Silent Sun: Hard Science Fiction

by Brandon Q Morris

  April 29, 2074, Earth Orbit

  The Ark was a labyrinth. The ship that had been the hope for a small part of humanity to survive just two years ago had now become the largest space station to orbit Earth. In addition to the four newcomers, there were already 221 people on board, as had been explained to them before changing spacecraft. That was twice the number originally planned for. She had somehow received a single cabin despite the obvious limitations. Nobody was available to guide her—everybody was busy with assigned duties. Instead she had been assigned a drone to show her around and to explain the Ark.

  Heather had christened her drone with the name ‘Mike.’ It was the size of a grapefruit, with a screen on one side that usually displayed a symbolic face. Mike spoke with a male voice but she could have chosen a female one instead. He always sounded friendly, no matter what she said to him.

  It didn’t take half an hour for her to feel stalked in his company. Mike really did not let off for even a second. Technically it seemed quite logical. They were in space, and mistakes had consequences here. Somebody had to watch out that she didn’t go and open a hatch leading outside.

  But she wasn’t alone anywhere. Not even on the toilet, which had been the first place she went after the boarding process was completed. She had to admit that she could not have found the toilet without Mike. A space toilet really did not look anything like what one would have expected. All toilets were public, and they were spread throughout the station wherever other requirements had left some space. The one Mike had shown her was no more than a niche in the wall. At hip level there was a small seat with an even smaller hole in the middle. That hole was the target for feces. For her current need, there was a hose that had to be placed between her legs. A good aim was vital for this, too.

  Heather pulled a screen closed behind her. The taut textile protected her from onlookers—all but one. “Can’t you look the other way, Mike?”

  “So sorry, Heather, but I need to check whether you are handling things according to my explanations.”

  She pulled down her pants and panties. Finally she was able to get rid of the diaper. “What do I do with this?”

  “There is a special container for such waste. Please wrap up the diaper and later I will show you where the disposal unit is.”

  Heather sat down with the special shape of the seat guiding her into the right position. “This works surprisingly well,” she noted.

  “The design has been optimized over eighty years of space travel,” replied Mike. “Careful now, I am starting ventilation.”

  A cold blast of air hit the middle of her backside.

  “Please place the hose now,” said Mike.

  “One moment.”

  “Should I check the correct position?”

  “Don’t you dare!” She noticed things were correct through the airflow and tried to relax. “Not working for me.”

  “Closing one’s eyes works for some people.”

  “How many people have you instructed in this?”

  “One thousand, six hundred, and sixty four.”

  “How many successes?”

  “Eventually, all of them. It is impossible to stay on the Ark without mastering this.”

  “How comforting.” She closed her eyes and recalled the view from her mountain into the distance. “Doesn’t work,” she stated after three minutes.

  “Should I play some music?”

  “No, no way.”

  “I could turn off the light in the niche.”

  “That’s a good idea. Then I would not feel watched. Don’t contradict that!”

  “Understood.”

  The indirect lighting of the toilet niche went off. Light still came through the screen but her brain was content. Finally she was able to relax sufficiently. “Phew,” she said as she heaved a sigh of relief.

  “One gets used to it,” Mike consoled her. Then he switched off the ventilation. Heather cleaned herself with moist wipes she found in a labeled cubby beside the toilet, and then disposed of the wipes in the designated receptacle.

  “Can you show me my room now?”

  “No, Heather, we have a meeting first.”

  “Can’t we pass by my room first? I would love to change clothes.”

  “I am so sorry, but we are late already.”

  “Why did you not say so before?”

  “I just did. Before, I did not want to add to your stress.”

  “That was very considerate of you.”

  Mike didn’t answer. He activated several green lights on his rear and flew ahead.

  “By the way, how does your engine work?”

  “Little blasts of air,” said Mike. “I have an electric compressor.”

  “And power?”

  “Wireless. There are charging pads everywhere so I can recharge as required.”

  Heather started to sweat despite being weightless. It was probably from the level of concentration she had to maintain to avoid bumping into walls. The fact that there was no up or down hardly bothered her at all. Perhaps her diving trips in the Pacific had sorted that out.

  “How big is the Ark?”

  “The core, the original Mars shuttle, is just over 100 meters, but many constructions have been added around it since. The passageways and hallways with human access total more than 3.5 kilometers.”

  “That is more than enough for a morning run.”

  “Indeed. There is a 700-meter patch that is specially reserved for that purpose.”

  “I guess one needs to take extra care around there.”

  “Only in the time around shift changes, between 7 and 9 am, 3 and 5 pm, and from 11 pm to 1 am.”

  “That is good to know. And where do all these people stay?”

  “They share cabins. One works while the other sleeps.”

  “That sounds a bit taxing.”

  “I understand that cabins are so cramped that one does not want to stay there for any longer than necessary.”

  “I see.”

  “By the way, we will arrive in a moment.”

