Tracking the Trailblazer (Colony Ship Trailblazer Book 1)

by John Thornton

  “Or if any other members of Constance’s team report back. She might not be the first through decontamination, so let me know whenever any of the team returns,” Janae said.

  There was an awkward, silent pause, laden with uncertainty.

  “Kovalevsky? What is wrong?”

  “I am processing your prior request,” AI Kovalevsky replied. “I conferenced with Hutton. Then I investigated and reviewed the situation.”

  “What situation? Constance and a team went on a mission to explore one of the other domes. She has been on three other such dome missions.” Janae’s heart was beginning to race as she considered what might cause the artificial intelligence system to review and investigate something as common as an adventurer team leaving on a mission. It was dangerous, certainly, but not unusual, as they were the only people to ever leave Dome 17. “Kovalevsky? Explain your last statements. Perhaps, I am just missing something?”

  After another brief pause, the AI responded, “Something irregular has taken place. I reviewed the exit procedures for the current mission. Seven adventurers are outside of Dome 17. Additionally, according to the Quartermaster’s requisition records, there are also seven fusion trucks which have been taken from the external garages.”

  “Seven? That must be a mistake,” Janae responded. “Willie’s records must be jumbled a bit. I know he uses his own filing system and that AI of his is somewhat eccentric, but suitable for Willie. It must be that Willie or AI Ludington has filed wrong reports.”

  “I considered that possibility, as well as the possibility that some of the fusion trucks were being robotically reconditioned,” AI Kovalevsky replied. “None of those scenarios are happening. Seven fusion trucks were dispatched within a nine-hour period.”

  “That does not make sense. Seven adventurers out on a mission would need at most three fusion trucks: two in one, two in another, and three in the last. Although, I assumed with the latest standards, they would go in two trucks, one with three people, and the other with the remaining four,” Janae replied.

  “That was my assumption as well, and it is logical, and has historical support. I have requested clarification from AI Ludington, but was told I do not have clearance for those records,” AI Kovalevsky replied. “My best conjecture is that each person took a fusion truck alone. It is possible that their destinations involve places where having a redundancy of fusion trucks is advisable.”

  “That must be it, but fusion trucks are very reliable,” Janae replied. “However, Ken did mention something earlier about his fusion truck having an issue on his last mission. Maybe the radiation outside is breaking down the fusion trucks, or their component parts?”

  “That is a valid conjecture, and does fit with the reports filed by Hobart, Beth, and Ken,” AI Kovalevsky answered. “However, now I do believe you should review the message from the Committee.”

  “I suppose so,” Janae activated a chair which folded up from the floor. She sat down, crossed her legs and said, “I am ready to receive this message.”

  “I am projecting the message now,” Kovalevsky replied. A beam of light came from a section of the wall, and the message began.

  “Dome 17 Committee Only Memorandum on Colony Ship Recovery.

  In light of the success of faster-than-light communications over the last 5 years, and the newest breakthrough which has allowed development of the Piloted Faster-Than-Light (PFTL) scout ships, information is now being shared about the Old-World colony ship program. Research and Development still has not been able to get past the weight and mass restrictions, so PFTL missions will only be able to accommodate two human pilots.

  As you are aware, information released to our dome’s general public—regarding the colony ship program—has been minimal. The surprising lack of interest in the colony ship program by the general public has been expected.

  Generally speaking, the view is that the Old World’s colony ship program was a total failure. This memorandum is to inform you about the newest finding of our reassessment of the colony ship program. The public is unaware of these issues, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. The PFTL missions have the real potential to directly assess what remains of the colony ships. What the general public needs to know will be reassessed after the PFTL missions are completed. Robotic FTL probes are ready to be dispatched to those colony ships deemed best available to re-contact. PFLT scouts could be ready in the near future.

  According to the Old-World records, a total of seven colony ships were manufactured. Two major factors led the leaders of the Old World to think the colony ship program possible: modern permalloy and gravity manipulation. Major manufacturing was from a spun material called modern permalloy. Not to be confused with the nickel and iron alloys made about one hundred and seventy years previously, modern permalloy is still the hardest substance known to humanity. Breakthroughs of technology in the Old World showed that, because of the strength and other qualities of modern permalloy, the colony ship projects were possible. Combined with gravity manipulation technology the ships were assembled in orbit over a thirteen year period. These ships were then inhabited with various ecological zones’ flora and fauna, rescued from preserves on Earth and established in homeostasis in suitable habitats.

  Each colony ship had eight separate and unique habitats populated by a thousand generational humans. These people lived in the habitats with the full knowledge that they would spend their entire lives there, Estimates of transit time from Earth to a targeted destination world were from three to eight generations. Ship operations were overseen by one thousand humans of the ship’s active crew, and various artificial intelligences. The crew positions were in dynastic successions to the subsequent generations. An additional 144,000 humans were kept in suspended animation capsules in storage bays, to be awakened upon arrival at target world.

