The First Colony: Book I: Settlement Chronicals

by W. J. Rydrych

  It had taken most of the week to drill a borehole from the surface to the chamber, and they had just succeeded in forcing entry the day before. The nature of the chamber was obvious; it was a giant archives, chamber after chamber extending onward from the one he was presently in. But now, with the new discoveries, a personal visit was called for.

  Hindered by his protective suit, Saaml found making progress toward the group waiting by the far wall difficult, but he couldn’t help but feel mounting excitement. Reaching the small group he stopped and looked down the opening they had cleared in the rubble filled stairway. The leader of the waiting group bowed slightly, and when signaled by Saaml to proceed, started gingerly down the stairs, Saaml and the others following. The stairway continued downward for what must have been several hundred meters before coming to an abrupt end at an ornately decorated metal wall. And, centered in the wall was what once had been a door that had been permanently sealed. Standing at attention in front of the wall was the work crew with the cutters for breaking through to the other side. Instruments indicated that, on the other side of the wall, was a small chamber.

  That was why he had come down. Something told him that, on the other side of that door, they might find answers. Saaml and the others stood back as the work crew began using the cutters to force a breach, pulling down the protective shields covering their eyes. Within minutes an entry large enough to squeeze through had been made, but it took several more minutes to allow cooling before passage could be attempted.

  Motioning them to stand back, the crew leader stooped and passed through the entry, and several moments later stuck his head back and motioned them to follow. Saaml stepped forward, and, stooping, passed through to the other side, looking up to see the chamber dimly lit by the portable light of the crew leader. The room was much different from what they had seen above; it almost looked like a small living chamber, and was undamaged. At the far end of the chamber was a transparent wall that, from the little light available, disclosed what appeared to be a large room containing shelves similar to, yet different from, those in the chamber above.

  But what drew Saaml’s attention was the table dominating the small room. Rubbing his gloved hand across its surface it gave every appearance of being constructed of heavily polished wood, a material that was almost never used for furniture, and which on his homeworld had been an expensive rarity. And on the table in front of the single chair was an oblong object positioned as if on display. Brushing past the others, Saaml reached out and touched the object, then lifted the top, which folded back. Contained within were hundreds of pages covered with markings. He had read of objects like this before, but had never seen one.

  The next day . . . .

  Saaml leaned back with a feeling of anticipation mixed with foreboding as the voice from the computer filled the room. “Good morning. I’ll start by apologizing for the length of time it has taken to fulfill your request. You are correct in your supposition; the object is an archaic form of communication typically referred to as a ‘book’ that eventually disappeared from common use, although sometimes still in use by primitive societies and also in some advanced societies for ceremonial or historical purposes."

  Continuing, "however, this 'book' is different in a fundamental way from those recorded in my data banks, which made decipherment more difficult. Normally text is organized into discrete symbols, or characters, which are then combined into words. While the combination of characters and words can be astronomical, still the process is largely mechanical, and with an adequate archive for comparison translation can be rapid. However this document is written in a rare type of script in which individual characters flow into each other to create combinations, and the shape of the characters drawn is dependent on who provides them. This is a very unusual form of writing, done by holding an object in the hand and moving it over the surface with a flowing movement without lifting the marking device from the surface. Script of this type is exceptionally rare, is usually created by a single individual working alone, and usually becomes extinct as a culture evolves; and in most cultures never appears at all. This strongly implies this is a unique document, not merely one of many duplicates. But what is strange is its use in a society that was clearly highly evolved, which is proven by the upper archives."

  "Once this structure became clear, it was possible to isolate individual characters making up the sequences, determine their common combinations into words, and eventually postulate the meaning of those words themselves."

  “The next step was to research the existing variants of known languages, compare against the language found here, and determine the basic elements. Once that framework was established, extrapolation into a complete language was required. The result; the document appears to predate any of the languages of the 'sister' species we have encountered, as well as our own. Further, I believe this is the archaic language upon which all of those are based.”

  “While I acknowledge many holes and errors in my translation, I believe it is now ready to be presented. Now, if you are ready, I will proceed.”

  BOOK I: FIRST SETTLEMENT

  Earth Dates: 2118 to 2130

  CHAPTER 1: The Door Opens

  The 21st century had not been kind to humanity. Chaos caused by population displacement and famine led to increasing conflict between nations struggling for control of dwindling resources; a conflict limited only by the iron fist of the advanced nations that controlled the planet. But even in those major nations the failed institutions of the old orders were under siege by anarchy and terrorism, often followed by real or de facto dictatorships. Much of the globe was divided along ethnic and religious lines and plagued with civil war, and only in the old line democracies of Europe and the Americas, Japan, and in China as well, was there a semblance of order; but often order enforced at the point of a gun.