  Mike stopped in front of an innocuous door. ‘Head of Security’ was printed on it. Suddenly the door swept aside. Presumably Mike had communicated with the electronics in the door. The drone went ahead and Heather followed it.

  The room was small, sterile feeling. Walls were bare metal, and there was a small desk with a computer. Behind it was a lean, almost ascetic-looking man who was just opening the belt that held him down on the seat.

  “Don’t bother getting up,” said Heather. “I am Heather Marshall.”

  The man looked at her, smiled, and floated back down onto his chair.

  “Okay,” he said while closing his belt again. “My name is Karl Freitag, and I am the head of security for the Ark.” He leaned forward, stretching out his hand. Heather took it. Freitag had bony hands that matched his skinny frame. He had pronounced his first name a little oddly. He was probably German or Scandinavian.

  “You are from Germany?” she tried.

  “Yes,” he answered, “but that was a long time ago.”

  She looked at his desk. There was no decoration, just a small photo showing a middle-aged man with crew-cut hair.

  Freitag caught her glance. “My partner,” he said.

  “Is he on Earth?”

  “Yes, but he’ll visit in two weeks’ time.”

  The smile playing around his lips told Heather that he was looking forward to the visit. How sweet, she thought. Other than that, Freitag appeared a bit tense, but maybe it was part of his job description.

  “Great that you found your way here,” he said.

  “Without Mike I would have been lost.” She pointed to the drone. Then she leaned forward. “Is there anyone looking at what Mike records?”

  “No worries,” answered Karl. “The onboard AI goes through the material for security-related incidents. We don’t want you to take a walk in space by accident.”

  “And if I don’t react to Mike’s warnings?”
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  “The drones are equipped with miniature tasers. If you happen to endanger yourself or others, Mike will you give you a little blast. You have anything planned?”

  “No, never had the guts for open rebellion.” Heather laughed. Hopefully he doesn’t take my talk too seriously. I probably shouldn’t be having such a conversation with the head of security.

  “If you run into any trouble,” said Karl, “please get through to me directly. Mike is authorized to put you through instantly, at any time.”

  Heather was surprised. “I don’t merit such attention.”

  “If you only knew! Those instructions came from all the way up. This so-called discovery has stirred up quite some attention.”

  “I hope I am not too much of a burden, then, Karl.” She tried to pronounce the name correctly.

  The head of security leaned back. “That’s my job,” he said, “and it makes for a welcome change.”

  “So what’s next?”

  “A technician is busy fastening the probe on the outside hull right now. I hope you can start with the measurements very soon.”

  “Today?”

  Karl looked at the clock on his computer. “In three hours, at the latest.”

  Mike had not exaggerated. The cabins were minuscule. Heather sat on her bed. When she leaned forward to put on her socks she had to pay attention so she wouldn’t hit her head against the wall.

  The drone was waiting outside. Mike had initially insisted on monitoring her sleep, but she had been able to convince it with logical arguments. The cabin really didn’t have any potential for stupid actions. And she had been able to get some quality sleep. She looked at her phone. The field strength was at 100%. Should I call Callis and thank him for the invitation?

  But then the door moved to the side. She hadn’t put on her top yet! Heather jumped and held the sheets in front of her body.

  “Apologies,” said Mike. “Had you tolerated my presence, this would not have happened.”

  “Of course, you little voyeur. You could have knocked.”

  “I was assuming you were asleep. The installation of the probe completed early. Your presence is required.”

  “Thanks. Get out now so I can get dressed.”

  “Of course.”

  She got into her clothes and stood up, holding her knees slightly bent and her head low to avoid bumping into the cabin ceiling. It was cramped indeed, she thought as she pressed the square button that opened the door.

  Mike led her to a room that was equipped like a repair shop. A man in a white lab coat was waiting for her.

  “I am Dr. Johannsson. This is one of our labs. I am on duty during this shift, but I’m a biologist so I won’t be of much help. Besides, I have a ton of work to do. If you would excuse me…”

  Sure, good man, I understand that you have to put up with me on orders from above. Still, you could be a bit more civil, thought Heather.

  “I am Heather Marshall,” she said as pleasantly as she could. “If you would just show me my work area.”

  “Surely your guide up there could do that,” Johansson replied, pointing at the drone.

  His attitude made her angry. “Dr. Johansson,” she said, putting her hands on her hips, “I don’t know what put you in this mood, but you are being rather unfriendly. In case you hadn’t noticed.” Her arm movement had pushed her body into a slow rotation. Heather started to laugh at the situation, and she put a hand on the wall to stop her movement. Now she was looking away from Johansson. “Mike, can you tell me where to go so I can control the probe?”

  “Of course, Heather. Please follow me,” said the drone in his ever-pleasant voice.

  Mike led her to a workplace that consisted of a terminal with a keyboard that was attached to the wall. Below there was a horizontal bar with a kind of bicycle saddle, designed to be flipped away from the wall to be used as a seat.