  Ships listed by launch date:

  Vanguard CS 1:

  Latest assessment: 23% into voyage, when an incident occurred. Last known message received stated a mutiny had occurred and the captain of ship had been assassinated by unknown crew members. Reporting officer was J. Baldwin, Pilot 3rd class. No further reports. Ship considered lost. Trajectory plotted and potential of robotic FTL contact, 48%.

  Marathon CS 2:

  Latest assessment:19% into voyage when incident occurred. No human contact, but distress signal sent from secondary Artificial Intelligence, Lenore, reports that ship has been attacked by hostile aliens. This date is the first contact with any alien race. AI also reported that counter-attack had begun, but message was garbled and when decrypted also contained contamination from other Artificial Intelligences. Ship considered lost. Trajectory plotting attempted repeatedly using all three methods of colony ship tracking. Marginal success on plotting of course. Estimated robotic FTL contact at less than 5%.

  Warren CS 3:

  Latest assessment: 31% into mission when incident occurred. Unnamed crew member reported some “disaster” onboard the ship. The ship’s main Artificial Intelligence, Monitor, was put into Command Mode with the only instruction to “protect human life.” One report received from the AI Monitor which stated “biological organisms killing each other. Request immediate instructions.” Trajectory plotted and estimated robotic contact at 87%.

  Conestoga CS 4:

  Latest assessment: Unknown time of incident. Report received from unlabeled AI as having made planet fall. This would be at least a century prior to when ship was scheduled to arrive. No human messages from Conestoga. Trajectory plotted and robotic FTL contact estimated at greater than 90%. Star charts show its location is not a known solar system, nor does there appear to be a solar system at that location. Report from the AI is suspect, but tracking shows ship has not moved from the reported location.

  Eschaton CS 5:

  Latest assessment: No reports of any kind from the ship. FTL communications have not received any reply. Trajectory plotted and robotic FTL contact estimated at 95%. The nature of the crew and their rel
igious extremism may explain their failure to report. Ship and crew considered as probably hostile.

  Trailblazer CS 6:

  Latest assessment: 14% into voyage, massive systems failures reported by Captain Josey Alberts. Cause of malfunctions thought to be encounter with micro singularity. Captain Alberts also reported loss of 62% of sleepers but stated “repairs underway.” 29% of way into voyage, automated distress signal activated. No further contact. Trajectory plotted and robotic FTL contact estimated at 71%.

  Zubalamo CS 7:

  Latest assessment: Still on course as scheduled. No human responses to FTL transmissions. AI Kwame reports “situation normal, all systems operational” to every request. Uncertain if AI is functioning, and uncertain if human crew awake. Trajectory plotted and robotic contact estimated at 90%.

  Conclusions:

  Each of the seven colony ships in the project have fallen short of design and mission parameters. Loss of at least three ships is probable. Loss of human life estimated at over 70% of all sleepers. Loss of environmental systems also a high probability. Program review concludes colony ship program a decided failure.”

  The displayed message ended.

  “Strange. Oh, I will have to ask Constance about this when she gets back. Is it just a history lesson, or more? Kovalevsky? What do you make of this message?”

  The AI replied, “The message was encrypted and only played for adventurers. It came via a more circumspect route than prior messages. As to its content, it is using broad and generalized historical records for the description of the ships. There are minority and less well-attributed reports which have different information. It is difficult to ascertain what is apocryphal and what is legitimate. There is inconsistency on many issues, numbers of habitats, crew complements, and especially regarding the suspended animation numbers. The 144,000 number is adequately documented in the historical record, due to some manner of lottery system which was employed for at least one of the colony ships. However, even that is not absolute. The historical record is not complete, and conflicting reports do exist.”

  “But what about the damage reports? Why do we need to know that?” Janae asked. Then a wild thought occurred to her. “Kovalevsky? Did those seven fusion trucks head out to some location where a colony ship returned to Earth?”

  “I have no evidence to support such a hypothesis,” the AI replied. “I do not have access to all the Committee findings, nor do I have access to senior staff information. I would suggest that you speak to Astronomer Riley. I speculate that she would have knowledge of a returned colony ship, if something like that happened, and she might be the most receptive to questions. She is not on the Committee, nor is she as focused on Dome 17 maintenance as is Quartermaster Willie, or Chief Engineer Brink. I estimate a low chance of success in getting an answer, but approaching her would be my suggestion.”

  “I will consider that. Otherwise, I guess I just have to wait to find out what this all means,” Janae sighed out. “It will be better when Constance gets back. I do hope she is safe and heading back here. Too many adventurers have already been lost.” Images of the video she had seen of Dome 3 ran through her mind. She shuddered.

  3

  Some People Return, Some Do Not

  The next morning, Janae awoke to Kovalevsky’s gentle prodding.

  “Janae? I suggest you wake and prepare for the day. I did find out that Michael returned from the mission last evening, but I was locked out of learning more. I only found out about that because of a peculiar situation in decontamination. As soon as I learned one person had progressed through decontamination, I was locked out from further information. I do not know how many others progressed through decontamination.”