  While the use of fossil fuels had been banned worldwide by the treaty of 2098, the damage had been done, and the world was challenged by rising sea levels. Vast installations dedicated to removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere had been constructed, but while they resulted in stabilization, any significant reduction was decades in the future. New Orleans and major areas of south Asia were under water, and even the dwindling megopolis of New York City survived only because of its sea wall and pumping systems; and within a few decades even that would prove inadequate. Earth faced an increasingly bleak future.

  Late in the 21st century three major power blocks emerged that coexisted in a precarious balance, some tightly controlled, others loose confederations. With their emergence a semblance of stability was restored, but at the cost of leaving a large part of the world's population in poverty and disarray. The American Confederation, with the United States at its heart, encompassed all of North and Central America. The European Confederation, which had expanded from the original European Union, expanded further to include the balance of Europe, Turkey, and the Russian Republic, and became the second powerful block. Much looser than the American Confederation, and with a weak central government, it was held together by economic need.

  By a combination of limited warfare, migration, and attrition, China had absorbed the countries bordering it to the north, expanded southward into Southeast Asia, and with Japan formed the third dominant group, the Eastern Alliance. Some secondary powers continued on their own paths, such as the Brazilian Empire, India, Argentina, and Greater Israel; tolerated due to the indifference of the major powers or as client states.

  Even in the major power blocks life had become drab and gray for most. Automation replaced most of the unskilled or semi-skilled leaving much of the population unemployed, subsisting on grants from the state. And, while the basic human needs of food, clothing, and housing were satisfied, the lack of meaningful employment had taken a severe toll on the human spirit.

  Previously tied to its own planet, in the 2050s the door to exploitation of the solar system had opened with development of the nuclear pulse drive, freeing space vehicles of
their massive fuel requirements, and for the next two decades that exploitation was underway; but the solar system proved to be a largely sterile place with limited potential.

  The final decades of the 21st century were not one of mankind's finer moments; unrest reigned across the globe.

  It was in this world, in the year 2082, that the ION-plasma space drive combined with a controlled fusion reactor was finally demonstrated as feasible, culminating with launch of an unmanned vehicle beyond the solar system. True, the drive had limitations, primarily limits placed on payload by the immense fuel requirements, but in spite of those shortcomings it presented at least the possibility of travel to star systems beyond our own. Estimates were that spaceships so equipped could attain 60% of the speed of light after approximately two years of acceleration. The door to the universe edged open; but only slightly.

  In the year 2083 the American Confederation announced it would develop and launch an unmanned probe to explore a neighboring star system; the goal to search for planets habitable by man. This ignited a spark in the general population which had long been enamored of thoughts of interstellar travel, and the political leaders had the equivalent of their Roman circus; to keep the masses entertained and titillated. Perhaps impractical, but still it served a political purpose.

  But what star system was a reasonable target? Only Alpha Centauri, at 4.4 light years, and Sirius, at 8.6 light years, were close enough to consider, and for years the presence of planets in both systems had been known, with some roughly Earth's size located in the ‘habitable’ zone with liquid water, making life possible.

  The estimated time to develop and ready a probe ship, the flight time to the target planet, followed by the time to transmit data to Earth, followed by the readying of colonization ships and their flight time, rapidly resolved any further question. In the unlikely event suitable planets were found it would be nearly 70 years before a colonization expedition could reach Sirius, while a colony could be placed on a planet in the Alpha Centauri system in less than 40 years; within a human's active lifetime. There was only one decision possible; the target would be Alpha Centauri.

  In the year 2089 the probe ship Solar Wind was launched from Earth orbit, arriving and entering orbit around Alpha Centauri A, the largest of the three stars in the triple Alpha Centauri star cluster, in the year 2099. The Solar Wind was designed to launch probes to candidate planets and transmit the data collected back to Earth. The A star, roughly the size of the Earth's sun, had a total of seven satellite planets of over 5,000 kilometers diameter. The B star, roughly 90% of the size of Earth's sun, had five. Alpha Centauri C was too small to be considered. While much was known about these planets, whether any had the ability to support human life was still an open question.

  Once in orbit, scans verified that two Star A planets, the first and second from the sun, and the third planet orbiting Star B, had the essential characteristics that could sustain human life, even if under severely limited conditions. The first planet of Star A was rapidly dismissed; its surface temperatures rose above 90 degrees Centigrade during the days, and the atmosphere had limited oxygen. More serious, its weak magnetic field allowed little protection from solar radiation.

  The third planet of Star B, a large planet with a diameter 30% greater than Earth, contained a low level of oxygen that, with supplementation, could sustain human life. Water was present in abundance, but largely locked into porous rock; although some shallow seas were present, rarely over a few meters deep. With some terraforming, which could take centuries, it could certainly sustain human life, but the crippling weight of the thick atmosphere, low surface temperature, planetary storms, and gravitational field over double that of Earth made it a challenging colonization effort. Investigation ended with the long range scans, with plans for further exploration halted.

