by Jason Ford
“Eight and a half billion.”
He looked at her with his mouth agape. The scientists used to say that nine billion was the threshold for collapse, using current technology. Well, it’s time to invent some better tech!
FIFTEEN
Sam’s water broke at midnight, and Keith had her and everything in the truck in five minutes.
“Engage Autodrive. Destination: Davie County Hospital.”
“Autodrive engaged. You will reach your destination in ten minutes.”
He looked at the newly installed car seat behind him, waiting for the arrival of their soon-to-be newborn. He called his mother and told her that Sam was in labor.
“Don’t let her have that baby till I get there!”
“It’s not something I can control!”
Sam exclaimed from the passenger seat and grabbed the armrest as another contraction hit her.
“Text me with your flight info. I’ll have somebody pick you up.”
Nine hours later, Martha walked out of the terminal with her carry-on bag and was met by Sal Jr.
“It’s going to take us about an hour to get to the hospital from here,” he said. “I brought you some breakfast, you must be hungry.”
“How is Sam doing?”
“They were putting the epidural in right before I left. Before that, she told the nurse, and I quote, ‘You better get me some fucking drugs or I will rip your head off and shove it up your ass!’”
They both laughed.
“Yep, that’s our Sam!” Everybody was on pins and needles in the waiting room until, finally, at 12:05 p.m. on February 14, 1998, James Salvatore Beckett entered the world.
•••
Before they knew it, three months had passed. Keith, Sam, and little James were sitting in the launch control center, ready for the first test flight of Raptor 1, with the fully tested Helios engine and a dummy strapped in the crew cockpit. The flight plan was simple. After three minutes of flight, the space plane would separate, follow a ballistic trajectory, reenter the atmosphere, and attempt to glide back to the runway two miles from the launch site. The booster would attempt to land back at the launch site.
“Mr. Beckett, would you do the honors?”
He took Sam’s hand. They reached over and pushed the blinking red button together.
Outside the control room, the media focused their cameras on the rocket three miles away as the PA system announced,
“Countdown resuming. T minus one minute and counting. Fuel bleed is closed. Fuel top off is terminating. Raptor is configured for flight. Raptor now on internal power. Go for launch. Stand by for terminal count.”
Keith and Sam stood up, holding baby James.
“T minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Booster ignition and liftoff of the first test flight of Beckett Aerospace’s Raptor.”
With a mighty roar, the rocket started climbing on a column of fire.
“Raptor has cleared the tower.”
The launch gantry started to move back along its track.
“Vehicle is supersonic.”
Before Keith knew it, they were coming up on separation.
“Separation in three, two, one.”
The space plane decoupled from the booster. After a few seconds, the booster started rotating back around to fire its engines for the return trip.
“Flyback burn initiated.”
The booster reached the top of its trajectory and started down.
“Fins deployed. Coming up on entry burn.”
Keith explained to Sam, “The fins act like airplane wings to guide it back down so we don’t have to use as much fuel.”
“Entry burn initiated.”
The camera on the top of the booster captured everything, even when the landing site came into view, and then it was partially obscured by the landing burn. The landing legs popped out and it came to rest right on the bull’s eye.
“Did the space plane make it?”
“Activating the onboard camera now!”
The camera strapped to the dummy offered a forward view out of the pilots’ window. Everything was looking good. The unpowered glider was ten miles away, with the runway in sight and still over the water, when a loud buzzer went off and the camera view started to roll to the left. The glider nosedived from 20,000 feet into the Atlantic.
Keith called a meeting with all the directors. “This was a partial success. We need to get to the bottom of why the space plane failed. Call everyone you need to come in here and fix this. We need to have this up and running in two years. I’ve got investors booking tickets for the inaugural flight!”
SIXTEEN
June 2000
The progression from the test flight to crew-rated spacecraft took almost two years. During this time, the midterm elections were held. The immigration amendment bill was finally introduced into Congress at its first session in 1999. The debates were heated, riots erupted all over the country, and Keith and Sam started training at their backyard range every day that they had free. James had just celebrated his second birthday when Sam dropped a positive home pregnancy test in Keith’s lap.
“James will be so jealous of his new brother or sister!”
•••
Hector Jimenez came home from work and his wife, Carmen, handed him an envelope with a North Carolina address. He opened it and began to read the letter, thinking that it was a practical joke. His phone rang, and the person on the other end claimed to be the one who sent it. Hector wanted proof.
Keith knocked on his front door and waited. When the door opened, he launched into a long story about how he came from the future and Hector’s future self had sent a message: Consuela will have a little brother in two years, and you will be $10,000,000 richer before he is born. You will decide to leave the Army and invest the money, and the moment you do, you will know that Keith is telling the truth.
Keith handed him the ID card that Hector had when he retired. Hector did a double take. Keith assured him that he really did achieve the rank of Sergeant Major. The choice was his, and Keith would be willing to talk when Hector was ready.
•••
Keith Beckett stood on the observation deck of the Empire State Building and looked south towards Manhattan. Next to him was Sam, wearing a flowing top that just concealed her baby bump. Three-and-a-half-year-old James wanted to be picked up so he could look through the binoculars, too, and one-year-old daughter Carmen in the stroller with her foot in her mouth. Again. The sun was high in the sky and as he gazed with love at his wife and children, they blinked out of existence.
EPILOGUE
December 2138
The inhabitants of Lunar Base Von Braun here in Shackleton Crater would like to extend Christmas greetings to all the inhabitants of Earth, Moon, Mars, Titan, Mercury, Triton, and the asteroid belt. Personalized video greetings can be recorded and sent free to all the inhabited worlds of the solar system for the month of December.