-five hundred miles above the planet and the descent would take almost two standard hours.
NASA Headquarters
February 2121
Max Hiller was sitting at his desk drinking his first cup of coffee of the day, thinking about the mission to Procolt and Coplent. Since he had no way to communicate with his crew, all he could do was hope for the best. The problem had existed since the first European explorers began exploring the Americas, but that didn’t make it any easier. He was hoping the person he was waiting for would be able to give him some good news about the Interstellar Communications Project or ICP as the de
velopers were calling it.
His meeting was to be with the head of the ICP, Dr. Brandon Simpson, one of the smartest people to ever work for NASA. He had graduated high school at fourteen and obtained his PHD in theoretical physics from MIT at twenty-one. He started working at NASA shortly after his graduation from MIT. Later, he helped develop the wormhole system used by the Star Rover and was working on a new and less complicated system that would be used for the next group of starships when he was promoted to lead the ICP six months ago. Brandon actually looked like the nerd he was. He was almost six feet tall, but slightly overweight. He was unconcerned about his personal appearance and usually looked somewhat disheveled, often wearing clothes with colors that clashed. His dark brown hair was combed back over his head and was so long the ends curled up at the end. However, nobody cared what he looked like or how he dressed.
Brandon was the son of Terry Simpson, who had been the ship’s captain during the first manned flights to Ganymede and made the first sub-light space flights. His father was also the first captain of the Ganymede Express. His grandfather was Albert Simpson, the inventor of the power modules still in use today which brought about many profound changes on Earth during the previous century.
Brandon was on time for his meeting with Max. He walked into Max’s office and sat down.
After exchanging greetings, Max said, “I’m concerned about the Star
Rover. I know we aren’t expecting them to return for a few more months, but I keep wondering what’s happening with them. I was hoping you’d made some progress with the ICP.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about this morning. The obvious solution to the problem is to find a way to transmit radio signals through a wormhole, because there’s no other way to exceed the speed of light. We know how to move solid objects through a wormhole, and those objects are capable of extending the wormhole to their final destination. A radio signal can’t do that. However, I think we can build a series of signal relay stations one light year apart. We can then establish a wormhole between the relay stations and insert signal carriers at one-hour intervals. If the carriers are inserted at fifty percent of the speed of light, they will travel between relay stations in eighteen hours. The carriers would travel constantly on an elliptical path between the relay stations. When you want to send a message, you send it to the closest relay station. The relay station would send it to the next approaching carrier and the carrier would deliver it to the opposing relay station. That process would continue until the message reached its final destination.”