  “Ms. Marshall,” she heard the biologist say, “my apologies. You are right. If you need anything, please do come and see me.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Johansson. Apologies accepted,” she replied without turning around. She did not want him to spot her triumphant smile. Then she pulled herself onto the saddle. She looked around but there was no belt. Apparently one was supposed to hold on with one’s legs.

  The computer had the same software she knew from DKIST, already launched.

  “Did you do that, Mike?”

  “No, that must have been the technician.”

  The man must have had good instructions. She wondered briefly whether Callis had been involved with that. She checked the connection to the probe. The link was good, and she could use her regular software to manipulate the telescope in the probe. Heather felt almost as though she was at home on the DKIST—except that she couldn’t float around there. And her chair was comfortable.

  She slowly moved the telescope into the sun. A regular space telescope would be fried, but this one had been built for the purpose. Its mirror diameter was much smaller than the DKIST, so she didn’t expect any spectacular results. Just having lines on the images would not mean anything. The lines would only indicate something real if the photos were also free of any clear artefacts.

  Regardless, it was exciting to look at the sun. Heather had wondered many times why other astronomers took to looking at remote stars. Those were essentially permanent lights in the sky, while the sun changed on a daily basis. Depending on the spectrum used for viewing, one could come across some very impressive sights. Huge arcs, larger than Earth, bulged out of the surface. And dark and light spots showed where magnetic fields came through. The sun was made of degenerate gas—plasma—which had very special properties, and she was lucky to be able to look at the ensuing wonders on a daily basis.

  She kept taking pictures as the telescope moved along. She could have stopped already, but she had not been able to view her favorite star for two days. It was quiet today. Just a few days ago there had been a huge coronal mass ejection into space. Apparently things were settling down again.

  Okay, she decided, that is enough. Her main task was still waiting. She cut the link to the telescope. The image files were already downloaded, a direct cable link being so convenient. When the original probe was traveling through space, transmission had easily taken a few days. Heather started the analysis application.

  The disappointment took 20 seconds to manifest on screen and another 20 seconds to cut through to her thoughts. There were lines, yes, but also loops and other artefacts. The glitches were not visible when viewing the full solar disk, but when she zoomed into the original files they were obvious. What a shame. These artefacts really do seem to be pursuing me…

  Heather leaned back without thinking about being seated on the saddle. The lack of gravity prevented her from falling, but she startled herself thanks to the missing support. The scare restored her focus—she knew that she needed help. She had thrown away Callis’ card after her first visit to the JPL, but his number was on her phone. She had no idea what time it was in California, but she also knew he would not get angry at her even if she should wake him in the middle of the night.

  “Give me a minute, I’m in a meeting,” he answered. “I’ll call right back.”

  Okay, patience she had. That was her biggest asset. Heather laughed quietly. Unfortunately, quite the opposite was true. But she did not have to wait for long.

  “What’s up?” asked Callis. “Is it what I was expecting?”

  “Those artefacts,” responded Heather. “They are still around, loads of them.”

  “I feared as much.”

  “But you didn’t say anything?”

  “I didn’t want to influence you. You might have canceled your trip, Heather.”

  “You bet.”

  “There is a solution, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear it.”

  “If you say so, Callis, that must be true.”

  “I’ll tell you anyway.”

  “Please don’t.”

  “Not a chance o
f that. So—you need to fly out with the probe, a couple kilometers away from the Ark, away from the influence of all that technology there. The probe was built to operate far away from any man-made signals. We never took into account that one might test it this close to its performance limits.”

  Callis paused for a few seconds, then resumed. “You want the files. If you don’t get your data now, it will take a few days. You could try to convince your boss to wait…”

  “Forget that. The day after tomorrow is the Congress of the Astronomical Union. He wants results before then.”

  “Well, you know what to do.”

  “Can’t you come up here and do it for me? You know the probe much better than I do.”

  “You won’t get me into space, Heather.”

  “You wanna bet?”

  “It’s nice talking to you, but I need to go back to the meeting.”

  “Sure, see you later.”

  “Have you been on an EVA yet?”

  Heather squatted in mid air in front of Karl Freitag’s desk. Zero gravity is starting to be fun, she admitted.

  “EVA? What’s that mean?”

  “Extravehicular Activity. Most people would call it a walk in space.”

  “A walk in space sounds much better, Karl.”

  “I can assure you it is anything but that. It’s a piece of hard work, even before you get started.”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I understand. But I have no choice whatsoever. We need the results fast. And we need to be sure. So I need to do it myself. Believe me, I’d love to delegate it.”

  “Well, if it that important I’ll organize it for you, Heather. Fortunately the probe is still intact.”

  “Except for the heat shield, but we don’t need that in Earth orbit.”

  “I’ll have an engineer prepare everything. Please be at airlock 23 tomorrow at 0800. Unit A17 will show you the way.”

  “‘A17?’”

  “Your drone.”

  “Oh, I’m calling him Mike. Thanks, Karl,” she said. The German seemed a bit reserved, but she sensed intuitively that he was reliable. She looked at the picture of his partner with the soft smile. “When will I leave the Ark?”