  “No word from Constance?” Janae looked around as she rubbed her eyes, and massaged her face to remove the traces of the deep sleep she had been in. “Does AI Hutton know anything?”

  “I asked Constance’s AI, Hutton, specifically about that, but got no reply. There are obstructions in inter-artificial intelligence communication now, that were not present yesterday. I cannot establish exactly when those went into effect, and I am hindered from finding out more. I apologize,” AI Kovalevsky replied.

  Janae used the toilet, then washed with some sanitation foams, and dressed in causal Dome 17 adventurer attire. “I suppose rumors and scuttlebutt are running rampant. Is there any confirmed information?”

  “Only that the Committee has called for all adventurers to come to a debriefing this morning. You have time to get a food and water ration before the meeting. In the cafetorium, you can ask some of your friends for what they have learned. Perhaps they have had better access to information than I have. It is curious that there are blocks in communications between the AIs. That is highly unusual.”

  “I will find out what I can. I sure hope this is not an omen of bad news.”

  Departing from her apartment, Janae made her way back to the cafetorium. It was much more crowded than it had been the last time she was there, but she just did not feel like conversion with anyone. She scanned the faces of the crowd, but did not see Constance. Michael and Jamie were present, but on the other side of the room. Michael was brooding, even more than usual, and he raked a hand through his thick, dark hair. Something was obviously bothering him.

  “They took individual fusion trucks. I wonder? Well, Michael may have been on a separate mission from Constance,” Janae told herself. “If they went in separate fusion trucks, maybe his had a mechanical issue, or something like that. I bet that is what the meeting is about. Mechanical problems with the fusion trucks, yes, that would warrant a meeting. The others will be coming back when their mission is completed.” The words, even spoken quietly to herself, did not reassure her.

  She studied Jamie. Jamie looked pleased, and made reassuring body contact with Michael. But she also had a certain nebulous tension about her. Then Janae saw why. Paul was just leaving the cafetorium, and with him was Gretchen. Paul glanced back at Jamie, and the look was a mix of sorrow, surprise, and suspicion. Janae was unsure what that meant, but since Jamie and Paul had both been through that ordeal at Dome 3, she figured it was basically unresolved emotional traumas. That made Janae even more concerned for Constance.

  Janae waited quietly in line, received her food and water ration, and listened to the jabbering of the other adventurers. There were many conversations, but Janae heard nothing definitive. Mostly, people were talking about the message about the old colony ship program. Janae wondered how that fit in the with fact that seven fusion trucks had been sent out.

  Sitting alone, off to the side, Janae observed and listened. Then she walked off and joined the group as they were heading for the meeting. A few people greeted her, and made small-talk, but otherwise there was an air of expectation. Janae did smile as she saw that Cammarry was the center of a small group who were all looking to Cammarry for the latest news.

  The room was fairly full, and Janae found a seat at the back. A triangular table was the main focus of the room.

  Murial Hodgesyn, one of the Committee members spoke out, “We will need to begin shortly, please find your seats.” Her tone of voice reflected her strong personality. She was a couple decades older than Janae. Her childhood was spent as part of a very large group of age-mates. Murial’s group was much larger than the current ones, and bigger than Janae’s own group of age-mates. In Murial’s era, age-mate groups were not spaced five years apart. Janae wondered why she was pondering infants and childhood, and refocused her attention on what was happening in the conference room. Murial’s hair was pulled back in a bun, which, in a way, emphasized the wrinkle lines in her face. With bright, intelligent eyes, she scanned everyone who entered.

  Jubal Morris, another Committee member, sat on a different side of the table. He rubbed his eyes, and then patted down his short black hair, which was receding from his balding head. Blinking a few times, Jubal’s deep brown eyes also looked out over the gathering of people. The third member of the Commi
ttee was also the newest, youngest, and had the most pale complexion. Blonde haired, Lorna looked somewhat out of place, and her eyes darted back and forth. Blonde hair and blue eyes were not unknown in the population of Dome 17, but were a distinct minority. Most people had medium complexions, like Murial, while some had dark complexions like Jubal, and a smaller number were fair complexioned people like Lorna. “And like me,” Janae said quietly to herself. Thinking about that, made Janae look over at Jamie. Jamie’s red hair and freckled face were rarities in Dome 17. Jamie was sitting next to Michael, and she was holding his hand. Janae looked back at the Committee.

  “Two elected, one selected,” Janae recited as she looked over the leadership team of Dome 17. “I wonder what we will learn this morning. I predict the itinerary will be more about those old colony ship reports, then something about Michael’s fusion truck breaking, so he came back, then,” she paused in her predictions. “No one else came back. Why? Fusion trucks driven alone? What does this all mean?” Her mind refused to put into words the fear she had that perhaps Michael was the only survivor of a mission gone horribly awry. That thought made Janae consider the tan cast to everything in the room. The wastelands of tan outside seemed to seep into everything in Dome 17. On every mission Janae had done—each outside the dome—she was always struck by the deadness of the color tan.