  The second planet of Star A, a planet somewhat smaller than Earth, proved to be surprisingly Earthlike in both atmosphere and surface conditions, with major parts of the surface covered by liquid water; with its distance of 165 million kilometers from Star A only slightly more than Earth's 150 million kilometers from its sun. It was on this planet that the final scouting probes were concentrated. The planet was found to have the magnetic field necessary for protection from solar radiation, moons capable of providing stabilization, an oxygen level 80% that of Earth, gravity 0.93 times that of Earth, and water covering over half the planet's surface. The planet was marked by ice covered polar regions, heavily forested tropical areas, massive mountain ranges, and high levels of sophisticated plant and animal life were observed. It was evident the planet was eminently suitable for human habitation.

  By early 2100 surveys of the three planets were completed, by the summer of 2104 the data began to be received on Earth, and by early 2105 was complete. Discovery of a habitable planet in a star system close enough to be within the range of existing technology posed a dilemma to the politicians on Earth. The goal had been to provide a distraction to Earth's population, with few believing a suitable planet would be found; but now, with the findings, their chickens had come home to roost. The cost of such a colonization mission would be astronomical, leading to a raging debate on whether to make the attempt. The argument against was the immense cost, and the argument for was the expectation that had been placed in Earth‘s population. But the dream, now known to be feasible, had struck a long dormant chord with the general population; the longing for adventure and exploration of the unknown.

  Finally a consensus developed in favor of a colonization expedition, with funding and jurisdictional agreements holding back any decision; but eventually an agreement was reached between the American Confederation, the United European Confederation, and the Eastern Alliance. The agreement involved a 50/25/25 funding split, with primary funding and overall leadership to be provided by the American Confederation. Greater Israel and India would contribute an undefined amount in exchange for a junior partnership. As the partner with the greatest technical capability and the one providing the bulk of the funding, the American Confederation was the dominant partner.

  Work began immediately expanding and preparing the Near-Earth Station for its role as center for construction of new spaceships, and planning for selection of the colonists and crews began. The overwhelming response of volunteers swamped the selection process; but in the end colonists and crews were selected based on an extremely tight criteria, with training and cross-training of all selected individuals instituted to ensure all necessary skills were present. In late 2117 the colonization complement and crews were transferred to Near-Earth Station for final training aboard the ships, and in July, 2118, the flagship Columbia, the Europa, and the Yellow Sea left Near-Earth Station and began their nearly nine year journey.

  CHAPTER 2: Catastrophe:

  (April 1, 2125): It had been a tense, exhausting day. Colin Murphy slumped despondently in his chair in the control room of the Columbia, wearily staring at the data displayed on the view screen. Jeremy Temple, first officer of the Columbia, was busy revising the data for the Yellow Sea; but nothing would change the stark answer. The control room was somber with little of the conversation that was usually present. The free-flight stage was nearing its end, and Colin and the other personnel out of stasis would soon have to return, leaving the balance of the flight and initiation of the orbiting process to the automatic controls. The emergency now faced could no longer be denied, and steps must be taken to minimize the impact.

  The Yellow Sea's life support systems had been slowly deteriorating ever since the initial accident and were reaching a critical stage. But that was only a part of the problem, and once ‘awake’ personnel were placed back in stasis would become secondary. The bigger problem was the damage to the auxiliary fuel tank that had resulted in loss of over 30% of the remaining fuel. As a result the Yellow Sea lacked sufficient fuel for the deceleration stage and would be unable to slow enough to achieve orbit around Alpha 2.

  Colin scuffed back his chair, rose, and walked o
ver to where Frank Schumacher, captain of the Columbia, was sitting at a display console moodily watching the changing figures. He stood looking over Frank's shoulder, watching the screens without comment. The figures had not changed for the better, and if anything, had become worse. Frank looked up, "I'm afraid that's it. They still can't make the correction. We need a board meeting to discuss the situation with Buchan. It's his ballpark.”

  Colin nodded, "has Buchan let the news out yet?" Without waiting for an answer, he answered himself, "not that it isn't obvious; but they may still hope for some fix. But Buchan knows the truth; he has the same information we have and can see what we see." Looking at Frank, "you know Buchan a lot better than I do. How will he react to our recommendation?"

  Frank shook his head, "I really don't know, Colin. I don't know what I'd do either." He paused thoughtfully, then continued, "all I know is that I don't know if I could make the necessary decision. Remember, he also has a family aboard."

  Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Colin walked toward the door. "We're all glad we're not in his shoes. But we may face other decisions just as hard in the next few years. That's a frightening thought. Well, hope springs eternal, doesn't it? Set up intership communications for a board meeting in one hour. I'm going to my quarters to think and maybe have a stiff drink."

  Colin lay back on his bunk in his austere, uncluttered cabin, with his hands folded behind his head. His gray eyes moved restlessly over the ceiling, looking for any feature to concentrate on, anything to take his mind off the Yellow Sea's problem. But the seamless ceiling was without a mark, as he knew it would be. And the plain, metallic walls of his three meter by four meter cubical, unmarred by even a photograph, provided no distraction.